Golden Revolution

The Golden Revolution (1525-1532), also called the Lucian Revolution was the overhaul of the constitutional, political and social system of Cattala following the failed overthrow of King Lucius the Absolute by the House of Tyrheni and their vassal provinces. The Golden Revolution ended in the abolition of the feudal, Principality system that had existed in Cattala for more than 450 years and the eventual creation of a Council of State, now known as Parliament. The Golden Revolution is the basis upon which modern Cattala is built.

The Despot Laws
In the late summer of 1525, King Lucius the Absolute introduced strict new laws weakening the power of the Seven Principalities, a system of governance that had existed for centuries and was the bedrock on which the monarchy held its power. Two of the regions, Fieranti and Hellas, were already ruled by members of the Celestine dynasty whilst the nobility of Lessito and Roumeli relied on the King for their political and military strength.

The new legislation was passed by the King and his advisors, having been created to stop the aristocracy from siphoning off taxes from the King and using them to build up their own military strength. Much of the concern of court had been focused on Jennai, already the largest town in Cattala and its central port. House Tyrheni had fought numerous wars against the Celestine's during the Principality era and King Lucius believed that its power needed to be restrained.

As a consequence of the laws, vast wealth was bought back into the hands of the Crown and local Houses lost power, influence and money from their lands. These led to discontent amongst royal houses across the kingdom, but only the Tyrheni ruler, Giovanni of Jennai, spoke out. He was ignored at a Congress in Celestine, and walked out without signing the law.

Battle of Jennai Harbour
Giovanni mobilised his forces in Jennai and declared the former principality an independent state, with him as Prince. Lucius was furious at this, and blamed his advisors for not allowing him to go further when drawing up the laws. It's known that he was already in favour of destroying House Tyrheni for their past treasons. The Celestinian fleet was sent to attack Jennai's port, which was the centre of Giovanni's power and wealth.

A battle ensued as the two largest navies in Cattala went to war, with both sides losing dozens of ships over the course of the conflict. Documents from the city's scholars state that the citizens of Jennai could see fires burning out at sea "through night and day, for weeks and weeks" as the battle raged. However the battle ended in a stalemate, with both sides seeing their fleets decimated and Jennai lost out on large amounts of trade and income. The harbour was in ruins and their defensive forts barely standing after the barrage from Celestinian gunships.

But the fight in the Harbour was only the beginning of the conflict, and with hindsight was a ploy to distract the Tyrheni from events elsewhere. Whilst Jennai was bombarded, House Celestine had been preparing their army for a direct land attack.

Division of Cattala
After the end of the naval conflict, House Celestine sought to further demoralise the Tyrheni population and turn them against their ruler. A land attack was launched in March 1526, when several border towns were razed and holdfasts destroyed. Despite rising discontent and the surrendering of many border towns to the Crown, there was no Tyrheni response to the attacks. Giovanni and his armies were located on the northern border with Monte Calida, a territory ruled by the Seguno family and were focused on expanding their realm and persuading other states to reject the rule of the Celestine's. The nobility of Monte Calida refused to pledge fealty to Prince Giovanni and Anton Seguno referred to him as Lord Giovanni, his title when presented in Amosseri. This slight angered the short-tempered Tyrheni despot, who invaded Monte Calida and forced the province's rulers into exile. The army of Monte Calida withdrew to Fieranti principality, and allowed the Jennaian forces free reign over their land.

Over the following four years, Cattala was divided down the middle and trade routes were broken up by Tyrheni skirmishes. King Lucius continued his border skirmishes throughout the western flank of the Jennaian territories, but was taken ill in the winter of 1527 and the war effort was taken over by his advisor's. Tensions between the military, the people and the King's court grew as food and trade from east to west fell away and prices rose sharply. When the King was restored to health he executed many of the advisor's who had failed to end the conflict and take the battle to Prince Giovanni, who had amassed a greater fleet and army than the Celestine's now.

Elsewhere, House Seguno remained in exile and was fighting skirmishes in the north of the country in an effort to try and regain their lost territory and open up trade routes again. House Scavallo of Lessito, the country's breadbasket, had been losing income rapidly as trade in food to the populous west of the island was blocked by land and by sea. Unrest was spreading into Hellas, Roumeli and Fieranti and the war had lost momentum.

Congress of Felipé
Prince Giovanni Tyrheni invaded the Hellenic Islands in the spring of 1530, thereby ending all sea trade between the loyal provinces of the east and west. Giovanni attempted to persuade the lords of Roumeli and Lessito to support his cause, in return for recognition of their territorial independence and increased trade between Jennai and the eastern principalities. The Congress of Felipé was held in the north of Monte Calida, with a view over the Hellenic coastline where warships of House Tyrheni were bombarding Celestinian outposts.

Despite his show of strength, Giovanni failed to persuade Lord Ferdinand Vaas and Lord William Scavallo to support his secession cause. However the alliances failed to be agreed upon and the Congress ended in failure.