EmuMusicFan
Captain
This discussion started with feedback in response to this one sentence in the news.
Did the destruction of Kilrah really almost wipe out Kilrathi culture?
First of all, we know that the Kilrathi Empire, after centuries of interstellar expansion, became an interstellar empire with a super large territory.
The entire empire adopted a feudal system rather than centralized power.
Additionally, after the start of interstellar colonization, the Kiranka royal family essentially had Kilrah all to themselves.
By 2634 at the latest, Kirah was likely to have been an imperial capital planet with severely restricted access.
The Emperor took a close guard against the power of the other clans.
It is conceivable, that the average Kilrathi commoners would be difficult, if still possible, trying to return to Kilrah's shrines on culture activities at will.
Shrines on Kilrah, then, were more just some legendary cultural symbols to the Kilrathi people on the massive colony far from the center of the empire.
Of course, the Kilrahi people in the colonies have local shrines.
The Kilrathi in colony, then, are naturally closer to the local temples. Those shrines on distant Kilrah existed for them only legends told by the old people, the words of the local priestesses, and the propaganda from the Empire.
Then, those who have the right to speak have privilege of interpreting the meaning of the existence of these "legendary places", or even the meaning of the disappearance of those places.
On the other hand, would the lords who were forced out want themselves, their descendants, and subordinates to be swayed by Kilrah cultural symbols that they could not touch but the emperor could control?
Second, the relationship between Kirah and the colonies.
It has been said that if power is allowed to distribute resources, then resources must be distributed according to the amount of power.
It is conceivable that the first to be kicked out of Kilrah to establish colony would almost certainly be the lower status Kilrathi clans.
The story of Kilrathi's historical foreign colonization is missing, so the arrangement of the war is used as examples:
Wars cost money, and unanticipated long years of war were likely to result in a heavy burden on the imperial colonies. Naturally, the heaviness of this burden increases with distance from the middle of the empire -- no matter it was physical or blood distance. From this point of view, it is likely that the uprisings in the colonies of Ghorah Khar, Tenya, etc., were related to it.
But...
Pausing for a moment, what does this description of the town around the spaceport of Ghorah Khar tell us?
3...
2...
1...
A free market with no rationing in place.
This likely proves that Ghorah Khar was not exploited to the point that there were shortage of living goods.
But they rose up first.
Why? What is the reason?
My understanding is that the affluent distant colonies were less identified with the central authority of the empire.
Third, how is the cultural importance of the emperor?
The Emperors of the Kilrathi Empire were essentially the victors of civil wars. In the sense of Kilrathi culture, the legitimacy of the emperor's family status was not inherently given to a particular family, but rather was gained by winning battles.
Baron Vakka's statement was likely a nod to the nature of Kilrah's emperorship in the ancient aristocratic dialect - the emperor was a chieftain over an entire species. That being the case, it is likely that in a cultural sense the emperor would assume obligations corresponding to his own power. Accordingly, if he failed to fulfill his obligations, then his power might be lost in the endorsement of the Kilrathi religion and culture.
That obligations / responsibility would likely be to lead the clans to victory in the wars. The long, insubstantial war with mankind was gradually eroding the Emperor's place in the Kilrathi cultural system.
From another perspective, the emperor's power was limited. To go to war with the humans, he had to obtain the consent of all eight great clans -- and it was a necessary procedure. This shows that legally the emperor had no right to start a total war all on his own.
There was no absolute clear-cut difference in type between the emperor and the other top nobles. In theory he could even be asked to duel! To summarize, the Emperor of the Kilrah Empire is simply the grand lord above the other lords. An emperor of a specific family was not irreplaceable in Kilrathi culture.
So how did the Kiranka dynasty strengthen its power? In addition to driving other clans away from Kilrah and weakening other clans through war, as mentioned above, they did something else to strengthen the status of the emperor's royal family.
Propaganda, violence and fear, of course...
... and political machinations.
Machiavelli said, "It is better to be feared than to be loved, if one cannot be both." But once the ruled are freed from the grip of violence and fear, that kind of backlash against the rulers can be expected....
Note that Kirha did not made attempt to refute K'Kai's accusations against Thrakhath at all, and he began insulting the Crown Prince directly. This likely shows that Thrakhath was not in his first time to do such things, or Kiranka royal family were notorious in grabbing improper benefits.
In short, the destruction of Kirah could certainly have had a widespread cultural impact on the empire and led to its de facto dissolution. But this does not mean the disappearance of Kilrathi culture. Accordingly, it can be expected that the defeat of this war will bring countless new things to the Kilrathi people and their society and culture.
What could the states of the Kilrathi people of different clans in different regions be after the war?
It should be noted that even before the disintegration of the empire, the Kilrathi had many communities with vastly different fundamental interests.
First, we must note that Ghorah Khar, as well as the other insurgent colonies, they are the victors. As a result, the people of Ghorah Khar, as well as the other insurgent colonies, can now confidently consider themselves divinely favored in a religious sense. And, consider that at least the people of Ghorah Khar have Confederate citizenship, they are the ones who will have enough political resources at least in the public sense.
Second, Ki'ra Clan. Ki'ra is a clan with a longer history than that of Kiranka.
Judging by the Emperor's cautious attitude towards the Ki'ra Baron Vakka, and the fact that Vakka had envisioned a direct takeover of Kilrah, the Ki'ra clan was the stronger clan at least in 2634.
Ki'ra was primarily responsible for equipment development and intelligence in the rear during the war, so battle losses were likely to be low. In the absence of any success in stopping Kiranka from waging war, the quid pro quo for a yes vote is likely to be the protection of Vakka's clan in various ways. Transferring Jukaga from the Vanguard Flight back to the much more safer flagship is the epitome.
