Chronological History Part 3, 1000 until the end of the Antaurus Empire
1003 Emperor Clarius Sundus succeeded his father to the throne. Clarius never married, but instead threw himself relentlessly into his duties. He worked hard to keep an Imperial grip over the north. His legacy was a changes to the way the Empire worked at the top; he introduces a proper debating chamber, and allowed his regional lords to have a voice for their own governance. This was almost a democracy, and it both strengthened the Empire, and had a huge influence over its political operation for many years.
1017 Emperor Clarius died and left no heir. He himself was an only son, and there was no clear line of succession. It was customary for an Emperor to select his successor (usually his eldest son), which was a practice used in several of the Kingdoms (including Tholain) that were pulled into the Empire when it was formed. The political system Clarius built went into action; the debate raged before they voted on a leader from among themselves. The man they chose to fulfil this role was Marcus Antaurus; his line seems to be traceable back to times before Dominus Tholain created the Empire. There are those who think that this history was manipulated by Marcus' supporters and by those who voted him in to help justify his selection.
1026 The grip of the Empire over the kingdoms of the north-west was becoming out of hand. There was not enough unity to co-ordinate their resistance efforts, and the succession of a Emperor Marcus Antaurus in 1017 had made matters much worse. This new ruler had begun to insist that it was his empires right to govern the north. He had use of both military and economic pressure to keep the region as weak as he could; he controlled the majority of the food supply and manipulated taxes to maintain his control.
By this point, four of the north-western kingdoms were close to economic collapse. The situation was dire, but somehow in secret, the thirteen nations of the north west managed to muster an army. They kept the units in small groups and out of sight of the Empire, and then in one series of assaults they attacked several of the Empire’s strategic strongholds throughout the north-west. Taken completely by surprise the empire’s troops were beaten back a considerable way before any help could arrive. The regions of the north-west rallied quickly behind their liberating army, and managed to form an effective defence. The Empires troops had not been tested in battle for 45 years, and their training did not seem enough to cope with the freedom fighters of the north. By using a combination of guerilla tactics to cut off supplies to the troops and surprise attacks on the empires installations, the liberators managed to push the occupiers out of the region entirely over a period of two months. After this, a prolonged and bitter campaign of assault began by the south.
1029 The fighting in the north was having an impact on both the regions of the north-east and north-west. The food supplies of the south had been cut off, and the realities of economic hardship had landed on the kingdoms of the north-west. The north-east had also been using the food supplies of the south, and they had suffered threats from the south for years that they would be turned into another arm of the Empire. They began sending troops to aid the defence of the north-west, and helped with some food supplies of their own, although these were limited.
1032 The war had dragged on; the Empire seemed to be getting the upper hand. There were now just eleven kingdoms of the north-west, two had succumbed to economic hardship, one was the southernmost of the kingdoms, and its territory had been the battleground for much of the fighting which had taken place over the previous five years. At this point, the remaining kings of the north came together and signed a treaty forming a council of the monarchs. Their aim was to work as closely as possible to defend against attacks of the Empire, but the end product was to form a single nation from the eleven kingdoms. The traders of the south were unknowingly assisting the war effort in the north too. Food was once again being exported to the north-east, despite the decrees of Emperor Marcus, and much of this was finding its way to the north-western kingdoms, this strengthened the north, and made a much tougher opponent for the Empire.
1038 Emperor Marcus died quietly in his sleep. He was succeeded by his son, Victus Antaurus, whom he had named heir to the Empire many years earlier.
1040 It soon became known that precious gems had been found in the mountains of the north-west, and that mining had begun. The warring between the north-west and the south had become less, and while occasionally flaring up, much of the fighting had been replaced with military posturing. With no quick success, the Empire did not seem to have the desire to commit the troops needed to conquer the north, and with missing mineral imports such as metal ores and oil, they were struggling to equip fresh recruits to their army.
