Editing Tamar Pact

{{Update Needed|[[Bred for War]]}}
{{InfoBoxState
| image = Tamar Pact logo.png
| Founded = [[2235]];<br/>13 August [[3151]]<ref name=TR27>''Tamar Rising'', p. 27</ref>
| Dissolved = c. [[3057]]
| capital = [[Tamar]] (to 3054);<br/>[[Arcturus]] (from 3151)
| systems = 32 (2341);<ref>''Handbook: House Steiner'', p. 14</ref><br/>10 (3152)<ref>''Tamar Rising'' - Poster Map</ref>
| currency = [[Tamar dollar]]<ref>''House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)'', p. 10: "Economic Developments"</ref>
| language = 
| demonym = 
| Head of State = [[Governor-General of the Tamar Pact|Governor-General]]<ref name=TRp92>''Tamar Rising'', p. 92: Sarah Regis profile</ref>
| cintel = 
| army = [[Tamar Marines]] (2765);<ref>''Field Report 2765: LCAF'', p. 12</ref><br/>[[Armed Forces of Tamar]] (3152)<ref name=TRp31>''Tamar Rising'', p. 31</ref>
| navy = 
| mintel = [[AFTIC]] (3152)<ref>''Tamar Rising'', p. 69: Cult of Personality</ref>
}}
The '''Tamar Pact''', much later known as the '''Tamar Theater''' and the '''Tamar March''', was one of the three independent nations that would join to form the [[Lyran Commonwealth]] in [[2341]]. Bordering the [[Draconis Combine]] the Tamar Pact suffered sizeable territorial losses and damage throughout the [[Age of War]] and the [[Succession Wars]]. The [[Clan Invasion]] resulted in most of the region being conquered by Clans [[Clan Wolf|Wolf]] and [[Clan Jade Falcon|Jade Falcon]], with the rump Tamar March being dissolved after the [[Lyran Alliance]] seceded from the [[Federated Commonwealth]].

Following the mass migration of the Falcons to [[Terra]] in [[3151]], the Tamar Pact was revived as an independent nation by Lyran General [[Sarah Regis]].<ref>''The Price of Duty'', ch. 3</ref>

==History==
===Early Years===
The Tamar Pact was first formed by the [[House Tamar|Tamar family]] in [[2235]]. A family of Pakistani-American heritage, the Tamars built a power base on their agricultural resources and a strong foundation of military training. This pact was bordered by the planets of [[Suk II]], [[Fatima]] and [[Nox]].<ref>''House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)'', p. 10</ref> Formed primarily for defense, it was successful in helping its merchants fend off pirate attacks. In the years following the [[Exodus (2242)|Exodus]], several other planets would be added, including [[Tamar]], named for the Pact's founding family, and [[Arcturus]], which would eventually become the original capital for the Lyran Commonwealth.

In [[2271]], the first [[Terran Hegemony]] member state was formed in the form of the [[Free Worlds League]]. The [[Federated Suns]] and [[Draconis Combine]] soon followed. There was inevitable pressure on the Tamar Pact to form such a state themselves with their neighbors, the [[Protectorate of Donegal]] and the [[Federation of Skye]]. The three had much in common, as all three pacts were built upon providing defense to maintain their extensive merchant trading. The Tamars feared that the [[Draconis Combine]] would soon look to expand its borders at the Tamar Pact's expense, so they certainly had a strong motivation to take part in such an alliance. In [[2339]], [[Kevin Tamar]] formally proposed unification with his counterparts from [[Skye]] and [[Donegal]]. Meeting on Arcturus in [[2340]], they eventually hammered out a tentative [[Articles of Acceptance|agreement]] based loosely on the system the Greeks used to rule their city-states. They adopted the name the "Lyran Commonwealth" for their new state, and they were recognized by the Hegemony at the start of the following year. Though the early years were difficult for the nascent Commonwealth, with an unstable economy and talk of secession, it eventually persevered.<ref>''House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)'', pp. 11–13</ref>

