Successor States
Sarna News
The Successor States (named as such due to their being the "Successors" of the Star League) are the major military powers of the Inner Sphere, each governed by one of the Great Houses and with its own customs and culture. After House Cameron was wiped out in the Star League Civil War, the five remaining Great Houses spent the next several centuries fighting each other to determine who would succeed as the next First Lord. By the 31st century the Successor States found themselves bloodied and no closer to their original goal when the Clans invaded. For a brief period of time they set aside their differences to face this new threat, eventually forming a Second Star League to beat back the invaders. This peace was only temporary though, and with the dissolution of the second Star League the Successor States have continued their struggle for dominance into the 32nd century.
The Great Houses of the Successor States
House Davion
House Davion has ruled the Federated Suns since the nation's founding in 2317 by Lucien Davion, Prime Minister of New Avalon, who negotiated a mutual defense and assistance agreement with several nearby star systems. From their capital of New Avalon, House Davion led the Federated Suns to become one of the largest and most militarily powerful states in the Inner Sphere. The Federated Sun traditionally sees itself as the champion of freedom, democracy, and human rights, especially compared to its authoritarian neighbors, although the reality is not so clear-cut. Additionally, the state's economic growth was uneven, with a small number of overdeveloped worlds making up for the larger number of underdeveloped ones.[1]
Notable Personalities
House Kurita
Strongly influenced by Japanese culture.
Capital world: Luthien.
The Free Rasalhague Republic (FRR) was once part of the Draconis Combine.
In the BattleTech universe, House Kurita is the ruling family of the fearsome Draconis Combine. The only Great House that proclaims unabashedly its right to rule all of the Inner Sphere, House Kurita has dominated the Draconis Combine since its founding in 2319. Its progenitor was Shiro Kurita, the first Coordinator of the Draconis Combine. The current Lord of House Kurita is Coordinator Theodore Kurita, who succeeded his father Takashi Kurita in 3054. House Kurita has had a long history of antagonism with and aggression against its neighbors. Though its official symbol is the serpentine Chinese dragon, humorist Homer Kellogi thought the octopus a more appropriate symbol, since House Kurita's tentacles are everywhere. Though driven by an archaic sense of honor spelled out in the Dictum Honorium, House Kurita is not above using subterfuge and guile to further its goals.
A massive tome comprising many volumes, the Dictum Honorium would require several lifetimes to master. It spells out in fine detail the code of conduct for all citizens of the Draconis Combine, from the Coordinator to his Samurai to the lowest Unproductive. Due to its length and general impenetrability, few manage to read more than a few pages, and the Dictum has little actual effect on daily life. Several passages, such as the special rules allowing the taking (instead of summary execution) of prisoners of war valuable to military intelligence and ransom are kept secret from the public.
Common Nicknames: Kuritan
Pejoratives: Drac, Draco, Snake
Notable characters
House Liao
Strongly influenced by Chinese, Russian, and Scottish culture.
Capital world: Sian
The Capellan Confederation has long been considered the underdogs of the Inner Sphere, known for mentally unstable leaders that are often violently oppressive towards their own people and great military losses in each succession war leading them to a shadow of their former size.
However, in more recent years, the Capellan Confederation has strengthened incredibly under the leadership of Sun-Tzu Liao. Often manipulative but the best leader the empire has seen in years, the Confederation has a strong alliance with the Free Worlds League, resulting in rapid technological increase, as well a social reformation among the people (known as Xin Sheng) restoring their pride. This culminated in the Confederation re-taking a pocket of territory on the Davion border known as the St. Ives Compact which revolted with Federated Commonwealth help in the 4th Succession War, during Sun-Tzu's grandfather's rule.
More recently the Confederation has gained strong alliances with both major Periphery factions on its borders, giving it access to the rear guard of both the Free Worlds League and Federated Commonwealth (Federated Suns in the post civil war era), as well as strong but technologically inferior military allies. This leaves the Confederation as one of the strongest factions in the post-civil war classic period.
Notable characters
House Marik
Multicultural, with strong European, American, and Indian overtones.
Capital world: Atreus
The Free Worlds League is notable as the first successor state founded in the Inner Sphere. While their history is wracked with many vicious civil wars and tensions along the Liao border, much of the Leagues territory there originally belonged to the Capellan Confederation. The dawn of the Clan invasion changed their role in the galaxy considerably as one of the two untouched nations and, until Operation Serpent, neutral factions in the war.
This led the Free Worlds League to becoming an economic powerhouse, supplying materials ranging from food to 'Mechs, to other factions in need; often trading for advanced Clan technology. During this time the split between the Word of Blake and Comstar impacted the League as well, making them the first House to remove Comstar from control of House communications, in favor of the Blakeists.
The Free Worlds League has a strong emphasis on combined arms tactics, with almost all of their regiments featuring a large number of infantry, armor and aerospace assets, as well as one of the largest navies in the Inner Sphere. The focus on 'Mechs, however, does exist within their elite regiments that make up the Knights of the Inner Sphere, in an effort to return to Star League tradition of minimizing loss of life by reducing war to just a handful of combatants. Near the end of 3067, the Free Worlds League had a space navy that greatly outpaced those of the other Successor States.
After the Word of Blake Jihad, the Free Worlds League dissolved and is now a defunct power.
Notable characters
House Steiner
Greatly influenced by Scandinavian and German culture.
Capital world: Tharkad
The Lyran Commonwealth was considered the Inner Spheres greatest economic power. While as much involved with the Succession Wars as every other state, their focus had historically been on defense and border skirmishes, rather than invasion. The Lyran Commonwealth is frequently contested by the Draconis Combine and the Free Worlds League, which no doubt helped lead to the creation of the Federated Commonwealth in later years, when the Lyran Commonwealth merged with the Federated Suns.
The Lyran Commonwealth is also classically known for inept military commanders, who gain their status through social settings and favors rather than training and skill, often hailing from rich families. This has been known as a crippling factor for the successor state, as their equipment and technology easily outpaced their rivals in the first three succession wars.
Notable Characters
House Steiner-Davion
Capital worlds: Tharkad and New Avalon
The Federated Commonwealth came into being with the marriage of Hanse Davion and Melissa Steiner, joining the Federated Suns and the Lyran Commonwealth into what was the most powerful of the Successor States.
The union lasted only 20 years, as unrest caused by the Clan invasion and the assassination of Melissa Steiner-Davion enabled Melissa and Hanse's second child Katherine Steiner-Davion to seize much of the former Lyran Commonwealth from her brother, Victor Steiner-Davion's control. Katherine went on to stage a coup against her younger sister, Yvonne Steiner-Davion and took control of the former Federated Suns half of the Commonwealth while Victor was off fighting Clan Smoke Jaguar. This lead to a civil war which raged for five years before Victor's allied forces successfully defeated Katherine and her supporters.
Rather than try to reforge the union of the two nations, Victor opted to aid the healing process by returning both nations to their prior separate constitutions and abdicating as Archon-Prince in favor of his surviving younger siblings; Archon Peter Steiner-Davion and Regent Yvonne Steiner-Davion.
Notable characters
References
- ↑ House Davion (The Federated Suns), p. 4