Lore of Transnistria

# The History and Lore of the Empire of Transnistria

The Empire of Transnistria has a very shaky history, just like the Rome it claims descent of. From its roots of a Stratocratic Republic to the once great Empire that it is today, Transnistria has a multitude of history that some say even predates the Event.

# The Early History of Transnistria (1991 - 2236)

This contains the history of the Tribe of Tirasipol and the Stratocracy of Nistrenia. Both these states are said to be the predecessors of Transnistria.

The history of the tribe of Tirasipol is plagued with a lack of evidence, using only oral history. This would be somewhat resolved (but not entirely) with the finding of evidence of the Balti invasion of Tirasipol.

This is not to say that the Stratocracy of Nistrenia is plagued with legendary rulers, where the only solid evidence of historical figures actually existing would start at **Lucian Prezan**, the first king of Moldavia.

## The Tribe of Tirasipol (1991 - 2158)

The history of one of Europe's empires starts as a humble tribe in Tirasipol. The **Smirnovescu** dynasty, started by the legendary figure **Egoru Smirnovescu**, ruled this tribe for centuries, although the third member of the dynasty, **Mihail Smirnovescu**, is a subject of controversy about his status as a part of the **Smirnovescu** dynasty.

The rule of the **Smirnovescu** dynasty would end in 2137, where the last **Smirnovescu**, **Olegu Smirnovescu**, was slain in battle against the Romanians that had conquered most of Moldavia. The Romanian that slew Olegu was **Iancu Leanca**, although he would be slain in a Moldavian anti-Romanian revolt, led by the future first Duke of Nistrenia, **Ioan Macovei**.

## The Stratocratic Republic of Nistrenia (2158-2236)

After **Ioan Macovei**'s revolt, he established a Stratocracy in Nistrenia.

His son, **Florin Macovei**, would go on and invade the old Moldavian capital of Chisinau. His reign would end early, thanks to his suspiciously early death.

Thus, both the stratocratic republics of Nistrenia and Chisinau were split by the banks of the Dniester, electing their own rulers before **Lucian Prezan**'s unification of the region.

* The list below contains the elected Dukes of Nistrenia, elected by the right bank of the Dniester.

- **Mihail Lascar**

- **Fedoseiu Constantinescu**

- **Carol Clapass**

- **Cornelieu Racovita**

- **Emericu Cristescu**, which would be slain by **Lucian Prezan** in battle.

* The list below contains the elected Dukes of Chisinau, elected by the left bank of the Dniester.

- **Janos Dumitrescu**

- **Ciprian Coanda**

- **Lactu Alevra**

- **Dorin Culcer**

- **Ioan Culcer**, son of **Dorin Culcer**. He tried to assume absolute control over the Stratocracy, but was murdered by **Moise Averescu**, who couldn't let his friend Ioan destroy the Republic.

- **Moise Averescu**

- **Lucian Prezan**, who would go on and invade the left bank (Nistrenia), uniting the region.

# The Kingdom of Moldavia (2236 - 2282)

## The Kingdom of Moldavia and the Moldavian-Ukrainian Wars (2236 - 2281 )

The history of the Kingdom of Moldava starts with the first King of Moldova, **Lucian Prezan**, uniting the long-divided region of Transnistria after conquering the west bank (Nistrenia), creating the Kingdom in 2236. Even when it was only a kingdom, the predecessor of Transnistria was plagued with civil wars and external threats. Their long feud with the Ukrainians would start with the surprise attack at Sovietskoy Bridge in 2278, killing **Florin Vaitoianu**, the third elected King of Moldavia. Tensions between the civil populace and the rulers of Moldavia grew as the fourth elected King, **Marcel Prezan**, descendant of Lucian and noted as an incompetent ruler, surrendered to the Ukrainians after a five-year war, getting himself executed.

After the execution of Marcel, his wife **Andriana Kirtoka** seized control of Moldavia. Her declaration angered the Generalitet, the electors of succession, and elected their own ruler, sparking a four year civil war. After Andriana's victory, she executed all the generals, ending the Stratocracy.

