Bessen-Katzenelm

Kingdom of Bessen-Katzenelm Königreich Bessen-Katzenelm (Alemannisch)
Flag Coat of arms
Bessen-Katzenelm within Dolchland
Status	Consitituent state of Dolchland
Location	Dolchland
Capital	Heinfeldes
Official languages	Bessisch Alemannisch
Demonym(s)	Besser
Government
• King	Ernest II
• Minister-President	Rupert von Heifl
Legislature	Landtag
• Upper house	Grand Estates
• Lower house	House of the Commons
Establishment
• Formation of the archaic Kingdom of Besse	647
• Dissolution of the Kingdom	782
• Formation of the Margraviate of Katzenelm	893
• Formation of the Duchy of Heinfeldes-Besse	1044
• Unification of Bessen-Katzenelm	1482
• Reformation of the Kingdom	1701

The Kingdom of Bessen-Katzenelm (Alemannisch: Königreich Bessen-Katzenelm), commonly referred to as Bessen-Katzenelm or, informally, the Bessemark, is a semi-independent constituent state of the Empire of Dolchland. Located in an area historically referred to as the Bessemark, the Kingdom controls the whole area, and consistently comes to blows with neighbouring Wurveria. Bessen-Katzenelm lies on the border with Velaheria to the north, and is internally bordered the Kingdom of Wurveria to the east, Westervark to the south, and Tale-Schüssel, Tale-Flußstadt and Ersau and Kirchmarkt and Teilen to the southwest.

What would become the Bessemark region arose from much of the land of the archaic Kingdom of Bessen, an independent Kingdom from 647 to 782. Upon the dissolution of the Kingdom at the hands of a rising ($KINGDOM/EMPIRE), Bessen became a mess of tiny successor principalities. Some of these grew to prominence, most notably the Margraviate of Katzenelm, formed on the furthest borders of the region, and the Duchy of Heinfeldes-Besse around the city of Heinfeldes. With the union of these two states, the groundwork for a reforged Kingdom was laid. In 1701, the Kingdom was declared, with the Emperor's assent, with the monarchs of Bessen-Katzenelm owing essentially a debt of gratitude to the Emperors. Bessen-Katzenelm fought in the War of the Habstrian Succession, fighting mostly in the Drei Flüsse theatre against Lower Streckeburg, where the fighting drew to a stalemate.

Bessen-Katzenelm holds a great deal of sway over the modern Drei Flüsse region, with most of the former Großtal acknowledging Besser primacy in the region and Upper Streckeburg sharing the same dynasty as the kingdom. Further afield, Witternen also shares a close relationship to Bessen-Katzenelm due to their dynastic ties. Bessen-Katzenelm possesses a unique northern culture that has influence over other cultures in the area, and a populace who are proud of their heritage and the ancient nature of their Kingdom. The Kingdom possesses a sizeable economy, and contributes greatly to the wider Dolchlandic military, economy and cultural identity.

History

Main article: History of Bessen-Katzenelm

Antiquity

The ancient Besser people are believed to have belonged to a Proto-Dolchic culture, but it is theorised by most anthropologists that they arrived in their current location somewhat after the arrival of most other Proto-Dolchic groups. Their culture and traditions were quite distinct. Researchers into ancient Besser custom tend to agree that the Bessers had no concept of a kingship prior to their settling in the region that would later become Besse, and that their traditions involved horse-rearing, archery and the use of caravans rather than the creation of many permanent settlements, potentially indicating that their previous history was as decentralised nomadic clans prior to settling in Besse. Their language had likely already diverged to some degree, leading to some mutual unintelligibility between them and neighbouring tribes.

Ancient Besser horse-rearing techniques found their way across much of northern Dolchland, founding a great deal of the horse-based traditions of the region. Horse riders were prized warriors, and some of the earliest-found Besser artifacts are for use by riders and stablemasters, such as horse shoes, bits and stirrups.

Middle Ages

Main articles: Kingdom of Besse and Besse in the Middle Ages

In 647, the Besser people organised into the Kingdom of Besse under the Theoderingian dynasty. Under Theoderingian rule for over 100 years, Besse prospered and became a far larger state than it had been previously, controlling land across much of northern Dolchland and into southern Velaheria. With a brief intermission where Meremar ruled the Kingdom, the Theoderingians proved themselves competent rulers, though their comparitively primative traditions left them open to invasion by the more westerly Dolchic groups.

