The First Morsian Republic, or Prima Respublica Morsianum in Old Morsian, was the third ruling government of Mors and the Morsian people. The early existence of the republic was highly unstable, being born out of civil war and having its first half-decade marked by famine, disease outbreaks and plagues. With a new government, war-torn lands and a severely depleted military, the republic could have easily been attacked and destroyed by a hostile power. However, this did not happen and following some stable decades, it managed to consolidate its territorial losses and gains and rebuild the nation.
Once stability was achieved, the republic looked to expand its territory close by, conducting the Morsian conquest of Pedetes to unite the island, as well as eventually engaging in a long and brutal war with the Kingdiomi Di Sparti to regain their lost colonies. The major milestone generally associated with the republic was the final destruction and annexation of their long term enemy the Sicc'orax Republic. It was also the Morsian state to see the unification of their home continent, conquering all the remaining tribal nations using a mix of peaceful diplomacy and warfare. The final expansion efforts of the republic was conquering much of the tribal lands bordering their colony, expanding their territorial holding on a different continent.
Widely considered to be the most successful and best of all the republics to rule over the Morsian people, sometimes alongside the Fourth Morsian Republic nearly half a millennia later, the downfall of the republic was just as violent as its formation. Following a build up of many different factors, including religious schisms and fracturing within the Morsian Senate, the republic exploded into a three way civil war, with the final end coming with its conquest towards the end of the war.
History[]
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| Politics of the Morsian Empire (From 20,000 BBY onwards) |
| Periods |
| Tribe (20,000 - 18,000 BBY) Kingdom (18,000 - 16,700 BBY) Dictatorship (16,700 - 16,126 BBY) First Republic (16,120 - 16,007 BBY) Second Republic (16,007 - 15,997 BBY) Third Republic (15,900 - 15,617 BBY) New Kingdom (15,610 BBY - 15,580 BBY) Fourth Republic (15,565 - 15,449 BBY) Morsian State (15,425 - 15,409 BBY) Fifth Republic (15,406 - 15,000 BBY) People's Union (14,991 - 14,544 BBY) Sixth Republic (14,535 - 13,887 BBY) Empire (Canon · Legends) (13,880 BBY - ) |
| Titles and honors |
| King · Dictator · Consul · Emperor |
 Morsian fanon continuity
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Formation[]
The republic came about at the end of the Third Morsian Civil War, in which the Populi Rem emerged victorious, overthrowing the Morsian Military Dictatorship. Whilst the civil war was caused by Sicc'orax spies, the Populi became its own fighting force, especially after the spies were discovered and killed. Following the victory in the civil war and death of the last dictator, the Morsian Senate took over the nation with the aim of reformation and rebuild under their first Consul Scipio Farr'anax.
Early instability[]
Unfortunately, the first few years for the republic was not kind to it. Due to both the civil war and preceding Second Morsian-Sicc'orax War, there was a severe manpower shortage in the land as well as devastation caused by the war and civil war. These factors combined with a sweeping epidemic which was spread across the continent resulted in mass famine and a lack of workers to make food. With a lack of workers for most jobs, the nation was in a dire state and for several years after peace, the republic required urgent help from its allies and puppet state.
In 16,120 BBY, the nation finally earned a year of relative stability, with new settlers arriving to work the fields and make food for the republic which prevented another famine. The plague was coming to an end at the same time and with the two factors combined the Senate could relax for a moment. With food coming in and being made within the nation, resources could start to be put elsewhere to look at rebuilding and infrastructure.
National rebuilding[]
With the republic in a more stable state, the Senate could finally look at recovering from the wars. For the following several decades, the war-torn lands could be rebuild, with roads built and connected, abandoned settlements recolonized and rebuilt along with repairs to existing towns which were damaged over the years of constant warfare.
The Senate was quick to push for a war with the Kingdiomi Di Sparti, who had taken overseas Morsian territory in the First Morsian-Sparti War whilst they were distracted with the civil war. However, this was often overruled by Scipio and other senators who recognised that the Morsian Army and the republic was not in a position to declare war. Manpower was still a large issue, with many of the legions still not being full strength and the economy had still not recovered from the wars and instability. Debts still needed to be paid and businesses rebuilt to fund the national budget. This did not stop senators asking for war, though, and it was a constant point of contention in the Senate.
