Yanzeran Empire

* Flag
* Map
* High Legate

The **Yanzeran Empire** is a massive, ancient state in South Eastern Asvalin, which shares land borders with the Federation of Hesel, Arvantin and the Magish Territory of Alent to the North and with Ruhnkor and Magish Kaselon to the West. It also shares maritime borders with Heselese Framleph and the Mandate of Bezant.

Prior to 2112, the Empire held control of all Yanzeran lands, being the largest nation in Asvalin. The Emperor's reign was, however, growingly unpopular, as various subject peoples- like those of Kaselon- began to demand their independence from the oppressive rule of the Yanzerans. Meanwhile, the common people of the country began to rally around the ideals of democracy, and ultimately this culminated in the assassination of Emperor Scapha Larcius the Cunning and his family in 2112, sparking the Yanzeran Civil War.

Ever since, the Yanzeran Empire has lost control of much of the countryside to the Republic of Yanzera, while most of the country's urban centres still remain under Imperial rule. With the death of the Emperor and the apparent destruction of the Larcius Dynasty, the High Legate of Yanzera began acting as the *de facto* Emperor, with the first holder of the position being Stephana Casca and the current holder being Telestius Vansalius.

## Territory and Disputes

### Territory

Ever since the Yanzeran Civil War began in 2112, the Yanzeran Empire's control over the country has greatly diminished. Although major urban centres like Arzantium and resource rich provinces like Kaselon are still under the Imperial government's control, large swathes of land in the country side, as well as cities like Valensia, Atrans and Caprae remain under the control of the Republic of Yanzera.

Additionally, the Acrys province in northern Yanzera is heavily contested, with the Chancellery of Arvantin's military backed government frequently raiding the province and seizing land. The Yanzeran government still claims the entirety of the province, but around a third of Acrys is under the *de facto* control of Arvantin. The province of Baeloe- the main food basket of the empire- is also heavily contested, with the majority of it being under the control of the Republic of Yanzera.

## Modern History (2100s-2200s)

### A New Century (2100s)

As the year 2100 came to pass, Yanzera's very foundations seemed to be cracking. The new Emperor of Yanzera- Scapha Larcius, dubbed 'the cunning'- was a shrewd politician, but extremely unpopular with the people. On top of this, he was a far cry from his predecessor- Aurelio Larcius the Kind- who had introduced sweeping reforms and had even created a new position on his cabinet- that of High Minister of Yanzera- which would be elected by the people.

In contrast, Scapha was a staunch monarchist who did not wish to share power even with his cabinet- which was appointed by him- and instead worked to increase the power of his own family; the Larcius Dynasty. The position of High Legate- a senior member of the cabinet- was even granted to Scapha's sister Arria Larcius rather than to a member of another noble house as was tradition. This situation would not last long, as High Legate Arria would be assassinated by the House of Casca, following which their leader- Stephana Casca- was made High Legate, as Emperor Scapha was unaware of their role in Arria's assassination.

The beginning of the end for Emperor Scapha came in 2111. Citrio Optatus, an incredibly popular liberal and member of the Yanzeran Democratic Front, was elected High Minister of Yanzera. Optatus was opposed to Emperor Scapha from the start, and opposed him on nearly every piece of legislation put forth before the cabinet. Within just 5 months, Emperor Scapha attatched bogus charges of treason against the High Minister, and had him executed within five days, not even waiting for a trial.

This sparked massive protests across the country. Several noble houses, notably the House of Marcus and the House of Valens, even joined the protests, declaring their support for the Yanzeran Democratic League and denouncing Scapha as a tyrant and a fool. Robert Valens- then acting as the Imperial Treasurer- resigned in protest.

Emperor Scapha, worried that the situation would lead to more deaths, similar to that of Arria Larcius, summoned the entire royal family to his palace in the capital city of Arzantium. This proved to be a fatal error, as with the entire Larcius Dynasty concentrated at one location, they became an easy target for the republican movement. With the help of royal turncoats from House Marcus and House Valens, republican revolutionaries were able to enter the palace and murder all members of the royal family. The Larcius Murders were brutal, with even the young children of the family being killed to ensure the line of succession was destroyed. Only one member of the family- Lucia Larcius, Countess of Kaselon- escaped certain death, and went missing from her palace in Kaselon soon after.

