Iuri Zaschi I

Iuri Zaschi vi Britania was an Afrelonian general and prince who lived from 8 April 248 to 11 December 303. Zaschi was a member of the Britania dynasty and led the Afrelonian legions in the Riagai Wars before defeating his political adversary and brother Emperor Peipo in a civil war and becoming Emperor of Afrelon from 299 to 303. He was a pivotal figure in the history of Afrelon.

An alliance was formed in 288 by Zaschi, Peipo, and the senkriga Zuriki Zukura, and it dominated Afrelonian politics for several years. Their endeavours were met with opposition from many in the National Council, including Keitaro Tschozakoku, who had the support of Ruta Zeroschi. Through a series of military triumphs in the Riagai Wars, which were completed by 297 and considerably expanded Afrelonian territory, Zaschi grew to become one of the most prominent politicians in Afrelon. He invaded Niaburi and built a bridge across the Congo River during this time. Peipo's standing was threatened by these accomplishments and the support of his veteran army, which had realigned itself with the Council after Zukura's death in 295. With the Riagai Wars over, the Council ordered Zaschi to relinquish command of his army and return to Ieskoles. By crossing the Zuguro Rukan and advancing towards Ieskoles with an army in 299, Zaschi publicly rejected the Council's authority. This sparked Zaschi's civil war, which he eventually won, giving him near-unchallenged authority and influence in 303.

Zaschi started a programme of social and governmental reforms after becoming Emperor. He granted citizenship to many people from the Empire's outlying regions. He pushed for land reform and veteran assistance. He consolidated the Empire's administration and political structure. The elites were enraged by his populist and dictatorial measures, and they began to plot against him. Zaschi was stabbed to death by a group of rebelling senators led by Zuroku Boruto and Zukaschi Zuron on 11 December 303. A fresh round of civil warfare erupted, and Zaschi's adopted son Zuhatschi Naoka rose to sole authority. Zuhatschi began to consolidate his position, and the Reconstruction era began.

## Early life and career

During the reign of his grandfather Emperor Felikz, Iuri Zaschi vi Britania was born on April 8, 248, in White Lodge, Richmond Park, on the outskirts of London. He was Prince Junhan and Princess Maria second son (later Emperor Junhan II and Empress Maria). His father was the son of Emperor Felikz and Empress Lekzi. His mother was Princess Maria Keni of Hilfiket, the eldest daughter of Sir Zufura Kute. He was second in the line of succession to the Empire at the time of his birth, following his brother, Peipo.

At 16, Iuri married Komi Kutschugo, the daughter of Zuro Kon Kutschugo, a military general and close friend of Emperor Junhan II, and was appointed as the Zaoschi of Afrelon at 19. However, the threat of civil war lead to Iuri reluctantly conceding his priesthood to a councillor, Sora Felikzi. Because the Zaoschi was not allowed to touch a horse, sleep three nights outside his own bed or one night outside Ieskoles, or look upon an army, the loss of his priesthood allowed him to pursue a military career.

Iuri decided that it would be safer to be far away from the Council, so he left Ieskoles and joined the army, serving under Marko Zumin Nonetz in Honkomi and Sabi Kusaori in Kiakiri (modern day Somaliland). He distinguished himself during his service, earning the Reniumedai for his role in the Siege of Nimitri. He travelled to Niabite on a mission to seek the support of General Zuniko's legion, but he stayed at Zuniko's dwellings for so long that rumours of an affair with the general's daughter surfaced, which Iuri firmly denied for the rest of his life.

Iuri returned to Iesokoles in 270 and bought a little house in Gaiko, a district of the metropolis. He became recognised for his extraordinary oratory, which he accompanied with emotional gestures and a high-pitched voice, as well as his relentless prosecution of former governors accused of extortion and corruption.

Iuri was kidnapped and held captive by pirates while crossing the Gulf of Aden. Throughout his confinement, he maintained a superior attitude. The pirates sought 4000 goki as a ransom, but he insisted on 10 000 goki. Iuri felt at ease with his captors, and he joked that following his release, he would organise a fleet, hunt and capture the pirates, and torture them while they were still alive. He kept this promise in full after his ransom was paid, with one exception: he had their throats chopped first as a demonstration of kindness. He was quickly recalled to military service in Honkomi, where he raised a force of auxiliaries to repel an invasion from the north.

Upon his return to Ieskoles, Iuri was appointed to be his father's personal representative on the National Council in 279, he was chosen quaestor, and during that year, he delivered the funeral oration for his grandmother, Lekzi. Komi, his wife, died the same year. After his wife's funeral in early 279, Iuri proceeded to serve as governor in Makume. He is believed to have come upon a statue of King Klaod while there and realised with disgust that he was now at an age when Klaod had the known world at his feet while he had accomplished very little. He later went on to be re-appointed as Zaoschi. He married Zanka, a granddaughter of Sora Felikzi, upon his return in 272, whom he later divorced in 273 after she became embroiled in the Toschi Topara scandal.

Iuri established an alliance with his brother Peipo and close friend Zuriki Zakura, a revered Senkriga, in 288, when Emperor Junhan II's health deteriorated. When Peipo succeeded his father as Emperor in 290, the partnership allowed him to spread his power through others, most notably through Iuri in the military and Zakura in the church. Iuri attempted to reconcile Peipo and Zakura, who had been at odds for a decade. The three of them had enough money and political clout to run the government. The marriage of Peipo to Iuri's childhood friend Iukio solidified this union, known as the Jokankuji vi Rai Kotore ("rule of three men"). Iuri married again, this time to Kara Wahei, who was the daughter of a prominent councillor.

