History of Caphiria

The history of Caphiria has been among the most influential to the modern world, from the spread of the Latin language and Romance languages as a result to the creation of the Imperial Church to its vast contributions to modern government, law, politics, engineering, art, literature, architecture, technology, warfare, religion, language, and society.

Caphirian history is divided into 6 distinct political ages, each having its own sociological eras:

• Ancient history (prior to 4th century BC) - covering Caphiria's earliest inhabitants and the establishment of the Latinic people

• The First Imperium (4th century BC - 890 AD) - a roughly one-millennium long period covering the formation of the city-state of Venceia in 480 BC, through the establishment of the Imperium of Caphiria in the 300s BC and its hegemony of Sarpedon, and ending with decades of political conflict and ultimately concluding with the Imperium's collapse after Bacchis Pavo Rahla seized power in 890 and attempted to reorganize the state

• The Second Imperium (900 - 1172) - Augustus Rahla attempted to restore political stability by establishing the "Second Imperium", which was supposed to be a hybrid government that pleased both the ambitious younger generation who wanted a populist government and the elder aristocracy who wanted to preserve the centuries-old institutions like the Senate. This government was plagued with issues from the start and quickly reignited more conflict which lead to lots of unrest and political splintering and culminated with the Great Civil War, a brutal 45-year civil war lasting from 1127-1172 which saw the collapse of the Second Imperium

• The Dark Period (1172 - 1283) - Following the Great Civil War, barbarians began attacking the weakened empire; the Senate agreed to let most of its provinces become pseudo-independent states controlled by local warlords while it usurped control over Venceia and effectively reverted back to being a Republican city-state. Eventually, Șerossaccir Odobricci, a Latino-Slavic warlord of Truřov (one of the established warlord states), began a successful military campaign of conquering his neighbors and reuniting the lost provinces of the empire. Șerossaccir would eventually march on Venceia and conquer the republic but rather than sacking the city he stands outside of it and accepts, under force of arms, the title of Imperator from the Senate, who also passes a bill that makes Șerossaccir the legal heir of the last recognized Imperator, thus establishing the Third Imperium in 1283

• The Third Imperium (1283 - 1782) - This period is marked by the reunification of the state, the creation of the Constitution of Caphiria, and the establishment of dozens of Latino-Slavic dynasties and cultural/political institutions. At the same time, this period features the Great Schism of 1615, where a break of communion between what are now the Levantine Catholic Church and the Imperial Church of Caphiria occurred. The Great Schism lead to the dissolution of the Western Provinces and the independence of countries such as Cartadania in 1615, Pelaxia in 1618, and Aciria in 1625. The final blow to the Third Imperium was the Veltorine War of Independence in the late 18th century, in which Caphiria lost its eastern provinces.

• The Fourth Imperium (1782 - present) - After the Veltorine War of Independence, the Imperium went through a major reformation period. The Senate expunged most Slavic dynasties and institutions and re-established Caphiric ruling dynasties and families, as well as forming the National Assembly and eventually creating the Corcillum.

Prehistory

The origins of Caphiria trace back to a geographic region called Latium that encompasses the southern part of Levantia and the northern part of Sarpedon. The region of Latium played a pivotal role in the development of a number of diverse cultural groups and civilizations. The lands of Caphiria were first colonized in a stable manner during the Upper Paleolithic and the Mesolithic by people migrating out of the Latium area and across the Urlazian Sea. These settlements, usually of small dimensions, were generally built on hills and circumscribed with fortifications. The economy of these settlements was mostly based on agro-pastoral activities metallurgy and trades. After a period of considerable uniformity from north to south, the settlements began to show a process of regionalization. Starting around the 15th century BC, new regional tribes such as Adonerii, Pandrian, and the Idauronians began to appear. Although these new tribes shared many similarities with the preceding proto-civilizations, especially funerary customs, they also exhibited their own innovations. For example, Pandrian culture is identified by their hut-shaped burial urns; urns of the Idauronians are plain and biconical and were buried in a deep shaft. The hut urn is a round or square model of a hut with a peaked roof. The interior is accessed by a door on one of its sides. Cremation was practiced as well as burial. The style is distinctive. The hut urns were miniature versions of the huts in which the population lived, although during this period they also developed the use of stone for temples and other public buildings.

