Philanthropenos

The house of Philanthropenos was one of the most influential dynasties in the Empire of Gráikon. From their rise to power in the 13th century to the dissolution of the empire in 1907, the family played a crucial part both domestically and internationally.

History Historically, the head of the dynasty was regularly bestowed with the position of megas doux and thus had firm control over the Graikonian Navy.

With the advent of industrialized shipbuilding and a paradigm shift towards steam-propelled ironclad warships, the navy became more and more reliant on resources that could no longer be provided by the state, alone. In turn, the megas doux had to negotiate with imperially subsidized industrials to supply the fleet and maintain their projection of force across the Mesogeios and the economically crucial Suez channel in Egypt.

After a devastating defeat against the combined naval forces of Albion and Etruria during the Syrakian conflict in 1856, Gráikos was forced to severely cut down their fleet and also relinquish control over Cyprus.

Fall from grace More importantly for the house of Philanthropenos, the poor performance of the navy led to accusations of misconduct and corruption on the part of the megas doux. As a result, the title was formally abolished and full control over the Graikonian Navy returned to the throne for the first time in almost four hundred years.

This upheaval shook the entire dynasty to their core and effectively condemned the house to an existence on the fringes of Graikonian politics. Without imperial grants, they were forced to find another source of revenue to support themselves. Through several decades of arduous negotiations during the family's tenure as the nation's naval authority, they had witnessed the decline of nobility in favor of industrialism firsthand. As a consequence, the family used both their experience and business networks to set foot into a market they believed to be highly prospective.

Modern Greek Fire Even though the usage of naval mines was still highly experimental at that time, the family invested their remaining fortune into exclusive contracts with suppliers of raw materials and several international engineers to develop a working prototype and present it to the Graikonian leadership.

Naturally, the presentation was met with scepticism and regarded as a futile attempt by the house of Philanthrepos to restore their fortune. However, the live demonstration proved the devastating effect of the mines - even on the largest capital ships. This in turn led to a large demand not only by the Gráikonian government. Other countries scrambled to adopt what they called "modern Greek Fire". However, the house of Philanthrepos closely guarded the formula behind the explosives. Furthermore, the family had not forgotten indignations of the past, both by competing nobility and the Basileus himself.

New Investments Mihail Philanthrepos, who had risen to become the new head of the house, was well aware that his family wouldn't be able to keep the priced formula to themselves forever. As such, he set in motion several contingency plans and heavily invested into further development of the Suez channel, hoping to secure a long-term stream of revenue.

However, tides of war once again put the ambitions of house of Philanthrepos to a test. Rising tensions over control of the Suez channel led to an armed insurgency in Port Thalassa. Even though the Gráikonian Government denied any involvement, the fact that several sets of Gráikonian-made naval mines were deployed in the channel led to international outcry and clearly painted the nation as the aggressor.

Thalassian War What started out as an incident quickly developed into a full-scale war. In the end almost every country with access to the Mesogeios became involved, leading to the conflict being coined as Thalassian War and resulting into another devastating military defeat for the Empire of Gráikon.

As a result, the nation was forced to cede all of their colonies, including vital holdings in North Afrike. Furthemore, the Philanthrepos family became shunned domestically. The Gráikonian Government insisted that the mines deployed in the Suez channel were black-market products illegitimately sold by the house in question.

An official inquiry was set to investigate this matter of affairs The inquiry's members never got to meet, however, as the political foundation of the country was shaken to the core, yet again.

A debt long overdue This time, though, the issues were primarily of a domestic, albeit revolutionary nature. In the ensuing civil war, house Philanthrepos was one of the first noble families to condemn the "rampant abuse of power" by the central government. As such, it is assumed that the revolutionary forces received significant amounts of supplies and military equipment.

Regardless of whether this holds true, the several members were detained by the Gráikonian secret police and questioned for several weeks. Mihail Philanthrepos, as the family's head, formally confessed to having supported the insurgency through material means on the 24th January 1907. He was summarily executed by a firing squad on the day after.

Contrary to the intended effect, the execution did not deter other noble houses from cooperating with revolutionary forces. In fact, most of the nobility reacted with condemnation. Fearing for their own safety, they published published a collective letter, demanding that both the Basileus and his government resign immediately and transfer power to the Noble Assembly.

For the house of Philanthrepos, the death of their house's head quickly turned into a massive boost in their public perception. Both the revolutionary forces and the nobility pushed a narrative of Mihail Philanthrepos dying as a martyr, freedom fighter and "a true Greek". Even though Mihail had been a member of the nobility, the revolutionary committee declared him a Tyrannoktones and promised full amnesty for every member of house Philanthrepos.

Ionia, eternally As every other noble house, the members of Philantropenos were stripped of rank and formal holdings. For most of the dynasties, the event marked an end to centuries of relative power. The house of Philanthrepos, however, had supported the revolution from an early point and was thus given extended privileges for members of their family to assume senior positions within the newly founded government under new identities. What's more, the events of the previous fifty years had also forced the leadership of the house to repeatedly adapt and tap into additional forms of revenue.

The combination of both factors led the members of the Philanthropenos to quickly establish themselves in crucial governmental positions and entrench themselves within the inner circles of the Secretariats.