## The Grand Ruthenian-Moldavian War

Bolhdan Stovbur, third of his dynasty and the first and only emperor of Grand Ruthenia, only formed in 2270, seized the opportunity of Moldavia's unrest and instability and attacked the kingdom. The Ukrainians gained a significant amount of ground, even seizing Chisinau. The tides turned for Andriana Kirtoka after the end of the civil war, using the knights that pledged loyalty to her for their own austerity. Small Moldavian skirmishes were won, forcing the Ukrainians to retreat in the city of Odessa, where Bolhdan's forces, along with himself, perished. With Boldhan's death on the battlefield in 2293, the empire of Grand Ruthenia collapsed.

### The Formation of Transnistria (2282)

With the collapse of Grand Ruthenia, **Andriana Kirtoka**, using her new power, officially formed the Empire of Transnistria in the first of January, in the year of our Lord 2282.

Andriana's reign as Empress lasted until April 2304, passing away at the age of 42.

# The Emperors of Transnistria

## The Early Emperors of Transnistria (2282 - 2357)

**Andriana Kirtoka'**s son, **Marcel I Kirtoka** (he was born after his father **Marcel Prezan**'s death, thus putting himself in his mother's dynasty), has no notable events during his reign. He only continued his mother's theological reforms, and created the Imperial Aristocracy by letting go of the titles his mother once had.

**Dzianisiu Kirtoka**, the son of Marcel, was a hedonist and indulged in carnal pleasures, disregarding his responsibility with stately and heavenly matters. Even with this, the Imperial Aristocracy tolerated his much disgraceful reign, but with his death, he would be named as one of the culprits of kickstarting the events that led to the Crisis of the 24th Century.

**Corneliu I Kirtoka** was known as somewhat of a puppet to the Imperial Aristocracy, always going with the flow. The influence of the Aristocracy pushed him to the demanding of the execution of his half-brother, **Aron** "the Crimson" **Sangeros**' wife Lorena, a commoner from Odessa, to cleanse the dynasty of commoner blood.

**Aron Sangeros** "the Crimson" was angered by the execution, raised some aristocrats loyal to him, stormed the Imperial Palace at Soroca, killing Corneliu and his family, leaving only **Florina Kirtoka**, the wife of the King of Hungary, Konstantin II Balogh, the only member of the Kirtoka dynasty. She fled to Hungary at the age of 9 since Aron was out to kill her, seeing as she would be the only Kirtoka remaining.

Aron's seizing of the throne started a civil war spanning two decades, led by the loyal friend of **Corneliu I**, **Lucian Fifor,** claiming himself to be the rightful Emperor based on **Corneliu I**'s will (agreed upon scholars to be forged). Aron died in battle in the Siege of Soroca in 2349, making **Lucian Fifor** the Emperor.

**Lucian Fifor**'s reign was cut short after **Florina Kirtoka** pressed her claim as Empress.

After the coronation of **Konstantin II Balogh** as King of Hungary and their eventual marriage, **Florina Kirtoka** pressed her claim on the Empire, and succeeded. The last **Kirtoka** in history, she was stricken with infertility, and even when she miraculously got pregnant, her child, along with Florina, died at childbirth, ending the dynasty that formed Transnistria, starting off what is known to be the Crisis of the 24th Century.

## The Emperors during the Crisis of the 24th Century (2361 - 2401)

**Dodai Ganzbitte** was an Ashkenazi Jew who later converted to Orthodoxy. He seized the Pearl Crown after the death of Florina, with the support of his political allies and the mercenaries he hired. Even without actual Imperial blood, he was regarded as a great ruler, although this support did not save him from execution in the hands of **Marin Fifor**.

**Marin I Fifor** was the son of **Lucian Fifor**, fleeing in Kyiv after his father's death, whilst rejecting **Florina Kartoka**'s reign. He is known as the sole island of stability in the midst of the Crisis of the 24th Century. He died in a military parade around the capital city, being shot and assassinated. His assassin is unknown, but scholars presume it was a soldier loyal to the now dead **Kirtoka dynasty**.