===The Age of War and the Star League===
The [[Age of War]] was not kind to the Tamar Pact, as many of its planets fell to the Draconis Combine. By [[2445]], a full fifth of the Pact was under Kuritan rule.<ref>''House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)'', p. 20</ref> Later during the reign of [[Archon]] [[Margaret Olsen]], the machinations of the [[Duke of Tamar]] resulted in a civil war which finally ended in battle on Tamar in [[2505]], when the new Archon [[Robert Steiner]] stripped the Tamar family of its titles and rank. It was here that [[House Kelswa]] came into power, and they held the Dukedom of Tamar for the next six-and-a-half centuries.<ref>''House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)'', pp. 27–29</ref> Indeed, the Kelswas had long been an important and loyal family within the Pact, with Prime Minister [[Davis Kelswa]] in power as early as [[2364]].<ref>''House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)'', p. 12</ref>

The coming of the [[Star League]] in [[2571]] provided a tremendous boost to the economy of the Tamar Pact, and to the rest of the Commonwealth.<ref>''House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)'', p. 32</ref> It also meant there were no further attacks on its worlds from the Draconis Combine. During the [[Reunification War]] the Duke of Tamar was briefly implicated in the abduction of Archon [[Viola Steiner-Dinesen]]'s heir designate, [[Kevin Steiner-Dinesen]]. He was ultimately cleared, however.<ref>''House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)'', pp. 34–36</ref>

As the various Great Houses became increasingly overt in their raiding during the Hidden Wars towards the end of the Star League era, the Tamar Pact found itself facing the brunt of the "pirate raids" instigated against the Commonwealth. The Duchess of Tamar during the mid twenty-eighth century, [[Monique Kelswa]], had only a rudimentary knowledge of military strategy, and instead appointed military advisors to help her prepare the Tamar Pact against acts of aggression. Among her policies applied across the Pact were tax breaks for defense industries and the implementation of state-sponsored grants for higher education on rural worlds within the Pact. These measures led to a steady drop in unemployment and a boom in university enrollments and made the Duchess a promising future leader in the minds of many despite her young age.<ref name="ER:2750p81">''Era Report: 2750'', p. 81: "Monique Kelswa"</ref>

===The Succession Wars===
When the Star League fell and [[General]] [[Aleksandr Kerensky]] departed with the [[SLDF]], the [[Inner Sphere]] was plunged into the [[First Succession War]]. Pirate attacks sponsored by [[Coordinator]] [[Minoru Kurita (28th c.)|Minoru Kurita]] lured [[LCAF|Lyran]] defenders from their border with the Combine, allowing House Kurita to conquer two worlds and heavily raid another.<ref>''House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)'', p. 45</ref>

The [[1st Tamar Hussars|Tamar Tigers]] were one of the most prestigious BattleMech regiments of this war, even conducting a major raid on [[Luthien]], the capital of the Combine. They were nevertheless destroyed on [[Benjamin]] in an ambush.<ref>''House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)'', p. 48</ref> Despite successes by units like the Tigers, the Commonwealth continued to lose worlds, particularly to House Kurita and mostly from the Tamar March. By the end of the war, they had lost more than 30 worlds. Tamar itself had been raided, and a large amount of administrative records were lost, severely damaging the Pact's economy for several years.

The following centuries of war were no more merciful to the Tamar Pact, which continued to lose planets to House Kurita. At the start of the [[Third Succession War]], the Duke of Tamar formed the [[Stealthy Tigers]], a private unit that officially claimed [[mercenary]] status. Although this new unit was a success, they could not prevent the further loss of worlds.

In [[2908]], House Steiner launched [[Operation FREEDOM]], designed not only to recapture former worlds from the Federation of Skye from House Kurita, but also to distract the Combine from striking Tamar, that was as vulnerable as ever.<ref>''House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)'', p. 71</ref> This second objective would ultimately fail, and in [[2915]], Tamar itself was invaded. Though the attackers were driven off, it was at heavy cost and the Pact capital was still vulnerable. Archon [[Tatyana Steiner (30th c.)|Tatyana Steiner]] and her high command came up with a plan to lure the dragon to continue attacking Tamar, and continually being forced back by reinforcements. Though logistically difficult, it successfully kept Tamar from Kuritan hands, and it also distracted the [[DCMS]] from hitting other worlds along the front. It remained an effective strategy for several decades.<ref>''House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)'', pp. 72–73</ref>

