History of Urcea (1098-1214)

The History of Urcea from 1098-1214, sometimes also called the Early Kingdom Period, consists of period of time proclamation of the Golden Bull of 1098 to the rise of the House of Cónn in 1214. This period saw the new Kingdom establish itself as a major power in the southern Levantine Empire, expanding its holdings and acquiring a coveted vote in the Collegial Electorate. Characterized by the relative peace and stability under the House of Harren, the fall of the house ushered in dynastic uncertainty that would lead to generations of conflict after the ascension of the House of Cónn in 1214. The period also saw the reign of King Niall I, who some historians call Urcea's "first excellent ruler", who instituted expansion and legal reforms which make up key parts of the modern Constitution of Urcea.

Much of the period is characterized by the rule of the House of Harren - Urcea's first dynasty - which was notable among contemporaries for their progeny; Riordan II had fourteen children, and his son, Niall I, managed six. The realm remained stable during the reign of these early Kings, providing an important source of manpower for the Emperor and an equally important "check" on Imperial power, contributing to emerging political precedent for a limited role of the Emperor in the individual affairs of the Princes of the Empire. The borders of the Kingdom remained stable under this period as well; the Kings valued the then-status quo position of the realm within the Empire, though some small gains were made - most notably extending the realm south to the Callan River, acquiring what is today known as the province of Callan. The Kingdom's aggressive posture with regards to its southern boundaries began to put it directly in conflict with the Duke-Elector of Canaery, which it eventually incorporated. Urcea also looked westward towards the Creagmer republics, which came increasingly under its sway. As it established dominance over the course of the Urce River, the Urcean crown came into increasing animosity with the Pope and Papal State, culminating in the excommunication of King Seán I in 1174 and brief creation of an Antipope.

The grant given under the Golden Bull of 1098 should not be understood to constitute a cohesive political entity; it elevated the Archduke Riordan and his heirs to the level of Kings and consequently made their lands Royal domains, but it did not give them wide-reaching powers over the other Imperial vassals of the former Southern Kingdom of the Levantines. The distinction between the King as ruling over a cohesive territory called Urcea and over a Kingdom within the Holy Levantine Empire called Urcea caused a great deal of confusion during the early periods of Urcean historiography. Consequently, historians developed the term Imperial Kingdom of Urcea to describe the entity in which the vassals of the area did the Apostolic King of Urcea homage as part of their legal obligations to the Holy Levantine Empire.

The Royal Harrens

King Riordan I (19th century depiction) and his immediate successors oversaw a period of expansion for the newfound Kingdom.

Riordan I, crowned Apostolic King of Urcea following his participation in the northern uprising, did not have long to reign as King and died roughly two and a half years later in August of 1100. His eldest son, Aedanicus, was sterile and also had extreme physical limitations, although scholars have debated the extent of these limitations as they are not clearly defined in the sources. A small consensus indicate that Aedanicus may have been developmentally disabled. Aedanicus died after an uneventful two years on the throne and was succeeded by his brother Riordan II.

During this time, the great numbers of possible male heirs (both close and distant) led to dynastic instability in Urcea that would eventually go on to become an existential problem in later centuries. The relatively successful reign of Riordan II ended in 1118 following sixteen years spent mostly establishing Urcea's royal dignity among the princes of the Holy Levantine Empire. Riordan was succeeded by his son, Aedanicus II. Aedanicus II's reign was greatly consumed by the issue of succession as he managed eight daughters but no sons. The lack of a male heir led to a decreasing state of mental stability for the King according to contemporary and modern historians. In late 1130 Aedanicus attempted to legitimize his bastard son Donnchad, a decision which served as the "last straw" and led to the creation of a powerful palace faction. With tacit approval from the Church, the faction moved quickly, and Aedanicus was murdered in a supposed hunting accident on 19 January 1131. His brother, Niall, was never directly implicated but was assumed by both contemporary and modern historians to be the leader of the palace faction and its prime architect. The same day his brother was murdered, Niall became Apostolic King of Urcea. His nephew, Aedanicus's bastard son Donnchad, was quickly imprisoned for supposedly plotting against the new King and disappears from the historical record following his imprisonment in February 1131.

The Republics and river

The Julian dynasty had long sought to secure control of both banks of the Urce River and the land between it and the coast, even before the establishment of the Kingdom in 1098. This land had been part of Latin League polities prior to the establishment of the Holy Levantine Empire and now comprised of the Creagmer republics - a series of mercantile republics occupying the land on what is today Urcea's western shore. These lands were considerably wealthy from their strong position in the Odoneru trade market, with contacts and clients as far abroad as Kiravia. Although King Niall I was the first King to truly focus on Urcea's access to the sea and control of these wealthy cities, his predecessors has also made attempts to bring them within Urcea's direct orbit with varying degrees of success. Efforts were made during the 1110s and 1120s to emphasize the Apostolic King's right to tax these cities as their legal liege, but these efforts were largely rebuffed. By the reign of Niall I, the Philaridon Republic had emerged as the most powerful of the republics and served both as its protector and as its chief advocate to the Emperor of the Levantines.

