Till
Adventurer
Difficulty: Very Hard
Aggression: Normal
Mod: AGCEEP
Some of you might recall my last grasp for glory with Granada. I managed to conquer much of Iberia, but had to take many loans and went bankrupt a number of times. In the end, i gave up, as i couldn't compete with an inflation of 50% and more.
This is the tale of my second attempt. It started many moons ago and only my trusted vizier Olav was informed of its progress. As such, the documentation of Granada's early years under Sultan Tillothy's rule are sketchy and rely mainly on the few letters between Olav and Tillothy, which survived the ages unharmed.
Unlike in the regular game, Granada starts as vassal of Castille in AGCEEP. Even more importantly, relations with both Castille and Aragon are good. Still, religious differences remain and what self-respecting ruler would suffer to be a vassal of a heathen?
Not Tillothy, that's for certain!
A messenger is send to Toledo, advising the king that the Emir of Granada bows to no one! A second messenger is ordered to humbly ask the King of Aragon to accept Granada into his alliance. He accepts, thanks to the good relations build up by the foolish Muhammed VIII prior 1419.
The War for Independence
Or rather: War for More Provinces, but that applies to most wars in Granada's history
The third party in Aragon's alliance are the Papal States, a fact that causes much objection among Granada's righteous. But not for long, because as soon as the alliance had been formed, Sultan Tillothy declared war on his former master Castille, forcing Aragon and the Pope to fight on his side!
Castille brought Portugal into the war on her side and soon Christian was fighting Christian. The Sutlan wisely held his troops back, waiting for Castille to expose regions of defenders. Soon it was forced to do so, in order to be able to match Aragon's armies.
Granadians engaged in a fierce battle with the infidels
Toledo and Estremadura were occupied. Their mountains made it easy to thwart any attempt of Castille to take them back. Murcia was taken, also. The Sultan was in a hurry to get Castille to surrender regions, as it was within Aragon's power as alliance leader to end the war on their terms.
Castille did agree to a seperate peace, surrendering a few provinces in the process. Historians have not yet reached an agreement on which provinces changed hands.
The Ahead of Schedule War
Time moves fast in Granada, when it comes to 5 year peace treaties
They do agree, however, that Tillothy did not honour the peace agreement and redeclared war almost immediately!
While Castille was spend, Portugal still had most of her armies and the Sultan took care not to engage them with his puny force. Instead, Castillian provinces were once more put under siege. The Castillian king proved stubborn, however, and wouldn't yield any province. Maybe he knew that Tillothy had nothing to match the 50,000 Portuguese soldiers ravaging newly conquered Andalusia.
Eventually, a peace for cash deal was settled. And this time, Granada kept it. For as long as it took to retrain the army, that is! The money was spend on a cavalry army meant to wreck havoc on the Portuguese plains and an infantry army for the hills of Castille.
Götterdämmerung for Castille
Or: The end of an unlikely alliance
War was declared, but this time Aragon and the Papal States bailed out, breaking the alliance with Granada. They had been useful tools, but the Sultan considered Aragon part of Granada's territory, anyway. Tlemec and Morocco were gained as new allies.
The cavalry army swept the floor with the mixed Portuguese troops, especially because they attacked across a river. Portugal was eager for peace and the Sultan accepted. Now he could focus entirely upon Castille!
The war lasted until around 1428 and ended with Castille making major concessions. All the while, Portugal and Aragon were fighting with another. Indeed, they even asked (and received) military access through Granada!
Grim tidings for Castille: Their army has been vanquished!
What followed was a period of stabilization. While Granada was loan free, every dinar had went into the military thus far. Not a single bailiff had been promoted. Once the stability had reached an acceptable level again, once more war was declared on Castille. For the first time thus far, Granada was able to field the larger army. It didn't take long to pry all but the capital province Toledo from Castille. Along with the provinces came a good chunk of money, which was spend on bailiffs.
Five Against Granada
A defensive war, at last!
Things went quiet for a while, until Granada's bad reputation caught up with her in 1437. Portugal, Aragon, Castille, Foix and Britaine declared war! Needless to say, Granada was badly outmatched. The western front was all but exposed and Portugal roamed freely there. In the east, a hardy garrison held out against attacks from Aragon and Foix, using the forest of Cantabria as cover. There were some good news too, however. A rebel uprising in Toledo defeated the Castillian army, putting Castille's single province under rebel control.
The fortress of Catabria is under constant attack.
In an attempt to force Portugal out of the war, Tillothy ordered for Algarve to be laid under siege. Portugal answered by amassing her troops in Estramdura, which already was part of Greater Granada. Lady Luck was with the Granadians, however, and Algarve fell before Estramadura. Portugal and her ally Castille bailed out of the war, leaving Algarve to Granada!
Portugal retreats, having accomplished nothing.
Foix was overpowered and annexed by Tlemenc. This left Aragon as the last major enemy to best. All forces were utilized for that purpose. It proved to be of tremendous advantage that Granada enjoyed a superior cavalry, which chased Aragons infantry heavy armier through their own homeland, routing them again and again!
After a long series of battles, Aragon was exhausted and had to watch how province after province fell to sieges. Even though the Aragonese king proved stubborn, he found himself forced to make a peace offer, in the end:
A just compensation for the uncalled for aggression against Granada!
Undisputed hegemony
Through Machiavellian means!
Just as the war with the last of the 5 ended, the peace treaty with the first two, Protugal and Castille, expired. It was time to settle the score once for all! Neither Castille nor Portugal could offer much resistance, having been reduced to just one province each. Both were invaded, besieged, conquered and annexed!
This send Granada's reputation into new depths, but it was surely worth it!
The Surrender of Castille and Portugal.
