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