Martin I of Bonamech and Traxí

Martin I (Mursian: Pochten Martin Kristiyan Arkady, Vladetel na Bonamech u Traxí, Hertsog na Circe, Heleovo u Visia; Anglian: His Majesty Martin Kristiyan Arkady, Overlord of Bonamech and Traxí, Duke of Circe, Heleovo and Visia, b. 11th May 1892, d. 29th November 1955), also known as Martin the Stern, was the king of Mursland from the 15th of July 1922 until his dead. He was succeeded by his son Arkady Kristiyan Hristofor.

Martin I's started his rule just before the Barxian Conflict. He managed to gather a lot of popularity and power. The first half of his reign is characterised with much involvement with the government, which changed when the new Katá-Vasiliko came into power as a response. Martin is a controversial figure in Mursian history. His rule is considered the end of the centralisation period in Mursian history.

Childhood
Martin Kristiyan Arkady u Mursya was born on the 11th May 1892 as the second child of King Mihalou II and Queen Smaragda. Martin's sister Irena Kassandra died stillborn. On the 5th of November 1894, Martin's younger brother Hristofor Arkady Mihalou was born.

Martin had private education for his elementary school period, being tutored by former State-President Radomir Zahari. At the age of 11, a year early, he start attending Plovina's Private Highschool. He showed great interest in world-history, mathematics and music. He finished top of his class for history, sharing his interest with his grandfather Arkady II. Martin was reported to have been an elegant young man, although mischievous during courses he was not interested in.

After his graduation in 1909, he went to study early Central-Artemian history at the Skrivalo State University, but quit after a year. Although the reasons were never disclosed, it is assumed because of disagreements with some professors or the inability to perform well in the environment of the university.

Early adult life
Between 1911 and 1913, Martin did his publicly mandatory service in the Mursland Army. He served under the pseudonym Krisriyan Dione as an artillery crewman. Although he disliked the army, he does not regret serving as he met a few of his best friends there, and the brother of his later wife countess Kamenara u Ovchari.

After serving in the army, Martin became a representative of the Mursian Geographic Institute. As crownprince, he also became the protector of various institutions. In 1914, Martin started his education to become a calculator at the Brixivo robo-institut Saint Miro's, from which he graduated in 1917.

On the 1st of august 1915, Martin married countess Kamenara. From the marriage, two sons were born: Arkady Kristiyan Hristofor (1919) and Arkady Miroslau Nereus (1921), who both would become king of Mursland under the names of Arkady III and Arkady IV respectively.

From 1917 until his coronation in 1922, Martin worked as an administrative officer in the Mursland armed forces; first in the army and later in the new founded Royal Air Weapon. Although working in the army, he was known as a more pacifist aligned person. He served in the army for both historical reasons, as well as him understanding "the geopolitical situation Mursland finds itself in."

Early reign
Martin ascended the throne on the 15th of July 1922 at the age of 33 after the abdication of his father. His 3 year old son Arkady Kristiyan Hristofor became the crownprince. Upon ascension, Martin resigned from the armed forces and did not adopt the traditional military titles a king normally receives. His reasoning was that he was a king of the people, not the army.

From the start of his reign, he found trouble with socialist factions in the Mursian government. Paramonos Samaras, Province-President from the Socialist Alliance, had been very critical of King Mihalou II, and Martin felt the need to defend the name of his father after his death. Although the 1923 elections saw the socialist losing the Province-President position, Paramonos became a prominent face of opposition to the Mursian royal house, who managed to effectuate policy making and public opinion against Martin.

The Barxia Conflict
The outbreak of the Barxia conflict of 1926 proved a real test for the king. The recent socialist revolution in Lusjki saw optimism to create a socialist ally to the south and attempted to instigate a revolution in Mursland under the motivation of disposing of the king and creating equal opportunities for everyone. However, the uprising was smaller in scale than anticipated. The uprising and subsequent assisting invasion failed and Mursland retaliated with an invasion itself. The Mursian invasion was not long lasting, as Martin quickly sealed a peace negotiation. Although the king desired to return to the status quo, the government desired territorial expansion and such a small border expansion in the north-west Nai region was agreed upon.

