Update V - Years 721-725 AD
Foreword:
The end of the 710s saw numerous culminative developments in the worlds great conflicts. For a while, it seemed that after such epic battles the world should fall silent and the wars that had seemingly exhausted their potential should end, to let the bloodied nations lick their wounds and regroup. Yet it was not to be, for even before the old cycles of bloodshed had ended new ones already began. Along the main trade routes of civilisation and on the barbaric periphery, wars for power, wealth and truth raged on.
Domestic Events:
Upon the assassination of King Karloman II, Burgundsrich saw a long but surprisingly bloodless (for the most part) succession struggle. Ultimately, Karloman III, an Ashaist, rose to power in Vinshausen, but was not recognised by the eastern Belenist nobles who declared independence and elected one of their number to be the new king in Lughenburg [1]. With his position still not quite secure, Karloman III ignored this for now and focused on asserting his power in the west; still, there is much wariness between the two kingdoms.
Fearing a potential civil war but at the same time not wishing to become a mere figurehead, King Egil of Nord-Frisia and Vikland accepted the previous petition of the Viklander nobles and agreed to grant them greater power; furthermore, he abdicated the throne of Vikland, giving it to a young member of one of the chief Viklander noble houses who was promptly married to his daughter. Egil remained the king of what remained of Nord-Frisia, as well as the regent of Vikland. The situation was quite complicated, but as far as both the king and the nobles were concerned it was a fairly good compromise. With stability thus restored, the Viklanders were able to focus on healing their realms wounds, settling down the refugees from nascent Atithrek and reestablishing trade ties (+1 Confidence).
Hasty Latgallian efforts to forcefully integrate their extensive and diverse gains in the middle of a war with Danelaw caused further complications (-1 Bureaucracy; also, see military events).
Having reestablished law and order in post-Gyat Watchur, the Akkadians set up a separate Agade Dag monarchy there, called Dag-am-Karung. Though the majority population remained Ashaist, the native monarchy was comparatively well-liked and stable, at least for now.
Prasanna struggled to stave off an economic crisis in the wake of colonial debacles; this was temporarily succesful, but the situation remained precarious.
Turgul Beg, the new Agade Dag ruler of the Neo-Khitan (soon to become Turgulid) Empire, worked to consolidate his power base, both with missionary efforts and vigorous participation in religious affairs.
As one good consequence of the recent voyages, Jomon entered a golden age of trade, as well as a cultural and scientific one.
International Events:
Despite losing many of their new ships at sea, the Nahuans of Chalchitlan managed to reestablish contact with the Tepehuani Empire again (-6 Chalchitlani ships). Not much has been established in the way of trade ties yet, though.
Former Ligania was mostly annexed into Caerix, without much difficulty. Ambiguity as to the administration remained, however.
Growing internal tensions amongst the Zubhrabhanu and the ongoing multinational assault on Prasannas colonies resulted in an informal cease-fire between the Rebels and the Empire.
With Giant Space Squid intermediation, a formal ceasefire was achieved between the Polar Bear factions. Whether or not this really meant the end of the Polar Bear Civil War remained to be seen.
Military Events:
After several close-ran campaigns and bare escapes from potential catastrophe, the Tepehuani Empire finally ran out of luck with the death of Emperor Atlacatl in 720. While the Nahuan army struggled to recover from its costly defeat in the Zapotec campaign, Prince Vucub, heir to the throne of Dainzu, rallied the forces of his city and its Mayan allies for a counterattack into the Mayan territories; the resulting Battle of Nimli Punit saw the Tepehuani forces completely routed. Attempts to regroup further west were undertaken, but as Vucub and his father Pacal assembled a greater coalition joined by most of the Mayan city-states, including Coba the Tepehuani were given no time to regroup and instead were attacked, and crushed, again and again. Emperor Teucoatl was soon forced to flee to the capital, Acatlan, in order to assert power there; he held out for some time, but was later overthrown by Atlacatl II who immediately had to deal with numerous rebel groups (-1 Tepehuani Confidence). While that went on, the Zapotecs of the southwestern shore had once again defeated the Tepehuani fleet, and the coalition forces advanced into Tepehuani territory. An overambitious attack towards Acatlan itself ultimately failed, but the counter-attackers were nonetheless able to secure a strong forward position, while the Tepehuani Empire continued to slide into chaos.
