The Rise of the Chemkans
Throughout the 690s and 680s BCE, there was an explosion in the Chemkan population. With such a growth came a solidified doctrine of Chemkan religious beliefs, which dictated that there was one God who was a nameless, faceless, and genderless deity, and who existed in the form of reality itself. Instead of temples, the Chemkans practiced the use of individual shrines and individual worship. According to them, death made transformed an individual to becoming a part of the God, or reality, such as he or she was before birth. A certain set of morals had to be followed, and in the event that one committed a sin, there presented an opportunity for redemption. However, the arrangements for such redemption were simply between the God and the individual. With these religious beliefs, Chemkans followed a tradition consisting of an eight-day cycle where one worked for six days and rested for two. In fact, the ancient Chemkans were notably the first to establish the Circlarian eight-day week used presently for the Edoran calendar. In a hierarchy, one produced food and goods for oneself, then for one's family, and finally for one's community. Because of this culture, the Chemkans were opposed to all forms of Totian rule, especially the tax codes.
Break from Oppression
The Wannonian traveling tolls levied against the Totians in the wake of the war in 679 BCE were placing a large financial burden on the Totian Empire. To compensate, Emperor Darus incrementally raised taxes on the people in the South, where there already existed political instability involving Totian Legion Generals quarrelling and fighting each other over what pieces of land to govern. Having most of the wealth, each Legion General felt compelled to acquire more wealth than the others, leading to outbreaks of violence in which Chemkans and other inhabitants were employed as soliders. Those in this region who were not Legion Generals were mostly poor and starving, while poor Chemkans were further discriminated against by poor Totians. Between 678 and 677 BCE, large groups of Chemkans who were experts at farming and fishing were drawn to a piece of land near the ruins of Eskant for its resources. Such land, however, was reserved by Emperor Darus as part of a memorial for those slain in the fall of Eskant, which was placed there in adherence to an obligation in the Treaty with Wannonia. Nevertheless, the settling Chemkans believed that divine intervention gave them rights to this land; so they built a settlement here, where they functioned independently and evaded Totian taxes. In June 676 BCE, they received a letter from Emperor Darus, warning them to leave this plot of land or to face execution by Legion soldiers. Instead of complying, the Chemkans sent Darus a letter of refusal while fortifying their settlement. In February 675 BCE, a Legion from Darus arrived and attacked, forcing the Chemkan community to disperse. But over the next few weeks, they recruited more Chemkans as the prophecy of the "promised land" became widespread throughout the region. In May, they returned in large numbers to the plot of land near Eskant, where they drove out the Totian Legion and re-established their settlement as a city, naming it Corbo. They and Chemkans all around declared the South region of the Totian Empire to be the independent nation of Chemko.
The Chemkan War
Between January and March 674 BCE, Totian Legions swept through the Chemkan region and captured Corbo, driving the Chemkans South and into the Interior Desert. Here, they sought help from the Tahnish inhabitants; and in June, they regained Corbo. However, the Totians still proved quite strong, holding onto the surrounding territory. The Chemkans sent a message to Calanas and Wannonia for help. When the call for help reached Tekon in March 673 BCE, the Wannonian Senate voted against such a measure, not only because of the treaty with the Totian Empire, but also because they, themselves, saw the Chemkans as inferior. However, Calanas obliged without hesitation. In May, thousands of Calanasian mercenaries set foot on Chemkan soil, quickly driving out the Totians. To compensate for the rejection earlier on, Wannonia issued a declaration of recognition for the Chemkan victory, signing a three-way peace treaty with both the new nation and the Totian Empire in September 673 BCE. In October, the Wannonian Senate voted to maintain the tolls with the Totian Empire while ending them with the nation of Chemko, which had now established itself as a Republic.
673-605 BCE: The Republic of Chemko
The Republic of Chemko established a system of government almost identical to that of early Wannonia, where there was an elected Senate as well as a hierarchy of provincial and local governments. All government posts, like in Wannonia, were directly elected by the people. However, unlike the Wannonians, Chemko did not have as much arable land. Most of the little fertile soil they had lay in the Chemkan Ridges and the valley to their immediate West. Within these regions of land were stable territories which grew bountiful crops, and territories that were prone to landslides during the wet season. Most of the wealth had been sapped by Totian Emperor Kylan in 690 BCE, and had since not been returned to the region. Chemkans fought over the little gold, silver, and copper that was left, leading to the emergence of a very wealthy and very poor social class. The former corrupted the Chemkan Senate, allocating for themselves even more wealth and resources, as well as nearly all of the stable farmland. It is said that these wealthy people were extremely obese in appearance and gave advice on how to live life and follow religious beliefs, passing judgement mostly onto the poor. The remaining Chemkans, meanwhile, lived in extreme poverty, commonly subject to starvation, and faced discrimination from rich and public figures. These impoverished Chemkans heard about the abundant resources in Wannonia, and began migrating there for permanent settlement.