By [[3025]], though Tamar still stood, the Tamar Pact had been reduced to almost half its original size. It consisted of the Tamar Domains and the [[Trellshire Province]], and many of its worlds (including Tamar) had borne the brunt of the [[Succession Wars (History)|Succession Wars]]. Militarily, the Pact included the Tamar Theater and the Trellshire Theater. The disruption to the bureaucracy over the years had led to a high level of corruption, which the Lyran Commonwealth government was still attempting to clean up.<ref>''House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)'', p. 92</ref> General [[Nondi Steiner]] herself, the sister to Archon [[Katrina Steiner]], served as Margrave of the Tamar Theater.<ref>''House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)'', p. 118</ref>

===The Fourth Succession War===
At the start of the [[Fourth Succession War]], the [[Lyran Commonwealth Armed Forces]] launched [[Operation GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG]], the largest Lyran invasion of the Draconis Combine in centuries. Overall, this attack was an overwhelming success, as several dozen Combine worlds fell to House Steiner, most of them planets that had formerly been part of the Tamar Pact, decades or even centuries before. The [[13th Rasalhague Regulars]], however, intended to counterattack rather than wait to be overwhelmed by the Commonwealth's war machine. They struck at Tamar, apparently without orders, knowing that a successful strike could demoralize the entire Commonwealth. They were opposed by the very capable [[Grave Walkers]] [[mercenary]] unit, with two heavy regiments.<ref name=NAIS426768>''NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 2'', pp. 67–68</ref>

Unfortunately for the Grave Walkers, Duke [[Selvin Kelswa III]] insisted on commanding the defense. When the Duke ordered the Grave Walkers into a death trap, [[Colonel]] Dennis Merwin, the Walkers' commanding officer, knocked the Duke unconscious and placed Kelswa and his entourage under arrest. The Walkers proceeded to route the Regulars completely, with only a handful of the Kuritans surviving to surrender. Duke Kelswa, however, placed Colonel Merwin under arrest for treason, scheduling his execution for the following morning. The Lyran high command, however, pressed the Duke on the issue, pointing out his lack of military background and informing him he would be publicly court-martialed if he continued with his charges against Merwin. The Duke reluctantly released the Grave Walkers commander.<ref name=NAIS426768/>

===The Federated Commonwealth===
Duke Kelswa and many in the Pact were bitterly disappointed and even enraged when Archon [[Katrina Steiner]] decided to recognize the formation of the [[Free Rasalhague Republic]], essentially giving back most of the worlds that had been conquered. The planets had been part of Kurita's [[Rasalhague Military District]] for so long, most had lost any serious cultural connection to the Tamar Pact or the Commonwealth, and instead looked to [[Rasalhague]] for its political and cultural cues. When Kelswa attempted to keep several of the worlds through force by deploying mercenaries during the [[Ronin War]], it ended disastrously for him both militarily and politically. The Tamar Pact was effectively punished by the new [[Federated Commonwealth]] government in the aftermath of the Ronin War with increased taxes for several years.<ref>''Historical: Brush Wars'', p. 90</ref>

In [[3041]], the militaries of House Steiner and [[House Davion]] were combined into the [[Armed Forces of the Federated Commonwealth]]. As part of this reorganization, the Tamar Pact was militarily named the Tamar March, broken up into the [[Blackjack Operations Area|Bone and Trellshire Theaters]] and the [[Benfled Operations Area|Tamar Theater]], with Nondi Steiner's son, [[Richard Steiner (31st c.)|Richard Steiner]], commanding the Tamar Theater.<ref>''20 Year Update'', pp. 16–17, 24–26</ref>

===The Clan Invasion===
The [[Clan Invasion]] was devastating to the Tamar Pact, which bore the brunt of the attacks by both [[Clan Jade Falcon]] and [[Clan Wolf]]. Tamar itself fell, with Duke Kelswa fighting to the bitter end. Selvin Kelswa's daughter, [[Morasha Kelswa]] inherited her father's now meaningless titles.<ref>''Wolf Clan Sourcebook'', pp. 43–45, 64</ref>

