Archadian Empire
The Archadian Empire (Archadian: Basileium Archadianum), also referred to as the First Archadian Empire or as synecdoche the Winged Lions Throne, not to be confused with the Holy Archadian Empire or the Second Archadian Empire, originated from the city-state of Archadia and during its heyday conquered or colonised much of southern and western Hasperia and northern Arrakis, becoming the most powerful military, cultural and economic force of its time and the largest empire in Pluribus' history.
Originating as a hereditary kingdom ruled by house Garantius, believed to be of divine origin, the kings originally held little secular power. Following a civil war, Emperor Archadius Garantius XIII assumed autocratic powers, beginning the Imperial Era.
At the zenith of its power Archadia entered into conflict with its only potential rival Nosamo after that rival attempted to support internal dissent, these events became known as the Imperial Spring or Great War and lead to the Empire's first significant defeat. Following this, events in the empire lead to it splitting into two parts, a republic centered around Urbs Archadia, and a continuation of the Basileum lead from Garantinopolis. The two parts where eventually reunited when Garantinopolitan Emperor conquered Archadia, reuniting the Empire. Despite this the Empire still fell into a period of decline and increasing trouble as the Great Migration saw waves of invasions from the north-east that gradually pushed the borders back. Following the sack of Garantinopolis, Imperial authority was excercised only within the city of Archadia itself and shortly thereafter the last Emperor was deposed, bringing an end to Basileium Archadianum for several centuries. The Empire was later resurrected in the form of the Holy Archadian Empire, which slowly changed into the Second Archadian Empire, which views itself as a direct continuation of the original Basileium.
The extent and longevity of the empire ensured it has had and continues to have a lasting legacy on Hasperia and beyond. Many nations in existence today trace their origin more or less directly from imperial times, such as Leopoli, Desteylle and Montebianco.
Contents
Archadian law and administration
The Archadian Law (Ius Archadii) is technically a very ancient and rigid set of rules, with the oldest ones seldom being in a written form. Altough Archadians believe that older a law is, the better it is (Ius posterior derogat ius priori), the course of centuries has demanded many changes. This was done through the so-called Aedil's edict, annual edict issued by Iuris Aedilium, magistrates tasked with maintaining justice, stating which changes would take effect the next year in courts, that is what things would courts decide differently than what the ancient law dictated. Thus, Archadian Law is in fact very flexible and ensures that the constant search for justice will never end. However, it should be noted, that since the Law is highly casuistic, it has become very chaotic in the last few centuries and no codification has been done so far.
The administration has changed dramatically over the course of time, most drastically with the change from the Kingdom to the Empire of course. During the Imperial Era, the administration looked as follows.
The highest ranking officials were called Praefecti. They served directly under the Emperor and each had a clearly set area of power. The most important ones were Praefectus Iudiciarii, who oversaw justice and administration, Praefectus Aerarii Tributique, who oversaw the state fincances and taxes, Praefectus Castrorum Militarium, who oversaw the military, Praefectus Classium, in charge of the navy and of the naval bases, and Praefectus Palatii, who oversaw the Imperial Palace. It should also be noted, that provincial governors were called Praefecti Provincialis. All the Prefects (with the exception of Praefectus Palatii) had a large army of lesser magistrates under them.
The authority of the Emperor was derived from several key royal offices. The main of those was the Pontifex Maximus, the Highest Priest of the Archadian religion and later also of the Imperial Cult. He also held these traditional offices from the times of the Kingdom: Archon Supremus, the head of Archons, traditional highest ranking officials, Tribunus Militaris, the commander of the Archadian armies and the Praetor Iuris, the high judge of Archadia. Apart of these, each new Emperor was given emergency powers by the Curia, giving him absolute power over laws and administration.
The Imperial Army (Castra Militaria), armed land forces of Basileium Archadium, was a huge complex of three, very different parts: Legio Archadiana, Auxilliae and Milites Urbani.
Milites Urbani were the defensive units in cities. While being the largest part of the Army in crude numbers, they were organized only on the local level. They conisted mainly of archers and light infantry to protect them. Each Milites Urbani were commanded by a Curator Murum Urbanum, with the exception of Urbs Archadia, which had the Praetor Murum Urbanum.
Auxilliae were the auxilliary forces of the Army, consisting again of several parts. The most important one was the Equites, horsemen tasked with scounting and delivering messages. Another large part was the Sagittarii, archers (and also light infantry), irregular units formed by a legion when on a campaign, often conscripted from local population.
Legio Archadiana was during the heyday of the Empire probably the largest organized military force of Pluribus, as well as the most disciplined. Legions were permanent armies stationed troughout the Empire formed mainly by heavy infantry. Each legionaire wore a set of heavy armour and was skilled in the use of a short sword (gladius) and a javelin (pillum), which was used for both throwing and close combat. Legionaires fought in tight formations, protecting themselves with large shields.
