Early history of Urcea

The Early history of Urcea, sometimes also called the Early Period, consists of the entire period of time from the beginning of human settlement of Levantia through the death of Saint Julius I in 800 AD. Consequently, it includes the sparsely-recorded history of southwestern before the arrival of the Adonerii, the early Adonerii period, the rise and fall of Great Levantia, and the period between the fall of Great Levantia and rise of the Holy Levantine Empire.

During this period, significant upheaval was the norm for more than two thousand years prior to the establishment of Great Levantia. Arrivals of Gaelic people, Istroyan people and then Latinic people lead to massive demographic changes in the modern territory of Urcea, as the earliest human societies were displaced by semi-nomadic Gaelic tribes that introduced agriculture to the region. The Gaels were displaced in the millennium BC by Latinic people, while Istroyan people settled the southeastern shore of the country. These groups came together to an extent in the foundation of Great Levantia, which eventually collapsed due to economic failure, social upheavel, and pressure from outside groups, such as the Goths. From the foundations of Great Levantia came the Latin League and Urceopolis alongside the early origins of feudalism. The Latin League was swept away by the new Holy Levantine Empire in the 8th century, but Urceopolis was spared from destruction due to the leadership of Saint Julius I, who elevated Urceopolis's position within the Empire by cooperation with Emperor Conchobar. By the time of his death, his dynasty ruled more than a third of Urcea's modern territory, creating the foundations for the later establishment of a single country.

Adonerii early period
The earliest arrivals from Adonerum are not recorded by history, but most scholars estimate they arrived in the 900s BC. In place of recorded history, significant myth and legend surround the earliest Latinic arrivals in Levantia. The most commonly accepted myth in the ancient world was that of the Journey of the Fifty. In the "Journey", fifty demigods - mortal descendants of the gods of Istroya - were gathered from across Istroya and sent to Urlazio in order to lead a group of Adonerii into the eastern wilderness. In the story, the gods are both envious of the influence the demigods have over the Istroyans but are also fearful that their power may be abused by mortal kings. Leader among the demigods was "Levas", who was the child of two demigods and considered more divine than human. The fifty demigods travel to Urlazio and, after five years of pleading, are given an army of Adonerii to accompany them. At the conclusion of the story, they defeat a variety of mythical creatures such as a fifty foot tall lion and settle on the harbor of what would become Urceopolis, the first Latinic city in Levantia. Levas is given the entire land by the gods and disappears in most versions of the tale, though he continues to rule the entire land from a "divine estate" in Urceopolis. This story was likely invented by later Urceopolitans to account for the Istroyan name of the city, but further evolved into the founding myth of Great Levantia and the foundation of the Cult of the State God.

Archaeological findings have suggested that the first Adonerii city in modern mainland Urcea was almost certainly a coastal city and was likely close to modern Ordep on the Urcean mainland across from Crotona, which was settled far earlier. Most of the early Adonerii settlements were likely fishing villages or trade outposts on the periphery of Adonerum but later grew in stature and significance as the population of Urlazio grew further beyond the agricultural capability of the island. Small pieces of evidence suggest the Adonerii and wandering Gaelic tribes likely lived in peaceful coexistence in the first century after the arrival of the Adonerii, but demand for more agricultural land pushed the Adonerii further inland which put them in conflict with the Gaels. The Latinic settlers were better armed and had stronger, bronze and early iron weaponry which the Gaels could not match. In the context of Adonerii expansion it is posited that Urceopolis was founded, approximately in 887 BC. The site of Gaelic fishing villages at the intersection of the Urce River with the Esquiline River, the new city - originally Colonia Urceania based on the name of the river - had a commanding position in the Urce River allowing for further exploration and growth into the Levantine interior, and also possessed a natural harbor. Historians surmise that a significant portion of the early population of the city was made up of Istroyan guides and traders, leading to the later adoption of the name Urceopolis.

Upon the arrival of Latinic settlers from Adonerum in the millennium BC, many native Gaelic tribes fled eastward into the modern day Deric States or southward into modern day Gassavelia, leaving the Valley open for settlement by Latinics. Historians estimate that the first few groups of Latinic settlers - those that settled more precisely in modern day Urcea - were almost exclusively men, leading to a necessary intermarriage with local Gaels. By the 300s BC the people of Great Levantia had taken on a clearly divergent set of cultural mores and practices compared to other Latinic states such as Caphiria, though they attributed these differences to the "pioneer spirit" rather than to adopting Gaelic practices. Despite having Gaelic influences from the very beginning of Latinic settlement, a clear prejudice began to form against Gaels, with the Latinic population creating the dichotomy of themselves as civilized and the Gaels as barbarians.

Middle Great Levantia
In the height of Great Levantia, approximately around 200 AD, the propagation of the Latinic identity and destruction of local Gaelic identity was largely complete in the area of the modern day Archduchy of Urceopolis and to a lesser degree in the other parts of the Empire, especially not in Gaul.

