The Eighteenth Century, Part I: 1701-1725

This blog is meant as a collection and summary of concepts and ideas developed by me for the eighteenth century AH in the Laurasian Empire, that galactic empire which has been the focus of my General History of Laurasia projects and to which I have expended much effort. In this article is included a timeline, summarizing the wars and territorial expansions of the Laurasian Empire in the eighteenth century; the monarchs, both of the Laurasian Empire's neighbors and enemies, and of the Laurasian Empire itself, who ruled during that century; and the prominent nobles, office-holders, personages, etc. of the century and their lifespans along with other facts of note about them. Revolts, political and governmental reforms, and other such policies during the eighteenth century are also to be noted in this blog, as well as lists of coronations, empresses consort, and so on and so forth.

This covers the first quarter of the eighteenth century. For the second quarter, see The Eighteenth Century, Part II: 1725-1750.

=The Eighteenth Century (1701-1800)= The eighteenth century in the Hyperdrive Era calendar system was the century which commenced on January 1, 1701, and ended on December 31, 1800. During the eighteenth century, the position of the Laurasian Empire was further strengthened and firmly consolidated, as it finally established itself as the sole government of not just the Caladarian Galaxy, but of the Angelina Spiral and Great Tesmanian Cloud. For the entirety of the century, the Laurasian Empire was governed by the Neuchrian Dynasty, and of this dynasty there was three outstanding sovereigns: Neuchrus I the Reformer (1685-1709), Antigonus III the Extravagant (1709-1747), and Aurelia I the Great (1758-1803). Each monarch was distinctive in their own manner. Neuchrus was a parsimonious, calculating, scheming monarch who masked many of his opinions from others and drew a cloak of secrecy around his major policies. He was also a ruthless, ambitious, and determined monarch who sought to strengthen the Laurasian position at the expense of its enemies and to reorganize the Laurasian Empire's government, economy, and society in the wake of the Crisis of the Seventeenth Century. Antigonus was handsome, athletic, and energetic, although for most of the first half of his reign, he delegated the duties of governance to others. Harsh, autocratic, and feared by his subjects, this Emperor was nevertheless determined to continue his father's work and to establish the Laurasian Empire as the preeminent galactic power with no rival. He also pursued policies of centralization and religious conformity, striking harshly against those whom he perceived to be his opponents. His daughter, Aurelia I the Great, the second-longest reigning monarch in Laurasian history, inherited traits from both her father and grandfather. Known for her great beauty and intelligence, she was as shrewd, calculating, and determined as her grandfather had been, and as autocratic, controlling, and lavish as her father had been. The Empress believed that it was the Laurasian Empire's destiny to rule, and she was determined to incorporate territories controlled by the Dejaniks, Scotrrians, Marasharites, and Haynsians, at which tasks she succeeded.

The eighteenth century was marked by two different spheres: that of foreign affairs and of war, and that of the domestic occurrences and courtly ventures within the Empire's territory. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, the Laurasian Empire was undoubtedly the predominant power in the Caladarian Galaxy. In 1701, the Empire's dominions encompassed about 60% of the Caladarian Galaxy. It extended from Belkadan and the former territories of the old Dasian Heartland, along the northern edges of the Outer Borderlands, all the way across to the Hutsite Reaches, Nicole, Redia, and the Wild Marshes in the galaxy's southern quadrant. Over forty million inhabited star systems acknowledged the authority of the Imperial Laurasian Government, and the Empire's reach could be felt in all star systems by means of its common currency, military garrisons, uniform legal and educational systems, enormous bureaucracy, wealthy and influential nobility and gentry, and large, prosperous clergy. Emperors from the time of Antigonus the Conqueror had claimed the title "Emperor and Lord of All the Galaxy", but in 1701, this was still not true. The Vectorian Empire, a bitter enemy of the Laurasian Empire since early in the seventeenth century, still controlled Arachosia Suprema, Rhedita, Alexandria, Nagai, and Sassi-ruukia in the southern Galactic Borderlands. The Celestial Kingdom of Scotrria dominated the Western Districts of the Angelina Spiral, with its capital of Ediania, and also held sway over Kalbacha, Rasdalla, Cania, and portions of Rogeria and Lavella. The Honorable Commonwealth of the Dejaniks controlled Lavella and the Galactic Barrier. It was the formal overlord of the Duchy of Northania and Semigallia in the Great Tesmanian Cloud (and had been so since 1561), and wielded direct authority over the the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Tesmanian Dejanica, Belarania, and the Ukraine. The Marasharite Empire, the most imposing of the Laurasian Empire's neighbor-states at the beginning of the eighteenth century, dominated the Tof Districts, the Illumite Approaches, the Muggal Cluster, the Northern Reaches, Billy, Donna, Latrice, and the Ochanian Provinces of the Great Tesmanian Cloud. It was the formal overlord of the Haynsian Despotate, having held that status since 1578. The Despotate itself, founded in 1441, constantly harried Laurasian colonies along the Galactic Frontier Route and in the Dasian Heartland, with the encouragement of its suzerain. It had also threatened the Dejaniks, Scotrrians, and Vectorians. The Imperial Laurasian Government was forced to maintain an extensive chain of outposts, intelligence relays, minefields, and other defense installations along its northern outskirts in order to defend against Haynsian attacks. Besides these immediate neighbors were the powers of the Amulak Spiral, with whom Laurasia was able to conduct relations. From this galaxy originated both the Dejaniks and Marasharites, whose major capital star systems were located in that galaxy. Franconia, engaged in bitter wars with Spamalka and Austarlia for the majority of the century, as well as those two powers and Pruthia, also figured into Laurasian calculations. By the end of the century, after wars with the Vectorians (1702-1705) and (1710-1711); the Dejaniks (1706-1708, 1733-1735, 1768-1772, 1792, 1794); the Marasharites and Haynsians (1714-1716, 1723-1725, 1735-1739, 1768-1774, 1787-1792); the Scotrrians (1713-1714, 1741-1743, 1743-1750, 1759-1760,1779); Franconia (1711-1714; 1723-1725; 1744-1746; 1757-1759; 1762-1763); and Spamalka (1787-1794, 1795-1798), the Laurasian Empire had acquired the whole of the Galactic Borderlands, from the Galactic Frontier Route and Nicole all the way to Lavella, the Northern Reaches, and the Galactic Barrier, as well as both of the satellite galaxies. Its power had been greatly strengthened, and it had found allies in Franconia, Austarlia, Portugallia, Morocco, and Durthia to counterbalance Spamalka and the Marasharite Empire. The Scottrians, Haynsians, and Vectorians were overwhelmed and incorporated completely into the Laurasian Empire, with the Dejanik Commonwealth being partitioned (the greater bulk going to Laurasia, that is, all Dejanik territories outside of the Amulak Spiral) and the Marasharites losing their non-Amulak territories to the Laurasian Empire as well.

As regards to domestic affairs, the Empire was, as stated above, under the rule of the Neuchrian Dynasty for the entire century. The Neuchrian sovereigns were autocratic, vigorous, intelligent, and cunning, able to rule over their dominions with an iron grip. Neuchrus the Reformer's last years were mostly peaceful, although the Emperor's family was marred with personal tragedy by the deaths of his wife and eldest son. Antigonus III the Extravagant, on the other hand, had six marriages and dealt with his nobility, complete reformation of the religious organization of the Almitian Church, and three major uprisings against his authority. Demetrius II the Boy Emperor's reign was marked by the culmination of his father's religious reforms and by further violent uprisings against the Imperial Government; that of Didymeia, with the Wyatta Rebellion and her Counter-Reformation, leading to a conservative hardening of Laurasian morals and the deaths of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Reformist Almitians. Aurelia the Great's reign was the most eventful of it all. Her reign was the Golden Age of the Laurasian Empire, with unprecedented economic prosperity, cultural renaissance, military strength, and governmental efficiency. The Empress's religious, legal, educational, and administrative reforms strengthened the Empire's government immeasurably, although she was faced with the conspiracies surrounding former Scotrrian Queen Mariana (the Ridolfius Plot, the Thorckmortonia Plot, and the Babinigtia Plot), two major uprisings (the Malarian Rebellion and Pugachevia's Rebellion), and the question of her marriage, alongside innumerable indiscretions, affairs, and plots in the Imperial Court. By the end of the century, the Laurasian Empire ruled sixty-nine million star systems with a population of some one hundred quadrillion individuals, had an unemployment rate of 4%, inflation rate of 3%, and high levels of income equality, educational parity, industrial productivity, and standards of living.

1701

 * January 1-
 * The eighteenth century formally commenced at 12:00 AM Galactic Standard Time, on January 1, 1701. The commencement of the eighteenth century was, according to contemporary accounts, greeted with much "joy, exaltation, and praise, either to the Lord Almitis or to the gods of the respective species", that all had lived to see another century of the Age of Almitis, and of the Hyperspace Era. In light of what had occurred during the previous century, this joy seemed to be very relevant. The seventeenth century (1601-1700) had witnessed the Laurasian Empire acquiring territories in the northern Outer Borderlands and in the Barsar Regions. Much of that same century, however, had been dominated by economic, civil, and external conflict. After the deposition of the Severan Dynasty in March 1635, the Empire had experienced the fifty-year long Crisis of the Seventeenth Century, which had seen dynasty after dynasty, emperor after emperor, struggle for supremacy over the state. It had contended with many rivals, including the Marasharite Empire (and its vassal-state, the Haynsian Despotate), the Vectorian Empire, the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria, and the Dejanican-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Neuchrus the Reformer's accession in August 1685, however, had witnessed the return of stability and tranquility to the Empire's realms, and he implemented a extensive series of reforms to the Laurasian administrative, financial, military, and cultural structure. His reign had seen the Empire resume its upwards trajectory in territorial expansion; nevertheless, all had awaited the arrival of the eighteenth century with much hope and consideration for the future. Throughout the Empire, various festivities and ceremonies were held on the night of December 31, 1700-January 1, 1701, to mark the commencement of the new century. The traditional Christiania Ball-Drop, a tradition which had commenced in AH 1407 (during the reign of Demetrius the Fat), and had continued for nearly three centuries (with the exceptions of 1469, 1638, 1651-53, and 1660-67), occurred, with massive throngs gathered in the streets and plazas of Christiania to ring in the new century.
 * On Venasia Prime, the traditional Ceremonies of Matriarchal Blessings were conducted, so as to confer the collective good-will of the Venasian species upon the new century; the Horacians engaged in a Parade of Valor, the Murphians in their Festival of Good Times, and the Donguarians in their Bakalang (assembly) of celebration. The Christiania Times, one of the preeminent publications in the Empire, included a special commemorative article about the commencement of the century, with the heading "The Century is Dead! Long live the Century!" Emperor Neuchrus himself, in his New Year's proclamation to his subjects, offered his especial thanks that the Laurasian people had been preserved through all of the travails of the seventeenth century, and that the Empire had emerged stronger than before. In his proclamation, he declared that "the subjects of this Empire have demonstrated endurance, energy, vigor, and determination. We have seen the rules of tyrants and of fiends; of pretenders; of the incompetent, and of the ignorant. We have seen what the perils of civil and social conflict can do to a civilized state. But we have also learned, and we have persevered through all of our challenges, looking forward to the glorious future. In this new century, this Empire, of our ancestors, will continue to expand and mature; it will encounter challenges, but it will overcome them." This is the fourth time under the aegis of the Laurasian Empire, the eighth time in the 2nd millennium AH, the eleventh time under the unified Laurasian Monarchy, and the sixteenth time overall, since the implementation of the Hyperdrive Era system, that the commencement of a new century is celebrated.
 * January 22-Future Empress Consort Anna Boleyenia, the second wife of Antigonus III the Extravagant, is born at Boleyenia Family Mansion in the city of Tellavastis, Fulcania, Laurasian Purse Region, Laurasian Empire. She is the third and youngest child of Sir Thomasius Boleyenia and his wife, Lady Aurelia Howardis, daughter of Thomasius Howardis, the Duke of Norfolkius (then Earl of Soria) and Lord Treasurer of the Laurasian Empire (1701-1722).
 * January 27-Death of Thomasius Langatonia, who had been the chaplain of Emperor Probus (1677-82); Treasurer of Christiania (1678-85); Bishop of Quencania City (1683-85); Archbishop of Colombia (1685-93); and Archbishop of Winchestrius (1693-1701). Langatonia, who had been consecrated into the Almitian Church in 1647, upon his graduation from the Eccleasticial College of St. Antigenes on Oxia Vixius, had been named by Emperor Neuchrus as the new Chief Procurator of the Holy Synod just four days before his death. The previous Chief Procurator, Cardinal Demetrius Mortonia of the Clancian Provinces, had died on September 15, 1700 at Conservan. As a result of Langatonia's death, Emperor Neuchrus now designated Ulysses Drevich, Archbishop of Colombia since January 8, 1700, as the new Chief Procurator. Drevich was formally sworn in as Procurator on April 26, 1701.
 * September 20-Death of Agostino Barbarigo, Doge of the Haxonian Confederacy. He had ruled since 1686 and was the oldest living monarch in extra-galactic civilization (81 years old) at the time of his death. Barbarigo's tenure had witnessed the Great Marasharite War, and the Haxonian Confederacy's seizure of the Morea, Ionia, and Aetolia from the Marasharite Empire (1699). Barbarigo was succeeded as Doge by the Haxonian Senator and nobleman Leonardo Loredan (then aged sixty-four), who was crowned on October 2, 1701.
 * October 2-From the conclusion of the Treaty of Christiania in May 1699, Grand Prince Craterus conducted a correspondence, in Galactic Standard, with his fiancee and wife-to-be, the Princess Catalina of Lesser Spamalka. Craterus, who although he was physically sickly, was determined to nevertheless continue his father's dynasty forward, and to perform his marital duties as faithfully as he could. In a communique of October 7, 1699, the young Grand Prince had written to his betrothed that he had "an earnest desire to see Your Highness, and that the love conceived between us will hasten forward and bring its just reward." This correspondence continued across the turn of the century, and on September 20, 1701, the day of the Death of Haxonian Doge Barbarigo, the Emperor issued a proclamation that his son was old enough to undergo the actual marriage ceremony. Catalina of Lesser Spamalka herself, whose family had been struck by the death of her elder sister Fresia, the Queen-Consort of Portugallia, on August 30, 1698, barely a year after her marriage, was reluctant to leave her mother. Ultimately, however, reasons of state pushed her forward. She made her leave of her mother at Ourense on September 26, 1701; it was on this day, October 2, 1701, that she arrived at Belkadan in the Caladarian Galaxy, thereby making her appearance in the Laurasian Empire. Spamalkan Princess Catalina was greeted by a convoy under the command of the Earls of Oxfadia and Duana, and thence made a slow progress to Laurasia Prime.
 * November 14-On November 4, 1701, Princess Catalina finally met her betrothed, Grand Prince Craterus, in a formal ceremony at the Quencilvanian Palace on Laurasia Prime. Craterus, who was fifteen years old, nevertheless conducted himself with great maturity, and expressed his interest to see his fiancee. Emperor Neuchrus himself treated Catalina with much civility, and declared that the marriage would be to the benefit of the Empire. On November 9, 1701, Catalina was formally inducted into the Almitian Church, received her Laurasian name of Katharina, and was formally named Grand Princess of Shenandoah. It was by the name Katharina of Shenandoah that she was to become known thenceforth. The actual wedding itself finally took place at the Westphalian Cathedral on November 14, 1701, with Ulysses Drevich, Chief Procurator of the Holy Synod, officiating the ceremony. A formal bedding ceremony, in accordance with the instructions of the Emperor's mother, followed. The couple remained on Laurasia Prime for a month, and in December 1701, made their leave to Ludalian Castle on Hannis, of which Craterus had been named honorary Governor.

