Jaishankar officially held the tripartite negotiation between the Yazidis, the Persians, and themselves.
"As the person who wishes for a win-win cooperation between everyone, might I suggest an arrangement?", he asked
Ezidi Serwan and Roxana Atashban both looked at each other and nodded.
"Please go ahead, sir. I am willing to listen to your suggestion," Roxana Atashban commented.
"The same goes for me," Ezidi Serwan nodded as he smiled.
Jaishankar was happy to be getting a chance to negotiate this deal.
"Well, since it was the Atashban family who had invested more resources into the war, be it manpower or human resources, logically, you should get the majority of the share."
Jaishankar looked around and was relieved that no one had any objection, and that included Ezidi Serwan.
"Now, although the Yazidi people had not contributed a lot of their manpower or material resources to this war, they should theoretically get the least amount of benefits. However, it is undeniable that their actions were crucial to the whole victory, so I propose they not be rewarded too lightly," he said.
Everyone agreed with this statement, as they knew the contribution of the Yazidis. But the problem was how to measure their contribution in terms of land.
"Respected Minister, although what you said is fair, it would be unfair to us if they get an equal proportion of the share," Roxana Atashban reminded.
Jaishankar immediately shook his hands. "No, that would be too unfair to you. What I suggest is this: the Yazidis will occupy the northern part of the Zangana family's territory, especially the cities of Kirkuk, Erbil, Mosul, and Urmia, while the rest of the territory, including every city within the region of Baghdad and Arabistan, would formally fall under the territory of the Zangana family."
Everyone fell into deep thought. If it were only four cities in Kurdistan, then it wasn't too much.
Roxana thought so too, but she still felt like it was excessive. "Respected Minister, the entire population of the Yazidi tribe is barely 10,000. How is it possible for them to occupy so much territory?" she said without mincing words. Even though she had been quite friendly with Ezidi Serwan, when it came to interests, she wasn't willing to let them go, as she had her own people to take care of.
Ezidi Serwan felt a little angry, but he wasn't going to refute it, as what the young lady said was indeed true in the current situation of the Yazidis.
However, surprisingly, Jaishankar spoke out for him. "Although what Miss Roxana said is indeed true, you have to consider that although the Yazidis did not spend as many resources compared to you when measured against their entire existing resources, they spent nearly 8% of it, which is a huge figure compared to your 2%."
"What's more, without their helping hand, the Atashban family would have trouble even retaining your current territory, so I feel this is very fair."
This was known to everyone, including Roxana, but it was a habit to strive for maximum benefits.
Jaishankar knew this too, so he did not stretch out the negotiation for long. "Alright, let's do it : the Yazidi tribe will completely occupy the cities of Mosul, Erbil, and Urmia, while the city of Kirkuk will be a special economic zone held equally between both your forces, with profits equally divided between you both, 1:1."
"This should be acceptable?" he asked.
Roxana Atashban finally understood that this was the bottom line of the Bharatiya Empire, so she did not fight for it anymore and readily accepted it. Ezidi Serwan did not have an opinion from the start, as even getting a city for themselves was a luxury before contacting the Bharatiya Empire, so he was willing to listen to any suggestions.
Jaishankar heaved a sigh of relief. "Now then, with the matter of territory distribution settled, let me put forth the requests of the Bharatiya Empire for all the support it had provided."
"Number one, a Delhi-class battleship will be permanently stationed in the port of Basra in order to safeguard our interests."
"Number two, the Bharatiya Empire will get two military bases in the Atashban family's territory and one military base in Yazidi territory."
"Number three, the Bharatiya Empire will get full access to both regions' markets with beneficial tariff rates."
After Jaishankar finished putting forward his conditions, he looked at Roxana Atashban and Ezidi Serwan, awaiting their decisions. Unsurprisingly, both of them readily agreed. Jaishankar had expected this, as no one here was a fool.
Everyone knew internally that it was the Bharatiya Empire that had orchestrated the whole thing, and all the benefits obtained by all the parties were also decided by the Bharatiya Empire. The beneficiaries also knew that if the Bharatiya Empire wanted to take back these benefits, it would not be too difficult. Hence, considering that the Bharatiya Empire had not asked for anything too extreme, Roxana readily agreed. As for Ezidi Serwan, he did not have any objections.
