Ruvelkan Imperium
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Ruvelkan Imperium | |||||||||
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| 1730–1865 | |||||||||
 Flag
 Coat of Arms
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| Capital and largest city | Debrecen | ||||||||
| Common languages | Official: Ruvelkan Regional: Hayeren, Karvelebi | ||||||||
| Religion | Vilageism | ||||||||
| Demonym(s) | Ruvelkan | ||||||||
| Government | Federal Elective Monarchy | ||||||||
| Matriarch Queen | |||||||||
• 1730-1791 | Kíra Prohászka (First) | ||||||||
• 1855-1865 | Edina Prohászka (Last) | ||||||||
| Legislature | Imperial Convention | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Foundation | 10 November 1730 | ||||||||
• Disbanded | 5 March 1865 | ||||||||
| Currency | Forint (Ƒ) | ||||||||
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| Today part of |  Ruvelka | ||||||||
The Ruvelkan Imperium, also known as Imperial Ruvelka, was a Ruvelkan nation state that existed from the Declaration of Derecske in 1730 until the abdication of Matriarch Queen Edina in 1865. It was founded when the members of the Ruvelkan Confederation recognized the authority of the monarch of Debrecen and introduced the title of queen for Royal Princess Kíra of House Prohászka.
The Imperium consisted of 19 states; three kingdoms, eight principalities, five duchies, and three grand duchies. All of the Imperium’s constituent states were ruled by royal families and nobilities, members of which would form the legislature known as the Imperial Convention. Although the Imperium was constitutionally an elective monarchy, a Prohászka was always elected by the Convention to the position of the monarch. While the majority of these monarchs were members of Kíra’s line, one of the Imperium’s Queens was characteristically a member of a Prohászka cadet branch (Queen Andrea).
Under Prohászka rule, the Imperium was characterized by its relative liberalism, but the nobility’s resistance to change made it more conservative in its latter years. Several major border wars with neighboring Syara and Allamunnika strained Ruvelka’s economy and also generated a new wave of nationalism throughout the country. A revolution in 1848 highlighted many of Ruvelka’s ongoing problems and Queen Andrea began introducing major reforms before her declining health forced her to abdicate in 1855. Andrea’s successor, Queen Edina, though sympathetic to the cause of the lower-classes, was unable to continue Andrea’s reforms and was consistently blocked by the Imperial Convention.
Political turmoil eventually culminated in an armed uprising in Kaposvár led by András Váradi. Edina abdicated on 5 March 1865 and the Imperium was finally disbanded on the eve of the Red War.
History
Background and Formation
The Ruvelkan Confederation, founded in 1701 following the collapse of the Arkoennite Empire, had been created to unify the Ruvelkan people against future foreign invasions. While it was generally considered successful in coordinating the economies of the various Ruvelkan states, it was nominally an alliance in which member-states were often left to their own devices and in-fighting was common. The inability for members to reach compromise and the rivalry between its two largest principal states, Debrecen and Heves, weakened the political stature of the Confederation.
In 1727, Royal Princess Kíra of Debrecen began appealing to members of the Confederation for a more formal and unified government for the Ruvelkan people. She cited numerous conflicts with the Syaran peoples, most notably with the Clans, Galanians, and Symmerians. Border disputes fought by Panonia, Esztergrom, and Karlovy Vary against Allamunnika were also relatively common and stoked fear within the eastern states that an Allamunnik invasion was a very real threat. Kíra’s motion for centralization began to gain ground in 1728 and, during the annual Confederation Conference in February, she called for a vote to amend the Articles of Alliance. Her vote was blocked by 10 of the 19 member-states, but reflected that nearly half of the Confederation was in favor.
In September 1730, following another major dispute with the Clans, Kíra pushed for another vote which officially passed 11 to 8. However, Crown Prince Vilmos of Heves refused to acknowledge the validity of the vote as did the remaining states; this caused a political crisis that ultimately led to a brief conflict known as the Confederation Dispute. After five weeks of fighting, the Aszód Armistice was signed and another Confederation Conference convened in Heve’s capital of Székesfehérvár.