1702

 * January 24-
 * As had been noted in the Timeline page, Emperor Neuchrus was, as early as 1699, contemplating the possibility of the marriage of his eldest daughter, Grand Princess Constantia, to King Jamsius IV of Scottria. The Emperor of Laurasia believed that a marriage compact between the two realms would serve to alleviate the century-long tensions which had persisted between them, ever since the First Scottrian War of Emperor Demetrius Severus I (1602-03). The Emperor found his plans encouraged by Spamalkan Ambassador Pedro de Ayala, who was under instructions from the Spamalkan Monarchs to ensure that a positive relationship between Laurasia and Scottria continued to be maintained. In March 1701, the Emperor first raised the idea to the Imperial Privy Council. Privy Seal Foxius and Under-secretary Warhamius, soon to become Archbishop of Caladaria, both supported it. It was not until September 1701 before the idea was broached to the Court of Ediania. King Jamsius IV, himself desperate for an heir, and not willing to renew war since his realm continued to be wracked with rebel tensions, decided to agree to a further round of negotiations. Delegations from the two governments convened at Almastead in the Malarian Provinces, from October 9, 1701, for the conclusion of a marriage alliance.
 * Archbishop Warhamius, Privy Seal Foxius, Chancellor Parsonius, and Sir Giletus Daubeny served as the plenipotentiaries for the Imperial Laurasian Government, while Scottria was represented by Robert Blackadder, Archclainnarch of Glasgow, Patrick Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, and Ambassador Sir Andrew Forman. After nearly three months of negotiations, the Treaty of Perpetual Peace (Almastead) was signed on January 24, 1702. By the terms of this treaty, all of the territorial settlements as had been defined by the Treaty of Ayton were to remain in place. Rules for immigration, border patrols, and cross-navigation were defined; all expeditions or parties, by either government into the territory of the other were strictly forbidden. Furthermore, Grand Princess Constantia, Emperor Neuchrus's elder daughter, was to be married to the King of Scottria by no later than the end of 1703. The King of Scottria was to assume responsibility for her transportation and court expenses; her dowry, however, would be granted by her father, the Emperor of Laurasia, to the tune of €300 billion dataries per annum. Constantia was to be crowned Queen-Consort of Scottria immediately upon the conclusion of the marriage. The Treaty of Perpetual Peace was ratified by Emperor Neuchrus on February 15, 1702, and by King Jamsius IV on December 10, 1702. The King of Scottria swore an oath, in a ceremony at Glasgow Parish, to uphold the terms of the treaty, and illuminated copies of the text were exchanged between the two monarchs.
 * March 8-Death of Wildar I, King of Vendragia & Irvania and Prince of Orange. The King, who was only fifty-one years old at the time of his death, died as a result of complications from a fall from his repulsorlift. He had ruled since February 13, 1689, in the aftermath of the so-called "Glorious Revolution" which had seen the deposition of King Jamar II, who had become despised by his subjects for his oppressive taxation, military conscription, and religious policies. Wildar's wife, his co-consort Maravia, had pre-deceased him in 1694. They had no surviving children. Consequently, he was succeeded by his sister-in-law Annavia, who thenceforth became Queen of Vendragia and Irvania. The Principality of Orange, on its part, fell into dispute. John Williag Friso, the King's cousin, and Emperor M'rua I of Pruthia each claimed the throne of the Principality. Franconia, under Lujak XII, also held a long-standing territorial claim to Orange, which dated back to the fourteenth century. It was not until 1713, with the Treaty of Utrecht, that M'rua's son and successor, A'rua II, and John Willag Friso both gave up their claim to the territory of Orange; in 1732, A'rua agreed to share the title of Prince of Orange with Friso's nephew, Renee of Chalon, the cousin of the ultimate Durthian Protector William of Orange.
 * April 2-Ever since their wedding in November 1701, Grand Prince Craterus's physical condition had declined. His wife, Grand Princess Katharina, had displayed extreme reluctance in following her husband to Hannis, but had been ordered by Emperor Neuchrus to do so. By March 1702, the Grand Prince, still only fifteen years old, seemed to be in a "decayed state" to all. That very month, both he and his wife were stricken with the Soplaies disease, one of the most feared trans-species infectious diseases in the Caladarian Galaxy at that time. It had first became a recurrent epidemic during the reign of Claudius II in the fifteenth century, and would remain a dreaded medical condition until its extermination by the Imperial Ministry of Health and Sentient Services in 1779. Katharina, who had enjoyed relatively good physical health, proved to be resilient, and before the end of the month, she emerged from the condition. Her husband, however, was not so lucky. On April 2, 1702, just six months before his sixteenth birthday, and only that same time after his marriage to Katharina, Grand Prince Craterus, the Emperor Neuchrus's heir apparent and eldest child, died at Ludalian Castle on Hannis. Emperor Neuchrus and his wife were awoken from their sleep by one of his confessors, Antiochus Hedranius, who began with a lamentation from the Laurasian Book of Justus, and then proceeded to tell the Emperor and Empress that their son had died. Both burst into tears, and their bewailing startled all in the Household. The Empress Consort, however, reminded her husband that they still yet had a son (Grand Prince Antigonus, who now became heir-apparent) and two daughters (Grand Princesses Constantia and Didymeia) with which the dynasty could continue. Furthermore, she pointed out that she herself was only thirty-five years old, and could bear more children. A procession would be held on April 8 for Craterus's soul; he would then be buried on April 23, 1702 at St. Chalmer's Cathedral on Bolgrahay.
 * April 12-The Haynsian Despot Neal IV Karany, who had ruled since 1699, is deposed for the first time from the Haynsian throne by Emperor Chomqat II. The Despot had incurred the Emperor’s displeasure following the conclusion of the Great Marasharite War in 1699. Neal’s efforts to assemble squadrons, at Perekop, Quinta-il-Vily, Karasbusar, and in the Brigoff Star Nebula, for potential military expeditions into the territory of the Laurasian Empire, had earned the alarm of the Emperor and his court. Neal IV was succeeded to the Haynsian throne by his father, Jay IX Karany (who had reigned previously in 1671-78, 1684-91, and 1692-99), restored to the Haynsian throne by the actions of the Emperor. Jay IX was seventy-one years old when he resumed his position as Despot.
 * May 6-Nicephoeus Tyrallis is executed at the Fortress of Baureux for engineering the harebrained Tyrallis Plot.
 * June 11-
 * By June 1702, tensions between the Laurasian and Vectorian Empires had intensified considerably. Vectorian Emperor Sargon Adad II, who had been the Laurasian Empire's adversary in the last Vectorian War of the seventeenth century, had died on June 7, 1698. He had been succeeded briefly by his brother, Eriba-Adad I, who was, however, physically and mentally unfit for the cares of state. Eriba-Adad I was deposed from the Vectorian throne, by the intrigues of the High Council of Regents, on January 7, 1699. The Vectorian General Ashurnasirpal Adak, the cousin of the late Emperor Sargon, and one of the most respected personages within the realms of the Vectorian Empire, was then proclaimed Emperor, as Ashuransirpal Adak II. The new Emperor was determined to recover Hospallian and Anastasian territories lost to the Laurasian Empire, and to entrench the Vectorians once more within the confines of the Barsar Regions. In November 1700, after having concluded the latest conflict with the Haynsian Despotate in the Galactic Void, the Emperor ordered his military officers to draft plans for a series of surprise offensives into the Laurasian Barsar Regions. The goal was the recovery of Hospallia, Anastasia, and Destiny, and the subjection of those systems back to Vectorian authority.
 * In June 1701, the plans were formalized by the Council of High Regents. By the end of 1701, Vectorian expeditions were penetrating into the outskirts of Laurasian territory. This provoked Emperor Neuchrus considerably, and on March 12, 1702, he issued an ultimatum to the Vectorian Court, demanding an end to their raids. Emperor Neuchrus, for his part, was aware of the Vectorian plans for action, thanks to the Imperial Intelligence Agency. By April 1702, he had already strengthened the garrisons of Eliza Spencer, Ankara, Meridu, Tong, Jacksonian Backory, Caesearea, Teutonica, Helen, Grenada, Aletis, and other important strongholds in the Barsar Regions. He also entrusted the Earl of Oxfadia with organizing the defense of the region. Predictably enough, the Vectorians haughtily rejected the Laurasian demands. Thus, on June 11, 1702, Emperor Neuchrus issued a declaration of war, thereby commencing the first military conflict of the eighteenth century for the Laurasian Empire.
 * June 23-Immediately following the declaration of war, the theater of conflict opened between the Laurasian and Vectorian Empires. Emperor Ashurnasirpal Adak, who was still intent upon storming into the Barsar Regions, ordered High Admiral Tukulti-Ninruta to move quickly against Nicole, Redia, and other Laurasian strongholds in that region. And indeed, for the first stages of the conflict, the Vectorians had the advantage. The Laurasian colonies of Murdoch and Nancarrow were both stormed by Vectorian units (June 12-17, 1702); on June 19, Hemkura fell victim to a sudden Vectorian offensive, and fell within hours. Three days later (June 23, 1702), the Battle of Nicole resulted in another surprise victory for the Vectorian Empire, with that important stronghold falling into their hands rapidly. Nestos, Swabie, Bledsoe, Brennan, and Dickerson were all stormed in succession (July-August 1702), and by September 2, 1702, Vectorian forces were besieging Rhodes, Teutonica, Lesia Minor, and Helen. By this point, however, the Vectorian momentum was already fraying.
 * September 11-On September 4, 1702, Lesia Major fell victim to a Vectorian raiding expedition; the Vectorians inflicted severe damage upon the world's defenses, and from thence penetrated into the Durant Cluster. By September 8, Stewart, Hannibal, Skye I, Hamacakai Barka, and Sharon Alfonsi had all suffered severe damage from Vectorian raiding offensives. Yet Sir Giletus Daubeny and the Earl of Oxfadia had allowed for the Vectorians to overextend themselves. High Admiral Tukulti-Ninruta engaged in a series of disputes, both with the High Council of Regents and with many of his own military subordinates. Consequently, the Laurasians were able to take the edge. On September 11, 1702, a Vectorian offensive against Zee ended in failure at the Battle of Benitez. Muir, Thomas, Pierre, and Chelsea then became the sites of successive confrontations between Laurasian and Vectorian forces (September 12-29, 1702), and on October 2, the Earl of Oxfadia destroyed a Vectorian expedition hurled against Beatrice. He then recovered Dubois and Arnell, both of whom had fallen temporarily into Vectorian hands (October 9, 1702), and on October 14, secured the defenses of Lesia Major. On October 22, 1702, the Battle of Al-Pushim ended in another victory for the forces of the Laurasian Empire. By the end of October 1702, Teutonica and Helen had both been relieved of Vectorian forces, and they had also been driven from the outskirts of Lesia Minor. Although the Battle of Hannibal (October 29, 1702), ended in a stalemate for Laurasian forces, the advantage nevertheless remained to Oxfadia and Daubeny.
 * December 9-November and December 1702 saw a series of decisive victories for the Laurasian Empire. Grenada successfully repelled a Vectorian assault (November 6, 1702). On November 11, 1702, the Earl of Oxfadia destroyed a Vectorian convoy in the Battle of Zee. By November 14, Brennan and Dickerson had both fallen back into Laurasian hands; Bledsoe followed on November 28. On December 3, 1702, Daubeny distinguished himself in a confrontation at Miller. On December 11, Swabie and Nestos were both stormed by Laurasian forces on the same day; then on December 14, the Second Battle of Naissus, fought thirty-three years after the famous victory of Emperor Claudius Vectorius there, ended in another victory of the Laurasian Empire. By the end of December 1702, Nicole and Hemkura had both been reconquered; Murdoch and Nancarrow were now under siege by Oxfadia's units.

1703

 * January 25-On January 25, 1703, the marriage of King Jamsius IV of Scotrria and Grand Princess Constantia of the Laurasian Empire was conducted by proxy at Gilbertine Palace on Tudoria. The Earl of Bothwell served as the proxy for the Scottrian King and wore a gown of cloth-of-gold at the ceremony. He was accompanied by the Archclainnarch of Glasgow and by Ambassador Sir Andrew Forman, the other Scottrian signatories of the Treaty of Almastead the year before. A tournament, prize contest, and a string of dances, masques, and balls were held after the ceremony to commemorate the engagement. Grand Princess Constantia, who was now considered to be Queen-Consort of Scottria by the Imperial Laurasian Government, was provided with a new wardrobe of clothes and given a vastly expanded household. In May 1703, King Jamsius IV granted her possession of numerous royal estates and properties in Scottria, including Methven Castle, Stirling Castle, Doune Castle, Linlithgow Palace, and Newark Castle, as well as the incomes attached with those properties.
 * February 11-Following the death of their eldest child Grand Prince Craterus, Neuchrus and his wife Aurelia Zemakala had resolved upon having another, so as to ensure the definite continuation of their dynasty, lest something befall one of their other children. The Empress Consort became pregnant once more in June 1702, and the pregnancy proceeded without complication. On February 2, 1703, the Empress Consort gave birth to her and Neuchrus's last child, Grand Princess Katharina. The Grand Princess, however, turned out to be a sickly child, and she died on February 10, at the age of only eight days. Aurelia's condition deteriorated drastically following the birth of her daughter, and it was soon discovered that she had contracted the Marsian fever. On February 11, 1703, the day after the death of her last child and on her 37th birthday, Empress Consort Aurelia Zemakala died in the Imperial Hospital at the Quencilvanian Palace. When the Emperor Neuchrus learned of his wife's death, he went into a fit of bewailment. Both he and his children were greatly stricken by the Empress Consort's death; so was the rest of the Imperial Court. Neuchrus refused to emerge from his chambers for some days after the death of his beloved wife, and he ordered for the bells at all Almitian edifices to be toiled, on the anniversary of her death, until the end of his reign. On the Emperor's orders, Aurelia Zemakala, who had been the daughter (of Probus I), niece (of Titus II), sister (of Maximinus II), wife (of Neuchrus I), and mother (of Antigonus III) of an Emperor, was buried in the Imperial Mausoleum of the Westphalian Cathedral on February 25, 1703.
 * February 16-By January 1703, the balance in the First Vectorian War of the eighteenth century had shifted completely to the favor of the Laurasian Empire. Emperor Neuchrus, in his New Year's proclamation of January 1, 1703, had exalted that the Empire was on the way to total victory in that front. And indeed, the procession of successes continued. Murdoch was conquered on January 7, 1703, followed by Nancarrow two days earlier. Then on January 15, Oxfadia and Daubeny combined in a decisive offensive against Nicole; within two days, that world was again in Laurasian possession. Frantic Vectorian counteroffensives against Redia, Sejucia, Ruumlist, and Merilash were repelled, and on February 2, 1703, Oxfadia gained another victory in the Battle of Tiesting. From here, Ghaza, one of the Vectorian Empire's chief strongholds, fell under siege. Its fall on February 16, 1703, compounded the earlier series of Vectorian humiliations. Hakura and Ipkit were both in Laurasian hands by the end of March 1703.
 * February 17-Death of Ulysses Drevich, Chief Procurator of the Holy Synod, at Lambathian Palace in Christiania, Laurasia Prime. He was sixty-three years old. On November 29, the Emperor Neuchrus will appoint the Archbishop of Caladaria, Willanius Warhamius, as the new Chief Procurator of the Holy Synod. Warhamius will become the longest-serving Chief Procurator of the eighteenth century, and will serve for nearly twenty-nine years. Warhamius is also appointed as Procurator-General of the Governing Senate, a position he will hold until December 1715.
 * April 5-September 13-On April 5, 1703, following the fall of Ipkit, the Vectorian stronghold of Skyriver, once one of the chief throne worlds of the Nagai Imperium, came under siege from the forces of the Laurasian Empire. High Admiral Tukulti-Ninruta, determined to ensure that this stronghold would not fall to the Laurasian Empire, presented a serious resistance to Oxfadia. The Siege of Skyriver dragged on for the better part of the month, as Vectorian defensive lines held in the face of relentless Laurasian frontal assaults. Ultimately, however, Skyriver fell on April 28, 1703. Intenti followed shortly afterwards on May 5. Tong and Killing were both stormed in May 1703. So'thirta, however, proved to be a tougher nut to crack, and did not surrender to Sir Daubeny until June 1, 1703. Two days later, the Battle of Morg ended in another victory for the Laurasian Empire; Major-General Sir Antiochus Rumanstevius distinguished himself in that confrontation. Camerania and Kaley then found themselves under assault from Laurasian units, with both ultimately falling on June 24. Vectorian raiding expeditions against Anastasia Minor, Ginger, Robach, and Hospallia Major (July-August 1703), failed to halt the Laurasian momentum. Mercia and Angelia were both conquered on September 2, 1703; then on September 13, Clathmore and Gwenneth both fell to the Earl of Oxfadia.
 * June 23-In spite of the death of his elder son, Grand Prince Craterus, the Emperor Neuchrus was still determined on maintaining an alliance between the Laurasian and Holy Spamalkan Empires. In November 1702, the Emperor had declared that it was his intention to provide only for the “benefit of my Empire” and to ensure that the continuance of the alliance would allow for Laurasia to extend, and maintain, its diplomatic ties to the realms of the Amulak Spiral. Fe’ro and Fresia, on their part, were still interested in relations with the Laurasian power. Consequently, in January 1703, delegations from the two governments had convened at Darcia in order to negotiate a new treaty of marriage, involving Grand Princess Katharina and Grand Prince Antigonus, the Emperor’s younger son. It was on June 23, 1703, that the negotiations concluded, and the Treaty of Darcia was signed. This treaty provided for the marriage of Antigonus to Katharina, once he obtained his age of consent at fifteen, and obliged the Emperor of Laurasia to provide for Katharina’s dowry and courtly expenses. The Treaty of Darcia was formally ratified by both parties on July 7, 1703; two days later, Antigonus and Katharina were betrothed.
 * August 8-Grand Princess Constantia, the Queen-Consort (proxy) of Scottria) departed from the Imperial Court on Laurasia Prime, on June 27, 1703, for her journey to the Angelina Spiral, and to Ediania, to be married to King Jamsius IV. She was escorted by her father, Emperor Neuchrus, and by the courtiers of the Imperial Household, to as far as Ladoga in the Galactic Borderlands. Constantia formally crossed the Berwick Barrier on August 1, 1703, thereby entering the territory of the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria. She proceeded to Lamberton in the Galactic Barrier, and was greeted there by the Scottrian Court. On August 4, 1703, King Jamsius himself met his fiancee at Dalkeith Palace, and bid her a good welcome. From Dakleith, the entourage proceeded rapidly to Ediania, reaching there on the 7th. The actual wedding itself (August 8, 1703), at the Holyroodian Palace on Ediania, was officiated by the Archclainnarch of Glasgow and the Archbishop of Laurasia Prime. Following this, the new Queen of Scottria was crowned at Scone (August 24, 1703), accompanied with much celebration and a great mass.
 * August 22-By August 1703, the popularity of the Marasharite Emperor Chomqat II had declined to new lows. The concession of Hungary, Croatia, Slavonia, the Pazak Cluster, and Transylvania to the Holy Austarlian Empire; Ionia, Aetolia, the Morea, and Inner Dalmatia to the Haxonian Confederacy; and Podolia to the Dejanican-Lithuanian Commonwealth had placed the Empire on the defensive in the Great Amulak Spiral against its neighbors. These humiliations came barely three decades following the death of Shapur, considered one of the Empire's most fearless and vigorous military campaigners. Emperor Chomqat II, humiliated by the losses, largely withdrew from administrative affairs, delegating many of the cares of state to his tutor, Seyhusilam Efendi. In 1701, the Emperor moved his court to Edirne, and contrived to make his residence there. By early 1703, the Marasharite Empire was contemplating intervention in the affairs of the Georgian Kingdom of Colchis, which had been effectively subordinate to it since 1555, and was then undergoing a major civil war. The Elite Guards, however, were dissatisfied by the treatment they received from the Emperor's representatives. On July 19, 1703, the guards officer Cebeci instigated the revolt of the Guards, who complained of overdue pay, and of the Emperor's absence from Topacia. The revolt soon grew to include civilians, lower-ranking officers and personnel, members of the guilds, and even religious officials. These groups were all frustrated with the Emperor's policies, and irritated about the rise of his favorite. The Guards soon marched on Edirne; the Emperor, in desperation, deposed Efendi from all of his positions on the Grand Council, and from his personal service. This did not satisfy the Guards, and they determined to depose Chomqat. The ulema, religious council of the Marasharite Empire, issued a four-part declaration enumerating the reasons for why Chomqat was no longer fit to sit on the Marasharite throne. On August 22, 1703, Chomqat II was forced to abdicate from the Marasharite throne, and his brother Ahmad, who had aligned himself with the rebels, was proclaimed Emperor of the Marasharites as Ahmad III. As for Efendi, he was captured and executed by the rebellious Guards. Revolt, however, continued on Topacia, and the world was not restored to its earlier state of tranquility until December 1703.
 * October 9-The latter months of 1703 witnessed the continuation of the Laurasian Empire's offensives into the territory of its much smaller Vectorian counterpart, but also the death of that Vectorian Emperor who instigated the conflict. Essie fell to Laurasian forces on September 27, 1703; two days later, it was followed by Kennedy. Jadaurine was besieged from October 2, and would not fall until the 13th. But by the early weeks of October 1703, the health of Ashurnasirpal II Adak had declined considerably. The Emperor, distressed by the losses incurred against the Laurasian Empire, retreated morwe and more from the responsibilities of public office. Ultimately, his collapse from a stroke on October 8, 1703, revealed the graveness of his condition. He died the following day at the Great Palace of Arachosia Prime, and was succeeded to the Vectorian throne by his brother, who became Davakhum II Adak of Vectoria. Yet the Laurasian successes continued. Following the fall of Jadaurine, Kylantha became the next target of Laurasian forces. It was subdued on November 12, 1703, following a series of clashes at Ivanna, Francia, and Agester. All of these worlds were in Laurasian hands by the end of the year; Dedantia and Deira were now in serious danger. Lwheek was seized on Ascentmas Day, 1703.
 * December 26-The Holy Synod, on the Emperor Neuchrus's command, declares that the marriage of Katharina of Shenandoah and Craterus had not been consummated, and that she was free to marry the deceased Prince's younger brother.