This new territory would initially added to Upper-Nai, but Martin foresaw the political power the region would get by this expansion and established a new province to the nation under the name of the Barxian Defensive Region (later reorganised into the Barxian Protectorate), named after the historical Overlordship of Barxia and its consequent Barxian peoples.

After the Barxia conflict, Martin saw few resistance from the government now socialism was shunned and his major opponent Paramonos imprisoned. The 1927 elections saw the socialist parties in Mursland loosing virtually all seats. In a wave of nationalism and conservatism among Mursians, Martin managed to strengthen his position within the nation, thanks to the help of the Kralskata Federatsiya Parti under Nikanor Karsaroi. Around this period, historians usually pinpoint the start of his more extreme public standpoints, either only now surfacing or attempting to instigate populism among his subjects.

Unusual for the previous kings, Martin was very prominently involved in national politics. He visited the headquarters of various parties and would often hold meetings with various party leaders. He reportedly used his popularity and power to sway politicians into voting for various laws in his favour. Most notable is during the formation after the 1927 elections, when various not-so obvious ministers were appointed for positions within the cabinet. Various historians have determined that the king went overboard with his powers during the negotiations and should have been lifted from his duties. Although no direct measurements were taken at the time, the actions did not go unnoticed among the government and public.

Assertion of power
The king had now set the first steps towards government control. It was at this point, he sought to exert his position into pushing certain controversial reforms.

Mursland, for the past century, had been heavily favouring Mursian peoples, by for example having the only language of communication within government being the Mursian. Various biasses existed within the nations communities and institutions, predominantly in cultural and historical organisations. Martin subtly elaborated on this sentiment to strengthen his position within the Mursian community. Although Martin never openly opposed minorities, he did actively promote Mursian language and customs in the nation. In leaked documents from around this time, it appeared that he desired to have everyone speak the same language as he despised the Thalássian-like sounds of Traxian and Barxian.

Reason for this hearted are unclear, but it could stem from a possible dislike of his grandmother from fathers side, queen Isliva, who was Traxian. Traxian had not been an unfimiliar language within the royal family either; both Martin's parents were fluent, as well as for three his grandparents. No records or proof can be found about his opinions about the language(s) at an earlier age, so disambiguity about the causes will remain.

Martin, in an attempt to quench the minority languages within the nation, and have one unified Mursian population, bargained the government into passing the 'Free Accessibility of Religion Act'. This act would pose rules on churches and religious groupings to hold all their services in Mursian as to make it "accessible for all people of the nation", indirectly limiting the use of Traxian and Barxian in public space. Martin had been very cautious with the delivery of the message, as to make it appeal to the Mursian people as a progressive act in an attempt to convey the centre parties to vote in favour.

In the same period, many government owned companies were sold of to finance the "Act of Education Support" of 1928. Many of these companies were originally created and owned by his grandfather Arkady II, but were confiscated by the government after Mihalou II's lavish reign had racked up too much debt. Martin, who felt that he still deserved to inherit them (certainly after his fathers death in 1930) tried to prevent the sale of companies. However, he could not stop the (public) privatization.

Palokists and Martinites
In 1931, the palokists took over power in Lusjki. As a result, the Mursiya Palokis Parti was founded, which saw the need of a strong central leader in Mursland. Their leader, Tsisof u Lilkowo, was a fellow soldier during Martin's militairy service, and believed Martin would be a suitable leader. Martin supported this endeavour, and the party gained 11 our of 150 seats in the 1931. However, the party was pro militairy, and saw Mursland gain Propygrian controlled Traxian lands by force. Martin did not agree with this, which resulted in the party switching their focus to Kiril Antov. However, members of the MPP who still supported Martin split off as the Martinites for the 1935 elections. They remained in the Province-Room until 1947 supporting Martin, and continue to do so even after failing to score a seat.

Critique on Dirish
In 1933 Martin would give a speech heavily scrutinizing Dirish peoples.

The Dirish would see a period of hostility in Mursland. During Martins reign, many would swear off their Dirish ancestry in attempts to find employment easier and avoid discrimination. Official censuses report a change of around 6% in 1920, to 3.0% in 1960.