"Very good. Now, please name your regions. They will be officially recognized by the Bharatiya Empire as autonomous nations. The Bharatiya Empire will also convince other countries to do the same."
Roxana Atashban and Ezidi Serwan were immediately stunned, but thankfully they recovered, as they had been informed that such a situation might occur.
Roxana Atashban had no problem deciding on the name, as the whole reason for her family's existence was to regain the glory of the Persian Empire.
"Our kingdom will henceforth be known as the Kingdom of Persia, and the Atashban family will henceforth be the royal family. My father, Ardashir Atashban, will take the throne as the first king of the First Persian Kingdom, while I will be the crown princess," Roxana Atashban declared.
'Clap clap clap clap.'
Applause immediately erupted from the crowd, and even Ezidi Serwan clapped his hands slowly with a smile on his face.
Jaishankar turned his attention to Ezidi Serwan, looking forward to his decision. The name chosen by the Atashban family was not a surprise, since everyone knew, including the civilians, what the aim of the Atashban family was, but no one knew anything about the Yazidis.
Ezidi Serwan understood that gaze, but he did not have a victorious and happy expression as everyone had expected.
"In fact, I am really conflicted about what name to choose. The Yazidi ethnicity has never had a kingdom of our own throughout history."
"Our people are peaceful. We don't want power or profit. It is for this reason that we have coexisted peacefully with the ancient Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, and Assyrians. While we may have had differences with all of them at some point, in the end, we managed to put that behind us."
"However, unfortunately, this peaceful nature led to our downfall. With the arrival of Islamic invaders around the 7th century, our inheritance was no longer helpful in a world of swords and spears. We slipped to the bottom, and we have gone extinct almost twice."
"To be honest, the history of our ethnicity was really lacklustre, so I did not have the confidence to come up with a good name."
Just before he could continue, Jaishankar cut him off with a stern expression on his face. "I am sorry for interrupting you, Sir Ezidi Serwan, but you have said something very wrong."
"Even though the Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Muslims, and even Zoroastrians outclassed you in terms of military capability, that does not mean that you are weak."
"Can't you see, sir? The Sumerians, the Acadians, the Babylonians, and the Akkadians, whom you look up to so much, are almost most definitely extinct from the Persian region, while you, the Yazidis—the peaceful race—who have a longer history than them, are still alive despite constant setbacks and continuous massacres. That alone shows the strength of your people."
"Be proud, sir. A grass might be puny, but it dares to stand up to the wrath of a storm. Never underestimate yourself; you would be doing a disservice to your ancestors."
This speech shocked the crowd; they were in awe.
Ezidi Serwan paused immediately, without words. Tears were threatening to drip, but he managed to hold them back. "Looks like I have done a great disservice to my brave ancestors. You are absolutely correct, respected minister. I thank you for this enlightenment," he said as he joined his hands in greeting.
Jaishankar smiled and greeted back. In fact, the reason why he interrupted Ezidi Serwan was not only to enlighten him but also because he remembered the past of his own people, the Bharatiyas, under the iron rule of the Mughal Empire. Although the situation was a lot better than the Yazidis, the similarities in emotions were the same. So when he heard Serwan underestimating his history, he felt a little angry and felt obliged to remind the young man. Thankfully, everything worked out.
Ezidi Serwan reined in his emotions and continued, "While we never had our own kingdom, it does not mean that we have nothing we value. There is a place called Lalish, right to the north of Mosul, only a few dozen kilometres away. This is our holiest site. It contains the tomb of our Saint Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir, whom we believe to be the reincarnation of the Peacock Angel, one of the seven holy angels of our beliefs. So, putting our faith in God, who has led us to endure so much pain, I have come to the decision to name the kingdom of Yazidis: Lalishsthan."
With this, two of the most ancient cultures of humankind were reborn within the cradle of civilization in the form of the First Persian Kingdom, which would go on to become an empire, and Lalishsthan, which would go on to create miracles in the future.