Anisoran Empire
| Anisoran Empire Impero Anisorano | |
| Flag | Coat of arms |
|---|---|
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| Motto: Sequens Viam Vindi, Floremus (Hallish: Following the Path of Vind, we thrive) | |
| Anthem: Imperium Auri (Hallish: Empire of Gold) | |
| Locator map | |
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| Capital city | sample_city |
| Largest city | |
| Official language | Anisoran |
| Other languages | Lusavanic, Pastanan, Parnethian |
| Ethnic group | |
| Religion | Peratolian Orkanan |
| Demonym(s) | Anisoran |
| Government | |
| Government Type | Federal absolute monarchy (7367-7473) Federal constitutional monarchy (7473-7505) |
| Emperor | |
| Prime Minister | |
| Legislature | Parliament |
| Establishment | |
| Anisoran Civil War | 7363-7365 |
| Area | |
| Total | 995,353 km2 km2 |
| Population | |
| Total | 46,281,835 |
| Density | 48.44/km2/km2 |
| Economy | |
| Economy type | Market economy |
| GDP (total) | Ꞡ 1,012,107,107 ₲ |
| GDP per capita | Ꞡ 21.87 ₲ |
| Currency | Grana () |
| Other information | |
| Driving side | left |
The Anisoran Empire (Anisoran: Impero Anisorano; Pastanan: Imperium Anisoranum), was a constitutional federal monarchy situated in central-western Anaria bordering the Medio Sea. The Empire was separated by the Sea of Cestarena and the Medio Sea into two parts, the Eastern and Western regions. The majority of Anisoran land and population was situated in the West in Anaria Minor, where the North Bhazen Mountains formed the western border of the Empire for much of its history. The remainder of Anisoran territory was made up of hundreds of Median islands as well as the entire Cadrai Peninsula, which extends out from Northern Anaria Major and borders Ardennes. In around 7580, the Empire covered an area of 776,597 km² (299,846 sq mi) and had a population of over 46 million inhabitants.
According to the constitution, the Anisoran Empire was organised as a federal constitutional monarchy, headed by the Emperor, with a parliamentary system of government situated in the capital, Pena. The Empire was made up of 41 constituent states, most of which were ruled by royal families. These included four grand principalities, eight principalities, two arch-duchies, seventeen duchies, four dependent islands, and six free cities. The largest of which, the Grand Principality of Casella, was the most politically dominant state since the Empire's foundation. Other major cities include Valance, Arrento, Tenalevan, Pilano, Valamaggiore, Marocida and Pandagna.
In 7367 Anisora became a nation state when Marius Decus won the Anisoran Civil War and was crowned Emperor of the Anisorans, uniting the Dual Kingdom of Casella and Pastana with most of the Anisoran speaking lands in Tova and the Confederation of Vetriano under a single constitution. The establishment of the Empire was the fulfilment of long-held desires to see an Anisoran state realised following the rise of Anisoran nationalism during the 73rd century. During the Marian Era under the successive rule of Marius I and Marius II, Anisoran power increased in Anaria Minor and the Medio Sea, which brought Anisora into conflict with other great powers including Auresia, Anat Tahan, Becuvitatia and Livaria. Although much of the territory gained in Anaria-Minor was ultimately lost after the Pan-Anarian War, Anisora remained a great Anarian power throughout the 75th and 76th centuries.
However, following the Pan-Anarian War (7498-7552), Anisora's power began to wane, with economic turmoil, religious sectarianism and ethnic nationalism placing increasing strains on the Empire. In the latter years of the Wolgos Scourge, the Empire disintegrated [more to follow].
Etymology
History
- Main article: History of Anisora
Anisoran Civil War
- Main Article: Anisoran Civil War
Foundation of the Anisoran Empire
Confederation of Vetriano
- Main Article: Confederation of Vetriano
The Tovan states in modern-day Western Anisora have traditionally been a fractured region, made up of a patchwork of independent and semi-independent states going back centuries. During the 73rd and 74th centuries, the Kingdoms of Pastana and Casella fought for influence and direct control over these states. By the mid 74th century and the outbreak of the Anisoran Civil War, most of these states were under the direct influence of the Dual Kingdom. However, as a result of the civil war, many of these states were forced to pick a side, although many tried to stay neutral for as long as possible. By 7364, Marius, Duke of Marra, had crushed the loyalist forces under Giulia, Duchess of Pensano, at the Battle of Borginesca. After the loyalist army fled across the Medio to Pastana, Marius had undisputed control over Western Anisora and wished to cement his hold over the Tovan states, many of whom had sided against him in the war.