Each Legion, led by a Legatus Legionis, was divided into 4 Cohortis, led by a Centurio Cohortis. Cohorts are then divided into Centuriae (whose number may differ based on the total number of the soldiers), which are the basic fight units.
Imperial Legions
Legio I Impera (Rule) - Elite unit of the empire, personally commanded by the Emperor, consists of half the men than a usual legion, doesn't form auxilliae. Stationed in Urbs Archadia
Legio II Vixtrix (The Victorious One) - The main war legion of the Empire, usually participates in all war conflicts. Stationed in Praxidea
Legio III Draco (The Dragon) - A legion on a long-term mission in Kryero to guard our allies from pirates. Stationed in Kryero
Legio IV Cautis (The Sharks) - Loremi legion considered lost due to the revolt. Stationed in Lorem Ipsum. Never restored.
Legio V Fulminata (The Lightning) -Legion stationed in Istaria. Defected to the Empire in Garantinople.
Legio VI Invicta (The Invincible One) - Legion stationed in Archadia Minor
History
Pre-Imperial Period
Behold, ye mortals of bone and flesh, behold the power that is the Sun, behold the Sol Invictus, the bringer of light, the bringer of death, the wrath of gods and the highest justice of Iupiter. And lo! There, in your midst, stands a man so noble, so great, so divine, the son of Sun, the heir to Sol Invictus, the husband to Archadia, Garantius Rex, your king!
—Augur Gaius in Lucius Lucullus, Garantius Rex, act I, scene IX
Archadian history begins with the arrival of semi-nomadic shepherds into the hills near the estuary of the Pontus river, in what would later be known as the Archadian peninsula. Coalescing into a single city-state, the Archadian settlements would soon be placed under the authority of a single King, or Basileus, invested of political, military and religious roles.
The advantageous location of Archadia and the development of its harbor finally allowed it to thrive after centuries of rural half-isolation. Entering into relations with Cecasanderia to the south, Lorem to the north and Isthar to the east, the city of Archadia was more profoundly influenced by the former two, sharing similar dialects of the Latin tongue that would come to dominate most of the western Inner Sea.
Archadia was first ruled by legendary 7 kings: Garantius Rex, Numa, Tullius, Ancus, Lucius, Servius and Lucius II. Garantius Rex was believed to be a son of Sol Invictus, the Sun God, and was later transformed into the first prophet of Aurelianism. Archadius Garantius (ruling 244-271 ARC), first king whose existence is backed by evidence, claimed not only to be the son of Lucius II, but also that he was descended from Garantius Rex himself, and thus had divine blood. Thus slowly originated the Archadian tradition of revering kings and later emperors, who were all believed to be demigods. To further show this divine connection, Archadius' son Servius began a tradition of using only the family name as their regnal name, thus ruling as Garantius VIII.
A vibrant economic and cultural hub, old Archadia was to become an increasingly maritime state. This would put its trader classes into an advantageous role, with naval commerce becoming more important than the traditional economic activities. With the rise of the merchants’ wealth would soon come the rise of the merchants’ ambitions. Asking for recognition from the King, the merchants would be given a formal assembly, the Curia, which would elect the various magistrates, or Archons, to oversee the day-to-day affairs of the city. The King was to keep a very important role in the rule of the city-state for some times, until the wealthy merchant families were powerful enough to purchase even more positions and responsibilities, eventually forming a significant proportion of the military commandment. Desires of fame and wealth motivated the more ambitious generals to use Archadia’s armies to their advantages, spreading their country’s authority around the Inner Sea but also inland, toward ancient and proud Isthar, once the cradle of civilization, now reduced to the role of a mere provincial capital. This “golden age of merchant liberties” saw the birth of the informal Archadian Empire, growing into a force to be reckoned with.
The powerful merchant nobles have vied for more power for a long time, but it was only in 301 ARC that their dreams finally came true. In that year, king Servius Garantius VIII died, leaving behind him an only child of 10 years, prince Marcus. He ascended the throne as Garantius IX, but the nobles formed a body of so-called curators, who were tasked with looking after an underage orphan. Since this particular orphan was the king, these curators were tasked with overseeing the realm as well and were formally acknowledged as the curatoria. This term was later mixed with the word curia (a meeting place) due to the unfortunate habit of using abbreviations in text, and thus the ruling body of Archadia is even nowadays known as the Curia.
