History of Hulstria and Gao-Soto

This page currently relates to the modern era of Hulstrian History from the discovery of Dovani onwards. It is about the History of the Nation of Greater Hulstria starting at the discover of the Continent of Dovani to the reign of Rainer V.

Christopher Dove
In the year 1492 Luthori Explorer Christopher Dove set out from the Holy Luthori Empire in search of a continent rumored to exist at the end of the world. With the blessing of the Holy Luthori Emperor, Christopher Dove set out with an entire navy fleet to find this land and claim it in the name of the Emperor and Empire. Nearly 4 months after leaving port in Luthori, Dove's flagship spotted a strip of land on the horizon. They continued to sail toward it for two days before finally arriving on the coastline of what was eastern Dovani. This land was barren an dissapointing to Dove so he continue to sail south around the continent and then sailed North up the Western Coast until he found what appeared to be fertile land. On July 7th, 1493, nearly 12 months after seeing the last port of the old world, Christopher Dove stuck a Luthori Flag a beach of the continent that would later become known as Dovani, named for him, claiming it for the Holy Luthori Empire. He would return four times to Dovani, each time finding a faster route there.

On his final voyage to the continent he was accompanied by a group of colonists from the Holy Luthori Empire. He was tasked by the Emperor with establishing the first Luthori settlement on the continent. The settlement was built near the spot where he first landed, and was named Ehrigia, it would become the capital of New Luthori. Dove would die 3 years after the colony's founding while serving as Governor-General of New Luthori. He was succeeded by a man named Auric Strauss, who's family would become intertwined with Hulstrian history. Dove's body was buried originally in a small cemetary in Ehrigia, however 10 years late it was moved to the Dove Vault, a massive tomb in the middle of Ehrigia that has since become a national monument.

Colonization
By the year, 1560, Luthori claims encompassed all of modern day Greater Hulstria. They claims were divided up into 10 colonies:

Hilgar
Hilgar was by far the largest of the Luthori colonies in the new world. Named for a mythical tree that was believed to grow in the colony, Hilgar became an important source of hard woods for Luthori. Of all the colonies it had by far the largest number of native Gishotoi living in it. This often lead to violence between the Gishotoi and Luthori colonists. The Colonist are said to have wiped out thousands of Gao Showa because of the Luthori use of gun power and the burning of any and all Gao Showa settlements. A Peace was finally established after nearly 150 years, ending the fighting in the year 1654. From there an uneasy peace was established, with the Gishotoihold up in the east, and the Luthori fortifying their position in the west. The Hulstrian fortress of Kaiserburg was built and expanded largely during this period. Kaiserburg would serve as the Hilgarian capital up into the present day.

Hulstria
Of all the colonies New Luthori and Marchau were the commercial and agricultural centres of the colonies, respectively. However a small city in the colony of Hulstria rapidly grew to prominence. The city of Kien had originally been founded by Lutherans fleeing the religious intolerance in The Holy Luthori Empire. In fact the vast majority of colonists who came to the Hulstrian Colonies were Lutherans fleeing Luthori. They brought with them their knowledge of everything from art to shipbuilding. Kien was constructed in a way very reminiscent of the old world capitals. Large Cathedrals, Towering Castles, a Grand Palace, and a massive wall known as the Fake Ridge, as it streches on from several kilometers. A prominent Luthori family, the Labsburgs, who had immigrated to Kien from Liore, were able to come to such a position of power in Hulstria that the Governer-Generalship of Hulstria passed down hereditarily through their family. It was under the Labsburgs, that Hulstria, and specifically Kien, gained a good deal of influence in colonial affairs, eventually absorbing part of the neighboring colony of New Yodukan.

Mitrania
The region east of the Schnee-Berge Mountains was first visited by Luthori colonists towards the close of the 15th century. At that time it was somewhat thinly peopled. The majority of the inhabitants appear to have been unskilled farmers of the Gishotoi, barely resembling their sophisticated forefathers. Modern scholars believe that the strain of the wars with the Luthori Empire had drained the resources of the Gishotoi in the region. Once the territories were conquered by the Luthori, colonists poured into the rich farmlands of Mitrania. The colonists built the city of Graaffsberg as the administrative centre of the new colony.

In 1578 farmers of Duntrekker, Luthori Catholic, and Episcopalian Kalistani descent seeking pasture for their flocks settled in the country. They were followed in 1593 by the first settlers of the Southern Expansion. These emigrants left Hultria, New Liore, New Luthori, and the other northern and coastal colonies for various reason, but were primarily animated by the desire to escape from Luthori sovereignty. The leader of the first large party of emigrants was Pieter Heerden, who concluded an agreement with Takehiko, the chief noble of the local Gishotoi, ceding to the farmers the country between the Schnee-Berge Mountains and the Grote Blauwe Rivier. The region continued to prosper, at the expense of the native Gishotoi. By the 1620's it is estimated that only 1/3 of the original number of Gishotoi remained in Mitrania.

Vorm
For the Dorvish classical composer, see Vorm

The Rise of Hulstria
1560 - 1635

The Great Rebellion (1635 - 1650)
Over a period of years, the colonies of the Holy Luthori Empire on Dovani grew increasingly discontented with the government of the home country. The Dovani colonies deeply resented the gradual movement of power from their own assemblies and governments to the centralized location Liore, nearly five thousand miles away in Luthori. These actions greatly limited the effectiveness of colonial administration and weakened colonial representation in the workings of the Holy Luthori Empire's government. In 1639, the Luthori colonies of Dovani, with Hulstria as their leader, revolted against Luthori colonial control before formally declaring independence later in the year. The first five years of the Revolt came to be known as the "Bloodless Period" as there was no major response from the Holy Luthori Emperor, his military nor the Luthori parliament. The dissent of the colonies had been both privately and publically dismissed by high ranking Luthori officials as merely a phase or, as the Luthori parliament's own Imperial Seal-Bearer Right Honorable George Stafford described as "mere growing pains of a child yet to reach maturity". It was conceived that, given some time, the power structures of the colonial governments would wrest power back from the rebels and reestablish colonial governance. However, this was to proved to be an increasingly difficult and unrealistic approach to the problem. Given the Luthori government's inaction, the rebels received time to further plot their revolution free of any sort of Luthori intereference. The first Hulstrian Diet met, establishing precedents for rule and appointed Franz von Rothingren, a colonel of the Hulstrian Colonial Legion and Diet assemblyman, as Hulstria's delegate to the Unabhängigkeitkongress (Independence Congress), composing of representatives from across the rebellious colonies. The Independence Congress eventually met in Kien, the capital of colonial Hulstria, where the official document declaring independence from the Holy Luthori Empire, the Erklärung der Souveränität (Declaration of Sovereignty) was drafted. For nearly seven months the document was negotiated throughout the colonial governments before being accepted by all. Following the signing of the Declaration, Franz von Rothingren was appointed as Aide-de-Camp to Field Marshal Heindrich von Marchau, Commander-in-Chief of the nrewly established Hulstrian Army. Marchau glorified his new position, focusing on establishing social and political connections and thereby ignoring his duty to the army. In 1644, shortly before fighting broke out, he was relieved of command of the army. Brigadier General Franz von Rothingren shortly replaced Marchau, jumping to the rank of Field Marshal. Learning of the Declaration of Sovereignty and the Independence Congress, the Luthori government realized that their governments in Dovani would be unable to quash the now-five year old rebellion. Late in 1644, the Luthori Imperial Diet ordered the launching of a massive, surprise military attack to supress the revolt. Imperial Luthori troops landed on Hulstrian soil and rapidly overan most of the coastal regions, including present-day Kuratha and Budenlar. The Battle of Volkermarkt was the first major battle between Hulstrian and Luthori armies in the Great Rebellion. Both sides suffered high casualties, however, the Luthori forces effectively held the field by using several flank tactics, effectively winning the battle. This defeat crippled the morale of the Hulstrians. However, the demoralized Hulstrian forces recovered after a series of small victories shortly after Volkermarkt. The Hulstrian army quickly learned from their mistakes and several weeks later at the Battle of Konstanz they tasted victory as the Luthori army was forced to surrender its newly won territory.

The remaining years of the war became a back and forth struggle with neither side able to dealt the necessary blow to tip the balance in their favor. The death of Lord Godfrey, Duke of Himmelgred, the leader of the Holy Luthori invasion force, by the hands of the rebels is considered to be the turning point for the war however. Field Marshal Franz von Rothingren played to the strength of his army and undertook a prolonged series of "hit and run" campaigns on Luthori strongpoints and supply lines, limiting the Holy Imperial Army capability to properly fight on Hulstrian ground. In a bold effort to quell the rebellion once and for all, including to extract revenge for the death of the Duke of Himmelgred, reinforcements were sent to Hulstria with the objective of taking over Kien, the main operation command of the rebellion force in Hulstria, in hopes to deal a fatal blow to Rothingren and Hulstria; the Holy Imperial Army, to carry out this plan, forged through modern Budenlar and western Hulstria to the outskirts of Kien. The two forces met on the cold morning of 13 December 1646 in what is considered by many historians the largest and longest battle of the Great Rebellion. The Battle of the Kiennese Pass took place just outside of the Hulstrian capital city with Luthori at first outnumbering the Hulstrians; it was only on a ratio of 3 to 2. For nearly two weeks the defensive structures outside the capital, most notably Fortress Kien, battled through constant attacks from Luthori forces. However, the Imperial Army did was not able to muster enough strength to breakthrough the Hulstrian defenses. The Imperial Army commander, General John Codrington, decided to wait for reinforcements and prepared to siege the city. He ordered the massing of all the army's artillery around Fortress Kein and proceeded to carry out a two day long bombardment of the Fortress. Cordington's complacency and overreliance on artillery allowed von Rothingren to prepare his own surprise attack.

During the night of 22 December Field Marshall Franz von Rothingren moved his small force of cavalry over the mountain peaks to the seemingly inpenetrable forest beyond the city. In the predawn mist of 23 December, he ordered a diversionary attack of infantry on the Imperial army's frontlines. As the attack was underway and all attention was focused on the front, von Rothingren rallied his calvary units, numbering only around 500 Luthori Riding School graduates, and attacked the exposed flanks of the Imperial Army in what forever will be known as the "Charge of the Hulstrian Lancers". This surprise attack routed the Imperial Army and the small cavalry force was recorded to have accounted for nearly 3,000 of the Luthori dead, roughly one-tenth of the entire Luthori force present at the battle.

Following this decisive victory at the Kiennese Pass, von Rothingren began pushing the Luthori Imperial Army out of colonial Hulstria and in the process land that had been taken over by the invading forces. In 1649, the Holy Luthori Emperor began to worry that a drawn out war might cause other Luthori colonies, such as Kazulia to the north, to revolt and therefore wished to end the Great Rebellion as soon as possible. Later in that year, Luthori delegates met with their Hulstrian counterparts and formally granted and recognized Hulstrian independence. By the end of that year, all Luthori forces were removed from Hulstria and the country began the process of forming its own governmental institutions. Despite the large war between Hulstria and Luthori, the two modern countries acknowledge one another as being very close allies. The two country's monarchies are even ruled by the same royal dynasty; the Rothingren-Traugotts.

Beginnings
Following the The Great Rebellion, Hulstria came under the rule of Franz VI (r.1650-1676), who was given the Crown after the establishment of the Hulstrian Monarchy by the Imperial Diet in 1650; his coronation also made the Lutheran House of Rothingren the ruling imperial dynasty and Hulstria would be ruled by the Rothingrens for the next 106 years until their unification with the House of Traugott in 1735. In the 1650s and the 1660s, the Rothingrens began to accumulate other provinces and territory in the vicinity of Hulstria, more notably in eastern Dovani. These territories, together, became known as the Eastern Territories overtime, although they were sometimes all together simply reffered to as "the colonies". Kaiser Franz I lead the foundation of this colonial empire of Hulstria, starting new campaigns to capture new lands; Franz I was successful in receiving a portion of land west of the Sea of Corina and land south of Hilgar, including some territory in the south-west of Corina. Following these latest acquisitions, new trade routes for Hulstrian merchants were mapped and additional markets were formed, providing a wave of economic prosperity for many within the country. Franz I himself advocated new economic initiatives to the Imperial Diet and encouraged the growth of the Hulstrian shipping industry; the Kaiser furthermore made attempts to construct new trade relations with Luthori, then under Charles I (r.1659-1683), in hopes of easing leftover tensions from the rebellion. Such efforts were meet kindly by Charles and the two nations engaged in regular trading activity. Franz did face some criticism from the Imperial Diet and others who were involved in the rebellion but later was praised for his ability to lend his hand of friendship to a former foe.

The Rothingrens pushed through the groundwork of Hulstrian architecture quickly following the birth of Hulstria; several historically important buildings such as the Fliederbrunn Palace, the Hulstrian National Cathedral, and the Korlburg Palace were constructed under Franz's reign. The Baroque styles of the pieces of infrastructure marked Hulstrian power and unity; Sigismund von Vorm, the architect behind Fliederbrunn, even had a city named after him in Kuratha. Not only were construction projects made for the royals, new structures were put into place for the citizenry. Franz personally commissioned the assembly a vast system of libraries in Kien and around Hulstria. The first years of the new Hulstrian Monarchy were that of skepticism, great curiosity, and new heights; Hulstria did eventually emerge as the new power within the Dovani region and Franz I's leadership granted legitimacy to the Monarch, leaving his successors with plenty of affluence to command the country. On November 2nd, 1676, Franz I died at the age of 76 from natural causes; Franz's son, Crown Prince Rudolph, assumed the throne as Rudolph I.

Rudolph I & Maximilian I
Rudolph I (r.1676-1681) was the first Emperor of Hulstria to go through the process of succession and his coronation was considered grand for his day; while his coronation may have been large and spectacle, Rudolph was actually not an energetic person and lead a very conventional lifestyle. Rudolph was still a well-loved Emperor and this fact at times made him puzzled due to his ordinary personality. Rudolph did provide leadership in continuing many of his father's initiatives and focused his efforts on creating a strong Hulstrian navy, commissioning decorated naval soldiers at leadership positions and working with the Imperial Diet on funding for new ship creations. Rudolph I encouraged skill artisans in all fields however in Hulstria and had the Rothingrens become patronages of educational institutions, including the first higher educational schools in Hulstria. Rudolph was very concerned about education and throughout his reign promoted intelligent thought among society; people close to Rudolph were noted to have said about the Emperor that he was interested in building an educated population that would pass down traits and traditions to future generations.

The Emperor also pushed through measures to increase the flexibility of the military in the Hulstrian Empire by reorganizing them in a more effective chain of command and allowed territories to form their own representative councils to deal with local issues, however such governing were still supervised by the Imperial Diet and the Monarch. Rudolph I on top of this pushed for greater centralization in the governemnt and was able to accomplish this goal. The Empire of Hulstria though under Rudolph did not expand and by 1680 remained where it was at after death of Franz. After six years of at the throne as the Emperor of Hulstria, Rudolph died in 1681 Kien; his son Maxmilian, who was more eccentric and lively, inherited the throne as Maximilian I.

