What would the socio-political ramifications of an empire losing its head of state after some two thousand years of his rule. From lowly port town to an empire of a thousand worlds (by last census) one man has lead society from dark ages to Steam punk renessaince(sp). Is it possible for the center to hold? Looking for options and my brain is not producing enough storm power tonight.
Opinions sought.
- Thread starter Vhane
- Start date
EOL
First Post
I think it would depend a lot on how possible everyone thought it was for him to die. If he had obviously been at death's door for decades then I would expect it to be a relatively smooth transition. If on the other hand the guy was considered immortal and this came completely out of the blue I think the upheaval would be immense. Primairly because there would be no clearly defined succession. So every high level person in the government would have equal claim on rulership and it's unlikely any of them would step aside. The whole kingdom would be factionalized. I'm guessing like many revolutions the military might (initially) be the biggest player assuming that it didn't also factionalize....
It would have more to do with the institutions of the empire than with anything else. Modern-day dictatorships tend to collapse after the leader goes kaput, and that usually takes a lot less than a thousand years. As said, if the emperor has put in place a process to ensure an orderly succession, nothing untoward may happen.
He hasn't died he quit his thought were less and less his own, he was becoming a god and thus starting to reflect the desires of his people not his own. For 1500 years he has actively crushed any who actually worshiped him, but to much belief eventually caught up.
I'm torn on whether to have a plan of succession or not. It would be uncharicteristic not to have a plan but "what would happen?" might also play a big part in the ex-emperors choice.
I'm torn on whether to have a plan of succession or not. It would be uncharicteristic not to have a plan but "what would happen?" might also play a big part in the ex-emperors choice.
EOL
First Post
If he quit then it's simple is he benevolent or is he selfish (possibly a little of both I realize) if he's benevolent he obviously wouldn't want the deaths and chaos which would follow without a plan and he would have been prepared for it. If he was selfish and I mean really, really selfish, even a really nasty person would not like to see the empire he spent the last 1,500 years building crumble, then possibly he doesn't care, but if he could see this thing coming at all then he should have prepared for it.
EOL
First Post
Just having him quit with a clear successor would be test enough there are plenty of examples in history of civil war even when the successor was clear. You're not talking about seeing how the blade holds it's edge when you consider not having a plan of succession you're talking about tossing the blade into a volcano.Vhane said:
Last edited:
Zerovoid
First Post
This sounds sort of like the collapse of the Empire in Asimov's Foundation books.
I imagine that the empire would quickly break down into small groups of worlds ruled by an asortment of local governments and military dictators. A small nucleus of worlds that had the most interdependence with the central government would probably stay together. After a war of succession lasting a few years, it would probably send out its military to try and reconquor the empire's former territory. While smaller than before, this would probably be a very strong force. There would be war everywhere, as new empires were formed and disintegrated, except for a few backwater areas that no one cared about. Alot of technology would be lost, and worlds that were not independant might fall back into barbarism.
I imagine that the empire would quickly break down into small groups of worlds ruled by an asortment of local governments and military dictators. A small nucleus of worlds that had the most interdependence with the central government would probably stay together. After a war of succession lasting a few years, it would probably send out its military to try and reconquor the empire's former territory. While smaller than before, this would probably be a very strong force. There would be war everywhere, as new empires were formed and disintegrated, except for a few backwater areas that no one cared about. Alot of technology would be lost, and worlds that were not independant might fall back into barbarism.
Similar Threads