A 14th century depiction of the siege and sack of Cauca.

Attempted legal encroachments during the early 12th century precipitated efforts by the republics to secure Imperial immediacy during successive sessions of the Imperial Diet. One such effort led to the Philaridon Republic being successfully granted immediacy in 1139, precipitating a military response. Under the earlier pretext of the de jure legal overlordships of the Republic, Niall marched an army into the merchant republic of Cauca in June 1139 over the political and legal objections of all of the merchant republics and the Pope. The Philaridon Republic sent a mercenary army which Niall defeated on 18 September 1139 before setting into a siege of Cauca during the winter. As the winter passed, the defenders of Cauca grew more desperate and sallied forth in February, taking grievous casualties. Niall ordered the city stormed at the end of March 1140 and the city was sacked. Many of the prominent merchant families were killed, including leading men of the city. Niall declared the areas under Cauca's influence would be immediately added to his own realms, while the spoils of the city would prove valuable for the rest of his reign. The Emperor of the Levantines did not intervene, and Niall marched from republic to republic extracting agreements of tribute from each except Philaridon. Several smaller cities were directly added to the realm of the Urcean king and reorganized as free cities. Historiographically, these free cities would no longer be considered "Creagmer republics" and continued to exist in some cases until the Administrative Reorganization Act of 1892.

Southern orientation

The reign of King Niall I and its focus on coastal access was not exclusive to its relationship with the Creagmer republics or the Pope. To the south of the Duchy of Harren sat the Duchy of Callan, an alternatively dry and marshy lightly populated area which marked the traditional demarcation area between Urceans and Caens. Upon its creation by Emperor Conchobar I, the Duchy was intended to separate the lands of the Julian dynasty from the Caenish realms, which were themselves intended to be a powerful check on Hištanšahr along with marches to the south of Harren. Politically, Callan was intended to be a realm largely dependent on Royal authority due to its small population base and largely nonexistent economy, and was a key ally of the Southern King of the Levantines during the existence of the Southern Kingdom. Since the establishment of the Imperial Kingdom of Urcea, Callan had become increasingly politically isolated. With the unexpected death of the Duke in 1136, Niall I claimed an abstract right to the Duchy citing the authority of the Southern Kingdom and invaded the Duchy in the same year. Although the invasion was resisted by what few local magnates ruled it, Niall overcame them and incorporated the Duchy as a personal holding in 1137. The invasion received some condemnation by both the Catholic Church and from other rulers within the Holy Levantine Empire, but the incorporation became permanent. Although Urcea had acquired its first coastal territory, Callan did not have any port cities and the King began to invest significant attention and resources into the coastal fishing village of Sangran. While it would not become a major port city for some time, the initial investments expanded the small fishing village into a walled city of about five thousand by the end of the 1150s. Sangran would provide significant value going forward, serving as a middle point between the sea route connecting Cana and Urceopolis. Some scholars suggest that Niall may have had this as his overall strategic objective throughout his effort to gain the territory.

During this period of "southern orientation", the Duchy of Harren was elevated by the King of Urcea to a Grand Duchy in 1138, incorporating many of the bordering marches with Gassavelia along the southern wilderness into a more direct political arrangement.

A 14th century depiction of King Niall I (1131-1146) convening the Great Landsmeet in 1146.

Not unlike the revolt in 1098, the Emperor of the Levantines called on the Apostolic King of Urcea once again in 1143, as the so-called "Caenish League" was formed in revolt under the leadership of the Elector of Canaery in an effort to expand the Collegial Electorate to a greater number of Princes within the Empire. The rationale for the Elector siding with the league are not well understood, given that it would reduce Canaery's influence, but it is thought by a consensus of historians that many of the league members - those who would stand to benefit - were viewed by the Elector as marriage prospects for his many daughters, thus potentially increasing his power. Whatever the case may be, again like in 1098, the Emperor decided to incentivize participation in the conflict by offering the Apostolic King a prize for his participation in the revolt; the prize the Harrens had been seeking for decades, the Electorate of Canaery, was offered as spoils for King Niall I's participation in the war. Niall launched a sea invasion of Canaery using his newly won ports, with his forces landing in Cana in February 1144 and deposing the sitting Elector following a short siege. The reign of Niall I proved to be the high water mark for the dynasty; his predecessors had successfully maneuvered for Niall to have a relatively strong claim on the Electorate of Canaery, so his ascension in the Electorate was viewed with additional legitimacy once the Emperor granted it to him in 1144 upon the conclusion of the war. Niall was the first King-Elector of Urcea, though for the next several hundred years, the Kingdom and the Electorate would be administered as separate realms with a common ruler. After the war, in 1146, the King and Great Landsmeet were at an impasse over expenses incurred as a result of the conflict. King Niall desired to levy a tax to pay back what he owed for large army of mercenaries called upon during the war. As part of the disagreement, the King and Great Landsmeet eventually decided to convene a new body which would be comprised entirely of privilegiata and freemen, known as the "Common Council" - the Conshilía Daoni in its earliest form. The Common Council was convened to create independent compromises between the King and Great Landsmeet as a kind of impartial arbitrator between the two, and was comprised of designees from each Estate of the freemen and privilegiata rank. In its earliest form, the total number of representatives from each Estate was inconsistent, ranging from fifteen to forty. The King designated his Royal Treasurer as responsible for organizing meetings of the Common Council, creating the role of "President of the Common Council" that the Procurator still nominally holds today. The new Common Council - the Conshilía Daoni - ruled in the King's favor, and the Great Landsmeet begrudgingly agreed to the tax.