After several decades of rebuilding, thought was eventually given to further expansion. By this time, the nation was healthy and stable, with manpower reserves, a strengthened economy and expanded army. Requests for war with the Sparti greatly increased during this time, but were still held off against, though for different reasons.
Conquest of the island of Pedetes[]
At the end of the Second Morsian-Sparti War, the Morsians had taken control of the Pedeatic Islands which had previously been owned by the Sicc'orax. They had also taken Sicc'oraxian Pedetes, a colony which comprised of the north-western half of the island of Pedetes. This had given them a foothold on the island which, had the civil war and troubles not occurred, would have resulted in them conquering the island several decades ago. However, the problems had happened and so the island had mostly been left with basic administration for a decade or so. Constant raiding from tribes and the other nations on the island had resulted in it becoming a backwater territory of the Morsians.
With a strengthened and finally stable government and state, attention could finally be paid to the island and its colony. Legions were sent to the island and an extensive improvement campaign conducted both to build up the standard of living and civilization in their colony but also to improve the infrastructure, mainly in preparation for a conquest. In 16,092 BBY, the Senate finally got its wish for war and declared war on the tribes and nations still residing on Pedetes, resulting in the Morsian Conquest of Pedetes. Over two years the island was conquered and annexed, with a united island appearing at the end of the war in 16,090 BBY.
Second Morsian-Sparti War[]
Several years went by as the republic consolidated its conquests and cemented Morsian rule in the Pedetes. At the same time, plans began to be formed for a second war with the Sparti. The war aimed to reconquer the territory lost to the Sparti during the first war and, if possible, take more from them. It was to be no easy task, as the Sparti were located on an entirely different continent where the Morsians no longer had a foothold. It would require one or more naval invasions to establish a beachhead from which further legions could be deployed to push inland. Over five years, there were many Senate discussions about how to approach the invasion, with many different plans being formed, discussed, then dismissed. Eventually, a plan was decided on and put in place.
In 16,085 BBY, the Morsians declared war on the Sparti, beginning the Second Morsian-Sparti War. Unfortunately for the republic, the Sparti had anticipated them declaring war and fortified every coastal settlement facing the Morsians which proved problematic. After several failed naval landing attempts as well as being contested in the sea by the Royal Sparti Navy, the republic had to change their plan. In addition, there was the Sicc'oraxian Civil War at the same time, overthrowing the republic and installing the People's Democratic Republic of Sicc'oraxia. This broke them away from the Morsians, who were unable to intervene and save their puppet government due to the war with the Sparti not going in their favor.
Over the following several years, the Morsian Navy was built up and coastal settlements on both sides of the straight were raided by the opposing forces. However, in 16,081 BBY the Morsians finally managed to gain a foothold on the continent with the Battle of Regnorum, taking the settlement and rushing supplies into it. Despite several attempts by the Sparti to blockade and siege it back from them, the Morsians were ultimately successful in retaining the settlement. From here, forces were landed and pushed inland, slowly taking territory back from the Sparti. By 16,076 BBY they had restored the old borders of the colony on the continent and whilst the Senate was still willing to keep going and have the war push into Sparti land, it ultimately petered out and ground into a stalemate. In 16,075 BBY, the republic brokered peace with the Sparti and gained their colony back.
Final war with the Sicc'orax[]
The more pressing matter to them was the recent civil war that the Sicc'orax had undergone, throwing out the puppet government and installing a new 'people's democracy'. This worried the republic, as not only did they no longer have the Sicc'orax under their control but it was also a different government type which worried them. If revolutionaries gained a foothold in Morsian land and began swaying the people, it could end up with the republic being overthrown, or worse. Over a period of several years, the army was rebuilt and plans made to completely conquer of the Sicc'orax. Leaving them with a puppet government was the final step for the Morsians to not completely annex the nation, however with their revolution and break away, they decided that it was finally time to finish off their ancient enemy and keep them under a far closer eye and ruling.
