1878 Eshan Dynastic Crisis

The **1878 Eshan Dynastic Crisis** also known as the **Dun Crisis** in Esha was a coup and resulting war triggered by Rosen Ramoyov when he killed Eshan Imperator Oraz Mäsiar and forcefully took the throne of the Eshan Empire. The conflict lasted from 1878-1879 and resulted in the deaths of around 100,000 Eshans, 20,000 Dun Peoples, and the Eshan Imperator Oraz Mäsiar along with most of the House of Mäsiar.

Oraz Mäsiar became Imperator in 1861 during a time of high tensions. In response to the assassination of the head of the Ramoyovs, Nicholai Ramoyov, Oraz chose to take an approach of appeasement towards the Dun Kingdoms rather than aggression, which was not well-received by the Ramoyov aristocracy. Grand Duke Solarev Korolenko, who was the symbol head of the Eshan aristocracy, was propped up by a coalition of Ramoyov aristocrats and had been working against Oraz since his coronation. In 1875, Imperator Oraz ordered the arrest of Grand Duke Korolenko for treason, which was the first time an Imperator ordered the arrest of a Grand Duke. Dusan Siroky was given the position of Grand Duke in place of Korolenko. Rosen Ramoyov, new head of the House of Ramoyov, became a staunch opponent of Oraz and after an attempted assassination by Siroky, he formed a paramilitary group loyal to the Ramoyovs, the League of Loyal Eshans.

Despite Siroky being found guilty, Oraz took his side and the LLE was still declared as a terrorist organization. The Eshan military arrived at the LLE's headquarters in Katalystok to arrest Rosen, but he was away, and LLE Commander Tarasovich received orders to hold out for as long as he could without fighting. A force of 7,000 paramilitary LLE members led by Rosen arrived and forced the Eshan army to lift their siege. Rosen consolidated the LLE forces and prepared a march towards Aspya to reverse his arrest order. The Imperial Eshan military gathered in Kutya to arrest Rosen upon his arrival, but when they arrived, they refused arrest and began exchanging limited fire between the two sides. The Imperial Eshan forces were pushed away from Rosen's army, and the LLE forces organized a march around the town, considerably slowing them down but preventing further conflicts. Rosen's army had grown to over 20,000 and had reached the city center of Aspya. The Imperial Guard was surrounded, and a battle broke out. The Imperial Guard held out for 2 weeks until LLE forces had reached the Krymyany Palace where Oraz barricaded himself. A battle for the palace began between Rosen's personal guard lead by Tarasovich and Rosen, against the remaining Imperial Guard within the building. Oraz was captured and executed by Rosen later that night. Rosen proclaimed himself new Imperator of Esha on December 4th, 1878 in Aspya.

The House of Mäsiar lacked a successor, but the Junoya and Cordaya governates pledged loyalty to them, leading to the defection of around 1/3 of the Eshan Imperial Army to Mäsiar. The Mäsiar loyalist forces were disorganized and easily defeated by the Ramoyov loyalist forces, and the Cordonian governate was captured, but the Junoan governate remained under Mäsiar control. The kingdoms of Dosica, Janvac, and Semter intervened on the Mäsiar side, citing the Treaty of Karvo, but began losing battles with Ramoyov forces. By early April, the Dun armies were being pushed back, and the Semter army suffered a severe defeat, leading to its withdrawal from the war. Janvac surrendered in July, followed by Dosica. Finally, the Mäsiar loyalist armies began to surrender en masse, and their leader fled to Laraiso. The war ended with the collapse of the Mäsiar government on August 3rd, 1879.

