diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index e64542d..35b5d8f 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ All notable changes to **History** are listed here, newest first.
 - **Tests (`server/engine.test.ts`).** New `freshNationId`, `applyNationOp (split)`, and `applyNationOp (merge)` suites: the partition (first-wins, leftovers-to-part-0, sole ownership, fresh ids/stats/relations, parent removed, relations cleanup, player-pointer move, clamped `playerPart`, `edits.name` on the chosen part), the merge (union territory, survivor stats, relations union with survivor-wins, removed ids dropped from everyone else, into-name, player-pointer move, and the four no-op guards), plus an updated prompt-contract test asserting all three op shapes. The old "split/merge is a no-op" P4a test is retargeted to a 1-part split. The unit suite grows **151 → 164**.
 - **Verification.** Typecheck, lint, **164 unit tests**, and the production build all pass. The e2e suite (CI, `LLM_STUB=1`) carries no nation-op assertions, so it stays green with the unchanged stub.
 - **Deploy:** manual `docker compose up -d --build` on the host (no `down -v`).
-- **Part of #16 — major nation changes (P4b).** This completes #16: `Fixes #16` on the merged PR closes the issue.
+- Part of #16 — major nation changes (P4b, the final part of the epic). #16 was already closed (2026-10-12, after P3 shipped); the PR references it for traceability the same way P4a's PR #38 did ("Part of #16" / "Related: #16") — no auto-close.
 
 ## v0.23.0 — 2026-10-14 12:58
 - **Part 4a of #16: nation renames — "LLM proposes, player confirms."** The LLM can now propose that a nation be renamed during a turn. Unlike stat/relation/territory changes (applied automatically), a rename is stored as a **pending proposal** (`GameState.pendingNationOps`) and only takes effect when the player **confirms** it (optionally editing the new name) or is dropped on **reject**. This is the first of the "major nation changes" the LLM may propose — the `NationOp` contract is stable now; **split** and **merge** are declared in the same union but are *accepted-and-stored, not applied* until P4b.