1704

 * January 8-Death of Chomqat II at Tastanbul, who had been deposed the previous year by his brother Ahmat.
 * January 11-February 13-The year 1704 witnessed substantial progress for the forces of the Laurasian Empire. As mentioned above, Dedantia and Deira were both under serious threat by the beginning of January 1704. The Earl of Oxfadia and Lieutenant-General Sir Daubeny now decided to divide their military forces; Oxfadia resolved to complete the subjection of Dedantia, Nagosh, Livonia, Dinst, and Himmler, while Deira, Natalina, Bree, Genoa, Natalia Wood, Tatiana, Kaluna, and Rhedita became the responsibility of Daubeny. Their goals were quickly achieved. Dedantia was formally besieged from January 7, 1704; its defenses, commanded by Vectorian Regent-General Arik-den-ili, proved to be incapable of withstanding the military power of the Laurasian Empire's forces. It fell on January 14. Oxfadia then rapidly stormed Livonia, Dinst, and Himmler (January 14-22, 1704), and on January 24, won the Battle of Pompus. Two days later, Nagosh became the next target of Laurasian military forces; its fall on February 10, 1704, completed the string of Vectorian humiliations in that theater. By the end of February 1704, the whole of the Sassi-ruuk and Nagai territories would be in the hands of the Laurasian Empire. Daubeny, on his part, completed his program of conquest successfully. Deira was subjected to siege from January 11, 1704; its fall five days later saw the capture of more than 200,000 Vectorian troops by the Imperial Laurasian Army. Defeating Vectorian General Al-Kaulk in the ensuing Battle of the Brevan (January 22, 1704), he then secured Natalina and Bree with ease. Genoa and Kaluna were both under siege by the end of the month; the former stronghold fell on February 3, but it was not until February 13, 1703, before Kaluna capitulated. Kaluna's fall was shortly afterwards followed by that of Rhedita (February 21-27, 1704), and on February 28, by the decisive Laurasian naval victory in the Battle of Curtis. Tatiana surrendered on March 2, 1704.
 * March 29-By March 1704, the Laurasian momentum in the campaigns against the Vectorian Empire had increased further. On March 7, 1704, Daubeny, with the assistance of Commodore the Lord Hastingtia of Hannah, won a decisive victory over the combined Vectorian fleet of High Admirals Tukulti-Ninruta and Tiglath-plieser in the Battle of Richards. Summers, once the capital world of the Homi, was besieged from March 12, 1704; it fell five days later, thereby completing the subjection of the Rhedite and Tashian Provinces to the Laurasian Empire. By this point, Laurasian forces were pressing head-first into Arachosia Suprema and the Gate Solarian Cluster. Neustron was stormed (March 22, 1704), being shortly afterwards followed by Hedonsis (March 24). On March 29, 1704, the Battle of Invictis Mesura resulted in the destruction of more than two-thirds of the opposing Vectorian force by Oxfadia and Commodore Hastingtia (who would be promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral for this feat). Halia and Cooper then fell during April 1704, and on May 1, 1704, the Battle of Clarchin ended in another victory for Laurasian military forces. The Vectorian colonies of Renee, Alizea, and Kaitlyn were then stormed in quick succession (May 4-19, 1704), and on May 22, Ompus Septimia, once one of the major strongholds of the old Arachosian Empire, was blockaded. Tukulti-Ninruta, who launched vain offensives against Kaluna, Mercia, Camerania, and Essie, found himself completely outclassed. The fall of Ompus Septimia on June 5, 1704, inflicted a great humiliation upon the Vectorian Empire. Tukulti-Ninruta himself died four days later at Timber in a starship accident. Blake and Joanna then fell before the Laurasian hammer, and Tekos IV soon found itself under siege (June 7-27, 1704). When it finally fell on the 27th, more than three-fourths of the Vectorian garrison was dead. By the middle of July 1704, Hippucca and Gazarus were both in Laurasian hands. Corupedia followed on July 28.
 * August 6-Birth of Amnystas Parsius, future Chief Procurator of the Holy Synod (1759-75) under the Empress Aurelia the Great. Parsius is born on Kigonia to Willanius Parsius, a shipwright and dockyard worker (died 1716), and his wife Aedila Montaria (died 1729).
 * September 19-Death of the Haynsian Despot Jay IX Karany, who had reigned four times since 1671. He was seventy-three years old at the time of his death. Marasharite Emperor Ahmed III elevated the Despot’s second son, Sophi, to the Haynsian throne as Sophi III Karany.
 * November 24-On November 24, 1704, the former Queen of Lesser Spamalka, and the Empress of the Holy Spamalkan Empire, Fresia I, died in Medina del Campo, at the age of only fifty-three. She had ruled for thirty years, since her accession to the Lesser Spamalkan throne on December 11, 1674, and had since 1679 ruled jointly with her husband, Emperor Fe'ro II. Fresia's health had been in decline since the death of her son Prince Jose in 1697; this had been accelerated with the death of her namesake daughter, the Queen-Consort of Portugallia, the following year. She had also been stricken by the deparature of her daughter Catalina for the Laurasian Empire. Fresia withdrew from government affairs in September 1704, two months before her death. Grand Princess Katharina of Shenandoah was stricken by the death of her mother, to whom she had always remained close. Fresia's funeral took place at the Capilla Real in Granada, on December 7, 1704. Fe'ro II was now sole Emperor of Holy Spamalka.
 * December 5-From Corupedia, the forces of the Earl of Oxfadia and Sir Daubeny had combined for the final drive in Arachosia Suprema. Arachosia Prime, one of the most populous worlds in the Caladarian Galaxy, now became their target. The subjection of the Arachosian colonies of Dolmes and Severanian Septimia (August 1704), and then the Siege of Synchronia (September 1-17, 1704), both served to strengthen Laurasian communication lines and to weaken those of the Vectorian adversary. It was not until October 5, 1704, before Arachosia Prime itself came within the range of the Laurasian Empire's military forces. The Siege of Arachosia Prime commenced the following day. The moons of Sargon the Great, Exa'lard, and Shamashi-Adad the Discoverer fell quickly into Laurasian hands (by October 17), but that of the Great Artifical Platform of Arachosia proved to be far more of a challenge. Moreover, Vectorian units harassed Laurasian formations in the Arachosia Prime Asteroid Belt, and around the outskirts of the star system. The Siege ultimately dragged on for more than a month, as Laurasian warships bombarded the planetary shields. On November 22, 1704, Oxfadia, determined to end the siege, launched the final, coordinated assault, a combined push by the Empire's navy and land forces. The shield generators of Arachosia Prime finally cracked under relentless assault, and within hours, the planetary surface was issued by the Imperial Laurasian Army and Marines. Arachosia Prime's garrison commander, Bel-bani, proved to be resilient, and it was not until December 5 before Archalay, the Marcian Royal City, and Sargonia fell into Laurasian possession. Bel-bani himself was killed on December 9, in a suicide mission against Laurasian convoys. By December 14, 1704, the world was completely in Laurasian possession. It was the fall of Arachosia Prime that finally convinced the High Council of Arachosian Regents, and Emperor Davakhum, of the futility of the war. On December 17, 1704, they sent a request for a military armistice to the Imperial Laurasian Government. Emperor Neuchrus, himself wishing to turn his attention to other matters of diplomatic importance, decided to accept. The Armistice of Gustrin was signed on December 23, 1704, thereby suspending military hostilities.

1705

 * February 26-
 * Following the conclusion of the Armistice of Gustrin, preparations for a conference between the Laurasian and Vectorian Empires commenced quickly. On December 30, 1704, Emperor Neuchrus designated Chief Procurator Warhamius of the Holy Synod, the Earl of Oxfadia, Chancellor Parsonius, and President Dudley of the Imperial Privy Council as the plenipotentiaries for the Imperial Laurasian Government. Vectorian Emperor Davakhum II Adak, on his part, selected Governor Lullaya of Vector Prime, High Admiral Cassaya-Adak, and Ishme-Dagan, High Counsel of the Council of Regents, as his representatives. Sejucia was chosen as the site for negotiations; the actual conference convened there on January 7, 1705. Emperor Neuchrus was determined to reap the benefit from this recent military conflict, and the Imperial Laurasian Government now made major demands of the Vectorians, for the concession of all Vectorian territories with the exception of Inner Arachosia Suprema (that is, Vector Prime, Arachosia Prime, and their associated colonial strongholds). Davakhum II Adak, who knew that his capital world was under direct threat from Laurasian military forces, and aware of the little leverage he had, commanded his representatives to accept the Laurasian demands. After just over a month of negotiations, the Treaty of Sejucia was signed on February 26, 1705. By the terms of this treaty, the Laurasian Empire acquired virtually all of the territories it had conquered (the Sassi-Ruuk, Nagai, Tashian, Rhedian, and Amelianian Provinces).
 * This included the Gate Solarian Cluster (with Neustron and Invictis Mesura), Dolmes, Nagosh, Francia, Intenti, Mercia, Angelia, Camerania, Lwheek, Kylnatha, Essie, Deira, Ompus Septimia, Hedonsis, Tekos IV, Tong, Pompus, Kiling, Mixing, Natalina, Kaluna, Dedantia, and Genoa, among other strongholds in the Southern Galactic Borderlands. The Vectorian Empire agreed to compensate its Laurasian counterpart for all military expenses incurred during the conflict; to recognize the free-transit privileges of Laurasian subjects in Vectorian territory; the abolition of all tariffs and duties on Laurasian goods in Vectorian territory; and the right of all Laurasian subjects in Vectoria to submit directly to the authority of the Laurasian Ambassador, rather than that of the Vectorian Government. Furthermore, all Vectorian raiding and reconaissance expeditions were to cease, and Vectorian military forces were limited to one-twentieth that of the strength of Laurasian forces in the Barsar Regions. The Treaty of Sejucia, which almost virtually dismantled the Vectorian Empire, was ratified by Emperor Neuchrus on March 5 and by his Vectorian counterpart Davakhum II Adak on April 1.
 * May 5-On May 5, 1705, Holy Austarlian Emperor Lea'dus I, died at the Imperial Palace on Vienna, aged 64. He had reigned for forty-eight years (since March 16, 1657) and was the senior monarch of extra-galactic civilization at the time of his death. Lea'dus's reign had seen the significant expansion of the Holy Austarlian Empire. As a result of the two Marasharite Wars (1663-64, 1683-99), the Burgundian War (1675-77), the War of the Dejanican Deluge (1654-67), and other conflicts with Pruthia, in the Germanian Principalities, and Franconia (particularly the Italianian Wars from 1694 onwards, ongoing at the time of his death), Austarlia had acquired Hungary, Croatia, Slavonia, Transylvania, the Pazak Cluster, and parts of Istria, Dalmatia, and the Germanian Tyrol. Lea'dus had also maintained Austarlian interests in the Helian Provinces against the incursions of Baden, the Vendragian Confederacy, and other powers. However, Rakoci's War in Hungary and Transylvania was then ongoing, requiring the full attention of Austarlian military forces to suppress. He was succeeded as Emperor by his eldest son, who became Joseth I.
 * May 11-Foundation of the University of Tudoria by the Emperor Neuchrus's mother, Grand Princess Margarina Beaufatia, Dowager Countess of Tudoria.
 * June 27-By 1705, the question of Grand Princess Katharina of Shenandoah had become one of concern to the Emperor Neuchrus. Spamalkan Ambassador Pedro de Ayala had departed from the Laurasian Empire in June 1703, some months after the death of the Empress-Consort, and had been replaced by the Friar de Cantes. De Ayala would return briefly to the Court in March 1706, and in January 1709, he would be given a Knighthood of the Imperial House by Emperor Neuchrus. De Ayala would eventually die on January 9, 1713, at Toledo in the Holy Spamalkan Empire. As regards to this matter, though, the Emperor Neuchrus's interest in Katharina had decreased. The death of her mother, Spamalkan Empress Fresia I, had reduced her value in the eyes of the Imperial Laurasian Government; furthermore, Neuchrus himself was contemplating ideas of a second marriage, so as to begat more heirs for his dynasty. Katharina came to be snubbed by many at the Court, and the Emperor himself acted as if she did not exist. The Grand Princess lived a virtual prisoner at the Diplomatic Palace, and had to rely upon the money sent her by her father. On June 27, 1705, Emperor Neuchrus repudiated the marriage contract between his younger son, Grand Prince Antigonus, and Katharina. Then in July 1705, the Emperor ordered the Ambassador to the Court of Naparia, Sir Oedipus Asecius, to report on the "qualities and appearance" of the widowed Queen-Consort of Naparia, Joan. The description Neuchrus dispatched to his advisers of the desirable wife matched that of his late wife. Negotiations on the marriage began in September 1705, but floundered by 1707 due to various political and personal reasons. Neuchrus was destined never to remarry.
 * October 27-Death of the Grand Duke of Masacavania, Ivan III the Great, who had ruled since 1662. Ivan had established the independence of the Grand Duchy of Masacavania from the overlordship of the Breffal Federation in 1680, and had succeeded Lea'dus I of Austarlia as senior monarch upon the latter's death five months earlier. Ivan is now succeeded as senior monarch by Spamalkan Emperor Fe'ro II, who ruled jointly with his son-in-law Philivus of Durthia. The Laurasian Empire will not have diplomatic relations with the Grand Duchy of Masacavania until 1757, during the reign of Ivan III's great-grandson, Ivan IV.
 * November 2-Death of Tetricus, the last Emperor of the breakaway Samanthan Empire, on Chobania. He was seventy-eight years old at the time of his death. Tetricus had been defeated by the Emperor Aurelian the Savior (1670-75) in 1674, and had yet been spared from punishment and death at his hands. Granted estates on Samantha, Goni, Gardiner, Leo's Redoubt, Reading, Breha, Nanking, and Christopher, he had remained in peaceful retirement in the Barsar Regions. The Emperor Neuchrus I ordered for him to be buried with state honors at the Cathedral of St. Antoninus the Prior on Goni on November 21.

1706

 * January 25-
 * By January 1706, tensions between the Laurasian Empire and the Dejanican-Lithuanian Commonwealth had escalated. The Commonwealth, which had stalemated in its offensives against the Marasharite Empire following the Siege of Vienna, had received its only compensation in the form of Podolia (1699). King Callaganius II, the successor to the warrior King Janius Sobieskius, was nevertheless far from the most assertive, or vigorous ruler. He found himself entangled in numerous disputes with the Dejanican Diet, which had gained increasing authority and influence during the course of the seventeenth century. In May 1700, three of the King's budgetary measures had been rejected by the Diet through the use of its liberum veto, by which one member could veto a resolution. In June 1701, the King was forbidden to reorganize his personal guards by the Senate, and saw restrictions imposed on his collection of revenues from his royal estates. Furthermore, the Diet actively limited the King's authority over the Commonwealth's military forces. All of this intensified the Commonwealth's troubles, which were only to worsen as the eighteenth century progressed. By 1706, Commonwealth expeditions, principally of its nobles, were engaged in the process of harrying the Borderland Territories and the Wild Marshes, thereby explicitly violating the Treaty of Eternal Peace. Huerta Mongol, Qu'memia, Bach Dang, Ho Chi Minh, Saigon, Cassolar, Song Dhu, Kelvania, Angelica Major, and Hypasia Minor alike all saw themselves threatened by Dejanican expeditions. Several times during the course of 1705, Emperor Neuchrus had demanded that the Diet honor the arrangements of the Eternal Peace Treaty, and restrain the raiding expeditions. Each time, his plea had been rejected by that very same Diet.
 * On January 17, 1706, Valeris V fell victim to a Dejanican raiding party from the Dvina Straits. The freebooter Dejanican Prince Kanis Sulaskius was responsible for the latest incursion; his forces breached the star system's defenses, inflicting severe damage upon them to the tune of more than €2.2 trillion dataries. He and his men also captured more than 300,000 civilians from the planetary surface. This proved to be the last straw for Emperor Neuchrus. The Laurasian Empire declared war against the Dejanican-Lithuanian Commonwealth on January 25, 1706. Almost immediately, Laurasian forces advanced. The defenses of Song Dhu were secured, and on January 30, 1706, the Earl of Soria defeated Prince Sulaskius in the Battle of Coleman. Londarania and Spencer then became the scenes of confrontations between Laurasian and Dejanican forces; by February 11, all Dejanican raiding expeditions against the Immortalized Cluster had been halted. On February 23, 1706, the Battle of Yemenk ended in another victory for Soria; by the end of the month, Irutsk and Yakutsk had both been secured against the Dejanican threat.
 * March 24-By March 1706, the health of King Callaganius II had entered a pitiful decline. The King, exhausted by his struggles with the Dejanican Diet, suffered a stroke on Krakow on February 28, five days after receiving word of the Dejanican loss at Yemenk. He was rushed back to Dejanica Major, and at the Kranskia Palace, expressed his lamentations for his subjects. Then, on March 24, 1706, after having reigned for less than ten years, Callaganius II died, aged forty-five. His death was received with much sadness throughout the Dejanican-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Diet, aware of the necessity of another monarch in the midst of war, quickly elected Callaganius's son, Prince Mersius, as King and Grand Duke of the Commonwealth (April 1, 1706). This was the last time in the Commonwealth's history that any semblance of hereditary succession occurred. Mersius declared his resolution to continue the military conflict against the Laurasian Empire.
 * April 12-March and April 1706 witnessed the continuation of Laurasian successes against Dejanica. On March 7, 1706, the Earls of Soria and Deanna destroyed a Dejanican expeditionary fleet near the Fields of Marth. From here, Soria repelled Dejanican counteroffensives against Masan and Hisehbig (March 11-14, 1706), and on March 22, stormed Carli, a minor Dejanican colony located eight light years northwest of Black-Chandlier. The Lavellan systems of LaWanda, Redd, Foxx, and Laverne then fell in succession to the Empire's forces (March 24-April 1, 1706). Then on April 9, 1706, the Dejanican Voivode of Lavella, Carl Lubirmoskia, assembled his forces at Tima in the Wild Marshes, determined to launch a counteroffensive into the Hypasian Provinces, and to blunt any further Laurasian advance. Soria, however, was alerted to his plans, and he now intercepted Lubirmoskia at the outskirts of Tima. The ensuing Battle of Tima lasted for three days, and resulted in sigificant losses for both forces. Ultimately, however, Soria prevailed, and on April 12, Lubirmoskia was forced to abandon the stronghold. In the aftermath, Laurasian units subdued Diana, Dana, Delany, Ross, and Webster, and by the beginning of May 1706, were directly menacing Antwone. Before that world, however, lay the strongholds of Fisher and Carrie. Soria's attempt to breach Carrie's defenses were blunted in the Battle of Irving (May 5-17, 1706), and on May 22, Lubirmoskia actually defeated Soria in the Battle of Spacek, thereby preventing a direct move on Fisher. It was not until the end of May 1706 before Soria finally managed to stabilize his offensive lines.
 * June 24-On June 2, 1706, the Battle of Nancy, between the forces of the Laurasian Empire and Dejanican-Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulted in a strategic victory for the Earl of Soria. With Nancy in Laurasian hands, Soria was able to execute a maneuver against Antwone. Laurasian units stormed the outposts of Novella, Nelson, and Denziel (June 3-9, 1706), and on June 14, seized Outpost K-30, which was one of the chief Dejanican communications posts along the Dejan-Antwone Highway. Antwone itself was besieged from June 17; it's fall on June 24, 1706, represented a major victory for the Empire. Poehler was then secured (June 28), and on July 3, 1706, Soria launched a renewed offensive against Fisher and Carrie. Both strongholds were finally secured on July 10; then on July 22, the Second Battle of Irving resulted in a victory for Soria, in a rematch against Lubirmoskia. Spacek was secured on August 2, 1706, and the way was now opened for an offensive against Dejan. Dejan was assaulted on August 7, 1706; Lubirmoskia, assisted by Hetman Wronz Solytk, attempted in vain to blunt the Laurasian assault. Dejan was stormed by the Laurasian Empire on August 23, 1706; Upper Moldoach and Karmania fell in September 1706. On October 4, 1706, the Battle of Pardy resulted in another victory for Soria; Parton, Tomlin, and JoBeth were then subdued, and by the end of that month, most of the Dvina Straits strongholds had been secured.
 * September 25-
 * Besides the continuation of the Laurasian Empire's war against the Dejanican-Lithuanian Commonwealth (the Expedition War), 1706 saw other events, as regards to the Laurasian and the Holy Spamalkan Empires. Fe'ro II had become sole Emperor of Holy Spamalka upon the death of his wife Fresia I in November 1704; feeling the need to maintain his grip on the throne, he did not hesitate to remarry. The Emperor chose Germaine of Foix, the daughter of the Franconian Duke of Narbonne. Their marriage came as part of a negotiations process between Emperor Fe'ro and King Lujak XII of Franconia, as the Emperor of Spamalka sought to secure the throne of Navarre. The Treaty of Blois, concluded in October 1705, permitted for Fe'ro to marry Germaine of Foix; furthermore, Lujak conceded all claims to Spamalkan Palestina and the Kingdom of Naparia. The actual marriage took place on March 17, 1706, in Girona. This was two months after an event of further consequence. In January 1706, Grand Duke Philivus of Durthia and Burgundy, the Emperor Fe'ro's nephew, found himself and his convoy marooned by a stellar storm in the Galactic Void, just two thousand light years northeast of the Caladarian Galaxy. Emperor Neuchrus, seeking his opportunity to further strengthen his ties to the Amulak Spiral, and entertaining vain ideas of remarriage, was able to extract a Treaty of Commerce and Intercourse from Philicus at Scanlan (March 1, 1706).
 * The Treaty, which abolished all duties upon Laurasian exports, granted merchants of the Empire extraordinary privileges in Durthian territory, provided for mutual assistance between the Empire and Durthian Duchies, and for the extradition of the Duke of Sufforia and other rebels back to the Laurasian Empire, proved to be immensely unpopular. Philivus was allowed to depart from the Empire only in April 1706, once confirming his ratification of the treaty. He arrived at Corunna on April 20, and on June 27, 1706, the Treaty of Villafilla was concluded between Philivus and Fe'ro, thereby permitting the Duke of Durthia to assume the co-rulership of the Holy Spamalkan Empire, in right of his wife Joa'ha. Philivus was formally proclaimed Emperor by the Cortes of Valladolid. On September 25, 1706, however, he died at Burgos after a short illness. He would be interred at the Capilla Royal in October 1706; at that time his wife, Joa'ha, was named co-ruler of the Holy Spamalkan Empire by her father. Philivus's younger sister, Margaret of Austarlia, became hereditary Grand Duchess of Durthia and Burgundy, and would remain as such until her abdication in January 1716, in favor of her former sister-in-law Fresia. This was because Philivus and Fresia's son, Char'va (who had been born at Ghent on February 24, 1700), was only six years old at the time and therefore deemed incapable of assuming the Durthian Crown.
 * December 6-On November 7, 1706, the Earl of Soria, receiving reinforcements from the Hypasian and Angelican Provinces, decided to launch a direct offensive against Dequan. Over the course of the next ten days, Soria stormed the Dejanican garrisons of Dominique, LaKeisha, DeBrilla, and DeAndre, thereby inflicting a series of humiliating losses upon Dejanican frontier forces. He then secured Schumer and Charles (November 22, 1706), thereby making it impossible for Lubormiskia to attempt a counteroffensive against the Dvina Straits. Finally, on December 6, 1706, Dequan itself came within the range of the Imperial Laurasian Navy. Soria blockaded the star system's outskirts, impounded a number of Dejanican convoys, and bombarded the world's defenses relentlessly. Lubormiskia, who found himself tied up at Lavella Minor by Laurasian starfighter squadrons, could not provide effective relief to the besieged garrison. Dequan fell on December 21, 1706. By the end of the month, Lavella Minor itself was in direct danger.

