13,504
edits
History of Urcea (1214-1402): Difference between revisions
m
→Great Interregnum
| Line 26: | Line 26: | ||
The 1340s saw the brief reappearance of the [[Creagmer republics]] in reduced form. With tacit support from the [[Philaridon Republic]], prominent merchant families in western [[Urcea]] overthrew local garrisons and attempted to reassert the independence of the mercantile city-states, especially given the harmful influence the war had on trade in the region. In 1344, the Aleckán [[Urceopolis (Archduchy)|Archduke]] launched a campaign to try and reestablish dominance over the cities, but failed and soon made an agreement to tacitly recognize their independence within the [[Imperial Kingdom of Urcea]] in exchange for financing future Aleckán campaigns. This agreement brought the republics into an uneasy alliance with the Aleckán faction, and both factions in the [[Saint's War]] internally planned to quickly subjugate the area once they managed to defeat the other party. | The 1340s saw the brief reappearance of the [[Creagmer republics]] in reduced form. With tacit support from the [[Philaridon Republic]], prominent merchant families in western [[Urcea]] overthrew local garrisons and attempted to reassert the independence of the mercantile city-states, especially given the harmful influence the war had on trade in the region. In 1344, the Aleckán [[Urceopolis (Archduchy)|Archduke]] launched a campaign to try and reestablish dominance over the cities, but failed and soon made an agreement to tacitly recognize their independence within the [[Imperial Kingdom of Urcea]] in exchange for financing future Aleckán campaigns. This agreement brought the republics into an uneasy alliance with the Aleckán faction, and both factions in the [[Saint's War]] internally planned to quickly subjugate the area once they managed to defeat the other party. | ||
In [[ | In [[1341]], the sitting [[Emperor of the Levantines]] decided to set aside his own regent and invade [[Urcea]], planning to install either himself or a relative - scholars disagree on this point - on the throne of the [[Imperial Kingdom of Urcea]]. Imperial forces advanced down the [[Urce river]] as far as [[Castle Welute]], but were defeated there by forces loyal to [[House de Welute]]. The de Welutas - also known as the Welutians or the Velucians - originally hailed from the [[Ionian Highlands]] and maintained considerable connections there, and as a house they were formed earlier in the century as part of an alliance between King Lucás I and some highland clans. The Emperor signed a treaty pledging non-interference for the remainder of the conflict, a pledge that his successors honored. For their efforts, [[House de Weluta]] was rewarded with the daughter of the sitting Aleckán [[Urceopolis (Archduchy)|Archduke]], beginning the long association between the House and the [[Julian dynasty]]. | ||
The Great Interregnum saw a general realignment of the political loyalties of the [[Estates of Urcea]]. Through most of the Saint's War, Estates were divided internally for either claimant, especially including the Royal Estate of the Julii. The Aleckán dynasty had acquired the title of Custóir from King Seán I in 1159, and despite many attempts, the House of Cónn could not dislodge them from their headship of the Estate even as the [[Julian Throne]] alternated between the two houses. The Custóirship of the Julii was a source of great prestige and authority for the Aleckáns, giving them the loyalty of most of the heads of the Estates even if subsidiary families supported the Cónns. With the beginning of the Interregnum, though, many of the Estates came to blame the Aleckáns for the division of the nation. Specifically, the Gaelic Estates began to support the Cónns, which turned the final phase of the [[Saint's War]] into a series of battles between Estates. This, paradoxically, had the effect of strengthening the Aleckán cause, as it lead to the slightly more numerous Latinic Estates rallying around the House of Aleckán and contributing manpower and funding not seen up through this point of the conflict. | The Great Interregnum saw a general realignment of the political loyalties of the [[Estates of Urcea]]. Through most of the Saint's War, Estates were divided internally for either claimant, especially including the Royal Estate of the Julii. The Aleckán dynasty had acquired the title of Custóir from King Seán I in 1159, and despite many attempts, the House of Cónn could not dislodge them from their headship of the Estate even as the [[Julian Throne]] alternated between the two houses. The Custóirship of the Julii was a source of great prestige and authority for the Aleckáns, giving them the loyalty of most of the heads of the Estates even if subsidiary families supported the Cónns. With the beginning of the Interregnum, though, many of the Estates came to blame the Aleckáns for the division of the nation. Specifically, the Gaelic Estates began to support the Cónns, which turned the final phase of the [[Saint's War]] into a series of battles between Estates. This, paradoxically, had the effect of strengthening the Aleckán cause, as it lead to the slightly more numerous Latinic Estates rallying around the House of Aleckán and contributing manpower and funding not seen up through this point of the conflict. | ||
