Giovanni Montefeltro

Giovanni Montefeltro (born Giovanni Servatus Montefeltro; 9 April 1753 – 18 July 1815), later known by his regnal name Giovanni I was an Acirian military and political leader who is best known as the First Emperor of Aciria. He became a prominent military leader following his ability to reduce unrest and pacify revolts for the Free Republic of Aciria that were unmanageable prior to his involvement, with his first major success being his involvement against the Marinai Revolt of 1775. Widely celebrated in Aciria, his military, societal and political influence laying the groundwork for the modern state of Aciria.

Giovanni I was born in Dalora in southern Aciria. Giovanni has been described as unruly in his youth which his fathered was ashamed by, prompting his father to send him to the Accademia della Repubblica in Trossera for his 15th birthday. Giovanni quickly adapted to the disciplined military lifestyle at the academy, with his newfound discipline allowing him to thrive both academically and militarily. Three years later he formally joined the Free Republican Army, where he served in the personal guard of the First Speaker. His work with the First Speaker allowed him to witness firsthand the corrupt and inefficient democracy, which caused his initial interest in politics to rise. As unrest spread in the country, Giovanni submitted a request to the First Speaker for transfer to suppress the revolts, a request which the First Speaker approved of. He campaigned across Aciria for two years, eventually leading him to the island of Montvert in 1775 to suppress the Marinai revolt. Growing up not far from Montvert, the natural terrain was familiar to him in ways they hadn't been for other military officials, allowing him to swiftly crush the rebellion with minimal casualties. It gained the respect of both his peers and the favour of his country, and on his return to Trossera, he was named the Marshal of Aciria for his services to the Republic.

The title Marshal of Aciria meant that he spent extended periods of time in Trossera mingling with politicians, which prompted him to begin the political career of his own. His popularity with the people alongside his noble background allowed him to quickly make the senate, but the endless debate and bureaucracy lead him to quickly realize democracy would never allow Aciria to thrive. Giovanni then contacted his right-hand man from his campaigns across Aciria, Niccolo Luppi, and instructed him to incite unrest in the Montanaro country, a region that Giovanni already saw as problematic. Luppi, no longer a member of the Free Republican Army, took his mercenary company to Montanaro country where he began indiscriminately attacking Montanaro settlements, which in turn lead to Montanaro assaults on Acirian settlements. The rising unrest in the Montanaro country slowly spread over to ethnic Acirian lands, which prompted Montefeltro to call for martial law to be instated, which meant the First Speaker would be deposed temporarily to allow the Marshal of Aciria to push through legislature. The call went through, which gave Giovanni practically unlimited political power, culminating in 1783 in his declaration of the Grand Empire of Aciria before the People's Senate, where he was crowned the Emperor of Aciria.

Early life
Giovanni Servatus Montefeltro was born as the first child of Servatus Montefeltro and Giuliana Montefeltro. His father was the head of the Montefeltro banking family, while his mother was the daughter of wealthy landowners who can trace their heritage to Urcean nobility.

Giovanni was born during the tumultuous times of the Free Republic of Aciria, where the corrupt senate and incapable army had caused near constant unrest since its formation. The unrest was present in the surrounding areas of his hometown, Dalora, which lead to his early life being exclusively on his walled-off family estate. The defiant youth often attempted to escape the estate grounds, which on one occasion resulted in him almost becoming a victim during a local peasant revolt. The defiant and unruly behaviour carried on until his teenage years, which is when his father Servatus grew tired of the behaviour, prompting him to be sent across the country to a military academy in Trossera.

While he struggled with his studies back in Dalora, the discipline the military academy instilled into him allowed him to stay disciplined with his studies, revealing an aptitude in maths. He also thrived militarily, with his tutors describing him as a ”natural talent” when it came to all things military. Despite his success in Trossera, the letters he wrote to his younger sister revealed he missed home and did not get along with his peers at the academy.

Career
Following his graduation in 1770, the recommendations from the academy lead him to be employed in the personal guard of the First Speaker, a prestigious position in the Republic where only the finest of the Free Republican Army were allowed in. His early career consisted of staying in Trossera guarding the First Speaker, which was revealed in his letters to have outraged him. He stayed with the personal guard until late 1772, when mounting unrest in particularly the south of the country had him worried for his family, prompting a request of transfer to pacify the region. The respect the First Speaker had for Giovanni then allowed his transfer, which followed in his pacification campaigns across Aciria for the next two years.

Marinai revolt
The two-year long pacification campaign eventually lead to Montvert, an island off the coast of southern Aciria. The local Marinai people had revolted due to the raised taxes on commerce, which they felt affected the Marinai disproportionately. The people had knowledge of the island, while the Marinai sailors turned pirates had successfully interrupted any supply to the island.

Compared to other officers, Giovanni had spent periods of time on Montvert due to a family villa located on the northern coast. This resulted in him having better knowledge of the terrain than his peers, allowing for faster and more effective maneuverability of his army on the island. Instead of trying to rely on supplies coming from the mainland, he intended on crushing the revolt quickly by capturing their leaders. Giovanni’s extensive scouting of the island eventually allowed him to find the hiding place of the leaders, resulting in their capture and without the central figures to lead them, the rebel army quickly collapsed due to infighting.