1707

 * January 14-Death of the Haynsian Despot Sophi III Karany, who had ruled since 1704. He is now succeeded to the Haynsian throne by his younger brother, the Haynsian Martial-General Kaplan, who became Qaplan-Empi I of the Despotate. He was confirmed in his new position by the Marasharite Emperor Ahmad III.
 * January 27-As mentioned above, Lavella Minor was under direct threat from the Laurasian Empire. On January 3, 1707, the Battle of Altayn resulted in another decisive victory for the Earl of Soria. Laurasian forces were now penetrating to the Galactic Barrier, inflicting serious damage upon the Dejanican outposts of K3-9, Kreuter, Mikaeyla, and Andrea. On January 22, 1707, the operation against Rebvesk resulted in a smashing victory for the Empire's naval forces: the stronghold's capture brought more than twelve thousand metric tons of military supplies, armor, and equipment into Laurasian hands. Vitebsk was stormed on January 27; by February 12, Maruhisk and Polotsk were both under siege by the Empire's forces. Lavella Minor was finally besieged from February 21, 1707; its fall on March 16 proved a major humiliation for the Commonwealth. Polotsk fell on April 14, 1707, followed by Marhiuisk (April 29-May 14). The subjection of Lavelle, however, proved to be a more complicated affair, and it was not taken until June 2. Gerald and Judah were then stormed by Laurasian units (June 1707).
 * February 5-Birth of Sir Rudomentus Sadielus, several times Assistant Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, and one of the most prominent officials in the Imperial Laurasian Government through the reigns of Antigonus III, Demetrius II, Didymeia I, and Aurelia I. Born on Clackimaris, he is the eldest son of Sir Antigonus Sadielus, a minor official in the service of the Marquess of Doracia, and his wife, Lady Olympia Reserania of Tarravania.
 * July 15-November 7-On July 15, 1707, with Lavella Minor and Ladelle both in the hands of the Empire's forces, the Earl of Soria instigated the siege of Lavella Major. Lavella Major, which had a population of nearly one hundred billion by the beginning of the eighteenth century, was the most important of the Dejanican-Lithuanian Commonwealth's worlds outside of the Amulak Spiral. It served as the capital of Dejanican Lavella, and as the headquarters for the Commonwealth's operations within the confines of the Caladarian Galaxy. The newly-appointed Voivode of Lavella, Briansk Latauskha (1656-1722), who assumed his post on June 28, 1707, was determined to ensure that Lavella Major would remain in Dejanican hands. He strengthened the world's defenses, erecting a string of outposts around the Deisha Straits; installing first-class turbocannon and turret defenses on the world's surface; and upgrading its defensive shields. He also conscripted more than 75,000 civilians into the ranks of the Dejanican garrison. The Earl of Sarah, however, suppressed all supply lines into the star system, and he arranged a comprehensive blockade around the system's outskirts, so that no one could get in, or out. The Siege of Lavella Major, however, dragged on for the better part of 1707. It was not until October 22, 1707, that the world's outpost defenses were breached, and not until November 1 before Laurasian troops landed on the surface. Latauskha's final surrender on November 7, 1707, therefore brought this jewel of the Commonwealth into the Empire's possession. With Lavella Major in Laurasian hands, the greater portion of Dejanican Lavella had been secured. Po'digray was secured on December 5, 1707, and by the end of the month, Laurasian forces were poised to attack the Dejanican territories in the Great Tesmanian Cloud.

1708

 * January 25-With Dejanican Lavella effectively in the hands of the Laurasian Empire, the attention of the Imperial General Headquarters shifted to the Dejanican territories in the Great Tesmanian Cloud. The Great Tesmanian Cloud, which at the beginning of the eighteenth century was divided between the Dejanican-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Marasharite Empire, had until this point remained beyond the range of Laurasian military operations. What was demanded here, therefore, was an ambitious, penetrating expedition across more than 40,000 light years of space (the Galactic Void), and into this distant satellite galaxy. Emperor Neuchrus, however, was confident that this could be achieved, and on January 7, 1708, he gave the final authorization for the Earl of Soria and General Sir Antiochus Rumanstevius (the father of Field-Marshal the Baron Rumanstevius, one of the chief military commanders during his granddaughter's reign), to instigate the offensive, as it had been planned by the General Headquarters. Soria and Rumanstevius proved themselves up to the task. In a series of confrontations at the Void Dehuranian Outposts and along the Bug Highways (January 11-24, 1708), Soria destroyed all opposition posed to him by Dejanican fleets operating from the outskirts of the Great Tesmanian Cloud. Then, on January 25, 1708, the first ever Laurasian military force to reach the satellite galaxy of the Great Tesmanian Cloud did so at Brovary. That stronghold fell to the Empire's assault within hours. Deploying the 31st Imperial Fleet and detachments from the 22nd and 29th Imperial Armies, Soria then executed a daring offensive against Mir, one of the most important strongholds in the Dejanican-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Mir was stormed on February 3, 1708, thereby inflicting a great blow upon the Dejanican strategic position in the Great Tesmanian Cloud. The fall of Mir was soon followed by the Laurasian conquest of Boryspil, Fastiv, and Kaniev (February 1708). Drabiev's fall on March 2, 1708, proved another blow to Dejanican strategic lines.
 * March 9-By the early weeks of March 1708, there was a strong faction within the Dejanican Diet who were opposed to the continuation of the military conflict with the Laurasian Empire. On March 3, following the conquest of Drabiev, a Laurasian expedition appeared at the outskirts of Utena, in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Laurasian units were also threatening the Windwawa Barrier Regions, Libau, and Goldingen in the Dejanican Duchy of Northania and Semigallia. On March 6, the Diet passed a resolution calling for the termination of military hostilities. King Mersius, himself concerned by the possibility of war with the Grand Duchy of Masacavania over the Smolensk Region, and also by disputes with Pruthia over commercial access privileges in Pomerania and Royal Pruthia, decided that the war's end would be beneficial to the Commonwealth. On March 9, 1708, he sent a formal request for a military armistice to Emperor Neuchrus. Neuchrus, pleased that his adversary now sought his way out of the conflict, accepted without demur. The Truce of Alex Glassia was signed on March 17, 1708; Alex Glassia was a Dejanican base in the extreme outskirts of the Great Tesmanian Cloud. On April 4, 1708, delegations from the two governments convened at Szembslikia, a minor Dejanican colony in the outskirts of Belarania. Laurasia was represented by Chancellor Parsonius, Privy Council President Dudley, and the Earls of Drea and Strongstine. Dejanica was represented by the Pruthian diplomat Jacob Henrich von Flemming, Dejanican Marshal Brussilov Wranklai, and the Primate of Dejanica, Michal Radziejowskia. Negotiations would continue for more than two months.
 * April 25-The Lady Theodora Seymouris, destined to become the third wife and Empress Consort of Antigonus the Extravagant, is born at Wulfhall Estate in the Forests of Drevanshia, Volta, Laurasian Purse Region, Laurasian Empire. She was the seventh child and first daughter of Sir Damasias Seymouris of Volta (1674-1736) and his wife, Cornelia Kempesasia of Fulcania (1678-1750). Theodora's older brothers were Damasias Seymouris (1696-1710, died at the age of fourteen); Edwardis Seymouris, future Duke of Volta and Lord Protector of the Laurasian Empire (1700-1752); Sir Antigonus Seymouris (1703-1778), the only one of the Seymouris siblings to survive into the reign of Empress Aurelia the Great; Sir Thomasius Seymouris, Baron of Kendalia and future fourth husband of Empress-Consort Katharina Parsius (1706-1749); and Antontinus Seymouris (1707-1728). Theodora was baptized two days later by the Bishop of Volta, Scripio Caseronia.
 * May 21-Death of Giletus Daubeny, 1st Baron Daubeny and Imperial High Chamberlain of the Laurasian Empire. Daubeny, who had been born on June 1, 1651, was the son of Sir Willanius Daubeny and his wife Anna of Chancia. Daubeny had enrolled at the Imperial Military Academy of Laura in 1668, graduating with high honors four years later. By 1675, he had become an officer in the Imperial Auxilary Corps, and gained prominence for his service in the campaigns of Emperor Probus. Daubeny was knighted in January 1683; just four months later, however, his master Emperor Probus died, and his fortunes turned to the worse. He was forced to flee to Dejanican Lavella in March 1684, and was declared a traitor by Probus's brother and successor, Emperor Titus II the Cruel. In August 1685, upon acceding to the throne, Neuchrus I had reversed Daubeny's attainder and brought him back to the Imperial Court on Laurasia Prime. Daubeny was one of the members of the Laurasian Special Embassy to the court of the Austarlian Emperor Lea'dus I (1686); became a knight of the Imperial Garter (1687); and in 1688, became one of the Emperor's Personal Chamberlains. Daubeny then fought in the Emperor's Franconian War (1692), which was concluded by the Treaty of Etaples, and rose to the rank of Brigadier-General in the Imperial Laurasian Army. In February 1695, Daubeny became the Imperial High Chamberlain, reaching the height of his career. He continued to serve Neuchrus loyally during the next thirteen years, serving as one of the commissioners for the Treaties of Ayton (1698) and Almastead (1702). In 1703, he had become 1st Baron Daubeny. Daubeny's health had taken a turn for the worse from May 18, as he was riding with the Emperor at the Gilbertine Palace, and he died three days later. He was widely mourned at the Imperial Court, and given a ceremonial funeral at St. Giles' Cathedral on Tudoria (June 2, 1708). Daubeny was succeeded as Imperial High Chamberlain by Sir Argaeus Lyathia, Lord Herbetia (who became Earl of Herbetia in January 1714).
 * June 7-On June 7, 1708, after more than two months of negotiations, the Laurasian Empire and Dejanican-Lithuanian Commonwealth signed the Treaty of Szembslikia, thereby concluding the Dejanican Expeditionary War of 1706-08. By the terms of this treaty, the status quo ante bellum was restored between Laurasia and Dejanica. Emperor Neuchrus restored Dejanican Lavella and strongholds in Dejanican Ukraine, Belarania, and Lithuania back to the Commonwealth. All prisoners of war and goods captured in the conflict were to be returned to the respective realm; the navigation and transit rights of Laurasian subjects in Dejanican territory were affirmed; and Mersius's title as King of Dejanica was affirmed by the Emperor of Laurasia. In exchange, all Dejanican raiding expeditions into the Empire was to cease, and the Dejanican Diet would be obliged to compensate any Laurasian subject who filed for damages. The Treaty of Szembliskia was ratified by Emperor Neuchrus on June 16, and by the Diet of the Commonwealth on July 3.
 * August 12-Birth of Lady Meguilla Parrius, who became the longest-serving servant of the Empress Aurelia the Great, Chief Gentlewoman of the Privy Chamber and Mistress of the Robes (1765-90). Her father was the future Comptroller of the Imperial Household, Sir Thomasius Parrius, and his wife Mania Verstheille (died 1780, aged 97).
 * October 9-Death of the Vectorian Emperor Davakhum II Adak, who had ruled since 1703. He was succeeded to the throne by his son Adad-nirari II, who was only five years old at the time of his accession. As a result, the Vectorian Empire comes under the effective oversight of the young Emperor’s uncle, Shalameneser Adak, Chief Magistrate of the Vectorian High Council. Adak became High Regent.
 * December 8-Fransios I (1745-1765), the consort and co-Emperor of the Holy Austarlian Empire, alongside his wife Mar’va Tarvania, was born at Nancy in the Duchy of Lorraine. He was the oldest surviving son of Leopold Joseph, duke of Lorraine (1706-1726), and his wife Elisabeth Charlotte d’Orleans, who is a relative of the Franconian King Lujak XII.