By [[3054]], the Tamar March had been reduced to little more than a sliver of its former glory. Nevertheless, as it essentially included the entire Federated Commonwealth-[[Clan Occupation Zones|Clan Occupation Zone]] border, it was the most heavily defended area of the Commonwealth.<ref>''Objective Raids'', pp. 22–23</ref>

When the [[Lyran Alliance]] seceded from the Commonwealth, the military was again reorganized. The Tamar Domains was briefly re-formed, but ultimately the Tamar March dissolved entirely.<ref>''Shattered Sphere'', pp. 47–51</ref>

The legacy of the old Tamar Pact now lives with Duke [[Robert Kelswa-Steiner]], son of Morasha Kelswa and grandson to the last Duke of Tamar.

==Resurrection==
In [[3151]], after the fall of the Republic of the Sphere, [[Hauptmann-General]] [[Sarah Regis]], commander of the [[26th Arcturan Guards]], decided to act by her own initiative and, without awaiting orders from Tharkad, to liberate her homeworld of [[Arcturus]]. This decision would become the catalyst for the rise of a new Tamar Pact.<ref>''The Price of Duty'', ch. 3</ref>

Discovering that Arcturus had been stripped of its defenses, the Arcturan Guards began to plan its liberation. Regis suspected that Arcturus was not unique in this situation and sent raiders from her base on [[Kandersteg]] to Arcturus, as well as [[Kelenfold]], [[Borghese]] and [[Blue Diamond]], ordering the full unit to reassemble on Arcturus. The advance teams at Arcturus reported the encouraging news that the civilians had overthrown Falcon rule and formed a provisional civilian government. The RCT made planetfall in the city of Malcheema on 4 July 3151. Regis met with the planetary government, who detailed the planet's situation. A crop blight had caused massive food shortages and a promised supply ship from Blue Diamond was long overdue. Regis opened her RCT's supply caches to the public, buying the population time while she tried to solve the food problem.<ref name=TR24>''Tamar Rising'', pp. 24–25</ref>

The remaining elements of the Arcturan Guards reported back to Regis, saying the situation was much the same on the worlds they visited. Regis then dispatched elements of her RCT to secure Kelenfold, Borghese and Blue Diamond. She then assembled the RCT's officers and laid out her plan going forward. Rather than return the worlds she had secured to the Commonwealth, she would go it alone, resurrecting the ancient Tamar Pact with a claim that she would one day liberate all of its worlds. On 13 August 3151, Sarah Regis renounced her LCAF rank and overthrew the Arcturus council, declaring herself the Governor-General of a new Tamar Pact.<ref name=TR25>''Tamar Rising'', pp. 25–27</ref>

===Rebuilding the Pact===
Regis immediately faced a difficult decision: with many of her troops having no loyalty to Arcturus or Tamar, they protested being labeled as traitors to the Commonwealth. Fearing a possible civil war that would smother her new nation in the cradle, Regis and her officers ultimately let anyone who wished to leave do so. Though the 216 soldiers who left, including [[Ronan Carlyle|Ronan]] and [[Isobel Carlyle]], were manpower Regis could hardly spare, they felt the risk of dissent was an even bigger hazard.<ref name=TR27>''Tamar Rising'', p. 27</ref><ref>''The Price of Duty'' (Kindle edition), ch. 3</ref>

From there, Regis began reorganizing her RCT into the new Armed Forces of Tamar. She divided the 26th Arcturan Guards into three new LCTs, the [[Tamar Jaegers]]. The remaining armor and infantry were assigned to the [[Homefront Guard]] and given garrison posts on the four worlds of the Pact. Additionally, the Pact sent agents to Kandersteg and [[Galatea]] to hire mercenaries, using the family fortune of [[House Regis (Lyran Commonwealth)|House Regis]]. Once this was done, Regis sought another win to strengthen their cause. The [[1st Tamar Jaegers]] provided the Pact this win when they dropped onto [[Kerensky's Vision]], wiping out the Falcon garrison on the world while trying to limit casualties. The civilians on the planet quickly surrendered to the new leadership of Arcturus. Meanwhile, the Pact's efforts to hire mercenaries had paid off, luring the legendary [[21st Centauri Lancers]] away from [[House Kurita]], as well as the [[Bleeding Eagles]] and [[Burnt Offering]]. Additionally, a trading mission from the [[Alyina Mercantile League]] was passing through Arcturus, allowing the Governor-General to supplement her family fortune with a sizable loan from the former Falcon merchants. This was followed shortly by the arrival of a [[Clan Sea Fox]] trader, whose arms were quickly put to use by the Tamar Jaegers. But all of these were stepping stones to Regis' real goal: a true industrial heart for her new nation.<ref name=TR26>''Tamar Rising'', pp. 26–28</ref>

