History of Urcea (800-1098)

The History of Urcea from 800 to 1098, sometimes also called the Archducal Period, consists of period of time from the death of Saint Julius of the Caeline in 800 AD to the proclamation of the Golden Bull of 1098. This period saw the rise of the Julian dynasty within the newly established realms of the Archduchy of Urceopolis and the Duchy of Harren, and additionally saw the growing power of the Julian dynasty within the Southern Kingdom of the Levantines. During this period, the Levantine Empire disintegrated and was partially reunited. The two Julian realms were united in 922, forming a powerful constituent part of the rapidly weakening Southern Kingdom of the Levantines. This period saw the first Emperor of the Levantines of the Julian dynasty, confirming their rapid ascent. In the midst of a civil war that threatened the existence of the Levantine Empire, Emperor Saint Charles II offered the Royal dignity to the Julians in exchange for their support. In 1098, the two Julian realms were united and the Julian dynasty assumed the Kingship of Urcea that year, marking the formal foundation of the country.

Urceopolis and the Empire
Though the Conine Dynasty established the Imperial court in the city of Corcra, Urceopolis remained the largest city in the Empire and the most powerful vassal the Emperor could call on. This would occasionally lead to friction between the Archdukes and the Emperor; the Julian dynasty was briefly deposed following a failed rebellion and the death of Archduke Conchobar in 865, leading to a local noble of the Scipii estate, Scipio Aedanicus, to be elected by the the city’s leading families upon the request of the Emperor that year. Aedanicus was resisted by the Julians - both those in the city as well as those based in Harren by force of arms and received no assistance from the Emperor on whose support he relied, and consequently the Julians were reestablished by 868. No other direct conflict between the Archdukes and the Emperor would occur, as a more friendly and symbiotic relationship between Urceopolis and Corcra became established.

The relationship between the Southern King of the Levantines, also known as Carolina, and Archdukes of Urceopolis, unlike that of Urceopolis and the Empire, was fraught with hostility. While the greatest extent of this would come during the Yustonese Succession, the Kings of Carolina often worked to pit the Archduke against the Pope to weaken both and politically fragment the most populous region of the Kingdom. In 915, the new Duchy of Transurciana was split from the Archduchy comprised of most of the Archducal lands southeast of the Urce River, comprised of a number of Gael-descended counties settled by the conquest of Conchobar I, Emperor of the Levantines. While the Duchy was given back to the Archduke, the King gave special privileges and right of appeal to the Pope to the counts within the Duchy, creating what amounted to a Papal zone of control extending southeast of Urceopolis itself. This decision, besides being a shrewd political move, recognized many of the traditional political rights the Pope had accured in the region since the 6th century. Control of this territory would remain a difficult issue for the Julian dynasty for the next several centuries.

917 AD was a momentous year, both for the Archduchy of Urceopolis and the Holy Levantine Empire. The Tribal Assembly of Urceopolis, which was an ancient institution dating back to antiquity and was a critical institution in the middle period of Great Levantia, met for the last time. This momentous occasion is perhaps only notable in hindsight, as the Assembly was never formally dissolved and instead faded into obscurity as the eligible voters were spread further and further from Urceopolis, making meetings of what was once a "popular urban assembly" impossible. For the Holy Levantine Empire, the Empire was divided among the sons of Emperor Brian III according to the traditional practice of inheritance dating back to Gallawa. This division - and the subsequent inability to decide which son of Brian III would become Emperor - lead to the functional disintegration of the Empire. This left the Archdukes owing their allegiance to the Southern Kingdom of the Levantines, also known as Carolingia or Carolina due to the name of its first king, Charles. Within this Southern Kingdom, the Archdukes found themselves to be nearly on par with the King in terms of wealth and manpower, leading to a troubled relationship between the two lines of rulers for the entirety of the Kingdom’s existence.

