Tevinter Imperium

The Tevinter Imperium is a nation in Thedas ruled by a powerful magocracy. The leaders of the Imperium are called magisters, and are led by the Imperial Archon. The Tevinter Imperium worshipped the Old Gods, supposedly from whom the magisters learned magic. According to the Chantry, it was at the beckoning of the Old Gods that the magisters attempted to usurp the Maker's throne by entering the Golden City of the Maker, which corrupted it and led to the first Blight. The Tevinter Imperium suffered the brunt of the First Blight and was subsequently toppled in an invasion by southern barbarians led by the prophetess Andraste; it is now only a shadow of its former self in both size and power.

Culture
The Tevinter Imperium was once the largest nation on Thedas, reaching all the way to Ferelden in the south. It has diminished significantly both in size and clout in the world, but remains highly active in the north. Tevinter society is notoriously decadent, and ambition and magical ability are hallmarks of the ruling elite, the magisters. The ancient magister lords ruled the Imperium in the Circles of Magi (before their modern incarnation), maintaining a tight hold over its people through the power to infiltrate their dreams using blood magic. Though blood magic is now banned in the Imperium, mages who practice it are quietly acknowledged as the most proficient dream-walkers and diviners. The ban is really only paid lip service to; even the most devout mages in Tevinter know at least the basics.

The centuries-long war with the Qunari has taxed the Imperium significantly as resources are strained, with hundreds of refugees fleeing to the capital of Minrathous, the splendor of which is chafing greatly everywhere outside the spires that house the Imperium's Circles of Magi. . All common citizens of the Imperium who are non-mages are considered part of the "Soporati" social class.

It is still legal for elves and humans and even Qunari to be sold into slavery in Tevinter, a fact which allowed many elves from Ferelden to be sent to the Imperium during Teyrn Loghain's regency. People may also choose to sell themselves into slavery to provide for their families. Slave revolts have been a common occurrence throughout history. Kirkwall was once the center of the Tevinter slave trade. Dwarves are thus far not known to be kept as slaves in the Imperium, presumably due to their fundamental importance to the Imperium in providing lyrium.

The Imperial Chantry is the main religious organization in Tevinter, replacing the abandoned worship of the Old Gods. It is more accepting of magic and allows men to join the priesthood.

History


When humans first came to mainland Thedas, several tribes spread across Thedas, but it was the Tevinters, centered on the port-city of Minrathous, who became the most prolific. The land was at first ruled by a dynasty of kings. Circles of Magi formed in Tevinter cities as closed societies of mages, presumably to train and study their talents. They formed a council of their most talented mages, the Court of Magisters, which convened in Minrathous and decided the mandate of magic in the kingdom. In -1195 Ancient (1 TE), the premier magister lord of the Tevinter Dysnasty, Darinius, took power as its first Archon and founded the Imperium, establishing the magisters as its aristocracy. Darinius was the first human to successfully ally with the dwarves of Kal-Sharok and traded extensively with them. A body of dwarven representatives titled "Ambassadoria" was established during that time to advise the Tevinter leaders and manage trade relations between the Imperium and the dwarven kingdoms. The Archon Thalsian, one of the first magisters, claimed to have contacted the Old God Dumat to learn blood magic, which he used to declare himself the ruler of an empire. Thalsian established temples to worship dragons, which became a symbol of power within the Imperium. He created the "Altus" as the ruling class, also known as "The Magisters", while his pupils formed the noble houses that ruled the empire for millennia.

Although humans had coexisted with elves for a time, hostilities soon arose when the elves retreated from human contact. This led the Imperium to declare war on 214 TE. Six years later, the magisters invaded Arlathan, the elven homeland, and destroyed it by sinking the city to the ground with blood magic. Elven survivors were enslaved. From them, the magisters learned to use lyrium to enter the Fade, developing magical talent that soon dominated the nation's infrastructure.

During its expansion, the Imperium conquered much of the land of Thedas, as far south as Ferelden and east as Rivain, subjugating the local tribes throughout with brutal force. It commissioned the construction of the Imperial Highway to connect all lands under their rule together for the purpose of trade, but the fall of the Imperium meant the project was never completed. In 620-640 TE, a large civil war erupted when the two most influential magisters warred for the vacant Archon's throne, threatening to split the empire. Even after order was restored, it marked the decline of the Imperium's golden age.

In 800 TE, in a misguided attempt at apotheosis, a group of magisters sacrificed hundreds of slaves and used up two-thirds of the lyrium in the entire empire to physically enter the Fade using blood magic, returning as the first Darkspawn. The Archdemon Dumat led the First Blight for nearly two hundred years, ravaging the empire and shattering its power. Civil unrest added to complications until the newly founded Grey Wardens finally defeated the Darkspawn.

