Nth Interstellar War
Any one of an indeterminate number of interstellar wars fought between the Terran Confederation and the First Imperium during the Period -2408
and -2219.
The First Interstellar War (-2408
to -2400) marked the initial clash between Terra and Vland. The peace that concluded
the hostilities was both uneasy and short. The second through seventh wars
were marked by seesaw exchanges of territory, mostly confined to the Dingir
and Sol subsectors. These initial
wars were fought, on the Vilani side, with
only the forces available to the Vilani provincial governor; the central
government was preoccupied with other problems. This was fortunate for
the Terrans, as Vilani power, even at this late date, was sufficient to crush
the Terrans in short order had it been applied.
The Eighth War finally broke open the frontier and ended in the first major
Terran victory. Finally, the Grand Imperium took notice, and dispatched
major fleet elements to the area, but the time for action had passed. Terran
invention of the jump-3 drive made the Ninth
War a crushing victory for Terra and forced the Vilani to relinquish most
of the Solomani Rim. Thereafter, the Terrans were almost constantly
on the offensive.
In the centuries after the conclusion of the wars, no consensus could be
reached in the academic community as to when the later conflicts began or
ended; all were interrupted several times by armistices, cease fires, or
shaky periods of peace (indeed, a new war would often break out along the
front lines before the existence of a peace treaty could be communicated
to the respective capitals).
Periods of warfare are lumped together or split apart depending on the historian's
individual point of view, and a single war to one historian can be identified
as two or more wars by others. The situation is complicated by the
fact that records for some of the years in question are sketchy. To
clarify matters, an accommodation was arrived at which simply labels all
interstellar wars after the Ninth with the indeterminate variable N. Proper
usage calls for the war to be defined with the actual years being discussed.
Many history texts use this system to refer to all the wars except
the first.
The Nth Interstellar War (-2235 to -2219) ended the series when the Vilani
Grand Imperium collapsed, as much from its own weight, age. and decadence
as from Terran victories. The Terrans moved quickly to occupy the remaining
Vilani territory.
See also Rule of Man.
-IE ld