Wars of the Vizierate was a series of wars waged in the Second Harimraj from 1481 to 1505. It involved two major powers, Rabhidaraj and Amtujsaat, vying for the position of Grand Vizierate of the Raj. The wars were also interpreted by many scholars as about many differing positions within the Raj, such as the reformist against the traditionalist, Raja succession crises, and progressive Suhan Praxist versus conservative High Philosophy lords. The wars were won by Amtujsaat and their allies, resulting in the new Raja ruling dynasty of Iron Stripes and the return of Amtujsaat Vizierate.
Background[]
The position of Grand Vizier was created when Ramapalar II died during the Raj conquest of the southern cities, leaving his 2 years old son Shurapalar as the heir to the throne. Fearing dissolution of the Raj and the return of infighting, Goshar Goldenpaw, the Senapti of Amtujsaat, took charge of the situation and brought the Southern Alliance to a peace treaty. Goshar went on to lead the regency of Shurapalar until the Raja came of age. This relationship made Goshar the first unofficial Grand Vizier of the Raj, with the position becoming official during the reign of Golpalar I under the Edict of 1396.
The rule of Amtujsaat as the Grand Vizier was marked with rising influence of the ministries over the Rajas, rampant corruption, and general ineffectiveness in handling the problem of the realm. This problem especially rears its ugly head during the reign of Golpalar I and Indranayar I. Both monarchs left most of the governing to their viziers and ministries to focus on their own interests. The lack of oversight from the Rajas enabled various prabhi and senapti to make a power play to gain more influence in the court, further decentralizing the Raj out of Dhenijansar’s control.
Rabhidaraj Vizierate[]
The death of the Amtujsaat vizier in 1438 allowed Indranayar to appoint Manava of the Bloody Claw from Rabhidaraj as the new Grand Vizier of the Raj. Manava grew up around the court of Dhenijansar, gaining the attention of Indranayar who began to delegate most of his work to the brilliant Manava. The move was unprecedented however as the vizierate was always held by Amtujsaat and most people assumed another Golden Paw vizier to take the role. Manava began reforming what he saw as the rot infecting the Raj starting with the ministries. In a bit of genius politicking on his part, he convinced Indranayar to demote Amtujsaat as prabhi because of their internal instability and to elevate Pordhatti as the new senapti to deal with the hobgoblin Command. The elevation of Manava as the vizier and subsequent demotion to prabhi greatly angered Amtujsaat, which began to seed hatred toward Rabhidaraj that led to eventual breaking point.
Despite Indranayar's death in 1447 and Manava’s in 1448, the Vizierate stayed in Rabhidaraj as the 12 years old Raja Indrapalar appointed Manava’s brother Naranyar as the Grand Vizier and the Regent for the young Raja. Naranyar continued most of his brother’s reforms as the Amtujsaat prabhis could only watch in silence as the realm was mostly doing well. They would however reach the tipping point as after 30 years of Naranyar’s rule the vizierate passed to his daughter, Indira. Women’s rule in Rahen was still highly controversial as the female-led Parusad Bhola Senapti fought with Endhuvi to protect their right to rule in 1432. The selection of a woman to the second-most powerful position in the Raj drew the ire from many traditionalist lords, especially Amtujsaat. They began preparation for a war to remove Indira from her position and to return the Amtujsaat Vizierate.
Conflict[]
First War[]
The First War of the Vizierate began in 1481 as a result of a succession crisis after the sudden death of Raja Indrapalar I. The rightful heir to the throne, Ramapalar III was deemed illegitimate by Amtujsaat after he continued Indira’s service as the Grand Vizier. Rumor began to spread that both of them were involved in a romantic relationship and that Indira conspired to murder the previous Raja to gain a more pliable man on the throne.
Amtujsaat and their allies, the traditionalist faction Golden Banner, met the Vizier’s army at Janandana, personally led by the Vizier Indira herself. Before the vizier could join their allies Pasiragha’s line, Amtujsaat catches her armies and kills the vizier. Rabhidaraj army was soon routed after her death and the battle was won by Amtujsaat. Amtujsaat later occupied the Golden Palace of Dhenijansar and deposed Ramapalar III in favor of his younger and more pliable twin brother Acay. Ramapalar was able to escape capture however and fled to Pasiragha, where Rabhidaraj and their allies regrouped under the leadership of the new Vizier Naranyar III. After the death of Indira, Shushuri of the Bloody Claw from Keyattordha and her husband Mahipalar of Babhagama declared war against Amtujsaat and brought their nations into Rabhidaraj ranks. The reinforced Green faction went on to win the battle at Nabukh in 1487, killing Raja Acay in the process. This victory ended the first war and ensured the continued reign of Ramapalar III and Rabhidaraj Vizierate.