As Marshal of Aciria
His swift and relatively bloodless campaign against the Marinai not only gained the respect of his peers and those who served under him, but gained him popularity among the people. Word of mouth of his success quickly spread, and following his arrival in Trossera, he was given the title of Marshal of Aciria.

As Marshal of Aciria, he was once more forced to spend extended periods of time in Trossera. After having witnessed the grand scale of corruption, insubordination and incompetence in the army, he tried to enact policies that would root out these problems, but quickly discovered that the bureaucracy of the People’s Senate caused the policies to be introduced slowly, if ever. He decided to enter politics after realizing the corrupt democracy would never allow Aciria to prosper, with his popularity enabling him to quickly enter the senate.

Mountain Conspiracy
The unrest rising in the country that received no attention from the senate greatly worried Giovanni, prompting him to contact Niccolo Luppi, his right-hand man from his campaigns, now out of the Free Republican Army. Trusting him with inciting ethnic unrest in the central Montanaro country, Luppi then headed to Santa-Beatrice region to strike at Montanaro settlements. The attacks were in form of raids, stealing what they can before disappearing into the wilderness. Under the impression that these were Acirian vagrants or farmers, the disgruntled Montanaros struck against ethnic Acirians with counter-raids. The unrest spread out of the Montanaro country and slowly spread across the countryside, which allowed Giovanni to call for martial law in the senate to oust the incapable First Speaker from power. The senate near unanimously agreed to grant the Marshal of Aciria emergency powers to pacify the country, removing the First Speaker from his post.

Rise to power
With the newly acquired powers, the Marshal of Aciria was able to maneuver his troops swiftly and effectively around the affected regions. The removed threat of rebellion further expanded his popularity, holding onto the emergency powers until 7 July 1783, when Giovanni declared himself Emperor of Aciria before the People’s Senate. The declaration was accompanied by Luppi’s mercenaries, employed by Giovanni, arriving at the senate building, which encouraged even those hesitant to agree with the declaration to agree to it.

Giovanni I then quickly maneuvered his most trusted men around the country to imprison potential political rivals that could threaten his reign, and quickly arranged his inauguration only three days later on 10 July 1783. The ceremony was held at the Nostra Signora Trossera, the largest cathedral in Aciria at the time. The inauguration was little more than symbolic, with the new Emperor even lacking a proper corwn, which wasn’t created until May 1784.

Military
The first reforms Giovanni I enacted were those affecting the military. He knew that many of the problems of the state could be avoided with a strong, disciplined army, which meant the total reformation of the Free Republican Army. Giovanni I fired incompetent leaders and replaced them with those he had personally seen to hold promise or had received recommendations for, while the corrupt officers were executed.

The Emperor also invited foreign advisors to assist in training the new army while expanding arms trade, importing modern weapons to replace the older ones. In 1785 Giovanni I also instated conscription in order to have vast manpower serving under the capable officer base, but scrapped it a decade later due to expanded insubordinaiton.

The last of the notable military reforms came in 1790 with the establishment of Polizia Amministrativa Imperiale.

Political
The People’s Senate was never formally disbanded, with the 1784 constitution adding the Imperial Senate above it in legislature. The Imperial Senate allowed the Emperor to focus on non-legislative matters, while the People’s Senate kept the commoners happy due to representation.

Administrative
The modern administrative borders were drawn in 1784, prioritizing ethnic boundaries over natural boundaries. This was done in order to limit ethnic tensions that had caused much conflict in the past, and the administrative regions were overseen by an Imperial Governor, someone appointed by the Emperor himself.

The corruption of various levels of administration was limited by the introduction of La Catena (lit. The Chain).

Education
The Education Act introduced by Giovanni I enforced the construction of People’s Schools in the countryside to combat the vast amounts of literacy in the nation. While schools were constructed and literacy was raised, the effect on society was miniscule. Parents of children rather had their children at the farm in order to assist them at work over to sending them to school.

Beatricism
The domestic syncretic belief of Beatricisim originating in the 13th century had been criminalized for centuries after facing extensive discrimination by the Catholic church. The Emperor legalised the practice of Beatricism, and funded the construction of Beatricist places of worship and art from his personal treasury.

Some close associates of Giovanni, most notably Niccolo Luppi, have even gone as far to say that Giovanni converted to Beatricism later in his life.

Catholicism
Giovanni I distanced the church from the state, beginning the taxation of the church in order to fund various construction projects and funding the reformation of the military.

Family
Giovanni held his family in high regard, particularly his sister. Once his sister passed in 1802, he held a state funeral in her honour, and buried her in the new Imperial Crypt constructed at the Ritiro Imperiale on Montvert, where he was also eventually put to rest.

Personality
His friends and family described a drastic difference in personality of Giovanni when around those close to him and when he was in public eye. While he appeared as stoic and cunning in public, those close to him described him as very down to earth, with his behaviour to his friends or family remaining the same even after he became Emperor.

Giovanni was also described to be prone to fits of anger, however – with the Emperor in private often lashing out over things both private and professional life.

Death
Giovanni’s health quickly began to decline in July of 1815 due to now unknown reasons. Only Doctors of the Imperial family and the family were allowed to see him, with the state of the Emperor being unknown to the general public.

He died on 18 of July 1815, aged 62, with a lavish state funeral held in his honour by his son and heir, Enrico I. He was buried alongside his sister on Montvert, while a bronze statue was erected in Trossera in his memory.