History of Urcea (1098-1214): Difference between revisions

== 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 [[Golden Bull of 1098|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 {{wp|mercantile republic}}s occupying the land on what is today [[Urcea]]'s western shore. These lands were considerably wealthy from their strong position in the [[Odoneru Ocean|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 [[Imperial Kingdom of Urcea|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]]. Attempted legal encroachments during the early 12th century precipitated efforts by the republics to secure {{wp|Imperial immediacy}} during successive sessions of the [[Imperial Diet]]. One such effort lead 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. 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.