Maximilian I of Hulstria (r.1681-1732) when he was Crown Prince had attended prestigious schooling and was brought it fairly in the private eye; this fact however did not affect his personality, which people during the day who knew him thought he was "full of life" and adventruous. These traits, most likely gained from his mother, were transported to how he ruled the Hulstrian Monarch and Empire. In private conversations and discovered notes and writings of Maximilian I told that he had great visions for the future and expansion of the Rothingrens and the Empire. One of his many visions was to create a vast infrastructure system within Hulstria that he hoped "would be the envy of the continent"; in 1682 Maximilian I commissioned and was able to order new revitalizations of roads within the country with unanimous approval of the Imperial Diet. The regions of Budenlar, Hulstria, and Mitrania were the first areas to be given improved roads; large cities given the most improvement but Maxilimian also made sure efficient roads were avaliable to everyone. Construction and the connection of roads to urban cities to the farming communities in Mitrania increased trade and easy access to goods, mountain valleys and communities were positively received by these new routes in specifically the areas in or around the Barrier Ranges. Hilgar and Kuratha in the course of time also acquired these benefits. Documents and other writings show the architects of these new roads employed ideas from the Selucia Imperium, Luthori, and from their own original concepts to construct the old transportation system of Hulstria. In 1683 Maximilian embarked on new patronages to support and enhance the shipping industry of Hulstria, which when at the time he assumed the throne, were performing at moderate levels however the Emperor was not exactly one who tolerated these moderate levels and envisioned a larger skilled artisan trade in shipping, believed that if the Rothingrens and Hulstria as a whole would become the dominant military and economic power on the continent, a strong navy was needed to fulfill these goals. Despite his father's appointment of decorated soldiers to leadership positions in the navy, this did not automatically increase the fleet numbers of Hulstria. Maximilian as he did with infrastructure became a patron of several ship building organizations and got the legislature to pass shipping-friendly legislation; the Emperor also commissioned the coastal towns of Luthorische Bai and New Liore to become the two primary locations for Hulstrian ship construction and maintenance. Within a decade, thanks to these patronages and encouragement of skilled labor within shipping, the Navy of Hulstria became the dominant force in both Dovani and Terra which the country encompassing a wide range of unique vessels; The new fleet assisted the growth of international trade to Hulstria and exerted sea power along Hulstria's coastline. This vast expansion furthermore created new wealth for those coastal towns and paved the way for new settlements along the coast of Budenlar and Kuratha in the 1690s. This was seen as a major accomplishment in Maximilian's reign and became an extraordinarily loved Monarch following this success.

Maximilian did not stop at expanding the power of the Rothingrens and Hulstria and in 1696 created a new military campaign to seek to acquire new lands beyond the existing colonies farther east in the Dovani plains and around the Sea of Corina. Maximilian did not stop at expanding the power of the Rothingrens and Hulstria and in 1696 created a new military campaign to seek to acquire new lands beyond the existing colonies farther east in the Dovani plains and around the Sea of Corina. Maximilian was noted to have been fond of military strategy and tactics and was involved regularly in the planning of the battle plans for the new acquirements; the Emperor’s insight however did not prevent the coming events to face the Hulstra army. In July 1697, Hulstran army soldiers took a small piece of land just off the edge of the north-eastern Corina coastline and claimed it for the Emperor, however though they were ambushed by local barbarians and aggressive nomad hordes that were already known to cause terror within the region; the army was at first taken aback, being subject to moderate casualty though were successfully able to defend themselves and their new claims. After hearing the news, Maximilian decided not to expand further into the territories for the time being and focused his efforts on suppressing the hordes in the area. In the "War of the Plains", ordered by the Emperor and declared by the legislature was a short conflict between Hulstrian forces and the barbarians hordes in the eastern Dovani plains in response to the attacks on the Corina territory; while the conflict only lasted for a few weeks and it has been noted as being a relatively small conflict, it did result in the elimination of the final remnants of such "horde" groups on the continent in the eastern plains and they were drove out to the Rift Mountains and southern Dovani. The conflict also opened new trade routes and new migration into the colonies due to the new safe envirnment. The victory resulted in a massive surge of popularity and the new found respect lasted with him until the last years of his reign.

Henrietta & the War of Hulstrian Succession
Maximilian I on his efforts to expand the Hulstrian empire and naval power, did not focus his time creating much of an imperial family and a male heir to the Hulstrian throne; Maximilian was able to only have one child, a daughter named Heinretta, with his wife. The couple had one son however but he died during a miscarriage, thus cementing Heinretta's claim to the throne. The latter however was challenged by other royal families; by the end of Maximilian's tenure, various royal Houses grew uncomfortable with the fact that Henrietta would after Maximilian's death become the new Monarch, believing that only males should be able to assume the throne (though this was eventually found out be a convenient excuse put forward to in reality bash the Rothingrens and Heinretta) and as such started to propose their own members as candidates to take Maximilian's (and subsequently the Rothingrens place) position of power; these opponents also proclaimed that Heinretta was inexperienced and would not properly run the business of the Monarch. Henrietta dismissed these challenges and comments from other families, citing the actual Hulstrian Writ of Succession drafted by her great-grandfather, Franz I, that allowed women to become the Head of State to cash off oppositional claims and also cited the direct bloodline she had with the Emperor, being closet to him, making her the legitimate heir; the Emperor's daughter also had the backing of major Hulstrian Military generals and used that influence to take the throne without further opposition for the time being. When Maximilian I died in 1732, the Crown Princess was coronated in Kien and became Henrietta I of Hulstria (r.1732-1756); the coronation sparked off a conflict between the Rothingrens and the disputing royal families in the "War of Hulstrian Succession" that began 1733.

Despite the fact that Henrietta's father, Maximilian I, made efforts to befriend other noble families in Hulstria, such loyalities that existed from these Houses were quickly buried as some began to talk of "bringing up arms" in dethroning Henrietta I and installing a new Monarch to take her place. The Houses of Brandelfurg, Traugott, Moravia, and Oscania positioned themselves in opposition to Henrietta I; however with concerns to the Traugotts, while they were opposed to Henrietta I assuming the throne, they were not as violent or belligerent as their supposed allies yet were one of the leading voices against Henrietta's claim to the throne. The Brandelfurgs, Moravias and the Oscania families on the other hand were simply against the Rothingrens and whatever they did and took advantage of this obstruction by inciting conflict. In the mean time while Henrietta's enemies were gathering, she herself had her own allies; the Strauss, Labsburg, and the Flieders were united in standing with the Rothingrens and believed Henrietta had every right to inheriet the Hulstrian throne, being the closest living person to the former Emperor, Maximilian. Henrietta additionally had support of major Hulstrian generals and used this fact to her advantage later in the war. Modern historians believe that Duke Charles, the Head of the House of Brandelfurg, fired the "first shot" in the War of Hulstrian Succession by leading a small army into northern Mitrania and capturing the north-west corner of the region in the name of the Brandelfurgs and more obviously as a sign of rebellion against Henrietta, now actually putting rhetoric about conflict into reality. While Henrietta and the Hulstrian Imperial Army were suspect of a possible military move by one of the opposition, the soldiers placed in the area could do nothing more than a few garrison and fell back to eastern Budenlar. The Rothingrens, rightfully furious, sprang into action; Henrietta I ordered Hulstrian troops to take back the territory and if found, to execute Duke Charles of Brandelfurg on the basis of treason. A field army under the command of Goerge von Kutowsky was quickly formed and made preparations to re-conquer the Brandelfurg controlled land. In the Battle of River Pass, Kutowsky easily defeated the Brandelfurg encampment, using the terrian, which included a strategic river stream, to attack the opposition. Kutowsky also led a much bigger army and had better equipment, being supplied by the top imperial brass in Kien. Charles however was nowhere to be found in that area and was suspected of leaving the area before the attack; if this was because of early intelligence or pure luck, it is unknown. Henrietta, thinking the unruly opposition was put to an in, declared victory; this was premature. Two weeks following the Kutowsky counter-attack, the Duke of Brandelfurg, led an attack on Rothingren military camps south of the Region of Hulstria with not only his own troops but others from Oscania and Moravia families who also voiced their adverse against Henrietta. This army also attacked two other camps in the area and captured a small town in the process; this surprise campaign, known as the "Neisse Campaign", named after Armin Neisse, a former General in the Imperial Army that quit to join the opposition, rejuvenated the War of Hulstrian Succession, and triggered the Hulstrian Monarchy to once again defend herself. Goerge von Kutowsky, due to his success before in defeating the Brandelfurgs, was again given commanding powers over the Imperial Army. He quickly organized three groups to take back the occupied territory and finally ride out the Brandelfurg. In one group, led by General Anders Wenham, in an attempt to take back a largly fortified camp where slaughtered, dealing a powerful blow to the Monarchy. However, in a group led by Marcel von Raimund, they were successfully able to recapture a small portion of territory from Charles. The Brandelfurgs, looking to retain their territory and to further pursue their quest to overthrow Henrietta I, turned the tide in the succession war in the winter of 1733. It was announced that winter that the Brandelfurgs successfully secured an alliance with the House of Borbone, a powerful noble family from Lourenne who had connections to the military in that nation; in this agreement, the Borbones would supply the Brandelfurgs with military equipment, including soldiers, in return for a piece of any captured land followng the end of the war. Henrietta quickly responded in setting up a defense pact with the Holy Luthori Empire, then under Maximilian II (r.1739-1769); this pact with Luthori would help balance out the rest of the war since now both sides had an ally in the conflict. Following the establishment of these alliances, the War of Hulstrian Succession would not re-ignite into conflict until the spring of 1734 when the Borbones and the Brandelfurg launched a major offensive to conquer the capital of Kien, home to the Hulstrian Monarchy, in the hopes of finally crushing Henrietta I.

In what has been called the "Barrier Range Offensive", the Borbone and Brandelfurg might combined with each other to launch a daring invasion of the Region of Hulstria and eventually Kien. The offensive was launched in the spring of 1734, led by the infamous Armin Neisse, who led the "Neisse Campaign" that captured the southern half of the Crownland, and René Étienne, of the Brandelfurg and Borbone family respectively. Suspecting that they would try to take Kien, Henrietta set up defensive camps along the Barrier Mountains and around both major cities and small towns that she thought the opposition would try to take for their own advantage. This defense set up by Henrietta I, including the help from Luthori, helped slow down the Barrier Range Offensive yet did not stop it entirely. Both sides would exchange victories and defeats fpr the remainder of the year until the Battle of Phonix which drastically changed the course of the war. Up until late 1734, Neisse and Étienne were gaining victory in small areas just enough to led their charge towards Kien. Due to defensive positions set up by the Empress early on, the Borbone-Brandelfurg army had to take unique routes which left them in unimportant strategic areas regulary. Up until late 1734 as well, the main objective of the Barrier Range Offensive was to capture Kien, and subsequently taking over the entire nation in one giant sweep; René Étienne realized such a goal was unrealistic and convinced Neisse, who wanted to go straight to Kien, to instead attack cities surrounding Kien in an effort to suffocate the Monarchy into having to retreat. The city of Phonix was chosen as the first target of this new campaign due to it's close location to the capital and easy trade routes which could be used by the opposition military forces; the city also had a small military encampment, leaving it open to an attack. It was not known to the opposition army that Henrietta I had actually placed skilled Imperial Marine regiments within the cities, not just regular foot soldiers. When Neisse and Étienne attacked, they were caught by surprise, thinking they would easily overrun it. On December 19th, 1743, Armin Neisse launched the invasion of Phonix with own his regiment, flanking it from the East while René Étienne led his own regiment of troops from the south of the city. Étienne used artillery and seige weaponry on the defensive positions around the city and to knock down fortified postions while Neisse used his ground army to penetrate other walls and to provide assistance to Étienne. The Imperial Marines stationed at Phonix went into immediate defensive positions and drove back some Neisse's ground forces; to retaliate towards Étienne's artillery, the Imperial Marines fired cannons at their position from Bastions and Embrasures. The fighting went well into the night; eyewitness reports and historical documents say that the sky in Phonix was "strikingly red" and yellow, resembling some colors that of the firebird, the Phoenix. In the early morning hours of December 19th, 1743, Neisse was finally able to gain access inside the city following an intense firefight with a squad of Imperial Marines at the north-east section of Phonix. The victory here allowed Neisse to effectively gain access inside the city and to flank the Imperial Marines stationed in front of the city attacking Étienne's artillery. Marine reinforcements, who had not made it earlier to save the exisiting sqaud during the fight, arrived just as Neisses troops entered and engaged in close-quarter combat, an unusal military tactic during used during that time. Hand-to-hand conflict also ensued between the Imperial Marines and the Neisse army. Meanwhile, inner Phonix was plunged continually by enemy artiellery, leaving many citizens to leave the city; Colonel Bernard Matthias of Hulstria, in charge of the IM regiment south of the city, knew that the city would fall if the enemy artillery was not effectively destroyed, Phonix would likely be lost. Matthias quickly organized calvary unit and led the daring charge to the nearest artillery unit in the hopes of driving back the rest of the seige back to get out of range of the city. Reminiscent of the "Charge of the Hulstrian Lancers" in the Hulstrian Rebellion, Matthias layed his own seige upon Étienne, though not without a price as Colonel Bernard Matthias was killed by an enemy riflemen during the offensive. The calvary would succeed in destroying their designated artilley but were pushed back the city, opposite of their intended plans, as troops from the Moravia family entered the battle. In the north-east section of the city, Neisse was however pushed back himself out of the city. The Imperial Marines now were pinned down in Phonix against the Borbones, the Brandelfurgs, and now the Moravias. When news reached to Henrietta I about this situation, she called upon several major Generals to lead a counter-attack to push back opposition forces; Field Marshall Goerge von Kutowsky was given the task to oversee the counter-attack. Some Generals under the command of Kutoswky, like Volkmar von Strauss, a member of the House of Strauss, Philip Hanspeter, and Henrik Lothar, all had previous affliation with Henretta's father, Maxilimilian I, and were trusted associates of the House of Rothingren. The counter-attack force departed Kien for Phonix on Christmas eve, 1743. On Christmas day, a massive snow storm fell upon the entire country, including Phonix. The Neisse force, now to the north, was unable to advance any further into the city. Neisse's troops, who were mostly from the Borbones, were not experienced in winter warfare, and thus could not fight efficiently. The cold temperatures also affected Étienne's artiellry, which told by some documents actually froze. The Imperial Marines, we who almost on the brink of defeat and losing the city, on the other hand were trained in wintery conditions, giving them the edge over the enemy. The winter's stalling of the Borbone-Brandelfurg-Moravia bought the Marines valueable time as a result. Ferdinand von Lehwaldt, the acting Colonel following the death of Matthias, saw this as an opportunity to attack the enemy in their state of vulnerability, and had Imperial Marines attack small encampments of the Borbone-Brandelfurg-Moravia which proved to be successful. Taking into account the weather, the Imperial Marine's new offensive, and suspecting large reinforcements from the Rothingrens Étienne retreated from the Battle of Phonix though did not inform Neisse nor commanders from the Moravias about his depature, leaving them to their fate with Kutowsky. The counter-attack force eventually arrived at Phonix, after the snow storm settled, engaging with Armin Neisse and Ludwig Jan-Lukas of the Moravias, with Kutowsky and Strauss taking them on respectively. A large battle ensued between the two forces and many deaths were given on both sides. Armin Neisse, during his battle with Goerge von Kutowsky was killed by an artillery shot when he was on his horse, violently throwing him off his horse and threw into a batch of stones; Neisse soon died from internal injuries and severe interal bleeding as a result. The large death toll from Neisse's side and his death resulted in his force to surrender to the Hulstrians; Ludwig Jan-Lukas also surrendered during his battle with Volkmar von Strauss soon after, ending the Battle of Phonix with a large victory for the Rothingrens. Phonix was badly damaged during the seige yet it did not fall to the opposition, saving Kien.

