Recess of the Julii

The Recess of the Julii is a historiographical term referring to the period from approximately 1815 to 1902 during which Urcea did not participate in the institutions of the Holy Levantine Empire from both an administrative and geopolitical point of view. The antagonism between the two entities began in earnest with the Second Caroline War, when Urcea was forced to cede the Grand Duchy of Carolina and the Apostolic King of Urcea was forced to surrender his claim on the title of Emperor of the Levantines which had been secured after the War of the Caroline Succession. The traditionally understood beginning of the Recess occurred in 1815, when King Niall V received permission from the Pope to expel the Imperial Inquisition - an institution with both religious and law enforcement prerogatives - from Urcea and replacing it with the new office of Censor, a move with both practical and symbolic implications of rejecting Imperial overlordship. The Pope's acceptance was largely given in exchange for a concession formalizing the borders of the Papal State within Urceopolis through the River Concordat of 1815. Beginning with the Concordat, the Urcean state began to emphasize the ultimate sovereignty of the Pope and Catholic Church (and therefore God) - rather than the Empire - as the originating source of Urcean sovereignty. During this period, the Apostolic King of Urcea abstained from all votes of the Collegial Electorate of which he was a member. The Recess largely came to an end after the Red Interregnum, as Levantine rapprochement was a top policy priority of Patrick III of Urcea upon his restoration.

The Recess had profound impacts on both Urcea and the Holy Levantine Empire. For Urcea, it inaugurated a period of political and social reform, instigating a national renewal which included major cultural and identity changes such as the Tria nomina movement, ultimately culminating with Urcea's military triumph over the Empire in the Third Caroline War. For the Empire, it began a period of significant decline and disunity following two centuries of peace and stability. Without Urcean involvement in its institutions, the Empire descended into instability with major incidents such as the First Fratricide and ethnic animosity between Bergendii and Derian people. Many scholars have pointed to the Recess of the Julii as a central reason for the eventual disintegration of the Empire.