Late Great Levantia
The decline of the Empire, though, brought a reversal of fortunes for the Latinic name. Waves of Gaels who had been pushed aside nearly a millennia prior began to variously pillage, raid, invade, and settle in the Empire, bringing a resurgence of Gaelic culture - and people - into Levantine society. Additionally, Gaelic people began to stream out of northwestern Great Levantia fleeing the advance of the Gothic people in the 4th and 5th centuries, bringing large numbers of Gaelic people seeking shelter in the Urce River valley. Intermarriage between Latinics and Gaels became very common following Amadeus Agrippa's Christianization of the Empire. The sack of Urceopolis by Caens and Picts in 434 sent huge numbers of Latinic refugees eastward into the modern Deric States, further weakening the presence of so-called "pure Latins" in Urcea.

Post-collapse Urce River valley socieities
The river valley embracing the Urce River was almost entirely populated by peoples speaking a mixture of Latin and Gaelic by the middle of the 7th century. Particularly, following the protracted collapse of the central authority in the region with the decline of Great Levantia and its successors, a band of competing clans dominated the river valley. These valley clans were primarily Gaelic in nature and eventually constructed series of fortified mansions that would later become castles, creating a chaotic political situation that prevented coalescence of power by any one individual or family in the Urce Valley region. By the 7th century, the cultural and ethnic divide of the former heartland of Great Levantia included three primary groups; Latinic people, Latino-Gaelic people, and Gaelic people, accounting for approximately a quarter, half, and a quarter, respectively. The oft-cited demographic described above - a quarter Latinic, half Latino-Gael, and a quarter Gaelic - was largely brought about by the chaos of the last days of the Empire. It would play a critical role in the politics and society of the areas of the Latin League just prior to the formation of the Levantine Empire in 760.

The City of Urceopolis had been the seat of power in Great Levantia, and with the deposition of the last ruler, the City became the seat of the Duchy of Urceopolis, consisting of the City, its hinterlands, and a sizable portion of the Urce river valley. The City itself had a strong concentration of population in the Pale and along the Urce River due to the cessation of aqueduct functions, but large portions of the city lay abandoned and crumbling from the former heights of the city's glory as center of Great Levantia. Disease and poor sanitation was also particularly widespread in the city throughout the period as the running water had ceased. Powerful families and local magnates seized some of these areas and established, using the stone of ruins, fortified mansions of their own, establishing pseudo-fiefdoms within the city walls themselves. These magnates would often impose tolls on travelers and pilgrims entering the city.

Unlike later offices, this Duchy was initially elective between several of the most powerful families and clans within the city, particularly the clans Neronii and Brutii, whose pedigree extended back far enough to have been able to boast of Consuls of Great Levantia among their number. The Dux of Urceopolis was elected by the tribal assembly, an institution dating back to the early days of Great Levantia. The Dux would very rarely take a stand against the magnates unless they were rivals; the lawlessness of the Dux's allies usually continued unabated. The most successful Duke of this proto-Urcean state was perhaps Tiberius II Neronii, who had managed to subdue many of the local magnates both in the city and the country, consolidating his power. His childless death in 690, however, meant that his newfound patrimony was again split among several relatives, though this consolidation of power in the Duchy for the Neronii family and the practical elimination of the Brutonii in this period paved the way for a later ruler to consolidate the Duchy.

During the Duchy period, Urceopolis constantly feuded with Harren and Gallawa, two of the other large polities on its border, though the lands of Urceopolis and Harren formed the backbone of the Latin League, a coalition of several polities and city-states aimed at mutual defense against both Hištanšahr and Gallawa. Beginning ca. 690, Gallawa united the other petty Gael kingdoms into one sprawling empire. It was in this geopolitical context that St. Julius I was elected Dux of Urceopolis.

Beginning of the Julian dynasty
A traditional anachronistic depiction of St. Julius I in the garb of the Apostolic King of Urcea, ca. 1175.

Gaius Julius Cicurinus was, in 749, elected from the marginal Julii family following an impasse in the tribal assembly between the Neronii and the Scipii families. Julius's ascendant career was based on his steady command and fighting prowess against Hištanšahr as well as other eastern non-Christian raiders as part of a Latin League army. Many major victories in a lesser command of Latin League armies over Hištanšahr earned him the agnomen "Usdenicus". Through his early reign, the two polities cooperated in wars against Levantine pagans and the various victories brought the new Dux not only prestige but loot recovered from the raiders as well, which allowed the Dux to fund further campaigns and rebuilding efforts in Urceopolis. Besides his military commands, the Julii were well known supporters of the full integration of Gaelic people into Urceopolitan society. Though most of the residents of the Duchy by this time were Latino-Gaels as described previously, the nobility of the city retained the typical proud Latinic heritage despite being part ethnically Gael themselves, as Julius was. Consequently, people of patrilineal Gaelic descent were excluded from membership in the tribal assembly. Julius spent much of the first four years of his reign reforming the Duchy by fighting rebellious river magnates as well as disgruntled nobles in the city who opposed his so-called "Gaelicization" project. Forming a strong relationship with the Pope and marrying the daughter of the most powerful Neronii magnate in the city, Duke Julius ultimately outmaneuvered his rivals and assumed near-total control over the city by 753 AD and had subdued most of the river magnates by 755 despite being on campaign elsewhere for much of the preceding years. During these critical years of his early reign, Julius successfully integrated twenty five tribes of Gaels into what is now known as the Estates of Urcea, establishing the Estate rolls that are still in place today. While the Estates had assumed something resembling their familiar feudal form by this point, they were still an important source of client-patron power for the Dux, and this move guaranteed the victory of the Julii in potential future elections for Dux in the tribal assembly. It was additionally during this period that the future Saint established several monasteries in the city but especially in the Urce Valley that would later form the basis for great monastic estates that would become the nucleus of the suburban cities of Urceopolis. His Neronii wife died in 756 AD, leaving the Dux in mourning; historians tend to see the politically savvy marriage as a generally happy one.

