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	HISTORY, PART FOUR

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This page covers the history of Lendosa from shortly before the Lendian Revolution until the present.

70 AP BP - 105 AP

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Despite the initial proliferation of small states after the Plague, it did not take long for consolidation to begin. The first movement occured when the Principality of Rivania and the Grand Duchy of Melhoria were united as the Kingdom of Rivania through a political marriage. Rivania would later acquire the Duchy of Sagotia the same way. All other gains in Lendia were the result of war, with the first conquest being that of the Principality of Beltera by the Kingdom of Lolthia. Lolthia later conquered the Duchy of Bairia in 87 AP. A major war between the Kingdom of Neonia, the Kingdom of Aspalia, the Grand Duchy of Recuna, and the Grand Duchy of Xoxina resulted in significant alterations of borders, but did not result any any nation being completely conquered. It did, however, result in the death of the Grand Duke of Recuna - his cousin and ally, the Grand Duke of Xoxina, inherited his throne, and created the Kingdom of Teldia in the central mountains. Rivania would also fight an unsuccessful war to conquer the Duchy of Olasano - while Rivania did manage to capture Olasano's coastal territories, linking Rivania with its new province of Sagotia, Olasano itself was too heavily fortified (and too well-led) to be conquered itself. In Piolsa, a complicated treaty resulted in the marriage of the Archduke of Ocassa and the Archduchess of Regasia, with their son becoming king of a united country named Alvaronia. The Principality of Valar and the Grand Duchy of Caeria, fearing (probably without reason) a Rezimanian invasion, also merged their countries, adopting the name Valcaera.

The frequent wars, the high taxation, and the poor leadership of the various Lendian states caused a large amount of discontent among their citizens. The nobility increasingly became seen as petty, vain, incompetent, and arrogant. Dissatisfaction was widespread - peasants, merchants, intellectuals, and conscripted soldiers were all angry. In 102 AP, a peasant rebellion broke out in northern Lolthia, and the rebels were quickly joined by mutinous army units. News of the rebellion caused riots in Gloria Libertatis and Tiano, and several prominent intellectuals were jailed for making speeches against the monarchy. The King found himself hard pressed to fight back the advancing revolutionaries. Early the next year, another uprising, inspired by the Lolthian one, occured in Neonia, and later, there was an uprising in Rivania. In mid 103 AP, the revolutionaries took control of Gloria Libertatis and executed the king, proclaiming that they would never be ruled by a monarch again. Inspired, the rebels in neighbouring countries pressed forward, and now received direct support from the Lolthian revolutionaries. Meeting in Tiano in early 104 AP, the leaders of revolutionaries from all three countries proclaimed their desire to "create a united Lendian state free from the tyranny of kings", declaring that they would not be held by any borders. Other states, such as Aspalia and Teldia, which had remained relatively untouched by the revolution, now sent armies to suppress it, believing that the very principle of the revolution posed a threat to them. The Lendian Revolution was underway.

105 AP - 116 AP

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In 105 AP, revolutionaries in Gloria Libertatis proclaimed the Republic of Lendia. The declaration which established the Republic laid claim to the entire island of Lendia, and established a democratic framework of government. Imbrio Adoso, a philosopher who had become the intellectual leader of the Revolution, was proclaimed First Councillor until national elections could be held.

The forces of the monarchists were not defeated, however. The rulers of Aspalia and Teldia, joined by fleeing aristocrats from Republic-held areas, raised armies to defeat the "traitors" and "anarchists" who sought to end monarchy across the island. The militias of the Republic, while enthusiastic, were poorly trained and lacked good leadership. One figure, however, became prominent at this point - Ravamiro Talriez, a former officer in thee army of the Kingdom of Rivania. Talriez, as the deputy commander of the Army of the Republic in the north, took command himself when his superior was assassinated. Leading his forces against a massed monarchist army near Frezone, he won a spectacular victory, and was widely hailed as a hero of the Republic. Asked to take command of the Army of the Republic's southern forces, he won a similar victory against monarchists near Savaboda, and was promoted to overall command of the Republic's military. A further campaign subdued the mountainous Kingdom of Teldia, and finally, he captured the heavily defended city of Olasano (accounts at the time gave varied accounts of his bypassing of Olasano's famous walls, but modern historians suspect that Olasano was betrayed from within).

The following year, First Councillor Imbrio Adoso died under mysterious circumstances, and Ravamiro Talriez, as a hero of the Republic, was chosen to replace him. Many of the Republic's other leaders were worried at his extreme popularity, believing that such a strong personal following was a danger to the democratic system. Many believed that Talriez had no real commitment to the Revolution, and had simply used it to advance his own position. However, any public condemnation of Talriez was out of the question, as his popularity with the public was too great.

