Interstellar Wars
The Interstellar Wars were a series of wars fought between the Terrans and the First Imperium.
- These wars finally ended with the collapse of the Vilani Imperium AKA Ziru Sirka and the rise of the Second Imperium and the Solomani.
Description (Specifications)
The Interstellar Wars were a series of conflicts between the Vilani Ziru Sirka and various Terran governments (initially various Terran nations, then the United Nations, United Worlds, and Terran Confederation governments) between -2408 and -2219. Over two centuries, Terran social and technological dynamism led to conquest of Vilani territory and the eventual collapse of central authority in the Ziru Sirka, to be replaced by the Rule of Man (which would itself last only a few centuries before the Long Night).
History & Background (Dossier)
Fortunately for the existence of Terra as an independent world, Vilani expansion to rimward stopped several parsecs from Terra before the Vilani era of cultural stagnation began. Terrans discovered a Vilani outpost at Barnard in -2422 as part of their first interstellar voyage using the jump drive. The discovery of a huge interstellar state ruled by humans not from Earth caused panic and indignation among the people and nations of Terra.
The First Interstellar War began when a Vilani merchant convoy ignored Terran traffic control signals from the Terran base in the Barnard system; the Terrans believed an attack was imminent and destroyed some of the convoy's ships. It and the early subsequent wars tended to be limited affairs in which a few systems changed hands. Since the area near Terra was a remote province of the Ziru Sirka, the governors there generally had limited resources with which to prosecute actions agains the Terrans, although occasionally reinforcements would be granted and gains would be made at the Terrans' expense (including an occasion when a Vilani fleet reached the Sol system and bombarded Terran cities from orbit with fusion bombs). Vilani governors were quite willing to "buy off" the Terrans by granting them control over a few Imperial systems in exchange for a brief peace. (Judged in terms of territorial gains, all of the Interstellar Wars were Terran victories except for the Fourth, where the Ziru Sirka recaptured Nusku.)
During this period, the Terrans not only formed a unified world government and colonized systems in directions away from the Ziru Sirka, but also advanced their technological level, first by reverse-engineering Vilani devices, then conducting original research (which was anathema in the stagnant Vilani social system). Eventually this led, between the Eighth and Ninth Interstellar Wars, to the development of jump-3 and the meson gun. Jump-3 allowed the Terrans to outmaneuver the Vilani on the strategic level, as the latter were still using jump-2; meson guns allowed them to outgun the Vilani on the tactical level, as the Vilani had no defenses (meson screens) against them. In addition, penetration of the outer regions of the Ziru Sirka by Terran merchants selling innovative products disrupted the Vilani social order there, lowering their willingness to resist the Terrans. As a result of these developments, the Terrans destroyed major Vilani fleets and captured large areas of territory.
The Ninth Interstellar War was a decisive victory for the Confederation, which remained on the offensive for the remainder of the conflict. In the final years of the wars, truces would be declared but then end before news of them could reach the central governments of the combatants, and precise numbering of the wars became impossible; this era (-2235 to -2219) is known as the "Nth Interstellar War".
The wars ended in -2219 with a collapse of the Vilani central authority, to be replaced by the Rule of Man in -2204.
Event Timeline
The destruction of many records by the combatants makes it near impossible to construct an accurate timeline of the events that occurred. Readers are warned that many primary sources have conflicting dates, times, and sometimes even events.
| TI Start | TI End | CE Start | CE End | War | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -2404 | -2396 | 2114 | 2122 | First Interstellar War | Barnard to TC |
| -2396 | -2393 | 2122 | 2125 | Pause and regroup | TBD |
| -2393 | -2384 | 2125 | 2134 | Second Interstellar War | Agidda to TC, Procyon/Sirius border formalized |
| -2384 | -2373 | 2134 | 2145 | Preparations | TBD |
| -2373 | -2370 | 2145 | 2148 | Third Interstellar War: Siege of Terra | Terra attacked |
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| -2220 | -2215 | 2298 | 2303 | Imperial Surrender | ZS surrenders and central authority collapses |
| -2215 | - | 2303 | - | Challenge of Victory | TBD |
- Note: The dates of the various wars vary depending on the source.
Imperial Solomani Results -2370 -2362 2148 2156 Third Interstellar War: Terran Offensive Nusku to TC -2362 -2357 2156 2161 Terran Colonial Expansion -2357 -2348 2161 2170 Challenges to Imperial Rule -2348 -2345 2170 2173 Imperial Response -2343 -2339 2173 2176 Fourth Interstellar War Nusku to ZS -2342 -2332 2176 2186 Fifth Interstellar War Nusku, Markhashi to TC -2332 -2323 2186 2195 Initiative shifts -2323 -2317 2195 2201 Sixth Interstellar War Shuruppak, Shulimik, Iilike to TC -2317 -2304 2201 2214 Seventh Interstellar War Meshan, Karkhar, Shulgiili, Enki Kalamma to TC; unrestricted TC commerce in ZS -2304 -2290 2214 2228 Preparing for the Endgame -2290 -2280 2228 2238 Eighth Interstellar War Albadawi's campaign Space rimward of Vega to TC Vegan Polity independent, allies with TC -2280 -2273 2238 2245 Final Gambits -2273 -2262 2245 2256 Ninth Interstellar War Remainder of Kushuggi (Solomani Rim) to TC -2262 -2238 2256 2280 Wars on the Frontier -2238 -2228 2280 2290 Great Schism -2230 -2220 2288 2298 Last Offensive Darmine, Geonee, Suerrat revolt and ally with TC
Worlds & Sectors (Astrography)
The battles and greater conflict mostly took place in the Solomani Rim Sector (at the time called Kushuggi Sector by the Vilani), expanding into Diaspora Sector (Vilani Nakulakak) in the later wars.
References and contributors
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This article has two or more sources with conflicting information. Because the conflict has not been resolved, all sources are linked to this article. |
- John Harshman, Marc Miller, Loren Wiseman. Library Data (A-M) (Game Designers Workshop, 1981), .
- David L. Pulver. Solomani (Mongoose Publishing, 2012), .John Harshman, Marc Miller. Solomani (Game Designers Workshop, 1986), .
- Jon F. Zeigler. Rim of Fire (Steve Jackson Games, 2000), .
- Paul Drye, Loren Wiseman, Jon F. Zeigler. Interstellar Wars (Steve Jackson Games, 2006), .
- Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master of Sophontology Maksim-Smelchak of the Ministry of Science