Great Civil War

The Great Civil War was a war fought within the Great Empire between 1327 and 1332. It was incited by increasing government corruption and tyranny, as well as imperialism, under corrupt Emperor Jar Zorn.

Many were opposed to this and wished to overthrow the government to preserve the original Empire liberal ideals (rebels) while the others supported the union and newly-conservative ideals of the Empire (nationalists). A bloody, brutal war ensued. It ended with rebel victory, overthrow of Emperor Zorn, and the founding of the Second Great Empire, a more isolationist one that focused and got involved less with universal problems. It was a large factor of the Post-Revolution era, symbolizing how weak the universe was in its state of reconstruction.

Along with its ending, the new Great Empire had allied with Kastair United to help them get back into shape, which immediately failed because KU was corrupt and lured them into their trap. KU fell in 1500, leading to the War of Unification, leading to founding of the Third Empire.

Overview
The war lasted 5 years with much social and political damage. It was very violent yet civil, taking place among many space theatres. A new Empire was formed in May 1331 by rebel commander Duncar Kuz, before being assassinated, and became effective following the official overthrow of the Empire in August 1332 after Emperor Jorn's execution. Many leaders were publicly executed during the conflict, cities burned and sacked, etc. Much of space didn't get involved, though they were heavily effected. Overall, at least 13 quadrillion casualties were attributed to the rebels, with 30 quadrillion to the unionists.

Conflict
With the sudden death of Emperor Parmez Akdok, under mysterious circumstances, there was a nomination crisis over a successor. Influential but questionable politician Jar Zorn's action kicked in here, and was voted on by the majority of Empire leaders (even those who previously opposed him), and became Emperor of the Great Empire on 30 August 1302. Zorn 'attained full control, was charismatic, and calculating' during his first years. He rearranged the entire Empire Council and Court, much like 'packing', over the course of seven years. The newly formed council and court proposed policies that he agreed with, ones that would slowly weaken the Empire. It was noted that large sums of money were mysteriously exchanged during this period, along with several small wars occurring in space with Empire victory, as to aid Zorn's image as Emperor. Instead of converting the planets to democracies, they instead had slavery implemented and large corporations sent there for low-wage work and no taxes.

By 1320, Zorn's legitimacy began coming into question by most politicians and scholars, regarding allegations of exposed war crimes. Zorn betrayed and put the blame to his cabinet advisors, who were charged and imprisoned. In 1325, Judge Aleis Mormow deemed Zorn's actions unconstitutional and threatening of the empire. At this time, the people began protesting and demanding his impeachment. Though he was technically voted out, he paid to have the votes nullified. The act was exposed and he faced charges of race trafficking, corruption, fraud, and blackmail. He was tried in court through the spring of 1326, with the verdict deciding he was 'not guilty'. Immediately revolts and protests began. As the year went on, they became riots and violence increased. The riots were often neutralized by force sent personally by Zorn. On one incident, he ordered 21 protesters be 'put down', inciting public outrage, and one person burned the Great Palace lawn, with assassination attempts.

Zorn's actions were now deemed 'acts of war', followed by a large split and conflict within the empire, between those who supported the current conservative empire (but didn't necessarily like Zorn) and rebels who kept to the original liberal and democratic ideals, and supported its overthrow and reformation. Events escalated into the full fledged Great Civil War in 1327. Zorn kept quiet on this and never went out in public, as he paid to have the attention turned away from him, and instead focused on splitting the empire. Radical politician and freedom fighter Duncar Kuz, former school bullying victim of Zorn, became the Rebel Commander, while Zorn had his top military advisors lead the 'patriots' under his influence.

From 1327 to 1332, massive, bloody, and brutal civil war tore the empire apart. Few outside sources aided or took sides, however many were effected, as the empire was among the largest and most prominent in the universe. Duncar Kuz's brother, Essemar, became a political leader while his brother took military command. He exposed Zorn's war crimes and injustice. His supporters took this as a signal for execution. In May 1331, Duncar was assassinated by bullet, causing war to go into full rage and chaos as the rebels took to leading themselves. On 7 August 1332, Jar Zorn was secretly taking residence on Planet Earth (Lookout) in Supreme City, where he had secret councils. His location was exposed days earlier, and massive rebel forces came to 'visit him' in the city, where they met opposition, leading to the sacking and burning of the entire city. Zorn was forced out of the palace and bloodily beheaded in the street, signalling rebel victory. There were calls for him to be taken to trial instead, but they were too late.

In the following weeks, the Constitution of the Empire was revised and updated. Due to him, new legislation and precedents were established to prevent 'terrorists' like him from becoming Emperor. His entire system was purged and affiliates were charged. His actions weakened, destabilized, and tore apart the Empire. Essemar Kuz was nominated and elected as the first Emperor of the Second Great Empire. However, that fall, the new Empire accepted help and became part of Kastair United--which would be their downfall later.