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Number of like terms found for Civil War: 1 Civil War (606 to 622)
Fought between various factions within the Imperium for control of the bureacracy. It had its origin in the strain on communications within the Imperium caused by the long time lags dictated by the very size of the Imperium. To cite one cause, however, would be simplistic. The diverse backgrounds of the many constituents of the Imperium had its effects, as did rivalry for power by major naval and military commanders and a lessening in the Imperium's expansionist tendancies.
The spark which started the Civil War came from the First Frontier War (589 to 604) in the Spinward Marches. Communication lags and a lack of preparedness forced the Marches to conduct most of the war on its own with| little additional help or support from the Imperium. Grand Admiral of the Marches Olav hault-Plankwell forced the war to an end and found solid support for a new government. Marching on Capital with his war fleet, he forced an audience with Empress Jacqueline I, supposedly for recognition of his war effort. In the course of the meeting he personally murdered the Empress, and then proclaimed himself Emperor by right of fleet control. The ensuing power struggle lasted through 18 years and 17 emperors.
The fighting in the Civil War was of two varieties: fringe battles for power bases, and central battles for power in the Core. The fringe battles were fought throughout the Imperium as rival factions recruited forces. Once any power block built up enough strength to make victory seem possible, the forces were moved to the Core and used to either seize power or to wrest it away from someone else.
But there was also a cheaper, easier route open to many. The dynastic crisis of 244 had produced a precedent for assassination of the emperor if he or she overstepped the bounds of legitimate activity. The concept was introduced to legitimise the elimination of Cleon the Mad and was never intended for any other purpose. Nevertheless, in the turmoil of the Civil War, assassination was introduced and accepted, at least by those utilising the technique, as a way of promoting a succession in government.
The line of Emperors during the Civil War came mostly from naval officers, and they are collectively called the Emperors of the Flag. Of these seventeen seven were assassinated and ten were killed in battle; the line was ended by the person sometimes considered the eighteenth Emperor of the Flag - Arbellatra.
During the course of the Civil War, the Outworld Coalition (of Zhodani and Vargr) saw that their defeat in the First Frontier War at the hands of Olav need not be permenant. They attacked again in the Second Frontier War (615 to 620). Their defeat in that war had greater effects than they would know. Grand Admiral Arbellatra Alkhalikoi managed the meager forces of the Spinward Marches against the Coalition and forced a second defeat.
Arbellatra's strategy after the war was (like Olav) to march on Capital and seize power. She, however, did not make the mistake of seizing the throne. Instead, she defeated the putative emperor and then took possession of power, holding it in trust for a rightful successor. She held the post of regent for seven years while a search for a member of Jacqueline's family could be found to take the throne. In the stability that followed with her as regent, she made an impression on the Moot and succeeded in establishing a broad power base. Ultimately, the Moot approached her to take the throne herself, an end which was probably in her mind all along.
With the end of the Civil War, the Imperium entered a period of renewed expansion and consolidation. The express boat system was established to enhance government, commercial, and private communications; the Solomani influence in the Imperium was lessened and replaced with a more cosmopolitan policy; renewed efforts at interior development of existing Imperial territories provided a new focus for the nobles of the Moot. See also First Frontier War, Outworld Coalition, Second Frontier War.
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