Dordanian hegemon
The Dordanian hegemon is a term used by historians to refer to the hegemony of the Kingdom of Dordanie and its rulers over the Savamese realms and significant parts of the Sabamic world; in the narrowest terms, this covers a period from the middle 17th century CE to the formation of the Savamese Empire in 1798. The hegemony was achieved through military, political, and economical means, and is usually understood within the context of the Ceresoran-Dordanian rivalry, itself a component of the broader Imperial Question in Cairan Catholicism.
Historical outline
Most studies regard the hegemony as having started with the 1688 Treaty of Gué-le-Château that concluded the Fifteen Years War; however, Dordanie had already held a dominating position in the region for most of the century. Some historians consider that the wars of Alban-Pierre II, which resulted in the complete submission of Sabamic traditional Transvechia to Dordanie by 1518 (a position furthered by the conquest of Baseria in the 1550s under Aurélien), were the earliest manifestation of the Dordanian hegemon.
Dordanie versus Quènie
Prior to the Fifteen Years War and the onset of the Ceresoran-Dordanian rivalry, another set of events leading to the rise of the Dordanian hegemon was the rivalry between Dordanie and Quènie, which started in the 15th century as the Quènian sovereigns attempted to expand their influence into the Cairan Heartland and Lower Gaste, notably with the Three Forests War (1406-12) and the Brocquian War (1439-61), and were opposed by Dordanie's predecessor Sablons-Benovia (and later Sablons-Benovia-Gaste).
The feud between the Flessandre and Montalban-Dessor dynasties became the defining axis of politics in the Savamese realms, with three additional direct conflicts being fought over the period from 1460 to 1520 before the prolonged period of peace of the Golden Century, and both dynasties vying for the imperial throne. The Quènians later intervened in the Dordanian Succession War, although they could not prevent the Flessandre-Parloys from taking the throne.
This rivalry concluded in 1648 after the Second Arcedian War, with the beginning of a watchful peace between the two realms. Dordanie is considered to have had the upper hand in terms of influence over the Sabamic region, not least due to its central position as a continental power, while Quènie became the chief maritime state in the realms.
Dordanie versus Ceresora
As the rivalry between Dordanie and Quènie receded, a new opponent emerged for the Dordanians: the dual Vallino-Tanian monarchy of the Bragoni dynasty. The Bragonis, originally the rulers of Vallinia, became the monarchs of Tania, in southern Cislacunia, in a personal union of the two thrones in 1577; this formed a large and wealthy state that was the equal of Dordanie. For some, the Bragonis could be described as a Verborian "twin" of the Flessandre-Parloys, an expansionist dynasty that staked its own claim for a solution to the ever-problematic Imperial Question.
The emergence of Ceresora as a rival marked a strong shift of geopolitical focus for Dordanie from the west to the east. The Cantairean Partition War (1645-49) was the first major conflict between the two countries, and it was followed by a series of smaller proxy wars and military campaigns in Basse-Génestre, around the Sabamic Gate, and in Benovia, northern Cislacunia and Translacunia, Transvechia, and the Great Lakes. This built up to the 1670s and the preliminaries to the Fifteen Years War, which was triggered by yet another campaign against a proxy: in 1671 the Dordanians invaded New Elmiesia because local states allied to Ceresora had raided Dordanian-protected Kérate settlers in the eastern part of the Grand North Way, a major trading route to northern Outer Joriscia that the Dordanians controlled. In turn, the Ceresorans invaded the principality of Novigrad, a Dordanian ally in the Great Lakes region.
From retaliation to retaliation, the conflict escalated into a massive war that spanned all of north central Messenia. It would end with no decisive victor, with each side making both gains and losses at Gué-le-Château. Many contentious political issues remained unaddressed, nobody could make any progress in catholic matters, and the general post-war situation rapidly became unstable and prone to more war, with Dordanian-controlled areas isolated from the principality's core realms by mountains and a northward wedge of Ceresoran-controlled areas. From the instability and unresolved problems emerged the Benovian Question, which became the fulcrum of Dordano-Ceresoran relations for the next forty years. Nonetheless, the fact remained that the Ceresorans had been unable to displace the Dordanian overlordship over vast parts of the Savamese realms, consecrating their hegemony.
The Benovian Question became salient in the early 18th century. Benovia, a mostly Verborian region, was already a key strategic choke-point in eastern Messenia between the Sabamic Plain and the Great Lakes region, and by extension the steppe. The Flessandre dynasty's rise to power in the late 14th century had been enabled by their conquest of Benovia, although they consolidated power in western Dordanie instead. For the Bragonis, Benovia was uncomfortably close to their capital in Cavino, and controlling Benovia would also have allowed them to deny easy access to Translacunia and the steppe to the Dordanians. This new question was resolved in favour of Dordanie at Guestel in 1728, following two major wars in 1701-08 and 1724-28, resulting in the establishment of the pro-Dordanian Archprincipality of Benovia.
Transition to the Savamese Empire
The hegemony was weakened during the Reform Wars (notably with a resurgent Ceresora following its alliance with other Orthodox powers), and refocused solely on the Savamese realms, now united by the Reformation. The formation of the Savamese Empire marks the official end of the hegemony, although Dordanie itself was, and still is, the dominant state within the empire.1. It is important to note, however, that not all of the Savamese realms had been subject, or even friendly, to Dordanie during this period. Quènie had entered a watchful peace by the middle 17th century after repeated wars in previous centuries, and remained wary of its southern neighbour for most of the period up to the Reform Wars. Nonetheless, Dordanie was the largest, most populous, and wealthiest state in the realms, allowing it to exercise a significant influence even on other independent states.
Legacy
It is generally accepted by historians and anthropologists that the hegemony was one of the factors that helped foster the cultural differentiation between the Savamese and Verborians, since it involved loyalty to a different crown, an important point regarding the question of who should be the Emperor (Catholicism), and one that is considered central to identification within the Savamese nation. Although the schism of Cairony did eventually realise this cultural split by producing a stark difference between the Orthodox Verborians and the Reform Savamese, the rivalry between the two royal houses and its political consequences did help in making the "Savamese realms" different from the "Sabamic world", a distinction that did not really exist prior to the 17th century.
Notes
- ↑ Anti-imperial commentators in the late 18th and early 19th centuries generally derided the Savamese Empire as the "Dordanian Empire", and appeals to anti-Dordanian sentiment were an important factor in the Valdenian Opposition