Although this article is based on official information, its name is not.
Various aristocrats including Grand Duke Erich Vam Desler (first from the left)
The aristocracy of planet Garmillas was the social class that ruled Garmillan society for thousands of years. Initially, the aristocrats ruled the various nations present on the planet and, following the end of the Unification War and the founding of the Garmillas Grand Duchy, they continued to play a pivotal role in governing the newborn planetary nation.
However, the ancient rivalries and tensions between the various aristocratic families would not end with the advent of global unification. They would rise and cool periodically and eventually culminate in a war of succession after the death of Grand Duke Erich Vam Desler.
Following the rise of Abelt Desler and his founding of the Greater Garmillan Empire in 2188, the aristocracy was officially abolished. However, the former aristocrats continued to hold various important positions within the military of the empire, playing a significant role in both the internal power struggles of imperial leadership and in the subsequent period of civil war that plagued the country between 2199 and 2203. Both during and after Desler's rule, various organizations would rise and attempt to restore the fallen aristocracy.
History[]
Origins, the unification and the Grand Duchy[]
The origins of the Garmillas aristocracy may be as ancient as the Garmillas themselves, with their creation myth describing a King leading them throughout space.[1] In the following centuries, planet Garmillas was divided among the rules of the various aristocratic and royal families, with their feuds and infighting leaving the land in a constant state of turmoil.[2] The arrogant aristocrats were among the first to carry the xenophobic ideals of Garmillas superiority that would remain mainstream in Garmillan society for years to come.[3] In 2096, the head of the Desler family, the rulers of Deusura,[4] and one of the most influential aristocratic dynasties stepped up to unify planet Garmillas under their rule, leading to the Unification War.
Erich reveals the ultimate fate of Garmillas to his entourage of aristocrats
The conflict ended in 2170, with Erich Vam Desler becoming the first Grand Duke of the Garmillas Grand Duchy. Despite being under the rule of a single nation, the conflicts between the various aristocratic families continued to erupt and die out periodically, destabilizing the Grand Duchy.[2][5] In 2174, Grand Duke Erich discovered and revealed to his selected council of aristocrats that planet Garmillas was approaching the end of its planetary life and would physically collapse in about a century. With this knowledge, Erich's entourage of nobles built Baleras Tower, the new seat of power of the Desler family, into a superweapon targeted at planet Iscandar. This was done in an attempt to blackmail Iscandar's Queen into giving them a Cosmo Reverse System, a machine that they hoped could save their dying planet.[3][6][7]
Mathius's funeral
In 2178, Mathius Desler, nephew and heir apparent to Erich, died in combat and was soon followed by the Grand Duke in 2184.[2][3][6] Mathius's brother, Abelt, was not well seen by the aristocracy, making the sole viable candidate for the throne unable to uphold his right to succession. This led to the eruption of a large-scale war of succession among the various noblemen, which effectively tore apart the Grand Duchy.[2][3]
Abelt Desler's Empire[]
Herm Zoellik was among the most powerfull people in the Greater Garmillan Empire by 2199
With the start of the civil war, Abelt and his faction stepped up to reunify Garmillas. In 2188, he achieved his goal and declared the Greater Garmillan Empire with himself as the Eternal Supreme Leader.[2] In a series of reforms, he abolished the aristocracy, beginning a rivalry with the still-powerful noblemen of his empire. In fact, despite having had their privileges and positions officially abolished, the aristocrats continued to hold many important roles within the empire's political and military structure.[6][8] They opposed the Desler administration's policy of integration with second-class citizens from other species and silently placed their support in the newly founded Imperial Guard, which, despite being the most staunch supporters of the Eternal Supreme Leader, were also the leading upholders of the principles of Garmillan pure-blooded superiority.[9] However, Imperial Marshall Herm Zoellik, the most influential nobleman in the empire, second only to Desler himself, did not support the Imperial Guard, mainly out of his distaste for its Director General, Hydom Gimleh.[8][10]
Desler announcing the Desler Doctrine
While the remaining aristocrats still hung onto their plan of using Baleras Tower against Garmillas's twin planet, Desler proposed the Desler Doctrine, a chauvinist political theory pushing for military expansion under the pretense of spreading Iscandar's ideals through the universe. In reality, the Leader's objective was to expand his empire's borders in the hope of finding a planet that could be transformed into an identical copy of the dying Garmillas.[6] During the last of these expansionary wars, various colony worlds began to rise in protest against the central government, leading to the start of yet another civil war. During this turmoil, Zoellik and his faction tried to start a coup to restore the aristocracy. However, their plans were rapidly thwarted by Gimleh.[11][12]
The destruction of Baleras Tower during the Battle of the Imperial Capital
Despite the Imperial Guard's subsequent brutal attempts to root out any opposition against Desler's regime,[13] both Gimleh and Desler were well aware that the aristocrats continued to thrive within the upper echelons of the imperial military.[6] In an attempt to destroy both them and Baleras Tower, during a battle against a Terran battleship over the surface of Garmillas, Desler left the Baleras and dropped a superstructure from orbit over the Imperial Capital. However, the object was destroyed, and the Eternal Supreme Leader was believed by most to have been killed in action.[6][14] This would sign the end of the dictatorship over Garmillas, with a new more benign government taking office and starting to turn the country towards a more democratic system.[5][15]
Later insurrections[]
The Destruction Liberation Army logo
Following the end of the Desler's rule, a new faction rose in support of the nobility: the Anti-Garmillas Rule Destruction Liberation Army. This rebel organization fought against the new government over its refusal to give independence to the colony worlds established under the previous regime. They also wished to restore the Garmillas Grand Duchy and the rule of the aristocracy. Between 2199 and 2202, they made multiple armed incursions into the empire's territory, but their fleet was ultimately destroyed on December 29, 2202,[16] in the Battle on Planet Stravase.[17][18]
References[]
- ↑ "Emergency Order! Yamato, Shoot Iscandar!!"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Desler Era Timeline contained in the Space Battleship Yamato 2202 Chapter 5 theatrical program book
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "O Teresa, Cry for Desler!"
- ↑ All about L’Andromede
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Yamato 2202 Character Data
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 "Farewell, Teresa! Flowers for Two Deslers"
- ↑ Space Battleship Yamato 2202 Chapter 5 video booklet
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Yamato 2199 character data for Herm Zoellik
- ↑ Dengeki Hobby, June 2013
- ↑ "Wish Upon a Star"
- ↑ "Point of No Return"
- ↑ "Over the Black Light"
- ↑ "They're Coming!"
- ↑ "One Man's War"
- ↑ "The Forever War"
- ↑ "The Era of Space Battleship Yamato: Choice of 2202"
- ↑ "The Trap at Planet Stravase!"
- ↑ Space Battleship Yamato 2202 Chapter 3 Theater Pamphlet