Conclusion & the Peace of Flieder
News spread throughout Hulstria like wildfire about the victory at Phonix by the Rothingrens and the defeat of the enemy Brandelfrugs and Borbones, ending their Barrier Range Offensive and pushing them back deep into Mitrania. Charles, the Duke of Brandelfrug, attempted to escape Hulstria but was caught by Luthori navymen who were stationed off the coast of Kuratha, aiding in supply efforts to the Rothingrens as a result of their defense pact signed a year prior. The Rothingrens a month after the Battle of Phonix regained the taken land captured by Neisse in southern Hulstria, ending Brandelfurg occupation of that area. René Étienne took refuge in southern Mitrana where he and his army fortified themselves on the border between Hulstria and the Eastern Territories. With the opposition of the Emporess gone, one would assume in respect the war would be over. This thinking was incorrect. There were still other families strongly opposed to Henrietta I sitting on the Hulstrian throne that did not take part in the violent conflict created by the House of Brandelfrug. The House of Traugott and it's head, Balthazar, the Duke of Traugott, was one of these strong voices. To aviod further conflict, the Rothingrens proposed that Balthazar marry Henrietta I and combine the House of Rothingren and the House of Traugott under the condition that the House of Traugott be absorbed into the Rothingren side, thus allowing the Rothingrens to obtain the titles possesed by the Traugotts. Balthazar agreed to these provisions only if he would be able to dualy reign alongside Henrietta; the House of Rothingren agreed. At the time the Rothingrens were discussing peace at home, they were also discussing peace with the Borbones of Lourenne. The Borbones, afraid Henrietta I would declare war on them, and invade, proposed peace with the Rothingrens, ending the hostility between the two Houses and would relinquish their claims to any land originally agreed to with the Duke of Brandelfrug. The Borbones also revealed the exact location of René Étienne as a token of their faith of turning their back to fighting with the Hulstrian Monarchy. A Hulstrian battalion attacked Étienne's encampment and easily defeated them; René Étienne, refusing to be captured, shot himself in his tent.

In the spring of 1735, the "Peace of Flieder" was signed between Henrietta I, Balthazar, and the House of Borbone. The Peace of Flieder established the marriage between Henrietta and Balthazar, creating the "House of Rothingren-Traugott" and ended the hostility with the House of Borbone, along with several other families in Hulstria. The next year Henrietta and Balthazar gave birth to their first child, Rainer, the Crown Prince of Hulstria. The War of Hulstria Succession solidified Henrietta I as the Monarch and ended any opposing claims to the throne, especially after the Peace of Flieder; the succession war also secured Hulstrian power within the region. With the fact that the Monarchy successfully was able to main their territory and defeat an hostile army on their own land, Hulstria and the House of Rothingren proved their resiliency and ablity to maintain their Empire. Several towns and cities were badly damaged but through extensive economic reforms that were put into place following the war and during the Dual Monarchy helped revive war-torn areas. The War of Hulstrian Succession was also the founding stone for the House of Rothingren-Traugott who in later centuries would become arguably the most powerful royal House on the globe, encompassing several thrones. The War additionally put into place the system of a "Dual Monarchy", a form of government that would later be used in 25th century Hulstria.

Dual Monarchy of Henrietta & Balthazar
Following the Peace of Flieder the Duke of Traugott was coronated as the Emperor of Hulstria, taking the regnal name of Balthazar I of Hulstria. Shortly after this, Henrietta and Balthazar gave birth to their first son, Rainer, the first Crown Prince of Hulstria as a Rothingren-Traugott. During the first year of the Dual Monarchy, the Empress and Emperor exercised their own and equal powers; the two mainly worked together in the business of the Monarchy as well. The two were fairly conservative in manners of the State though Henrietta and Balthazar did implement vast reforms to strengthen the might of Hulstrian army and the economy. With the army Henrietta pushed for, and eventually got, the Imperial Forces to become more centralized; responsibility was still given to the Imperial Diet and the Defense Minister though the Monarch gained considerable powers over military decision making with her reforms. Other initiatives including growing the economy where the Dual Monarchy focused on balancing the Imperial budget and a mix of tax cuts and raises.

The economic reforms created by the Dual Monarchy helped double the state revenue and gave room for the parliament and the Monarch to inact more initatives like improving roads, creating new trade routes, and constructing both civilian and military infrastructure; these reforms would help bring Hulstria out of the economic downturn created by the succession war. Henrietta was noted to as well created new reforms within the government; Henrietta, who was not an autocrat who acted alone in her dealings, was successful in turning the position of the Head of Government closer to the Monarchy while still keeping the position close to the parliament itself; the connection was meant to create an easier line of communication between the monarch and Her Majesty’s Imperial Government, a line that still exists today between the two positions. Balthazar was relucant to support this idea as he thought republicanists would try to gain the position in attempts to bash the sovereign since it became a larger position that is was before; Balthazar eventually however accepted the idea. Other advances in education and medicine, such as the construction of Kien General Hospital, one of the largest hospitals in the world, marked other reforms in the era of this Dual Monarchy.

The Dual Monarchy would come to an erupt end after Balthazar I suddenly died in 1750; Henrietta was completely devastated, causing her to remain out of the public life for the remainder of her reign. She limited her duties to very formal events where sometimes she did not even attend those. Her son, Rainer, the Crown Prince, had to take up the responsibilities left behind by his mother, becoming a sort of co-regent without actually being one. In 1756 Henrietta I of Hulstria died after a bought with a fatal chill with her children at her beside at Fliederbrunn; her death ended the House of Rothingren and brought in it's successor house, the House of Rothingren-Traugott, to Hulstria. Her son, who already was performing a majority of her duties, became the new Emperor in the winter of 1756 at the very young age of 21.

Reign of Rainer I
The Crown Prince of Hulstria, Archduke Rainer, was coronated as the first Rothingren-Traugott Emperor in the winter of 1756 shortly following the death of his mother, Henrietta I of Hulstria, and took up the regnal name Rainer I of Hulstria (r.1756-1777). The new Emperor was very, very young at the time of his coronation, standing at only 21 years of age. While Rainer was certainly brought up as the heir to the throne and as such was preped for one to take this position, some monarchists within the Empire were afraid of another War od Succession or some other conflict, thinking opponents would see the Kaiser's young age and try to take advantage of the young monarch. Rainer I of course labeled these claims as foolish and outlandish, not placing too much stck into them nor did many supporters of the new Imperial Court. Nonetheless Rainer I was concerned about the dissent within the Empire and the public image it was giving Rothingren-Traugotts. The Emperor was determined to settle the matter and stake his claim as the monarcd, deciding to address a special session of the Imperial Diet in 1757 in what has been called as the "Diet Rundown"; witnesses and historical documents say that the young Emperor called out dissenters and anyone who had an issue with his age. The Emperor called out specific members though did not do much more than that, opting instead to call for unity within the Imperial Court, saying it was needed more than ever following the bloody succession war. His oratory skills, which would be passed on among the Rothingren-Traugott Monarchs for generations to follow, proved to be in his favor as comments about his age and the questioning of his rule due to the former soon ended after the "Diet Rundown". Monarchists following this address as well became more unitary and worked together more as a result despite often times some of these parties representing different noble families. When Rainer I settled this matter, he then focused on the issues that mattered to the State; the Emperor's leadership has been called by historians as "benevolent and paternal", ruling with the intention of strengthening Hulstrian society and Empire by vast reforms though expected the laws put into place be strictly in accordance with his own criteria. Rainer I was noted to have a dedicated spirit of service to the Empire and expected his Court to express the same spirit, leaving some to label him as a perfectionist though many viewed him as just having very high-expectations for the Hulstrian Empire. The Emperor was also considered austere and not very keen on humor, opting to work rather than to fool around. Despite this, as noted, Rainer had a dedicated spirt to service, and sincerely wished to improve the lives of his subjects.

Rainer I of Hulstria was a stern advocate of universal education; in 1759 the Emperor successfully was able to establish a new law requiring compulsory education for both boys and girls. Of course overtime the Imperial Diet went back and forth with this law, establishing and de-establishing compulsory education though during and after Rainer’s tenure, this was seen as a major step to improve education within the Empire. The Imperial Court also issued scholarships to talented students and awarded prizes for competitions, the first nation to do so on the Dovani continent; at first, the Court and the central government in Kien took on these duties though overtime the task of giving out these prizes were devolved to the Crownlands. Education was always a primary cause for the House of Rothingren, before they combined with the House of Traugott, forming the subsequent successor house; back to the times of Rudolph I, he emphasized the benefits of a literate society, thus pursueing initatives in the medical field, among many other areas. The Rothingren Emperors realized that if Hulstria, still fairly young from their independence from Luthori in 1650, were to succeed as both a nation and an Empire, they would need to invest heavily in culture and knowledge. Overtime the Empire would eventually meet the goal of becoming a universally educated country though not without effort and time; even in modern Hulstria, education is widely stressed as beneficiary, with the Imperial Crownlands encompassing over 500 billion crowns in its Ministry of Education & Culture, one of the largest budgets for that Ministry in the world. Many historians believe that Rainer's push for compulsory education and other educational reforms paved the way for Hulstria to become the main educational centers on Dovani, then and now in modern times.

The colonial empire of Hulstria expanded along the northern coastline of the Sea of Corina and the acquisition of the island situtated in the middle of Corina which was named Rainer Island in 1758, in honor of the Emperor. A large expansion of the Imperial Army and the creation of the Imperial Guard, the Emperor's personal guard, marked progress as well on the military front. The rise of conservatism and traditionalism marked the political atmosphere in Hulstria. The arts, which Rainer was a fan of, grew and experienced an explosion of embracement by Hulstrians in the 1760s; painting in particular became the new social fad among the population. Various famous paintings from this era, including that of the "Hulstrian Mountainside" by by Hanz Zatzka, defined an entire decade and fine portion of the reign of Kaiser Rainer.

With concerns to marriage, Rainer I wasted no time in finding in a consort but in a way intentionally “wasted time” by pursuing his often consuming initiatives within the Hulstrian Empire. However in 1760 Rainer I married Louisa of Kuastalla, the daughter of Harald, Duke of Kuastalla, whom of which was a supporter of the Rothingren side in the succession war; the couple however did not have any children, to much of Rainer's displeasure. In letters to his close adviser, Willem von Doortburn, the Emperor revealed his disgruntlement over his childless family though felt that "the Empire must come first", furthering the perception that Rainer I was very much engaged in the workings of the Imperial Court. As a result of not producing a heir, when Rainer I died suddenly of serious bought of pleurisy, he had no issue, and as such, Rainer’s brother, Karl, succeeded him.

Hulstrian Society Under Karl I & Franz II
Archduke Karl succeeded his brother as the Emperor of Hulstria following his death and leaving no issues. Ascending to the throne was no surprise for Karl, who had suspected he'd rule as Emperor due to his older brother failing to produce a heir. These suspicions came true when Rainer I became seriously ill and requested Karl in Kien, presumably to say his last goodbyes to his brother, and reveal to him he was going to be the next monarch. Karl, when he received his message from his brother, was in Budenlar, and had to travel to Kien; before Karl could arrive, Rainer I had already died.

Karl I ruled as an intelligent and consistent monarch yet was very private and his hobbies were simple. Unlike his brother, who during his reign focused his attention on improving and advancing Hulstrian arts and education, Karl I pushed heavily for economic reforms, and one of his first acts as monarch was to push for a total change to the nation's tax system.

Era of Glory
After the death of Sebastian I, his son, Archduke Klaus Gustav, Crown Prince of Hulstria, was coronated as the Emperor of Hulstria in Kien; the reign of Klaus Gustav I is considered to be a major turning point for the Hulstrian Empire and the Rothingren-Traugotts, economically, culturally, and politically. In what has been called the "Era of Glory" was a period of massive cultural, political, royalist, and colonial growth and change in the Empire of Hulstria; advancements in the arts, the evolution of political parties, new imperial nationalism, and the rise of infrastructure marked the successes of Emperor Klaus Gustav I's illustrious tenure. During the 19th century, the Hulstrian Empire became a cradle of scientific thought that produced in turn numerous scientists who would gain international reputation; Hulstrian scientists during this time were credited to the creation of the atomic theory, the study of shock waves, and much more discoveries. Kaiser Klaus Gustav was known to be a large patron of several scientific organizations during this time and encouraged science throughout his reign, something at the time many Catholic monarchies around Terra were not doing; not only was science increasing in promience in Hulstria, so was the study of medicine. The renowned "Kien School of Medicine", which still operates today, was created and construction in the mid 1800s by a decree issued by the Emperor himself; contributions to the studies of bacteriology and immunology, and abdominal surgery are all credited to Hulstrian scientists and physicians.

The Era of Glory was also a time of stanch royalist activity and nationalism; the Monarch under Klaus Gustav I was strong and such a status was mirrored with the citizenry. The nationalism provided a new gateway to economic prosperity within Hulstria and the expansion of the colonial empire; new territory surrounding the Sea of Corina were put under Hulstrian rule and the Hulstrian Empire took their first colonial steps into the northern Caltropic Highlands on Dovani. Klaus Gustav I as well took the first steps in creating a functioning colonial government in the "Eastern Territories", a term first used in the late 1860s that still exists today, by establishing a "Colonial Secretary" to supervise and govern the territories on behalf of the Monarchy; the Colonial Secretaries were ususally a trusted associate of the Sovereign or a noble and were only appointed by the Monarch. Hulstria politically was as noted very royalist during this time but there was not an absence of republican activity; the rise of communist theory in the early 1850s attributed to the changes in political beliefs, especially among the minority Gao-Showa population immigrating from Sekowo, landing in Hilgar mostly. Conservative parties within the legislature in Hulstria were able to supress these sympathies however and were successful in keeping the legislature royalist; the communists were also rejected by the vast majority of Hulstrians and were kept out of the mainstream for some time.