By the 14th century BC, however, the Adonerii tribe became the prevalent culture and would spread and dominate the region, laying the foundation for the Adonerii civilization. The civilization of the Adonerii, known as Adonerum, was a thalassocracy spread across the partial coastlines of what is now Urcea, Caphiria, Cartadania, and Burgundie. Adonerum was organized into city-states, with each city-state functioning as a politically independent unit; there is no archaeological evidence proving that the Adonerii viewed themselves as a single nationality. Moreover, the Adonerii were primarily united by the use of the Ancient Latinic language. As Adonerum spread further inland through trade and colonization, Latinic city-states such as the Olvucchorso and Lomincori tribes, the Veteraii people, the Herelaosics, and the Kastiasuns would begin to flourish and eventually compete for territory. Despite their frequent internecine wars, the Latinic city-states maintained close culturo-religious relations throughout their history. These typically manifested in the form of complex festivals with highly specific routines. These elaborate rituals had to be performed with absolute precision and, if any procedural mistakes were made, had to be repeated from the start.

Adonerum would reach its peak around the 9th century BC when a confederation of several Latinic city-states formed the Adonerii League. Although there is no consensus on which cities were in the league, Olvucchorso, Lomincori, Vetera, Urceopolis, Toulonium, Portus, Coria, Arelate, Aarteia, Philaridon, Venceia, and Barduli are generally considered to be part of it. The Adonerii League was created primarily for the common defense against other Latinic tribes and the expansion of trade opportunities. It was governed by a council of local rulers that met infrequently in the city-state of Vetera, which became the de facto capital. The League was an early example of a "world economy"; they were among the greatest traders of their time and owed much of their prosperity to trade. At first, this trade was internalized within the league itself but quickly expanded as trading and colonizing spread across the Occidental world. Because of their expansive network of city-states and colonies, the Adonerii were able to trade a wide variety of things: wood, slaves, glass, dyes, textiles, silver, tin, gold, bronze, wine, and more. The Adonerii established commercial outposts throughout the world, many of which still exist today. As Adonerum's wealth and influence continued to grow over the next several centuries, strategically important city-states began to grow their own influence and become more important than the league itself.

The Adonerii League fell into rapid decline in the 7th century BC due to a series of changing climates and natural disasters that destroyed key trading cities and gave rise to other cities that would quickly outgrow the confederacy (particularly Urceopolis and Venceia). The first notable event occurred in 631 when Andromaleos, a submarine volcano in the Urlazian Sea erupted, and a catastrophic volcanic eruption with a Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) of 6 wiped out several key cities. Ashfall from Andromaleos choked off nearby plant life, causing starvation of the local population. Some sites were abandoned or settlement systems significantly interrupted in the immediate aftermath of the eruption. As the Adonerii were a sea power and depended on ships for their livelihood, the Andromaleos eruption likely caused significant economic hardship to the League. Several other natural disasters occurred over the next century, continuing to negatively impact Adonerum and its ability to recover. By the 600s BC, a series of natural disasters had ruined Vetera and crippled Adonerum which led to a power vacuum, and dozens of smaller tribes like the Agaro, Visustrati, and Camplectați broke out for control over the territory. In 570 BC, the Adonerii League was formally dissolved after which time the cities of Levantia formed the new league-state of Great Levantia. Two major city-states emerged as successors to Adonerum: Urceopolis in the north would settle in Levantia and Venceia in the south would settle in Sarpedon.