Their vulnerabilities exposed to the world, the severely weakened Imperium suffered the first Exalted Marches by the escaped slave Andraste and her husband Maferath who brought a barbarian army from Ferelden north to destroy the empire in 1020 TE. Slave revolts by elves enamored of Andraste's campaign exploded in cities everywhere, compounding the threat of the encroaching Fereldan armies. Finally the rebellion was put down and Andraste was publicly executed with her generals four years later. In 1035 TE, Archon Hessarian, the ruler at the time of Andraste's revolt, formally converted to the faith himself and revealed Maferath's betrayal.

In 1050-1120 TE, Rivain's war for independence from the Imperium begins, and distracts the Empire from reconquering the Free Marches. Eastern cities of the Free Marches rally to help Rivaini, and with the Battle of Temerin in 1117 TE, the Imperium abandons Rivain.

With the founding of the Chantry in 1195 TE, Andrastian cults gained momentum around the world. The ruling magisters of Tevinter lost significant influence as they were penned into the restrictive Circles of Magi. Though southern Tevinter had split completely, the north remained intact. The magisters eventually surrendered to the Chantry, but only on their own terms. In 3:87 Towers, the Imperium split from the Orlesian Chantry and formed its own Imperial Chantry under a mage, Divine Valhail. The Black Age to the Exalted Age saw several Exalted Marches ordered against the Tevinter Imperium by the White Divine when tensions between the Orlesian and Imperial Chantries grew heated.

In 6:30 Steel, Thedas was first attacked by the Qunari, and much of the Imperium was conquered in the conflicts. Determined to retake its lost territories, the Imperial Chantry declares the New Exalted Marches alongside the Orlesian Chantry long into the Storm Age (7:25–7:85). The Imperium did not take part in the Llomerryn Accords, an armistice which ended the war with the Qunari, as other human nations did, and as such the Tevinters and the Qunari are in a state of constant war as both struggle for dominance of northern Thedas, currently warring over the island of Seheron.

In 7:34 Storm, political power has seemed to shift back to the magisters, as the new Archon Nomaran was elected directly from the Circle of Magi, abolishing laws that prohibited mages from participating in government.

Politics
The Tevinter Imperium is still governed by powerful magic-users through a form of magocracy. It is almost universally reviled by other nations. Its nobility is known to be over-indulgent, and slavery is still practiced. The Imperium is the center of the black market, smuggling (including the harboring of mage fugitives from other lands) and the slave trade. Tevinter would crumble without slaves, given that it is the only way to support their economy. History shows how deeply committed they are to the practice; when an archon once outlawed it [slavery], the archon was quickly assassinated. Though merely a shadow of its former glory, the Imperium is still a very powerful nation with considerable military might. It would turn on the southern nations were it not diverted by the constant wars with the Qunari.

The Imperium draws a variety of soldiers from its territories to form an impressive army. Most noted throughout Thedas, however, is the use of elephant mounts that have been imported into Tevinter for centuries through the coastal colonies near the northwestern jungles. As well, Minrathous is famously protected by a trio of gigantic war golems purchased from the dwarves known as the Juggernauts.

The Imperium's capital is Minrathous, at the northern end of the Imperial Highway. Tevinter has its own versions of the Chantry and Circles of Magi, both led by a male Divine, unofficially known as the Black Divine; his authority, and indeed the existence of the Imperial Chantry, is not recognized by the Chantry in Orlais. Likewise, the Imperial Chantry refuses to recognize the authority of the Orlesian Chantry and its "White Divine." The Chantry calendar is in use everywhere except the Imperium, although the empire used it briefly when it was introduced.

Magisters are members of the Senate and constantly compete with their fellows to rise into a higher position on the council, though they come together to put down slave rebellions, which they view as sedition. Their legislative body is called "The Magisterium". Raising one's position on the Senate can be achieved through wealth, magical prowess and/or support by fellow Senators but almost always requires relying on forbidden magic.

Dwarves and the Tevinter Imperium
Tevinter has enjoyed a long and fruitful alliance with the dwarven empire. The lyrium trade is the primary reason for their close alliance, and the magic-centric Imperium is mainly dependent on Orzammar to meet its immense demand.

Many surface dwarves live in the Imperium, not considered citizens but rather foreign dignitaries, even if their houses have existed in the Imperium for ages.

The Tevinter Imperium hosts numerous dwarven embassies, since the days of Archon Darinius and his alliance with the founding fathers of the dwarven empire, Orseck Garal and Endrin Stonehammer. There are dwarven embassies in every major city, much like dwarven settlements in other countries in Thedas. However Tevinter dwarves have their own branch of government, the Ambassadoria, unlike dwarves in other countries. Ambassadoria representatives are elected by the dwarves to advise the Archon and the Magisterium. The Ambassadoria is more of a lobbying group than a parliament.