End of the House of Harren

Niall's two sons that survived infancy both inherited the Kingdom; the 14-year old Riordan III reigned for a period slightly longer than three months before taking ill and dying, passing the throne to his ten year brother, who was crowned Niall II in 1147. Niall reigned for five and a half years before falling from his horse during training and dying soon after. Niall II's death sparked a succession crisis that resulted in a three year interregnum and succession crisis within the Kingdom, beginning in 1153. During this period, there were several claimants to the Throne, most distant male descendants of King Aedanicus II or female line claimants descended from Niall II, though his daughters were barred from inheritance by Imperial law. Near the end of the Interregnum, Seán Aleckán, one of the most distinguished military leaders in Urcea and in the Empire, announced his claim, having descended directly from St. Julius I in the female line, thus sharing no direct relation with any previous King. The claim was justified partially by the text of the Golden Bull of 1098, in which the Kingdom was entrusted to the "relational descendants of the great Saint, Julius, the Archduke", which the Aleckán faction claimed gave them a better claim as "descendant". Seán Aleckán subsequently received the support of the Emperor, defeating the other claimants, and was crowned King Seán I on January 1st, 1156, beginning the reign of the House of Aleckán, which would seat several Kings in the Julian Palace in the next two centuries.

The two "boy-kings", Riordan II (1146-1147) and Niall II (1147-53), as depicted in the 14th century, brought about the end of the House of Harren.

Seán's reign primarily involved solidifying his own position on the Throne, particularly isolating or exiling other potential claimants as well as putting down a revolt of local nobles in the newly acquired Electorate of Canaery, which had been in open revolt during the Interregnum of 1153. He spent much of his reign feuding with the Pope, culminating in his excommunication from 1174-77. His son, Seán II, began Urcea's first forays in non-Levantine foreign affairs, sending small armies to Sarpedon to aid in the conflicts of various Catholic powers in the Crusades. Seán II's reign also involved complex long-distance trade missions to Crona, beginning in 1201 and continued by his successors. Seán II's successor Niall III took the Throne in 1202 and was the first of the Kings of Urcea to be elected as Emperor of the Levantines, though Archduke Adrian was elected in 1002 to that position. Niall, who reigned as Emperor Niall I, oversaw a successful campaign to restore the integrity of the Empire, fully utilizing the strength of the Kingdom to disinherit and imprison seditious Imperial vassals, some lands of which were then appropriated to the Kingdom. Emperor Niall I also issued the Golden Bull of 1207, which expanded the Electorate from 9 to 18, adding 9 Bishop-Electors, as a show of magnanimity to the Church; in exchange, Niall significantly reduced the autonomy of the Duchy of Transurciana. Niall often feuded with the Urcean Optimates and was unpopular among several of the vassals of the Empire, but despite this, the Collegial Electorate announced its intention to elect his son Donnchad to succeed him, recognizing the stabilizing effect Emperor Niall had on the Empire. Upon Niall's death in 1214, his son Donnchad was passed over in favor of a distant descendant of the Harren King Aedanicus II (through one of his daughters) named Cónn of Holmfilth, a powerful Count Palatine from the northern heartlands of the Kingdom in the modern province of Westglen. Crowned King Constantine I later in 1214, this succession inaugurated the rule of the House of Cónn and became the opening events of the multi-generational dynastic Saint's War, which would last nearly 200 years.

