The Rahanian War of Succession

## Overview

**The Rahanian War of Succession was a Degroic succession crisis and civil conflict lasting from October 1321 - June 1322. The conflict took place in Rahan, one of the largest and most prosperous provinces in Edoma, and it was fought over the control of the Rahanian throne. The conflict began when the current Meduezga of Rahan, Gal Frabol, died suddenly without a known heir. Soon his nephew Kaasa Frabol, who was the Meduek of the city of Zal in Dukesr, traveled to Rahan to stake his claim. At the same time, Tereizian nobleman and mercenary, Pazl Hyedmog, also arrived to stake his claim. This would lead to months of struggle and eventually armed battle between the two groups, ultimately ending with Pazl being killed in battle and Kaasa ascending to the throne.**

## Background

### The Rule of Gal Frabol

**Lord Gal Frabol was appointed Meduezga of Rahan by ruling the Kagmeda Traz Haikomo in 1299 at the age of 21, succeeding his father, Geres Frabol. The House of Frabol had held the throne of Rahan for 4 generations, and each ruler had helped increase the wealth and prosperity of the province. Gal was no different, and during his 22 year long rule he vastly increased Rahan's political power and wealth, making it a tempting target for neighboring powers, especially Tereiz. In 1321, Lord Frabol died very suddenly at the age of 43. It has been suspected he died of a very aggressive pancreatic tumor. When he died, he left no clear successor. His older brother Heshei showed interest in claiming the throne, and at the age of 55, would probably have been deemed too old for the Kagmeda to appoint him. The only clear hereditary heir was Heshei's son, Kaasa Frabol. Lord Fabol's death left a gaping power vacuum open, and it was only a matter of time before someone aimed to fill it.**

### Tereizian Political Meddling

**For over 100 years, Tereiz had been attempting to gain more political influence within Edoma through various methods. From its massive wealth and prosperity, Tereiz knew Rahan was a golden area to gain control over. Seeing this power vacuum open, Tereiz sought to get a Tereizian noble appointed as Meduezga, effectively taking control of the province.**

### Political Deadlock in Stolek

**While this crisis was arising, the current Kagmeda, Kagmeda Tefyan BaHval, was unable to make a quick final decision on who would take the throne, as he was currently bed ridden, dying of an unknown disease . The royal court was wrapped up in who would succeed the Kagmeda, and didn't care to spend their time appointing a new Meduezga for Rahan.**

## The Agreement of 1191

\*see main article, The Agreement of 1191

**Following the reunification of Edoma in 1187, Edoma and Tereiz signed a treaty, mainly reestablishing their relationship and setting out how Tereiz would provide Edoma assistance in reconstruction. One clause of this agreement, was that Tereiz had the right to stake claim to any throne within Edoma, in the event the incumbent died with no clear successor. This clause was quickly forgotten, and the two powers maintained a good relationship. Tereiz, attempting to find a way to take the Rahanian throne, rediscovered this clause of the agreement, and endeavoured to use it as justification for seizing the throne.**

## Claimants to the Throne

**Kaasa Frabol- The nephew of Gal Frabol. In 1321, he was 33 and serving as the Meduek of the city of Zal in the province of Dukesr. Zal was a mid-sized city over 150 miles away from Rahan, and thus, Kaasa was very unknown in Rahan. Kaasa was very ambitious and hungry for more power than he already had. Kaasa was known for being pretty bad at actual combat, but was a brilliant tactician, expertly maneuvering his armies in battle**

**Pazl Hyedmog- An Edomic born Tereizian warrior, mercenary, and statesman. In 1321, he was 28 and a well known figure in both west Tereiz and Rahan. He had endeared himself to the people of Rahan, and his play for the throne was supported by the Kagmeda of Tereiz. Pazl was a very experienced military commander, and was incredibly good at melee combat. He had fought alongside Edoma's army in the past. Pazl also deeply cared about honor and respect between noblemen.**