As First Councillor, Talriez gradually increased his powers. Citing the need to ensure the survival of the new Republic, he increased the powers of the police and military, and assumed direct responsibility for these forces. In 108 AP, the three Piolsan kingdoms, Alvaronia, Rezimano, and Valcaera, all declared war on the Republic, intending to restore the monarchies and "halt the scourge of republicanism before it spreads". This gave Talriez a perfect opportunity to bolster his powers, citing the need for strong and unhampered leadership in the defence of the Republic. In 110 AP, he was able to extract from the Council authority to "protect the Republic by any means", a legal carte blanche to supress dissent. Many of Talriez's opponents were among the people accused of holding "secret monarchist sympathies" or of accepting bribes from the Piolsan kingdoms.

Gradually, Talriez quashed all opposition to his rule, and in 115 AP, he "humbly accepted" the Council's "free offer" to crown him Emperor. The Lendian Republic became the Lendian Empire, with Emperor Ravamiro Talriez as absolute ruler.

116 AP - 218 AP

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Emperor Ravamiro's first real task was the defeat of the three Piolsan kingdoms which sought to restore the pre-Revolutionary monarchies. None of the three accepted either the Revolution nor his declaration as Emperor, and saw both republicanism and Ravamiro as a threat. Many members of the old Lendian royal families had found refuge in Piolsa, and urged the Piolsan kingdoms on. The Republic's forces had established their first presence in Piolsa in 114 AP, but it was not until Ravamiro had secured his political position that he turned his full attention to the war.

Ravamiro, whatever his political views, was still an excellent general, and soon made significant gains. In 118 AP, he convinced the King of Valcaera that his victory was inevitable, and Valcaera switched sides to support him. Alvaronia and Rezimano were outraged, but could do little. In 120 AP, Lendian forces captured Asala, the capital of Alvaronia, and in 123 AP, they captured the city of Rezimano. The governments of Alvaronia and Rezimano agreed to negotiate a surrender, and the two countries were annexed to the Lendian Empire the following year. Valcaera remained independent, but by means of subtle threats and intimidation, was quickly turned into little more than a vassal state.

At home, however, Ravamiro was encountering difficulties. His top generals, whom he had appointed to the aristocratic rank of First, were proving to be less than loyal, and constantly challenged his authority. Druso Lorentino, First of Riva, was the most powerful, and Ravamiro's dispute with him nearly led to civil war. The Imperial Council (formerly the Republican Council) was also reasserting its independence. In 135 AP, Ravamiro was nearly killed in an assasination attempt - the list of suspects is large, and includes the Council, the First of Riva, and others. While Ravamiro lived, he was near death for a time, and the Council took advantage of his incapacitation to seize back control of the country. Ravamiro was placed under virtual house arrest, and the military was brought under Council control. The Council was not powerful enough to depose Ravamiro, as he was still too popular with the public and some elements of the military, but it effectively sidelined him for the rest of his reign. Ravamiro frequently plotted to regain power, but was constantly thwarted - when he died in 178 AP, he had considerable influence, but it was the Council that held true power.

Ravamiro's son, Virantoro, was quickly challenged for the throne by General Fero Dago, husband of Ravamiro's daughter Marissa. Marissa had been born before Virantoro, but in the typical tradition of most monarchies, it was the eldest male child who was expected to inherit. The political battle between Virantoro and Dago became intense, and the Council was split on the best course of action. Some favoured moves to abolish the monarchy, but many were not confident that this would be accepted by the people or the military. It was eventually decided that the safest course would be to retain the monarchy, but ensure that it would be "tame", and unable to wield any real power. In exchange for backing Virantoro as the rightful ruler, the Council therefore extracted a large number of concessions, increasing its power beyond that which it had held under Ravamiro.

At no point in the reign of Emperor Virantoro did he hold any real substantive power. The elected Imperial Council was intent on keeping the monarchy strictly ceremonial, and allowed Virantoro none of the powers that Ravamiro had wielded. By the time Virantoro died in 178 AP, most Councillors believed that the Emperor would never pose a threat again, and so made no real moves to abolish the monarchy when Tandisto Talriez took the throne. Tandisto, indeed, made no attempt to regain his grandfather's powers, saying that he was quite happy to restrict himself to the ceremonial role.

218 AP - 245 AP

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During the rule of Emperor Tandisto, the Imperial Council's power was at its height. A number of important territorial changes occured at the time, with Valcaera (which had been operating almost as a Lendian territory for years) being annexed into the Lendian Empire itself, Lendia also played a major role in the founding of the League of Lendian Republics, a group of ethnically Lendian states in what are now Caboteniasa and Neoliliana.

The affairs of the League gradually became an important political issue in Lendia itself, as the League's members increasingly found themselves in conflict with other countries. Lendian nationalists expressed the opinion that the Empire should take active steps to assist "our brethren" in Caboteniasa and Neoliliana, and resented the refusal of the Council or Emperor Tandisto to become involved. The nationalists found a champion in Prince Carigo, Tandisto's oldest son. Carigo was strong in his praise of "Lendian values" and of the Imperial Army, and quickly became one of the country's most polarising figures. With backing from the military and from the Panopticate (an intelligence agency), Carigo also began to gain significant political power.