Harrenic Succession
In 922, the last male-line heir of St. Julius in the Archduchy of Urceopolis, Cumhachtabilis, died without issue. The closest heir was Duke Seán of the House of Harren, direct descendant of Saint Julius of the Caeline's brother who had been made Duke of Harren in the 8th century. The Southern Levantine King viewed this to be unacceptable, as the combination of the Julian realms under a single ruler would grealy weaken his ability to project power throughout his Kingdom. Accordingly, the King attempted to take the Archduchy for himself as a new center for his Kingdom, sparking what historians would refer to as the War of the Urceopolitan Succession between the House of Harren (including loyalists in the vacant Archduchy) and the King. In the end, Duke Seán triumphed and was crowned Archduke of Urceopolis. Seán would marry his eldest son to a bride from the direct descent line of Saint Julius, which would eventually bear Niall of the House of Harren. Seán died in 930; he was succeeded by his son Seán II, who was deathly ill at the time of his assent; he would die after two weeks as Archduke. Upon the death of Seán II, Niall, brother of Seán I, seized the Throne, on the basis that the younger Niall (son of Seán I) was too weak to rule. The Southern Levantine King, however, would intervene and the elder Niall was killed on the battlefield after just three months as Archduke, allowing the 7-year old Niall of the House of Harren to become Archduke and Duke. The King believed that a young heir would allow the Conine dynasty to reclaim power within the Kingdom, though his death and succession of his own young son meant that they could not consolidate power in time. Nevertheless, the scheme created a situation not repeated again in Urcean history, as 930 became a "Year of Four Archdukes" (Seán I, Seán II, Niall I, Niall II). Niall would reign as a child, primarily with the support of allies of the family in the Duchy of Harren.

The House of Harren only became truly solidified on the dual throne as Archduke Niall II reached the age of 18 in 941, when he became able to rule the lands of the Julian dynasty without need for a regent. Niall II opted to defy convention and primarily rule from Cálfeld rather than Urceopolis, in part due to the favorable political allies he had amognst the people within the Duchy of Harren. Niall married at age 19 and had ten children over the next 15 years, ensuring the continuation of the dynasty. Niall's chief contribution were efforts to integrate trade between the Archduchy and Harren. Several old Levantine roads between the two areas were cleared, and tariffs were lowered on most goods traveling between the realms. In 950, Niall II began an aggressive campaign of trying to expand the Julian lands. In 952, Niall campaigned in southern Ionia with the tacit approval of the Southern Levantine King, clearing out local clan forts and establishing a foothold in the Ionian Plateau north of Cálfeld. Next, in 954, Niall attempted to campaign against the Creagmer republics, seeking to establish a coastal presence and tap into the profitable Creagmer trade. This move was opposed by the sitting Southern King, precipitating Royal intervention in the war. Niall fought both the Royal forces as well as Republican mercenary forces in 955 and 956, but was ultimately defeated in modern Westglen. Unusually, Niall was allowed to abdicate and retire to a monastery rather than being killed for defying the King. The Julians would not attempt another move against the Republics until the 12th century, after the establishment of the Urcean Kingdom.

Niall II's abdication elevated Caelius IV as Archduke and Duke, at least in name. The abdication of Niall presented an opportunity for prominent magnates of the Archduchy of Urceopolis to revolt against the continuation of the personal union, as many deeply resented being ruled from Cálfeld. Unlike previous attempts to meddle with the united Julian realms, the Southern King of the Levantines pledged neutrality in the succession after having extracted Niall's agreement to abdicate. This left the rebels in the Archduchy relatively isolated, but their power and influence nonetheless made the rebellion a considerable threat to the continuation of the united Julian realm. The rebels elevated a man named Esquilinus, a noble descended from Saint Julius of the Caeline in the female line, as nominal Archduke. The so-called Esquiline Rebellion lasted from Niall's abdication in 956 until late 959, when Duke Caelius defeated the rebels near the modern site of Castle Welute on the Urce River and forced Esquilinus into monastic life, though his followers within the Julian dynasty would continue to clandestinely support Esquilinus and his family for decades to come. The rebels recognized Caelius as Archduke on 4 October 959. Although most historians do not count Esquilinus among the line of Urceopolitan Archdukes, a minority position holds that he held the position both de facto and de jure according to the existing Archducal political apparatus. After the conflict, Caelius decided to move his court to Urceopolis in order to placate the local nobility and ensure the longterm viability of the House of Harren as Archdukes. Although the decision was welcome, the more overtly Gaelicized Harrens are recorded to have been "shocking" to the Urceopolitan gentry, and for decades to come the ruling family were viewed as relatively backwards by their most influential subjects.

