Pirate Siege

See also: History of Absalom

The Pirate Siege was an extended attempt by pirates to blockade and extort Absalom in 430 AR. The besiegers hoped to take advantage of the god Aroden's personal absence from the city after he had decided to more fully explore his divinity.

The siege

Pirate fleets targeting Absalom, then known as the "Jewel of the Inner Sea", took control of a harbor on the western shores of the Isle of Kortos and staged more than a century of raids on the city, tried to cut it off from all external trade, and blackmailed them for protection. The government of Absalom assumed that Aroden would appear to save them, but when even his clergy refused to help, they had to find their own solution. Nearly every able-bodied man, woman, and child was pressed into service to defend the walls and mercenaries were hired from abroad to defend the city. Despite these early setbacks, Absalom finally managed to drive off the besieging pirates after years of fighting, although both sides incurred thousands of casualties.

Legacy

The sunken ships from the siege formed the first hazards of the Flotsam Graveyard, the maze of sunken and scuttled vessels that bar easy entry to Absalom's harbor. Following the siege, Absalom outlawed piracy, issued letters of marque to privateers, formed its own navy, and eventually defeated the most prominent pirate force, paving the way for Absalom to become a central port of trade in the region. Many of the mercenaries were paid for their service in trade rights and property, which has manifested into some of the prominent houses of influence in Absalom. Survivors among the siege's attackers set up camp on the Isle of Kortos. Over the centuries, these camps developed into the modern city of Diobel.

The siege remained a popular event in Absalom's history. Even millennia later, when Absalom's navy fortified a natural harbor on the Isle of Erran, they named it Escadar, after one of the heroes of the Pirate Siege.