As of 1 October 2019, Emperor Taeglan I Nihilus of the Reylan Imperial Triumvirate will be recognised as holding the rank of Caesar rather than of Augustus, in a major change to rank and precedence on the imperial stage.
Following discussions of Emperor Jonathan I with Taeglan I Nihilus and with the government of the Holy Roman Empire, it was decided that the Treaty of Wrythe – by which Austenasia granted recognition to the Reylan claim to imperial rank – would be revoked.
The Treaty of Wrythe was signed between Jonathan I and Taeglan I Nihilus at the coronation of the former in February 2013. By the terms of the treaty, the Austenasian and Reylan thrones were both recognised to be of equal Augustan imperial rank.
A subsequent agreement in September 2016 between Austenasia and Wyvern, made with the consent of Reyla, legitimated the claim of King Quentin I of Wyvern to restore the Holy Roman Empire. From then onwards, the three emperors reigned in a state of mutual recognition of each other’s claim to imperium.
However, the decreased prominence of Reyla on the international stage in recent years – coupled with a decline in its internal activity – led Taeglan I to respond sympathetically to an Austenasian request for a review of its status as an Empire (in the Austenasian/Holy Roman understanding of the term). Specifically, permission was given to revoke the Treaty of Wrythe.
The other two Emperors therefore co-authored a declaration on Friday 27th September, in which it was declared that as of 1 October, Taeglan I and his successors as Reylan sovereigns will no longer be recognised as emperors “in the full sense of an imperium-holding monarch of Augustan rank.”
From henceforth the Reylan head of state will be recognised as instead holding the rank of Caesar, equivalent to Tsar, but may be referred to as “emperor” out of diplomatic courtesy with the understanding that the actual rank has been downgraded.
Similar negotiations among emperors regarding the rearranging and downgrading of ranks took place during the Tetrarchy period of the classical Roman Empire, in the early fourth century.
The Austenasian government has been keen to stress that the diplomatic relationship between Austenasia and Reyla remains strong and friendly, despite this change in rank. Indeed, just last week, Taeglan I was given a title of nobility in the annual Independence Day honours list.
From 1 October, then, there will be three recognised Emperors: Jonathan I of Austenasia, Quentin I of the Holy Roman Empire, and Naruhito of Japan.
