Keylusus II
| Keylusus II | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||
|
Rome's longest serving Emperor, Keylusus II has been instrumental in shaping the Roman Empire the way it is today. When he ascended to the throne in 1912 he was barely over 20 and gained the throne through inheritance, as had been the practice in Rome for over 2500 years. When he retired in 1992, he left an Empire forever changed, becoming a true democracy and not just one in spirit. Because of his long reign, he is forever remembered as "The Eternal Emperor".
The seeds for change occured early on in Keylusus' reign. After gaining the throne in 1912 from his father Regulus III, there were numerous protests staged within Rome over the legitimacy of the extremely young Emperor. He had just barely finished his second year of University when he gained the throne, and, at 20 years, was the youngest Roman Emperor on record since Decius Capitolinus I became Emperor at 14 in 1542. He was still enrolled at the University of Rome when Regulus died suddenly of a heart attack, and worried if he'd be able to rule the massive Empire and still be able to finish school. Nevertheless, Keylusus, who was always determined, decided that he was going to ascend the throne anyway, doing so on May 15, 1912 after finishing his last exam.
However, this was not the end of Keylusus' ascension story. Protests broke out frequently over the legitimacy of his rule because of his youth, and three of Rome's seven Republics- Egypria, Arabia and Rhaetia- threatened independence. So Keylusus issued the following ultimatum, dated July 16, 1912: "Let me rule for two years and if you don't like me, you can vote me out."
The ultimatum shocked the Empire, who was always used to inheritance-based rule. Almost immediately Romans everywhere were wondering if Keylusus had lost his mind, with numerous articles and even a book being published on the subject. Even Keylusus' advisors, holdovers from his father's regime, advised him agaist elections, saying that he would be certain that he'd lose the throne afterward. Keylusus continued to insist, and on March 11, 1914, the first ever election for the Roman Emperor took place.
As Keylusus expected, voter turnout was huge, as 99% of all eligible voters (men and women over 18) cast their ballots. Initially, only three competitors- Roger Damius, an immigrant from Cyprus, Paul Zemander of Antioch and Honorius Rigomator of Rome- ran against Keylusus, with Zemander being Keylusus' chief adversary. Zemander, the former President of Arabia, was 47 years old at the time and was considered by most experts to be the better leader, as he had actual leadership experience where Keylusus barely had two years under his belt.
However, Zemander didn't have charisma and determination, things Keylusus had in spades and displayed frequently during his campaign. Not surprisingly, then, Keylusus won a 89% victory when all the ballots were cast, with Zemander barely getting 4%. Rigomator was next with a shade under 4%, with Damius rounding out the four with 3% of the vote.
After the election, speculation rose as to when the next election- if there was to be another one- would be held. Again, Keylusus' advisors insisted that he not hold another election due to their unpredictability, but again Keylusus won the day. On the Ides of July, 1914, Keylusus declared that elections for the office of the Emperor would be held every six years, and wrote it into the Roman Constitution just to guarantee their occurance.
As expected, the public were skeptical of Keylusus' move, wondering if a) the first election was rigged and b) if he'd keep his word and hold another election. On the former, The Roman Free Press, Antioch State University and the Egyprian Council independently counted all the ballots and verified the results as true. On the latter, Keylusus made good on his word, holding the second Emperor election in Roman history in January of 1920, winning by 71% and running against 400 challengers pooled from all over the Empire. Eventually, the number of challengers during Imperial elections ranged in the thousands, a fact that continues to this day, but surprisingly, Keylusus' margin of victory never fell below the margin he won the election with in 1920.
Over the years, Keylusus would found more programs and institute more progressive reforms in the Empire. It was during his reign that Niger, Garamantium and the Caucasus were incorporated into the Roman Empire in 1951, 1965 and 1985 respectively, and it was also during his reign that the Roman Superhighways were built. Each Republic also gained more power in their own affairs, effectively establishing each as autonomus states. Overall, there is not an institution in Rome today that Keylusus didn't touch, with many of his reforms still in place today.
On December 8, 1992, Keylusus officially retired from politics at the age of 100. His reign spanned an unimaginable 80-year timeframe, with Keylusus handily winning 13 straight elections. His charisma and determination never failed him, and his constant interest in the plight of the commoners coupled with an amazing knack for governance and attention to detail were his cornerstones to his unprecedented success. He is widely held today as one of Rome's greatest rulers, compared in stature to that of Augustus because of his remarkable reign. His dates of ascension and retirement are forever entrenched as Roman holdidays, with a week-long Ludi taking place for each one. Currently, Keylusus, in frail health, resides near an oasis in Niger, and has four children, ten grandchildren, thirty-five great-grandchildren and fifty great-great granchildren, with a 51st on its way. He married once, with his wife dying in 1996.
