King Shayzien III's coup d'état

King Shayzien III's coup d'état
Beginning	1048th day of the 13th decade in Kourend's timeline
Place	Great Kourend
Outcome	Annulment of the Royal Accord of Twill; Kourend becomes an autocracy under the Royal Charter
Combatants
Shayzien armed forces	Possibly militia's of the other four cities
Commanders
Grand Lord Shayzien III	Unknown
Casualties
Unknown	Unknown
Other wars
Previous war	Rebellion of the Five Houses
Next war	Battle of the Concourse

King Shayzien III's coup d'état was a military seizure of power carried out by Grand Lord Shayzien III during the 13th decade of Kourend's timeline. With the help of the Shayzien Army, he took control of the kingdom in order to prevent his authority being passed down to the next house in line. Following the coup d'état, Grand Lord Shayzien III annulled the Royal Accord of Twill by signing into law the Royal Charter, granting him power over the kingdom of Great Kourend in perpetuity, and crowned himself as King Shayzien III.

History

From the signing of the Royal Accord of Twill up until the coup d'état, the office of Grand Lord had rotated between the five houses — Hosidius, Lovakengj, Shayzien, Piscarilius, and Arceuus — every ten years, by means of a constitutional arrangement known as the Right of Succession to the Office of Grand Lord.^[1] It is through this mechanism that Grand Lord Shayzien III had come to power, succeeding Grand Lord Lovakengj III.^[2]

Evidently unwilling to relinquish his authority, and at some point transfer power to the Lord of house Piscarilius, Grand Lord Shayzien III decided to mobilise the forces of the Shayzien Army under his control, and impose on the Lords of the other four houses a new autocratic arrangement through military means, in flagrant breach of the Royal Accord of Twill.^[3] It is not known to what extent this power play was opposed by the other houses, or whether they resisted with military force of their own; cities besides Shayzien did maintain some form of militia, and the possibility of defection from the Shayzien forces by soldiers loyal to the Accord cannot be entirely discounted.^[4] Even so, the asymmetry in military prowess may have been so great for King Shayzien III's to seize power without having to engage in much violence, making his takeover of the kingdom an example of a 'soft coup'.

Interestingly, from the date in which the new Royal Charter was put into effect, we can gather that the coup d'état took place fairly early on in Grand Lord Shayzien III's ten-year term, around the third year of his office.^[5] His reasons for attempting to consolidate power so early in his rule, years before being obligated to step down by the Accord, are unknown to us, just like his motivations in general for putting an end to the rotating monarchy. Given that King Shayzien III had come to power through legitimate means before resorting to illegitimate means to maintain it (i.e. through the political use of military force), his seizure of power can be considered a 'self-coup' as well.

References

^ "Royal accord of twill". Old School RuneScape. "Fourth, that of this day the Royal Lord of our Kingdom whom^[sic] is part of the great house of Hosidius, will have ten years in the role of Grand Lord. Upon the expiry of these ten years he will willingly pass the title of Grand Lord to the Royal Lord of our Kingdom whom^[sic] is part of the great house of Lovakengj for a period of no more than ten years. And so it shall continue for the Royal Lord of our Kingdom whom^[sic] is part of the great house of Shayzien, then for the Royal Lord of our Kingdom whom^[sic] is part of the great house of Piscarilius and finally for the Royal Lord of our Kingdom whom^[sic] is part of the great house of Arceuus. Henceforth this is known as the Right of Succession to the Office of Grand Lord."
^ Timeline. Old School RuneScape. "Lord Lord Lovakengj III: 12th."
^ Imerominia. Old School RuneScape. "The Royal Accord of Twill no longer plays much part in the rulership of Kourend. It was breached in the 13th decade when King Shayzien III seized control of the kingdom. It hasn't been honoured since."
^ Captain Bruce. Old School RuneScape. "Indeed. While the Shayzien Army is by far the largest military force in Kourend, the other cities still have some form of militia, apart from Arceuus of course." Although Captain Bruce states here that Arceuus maintains no militia, this is probably due to having given up their corporeal forms during the Ascent of Arceuus, which presumably would make it difficult for their citizens to engage in physical confrontation. However, their ascension would not take place until much later, during the reign of King Byrne II, making it likely that Arceuus still disposed of some kind of organised militia during King Shayzien III's coup d'état.
^ "A Shayzien State". Old School RuneScape. "Signed, King Shayzien III, 1,048 - 13" The dating convention in Great Kourend lists the number of days followed by the number of decades that have passed since the adoption of the Royal Accord of Twill; assuming that Lord Shayzien had taken on the title of Grand Lord at the onset of the 13th decade, his push for absolute power would have taken place some 1048 days into his rule.

[1] "Royal accord of twill". Old School RuneScape. "Fourth, that of this day the Royal Lord of our Kingdom whom^[sic] is part of the great house of Hosidius, will have ten years in the role of Grand Lord. Upon the expiry of these ten years he will willingly pass the title of Grand Lord to the Royal Lord of our Kingdom whom^[sic] is part of the great house of Lovakengj for a period of no more than ten years. And so it shall continue for the Royal Lord of our Kingdom whom^[sic] is part of the great house of Shayzien, then for the Royal Lord of our Kingdom whom^[sic] is part of the great house of Piscarilius and finally for the Royal Lord of our Kingdom whom^[sic] is part of the great house of Arceuus. Henceforth this is known as the Right of Succession to the Office of Grand Lord."

[2] Timeline. Old School RuneScape. "Lord Lord Lovakengj III: 12th."

[3] Imerominia. Old School RuneScape. "The Royal Accord of Twill no longer plays much part in the rulership of Kourend. It was breached in the 13th decade when King Shayzien III seized control of the kingdom. It hasn't been honoured since."

[4] Captain Bruce. Old School RuneScape. "Indeed. While the Shayzien Army is by far the largest military force in Kourend, the other cities still have some form of militia, apart from Arceuus of course." Although Captain Bruce states here that Arceuus maintains no militia, this is probably due to having given up their corporeal forms during the Ascent of Arceuus, which presumably would make it difficult for their citizens to engage in physical confrontation. However, their ascension would not take place until much later, during the reign of King Byrne II, making it likely that Arceuus still disposed of some kind of organised militia during King Shayzien III's coup d'état.

[5] "A Shayzien State". Old School RuneScape. "Signed, King Shayzien III, 1,048 - 13" The dating convention in Great Kourend lists the number of days followed by the number of decades that have passed since the adoption of the Royal Accord of Twill; assuming that Lord Shayzien had taken on the title of Grand Lord at the onset of the 13th decade, his push for absolute power would have taken place some 1048 days into his rule.

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King Shayzien III's coup d'état

History

References

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