View source for Avatar:Fire Nation crisis under Fire Lord Yosor

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{{Event infobox
| prev          = Unknown, eventually the [[unification wars of the Fire Islands]]
| conc          = 
| next          = Unknown, eventually the [[Platinum Affair]]
| image         = 
| conflict      = 
| date          = Early [[History of the World of Avatar#Traditional Avatar calendar|era of Szeto]]
| place         = [[Fire Islands]]
| outcome       = * Reunification of the [[Fire Nation]]
* Improvements in the Fire Nation administration and economy
* Several feuds between [[Society in the World of Avatar#Fire Nation|noble clans]] are discontinued
| participants  = * Fire Nation government (including [[Avatar]] [[Szeto]])
* Warring noble clans
* Commoners
| appearance    = "[[Cultural Diplomacy]]" {{mo}}
}}The [[Fire Nation]] experienced an intense '''crisis'''<ref name="TDoY21">{{Cite Yangchen|121}}</ref> under [[Fire Lord]] Yosor who ruled during the [[History of the World of Avatar#Traditional Avatar calendar|era of Szeto]]. The country almost fractured due to disasters, civil wars, and the central government's weakness.

== Prelude ==
Historically, the Fire Nation was prone to periods of instability. As the [[Fire Islands]] are dominated by volcanoes, the country could be strongly affected by natural disasters. In addition, its political system was built on a compromise between the central government and the [[Society in the World of Avatar#Fire Nation|noble clans]]. The latter maintained their own private militias, as they descended from [[Unification wars of the Fire Islands|warlords who ruled the islands]] in the distant past.<ref name="TSoK5">{{Cite Kyoshi|205}}</ref><ref name="TSoKE">{{Cite Kyoshi|20E}}</ref> Many nobles continued to act as petty lords, overseeing their fiefdoms from castles.<ref name="TDoY9">{{Cite Yangchen|109}}</ref>

Many clans were involved in ancient feuds with each other.<ref name="TDoY21" /> In addition, the [[Fire Nation Royal Family]] was prone to infighting and usurpation attempts.<ref name="Legacy6">''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender: Legacy]]'', page 6.</ref>

== Crisis ==
Though the Fire Nation was familiar with periods of unrest and suffering, the crisis which erupted under Fire Lord Yosor was one of the worst in all of history.<ref name="TSoK5" /><ref name="TDoY21" /> Several of the potential sources of chaos affected the nation at the same time: Starting in [[Avatar]] [[Szeto]]'s childhood, catastrophic natural disasters and plagues hit the nation, disrupting the common people's livelihood and the economy. Some attributed these events to the anger of the [[Spirit World#Known spirits|spirits]].<ref name="TSoK5" /> On many islands, farmers were unable to tend to their fields and raise crops; famines subsequently broke out.<ref name="LIU5">{{Cite Bending Academy|105}}</ref> The widespread suffering and the scarcity of resources led the noble clans to take up arms. As ancient feuds between the nobles came to the fore once more, their militias fell upon each other in a bid to secure the diminishing resources. Some also hoped to exploit the unrest to gain power for themselves. The Fire Nation fell into complete chaos and civil war, with the clan fiefdoms transforming into quasi-independent statelets, while the central government under Fire Lord Yosor proved powerless.<ref name="TSoK5" />

The anarchy was ultimately halted by the efforts of Avatar Szeto. Proving himself to be a talented bureaucrat, diplomat, and accountant, Szeto reinforced the government's authority by enlisting as a regular official.<ref name="TSoK5" /> Using his great math skills, he developed systems to fund and support farmers, thereby gradually solving the widespread food shortages.<ref name="LIU5" /> Eventually appointed Grand Advisor to Fire Lord Yosor, Szeto also brokered a lasting peace among the noble clans.<ref name="TSoK5" /> He even tempered many of the ancient feuds, such as those between the [[Saowon clan]] and its long-standing rivals.<ref name="TDoY21" />

Thereafter, Szeto helped to restore the Fire Nation's economy by ending the debasement of [[Currency|coins]] and setting up the first official relief programs for farmers in times of famine.<ref name="TSoK5" />

== Aftermath ==
The Fire Nation, especially its central government, emerged greatly strengthened from this period of chaos.<ref name="TSoK5" /> Though he did not solve all issues of the country, as internal strife and economic instability continued to occasionally affect the Fire Islands,<ref name="TSoK8">{{Cite Kyoshi|208}}</ref> Szeto's reforms allowed the Fire Nation to enter a long phase of growth and prosperity<ref name="TSoK5" /> which ultimately transformed it into the most powerful state in the [[Earth|world]].<ref name="TSoKE">{{Cite Kyoshi|20E}}</ref><ref name="AFL">{{Cite episode|1|306}}</ref> In his own lifetime, Szeto was already regarded as a hero by Fire Nationals.<ref name="LIU5" />

Several later historians such as [[Dairin]] studied the crisis of Fire Lord Yosor's reign, concluding that without Szeto's actions the [[Four nations|nation]] would have probably fractured completely.<ref name="TSoK5" />

== References ==
{{Scroll|{{Reflist}}}}

[[pl:Kryzys w Narodzie Ognia za panowania Władcy Ognia Yosora]]
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