1041 The Emperor Victus Antaurus' position became almost untenable, and he began to lose control of his own empire. He had followed the policy of his father, Emperor Marcus, and given strict instructions that no trade whatsoever was to take place with the north-west kingdoms. The edict was intended to support the war effort, but caused resentment among the traders and nobles with large trading interests. The loss of profits resulting from the embargo had been bearable for many long years, and the traders were willing to bear that in the hope that a victory in war with the north would open new and exciting markets. And it was possible to survive in business using the higher priced and lower quality raw materials from the empires own mines. But that changed once the precious gem markets were denied to them by their own ruler. Now the Empires traders went directly against their Emperor’s proclamations; giving up a small profit to aid the war effort was bearable, but giving up huge profits was just never on the agenda for the rich businessmen. The authorities in the empire tried to enforce the trade ban, but the effort was futile. The Emperor was forced to back-track over his war plans and over his trade embargo. The real power-base in the Empire had moved from the Emperors shoulders to the free-trade world.
Emperor Victus never recovered politically from this defeat to his own politicians. He spent the rest of his reign playing political games to re-establish his power, but this was very inward looking. By the time he died in 1059, the kingdoms of the north-west had risen considerably in power.
1050 Ten years of diamond mining by the north had turned them from a down trodden colony of the south to a rich and powerful land. The ruling council in the north-west nation signed a final set of treaties, and declared its lands as a single nation. They were to continue to be ruled in the same manner they had for twenty years; by a council made up of the kings of the eleven realms that were coming together. The name they chose from legend| Ticetia, which was reputedly a mighty nation, and a powerful empire before the disaster. The choice of name was intended to be of concern to the Empire of the south it was selected to show grand ideas about the size and reach of this new nation.
1052 The north-west had grown considerably in power; the gem trade had made them wealthier than at any point in their history, and with wealth came power. The north suggested first a formal ceasefire in the long running war (in which there had been no fighting for over ten years) and then a formal peace. In the Empire, the war had been largely forgotten. The Empire was ruled now by a puppet now, his court filled with the rich who controlled the real power of the crown. It was in the interests of business for the war to be ended, so that was what happened, the opinion of the once-mighty Emperor counted for nothing.
1059 The Empire entered a period of upheaval. Emperor Victus died early in the year he had been suffering with an illness and succumbed over the winter. His place was taken by his wealthiest son, Gravus Antaurus, who was both a noble and the ruler of a business dynasty which made him wealthy. He was unsuccessful in seizing control of the Empire from the rich, despite his attempts to use military force. He finally fell victim to the power-mad court circles, and died from the effects of a poison dose in 1060. He had no natural heir, and had yet to follow Imperial convention and name his heir. The Empire’s rich traders began to squabble about the succession.
1063 The Empire finally settled on a new leader. Having had eight new emperors over three years, each dying in different shady circumstances, the military finally seized control in a coup. Taking the imperial court by surprise, the Royal Guard surrounded the court and killed all the nobles inside. The man who had been chief-of-staff to both Victus and Gravus, General Cassius Dumus, assumed command of the Empire, and imposed martial law. A search was commenced for heirs of the house of Antaurus, and the imperial monarch’s line was restored in 1065 when Dominus Antaurus, cousin to Gravus, was crowned Emperor Dominus II. Some persuading by the chief-of-staff was needed before Dominus would accept the responsibility, but a promise of military protection was enough to get the position filled.
1078-1122 This period saw one of the greatest upheavals since the Great Disaster. A plague started somewhere in Ticetia and slowly spread throughout the north. It killed all indiscriminately, and could not be cured by clerical powers. The most the clerics could do was lessen the effects, and provide a little comfort for the sufferers. It claimed the lives of tens of thousands before it spread into the southern empire, around 1100. Its effect in the south was greater, as it caught hold in the emperors own household in 1119, killing Emperor Victus II and most of his family. The only surviving heir to the crown was a two year old baby girl, Eliciana Antaurus, the previous emperor’s niece. This youngster was named Empress, but her coronation was put off until she was 21 years of age. Power was assumed in the meantime by the senior politicians at court, who were led by the former Emperor's closest advisor, who somehow managed to avoid the plagues effects.
