The second century of the Kingdom of Harburg brought about a peace treaty between the Kingdom and the remnants of the Aswanian Empire; not having to fight continuously for their survival, the Harburgians began to thrive.

During this century, the ruling family changed their name, from de Arwas to von Harburg.

Only three kings sat on the throne during this century, because of Herik I’s unusually long reign.

King Kendrik II de Arwas, the Brief

Born Imperial Age 506, died 555, reigned 555, not crowned.

Son of Izaak II.

A soldier at heart, he is mostly remembered by his accomplishments on the battlefield during his tenure as crown prince (from when his father was crowned, in 527, to him ascending to the throne in 555).

Kendrik II reigned for four months after the death of Izaak II; on the morning of the day he was due to be crowned he slipped in his bath and hit his head on the marble bathtub, slipping into a five-day coma from which he did not awaken. He was forty-eight.

Ever since his death, it became tradition for new kings to wait at least a year since the passing of their predecessor before being crowned, to try and ward away bad luck.

King Izaak III von Harburg, the Peacemaker

Born Imperial Age 511, died 576, reigned 555-576, crowned 556.

Brother of Kendrik II, son of Izaak II.

Educated as a scholar, to support his brother Kendrik II in his rule, Izaak III was crowned on the hundredth anniversary, to the day, of the founding of Harburg. To celebrate the occasion he shed his old last name, de Arwas, and took on von Harburg; he also established that day as a national holiday and celebration, Founding Day, which is still honoured nearly two hundred years later.

Izaak III is known as the Peacemaker for brokering a peace between the Kingdom of Harburg and the remains of the Aswanian Empire, ending a war that had lasted more than a century.

During the final years of his reign, in 574, old Castle Harburg burned to the ground with great loss of life; the court was transferred to the summer palace, located higher in the hills, six miles from the capital city.

Died of an illness, aged sixty-five.

King Herik I von Harburg, the Old

Born Imperial Age 545, died 651, reigned 576-651, crowned 577.

Son of Izaak III.

Became king at age thirty-one, after the death of his father Izaak III; his peaceful reign is by far the longest of all the kings of Harburg.

Trained as a soldier, he offered the services of the armies of the kingdom as mercenaries in foreign wars, which became the top source of income for the country for decades. He also oversaw the rebuilding of Castle Harburg into the royal palace: construction began in 589, and was finished by 615.

King Herik I was rumoured to be a homosexual, and he remained unmarried until he was forty, when he took a wife at the behest of the council of nobles (who didn’t want to risk him dying without a heir, which would have sparked a succession crisis); his only son, Prince Izaak, was born in 595, when the king was already fifty years old.

Remarkably healthy and active even in old age, Herik I was however rendered an invalid by a stroke in 639, aged ninety-four; his grandson, Prince Dominik (who would later become King Dominik I), was named by the council of nobles as Prince Regent to mind state affairs in the king’s stead for the last twelve years of his reign, despite being younger than the heir apparent, Crown Prince Kendrik – there is no definite answer as to why the nobles chose Dominik, the records of that meeting appear to have been lost.

Herik I died of old age in his bed at the royal palace, aged one hundred and six.