1709

 * April 21-
 * By April 1709, the condition of Emperor Neuchrus was in a pitiful state. The Emperor's physical and mental condition both declined following the death of his beloved wife, the Empress Consort Aurelia Zemakala. Neuchrus's bout of illness in April 1703 had for a time imperiled the entire Empire, and raised the possibility of a regency. Ultimately, however, he had emerged from that. But by 1707, many of the Emperor's ministers and courtiers noticed that he had become more irritable, more prone to fits of anger and more willing to lash out at those whom he perceived to have affronted his honor. Only his mother, Grand Princess Margarina Beaufatia, who was now the highest-ranking woman in the Empire, remained beyond the Emperor's chastising. During the middle of 1707, it was feared that the Emperor would die, due to a severe case of Angrames fever which he contracted. He recovered from that too, but nothing more was to follow. In February 1708, the Emperor suffered another bout of fatigue, experienced severe depression during August and September of that year, and in February 1709, was admitted to treatment at the Imperial Hospital of the Quencilvanian Palace. This time, he was dying, and the Emperor was placed in permenant confinement on March 15, 1709. Over a month of agony followed, as the Emperor's doctors did everything they could to revive his condition, in vain. Neuchrus complained about his pain, and he also lamented his wife and deceased children, declaring the Lord Almitis had struck him with a great blow.
 * Then, on the night of April 20, 1709, the Emperor, realizing that death was imminent, summoned his confessor to administer the last rites. The confessor anointed the Emperor's body with holy oil; Neuchrus heard the mass and thanked the Lord Almitis; and the entire Privy Council gathered around his bedside. In his final hours, he called his son, Grand Prince Antigonus, to his side, enjoining him to look after the welfare of the Empire. Then at 11:00 p.m., the night of April 21, 1709, Neuchrus I the Reformer, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Laurasians since 1685, terminator of the Crisis of the Seventeenth Century, and one of the most important Laurasian monarchs in history, died, aged only fifty-two. His son Antigonus now became Emperor and Autocrat of All the Laurasians; he was just seventeen years old, but was proclaimed to be of age from the moment of his accession, in accordance with his father's last instructions (his eighteenth birthday was just over two months away). Antigonus's accession to the throne was a landmark in the Empire's history: for the first time in 129 years, since the death of Antigonus II the Philosopher in 1580, one Emperor had been succeeded peacefully by his son.
 * This in itself was a testament of how much Neuchrus had achieved. Neuchrus was very unpopular at the time of his death, and many of his subjects looked forward to the reign of Antigonus with joy. Yet the late Emperor's reputation would enjoy a revival during the course of the century, and by 1797, he would be considered one of the Empire's "saviors". He would become known as the Reformer by 1790. Antigonus, on his part, had undergone a rigorous education. In 1693, he had become Constable of Heverian Castle, Lord Warden of the Cron Drift, and honorary Chief Suffect of Christiania. The following year, his father had made him Imperial Marshal of the Empire (with the Earl of Duana carrying out the actual duties of the office). In May 1695, he was invested with the Order of the Imperial Garter, established by Antoninus Pius in 1545, and was made Duke of Colombia, in addition to being Duke of Laurasia Prime. Antigonus was educated by his father's old tutor, Hermogenianus, and acquired a commanding grasp of fifteen different languages, including Laurasian, Dasian, Arachosian, Scottrian, Haynsian, Marasharite, Franconian, Halegothican, Amelianian, High Galactic Standard, and Lacian, among others. Antigonus, at the time of his accession, was handsome, tall, and athletic. He was 6.2 feet tall, had a broad chest, and was strongly built. He especially enjoyed shockball, jousting, riding, tennis, football, and track, among other sports. The Emperor was mentally alert, and he was determined to continue with the reform of the Empire's administration and economy as begun by his father.
 * May 2-On May 2, 1709, the body of Emperor Neuchrus was entombed in the Imperial Mausoleum at the Westphalian Cathedral. The funeral arrangements were handled by the late Emperor's Mother, Grand Princess Margarina Beaufatia. The Grand Princess had a strong influence over her grandson, having been responsible for his education and up-bringing, and during these early months of his reign, she provided him invaluable advise on state affairs. The Grand Princess led the procession of nobles and government officials at the funeral, and was present as her son's body was lowered into the Crypt. In accordance with Neuchrus's instructions, he was interred with his wife, Aurelia Zemakala, and with their three deceased children Aurelia, Edwardis, and Katharina.
 * May 19-Emperor Antigonus, in a proclamation from the Quencilvanian Palace, rescinded his father's repudiation of the marriage contract between him and Katharina, and announced his intention to take his brother's widow as his wife. In his proclamation, the Emperor claimed that it was his father who enjoined him to do so on his deathbed. In reality, Antigonus was encouraged by his grandmother, Grand Princess Margarina, who sought for her grandson to marry and begat heirs for his dynasty as soon as possible. The actual wedding itself took place at the Westphalian Cathedral on June 11, 1709. Antigonus was five years younger than his bride, who was then twenty-three years old. Katharina therefore became his first wife and Empress Consort, and was to remain so longer than any of his other wives (24 years). Chief Procurator Warhamius presided over the wedding ceremony.
 * June 24-On June 24, 1709, the joint coronation of Emperor Antigonus III and his wife, the new Empress Consort Katharina of Shenandoah, was conducted in Christiania. In accordance with Laurasian custom, the imperial couple had retreated to the Palace of Placenta, on Darcia, at the end of May 1709. The ensuing procession into the Laurasia Prime star system, and into the city of Christiania, was more lavish than any which had been staged before. Antigonus and his ministers staged no expense for this coronation; his grandmother was responsible for stage-managing the festivities. The Emperor Antigonus crowned himself, in accordance with traditional rites, with the Great Imperial Crown of the Laurasian Empire; he then crowned his wife with the Smaller Imperial Crown. The Empire's subjects, who were already in a love affair with his bride, were greatly pleased about the coronation, and expressed their hopes for the future. There followed a grand banquet at the Quencilvanian Palace; Katharina would write to her father that "our time is spent in continuous festival."
 * June 29-Grand Princess Margarina Beaufatia, who was emotionally devastated over the death of her only child, found that her physical health suffered as well. The wedding and coronation both took its toll on the Emperor's Grandmother, who was now sixty-six years old. She fainted towards the end of the banquet festivities, and on June 25, received treatment at the Imperial Hospital of the Quencilvanian Palace. The Grand Princess then made a retreat to the Westphalian Cathedral. Having taken a vow of celibacy in 1699, the Grand Princess had devoted much of her time to prayer, charity, and work with the Almitian Church. On June 29, 1709, she died in the Deanery of the Westphalian Cathedral, the day after her grandson's eighteenth birthday and just over two months following the death of her only child, Emperor Neuchrus. Emperor Antigonus was much stricken by the death of his grandmother, and lamented over her, declaring that the Lord Almitis had inflicted a double cruelty. On his orders, his grandmother was interred in the Imperial Mausoleum of the Cathedral, alongside her son and daughter-in-law, on July 11, 1709.
 * September 6-The Haynsian Despot Qaplan-Empi I Karany is deposed from the Haynsian throne by Marasharite Emperor Ahmad III. This occurred as a result of the failure of the Haynsian Despotate’s subjugation expedition against the Circassian Pirates of the Northern Territories, a campaign which had come to an end the previous year. Neal IV Karany, who had been in exile at Chesma in the Great Tesmanian Cloud, is restored to the Haynsian throne by Emperor Ahmad.

1710

 * January 31-Empress Consort Katharina of Shenandoah gave birth to a stillborn daughter at the Palace of Placenta on Darcia. This was the first of a succession of phantom pregnancies, miscarriages, and stillbirths, which would ruin the relations among the imperial couple and ultimately lead to the Emperor's courting of Anna Boleyenia many years later.
 * April 20-On April 20, 1710, Comet Demosthena, the most famous periodic comet in the Caladarian Galaxy, makes it appearance in the inner orbit of the Laurasia Prime star system. It had last appeared on November 13, 1635, during the reign of Maximinus I, first Emperor of the Crisis of the Seventeenth Century. Emperor Antigonus III, who was approaching nineteen, was caught up with his subjects in the euphoria of the moment. In his honorary proclamation celebrating the Comet's return (Demosthena passed by Laurasia Prime once every seventy-five years), the Emperor proclaimed that "good tidings are in place for this Empire's future in the remainder of this century, and my hope is that we will be enjoying our rightful place in this galaxy when this great and magnificent comet returns." Comet Demosthena remains in the inner orbits of the system until departing out again in July 1710. It will next appear in 1786, during the reign of Antigonus's younger daughter Empress Aurelia the Great.
 * August 17-
 * Shortly after his coronation, Emperor Antigonus had taken action against his father's two chief ministers: Sir Edwardis Dudley, the Secretary of the College of Finance and President of the Imperial Privy Council, and Chancellor of the Empire Sir Ricomedius Parsonius. Both men, responsible for executing the Emperor Neuchrus's administrative and legal reforms, had become immensely unpopular, both at the Imperial Court and among the Emperor's subjects. They had both amassed considerable wealth in their service to Neuchrus, and they had been unscrupulous in their own personal business dealings. Antigonus himself despised Dudley and Parsonius, a fear shared by Chief Procurator Warhamius and Privy Seal Foxius, among others. Therefore, on July 2, 1709, shortly after his coronation, the Emperor had both men arrested and imprisoned at the Fortress of Baureux. They were accused of "constructive treason" (that is, of harming the Imperial State by exploiting it for their own benefit), conspiracy, heresy, corruption, and les-majestie. Yet for more than a year the Emperor had both men restrained in prison. In October 1709, Parsonius and Dudley were both condemned by the Special Court of the Empire, and both were forced to make grueling confessions of their own crimes.
 * Yet they were not formally convicted of the charges until April 22, 1710, almost exactly one year after Antigonus's accession to the throne, and the Emperor signed their execution warrant only on July 29. Thus, these men were used as scapegoats for the Emperor Neuchrus's financial properties. Parsonius and Dudley both suffered the full horrors of a traitor's death, at the Fortress of Baureux, before a crowd of more than 150,000 spectators. Their families were deprived of all honors and properties; banned from Laurasia Prime; and condemned by the Holy Synod. On the Emperor's orders, both men were excommunicated, and their remains were dumped into the Pit of Traitors on Jadia. On September 2, 1710, the Lord Verran was named as Chancellor of the Laurasian Empire in Parsonius's steed, a position which he would hold for five years. These were the first prominent executions of Antigonus the Extravagant's reign, and there would be many more to come.
 * October 9-
 * By October 1710, the situation in the Vectorian Empire had deteriorated further, to the ultimate advantage of the Laurasian Empire. Shalemenser Adak, High Regent of the Empire and Chief Magistrate of the Vectorian High Council, proved himself to be an incompetent and ineffective ruler. More concerned for his personal wealth than for the welfare of the remnants of the Vectorian Empire, Adak used his position of power to accumulate properties and goods on Arachosia Prime, Vector Prime, Neucretia, Risa, and other strongholds remaining to the Vectorian Government. In June 1709, in order to finance the ever-rising expenditures of his own personal household, the High Regent compelled the Council to enact a series of income, property, and sales tax increases. These increases raised the maximum rate of taxation by more than 20%, thereby angering all classes of Vectorian society. By November 1709, Adak had organized for himself a household of more than 200,000 persons, which was far in excess of the total number of servants and personnel in the service of the Emperor, Adad-nirari Adak II. This enraged many on the High Council, in particular the Vectorian Potentate Mutakkil-nishu. Thus, by March 1710, he had assembled his supplies on the Arachosian colonies of Nora, Mister, Aubrey, and Noelle, determined to utilize these strongholds to strike against the High Regent.
 * In July 1710, however, Mutakkil-nishu died from a sudden stroke; Shalemenser Adak then used his superior military resources to seize control of these strongholds, thereby arousing further dissent among the Vectorian nobility and hierarchy. In August and September 1710, a series of protests broke out on Vector Prime and Arachosia Prime, directed against the authority of the Regent. Noticing all of this was the Emperor Antigonus III of Laurasia. The Emperor was determined to complete the destruction of the weak Vectorian state, and to extend his Empire's jurisdiction over the whole of the southern Galactic Borderlands. Thus, throughout much of 1710, Antigonus had, against the advise of his father's councilors, encouraged tensions against the Vectorian High Council and against the Regent. In the meantime, Laurasian forces assembled at Francia, Camerania, Mercia, Kylantha, Essie, Nagosh, Lwheek, Deira, Dedantia, Nicole, Sejucia, Killing, Tong, Miliking, and other strongholds throughout the Empire's "Vectorian" Provinces, posed for the final strike into Vectorian territory. Finally, on October 9, 1710, and without warning, the Emperor of Laurasia launched his forces into Vectorian territory, thereby commencing the Second Vectorian War of the eighteenth century. This was also the sixth conflict fought between the two powers in the century since 1613. Laurasian forces made a series of advances during the latter months of 1710. On October 14, 1710, the Battle of Mister ended in a decisive victory for the Laurasian Empire. Major-General Sir Antiochus Rumanstevius gained prominence for his victory against Vectorian High-General Nasir-Sin. From Mister, Risa was besieged by the Empire's forces (October 22-November 5, 1710). The siege also ended in victory for Laurasia, but at a cost of more than 55,000 troops of the 27th Imperial Army during the final land offensive. By the end of November 1710, Aubrey, Nora, and Noelle had all been stormed by Laurasian forces. On December 7, 1710, Admiral Sir Craterus Laganius obtained another victory in the Battle of Paraillo; Neucretia was conquered on December 14, and by the end of the month, Laurasian forces were approaching Veste, where the Torfian King Hulaugh had been compelled to make peace with Gorias of Arachosia Suprema in 381, more then thirteen centuries earlier.

1711

 * January 1-On New Year's Day 1711, Empress Consort Katharina of Shenandoah, who had become pregnant again in April 1710 following her stillborn birth, gave birth to her, and the Emperor's, first son. Emperor Antigonus, who was overjoyed at his son's birth, named the young Grand Prince after himself. He immediately provided the boy with his own household, and on January 13, 1711, organized a magnificent baptism ceremony for him. Chief Procurator Warhamius presided, while the Emperor's sisters, Queen-Consort Constantia of Scottria (represented by a proxy) and Grand Princess Didymeia, the Duke of Americana, Privy Seal Foxius, and Chancellor Verran served as the godparents. Antigonus was determined to exalt his son in the eyes of his subjects, and to parade him before the Imperial Court. It will not be long, however, before his joy turns into despair.
 * January 21-On January 21, 1711, the young Duke of Northania and Semigallia, Frederick William Kettler (a near contemporary of the Laurasian Emperor Antigonus III in age), died on Kippinghof. The Duke, who had ruled since January 22, 1698, was only eighteen years old at the time of his death. He had been married to the Dejanican Princess Anna barely two months earlier. The death of Duke Kettler resulted in a vacancy on the Northanian throne. Anna, who now obtained support from the Dejanican King Mersius V and from the Laurasian Ambassador to the Dejanican Court, Sir Antigenes Byporius, was able to have herself elected Duchess of Northania and Semigallia by the Northanian Diet on February 5. She was formally crowned on February 11.
 * February 22-Grand Prince Antigonus of the Laurasian Empire, first surviving child of Emperor Antigonus and his wife Empress Consort Katharina, died in a horrific starship accident near the Cron Drift, en route to the Palace of Placenta on Darcia. The Emperor and his wife, who had been so recently immersed in the celebrations for his birth and baptism, were now cast into a deep despair, along with the rest of the Imperial Court. Antigonus issued a sad manifesto announcing his son's unfortunate death; ordered all of his subjects to enter into mourning for his soul; and placed the Court on funerary mode. The young Grand Prince, whose remains had been lost in the accident, would be memoralized at the Westphalian Cathedral on March 1, 1711.
 * April 9-The Imperial Merchant Marine Academy of Laura is established by charter of the Emperor Antigonus III. By the end of the century, the Merchant Marine Academy will be one of the leading institutes of its kind in the Empire, with more than 175,000 students, 10,000 staff, and a annual budget of more than €375 billion dataries.
 * April 17-On April 17, 1711, Austarlian Emperor Joseth I died from an outbreak of pox fever at the Imperial Palace on Vienna. He was only thirty-two years old, and had ruled for six years, since his accession to the throne in May 1705. Joseth's reign saw the relaxation of his father's rigid religious, customs, and conscription policies; the reformation of the budgetary and taxation system of the Empire; and the reorganization of the Imperial Colleges of State. Joseth had also contended with Rackozi's Rebellion in Hungary, which began before his father's death; it was virtually suppressed by the time of his death. Joseth, who had no sons, is succeeded as Emperor by his younger brother, Arch'duke Char'vak of Inner Austarlia, who became Emperor Char'vak V.
 * April 25-
 * The early months of 1711 witnessed the conclusion of the Laurasian Empire's military campaign against its Vectorian foes. Corupedia, where Sennacherib of the Sennacherid Empire had defeated and killed Tudiya of Arachosian Suprema in AH 378, was stormed by the forces of General Rumanstevius (January 3, 1711). Then on January 15, Vestes, long harried by Laurasian naval forces, was finally assaulted. The garrison of Vestes was commanded by High-General Asinum, who was one of the leading military commanders left to the Vectorian Government. Asinum was determined that Vestes would not fall to the Laurasian Empire without a fight. Rumanstevius's first assaults against the defensive lines of Vestes ran into a series of obstacles; by February 12, it seemed as if the world would continue to defy Laurasian reach. Ultimately, however, on February 21, Laurasian Rear-Admiral Sir Neuchrus Mensies detected a gap in the defensive lines of the star system; Rumanstevius wisely calculated that a quick deployment of marines and corvettes through this gap would allow for the whole of the lines to be broken. He was correct in his hunch; within hours, Laurasian forces had finally penetrated into the star system, and Vectorian defenses collapsed. On February 24, 1711, Vestes's shield defenses were finally breached, and the planetary surface was issued by the Imperial Laurasian Army. It was not until March 2, however, before Vestes Compound City was finally captured, and not until March 6 before Asinum, who had fought to the bitter end, was killed by imperial troops in a final confrontation.
 * Vestes was completely in Laurasian hands after that. Synchronia and Severanian Septimia then fell, and on March 17, 1711, Arachosia Prime itself was subjected again to the Laurasian onslaught. The world, which had been adversely affected by the policies of the Regent, proved to be no match for the Empire's forces; it fell within two hours. But on March 27, after the Vectorian Belt and the Galactic Barrier Gateways were secured by Laurasian naval squadrons, the real test came: the conquest of Vector Prime. This world, capital of the Vectorian Empire now since 1591, became the final target of Rumanstevius's offensive. The actual Siege commenced two days later, and Laurasian forces succeeded in progressively suppressing all routes into the star system. Shalamenser Adad himself, in vain leading the defenses of the star system, launched successive assaults with his dreadnoughts and battleships, but was hampered by superior Laurasian turbolaser fire. Finally, on April 25, 1711, Vector Prime's defenses collapsed, and the world was overrun by General Rumanstevius's troops. Shalemenser Adad himself was killed in a physical confrontation with officers of the 27th Army; the Vectorian High Council of Regents and the young Emperor Adad-nirari II, who was only eight years old, were captured.
 * The following day, they were forced to sign the Capitulation of Vector Prime, thereby surrendering all remaining Vectorian military forces, resources, and worlds into the possession of the Emperor of Laurasia. Antigonus III was buoyant over this victory, and on May 2, 1711, issued a proclamation from Christiania, commanding his subjects to celebrate the victory. Massive celebrations and displays of joy broke out throughout the Laurasia Prime Purse Region, and in other regions of the Empire. The destruction of Vectoria was particularly celebrated in the Barsar Regions, which had suffered from Vectorian expeditions and invasions to such a great extent during the middle of the seventeenth century. The final decree of annexation was issued on June 2, 1711, and the Diocese of the Southern Galactic Borderlands was created at that date; Vectoria itself was divided into two provinces, including the acquisitions of 1705. Emperor Antigonus decided to spare the lives of the Vectorian High Council and of the young ex-Emperor, Adad-nirari II. Instead, on July 7, 1711, the Emperor granted the former Emperor the title of Emperor Emeritus of Vectoria; granted him estates throughout the conquered territories, in the Barsar Region, and in the Laurasia Prime Purse Region; and conferred upon him a generous imperial pension of €1.2 trillion dataries per annum. His household and education expenses were to become the responsibility of the Imperial Chancellory. All former members of the High Council were pardoned and allowed to retain all titles, properties, and businesses which they previously possessed. Most of the rest of the Vectorian nobility was not so favorably treated; more than 75% of former Vectorian noble lands and businesses would pass into Laurasian hands during the course of the next twenty years. Adad-nirari II Adak lived to a good old age, and into the reign of Aurelia the Great. He would die on September 19, 1794 at the age of eighty-six. The last surviving member of the High Council of Regents, Potentate Mut-Askhur, would die on April 26, 1788, at the ripe old age of 115.
 * November 9-
 * By November 1711, new concerns had arisen for the Emperor Antigonus and for the Imperial Privy Council. These related to the Third Italianian War, then ongoing in the Great Amulak Spiral. In the aftermath of the First Italianian War, Grand Duke Cosimo III of Tuscany (1675-1706), had focused his efforts on strengthening the Grand Duchy's position in the Romagna. With the assistance of Cesare Borgia, Gonfalonier of the Tuscan High Council, he had extended Tuscanian power into the Romagna. By 1703, Bologna had been seized by the Grand Duchy. Franconian and Spamalkan forces, however, soon converged on Tuscany, and the lords of the Romagna offered to submit to the Haxonian Confederacy in exchange for regaining control of their own dominions. The Haxonian Senate accepted, and by the end of 1703, had taken possession of Rimini, Faenza, and the Lesser Romagna Systems. Grand Duke Cosimo, who had suppressed a rebellion against his authority in Roma, and had imprisoned Borgia for his betrayal of his obligations, moved quickly to reestablish the control which had been established over the Romagna by demanding that Haxonia return the systems she had seized.
 * Doge Loredan, although he was willing to acknowledge Tuscan authority over the Apulian Cluster, and to pay an annual tribute, refused to surrender the actual systems. In response, Cosimo concluded an alliance with Franconia and Austarlia against Haxonia; but the death of Fresia I of Spamalka in 1704 caused for this alliance to dissolve. Cosimo therefore found that he did not have the strength to move against Haxonia; consequently, he spent the last two years of his reign reasserting his dominion over Bologna and Perugia. In 1707, his son and successor Fernando II returned to the question of Rimini, Faenza, and the Lesser Romagna. Rebuffed by the Doge and Senate, he encouraged Holy Austarlian Emperor Joseth I (who was still contending with Rackozi’s Revolt in Hungary and Transylvania) to attack Haxonia. In February 1708, Emperor Joseth launched an invasion of Haxonian territory and advanced upon Vicenza, but was defeated by Haxonian forces under General Bartolomeo d’Alviano.
 * A second assault by Austarlian forces proved to be an even greater failure; Alvano not only routed Austarlian forces but seized Trieste and Flume, forcing Joseth to conclude the Treaty of Graz with the Confederacy (March 12, 1708). Fernando, who was humiliated by the failure of the Austarlian campaigns, now turned to King Lujak XII of Franconia, who was also Duke of Milania, with an offer of alliance. On December 10, 1708, Tuscany, Franconia, Austarlia, and Spamalka concluded the Treaty of the League of Cambrai, thereby establishing their common military alliance against the Haxonian Confederacy. This agreement provided for the complete dismemberment of Haxonia’s territory in Italiania and for its partition among the signatories: Joseth, in addition to regaining Istria, would receive Verona, Vicenza, Padua, and Fruili; Franconia would annex Brescia, Crema, Bergamo, and Cremona to its Milanese territories; Spamalka would seize Otranto; and the remainder, including Rimini, Ravenna, and the Vatican Circles, would be added to Tuscany. On April 15, 1709, six days before the death of Laurasian Emperor Neuchrus the Reformer, had left Milan at the head of his military forces and invaded the Haxonian Confederacy. The Battle of Agandello (May 14, 1709), resulted in a decisive victory for Lujak. Lujak then occupied Haxonian territory as far galactic-east as Brescia without encountering any serious resistance, thereby seizing systems which had been acquired by Haxonia during the course of the fifteenth century. Padua, Verona, and Vicenza surrendered in quick succession to Austarlian Emperor Joseth. Tuscany, in the meantime, invaded the Romanga and seized Ravenna & the Polestine. In July 1709, however, Padua returned to Haxonian control, as a result of outrages inflicted by Austarlian forces.
 * On September 15, 1709, Emperor Joseth ordered for the Siege of Padua, with Prince Eugene of Savoy commanding the forces. The siege, however, proved ineffective, and was ultimately lifted on September 30. Haxonian forces then proceeded to reconquer Vicenza, Este, Feltre, and Belluno. Although a Haxonian offensive against Verona failed, Haxonian General Pitigliano also defeated Tuscanian forces commanded by Duke Franceso II of Gonzanga. The subsequent Battle of Polesella, an offensive by Tuscany against Ferrara, failed however. Soon, Doge Loredan and the Senate were forced to request for peace with their adversaries, due to persistent Barbary and Haynsian raids on their possessions in Dalmatia, Epirus, and the Morea. On February 14, 1710, the Treaty of Gita was concluded, thereby ending the war. Yet this reconciliation was only brief. Pitigilano died in January 1710; Proveditor Andrea Gritti (the future Doge), assumed command of the Haxonian military’s forces. Vicenza was lost to the Franconians, but Gritti garrisoned Padua. Yet now Grand Duke Fernando sought to launch an offensive against the Duchy of Ferrara, allied to Franconia, and to acquire it for the Grand Duchy. He now sought an offensive against Milan, and invited Haxonia to ally with him, an offer that the Haxonians accepted. By July 1710, the new Haxonian-Tuscanian alliance was on the offensive. An offensive against Franconian Genoa failed, but Vicenza was recovered; the Duke of Urbino, furthermore, captured Modena (August 17, 1710). In October 1710, Bologna was threatened by the Franconians, but they soon retreated to Ferrara. In December, Concordia was conquered by Tuscanian forces; Mirandola was also besieged.
 * The Franconian General Charman d’Amboise’s death that month left the Franconians in disarray; in January 1711, Mirandola fell. Concordia and Castlefranco were soon recovered by the Franconians, and Tuscanian forces were soon compelled to retreat to Casalecchio. The Duke of Ferrara, In the meantime, confronted and destroyed Haxonian forces at the Po Systems, isolating Bologna again. By June 1711, most of the Romagna was held by the Franconians. By the end of that month, the Grand Duke’s agents were making parleys to the courts of Austarlia, Spamalka, and, in a move indicative of the increasing awareness of the powers of the Amulak Spiral to its importance, that of Laurasia. Ever since the time of the First Franconian War (1692), and particularly with the Empire’s entanglements with Franconia, the Durthian Duchies, and Brittany as a result of the pretender Warbeckia, the powers of the Amulak had become more appreciative, and more aware, of the military and political giant which Laurasia represented. Fernando, therefore, believed that Laurasian participation in the military conflict would prove to be vital to the success of the anti-Franconian War. Emperor Antigonus, who had been watching events in the Amulak Spiral with close interest, was determined to intervene, and to gain glory for himself in the contest of war.
 * Ultimately, it turned out to be the Holy Spamalkan Emperor, Fe’ro II, who proved instrumental in securing the cooperation of the Laurasian Empire. Fe’ro considered his relationship with his son-in-law to be of great importance, and sought to take advantage of it. Therefore, on September 12, 1711, by which time Austarlia and Spamalka both had pledged their military and financial support to the cause of Tuscany, he made the first offer of military alliance to the Imperial Laurasian Government. In this offer, the Emperor of Spamalka declared that he would assume the responsibility for all Laurasian military expenses in the Amulak Spiral. Furthermore, he promised to assist in securing Laurasian commercial and transit privileges in Naparia, Florence, Tuscany, Ferrara, and Genoa. Antigonus, determined to excel in the arts of war, accepted the offer on September 27. He now entrusted the Duke of Christiania, the Earls of Constantia and Goldaria, and the Archbishop of Christiania with the task of negotiation with the Spamalkan Ambassador, the Count de Fuetres, and his counsel. The Emperor of Spamalka, on his part, designated the Duke of Cadiz, the Marquis de Santa Anna, and the Spamalkan Ambassador to the Imperial Court of Laurasia Prime, the Count de Murraha, as his representatives to the negotiations. The actual conference opened at the Diplomatic Palace, in Christiania, on October 17, 1711. Negotiations continued for nearly a month, as the Emperor of Laurasia's representatives wrangled over the terms of compensation by the Spamalkans for their master's intervention in the conflict, and as the Spamalkan delegates sought to gain a understanding of what the Laurasians would be able to bring to the field.
 * Finally, on November 9, 1711, the Treaty of Christiania was concluded, thereby resulting in the establishment of a military and financial provision pact between Laurasia and Spamalka. By the terms of this treaty, the Imperial Laurasian Government agreed to recognize Spamalka's right to the territories of Iberian Navarre, and its possession of Naparia, including the Sicilian Wayward Colonies. Furthermore, the Emperor of Laurasia pledged to declare war against the Serene Kingdom of Franconia by no later than August 1, 1712, and to place a corps of troops and ships of the Imperial Laurasian Military at the disposal of his Spamalkan allies. In exchange, Spamalkan Emperor Fe'ro II recognized the Laurasian right to garrison and maintain the Franconian strongholds of Tournai, Boulougone, Calais, Abbeville, Caen, and Theouranne; to maintain military operations in Gascony and Aquitaine; and all rights to campaigns against the Marasharite Empire in the Galactic Borderlands. Furthermore, Fe'ro pledged to meet all transportation and maintenance expenses for all Laurasian military forces deployed. The Treaty of Christiania was ratified by Emperor Antigonus on November 15, and by Fe'ro (with his daughter, Empress Jo'aha), on December 4, 1711. Throughout December 1711, the Emperor Antigonus and his Privy Council engaged in extensive preparations for the ensuing military campaign. By the end of 1711, Laurasia seemed posed to assume a decisive role in the conflict.