(-17 Tepehuani regiments, -11 Tepehuani levy regiments, -12 Tepehuani ships, -2 Coban regiments, -1 Coban levy regiment, -4 Zapotec regiments, -4 Zapotec ships)
As the Tiahuanacans raised more and more troops, while also landing very costly defeats on their Pacatnamu foes, the balance of the Andean War decisively shifted in the favour of the southerners. Though a fresh thrust towards the city of Pacatnamu was once again defeated, this distraction made the subsequent multi-pronged invasion of the Moche-held coastal regions possible. After the Pacatnamu armies in the region were divided, isolated and destroyed, the Tiahuanacans focused on consolidating their gains and fending back Pacatnamu raids; in 724, however, a fresh offensive succeeded in taking the ancient city of Mocha (-1 Pacatnamu Confidence). In the wake of this string of defeats, the Pacatnamu were forced to regroup their surviving forces at the capital, barely beating back yet another attack.
(-9 Tiahuanacan regiments, -4 Tiahuanacan Allillantaqmi regiments, -12 Tiahuanacan levy regiments, -13 Pacatnamu regiments, -7 Pacatnamu levy regiments)
After lengthy preparations, the Hibernians joined by Pictish and Caerixian forces set sail for Eldsland, the last outpost of the Norse in the northern open seas after the Conquest of Atithrek. In spite of storms and other difficulties, the huge neo-Tigranist armada that ultimately reached the shores of Eldsland had little trouble entrapping and overwhelming the well-crewed, but still horridly outnumbered Eldslandic ships. The war was then swiftly carried to the coastlands. The invaders were burdened by criminally terrible logistics and adverse conditions, while the defenders constituted most of the male population and fought with ferocity and bravery, but the numerical superiority of the attackers (and, some claim, the thorough Hibernian training procedures in the coldest and most rugged parts of Hibernia prior to the invasion) once again proved overwhelming; in settlement after settlement, Eldslanders were utterly slaughtered. King Sven himself fell defending Reykjavik, slaughtered along with his loyal retainers. By 719 the islands coast was at least formally occupied by Hibernian forces and their allies; that said, minor hidden Eldslandic settlements still remained in the more distant parts, and some Eldslandic ship crews continue a war of harassment and raiding against their oft-overstretched enemies. In the meantime, the conquerors began to consolidate their gains and settle down, though all attempts to attract any sizeable amounts of civilian colonists had failed entirely.
(-Eldsland as a nation, -2 Hibernian regiments, -3 Hibernian ships, -3 Hibernian Seoltoireacht ships, -2 Caerixian levy regiments, -4 Caerixian ships, -2 Pictish regiments)
The Rhine War between Thuringia and Sund-Frisia seemed to have turned around after Wideph IIs sudden death in 721. While Prince Radulf hurried to secure the throne and put down the initial feudal uprisings, the Sund-Frisians managed to regroup their battered forces and retake much of the ground lost to the previous Thuringian campaign. However, Radulf, who commanded the support of the military, the petty nobility and the greeter part of the common population even in Sachsland, managed to assert his authority quickly enough; in 722-724, the Thuringian army, augmented by feudal levies, struck back in full force. Despite receiving (meager) Caerixian reinforcements, the Sund-Frisians were routed in the Second Battle of Samorabriva and the Thuringians once more besieged Dunfestig. At the price of dangerously dividing their army, the Sund-Frisians checked their advances elsewhere, but were ultimately unable to prevent the capture of Dunfestig in 724. After this, stalemate once more set in. The Thuringian position isnt all that strong, but the Sund-Frisians scarcely have enough forces to eliminate it at this point.
(-1 Caerixian SirlenKenget regiment, -7 Sund-Frisian regiments, -4 Sund-Frisian levy regiments, -5 Thuringian regiments, -2 Thuringian Royal Archer regiments, -8 Thuringian levy regiments)
No matter the designs of both new kings, the ambiguity in the borders between Burgundsrich and Lughenburg led to a fair amount of skirmishing and raiding.
