The Conquest of Barchu

The Conquest of Barchu refers to the invasion and subjugation of the Lovasnép People by the Qaghanate of Noam, which took place in stages from 1810 until the razing of Gomesztér and Várokirályi in 1826. After the fall of the Barchurian Empire, the reconstituted Second Kingdom of Barchu had experienced relative stability for nearly four centuries. But the events of the late 18th and early 19th centuries created conditions that would lead to a loss of independence unforeseen by contemporary observers and policy makers.

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BACKGROUND

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Besides increasing internal conflicts, the Barchurian state was gravely threatened by the expanding Noamese Empire directly to the east. By 1750 Noam had become Telluria’s largest political state, and fielded the largest and most powerful military force ever seen to the time. Nevertheless, the Barchurian nobility remained oblivious to the threat, focusing instead on the challenges to their privileges resulting from the political reforms instituted by King János IV.

After his son, János V died without an heir in 1784, the Barchurian nobility arranged for the accession to the throne of his cousin, Prince Karlo VII of Zorovia, who was crowned King Károly II, in no small part because of his notorious weakness. During his reign the central government began to experience severe financial challenges, largely caused by the enlargement of feudal landholdings at the expense of the crown. The nobles also dismantled the national administrative systems that had become so successful under János V. Barchu’s defenses declined as border guards and castle garrisons went unpaid, fortresses fell into disrepair and initiatives to raise taxes to reinforce defenses were stifled by the nobility and landed elite. Barchu’s role on the international stage was neutralized, its political stability shaken and social progress ground to a halt.

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REBELLION AND INVASION

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In 1806, the weakened and aging Károly was forced to plead for the assistance of the nobility to help put down a major peasant rebellion led by Fáklya Mihály. The resulting degradation of law and order paved the way for Noamese ambitions to acquire Barchurian territory. In 1813 the strongest Barchurian fortress in Transcyrontia, Keleterőd, fell to Noamese forces, and in 1818 the Barchurian army was crushed at the Battle of Legyőzött. The young King Tódor IV of Barchu and Zorovia, only son of Károly and his third wife, Anna of Sympa-Renard, died in the battle along with the leader of the Barchurian army, Archcoarb Pál György of Gomesztér.

After their decisive victory over the Barchurian army in 1818, Noamese forces conquered large parts of the Kingdom of Barchu and continued their expansion until 1826. This period was characterized by political chaos, during which a divided Barchurian nobility elected two kings simultaneously. One side united behind Fergus M’Heugh, Prince of Covania and great-great-grandson of King János II. The other supported Szántó Viktor, Voivode of Északnyugati. Armed conflict between the rival monarchs further weakened the country.

With the razing of Gomesztér and Várokirályi in 1826, the conquest of Barchu was complete. Fergus of Covania was killed and his army vanquished, and Szántó Viktor fled with his family and court first to Ferns and later to Sancta Sedes, establishing a government in exile there.

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CONSEQUENCES

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From 1826 until 1913, the land and people of Barchu were ruled from Samlazaz, fully absorbed into the Qaghanate as the Province of Anslavia. Barchu’s annexation was not recognized by most nations of Heremonia, where Barchu was depicted on maps as the “Lands of the Crown of Saint Leopold.” Although the western nations continued to recognize the Royal Government in Exile, it was the Voivodes who, having remained behind after the conquest, assumed effective governance of the people.

Several noted scholars, including Lovasnép historian and linguist Pokőrni-Tás Mátyás, assert the outbreak of the Great Intercontinental War was the inevitable consequence of the expansion of the Qaghanate across the Szomorú River into Heremonia. They cite for their hypothesis thee primary causes for the war, all of which were the result of the fall of Barchu:
- Western desire to halt Noamese expansion;

- Western animosity at the subjugation of a Sanctist nation by Easterners; and
- Noamese monopolization of the sweetroot trade.

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¹ Notable exceptions being the Northern Wars and the seventeenth century War of the Two Kings.

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BARCHURIAN HISTORY

National Flag of Barchu