Suhan Praxis and the Second War[]
While the first war subsided in central Rahen, another kind of war started in the Hall of Endless Debate. Guru Suhan of Guhe began teaching his praxis, denouncing many flaws in Raheni society such as patriarchal system, slavery, rigid interpretation of castes, among many other things. Many lords began to take his teaching seriously and thus became followers of the Suhan’s Praxis. Tensions began to flare up again as many Praxist lords took side with Rabhidaraj who was more tolerant of the practice while conservative High Philosophy lords rallied behind Amtujsaat.
The second War of the Vizierate thus began under the pretense of this religious tensions. The war turned out to be inconclusive however because both sides didn’t have the means to completely defeat the other. Many of the eastern Gold faction like Parusad Bhola refused to join the war as they turned to Suhan’s teaching. Meanwhile, the chaos of the Praxis in Rakhadesh made several western lords incapable of supporting the war efforts properly for both sides. This stage of war saw numerous uprising, deposition of Praxist lords, and bloody assassination between leaders. The star of this conflict was Kitir of the Iron Stripes from Parusahan Saya. His brilliance allowed him to score several key victories against the Green faction. With most participants dealing with their own unrest at home, the second war ended with the status quo maintained.
Rise of the Iron Stripes[]
The second peace was as tumultuous as the first one. Ramapalar III tried his best to keep the peace by balancing appointments between the two factions and not favoring one over the other. The rise of Kitir made Parusahan Saya the second most important prabhi in the Gold faction. Their prominence rose up again when it was revealed that they housed Aysha of the Lotus Claw, the daughter of former Raja Acay I after the disaster at Nabukh. Aysha later married Kitir and gave birth to two sons, Golpalar and Hemantsen, claimants to the Lotus Throne.
The assassination of Ramapalar III in 1495 reignited the animosity between the two factions. With the new Raja Vijayswanath II reign deemed ineffective and corrupt, Kitir challenged the throne with the claim of his son Golpalar, the grandson of Acay I. The Prabhi revealed the parentage of Golpalar publicly to the shock of the Green faction. He thus began enlisting the help from their allies Amtujsaat and the rest of the former Gold faction to depose Vijayswanath II in return for a restored Amtujsaat Vizierate. With a deeply unpopular Raja sitting on the throne and Rabhidaraj unwillingness to give up some of their power, many of the former Green lords joined Kitir’s faction as he preached for peace and reconciliation between the two sides.
Final War[]
Kitir led his alliance march to Dhenijansar in 1498, placing the capital in a siege. With extensive use of sapper troops, the city fell in just six weeks. The Golden armies paraded through the capital that ended with them placing the 6 years old Golpalar III as the first Iron Rajas. Vijayswanath II went into exile as his support waned, with Rabhidaraj staying in the war to restore their vizierate. They incite several revolts against the Allied force and score a crucial victory in one of the revolts. This defeat forced the Alliance to recall Kitir to lead the armies once again. After several years of sporadic fighting, the Wars of the Vizierate ended in 1505 with the defeat of Rabhidaraj at Kasaravabhaga. This victory cemented the Iron Stripes as the new dynasty of the Rajas with the Golden Paw of Amtujsaat as their Grand Viziers.
Aftermath[]
The Wars of the Vizierate was the latest in the series of worst disasters to hit the Raj. It is estimated that 100,000 soldiers and a quarter million civilians died over the course of the struggle. The legitimacy of the throne in Dhenijansar was also badly degraded, albeit later efforts by Raja Hemantsen I of the Iron Stripe returned some confidence on the Lotus Throne. While the Rajas and most of the senaptis were embroiled in the civil war, their neighbors in Jaddari and Bhuvauri used the momentum to conquer Raghamidesh coast. The Raj was also the target of the 1507 Command campaign resulting in the fall of Tiltaghar and Pordhatti Senapti and the loss of the Oracular Order of Tughayasa.
The Vizierate wars also affected the Raj as much internally. Losers of the war such as Rabhidaraj began harboring resentment towards the Rajas and the Viziers, ultimately becoming the deciding factor in the eventual fall of the Raj. With many senaptis fell during the incursion from their three neighbors, a slew of states are promoted to the ranks of senapti. This sudden change in power dynamics affected the internal politics of the Raj, with some states like Ghundagar began plotting to take one of the senapti positions.