Restoration of the Empire
Since the unity of the Archduchy of Urceopolis with the Duchy of Harren, the rulers of the Julian dynasty had increadingly chafed under the control of the Southern King of the Levantines - a member of the Conine dynasty - based in Carolina. As the Southern Kings had forced his father into a monastery, Archduke Caelius IV held decidedly negative view of Royal authority, and looked for an opportunity to avenge his father. The opportunity arrived in 963, as the Eastern King of the Levantines, a Derian named Leo launched an invasion of the Southern Kingdom of the Levantines in an attempt to reclaim the Imperial title. The Southern King and Eastern King would clash in a number of dramatic battles in the Transionia region before Caelius IV announced his allegenience to Leo. Caelius led the Julian forces past the Northgate and into Carolina in February 965, setting the Royal court to siege. As Royal forces raced back to lift the siege, they were caught between Julian and Eastern forces and crushed at the Battle of Nitcus on 30 April 965. After the battle, the remaining Conine nobles surrendered and recognized Leo I as Southern King of the Levantines. Leo entered Urceopolis on 24 May and was crowned Emperor of the Levantines, restoring the Levantine Empire following a 48 year interregnum. Leo's victory meant the end of a distinct Southern Kingdom and Court as Imperial power was centered in Corcra; higher political authority moving far to the east meant that, going forward, the rulers of the Julian realm would enjoy a freer hand and the end of Royal interference in the succession. Caelius IV spent the remaining years of his reign combatting domestic conspiracies against him by the family of Esquilinus, the Archduke claimant defeated in the late 950s. Caelius faced a revolt of Esquilinus's brother and brother-in-law in 971 and defeated the rebel faction in late 971, after which time he decided to launch a small purge of the Esquiline family. Most notably, Esquilinus - still living as a monk - was strangled in January 972. The killing of a monk, even a political rival, shocked both the public and nobility in Urceopolis. The strangulation led to many of Caelius's close allies to abandon him, as his quest for vengence was viewed to be immoral, illegal, and a sign of possible madness. Esquilinus's nephew Comedan, son of his sister, snuck into the Julian Palace on 19 March 972 and assassinated Caelius. Caelius was succeeded by his son Julius III, who was generally affable and liked by most of those who had abandoned Caelius. Wisely, Julius decided not to pursue the same level of paternal vengence that his father had: Comedan was executed, but rumors regarding those who had allowed him into the palace were not pursued. Being just 20 years old upon the time of his accession, Julius would mend most broken relationships and end the longrunning Esquiline conspiracy, and would also continue his father's practice of ruling from Urceopolis.

In 996, the last Leonine Emperor of the Levantines - Brian IV - died unexpectedly at the age of 29. No clear blood successor presented themselves, and accordingly the Empire was governed by the Archbishop of Corcra as a regent for most of 996. Rumors circulated that the Archbishop intended to select a blood relative of himself as next Emperor, or that a member of the Conine dynasty would be selected. While both options were impalatable to the Julian dynasty, the return of the hated Conines were especially offensive. A number of vassals throughout the Empire went into open revolt, and Archduke Julius III decided to join the rebelling factions. After a series of battles in 996 and early 997, the rebels took Corcra, largely led by Archduke Julius III. As part of the effort, Archduke Julius secured an agreement that the Emperor would be elected by the most powerful or worthy vassals of the Empire via the Collegial Electorate. Julius Secures the Imperial Liberties, a romantic painting of the Archduke forcing the Imperial regent to sign a charter (the Pragmatic Sanction of 997) following the regent’s defeat on the field, became an iconic rallying symbol for Urcean national identity within the Empire in the 19th century. Julius's rivals throughout the Empire, including the former Regent, excluded both Urceopolis and Harren from the Electorate, beginning a century-long effort by the Julian dynasty to gain a vote in Imperial elections. Despite being excluded, Julius remained in Corcra and pledged his loyalty to Emperor Louis I, Duke of Allaria, before returning home. After 30 years as Archduke and Duke, Julius III died in the spring of 1002.