(-1 Burgundian regiment, -1 Lughenburger regiment)
As the Teutonic Wars opening stage ended, warfare partially died down, the Teutons focusing on holding their territories and constructing fortresses while the Tarekids limited themselves to raiding. The sea front had gone completely quiet, neither side deigning to remove their fleets from the defense of their respective strategic flanks. This allowed the Caerixians to send reinforcements here as well, this time in somewhat more serious numbers. These troops arrived in 722, just as the Tarekids finally launched a major campaign aimed at taking the central city of Semura. Their concentrated forces were able to besiege the fortress unhindered, capturing it later in the year; however, as the Tarekids set out towards Gristain, they put themselves between the Imperial Teutonic Army and the newly-arrived Caerixian expeditionary corps. The terrain was difficult, maneuverability and logistics suffered, and the Teutons had comparatively little trouble intercepting and shattering the main Tarekid field army near the capital. Smaller detachments managed to fall back southwards, but Semura was soon lost to the counter-attack, and subsequent campaigns evicted the Tarekids from the Tagus Valley altogether, though suffering heavy losses along the way. The Tarekid distraction also enabled the Brukter feudal clans (and later, the king as well) to launch large-scale raids as well as full invasions in the northeast, securing numerous inland territories and wrecking havoc in the coastlands as well.
(-4 Caerixian regiments, -3 Caerixian SirlenKenget regiments, -8 Teutonic regiments, -10 Teutonic levy regiments, -12 Tarekid regiments, -7 Tarekid levy regiments, -4 Tarekid Ankhed regiments, -3 Brukter regiments, -5 Brukter levy regiments)
The Latin War continued apace. In late 721, Urbs Vetus saw a third major confrontation, even more bloody and brutal than the previous two; as the Capuans were gathering their armies for a new northern campaign, the Ligurians brought down the weight of their entire military on the strategic city. Beaten in the field, some of the outnumbered Capuan detachments continued to hold out behind their new urban fortifications for a few more months; ultimately, however, the Ligurian siege engines allowed them to take Urbs Vetus and slaughter the defenders. This victory cost Liguria dearly in both men and time, however; though the Capuans were unable to mount any significant counteroffensives, they still did manage to regroup at Populonia, fighting off Ligurian raids, preparing powerful defenses and launching harrying seaborne raids into the enemy coastlands. A new campaign began in 723, the Ligurians attempting to besiege Saena Julia [2]; though the first siege was ultimately relieved, the Ligurians managed to regroup, bring up fresh reinforcements and besiege the city again, adapting circumvallation to hold the Capuans at bay. Ultimately, the Ligurian strategic numerical superiority paid off yet again; the city fell, although a subsequent daring raid towards Capua (clearly imperiled by the Priest-Kings latest gains) was fought off. It increasingly seemed like the Capuans could only hope to win if they were to be supported by the alliance.
(-4 Ligurian regiments, -12 Ligurian levy regiments, -3 Ligurian Sons of Belenu regiments, -8 Capuan regiments, -9 Capuan levy regiments, -1 Capuan ship)
In 721, the Latgallians initiated a new series of counterattacks against the Danish invaders after a few years of indecisive skirmishing. Though the Danes remained unchallengeable in the sea, on the land they were now heavily outnumbered; although the levies thrown at them by the Latgallians were sub-par in most regards, the Danes were inevitably overwhelmed, surrounded and defeated in detail by them, allowing the Latgallian elite warriors to advance into the nearby Danish colonies. Although an attempted Latgallian attack on Danish Pommerania ended in disaster for the Balts, elsewhere a string of costly but thorough victories had been achieved. The situation worsened somewhat in late 723, however, when the Danes struck back with fresh forces, once more taking Memele and launching inland raids from there. To make matters worse, the Latgallians were also forced to deal with a major Rzekan counterattack to the south, joined by a general Slavic rebellion in the southeast (up to the point of levies defecting to the rebels) (-5 Latgallian levy regiments, +10 Rzekan levy regiments). This and mounting Finno-Ugric hostility forced the Latgallians to scrap their planned northern operations, instead focusing on beating back the two threats. By the end of 725, the Danes were besieged in Memele, the rebels were chased south and the Rzekan offensive was exhausted in a series of bloody battles. Latgallia itself, however, was stretched pretty thin by the war, revealing the instability and frailty inherent in its hastily-erected empire.