The Duke of Marra's first move into the region in the aftermath of Borginesca was to accept the surrender of those states and their princes and dukes that had declared for Princess Giulia and had provided troops to the loyalist army. Chief among these was the influential King Alfonso II of Matrignano and Prince Ferrando IV of the Principality of Vattoro. After Prince Ferrando surrendered to the Duke, the aged King Alfonso was still defiant, but was eventually relieved of command by a mutiny amongst his forces and was placed under house arrest by Marius. Marshal T. Luigi Orsiani (later known as the Prince of Tamaricciola) was installed as military governor of Matrignano and the Kingdom was secured as the most important client state of Marius Decus' growing empire.
With all resistance in Tova being quashed by the Duke's marshals by mid-August, on 18 August 7364 Marius summoned all the leaders of the Tovan states to Vetriano Castle. If the rulers were under arrest, or were with the loyalist army in Pastana, pro-Decus aristocrats were elevated as official representatives of their respective states, although they largely played lip-service to their respective military governors. At the Castle, Marius signed the Treaty of Vetriano, named after the Castle in which it was signed, followed by all the representatives of the Tovan states, thus establishing the Confederation of Vetriano. According to the constitution of the Treaty, Marius was declared Grand Master of the Confederation, who oversaw all military and foreign policy decisions, with all other major decisions being decided by the Council of Princes (made up of the heads of state or official representatives), which would sit at unspecified intervals under the supervision of the Grand Master. The Treaty was ratified after Marius' coronation as King of Pastana and Casella in 7365, with all member states sending representatives to the coronation to swear allegiance to the new King. The Confederation would only be in existence for three years, it being dissolved when the member states became constituent states of the Anisoran Empire, which was finally established in 7367.
Pan-Anarian War
- Main Article: Pan-Anarian War and Anisora in the Pan-Anarian War
The Anisoran Empire entered the war in support of its principal ally the Auresian Empire and the desire to resist Hellish encroachment into the Medio Sea, which Anisora viewed as principally her sphere of strategic influence. Although many within the Anisoran Senate protested Willem II of Auresia's decision to harass Hellish shipping through the Hattaro Straits, citing concerns of Auresian breaches of neutrality, when relations deteriorated and Helreich declared war on Auresia, Emperor Titus I and his Prime Minister Ermino Viantriola supported Willem II and in turn declared war on Helreich on 7 April 7498, in line with the Second Amicizia Accord (signed in 7494) which established a defensive alliance between the two empires. The following day Anisora signed the Treaty of Aschgæt and formally declared war on the United League, although she was already at war with Helreich at the treaty's signing.
The Anisoran Empire played a significant role in the worldwide conflict for the entire length of the fifty-four year war. The Tahani Front, also known as the Western Front, fought in Anaria Minor, saw some of the bloodiest fighting of the war and was the longest unbroken frontline in military history. The Tahani Front, contrasting the Auresian Front in Hattaria and smaller fronts in the east, saw the vast armies of Anat Tahan and the Anisoran Empire, alongside their respective allied armies, advance and retreat in one of the most mobile frontlines of the war. Battles were fought across vast open plains, river valleys, foothills and the Bhazen Mountains, making it one of the most varied theatres of the war. Famous battles fought on the Tahani Front include: the Battle of Mallaro Ridge (1st Bhazen Campaign, 7499); the Battle of Laneka (1st Bhazen Campaign, 7503, arguably Anisora's greatest military defeat of the war); the Battle of Akhtalik (2nd Bhazen Campaign, 7505); the Battle of Chamotayk (Paranat Offensive, 7507, the bloodiest battle in Anisoran military history and Giulio Naramacora's most famous battle).