Rise of Katá-Vasiliko
As a response to the MPP and Martinites, the Katá-Vasiliko party was founded, who continued Paramonos campaign and opposed the king. The party's unifying goal was to dispose of the king and install a in Mursland. Their campaign was focused on the unconstitutional behaviour of Martin, and his promotion of a political party where a king ought to be neutral. The party saw a lot of support, and became the largest party in the 1935 elections, while the MPP and Martinites saw minimal electoral gains. This victory put a lot of pressure on Martin; it is generally described as a turning point in Martins reign, as his focus shifted from gaining power to maintaining his powers.

Although the party did not manage to form a proper coalition in the Province-Room, they still went on to rule for the full period under State-President Tryfon Tisalo, while the more neutral Kyriakos Metaxas was agreed upon by the Province-Room as Province-President. The KV appeared to be throwing a wrench in the works for Martin. Because, although lacking a coalition, they managed to provide a stable government while managing to oppose many of the degrees indirectly introduced by Martin.

A blow to Martin was the reversal of the 'Free Accessibility of Religion Act' in 1937. This upset many royalists and would later give rise to clashes between various demonstrations between some radical KFP-members and Traxians in Dione, Golpole and Phliesmos, Central-Traxí province. This tarnished the image of the party severly. Martin brushed off the events as overexposed in media in an attempt to limit the back lash for one of his most vocal supporting parties, but that back fired and party leader Nikanor Katsaroi had to resign from his position as well. In the following elections, the party would drop to 14 seats.

First assassination attempt
On the 4th of February 1946, a assassination attempt was made on Martin by welder Hermolaos Antonis. Martin was visiting the Brixivo Docks for the launch of his new vessel Saint Zotic. While inspecting some equipment used by the company, Hermolaos managed to get close with a nailgun to Martin and shot two one-inch nails into the king. He was hit in his liver and his shoulder, the latter just missing the right subclavian of the aorta. Harmolaos was arrested while Martin was rushed to the Brixivo State Hospital. Although reportedly losing his conscience twice due to severe blood loss and liver failure, he survived the attack and recovered with minimal permanent injury.

Second assassination attempt
On the 19th of August 1953, a second assassination attempt was made on Martin. Sergeant Illov Kont, a new recruit of the Pazach royal guards placed a bomb under the desk in the office of the king. The bomb was set-up to detonate when the office chair would be pulled back. However, it was not Martin who pulled the chair back, but one of the assistants of the Council of State, Kaloyan Vaneus. While Kaloyan was killed by the blast, Martin was only hit by the fragmentation from the desktop. Although no official record is made public, it was reported that between 20 and 65 shards had entered the kings body, the number most likely being around 30. Although not being in serious danger from the explosion, the wounds would cause an inflammation and several infections.

After initial recovery, Martin picked up again his tasks as king a month later, although he refrained from public appearances for most of his last years. He skipped the observation of Kings Day of 1954, although he did appear for a short speech on the balcony of the royal palace in Pristanivesnis. In the last year of his life, he reportedly criticized Lusjki's Maltin Luga, which surprised many critics after the information was released 25 years after his death.

Death
Martin passed away on the 29th November 1955 at age 63 from the complications of an infection he obtained as a result of the second assassination attempt. He was buried in the Royal crypt, Pristanivesnis, on the 2nd of December. It was the first life-broadcasted burial in Mursland.

After his death, a small memoir was published by his secretary Demi Michakaki which painted a different picture of the king than was known to the public. In the booklet, context was given for Martin's critique of minorities and sometimes offbeat remarks. The memoir is heavily criticized by both royalists and republicans, for either playing down or exaggerating his behaviour, and Demi had to go into hiding because of serious death threats he received. The royal house has made no acknowledgement of the booklet.

Legacy
Martin's legacy is a controversial one. He was popular under Mursian right wing and nationalist parties, while greatly disliked by left parties. During Martin's reign, the oldest currently operating party Katá-Vasiliko (Mursian: Anti-Royal) has been founded, with its profound anti-royal spear-point. It was the largest party for the majority of his reign, and today still enjoys some popularity.

Trivia

 * Martin I is the second longest reigning king of Mursland with 33 years, 5 years short of Arkady II of Bonamech.
 * The death of Martin is considered the end of the Centralization period and start of the Modern period in Mursian history by many scholars.
 * Other events often mentioned are the founding of Katá-Vasiliko and the first assassination attempt.
 * Martin was afraid of dogs. The cause of this fear is attributed to the dog of his father, who he saw attack a member of staff due to a case of.