The Treaty of Sevnevo was signed after Janvac's surrender, which resulted in Janvac being annexed into the Eshan empire and its king, Artan Zaveri, being executed. The treaty also ended the Semter-Eshan alliance and established a 20-year non-aggression agreement. The Mäsiar Purge followed the surrender of the last Mäsiar loyalist forces, resulting in the incarceration of 100,000 soldiers and several hundred members of the House of Mäsiar for treason. Many soldiers chose exile, resulting in a sudden influx of Eshan immigrants in nearby nations. The LLE established an Office for Investigation of Treason and executed around 10,000 civilians deemed Mäsiar supporters. Dionyz Mäsiar and former Grand Duke Siroky fled to Laraiso and Azalorn, respectively. *(Note: This 4 paragraph summary was written by ChatGPT using the rest of this article.)*

## Background

Oraz Mäsiar succeeded his father Ciril at the age of 35 as Eshan Imperator in 1861, a time where Eshan tensions with kingdoms of the Dun region were high. In 1858, Esha forced the Kingdom of Dosica to surrender nearly half their land to the governate of Junoya, a part of the Eshan Empire. Unrest and attacks by Dun rebels had been getting worse and eventually culminated in the assassination of the head of the House of Ramoyov, Nicholai Ramoyov, in 1866. The reaction from the Ramoyov House was to blame the Kingdom of Janvac, as thats where the assassins originated. Oraz chose an approach of appeasement rather than aggression. The Eshan-Dun border was heavily demilitarized and trade was encouraged in the region. In 1870, several Dun languages were unbanned, to the dismay of many Eshans living in the east, far away from the Dun borders. This refusal for revenge was received poorly by the Ramoyov aristocracy, who regarded Oraz as an naïve, ill-equipped ruler unable to handle Esha's enemies. However the Mäsiar aristocracy saw the Ramoyovs as bloodthirsty and began worrying for their own safety.

Grand Duke Solarev Korolenko was the third in command of the Eshan Empire by 1870 and symbol head of the Eshan aristocracy. Due to the rivalry between the houses, Grand Dukes rarely took sides and their jobs were usually to balance the two out. Korolenko, however, was propped up by a coalition of Ramoyov aristocrats in 1862 when the former Grand Duke, Dalibor Voronov, was forced to abdicate. Since Oraz's coronation, the Imperator and Grand Duke had been working against each other, Korolenko often getting the support of Ramoyovs.

### Treaty of Karvo and Arrest of Solarev Korolenko

On December 5th, 1874, the Treaty of Karvo was signed by Semter King Orlin Masaev and Oraz that declared the Kingdom of Semter an official ally of the Eshan Empire. Semter, being a Dun kingdom, wasn't trusted by the Ramoyovs or by Korolenko. A few weeks later, on January 12th, 1875, Korolenko and several members of the House of Ramoyov, gathered in the capital, Aspya, to accuse the Imperator of conspiracy and of working against the best interests of Esha. In turn, days later, on January 15th, Imperator Oraz ordered the arrest of Grand Duke Korolenko for the same charges Oraz was being accused of. It was the first time an Imperator ordered the arrest of a Grand Duke, therefore there was no legal precedent for the legitimacy of Oraz's order.

In place of Korolenko, Dusan Siroky was given the position of Grand Duke. Siroky, being a native Junoan, was the highest ranking Junoan in Eshan history. The Junoan population having historically anti-Eshan sentiments exacerbated the accusations of Oraz taking anti-Eshan actions as Imperator. Siroky was also involved heavily in diplomatic missions to Semter during the signing of the Treaty of Karvo, leading many to believe he was conspiring with the Semterites. Siroky was a very vocal critic of Rosen Ramoyov, head of the House of Ramoyov, especially for the Ramoyov's authoritarian policies towards Dun nations and minority groups in the Eshan Empire.

### Attempted Assassination of Rosen Ramoyov

Rosen Ramoyov became head his house in 1866 when his father, Nicholai, was assassinated. Rosen had always been a staunch opponent of Oraz and many in the House of Mäsiar, the recent conflict between the two houses growing his determination. Rosen himself would be the target of an assassination attempt on September 1st, 1878 orchestrated by Grand Duke Siroky during a meeting in Aspya of the Eshan Governatorial Council he was attending. Armed gunmen were allowed in the building by guards payed off by Siroky and stormed into the council meeting. Rosen was shot once in the chest with a handgun along with several other members of the council, both in support of and opposing Oraz. The attack was witnessed by Siroky himself as he was in the room at the time and assisted wounded council members. The gunmen engaged in a mock battle with the guardsmen and managed to escape. However, Rosen's wound wasn't fatal and he survived after being in the hospital for a month.