The succession of Besser Kings is quite well recorded. The reigns of the earliest Kings, Theodo I, Theobald, Theomer and his brother Odilo I were based largely around consolidating the land holdings of the Kingdom. At the beginning of the reign of Hubert in 693, the Kingdom of Besse was at its territorial height. Hubert and later Odilo II attempted to hold off the incursions of enemies to the north and south, but were unsuccessful. The rise of Meremar the Usurper has generally escaped the historical record, though his four-year reign ended with the renewal of the Theoderingian throne with Theodo II, the son of the deposed Odilo II, taking to the throne. However, the internal damage, coupled with Besse's largely technologically backwards nature, meant that Besse stood little chance when, in 782, it was invaded by the rising Dolch Empire.

The Theoderingians continued to rule a successor county which they termed Besse-Rest, sometimes simply termed 'Besse' to show the continuation. However, aside from the relatively stable Besser heartland, the political landscape of the former Kingdom was constantly changing. The Counts of Besse were soon joined by another stable collection of states ruled by the Ulfingian dynasty. Raised from humble roots by the Emperor of the Dolchs, the Ulfingians controlled the neighbouring territories of Stockbach and Heinfeldes. Other notable nobles around the turn of the millennium were the Counts of Marchschlag and the Counts of Mauhofen.

In 1089, the Emperor of the Dolchs began to reorganise the border region to the north in order to make it more secure. The Emperor raised the Counts of Marchschlag to Margraves of Katzenelm under Otto von Marchschlag. The aim of the Margraviate was to be given permission to raise armies for the immediate defence of the Empire, and to commission what would later be called Grenzbaronien, or 'border baronies', in the territory that would be beholden to them.

In 1145, Count Theobald III of Besse-Rest died at the age of 6. His only relative was his sister, Heidrun, at the time herself only nine years old. She was permitted to succeed to the county, on the condition that she be betrothed to a wealthy suitor. A number of neighbouring counts presented themselves at her court, though the older Otto III of Heinfeldes presented a substantial bride-price to be married to her. In 1152, Heidrun and Otto married. Five years later, Heidrun would give birth to a son, named Otto. In another five years, Otto III would be dead, and Heidrun's son Otto succeeded as Otto IV, with the understanding that, with the passing of his mother, he would become Count of both Heinfeldes and Besse. Otto IV and his mother availed themselves to the Emperor greatly during the last years of her life, and with her passing in 1173, Otto IV inherited her ancient county, and was raised to Duke of Heinfeldes-Besse.

The House of Marchschlag suffered a similar fate in 1257, with Johannes IV dying without male issue and leaving the margraviate to his 10 year-old daughter Edelgard. The marriage in this case, however, was far more military-minded than political. Many of the Knights of the Margraviate worried that the defence of the border was the paramount concern, and so that finding a suitor from inside of the Margraviate itself was an important concern. The political manoeuvrings of the Grenzbaron Heinrich of Windfort, however, must not be ignored, as his son, merely two years older than the Margravine, was chosen as suitor largely by playing off some of the more important lords of the realm against each other. Grenzbarone did not typically have house names, so the name of the village around the castle of Windfort, Berta, was chosen for the new house.

For much of this period, Heinfeldes-Besse and Katzenelm were the two major players in the former Kingdom. The House of Heinfeldes-Besse deemed its descent from Theoderingian nobility and Ulfingian merit to be of dual importance, while the House of Berta played the roles of loyal servants to the Emperor and regional hegemons expertly. However, yet again, the lack of a male heir to carry on the line of Heinfeldes-Besse would occur, seeing the two regional hegemons joined as one, with the Margraves of Katzenelm now taking the mantle of Dukes of Bessen-Katzenelm in 1482.

Duchy

Main article: Duchy of Bessen-Katzenelm

The newly united House of Berta-Heinfeldes made every attempt to please the majority-Habstrian Emperors of the Dolch, and made sure that the Emperors never forgot their sacred oaths to defend the northern march. The motto of Berta-Heinfeldes reflected this level of appeasement - Loyalität und Pflicht, or "loyalty and duty", the key aims of the newly founded duchy. The sight of an Ausburg Emperor with a retainer from the house of Berta-Heinfeldes during this period was not uncommon. In every war that the Ausburgs fought, the Duchy of Bessen-Katzenelm was sure to declare loudly their support for the Ausburg dynasty.

