History of the Marian Hegemony

Crest of the Marian Hegemony
This article details the history of the Periphery nation. For more information, see Marian Hegemony.

Founding[edit]

The origins of the Marian Hegemony lie from the demise of the old Alphard Trading Corporation during the Succession Wars. A Periphery native and lostech prospector named Johann O'Reilly was searching for reputed lost caches of Star League technology on the planet Alphard rumored to have been left behind by the defunct company when he instead found a treasure trove of germanium worth an estimated fifty billion C-bills.[1][2]

Johann O'Reilly immediately hired some small mercenary units to protect his newly found wealth and established a colony to serve both as a trading hub and a distraction, diverting those who would follow from the location of his find. Johann named the colony after a seven-time consul from ancient Rome on Terra, Gaius Marius, and populated his colony with refugees from across the Inner Sphere fleeing the constant warfare of the Succession wars. Johann fancied himself something of a historian, and drew on the structure of the ancient Roman Republic when establishing his new colony; he stylized himself as Imperator and streamed the refugees into the three classes of his new society - the upper class, or patricians, the middle and lower class, or plebs, and a slave class.[2]

Despite the financial reserves Johann could draw on his new Hegemony was simply too small, unable to attract the defenders it would need to defend itself against larger states but too small to attract the attention of those states. As such, the Hegemony spent almost a century as little more than a bandit kingdom fashioned after a society that had been dead for millennia.[2]

Gaius O'Reilly[edit]

Gaius O'Reilly, the son of Johann Sebastian O'Reilly, left little impression on the history of the Marian Hegemony; by the 3060s, he was primarily remembered for two things: being the father of Marius O'Reilly, and for dying an ignominious death in 3009 when his horse stumbled into a chuckhole, causing Gaius to break his neck.[3]

Marian Hegemony logo, circa 3025

Marius O'Reilly[edit]

The arrival of the Fourth Succession War and the resulting changes within the Inner Sphere brought the fledgling Marian Hegemony new possibilities. With most of the various pirate bands concentrating on the Inner Sphere, the new Imperator, Marius O'Reilly, saw a good opportunity to expand his young nation. The Hegemony had spent a century preying upon nearby trade routes and worlds as a means of keeping the economy functioning, but the advent of the Fourth Succession War, the Free Worlds League civil war and then the joint invasion of the Capellan Confederation by the Duchy of Andurien and the Magistracy of Canopus gave rise to opportunities for much more successful and ambitious raids.[4]

Imperator Marius, using wealth gained from these more successful raids and germanium supplies, embarked on an ambitious civic spending program designed to give the Hegemony better and more capable soldiers. O'Reilly built the Collegium Bellorum Imperium (the Imperial War College) to train Marian generals, which he hoped would eventually churn out top-quality soldiers capable of expanding the Hegemony and which swiftly raised the Marian Hegemony Armed Forces to a new level of professionalism than any reached before.[1] The Imperator proved to be popular with his citizens, and was widely considered to be a good ruler for the Hegemony.[4] Marius' only major misstep was prompted by a failed assassination attempt against him, an assassination attempt the led to him ordering an ill-advised and unsuccessful invasion of the world of Astrokaszy in 3035.[5]

Marius continued to expand the Hegemony through colonization efforts, marking a peaceful era for the Marian Hegemony, but one that also led to Marius' downfall. Sean O'Reilly, Marius' son, headed up the Marian colonization program, and abused his position to siphon off funds to support his gambling addiction and his many mistresses.[4] With one of those mistresses Sean had a son, whom he named Julius. When Marius learned of his son's embezzling, he threatened to remove his son from the line of succession and name his grandson Julius as his heir. Sean, sufficiently cowed, offered to pay off his debt to the nation, and immediately cut back on his gambling and mistresses. Mollified, Marius put Sean back in the line of succession. Nevertheless, Sean continued to fear being removed from the line of succession.[6]

Marius O'Reilly died on a Marian colony world named Herculaneum in 3048. With his father's death officially declared to be the result of a "climbing accident," Sean O'Reilly became the new ruler. His first actions were to order a ten-day period of mourning and that Herculaneum be renamed Marius' Tears in honor of his father; the mourning period would be marked by intense speculation in the Hegemony that Sean had in fact been responsible for the death of his father.[4]