Advancements in the Arts
Following the attempted assassination of Klaus Gustav I, which failed terribly, not only did more people unite around the Monarch but condemned the republicans and communists, leading to their political outcast status for many years. The increasing interest of music also marked the Era of Glory; Hulstrian citizens, in particular in Kien, to a vast kindle to musical art. Thanks to the status of Hulstria as a colonial power and cultural environment provided an advancement various forms of art, most notably in this instance music; composers were also drawn to Hulstria due to the patronage of the Rothingren-Traugotts. Kien was one of the first cities to embrace music and was the birthplace of many famous composers; Josef Mozart was one of these famous composers and is considered the founder of Hulstrian classical music. His vast influence on composers in later generations has made his scores standard part of the training of classical musicians around the world. Klaus Gustav I even invited Josef Mozart to perform "Symphony 40", one of his most renowned works, at the Fliederbrunn Palace. Peter Schubert, Edward Strauss, and Arnold Weburn are also noted as being the finest composers of their day; waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other forms of dance were widely popular in Hulstrian society during the late 19th century. Today, Kien is regarded as being one of the leading cities and the Dovani capital of classical music.

Klaus Gustavs I's reign (68 years) was one of the longest tenures of any Emperor of Hulstria; it would be hundreds upon hundreds of years until his record was broken by Ferdinand II of Hulstria. Klaus Gustav's reign on the Hulstrian was marked by great advances in science, art, music, and Hulstrian power. Many historians believe, disregarding the failed assassination attempt and the birth of communism, that this period of Hulstrian history to be one of the most peaceful and prosperous. In 1916 Klaus Gustav died at Fliederbrunn and his grandson, Crown Prince Klemens, was soon coronated as the new Emperor of Hulstria as Klemens I. Klaus Gustav's son was well into his early 70s and died before assuming the throne; despite his age and a possibility of a short rule, Klemens did not abdicate to his son, Crown Prince Rainer. Klemens I's reign was very short but the Era of Glory continued on, mainly in the form of advances in the military field. After the mass production and invention of the tank by Luthori in 1918, Hulstria was at first slow at constructing these new military weapons, however Hulstria introduced and championed the military strategy of the "blitzkrieg", a tactic of using a mass concentration of tanks supported by other military means such as artillery and air power to break through enemy defenses. In 1920 Klemens I died, only serving for four years in one of the shortest reigns of Hulstrian history; his son, Archduke Rainer, took on the regnal name of "Rainer II" after Rainer I, the first Rothingren-Traugott Emperor when he was coronated.

Reign of Rainer II
Rainer II of Hulstria (r. 1920-1941) continued many of the policies of his father and the Era of Glory continued to go on during his reign on the throne. Rainer within a few years of his coronation led an effort to centralize the government of Hulstria, pushing for greater centralization in both domestic Hulstria and in the colonies. The Emperor eventually was able to succeed in getting these reforms and used them to push for new initiatives within the nation; he got the Rothingren-Traugotts to patron new educational and medical institutions in his first cause. Rainer II sought to produce literate citizenry and created scholarships on behalf of poorer Hulstrians. In the early 1930s, centralization helped improve the production of educated doctors and improved facilities were created as well; some cities in Hulstria were facing inefficient budgets and the Monarch sought to end that, thus the new improvements. Kien especially was a perfect example of the new medical infrastructure; the Kien Imperial Hospital, which operates today, was constructed in the mid 1930s and acted as the preferred hospital for members of the imperial family. The Hulstrian Academy of Medical Research, the Kiennese School of Medicine, and the Rainer’s new medical patronages and the Imperial Diet’s pro-medical legislation, gave way to important Hulstrian doctors like Franz von Eiselsberg, one of the founders neurosurgery, and Wilhelm Klein, a chief researcher into cerebral palsy, to perform very well. The economy as a result was going good and on that front, citizens enjoyed a sustainable lifestyle. Rainer II did face criticism from local government and devolutionist advocates who saw the increase of powers to the central government and monarch as an entrenchment of Crownland authority. Political parties attempted to ease this opposition by giving Crownlands more power over environmental and agricultural policies, which were popular in regions such as Mitrania and Hilgar. However in the 1930s the nation, as with many across the world, experienced an unstable economy, and decreased economic growth. The Panic of 1929 created a recession in the Empire of Hulstria and the central government took on new powers to try to tackle this matter. The economic downturn lasted until 1932 when the recession was lifted and the economy became stable once again. While Hulstria was able to get of the downturn, other nations though experienced this depression for longer years. The recession occured during the Era of Glory years but since it lasted for a relatively short time and the major industries of the nation remained intact, historians look at the Panic of 1929 as a test for the nation for which they succeeded.

Kaiser Rainer II in 1941 died and the Hulstrian throne was passed on to his son, Crown Prince Franz, who took the regnal name of Franz III and reigned for 26 years; Franz III is believed to be one of the last stable monarchies (some historians lable Franz III as the last monarch of the Era of Glory however) of the “Era of Glory” due to the fact his next three successors (his sons Maximilian II, Dominik I, and once again Maximilian II) would contest for the Hulstrian throne due to their dueling claims. Eventually Maximilian II was found to be the legitimate heir to the throne yet did not for very long and disgusted the way his succession went, he abdicated June 1968 after reigning for 3 months to his son, Crown Prince Rudolph who would become Emperor Rudolph II upon his coronation. The Rothingren-Traugotts and Hulstria took awhile to get over the events from the succession conflicts between Maximilian and Dominik though eventually recovered. Rudolph II helped heal those wounds in his peaceful reign; Rudolph was noted to have liked to run his Empire by the stroke of the pen than being out in public.

=The Great Dark Period (2117-2193)=

Following the assassination of Emperor Maximilian V by Gao-Showan extremists, Hulstria fell into anarchy. Historical documents and eyewitness accounts told that the regions of Budenlar and Hulstria were one of the first areas to face the onslaught of social breakdown and disorder; armed fighting among royalists and republicans were especially evident in major cities and urban environments. Tensions also existed between the Hulstrians and the Gao-Showans, whose tensions were already high before the assassination; fighting amongst these two cultures were aditionally evident and this fact contributed to the main reason of the collapse of order within the country. Rioting in the cities of Vielchen and Anderinch started to begin after a week of the assassination; in particular the "Veilchen Riot" was one of the bloodiest riots during the Great Dark Period and 1/4th of the city was burnt to the ground as a result. Sparks of armed conflict were apparent during the first months of the collapse of government though ceased after a year going into the Great Dark Period.

The first years of the Great Dark Period was dramatic. The central government, weakened by the violence, was incapable of supporting the depth of civic infrastructure required to maintain libraries, public services and major educational institutions. Cities and merchants lost the economic benefits of safe conditions for trade and manufacture, and intellectual development suffered from the loss of a unified cultural and educational country. As it became unsafe to travel or carry goods over any distance, there was a collapse in trade and manufacture for export. The major industries that depended on long-distance trade vanished almost overnight in places like Kuratha. The failure of the central government to keep order created what historians call the "Great Dark Period" that lasted from 2117 until the unification of Hulstria in 2193.

=Unification Of Hulstria= In 2193 began serious talk about uniting the country that had fallen to anarchy 76 years prior; people were starting to get and wanted to get back to normalcy. The country still faced a large hurdle; Hulstria was still though broken into two main sects, the Hulstrians and the Gao-Showa. The Hulstrians still had suspicions and dislike of the Gao-Showa, blaming them for the assassination of Maximilian V, and the implosion of Hulstria. The Gao-Showa on the other hand, like the Hulstrians, held their own suspicions of the other group, claiming that if the Hulstrian Monarchy would come back to power, the new ruler would use his new role to punish the Gao-Showa for previous transgressions. They did however realize that the fighting had to end at somepoint and life could not continue if the nation remained under the cloud of darkness. The people, especially the newer generation wanted to live under a united country with an economy, and most importanly culture. Many people rallied behind the idea of returning the Emperor since Hulstria was stable and economically viable when it was under a constitutional monarchy. Others supported creating a Republic, gaining inspiration from the "Luthori Commonwealth" period from 2035 to 2085, which had Luthori under a form of republic. Monarchists fired back saying the Commonwealth was a failure and shortlived since Luthori eventually went back to the form of Monarchy under Harold VI (r.2085-2128). The republicans and monarchists finally agreed to meet in Kien to formally debate the creation of a united country. In 2195 for the first time since 2117, a special session of parliament convened with several new political parties attending. Here at this conference, dubbed the "Unification Congress", the parties that respectively represented monarchists, republicans, socialists, and independents, hammered out the details of the new formation of a united Hulstria. The Kaiserliche Hulsterreichische Partei, whose membership was made up mostly of members of the House of Strauss and other noble families, actively pushed for the restoration of the Rothingren-Traugott Monarchy; their ally, the Lutheran Nationalist Party, overly supported this as well. Socialist and Gao-Showa parties resented having a Hulstrian monarch or a re-united country with Hulstrians as the ruling class. The Monarchists opposed a re-united country with Gao-Showa as the ruling class since they were a minority.

This roadblock in staled discussions for the next following year until a compromise was reached; the Monarchists accepted a new, hybrid culture called "Gishoti", a culture that would combine traditions from Hulstrian and Gao-Showa cultures that would be the national culture in the formation of a united nation, called Gishoto, that would be under a form of constitutional monarchy under Klaus Gustav, a descendant of Maximilian V of Hulstria, as the Holy Gishoto Emperor. The compromise was seen as a victory for both sides in a way since it resolved the conflict; Hulstrians accepted the deal since it restored the Lutheran Monarchy and Gao-Showans accepted the deal because it didn't have one class dominate the nation. However there was still dissent, especially among some far-left Gao-Showa who saw the restoration of the Rothingren-Traugotts as a spit in the face to the revolutionaries that killed Maximilian V and to communist ideals they held dear. These dissenters would head to the underground of the political specturm of Gishoto and would not rise again until the mid 2200s.

Formation of Gishoto Empire & Klaus Gustav III
The compromise dealt at the Unification Congress set into olay the restoration of the House of Rothingren-Traugott, whom of which were thrown out of power due to the anarchist nature of the Great Dark Period; Klaus Gustav was not however able to recieve the traditional title of "Emperor of Hulstria" as his ancestors, instead he was given the title of the "Holy Gishoto Emperor" due to that compromise being reached at the Unification Congress. The delegates at the Congress realized that it would take at least a year for this new constitutional government to be formed considering the lack of a government the country has faced in the past 80 years and the vast amount of reforms that needed to be taken place; the Monarchists put forward Laura Burgess, also served as the presiding officer of the Unification Congress, of the Lutheran Nationalist Party to head the interim government as President while the Holy Gishoto Empire was being put into play in March of 2197. Burgess was serve as the first and only President of Gishoto until January 2198 when Burgess resigned and Klaus Gustav von Rothingren-Traugott was coronated as the Holy Gishoto Emperor at the Hulstrian National Cathedral as Klaus Gustav III, restoring the Rothingren-Traugotts to the throne though this time over Imperial Gishoto. Following the coronation, the delegates arrived at Fliederbrunn Palace where Klaus Gustav III and Maximilian, Duke of Strauss, who would later become the head of government of Imperial Gishoto and leader of the royalist bloc, swore their alligence to the new Empire, and called on a new period of peace; the long waited and long sought after Hulstrian unification was complete.

The monarchist dominated Imperial Diet following the coronation of Klaus Gustav III to the throne immediately pushed through new reforms and initiatives to rejuvenate the economic and social landscape over Imperial Gishoto. The damage done by the Great Dark Period needed large projects and collective effort to restore the glory the country had before Maximilian V's assassination. Both Hulstrians and Gao-Showas worked together in making the Diet initiatives a reality; places like Veilchen, a city that was damaged due to the anarchtistic nature of the Great Dark Period, was quickly rebuilt, and now today is considered one of the top finacial centres in Greater Hulstria. The influence of Kien that was undermined in the Dark Period soon restored itself and regained it's title of being the center of political activity of Imperial Gishoto. Klaus Gustav III, though under a constitutional monarchy, contributed to the reforms and the projects by giving Rothingren-Traugott patronage. The Imperial Hulstrian Party, the party responsible for leading the push to restore the monarchy, were responsible for many of the reforms that took place. Under the leadership of Maximilian, the Duke of Strauss, and Rudolph Labsburg, the Imperial Hulstrian Party, along with their legislative ally, the Lutheran Nationalist Party, dominated the political landscape of Imperial Gishoto. This fact, tagged with their values of capitalism and aristocracy, ushered in what has been known as the "Era of the Royalists".

Era of the Royalists
The "Era of the Royalists" is the name given to the period that came after the accession of Klaus Gustav III to the Imperial Gishoto and the Rothingren-Tragott restoration of the throne in 2198 until entrance of radicalist and anti-monarchist organizations in the mid 2200s. The Era of the Royalists was marked by an increase of royalist parties in the Imperial Diet and domination of the monarchists in policy-making. There was some other political parties as well that while who were not defined as "royalist" per se, still supported and allied with the other royalist parties nonetheless. The promotion of free-market principles and conservative social values marked the legislative side of the Era of the Royalists; parties like the Imperial Hulstrians were considered to be the central voice for the free-market and often advocated for such policies. While they did support some regulation, free-enterprise empowerment made up most of their economic policy. The Era of the Royalists saw the stabilization of the once anarchy ravaged country and the rebirth of Hulstrian power on the Dovani continent; sharp increases in birth and immigration were also aspects of the Era of the Royalists.

The free-market empowerment during this time has often been credited to helping the Imperial Gishoto economy prosper and rebuild; new businesses entering the country and massive new infrastructure projects contributed to the rebirth of the economy and rapid growth of jobs during this period. The royalists in the Imperial Diet especially focused on restarting the shipping industry, an industry that before the Great Dark Period was the "iron backbone" of the Hulstrian economy; Hulstria had ruled the sea in their area and the Duke of Strauss saw to restore that power, including in the Anatonese Ocean. Tax credits and cuts were given to the shipping industry and slowly but surely the famous seaports at cities like Luthorische Bai returned to their former glory. Unlike the Great Dark Period, the country was united in a national government, and that as well helped tremendously in the success of many of these initiatives. Maximilian, Duke of Strauss, who had a hand in not only creating the Imperial Hulstrian Party but helped significantly in the Rothingren-Traugott restoration, was responsible for creating many of these proposals, and successfully got them passed in the Imperial Diet; Maximilian's family, the House of Strauss, also had historical roots to the House of Rothingren-Traugott. In the War of the Hulstrian Succession, the House of Strauss were one of the many houses on the side of Henrietta I of Hulstria, and helped towards the victory of the Rothingrens over the Brandelfurgs. This fact, along with the IHP's stern support of the Monarchy and their aristocratic roots, made them the central voice of Monarchy in the Imperial Diet, Klaus Gustav III onward.

