Ossorian Unification Wars
| Ossorian Unification Wars | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Kenlis Ardliss Firada |
 DòrnachMinor kingdoms | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Cerball Ó Sionán |
Seumas Foirbeis | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| ca. 140,000 | ca. 45,000 | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Significant | Significant | ||||||||
The Ossorian Unification Wars were a twenty-year series of conflicts that finally ended the six-century Age of Warring Kings and established the High Kingdom of Ossoria under the suzerainty of the Kingdom of Kenlis. By the end of the wars, the thirteen kingdoms that had survived the Warring Kings period had coalesced into nine kingdoms under the lordship of a High King. The period was not a continuous conflict, but rather a series of conflicts divided into three phases: the conquest of Oileán Mór, the Eastern Phase and the Western Phase.
Background
Over the course of the Age of Warring Kings, the number of kingdoms dividing the Ossorian Home Islands slowly fell from over seven hundred to sixteen. These were the kingdoms of Kenlis, Gabhrán, Cláirín, and Doire on the island of Oileán Mór; the kingdoms of Ardliss, Doire, Carbad, and Iúraigh on Oileán Glasa; the kingdoms of Lanark and Sràid on Oileán Fada; the kingdoms of Firada and Áthdara on Oileán Scairbh; and the kingdoms of Brecon, Lodainn, Rocelyn, Dídean, and Syllan elsewhere in the archipelago.
Conquest of Oileán Mór
In the year 803 CE, Cerball Ó Sionán assumed the kingship of Kenlis, one of the four kingdoms on Oileán Mór. Over the course of the Warring Kings era, Kenlis had come to dominate the watershed of the Sínann River and the nearby regions of the island, but stiffening competition from the neighboring kingdoms of Gabhrán, Cláirín, and Doire had prevented it from focusing on any one frontier as the remaining kingdoms balanced against each other.
This stalemate was broken in 804 CE, when Cerball captured Queen Niamh Ní Rothláin of Gabhrán at the Battle of the River Bhóinn and annexed the kingdom. To both secure his claim to the territory of Gabhrán and to reduce the risk of rebellion in support of its former ruler, he married Queen Niamh in 805 CE.
In 808 CE, Cerball marched against the kingdom of Cláirín and defeated King Aengus Ó Faoláin at the Battle of the Bhúill Ford following a two-year campaign, annexing the kingdom.
After the defeat of Cláirín, Cerball turned his attention to Doire, which held territory on both Oileán Mór and Oileán Glasa. At this point, he was approached by King Niall Ó Corragáin of Ardliss, who offered to acknowledge Cerball's lordship in exchange for his help in conquering his rivals on the island. Cerball accepted, and the alliance was sealed with the marriage of one of Cerball's brothers to one of Niall's daughters. Thus in 809 CE, Cerball attacked the kingdom of Doire from the east while Niall attacked from the west, fatally dividing the kingdom's defenders and rapidly bringing the defeat of the last remaining kingdom on Oileán Mór.
Eastern Phase
With Oileán Mór finally united under Kenlis, Cerball turned his attention to the eastern islands and their kingdoms. First, he needed to fulfill his obligation to King Niall and help him to complete the conquest of Oileán Glasa, which was completed by 812 CE. Now with two islands under his authority, Cerball began planning his next conquest: the kingdom of Dídean, which lay between Kenlis and Ardliss.
He would never get a chance to put his plans into action, as King Tárlach Ó Ruairc of Dídean and the Queen Íde Ní hÁdhmaill of Syllan each independently came to him to offer their allegiance. Both kingdoms were small and had watched Cerball's campaigns with growing apprehension and neither of them wished to be forced into a fight they knew they couldn't win. This changed Cerball's plans, as he would now seek to have a kingdom acknowledge his authority rather than subjugate them to his direct rule, deeming it an easier and more effective way to gain power over the entire archipelago.
Cerball put his new strategy into action by sending envoys to Queen Fedelm Ní Bradáin, offering his aid in the conquest of Áthdara in exchange for her acknowledging his lordship and a marriage between one of Cerball's daughters and her sons. Thus, Cerball had gained control over the entire eastern two-thirds of the Ossorian Home Islands by 817 CE.
Western Phase
It was in the western islands that Cerball would face his most adamant resistance in the form of King Seumas Foirbeis of Sràid. Like the other kingdoms in the archipelago, Seumas had watched Cerball's campaigns with growing alarm, but he moved to challenge him rather than wait for Cerball to get around to dealing with him in turn. He began by defeating the kingdom of Lanark and taking control of the whole of Oileán Fada, establishing the kingdom of Dòrnach. He next secured the submission of the neighboring kingdoms of Lodainn and Rocelyn. He attempted to gain the support of the kingdom of Brecon, but the fiercely independent people living there had long been the target of raids from the islands under his control, and rebuffed all of his envoys, but they also refused Cerball's overtures.
In 818 CE, Cerball sent envoys to Seumas seeking his submission. Seumas had them put to death. The following year, Cerball raised an army from his own domain and that of his subordinate kingdoms and invaded Dòrnach. Seumas was expecting this, and led a seven-year guerilla war against Cerball's forces while the latter sought to pin down the Dòrnachi king. Finally, Cerball captured Seumas' family, including his heir, following the Siege of Sràid in 826 CE. Seumas was thus forced into battle at the River Lìobhann, where he challenged Cerball to single combat. Cerball defeated him and secured the surrender of the Dòrnach-led kingdoms.
Aftermath
At Midwinter of 827 CE, Cerball summoned the eight remaining monarchs to a council at Armacht. There, they affirmed the Midwinter Treaty, one of the foundational documents of the High Kingdom of Ossoria, in which they acknowledge Cerball's position as as High King of Ossoria (Ardrí na Osraí) and agreed to an anual meeting in Armacht every midwinter to discuss matters and lay plans, forming the basis for the House of Keys.
Two years later, at the third Midwinter meeting, King Cynan ap Rhodri of Brecon negotiated the inclusion of the kingdom of Brecon into Cerball's sphere of authority, completing the unification of the whole of the Ossorian Home Islands.