In 234 AP, Emperor Tandisto died, and Carigo took the throne. He quickly made it clear that his was to be an interventionist reign, and that he intended to "guide the Empire to glory". Backed by the army and by a substantial segment of the population, Carigo was able to bully the Council into acceptance of his policies. In 239 AP, the Empire gave direct assistance to the ethnically-Lendian Republic of Teniasa in its war against the the Caboteniasan state of Väring, and further military action followed. Carigo, while condemned by liberals, was hailed as a hero by the more nationalist sections of society. The League, backed by the Imperial Army, continued to expand.
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245 AP - 299 AP

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In 245 AP, the League of Lendian Republics was merged directly into the Lendian Empire, having already been effectively taken over by the Empire some time previously. Military action was continued to subdue resistance in regions which were not ethnically Lendian. Meanwhile, however, Emperor Carigo's popularity was beginning to fade. While his wars had been popular among nationalists, others strongly opposed them, and as casualties increased, many people who had initially supported them turned against the fighting. Moreover, Carigo's domestic policies were increasingly regarded with distaste, and even his supporters expressed concerns about the amount of power he was gathering for himself. As the public grew increasingly hostile towards him, Carigo came to rely more and more on the military and the Panopticate.

These agencies were also tiring of Carigo, however. As the focus of fighting shifted from Caboteniasa to the jungles of Percevejan, morale among troops began to falter. Carigo soon found that he could not always rely on the armed forces, and so put all his trust in the spies and secret police of the Panopticate. In 251 AP, however, an internal rebellion in the Panopticate realigned the agency with the Council, leaving Carigo isolated. Worse, the Panopticate began to release information detailing various crimes committed by Carigo's lieutenants, further turning public opinion against him. The following year, Carigo was forced to make a public concession of primacy to the Imperial Council, promising to exercise his official powers only on the Council's advice.

Despite his promise, however, Carigo was not finished with politics. Although largely discredited with the public, he still had allies among the nationalist segments of the military and the Panopticate, and also within the Papaist Church. In 269 AP, moving quickly, his supporters took control of the Panopticate once again, and not long afterwards, the army's high command was brought under his direction as well. Carigo's second bid for power seems to have been more ruthless than the first - many opponents simply vanished, and are assumed to have been killed by the Panopticate. Carigo's grip was not nearly as firm as before, however, and his obsession with restoring his authority appears to have made him reckless. His support was generally concentrated at the highest levels of government, and he paid insufficient attention to dissent in the lower ranks - in 271 AP, a mid-level officer of the Panopticate assassinated the agency's leader, and was later raised to the leadership herself. The Panopticate then engineered the downfall of the generals who backed Carigo, installing pro-Council commanders. Carigo's last bastion of support, the Papaist Church, eventually broke from him as well, prompting an spectacularly foolish order to his loyal troops to shell the Papal palace.

Finally, in 275 AP, Carigo was once again forced to concede power to the Council, and to make a public confession of the crimes he had ordered. This time, he was placed under house arrest, and was forbidden from making any public speeches without prior approval. He was also forbidden from contacting any member of the armed forces or the Panopticate under any circumstances. He finally died in 289 AP - rumours persist that he was killed by the Panopticate.

Carigo's son, Emperor Xavier, believed strongly in the need to reform the monarchy. While Carigo had disgraced himself, many still supported the monarchy in principle, but there were increasing calls for its abolition. There were also increasing calls for autonomy or independence from non-Lendian regions of the Empire. Eventually, in 295 AP, the pro-reform faction won a majority in the Council, and a referendum on the future of monarchy was held. At the same time, a referendum was held on the exact nature of the system to be adopted by the resultant republic, if one was to be formed at all.

In the referendum, the people of Lendia opted to abolish the monarchy and establish a republic. This was not particularly unexpected, given the strong anti-monarchical sentiment that had been prevalent. In the second referendum, peopled opting for the so-called "referendary democracy" promoted by radicals in the Council. The victory of this option was largely the result of vote splitting - the winning option actually received only 31% of the vote, as compared to 30%, 24%, and 15% for the other less radical options. Referendary democracy effectively required all significant decisions to be open to public vote, as exercised by telephone or through the internet.

The Empire was officially dissolved, and the resultant state was called the Free Confederacy of Lendian Republics, or the FCLR. The FCLR was not stable, however. The various non-Lendian parts of the FCLR, while pleased about the end of the monarchy, still sought independence, and now were able to pursue it through the means of "referendary democracy" (which, it should be noted, was never really effective, owing to low turnout and poor voter coverage). In 299 AP, a referendum was finally held on the dissolution of the FCLR into its component parts, and the FCLR's population voted in favour. Piolsa was one of the parts that voted to split from Lendia, and a provisional government was established, but given the problems that arose in other parts of the FCLR, this decision was later reversed. Lendia, Piolsa, and the various surrounding states agreed to form a new nation, the Lendosan Confederation. The name was taken from the original Lendian Alliance.

299 AP - The Present

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The Lendosan Confederation continues today.