The New Wannonian Establishment
Wannonian territory since the defeat of Totian Emperor Kylan in 681 BCE included the territories of present-day Combria and Ereautea, where there was plenty of arable land and warm coastline. Trade had been increasing as Wannonians gained wealth. Additionally, farmland in the Plains generated a great amount of food for the inhabitants as well as revenue for the farms and merchants. With this system, flaxweed emerged as a major cash crop. Merchants began earning a great deal of wealth over flaxweed as it became a major industry. It was during this time that flaxweed began to be utilized in a mill system that powered a nationwide network of canals.
The Problem with the Senate
However, issues began to manifest in the Wannonian government. Between the 670s and 620s BCE, the Wannonian Senate became increasingly composed of "leaders" and "followers," with more and more of the latter emerging. From this came majority and minority leaders, which became officially established as Majority and Minority Consul Offices by a Senate vote in 632 BCE. Such a move was unpopular among the Wannonian people; and over the next few years, protests erupted. Such a popular effort proved futile when, in 624 BCE, a multi-partisan vote in the Senate carried a motion to have the Senators during elections to be appointed by majority votes in the Senates of their respective provinces instead of directly by popular votes. In 616 BCE, Corman Kostaris, the incumbent Majority Consul, dominated the floor of the Wannonian Senate and throttled a vote to prohibit the Minority Consul, Simon Fosanian, from speaking. Under Kostaris' leadership, the Senate then voted to lift term limits for all Consuls as well as passed legislation that cracked down on Chemkan settlers, toward which Kostaris and his supporters had racist hostility. This triggered a popular uprising against the Senate, but such a protest was extinguished by national Legion troops under Kostaris' orders. In subsequent elections, Kostaris maintained his position as Majority Consul. But then in 611 BCE, popular efforts paid off when he was defeated by his opponent, Marcus Ligarius. Ligarius appointed Fosanian to a newly created office: Head Consul, whose responsibility was to regulate Senate functions while resolving disputes between the Majority and Minority Consuls, who were now simply and equally Standing Consuls.
605-603 BCE: The Chemko Crisis
Between March and October of 605 BCE, Othelman Arturius, one of the five Wannonian National Legion Generals, resisted orders by the Wannonian Senate and dissolved local government functions in the Southeast near the Chemkan border, forcing Chemkan settlers in that region into captivity and forced labor. In November, Arturius convinced Wannonian inhabitants in that province that the Chemkans were engaging in "witchcraft" and other acts of corruption, and invaded Chemko in December 605 BCE. News of this came as a shock to the Wannonian Senate, who sent one of their Senators, Maen Kartorius, accompanied by a band of Legion soldiers, to preside over the Wannonian borderlands and also temporarily over the battlefield in Chemko as an appointed Governer General acting under emergency powers. However, in June 604 BCE, when he arrived, Kartorius was assassinated by agents working for Arturius. In March 603 BCE, in retaliation, the Wannonian Senate dispatched the four other National Legions, which invaded Chemko and defeated Arturius, who was then executed for his crimes. Wannonia then helped to rebuild the Chemkan Republic and its democratic government.
Kostaris Returns
In 598 BCE, the Wannonian Senate, under the leadership of Head Consul, Simon Fosanian, voted to create yet another office: Head Imperial General. Such a position was promptly filled by Kamus Corellian, who vowed to prevent any usurping of power as had been carried out by Arturius. It seemed as if the political situation in Tekon had finally reached another balance. But in 596 BCE, the yearly Wannonian election brought about a change in party majority; and Corman Kostaris returned to the Senate as Head Consul. Upon taking office, Kostaris wasted no time having the new Senate vote to eliminate to two lower Consul offices. This triggered yet another popular outcry, which, once again, was dispersed by Legion troops. In the following year, despite the grievance, Kostaris won re-election, and directed the Senate to pass a measure to have its Senators appointed not by the majority votes of the respective Provincial Senates, but only by the votes of the Provincial Senate Consuls (which had emerged with some of the provinces in the 590s BCE). In 593 BCE, the Wannonian Senate voted to have only the incumbent Head Consul (in this case, Kostaris) decide on the appointment of the Head Imperial General. Kostaris would stay in the position of Head Consul until 575 BCE.
Further Erosion of Wannonian Democracy
Throughout the 580s BCE emerged issues involving the appointment of national Wannonian Senators by Provincial Consuls. By this point, some provinces each had their respective Provincial Senate Members appointed by County Councils rather than by direct popular vote, and led by Provincial Senate-appointed Consuls. Other provinces, however, abode by the traditional Wannonian Senate system, whose members were chosen directly by its people. Consequently, the latter, having no Provincial Senate Consuls, had no voice in the Wannonian Senate in Tekon, because of how there simply were no Senators representing them. This led to popular uprisings hard to contain; and in 586 BCE, in an unpopular resolution to this issue, the Wannonian Senate, under Kostaris, voted to mandate all provinces to adapt the system of county-council-appointed Senators led by Senate-appointed Consuls. In 582 BCE, the Wannonian Senate voted to abolish county-council electoral appointments of Provincial Senators and Consuls, and to, instead, have such Provincial Senators and Consuls appointed by each respective national Wannonian Senator.