(-7 Latgallian regiments, -20 Latgallian levy regiments, -2 Latgallian ships, -11 Danish regiments, -6 Danish levy regiments, -5 Rzekan regiments, -8 Rzekan levy regiments)
Already stretched thin and greatly demoralised, the Miletean Theocracy began to implode completely as early as in 721, as a horrible famine coincided with a fresh flurry of Odrysan blows and the introduction of desperate policy under which the Mileteans practically tried to conscript everything that moves. Already tenuous, control over Corcyra evaporated altogether, and the army in Greece deteriorated rapidly, especially after being decisively beaten at Chaeronea; the Arecomans (also affected by the dire supply situation) were soon forced to pull a fighting retreat into the Peloponnesus, denying the peninsula to the Odrysans. Meanwhile, Hierarch Leo IV barely managed to hold on to Kratopolis thanks to continued Tarekid support; even so, the city was once more besieged by the Odrysans.
While all of this happened, the Ashaist and Agade Dag blocks were maneuvering for advantage in preparation for the culminative battle. In a sudden (and unpopular) decision, the Ankhader army withdrew from Anatolia, leaving it to its own devices (-10 Tarekid levy regiments) and those of the Akkadians and their allies. That said, the Akkadian attempts to restore order in the peninsula were not the walkover they expected; the various leftover Ashaist warlords and city-states proved remarkably resistive, and what progress was made in restoring Paphlagonia as an Agade Dag state was lost in 723 when the Akkadian-backed warlord was assassinated and his forces fell into infighting (although a fair amount of them soon rejoined forces with the Akkadians (+10 Akkadian levy regiments)). While this went on, the Ashaists once again tried to eradicate Hellenic sea power. This time, luck was with the Ankhader Armada; after the conquest of Cyprus, it managed to engage and destroy the Hellenic detachments gathering near the Nile Delta. After this, it headed north yet again, moving into the Black Sea, scattering the recently-rebuilt Odrysan fleet and landing a large army at Odrysa itself. The Odrysans did take some precautions against this; however, outnumbered and outmatched, the defenders were unable to fight off the massed assault on the city, Jeno III fleeing west under the cover of the night (-1 Odrysan Bureaucracy, Confidence). His vigorous efforts in rallying the Odrysan feudal levies and forces freed up from the fighting in Greece helped stem the Ankhader advance (already burdened by limited numbers, complicated logistics and local resistance), although their hold over the northeastern territories, made comparatively easy by local geography, proved impossible to overthrow for now.
At about this point, however, most of the Ashaist fleet had to go back into the Mediterranean, as the Agade Dag fleet was finally ready and linked up, quickly retaking Cyprus, Rhodes and Crete against negligible resistance. Aware of the Ashaist armada coming from the Black Sea and eager for a decisive naval battle, the Akkadians and their allies engaged the Ankhader fleet in the Battle of Naxos in 725. While the numbers of both sides were more or less equivalent, the Akkadians had superior ships and a better strategic position; their enemies had more experienced crews, and, more importantly, a superweapon Arganthine Fire. While the early maneuvering played out to the Akkadian advantage, their galleys outflanking the Ashaists, the latter subsequently managed to use Arganthine Fire in order to break through, while also throwing the enemy formation into disorder. This was not exploited properly, however, in part due to clumsy handling of the Arganthine Fire that led to the loss of several Ankhader ships and gave the Akkadians time to regroup. A drawn-out battle ensued; while Arganthine Fire took a considerable toll on the Akkadians, they managed to use the superior maneuverability of most of their fleet to limit those losses while also doing considerable damage to their opponents. In the end, the battered (but not broken) Ashaist armada was forced to retreat west (to the ports in Peloponnesus), while the decimated Akkadian navy pulled back to Heraklion.