[THREAD UNDER CONSTRUCTION, but always welcome to reply to the completed part...]
Did the destruction of Kilrah really almost wipe out Kilrathi culture?
First of all, we know that the Kilrathi Empire, after centuries of interstellar expansion, became an interstellar empire with a super large territory.
The entire empire adopted a feudal system rather than centralized power.
Additionally, after the start of interstellar colonization, the Kiranka royal family essentially had Kilrah all to themselves.
By 2634 at the latest, Kirah was likely to have been an imperial capital planet with severely restricted access.
The Emperor took a close guard against the power of the other clans.
It is conceivable, that the average Kilrathi commoners would be difficult, if still possible, trying to return to Kilrah's shrines on culture activities at will.
Shrines on Kilrah, then, were more just some legendary cultural symbols to the Kilrathi people on the massive colony far from the center of the empire.
Of course, the Kilrahi people in the colonies have local shrines.
The Kilrathi in colony, then, are naturally closer to the local temples. Those shrines on distant Kilrah existed for them only legends told by the old people, the words of the local priestesses, and the propaganda from the Empire.
Then, those who have the right to speak have privilege of interpreting the meaning of the existence of these "legendary places", or even the meaning of the disappearance of those places.
On the other hand, would the lords who were forced out want themselves, their descendants, and subordinates to be swayed by Kilrah cultural symbols that they could not touch but the emperor could control?
Second, the relationship between Kirah and the colonies.
It has been said that if power is allowed to distribute resources, then resources must be distributed according to the amount of power.
It is conceivable that the first to be kicked out of Kilrah to establish colony would almost certainly be the lower status Kilrathi clans.
The story of Kilrathi's historical foreign colonization is missing, so the arrangement of the war is used as examples:
Wars cost money, and unanticipated long years of war were likely to result in a heavy burden on the imperial colonies. Naturally, the heaviness of this burden increases with distance from the middle of the empire -- no matter it was physical or blood distance. From this point of view, it is likely that the uprisings in the colonies of Ghorah Khar, Tenya, etc., were related to it.
But...
Pausing for a moment, what does this description of the town around the spaceport of Ghorah Khar tell us?
3...
2...
1...
A free market with no rationing in place.
This likely proves that Ghorah Khar was not exploited to the point that there were shortage of living goods.
But they rose up first.
Why? What is the reason?
My understanding is that the affluent distant colonies were less identified with the central authority of the empire.
Third, how is the cultural importance of the emperor?
The Emperors of the Kilrathi Empire were essentially the victors of civil wars. In the sense of Kilrathi culture, the legitimacy of the emperor's family status was not inherently given to a particular family, but rather was gained by winning battles.
Baron Vakka's statement was likely a nod to the nature of Kilrah's emperorship in the ancient aristocratic dialect - the emperor was a chieftain over an entire species. That being the case, it is likely that in a cultural sense the emperor would assume obligations corresponding to his own power. Accordingly, if he failed to fulfill his obligations, then his power might be lost in the endorsement of the Kilrathi religion and culture.
That obligations / responsibility would likely be to lead the clans to victory in the wars. The long, insubstantial war with mankind was gradually eroding the Emperor's place in the Kilrathi cultural system.
From another perspective, the emperor's power was limited. To go to war with the humans, he had to obtain the consent of all eight great clans -- and it was a necessary procedure. This shows that legally the emperor had no right to start a total war all on his own.
There was no absolute clear-cut difference in type between the emperor and the other top nobles. In theory he could even be asked to duel! To summarize, the Emperor of the Kilrah Empire is simply the grand lord above the other lords. An emperor of a specific family was not irreplaceable in Kilrathi culture.
So how did the Kiranka dynasty strengthen its power? In addition to driving other clans away from Kilrah and weakening other clans through war, as mentioned above, they did something else to strengthen the status of the emperor's royal family.
Propaganda, violence and fear, of course...
... and political machinations.
Machiavelli said, "It is better to be feared than to be loved, if one cannot be both." But once the ruled are freed from the grip of violence and fear, that kind of backlash against the rulers can be expected....
Note that Kirha did not made attempt to refute K'Kai's accusations against Thrakhath at all, and he began insulting the Crown Prince directly. This likely shows that Thrakhath was not in his first time to do such things, or Kiranka royal family were notorious in grabbing improper benefits.
In short, the destruction of Kirah could certainly have had a widespread cultural impact on the empire and led to its de facto dissolution. But this does not mean the disappearance of Kilrathi culture. Accordingly, it can be expected that the defeat of this war will bring countless new things to the Kilrathi people and their society and culture.
What could the states of the Kilrathi people of different clans in different regions be after the war?
It should be noted that even before the disintegration of the empire, the Kilrathi had many communities with vastly different fundamental interests.
First, we must note that Ghorah Khar, as well as the other insurgent colonies, they are the victors. As a result, the people of Ghorah Khar, as well as the other insurgent colonies, can now confidently consider themselves divinely favored in a religious sense. And, consider that at least the people of Ghorah Khar have Confederate citizenship, they are the ones who will have enough political resources at least in the public sense.
Second, Ki'ra Clan. Ki'ra is a clan with a longer history than that of Kiranka.
Judging by the Emperor's cautious attitude towards the Ki'ra Baron Vakka, and the fact that Vakka had envisioned a direct takeover of Kilrah, the Ki'ra clan was the stronger clan at least in 2634.
Ki'ra was primarily responsible for equipment development and intelligence in the rear during the war, so battle losses were likely to be low. In the absence of any success in stopping Kiranka from waging war, the quid pro quo for a yes vote is likely to be the protection of Vakka's clan in various ways. Transferring Jukaga from the Vanguard Flight back to the much more safer flagship is the epitome.
[THREAD UNDER CONSTRUCTION, but always welcome to reply to the completed part...]
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