History of Urcea (1575-1798): Difference between revisions

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==Leonine revolution continued==

===Gassavelian integration and uprising===

In May 1676, the Royal Army managed to deploy a significant force - 12,500 men - into Gassavelia. Since the approach to the country was totally secured by the enhanced Hortus Mountain pass garrisons, the Army was accompanied by a disproportionately large supply train. While such a train would be difficult to defend in open conflict, the region north of the Hortus was free of enemy activity, allowing the Urceans to operate without need for precautions. From the arrival of this force in May, the main portion of fighting began. From then on, the northernmost portion of the country was considered to be the most loyalist and the major base of resupply and recruitment for the Royal Army, with the central part of the country having the most Arsesian support. Following storms and other difficulties, a second force of around 13,000 was landed in the coastal region of Gassavelia in October 1676. For the next three years, these armies would engage in a brutal campaign of attrition against Arsesian loyalist forces. In most battles, the Arsesians were able to better concentrate their forces and issue smaller tactical defeats to the Royal Army that nonetheless stymied its ability to project power into the Gassavelian interior. Supply issues remained constant, and much of the war was characterized by large scale raids by each side against the other's supply trains and farms loyal to each side, leading to strategic supply concerns and additional devastation to the civilian economy. Campaigns throughout 1677 and 1678 were largely unsuccessful before a major campaign in April 1679 saw the northern Royal Army forces sail up the Saianda River and sack [[Harzenon]], the historic capital of the region and the major base of Arsesian support. The sack allowed the Royal Army to control the entire length of the Saianda River, linking up the northern and southern Royal Armies and sending most of the rebels into isolation. The conflict continued until August 1679 when the unified Royal Army destroyed the largest rebel army and captured the pretender Arses, who was subsequently sent back to [[Urceopolis (City)|Urceopolis]] in chains.  

[[House de Weluta]]'s control over the [[Holy Levantine Empire]] during the 18th century had the effect of altering how the dynasty was viewed, both within its own ranks and by other prominent noble families. Prior to the 18th century, House de Weluta had intermittently ruled [[Urcea]] for three turbulent centuries, and to many contemporaries their rule over Urcea appeared to be shaky, especially given the '75 Gassavelian rising and expansionistic tendencies of the dynasty. Modern historians have noted that House de Weluta's perceived inevitability - as viewed in the 21st century - would not have been perceived during this time period, either within the family or to its contemporaries. By 1700, they had ruled the Kingdom for 280 years, which was the longest of any single house of the [[Julian dynasty]], but the potential of a new Julian claimant from another House always existed and was reflected in most of the House's political calculations. While the [[Great Confessional War]] is remembered today as one of the defining events in Urcean history, many people in the late 17th century - both learned and not - still discussed many Urcean events within the context of the Medieval [[Saint's War]], and Urcea had assumed the reputation of a realm who was destined for cyclical dynastic strife. The elevation of the House to perceived permanent authority over the Holy Levantine Empire by 1750 was viewed by contemporaries as a great reversal, and cemented House de Weluta as one of the world's most prestigious families. Scholars have noted the difference in rank of marriages family members engaged in throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, with pre-1700 marriages being reserved mostly to prominent Urcean families and post-1700 marriages seeing scions of the family marry into important Royal dynasties across the [[Occident]].

===Heightened tensions with the Empire===

Centralization continued without incident until the death of Emperor-King Brian II in 1781 at the age of 37, who had three daughters but no sons. His brother, 34-year old, King Lucás III, ascended that same year. Traditional historiography typically depicted Lucás as a petty tyrant who abused the rights of the Princes of the Empire, but modern historians tend to view this depiction more critically. The Holy Levantine Empire had been under hereditary rule for approximately thirty years, and the destabilization presented by the relatively young death of a King presented opportunities for Imperial Princes to try and increase tensions in an effort to break free of the domination of House de Weluta. Modern historiography has revised the depiction of Lucás III as something of a well-meaning reformer who wanted to continue the path of his predecessors but was mostly unable to, both due to his own personal failings but also decades of built up animosity on the part of the Princes of the Empire. Histories of the [[Holy Levantine Empire]] tend to refer to King Lucás III as Emperor ''Lucius'' III as a latinization of Lucás, descended from and related to the Urcean name Luciás. Lucius and Lucás are sometimes confused, but they were the same ruler. His distant descendant, King Lucás IV, also nominally ruled the Empire as Lucius IV in the 20th century.

===Second Caroline War===

===Artistic developments===

[[File:Intérieur Basilique Santi Ambrogio Carlo Corso - Rome (IT62) - 2021-08-27 - 6.jpg|right|thumb|200px|One of the many Baroque high altars built in Urceopolis during the Imperial period.]]

[[File:Queens House.jpg|left|thumb|250px|The Lesser Carriagehouse, a lodging constructed on the grounds of [[Electorsbourg]] in 1685, was an early pioneer of the Palladian style in Urcea and extremely influential among architects.]]

By the end of the 17th century, the colorful excesses of the Baroque and Rococo styles had fallen out of fashion. As the cultural memory of the Great Confessional War and political prioritization of the Counter Reformation faded, a more restrained architectural and artistic style began to emerge. {{wp|Palladian architecture}}, and its Urcean specific variety {{wp|Federal architecture|Caroline architecture}}, sought to employ simplicity in design as part of a conscious effort to emphasize sacrifice within the lives of Urceans. This cultural development occurred not only within the context of the Baroque style but in the increasingly opulent lives of both the optimates and more wealthy privilegiata, which became the major social concern of the day by the late 17th century. The theme of sacrifice became especially important by the mid-18th century with the [[War of the Caroline Succession]] requiring sacrifice on behalf of the Kingdom in order to achieve greatness. In addition to social attitudes, the very first efforts of major {{wp|archaeology}} began during the late 1600s, uncovering the ruins of [[Great Levantia|Great Levantine]] buildings or in some cases finding the original Great Levantine construction of extant buildings, and accordingly many educated Urceans sought to emulate the common structural features of these buildings. These concerns all blended together to create a very restrained period in Urcea's architectural history that would dominate for the rest of the 18th century.  

[[Category: Urcea]]

[[Category: History of Urcea]]