Rhozanni Oligarchy

(Note: The Rhozanni Oligarchy ceased to exist in 1891 C.E.)

Early in the Civilized Era, the five nation-states of Aechea existed in a state of perpetual conflict. Generally low population levels kept periods of full-out war to a minimum, but backdoor diplomacy and frequent assassination attempts prevented tensions between the states from cooling for any extended stretch. In the early 15th century, the wealthy Rhozanni family bribed their way into positions of power in the central state, Patras, eventually claiming control of the leadership council through a string of unusually early retirements, unfortunate accidents, and the odd natural death.

While this type of complete (and successful) power grab was uncommon in the Aechean states, neither was it particularly unusual. What made the Rhozanni different was their immediate call to the other nation-states on the matter of building a true country, one that might rival the rising Bayronites to the north and fend off constant concerns about the mysterious Qomians to the south. In a phenomnally rare occurrence, the Rhozanni held all their diplomatic discussions with the rival ambassadors in open chambers and only when all were present. No backroom deals were proffered, nor did any untimely deaths occur; even the food tasters for the visiting states survived the summit. Historical records show, in fact, that the main sticking point to a deal was the disbelief of the other states in the terms: a five-person leadership council, one from each state, with all national matters decided by majority vote, and the only concession to the Rhozanni that their name be stamped on the new nation. Surely there was a trick at work, and the most cynical minds in Aechea worked for days to find it.

But the treaty itself was quite short, and free of obfuscating language. Given that the summit came together in large part because all the states shared worries about rival nations growing powerful around them, the agreement seemed the best deal any of them were likely to see without dominating the island themselves, and no one had done that since the rise of the nation-states in the middle of the first millenium C.E. The Volosian monks briefly argued against the Rhozanni's lack of humility in demanding the nation be named after them, a process made substantially more difficult by the monks' vows of silence; once they relented, the Treaty of Patras was signed in 1431, and the Rhozanni Oligarchy was born.

Holding a position on the national leadership council was, as might be expected, a position of extraordinary prestige. For several years, it was also arguably the easiest job available in the Rhozanni government. All of the new provinces, including Patras (home to the Rhozanni family and the new national capital), handled any affair internally that did not absolutely have to be sent to the council. The council's decisions were mostly symbolic (agreeing on a national flag) or pure fluff (declaring Theater Day in the capital). The only laws of note to have passed directed the government to build inter-province roads and methods for tax collection, the latter of which still required province-level cooperation. Even military matters remained in the hands of the ex-states, despite agreements in the treaty to make all armed forces available to the national government; none of the provincial leaders took "available" to mean in any respect save times of immediate conflict.

In short, little changed. Just as nation-state leaders had almost uniformly risen from elite ranks, so too were council members chosen from the most influential people in the new provinces. Council members were loathe to risk their positions by angering local leadership; the treaty's only specific requirement regarding council appointments was that members must serve for one year after arriving in the capital, meaning recall remained a constant threat- and that only if those demanding the member's ouster refrained from a return to the old ways.

The lack of activity in the council fueled countless arguments within the Rhozanni family. The nation was not failing, per se, but continued inertia would eventually see the provinces declare themselves independent entities with no need for a sovereign power and destroy the family's legacy of building the first viable pan-Aechean state. There is no official record of these private debates, though hearsay sources indicate fracturing along the same general lines as before the treaty- family members who desired a full nation versus those content with the five-state status quo.

These issues were miraculously resolved in mid-1437 when all five of the provincial governors turned up dead on the same day, poisoned on blueface berry. The obvious culprits were the Rhozanni; motive aside, few other entities had the resources to create such a "coincidental" series of deaths. However, the Rhozanni immediately pointed to the fact that the governor of Patras, Draco Rhozanni, numbered among the dead. Intra-clan assassination was not unheard of, but it was so unusual, against the few unwritten rules of Aechean society, and counter to Rhozanni methods up to that point that the defense proved viable enough to stifle both public and provincial backlash against the family.

Soon thereafter, tax money began flowing into the national coffers, and soldiers arrived from every province for scheduled military exercises. Long-distance roads stretched across the island, and better commerce expanded both provincial living standards and the tax base from which the national council could collect funds. As cities grew and new towns sprouted up- or, in the case of Volos, monasteries of increasing elegance- the country settled into a comfortable prosperity, and little attention was paid to rumors that small percentages of the national wealth were finding their way into Rhozanni hands.

By the end of the century, the growth of this golden age had dwindled. The ability of the nation to improve its economic prospects with its own resources had, for the most part, reached its apex; aside from new and improved technologies that could increase efficiency, the Oligarchy needed to look outside its borders for new opportunties. Only the southern province, Androcles, had any experience with outside trade, and that limited to a few small groups along the coast of modern-day Messina. The nation needed to cast a wider net to continue increasing its prosperity.

