Hegyhát Wars

The Hegyhát Wars were a series of three wars fought during the Proto-Imperial between the Hegyhát Empire and a variety of tribes for control over the region of the Imperial South. The First Hegyhát War took place specifically within the eastern region of the Imperial South, and the Second Hegyhát War was fought over the western region of the Imperial South. These two wars have constituted the Southern Conquest that encapsulated the growing expansionism and domination by the Hegyhát Empire. The Third Hegyhát War was the largest of the three where the Hegyhát Empire fought a coalition of allies led by the Jenő Principality, who fought alongside the Eastern Kingdom and various Salgó states with limited involvement by the Northern Coalition.

The First Hegyhát War started as a direct consequence of the Doryottan Kidnappings, a series of mass abductions committed by the Hegyhát against the Duchy of Kaposvár, the Kingdom of Tapolca and the Kingdom of Szada. These mass abductions targeted males within these tribes, where the female Hegyhát would abduct and forcibly marry them. Within Hegyhát matriarchy, social rules dictated that men who are married to women lose their independence as people and turn into property of the women. Rules regarding marriage within the Hegyhát Empire stated that women could marry multiple men, but men could only marry one woman. The women who participated in these kidnappings were often single and looking for men. The First Hegyhát War was an escalation of the kidnappings, and Doryotta II called for an all out invasion of these tribes. The Kingdom of Csemő and the State of Vasad assisted the united front against the Hegyhát Empire, but were eventually collectively defeated at the Battle of Mezőcsát.

The Third Hegyhát War began with a Hegyhát invasion of the Imperial Central, crossing the Csóványos Line and beginning the Storming of Kossuth. The invasion was precipitated over increasingly bitter negoigations between the Hegyhát and the Jenő over refugees and migrants coming from the Imperial South towards the cities of Kossuth and Ásotthalom. Word of the invasion spread quickly and the Eastern Kingdom sought to provide military aid. Furhter support was given by the Northern Coalition.

The Hegyhát Wars had reverberating effects on the Imperial South and the Imperial Central. Within the Imperial South, demographic changes primarily affected non-Hegyhát tribes, primarily the initial five tribes that opposed the Hegyhát Empire in the First Hegyhát War. Two tribes, the Székely and the Hajmáskér saw total extinction of their female population due to the Orsolyan Genocide, as their tribes were targeted by Orsolya I, the Empress of Hegyhát.