Sean O'Reilly[edit]

When Sean emerged from the official mourning period, he abandoned the title of Imperator; instead, he proclaimed that he would rule as Caesar. Sean then promptly began a radical restructuring of the Marian state and government; no longer modelled after the ancient Roman Republic, Sean's intent was to instead model the Hegemony after the ancient Roman Empire. Some of the social reforms that his father had enacted were allowed to continue, but Sean was determined to see the Hegemony "embrace the virtues of our Roman Forefathers" and to see himself "lead the Marian people to their new destiny." Sean put in place repressive policies that were specifically designed to enhance the division between the patrician and pleb classes, whilst also significantly expanding the Hegemony's military; the single Legion that existed at the time of Sean's rise to power was increased to three Legions, and Sean poured energy into solidifying his hold over the Marian people while firmly establishing a personal power base within the military. Sean dealt with those protesting against his increasingly dictatorial regime in one of two ways; either his critics and detractors were silenced through promises of great wealth, or they were silenced by the application of great force.[4] Sean also introduced conscription, ordering that all able-bodied males be conscripted into military service either at the age of seventeen or on completion of any higher education; while he exempted women from enforced conscription, women were allowed to join the military voluntarily.[7]

Having secured his hold over the population, Sean embarked on an expansion of the Hegemony through conquest. To this effect, in 3054 he invaded the Lothian League,[4] a small nation of just seven planets founded by refugees from the Taurian Concordat in the aftermath of the Reunification War centuries before. A moderately successful minor state reliant on hired mercenary units for protection,[8] the League was rendered vulnerable to invasion by repeated raids launched by Sean using either small auxiliary units or privateers.[4] The raids steadily eroded the mercenary forces defending the League; the Lothians called on the Taurian Concordat for help, but their pleas were rejected by the Taurian Protector. Thomas Calderon,[8] and there was no way that the small Lothian military could resist the Marian invasion once it began. The war took a little over a year, but the ruling Logan family of the League were forced into hiding and the defending units crushed beneath the Marian Legions. Sean ordered the Second Legion to garrison the Lothian worlds and enforce his will, enacting brutal punishments against those who defied him; while his invasion represented a swift victory for the Marian forces, Sean's brutal punishment of the population of the Lothian worlds only embittered the natives further, leading to a strong resistance movement.[4]

In 3058, soon after the Lothian conquest, Sean was approached by the Word of Blake, who sought to gain control over the few HPG stations located within the Hegemony's borders. In exchange for expelling all ComStar personnel, Sean was promised that he would be given high-quality BattleMechs and weapons for his dreams of conquest. Sean accepted, expelling ComStar from the Hegemony in 3061, and started a heavy conscription effort that expanded his military to five Legions.[9]

In 3057, Sean O'Reilly invaded the world of Astrokaszy; he hoped to capture the planet with assistance from the Blakist faction known as the Sixth of June and then use the planet as a staging ground for later invasions. Although he exploited the constant infighting endemic to the planet, the sudden arrival of the veteran mercenary unit Avanti's Angels, funded by the Magistracy of Canopus, prevented the planet from falling to the Hegemony. Sean returned to Alphard to find his Lothian subjects on the brink of open rebellion, prompting him to assign the Third Legion to help put down the Lothian rebels. The Lothian rebellion swiftly proved to be the lesser of Sean's problems, however.[9]

His son Julius, a recent graduate of the Collegium Bellorum Imperium, had been recently promoted to command a century in the First Legion. He quickly gained the attention of several powerful military leaders and Senators as well as attracting the notice of those working against Sean. Sean responded to Julius' rise by posting him out of the First Legion, promoting him to command the second cohort of the Second Legion. Julius' transfer and promotion were an effort to secure his own safety, but proved to be a significant mistake on Sean's part; the Second was based on the Lothian world of Lordinax, and Julius' arrival in June 3060 marked a turning point in his rise.[10]