While there was a sense of success and prosperity, some within Imperial Gishoto did not, as many others, embraced the new conservative reforms by the royalists, and new government that took fold after the Unification Congress. Gao-Showan revolutionaries, who had prior to even the Unification Congress and the Great Dark Period, held radical and often violent views towards the "establishment" ie the Hulstrian class and the concept of a constitutional form of monarchy. These people were not included in the discussions in the Unification Congress due to exactly their violent tendencies; more sensible Gao-Showa parties and people, who had legitimate concerns and proposals, were on the other hand included. Due to the rejection of their radical views, these far-left organizations were basically outcasted from political society. However, thanks to the rise of immigration in Imperial Gishoto and the increase of population subsequently paved a road for theories such as communism and socialism to take root within the nation. The royalists understood that if the violent tendencies of communism would take root in Hulstria, all the successes they achieved would be overturned. This fact remained with the people and despite the growing cause for communism, the population still put their vote behind the monarchist political parties, limiting the voice of the radicals in the Imperial Diet. The Duke of Strauss himself was stern anti-communist and was responsible for many of the efforts tackling the far-left.

Not only did monarchists oppose the violent ways of the new communist movement, other Gao-Showa and centrist parties opposed it as well. These parties believed that returning to violence and rapid partisanship just after the unification of the country would be a horrible and catastrophic; Gishoto was stable under a constitutional monarchy and many just wanted to remain stable thus keeping with the current state of things. The radicals did not see it this way, obviously, and used near brainwash like tactics in Crownlands in Hilgar to attract supporters; other parties publically diapproved of these underhanded tactics though this did not put a dent into the Communist Party of Gishoto's operations. The Duke of Strauss successfuly was able to unite the monarchists against the radicalists and perserve the foundations created by the Unification Congress; this proved as a success as the monarchists and other supporters of the Gishoto constitutional monarchy pushed back the radicalists in terms of elections, with much success. One major factor in the success of the anti-communists were that they were united and as a result proved to be effective in their maneuvering; with this strong grip of influence in the Imperial Diet, the royalists were able to also maintain stability in the country which so many people had come to enjoy following the Great Dark Period. The royalists additionally had a stronger leader, the Duke of Strauss, which led them to many victories.

This situtation remained for many years. Since the royalists easily outnumbered the opposition, the Communist Party of Gishoto was limited in their options to advocate radical change in terms of the Imperial Diet. Realizing that they would not possibly win on the legislative front, the leadership of the CPG decided to drop their efforts in the Diet, and turned their full attention to gaining support from "true revolutionary ideals". This included, as noted, borderline brainwashing of various citizens, and using their often idealistic rhetoric to gain support from mostly other far-leftists who had not yet joined the CPG. Slowly but surely the CPG started to win some seats in the Imperial Diet, thanks to both their efforts and from low-turn out rates. What also helped the CPG and their cronies was the death of Maximilian, Duke of Strauss, the chairman of the Imperial Hulstrian Party, in 2240, the leader of the "Era of the Royalists", and head the monarchist bloc in Imperial Gishoto. The death struck the royalists hard as they saw Maximilian one of the true representatives of the constitutional monarchy and Klaus Gustav III; with one of their top, if not the top, voice in the Imperial Diet, the Communist Party of Gishoto took advantage of this. A few years after the death of Maximilian, several monarchist parties disbanded, leaving very few voices in the legislature to push back against the militant and violent opposition. In response to all this, various factions of the Communist Party of Gishoto, who were very violent in their message, began to start to attack to the Imperial Gishoto government. At first these militant factions of the CPG just targeted regular government buildings like police departments and Crownland legislatures; these were certainly not looked over and dismissed by the Monarchy but it was nothing compared of what they did to what they would do in the future. Klaus Gustav III repeatedly called for an end for what the Holy Gishoto Emperor described as "unnecessary violence and actions"; the CGP in turn repeatedly ignored the Holy Gishoto Emperor. The violence eventually brough disorder to various parts of the nation and undermined the central government in Kien, now mostly controlled by the communists since they had received seats because of mass vacancies. This frenzy eventually culminated a revolution led by the Communist Party of Gishoto in the later decade of 2240.

the "Glorius Revolution"
In response the growing violence instigated by the Communist Party of Gishoto, many police departments stepped up security in their respective towns and cities, increasing the level of officers patrolling the streets. The central government in Kien in tune helped provide funds to both Crownland and local police agencies through the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Special military units were also deployed to high-valued government buildings and other important areas intended to protect against any more attacks from the communist militants. Increased security was also placed on Klaus Gustav III, Holy Gishoto Emperor, to prevent an attempt on his life despite the Communist Party of Gishoto seemingly not conducting any real moves against the Monarchy. The central government also stepped up efforts to arrest and raid known safehouses of militants belonging to the Communist Party of Gishoto and other organizations in sympathy with the CPG. While the CPG and their cronies had a good portion of the legislature to themselves, the monarchist faction of the Diet and parties like the Imperial Hulstrians held them back just enough to institute such measures identified. Realizing that now the central government was cracking down on their operations, the leadership of the Communist Party of Gishoto knew that they had to do something drastic to really deal a blow to the Monarchy and the "capitalist system" before they were completely snuffed out. In late November of 2245 a group of heavily armed militants stormed the Rankweil International Airport and an office building belonging to the National Imperial Bank, both in Budenlar, seizing it while in the process killing security personnel and even innocent civilians. These group of militants demanded the destruction of the Gishoto Monarchy, the execution of anti-communists, the abolishment of religion, and the creation of a new "classless society" in the Gishoto lands. The other communist factions in Imperial Gishoto vehemently defended and supported the takeover, seemingly oblivious to the violence that transpired during that takeover, while the monarchists and a large amount of citizens not particularly connected to the royals, were very much against it. Many monarchist parties harshly condemned these actions, which they called "acts of terrorism", and called for immediate against then. The Imperial Marines were then called in to supress the situtation at hand and to free any hostages held by the group that took over those structures. In the early hours of December 1st, 2245, the Imperial Marines stormed the Rankweil International Airport and eliminated out the revolutionaries; the next day, the other squad of Imperial Marines stormed and retook the National Imperial Bank office building. In response by the actions of the military sympathizers of the killed communist revolutionaries called the actions by the Ministry of Defense as a sign of aggression; the Communist Party of Gishoto, looking to take advantage of the new opposition to the government to gain more power, quickly threw their support beind an efort to overtrow Imperial Gishoto the week following the sieges. Many consider the seige of the Rankweil Airport, the offices of a Imperial Bank branch, and the response following those incidents as the formal start of the "Glorius Revolution", a major political movement that would soon seize the power of the entire nation by the end of the decade. The Monarchy remained intact during the majority of the upheaval and many times called for an end to violence. Such calls were ignored by the communists. Also since many of the royalist parties were inactive, the Communist Party of Gishoto took advantage of this, as well as low voter turn out rates, to gain new legislative power in Gishoto. Through 2246, the Communist Party of Gishoto, as noted, took advantage of the absence of monarchist parties in Imperial Gishoto. A few months after the Rankweil and National Imperial Bank incidents, slowly the royalist elements of the nation started to crumble; due to inactivity, many royalist parties simply died out in interest to the population, and lost seats; some who had seats decided to leave government anyhow. The royalists did not have a leader like the Duke of Strauss either and without a strong voice, a trait clearly demonstrated by Maximilian, they could not be as united as they once were after the Unification Congress. They were strong enough to use their pulls in the Defense and Internal Affairs Ministry to supress the communists in Budenlar in December of 2245 but could not sustain nor prevent what the future actions of the Communist Party of Gishoto. The absence of the royalists also put into the danger the Monarchy and Klaus Gustav III; with no representatives, parties such as the CPG could easily abolish, as well as other institutions, such as the Lutheran Church and other religious sects. Only the likes of the Imperial Hulstrian Party and the Lutheran Nationalist Party, the two original members of the Era of the Royalists, remained in government but were severly limited in their efforts against the communists. This fact allowed the Communist Party to launch their revolution without much opposition, at least in the halls of government. There were still many cities in Imperial Gishoto that supported the Monarchy and remained hotbeds for the monarchist bloc; many of these cities were prominently Hulstrian. On the Communist Party side, many of the cities and organizations that supported the CPG were prominently Gao-Showa, reinforcing the political divide that had plagued both ethnic groups. These Gao-Showans however were also more radical than their average citzen whom of which wished to remain with the principles passed on by the Unification Congress. In the spring of 2246, the Communist Party of Gishoto launched an ambitious attack upon more government institutions around the country, and used various terrorist acts to bring fear about the nation. Local monarchist politicans were assassinated by car bombs and government buildings were targeted by surprise ground attacks. The Communist Party also staged large protests and "worker's rallies" calling for "all power to the Communist Party". The monarchists in response tried to counter the rebellion by staging their own rallies and beefing up defenses in their own cities which were considered royalist strongholds; the capital of Kien was one of these strongholds as it was home to the Monarchy. While a civil war didn't necessarily break out like what happened during the "Great Dark Period", the monarchists and the communists did have various skrimages. The Holy Gishoto Emperor in all this repeatedly called for an end to violence but the Communist Party of Gishoto, in all their revolutionary rhetoric, did not listen, and went on with their leftist plans to completely take over the nation. Despite the violence, the election of 2246 proved to be shocking at best. The monarchists hoped the election would turn in their favor thus ending the communist power streak and hopefully the violence perpetrated by them; it was also one of the final chances the monarchists had in saving the Monarchy from a motion from the CPG to abolish it. It did not go their way.

The 2246 general election, held fall in that year, went to the Communist Party of Gishoto who won slightly below 2/3rds of the legislature; the low voter turnout, which was recorded then to be about 35%, proved to be their winning ticket. In shock, the Imperial Hulstrian Party, the last remaining monarchist party, disbanded leaving the Diet entirely to the Communist Party of Gishoto. The CPG was finally in complete control of the legislature and could pass any bills they wanted. One of their first motions in fact was to call another special election in an effort to just get the remaining seats left over by the IHP; following that special election, the CPG had over 98% of control over parliament of Imperial Gishoto. While the monarchist bloc was facing hardships, the Glorious Revolution was in full force now with the legislature, the central government, in their hands. The only thing left in their sight was Klaus Gustav III, Holy Gishoto Emperor.

Assassination of Klaus Gustav III & the August Coup d'etat
During the majority of events in the "Glorius Revolution", the Monarchy and the Emperor, Klaus Gustav III, were protected by the royalist bloc led by the Imperial Hulstrians, and were also protected from the high pro-monarchist atmosphere in Kien, the nation's capital. The Holy Gishoto Emperor, seeing that Kien was a safe haven for him, did not decide to leave the country, going against the suggestions of close advisers to him. As a result, Klaus Gustav III regularly travled around the capital and attended several ceremonies and other events but under great security nevertheless. As the Revolution grew larger and the monarchist bloc started to crumble, those voices in favor of the Emperor leaving grew larger as well but Klaus Gustav III wished to remain at Fliederbrunn Palace, defiant against the radicals. He regularly called for an end to violence but the Emperor's calls were ignored. Following the death of Maximilian, Duke of Strauss, and the subsequent fall of the royalist bloc headed by the Imperial Hulstrians years later, the walls it seemed around the Holy Gishoto Emperor began to get much smaller and smaller at each victory by the Communist Party of Gishoto; however, a large portion of the population still supported the constitutional monarchy, and Klaus Gustav III, and this fact, despite again the communist's other victories, created a large roadblock for the Communist Party's plans to take over Imperial Gishoto and create a socialist state. They needed Klaus Gustav III and the rest of the House of Rothingren-Traugott out of the pictur. With this now known and accepted within the ranks of the Communist Party, plans to assassinate Klaus Gustav III began to formulate by the end of the Glorius Revolution in 2449. Due to the influence of communists in the government, the CPG were able to successfully manipulate the systems of defense around Klaus Gustav III particularly in the Ministry of Defense, and obtained the loyalities of several military officiers, who later became part of the new government of the People's Socialist Republic years later. Through these new contacts, the Communist Party of Gishoto obtained vital intelligence and enough firepower to topple Klaus Gustav, leaving Kien to their taking. The Communist Party of Gishoto in late July obtained information about an up-coming parade to be attended by the Holy Gishoto Emperor and monarchist supporters to be taken place on August 9th, 2249, through their manipulative ways. Grigor Stoyanvich and his cronies soon formulated an elaborate plan to topple the government and install their own regime once and for all. To prepare, the CPG used their new weapons, and military equipment gained from their moles within the Ministry of Deefense to topple the capital to put an end to the Glorius Revolution, and begin the new socialist republic. The plan, according to documents obtained later by historians, was to assassinate the Holy Gishoto Emperor and his family to end the Rothingren-Traugott line in Imperial Gishoto, and storm the capital, forcing the remaining loyalist elements to give up whatever control they had over the nation, in the wave of chaos that would be caused by the assassination. By eliminating by the Imperial Family the Rothingren-Traugotts were to be severly crippled and the Communists hoped to create a succession crisis out of their deaths, hurting their chances for a future, stable restoration. On August 9th communist agents took refuge atop of a large office building equipped with RPGs and other weapons; like clockwork, the parade came through the same block the office building was located, and the motorcade containing the Holy Gishoto Emperor and his wife, Empress Dana, including their children was begining to make their way down the street within pro-royalist supporters on the sidewalks showing their support for the monarch. Communist agents fired upon the motorcade with their RPGs and according to eye-witnesses, the motocade became engulfed in a large cloud of fire, killing the Emperor and his family, including the driver and several government officials, instantly. Several soldiers of the Imperial Guards and civilian bystanders were also killed by the blast. According to eye-witnesses, the streets of Kien became flooded with citizens and armed guards attempted to restore order though with little success. The Imperial Guards were successful however in killing the militant communists responsible for the assassination; within minutes, a squad of Imperial Guards stormed the office building from which the agents were stationed, and soon as the militants were about to escape, they were fired upon by the Imperial Guards. Within hours of the assassination, members of the militant wing of the Communist Party of Gishoto stormed the capital, and seized parliament, forcing the loyalists to surrender down after a firefight with the pro-royalists. The Imperial Army was not able to respond to the attack properly and defend the capital for many reasons; due to the Communist's agents within the Defense Ministry, many units were prevented from moving, and were disabled. The People's Socialist Republic was then born out of the siege and the monarchy was abolished, including the lutheran church, and almost all industry was nationalized. Mass protesting from royalist supporters around the nation would test the will of the Communist Party but they were able to quell the protests by the use of military force. To much of the anger of the Communists, not every member of the imperial family was in that motorcade; the Crown Prince, Archduke Percival, was not in the same motorcade as his father and was spared death. His survivial enabled the continuation of the Rothingren-Traugott line.

