István Nagy
István Nagy (809 - 860 AIC) was the king of Nicoloviana (As István III Nagy) and the first emperor of the Holy Archadian Empire, which he declared in 840 AIC.
King of Nicoloviana
István Nagy was elected king of Nicoloviana in 837 AIC after the death of his father Zoltán. His ascension marked the first time a dynastic heir assumed the throne in the whole existence of the Confederacy. The main reason behind this breaking of traditions was to prevent a civil war from happening as the Omnican Union and Sotiran League wanted to prevent the other side from gaining power and king Zoltán has always been seen as a neutral arbitrator. However, that proved futile as István quickly proclaimed his loyalty to the Omnican Church, allying with the newly appointed Heliarch Antonius Pius. Wanting to ensure the victory of the Omnican faith, he made a deal with the Heliarch: István Nagy would gain the control over the Order of Saint Castor of Karden, with which he would cleanse Hasperia from all Sotirans.
István Nagy set his eyes on Archadia, then controlled by the Sotiran Tor Ardwen regime. In 839 AIC he began a full scale invasion south. Order forces quickly captured the town Pontica and marched through the mountains towards Archadia, while the Nicolovian armies split - a half stayed in the north, blocking off any attempts of Vladimirian Vozdh to intervene on the side of Sotirans, while another half quickly blocked off Leopoli, though they failed to capture the city. Following that, the southern armies joined at Archadia, quickly surrounding the city, with István Nagy leading the siege. As an Omnican uprising quickly began in the city, storming the dilapitated city walls was easy and on March 27, 840 AIC, for the first time in history, Archadia was conquered.
Holy Archadian Emperor
István Nagy quickly reinstated the Heliarch in the city and as he effectively controlled both the sacral and secular power of the ancient Imperial Capital, he proclaimed himself the Holy Archadian Emperor, Protector of all Faithful. However, István could not keep Nicolovian lands unattended, still fearing a Sotiran uprising, and as such left Archadia to tend for itself. Likewise, he never even visited Faendal to take control of the Order.
By 855 AIC, his attempts to crush Sotirans in Nicoloviana began having undesired effects. István had no qualms in using any weapon at his disposal, using expropriation, arrests and executions without holding court and even assassinations against anyone who became suspect of being a Sotiran. However, in attempts to centralize his holdings, István just as likely would have targeted an Omnican noble. This led to a secret meeting of informal leaders of the two religious groups, Omnican Tomáš Bílin, Duke of Nedele, and Franz von Wallenstein, Duke of Krachenmehr. This sparked the Nicolovian Civil War, in which both Sotiran and Omnican nobles fought the Emperor to preserve their rights.
In 860 AIC, the Noble Alliance sought for peace as the land was utterly ravaged by the constant warfare. István Nagy agreed to parlay, but then managed to capture both leaders and had them executed on spot, near the town of Vissegrad. He then decided to use his victory to curtail the rights of the Archadian Curia. His need to visit the city then increased even more so as he learned of the death of Antonius Pius. István Nagy entered Archadia in triumph, riding through the Triumphant Arch and taking residence in the old Imperial Palace. He declared his intention to appoint a new Heliarch the next day. However, as he climbed the stairs of the Curia, he was killed by his own guards. The motive of the act was never discovered, though many speculated that the guards were in league with either the Noble Alliance, or the Archadian Curia. He was succeeded by Ottavio Makesini.
Personal Life
István Nagy married Sofia von Aldersberg, though they never had any children.