The Crown and the Papacy

The Duchy of Transurciana, an entity established in the 8th century, sat along the eastern bank of the Urce River south of the Esquiline River. Though nominally held by the Archdukes of Urceopolis and later Kings of Urcea, the Pope held high political power within the Duchy due to the right of appeal the various nobles and landholders there held as a special legal concession; at this time, Transurciana was generally considered to be part of the Papal State. Accordingly, the early Royal period in Urcean history saw a high degree of contest between the King and Papacy for political control of the Urce River valley and within Urcea generally. King Niall's campaigns against the Creagmer republics in 1139-40 inaugurated the main phase of Royal-Papal animosity. The invasion of the republics in 1139 were met by harsh condemnation by Pope Innocent II, who refused to allow any Royal military forces on his side of the Urce River. Niall I responded by functionally instituting an economic embargo of the Papal realm, forbidding any trade from crossing the Esquiline River, a move which effectively separated the economies of the northern and southern halves of Urceopolis. The embargo was ineffective as Pope Innocent refused to back down from his condemnation, but both halves of Urceopolis suffered greatly from the sudden economic disruption. The death of Pope Innocent in 1143 and recognition of the subjugation of the republics by the new Pope, Celestine II, eased tensions for a time. However, the potential threat the King and Pope posed to eachother was not soon forgotten.

The political authority of the Pope reached a new high after the death of King Niall I. The two child kings, Riordan III (1146-47) and Niall II (1147-53) were unable to impose their will on the Pontiff. At this time, the Popes began to impose a toll on all business on the Esquiline River, effectively imposing a tariff on most commerce coming in and out of Urceopolis. The Popes also had significant influence on affairs within the Julian Palace, as the regents for Riordan III and Niall II were largely in place with the support of the Pope. The subsequent interregnum of 1153-56 allowed the Pope to de facto govern much of southern Urcea until the coronation of Seán Aleckán as King Seán I in 1156. King Seán's reign is generally considered to be the nadir of Urceo-Papal relations.

Seán abrogated the earlier Papal toll in 1157 and ejected those officers exacting tolls and tariffs harshly. In response, the Pope withheld recognition of the new King. Rumors reached Seán that the Pope was raising an army from Transurciana that would cross the river and depose Seán, and accordingly the King began to raise his Royal Army. Historians are divided if the rumors of a Papal invasion were true, but once news reached the Vatican that a Royal Army was being raised in opposition to the Pope, the residents of the city rose in open revolt against the Pope. Although the Pope's spiritual authority and some political authority was recognized, the rebels successfully induced the Pope to recognize a new civilian government in the Papal State, reorganizing the civil administration along the lines of the Creagmer republics with the appointment of a First Patrician. The new "Esquiline Commune" suited Seán's interests, and the King openly provided funding and arms to the rebels throughout 1158 and afterwards. The Pope attempted to raise an army from Transurciana to depose the Communal government in 1162 and was defeated. Seán ignored numerous requests of support from the Pope, and in 1164 he introduced a toll on any business going into or out of the Papal State and Duchy of Transurciana along the Urce or Esquiline Rivers.

Illness, and so-called "bad omens", made King Seán I reconsider his actions relative to the Papacy.

After decades of support, Seán openly recognized the Esquiline Commune in June 1174. The Commune announced the deposition of the Pope and offered the King tribute. Along with this recognition, he launched an invasion of the Duchy of Transurciana in July 1174, defeating the local magnates there and exacting tribute. His actions induced the Pope to flee north to Carolina briefly and incurred an excommunication. In response, Seán created an Antipope, "Pope" Urban III, who legitimized the King's new authority. For about three years in the 1170s, Seán I was undisputed master of the Urce River valley and the Urceopolis area. However, beginning in late 1175, his health began to deteriorate, and contemporary historians say that the King experienced a number of "poor omens" from around October 1175 through late 1176, culminating in the death of his wife Edelbera on 13 November 1176. These, combined with his own poor health, convinced King Seán I to reverse course in an effort to save his mortal soul. Accordingly, Seán deposed Antipope Urban III and the Royal Army besieged the Esquiline Commune on 1 December 1176, while Seán was forced to travel on foot to Carolina to see the Pope in person. In addition to his penance, Seán also brought with him an amount of gold equivalent to the tribute exacted from Transurciana in 1174. After this humiliation, Seán's excommunication was lifted. The Esquiline Commune surrendered on 27 February 1177 and the Pope returned to the Vatican at that time. The siege had led to mass starvation in the area, causing economic devastation in the Urceopolis area that would not abate until around 1190. King Seán I died in 1178 in full union with the Catholic Church. The Royal-Papal feuding of his reign had chastened both sides, with subsequent Kings and Popes deliberately working to avoid the level of enmity that had characterized his reign. From this point until the Great Interregnum, Royal-Papal relations were generally good, with a degree of tribute paid annually from Transurciana to the Apostolic King but the Pope's authority being otherwise respected. Free trade on the Esquiline and Urcean rivers were established, ending the "toll wars" that characterized the 1150s and 1160s. Some historians have described the 12th century as both the Julians and the Papacy encountering the new political reality and struggling to find the appropriate balance between them.