International Response
The monarchist community on Terra were shocked and angered over the assassination of Klaus Gustav III; the International Monarchist League quickly condemned the assassination and refused to recognize the new socialist republic. However, naturally, communist parties and other far left organizations across Terra in contrary supported the socialist republic. Several monarchist nations even threatened war with the communists but fear of a communist uprising in their own nations resulted in them to back away from military action; these nations fears eventually came true, as several monarchies such as Kanjor did experience flirtations with republicanism. Klaus Gustav's son, Crown Prince Percival, gained assylum in Rildanor; he is not listed as a Hulstrian monarch, since he technically abdicated his claim once he went to Rildanor though nonetheless there continued the Rothingren line; many valuable possessions of the Rothingrens also came with Percival.

=Formation of the People's Socialist Republic= Following the siege, the Communist Party of Gishoto established a new government, as noted called the "People's Socialist Republic", and pushed through immediately sweeping government reform. Other than abolishing the monarchy, religion, the State Church of Lutheranism, and moving to exile the Rothingren-Traugotts, they sought to expand the power of workers unions and workers councils to expand their communist cause; however these workers councils and unions were simply made up of members of the CPG elite disguised as working class citizens. The position of "Comrade Premier" was also established, which replaced the office of Holy Gishoto Emperor, and Comrade Premier was crafted so the office would act as both the Head of State and Head of Government in the new socialist republic. Grigor Stoyanvich, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Gishoto, a main engineer behind the "Glorius Revolution", was soon elected to become the 1st Comrade Premier of the People's Socialist Republic of Gishoto shortly after Klaus Gustav's assassination and CPG takeover; Stoyanvich is noted to have instituted hardline communist reform, and enacted several pieces of legislation which litterally destroyed the face of the Hulstrian free market overnight with his radical nationalization economic measures. Stoyanvich also put into place restrictions on the freedom of the press, which was was seen a natural right by monarchists in the previous government, to prevent opposition from defacing his administration, and to prevent a possible royalist uprising against the new government. During his reforms, several new political parties were formed out of the Glorius Revolution, many of them socialist and republican, meaning the status quo of the People's Socialist Republic for the time was strongly defended. These new parties created alliances and coalition governments to keep their stranglehold on government. Historians point out that thanks to the absence of the royalists, the communist and republican parties easily were able to keep power; with clear majorities, they did whatever they pleased basically. However, these historians also note that while Grigor Stoyanvich and the CPG were successful in establishing a communist government and forming alliances with republicans, these parties were not successful in always keeping the population in unison and in support of their policies. Their nationalization laws cut deep into the profits of both small and big businesses who enjoyed the friendly market policies passed by Maximilian, Duke of Strauss, and his monarchist bloc in the Era of the Royalists. This dissent in the early years of the republic eventually lead to the revival of the Kasierliche Hulsterreichische Partei, now led by Philip Strauss, grandson of Maximilian, Duke of Strauss; the KHP, which disbanded after the death of Maximilian, returned to the political scene of communist Gishoto with an entirely new attitude and agenda layed down by Philip Strauss, who had an ambitious plan to break the hold of the communist government.

Rise of Philip Strauss
The Duke of Strauss was born August 3rd, 2201 to Leopold and Teresa Strauss, Duke and Duchess of Straussia. He was born near the capital of Kien at the Palace at Crux, and as noted, was the first cousin of the Klaus Gustav III, Holy Gishoton Emperor, who recently was assassinated. Philip was mainly educated aboard in other monarchist nations such as Malivia and Kanjor but returned to attend the Kiennese Imperial College and graduated with a degree in Business. Philip Strauss was a very well known Hulstrian businessman and served as the Chief Executive Officer of the "Hulstrian Shipping International", the Strauss family's main company. Strauss, like Maximilian, was a close friend to Klaus Gustav III was not in a political sense, as in Philip Strauss didn't serve in parliament like his grandfather but would rise nonetheless to the top of the ranks of the political arena and of the leadership of the KHP. Philip Strauss, like cousin Klaus Gustav III, remained in Imperial Gishoto during the events of the Glorious Revolution, maintaining his company's operations within the nation. However due to the results of the CPG-led August Coup d'etat and the assassination of the Holy Gishoto Emperor and his family, other than the Crown Prince, Philip Strauss left Greater Hulstria, fearing anti-Royalist reprisals and terror by the Communists; he was right. When Grigor Stoyanvich took power, the monarchy was abolished, freedom of press curbed, and industry nationalized. Strauss left Imperial Gishoto, now the People's Socialist Republic, along with his corporate headquarters of HSI, to Imperial Kanjor, then under the reign of Edmund I (r.2236-2267) of the House of Nareath who accepted Strauss and his business; Kanjor themselves later on in the century would experience their own communist revolution.

Philip Strauss however was not content with the situtation going on in the P.S.R., contrary to the P.S.R. government, and while he did move his base of operations to Kanjor, this is no way ceased the Duke of Strauss' plan to secretly bring back the Kasierliche Hulsterreichische Partei; the remnants of the KHP had been forcibly disbanded following the victory of the Communists over the Monarchy, with many of remaining leaders being executed after show trials put on by the Communist Party of Gishoto. Philip Strauss had to look within his own family and to other aristocratic elements left in the P.S.R. to bring back the KHP; Strauss found these connections and secretly returned under the radar of the communist government to his native Hulstria and took it upon himself to reorganize the Imperial Hulstrian Party, rather than lead it in a foreign nation. The efforts of the Duke of Strauss paid off and in 2950, after a year of the Glorious Revolution, the Kasierliche Hulsterreichische Partei was reborn, and monarchism it looked like was going to make a forceful return, with international observers watching with a keen eye if the Duke could pull off such a feat.

Supreme Soviet Reacts
The Supreme Soviet, the new legislature of the People's Socialist Republic following the downfall of Imperial Gishoto, was the main central body of the communist government, and main theater for the Communist Party of Gishoto, including their allies, to show off their power. The Supreme Soviet was located in Kien, still the capital for the nation, despite the city being known for it's monarchist atmosphere; this put into place a period in Kiennese history called "Red Kien", where communist architecture and culture ruled. When the KHP returned to the political scene in 2250, the leaders of the Supreme Soviet were not worried about a possible royalist uprising, surprisingly, seeing as the P.S.R. was still in it's early years however many Supreme Soviet leaders believed monarchism in Gishoto was done away with enough thanks to extensive cultural and communist reforms; some actually welcomed the KHP back to politics, just to see them crushed by the heavy communist climate, and prove their point on how dead the aristocracy actually was. Communist leaders called for general elections just to show Philip Strauss and his "gang" as they called them, how strong the CPG was in the new government; this however helped cause a split within the Communist Party of Gishoto, especially between the hardliners and newcomers to the party. The revolutionaries who took part in overthrowing the government were against the idea of allowing general elections with KHP participation, rather they wanted to move towards a motion to ban the political party alltogether while some of the newer and moderate members opted to allow them to take part, to again use the election as a lesson to the monarchists that their cause was dead. Grigor Stoyanvich, who personally didn't want to allow the Duke of Strauss or his party to run, realized the Supreme Soviet and the CPG were in danger of splitting over this issue, so in an act to put the issue to rest, he called for a vote among the members of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Gishoto and the Council of Ministers of the Supreme Soviet, or the national cabinet of the day to decide if or if not to allow the royalists to run. Following the vote, the Council of Ministers, and the Central Committee voted to allow Strauss and his party to run in the general elections, scheduled for 2251. The vote caused disillusion and dissatisfaction among the CPG members, which historians and modern political analysts believe eventually lead to their disbandment later in the following decade, allowing the Intellectual Revolutionary Party to succeed them as the new administration in the P.S.R. Some even say this was cooked up by Philip Strauss all along and part of his greater plan to divide up the communists by having them vote to bring back the aristocratic KHP back into the scene, which eventually proved to be contrary to what the party members thought would happen.

Royalists Hand Stoyanvich Defeat
Due to the Supreme Soviet allowing the Kaiserliche Hulsterreichische Partei to take part in general elections, despite being targeted and labeled prior by the communist government as traitors to the republic, the new aristocratic leader Philip Strauss wasted no time in putting into effect the next step in his grand plan to end the communist tyranny. The Duke of Strauss' past business career gave way for the new leader of the KHP to have a large network of allies within the nation and close lines of dialogue with other influencial Hulstrians who had not been jailed or killed by the Communist Party of Gishoto following the revolution. Strauss effectively used his contacts as campaign tools and had his connections do various activities on behalf of his party in hopes to deal a blow to the communist bloc within the Supreme Soviet; the Duke of Strauss also was a very good orator and used this valueable assest to assist him in gaining the support he needed for both his party andfor himself. Shortly after the decision of the Supreme Soviet to allow general elections, which again the purpose being to show the monarchists that the communists could easily defeat them, Philip Strauss announced his intentions to run directly against Grigor Stoyanvich, Comrade Preimer of the People's Socialist Republic, and communist leader during the "Glorious Revolution"; Stoyanvich had the deaths of the Holy Gishoto Emperor and his family, several KHP leaders, and civilians on his hands, Strauss was determined to oust Stoyanvich from the Preimership.

Strauss campaigned vigorously throughout the P.S.R., advocating for the return of the Rothingren-Traugott constitutional monarchy, the free market, and expansion of rights for citizens; one of these rights, Strauss stressed, was the right to private property, a concept widely accepted among circles pre-revolution. When the Communist Party of Gishoto took power, they almost immediately moved to abolish private property, and put control of such property in the hands of the Central Committee; such a radical measure made citizens very discontent and the Duke of Strauss, who himself saw the abolishment of private property by the PSR as the "pinnacle of insanity", sought to capitalize on the people's sentinment on that issue at that time. Philip Strauss also pushed for a conservative monarchist agenda, vowing to restore conservative principles, and open up religious freedom, specifically in overturning the communist's policies on their ban on lutheranism and other forms of religion. Philip's platform helped garner him support from across the nation; both traditional aristocrats and average Hulstrian citizens who sought to see order restablished gave the KHP their full endorsements, coming out in full force when election day finally arrived. Grigor Stoyanvich and the CPG, who thought they would easily overtake the KHP in campaigning, were overwhelmed at the support for the Duke of Strauss and the monarchist, leading many within the communist power ranks to rethink their stances on allowing the general elections to take part in the first place. Due to Strauss' popularity and campaign style, Stoyanvich was unable to capture the same lot of spotlight received by the monarchist candidate; the passionate monarchist seemed to be on the road to victory though there was still doubt within some leaders of the KHP on if the conservative angle would be able to crush the communist wall set up by the CPG but Philip Strauss was noted to have never doubted his party nor did he ever doubt the public support for monarchy. This fact helped make Philip Strauss a monarchist icon within communist Gishoto and a symbol of the royalist movement not only within the nation but around the world to other monarchist causes. The February 2251 general elections, on which the Supreme Soviet and the Council of Ministers voted to approve to hold just a year prior, was drawing near following months of tireless campaigning and large political rallies. The KHP were looking to deal a deadly blow to the iron rule of the communist party and the monarchists surely delievered on this front. Philip Strauss, the monarchist icon, defeated incumbent Comrade Premier Grigor Stoyanvich in a major victory; the KHP also defeated the CPG and their allies in another major upset as the royalists gained a supermajority in the legislature, capturing key regions and cities in their favor. The historic February 2251 general elections resulted in the monarchist bloc gaining power for the first time since the Glorious Revolution and the People's Socialist Republic was thrown into a tailspin thanks to it. The final results of the election came as this; Philip Strauss defeated Grigor Stoyanvich in the first round of voting with over 33 million votes, or 67%, of the ballots cast, against Stoyanvich's embarassing 32% showing in the Comrade Premier elections. The Duke of Strauss won without any endorsements from other parties and also defeated several allies of Stoyanvich, including Christine Allegaert of the People's Progressive Party who got a painful .06% of the vote. The Imperial Hulstrians also did very well; the KHP captured 67% of the Supreme Soviet seats, which resulted in a 333 seat decrease for the Communist Party of Gishoto who only had 167 seats at the end of the election. The communist elite were devastated by the massive win by the royalists; there was some pleasure in knowing the KHP and Philip Strauss didn't have a large enough majority to pass constitutional amendments, which required over 400 seats, and the royalists had won about 333. However this small fact did not erase the new political reality in communist Gishoto; the royalists were back and the restoration of the House of Rothingren-Traugott seemed only within reach. The doubts casted by the KHP's political strength by the Supreme Soviet were as well defeated in this election; the royalists didn't loss, the communists did, and very much so. Stoyanvich's image suffered greatly as a result from this defeat and though while he maintained his position as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Gishoto, many members of the party began to distrust and dislike him. The leader of the revolution seemed to on the verge of political death; it was only the hardline communists that held onto the power of the Communist Party and continued leading it in the Supreme Soviet despite their votes on many issues being virtually useless due to Strauss' large majority. Historians and political analysts today say that the only reason Grigor Stoyanvich was kept on as General Secretary was plainly out of fear by other members; Stoyanvich, not at all distant from the concept of political terrorism and using fear to pull in his favor, used many tactics and political deviancy to keep himself at the helm of the communist party. Also again the hardliners, who were with Stoyanvich in the revolution, also pulled to keep the former Comrade Premier in power. On the other side of the political specturm, Philip Strauss and the KHP were less concerned about the power ranks of the defeated communists and more concerned with overturning many pieces of legislative passed by the oppressive regime to bring back the nation to normalcy and prosperity.

Supremacy of the Conservatives
One of the immediate acts of the new conservative monarchist majority was to install a new Council of Ministers government; Philip Strauss and the KHP made the new cabinet entirely of the new party elite, taking over important posts such as Foreign Affairs and Trade & Industry, which served for the KHP as key positions in their administration to carry out reform. These positions were especially important for Philip Strauss as he sought to improve foreign relations with other nations and monarchies that had become alienated by the communist government. Strauss also sought to return the free market to Gishoto, as well as property rights which were taken away by the prior administration, two issues he pressed on hard during the campaign. In defiance of the past administration, Philip Strauss on the steps of the Hulstrian National Cathedral, a major institution and symbol of Lutheranism in Gishoto, declaring a new age in Gishoto;

"Break free, break free my fellow Hulstrians from the chains of communism, and shackles of tyranny. Our victory shall serve as a new age of freedom, a new chapter in our history that will cleanse the red taint from our Kiennese streets and our entire nation. The monarchy will be reborn and religious intolerance will be obliterated. We will take our rightful place in history as I intend to write it. Lang lebe der Kaiser! Lang lebe Hulstria! Vibirus Unitis!"