With the office of King being reduced to a vastly ceremonial and religious role, the merchants effectively ruled Archadia for more than two centuries. It is unclear at which point the situation began to deteriorate, but the rise of corruption and the almost openly acknowledged embezzlement of taxes and tolls by some Archons led to the rise of severe social tensions and riots. The crisis reached its boiling point when an eminent general, member of one of the most prominent families, was accepted an astronomical sum and the fruits of two days of pillage of his own city by a local Isthari nobleman who was determined to use this corruption in order to carve out his own kingdom out of the now-stagnating Archadian Kingdom. After his army participated the pillage of Isthar, he evacuated the province and returned to Archadia, only to be assassinated by his second in command.
The outrage back in Archadia was immense; that a merchant willingly sold hard-earned parts of Archadia to a foreigner was too much to handle. The two weeks following the Sack of Isthar saw the public lynching of six Archons and many more members of the Curia. Putting the merchant’s warehouses to flames, the crowd gathered on the steps of the Curia’s Basilica. In one extraordinary session, the Curia agreed to pass on emergency powers to the one legitimate authority figure that remained outside of the merchants’ shady businesses of the time: the King. Known by the people trough ceremonial activities, the charismatic figure was also crowned by an aura of divinity by his role within the religious hierarchy. Assuming commands, the King restored order in the streets, punished the most blatant cases of corruption, and led his army to reconquer Isthar. Returning in Archadia in triumph, the King was now a central figure of authority once more, de facto as well as de jure. Unwilling to step down from emergency powers, the King enjoyed his new position for five years with consent from a now mute and terrorized Curia.
At the first sign of dissent, and officially in order to protect the State from the corruption and disgrace that marked the last years of the merchant’s reign, he officialised his role as autocrat and Imperator of Archadia. This even marks the inauguration of the Archadian Empire and the birth of most of the Imperial institutions.
The autocratization of the Empire did not go as simple as one may assume from reading history books from the Imperial Period. Though this remained unknown for a long time due to skillful manipulation of records, the betrayer was no other than Marcus Magnus Makesinus, who served as one of the archons of Archadia and was even a former Archon Supremus. To add to the shock, he was a brother-in-law of Archadius Garantius XIII, making the king more engaged in the crisis than one might think. Marcus Makesinus was assassinated shortly after however and the king managed to free himself from the whole scandal, thus appearing pure from all the corruption. The rumours that it was the king himself who had Makesinus assassinated have never been proven.
Imperial Period
A good state of the public affairs must be the highest commandment of any empire. The empire is there for its citizens, not vice-versa, and the officials are nothing more than loyal executors of this service. And so it saddens me that the Empire is nothing like that.
—Servius Magnus Makesinus, Bonus Status Rei Publicae, I, I
Following the centralization of power into the hands of the Emperor, the Archadian Empire entered its second golden age, spanning roughly two centuries. The Empire slowly, but steadily expanded, acquiring the originally Thurian town of Praxidea in 79 AIC, vassalazing the kingdom of Lorem Ipsum in 121 AIC and building the important military outpost of Portus Ferrarius in 160 AIC. The Empire also gained several footholds in the Inner Sea, including Pontus Nigrus, Ferias and an outpost in Kryero. However, these colonies were minor and the Empire never managed to secure a full control over the seas far from the coasts of Hasperia, especially due to the clashes with the Elyrian League and Baalys to the south. The Empire officially abandoned the southern expansion plans in 145 AIC in a peace treaty with Baalys. Even though Baalys was unable to conquer any Archadian holding on the seas, the protection of small outposts proved to be too expensive to maintain for a long time and thus the Empire abandoned the minor holdings in the southern oceans.
This period is also known as the Classic Archadian Period, one of the most important cultural eras of the antiquity. Many famous writers and philosophers were born in the Empire during these two centuries, including the poets such as Gaius Lepidus (Carmina Musis) and Marcus Pulchrus, playwrights like Lucius Lucullus (Imperium Avium, Garantius Rex), Gaius Horatius (Inter Arma) or Lucius Trebullus (Duae Uxores, Sine Argenti), philosophers like Gnaeus Vicinius (Honeste Vivere), Publius Aemillianus (Transhumana), as well as jurists such as Sextus Trebonianus (De Administrando Imperii) and Servius Makesinus (Bonus Status Rei Publicae). These authors and their works, and many others not mentioned here, form the basis of education even nowadays.
During the second century AIC, the territorial expansion slowly halted as the Empire became more and more focused on dealing with its interior problems, namely inefficient administration and once again spreading corruption, this time among Imperial burreaucrats. It was during the rule of Optimus Garantius XVII that Servius Magnus Makesinus, serving as Praefectus Iudiciarii, instituted far-reaching reforms of the whole Empire, centralising the administration of provinces under the Emperor and introducing many new meassures to ensure responsibility and culpability of of all officials. Makesinus' reforms were in effect throughout the whole remaining history of the Empire and are cited as an influence even in the Second Archadian Empire and the Neogaranid Empire.