===The Pact Tested===
The world of [[Pandora]] had yet to be attacked since the Falcons left, but between its large, self-sufficient population, [[Red Devil Industries|industrial]] [[Quikscell|output]] and [[Pandora College of Military Sciences|military academy]], it was an irresistible target for the Pact. Unlike most former Falcon worlds, though, it had not overthrown the invaders; instead, ''solahma'' from surrounding worlds had left their post to gather on Pandora under a self-proclaimed [[Star Colonel]] named Sage. On 23 December 3151, the [[Second Tamar Jaegers|Second]] and [[Third Tamar Jaegers]] jumped into the Pandora system accompanied by the Lancers, under the overall command of [[Colonel]] [[Jeremy Cox]]. Cox offered Sage a Trial of Possession for the world, but Sage declined, saying anyone who landed on Pandora would die. Cox tried again, offering to surrender the Tamar JumpShips to Sage if they failed. After some deliberation, Sage agreed and sought to bid Cox down to a small Trial. The Tamar task force declined, saying they would bring everything they had to claim the world. The two Jaeger units took point in the operation as they faced down a force of two mixed Clusters: three Trinaries of 'Mechs paired with six more of infantry and combat vehicles. Both sides fought brutally, with the Falcon soldiers seeking to prove their worthiness to live and the Tamar Pact taking out a century of frustration. The two forces battered each other in closer and closer proximity until Cox called in the Lancers from reserve. The skilled mercenaries crashed the Falcon flank and did not stop firing until there was not a single functional Falcon unit on the field. Few survived, with most of who did requesting ''bondsref''. Cox, instead, asked for their word that they would cause no further problems on Pandora, and in exchange, he would pay for passage to join [[Jiyi Chistu]] on [[Sudeten]]. The remaining Falcons accepted the deal. As for the Pact, both Jaeger units had taken casualties of over 30%, but they had claimed the vital world for themselves.

Following the victory on Pandora, the Pact took a break from pressing their expansion further. Besides the fears of overextending their small military, the government on Arcturus spent the beginning of 3152 wrestling with problems reintegrating former Clan citizens. During the first quarter of the year, the AFT only moved against worlds without a serious garrison, while the world of [[Tomans]] was reintegrated into the Pact through diplomacy. By April, though, Governor-General Regis had begun hearing reports of Jade Falcon holdouts.<ref name=TR29>''Tamar Rising'', pp. 29–31</ref>

===Moving Forward===
Regis tasked her mercenaries with taking two more worlds to create a buffer between her holdings and the Falcon remnants: [[Koniz]] and [[Graceland]]. The Burnt Offering found a conventional challenge on Koniz, where a group of Falcons had set themselves up as rulers of the world. Initially suspicious of the Pact's motives after block-to-block fighting in the planet's capital city killed many of their number, the civilians of Koniz voted to join the Tamar Pact after promises that the government on Arcturus would help rebuild the city and assist in forming a militia. When the Bleeding Eagles arrived on Graceland, however, they found the military governor, [[Donal Malthus]], was not what they were expecting. Rather than being a Bloodnamed Falcon, Donal was a member of the Malthus Clan, a powerful crime family whose roots stretched back to membership in [[The Nine Archons]]. As his family was a constant target for the Jade Falcons, he joined his world to the Pact after some negotiations.<ref>''Tamar Rising'', p. 31</ref>

