Imperial War

The Imperial War, also known as the Period of Kantaran Occupation or the Kantaran Period, was the invasion and establishment of the Kantaran Empire within Beurum, particularly in the Western Commons, Everglade Wastes, Sunlit Isles, and parts of the Halfling Hills and Northern Commons. Lasting from 6505 to 821, the occupation took up most of the Third Era and was characterized by the introduction of Kantaran culture, legal and political systems, and individuals. The period was also characterized by various indepedent attempts to drive out the Kantarans, though none of these were very successful until the last hundred years of Kantaran control.

History

Prelude

In the Third Era, the High Kingdom of Beurum were enjoying a Golden Age after recovering from the Crisis of Akathon, in which a large portion of the population had vanished. The Order of the Wanderers enjoyed renewed cultural significance and under them, the Trebai population expanded and their culture flourished. The Daphnea were enjoying a similar Golden Age in the Sunlit Isles, but largely kept to themselves, as did the neighboring Eripe.
Despite these strengths, there were weaknesses among the peoples of southeastern Beurum. The Daphnea were isolated and maintained little contact with peoples other than the Eripe, and Eripe cities were rooted in strict tradition that made them unprepared for a large invasion. The High Kingdom of Beurum, though prosperous, was fighting a messy war with the Makovai to the west. To the north, the Rowen were large in number, but largely pacifistic by nature, making them unwilling to resist a potential invasion.
Across the Eastern Sea, the Kantaran Empire had expanded to control nearly the entirety of their home continent, Tritan. Seeking to further expand their territory, they sent a number of small scouting parties to investigate the strength of local institutions. The Kantaran Empire was not completely foreign to , but the ocean between them was so expansive and dangerous that trade was rarely practical. Among the Trebai, Eripe, and Rowen, the Kantarans were known as elegant conquerors who sought to dominate their side of the world. The Daphnea were descendants of elves who had journeyed to Beurum to escape Kantaran control, as were many other smaller ethnic groups of humans, halflings, and gnomes. These peoples were more wary of Kantaran invasion, and their scouts in Tritan reported that the Kantarans sought to do just that. However, Daphnea leaders either did not take these reports seriously or could not figure out what to do.
Pushing the most for an invasion of Beurum was Emperor Aref III. Aref, at thirty years old, was considered to be the most successful conqueror of all the Kantaran rulers due to his popularity, charisma, mental stability, and ability to conquer areas in Beurum previously thought to be impenetrable.

Invasion

The Kantarans worked for years on ocean vessels that could better navigate the ocean between them and Beurum. By 6504, they had assembled a massive fleet of large sailing vessels, and in the spring of 6505, they arrived at the ancient Daphnea city of Senoma, taking symbolic revenge for the Daphnea's previous defiance. Aref spearheaded the conquest, and gained even more notoriety and reverence by the Kantarans for his success. The Daphnea fiercely resisted the invasion, but were simply outnumbered by the Kantarans. Within a few years, the Kantarans extended their control across the entirety of the Sunlit Isles.
As this was happening, dignitaries from the Rowen Republic took note, and sent diplomats to consult with the new rulers of the region. Officials from the High Kingdom of Beurum did so as well, though they arrived much later than the Rowen on account of the war they were fighting. The Kantarans agreed to not invade either people unless "hostilities occurred" between them, being intentionally vague. In the Everglade Wastes, meanwhile, the Eripe were outraged at Kantaran treatment of the Daphnea, their closest allies, and began to fortify their cities, building walls, manufacturing weapons, and filling the many swamps of the region with booby traps. To the northwest, the Alois did the same, though the open plains they lived on proved difficult to fortify.
In the Sunlit Isles, the Kantarans installed a satrap council and grouped together the city-states of the Sunlit Isles as the province of Siaran. Once they had secured a stable government, they invaded the Everglade Wastes and several Eripe cities in 6510. However, this campaign proved much more difficult, as when a city was captured, the Eripe would retreat to their hideouts in the swamp and attack from there. By 6520, the Kantarans decided to fortify their strongholds in the cities and install a satrap council to rule the new province of Chavosh.
After disputes with Windberga, a small Trebai kingdom bordering Eripe territory, the Kantarans launched a large invasion of the High Kingdom of Beurum, using resources obtained from the Sunlit Isles. Aref and his forces found success defeating Windberga by itself, but quickly realized they would have to slog through numerous minor Trebai kingdoms if they were to have any hope of conquering the nation completely. Aref therefore decided to hold off on attacking the Trebai. He instead shifted his focus to the Rowen Republic, but died of illness before he could make any substantial progress.
Aref's successor, his daughter Niku I, continued where her father had left off, though she was not as popular among her subjects. Thinking that gaining control of the Trebai would be wiser than to focus attention on the Rowen, she signed more expansive peace agreements with the Rowen and ceased warfare for a decade. During this time, from 6522 to 6532, she stifled resistance in Siaran and Chavosh, built up the Kantaran military, and encouraged widespread Kantaran immigration to Beurum. This immigration occurred not only in the form of settlers in Siaran and Chavosh, but also merchants who established economic footholds outside of the provinces. Niku also established several temples to Kantaran deities in the Sunlit Isles, but did not outlaw worship of traditional deities in Beurum.

Further Consolidation

In 6533, Niku launched an all-out campaign against the High Kingdom of Beurum, which they had more or less expected. She was able to take the cities of Redoran and Praedek within the campaign's first year, but had little success after this. It difficult both to conquer and maintain control of the Trebai's many countryside strongholds, especially since the Kantarans were used to conquering and controlling cities.
Niku died shortly after this, and the next eighty years would see a long line of rulers who gradually chipped away at the High Kingdom of Beurum.
The Kantaran "conquest" of the Rowen was much different. Rather than fight them, Niku and her successors pursued a non-militaristic approach to dominance over their republic, choosing to instead influence their elections and install leaders friendly to the Kantarans.
Meanwhile, the Empire continued to establish their overseas "center" in Siaran. In Senoma, they built and expanded a massive palace for the emperor when they were in Beurum, as well as monumental plazas, temples, and palaces for members of satrap councils. While the empire typically pursued a policy that allowed provinces to be semi-indepedent as long as they did not go against their regional rulers, in Siaran they enacted strict control and transformed completely the Daphnea economy, political system, and culture.

Mid-Rule Period

By the early 6600s, the Kantarans had securely established themselves as the dominant force in southeastern Beurum. They were able to cripple the High Kingdom of Beurum, which only remained as a shadow of its former self in backwater Trebai provinces.
Other than the Daphnea and the Eripe, the lives of people subject to Kantaran rule generally did not dramatically change. Local leaders were allowed to continue ruling as long as they swore loyalty to their overlords.
The lives of Daphnea and Eripe individuals, on the other hand, were made significantly more difficult by Kantaran rule. Since the Kantarans established themselves the most in their lands, much of their culture and livelihood were suppressed.
While satrap councils initially allowed for somewhat democratic processes outside of Siaran, during the 6600s they gradually shifted into more authoritarian systems that answered directly to the Emperor. The Trebai had enjoyed some amount of self-rule, but most of this was taken away.

Period of Kantaran Decline

During the 6700s, several Trebai, Eripe, and Daphnea began making more organized efforts at resisting Kantaran rule, trying to install their own systems of government.

Conflict Type

War

Start Date

6505

Ending Date

6821