Well, Eponllyn was crippled by Perdan's bait-and-switch 'we only want passage rights' war. How Eponllyn was treated by Perdan and Vix really broke Eponllyn's morale/spirit within the realm and exposed their hypocrisy on limited conflicts and smaller realms. And being independent when your survival is on the line with a neighbour like Perdan is suicide. Whether it was Eponllyn's war-intent or not, Oligarch did this to itself by not accepting the ceasefire with Sirion and standing up for Eponllyn against Perdan. First they came for the socialists, then they came for the unions, then they came for the jews, and when they come for you, there is no one left to stand with you because you did not stand for them. Such is where Oligarch has found itself.
The issue is that Oligarch was holding its own, and Eponllyn has more reason to hate Sirion (who abandoned them to the Perdanese, which is odd since Perdan is Sirion's sole remaining mortal enemy) than Oligarch. Not to mention Perdan is busy fighting Xavax. Had Eponllyn joined that war instead, it would have become more balanced.