1712

 * January 24-On January 24, 1712, the future Pruthian Emperor Pru'a IX (1740-86), destined to become a contemporary and erstwhile ally of the Laurasian Empress Aurelia the Great, was born at the Scholessen Palace on Berliania III, the capital and most populous star system of the Autocratic Pruthian Empire. Pru'a was the eldest child and son of Crown Prince A'rua, the heir-apparent to the Pruthian throne, and his wife, the Vendragian Princess Sophia Dorothea of Hanover. She was the daughter of the Electoral Prince of Hanover, Georg, to become in short time the King of Vendragia. Pru'a's birth was welcomed by his grandfather, Emperor M'rua I the Consolidator, who had suffered the premature loss of two of his prior grandsons. Pru'a was baptized at the Citadel of Warhmatt on February 5.
 * April 11-On April 11, 1712, Laurasian Emperor Antigonus III's sister, Queen-Consort Constantia of Scottria, gave birth to her only surviving child at Linlithgow Palace. A joyous King Jamsius named his son after himself, thereby continuing with a tradition which had already been ongoing for a century. Jamsius was baptized and created Duke of Rothesay, Prince, and Great Steward of Scottria the day after his birth. Queen Consort Constantia had already given birth to three children, all of whom had died at a young age. The first was Jamsius, Duke of Rothesay, who was born on February 21, 1707 at Holyroodian Palace on Ediania and died only a year later, on February 27, 1708. The second, Mariana, was born and died on July 15, 1708, at Holyroodian Palace. And the third, Arthur Stewart, Duke of Rothesay, was born at Holyroodian Palace on October 20, 1709, and died on July 14, 1710, at the age of only eight months (and on the day of the birth of Baron Sir Demetrius Monompahlaus, one of the most prominent Laurasian historians and authors of the eighteenth century). Constantia and Jamsius, therefore, had their own share of tragedy in the works by that point, and they were hopeful that this son would survive to term.
 * June 11-Expeditionary force dispatched by Emperor Antigonus to assist the Spamalkans in their operations in Franconian territory. The expeditionary force yields few results, however, and the Franconians retain their hold over the regions of Aquigania and Gasconia in the Little Amulak Cloud.
 * August 9-Katharina Parsius, destined to be Antigonus III's sixth and last wife and Empress Consort, was born in the Governmental Quarter of Christiania, Laurasia Prime, to Sir Thomasius Parsius, Lord of Kendalia (1683-1717), and his wife, Lady Scribonia Greenia (1692-1731), daughter and co-heiress of Sir Thomasius Greenius of Dearton's Gateway (1661-1706). The future Empress Consort's younger siblings would be Willanius Parsius, future Marquess of Venusia (who would be born on August 14, 1713) and Anna Parsius, future Duchess of Darsis (who would be born on June 20, 1715).

1713

 * February 25-Death of Pruthian Autocratic Emperor M'rua I. He had proclaimed the establishment of the Pruthian Empire in January 1701 and had ruled since May 1688. M'rua I, who had been a glutton and lavish monarch, is succeeded by his parsimonious, strict, honest, and patriotic son A'rua II. The new Emperor's son, 1 year old Pru'a, becomes Crown Prince of Pruthia.
 * March 10-Death of Sir Antiochus Verius, 1st Earl of Oxfadia, who had been one of the Emperor Neuchrus the Reformer's main supporters in his seizure of the throne, had commanded his forces at the Battle of Bosworthian Fields, and then participated, as a military commander, in the wars of the 1690s and 1700s. Oxfadia had remained in high favor following the Emperor Neuchrus's death, and he officiated as Imperial Chamberlain at the coronation of Antigonus III. In September 1709, Oxfadia resigned from the Imperial Privy Council, and he spent the last years of his life at his personal estates, particularly Hedinigan Castle on Vetta. The Earl's death was greeted with much lamentation at the Imperial Court; on the Emperor Antigonus's orders, he would be buried in the Heroes' Crypt of Colne Priory on April 7. 1713.
 * March 14-The Haynsian Despot Neal IV Karany, who had incurred the displeasure of the Marasharite Emperor Ahmad III, is removed from the Haynsian throne for the last time. Qaplan-Empi I, who had been held at the Marasharite Court on Topacia, is released back to Haynes and allowed to reassume the Haynsian throne.
 * April 30-Execution of Vibius Polsius, Duke of Sufforia and nephew of the Emperors Probus (1676-83) and Titus II the Cruel (1683-85). Since the death of his elder brother, Antiochus Polsius, Earl of Licantoria, at the Battle of Anusia in 1687, he had been the leading contender of the Polsian family to the Laurasian throne. In 1701, the Duke had fled from the Laurasian Empire with the assistance of Sir Nicepheous Tyrallis, who had been executed for his harebrained Tyrallis Plot. The Duke had sought the help of the Austarlian Emperor Le’adus I, who nevertheless, in 1702, agreed, by the Treaty of Prague, not to provide support to Polsius if he attempted to seize the Laurasian throne. In 1706, after Lea’dus’s death, his son, Joseth I, handed the Duke over to his cousin, Philivus of Durthia. Philivus had, as explained above, handed Sufforia over into the custody of Emperor Neuchrus. Neuchrus had promised to preserve the pretender’s life, but his son Antigonus did not feel bound by such promises and had the Duke convicted and condemned by the Special Court. Polsius was executed at the Fortress of Baureux.
 * June 30-Formal declaration of war by the Laurasian Empire against the Serene Kingdom of Franconia. Emperor Antigonus himself takes command of Laurasian military forces, and assembles his units in the Hypasian Provinces and along the Galactic Frontier Route for a push into Franconian territory. Austarlian Emperor Char'vak V grants the Laurasians permission to transit through his territories.
 * July 17-Emperor Antigonus III departs for the Little Amulak Cloud with his military forces, leaving his wife, Empress Consort Katharina of Shenandoah, as Lady Protectoress of the Laurasian Empire in his absence. Katharina is the first Laurasian woman to hold such a position since Grand Princess Theodora, who had been regent from 1282-89 in the name of her brothers Menelaus and Seleucus I.
 * August 2-Declaration of war by King Jamsius IV against the Laurasian Empire. Scottria had signed the Treaty of Rasdalla Minor with Franconia in December 1711, and was obliged to come to that power's assistance in case war broke out with the Laurasians. The King of Scottria thus violated the Treaty of Perpetual Peace which had been signed in 1702. Scottrian forces, operating from the Rogerian Cluster, Rasdalla Minor, Kathy, and Seeben, among other strongholds, launched repeated raiding expeditions into Laurasian territory. Scottrian expeditions strike as far as Cossack, Pressburg, and Aretha. The pleas of his wife, Queen Consort Constantia, on behalf of her brother and of peaceful Laurasian-Scottrian relations fall on deaf ears, and Jamsius drafts plans to invade the Barsar Regions.
 * August 6-Battle of Spurria occurs in the Little Amulak Cloud between the Franconian forces of King Lujak XII and the allied Laurasian-Spamalkan forces under the command of Emperor Antigonus III. The result is a decisive victory for the Laurasian Empire. Most of the Franconian force is captured or annihilated by the Laurasians.
 * September 2- The Scottrians defeat the Laurasian garrison of Nicole and temporarily overrun the world. King Jamsius IV, having departed from Ediania and himself command Scottrian forces, plans on conquering the strongholds of the Durant Cluster, Hosptallia, Anastasia, and the Tashian strongholds. Scottrian forces have also launched continued expeditions against Vector Prime, Ompus Septimi, Neustron, Rhedita Major, and other Laurasian strongholds in the Galactic Borderlands.
 * September 5-Empress Consort Katharina departs from Laurasia Prime with an entourage of advisers and military commanders, including the Earl of Soria's son and heir, Lord Thomasius Howardis. She is intent on taking command of the forces arrayed against the Scottrians personally. The Lord Howardis, however, has tactical command of the Laurasian military forces.
 * September 9-The Battle of Grenada between the Laurasian Empire and the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria. Empress Consort Katharina has overall command over the Laurasian forces, with the Lord Howardis commanding them on the operational level. King Jamsius IV is the supreme commander of the Scottrian forces. The battle results in a complete and utter victory for the Laurasian Empire, as Jamsius IV (who had ruled from June 1688), nine of his earls, four of his generals, an archclainnarch, five clainnarchs, and at least thirty other prominent nobles are killed. The Laurasians capture some 400 Scottrian warships and destroy another 240, with a loss of only ten of their own vessels. Empress Consort Katharina commands for the corpse of King Jamsius, retrieved from the charred remains of his starship, to be hung on a transport and displayed to the men of the Laurasian force. News of the victory spreads like wildfire throughout the Laurasian Empire, and celebrations are held on worlds from Laurasia Prime to Kimania and Hunt Major. Jamsius V, who is barely a year and a half old at this time, becomes King of Scottria as a result of his father's death, with his mother, Queen-Dowager Constantia, as his regent. Constantia wishes for an immediate peace with the Laurasian Empire, but the Regency Council obstructs her.
 * September 12-Reconquest of Nicole and Redia by forces under the command of the Lord Howardis.
 * September 21-Coronation of King Jamsius V of Scottria on Ediania.
 * September 29-The Laurasians end all further Scottrian raiding expeditions into Laurasian territory.
 * October 4-Battle of Kaluna, resulting in decisive victory for the Laurasian Empire.
 * October 11-Empress Consort Katharina miscarries another child on Sejucia Major; this one is also a daughter.
 * October 12-Devily is stormed by a Laurasian detachment under the command of the Earl of Soria and the Lord Howardis.
 * October 24-Patricia I conquered by the Laurasian Empire.
 * October 29-November 6-Genoa and the Homi regions of the Galactic Barrier are subdued by forces of the Laurasian Empire.
 * November 12-Barching besieged by a Laurasian force. It falls on November 14.
 * December 3-Scottrian counteroffensive from Kathy and Cania is foiled by Laurasian forces in the Battle of Sasha VI.
 * December 29-Hidemnia Sauria is stormed by the Laurasian Empire.

