The practice of the Diet of Uz dates back to pre-imperial times, possibly to the founding of Uzda itself. Whenever an issue of sufficient gravity arose that the Emperor (or King) was unable or unwilling to resolve by edict, a Diet would be called. Any two of the Estates, as represented by the Emperor, Headmaster of the Imperial Academy, the Supreme Minister of the Great Uzdumalian Church of State, and the First Citizen (an office sold at auction every fifth year, purchasable only by those in the Fifth Estate), could bring a Diet of Uz into being, at which point the Voivodes and their proxies (a role which could by ancient law only be performed by Borrits) assembled in the city of Uzda and began debating.

While the Diet was in session, a special tax of foodstuffs was imposed upon the city, with the proceeds of that tax disposed of by the members as they elected. In some cases the monies were used to fund the policies the Diet enacted, although more often they went directly to the personal accounts of the members. Either way, the tax meant that a Diet that went on for too long caused increasing discontent among the residents of Uz: several early diets, during the pre-Imperial and early Imperial eras ended when their meeting place was put to the torch by mobs of the enraged and hungry urban poor. In later eras, the members of the Diet learned to interpret the graffiti on the Intrigular Walls and know when to bring their debates to a conclusion. (The claim that the sense of 'Diet' as a weight loss program is a reference to the effects of this tax is a popular, though ultimately inaccurate, bit of folk etymology.)

The only time a Diet of Uz resulted in military action, usually considered the sole province of the Emperor, was when the Diet of 583 ordered the military to use force to end the Scientists' Revolt. (Even though technically convened in Jacina, the Later Imperial Diets are still 'Diets of Uz' by use and tradition.) Most Diets of Uz dealt with less urgent issues where either outcome could be unpopular: an actual majority of all recorded Diets of Uz dealt with the legality or the tax status of the Houses of Untethered Youths, issues few Emperors cared to directly become involved in. During the Low Imperial period several Diets were convened to decide the sucession, most ending in a slaughter of the members by a rival military faction until no Voivodes and very few Borrits were willing to enter the chambers.

See Also:

Borrits

Graffiti

Scientists' Revolt

Houses of Untethered Youths