Attack on Titan: The Great Titan War, Explained

Highlights

The Great Titan War resulted in the downfall of the Eldian Empire and the rise of Marley as a new global power.
The war was sparked by internal conflicts and power struggles among the Titan families within the Eldian Empire.
King Karl Fritz's decision to abandon his duties as the ruler of the empire created a power vacuum that allowed Marley to overthrow the Eldian oppressors.

The Great Titan War marked a turning point in the history of the world of Attack on Titan. For centuries, the powerful Eldian Empire ruled over the known world under the power and guidance of the Founding Titan and the other eight Titans. However, internal conflicts would see the dawn of a new era. Through conspiracies and betrayal, the Eldian Empire collapsed amidst the chaos and bloodshed of a civil war that fragmented the power of the Titans.

Meanwhile, the oppressed people of Marley seized their chance to rise up and overthrow their Eldian oppressors. When the smoke cleared, a new global power emerged in Marley as the exiled Eldians retreated behind the massive walls on Paradise Island. But what exactly happened during this pivotal period known as the Great Titan War?

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The Origins of Conflict: The Eldian Empire and the Titan Families

For over a century, the Empire dominated the known world by wielding the power of the Nine Titans, giant humanoids possessing abilities far surpassing those of normal humans. Ruled by the royal Fritz family and their possession of the omnipotent Founding Titan, the Eldian Empire subjugated countless nations and their peoples. However, the other eight Titan powers, including the Colossal, Armored, Attack, Female, Beast, Jaw, Cart, and War Hammer Titans, were divided among the Empire's other great noble families in a system of checks and balances.

Over the centuries of the Empire, conflict frequently arose as the Titan families vied for increased influence and authority. Though kept in check by the absolute might of the Founding Titan, these simmering domestic disputes represented the first strains in what would become the eventual downfall of Eldia. As the Empire expanded to its maximum extent and lacked further foreign conquests, the infighting amongst the Titan families escalated into open warfare, marking the outbreak of the bloody Great Titan War. With no external enemies left to direct their ambitions against, the families turned on each other in an all-out battle for total supremacy.

The Start of War: King Karl Fritz's Decision and Marley's Opportunity

A major turning point came when the Founding Titan was inherited by King Karl Fritz, the 145th ruler of the Eldian Empire. In a shocking betrayal, King Karl decided to abandon his imperial duties and the conflicts consuming Eldia. Instead, he relocated the royal capital far to the eastward island of Paradis, completely withdrawing the moderating power of the Founding Titan. Without the Founding's infinite authority holding them in check, the Titan families erupted into an even bloodier civil war for control. This vacuum of power presented the perfect opportunity for oppressed peoples within the Empire to rise up against Eldian rule once and for all.

Chief among these rebels were the Marleyans, descendants of an ancient nation conquered by the Eldian Empire long ago. Inspired by the fictional hero Helos, who was actually a fabrication created by King Karl and the Tybur family, the Marleyans launched a revolution to overthrow their Eldian overlords. With the Eldians distracted and divided against each other, Marley gained a priceless advantage and began seizing territory that had belonged to the crumbling empire for generations. Supported by the Tybur family, who served as the wielders of the War Hammer Titan and were the first Titan shifters to turn against King Karl, the Marleyans gradually turned the tide in their favor during the Great Titan War's early years.

War Hammer Titan Attack On Titan - Featured-1

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Conspiracy and Betrayal: The War Rages On

Though the exact length and scope of the fighting are unclear, the Great Titan War engulfed the Eldian Empire in a seemingly endless cycle of conspiracy and betrayal between the eight families possessing the Titans. These families engaged in infighting to gain possession of the additional Titan powers. Through subterfuge or outright combat, the families, one by one, sided with the rising force of Marley over their former Eldian brethren. Willy Tybur recounts how the nation of Marley succeeded over many years of war in claiming ownership over seven of the Nine Titans, dramatically strengthening their position against the collapsing Empire. The War Hammer was the first to defect, gifting the Tybur family high status as "Honorary Marleyans" despite their Eldian blood.

As the families destroyed one another, the Eldian capital drew closer to total ruin. Only Paradise Island remained untouched by the growing strife engulfing the mainland. King Karl Fritz observed the chaos plaguing his former lands but chose not to intervene, believing retribution was deserved for Eldia's past sins. With Marley dominant and turning the captured Titan shifters against their own people, the end of the once-mighty Eldian Empire drew near after untold casualties and generations of all-consuming conflict.

The Fall of Eldia: Paradise, the Walls, and Memory Wipes

In the climactic year 743, King Karl Fritz took decisive action to conclude the Great Titan War and forge a new destiny for the remnants of Eldia. Gathering the Eldian people, including subjects of Ymir and non-subjects of Ymir, to Paradise Island, King Fritz used the power of the Founding Titan to guide countless Colossal Titans in the construction of three concentric walls—Maria, Rose, and Sheena—forming a protected territory. He also threatened Marley that any invasion would result in total destruction by unleashing the Wall Titans.

To finalize Eldia's downfall and ensure lasting peace, King Karl Fritz enacted his most extreme plan. Applying the coordinate ability, he wiped clean the memories of all subjects of Ymir trapped within the Walls' safe haven. For over a century, these Eldians would live in complete ignorance of the true world outside. Across the sea on the mainland, the people of Eldia who were left behind became low-class citizens under Marley, confined to internment zones like Liberio. With the empire defeated and its people oblivious, the stage was set for Marley's restoration as the new dominant power. Thus concluded the Great Titan War and the downfall of the once-almighty Eldian Empire.

Attack on Titan is available to stream on Prime Video.