Early history of Urcea: Difference between revisions

The decline of the Empire, though, brought a reversal of fortunes for the Latinic people. 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 [[Caenish people|Caens]] and Picts in 434 sent huge numbers of Latinic refugees eastward into the modern [[Deric States]], further weakening the presence of so-called "High Levantines" in Urcea.

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]], [[Urcean 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 [[Holy Levantine Empire|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, creating 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.

It was during this period that the [[Pope|Papacy]] began to emerge as a truly independent political actor, though the Pontifical office had been influential throughout late Great Levantia. The Duchy of Urceopolis's authority remained within the city itself, and did not extend across the [[Urceopolis_(City)#Geography|Esquiline River]] which divides modern Urceopolis into northern and southern segments. Accordingly, the Pope began to emerge as the primary political leader in the land to the south of the Esquiline given the location of the Vatican and [[St. Peter's Archbasilica]] in that part of what was the city of Urceopolis. By the early 7th century, the Pope had emerged as the {{wp|de facto}} ruler of the lands east of the Urce River and south of the Esquiline River for dozens of miles, although his "rule" was tenuous, taking the form of allegiance of various fortified manor lords.  

== Beginning of the Julian dynasty ==