The Expulsion of the Sakamohr

"If we don't band together now, we may never have another opportunity; the Sakamohr are broken, they can barely fight each other, they'd stand no chance against us all. I know we have our differences, and I know not everyone here acknowledges everyone else's position, but we need to strike now! Let us worry about the aftermath after. Who's with me?!"

When the Sakamohr occupiers of the great city of Belyos devolved into in-fighting and anarchy, the old Imperial Houses formed an unlikely alliance to oust them. The campaign was a success, and the barbarian invaders were firmly and decisively removed from Imperial lands. Mistrust and a lack of overall leadership led to the alliance collapsing soon after, and the dreams of a reunified Empire would be dashed for another 117 years.

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The Conflict

Prelude

The Sakamohr had occupied the southern lands of what was once The Empire of Belyos for almost 180 years, including the once-great Imperial capital of Belyos. For most of this time, the Sakamohr leadership had been quite stable, with a single dynasty descended from the great Pexld the Conqueror holding authority over the disparate clans.
Beginning in 1511, a series of leaders who sought to emulate more Imperial traditions and customs, in the hope of gaining legitimacy with the old Imperial Houses, had led to a coup in 1562, which quickly devolved into a succession of short-lived rulers who struggled to even gain legitimacy amongst their own clan-members. A civil war broke out amongst the clans in 1571, and many Sakamohr abandoned Imperial lands for their own ancestral lands in the south.
Several lords of the great Imperial Houses saw this as an opportunity to re-take the city of Belyos, and formed an alliance; sharing forces and intelligence. They assembled a force larger than anything seen since the days of the Empire's golden age, with thousands of troops, hundreds of ships, and even some newly formed cavalry units. The primary goal of this force was to oust the Sakamohr from Belyos, and hopefully from Imperial lands entirely.

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The Engagement

The Imperial Houses divided their forces into three; one was to approach from the north, the other from the east, and a third army to land on island of the Imperial Province and sweep across the island before laying siege to Belyos. The army approaching from the north encountered very little resistance, reaching the shore near Belyos in only a couple of months, before even the army in the Imperial Province had managed to secure the island from its tenaciously dug-in defenders. 
Once the two forces met, with Belyos in between them, they negotiated its surrender with the few remaining Sakamohr and the Temple Guard, one of the few Imperial institutions still remaining in the old capital. The nominal ruler of the Sakamohr, Trihen, was allowed to leave with the remains of his clan, with the promise he would never return to Imperial lands.
The army approaching from east faced more resistance, as the open lands south of Belyos favoured the Sakamohr way of fighting. However, superior numbers and new anti-cavalry tactics saw Imperial House forces steadily progress, and they joined up with the rest of the forces a few weeks after Belyos was secured. The combined army then made their way to the Gap of Enim, fighting only two battles of any significance, by Sakamohr clans who saw leaving the lands they'd held for almost two centuries as dishonourable. With the gap secured, the expulsion was over. A decisive victory for the Imperial forces.

Sakamohr Expulsion Campaign Map

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Outcome

With the Sakamohr largely killed or driven off Imperial lands by the Imperial Forces, the allied commanders met to discuss what was to happen next. There was already substantial mistrust between the various heads of the Imperial Houses, with accusations that the head of House Soldec was not legitimate, but rather usurped the previous holder, and as such had no right to be part of any decision making. Gurgintius II of Soldec countered that the other Lords were quite happy to receive his help in ousting the Sakamohr, and had earned the right to sit at the table and be considered.
Additionally, the head of House Foath, Liberius, had died of heart failure in the final days of the campaign. His son, Titanus, was to succeed him, but had remained at home, almost a thousand kilometers away, and many lords argued that it would take too long for him to be summoned, not to mention the wait for him to be official coronated. Acacius of House Hudor was unwilling to make any long-term deals without all the Houses represented though, and insisted on waiting.
The historical resentment between the Houses, along with the issues presented, would prevent any long-term cooperation being agreed upon. Seneca of Belkais, and Erastus of Klimba were set to leave, taking their armies with them, when a small Sakamohrian force was spotted and defeated attempting to get back into Imperial lands. An agreement was made to leave a thousand troops from each House, at the expense of each House, and that the road between Enim and Belyos was to be considered neutral territory.
With this in place, the Houses departed, and would not unify again. The area of cooperation between the Houses was short-lived. As soon as some returned to their territory, they used their veteran troops, and the possibility of their opponents not getting back in time, to launch several grabs for territory. Within a year of the expulsion of the Sakamohr, the Imperial Houses were fighting each other once more.

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Aftermath

The forces at the Gap of Enim remained, and aside from a few minor instances, the Imperial Houses kept their promises to guard the pass. It was from this combined force that Til-Yaltur emerged, and used the significant number of troops based there to start his crusade to re-unify the Empire. All of the Imperial Houses were dissolved in the aftermath of this crusade, with Til-Yaltur citing their inability to come to an agreement in 1589 as evidence that they would never voluntarily give up their power.
It was a descendent of Trihen, the last of the Sakamohr occupier 'Emperors' who led the invasion into Imperial lands upon finding out about the withdrawal of the forces at the Gap of Enim by Til-Yaltur. His forces barely managed to make it 200 kilometers into Imperial lands before they were caught by the Imperial Army and entirely annihilated. Only a dozen were left alive, to carry word of the re-unified Empire back into Sakamohr, and a warning that Til-Yaltur was coming to exact vengeance on the Sakamohr people.
The threat of Sakamohr invasion has been used ever since as a tool to keep the Empire unified, and the Elector States in line. Whilst their actual threat is relatively low, the psychological impact on Imperial lands, especially the south, which is still to recover, is hard to overestimate.

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Conflict Type

War

Start Date

1587

Ending Date

1588

Conflict Result

Explusion of the Sakamohr
Establishment of the guard at Enim

Belligerents

The Sakamohr

The Imperial Houses

Strength

~8,000 clan members

13,000 Imperial House soldiers
251 ships

Casualties

Objectives

Retain control of Belyos
Gain legitimacy with the Imperial Houses

Remove the Sakamohr from Imperial lands
Prevent future invasions
Possible re-establishment of the Empire