At the outbreak of war in 7498, the Anisoran Imperial Navy, the Marina Imperiale, was one of the largest and most effective navies in Anaria. While not as large as the Reichsmarine of Helreich or the Livarian Navy, the Anisoran Marina Imperiale was a formidable force and operated a large surface fleet of dreadnought battleships and battlecruisers with bases throughout the Medio and across Gotha. The Marina Imperiale played a key role in offsetting Hellish naval supremacy in Anaria and fought in the principal naval engagements of the war, including the Battle of X and X. Anisora maintained considerable influence over combined allied naval engagements and strategy throughout the war, including commanding the Combined Allied Fleet at the Battle of X under the command of Admiral Sir Domenico Poranatti.
On 10 June 7498 Anisora sent the Anisoran Expeditionary Force (FSA) to Hattaria in Auresia, two corps made up of 60,000 troops, initially under the command of Sir Giulio Narmacora, later Chief Marshal and Commander-in-Chief of Anisoran Forces. The Anisoran Expeditionary Force was the first foreign army to arrive in Auresia and played a major role in the immediate aftermath of the Fall of Porto Imperiale in late June, the Siege of Oseidon and the Battle of X before both Livarian and Aldsegian reinforcements arrived in Hattaria. The FSA remained in Auresia for much of the war and proved the commitment of Anisora to fighting the Hellish on the Auresian Front, although the number of troops did not increase by much, despite requests by the Auresian High Command.
Much like most countries which fought in the Pan-Anarian War, Anisora was beset with economic difficulties throughout the war which continued into the decades after the war. The government debt reached staggering amounts by the end of the war and the subsequent recession, and combined with rising inflation and widespread unemployment during the 7550's, Anisora faced economic ruin. Together with the rising nationalist movements in Anisoran territories in Anaria Minor and the independence those regions gained in the postwar settlements and treaties, Anisora lost much of her power and influence as a result of the Pan-Anarian War, although she was still considered an Anarian Great Power during the following decades. However, the sacrifices made on the Tahani Front meant Anisoran imperial power was in terminal decline, which would never recover ahead of the Wolgos Scourge almost fifty years later.
Unitarian dictatorship
- Main article: Unitarianism
After 7504, general faith in the civilian government collapsed after the disastrous Battle of Laneka, with the government of Count Forrana taking much of the blame for the military defeats suffered on the Western Front. The power vacuum after Lord Forrana's resignation was quickly filled by militarists with the support of emperor Titus I and his hawkish son the Grand Prince of Pastana, Prince Flavian. As the war continued in the wake of Laneka, unitarian ideas propagated by the Orkanist ideologue Andrea d'Arcole became highly influential within military circles, and the clique surrounding Flavian rigorously promoted unitarianist principles and the need to radically overhaul the war effort, including the prime minister at the time, the Duke of Moratto. Following the defeats of 7503-04, Anisora steadily transformed into a unitarian military autocracy, with the Grand Prince of Pastana and the Anisoran high command exercising considerable power and authority. This set Anisora upon a course of religious extremism and militarism, seeing the country adopt a much more brutal and uncompromising approach to the war, which was now openly described as an existential struggle for the very survival of the Orkanan world.
The military successes of the Count of Pacorna during the Paranat Offensive only strengthened the unitarian regime's grip over Anisoran politics over the next few years, particularly after the accession of Flavian to the throne in 7507. This period (7507-7518) was defined by a semi-totalitarian approach to the war effort, harsh repression, curbs to political freedoms and religious fundamentalism. Despite achieving notable military successes, Lusavanic nationalism and the excesses of the regime eventually led to the assassination of Emperor Flavian in 7518, who was shot by the Lusavanic religio-nationalist Samvel Namikonian. The assassination of the emperor sent shock waves throughout Anisora and the Aschgæt Alliance, setting in motion one of the most chaotic political periods during the War which would bring Anisora to the brink of civil war. However, the accession of Flavian's younger brother, Titus II, a liberal who abhorred his brother's militarism, established a relatively stable government that restored the constitution and re-established Anisora as a constitutional monarchy.
Interwar period
- Straits Cartel, Treaty of Aerilar
- Growing sectarian violence and Lusavanic nationalism