Dulama Civil War

The Dulama Civil War was a many-sided civil war that wracked the Dulama Empire during the late 14th century AR. It would open the empire to invasion by its many enemies and eventually lead to its complete collapse.
Since Orlaugh Saghir had converted the imperial family to Machaianism, relocated the capital to Mora and ended imperially sanctioned sacrifices at the great pyramids, the empire had faced periodic revolts by disgruntled aristocrats centered on the old imperial capital of Dula. The rebellions had never been able to retain enough support to overthrow the emperors in Mora, and in each in its turn fizzled out. However, they laid the groundwork for the chaos that would emerge on the murder of Emperor Cairl XVI.
The murderer of Cairl XVI would never be determined, but the emperor left no children. Instead, two of the emperor's brothers, Aidren and Tlara, who bore little love for one another, each declared himself emperor, Tlara in the capital city of Mora and Aidren in the larger and more ancient city of Aeda. Each accused the other being behind the murder of their brother, and the Machaianist nobility of the west quickly splintered between the two claimants.
Alone, the fighting between Aidren and Tlara would have been enough to plunge the empire into chaos. However, many of the traditional Dulama nobility, who still followed the Dulama religion and resented the recent emperors' focus on the west of the empire, led yet another rebellion against both Aidren in Tlara in the old capital of Dula. Meanwhile, local governors in the cities of Tiagho and Gialla also declared their own states.
Although Tlara initially had the upper hand against Aidren, he was unable to defeat his brother quickly as he attempted to suppress the traditionalist revolts in the east as well. Meanwhile, the enemies of the empire circled, with the Hai Vithana, Laitra Empire and Naran each launching a limited invasion. Thus, a protacted war began, with Aidren and Tlara fighting each other and the other factions with equal ferocity.
Aidren's position was always difficult, bearing the brunt of Naran's assault while also controlling a much smaller force than Tlara, and the would-be emperor was eventually captured and executed by his brother. However, by the time Tlara was able to secure his power in the valley of the River Thala, the Hai Vithana invasion and the rebellion of Dula had gotten completely out of hand. The emperor was forced to cede nearly all territory west of the Thala valley to the Vithana invaders, halving the size of the empire in a single stroke. The remaining Dulama revolts in the east would slowly be defeated by the Hai Vithana, who would establish their own Vithanama Empire to rival the Dulama Empire.
The western remnant of the Dulama Empire would hobble on for a few more decades, but the end of the war merely sealed its fate, and it would soon collapse completely.
Category:Wars
Category:West
Category:Dulama