Ancient history

The coastal city Venceia was established sometime in the 9th century BC during the golden age of Adonerum after a large Latinic tribe, the Caraspi, settled in the area. When the Adonerii League collapsed towards the end of the 6th century BC, the Caraspi tribe took advantage of the power vacuum and began quickly asserting its dominance and established the city-state of Caraspia in present-day Venceia. The Caraspi people claimed to be the direct successors to the Adonerii, as they share the same language (the Latin language evolved from Ancient Latinic), ancestry, history, and culture. As a result, Caraspia began to refer to itself (and its conquered territories) as Latinics and thus the Latinic civilization was established.

The Latinic civilization approached colonization differently than their Adonerii predecessors; instead of relying on a network of city-states, they relied on Latinisation, the use of acculturation, integration, and assimilation of newly incorporated and peripheral populations. Despite this Latinisation process, Caraspia preserved their ancestral traditions for more than half a millennium; They maintained the ancient denominations for their tribes, magistrates, and public bodies, and remained faithful to cults taken from Adonerii. Venceia, at the heart of the growing Caraspian state, developed into an important center of trade in olive oil, wine, fine pottery, and jewelry. This strengthened and spread the use of the Latin language and the Latin culture across the Sarpic continent. However, the region was plagued by constant warring factions and this time was marked by chaos and political instability.

This regional instability was exploited by a Latinic general by the name of Lanintius. Lanintius was born in Venceia in 527 BC during a five-year interregnum, during which he was sold several times into bondage. Over the course of his childhood and adolescence, Lanintius participated in numerous conflicts for Caraspia; he was a successful military commander and built a loyal bond with the men he fought with. With the support from both the army and the people of Venceia, Lanintius was in a position to vie for control over Caraspia, which worried the reigning king at the time, Juscargyrus. A jealous and paranoid ruler, Juscargyrus tried to have Lanintius assassinated multiple times but ultimately failed every time. Initially, Lanintius was unfazed by these assassination attempts and continued to defend and expand Caraspia's borders. However, in 490 BC, while Lanintius was pacifying a small rebellion, Juscargyrus ordered the kidnapping and execution of Lanintius' wife and 8-year-old son. Lanintius found out about this by an official messenger from Venceia, who is said to have traveled nonstop to where his camp was. Once the word spread throughout the camp, it eventually reached the ears of the rebels who were reported to have dropped their arms and swore personal allegiance to Lanintius in order to avenge his family. People from all around the Latinic region began disavowing Juscargyrus for his dishonorable actions and rallied behind Lanintius, who marched on Venceia with a furious passion.

Lanintius sacked the city in 479 BC, with Juscargyrus having committed suicide by poison to avoid capture. Caraspia was now without a ruler and the people clamored for Lanintius to pick up the mantle. He then gave a speech saying "if I am to rule over you, if I am to be your king, ensure that your king contains the mantle of the people". He selected a group of elders called senex (senate), who all unanimously selected him as their ruler. In order to further separate himself from past rulers, Lanintius claimed that as he had killed the evil from Caraspia, he must give rise to a new spirit - he renamed the city-state into Caphiria and founded the Kingdom of Caphiria in 480 BC.

The First Imperium (136-890)

Piracy in the Duranis

During the 9th century, large tribes of Sarpic descent began migrating and living near the lake Duranis, located on Caphiria's southern border and neighboring present-day Volonia. These tribes were collectively referred to as the păgâni de la vora sud, or pagans from the southern edge, as they were for long pagan, in a time when neighbouring tribes were Christianized. The Imperium's military strength was primarily land-based which meant it had a reduced navy at that time and relied on hiring ships as needed. As a result, the Sarpic tribes turned to raiding and piracy and quickly became consolidated and organized without fear of major retaliation. Coastal communities unable to fend off the pirate incursions were forced to come to an understanding with the pirates, and thus became havens. One of the most prominent tribes were the Društvar pirates, who were known by their "Društvari Code", a set of rules that governed their behavior and laid a loose groundwork of an honor system.

