Second Amarillian Civil War

The Second Amarillian Civil War, also known as the Amarillian Revolution, was fought from the April 3, 2023 to the April 9, 2023.

The conflict took place in two phases, the initial Revolutionary period and the ensuing Interregnum period. It resulted in the disestablishment of the Amarillian Empire, the abolition of the Amarillian monarchy in the Ragdon peninsula and Onumozaki, and the restoration of republican government in Amarillo. The revolutionary Republican faction prevailed in the battlefield and established the Second Republic of Amarillo. Following the conflict, Amarillo was divided, lost Mikanie and Western Pizczeck, and became a member of Zie Western Drakaes under duress.

The war began after the partial failure of a counter-coup against Empress Connie I's self-coup by a revolutionary group of Amarillian militants and political opposition groups. The revolutionaries were a coalition of anti-Connie groups, including Pan-Drakaenists, Liberals, and Republicans. The Empress was supported by the loyalist remnants of the Imperial Army and volunteers from Pasifa.

The revolution was supported by the Mohadi lands and the city of Etruia. However, revolutionaries in Puerto Amarillo did not gain control and the city remained subject to the Empress. Meanwhile, the Shogunate of Onumozaki, the Province of Islas Doradas and the cities of Romantello and Verdesburg declared neutrality. This left Amarillo politically and militairily divided. The Revolutionaries and Imperial government fought for control of the country. The Revolutionaries were supported by the Takavian Expeditionary Force, while the Imperial side received volunteers from Pasifa. Other countries, primairly those in the Drakaeslands, continued to recognise the Imperial government but followed a policy of non-intervention.

Etruia was swiftly captured by Imperial forces from the capital immediately after the Puerto Amarillo Uprising was suppressed. The Revolutionaries and the Takavians advanced from their strongholds, from the north of the country, capturing Torham by April 4. Subsequently, they liberated Etruia on April 5, which caused the immediate dissolution of the Imperial government and the deposition of the Empress, who would die later that night. Following the state collapse, the revolutionary coalition fell to pieces, initiating the Interregnum period. During this period, the Republicans, the Despotists and the Royalists struggled to be the ones to emerge as the sole authority in Amarillo. Finally, the Republicans would become the dominant power in Amarillo upon decisively defeating the Despotists and the Royalists in the Second Battle of Puerto Amarillo on April 8.

Background: The Empress and internal instability
Empress Connie de Porphyropolis had ascended to the Amarillian throne upon the abdication of her father and reigned continiously by acting out of her own incentive while minimally cooperating with elected officials. As her reigned progressed, this became increasingly true as the frequency in whcih legislative bodies convened decreased and the Empress failed to include the Prime Minister in several state matters, instead resorting to the Imperial Council (The realm's judicial body, which was appointed by her) to make these decisions.

Since the collapse of the Twilight Empire, Anarillo had suffered of significant instability, being unable to organise governments with popular support and lacking competent monarchs. This polarized the population, as many perceived that the only way to prosper once again was to embrace pan-Drakaen ideals, while others stood for Amarillian nationalism and individualism. In addition to this, Republicans, who had been suppressed since the First Civil War, surged in popularity once again.

The Empress' Authoritarianism
Throughout her reign, Connie often performed state duties independently and without having even discussed matters with her Prime Ministers. Instead, she typically took the advice of the Imperial Council and Prime Counselor Tania Kyani. An example of this is Ashai-Amarillo Mutual Defence Pact, which lacked any involvement from then-Prime Minister, and was largely dependent on the Prime Counselor's existing connections. One of the Empress' last Prime Ministers once remarked that he had "no idea of what the Empress may be signing." as he was excluded from negotiations for weeks until the very end when his signature was required.

In addition this, the Empress appeared to loathe elected officials whenever she did work with them. It was common for Connie to blame any mishap on elected officials and attempt to punish them harshly. A prominent occassion of this happening was Connie attempted to impeach the Deputy Prime Minister, due to having produced an outcome in diplomatic negotiations that she disliked, by falsely claiming that the official had negotiated without her permission. Although the impeachment would fail, it damaged the Empress' reputation as the public became increasingly aware of her dubious allegiance to demcoracy.

It's commonly speculated that the Connie's authoritarian beliefs and disdain for elected officials stemmed from her father's reign as King. During Potatus Peruno's permierships under King Soro I, public offices were inefficent. The King reacted by assuming a greater degree of power, which meant he ruled almost absolutely. The King's stepping up is believed to have earnt much admiration from the then-princess. Furthermore, during her reign Connie's psychological health deteriorated significantly due to her longevity, which might've helped cause the radicalisation of her authoritarian ideas.