1098 An army of orcs and bugbears attacked from the mountains of northern Ticetia, the area they attacked was ravaged by the plague, and there were too few men to defend the towns. As a result, the invaders captured many towns, and despoiled much in the southern marches of North Ticetia. They held the area for nearly a year before they were finally beaten back by a compliment of troops from South Ticetia.
1127 In this year a successful assassination of Empress Eliciana and her steward headed a takeover of power in the Empire by Hastus Cuellet, a rich merchant. He took the throne by force, and used his funds to buy any further support he needed from established nobles. The succession into power by this man was ruinous to the Empire. His trade dealings as Emperor were not carried out for the Empire's benefit; he sought only to line his own pocket. Then he squandered taxation income on more and more outlandish ideas. He ensured, for instance, that every room in his huge castle was lit by magical light, and that all windows were framed with gold, silver or platinum depending on which wing they looked out from. Some of the magic sects became very wealthy from this, as did the dealers in precious metals, but the Empire was bled dry.
1135 The now well established north-eastern kingdoms followed the successful principle of the north-west. The kings of the land had no real power amongst their international neighbours, the Empire's weakening caused little impact here; it was Ticetia that was the big power in the lands, and everything these small kingdoms did took them into account. They assumed that, to become a power in the mould of Ticetia, they would have to band together in the same way; they did not have the natural resources that Ticetia enjoyed, but they were still willing to try. The four kings signed a treaty of co-operation, and declared themselves as a single nation, ruling jointly using their four royal houses in council. Just as Ticetia had done, they selected a memorable nation name from before the Disaster for their new land, calling themselves Caldonacia.
1140-1142 Thirteen years of mismanagement had brought the Southern Empire to a state of virtual collapse. The effects were felt far and wide across the realms. Ticetia was suffering badly; it was still relying on food imports from the Empire to be certain that there was enough for their population, and Imperial struggles were cutting deep. During the late 1130's, Ticetia had appealed to the Empire, eventually pleading with them to improve their situation, a dialogue which heard, but was ignored in the south.
By 1140, Ticetia had decided that, as its people were suffering, it could only survive by directly intervening. It began planned a military campaign which it had little hope of winning, when it was contacted in secret by the legions of the Empire. The military generals were usually loyal to their Emperor, but even for them matters had gone too far. Riots were breaking out across the Empire, and it was these legions that were relied upon to quell the disturbances, often brutally. The generals were planning to overthrow their own monarch, their justification being his illegitimate claim to the throne. But they needed help, they couldn’t guarantee the loyalty of all their own troops, and formed a pact with the Ticetians. The war started in late 1141, when the Ticeians sent an expeditionary force south, intent on meeting the Imperial army on the field, and with a much larger army heading southwards behind it. The reached fort Angium and found it so lightly defended, that it surrendered immediately. The force moved south to Shemonen where the locals feared the worst. This was only a small army, but it camped in the fertile lands south of the city, where they stayed for several days waiting for the first troops of the main force to draw near from the north.
Finally they set out southwards, heading towards Tirochel, while the Emperor brought a force up from Malberina. They met in the wilderness north of Tirochel, and once they were engaged, the ware was very short lived. The Emperor was killed by his own legions when he entered the battlefield. The Empire and Ticetia quickly reached a peace accord.
The Empire was now ruled by a council of the military generals. They suspended the Imperial Senate, imposed martial law and initially searched for a suitable heir to the throne. In spring 1142 the generals gave up their search and divided the Empire into its constituent nations, appointing military governors to rule in the place of kings, supported by their own military units. The Senate was re-opened as a military council, where the generals representatives met and continued the political process. It took seven more years to restore the food export levels that matched the old Empire at its peak.
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