1714

 * January 2-Kathy Minor is conquered by the Lord Howardis; for this victory, his father, the Earl of Soria, will be promoted to become Duke of Norfolkius by Emperor Antigonus III.
 * January 17-Cane and Kathy Major are both conquered by the Lord Howardis on this same day. The Scotrrian Queen-Regent Constantia continues to struggle with the Regency Council to open negotiations for peace with the Laurasian Empire.
 * January 28-Siege of Rasdalla Major by forces of the Laurasian Empire commences.
 * February 15-Rasdalla Major falls to the Laurasian Empire. The Lord Howardis commands for the world's inhabitants to be treated with leniency.
 * February 22-March 13-Rogerian Cluster secured by the Laurasian Empire.
 * March 8-Sir Tacitus Knollysis, destined to become Vice-Chamberlain of the Imperial Household, Minister of Culture and Communications, and Director of the Imperial Commission of Ecclesiastical Economy under the Empress Aurelia the Great, is born on Azatha II. He is the eldest son of Sir Willanius Knollys (1668-1721), who was one of the Ushers of the Imperial Household and Secretary of Household Correspondence to both Neuchrus I and his son Antigonus III, and his wife Laetita (1676-1757), who was the daughter of Sir Apollodorus Vixien (1651-1724), a prominent poet and muse at the Imperial Court. Knollysis will become the father of Lady Laetita Knollysis, later Countess of both Estatius and Leicesterius, and one of the most prominent noblewomen during the latter decades of the eighteenth century. He will be raised at the estate of Rotherfaldian Greys, which was acquired by his father in July 1714, four months after his birth.
 * March 29-Emperor Antigonus III storms the Franconian stronghold of Theourbanne.
 * April 4-Laurasian conquest of Seeben finally compels the Regency Council to yield to Queen-Consort Constantia's pleas, and to request negotiations with the Laurasian Empire. Empress Consort Katharina, acting on orders from her husband, terminates all military operations into Scottrian territory.
 * April 22-Conference is opened at the Riverite Asteroid Belt for delegations of the Laurasian Empire and Scottrian Kingdom. Laurasian interests are represented at the conference by the Lord Howardis.
 * May 23-Treaty of the Riverite Asteroid Belt is signed between the Laurasian Empire and the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria, bringing an end to hostilities between the two powers. As a result of this treaty, the Laurasian Empire acquires the strongholds of the Rogerian Cluster and the Western Hypasian Strongholds of Thak Duro, Guh Naso, and Pram Buhdamidal. The Emperor Antigonus III's rule over the territories of the defunct Vectorian Empire is acknowledged, and the Scottrian Government is to pay a financial indemnity to the Imperial Laurasian Government. In return, the Laurasian Emperor restores Rasdalla and Cania to the rule of the Kingdom of Scottria, promises to maintain reduced garrisons at Nicole and Redia, and returns the body of King Jamsius IV for formal burial on Ediania.
 * May 29-Treaty of the Riverite Asteroid Belt is ratified by Emperor Antigonus III.
 * June 2-Regency Council of Scottria ratify Treaty of Riverite Asteroid Belt.
 * June 6-Body of King Jamsius IV is handed over by the Laurasian ambassador to the Scottrian court, Sir Demetrius Pauladius, on Ediania.
 * June 12-Funeral of King Jamsius IV on Ediania.
 * June 21-Truce of Parrs is signed by the Laurasian Empire, Franconia, and the Spamalkan Empire, paving the way for a peace conference among the three powers.
 * August 1-On August 1, 1714, Queen Annavia I of Vendragia & Irvania died, aged 49. The Queen of Vendragia, who had never enjoyed stellar health, had always suffered from the effects of numerous miscarriages resulting from her seventeen pregnancies. Overweight by the time she acceded to the throne, Annavia eventually lost the ability to walk by January 1713, and was forced to rely upon an automated motor wheelchair. She was struck down with Tyrone's fever in December 1713, and many were then fearful that she would die. In March 1714, the Queen had suffered another bout of illness. Concerns about governmental affairs, particularly over her chief financial officer Harley, dominated her attention through July 1714; her decline became more and more obvious to her subjects. Annavia was rendered unable to speak by a stroke on July 30, 1714, and died two days later. She was buried beside her husband and children on August 28, 1714. In accordance with the arrangements of the Statutes of Succession of 1701 and 1705, Annavia was now succeeded by the newly-acceded Elector of Hanover, Georg, who had succeeded his father upon his death in May 1714. Georg, aged fifty-three at the time of his accession to the Vendragian throne, would not arrive in his new realms until October of that year. A personal union between Vendragia and Hanover was therefore created, which would ultimately be formalized into a absolute union (1769).
 * August 6-Queen-Dowager Constantia of Scottria marries Archilan Douglain of Lernax, a prominent Scottrian nobleman and government official. As a result, she is forced to give up her regency of the Scottrian State.
 * August 7-Treaty of Dunkirka is signed by the Laurasian Empire, the Serene Kingdom of Franconia, and the Holy Spamalkan Empire, providing for the status quo ante bellum in territorial matters. However, the Imperial Laurasian Government is to be compensated for all military expenses; to receive transit and commerical privileges in Franconian territory; and the ability to protect foreign subjects in Franconian territory from undue exactions by the Franconian government. Also, by the terms of this treaty, the Emperor Antigonus III's younger sister, Grand Princess Octavia, is formally engaged to be married to King Lujak XII, in order to cement relations between Laurasia and Franconia. The King of Franconia was also motivated by a concern to obtain a heir of his own body. He had divorced his first wife, Joan of Franconia, Duchess of Berry, in December 1698, so that he could marry the widow of his predecessor Charman II, the Duchess Anna of Brittany (Joan died on February 4, 1705, at the age of 40). Their marriage, contracted on January 8, 1699, had failed to produce any surviving children. Anna had died on January 9, 1714, from a kidney-stone attack at Blois, aged only 36. Lujak therefore strove to obtain someone of his own blood to succeed him upon his death, and viewed a marriage to the Grand Princess Octavia as a means of obtaining this. Franconia is to pay a dowry for the Grand Princess and to acknowledge her rights as Queen-Consort of Franconia.
 * August 26-Emperor Antigonus III returns from his campaigns in the Amulak Spiral; the regency of Empress-Consort Katharina, which had been in his absence, therefore ends.
 * October 9-Marriage of Laurasian Grand Princess Octavia and Franconian King Lujak XII on Parri in the Amulak Spiral. The King, who is 52 years old, inspires no love in his wife, who is only eighteen at the time. Octavia resents her brother, Emperor Antigonus, for forcing her to marry this man.
 * November 5-Octavia is crowned Queen-Consort of Franconia on Parri.
 * November 29-Border skirmish between Laurasian and Marasharite forces at Izzia. This increases the already inflamed tensions between the two Empires, especially as Haynsian raids against Adrianne, Keeley, the Galactic Frontier Route, Simmons, Belkadan, Karakorum, Sernapasia, Xilania Minor, Nandia, and other Laurasian worlds in the Outer Borderlands had become more common over the preceding three years.
 * December 8-A Laurasian commercial convoy at Tiona is impounded by Marasharite authorities. A diplomatic protest from the Laurasian Ambassador to the Court of Marasharita, Sir Lampos Astrovich (1660-1734), falls on deaf ears, and Emperor Ahmad III authorizes for intelligence expeditions at the Laurasian-Marasharite border.
 * December 24-Declaration of war by Marasharite Emperor Ahmad III on the Laurasian Empire, instigating the first Laurasian-Marasharite War of the eighteenth century. Marasharite forces conquer Simmons, Tiona, Chapman, and Kaming before the year is out. Emperor Antigonus III once again takes command of his military forces, and deploys squadrons at Izzia, Roxuli, Abraham, Greyson, Lawson, Kledis Var, Xilania Major, and Calrissian for a counter-offensive against Marasharite positions.

1715

 * January 1-King Lujak XII of Franconia, whose health had been ailing for years, and who was not able to consummate his marriage with his Laurasian Queen-Consort Octavia, dies, barely four months after their marriage. He had ruled since 1698. Because he had no children, the King of Franconia is succeeded by his nephew Franjak I. Octavia, now Queen-Dowager of Franconia at the age of eighteen, is compelled to return immediately to the Laurasian Empire and to her brother's court on Laurasia Prime. Relations between Laurasia and Franconia nevertheless remain stable at this time.
 * January 6-Marasharite offensive against Natalie and Keeley is repelled by Laurasian forces.
 * January 17-Simmons is reconquered by Emperor Antigonus III.
 * January 22-The Laurasians win the Battle of Jennia.
 * January 25-Franjak I is crowned King of Franconia.
 * February 9-Octavia, Queen-Dowager of Franconia, returns to Laurasia Prime after her brief, loveless marriage with the deceased King Lujak. She immediately begins a relationship with her true love, Carolus Brandeius, Duke of Sufforia, one of her brother, the Emperor's closest friends and associates.
 * February 11-Empress Consort Katharina gives birth to a stillborn son at Teagallorian Palace on Caladaria.
 * February 19-Marasharite positions at Margery and Kaming are stormed by Laurasian forces.
 * March 5-Private marriage of Grand Princess Octavia and Duke Carolus of Sufforia at his family's estate on Mumbraine.
 * March 17-A Haynsian expedition against Tyson and Vandross is defeated in the Battle of Jamukha.
 * March 29-The Haynsian Despot Qaplan-Empi I Karany is again deposed from the Haynsian throne, as a result of the failure of the Despot to properly reinforce his Marasharite suzerains in Olthenia and the Pazak Cluster against the Holy Austarlian Empire. Qaplan-Empi was forced to retire to Topacia again, and was succeeded by his cousin Devrai I Karany, grandson of Selyametta I Karany (Despot 1608-1610). Devrai is aged sixty-eight at his accession to the Haynsian throne.
 * April 4-The Laurasians storm the Marasharite outposts on Carly and Billy Gasis, threatening the outskirts of the Muggal Cluster.
 * May 13-Public marriage of Grand Princess Octavia and Duke Carolus of Sufforia, after they had obtained permission from the Emperor for public celebration of their union.
 * May 26-Laurasian offensive against Karlong and Ung is repelled by the Marasharite General Abstalfa Salid. Salid briefly conquers Adrianne, but is then driven away by the Lord Howardis (now Earl of Soria).
 * June 2-Donna is stormed by a Laurasian expeditionary force.
 * June 11-Angelica Major successfully secured against Marasharite forces.
 * July 9-12-Billy and Latrice are besieged and conquered by Laurasian forces.
 * July 22-Pelaski conquered by a Laurasian task force.
 * August 4-September 16-Laurasian units harry the Northern Reaches and storm Ba'dai and Tokyang.
 * September 22-The Lady Annaliese of Denver, destined to be the fourth wife and Empress Consort of Antigonus III, is born at the Drevian Palace on Denver to Duke Johavar of Denver (1690-1739) and his wife, Duchess Marvana of Julich (1691-1743).
 * October 4-Second Laurasian offensive against Karlong is once again blunted by General Abstalfa Salid.
 * October 15-Haynsian expedition against Scanlan and Joyner results in severe damage to those star systems and the destruction of Scanlianian agricultural outposts.
 * October 22-A Laurasian force destroys a Haynsian convoy at Morlan.
 * October 29-Kia is stormed by Laurasian troops.
 * November 6-11-Marasharite counter-offensive against Valeris V and Sogan ends in failure.
 * November 21-Death of Dejanik King Mersius V, who had reigned since 1706. The Laurasian Emperor Antigonus III, eager to assert Laurasian influence in the Dejanik Commonwealth, would sponsor the election of Vorrus I.
 * December 9-Vorrus I, with the assistance of Laurasian bribes and favors to members of the Diet, is elected King of the Dejanik Commonwealth. He will be crowned on January 15 of the following year.
 * December 24-
 * By 1715, the Emperor Antigonus III had tired of the ministers who had served his father: namely, the Lord Verran, Chief Procurator Warhamius, and Privy Seal Foxius. He now desired another who would not defer in enforcing his will, and in overseeing the daily operations of the Imperial Laurasian Government. The Emperor was blessed that he had that person: in Thomasius Wolesius. Wolesius, unlike many of the Emperor's courtiers and ministers, was of very humble origins. He had been born on February 18, 1673, at Merandaz, the son of Antiochus Wolesius and his wife Didymeia. His father was an industrial processing worker; he also operated a meat-packing business, for which Wolesius would be derided in later years as the "son of a butcher". His mother was a clerk, and worked as a part-time language instructor. Although his parents could, at best, be described as lower middle class, they were nevertheless determined that their son would excel in school, and they wished for nothing but the best for him. Wolesius, who was therefore pushed by his parents, excelled academically. He attended, and graduated from, St. Ipswhich High School on Merandaz and Magadlen Preparatory Academy at Guyah. In 1690, he was elected Valedictorian of his class at the Preparatory Academy; he was a member of the theology, forensics, and literature clubs; and picked up a firm grasp of up to seven different languages. Wolesius then won a full-ride academic scholarship to attend the University of Laurasia Prime, where he matriculated in Theology and in Administrative Sciences (tuition at the Empire's universities and colleges would not abolished until 1786). Graduating from the University with a B.A. in Theology, in 1696, Wolesius then went on to attend the Peter and Paul Eccleasticial Academy in Soriana, graduating magna cum laude with a Master's in Theological Practice (1697), and received his formal ordination, as a priest of the Imperial Almitian Church, on March 18, 1698.
 * He then became a member of the faculty of the Imperial Academy of Theological Studies on Tommy, and remained there until 1709. In 1700, he became a Adjunct Instructor at the Church's Collegiate of St. Mary's in Bolgadvich, Gdov, being promoted to full Professor in 1706. In 1703, he served as a chaplain to Chief Procurator Ulysses Drevich, and became an Associate Cleric of the Imperial Household. From 1707 to 1709, Wolesius served Sir Ricomedius Nanfan, and was appointed Chief Chaplain of his household. After Nanfan's death in May 1709, he resigned from the Academy of Theological Studies and entered the Imperial Household's service; he was to remain a Lecturer at the Church's Collegiate of St. Mary's until 1726. In July 1709, Wolesius was appointed Almoner of the Household by Emperor Antigonus, who noticed his skill at administration and at finances. Wolesius rose quickly, and in 1712, Emperor Neuchrus named him to the Imperial Privy Council. Two years later, on September 9, 1714, Wolesius became Cardinal of the Laurasia Prime Purse Region, a startling rise for one who had just been ordinated fifteen years earlier. Then, on December 24, 1715, the Emperor appointed him as Chancellor of the Laurasian Empire and Procurator-General of the Governing Senate. Wolesius was now the Emperor's chief minister, and would remain so for fourteen years. He became known for his great work ethic, and his dedication to the Empire, and to the Emperor. Wolesius would rarely disappoint his imperial master in the succeeding years.
 * December 29-Laurasian troops storm Illumis.

1716

 * January 9-12-Laurasian conquest of Kurdi and Touforia.
 * January 25-Death of Spamalkan Emperor Fe'ro II, who had been a close ally and friend of the Laurasian Emperors Neuchrus I and Antigonus III. He had ruled since 1679 and was senior monarch at the time of his death. Fe'ro's daughter Joaha becomes Empress of Spamalka; she is paranoid and mentally unbalanced, however, and her reign will last only for the next three years. Fe'ro is succeeded as senior monarch by the Doge of the Haxonian Confederacy, 79-year old Leonardo Loredan. By this point, all heads of state in the Caladarian Galaxy, the Amulak Spiral, and their associated satellite galaxies have acceded to their thrones within the eighteenth century, the earliest point in history that this phenomenon occurred.
 * February 18-The Laurasian Empress Didymeia I the Terrible (1753-1758), eldest surviving child and daughter of Emperor Antigonus III, with his first wife and consort Katharina of Shenandoah, is born at the Royal Hospital Quarters, Quencilvanian Palace, Christiania, on Laurasia Prime. Her birth, after so many failures, is greeted with much joy by the Emperor, although he hopes still for a son. Didymeia, however, is her father's sole heiress apparent at this point, and will be formally designated as such on February 24, the day of her christening.
 * February 27-Laurasian conquest of Ung compels Marasharite Emperor Ahmad III to agree to peace negotiations with the Laurasian Empire. A truce is signed on March 5.
 * March 17-Conference opened between Laurasian and Marasharite Empires at Imegina over the matter of a peace treaty.
 * July 23-Treaty of Imegina brings an end to the First Laurasian-Marasharite War of the eighteenth century. As a result of this treaty, the Laurasian Empire acquires recognition of its rule over the Cosite and Satian strongholds, the Galactic Frontier Route, and Abrianne. Ahmad III also acknowledges the Laurasian acquisition of Vector Prime and Rogeria in the Galactic Borderlands. Carly, Billy Gasis, Pelaski, and Kia are to be conceded to the authority of the Laurasian Empire. Latrice and Billy will be occupied by Laurasian forces for a period of five years, while all other territories occupied by Laurasian arms will be restored to Marasharite authority immediately. The Marasharites also agree to respect the rights of the Laurasian Embassy at the Marasharite Court and to compensate the Imperial Laurasian Government for military expenses. The Treaty of Imegina will hold for the next seven years.
 * November 25-Formation of the Tarnograd Confederation by pro-Laurasian nobles in the Dejanik Commonwealth. These nobles were opposed to King Vorrus I and his attempts to maintain the legislative and financial prerogatives of his predecessors of the Westonian Dynasty. Laurasian Emperor Antigonus III poses as the mediator between the Confederation and the King for the next two months.

1717

 * January 28-Birth of the Marasharite Emperor Mustapha III (1757-1774), at the Sultanic Palace on Topacia. He is the elder son of the reigning Marasharite Emperor, Ahmad, and his senior consort Emine Mishirah (1694-1732).
 * February 1-The Dejanik Diet is convened on the initiative of the Laurasian Ambassador to the Dejanik Court, supported by mercenaries and funds to bribe and blackmail members of the Dejanik government. This diet is turned into a Confederated Assembly, meaning its decisions would be by majority vote. The terms presented to the Diet were drafted by Chancellor Wolesius with the approval of the Emperor Antigonus. The terms of the diet stipulated that the Tarnograd Confederation would be dissolved. The Golden Liberties, which had been upheld by Dejanik monarchs for nearly two centuries, are reaffirmed. The King of Dejanica is forbidden to imprison people without due process of law; must avoid offensive wars against Dejanican neighbors; and should not intervene in the domestic affairs of any other state. The rights of the Dejanik hetmarshals and sejimiks were restricted, and the Dejanik Diet was confirmed as the supreme body of state in the Commonwealth, with legislative prerogative and the right to levy all taxes in Dejanik territory. The Diet Resolution also declared that troops could only be billeted on state property; that minorities in Dejanik territory should be protected from the intrusiveness of government policy; that the army should be strictly limited in size; and that the Dejanik government should look to the Imperial Laurasian Empire as the "guarantor" of the settlement. The Emperor of Laurasia was to have the right to intervene in Dejanik affairs if the Resolutions were threatened. The Diet accepted the Resolutions, and then dissolved itself from this particular meeting.
 * March 11-Spamalkan Empress Joa'ha, Austarlian Emperor Char'vak V, and King Franjak I of Franconia sign the Treaty of Cambrai, establishing a military alliance among the three states. This treaty alarms the Laurasian Emperor Antigonus III, who believes (correctly) that the coalition is opposed to Laurasian influence in the Amulak Spiral.
 * April 14-The Haynsian Despot Devrai I Karany, accused of incompetence in the Budkozina Offensives against the Holy Austarlian Empire, is forced to abdicate from the Haynsian throne. He is deposed while he was still returning from the theater of war back to the Despotate. His cousin Bryan IV, another son of Jay IX Karany, who had previously served as Martial Viceroy of Perekop and “Kalga” of the Haynsian Elite Corps, becomes Despot on the initiative of the Emperor Ahmad. Devrai I dies at Yanboulu on June 17, barely two months after his deposition from the throne.
 * May 13-The future Austarlian Empress Mar'va Tarvania (1740-1780), is born at the Hofburg Palace on Vienna, the capital star system of the Austarlian Empire. She was born shortly after the premature death of her elder brother, Archduke Lea'dus of Inner Austarlia, who had died on November 4, 1716, at the age of seven months. Her parents were the Austarlian Emperor Char'vak V and his wife, Elisabeth Christine of Wolfenbruttel (1691-1750). Marva Tarvania's birth was disappointing to her father, who as the last male representative of the Hapsburg dynasty of Austarlia, wished for a son to succeed him. He was never able to overcome this feeling of resentment, although his Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 had overturned Salic law and permitted the succession of females to the Austarlian throne. Mar'va Tarvania is destined to be the archenemy of the Pruthian Emperor Pru'a IX the Great, five years her senior, and the contemporary of the Laurasian Empress Aurelia the Great, who was to be sixteen years her junior.
 * July 16-Grand Princess Octavia, Duchess of Sufforia, gives birth to Franconia Brandeis, the future mother of the ill-fated Nine Day's Empress Minerva Greysius.
 * October 31-The Laurasian monk Martinius Lutheranius posts his 95 Theses at St. Wittense's Cathedral on Manzo. This instigates the Laurasian Reformation, which will see the entire administrative structure, ceremony, and rituals of the Imperial Almitian Church of the Laurasian Empire completely reformed.

