Zenonian Dynasty
The Zenonian Dynasty or the House of Zenon (Khijovian: Żaenœnne Chæste) is the current reigning royal house of Khijovia. The Zenonians had ruled the Kingdom of Khijovia for more than four centuries (July 11, 1161 AR - January 28, 1534 AR) until its decay in the early sixteenth century due to internal conflicts and inheritance disputes to the throne. The weakening of the royal power, in fact, favored the republican federalists who took power with a violent coup d'état, exiling the royal family in Chondia and founding the Federation of Khijovia on January 28, 1534. However, the young prince Arcadion II managed to restore the Zenonian Dynasty to power by founding the Ascended Kingdom of Khijovia on July 3, 1611.
Etymology
Most people think that the royal house is named after the founder of the Kingdom of Khijovia, Grand Duke of Klettoria Zenon the Great, however the name Zenon itself originates from Żaennə, a term in the Kleitorian dialect that designated the noble lineage of the descendants of Ivian Cassio, the forefather of the House of Zenon.
History
The origins of this royal house date back well back in time, at the time of the Holy Kveutonic Empire. The progenitor of the dynasty is thought to have been Ivian Cassio, a Coritian nobleman who emigrated to the current region of Klettoria to escape from the wars that took place in his homeland. Cassio settled with his family around 873 AR in a small town called Kleitore on the delta of the Thevre river, soon becoming patron and governor of the coastal village. Over the decades, Kleitore would grow exponentially by assimilating the entire region of Klettoria and would become an autonomous duchy governed by the wealthy Zenonian family, home to important economic and commercial centers thanks to the numerous ports and communication routes that connected it to other Khijovian counties and principalities.
In 1152, the now Grand Duchy of Klettoria or Duchy of Klettoria Magna began its expansionist campaign with the aim of unifying Khijovia into single kingdom under the leadership of the Grand Duke Zenon the Great, who easily conquered and subdued numerous independent states of north-western Khijovia until ultimately clashing with the rival House of Arenia starting from 1155. Despite heavy losses, Zenon the great managed to defeat the opposing army in the Battle of Pronia (12 October, 1156) and to force the retreat of the Arenian House to the island of Axiomia, where they remained in exile for years while Zenon continued his conquest campaign in the rest of Khijovia.
After annexing a large part of the remaining Khijovian territory, only the Grand Duchy of Axiomia remained to be conquered: therefore, following months of assiduous siege, Axiomia eventually fell into the hands of the Zenonian army and, a year before his death, Zenon the Great proclaimed the birth of the Kingdom of Khijovia in the capital city of Kleitore on July 11, 1161.
Zenon's successor was his son Koron I who decided to conquer the region of Chon (now Chondia) and expand the kingdom's borders reaching the vicinity of the Atredian dukedom. King Bellaton the Warrior, in 1273, organized one of the biggest military offensives up to then, brutally conquering the Kingdom of Karkarovia and even going so far as to defeat the warlike population of the Venatorians, the up to then undefeated inhabitants of the region of Venatoria.
For the following centuries, however, the Kingdom would not be marked by any other expansionist campaign, focusing instead on the flourishing of culture and the arts and population growth. In particular, King Akrocanthia the Virgin (1499-1534) devoted himself to the construction of large public works (such as the Axiomia bridge) and land reclamation, and favored the development of the first theaters and orchestras.
The event that however marked the decline of the Zenonian dynasty was the civil war of 1529 between the faction of Koron II (legitimate successor to the throne) and that of Barossia (who instead claimed the position of heir): the conflict resulted in the victory of Barossia the Poor, so called because the war caused an unprecedented economic crisis in the country and a national famine. Thus, the now weakened Zenonian family lost more and more power and control over the country, ending up being expelled with the coup d'etat of 28 January, 1534 by the federalist republicans.