With help from his friend Hadri Lenko, Maximilien Zelevas contributed to the Alliance of Nations winning the war, succeeded in having his enemy Duke Anatov killed, and perhaps even participated in the negotiations that avoided mutually assured destruction scenario. Lena Zelevas, 15 years younger than her brother Maximilien, had an affair with a Duke Anatov who was an enemy of her brother вЂ“ this strongly suggests that Maximilien was a key player in that war, important enough to have high-ranking nobility be his enemies. Endless Space 1 puts Zelevas' origin as a CEO of some kind вЂ“ given his aristocratic upbringing he must have been involved in politics and business probably from a young age and he could have been massive influence in that alliance. Maximilien Zelevas appears to have been a key player within what eventually became the dominant force at the end of the war: the Alliance of Nations. It is unclear how long that conflict lasted and who the main participants were. Apparently the conflict was bloody and there was a real risk of the conflict climaxing in mutually assured destruction вЂ“ it can be assumed that nuclear weapons were already developped by that stage or a similarly devastating WMD. What seems clear though is that Raia did not have a history or a traditional acceptance to authoritarian rule (unlike say the Hissho), given the dissatisfaction we see with Zelevas' 'brutal leadership.'Д®ventually, the various republics and polities of Raia engaged in a war that become known as The Great Continental War that most likely spanned the majority of the planet. Indeed, as is especially prominent in ES1, it appears that the nobility was also very much involved in the economic life of the planet as well with a strong corporatist vibe (I like to think of it as similar to various daimyo clans and dynasties in Japan transitioning to large corporations that exist till this day). I am of the opinion that there was a clearly defined elite aristocratic class with specific powerful families, with conflicting interests, that appeared to dominate political life across the planet even before the Empire. These Republics may have been similar to the Italian city-states pre-unification that were nonetheless dominated by an aristocratic political class (kept in check by each other and the populace).

Maximilien Zelevas sometimes refers to the Empire as 'The United Republics of Raia' in-game which indicates that Republics were a common form of government on Raia before the Empire was established.

ES1 implies that these titles of counts and dukes existed before while ES2 implies that these were formed after Zelevas' ascension to power, which is contradicted by Lena Zelevas' biography stating that a certain Duke Anatov existed before the Empire and Maximilien Zelevas' rise to power. It is unclear if aristocratic titles existed before the Empire or if they were a by-product of the Empire's creation (and indeed one of its pillars). Mezari settlers established themselves on Raia and create various polities on the planet that are autonomous and with no common form of government. So I will attempt to reconcile ES2 and ES1 and draw out a timeline of what I think might have happened.ДЄny clarification from the writing team would be massively appreciated!

Furthermore, the United Empire from Endless Space 2 conflict in part with the UE in ES1 with regards to the political system and its history. Thanks in large part to its well written and impactful faction quest, the United Empire distinguishes itself from other human factions in 4x games that tend to be bland and generic.ДЄs interesting as the faction is however, I am a bit hazy on its history and the timeline that lead to its establishment.

Endless space 2 united empire