Irbid Wars

The Irbid Wars were a series of wars waged by the city-state of Gizenatter against the city of Irbid  and its associated cities. The wars, fought between 3744 ED and 3704 ED, were more like contituations of the same conflict, rather than a series of discrete wars, stemming ultimately from a fierce rivalry between Irbid and Gizenatter. Despite early Irbid successes, and advantages in population, the forces of Gizenatter ultimately gained the upper hand, inflicting great defeats on Irbid and capturing the city of Irem  in a naval assault. The result of the war was a union of the crowns of Gizenatter and Irbid and the transition of Gizenatter from a city-state to the capital of the Ateter Kingdom.

Cause
There were a number of factors leading to conflict between Irbid and Gizenatter. In 3774 ED, the Waba Dynasty that had ruled Gizenatter for almost three hundred years was deposed and replaced with native rulers. During this conflict, soldiers from Irbid had occupied a number of outposts and villages in the north of the lands administered by Gizenatter. Due to the internal problems of Gizenatter, Gizenatter's rulers were unable to respond, and the attack went unpunished. It was only after the situation in Gizenatter had stabilised that the city attempted to reclaim the land that it had lost. Inevitably, the two city-states would be driven to conflict, however, even in Irbid had not made incursions into Gizenatter territory. The two cities were the most powerful in the region, and this contributed to the friction between them. The Irbid advances were simply a catalyst of the conflict and formed the reasons given by the Gizenatter leadership to justify the war.

Background
In 3774 ED, a civil conflict erupted in Gizenatter, which would last for a few years and would see a receding of Gizenatter's nominal and suggested boundaries of influence. During this period, the Irbid Kingdom advanced into Gizenatter territory, driving out Ateter and Waba farmers and planting their own crops. Gizenatter remained weak and subdued by civil disorder and tension and no response was given to the Irhemmii excursions, provoking further advances into Gizenatter territory. The first attempt to repel Irhmeti settlers into Gizenatter lands was made in 3759 ED, resulting in a series of short skirmishes, which drove the Irhmeti farmers from the area but Gizenatter was stopped from recovering more land by the appearance of a large Irhmeti army. A number of smaller raids were launched by both Irbid and Gizenatter, serving only to heighten tensions and embolden the others' armies. The largest of these raids came in 3749 ED, and precipitated the outbreak of general hostilities. A large Irhmeti town in the border regions of Gizenatter and Irbid was sacked and looted, and the farms around it burned. Several hundred townsfolk were killed or kidnapped, with many brought to Gizenatter as slaves. A counter-attack was launched, but this was prevented by the arrival of a Gizenatter militia force.

First Conflict (3744 ED - 3737 ED)
War erupted in 3744 ED, solidifying years of ill-disguised conflict between Irbid and Gizenatter, when a force (a mixture of militia and professional soldiers) from Gizenatter crossed into Irhmeti farmland to the south of Adirem. The authorities of Adirem were alerted to the presence of this army by the thousands of farmers and pastors fleeing towards the city away from their farms. An army, several thousand strong and mostly made up of conscripted levies, was quickly rallied to oppose the Gizenatter force. The two armies met a few miles outside of Adirem for a fierce battle, which resulted in a Gizenatter victory. The Adirem force was scattered and the city was left almost entirely undefended. Adirem was sacked by Gizenatter and its population was dispersed into the surrounding lands. Gizenatter was unable to hold the city, due to the arrival of an army from Irbid, and instead returned home with its spoils of slave, grain and jewels.

For a few years, the conflict persisted only as a string of fierce raids into Gizenatter and Irbid territory. The second large-scale attack of the conflict would originate from Irbid, when a force of Adiremhmeti, Irhmeti and Iremhmeti soldiers marched on Gizenatter. In the ensuing battle, Gizenatter once again claimed victory, due to superior force of arms and tactics, but the Gizenatter king was slain. The heir was only in boyhood and so his mother, acting as a regent, sued for peace. Irbid, weakened by the sack of Adirem and the loss of much of its manpower, agreed. Irbid was, however, allowed to retain the lands it had taken from Gizenatter during the Waba War, and this would be the source of the second and much larger conflict between the Irbid Kingdom and the city-state of Gizenatter.