**Marcel II Fifor** was the son of **Marin Fifor**, and only got the throne at the age of 6. Under the guidance of the Imperial Council thanks to having no either strong or smart ruler, thus electing him. The incompetence from the Council led to the worsening of the Imperial Council, and the ignoring of the threat of the pretender Vladyslav Sangeros.

**Vladyslav Sangeros** fled to the Cossack fringes after his father's (**Aron Sangeros**) death. He marched to Soroca after the passing away of **Marcel Fifor**. Thanks with the weak Imperial Council having close to no power during **Marcel Fifor**'s reign, Vladyslav claimed the throne for himself with the help of the Cossacks loyal to him. His death was sudden as he was murdered at the hands of **Hillel Ganzbitte**.

**Hillel Ganzbitte** was the son of **Dodai Ganzbitte** and used the aristocratic connections of his father to become one of the political figues during **Marcel Fifor**'s reign. After his assassination of **Marcel Fifor**, Hillel seized the throne. His reign was a return of stability as the loyalist groups were disorganized and therefore wiped out. Hillel also killed the Ukrainian King Orest "the Livid", establishing Transnistria's authority upon Ukraine. His reign is considered to be the end of the Crisis of the 24th Century.

### The Construction of the University of Sorocra (2400)

With the riches gained in his reign, **Hillel Ganzbitte** funded the construction of the University of Sorocra. This university serves the brightest minds of Transnistria, although it was severely damaged in 2532.

## The Emperors after the Crisis of the 24th Century (2401-present)

**Octavian I Ganzbitte** was the son of **Hillel Ganzbitte**, and adopted the local Moldoveneasca culture, unlike the Ashkenazi culture of his father and grandfather. He was considered to be one of Transnistria's best Emperors, reconquering Lviv from the Polish, and re-established Transnistria's presence on the left bank of the Dnipro. He is more remembered for his inner reforms, where he reformed the aristocracy and replaced it with a meritocratic bureaucracy, established Imperial Governates to increase crown power, and created the First Transnistrian Dictionary of Grammars and Dialects, without any dialect considered barbarian.

**Ruxandra Ganzbitte** was the daughter of **Octavian Ganzbitte**, and gave attention to the much neglected Imperial capital, and to the Empire itself, rebuilding it, along with the modern Palace of Soroca (which she made the blueprints for.) She gave the military matters to her husband **Iurie** **Portocalie** and the Imperial Bureaucrats, which did a great job. Under her reign, Transnistria conquered Volyn and the forests of Pripyat. She also militarily integrated the Cossacks of Azov and Kharkiv.

**Octavian II Portocalie** was the first Emperor from the **Portocalie dynasty**, and led a successful campaign on the Donbass and Alania Cossacks. He also declared a penitentiary war on Yugoslavia. He gained some success, but died in the Battle of Varna due to a stray arrow, leading to the retreat of the Transnistrian Army.

**Ciprian I Portocalie** was the brother of **Octavian II Portocalie**, and ascended to the throne after his brother's death. He signed a peace treaty with Yugoslavia that would not be broken even until the 26th Century. He led an somewhat unsuccessful colonization of the northern Anatolian coast, only conquering Sinope. He also subjugated the Volgadon Cossacks later, bringing most of the Steppe Slavs under Transnistrian rule.

**Ciprian II Portocalie** was the son of **Ciprian I Portocalie**, and pursued following the divine rather than rulership. During his father's Volgadon War, he was approached by an Orthodox scholar who was a proponent of the way of Saint Vasiliy, who told **Ciprian II** the same way. He abandoned all his worldly possessions, and served the commoners.

**Florin Portocalie** was the son of **Ciprian I** and the brother of **Ciprian II**. A polar opposite of his brother, his reign saw the territorial peak of Transnistria. He conquered and plundered his way from the Don to the Caspian Sea, even invading the Caucuses, forcing the King of Georgia to pay tribute. Unfortunately for him, a Muslim revolt rose up. He fell off a cliff, killing himself. The Transnistrian army was then wiped out by the Muslim revolt, as they had no commander.

