Surenid Civil War

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Surenid Civil War
Part of the Alexandrium Wars, the Wars of the Dispossessed
Mehrshahr undergoing pacification by loyalist forces
Date 20.III.1732 AN Location Suren Confederacy Status Ongoing
Belligerents
Raspur Pact  Suren Confederacy (Vištāspa Faction) Aspadana Ḡur Ostan Suren Ostan	Azad Eura  Suren Confederacy (Rustaham Faction) Kapavia Norasht Trucial Isles Zjand Basseri  Babkhan Restoration Movement  Free State of Constancia
	Confederacy of the Dispossessed Jazir-e Kreyak Shahpéo
Commanders and leaders
Dāryuš Vištāspa Nur Mir Rustam Bukhori Yazghulam Ardashir Ghul Ismail al-Osman	Mirza Rustaham Sūrēn Durmish Khan Yaqub Beg Sardar Akbar Mir Sardar Aʻzam Mir Tughai Beg Fereydun Khan Dost Miran Khan Sohrab Beg of Chamrush Bektash Khan Sardar Káẓim Mir Yulqoli Beg Paykar Khan
Units involved
Trans-Euran Command 2nd Directorate 509th Army 5th Armoured Division 7th Cavalry Division 12th Vanguard Division	Artes̱h-e Jadid-e Madal Gârd-e Jâvidân Gârd-e Aswārān Gârd-e Pushtigban Gârd-e Zhayedan Provincial militia Paramilitaries Defectors and deserters

The Surenid Civil War was an armed conflict that broke out in the Suren Confederacy on 20.III.1732 AN. It pitted loyalist forces under the newly enthroned Surenšāh, the recognised monarch, against rebel factions seeking to back the claim of a pretender to the throne. The main rebel group was led by the claimant, Mirza Rustaham Sūrēn, and allied with Azad Eura and the Babkhan Restoration Movement, a nationalist movement aiming to re-establish the ancient Babkhan empire. Several warbands of the disinherited also joined the rebel side. Rustaham's rebellion further attracted support from provincial satraps resentful of central authority, and disgruntled military officers unhappy with the crackdown on protests during the Bitter Spring.

Background

Tensions had been simmering in the Suren Confederacy for years prior to the outbreak of civil war, driven by economic woes, denial of rights, and lingering resentment towards the Raspur Pact's domination over Surenid affairs. The Surenid succession dispute of 1731 laid bare these deep-rooted fissures as the Surenid dynasty struggled to maintain unity among the fractious provincial nobility following the demise of Mitradokht.

Dāryuš Vištāspa, despite being the recognised heir as Crown Prince, faced challenges in securing allegiance from powerful satraps and sections of the military dissatisfied with the status quo. His rival, Rustaham Sūrēn, capitalised on this discontent, portraying himself as a champion of Babkhan identity and Euran self-determination against foreign subjugation.

The interregnum period after Mitradokht's death saw a bitter power struggle unfold within the Regency Council established to oversee the transition. Infighting and lack of consensus on confirming the new Surenšāh paralyzed decision-making, allowing resentments to fester.

A series of violent clashes in the capital Surenshahr in early 1731 AN, ostensibly triggered by a tragic incident involving local youths, quickly spiraled into sectarian violence between Umraid and Zurvanite communities. The harsh crackdown that followed, with the deployment of the 7th Cavalry Division, sparked widespread protests denouncing the brutality and reignited memories of the Bitter Spring's suppression.

The Durbar which had been intended to put the seal on Dāryuš Vištāspa's accession to the throne had been a fractious affair, with provincial delegations expressing dissent or, in some instances, departing before the conclusion of deliberations.

Outbreak of Hostilities

Rustaham Sūrēn seized this volatile climate of unrest to formally stake his claim to the Surenid throne in defiance of Dāryuš Vištāspa's legitimacy as heir of the House of Suren. His rebel forces, bolstered by defecting Surenid military units and foreign backers, made rapid gains by seizing key territories in the provinces of Kapavia and Norasht.

The ultranationalist Artes̱h-e Jadid-e Madal, meanwhile, began to notably operate in these "liberated areas". This movement had originally emerged from the Babkhan Restoration Movement during the Kapavian insurgency in 1715 AN under Amir Arslan's leadership. Despite being suppressed and suffering the death of its founder, it had gone underground until resurfacing during the Bitter Spring protests of 1730 AN to reorganise and recruit. With the outbreak of civil war, the Artes̱h came out in open revolt against the Surenid regime once more.

The Artes̱h relied upon a mixture of operations rooms established in the provinces to coordinate local rebel groups and mobile columns of dedicated fighters who would exploit the desert, and the jungles of Norasht, to conduct hit and run attacks against Surenid lines of communication.

The 5th Armoured Division, under the command of Sarhang Hormazd Pirouz, was deployed to secure Mehrshahr during the fourth month of 1732 AN.

As the initial outburst of violence began to ebb, the recriminations began at court. Rashid Sanook found himself isolated in the Bab-e Divan, as many of his colleagues now blamed him for the mishandling of the regency period which had led into the uprisings. Although this blame game overlooked their own culpability and selfish factionalism, Sanook did not have much left in the way of personal and institutional legitimacy with which to defend his tenuous position. Ultimately many suspect that he was merely grateful to depart with his life and wealth undiminished when the Surenšāh dismissed him from office on 16.V.1732 AN. In his place, Sardar Nur Mir, the satrap of the Suren Ostan, was elevated to the position of Prime Minister. His appointment was a clear signal to the loyalist nobility, as well as those who might be tempted to once again turn their cloak, that the new Surenšāh was willing to trust amd work with the wellborn, in contrast to the late Surenšāhbanu Mitradokht. Sanook, meanwhile, departed for his exile in Aqabah, where he reportedly made a comfortable living offering his services once more to the Honourable Company in a vaguely defined advisory capacity as well as a few silent but lucrative corporate directorships.

Course of the conflict

Pacification of Mehrshahr

The 5th Armoured Division, upon its arrival in Mehrshahr during the fourth month of 1732 AN, initiated a series of vicious assaults on the outlying districts of the city, with armoured fighting vehicles, artillery, and the support of helicopter gunships, leading to hundreds of civilian deaths. By the end of the following month, more than nine thousand civilians, and two hundred or so soldiers and policemen had been killed and tens of thousands more had been detained; among the arrested were many students and activists, as well as the known relatives and associates of those previously condemned for their involvement in the events of the Bitter Spring.

Detainees taken from the city were delivered to Camp Trident, a former Florian facility controlled by the Grand Commissariat of Eura and Corum, there to be interrogated by officers of SAVAS as they awaited trial by military tribunal and execution. The number of captives being delivered unto the site soon exceeded the capacity of the detention facilities maintained on the site, leading to the majority being forced to reside within an open air enclosure on the edge of the cantonments, surrounded by a perimeter of razor wire. This enclosure was regularly patrolled by paramilitary guards, armed with machine-pistols and accompanied by attack-dogs straining on their harnesses to get at the prisoners cowering behind the wire.