Quessite Treaty of Assimilation
Whilst most provinces of the Empire of Turelion were brought into the Imperial fold through war and bloodshed, the Quessite Treaty of Assimilation allowed for the bloodless creation of Quess Province, and created the blueprint for the provincial system that would be rolled out across Kelbonnar once Machestaro I had brought Turelion’s peace to the world.
Purpose
The purpose of the Quessite Treaty of Assimilation is very simple, to draw what was once the Kingdom of Quesselic into the Empire of Turelion and to form the area into Quess Province. The treaty was designed to do this absolutely bloodlessly, and included clauses within it that meant that the Quesseilc army was immediately reformed into the Provincial Army of Quess Province, and was shipped out alongside the Imperial forces to continue the fight to extend the jurisdiction of the Emperor of Turelion and Kelbonnar.
Historical Details
Background
The concept of the Quessite Treaty of Assimilation came into being when the Kingdom of Quesselic realised that they were likely to be the next territory that Machestaro I led the forces of the Empire of Turelion to as part of his war of conquest over the whole of Kelbonnar. The Quessites had just seen the area that would become the Province of Oam be brutally subjugated by the Turelites, and realising now too late that they were now surrounded on all sides by territory now ruled by Machestaro, they sought a way to avoid the devastation of their people.
When news came that the Imperial Navy had set sail to bring Machestaro’s invasion force to their shores, the last King of Quesselic, Iktan IX set sail in a single ship to intercept them. The exact content of the negotiations that took place on Machestaro’s ship are not known, the account of the incident kept in the official Annals of the Empire by the Imperial Bureau state that Iktan simply surrendered himself to the Emperor, but few believe that was actually what happened.
Nonetheless, the result was the treaty which tied the Quessites to the Empire of Turelion, but in exchange for their freedom, not a single drop of Quessite blood was spilled in the Imperial takeover and creation of Quess Province, though many Quessites would die fighting for Machestaro in the later conflicts of his campaign. The willingness of Iktan to renounce his crown for the lives of his people has also meant that Quess Province has enjoyed a high degree of favour in the eyes of the Imperial Court, with some saying that the Province is now judged to be second in importance only to Turelion Province itself.
Legacy
The treaty’s has brought about both long and short term consequences. In the long term it still exists and is the legal underpinning of what ties Quess Province to the Empire of Turelion and its wording means that there is no way that it can be broken at all without giving the Emperor the justification they would need to retaliate brutally against Quess. It has to all intents and purposes imprisoned Quess Province into the Empire forever.
However, it’s short term legacy was that it provided the blueprint for other such agreements to be made for the other Provinces, treaties which in the case of Langstrom Province and Bar-Sunar Province, stopped the Imperial invasion from becoming the bloodbath that Norgantho Province experienced during its assimilation into the Empire.
Furthermore, the Quessite Treaty of Assimilation also instituted the system of Provincial Government, including the appointing of a Satrap, defining what the Province could legislate on themselves, and what things remained under Imperial auspices etc, that established the current governmental system in all eleven of the Empire’s provinces.
Term
The treaty was written to be in existence for as long as the Empire of Turelion is in existence, which to all intents and purposes means that Quess has no immediate prospect of ever being released from it.
Type
Treaty, Diplomatic
Medium
Paper
Authoring Date
12BIF
Authors
Signatories (Organizations)
Comments