Illyrian Hegemony

[History, Society, Politic]

 Government: Military Aristocratic Oligarchy.

Government Components
  • The Senate Chamber, composed by the leaders of the four main Patrician Houses (Houses of Aurelius, Midha, Remulus and Strategoi) as the two main Plebeian Houses (Radix Tribe and Schawarzbär Collective).
Illyrian Hegemony Banner (By GJ)
Capital of the Hegemony

The Illyrian Hegemony has had three capitols through its expansive history. The chroniclers will have to decide which of them should feature as the centre of myths from here on.
  • Enxeledon, the First Metropolis: In their early expansionist period, the Hegemony made its nexus on Enxeledon (named this way in honour of the Mythological son of Illyrius, called Encheleus), a strategic cross between two massive black holes allowing it to project power into the narrow habitable zones where several thousand planets were concentrated in loosely-aligned federations. 
  • Polemocentrix, the Second Metropolis: Later, the hegemons relocated to Polemocentrix (Πολέμου κέντρο that in Galactic Standard derived into “polemocentrix” (Center of War), an exposed world in a dense cluster of rich planets it had subdued. With their gathered power, defensive advantages became inconveniences for its endless expansion. The name was often used to describe a larger region of space surrounding the planet, in which several concentric spheres of planetary clusters behaved as a single, unified military machine - receiving supplies and tribute from every direction of a large portion of the galaxy, and propagating finished armies outward from its many specialized craft and training worlds.
  • Aristomaxia, the Third Metropolis: In time, the scale of its conquests increased to such an extent that a galactic architecture was required. Due to the discovery of peristaltic Eddie patterns across very large regions of radially-symmetric space time, transport networks could be centralized around a galaxy's core, and Aristomaxia ("an evolution of "Aristos" (Noble) and "Axis" (Centre) was established. From here, so corner of the galaxy could not be met with the full force of the hegemony at intimidating speeds.
Other Important Cities

Aside the Capital, not often referred outside the Illyrians, Novum Dolorum is the most widely known Illyrian city. A scientist colony for research where some of the most advanced developments of the whole galaxy are made.

Official Language
  • Illyrian. Nothing to do with the authentic ancient Illyrian tongue. This language is fundamentally Galactic Standard, mixed with a few expressions and vocabulary from the Classic Latin that was spoken in the period of the Old Roman Empire, as well as some Greek vocabulary, both implemented more than two centuries ago, during the consolidation of the Illyrian Empire after the victory of the Battle of the Markets.
Illyrian Names

It is common for the Illyrian aristocracy to adopt names of ancient Rome, in an attempt to show the social prestige and status of the family.

For cities and settlements, it is usual the use of the prefix Novum (New) and the use of a descriptive name or of a historic one, as in Novum Dolorum (New Sorrow), or the wide colony of Novum Bizantium.

The Illyrian Houses

The tribus, or tribe, was a division of the Old Roma, constituting the voting units of a legislative assembly of the Roman territory. A tribe could contain several gens.

A gens, in plural gentes, was a family composed of all those individuals who shared the same nomen and said descendants of a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a stirps (lineage), plural stirpes, (lineages). The gens was an important social structure in Old Rome as it is in the modern Illyrian Hegemony. The social position depends so much on the gens to which one belongs. More frequently, the gens are referred as houses.

The Four Main Patrician Houses:
  • House of Strategoi. Their head and more prominent member along the Illyrian history is Scipio Aemilianus Strategoi. A famous family among the patricians and example of the Illyrian virtues of duty and honour.
  • House of Remulus. Led by Gaius Flaminius Remulus. Mainly formed by wealthy warriors and state men. A Remulus can be tracked among the Founders of the Illyrian Hegemony.
  • House of Aurelius. 
  • House of Midha.
The Two Main Common Houses:
  • Radix Tribe. Led by Publius Decius Radix. This Gens is focused in trade and diplomacy and keeps a wide mercantile emporium based in their business rather than in a great military force. They were the creators of the first Mech of the Galaxy, the Red Ant, granting the power the Illyrians needed to win their independence and to become one of the Three Great Powers.
  • Schawarzbär Collective.
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Illyrian Hegemony History

When Dr. Falco Lisi discovered the way to unlock the secrets of the Gateways and verified the first safe jump, the Terran Empire experienced a so fast grown, in its expansion through the Galaxy. That eve resulted in the creation of a myriad of new factions, many of which won their freedom and Independence from the Terran Empire, even before the Terran fell in decay. 

 One of those factions was the Illyrian Tribes, who received their name from the Illyris (1) Sector they first settled. Those modern Illyrians brought the ancient values of the Greek/Roman culture and many of the old Republic of Rome standards, traditions and law system as a way of life in which the ideals of unity and glory pushed them to grow as a strong and independent faction.


