War of Rizian Succession

The 1805 War of Rizian Succession was one of the most violent events in the country's history, and is often referred to as the first modern war on the continent of Merkopa. It began after the death of Rizian monarch Xavi Rubaz, who had presided over an era of relative peace and prosperity in the country. In his will, he named his daughter Ariana, who was engaged to be married to Prince Willem Toras of Monqiz but had stayed in Porte Drazon to look after her ailing father, as his preferred successor. When news of this got out, her twin sister Ana, who had married the Count of Montaklar and established good relations with the empire of Moridia, made her own claim to the throne. Meanwhile, the dying Mousser Empire to the south put its strength behind Fedo Sazon, the son of the King's widow Juno Rubaz from her previous marriage to the Duke of Iza. A series of clashes occurred between the three heirs' supporters, backed by military forces from Valgos, Moridia and the Mousser Empire. Valgos took advantage of the conflct to expand its territory around the Port of Pales, claiming the Greater Pales region as well as a strip of land along the Moridian Coast. After four years and many casualties, a peace summit was held between the siblings and their backers. Ariana took the throne, while it was agreed that the three royal houses and their provinces would be granted a greater degree of autonomy.