Exorcism of the South
The term Exorcism of the South refers to a wave of arrests targeting largely the urban centres of the Western Dekoral and Axiov (modern Terophan) which took place in 1664-5 following a failed assassination attempt on Prophet-Emperor Ratibor III (1660-1682). Although carried out in Ratibor's name, the Exorcism largely took place while the Emperor was confined to his bed by complications resulting from his injury.
The arrests and associated mob violence ostensibly targeted figures associated with the House of Vechetsky, a Melmene banking dynasty of lesser aristocrats, who were identified as the main conspirators in the attempt on the Emperor's life. In practice, however, the Exorcism rapidly developed into an instrument allowing the Great Houses of the High Nobility to exact retribution against the lesser aristocrats of the southern regions of the Empire, in particularly those who had benefited from the economic opportunities offered by the shift of trade away from the northern and central Rashimic Littoral towards Meshrati and Malarat in the aftermath of the Eternal Treaty of Nardash (1617). Many of these parvenu Noble-Profiteers, largely members of branch houses, had begun to assert themselves as independent noble houses of their own, implicitly laying claim to the same status as their erstwhile suzerains. As part of his early political manoeuvrings in the capital, the young Emperor had also made gestures towards these upstart aristocrats, seeing them as a counterweight to the Twelve Families and even replacing his First Quartermaster with a southern Noble-Profiteer, Ljubomir Boromirov. Boromirov himself was arrested shortly after the attempt.
In many cases, arrests were accompanied by mob violence targeting the property of those arrested. This was mostly confined to the southern empire, although in the immediate aftermath of the assassination attempt rioting broke out in Great Pestul, targeting the Imperial Mint and the Southern Quarter of Great Pestul and killing Sleyb Bes Pafloud, the First Auditor. This was followed by copycat violence in a number of other northern cities. Resentment for the perception of prosperity lost to the new centres of the South was not restricted to the aristocracy, and the often Dekoralese heads of the mint were frequently blamed for the inflationary pressures affecting the Empire throughout this period.
The Exorcism produced a series of full-blown revolts in what is now southern Terophan, centred on the city of Bes Dreym. The rebellion was only brought to an end with Ratibor's full recovery in 1666. Although the Emperor put an end to arrests and executions, the Great Houses had made a great show of strength. Boromirov had been arrested in the aftermath of the assassination attempt, and although he survived, he was sent into practical internal exile in his home province. Likewise, most courtiers and officials associated with Boromirov or from Branch Houses were temporarily or permanently expelled from Great Pestul or demoted to far-off provincial offices.
In many respects, the Exorcism of the South prepared the ground for the Great Imperial Restoration of 35 years later. The Noble-Profiteers, although they had been dealt a serious blow as a class by the events of 1664-65, were quick to recover their power. With the gates of the palace in Great Pestul clearly closed to them, however, they eventually coalesced around a man from among their number who was willing to break those gates down, Spytihnev Rozoevsky. In doing so, they brought about the collapse of the Universal Empire and the creation of Terophan.