The Imperial Period however was quickly coming to an end. In 206 AIC, still under the rule of Optimus Garantius XVII, a minor border incident with Thure quickly escalated into a full-scale war. The war ended in a cease-fire after several months as Archadia was unwilling to commit its full force in that region and the Emperor preferred a diplomatic solution. The peace however encouraged Thurians in their belief that the Empire could be defeated. In 213 AIC, the kingdom of Lorem Ipsum, vassalised by the Empire for decades, has been formally integrated into the Empire. In the same year, a treasure fleet from the enigmatic Nosamo Empire entered the Inner Sea, looking for trading prospects. Archadia forbade the fleet to enter its harbour, fearing its power.
First Archadian Republic
Garantinopolitan Empire
Decline
Archadian Timeline
Dates are either written in ARC (Ab Regnum Condita) or AIC (Ab Imperium Condita)
Ab Regnum Condita
- -200 ARC: clans of shepherds start to settle on the site of future Archadia
- 0 ARC: Founding of Archadia, with the crowning of a single King
- 34 ARC: The King settles on the Palatine Hill. First “palace”
- 236 ARC: building of the first harbor of Archadia; birth of Archadian naval tradition
- 301 ARC: Establishment of the Curia
- 379-565 ARC: “Golden age of merchant liberties”
- 438 ARC: Conquest of Isthar
- 565-566 ARC: “War of the Betrayal”
- 565 ARC: The King assumes emergency powers with the approval of the Curia
- 566 ARC: Reconquest of Isthar
- 571 ARC /0 AIC: The King assumes full autocracy. End of the Royal Era; inauguration of the Imperial Era
Ab Imperium Condita
- 0 AIC: The King assumes full autocracy. End of the Royal Era; inauguration of the Imperial Era
- 206 AIC: War in Cecasanderia and Thure
- 213 AIC: Integration of Lorem Ipsum
- 214-215 AIC: Great Inner Sea War
- 220 AIC: Archadian Civil War, Archadia declared a republic, Empire continues on in Garantinopolis
- 291 AIC: Archadia conquered by emperor Alexeius Garantius XXI, Empire reunited
- 431 AIC: Emperor Marcus Garantius XXVI proclaims Aurelianity the only official religion of the Empire, its structures will later become known as the Omnican Church
- 473 AIC: Battle of Torium, united tribes of Faendals utterly crush the Imperial legions, marking the beginning of violent barbarian invasions
- 475-528 AIC: The Imperial Civil War, while the Empire is threatened by barbarians, two Garantii lines claim the throne and wage war for power
- 528 AIC: Emperor Ioannes Garantius XXX defeats the last false emperor Constantinus Garantius XXXII and marries his daughter to unite the lines. Factual Imperial power reduced only to lands surrounding Urbs Archadia
- 537 AIC: Emperor Ioannes Garantius XXX deposed by the Curia. Second Archadian Republic formed
- 784 AIC: Popular priest and reformer, Iosephos Sotiras, assumes power in Archadia following a popular uprising, the Curia is unable to react
- 785 AIC: Iosephos Sotiras, fearing the last scions of house Garantius that became the flocking banner of the Archadian nobility, orders them all burnt at stake on grounds of herecy and claiming god-hood, this marks the official creation of the Tor Ardwen regime
- 801 AIC: Iosephos Sotiras dies, the Tor Ardwen regime, while still powerful, starts to be more and more threatened by uprisings
- 838 AIC: the new Heliarch, Antonius Pius, then resident of Verduro, allies with the Order of St. Kastor and king István Nagy of Nicoloviana in order to finally destroy the Tor Ardwen regime and restore Archadia to Omnicanism
- 840 AIC: Following a bloody war, István Nagy stands in Archadia and is proclaimed the protector of the faith and the first Emperor of the Holy Archadian Empire
- 860 AIC: Emperor István Nagy assassinated in a plot by several members of the Curia. Dying childless, the Heliarch and Curia agree on proclaiming Ottavio Makesini, generally accepted heir to house Garantius, as the new emperor
- 872 AIC: The Great Basilica of Archadia, which is crumbling from centuries of disrepair, is torn down and a new basilica is started to be built
- 874 AIC: Emperor Ottavio dies, his son-in-law Baldassare assumes the throne
- 877 AIC: Following the death of Heliarch Justinus Aurelianus, emperor Baldassare calls a great council to resolve all matters of faith
- 878 AIC: During the Council of Vissegrad, emperor Baldassare dies in mysterious circumstances, the Empire is engulfed in chaos