The death of the last direct male Julio-Aleckán heir in battle in 1392 seemed to indicate that the Cónn faction was about to emerge victorious. However, the supporters of the Aleckán cause | The minor [[House de Weluta]] by [[1374]] were firmly ingrained members of the [[Julian dynasty]] by means of their descent from King Lucás I via the daughter of an Archduke married into the family followed its victory against the [[Emperor of the Levantines]] in [[1348]]. In an unlikely series of events, the head of house de Weluta at that time - Donio de Weluta - came into possession of the [[the Cape (Urcean province)#History|Duchy of the Cape]], a territory to the southwest of the [[Archduchy of Urceopolis]] that had been part of the [[Imperial Kingdom of Urcea]] but largely remained aloof of the affairs of its neighbors. The last Duke of the Cape died in 1372 without a close relative, leading to two years of struggle between local magnates over who should become Duke. Sensing an opportunity, the Aleckán Archduke of Urceopolis dispatched Donio and his forces to the Cape to try and resolve the dispute and gain an ally during the conflict with the Cónns. Following a four month campaign of restoring order and building local connections, Donio was unexpectedly offered the Duchy by local leaders in June 1374 as a compromise candidate, and he accepted the title. Donio was able to justify accepting the title due to his distant relation to the historic [[Southern Kingdom of the Levantines|Southern King of the Levantines]] from the line of his mother, the Aleckán princess. The de Welutas gaining the Cape brought it into Aleckán orbit and elevated the de Welutas into a place of political prominence. | ||
The death of the last direct male Julio-Aleckán heir in battle in [[1392]] seemed to indicate that the Cónn faction was about to emerge victorious. However, the supporters of the Aleckán cause decided to elevate Lucás of [[House de Weluta]] - to faction leadership. Lucás de Weluta, elevated to the rank of Archduke of Urceopolis and ruling from [[Castle Welute]], continued the fight against the Cónn faction. Lucás de Weluta rallied the Aleckán faction and raised a large number of highlanders to his banner, rejuvenating the Aleckán cause. In order to strengthen his position, Lucás controversially decided to break the tacit alliance between himself and the [[Creagmer republics]], invading them and restoring control over the western portion of the [[Archduchy of Urceopolis]]. Lucás's campaign despoiled some of the merchant cities, weakening their influence and harming Odoneru area trade while gaining a short term advantage in terms of funding for additional soldiers while also raising some urban levies from the region. Lucás managed to parlay the new gold to hire large mercenary forces from [[Anglei|Angla]]. | |||
With his new gathered forces, Lucás de Weluta marched against the Cónns and, within a decade, eventually issued a final defeat to the Cónn faction at the Battle of Glens Falls in 1401. His forces subsequently besieged of the Castle of Ardricampus in early August 1402. Facing defeat, the Cónn claimant - the Elector Aedanicus of Cónn - threw himself from the walls of the fortress, committing suicide. Rather than slaughter the remaining members of the family, Lucás de Weluta married Aedanicus's only daughter Eileen and sent the rest of the family into exile in [[Angla]], where per agreement some of them would marry into the Royal family there. The de Weluta army then marched on [[Urceopolis (City)|Urceopolis]], where a tense standoff occurred between de Weluta forces and those loyal to the [[Pope]]. Following a month of what historians have called a "light siege" of the city, the Pope welcomed the de Weluta Archduke into the city. Lucás was crowned personally by the Pope on September 14 1402, ending the [[Saint's War]] and Great Interregnum definitively. | |||
[[Category: Urcea]] | [[Category: Urcea]] | ||
[[Category: History of Urcea]] | [[Category: History of Urcea]] | ||
[[Category:IXWB]] | [[Category:IXWB]] | ||