The attack wasn't approved by Oraz and wasn't aware it was ordered by Siroky. In the initial weeks following the failed attempt, speculation on the culprits was inconclusive until Rosen recovered. When he was released from the hospital on October 3rd, he demanded the government put every guardsmen present during the attack under investigation, Siroky personally denying the request the same day.

### League of Loyal Eshans

As the Mäsiars and their supporters took more power from the Ramoyovs, Rosen gathered the roughly 20,000 bodyguards and armed employees of the Ramoyov aristocracy and formed the League of Loyal Eshans, a paramilitary group loyal to the Ramoyovs. Rosen put Khanilov Tarasovich in command of the LLE. On October 5th, the LLE with the support of most of the Ramoyov aristocrat's in Aspya, forcefully arrested the guardsmen themselves without the authority of the Eshan government. A few days later, Oraz declared the LLE a terrorist organization and ordered their immediate shutdown, however it was too late. Enough guardsmen had confessed to build a convincing case that Siroky had planned the assassination attempt. On October 9th, the LLE released it's evidence of conspiracy to assassinate Rosen and claimed Siroky was an enemy of the state. The actual Eshan government initially had no involvement in the accusation, but eventually as evidence was considered Siroky was determined guilty. Siroky had secretly traveled to Semter to convince the government to blame Dun Committee members for the attack. Before either the government or LLE could do anything, Siroky was already smuggled through Victalma into Azalorn with the help of Semter's military.

## Coup

Following the uncovering of Siroky's plot, the LLE was still declared as a terrorist organization and despite Siroky being found guilty, Oraz took his side. On October 15th, the Eshan military arrived at the LLE's headquarters in Katalystok with around 5,000 men to arrest Rosen, however he was away in Levosta. Tarasovich was at the headquarters though and sent dispatchers to Rosen to request orders while the Eshan military put the headquarters under siege. He got a response on October 18th to hold out for as long as he could without fighting. A few days later on October 21st, a force of 7,000 paramilitary LLE members arrived in Katalystok and forced the Eshan army to lift their siege.

### Battle of Kutya

Rosen, enraged that his arrest had been ordered, consolidated the LLE forces in the area of Katalystok and prepared a march towards Aspya to reverse the order. As they traveled north, civilians slowly began joining their ranks and supporting the army with food and clothing. By October 30th, the army arrived in Kutya near Kalyzerske and had a force of around 13,000, many civilians joining their ranks. The Eshan military was aware of their march however and had been gathering in Kutya to arrest them upon their arrival. A small force of around 15,000 Imperial Eshan soldiers were gathered, most being conscripted locally. However, when Rosen's army arrived, rather than surrendering they refused arrest and began exchanging limited fire between the two sides. The Imperial Eshan general in charge of the force, Yasen Jovanovi, wasn't anticipating resistance and was unprepared, resulting in the Imperial force being pushed away from Rosen's army. Despite their numerical advantage, the Imperial military command in Kutya were too anxious to order further attempts at stopping Rosen. With the Imperial Eshans stuck in Kutya, the LLE forces organized a march around the town, considerably slowing them down but preventing further conflicts. By November 10th, Rosen's army was out of Kutya and heading towards Aspya.

### Coup in Aspya

By the time Rosen was nearing Aspya in early November, the Mäsiar government was able to keep the Junoan and Cordonian governates stable, however the Eshan governate was tittering on civil war. The majority of the Eshan Governate Council supported Rosen and were boycotting emergency meetings. Much of the Eshan governate's aristocracy could see what was coming and began pledging their populations to Rosen. Most of the Eshan governate was in support of or ruled by supporters of Rosen. Oraz was advised to evacuate to Umura, but refused to leave the capital. The Eshan Imperial Army was spread thin, stationed throughout Esha to maintain stability and no available divisions could be called to Aspya, however the 1st Imperial Guard division stood as the Imperator's only line of defense.