Political and Social Instability
Following the dissolution of the Twilight Empire of Amarillo, Amarillo suffered of political instability due to the inefficent bureaucracy that was left after countless officials resigned in protest to the the Treaty of Varasopolis. The new government neglected reorganising its bureaucracy while it focused on setting up the structure of the new Amarillian Empire. The ensuing governments failed to adress the situation because they kept collapsing due to their lack of popular support. Amarillo had three different Prime Ministers in the Empire's first month, all of which did very little to ease the situation.

After this period of instability, the newly elected government attempted to qwell bureaucratic issues. However, the period of instability had led to the formation of several anti-government groups, including: Republicans, Pan-Drakaenists and Aurican Separatists. These groups continously threatened the stability of the government. The government was ultimately undermined follwoing the Aurican Crisis, which occured after a failed boycott of the Aurican indpendence process by Empress Connie. From that point on, the political tensions in Amarillo would continue to escalate and the government's authority dwindled.

The Self-Coup: Dissolution of the legislative bodies
On the dawn of April 3, several members of parliament were detained in Puerto Amarillo. In the morning, the state bulletin included an Imperial decree in which the Empress dissolved the legislative bodies, assumed control of the legislative process and dismissed Crown Princess Josefina of Porphyropolis-Kyani from the office of Prime Minister. Connie did not possess the legal authority to do this, having violated the Imperial Mandate.

Reaction in Puerto Amarillo
Word of the detainment of members of parliament made its way to opposition cells within the city before the morning, who hastily came together to form the Amarillian Revolutionary Movement to oppose what began to be theorized to be a coup. Within an hour of the publication of the Imperial decree, Revolutionaries mobilized their supporters, who demonstrated and rioted in protest to the decree. The Empress responded by declaring martial law in Puerto Amarillo and mobilizing the city garrison to attempt to empty the streets. By midday the Revolutionaries took up to arms and the scuffles between Imperial forces and protestors escalated into urban warfare. The ensuing battle would become known as the Puerto Amarillo Uprising.

Reaction in the Mohadi lands
In response to the Imperial decree, Jameel Ajaxi'tizadshah, Shah of the Mohadi, issued a condemnation of the self-coup in which he demanded that the Empress abide by the Mandate and threatened a Mohadi rebellion. Subsequently, Mohadi reservists were mobilized, the distinguished Mohadi cavalry paraded through the streets of Alefpamohadi as a show of power and the Shah performed a rite in the Dy'lonist Mosque of Alefpamohadi praying for Dy'lon to grant his people great strength. When the Puerto Amarillo Uprising broke out, the Shah declared the state of war against the Imperial government and temporarily assumed full administrative power over the Mohadi lands, aligning himself with the revolutionaries. Jameel's close ties with the Takavian monarchy would be one of the main causes for the intervention of Valariik Takavia in the conflict.

Reaction in Etruia
As news from the demonstration in Puerto Amarillo reached all corners of the Empire, opposition cells throughout the country were quick gather in the city of Etruia. There, cells of opposition movements merged into political fronts representing their respective movements, which convened in the Revolutionary Council of Etruia and declared their allegiance to the Amarillian Revolutionary Movement. After the Puerto Amarillo Uprising began, the council initiated preparations to send reinforcements to the capital but never achieved to do so.

Reaction in Porphyropolis
Porphyropolis, located on an island in the sea of Gustavus, was the furthest significant Amarillian city from the mainland. Led by its mayor and governor, Soronaca De Porphyropolis, former Emperor and father of Empress Otakulo, it adopted an ambiguous position. While condemning the Empress' coup, Soronaca did not get his town involved in the conflict, not wanting to fight his own daughter. He maintained his town's neutrality, to protect it from the war, and tried to make it as ready as possible to sustain an attack from either camp, while sending letters to both to make his neutrality clear. The walrus also proclaimed he would cooperate with whoever was to win the war as soon as it was over, unless they demanded unacceptable things to the Porphyropolitans, which would, in Soronaca's opinion, turn out to be the case.

All throughout the duration of the war, Porphyropolis was the only place in Amarillo to overall maintain Imperial constitutional legality, despite some relative abuses of power from the governor to be able to deal with that situation in which a legitimate central state did not exist anymore, for example taking control of all the military forces stationed in his province.