Gallawa began its campaign in 750 against the former heartland of Great Levantia with the ascension of Conchobar as its King. Swiftly conquering outlying Latin areas, the Latin League began to assemble and elected Julius its head given his military successes. With the Gaelic tribes integrated, Julius began to raise huge levies of Latino-Gaelic tribal soldiers to accompany the armies of the Latin League. Julius won several major victories against Conchobar, culminating with the Battle of Beldra in 755, where the well-disciplined Latino-Gael army of more than 45,000 defeated an army of Gallawa of about 125,000, although modern scholars believe these numbers to be greatly inflated. Realizing that Levantia could not be overcome without first unseating Julius, Conchobar ultimately set his eyes on the “crown jewel of Levantia”, Urceopolis, beginning their march against it in 756 AD. The cities and nobles of the Latin League, however, had long been disgruntled with having to accommodate Gaels, whom they regarded as their enemy in the war. They unceremoniously voted to replace Julius in 757 and sent him home.

The Dux began to prepare the defenses of the city and army as several of the noble families fled or fought the Gaels in losing pitched battles along the river, and many local magnates were brought to heel while many others saw their castles destroyed and their patrimony shattered. Inversely, the fortunes of the Latin League were reversed almost immediately as Julius was sent away, and streams of Latinic refugees began to flood into Urceopolis, bringing about a major surge in population that brought the city back to demographic prominence after it was depopulated as a result of the sack in 434. As Gallawa drew closer in 759, the Duke was approached by the Pope, who advised that, rather than fight, the Duke should submit. Julius would later write that he found himself “greatly troubled, but St. Joseph appeared in a dream”, stating that Duke Julius should “neither fight nor flee like the Holy Family to Egypt, but rather submit to the men before you, for they are good Christian men; Our Divine Savior will not permit suffering to befall you or your city”.

The next day, Julius told the Pope of this then departed the city towards the siege camp of the King of Gallawa, Conchobar. Julius met Conchobar in the field between the camp and the city, and to the latter’s surprise, Julius bent the knee and submitted himself to Conchobar as his subject. The King of Gallawa embraced Julius and, according to legend, told Julius of a vision of St. Joseph he had received that Urceopolis would be part of a great Christian Empire without so much as a drop of blood being shed. King Conchobar entered the city then asked Julius to marshal his forces and march on Harren, which fell to the combined armies in the span of a month. Following the conquest of south Levantia, King Conchobar reorganized the political landscape by establishing new duchies and political units which would aid in his future administration of the area. The Duchy of Urceopolis was reorganized into the Archduchy of Urceopolis embracing most of the land of the Urce River inland, whereas a new extensive Duchy of Harren was created to the southeast. A number of counties were established in the Ionian Plateau and former mercantile cities which were members of the Latin League on the coast were consolidated into a few powerful republics under Gallawa overlordship known as the Creagmer republics. Later, following the subjugation of Greater Canaery in 767, a new Duchy of Cana, later elevated to Electoral status in the Holy Levantine Empire, was created to the far south to help contain Hištanšahr in addition to several in the Southern Wilderness. Conchobar establishes other so-called "original duchies" in the region as well, particularly the Duchy of Callan. While most of the traditional social hierarchy was left alone, a number of Gael nobles were settled on the southeastern side of the Urce River in what would eventually become the Duchy of Transurciana. These settled nobles would prove to be later more loyal to the Pope than the Archduke, creating division within the Archduchy during the medieval period.

In exchange for his loyalty, Conchobar granted Julius the title of Archduke of Urceopolis and also granted the new Duchy of Harren to Julius’s brother, Aedanicus. Later, in 761, Conchobar was crowned Emperor of the Levantines in Urceopolis by the Pope, forming the Levantine Empire. St. Julius I remained a loyal vassal of the Emperor and continued to defend the Imperial frontier against non-Christians, eventually working to convert large groups later in life. Julius died in 800 AD and was canonized by the Church in 1097, forming an important basis for the arguments that eventually lead to the issuance of the Golden Bull of 1098, in favor of the Saint’s descendants.

As Archduke, Julius introduced multiple reforms, most notably further integrations of Gaelic and several forms of the bastardized hybrids of Gaelic and Latin as government languages of the Archduchy, changes that eventually lead to the official adoption of Lebhan as the official language of state and commerce by the Kingdom of Urcea several hundred years later. His project of elevating the Latino-Gaels - the Urcean people - into full integrated status within the Archduchy gave him the legacy of being the "founding father of Urcea."