As a group whose central reason for being brought together was Christianity, the Društvar's explanation for piracy and warfare rested in their religion. These people felt they were fighting a holy war against the Christian enemy in defense of the boundaries of their native pagan religion. As a result, they established the Društvari Code to preserve their traditions and values. Honor is what they believed to be the most important quality that a hero could have, which all Društvari strived to be. Other important aspects of the Društvari heroic honor were loyalty to their village, army, and band; honorable attention to every knight and obligation; readiness to lay down their lives or spill their blood in time of war; experience in warfare; ability to benefit their village; success and glory in duels with the Latins and other enemies of the Christian faith; and severity in punishing those who were disobedient or rebellious. It was also made known the Društvari qualities that would cancel out one's honor: reluctance to shed one's own blood; failure to engage the enemy in battle; groundless boasting; avoidance of risks on the frontier; failure to take prisoners, trophies, or booty; meanness in rewards to comrades or spies; the absence of any general recognition of one's manliness; and the lack of battle scars or wounds. From these principles it is clear that the Društvari admired the strength and arrogance of a hero and despised the weakness displayed by a coward. The importance of these principles was instilled in boys at a young age; taught to take part in competitions, they would test their strength and dexterity through racing, fighting, and throwing stones at one another until blood ran. This gave the Društvari a reputation as fearsome warriors who enjoyed war for the sake of war, something that terrified the aristocracy of the Imperium who was growing more concerned that they would not be satisfied with raiding along the Duranis for long.

In 810, it was reported that the number of păgâni de la vora sud was 6,500. By 875, the number had increased to 25,000 and they had become fierce enemies of the Imperium, having attacked Latin merchants and clergy passing on the Duranis, and even raided close to the mainland. By this time, the păgâni de la vora sud had become interested in expanding, attempting to control the Duranis in order to control all of the trade on it. Obviously, the Imperium would not let this stand and so fights for the possession of the Duranis began for a decade. To prevent people from harboring a pirate it was made known that those who did harbor a pirate or any stolen good would be treated the same as the pirates themselves. However, this led to massive exploitation as it became a frequent way for political (and personal) rivals to accuse their foes of protecting or enabling the pirates. This llistat de noms (listing of names) of supposed pirate chiefs included Latin nobles, wealthy merchants, senior members of the clergy, and even an Imperator's concubine.

By 882, the păgâni de la vora sud - led by the Društvar raiders, had complete control of the Duranis. The head of Caphiria's southern legions, Dragapito, demanded that the lake be transferred to his control or he would bring the full force of the Imperial Legion on them. The leader of the Društvari, a fierce but intelligent warrior named Daro Nokto understood this was simply a vague threat as it would be ludicrous to do that, as well as knowing that the Imperium was not as politically stable as it once was. Daro Nokto wrote a list of demands in return for the Duranis, asking compensation for their great suffering at the hands of the "keresztégők", or cross-burners. He demanded 2,500,000 tremis (silver coins) but Dragapito made no commitments to these demands. While the Imperium had the funds to pay the ransom, not a single senator voted to support it and they passed a seperate bill to authorize a third of the legion to mobilize to the Duranis.

Dragapito sent word to meet Daro Nokto in person to further negotiate the terms of the ransom, and a meeting was arranged for the first day of summer, June 21. The meeting was an ambush however, and Dragapito and his men were slaughtered soon after they arrived at the port town of Töröm.

The Second Imperium (900-1172)

The Great Civil War (1127-1172)