Much of this policy of loyalty paid off. Many emperors granted the Dukes of Bessen-Katzenelm numerous boons for their loyal and seemingly never-ending support, and numerous allegations of favouritism spread throughout the court in the years after 1482. Small internal conflicts sometimes took place within Bessen-Katzenelm, but many times the Ausburgs made good on repaying the Duchy's loyalty with support in kind, and the internal conflicts were rectified.

During this period, Bessen-Katzenelm began to be seen as a regional hegemon even among the other states of Northern Dolchland, such as the former Duchy of Großtal. The culture and politics of the Drei Flüsse region shifted more towards Bessen-Katzenelm, which, due to their association with the Imperial monarchy, meant that the Drei Flüsse states too shifted towards the loyalist camp.

However, the House of Berta-Heinfeldes never forgot that it could trace its lineage, even if through a matrilineal line, to royalty. Calls to declare themselves Kings of Besse once more rose throughout the nobility, perhaps due in part to promises of advanced title should that ever occur. The Dolchic Emperors were reluctant to allow the vassal Dukes to declare themselves Kings of Besse, especially given the fact that records of Besse's ancient and defiant past could delegitimise Imperial rule over Besse. The closest that the Dukes came to the Kingship before the 18th Century was in 1636, when Wilhelm asked the Emperor to grant him an Archducal title, similar to that of Greater Vethringen. However, due to the fairly recent Vethringen Succession War and the disloyal House of Vethringen-Rechts which saw itself spurned from holding an Archducal title they ought rightfully hold, the Emperor declined.

However, Georg II of Bessen-Katzenelm, as reward for services yet again rendered to the Empire, finally successfully petitioned the Habstrian Emperor to grant him the royal title of King. However, yet again, discussion arose in the capital that the title of King of Besse was a contentious one that could not be given out by the Empire, as it had always laid beyond the Empire's borders and had never been owned by the Emperor. As such, the Emperor could not legally make Georg II King of Besse. However, Georg had forseen this, and pointed out that the King could declare him the holder of a new royal title. The Emperor agreed, and in 1701, Georg was crowned King of Bessen-Katzenelm.

Kingdom

The Kings of Bessen-Katzenelm continued their loyal service to the Habstrian monarchs into the 18th Century. However, in 1757, with the death of Frederick Wilhelm, the heir apparent to the throne, the new heiress-presumptive became his daughter Claudia. Seeing the situation for what it was, the lords of Bessen-Katzenelm accepted that the House of Berta-Heinfeldes was at an end in ruling Bessen-Katzenelm. Claudia was betrothed to Dietrich, son of Landgrave Albert Frederick of Witternen. The ruling House of Gloschlick, which had ruled over Witternen since 1491, had a history of animosity with the House of Ausburg, due in no small part to their annexation of the Duchy of Gloschlick in 1534. The son of Dietrich and Claudia, also named Dietrich was raised with history lessons from both his mother's side of the family in Bessen-Katzenelm and from his father's in Witternen. Though Claudia and Dietrich's was considered a happy marriage, that was a major point of contention for the both of them. Once their son Dietrich ascended to the throne as Dietrich I of Bessen-Katzenelm, he was said to have held a healthy skepticism but willing spirit of cooperation with the House of Ausburg. Dietrich's reign saw the War of the Habstrian Succession take place, and when the Habstrian monarch specifically called him to war, Dietrich and Bessen-Katzenelm accepted, with Dietrich likely being somewhat pressured into joining by his vassals. The Kingdom was joined by Tale-Schüssel and Tale-Flußstadt and Ersau in declaring for the Emperor. The war was a resounding defeat, with much of Bessen-Katzenelm's contribution going to waste in maintaining order in a bloody guerilla sub-conflict in Lower Streckeburg and Teilen.

