Telmarine Age of Narnia



The Telmarine Age of Narnia began with the invasion of the Kingdom of Narnia by the people of Telmar (the Telmarine Conquest) at the end of Narnia's Dark Age (after the disappearance of the Pevensie monarchs) and includes the time period that followed. The leader of the Telmarines during this conquest was King Caspian I, or Caspian the Conqueror, who vanquished the lawless country and built his own capital city at the heart of Narnia, far from the north, south, and the ocean, leaving Cair Paravel to be abandoned. Caspian I established the long-lived Telmarine Dynasty, specifically the first half, known as the Caspian Dynasty or Early Telmarine Dynasty. Caspian I also founded the Telmarine-Narnian Army. Upon this conquest, the Telmarines amassed not only control of the mainland Narnia, but its imperial territories like the Province of Galma and the Lone Islands, making the King of Narnia also the Emperor of the Lone Islands and the Overlord of Galma.

=Telmarine Conquest= See Telmarine Conquest for the full article

After discovering the state of anarchy within the Kingdom of Narnia because of the political, economic, and social decay it had suffered during its Dark Age, the desperate and ravenous Telmarines began their conquest of Narnia. The new Telmarine presence in Narnia introduced borders separating the far north of Archenland from themselves and discontinuing full relationships with the neighbouring country. Many talking animals and other native creatures, later called the "Old Narnians," fled into the woods as the Telmarines' policy of human supremacy banished them from the area. The Telmarines instituted a new nobility and organised military, abandoning the former Narnian capital of Cair Paravel, away from the Great Eastern Ocean, and establishing a new one in the heart of Narnia.

The reinstitution of the tolerance of talking animals (who made up the majority of the Old Narnians) only began with the reign of King Caspian X who actually sided with the Old Narnians rather than his fellow Telmarine-Narnians due to an understanding of the Old Narnians' plight and a destiny to obtain his rightful throne from his villainous uncle Miraz. Caspian went as far as to help the Old Narnians instigate and succeed in the Narnian Revolution after which he banished many of his own Telmarine relatives and allowed the Old Narnians to take back their land. However, although Caspian himself was born a Telmarine-Narnian, because he had aided them in their revolution, the Old Narnians allowed him to rule as the next Narnian monarch and this is generally accepted as the end of the Telmarine Age in 2303. However, because Caspian and his heirs still had Telmarine blood in them, Telmarine control technically didn't end until the tragic Calormene Conquest of the Later Ages.

=Telmarine Dynasty= The Telmarine Dynasty began with Caspian I, the Conqueror, and the Caspian name was carried on until Caspian X who broke away from the family custom by naming his son Rilian. It is interesting to note that every king of the Telmarine Dynasty had a name that ends with -ian except for Miraz. Examples include Caspian, Rilian, Erlian, and Tirian. It is probable that the first-born son of each new royal generation (the son expected to become the next king) was given a name with this ending, and because Miraz was the younger brother of Caspian IX, his name did not follow the pattern. Other men of Telmarine descent that had the ending in their names include Drinian, Revilian, Octesian, and Sopespian.