Archduke Julius III’s son, Adrian IV, became Archduke and Grand Duke in 1002, and he himself was elected Emperor in 1014, becoming Emperor Adrian II, the first of several of the family of St. Julius to become Emperor. During his reign, Emperor Adrian convened the first Great Landsmeet in 1022. This Landsmeet was envisioned by the Emperor as a meeting of all of the Custóirs of the Estates of Urcea as a system to resolve disputes within the Archduchy-Harren between the various optimate families, whose feuding undermined the realm. The Great Landsmeet was also devised as a system to help assist in administration of the realm by way of consensus, an early example of the foundation of the Constitution of Urcea. The Great Landsmeet would meet only upon the call of the Archduke, and during its existence it met dozens of times in its centuries of existence. It replaced the earlier Tribal Assembly, which had not met since 917, and given that only the heads of the 50 estates were required to participate, it was considerably easier to gather enough Custóirs to have a working meeting. The Great Landsmeet would remain a permanent institution for centuries. Adrian, reformer and the "First Urcean Emperor", died in 1036.

Late Archducal period
By the late 11th century, the Holy Levantine Empire had already approached something resembling its territorial peak; the Luciusian Dynasty had conquered the area of modern northern Fiannria, an area that had eluded central authority for nearly a millenia. This area was, at that time, part of a larger region commonly known as Ultramurus, that is, “beyond the wall”, referring to the walls constructed by Great Levantia to signify their northern borders, which today is referred to as Ultmar. Within the Empire, the position of the Archduchy-Duchy continued to grow, acquiring several lands and titles outside the traditional geographic boundaries of Urceopolis-Harren. Additionally, the Golden Bull of 1043 also set the amount of electors at 9; neither Harren nor Urceopolis were granted the electoral dignity as it was thought to be a way to balance its power relative to the rest of the Empire. This lead to a century's-long goal on the part of the House of Harren to acquire a vote for Emperor, either by a change to the law or by inheritance.

During this period, Urcean nobles began their participation in the Crusades as part of a general effort by the Holy Levantine Empire to turn back the influence of the Oduniyyad Caliphate in Sarpedon and elsewhere. Beginning in 1084 with 's call for the First Crusade - a campaign for the restoration of Christendom in Sarpedon - the Archduke-Grand Duke of Urceopolis, Riordan II, fought in several campaigns before returning to Levantia in 1097, accumulating a great deal of prestige for himself and his dynasty following several successful battles fought in northeastern Sarpedon. Simultaneously, the Kingdom of Culfra began to openly discuss separating from the Empire altogether or deposing the Collegial Electorate in favor of a hereditary northern King, and by 1096 began to march for Corcra. Freshly off campaign and with his resources having been spent for the crusade, Riordan II pledged neutrality, which would have weakened the Imperial cause to the point in which a dissolution of the Empire could have plausibly occurred. The Emperor Charles II Luciusian began to seek ways of winning the Urceopolitan monarch back to his side, and settled on an offer of Kingship and consolidation. Citing the recent canonization of St. Julius I, the pious prestige accrued during the recent Crusade, and the considerable lands and titles his successors had acquired, the Emperor offered Riordan a Kingship of a reduced part of the Southern Kingdom of the Levantines to be nominally part of a new Kingdom of Urcea. Riordan accepted, and Emperor Carles II issued the Golden Bull of 1098, which created the Kingdom and consolidated all of Riordan’s holdings under him and compelling the other vassals in the region to be nominally subservient to him. With the support of the new Julian Crown, the Imperial faction won the war. Riordan I (adopting new regnal numbering) styled himself Apostolic King in light of his holy ancestor, and the title remained from that point onward.