(-5 Tarekid levy regiments, -2 Tarekid Ankhed regiments, -19 Tarekid ships, -1 Capuan regiment, -7 Capuan ships, -7 Odrysan regiments, -6 Odrysan levy regiments, -8 Odrysan ships, -1 Miletean Cataphract regiment, -19 Miletean levy regiments, -1 Hellenic regiment, -1 Hellenic levy regiment, -7 Hellenic ships, -10 Hellenic Catadromii ships, -2 Akkadian regiments, -6 Akkadian levy regiments, -19 Akkadian ships, -22 Najjarian ships)
After over two decades of fighting in which Nubia just barely held its own against the Kohaitan armies, the Nubian War entered its final phase. With the Nubian kingdom falling apart economically, politically and socially, and its army bled white as well as put in a strategically-untenable position, the outcome was clear from the early days of 721. The new Kohaitan river flotilla swiftly swept aside the Nubians in the Blue Nile, and a subsequent multi-pronged offensive culminated in the Fifth Battle of Naqa and the honourable surrender of Prince Maome and his surviving forces. The remaining Nubian troops planned to make a last stand at Soba under the leadership of Prince Aksu; however, the Council of Soba was ultimately persuaded to capitulate. Aksu initially went along with this, but later, as the Kohaitans turned a blind eye to him and focused on establishing the military occupation of the more distant Nubian cities, escaped with his retainers to rally the die-hards in the countrys southwest. This was the only organised resistance left in Nubia as of late 725 (and even it was incapable of more than raiding), although the Kohaitans faced many other problems, like a very restive population in the north, military overstretchment and political ambiguity in the new conquests.
(-Nubia as a separate polity, -5 Kohaitan regiments, -4 Kohaitan levy regiments, -5 Kohaitan ships, +1 Kohaitan banked eco. point)
Having more or less stabilised the situation in the other theatres, the Akkadians turned once more towards Arabia, initiating a campaign of large-scale raiding and skirmishing in former Dag-al-Araba. Some of those raids were quite daring (striking at undergarrisoned cities), but failed to accomplish much in the way of long-term gains, as the Khalidids sent in major reinforcements. This was much like the Akkadians planned, as it allowed them to initiate the most daring raid of all, taking the port of Jiddah in an amphibious assault and then quickly attacking Mecca, the Arabic capital. Although the city was taken without too much trouble, the Rais had avoided capture and fled inlands (-1 Khalidid Confidence); over time, attrition, constant harassment and the arrival of major Khalidid tribal forces (as well as armies from the north) forced the Akkadians to go back the way they came in, their hopes of triggering the disintegration of the Raisdom frustrated by its decentralised political system. Ironically, however, this amphibious raid allowed an eventual authentic offensive in the north (as opposed to the diversionary raids) to succeed in retaking most of Dag-al-Araba as most of the Khalidid forces were now withdrawn to the south. Still, the dilemma of fighting a desert nation persisted, and there seemed to be no easy end to the war on this theatre.
(-3 Akkadian regiments, -4 Akkadian Turk Cavalry regiments, -5 Akkadian levy regiments, -9 Khalidid regiments, -14 Khalidid levy regiments)
In spite of King Tusuans resounding victory over the Kara-Khasars, the great ruler proved unable to truly unify Central Asia in part this was due to continued and growing resistance in the northern regions, and in part because of Tusuans untimely death (-1 Nisan Confidence) which allowed for a briefly-succesful rebellion in Samarkand while a dynastic struggle played out in Nisa itself. Tusuans militarily-gifted younger son, Elu, managed to take the throne in a quick civil war, and struck back against the Kara-Khasars, reclaiming Samarkand and defeating a league of central warlords in a series of battles. A series of subsequent campaigns helped stabilise the empire and even allowed it to expand northwards, but Elu was yet to integrate the conquered territories into Nisa Proper, in part on the account of their continued bellicosity.
(-6 Nisan regiments, -5 Nisan levy regiments)
Following his victory over Seljug, Turgul Beg asserted his power in the south of the former neo-Khitan Empire. However, he remained wary of the northern warlords, who remained a threat to his new state; therefore, he led a series of campaigns against them, gradually destroying or greatly weakening several major threats, though aside from that and the symbolic gesture of reaching Lake Baikal little of use came out of those campaigns in the barrens. Already in 724, many of the emperors advisors suggested that he abandon the untenable and useless northern lands.