The conflict shattered the majority perception in Bessen-Katzenelm that the Habstrian monarchy was unassailable, and while it did not completely remove the generational loyalty that Bessers had for the Ausburg dynasty, it most definitely convinced the King that the Ausburgs were not to be followed blindly. It was during this period that Bessen-Katzenelm began to assert its own status a lot more strongly, gaining closer ties to the bordering states and trying to wrest them away from blind loyalty to the Emperor. Closer states, such as Tale-Schüssel and Tale-Flußstadt and Ersau, quickly followed suit with the Besser Kings, and the Landgraviate of Witternen, still being ruled by the same House of Gloschlick-Berta, began to align itself more closely to the northern Kingdom also. Further states, such as Tale-Beiberg, were slower to trust the newly-assertive Kingdom, but soon fell in line also, and in the mid-19th Century, Upper Streckeburg would be inherited by a member of the royal house in Bessen-Katzenelm, bringing them into the fold too.

Flag and coat of arms

Main articles: Flag of Bessen-Katzenelm and Coat of Arms of Bessen-Katzenelm

Flag

The flag of Bessen-Katzenelm is a simple bicolour of white and blue, with the Royal Crown of Bessen-Katzenelm in the upper fly. White and blue have been associated with the royal traditions of Bessen due to its long association with the Theoderingian dynasty, who ruled the ancient Kingdom of Besse.

Coat of Arms

Bessen-Katzenelm uses, as its official coat of arms, the arms of its ruling house, the House of Gloschlick-Berta. It shares a similar style of Coat of Arms to the other Gloschlick-Berta state, Witternen, though their arms do have some differences. The arms of Bessen-Katzenelm consist of the following:

• The arms of Gloschlick: at the dexter chief, party per cross argent and sable, a cross quarterly gules and or. This represents the House of Gloschlick.
• The arms of Katzenelm: at the sinister chief, argent, an eagle sable, a chief gules, upon which an axe argent. This represents the House of Berta as Margraves of Katzenelm.
• The arms of Witternen: at the dexter base, or, an eagle sable, a bordure gyronny gules and argent. This represents the House of Witternen.
• The arms of Heinfeldes-Besse: at the sinister base, azure, a lion argent, on the bordure 11 roses. This represents the House of Heinfeldes-Besse, as a union of the earlier symbols of the Theoderingians and the House of Heinfeldes.
• The Royal Inescutcheon: argent, a lion bleu-celeste, crowned. This is believed to have been a symbol originally of the Theoderingians, though has since become a symbol of the Kingship in Bessen-Katzenelm.
• The Defenders' Crown: Though arguably superseded by the Royal Crown, Bessen-Katzenelm has long been allowed the use of the Defenders' Crown, a crown symbolising their rights as former margraves of Katzenelm, and their theoretical right to field an army for the defence of the Empire.

Geography

Main articles: Geography of Bessen-Katzenelm and Forests of Bessen-Katzenelm

Bessen-Katzenelm shares an international border with Velaheria, as well as internal borders with Wurveria, Westervark, Tale-Schüssel, Tale-Flußstadt and Ersau and Kirchmarkt and Teilen. It also lies on the coast of the Morthal Bay.

Most of Bessen-Katzenelm is fairly low-lying, with the elevation increasing in an east-west direction. The highest point of Bessen-Katzenelm is the Markgrafenpunkt, a hill that has defined the border with Wurveria for centuries. Bessen-Katzenelm has a number of forests within its borders, many of which are used for hunting.

The major cities within Bessen-Katzenelm are Heinfeldes, Marchschlag, Innskirch and Stockbach.

Climate

Main article: Geography of Bessen-Katzenelm § Climate

The entirety of Bessen-Katzenelm falls into the "Dfa" climate type, or "hot summer humid continental". Temperatures during the summer months are well into the 20s to low 30s °C range (80s or low 90s °F), while temperatures in the winter months often fall well below freezing. Frost free periods are typically around 5-6 months.

Demographics

Bessen-Katzenelm has a population of ($POPULATION). The largest cities and their populations are Heinfeldes (($POP)), Marchschlag (($POP)), Innskirch (($POP)) and Stockbach (($POP)). Bessen-Katzenelm has among the highest population of immigrants in Dolchland, largely due to its border-state status. Many of these immigrants are from Velaheria and other wider southern Argic states.

Ethnic groups

Ethnic Dolchic people make up around five-sixths of the country's population. The state has a population of ($POP), 84.2% are ethnic Dolchs who mostly speak the Bessisch dialect of Alemannisch endemic to Bessen-Katzenelm. The major minority is the Velhars, at 10.4% of the population, with a number of other ethnic groups making up 5.4% of the population. Velhars, the largest minority, are largely concentrated around the greater Katzenelm region.