In 16,072 BBY the Morsians declared war on the Sicc'orax, beginning the Third Morsian-Sicc'orax War. At this point, the Sicc'orax were weakened and slightly less stable than under their puppet government due to the effects of their civil war. Their nation had also been reduced to a vertical strip of land sandwiched between the Morsians and the tribal nations to the east. Despite this, there was an incredibly long border for the Morsians to not only garrison but also concentrate their forces on to make breakthroughs, and the Sicc'orax still had a larger military. Over the following two years war waged mostly across the Sicc'orax land, culminating in the Battle of Sicc'orandunum. With the capital taken and the legions sweeping across the Sicc'orax land, sieging and burning villages they came across, the Sicc'orax finally surrendered in 16,070 BBY. Their land was annexed and a national holiday was founded to celebrate their final dissolution. However, the seeds of change had been sown within the Morsian Senate and the Sicc'orax would have one final dagger to place in the body of the Morsian state.
Unification of the continent[]
A ten year period followed the annexation of the Sicc'orax, in which time the republic mostly focused on quelling any rebellion in their captured lands and building up the economy and infrastructure in the annexed areas. Particular attention was placed on the Sicc'orax lands, as fears that an armed rebellion could erupt out of them was high so keeping an iron grip on them was forefront to the Senate. However, across the decade the land was stabilised and built up, allowing the republic to once again turn its eye to conquest.
Whilst the Senate was largely baying for a new war with the Sparti, who had taken over as public enemy number one after the defeat of the Sicc'orax, attention was instead paid to their own continent. Shoring up defences and unifying their home continent of Virconis would free up manpower from guarding the eastern borders that could instead be used to defend and attack areas on their overseas colony. As such, discussions began to be made which focused on conquering and annexing all the tribal nations next to them. The Xikk'lac's were first on the chopping block with a three year war between 16,064 BBY and 16,061 BBY, the Morsian-Xikk'lac War, resulting in their annexation. To the north, the Marra'karr Tribe was peacefully integrated largely thanks to friendly lengthy ongoing diplomatic relations which had seen them transition to a federated tribe, and for the last few years of their existence they had become known as the Marra'karr Republic.
For the remaining block of tribes on the continent, the question was continuously discussed within the Senate about how to approach them. Very little was known about them internally due to a lack of permanent relations between the Morsians and tribal nations, whilst the two further to the east were virtually unknown in most aspects. Outside of basic trading and random diplomatic missions or military incursions, the strength and unity of the tribes were all unknown quantities. As such, the Senate pondered for years on how to best deal with them. A long war was not ideal, as there were worries about manpower for the army and internal stability, however the diplomatic network was not there to peacefully annex them like they did with the Marra'karr.
Finally, in 16,059 BBY, the Senate made a decision to go to war. After a brief attempt to get the two most western tribes to peacefully integrate themselves into the nation, the army was sent in to conquer them by force, beginning the final stage of the Morsian conquest of Virconis. For four years the Morsians fought the tribes, who ended up in a loose alliance for mutual defence, until the legions finally reached the eastern coast and conquered the final holdouts of the tribes. With the war completed in 16,055 BBY, the republic was now in control of the entirety of Virconis.
Final expansions[]
With the continent unified, a short period of peace was enacted to consolidate the gains. Conquering such a vast amount of territory in such a short space of time doubled the size of the republic and brought in a lot of issues. The tribal nations all followed the same religion, being Drumedic, however the Sicc'orax lands still had their own pantheon and the Morsians also had their own religious pantheon, which by this point was in the minority in terms of the amount of land it was practiced in. Adding in the native religions found on Pedetes, over five different methods of worship were found within the territory of the republic, let alone adding in all the new religions found in the overseas colony. As such, religious clashes were rife and only growing in their size and violence. In addition, culture clashes were causing even further problems, compounding the instability occurring across the land.
However, this did not the Senate from planning their next conquest. To many senators, the republic was on a roll with its expansion and the wars were going well with very favorable resolutions. Therefore it only made sense to capitalise on it whilst public support for war was high, and so the next batch of conquest was petitioned to the Senate. Despite the territorial gains, the Senate was undecided if they were powerful enough to take on the Sparti again. Instead, a series of wars against the southern tribal nations on Magnum Spatium was led by the then-current Consul Lucinius Cra'acius in the Myapian Wars.
Over a period of ten years between 16,042 BBY and 16,032 BBY, the republic waged war against the tribal nations bordering their colony. It was during these wars that the first major cracks began to show in the republic, and later historians noted that it was the first signals for the end. The war progressed slowly on the continent, partially due to terrain problems, supply and logistics but also due to the tribes they were facing. The tribals were nearly completely different to those encountered by the Morsians on Virconis. They used different tactics, weapons, armor and formations to those the Morsians were used to. They were also being aided in secret by the Sparti, who sent weapons, supplies and money to bolster the tribes, which they continued to do so until late in the war when unrest within the kingdom caused them to withdraw support.