(-3 Turgulid regiments, -2 Turgulid Sons of Enlil regiments)
Despite past defeats, the Tibetan war machine remained formidable and the Emperor remained unrelenting. Once again, his armies regrouped and prepared to dive into Nanyangese territory. This time, however, they were preempted; a major Guanglingese-Nanyangese campaign in northern Ba was coordinated with the highly-convenient death of General Kong Lifu, and so managed to eliminate a major Tibetan and collaborationist force in a series of major engagements. A series of lesser Tibetan offensives in northern Vietnam actually had limited success, however; and as the Tibetans recovered from the northern defeat, their main army was able to launch a quick southwards offensive, causing the envelopment and elimination of several Nanyangese garrisons. Despite once again breaking through to the South China Sea, the Tibetans were soon forced to go into the defensive again, as a particularily Guanglingese incursion even managed to briefly threaten Chengdu. Tibets deteriorating logistics were also a factor. Long story cut short, the Tibetans managed to hold their own in western Ba thanks to a system of powerful fortifications and prudent redeployments, but were once again pushed back by the Nanyangese in the south as they finally concentrated most of their army there (instead of helping the Guanglingese). The increasingly expensive and decreasingly succesful war gradually began to lose its popular support in Guangling, especially as anger at apparent Nanyangese bumbling (admittedly partially justified by the administrative chaos that followed the death of the previous emperor in 722) grew.
(-8 Tibetan regiments, -11 Tibetan levy regiments, -9 Tibetan Tenzin regiments, -10 Guanglingese regiments, -7 Guanglingese levy regiments, -12 Nanyangese regiments, -3 Nanyangese mercenary regiments, -4 Nanyangese levy regiments)
Even with a cease-fire back in India, the Prasannans had little relief in the ongoing colonial war. Though skilled defensive tactics and impressive makeshift fortifications had made any overland progress slow at best, the Prasannans were badly outnumbered everywhere and unable to achieve naval supremacy. Therefore, small detachments were sent to slow down the Sundanese progress in Swarna Dwipa as much as possible, with occasional succesful counterattacks when the opportunity showed itself. Fortunately for the Prasannans, the Sundanese were not particularily ambitious with their fleet; having achieved local naval supremacy, they focused on keeping it as opposed to helping out their allies. Therefore the Prasannans were able to land another naval defeat on the Sharmathai and, in a subsequent campaign, forced them out of Old Malaya. The Ayutamradvipans proved more difficult to deal with; their navy was only narrowly defeated at Tarutao, and even then remained a distinct threat, while their land advance had to be fought to a bloody standstill after making some non-trivial gains. Thus, with stalwart ruthlessness, the Prasannans did succeed in drawing the war out, but their stratagem was sure to be doomed if and when the allies were to get their act together.
(-3 Ayutamradvipan regiments, -17 Ayutamradvipan ships, -8 Prasannan regiments, -12 Prasannan ships, -13 Sharmathai regiments, -2 Sharmathai levy regiments, -9 Sharmathai ships, -10 Sundanese regiments)
Random Events:
A myriad other Agade Dag Turkic tribes in the region joined the Kipchak Empire (+5 regiments, +5 Army Cap, +1 Commerce +expansion).
Storms take their toll on the Banghan fleet (-10 Banghan ships).
Special Bonuses:
Most Amusing Diplo: Tibet (+religious fervour).
Most Persistent Despite Disasters: Nord-Frisia-Vikland (+1 Confidence).
NPC Diplo:
OOC:
[1] Lughenburg=OMD Lyon.
[2] Saena Julia=OMD Siena.
Finmaster, welcome back! Sure, you can take Danelaw. That said, South Asia is in a much more urgent need for players.
Next time I will either not wait for late orders at all or will not begin the update before I get all the important orders. I absolutely hated this experience.
Also, it is immensely pathetic when an update that takes over four days also ends up rushed. Better this then having it take over a week, I suppose, but still, this is something for both me and certain other mods to remember.
Anyway, Ill take a minor break now, to catch up on some other things. You should have more than enough time for orders now.
) then is there some other Nordic nation available?