1718

 * January 25-Cardinal Wolesius is made the highest-ranking member of the Almitian Holy Synod and is given authority by Emperor Antigonus to define the governmental position on religious issues.
 * March 3-Death of the former Haynsian Despot Neal IV Karany, who had been deposed from the Haynsian throne in 1713. He dies at Chesma in the Great Tesmanian Cloud, to where he had been exiled again by the Marasharite Emperor Ahmad III.
 * October 2-After several months of negotiations conducted by Chancellor Wolesius, in response to the Treaty of Cambrai of the previous year, the Treaty of Christiania is signed by delegations from the Laurasian Empire, Serene Kingdom of Franconia, Holy Spamalkan Empire, Austarlian Empire, Autocratic Pruthian Empire, Dejanik Commonwealth, and twenty lesser powers of the Amulak Spiral. The Marasharite Empire and Haynsian Despotate, as well as the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria, refuse to commit themselves to this agreement. The Treaty of Christiania proved for "peaceful diplomatic intercourse among the powers involved" and obliged all powers to come to each other's assistance if attacked by a common enemy. Although the treaty was short-lived (lasting for only two years), it nevertheless demonstrated the Laurasian hope to remain free from future entanglements in the Amulak Spiral.
 * October 5-Emperor Antigonus III's daughter and heir apparent, Grand Princess Didymeia, is formally engaged to the Dauphin of Franconia. The engagement will be terminated in January 1721.
 * November 18-Empress Consort Katharina miscarries a daughter. This marks the end of her last pregnancy. Emperor Antigonus III is by now conceiving ideas of how to obtain for himself a legitimate male heir, since his wife is "incapable" of producing one for him.

1719

 * January 12-On January 12, 1719, the Holy Spamalkan Empress Jo'aha I, the wife of the late Grand Duke of Durthia and Burgundy, Philivus I, and herself Grand Duchess of the Durthian States since the abdication of Margaret of Burgundy in her favor three years earlier, died at the Convent of Santa Clara in Tordesillas. She was thirty-nine years old at the time of her death. Jo'aha's mental unbalance had become more pronounced during the course of her short reign. Ravaged with her thoughts of her husband, she had become reluctant to eat, to drink, or to emerge from her bedchambers. Her son, Char'va, heir-apparent to the Spamalkan and Durthian thrones, had in November 1717 been authorized by the Cortes of Madrid to exercise the office of Regent of the Holy Spamalkan Empire, and to take charge of the affairs of the civil service, general administration, and imperial household. Thus, by the time of her death, Jo'aha was effectively a figurehead. Her son, now eighteen years old, and therefore at the age of majority, formally acceded to become Holy Spamalkan Emperor. Char'va I, as he was now known, would rule until his abdication from the throne in January 1756. Joa'aha was buried at the Capilla Royal in Grenada, on her son's orders, on March 2, 1719.
 * March 22-Birth of Katharina Willoughby, the future Duchess of Sufforia and the fourth and final wife of the Emperor's friend, Carolus Brandeis, Duke of Sufforia. She is the daughter of Willanius Willoughby, 11th Baron Willoughby de Eresby and his second wife, the Spamalakan Lady Maria de Salinas, former servant of Empress-Consort Katharina of Shenandoah. Katharina will eventually become the guardian of Katharina Parsius's daughter, Lady Didymeia Seymouris, Baroness (later Duchess) of Kendalia.
 * March 31-Birth of the future King of Franconia Hensios II (1747-1759) at the Chateau de Saint-German-en Laye. He is the second surviving son of King Franjak I of Franconia by his wife Claude, Duchess of Brittany. Hensios's elder brother, Fransios, Dauphin and Duke of Brittany, would eventually die in 1736, leaving him as heir to the throne. His marriage to Catharina d'Medici would take place in 1733, when they were both fourteen years old.
 * April 13-Birth of Catharina d'Medici (1719-1789), future Queen Consort of the Serene Kingdom of Franconia, regent for her sons Franjak II and Charman III, and one of the most powerful figures in extra-galactic civilization for over four decades. Catharina is born on Florence, the capital world of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, which was at that time a allied state of the Holy Austarlian Empire. Her father is Lorenzo II de Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Duke of Urbino, and her mother is Madeleine de la Tour d'Auvergne, Countess of Boulougone and member of one of the most prominent Franconian noble houses. Both of Catharina's parents die within a month of her birth, and she will be raised by her aunt, Clarice d'Medici.
 * June 15-Lady Demetria Lutheranis (1698-1740), who had become the Emperor Antigonus III's mistress in 1715, gives birth to the Emperor Antigonus III's illegitimate son, Antigonus Lutheranis, in Bathelia, Lusculum, Laurasian Empire.

1720

 * February 5-Antonia Boleyenia, who had become the Emperor's Mistress in March 1719 and had become his predominant love interest following the birth of his illegitimate son by Lady Demetria Lutheranis in June of that year, is married to Sir Willanius Caranius, one of the grooms of His Majesty's Privy Chamber. The Emperor, seeking to divert attention from his relationship with Lady Boleyenia, and to provide her a stable marriage with a husband loyal to the Imperial State, was the chief guest at the marriage ceremony. Her father, Sir Thomasius Boleyenia, Ambassador of the Laurasian Empire to the Serene Kingdom of Franconia, and one of the Empire's most prominent diplomats, gives the bride away to her groom.
 * May 6-19-Spamalkan Emperor Char'va I, determined to maintain the strong relationship with the Laurasian Empire which had been established by his grandparents Fresia I and Fe'ro II, visits the dominions of the Laurasian Empire. Emperor Antigonus the Extravagant greets him at Belkadan, and escorts him to Laurasia Prime, where he is entertained for three days. He becomes the first foreign sovereign from the Amulak Spiral ever to visit on invitation from the Imperial Laurasian Government (the next such visit would be that of Austarlian Emperor Joseth II in 1780, sixty years later). The two Emperors discuss Franconian, Austarlian, and Marasharite affairs during Char'va's visit.
 * June 8-26-Emperor Antigonus III of Laurasia and King Franjak I of Franconia hold a series of meetings, known as the Fields of the Rings of Gold, in the Goldcar IV star system, on the outskirts of Franconian territory. The first of their meetings took place barely a month after Char'va I had departed from Laurasian territory. Emperor Antigonus was determined to meet both of his fellow monarchs and to conduct negotiations with them each. Franjak, on his part, wished to establish an anti-Spamalkan alliance with the Laurasian Empire, and lured Antigonus with the promise of territorial gains in the Little Amulak Cloud at Spamalkan expense. The meeting however, despite all of the lavishness and the festivities which accompanied it, eventually turned sour. Franjak defeated Antigonus in a friendly joust; the Emperor considered himself humiliated to have lost such a contest of honor. Eventually, on June 26, the two monarchs departed with their entourages, and Franjak returned to Parri. Antigonus, however, now proceeded to Graveline's Mist.
 * July 10-Second meeting of Emperor Antigonus III and Emperor Char'va I, this time at Graveline's Mist in the Spamalkan Empire. The two monarchs discuss the possibility of an anti-Franconian military alliance, completely in contrast to what Antigonus had discussed with Franjak barely a month earlier.
 * September 13-Birth of the future Chancellor and Lord Treasurer of the Laurasian Empire, and leading minister under the Empress Aurelia the Great, Sir Willanius Cecilis, 1st Baron Burghley. He is born in Bournanian City, Taurasia, the son of Sir Antiochus Cecilis, and his wife Demetria Hemingta. Sir Antiochus (who would die March 19, 1753), served Antigonus III and Demetrius II in various capacities, as a page, Groom of the Robes, and constable of Warvacak Palace on Sarah. He eventually ascended to become Police Commissioner for Bouranian City in 1739. Cecilis's mother Demetria (who would die on March 22, 1787 at the age of 88) was heiress of Sir Willanius Hemingta of Clackimaris (died 1756).

1721

 * March 9-The Lady Katharina Howardis, destined to become the fifth wife and Empress Consort of Antigonus III, is born at the Hospital of the Diplomatic Palace, Christiania, Laurasia Prime, Laurasian Empire. She is the second daughter and fifth child of Lord Edmundis Howardis (1678-1739) and his wife Livilla Plausia (1680-1731).
 * May 17-Edwardis Staffordius, the Duke of Americana, is executed at the Fortress of Baureux in Christiania, Laurasia Prime for high treason. Straffordius, who had become a prominent nobleman in the reign of the Emperor Neuchrus the Reformer, was the leader of a faction at the Imperial Court opposed to the influence of low-born upstarts, such as Cardinal Wolesius, Chancellor of the Laurasian Empire. His wealth, family connections, and influence at the Imperial Court alarmed the Emperor Antigonus, who believed that his execution was necessary to maintain his authority and the stability of the Imperial Court. The charges on which Straffordius was convicted were bogus: listening to prophecies of the Emperor's death, plotting to change the imperial succession, and seeking to "sow discord" between the Emperor and his most trusted public officials. Nevertheless, this was an autocracy, and the Emperor's word was law. Straffordius's estates and wealth were confiscated by the Emperor. In June 1793, however, an imperial commission of the Governing Senate would find him innocent, and seventy-two years after his death, he would be pardoned by Empress Aurelia the Great.
 * June 21-Death of Leonardo Loredan, the longest-serving Doge of the Haxonian Confederacy during the eighteenth century (19 years) and senior monarch of extra-galactic civilization at the time of his death. He was also the oldest head of state (84). Loredan is succeeded as senior monarch by the Marasharite Emperor Ahmad III, who will hold that title for the next nine years. The Haxonian Admiral and Senator Antonio Grimani, who was Loredan's senior by two years, was elected as Doge following Loredan's death, and crowned on June 27. He became the oldest individual ever to become Doge and oldest living monarch from the moment of his accession.
 * August 15-The Treaty of Burgia is signed by the Laurasian and Spamalkan Empires, providing for a joint invasion of the Serene Kingdom of Franconia by March 1723. Char'va I had decided that Antigonus III would be a useful ally; the Emperor of Laurasia, likewise, believed that this was the opportunity to establish Laurasian suzerainty over Franconian territories in the Little Amulak Cloud. Laurasian military forces in the Dasian Heartland and Galactic Void are now being mobilized for the conflict that is sure to come.
 * October 11-Emperor Antigonus III issues a imperial proclamation condemning the religious theories presented by Martinius Lutheranius and forbidding any further discussion of "changing the customs of the Almitian Church." Chief Procurator of the Holy Synod Willanius Warhamius excommunicates Lutheranius, on the Emperor's orders, and commands for his Theses to be burned at public locations throughout the Empire.
 * November 25-The 400th anniversary of the foundation of the Laurasian Empire. Emperor Antigonus III has the honor of presiding over the festivities for this occasion, and ensured that the ceremonies were grand, exceeding any held before in the history of the Empire. The Imperial Court is taken up in a spirit of celebration, and the Emperor proclaims a public holiday for all of his subjects. He himself visited the tomb of Seleucus the Victor and paid his respects to the founder of the Empire. By this point, the Laurasian Empire dominated the Caladarian Galaxy outside of the Galactic Borderlands, spanning from the Galactic Frontier Route and the Dasian Heartland in the northern outskirts, all the way across to the Wild Marshes, Hutsite Reaches, Southern Galactic Borderlands, and Southern Barsar Regions in the southern outskirts. Some forty-five million inhabited star systems acknowledged Laurasian authority, and the Empire now governed most of the historic worlds and species of known space, of both the Pre-Timurid and the Barbarian eras. The Marasharites, Dejaniks, Scottrians, and Haynsians, however, still governed the majority of the central and northern Galactic Borderlands and parts of the Wild Marshes, as well as the two satellite galaxies of the Angelina Spiral and the Great Tesmanian Cloud. By the end of the century, however, those regions will be subdued.
 * November 29-Anna Boleyenia, who had been residing with her father Sir Thomasius Boleyenia at the Franconian Court, is recalled to Laurasia Prime by the Imperial Chancellory. This was part of the plans being made by the Imperial Laurasian Government for the ultimate commencement of hostilities with the Franconians.

1722

 * January 24-Treaty of Kelby between the Laurasian and Spamalkan Empires confirms the arrangements of the Treaty of Burgia, providing for the commencement of campaigns against Franconia by March of the following year.
 * March 7-Anna Boleyenia makes her debut at the Imperial Court, alongside her sister Lady Antonia Boleyenia (who had already had an affair with Emperor Antigonus), and impresses all with her performance in a court pageant. She played the role of "Perseverance", and first attracted the attention of Emperor Antigonus. The Lady Boleyenia is now twenty-one years old, past the age that a Laurasian noble lady generally married in the eighteenth century, but still a fair maiden to be caught by others.
 * July 7-The Earl of Soria is appointed by Emperor Antigonus III to be the operational commander of the forces being assembled for operations in Franconian territory.

1723

 * January 17-Sir Thomasius Morius becomes Vice-Governor General of the Governing Senate and Minister of the Imperial Chancellory, under the tutelage and watch of Chancellor Wolesius. Morius becomes one of the most efficient and hard-working officials of the Imperial Government, and gains the notice of Emperor Antigonus himself.
 * March 5-Declaration of war by Emperor Antigonus III against King Franjak I of Franconia, commencing the second Laurasian-Franconian War of the eighteenth century. Laurasian forces, granted rights of military access through Spamalkan territory, conquer Piccardia and Vera within two months.
 * May 7-Death of Doge Antonio Grimani of the Haxonian Confederacy, who was eighty-eight years old at the time of his death. He is succeeded as Doge by the Haxonian General and Provost-Governor Andrea Gritti, who had a distinguished military and diplomatic career in the service of the Confederacy.
 * September 16-Laurasians defeat the Franconians in the Battle of Brewster, preventing a Franconian counteroffensive to the Dasian Heartland.
 * September 29-Treaty of Carva signed by the Serene Kingdom of Franconia and the Marasharite Empire, providing for a common military and diplomatic alliance against the Laurasian Empire. Emperor Ahmad III was alarmed by Laurasian territorial and political ambitions, and wished to restrict these.
 * October 7-Marasharite High Council issues a ultimatum to the Imperial Laurasian Government, demanding for Emperor Antigonus to begin negotiations with the Franconian Government and to end his interference in the affairs of the Amulak Spiral. Antigonus scorns the Marasharite demands and refuses to even respond to the ultimatum.
 * October 14-Marasharite High Council issues a declaration of war against the Laurasian and Spamalkan Empires, in support of its Franconian allies. Second Laurasian-Marasharite War of the eighteenth century commences.
 * October 26-Haynsian expedition against Keeley and Tiona is foiled by Laurasian barrier garrisons.
 * November 4-Karlong sacked by a Laurasian task fleet.
 * November 17-Battle of Thesio, resulting in a stalemate between Laurasian and Franconian forces.
 * November 29-December 4- The Spamalkans repel a Franconian offensive against Dunkirk and Graveline's Mist.
 * December 17- Laurasian task fleet defeats Haynsian armada in the Battle of Seeger.
 * December 23-Laurasian fleet storms Ba'dai and secures Kia from Marasharite offensives.

1724

 * January 4-Marasharite General Al-Tarik storms the Laurasian colony on Qu'emia and inflicts severe damage to the Laurasian factories, spaceport, and military arsenal in that star system.
 * January 16-Laurasian offensive against the Northern Reaches is repulsed at the Battle of Kerch.
 * January 29-Laurasian force fails to conquer Illumis.
 * February 15-
 * The Franconians defeat the Lord Howardis in the Battle of Tascolne, and maintain their rule over Gascveria in the Great Amulak Spiral.
 * Peter von Biron, destined to become the last Duke of Northania (1769-1795), is born in Mitau, the capital city of the Duchy of Northania and Semigallia. He is the son of the future Duke Ernest Johann von Biron and his wife, Beninga Treyden.
 * February 27-Laurasian force sacks Marasharite defenses on Kumong.
 * March 10-Emperor Antigonus III suffers his first shockball accident in a game at the Fountain Court of Venasia Prime. He recovers within three days, and refusing to heed his doctor's advice to moderate his participation in the sport, resumes his shockball competitions with full vigor.
 * March 24-Death of the former Queen of Adrianne and Empress of the Laurasian Empire of Xilania, Zenobia, who had been a formidable enemy of the Emperor Aurelian the Savior. Since her defeat in 1673, she had been permitted by the Imperial Laurasian Government to reside in peace as a average Laurasian noblewoman on Rebecca. Zenobia had married and had three daughters with the Governing Senator Marcellus Petrus, who had died in 1704. Zenobia was 84 years old. By command of Emperor Antigonus III, she will be interned at the Westphalian Cathedral on April 9.
 * June 2-Laurasian force conquers Latrice and Billy once again from their Marasharite garrisons.
 * September 9-The Laurasians manage to defeat the Franconians in the Battle of Calar, and maintain control of the wormhole approaches to the Amulak Spiral.
 * July 16-Sexual relations between Emperor Antigonus III and his wife, Empress Consort Katharina, come to an end, as the Empress Consort is now past childbearing age. By now, she is obese and has lost her youthfulness and beauty.
 * August 12-The Haynsian Despot Bryan IV Karany, who had ruled since 1717, is forced to abdicate the Haynsian throne due to the failure of Haynsian raiding expeditions against the Dasian Heartland, Burglais Arm, and the Galactic Void. The Despot was also burdened by a string of taxation scandals at his court. He was now succeeded as Despot by his younger brother, who became Shannai II Karany. Shannai had previously served as Kalga of the Haynsian Guards and as Red-General of the Brigoff Stellar Nebula.
 * September 25-Al-Tarik is defeated by Howardis (now Duke of Norfolkius since his father's death on May 21), in the pitched Battle of Van Klep. As a result, Haynsian expeditions into the Hypasian and Morganian Provinces are halted, and the Laurasians manage to storm Karlong.
 * December 4-A Laurasian task force isolates Imegina from outside support by Marasharite units.