Kamus Corellian
In 575 BCE, Kamus Corellian, still the Head Imperial Legion General, announced his candidacy for Head Consul. To this point, Corellian had grown popular among the people while Kostaris and the Wannonian Senate had grown quite unpopular. Corellian ran his election campaign that year, but lost to the incumbent Kostaris. Immediately, rumors emerged that Corellian would have won had the elections still utilized the popular vote as it did in the past. Corellian, believing this as well, led a military coup in the streets of Tekon, where he succeeded in overthrowing the Wannonian Senate and had Kostaris put to death. Subsequently, Corellian made himself "Head Consul Commander" of the nation of Wannonia and appointed "temporary" members of a new Wannonian Senate. He then abolished Provincial Senates and replaced them with Governor-Generals, justifying publicly the need to implement emergency powers. However, as the years passed, the newly established Wannonian Senate neither voted to restore elections as they had promised, nor did they ever vote to restore the Provincial Senates. In 565 BCE, Corellian appointed his closest advisor, Marius Cartus, to succeed him as Head Consul Commander in the event of his death.
Marius Cartus
In 558 BCE, Corellian died; and, as planned, Marius Cartus assumed the role of Head Consul Commander. He appointed new members for the Wannonian Senate, which voted to suspend itself indefinitely.
Regatus Phyrrian
During this time, a Wannonian pupil named Regatus Phyrrian studied in depth the writings of Astolagus, Tandus, and Kestella, and took a great amount of interest in the abundance of land and resources discussed in their explorations of Canticula. In September 556 BCE, Phyrrian made a proposition to Head Consul Commander Cartus to help finance his mission to explore the lands of Canticula. This, however, was initially met with rejection from Cartus, who feared the reported brutality of the seemingly "untamed Cantacians." Determined not to surrender his agenda, Phyrrian secured such finances from an unknown source and acquired his own ship and crew. In March 555 BCE, he and his crew set out to sea. By September of that year, he reached the West peninsula of Canticula, where he discovered that the Cantacians were gone, replaced by a seemingly benign farming population. Between 555 BCE and February 545 BCE, Phyrrian built a Wannonian settlement and set up a deal of trade with the local people.
The Second Overthrow
Meanwhile, back in Tekon, goods from Phyrrian's settlement in Canticula began to flow in. However, Head Consul Cartus placed a heavy tax on the goods and finances involved, leading him to becoming extremely unpopular by 551 BCE. That year, another coup, led by the political opponent, Termis Korladi, led to Cartus' death. Promptly, Korladi made himself the next Head Consul Commander. As Head Consul Commander, Korladi established a class of advisors to serve as an Advisory Court. He then suspended the Provincial Governor General offices and handed those responsibilities to the Provincial Legion Generals. Finally, Korladi suspended elected county and local governments within Wannonia, replacing such jurisdictions with hierarchical units of Wannonian Legion soldiers.
The Beginning of Wannonian Colonization
In September 545 BCE, Phyrrian returned to Tekon with valuables and assets from Canticula, and was surprised to learn about Wannonia being under Korladi's authority. Nevertheless, he presented his spoils to Korladi, who was impressed, and sent Phyrrian back to Canticula with a group of high-profile merchant guild owners. While a wave of Wannonian explorers and merchants emerged to seek out the treasures of Canticula, Phyrrian and his accompanying guild owners reached the Canticulan settlement in February 543 BCE, where the guild owners began pressuring Phyrrian to overstep his trade deal with the local inhabitants and exploit more of their assets. Over the next year, Phyrrian stubbornly refused such demands; and the guild owners, frustrated, wrote to Korladi for assistance. Korladi honored such a request and sent an assassin, who murdered Phyrrian in April 542 BCE. The local people retaliated and raided the compound where lived the guild owners, killing all but one. The lone survivor, Macrus Tellan, returned to Korladi with the news. Korladi responded by dispatching a newly-recruited Legion, which arrived in Canticula in May 541 BCE and was effectively challenged by the locals, thus beginning a war. In June, the locals overcame the Legion. So Korladi sent over two more newly-created Legions, which arrived in September 540 BCE and overtook the peninsula. In the following year, more Canticulan inhabitants arrived and struck back against the Wannonians; so Korladi dispatched four more Legions. In October 538 BCE, the local Canticulan inhabitants were defeated, bringing all of Western Canticula under Wannonian control.
In 537 BCE, in order to rally his supporters (consisting of Wannonian civilians and Legion soldiers), Korladi declared himself an Emperor, his Advisory Court an Imperial Court, and the nation of Wannonia an Empire. Scholars to this day recognize the title of "Emperor" with Korladi and successors who followed, but do not consider Wannonia an Empire, for Wannonia by legal technicality was still considered a Republic.