The events were condemned by the nobility and royalists of the country, and Yanzeran democrats began to face persecution and arrests. Without an heir, High Legate Stephana Casca began to act as the provisional ruler of Yanzera, and immediately ordered the dissolutions of House Marcus and House Valens. High Legate Casca also ordered the Imperial military to move into the city of Arzantium to maintain peace. With these actions, the democrats finally abandoned their hopes of peaceful change, and as the people of Yanzera took up arms, the Yanzeran Civil War began.

### Yanzeran Civil War (2112-)

***(Main Article: Yanzeran Civil War)***

Immediately, the Yanzeran Democratic League convened in the city of Caprae and, with the support of the House of Marcus and the House of Valens, declared the creation of the Republic of Yanzera. Meanwhile, High Legate Stephana Casca quickly established her control of Arzantium with the help of 18,000 Imperial troops, firmly establishing the capital city as a royalist stronghold. With both the House of Valens and House of Marcus on their side, the republicans quickly seized the regions of Valensia and Atrans, the home provinces of the two houses. Robert Valens- formerly the Imperial Treasurer and now a member of the Yanzeran Democratic Front- was elected as acting High Minister of the Republic of Yanzera, with Julia Vedrix elected as his deputy.

With two of the most prominent noble houses of the country siding with the YDF, the House of Casca- which had become the *de facto* ruling house through its High Legate- began to rally noble support behind them. Felicius Quiriac led his own house, the House of Sylvian, the House of Aspernus, the House of Cecilius, the House of Vansalius and several other smaller houses to rally behind the Yanzeran Cabinet in exchange for all the involved houses getting senior positions and power. The provisional government abolished the post of High Minister of Yanzera, and immediately began to assert its presence in areas like Kaselon and Acrys, where they already had a strong military presence.

The territory of Yanzera had now been roughly evenly divided between the Imperial Provisional government and the republicans. Only one region remained disputed- the Baeloe province, the home province of the House of Cecilius. Baeloe was an agrarian region, and as such the YDF had immense support there. A republican peasent leader named Sabino Marini began to rally the labourers of Baeloe and led the Blue Revolt of 2112, killing many of House Cecilius's troops in the area and making Baeloe a battleground.

High Minister Robert Valens and High Legate Stephana Casca immediately committed thousands of troops to Baeloe, having no other battlegrounds where they were evenly matched. The republican forces were put under the command of Sabino Marini, who had been promoted to a senior general by the Republican Defense Minister Albert Marcus. Meanwhile, the imperial forces were put under the command of the Governor of Baeloe- Istvan Cecilius- despite his relative inexperience in military matters and unpopularity in the province.

And so, the stage was set for a long, drawn out conflict. Sabino Marini and the republicans had control of a Yanzeran legion of 10,000 along with a compliment of tanks and armoured vehicles, along with an unknown number of volunteer troops from Baeloe's peasantry. Istvan Cecilius, meanwhile, had control of two legions- totalling to 20,000 soldiers- as well as an entire compliment of armoured vehicles. Marini's officer corp, however, was far better trained that the Imperial Army's, with covert Heselese and Magish agents providing them with training, as both Superpowers of Asvalin saw the Republicans as a more advantageous side to back.

Immediately, the Republicans had a clear advantage in Baeloe due to their popularity among the general population and their foreign advisors. Marini began sending irregular troops from his campaign in the Blue Revolt to raid imperial supply lines and cripple the already low morale of the imperials. Meanwhile, Robert Valens and Defense Minister Albert Marcus worked out a plan to send large numbers of soldiers who had chosen the republicans from Atrans, Valensia, Caprae and Caprae's hinterland- Barlemzia- to secure Baeloe as a fifth addition to the republican controlled regions.