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History of Urcea (1214-1402): Difference between revisions
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Unlike the inconsistent dynastic feuding that characterized the first 125 years of [[Saint's War|the conflict]], the Great Interregnum brought 63 years of civil war and national division. Not only did the Great Interregnum occur because of the relatively even power bases of the two halves of the [[Julian dynasty]], but also due to succession laws. When there was a crowned [[Apostolic King of Urcea]], the holder of the Julian Crown was legally held to succeed to both the [[Urceopolis (Archduchy)|Archduchy of Urceopolis]] and [[Grand Duchy of Yustona]], effectively overriding local succession laws. With the lack of a consensus King and power evenly divided, however, succession defaulted back to local laws which had not been used since before the [[Golden Bull of 1098]]. In the Archduchy, the Archducal title, when no clear heir was available, defaulted to whomever held the headship of the [[Estates of Urcea|Estate]] of the [[Julii (Estate)|Julii]], but Yustona instead employed an absolute primogeniture tie based on kinship. Accordingly, Cónn loyalists managed to have their line of claimants recognized in Yustona without incident, but tried and failed to seize the initiative in August 1339 in the [[Urceopolis (Archduchy)|Archduchy]], as Aleckán loyalists killed potential threats and seized critical castles, forcing most local magnates to fall in line behind the Aleckáns. With no King, the two titles diverged from another, granting a kind of political and legal legitimacy to the final stage of the Saint's War. | Unlike the inconsistent dynastic feuding that characterized the first 125 years of [[Saint's War|the conflict]], the Great Interregnum brought 63 years of civil war and national division. Not only did the Great Interregnum occur because of the relatively even power bases of the two halves of the [[Julian dynasty]], but also due to succession laws. When there was a crowned [[Apostolic King of Urcea]], the holder of the Julian Crown was legally held to succeed to both the [[Urceopolis (Archduchy)|Archduchy of Urceopolis]] and [[Grand Duchy of Yustona]], effectively overriding local succession laws. With the lack of a consensus King and power evenly divided, however, succession defaulted back to local laws which had not been used since before the [[Golden Bull of 1098]]. In the Archduchy, the Archducal title, when no clear heir was available, defaulted to whomever held the headship of the [[Estates of Urcea|Estate]] of the [[Julii (Estate)|Julii]], but Yustona instead employed an absolute primogeniture tie based on kinship. Accordingly, Cónn loyalists managed to have their line of claimants recognized in Yustona without incident, but tried and failed to seize the initiative in August 1339 in the [[Urceopolis (Archduchy)|Archduchy]], as Aleckán loyalists killed potential threats and seized critical castles, forcing most local magnates to fall in line behind the Aleckáns. With no King, the two titles diverged from another, granting a kind of political and legal legitimacy to the final stage of the Saint's War. | ||
During the Great Interregnum, the Aleckán faction held the territory of the [[Urceopolis (Archduchy)|Archduchy of Urceopolis]] and other western portions of the Kingdom, though not the city of [[Urceopolis (City)|Urceopolis]] itself; the burghers and local landed nobility revolted and established the Pope as the temporal ruler of the city and the surrounding areas so as to prevent violence befalling the city as had happened previously during the Saint's War, an arrangement which was said would end upon the final conclusion of the conflict. The resulting rule of the [[Pope]] over the city lead to the high water mark of [[Papal State|political Papal authority]] and the last resurgence in power of the [[Duchy of Transurciana]]. The Cónn faction ruled over the [[Grand Duchy of Yustona]] and the [[Electorate of Canaery]]. The House of Cónn established its court northwest of the [[Magnag]] in the [[Urcean frontier|southern wilderness region]] in the newly constructed castle of Ardricampus, which took its name (''"King's Fort"''), from the period. This castle, an impressive structure built atop an oasis in arid shrublands, not only provided protection and resources for the defender but gradually sapped the besiegers of their resources, making it a formidable defensive position. The castle, with its well developed infrastructure exploiting the oasis, grew into a major city with the same name, around which developed the modern province of Ardricampus. The Aleckán faction ruled from several castles near Urceopolis, but did not dare attempt to dislodge the Pope from the city. The [[Imperial Kingdom of Urcea]], tied to the [[Apostolic King of Urcea]], remained vacant, though in practice its duties continued to be exercised by a regent directly appointed by the [[Emperor of the Levantines]]. Apart from the Saint's War, the fate of the regency during this period was a source of fierce political disagreement between the Emperor and the [[Pope]] over who exercised control over [[Urcea]] during a crown vacancy, a question that was not clearly solved with the end of the war in the 15th century. | During the Great Interregnum, the Aleckán faction held the territory of the [[Urceopolis (Archduchy)|Archduchy of Urceopolis]] and other western portions of the Kingdom, though not the city of [[Urceopolis (City)|Urceopolis]] itself; the burghers and local landed nobility revolted and established the Pope as the temporal ruler of the city and the surrounding areas so as to prevent violence befalling the city as had happened previously during the Saint's War, an arrangement which was said would end upon the final conclusion of the conflict. The resulting rule of the [[Pope]] over the city lead to the high water mark of [[Papal State|political Papal authority]] and the last resurgence in power of the [[Duchy of Transurciana]]. The Cónn faction ruled over the [[Grand Duchy of Yustona]] and the [[Electorate of Canaery]]. The House of Cónn established its court northwest of the [[Magnag]] in the [[Urcean frontier|southern wilderness region]] in the newly constructed castle of Ardricampus, which took its name (''"King's Fort"''), from the period. This castle, an impressive structure built atop an oasis in arid shrublands, not only provided protection and resources for the defender but gradually sapped the besiegers of their resources, making it a formidable defensive position. The castle, with its well developed infrastructure exploiting the oasis, grew into a major city with the same name, around which developed the modern province of [Ardricampus]]. The Aleckán faction ruled from several castles near Urceopolis, but did not dare attempt to dislodge the Pope from the city. The [[Imperial Kingdom of Urcea]], tied to the [[Apostolic King of Urcea]], remained vacant, though in practice its duties continued to be exercised by a regent directly appointed by the [[Emperor of the Levantines]]. Apart from the Saint's War, the fate of the regency during this period was a source of fierce political disagreement between the Emperor and the [[Pope]] over who exercised control over [[Urcea]] during a crown vacancy, a question that was not clearly solved with the end of the war in the 15th century. | ||
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. | ||