While publicly it was merely another world entering the Tamar Pact, in secret, this had a greater meaning. Sarah Regis entered into a covert alliance with the [[Malthus Confederation]], allowing her access to their intelligence network in the [[Free Guilds]] to track the Jade Falcon successors and [[Clan Hell's Horses]] activities. In exchange, though, she had to turn a blind eye to the Malthus syndicate's stream of trafficking (human and narcotic) and black marketeering. Using her military's near-total control over JumpShips in the Pact, Regis has kept this information under a tight lid so far, though it pained her to do so.<ref name=TR82>''Tamar Rising'', p. 82</ref>

The Pact begun its third wave of expansion in May 3151, targeting [[Blair Atholl]]. There, the AFT's winning streak came to an end as they were repulsed by the Falcons on-planet, though the Tamar forces managed to withdraw in good order as the Falcons declined to give chase. The following month, another delegation from the Alyina Mercantile League arrived on Arcturus, offering an alliance against Khan Chistu. With the Tamar Jaegers already turned back once, Regis knew she needed partners to face off with the Falcon remnant and their dynamic leader. Yet she was apprehensive, knowing that Alyina's cunning Syndic, [[Marena]], would always be looking to profit in the arrangement. She did not want to spend her entire army taking [[Sudeten]], only to not be able to hold it when the AML decided to claim it entirely for themselves. Instead, she gave the offer consideration, but a new matter quickly garnered her attention. [[General of the Armies]] [[Roderick Steiner]] announced that he would be traveling to Arcturus to meet with Regis and "discuss the future of the Lyran worlds she had reclaimed." Regis, who deeply respected General Steiner, immediately began planning for their meeting. Near the end of the month, though, Regis received a much more troubling message: [[Clan Ghost Bear]] had landed forces on the border world of Tomans, and engaged the First Tamar Jaegers. The Bears eventually took Grant's Station. For the Bears, that was the first news they had about the Tamar Pact's existance: they were making a recon probe to what they believed was a chaotic area. However, at least initially, they didn't launch more attacks.<ref name=TR69>''Tamar Rising'', pp. 69–70</ref><ref>''Dominions divided'', pp. 88</ref>

The next threat the Pact faced was a internal one: On May [[3152]], [[Elam Nobu]], Pandora's baron, launched a coup against the Pact, attempting to seize the control of the planet and return it to the Commonwealth, but the attempt failed in barely a few days, and he was arrested, mainly thanks to the work of the mecenary [[Grey Death Legion]], under contract from the Pact.<ref>''Decision at Pandora'', ch. 1-16</ref>

==Historical: Tamar Pact Map Gallery==
<gallery>
File:TP2341.jpg|Tamar Pact at Lyran Commonwealth founding in 2341
File:TP2571.jpg|Tamar Pact after Age of War in 2571
File:TP2822.jpg|Tamar Pact after First Succession War in 2822
File:TP2864.jpg|Tamar Pact after Second Succession War in 2864
File:TP3025.jpg|Tamar Pact after Third Succession War in 3025
File:TP3030.jpg|Tamar Pact after Fourth Succession War in 3030
File:TM3040.jpg|Tamar March after War of 3039
File:TM3052.jpg|Tamar March after Clan Invasion in 3052
Tamar Pact 3152.png|Tamar Pact in June of 3152
</gallery>

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
{{div col|colwidth=25em}}
* ''[[20 Year Update]]''
* ''[[Decision at Pandora]]'' (Novella)
* ''[[Dominions Divided]]''
* ''[[Era Report: 2750]]''
* ''[[Handbook: House Steiner]]''
* ''[[Historical: Brush Wars]]''
* ''[[House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)]]''
* ''[[NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 2]]''
* ''[[Objective Raids]]''
* ''[[The Price of Duty]]'' (novella)
* ''[[Shattered Sphere]]''
* ''[[Tamar Rising]]''
* ''[[Wolf Clan Sourcebook]]''
{{div col end}}

[[Category:Federated Commonwealth Regions|Tamar March]]
[[Category:Lyran Commonwealth Regions|Tamar Pact]]
[[Category:Nation States|Tamar Pact]]
[[Category:Tamar Pact Related Categories]]