- Comrade Premier Philip, Duke of Strauss, Kien 2251 Philip Strauss after the election instantly received the label of a "monarchist icon" and became a celebrity in the aristocratic cirlces across the globe. Strauss also became a symbol of the Terran anti-communist movement and proponent of the free-market system. Unfortunately the Duke of Strauss and the Kaiserliche Hulsterreichische Partei did not have a complete majority in the Council of Ministers; while they were able to install a new government and push through virtually all their reforms, the 2/3rds needed to restore the Rothingren-Traugott monarchy was not in their reach. The KHP were however able to restore nobility and property rights, including pardoning jailed royalist supporters from the August coup d'etat; the then Minister of Justice, Gautsch von Aldrinberg, issued a wide range of pardons, and was given power by the monarchist Council of Ministers to issue orders denouncing the show trials put on by the CPG after Klaus Gustav III's assassination, which resulted in many deaths of pro-royalist supporters, as well as declaring all persons found guilty in those show trails to be innocent, cleared of any charges by the State. These show trials, known as the "Tenure of Terror" and the "Gishoto Purges", have been considered by historians to be one of the most violence periods in Hulstrian history, as it resulted in more than 100 deaths of innocent civilians, and royalist supporters. Many of the people were posthumously "relieved" of their sentence but the move was symbolic nonetheless, with the living descendants of those executed finally seeing justice. For the living people who were jailed in the witch hunt orchestrated by the Communist Party of Gishoto and now clear of charges, essentially free, in what was seen by contemporary observers as a great show of humanity and compassionism, were given guaranteed residence by the State, including pensions, healthcare, and education. The conservative's progressive take on this issue gave rise to the KHP to take more of a dynamic conservative approach to legislating; while maintaining their traditionalist and conservative views, they at times favored state involvement in welfare and education but thought the free market was the tried and true method.

The new conservative government as well loosened restrictions on the freedom of the press while keeping restrictions on violent forms of publications. The reforms overnight dismantled the prior state owned media sources owned by the Supreme Soviet communist bloc and paved the way for various new media agencies to come out of the woodwork; one of these newer news outlets was the Gishoto Chronicle out of Kien, which focused on regional news; the Gishoto Chronicle would work their way to the top of the media industry, including publishing national news, and eventually became the Greater Hulstrian Chronicle sometime later in Hulstrian history. Some say that Strauss' media reforms indirectly paved the way for what would become one of the largest news outlets on Dovani. The media reforms as well made way for private companies to invest more in news companies, allowing the private sector to have more of a say within that industry; such freedoms were not allowed during the Stoyanvich era and in the "Red Kien" period any publication found that was not approved by the local People's Council would be burned and the publisher jailed. These publishers were also set free during Aldrinberg's measures in the Justice Ministry.

Philip Strauss' win also prompted the return of Hulstrian culture and rise of Hulstrian literature, among others. Under the Communist Party of Gishoto, Hulstrians were mainly barred from taking part in the high levels of government that is if they were not registered members of the communist party, and approved by the old guard of the Supreme Soviet; mainly leftist Hulstrians and radical Gao-Showans took part in the Supreme Soviet. Afterall the main base the CPG appealed to early on were the radical, anti-lutheran Gao-Showans so involvement in the Stoyanvich government was clearly not a surprise to observers. The Kasierliche Hulsterreichische Partei saw the Hulstrian culture as the dominant faction within Gishoto and was against a minority state; the KHP's opposition to a minority Gao-Showan state was only enforced by what they saw as the destruction of Hulstrian values and culture under the Communist Party of Gishoto. These tensions would last for some time following Strauss. Baroque art and architecture became popular once again due to the return of Hulstrian influences as well. Many infrastructure were undertaken aimed at restoring exactly that; the old parliament building which was heavily damaged by royalist and communist fighting during the August Coup d'etat was restored and refurbished in Kien. The old parliament building, the "Königliches Gesetzgebendes Gebäude" or Royal Legislative Building in english, was built during the last years of Rainer III of Hulstria and before the assassination of Maximilian V of Hulstria which led to the "Great Dark Period"; the Königliches Gesetzgebendes Gebäude was not used as the nation's legislative offices when Klaus Gustav von Rothingren-Traugott was crowned Holy Gishoton Emperor but stood as a symbol of the old Hulstrian monarchy, pre-Gishoto, to many people in Kien. Today the Königliches Gesetzgebendes Gebäude still stands as a registered national landmark. The restoration of these symbols as well as the remergence of the free market and rising employment rates, the Strauss administration, and the rule of the KHP greatly improved the quality of life for the Gishoto citizen; many historians call Strauss' efforts as a "testament to conservatism and compassionism" in his quest to quell communism and lift the victims of the aggressive regime of Grigor Stoyanvich out of their slums. Historians have also called Strauss the "Vanguard of the Monarchy" due to his passionate effort to restore the House of Rothingren-Traugott. Philip Strauss' massive efforts and the rule of the aristocracy in the KHP gave way to what historians call the "Decade of Optimism".

The Decade of Optimism
The "Decade of Optimism" is a term given by historians to describe the Strauss controlled People's Socialist Republic of Gishoto and the Imperial Hulstrian Party's efforts to restore the House of Rothingren-Traugott. Other efforts included overturning communist policy on the economy and across the board reforms to overturn several laws implented by the previous administration in the Council of Ministers by Grigor Stoyanvich. This era also marked the return of many policies that were seen under the rule by Maximilian von Strauss, Philip's grandfather, during the "Era of the Royalists". This period additionally marked a steady decrease in unemployment that had hit the Stoyanvich in his later years as Comrade Premier.

The deregulation of the markets and the loosening of bureaucratic government rules over industry, both small and large businesses began to see the return of profits which had either taken a hit during the revolution or seized by the government. Strauss' efforts to place more money into the hands of Hulstrians, especially among the business community, these owners were enabled to expand their businesses, and in turn hire new employees resulting in new jobs. In more particular area of job growth was the shipping industry which had proved to be the back bone of the Hulstrian economy in it's early history; in regions such as Budenlar and Kuratha, the only two regions in Gishoto that have a coastline, the rebirth of the free shipping industry saw the return of the production and distribution of industrial goods, both domestically and internationally. Within two years of Strauss and the KHP assuming power more than a dozen new shipping yards and distribution centers had been built in the Budenlar and Kuratha regions. These mainly blue collar jobs as a result gave way to the rise of unions which traditionally had a role in the political arena in Budenlar, pre-revolution; while the Strauss government didn't outlaw unions, some within the KHP viewed the unions with suspicion as the Communist Party of Gishoto when in power used unions and worker's councils to spread their ideological propaganda. However since Budenlar at this time was overly in favor of the Imperial Hulstrian Party and Philip Strauss, it was not hard for the aristocrats in Kien to deal with some of the union bosses in Budenlar. The finance industry in Gishoto also saw it's own resurgence in power and the stock markets soon became free of control by communist policy; free investment and trading sprewed growth of corporations and the flow of money through the nation. These positive signs and improvements greatly made the public confident in their government, something they could've not had said under Grigor Stoyanvich.

The popular monarchist domination in the legislature had all but accomplished restoring the monarchy in their short reign of power following the revolution; they had the majority but not a complete majority, a 2/3rds, to change the Constitution of the People's Socialist Republic. Deciding not to turn to the ways of the the Communist Party of Gishoto and do with the constitution, the Duke of Strauss waited patiently for the seats to come in to allow the Imperial Hulstrians to restore the monarchy. During the time of Strauss' rule the only living son of Klaus Gustav III, Percival, was still in the Rildanor where the House of Nareath (the predecessor to the House of Orléans-Vasser) were still in power. Despite the national outcry for the return of the monarchy that eventually lead to Philip Strauss' election and his popular reforms when in office Percival made seldom trips to Gishoto; seeing as the Communist Party of Gishoto were still active in the political arena many around him did not want him to experience a similar fate of that of his father. Nonetheless the large support for the House of Rothingren-Traugott was still there and this fact had greatly given the Imperial Hulstrians sustainable morale; however with the Communist Party of Gishoto as noted still active and functioning under the Strauss government, deceitful and vengeful members of the Stoyanvich government were at work. The Communist Party of Gishoto still had pockets of support from the far-left communities in Gishoto and used this, along with carefully advertised propaganda, to keep themselves afloat. Many members were still angry with the Stoyanvich's government decision to hold elections and allow the Imperial Hulstrian Party to freely run in them; this split caused some party officials to in fact leave the party and this fact caused the CPG to struggle for the first few years under the government of Philip Strauss to regain their lost of support around the nation. The absence historians say of the Communist Party contributed to the sense of optimism and progress that had hit the nation after Philip Strauss' election as Comrade Premier; without the fear of a possible return of a communist government, society began to work on transforming itself back to it's old traditional, imperial days.

Historians agree that Philip Strauss during his tenure as Comrade Premier was a strong and ambitious that almost brought the Communist Party of Gishoto to implosion; Strauss was widely respected by the people and wielded considerable power as Comrade Premier to see through the KHP reforms. Political observers commend Strauss' use of politics, noting his intellectual drive, and business attitude to draw support towards him, including his cunning ways to drive a split within the Communist Paty to allow for a general election in 2550; political analysts to this day still study his tactics and administration. Royalist analysts and observers also agree that the efforts done by Philip Strauss reinforced the close ties between the House of Rothingren-Traugott and the House of Strauss; the two families had historically been connected and the Duke of Strauss' effort here during this era only strengthed ties leading to centuries more of family cooperation including further political involvement for the Strauss family for centuries to follow.

Communist Sinistry
The Communist Party of Gishoto was badly wounded by the results of the 2251 general elections and by the subsequent fallout of the new Strauss government such as the new support for the restoration of the monarchy, and the return of free-market policies, including religious tolerance. General Secretary Grigor Stoyanvich was the leader of a fragile party in the few years that followed their massive defeat at the hands of the royalists and the divison that had plagued the party even before 2251 still had its hands in the heart of the party. Some members of the CPG even left the party to become "democratic socialists", in essence rejecting the authoritarian like CPG; there were still fiercely loyal members of the "old guard" of the communist party, members who had taken part in the revolution, and the August coup d'etat. These loyal members historians say most likely held up the communist party from imploding onto itself and giving the Imperial Hulstrians complete control of the legislature, thus giving them the means to restore the House of Rothingren-Traugott. These loyal members of the Stoyanvich leadership had their strongholds in areas such as southern Hilgar and south-west Mitrania; these were areas that the Communist Party of Gishoto had originally got their first areas of support when they first formed, so these members counted on them to return them to power. It was certainly not easy as members of the KHP held Imperial Diet constituencies in and around former areas of CPG support; they had the campaign funds and popular support from the people to very much likely prevent a communist candidate to oust them in a general election. Grigor Stoyanvich and his cronies had to resort to former sinistry tactics and underhanded strategies to make progress to the legislature in Kien as a result.

Historical documents and released private papers of Grigor Stoyanvich confirrm that the Communist Party of Gishoto employed the use of double agents and old allies from the revolution to sneak their way in to electoral victory; Philip Strauss and the Imperial Hulstrians had wide suspected the CPG would probably use underhanded tactics to try to force their way back into power. The communists would also have to make their past the newly founded "Libertarian Capitalist Party" and "Democratic Party of Gishoto", two new political parties that sprung up during the middle years of the Strauss administration; these parties were allied with the Kaiserliche Hulsterreichische Partei on several issues concerning the economy however the parties could never be unison on the issue of the restoration of the Rothingren monarchy, a key issue among circles within the aristocratic KHP. The Communist Party looked to exploit that difference and the visibility closeness of the parties but still widely used double agents and espionage to progress politically. There was still a portion of the population that supported the Communist Party of Gishoto and their radical ideas, throughout Strauss' term this remained a problem. Despite the overwhemling majority the KHP obtained in their initial victory in 2251, the "red virus" many within the aristocracy called the communist party, the radical nature of these individuals did not die along with Grigor Stoyanvich's defeat. These radical elements not associated with the Communist Party of Gishoto but nevertheless agreed with the Stoyanvich leadership, formed itself to a new political movement called the "Intellectual Revolution Party"; this political party, the IRP, was headed by a mysterious politician who went by the name of Hospal. The Intellectual Revolution Party followed the ideals of revolutionary communism and radical unitarisation; their first wave of proposals in the government were to revert many of the policies created by the Strauss government to the old ways of the first Stoyanvich administration. The Intellectual Revolution Party however favored progressive policies on education and the expansion of seats in the legislature, two policies the Communist Party of Gishoto barely pushed for. Stoyanvich and the party elite saw nevertheless an ample opportunity to get back into power by alligning themselves with the Intellectual Revolution Party to lift themselves up from the political grave they had put into by the Kaiserliche Hulsterreichische Partei.

The exact date of the foundation of the Intellectual Revolution Party is unknown but seemingly had enough political capital to make enough of an impact in the government to gain notice of the Communist Party of Gishoto and to push an agressive, revolutionary agenda; including the fact its party leader, Hospal, was a very unknown politician to the greater scope of the political eye of the nation, over the years rumors, and theories have risen about the nature of this political party. Some have suggested the Intellectual Revolution Party was a secret attempt by the Communist Party of Gishoto to gain an extra ally in the government, seeing as they couldn't win on their own; theories say the CPG had secretly funded the Intellectual Revolution Party and gave them the organizational tools to band together in a unifiting political party. This theory strongly coincides with the use of double agents by the Communist Party of Gishoto to gain secrets and an upper hand from opposing political parties; when Philip Strauss was shockingly defeated in a special election in August of 2557, five months after seeing his fourth term victory as Comrade Premier, many within the KHP strongly believed the CPG used the Intellectual Revolution Party as a front to push the popular government out of power, especially when Hospal eventually took power almost instantly following the collapse of the Communist Party of Gishoto in 2267. Conflicting theories suggest however the Intellectual Revolution Party was simply made up of former members of the CPG (explaining their later alliance with the CPG) and did recieve support from the Communist Party but only after the spring of 2557 when a deal was approved by both parties to combine their seats (forming a majority) and call an aburpt special election to kick out the Duke of Strauss. Nevertheless the Intellectual Revolution Party served to be a changing force in the nation during a time where its people were embracing the supposed end of communist rule. Philip Strauss remained weary on the Intellectual Revolution Party and did not trust their leader, Hospal; the Duke of Strauss would remain correct on this assumption as time went on. The KHP leadership and the Duke, ironically, were not able to secure an alliance with the Libertarian Capitalist Party, even though the KHP had itself returned free market capitalism to Gishoto when it went into power in 2251. Nonetheless the Kaiserliche Hulsterreichische Partei until 2557 had over 54% control over the legislature and an ally to vote for their policies in some eyes were not needed since the KHP could propose and approve anything they wanted. Philip Strauss had also constantly defeated the Libertarian Capitalist's candidate for Comrade Premier and Grigor Stoyanvich in the general elections, so an endorser was not seen as a necessity. It should have perhaps been considered what happened in the summer of 2557 but in the shocking turn of events, no political observer could've predicted this unceremonious grab for power.