This period of time, from 1127 to 1172 is known as the Civil War Era due to the dozen or so civil wars that took place over a period of four decades as contention for leadership and political groups vied for control over the massive and wealthy state. The most famous of these was between Marius Oratonius and Quinus Sator Alercius and the subsequent war between their successors and die-hard loyalists. The Civil War Era began as a series of political and military confrontations between Marius Oratonius and Quinus Sator Alercius, both of whom were looking to shift Caphiria in opposite directions. Oratonius wanted to continue to become an empire and spread Latin culture to the known world where Alercius wanted to bring back the politically conservative and socially traditionalist Republic. This led to the state splitting into two: a monarchy in the north and a republic in the south. To complicate things further, the spread and dominance of Christianity could no longer be shunned; up until this time, the official policy towards Christianity was negative, and at some points, simply being a Christian could be punishable by death. Oratonius used this to his advantage, officially converting to Christianity in 1079. While he isn't recognized as the first Imperator to convert to Christianity due to the circumstances, he is recognized as the first person to give it legitimacy within the Imperium. Oratonius was then seen as a man of God, a man on the right side of the war. This helped him win the minds of many who did not initially support him and ultimately gave him an edge that the elder Alercius did not have on his side, the side of the old guard. The Great Civil War was a fifteen-year-long politico-military struggle that was fought over most of Caphiria, Cartadania, Pelaxia, Talionia, and even Audonia. The culmination of the Great Civil War was the Battle of Silanus, where Oratonius' army defeated Alercius'. Oratonius himself sustained heavy injuries in the battle and died shortly before victory but told his general Lucius Legarus Pius to spare Alercius if they were to capture him since he had deserted from battle after surveying the landscape and figuring he was going to lose. Pius assumed command and took over the army and wasted little time in searching for Alercius. After several months of searching, they found him hiding in the Cimisi-Extressio region of Abderia, a city-state bordering the Lacio mountains. Abderia wanted no part in the war, quickly giving Alercius to Pius and true to his word, after bringing him back to Venceia, spared Alercius' life. He did, however, strip him of his power, status, and class; effective neutering if there ever was one. Pius then exiled Alercius in 1110 and spend the next five years putting Caphiria back together after the last several decades of disarray and borderline anarchy. Pius was as intelligent in politics as he was on the battlefield, and knew that the only way to solve the issues once and for all was a compromise. The stresses and strains of those years (chronic usurpations, military insurrections, simultaneous military conflicts across multiple frontiers) exposed the weaknesses in the Caphirian Republic and the Principate, forcing a radically different approach to governance.

The Third Imperium

Great Schism of 1615

The culmination of theological and political differences between the Christian north and south was the Great Schism of 1615, where a break of communion between what are now the Levantine Catholic Church and the Imperial Church of Caphiria occurred. Over the previous centuries during the Dominate era, the role of religion was under heavy scrutiny and skepticism. Ecclesiastical papers began being published condemning the Catholic Church over a number of issues in the late 16th century, with the Catholic Church producing its own propaganda condemning Caphiria's rise of imperialism and heretical ways. The Latin Christian community was being split along doctrinal, theological, linguistic, political, and geographical lines, with each side sometimes accusing the other of having fallen into heresy and of having initiated the division. In 1615, the formal break occurred when Imperator Pius XII formally announced that the Basilicæ Magni, the cathedral and home of the Caphirian Church would be breaking communion to form the Caphiric Catholic Church. This led to the combination of the secular and religious authorities and a new form of government, the caesaropapacy. The caesaropapacy meant emperors were regarded as greater than other mortals, though not quite as deities in their own right, further playing into the concept of princeps. For many years after, pro-Catholic factions continued to challenge the leadership of the new Caphiric Church. These factions, and the people that supported the Catholic Church still, were known as Traditionalists and were heavily persecuted and executed under heresy laws. This period is known as the Months of Bloody Sundays as it was common practice for the Imperator to simply execute any people who were not coming to church in protest. Traditionalists were executed under legislation that punished anyone judged guilty of heresy against the Caphiric Church. Ultimately, the Caphiric Church went through a series of reformations (The Reformations of 1627) and the church was renamed to the Imperial Catholic Church. There were only a handful of modifications, namely that the Imperator of Caphiria was given a number of ecclesiastical titles: Episcopus Caphiria ("Bishop of Caphiria"), Pius Felix ("Pious and Blessed"), Santissimus Pater ("Most Holy Father"), Vicarius Christi ("Vicar of God") and was named Pontifex Maximus, giving him the ultimate authority of presiding over the Imperial Church. This was codified in the Constitution of Caphiria as well as constitutionally establishing the Imperial Church by the state with the Head of State as its Pope. As time went on, the identity of the marriage of the Imperatorship with the papacy became less clear and eventually the emperor became recognized more for his legal authority, rather than his religious one.