Such opportunity was not easily found, however. The clans, cults, and tribes of Messina were considered mad and untrustworthy, and diplomats failed to return as frequently as they found anyone receptive to trade. The Bayronites to the north gave the Rhozanni a hearing, but what resources the Rhozanni could offer in trade, the Bayronites largely possessed. Attempts were even made to contact the Qomians, but there is no record of any response. Only Nantes proved a moderately viable partner, and in the main that brought in luxury goods such as wine and spice rather than anything of particular use to the growth of the nation's economic base.

By this time, the concept of a fully Aechean nation had become the norm. Thus, despite fears from the elder generation of a split into the old nation-states and the almost certain civil war that would follow, the Oligarchy plodded along through this era of relative stagnation. The Rhozanni family's continually increasing wealth and influence had essentially made it the permanent leadership of Patras, and their influence permeated the national council. While the other four provinces stagnated, Patras became a beacon of culture and society, such that even the odd Bayronite and Nantian chose to emigrate to the province.

In the mid 17th century (most sources claim 1645 as the year), the national council issued a declaration that "the glory of the Rhozanni Oligarchy should no longer be contained within its borders, nor stories of its marvelous nature limited to this hemisphere". So it was that a fantastic outlay of tax receipts was sunk into designing not just one ship, but a small fleet capable of ocean-wide travel. Many of the time attributed this desire to jealousy over northward Bayronite expansion and the recent founding of the Antonian States, though later historians have uncovered evidence the Rhozanni were, in fact, as convinced of their own greatness as the declaration implies and undertook the effort for no other reason than that.

In 1657, a fleet of six ships greater than any Aechean had ever seen set sail from the southern Androclesian port on a five-year mission to seek out strange lands and take the glory of the Oligarchy where it had never gone before. Captains' logs indicate one of the ships lost at sea during the initial voyage, and near-mutiny on the others from the number of sailors who considered the sinking a fatal omen and demanded to turn back. Tensions were defused without violence, and the mission proceeded first into northern lands.

The fleet made contact with most nations in the northern half of the eastern hemisphere: Badalon, Gouveia, the Bremen Empire, Scandia & Fredericia, Novostya, Shenzhen, Hilahi. Attempts to sail north from Hilahi to Nihon were rebuffed by weather patterns, and while they were initially welcomed in Kumasi, they were subject to stringent restrictions on travel beyond the immediate coast due to the number of men in the fleet. Within a month, the captains raised anchor and set a course for Aechea. The fleet returned home in early 1659, eighteen months after it had set sail; when questioned as to why the five year mission had been cut so short, Captain Leontios of the flagship Enixinon reportedly said, "The world just isn't that bloody big."

Though it is arguable whether or not the expedition impressed many eastern people with the "glory of the Rhozanni Oligarchy", the fleet's visits did trigger some trade partnerships. Badalon and Gouveia desired various ores from Rhozanni mines, and Bremen frequently inquired about technological trades (mostly for technology Rhozanni spies managed to steal from the now-split Bayronite nations, especially Airdric weapons schematics). But not until these partnerships introduced Rhozanni traders to the Indorans and their massive merchant fleet did cross-ocean trade become a major factor in the Rhozanni economy and politics.

For about a century and a half, the Oligarchy's trade ships roamed the oceans as the major source of western hemisphere trade. The Qomians remained as insular and inscrutable as ever, and though private Bayronite traders provided some competition, only the Rhozanni offered any government backing or sponsorship for these long-distance enterprises. For all the nation's geographical limitations, the Rhozanni nation managed to supply its people with a relatively prosperous life.

The catch for their citizens- as the Rhozanni ancestors had most likely planned back in the fifteenth century- was that as the nation's wealth grew, the Rhozanni family's grew at a slightly faster pace. Over four centuries, Patras had evolved from nation-state to cultural base to, around the mid-1800s, a de facto shrine to the Rhozanni family's greatness. Portraits and sculptures of family forebears peeked around every apparent corner; a museum dedicated entirely to these works was fashioned in 1812, and the most critical unspoken rule within the province's borders was that some member of the Rhozanni geneology must be represented in every building, be it residential, commercial, or otherwise. Works depicting other critical members of the nation's history, such as certain past members of the national council, did exist, but were frequently overshadowed in scope and quality by representations of random third cousins one twitch from being snapped off the family tree.

As has been the case with people from time immemorial, the sense of self-importance granted to modern Rhozanni by all this fanfare over their basic existences led to a significant lack of desire in earning that adoration for themselves. Fawned over by parasites grasping for a taste of their endless wealth, the Rhozanni family tended towards ever more garish displays of opulence, eventually beginning to compete with one another for bragging rights over who could waste the largest quantity of coin in a single event. But not until 1859, with the introduction of Phaidros Rhozanni to the national council chairmanship, did this family profligacy became a national dilemma.