The Libertarian Capitalist Party had been making legislative gains in the legislature before the February 2257 elections and had been making strides in gaining support from the electorate; political analysts suspected the Libertarian Capitalist Party would most likely make gains in the 2557 general elections but not to make enough of an impact to capture the office of Comrade Premier, though some had speculated contrary on the latter. The Intellectual Revolution Party had made gains in the previous election and the CPG were holding onto their slim stake in the legislature, providing a unique choice to the radical left-wing in the nation on who the vote for. There was also the Democratic Party of Gishoto around during this time but in the nine years of their existance, the DPG had never won a single seat in the legislature; their presence in the elections, and this period in Hulstrian history, is widely insignificant according to historians. The February 2257 general elections were held and with it came very interesting results. The Libertarian Capitalist Party had exceeded predictions and political pundits in their rewards of victory; the Libertarian Capitalists received 140 seats, over 14 million ballots cast, and their largest percentage increase of represention in their party history. Their win completely sliced the 54% majority of the Kaiserliche Hulsterreichische Partei in half, taking away over 137 seats away from Philip Strauss. In an ironic twist the Libertarian Capitalist Party failed to win any region in the general elections; the regions of Budenlar, Mitrania, and Hilgar all remained with the KHP, while Kuratha, and Hulstria when to the CPG; their leader also failed to become Comrade Premier with Philip Strauss handing a landslide defeat to the LCP, 25 million in favor of Strauss, and only 13 million to Catherine Thatcher. Historians and political analysts agree the February 2257 general elections proved to produce one of the most ironic electoral results in Greater Hulstria; in the eyes of Grigor Stoyanvich and Hospal, the most of the "ironic twist" was trivial. The two parties had enough seats to make up an easy majority and a devious plan was constructed between the two leaders; a special election would immediately be called to catch both the KHP and the population by surprise, a surprise enough to let the communist bloc sneak in a victory. In August of 2557 a special election was called litterally overnight by the Intellectual Revolution Party and the Communist Party of Gishoto; the Intellectual Revolution Party did not run their leader Hospal as a candidate of Comrade Premier as they had done in past elections but had put their entire support behind Grigor Stoyanvich who was looking to make his triumphant return to power. The endorsement of the Intellectual Revolution Party easily put over Stoyanvich and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Gishoto received nearly 54% of the vote, beating out the Libertarian Capitalists, and the Imperial Hulstrians. The IRP received itself an increase of 67 seats while the CPG saw 20 new seats added to their current count, holding 171 and 143 seats respectively. The Libertarian Capitalists saw themselves an increase of seats, retaining their status as the largest majority but by a very slim lead, a lead that wouldn't last too long following this election. It was a massive upset; the Imperial Hulstrians were defeated and Philip Strauss was removed as Comrade Premier. The communist bloc pulled a precipitous move against the KHP and was able to pull power under their noses, putting an end to the "Decade of Optimism" that brought along with it new freedoms, new government, and new culture. In the face of this act the Imperial Hulstrian Party imploded, leaving the nation to the whims of the communist bloc; Philip Strauss could not prevent the collapse of his party, the impact of the election, and the pressure that came along with it were too large for the Duke of Strauss. The authoritarian General Secretary of the CPG had make his return to power, only years before being labeled as a failure, and weak by his colleagues; by using deceit and an alliance with fellow revolutionary communists in the Intellectual Revolution Party brought him back to the helm of the People's Socialist Republic.

Royalist reaction to his victory was monumental; the collapse of the KHP destroyed the chance of the royalists maintaining a voice within the new government and reverted many royalist circles to become influences in regional governments, rather than in the capital where national business was being conducted. This did not prevent Philip Strauss and other important royalist figures to remain as leaders of these movements; history will show Philip Strauss would make another return power in the years to follow.

New Generation of Leaders
The emergence of the Intellectual Revolution Party presented itself to be a catalyst to a period of new political parties and new political leaders. The mysterious elite of the Intellectual Revolution Party quickly made up the other end of a new government established by the Communist Party of Gishoto weeks after the special election and the CPG itself had produced new politicians over the years, eager to take their place in the returning Grigor Stoyanvich administration. Orthus Thalamus, seen as the right hand man to the leader of the communist party, was tapped to become the head of government, and Joschka Fischer, another loyal member of the Communist Party of Gishoto elite, took over the Foreign Ministry; Fischer shortly after being sworn in at the Ministry quickly severed ties to monarchies that Philip Strauss had established under his rule. Fischer and Thalamus were just two of a bigger batch of politicians that would make up this new era in Hulstrian history. On the IRP side, party figures such as Sarah White, and John Overmeyer came to publically represent this party that was a key instrument in the defeat of the royalists in 2557 special election. These new leaders came be the central policy makers in the effort to reverse many of the KHP's economic and social policies; they would do so in a massive scale, only way considering the scale of which Philip Strauss passed the policies they attempted to reverse.

Even though the collapse of the Libertarian Capitalist Party occured 2260, the party that split up the KHP's majority and unintentionally let the communist bloc expliot that loophole, it didn't take that long for parties such as the National Progress Party, and the Liberal Party of Gishoto to take their place. Political observers suggest the new arrival of these parties was a result of not only the collapse of the KHP and the LCP, leaving open a large amount of seats open for anyone's taking, but also because of the uncertainty that came along with this new generation of leaders; the Decade of Optimism had painted a picture of a new, royalist future but was destroyed by the return of the Communist Party to power, leaving citizens disgruntled with the new state of affairs. Unlike the aftermath of the August coup and the assassination of Klaus Gustav III, political movements were not restricted as they once were to the Communist Party's strict, national election rules, and these political movements were also inspired by Philip Strauss' aggressive campaign against the CPG, even if some of these newer parties, and leaders didn't agree on some of his policies. This was one of the lasting legacies of Philip Strauss and the Imperial Hulstrian Party in the mid 26th century Gishoto; the KHP's return inspired new parties to rise up and challenge the communists who used two parties to control public policy for several years.

Birth of Christian Communism
Out of the victory of Stoyanvich as Comrade Premier and return of communist rule came the birth of a new political movement in Gishoto, christian communism. The party was founded by Haruhi Suzumiya and Tiberius Gracchus, two law students and governing members of the Communist Party of Gishoto; these two were also several of the many of the new leaders that came out of the return of communist rule in the late 2550s. They were influenced by the beliefs of a 17th century religious and political philosopher from Luthori by the name of Gerrard Winstanley; Winstanley had founded a group called the true levellers who practiced one of the earliest forms of communism based entirely on christian teachings. The basis behind the levellers and therefore behind Christian Communism is the levelling of the ruling class and of all property and complete dedication to god in a world where all are equal and there is no struggle othere material wealth. Suzumiya and Gracchus felt that although the revolution in Gishoto had removed private property, religion had been oppressed by Stoyanvich and the Commnunist Party. Gaining support both from disenchanted members of the Communist Party who had held previous grievences against Grigor Stoyanvich and support from members of the Intellectual Revolutionary Party, including oppressed Lutherans, the Christian Communist Party earned its place in power in the Supreme Soviet rather quickly. The Communist Party of Gishoto made a loose alliance with the Christian Communist Party and the Intellectual Revolutionary Party allied with the CCP as well, creating a tri-alliance of communist parties that had complete control of government.

The Christian Communists were unique in the fact that they attracted Lutherans to their party. Lutherans had traditionally been at the time a fairly conservative group that had supported the restoration of the monarchy and the administration of Philip Strauss. Historians point out that the Lutherans, now virtually unrepresented in the government due to the collapse of the Imperial Hulstrian Party, while they did side with the Christian Communists they did only so to see through the restoration of the Lutheran church in which Suzumiya and Gracchus advocated. Opposition to this plan by the CCP though made the church restoration and return of religious rights difficult early on though.

The rise of the Christian Communist Party the strengthened communist bloc in the People's Socialist Republic of Gishoto. As noted the loose communist tri-alliance effectively held a super-majority within the legislature, passing whatever they could in unison. Comrade Premier Stoyanvich nevertheless held suspicions of his own on the leadership of the CCP and remained weary of their stance on religious issues for the rest of his tenure. The communists seemingly had the entire to them but suspicions such as this and the fact their alliance was in a sense fairly ceremonial many historians say eventually led to their collapse in the years to come. The end of the decade long administration of Grigor Stoyanvich proved to be a turning point in the power trip the communists had held on to. Stoyanvich, despite his past grievances, was still looked upon by leftist circles as being the "Vanguard of the Glorious Revolution". His poor leadership skills and paranoia as noted by his second thoughts on a fellow communist party though weakened his image and made the last years of his administration not really noteworthy. Stoyanvich's sudden death in August of 2267 caused a massive shift in the political specturm of Gishoto and would pave the way for the quick rise of the Christian Communist Party to power. Grigor Stoyanvich was the litterally last leader of the Communist Party of Gishoto, once considered to be one of the powerful political parties in the nation, as the CPG imploded shortly after Stoyanvich's death. The Intellectual Revolutionary Party quickly took the mantle of power from Stoyanvich and their leader Hospal would take the reigns of the Comrade Premiership for the next five years. The new Comrade Premier remained out of the public eye and remained virtually inactive throughout his tenure, leaving no lasting marks on the history of Greater Hulstria; while Hospal proved to be a power player under the reign of the CPG and Stoyanvich, he did not prove to be an effective leader when left to his own being. The Intellectual Revolutionary Party would cling onto power until 2272 when the Christian Communist Party sweept to power and Tiberius Gracchus was elected as the new Comrade Premier. The Intellectual Revolution Party would lose their majority and lost seats to both the CCP and the newly formed Frontier Settler's Party, an anti-religious agricultural advocacy association. The full force of Christian Communism finally came to Gishoto and the new ruling government sought to ensure their rule would be long lived.

The CCP made a rapid increase of nationalization of industry but in a surprising move reversed the unpopular secularism set before by the CCP's predecessors, bringing back the Lutheran Church as a dominant power in the state. This propeled a resurgence of several new political parties being created and citizens were free to worship without being looked down upon once again.

Second Revolution & the Return of Strauss
The end of radical secuarlism paved way for what many called the "Second Revolution", the growth of democracy in Gishoto that ended the dominance of one or two parties ruling the country for extended periods, as had previously been the norm, and allowed the return of capitalist and royalist parties that acted as new opposition to the People's Socialist Republic. The move to end the radical secuarlism proved to be a double edged sword for the Christian Communists; while it helped them become a more religious friendly party, the return of the Lutheran Church inspired the rise of new parties that challenged the CCP administration. At first these new parties, united only to overturn some of the nationalization laws passed by the Christian Communists and previous communist administrations, did not have a clear leader to effectively pose as a long term opposition force to the Christian Communists. The nobility as well as unable to become a solid voice in the government as no party at the time were directly representing them in the Imperial Diet. This situtation clearly favored the Christian Communists, who while saw the repeal of some of their pass legislation were eager to see the lack of leadership continue within the ranks of the opposition. It was only the return of Philip Strauss, the former Comrade Premier who was forced into exile once again following his stunning defeat to Grigor Stoyanvich years back, that allowed for the opposition to have a clear and present voice in the Supreme Soviet. Strauss, then in his late 70's, made his triumphant return to the Gishoti political stage by rallying the people to unite to establish the old guard, restore the monarch, and end the People's Socialist Republic. The newly reincarnated Imperial Hulstrian Party received full support from the nobility and in the elections following the return of the KHP, Strauss was able to defeat the Christian Communist Comrade Premier to mark his return to the office of Head of State. The remarkable defeat of the CCP effectively marked the return of the KHP to the political stage and set off a chain of events that would eventually lead to the fall of the CCP administration.

The monarchist revival movement would gain traction, gaining both international and mass national following; even Gao-Showan aristocrats, whose culture was marked by stanch republicanism, supported bringing back a constitutional monarchy. The part of the population was represented by the Gao-Showa Peoples' Party and was allied with the Imperial Hulstrians for some time; however the Gao-Showa Peoples' Party collapsed mysteriously, rendering the Imperial Hulstrian Party as the only conservative party in the Republic of Gisoto. Battles between the outnumbered, IHP Diet Members and the Left Wing Coalition raged on in the Central Diet following the GSSP's collapse; the Imperial Hulstrian Party however did not tremble in the wake of losing their ally, instead the monarchist party went on to capture over 243 seats but failed though to capture the "Comrade Premier", the Head of State title during this time. The rise of the Gao-Showa Imperial Party would mark most of the political news after 2320 and up until 2371, there had been no major monarchist movements in the country; there was en effort however during the mid 2310s to made Hulstria into a Federation or "Federal Union" but that failed.

In 2371 the republican Refuge Pressure Party disbanded to return to Dranland after they lost to Franz von Strauss at the Archon Head of State elections, setting off a chain of events; shortly there after, Gishoto saw a large surge in immigration with thousands of refugees in particular from Kalistan entering the country. Unlike the Welsh before them, these refugees were welcomed by Hulstrians as they were very supportive of the return of the monarchy and a return to Hulstrian domination is the Republic of Gishoto. From this warm feeling the Hulstrian Nationalist Party was born, headed by former leaders of the Conservative Party of Kalistan, and quickly rose in prominence; the HNP was the first Hulstrian Party besides the IHP to enter the national political arena in decades. Due to the entrance of the Hulstrian Nationalists and revival of monarchist sympathies, the Saints Alliance collapsed paving the way for a Imperial Hulstrian/Hulstrian National majority coalition centered around royalism and the restoration Hulstria. The Hulstrian Nationalist Party began a plan of racial segregation, called "Apartheid", dividing the nation into 3 ethnic groups: White, Colored, and Gishotoi. The leadership of the HNP believed that segregation would be the best way to prevent any further violence between the cultures in Gishoto though this only furthered tensions between the cultures and in modern times is not looked upon in a very positive view. Shortly though after Apartheid was pushed through by the Hulstrian Nationalists, the Anti-Nazi Party collapsed leaving Gishoto purely to the monarchist parties. Another major victory for the Hulstrian Monarchists was the election of the then pretender to the Hulstrian throne, Rudolph III, to the office of Archon, the Head of State of the Gishoto Republic becoming the first Hulstrian Emperor ever to be elected to public office. This astounding election lead to further mandate for the restoration of the Monarchy and Rudolph III along with the new royalists pounded through constitutional reform.

The Collapse of Communism
The Christian Communist Party's hold on Gishoto began to break; the end of the Communist era was confirmed in 2309 when the Saints Alliance took the Premiership and the Refuge Pressure Party became the majority party in the Supreme Soviet. The parties in the Central Diet then easily split in two with the liberals on one side (called the Left-Wing Coalition) and the conservative Hulstrian and Gao-Showa aristocracy on the other. The latter remained in power for many years following the fall of communism. The year after the 2309 elections the "People's Socialist" out of the People's Socialist Republic of Gishoto was dropped and it was simply renamed the Republic of Gishoto; the Imperial Hulstrian Party attempted to bring back the Monarchy during this period with Hulstrian support but the Left-Wing Coalition prevented this from happening voting down the change. The Left-Wing Coalition also moved towards excluding the monarchists in a cabinet proposal shortly after the vote.

Rise of the New Aristocracy
=The New Republic=

Rothingren Restoration
=1st Imperial Crownlands of Greater Hulstria=