## Crisis and Prelude to Conflict: October 1321 - April 1322

**Lord Gal Frabol died suddenly on October 17th, 1321, and questions immediately rose about who would succeed him as Meduezga. For a month, leadership of the province was carried out unofficially by his wife, Hrranl Frabol and a council of his military captains. Kassa Frabol was informed of his uncle's death by at least october 30, and he quickly left his post at Zal to take the throne of Rahan. Around the same time, Pazl Hyedmog arrived in Rahan backed by 150 spearmen and 6 karap riders. When he arrived in the capital city, Rahanek, he reportedly made a very polite introduction to Hrranl, and insisted that his intention was not to take the throne by force, but to wait until the time that the Kagmeda would officially appoint him. From accounts of the time, it seems that Pazl was unaware there were any other claimants to the throne, and was very sure that his claim was very legitimate. He had presented the clause from the Agreement of 1191 as his claim, and he retired to a nearby noble's estate to wait for the decision. Sometime in mid November, Kassa Frabol finally arrived in Rahan, to the relief of his aunt and his uncle's men. Hrranl Frabol was very wary of Pazl, and was hesitant to give up the throne to him, though as a lords spouse, she didn't have enough political influence to actually stop him. With the arrival and claim of Kassa, at least 3000 men from the army of Rahanek declared their loyalty and support for Kassa's claim to the throne. A few days after his arrival, Kaasa and Pazl were informed of each other. Kaasa insisted that his claim to the throne was more legitimate, as he was the hereditary heir, and refused to accept Pazl's claim. They both agreed to let the military court continue their rule until the Kagmeda or Court of Stolek would decide.**

### November - March: Waiting for the Court's Decision

**In November of 1321, Pazl and Kaasa sent word to the Court of Stolek, presenting their arguments and asking them to make a final decision. During the wait, Kaasa and Pazl maintained a fairly good relationship, although it was clear to onlookers that on Kaasa's side it was merely superficial. Tezhed Manyas, Lord Frabol's minister of trade, said this in the 1344 manuscript "On the Matter of the Struggle in Rahan",**

**"Despite the happily cordial appearance our good lord put up at the time, it was clear to his inner circle that he truly harbored a great disdain towards his fellow claimant. He labored under his understanding that he was truly and completely the rightful claimant, and was sure this galavanting Terzéd [Pazl Hyedmog] was simply meddling out of his territory."**

**After 4 months of waiting for an answer, the Court finally wrote back that they could not make any decision, due to the problem of the Kagmeda's poor health. Pazl and Kaasa now saw that their claims now meant nothing if the court wouldn't decide, and it was up to them to seize the throne from the other.**

### April - May: Preparing for war

**After a few weeks of deliberation, Kaasa and Pazl both agreed the best way for them to decide was to have a pitched battle, and whoever was the winner would rightfully claim the throne (this process was not uncommon in medieval Dé Gra, see Battles of Accession for more info). Seeing that Kaasa's army vastly outnumbered Pazl's, they agreed that Pazl could have 30 days to raise an army before the battle would commence. Due to Pazl's deep commitment to honor and fairness, he promised his army would not exceed the size of Kaasa's army, 3000 men. Pazl left on April 7, 1322, and traveled to Tereiz to raise his army. The next day, seeing his opportunity, Kaasa went to Rahanek and officially seized the throne of Rahan. He immediately began to fortify and prepare to destroy Pazl upon his return. Pazl was easily able to get Tereizian troops to lead into battle, but the Tereizian government forced him to take 5000 men rather than the 3000 men he limited himself to. Being obsessed with good honor, Pazl took the 5000 men, and then paid and sent home 2000 when he reached the border. When Pazl returned and saw that Kaasa took the throne, he was enraged and demanded that they stick to their agreement. Kaasa wanted Pazl dead as soon as possible, and he agreed to have their battle. They each moved their armies to the agreed place, the fields of Tolzkag outside of Rahanek.**

## The Battle of Tolzkag

**The Battle of Tolzkag took place on May 9, 1322, and started with both armies skirmishing in the fields for a few hours. The two sides were made up mostly of spearmen ranks, and the battle front became very stretched out. It has been theorized that Kaasa Frabol deliberately lost this part of the battle for his plan to defeat Pazl. At midday, the army of Rahanek suddenly began retreating, and a messenger went to Pazl saying that Kaasa admitted defeat and he was going to send his men home. Kaasa asked if Pazl would come to Rahanek so he could be officially made Meduezga.**