Julius O'Reilly[edit]

When Julius arrived, the Second Legion was suffering repeated attacks from rebel forces and was rapidly becoming demoralized. Sean's first orders were for Julius to be sent on punitive raids against a number of Lothian settlements believed to be harboring rebels, a campaign that Sean hoped would either see Julius killed or toughened up; instead, it led Julius to begin openly questioning the occupation of the League and his father's decisions.[10]

Julius began to covertly build a power base within the Legion, promising an end to the Lothian troubles. The war was a cycle of death, as recruits poured into the Second Legion at a quick rate and Lothian civilian casualties steadily mounted due to the Caesar's bloody reprisals. Julius, however, sensed a quick opportunity to end the long war. His forces had recently captured the leader of the Lothian resistance, Elena Logan, daughter of Lorelei Logan—last leader of the Lothian League. Rather than having her executed, Julius began negotiating with her, in defiance of his father's orders; in exchange for a cessation of reprisals, a voice in the Hegemony government and a position as an adviser on Julius' personal staff, Elena agreed to end the brutal guerrilla war. Within a year of landing on Lordinax, Julius had ended the resistance and was ready to make his next move.[11]

Realizing that he could only govern the Hegemony as a respected conqueror, he departed Lordinax with the newly arrived Fourth Legion, the Second Legion and elements of the Third Legion, destined for the Illyrian Palatinate and leaving only one cohort of the Third and some auxiliaries in place on the planet. Julius saw no reason to leave more forces behind; if Elena Logan reneged on their agreement, Julius could simply return to Lordinax and level every building.[11]

The conquest of the Palatinate lasted only a short while, as the small nation was only defended by two mercenary units, the Arms of Thor and Cavanaugh's Cavalry. The initial invasion was initially stopped by the determined and spirited defense offered by the Arms, and the Legions took heavy damage. But Julius was able to strike a deal with Cavanaugh's Commandos in which they would stand down in exchange for a payment and a place in the Hegemony Armed Forces. The Hegemony forces quickly overran the Arms of Thor in their bases on Illyria and Trasjkis, collecting much intact salvage for Julius. He left the Palatinate under the control of local citizens, and under the watchful guard of elements of the Third Legion and a full auxiliary legion, returning to Alphard as the conquering hero who had added new worlds to the Hegemony and ended the Lothian rebellion.[11]

Julius returned to the capital at the head of the Second and Fourth Legions, where he was hailed as a great hero and conqueror by the citizens of the Hegemony. Julius, guarded by select members of the Second Legion, went into the Senate building and received the imperial crown of the Hegemony in a nationwide broadcast. Julius' father was nowhere in sight. In a dramatic speech to his people, Julius declared his father unfit to rule the Hegemony, and declared himself the new leader of the nation. The Senate confirmed his appointment by acclamation.[12]

However, Sean O'Reilly still lived, having holed up in his Palace with the entirety of the First Legion. He refuted his son's claim to the throne and instructed the First to put down his son's rebellion. Less than half of the First obeyed Sean's orders, only to fall quickly beneath the advancing Second Legion on the 8th of August 3063; Julius confronted Sean in the throne room and offered him one final chance to abdicate in the face of his many misdeeds over the years, only for Sean to make one last attempt on Julius' life. Julius cut his father down personally.[12]

Julius was inaugurated the following day, and began his reign by ordering the implementation of a number of reforms, both social and military. Following through on his earlier negotiations with Elena Logan; Julius appointed Elena as his personal advisor on civil matters, investing her as ruler of Lordinax and Lothario, and declared both the former Lothian and Illyrian worlds to be united territories within the Hegemony. The two new unified territories were given voices within the Senate, all inhabitants of the various conquered worlds were declared to be full Marian citizens, and each such citizen was granted a three-year exemption from military conscription.[12]

