Imperial Civil War

The Imperial Civil War was a war fought 882 - 883 AIC in the Holy Archadian Empire between forces loyal to Empress Berenike Garantia against forces loyal to the Consilium Basileii and Curia of Archadia.

Background

Berenike Garantia was appointed as regent after her father, Baldassare Velisario, emperor of the Holy Archadian Empire, was assassinated in 878 AIC. The regency was only to last a few months until the heir to the throne Nicodemos Garantius reached adulthood. However, Nicodemos was kidnapped from his residence in Isthar. The regency then lasted 3 years, with Berenike taking an increasing role in the affairs of state.

Cleon Belisarius was crowned emperor in 881 AIC at Garantinople, angering the Archadians who saw the centuries long tradition of holding the coronation in Archadia disrespected. The new emperor was essentially a puppet of his sister, Berenike, and married her soon after the coronation, an act that shocked Omnicans, both citizens and nobles, despite it being with the blessing of the Heliarch. Cleon was later assassinated that year, giving Berenike full authority once again. Berenike blamed Sotirans for the assassination and had the religion outlawed, angering many nobles of Nicoloviana and Archadia, who thought peaceful coexistence between the two religion was possible.

Berenike had been slowing slipping into madness, seeing apparitions and having bursts of anger.

Tensions in Haram, which had been occupied since the Garantinopolitan campaign in Haram of 861 AIC, were high between the natives and occupying Imperial forces.

War

The war started when Berenike, infuriated by the assassination of Cleon, issued at edict outlawing Sotiranity. Upon hearing this news, the Curia of Archadia voted to no longer recognise Berenike and to formally accept the Edit of Vissegrad, thus making Sotiranity legal and equal to Omnicanism.

Upon the start of hostilities, the rebel nobles from Archadia and Nicolovia, who called themselves Loyalists, began to amass an army near Pontica. Archon Vincenzo della Rovere and Joseph von Wallenstein led this army. Alexeios Vatatzes was ordered by Berenike to take the armies loyal to Garantinople and defeat the rebels. This resulted in the Battle of Lake Pontus, a victory for Archadia.

Berenike sent riders to Faendal and Vlachia to get aid. Despite Faendal raising an army, they refused to help the empress, choosing instead to defend their own lands. The messengers to Vlachia were either ignored or intercepted due to the ongoing Vlachian Civil War.

In the Haramite desert, the Sayyid destroyed a contingent of the Order of Saint Castor of Karden and marched on the fort of Dehradun, where the commanding officer Manuel Parapinakes was convinced to relinquish control of the fort and army.

With both the Sayyid and the rebels marching on Garantinople, Berenike fortified herself in the palace. After the city walls were taken by the Sayyid, with the help of Irulan Garantia, the empress committed suicide.

Aftermath

Though the rebels succeeded in overthrowing Berenike Garantia, they did not succeed in saving the empire from collapse. The Sayyid, revealing himself to be Nicodemus Belisarius, seized control of the city and announced the dissolution of the empire, granting independence to Vlachia, Faendal, and Nicolovia as well as exiling Archadia.

The Imperial Civil War ended the Holy Archadian Empire and once again split Garantinople and Archadia into two separate realms: the Neogaranid Empire and the Second Archadian Empire, though the latter would go on to pretend that the realm was whole.