Revolutionaries
The revolution's supporters ranged from liberal royalists to Pan-Drakaenists who desired Amarillo to embrace a solely Drakaen identity. Their support base was not concentrated, but instead spread out throughout the country, essentially encompassing every group which opposed the Empress and her government in some way.

The revolution consisted of four primary groups:
 * 1) Amarillo.pngRepublicans: The largest group united by ideology. The Republicans believed that Amarillo relied on two core ideals: Democracy and Republic. These originated from the foundation of Amarillo, as the nation had been a democratic republic until Kawaii, who'd become the first King of Amarillo, seized power in a violent coup, igniting the First Amarillian Civil War. As such, not only did they oppose the Empress' self-coup but also the monarchical institution itself.
 * 2) Mohadi flag.jpgThe Mohadi: The largest group overall, contributing the most men and weapons, as well as being led by the revolution's most revered figure; Shah Jameel Ajaxi'tizadshah. The Mohadi rose up against the Empire in opposition to the self coup, seeking to overturn it's consequence and to somewhat reform the Empire to improve their own representation. However, lesser factors include the disdain the Mohadi had for the House of Porphyropolis, as they had fought against them in the First Amarillian Civil War, and they're sympathy for the republicans stemmed from nostalgia for the Mohadi golden age (A period which took place during the First Republic).
 * 3) Pan-Drakaenists: Pan-Drakaenists perceived that Amarillo had become an failed state following the failure of the Twilight Empire of Amarillo and were part of an international political group seeking the unification of several nations in the Drakaeslands into a Drakaen state. They had traditionally cooperated with the Empress, and many such as Lennard Poliorcetes remained loyal to the Imperial government. Those who joined the revolution perceived the Empress' transition towards Drakaen unification to be ineffective and instead hoped to swiftly seize control of the government with the revolution to accelerate Drakaen unification.
 * 4) Liberals: They were the smallest and least significant group of the revolution, primairly because most royalists opposed the revolution. The most moderate of them simply believed the Empress' Imperial decree would be revoked and Amarillo would return to the status quo. Meanwhile, more radical liberals pushed for the deposition of Connie and her replacement with Josefina, as well as supporting minor reforms.

Takavian Expeditionary Force
The revolutionaries recieved full military support for the Kingdom of Takavia, which deployed an expeditionary force and donated a significant number of arms to the revolutionaries. The involvement of the Takavians can be narrowed down to the nation's objectives:


 * 1) Revolutionary ties: Queen Letizia I of Takavia had close relations with Shah Jameel, who upon the breakout of fighting in Amarillo sent an emissary pleading for Takavian support of the Mohadi and the greater revolutionary movement. Furthermore, Valarch Consort Hugh of Allium Panem, who would command the Takavian Expeditionary Force, had strong ties to the republican movement in Amarillo, as his father, and his grandfather before that, had been distinguished Amarillian republicans.Poliorcetes af Takavia.png
 * 2) Dynastic feuds: Queen Letizia headed the House of Poliorcetes-Takavia, a cadet branch of the House of Policretes. In the past, the House of Poliorcetes had once briefly reigned in Amarillo but was dethroned when their heir was removed from the line of succession by a parliament dominated by a member of the House of Porphyropolis. Afterward, the candidate of the House of Porphyropolis for the throne would be elected King, causing many members of the House of Poliorcetes, including Letizia, to feel that the Porphypolitans had stolen the throne from them. Letizia vengefully seeked to see the House of Porphyropolis deposed.
 * 3) Territorial ambitions: The Takavians expected that they'd be rewarded by the new revolutionary government with territorial concessions in Torham. This was desired not only due to the prestiege that was brought by the expansion of the realm but also because the acquisition of the major Seeburg Bastion would strengthen the defensive capabilities of the Kingdom.

Imperials
The Imperials were the parts of the army and the government that remained loyal to the Empress, they were supported by hardline Royalists, anti-democrats and Pan-Drakaenists who continued cooperate with the Imperial government. Their objectives were to suppress the revolution and to solidify the Empress' rule in order to resume state matters.

Their objectives were of particularly urgent, as nations in the western Drakaeslands had began arranging the formation of Zie Western Drakaes and many of them feared that the civil war could prevent Amarillo's integration into the state, especially if the Empress was defeated. However, all of these states retaiend their policy of neutrality in order to prevent potential enemies from learning of the negotiations for the formation fo Zie Western Drakaes.

The Imperials often refered to themselves as "the loyalists", while their opponents derogatively referredom them as "the Tyrant's lackeys".