The new Caesar's reforms didn't stop there; intent on making Marian society more "Roman," Julius created a new body, the Plebian Tribunate; while the plebs were still denied the right to vote on any subject other than the selection of planetary Tribunes, the Plebian Tribunate gave the plebs a voice of their own in the government.[12] Julius made changes within the structure of the Legiones Marianes, reorganizing the command structure of the Legions to place more trust in field commanders, as well as giving the Legions and the various cohorts within each new Latin names and designations that reflected their primary functions and roles.[13] Julius also introduced a post to command the entire of the Marian Hegemony Armed Forces and act as his right hand; Julius would rule as Caesar, but he reintroduced the title Imperator to designate the head of the MHAF.[14] Julius left his father's laws on conscription in place, however; not only did the Legions need to rebuild from the damage taken during the campaigns in Lothian and Illyrian space, but the Hegemony also needed to be able to garrison the territory it had seized over the previous fifteen years.[7]

Under Julius' rule the Hegemony grip on the worlds of the former Illyrian Palatinate and Lothian League tightened, but Julius also established some freedoms for the inhabitants of those worlds that they hadn't possessed during their independent rule.[15]

War with the Circinus Federation[edit]

Main article: Circinus Federation-Marian Hegemony War

Despite the reforms initiated by Julius and his focus on building both unity and goodwill within the Hegemony, Julius didn't give up his ambitions to expand the Hegemony by conquest as well. As Caesar, Julius intended to invade and annex the nearby Circinus Federation, with the groundwork for his invasion beginning to be laid in 3063.[15]

The war was a victory for the Marian Hegemony, although it achieved less than Julius had hoped; the war left the Hegemony rebuilding its Legions and in possession of two Circinian worlds and a considerable quantity of advanced salvage intended originally supplied by the Word of Blake for the Black Warriors. It also left the Hegemony with the knowledge that the Federation had received or was receiving aid from the Word as well as the Magistracy of Canopus and the Rim Collection, and left the Federation firmly in the grasp of the Word.[16][17]

Jihad[edit]

In early 3069, the Marian Hegemony found itself facing potential revolt in the conquered Illyrian and Lothian provinces as both passive and active rebellions began spreading through both regions in a wave.[18]

During the Word of Blake Jihad, the Marian Hegemony fought the Blakists' proxies, the Circinus Federation, in a bloody conflict that saw the small Periphery holding vanquished and partially occupied by the victorious Marian troops. The Marian Hegemony also at some time gave the Lothian League back its freedom (as shown on maps dating from the 3120s), although the reasons are as yet unclear.

Raiders from the Marian Hegemony are credited with conducting a raid on the Niops Association world of Niops V in August 3077 that sacked the Association world and shattered the defending Niops Association Militia forces.[19] On 11 November 3077, the Marian Hegemony attacked four Free Worlds League worlds: Kendall, Lahti, Landfall, and San Nicolas. On Kendall the defending FWLM forces resorted to desperate tactics against the Marians, using tactical nuclear devices against II Legio to devastating effect; the Legio was largely destroyed, the survivors retreating back to Landfall, but at the cost of thousands of casualties.[20]

It was reported in the media on Alphard in September 3077 that couriers from the Circinus Federation border of the Hegemony were bringing news that a Marian offensive against the Federation had died effectively stillborn, with probing attacks on the planets of Thadora's Land and Zorn's Keep being rebuffed by significantly stronger Federation forces.[21]

Post-Jihad[edit]

In the period immediately after the Jihad, the Marian Hegemony Armed Forces faced a period of rebuilding their strength after the damage inflicted during the attempted annexation of several Free Worlds League planets—the exception being V Legio, which had been struck from the rolls of the MHAF after defecting to become the principal military force of the new Lothian state.[22] Aiding in the rebuilding efforts was the fact that much of the Hegemony's limited military industry survived the Jihad. Despite the destruction of Nova Roma by neutron bombing, Alphard's industrial base survived largely intact. The Hegemony introduced local BattleMech manufacturing with the addition of RetroTech production lines in 3074 on Alphard, and by 3081 rumors were circulating that the Hadrian Mechanized Industries plant on Pompey was expanding to include BattleMech production. While intelligence agencies hadn't confirmed the fact, Caesar Cassius O'Reilly had ordered that the Hegemony's military production should expand, to prevent a single deliberate attack destroying the bulk of the realm's industrial base, as had nearly happened once already.[23]