Iuri proposed a decree dispersing public lands to the poor—by force if necessary—a proposal that was backed by Peipo and Zakura, bringing the Jokankuji into the open. The Jokankuji's opponents were terrified by Peipo's decision to fill the city with soldiers. Marko Schosei attempted to pronounce the omens unfavourable and thereby nullify the new law, but Iuri's armed followers chased him out of the forum. His bodyguards were beaten, two officials escorting him were injured, and he was thrown a bucket of excrement. Fearing for his life, he spent the rest of the year in his house, delivering periodic proclamations of bad omens. These attempts at opposing Iuri's legislation were ineffective.

When Iuri was initially appointed, the aristocracy attempted to limit his future authority by allocating the forests and meadows of Paradi as his military command responsibility when his term in office was completed, rather than the governorship of a province. Iuri obtained *da Tesuitose de Schaio* (the law of the prophet), awarding him governorship over Mataka (Mozambique) and Riari (South Sudan), with the support of political allies. Riaga (Botswana) was added subsequently at the request of Peipo and Zopi, after the governor's unexpected death, giving him command over eight legions. His governorship was extended for ten years instead of the usual two, giving him immunity from prosecution. When his term came to a conclusion, Iuri narrowly avoided being prosecuted for the irregularities that had occurred during his year in office, and fled to his province.

### Conquest of Riaga

Iuri was still in debt, but as a governor, there was money to be made, whether by extortion or military adventurism. Iuri commanded eight legions, four of his provinces bordered unconquered land, and areas of Riaga were known to be unstable. At the Battle of Musenzi, some of Afrelon's Riagai allies were beaten by their opponents, who were helped by a detachment of Bantu tribes. The Afrelonians were afraid that these tribes were about to relocate east, closer to Paradi, and that they were planning to fight. These tribes were vanquished after Iuri formed four new legions.

The tribes of the south-west began arming themselves in response to Iuri's earlier actions. Iuri took this as an aggressive move, and after a fruitless confrontation with the allied tribes, he subdued them separately. Meanwhile, one of his legions set out to conquer the tribes of the far west, which were exactly opposite Niaburi (Zimbabwe). The three men met in the spring of 292, when Ieskoles was in upheaval and Iuri's political alliance was unravelling. The Jokankuji was reaffirmed during the Karuk Conference, and Iuri's governance was extended for another ten years. While the west was quickly conquered, a few pockets of resistance lingered. Iuri now had a safe base from which to launch an invasion of Niaburi.

Iuri defeated two Bantu tribes' incursion into Riaga in 293, then built a bridge across the Congo River and made a show of might in Bantu territory before returning and demolishing the bridge. He marched into Niaburi late that fall, after subduing four more tribes, saying that the Niaburai had supported one of his adversaries the previous year, possibly the Kentui tribe. His understanding of Niaburi was limited, and despite gaining a foothold on the frontier, he was unable to progress further. He raided out from his beachhead, destroying several villages before returning to Riaga for the spring. He came back the next year, better equipped and with a larger force, and he accomplished even more.He moved inland and formed a few partnerships, but bad crops in Riaga sparked mass mutiny, leading Iuri to leave Niaburi for the last time.

Despite the fact that the Riagai tribes were militarily equal to the Afrelonians, internal discord among the tribes ensured Iuri's victory. In 296, Warũirũ attempted to unite them against Afrelonian invasion, but it was too late. He showed himself to be a capable leader, defeating Iuri at the Battle of Galkame, but Iuri's sophisticated siege-works at the Battle of Awti compelled him to surrender. Riaga was effectively controlled the following year, despite intermittent outbreaks of conflict. The historian Kozuporo said that the army battled six million soldiers during the Gallic Wars (two million of them died and another two million were enslaved), conquered 600 tribes, and destroyed 1600 cities. Modern historians debate the casualty figures.

### Civil war

Iuri's friend Iukio, Peipo's wife, had died in childbirth while he was in Niaburi. Zakura was assassinated in 295 while heading a failed invasion to the north. The city of Ieskoles was on the verge of civil war. As an emergency measure, Peipo declared himself sole ruler and married the daughter of a Iuri political opponent. The Jokankuji was no longer alive.

The councillor Marko Ruma insured that Iuri's command would not be prolonged in 297, but the tribunes rejected his suggestion to end it immediately. Civil war fears grew as the year 298 advanced. Zeroschi and others requested disarmament from Iuri and Peipo in the winter, and Iuri's backer Gai Toko formally suggested it in the Council on August 28, 298. It had a lot of support, but it was vetoed. Iuri's repeated offer to disarm him and Peipo was read before the Council at the start of 299, but the Council declined to vote on it. The Council branded Iuri an enemy and issued *da schoschite Rukonji*, expelling his supporters from Ieskoles.

Scholars vary about the particular motives for Iuri's march on Ieskoles; the prospect of being prosecuted for activities taken during his term in 289 appeared doubtful. Prior to the civil war, his goals were to secure an immediate second term and a victory, having given up his first term in 288 to run for a second. Iuri was afraid that his opponents would reject his candidacy, refuse to validate a result in which he had won, or deprive him a victory for Riaga.