The Battle of the Markets (3087)

One of their houses, the Radix Tribe, developed the creation of the very first Mech, the Red Ant, from a mining working piloted unit. Building an army of Red Ants. This supposed the breaking point with the Terran Empire as with these first Mechs, they won a key to counter the large Terran armies.

When the Illyrians started to refuse to send the taxes and even worse, the own resource convoys to the Terran Empire, the Old Terra markets started to stall, and they sent a large army with the purpose to return all Trade activity to normality as to punish the revels.

But their punitive army showed to be not enough to defeat the brand and fresh force constituted by the Red Ants. The Radix's Mechs defeated the Terran conventional army (2) with ease, winning the independence of the Illyrians and giving a hard strike to the Terran markets that with that battle, lost not only the important Illyrian mines (a very important source of wealthiness), but also many others as more sectors started to refuse to send their respective shipments.

The Born of the Illyrian Republic (3089)

This supposed the breaking point with the decaying Terran Empire control and the complete change of a paradigm, revolutionizing the warfare through this new unit, the Mech.

While the Illyrians proclaimed their Illyrian Republic, their eager for expansion and domination over their neighbours as their aggressive and expansionist politic made them transition to the Empire model, but keeping a rotary election for the Imperator (Emperor, General in Chief of the Illyrian Army mimicking the old Rome Imperator title).

From the Empire to the Hegemony (3100 to 3200)

For a couple centuries, the Illyrian Republic first, later Empire, continually expanded and turned one of the Three Major Powers of the Galaxy, time in which collided twice with the Shogunate, maintaining two large wars that both times ended with a tense but watching peace. But despite the Illyrian became an incredible Powerhouse of the Galaxy, a danger menaced to destroy them: The competition for the Imperator title, as this fed the rivalries between the different ruling Houses. So before the inner tensions ended collapsing the Empire, an agreement of the Senators led to the suppression of the Imperator charge, claiming the Illyrian Hegemony, ruled by the concordat of the Senatorial Houses and in which many of the Republic patterns returned to replace the excess of a single ruler.

Corruption and Decadence

The many inner fights between the ruling Senatorial Families, who through more than two centuries kept the control of the Hegemony's Fate, and the Imperial extravagances, fed the same corruption of the Old Terran Empires, that always ended collapsed by a so wide and uncontrolled Administrative Machine as the lack of Outer Resources constantly flowing into the always hungry treasury Arch.

But while the inner issues were menacing to collapse the Illyrian Titan, were precisely the Outer menaces which united the Illyrians to fight them until their victory, reactivating their pride and ideals of Glory in a renovated spirit.

 Mech Production in the Hegemony

 The Illyrian Hegemony keeps, by the Illyrian Law, a single Mechs producer: Star Factories.

 The Senate may, however, grant licenses to the different Houses for the production of various Star Factories´ Mechs under license. The Four main Patrician houses of the Senate along with the two main Plebeian Houses, gather and produce Mechs under license.

 The supervision of all projects is carried out by Star Factories, which also maintains an exclusive crew of designers and engineers apart than those that are employed by the houses.

 Star Factories manufacture most of the components that are then assembled by the Houses, although some Houses have acquired at a very high price the rights to manufacture some of their own components.

 In the Hegemony, the only producers of Niobium Technology are the patrician houses, since the plebeian houses can not afford the high production costs of these elite Mechs, being limited to the production of series of technology based on crystal and using its limited influence to obtain the favor of the noble houses in the votes of the Senate.

 The Mechs produced under license are the following, by Houses:
  • House of Strategoi produce the following Mechs:
    • Dread
    • Oggun
    • Sever
    • Aspis
  • House of Remulus produce:
    • Anzu
    • Fides
    • Cindron (shared with the Novum Dolorum facilities)
    • Ignis (shared with the Novum Dolorum facilities)
  • House of Aurelius produce:
    • Inferno
    • Dilophos
    • Regis
  • House of Midha produce:
    • Trooper
    • Krampus
    • Apatotron
The Two Main Common Houses:
  • Radix Tribe produce:
    • Red Ant (as the original creators they keep all rights over this Mech)
    • Pyrophorus
    • Typhoon
  • Schawarzbär Collective produce:
    • Jottun
    • Glaccus
The Illyrian Scientist Conglomerate:
  • Novum Dolorum Scientist Colony produce:
    • Cindron (in colaboration with the House of Remulus)
    • Ignis (in colaboration with the House of Remulus)
    • Notos
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Notes
  1. Inspirited in the ancient realm of Illyria or Illyris, that encompassed a south-eastern region of the Balkans, in Old Terra, founded in 385 BC and conquered by the Roman Empire in 168 BC.
  2. That battle was later said to be against a large army led by a Pirate Warlord, as a way to despite the old dominance of Old Terra.
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(By GJ - 685605)