In addition, the situation within the republic became far more dire, with greater unrest, more uprisings, greater tensions between religious and cultural groups as well as the beginnings of problems within the Senate itself. As the war had progressed, dissent had been rising within the Senate about the current government. With a growing sense of unease across the nation, more and more senators had been declaring the current government unfit and dangerous, calling for either reformation within the republic or a completely new system of government. These sparked harsh debates which escalated to violence on several occasions, being broken up by the Morsian Guard.
By the end of the war, when Lucinius returned to Morsian territory as a regular senator due to being voted out of his position of Consul during the war, the Senate was in the process of unknowingly dividing itself into three umbrella factions, all wanting a different thing with the government going forwards. There was the republicans, who formed the senators who wished to retain the republic and reform it into a new form but with the same structure. There was the militarists, who wished to continue the tradition of conquest and install a dictatorship again, not unlike the system that had come before the republic. The final form was the people's voice faction, which far later historians realised were a form of communists. They wished to hand over the government to the people, doing away with the aristocracy and power held by the senatorial families and allow a people's commune to govern the land. It was this system of government that the Sicc'orax had before the Morsians destroyed them.
Later war, civil war and collapse[]
Peace did not last for long, as in 16,030 BBY Lucinius took his legions and marched back over the border into the tribal lands, continuing the Myapian Wars. Despite being recalled several times, he blatantly ignored the Senate and waged war against the tribes for two more years until 16,028 BBY. This did nothing to help the stability of the Senate, as not only did it undermine their authority and power but a rogue general also greatly bolstered the morale and spirit of the militarist faction. Several more incursions between 16,026 - 23 BBY and 22 - 20 BBY only added fuel to this fire, all the while Lucinius refused to obey orders from the Senate to give up his command and return. He remained with his forces on Magnum Spatium, though after the final incursion they remained with the borders of the now expanded colony.
Also in 16,020 BBY several major events occurred for the republic. The militarists, with the final return of Lucinius, broke away and mass exited the Senate to make their way to the colony. Sending advanced warning of this to Lucinius and his forces, they declared independence for the colony and positioned themselves as a rival and potential successor state to the republic, basing their capital in Malum. They called themselves the Morsian Military Government, often shortened to just the "Military Government" or "Imperium Militare" in Old Morsian. Another wave of uprisings and unrest swept the land, caused both by religious and cultural differences and discrimination.
In the following five years, all semblance of government broke down and the land descended into anarchy. Over the duration of five years, the republic exploded with open destruction occurring all across the territory. The military became unresponsive to orders given out by the Senate, partly due to bribery from senatorial factions but also from disloyal senators and soldiers who demanded change and stability. The people's voice faction broke away and formed the Morsian People's Republic, or Respublica Populi Morsianum in Old Morsian. They occupied a large amount of the annexed lands on Virconis taken during the final conquest, including the old territory of the Xikk'lac Tribe and some of the Marra'karr land. The rest of it went to what remained of the republic which was rapidly crumbling. A state of emergency was declared and the republic formed into the panicked state of the Morsian Provincial Government, or Provinciae Provincialis Morsianum in Old Morsian.
For a few years the three broken states consolidated their territory, with the provincial government dealing with the uprising on Pedetes in 16,016 BBY that attempted to break away in the Pedetes Uprising and bringing the main island and those between it and the continent back under their control. The military government secured their position on the continent whilst the people's republic took some of the old Sicc'orax land and based their capital in Sicc'orandunum. Finally, in 16,015 BBY, open war began with the people's republic making pushes in the old Marra'karr lands, beginning the Fourth Morsian Civil War. This was also the latest estimated beginning for the First Religious War which further divided the senators and people of the republic between religions. With the outbreak of civil war and the declaration of the provincial government, the First Republic was de-facto dissolved, however it existed in spirit until the end of the civil war in 16,007 BBY until the formation of the ill-fated Second Morsian Republic.