**Octavian III Portocalie** was the son of **Florin Portocalie**, and was ill-prepared against the Muslim revolt. He died against the Chechens. Since he had no clear heir, a succession crisis rose up with the main pretenders being his wife, **Adela Gincu**, the King of Romania **Ovidu Stan**, and the King of Lithuania **Paulius Guzas**.

**Adela Gincu** was the wife of **Octavian III Portocalie** and claimed the throne after his death, and was accepted because of a rule in de-facto coups. No significant event happened in her reign.

**Ovidiu Olteanu** was the King of Romania at the time, and claimed the throne of Transnistria. Since the **Portocalie** dynasty had died off, he claimed that the **Olteanu** should be the rightful Emperors.

**Paulius Guzas** was the king of Lithuania at the time, and the only Catholic Emperor of Transnistria. He claimed the throne on the basis of being the direct descendant of Empress **Ruxandra Ganzbitte** and **Iurie Portocalie**.

**Corneliu II** **Belasco** was an Imperial bureaucrat. After **Ovidiu Olteanu** claimed the throne, **Corneliu II** murdered him and usurped the throne, although he would not reign for long.

**Marin II Akhmetov** was an Imperial bureaucrat, and was the murderer of **Corneliu II Belasco**. Unlike **Corneliu I**I though, he was capable of ruling. He also gave Romania increased autonomy in return of de-legitimizing their claims to the Transnistrian throne. **Marin II** was forced to abdicate in 2486 after hearing of the news that the Ukrainian Army wanted to put back **Adela Gincu** on the throne, making **Marin II** flee to Crimea with his riches, sponsoring the independent Crimean Republic.

**Octavian IV Gincu** was the son of **Adela Gincu**, and was only a blanket figurehead of stability since the Imperial Bureaucrats were too weak at the start of his reign, thus forcing them be "loyal" to him. As the Bureaucrats stopped infighting, the blanket was uncovered.

**Marcel III Giacosa** was the general that the Bureaucrats supported and overthrew **Octavian IV Gincu**. He was a good general, defeating the Galician (for clarification, the Galicia in Ukraine.) Revolt and a Lithuanian invasion. After gaining support of the Bureaucrats, he staged a coup in Imperial Palace. His martial brilliance did not translate being a competent ruler, and the Empire deteriorated under him, with local nobles and Cossacks being given more autonomy.

**Marcel IV Giacosa** was the son of **Marcel III Giacosa**, and had none of his father's military prowess. He ruled for only a week before being killed.

**Dorin Timofti** was a member of the Imperial Nobility, and killed **Marcel IV Giacosa**. His reign was very chaotic, being known for peasant revolts, vassals of Transnistria declaring independence, and local nobles killing each other. This chaos caught up to **Dorin**, as one of his bodyguards, **Liviu Melescanu**, killed him in cold blood.

**Liviu Melescanu** was a bodyguard for **Dorin Timofti** and seized the opportunity of murdering **Dorin** to become Emperor. His spymaster, **Mihal Orban** , killed him after a New Year party.

**Mihal Orban** was the former spymaster of **Liviu Melescanu** and murdered him after a party. He was killed by the current Ecumenical Patriarch, **Carol** **Dragos**, with the support of the King of Ukraine, hoping to finally stabilize the Empire.

**Ieremia Dragos** was the ruler chosen by the Ecumenical-Ukrainian coalition to be Emperor. He established a new succession system, where any vassal with large amounts of influence can vote on the next Emperor. (In-game, this is represented as the vanilla Imperial Succession type.)

**Ciprian III Dragos** was the son of **Ieremia Dragos**, and the current Emperor of Transnistria. His reign will define if Transnistria will remain as an empire for the years to come, or finally fall thanks to the many years of instability and the increasing Ukrainian threat.