The Ruvelkan Imperium was founded on 10 November 1730 after the Declaration of Derecske recognized the authority of the Royal Princess of Debrecen, Kíra Prohászka, and granted her title of Matriarch Queen. The Confederation was reformed into a federal, elective monarchy and adopted the Imperial Constitution which went into effect on 28 December 1730.
Territory
Constituent States
Before unification, Ruvelkan territory was made up of 19 constituent states which consisted of kingdoms, principalities, grand duchies, and duchies. All of these states had gained sovereignty following the collapse of the Arkoennite Empire and were only nominally united under the auspices of the Articles of Alliance that formed the Ruvelkan Confederation, although there were a number of ruling families that saw the Confederation as weak and ineffective.
As a federal monarchy, each component of the Ruvelkan Imperium sent representatives to the Imperial Convention in relation to matters that affected the Imperium as a whole. Relations between the seat of power and the constituent states was relatively fluid; as such, the Monarch could intervene on occasions of succession or deal in matters related to a specific constituent state.
| State | Capital | |
|---|---|---|
| Principalities (Fejedelemségek) | ||
|
Debrecen | Debrecen |
|
Heves | Székesfehérvár |
|
Bács-Kiskun | Derecske |
|
Szolnok | Aszód |
|
Nagykun | Zalaegerszeg |
|
Komárom | Püspökladány |
|
Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg | Mátészalka |
|
Panonia | Balatonalmádi |
| Duchies (Hercegség) | ||
|
Moravskoslezsky | Kunhegyes |
|
Trenszín | Polgárdi |
|
Trnava | Létavértes |
|
Esztergrom | Kiskőrös |
|
Zarand | Kerepes |
| Grand Duchies (Nagyhercegségek) | ||
|
Zemplen | Sopron |
|
Karlovy Vary | Kenderes |
|
Vysocsina | Pálháza |
| Kingdoms (Királyság) | ||
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Karvina | Marcali |
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Rakovnik | Pannonhalma |
|
Csomutov | Berhida |
Demographics
Languages
Based on an 1838 census conducted under Queen Andrea, approximately 90% of the Imperium’s population spoke Ruvelkan as their first language. The only major minority languages included Hayeren, spoken primarily within the Principality of Szolnok, and Karvelebi, common in the Grand Duchy of Zemplen. Both Szolnok and Zemplen were western regions that shared borders with Syara and, as such, developed distinct characteristics that set them apart from Ruvelkan.
Government
The Imperial Constitution stated that all legislation required the consent of the new formed Imperial Convention consisting of representatives from all nineteen constituent states. Executive power was vested in the Imperium’s monarch who was elected to the position by vote of the Convention; during its infantile years, Kíra maintained full confidence of the Convention’s representatives.
The monarch was given extensive powers and served as the supreme commander-in-chief of the armed forces, arbiter for all foreign affairs, and possessed the capability to disband the Imperial Convention and call for an election. The monarch was also responsible for conducting all state related affairs, although this was often done through appointed state secretaries that would handle specific fields such as finance, defense, and foreign relations.
Although the member states of the Imperium retained their own governments, in practice the only possessed very limited aspects of sovereignty. Currency, for example, was issued by the government in Debrecen and minted in the name of the Imperium. While these states could also issue their own decorations and some had their own armed forces, in wartime these militaries would be put under federal control.
Armed Forces
The Ruvelkan Imperium did not possess a permanent standing army that represented itself and, instead, would muster forces from its constituent states during wartime. The states that made up the Imperium would contribute their armies to the disposal of the federal government and were each responsible for maintaining certain units specifically for this purpose. When operating as a single entity representative of the Ruvelkan people, the military was known as the Imperial Army and was overseen by the Imperial Secretary of Defense (who was directly subordinate to the monarch).
At the height of Imperial power in 1840, the Imperium’s constituent states could mobilize an army of regulars nearly 750,000 strong. The Imperial Army was called upon on several occasions, primarily border conflicts with nearby Syara.
The Imperium also possessed a navy, but unlike the army it was managed and maintained by the federal government in Debrecen and not the Imperium’s constituents. The Imperial Navy was small in comparison to its neighbors and was primarily relegated to coastal defense. During Ruvelka’s wars with Syara, the Imperial Navy was sometimes employed to disrupt Syaran sea routes. Whether or not these tactics were effective is left up for debate.