Dark Age[edit]

In 3146, the Marian Hegemony sent troops to take over the Atzenbrugg, Lepaterique, and Gibraltar systems of the Duchy of Tamarind-Abbey.[24] For the next three years the Marian Hegemony Armed Forces would hold the systems against attacks by the Free Worlds League Military. The inexperience of the FWL troops used in the raids of 3148 encouraged the Hegemony to increase raids and strikes at other League systems. The Hegemony struck at Schererville, Kendall, and Conakry among others.[25]

These raids were highly successful, but by 3150 the cohorts had stopped their raiding. The Duchy of Tamarind-Abbey discovered why when three Cohorts of the MHAF landed on Campoleone, a system in the Rim Commonality. The First Rim Commonality Guards and Fourth Rim Commonality Guards quickly arrived, and after three weeks of combat the Cohorts withdrew.[26] IV Legio sent two cohorts to Astrokaszy and inflicted heavy losses on the Fifth Rim Commonality Guards. However the restive natives and large groups of independent mercenaries made holding the world a challenge and the Legion left soon thereafter.

The MHAF then assaulted Thraxa, Gambilon, and Marantha, so in addition to their Free Worlds League front, they were fighting on a front with the Magistracy of Canopus. The Magistracy's response forced the Hegemony troops off of Gambilon and Marantha in May 3150. The Magistracy then attacked further into the Hegemony.[27]

To capitalize on the Hegemony's preoccupation with the Magistracy, the Duchy of Tamarind-Abbey hired many mercenary units and used them and the Tamarind Regulars to attack the Hegemony on 15 August 3150. Seizing the Huntington and San Nicols cut off the MHAF units in the Free Worlds League. A few weeks later in September, the Hegemony forces on Hazeldean, Landfall, and Lahti were destroyed. This further isolated the MHAF units. The FWL forces continued into Hegemony space, eventually attacking Illyria, a province capital. The MHAF troops in the Free Worlds League withdrew from their space to reinforce Illyria. Despite fighting hard, the heart of the Illyrian Province was controlled by the Duchy of Tamarind-Abbey at the end of 3150.[28]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Handbook: Major Periphery States, p. 42: "Bandit Kings and Pirate Nations"
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Field Manual: Periphery, p. 69: "Nova Roma"
  3. ↑ Handbook: Major Periphery States, p. 154: "Spotlight: The Caesar"
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Field Manual: Periphery, p. 70: "Nova Roma"
  5. ↑ The Periphery, Second Edition, pp. 54, 56, 88
  6. ↑ The Periphery, Second Edition, p. 56: "Rise of Caesar Sean"
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Field Manual: Periphery, p. 75: "Ars Militaria"
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Field Manual: Periphery, p. 70: "Occupied Territory"
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Field Manual: Periphery, p. 70: "Empire Building"
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Field Manual: Periphery, p. 71: "Empire Building"
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Field Manual: Periphery, p. 71: "Peace Through Superior Firepower"
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Field Manual: Periphery, p. 72: "Crowning Achievement"
  13. ↑ Field Manual: Periphery, p. 72: "Caesar's Arms"
  14. ↑ Field Manual: Periphery, p. 73: "Marian Leadership"
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Field Manual: Updates, p. 194–195: "Historical: Brief"
  16. ↑ Field Manual: Updates, p. 195: "The Marian Legions"
  17. ↑ Field Manual: Updates, p. 197: "The Caesar's War"
  18. ↑ Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 46: "The Jihad in Review"
  19. ↑ Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 57: "The Jihad in Review"
  20. ↑ Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 58: "The Jihad in Review"
  21. ↑ Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 53: "Federation Build-Up"
  22. ↑ Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 116: "Marian Hegemony"
  23. ↑ Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 117: "Marian Hegemony"
  24. ↑ Shattered Fortress, p. 38
  25. ↑ Shattered Fortress, p. 71: "The Sword of Damocles"
  26. ↑ Shattered Fortress, p. 87
  27. ↑ Shattered Fortress, p. 88
  28. ↑ Shattered Fortress, pp. 88-90

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