Dwarven embassies in Minrathous, Neromenian, and Qarinus are entirely underground and are considered by dwarves to reside within the Stone, allowing those in the embassy to retain their caste. Some dwarves serving in Tevinter embassies never leave these underground fastnesses.

Cities

 * Asariel
 * Carastes
 * Marnus Pell
 * Marothius
 * Minrathous - Capital
 * Neromenian
 * Perivantium
 * Qarinus
 * Teraevyn
 * Vol Dorma
 * Vyrantium

Regions

 * Eyes of Nocen
 * The High Reaches
 * The Hundred Pillars
 * The Silent Plains
 * Valarian Fields
 * Arlathan Forest

Fortresses

 * Ath Velanis

Imperial language
Tevene is the official language of the Imperium,  Several runes bear Tevinter symbols, some of them old.
 * Alluvin valla kal
 * Avanna: Hello.
 * Benefaris
 * Fasta vass: A swear word.
 * Festis bei umo canavarum: You will be the death of me.
 * Kevesh
 * '''Manaveris Dracona: Long live the Dragons.
 * Na via lerno victoria: Only the living know victory.
 * Venhedis: A swear word.
 * Vishante kaffar: One of the reactions Fenris gives when accepting Orana as a slave. It's mostly likely a curse but the exact translation was not given.

In the second example, the (-l) is the genitive, or possessive, marker. (-ud) is an accusative, or direct object, marker. There are 2 allomorphs: (-d) and (-ud) based upon epenthesis to avoid consonant clusters. Stacking of these affixes is an attested pattern in some languages. The suffix (-ev) is an imperative, or command, marker.

The suffix (-e) is a second-person agreement marker. English has a sort of "vestigial" agreement system, especially in the stronger old forms of high-frequency verbs like "be". Consider: I "am" but you "are" and he "is". Or in some dialects of course: I "be", you "be", we "be" etc. English word order has rendered ambiguity of role assignment almost a non-risk, so we don't really need agreement. The language above, however, has it; the (-e) tells you that the subject of the verb is 2nd person ("you").

Ancient Tevene
Ancient Tevene is the ancient and dead language of Tevinter Imperium. The annums (annual holidays) in the Thedosian calendar use a high name from Ancient Tevene, and a low name (Trade tongue).


 * Maleficar: One who is depraved
 * Dweomer: Dwarf

Notable people with Tevinter origins



 * Aurelian Titus
 * Caladrius
 * Corypheus
 * Danarius
 * Devera
 * Devon
 * Eleni Zinovia
 * Fenris
 * Hadriana
 * Hessarian
 * Maevaris Tilani
 * Orana
 * Parthalan
 * Tallis
 * Varania
 * Vasilia

Trivia

 * Writer David Gaider has stated that the Tevinter Imperium is loosely based on the real-world Roman Empire, especially in its later Byzantine period. They share a number of notable similarities.
 * First of all, both the early Roman and Tevinter Empire managed to conquer most of the continent(s) surrounding them. They both were a powerful militar oligarchy, basing its extraordinary success on their armies.
 * Like the Roman Empire, during its early hegemony the Imperium built many vast road networks and aqueducts in the conquered lands. An example of this is the Imperial Highway seen in Dragon Age: Origins. This mirrors an initially more complex and rich culture compared to the still primitive surrounding civilizations.
 * Most importantly, the Roman Empire executed Jesus for causing dissent in the same fashion as the Tevinter Imperium executed Andraste; both the Roman and Tevinter Empires would later adopt their respective prophets' teachings; as with the Orthodox and Roman Catholic wings of Christianity excommunicating each other, the Orlesian and Tevinter Chantries are in conflict with one another; Tevinter had several Exalted Marches called against it, just as the Byzantine Empire faced its own Crusades.
 * Finally, present-day Tevinter is standing alone against the Qunari, just as the Byzantine (the later Eastern Roman) Empire fought alone for almost five centuries against the Seljuks first, and later the Ottomans. Both are just shadows of their past glory, unpopular with their fellow Andrastian (Western Christians) Thedosian (European) Countries, but still very strong in their own right.
 * The Imperium, as a nation ruled by powerful, ruthless and ambitious mages who is also the only one where slavery is not outlawed is very similar to the D&D Forgotten Realms nation of Thaymount, ruled by the power-hungry Red Wizards of Thay, who are described in detail in the Neverwinter Nights 2 add-on campaign "Mask of the Betrayer".
 * Tevene was designed to be a potential distant ancestor to English, or more precisely the various aspects of Latin that English borrows from extensively.