On November 14th, Rosen's army had grown to over 20,000 and had reached the city center of Aspya. The professional forces of the LLE were parading and celebrating as they believed they captured the city, but eventually they ran into the Imperial Guard defenses and a battle broke out. After the Imperial Guard was surrounded, a siege of the city center that lasted 2 weeks slowly depleted their supplies and morale. By November 30th, LLE forces had reached the Krymyany Palace where Oraz barricaded himself. A battle for the palace began between Rosen's personal guard lead by Tarasovich and Rosen, against the remaining Imperial Guard within the building. Oraz's forces held out for 3 days in the palace until on December 3rd, Oraz was captured by LLE forces in the Imperial Throne Room where he was executed by Rosen later that night.

### Immediate Aftermath

The same day of Oraz's death, the last Imperial Guard forces in Aspya surrendered and the next day, December 4th, Rosen proclaimed himself Imperator of the Eshan Empire. Oraz had no wife or children and his family members had all evacuated the Eshan governate, so there was no Mäsiar successor they could detain.

## Mäsiar Secession and Dun Intervention

Within the next week, the governates of Juno and Cordonia (Junoya and Cordaya) would proclaim themselves loyal to the House of Mäsiar, despite no heir claiming succession. Around 1/3 of the Eshan Imperial Army had switched loyalty to the Mäsiar governates, however most of the army that was loyal to Rosen were spread throughout the empire. Mäsiar loyal forces were unorganized and split up, quickly surrendering when fighting with Ramoyov forces. The Governate Councils of Juno and Cordonia were protected in Umura and Bzadeniya by loyal forces, however there was no real organized high command.

By the new year, Ramoyov and Mäsiar armies were still fighting, numbering around 700,000 to 200,000 respectively. On January 4th, Bzadeniya was captured by Ramoyov loyalist forces and the Cordonian Governate Council was arrested. Former Grand Duke Solarev Korolenko was also freed from Mäsiar custody and returned to Aspya within a week. Most of the Cordonian governate was under Ramoyov control while the Junoan governate remained in Mäsiar control. At this point, seeing the lack of leadership, Former Grand Duke Dusan Siroky, returned to Umura to take over control of the Mäsiar forces on January 7th.

### Invasion of Esha

Around the same time, the kingdoms of Dosica, Janvac, and Semter started discussing plans for intervention and on January 10th, 1879, launched a joint invasion of the Eshan governate. They cited the Treaty of Karvo, declaring Semter as an ally of the Eshan Empire, as justification for supporting the Mäsiar loyalists. Initially, the Ramoyov loyalists were caught off guard and the joint Dun armies were able to capture about 1/4 of the Eshan Governate by late February. However by March, they'd start losing more and more battles with Ramoyov forces.

### Eshan Counter-Attack

As Spring started and the Eshan army recovered from their initial losses, the Dun armies began being pushed back in Early April. The army of Semter especially were demoralized and disliked having to fight alongside the Janvac army. On April 17th, at the Battle of Sevnevo, the majority of the Semter army was present (around 80,000) and suffered a severe defeat after being abandoned by their Janvac allies. In response, the general of the Semter army, Oskar Sarkezi, returned to Semter's capital, Khyrdyr, and demanded King Masaev sign a truce and cease conflict. After contacting the other Dun kingdoms, Janvac's king, Artan Zaveri, threatened to oust Masaev by force if the treaty was signed. In response, Sarkezi threatened to kill Masaev and take power for himself. Masaev gave into Sarkezi and formally withdrew Semter's army from the invasion, waiting for the Ramoyov government to enter peace talks, on May 2nd, 1879.

Keeping up with his promise, on May 3rd, Zaveri ordered part of the Janvac army to occupy Semter. However, the smaller Semter army was able to hold back the Janvac army for several weeks and the occupation failed. On May 25th, Zaveri ended the occupation order and sent most of the army to the front with the Ramoyovs as they were approaching closer. Around the same time at the start of June, Dosica ended their occupation of a small portion of the Junoya governate still controlled by the Mäsiar loyalists and withdrew their army from the fighting. On June 5th, Dosica would also formally withdraw from the conflict, hoping for peace talks with the Ramoyov government. During this time, on May 25th, 1879, Rosen was officially crowned Imperator in a ceremony in Esha, further cementing his power.