Administrative divisions

Bessen-Katzenelm is administered through a system on three tiers.

Drittel

Main article: Dritte of Bessen-Katzenelm

Drittel, from the Alemannic word for "thirds", are the first main divisions of Bessen-Katzenelm. These are generally based on historical allegiance, and hold little sway in politics, though hold some degree of cultural significance within Bessen-Katzenelm. The three Drittel are:

• Besse
• Katzenelm
• Hochland

Districts

The Drittel are further subdivided into Districts. In Bessen-Katzenelm, a district can denote a County (Grafschaft), Landgraviate (Landgrafschaft), Principality (Fürstentum) or Prince-Bishopric (Bistum). Due to the royal assent given to Bessen-Katzenelm, the King is given the authority to raise territories within his realm up to the level of Landgraviate at will, though is not permitted to raise territories to the rank of Margraviates, with the Margraviate of Katzenelm being the only legal title within the Kingdom, that being continually held by the King, and it is not considered one of the districts, instead being most often associated with Dritte Katzenelm. The Districts are as follows:

Dritte	Rank	District	Coat of arms	Capital	Population		Area (km2)		No. municipalities
Besse	Landgraviate	Besse		Resterburg	($POP)	($POP%)	($AREA)	($AREA%)	($MUNICIPALITIES)	($MUNICIPALITIES%)
	Principality	Innskirch		Innskirch	($POP)	($POP%)	($AREA)	($AREA%)	($MUNICIPALITIES)	($MUNICIPALITIES%)
	County	Heinfeldes		Heinfeldes	($POP)	($POP%)	($AREA)	($AREA%)	($MUNICIPALITIES)	($MUNICIPALITIES%)
	County	Stockbach		Stockbach	($POP)	($POP%)	($AREA)	($AREA%)	($MUNICIPALITIES)	($MUNICIPALITIES%)
Katzenelm	Landgraviate	Marchschlag		Axterplatz	($POP)	($POP%)	($AREA)	($AREA%)	($MUNICIPALITIES)	($MUNICIPALITIES%)
	Prince-Bishopric	Klosternau		Klosternau	($POP)	($POP%)	($AREA)	($AREA%)	($MUNICIPALITIES)	($MUNICIPALITIES%)
	County	Mittelsburg		Mittelsburg	($POP)	($POP%)	($AREA)	($AREA%)	($MUNICIPALITIES)	($MUNICIPALITIES%)
	County	Windfort		Windfort	($POP)	($POP%)	($AREA)	($AREA%)	($MUNICIPALITIES)	($MUNICIPALITIES%)
Hochland	Landgraviate	Mauhöfen		Mauhöfen	($POP)	($POP%)	($AREA)	($AREA%)	($MUNICIPALITIES)	($MUNICIPALITIES%)
	County	Grünbecken		Grünbecken	($POP)	($POP%)	($AREA)	($AREA%)	($MUNICIPALITIES)	($MUNICIPALITIES%)
	County	Lenzmündigen		Lenzmündigen	($POP)	($POP%)	($AREA)	($AREA%)	($MUNICIPALITIES)	($MUNICIPALITIES%)
	County	Mödstadt		Mödstadt	($POP)	($POP%)	($AREA)	($AREA%)	($MUNICIPALITIES)	($MUNICIPALITIES%)
	County	Neubrunnen		Neubrunnen	($POP)	($POP%)	($AREA)	($AREA%)	($MUNICIPALITIES)	($MUNICIPALITIES%)
Total					($POP)	100.0%	($AREA)	100.0%	($MUNICIPALITIES)	100.0%

Municipalities

Below the Districts are the municipalities. Rural municipalities are unitary, though urban municipalities have two levels, one being the Greater Urban Areas (GSG) and the level below them being suburban municipalities (Vorstadtgemeinden). Greater Urban Areas are used mainly for statistics, census records, and the coordination of city-wide resources, as well as delegating specific tasks to the suburban municipalities. Suburban municipalities coordinate local resources for smaller-scale projects.

Largest administrative towns and cities

Main article: List of cities and towns in Bessen-Katzenelm by population

Politics

Main article: Politics of Bessen-Katzenelm