History of Urcea (1214-1402): Difference between revisions

The '''History of Urcea from 1214-1402''', sometimes also called the '''Saint's War Period''', consists of period of time from the rise of the House of Cónn in 1214 to the end of the [[Saint's War]] in 1402 with the rise of [[House de Weluta]]. This period saw the Kingdom descend into generations of dynastic civil war between the House of Cónn and House of Aleckán but also saw considerable legal and social reforms take place. The [[Great Landsmeet]], the descendant of the ancient tribal assembly of [[Great Levantia]] met for the last time as the [[Concilium Daoni]] rose to prominence. The instability and uncertainty of war lead to major demographic changes that weakened the system of feudal contracts and greatly disturbed the existing system of [[Social class in Urcea#Social%20class%20in%20the%20High%20Medieval%20Period|social class in Urcea]]. The end of the war was characterized by the rapid ascent of [[House de Weluta]], which has intermittently ruled [[Urcea]] since.

== Al<span id="Aleckán_restored"></span>eckán restored ==

The peace was not to last, however; Donnchad was succeeded by his quarrelsome son Riordan IV, who befriended Prince Adrian and relied on Cónn support to defeat his domestic rivals among the nobility, including some Julio-Aleckán loyalists. Riordan's reign was primarily characterized by his attempts to centralize Royal authority and his alliance with the Cónns gave him great utility in this, though he eventually waged civil war as some of the nobles rose up against him in arms. Besides internal strife, Riordan's reign was also consumed with finishing the work launched by his father with respect to solidifying control over trade along the western coast and southeastern Odoneru. The previous century, King Niall I had managed to position the [[Creagmer republics]] as tributaries of [[Urcea]] while conquering one of the largest. Like Crotona and Tromarine, these areas were key to Odoneru treade routes, and accordingly Riordan heavily prioritized their further integration. Asserting his rights as the [[Imperial Kingdom of Urcea|Imperial overlord]] of the cities, Riordan invaded in 1270 and launched a campaign which alternated between brutality and mercy, destroying the private lands and mansions of the merchant classes who opposed him while sparing and granting lands to merchant who supported him. Following three years of campaigning, the [[Creagmer republics]] all swore direct fealty to the [[Apostolic King of Urcea]] in exchange for the merchant classes all being granted immediate status as [[Social_class_in_Urcea#Optimate|optimates]] within Urcean society. On his death in 1275 due to battle wounds, Riordan IV controversially named the Prince Adrian as his successor, who took the Throne on April 3rd, 1275. The Julio-Aleckán faction - most of whom were already in arms against Riordan - disputed the succession by law, claiming that Adrian was not only ineligible to succeed due to Riordan's brother Niall having a better claim, but also due to his having renounced the Throne during the reign of Donnchad I. Adrian I managed to rally the [[Royal and Imperial Army (Urcea)|Royal Army]] and defeat the Noble forces, who sought a Royal charter of some kind, and managed to secure his place on the Throne for the next 37 years.

[[File:Weltchronik Fulda Aa88 040v detail.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Adrian II (1330-1339) assumed the throne by killing and usurping the last Julio-Aleckán, Lucás, at the Battle of Hollyhead in [[1330]].]]

Adrian I's reign was mostly consumed by an effort to purge, wherever possible, potential Julio-Aleckán claimants and their descendants, though Adrian could not, himself, produce an heir, for which he was the target of both legal alarm and satirical attacks by the Aleckán faction. Adrian's primary accusation by his critics was that he was a closeted atheist anarchist looking to destroy the country by a lack of legal heirs, and that he was potentially a homosexual. Despite a poor reputation among contemporary writers, many modern historians believe that Adrian was generally a better monarch than traditionally given credit for. His 37 years on the throne were the longest of any Urcean monarch until the 15th century, and archaeology suggests that the economy was strong during this period, likely due to 4 decades of relative stability. His length of time on the throne also likely suggests that Adrian was more popular among both nobles and commoners than historians previously believed. Despite these recent reappraisals, most modern historians still rate him relatively lowly due to his single-minded obsession with destroying the House of Aleckán.

Upon Adrian's death without children in 1312, the lead Julio-Aleckán heir, Lucás, the nephew of Riordan IV through his father Niall, defeated Cónn forces outside [[Urceopolis (City)|Urceopolis]] and was crowned King five days later on February 22nd, 1312 before Adrian I's nephew, also named Adrian, could muster enough forces to push his claim by force. Lucás, the last direct Julio-Aleckán King, reigned for 18 years between 1312 and 1330, a time which was primarily spent fighting a fierce civil war against Adrian Cónn and his allies. Lucás was eventually killed in single combat by Adrian at the Battle of Hollyhead, allowing the latter to be crowned in [[Urceopolis (City)|Urceopolis]] on January 22nd, 1330, twenty days after the battle. Like Adrian I, Adrian II spent his reign executing a series of bloody purges against the Julio-Aleckán family and their suspected heirs, though he was much more successful than his predecessor. Like his predecessor, however, Adrian II died childless and plunged the Kingdom into the Great Interregnum in 1339, the final phase of the [[Saint's War]].

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]] in 1394, 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. Unlike Riordan IV's agreements, which the cities broke, Lucás stripped the local notables of all [[Social class in Urcea|social rank]] and worked to dismantle the economic hierarchy which empowered the merchants to influence society. With the exception of the [[Philaridon Republic]], 1394 brought about the final end of the Creagmer republics. Lucás managed to parlay the new gold to hire large mercenary forces from [[Anglei|Angla]].