### Janvac Surrender

By July, the Eshan land formerly occupied by Janvac was retaken and they were defending their border. The Janvac government began conscripting as many young men into the army as they could and started launching raid parties into Semter land for materials and food. In response, the Semter government met with the Ramoyov government and requested to join the war against Janvac if they were guaranteed independence afterwards. On July 11th, both sides agreed and the Semter army counter attacked. By mid July, Janvac's capital Byasko was occupied by Semter and Ramoyov forces and on July 18th, the Janvac government surrendered. Shortly after Dosica would formally sign peace with the Ramoyov government on July 21st.

### Mäsiar Capitulation

With the Dun front concluded, the entire Ramoyov army could focus on the Mäsiar loyalists, and after a series of battles that ended in victory for the Ramoyov army, the Mäsiar government collapsed. However, before it could, their defacto leader, Grand Duke Siroky, fled to Laraiso for a second time. Without leadership and the war appearing hopeless, Mäsiar loyalist armies began surrendering on mass until on August 3rd, 1879, the last Mäsiar loyalist general, Lyuben Bakalov, would surrender his army of 60,000 in Umura.

## Aftermath

### Treaty of Sevnevo

Following Janvac's surrender, the Janvac government was forced to sign the Treaty of Sevnevo alongside the Semter and Eshan governments. Janvac was formally annexed into the Eshan empire and Janvac King, Artan Zaveri, was tried in Aspya and declared an international terrorist and given the death sentence, being hung in Aspya on August 5th. The treaty included a non-aggression agreement between Esha and Semter that lasted 20 years. The treaty also nullified the Treaty of Karvo, ending the Semter-Eshan alliance.

### Mäsiar Purge

After the last Mäsiar loyalist forces surrendered under Bakalov, around 100,000 Mäsiar loyalist soldiers and several hundred members of the House of Mäsiar were incarcerated for treason. On August 10th, Rosen Ramoyov, with a unanimous vote in favor from remaining Aristocracy, issued the Imperial Order to End Treachery, ordering for immediate exile of anyone baring the name Mäsiar from Esha. The order also allowed the incarcerated soldiers to choose either permanent exile or death penalty. Over 90,000 of the soldiers chose exile and left to either Victalma, Laraiso, or Azalorn via Rencol Bay. Most of them had families who came with them, resulting in a sudden influx of Eshan immigrants in several nearby nations, most notably Azalorn, who received around 60,000 immigrants from Esha between 1879 and 1882, many Eshans settling in the western mountains of the island which resembled Juno and Cordonia's climates.

In the years following, the LLE would establish an Office for Investigation of Treason to locate remaining Mäsiar relatives and supporters in Esha. Around 10,000 civilians deemed Mäsiar supporters would be executed during the 1880s, mostly due to the LLE, during what would become known as the Mäsiar Purge. After Oraz 's death, Dionyz Mäsiar became the head of the house of Mäsiar, surviving capture by fleeing to Laraiso before the coup. Former Grand Duke Siroky who served under Oraz left Laraiso in 1882 to live in Azalorn, serving as a defacto leader for the community of exiled Mäsiar soldiers in Azalorn.

## International Reaction

### Laraiso

The Laraisan government was rather unaware of internal Eshan politics, despite being antagonistic towards Esha. During the passive nature of Mäsiar rule, Laraiso mostly ignored Esha, tending to their own influence in the west. However, after the coup in Aspya, the Eshan government was suddenly seen as extremely volatile. Laraisan officials softened their border regulations to help smuggle Mäsiar loyalists out of Esha in hope they would one day return to Esha. During the brief civil war, Mäsiar commanders fighting in Cordonia and Juno used Laraisan tankers to communicate in secret. After the war and the LLE began the Mäsiar Purge, Laraiso became a safe haven for refugees fleeing persecution, many former royalty moving to Laraiso and taking up residence. Throughout the 1880s, occasionally Laraisan police would arrest LLE spies sent to monitor the actions of former Mäsiars.