Government[]
- See also: Morsian Senate and Morsian consul
The republic was governed completely by the Morsian Senate, which convened daily to debate issues and discuss laws. The Senate had existed long before the republic existed, able to trace its roots back to the Morsian Kingdom where it aided the king in mostly legal matters. However, its power was always limited until the time of the republic, when all power was concentrated in the Senate. As a form of democracy, the republic was aristocratic in nature and somewhat expansionist, with senators taking command of the legions and setting out to win personal fame and glory, with some becoming generals and attaining higher roles in the army before relinquishing their command to return to politics. Being aristocratic, long serving and expansive noble families dominated the proceedings, with few senators coming from lower families or rising in the rankings, and senators with more military achievements and fame often had more power within the Senate.
In order to achieve anything, the Senate needed a majority vote on the matter before it could go through. There were ways to avoid this, such as if it was a particularly urgent matter or a time of crisis, but trying to pass anything without a vote or going against the majority would result in tyranny being cast upon the senator, or senators, who did so. This requirement for a majority vote could often lead to long stalemates in which nothing could be done as the Senate couldn't agree on things, however it would eventually be debated enough or bore enough senators to force one resolution to eventually be decided on.
The head of government was the Consul, who headed the convening of the Senate, and they were often the most popular, most powerful, and most famous senators at the time. A Consul was elected every two years by a majority vote, and could be re-elected as many times as they were still in favor with the Senate. Extra power was afforded to the Consul, with the ability to veto votes or resolutions as well as pass laws and the like without requiring a majority vote. They could still take command of a legion and serve with the army to win themselves further fame, however this did not make them immune to being unelected or being replaced as Consul whilst they were fighting.
Language[]
- See also: Old Morsian
The Morsian people solely spoke Old Morsian, though known at the time as just Morsian. Throughout the core territory of the republic as well as some of the older integrated land, Old Morsian was the primary accepted language and only official language of the republic. However, native dialects of the area were often still spoken by those native speakers, especially during times of recent conquest when the Morsian culture and language had not been spread or enforced.
Towards the waning years of the republic, especially after mass conquest, the language situation of the republic began to get more and more difficult. Due to large conquests across a relatively short space of time, a far greater pool of languages were added to the land held by the republic which quickly dropped Old Morsian into the minority language. Sicc'oraxian was far more widely spoken, thanks to the greater amount of land held by the Sicc'orax for many years, whilst various tribal and islander dialects were found in various corners and chunks of the land. This was especially prominent in the overseas colony of the republic, where all sorts of languages were spoken including Graeke, Sicc'oraxian, Old Morsian and all sorts of tribal dialects from conquered tribes. This problem was far from sorted by the time the republic collapsed.
Economy[]
- See also: Denarii
The economy of the republic was highly fluctuating at times, especially during the turbulent times at the beginning and end of its existence. At the time of its formation, currency was well established and monetary trading was well versed in the core lands of the republic. This only spread across the lands they conquered and usually took over from whatever currency system was previously in place. The main issues faced was not to do with the existence of currency but rather its debasement and lack of industrial areas in the lands they conquered. Particularly during the period of slow collapse the republic experienced in the last decades of its existence, the economy began to collapse due to inflation, debasing of the denarii and a growing amount of anarchy and unrest that ground the economy to a halt.
Military[]
- See also: Morsian army of the First Republic
The Morsian Army grew considerably during the republic, becoming restructured and expanded with more legions, auxiliaries and technology. At its core it followed the same basic structure but enhanced as problems came and were overcome.
Notable members[]
- Scipio Farr'anax, the first Consul of the republic.
- Lucinius Cra'acius, the Consul at the beginning of the Myapian Wars.
Behind the scenes[]
- The republic is based on the real Roman Republic in several ways, including its system of government and having a consul as its leader.
- The downfall of the republic takes several queues from real events that led to the downfall of several of the Roman governments:
- The Myapian Wars are analogues for the Gallic Wars fought by Julius Caesar, which was the last major military exercise conducted by the Roman Republic before its collapse into civil wars. With the Morsian republic, the Myapian Wars are also the last major campaigns fought before its civil war.
- Lucinius Cra'acius is the analogue for Caesar, and is named after Marcus Licinius Crassus, who was a friend and ally of Caesar and a part of the First Triumvirate shared between Caesar, Crassus and Pompey.
- The splitting of the republic into three sides which have an uneasy peace at the beginning is a mirror for the Crisis of the Third Century, an event which saw the beginning downfall of the Roman Empire.
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