Living on the edge!
Thus ended the first phase of expansion. Granada was too close to the limit to dare further wars. Already many wimpy Muslim nations were turning away instead of congratulating the Sultan to his successes! Instead, Granada would concentrate on her economy and research for a while, always wary for acts of aggressions from Aragon and France.
Aragon still had some holdings in southern Italy and was allied with many of the myriad of nations there. France had no powerful ally, but needed none! Her armies left the Sultan in awe. A confrontation would be inevitable, as France had claims on two of Granada's provinces. Granada was not looking forward to it...
The current situation. Bearn belongs to an ally
Feedback and suggestions are welcome. I would be especially interested if friendly relations with a nation of different faith are possible. Some sort of cooperation with England against France would make the future a look a lot less threatening!
Aggression: Normal
Mod: AGCEEP
Some of you might recall my last grasp for glory with Granada. I managed to conquer much of Iberia, but had to take many loans and went bankrupt a number of times. In the end, i gave up, as i couldn't compete with an inflation of 50% and more.
This is the tale of my second attempt. It started many moons ago and only my trusted vizier Olav was informed of its progress. As such, the documentation of Granada's early years under Sultan Tillothy's rule are sketchy and rely mainly on the few letters between Olav and Tillothy, which survived the ages unharmed.
Granada
Our proud capital.
Our proud capital.
Unlike in the regular game, Granada starts as vassal of Castille in AGCEEP. Even more importantly, relations with both Castille and Aragon are good. Still, religious differences remain and what self-respecting ruler would suffer to be a vassal of a heathen?
Not Tillothy, that's for certain!
A messenger is send to Toledo, advising the king that the Emir of Granada bows to no one! A second messenger is ordered to humbly ask the King of Aragon to accept Granada into his alliance. He accepts, thanks to the good relations build up by the foolish Muhammed VIII prior 1419.
The War for Independence
Or rather: War for More Provinces, but that applies to most wars in Granada's history
The third party in Aragon's alliance are the Papal States, a fact that causes much objection among Granada's righteous. But not for long, because as soon as the alliance had been formed, Sultan Tillothy declared war on his former master Castille, forcing Aragon and the Pope to fight on his side!
Castille brought Portugal into the war on her side and soon Christian was fighting Christian. The Sutlan wisely held his troops back, waiting for Castille to expose regions of defenders. Soon it was forced to do so, in order to be able to match Aragon's armies.
Granadians engaged in a fierce battle with the infidels
Toledo and Estremadura were occupied. Their mountains made it easy to thwart any attempt of Castille to take them back. Murcia was taken, also. The Sultan was in a hurry to get Castille to surrender regions, as it was within Aragon's power as alliance leader to end the war on their terms.
Castille did agree to a seperate peace, surrendering a few provinces in the process. Historians have not yet reached an agreement on which provinces changed hands.
The Ahead of Schedule War
Time moves fast in Granada, when it comes to 5 year peace treaties
They do agree, however, that Tillothy did not honour the peace agreement and redeclared war almost immediately!
While Castille was spend, Portugal still had most of her armies and the Sultan took care not to engage them with his puny force. Instead, Castillian provinces were once more put under siege. The Castillian king proved stubborn, however, and wouldn't yield any province. Maybe he knew that Tillothy had nothing to match the 50,000 Portuguese soldiers ravaging newly conquered Andalusia.
Eventually, a peace for cash deal was settled. And this time, Granada kept it. For as long as it took to retrain the army, that is! The money was spend on a cavalry army meant to wreck havoc on the Portuguese plains and an infantry army for the hills of Castille.
Götterdämmerung for Castille
Or: The end of an unlikely alliance
War was declared, but this time Aragon and the Papal States bailed out, breaking the alliance with Granada. They had been useful tools, but the Sultan considered Aragon part of Granada's territory, anyway. Tlemec and Morocco were gained as new allies.
The cavalry army swept the floor with the mixed Portuguese troops, especially because they attacked across a river. Portugal was eager for peace and the Sultan accepted. Now he could focus entirely upon Castille!
The war lasted until around 1428 and ended with Castille making major concessions. All the while, Portugal and Aragon were fighting with another. Indeed, they even asked (and received) military access through Granada!
Grim tidings for Castille: Their army has been vanquished!
What followed was a period of stabilization. While Granada was loan free, every dinar had went into the military thus far. Not a single bailiff had been promoted. Once the stability had reached an acceptable level again, once more war was declared on Castille. For the first time thus far, Granada was able to field the larger army. It didn't take long to pry all but the capital province Toledo from Castille. Along with the provinces came a good chunk of money, which was spend on bailiffs.
Five Against Granada
A defensive war, at last!
Things went quiet for a while, until Granada's bad reputation caught up with her in 1437. Portugal, Aragon, Castille, Foix and Britaine declared war! Needless to say, Granada was badly outmatched. The western front was all but exposed and Portugal roamed freely there. In the east, a hardy garrison held out against attacks from Aragon and Foix, using the forest of Cantabria as cover. There were some good news too, however. A rebel uprising in Toledo defeated the Castillian army, putting Castille's single province under rebel control.
The fortress of Catabria is under constant attack.
In an attempt to force Portugal out of the war, Tillothy ordered for Algarve to be laid under siege. Portugal answered by amassing her troops in Estramdura, which already was part of Greater Granada. Lady Luck was with the Granadians, however, and Algarve fell before Estramadura. Portugal and her ally Castille bailed out of the war, leaving Algarve to Granada!
Portugal retreats, having accomplished nothing.
Foix was overpowered and annexed by Tlemenc. This left Aragon as the last major enemy to best. All forces were utilized for that purpose. It proved to be of tremendous advantage that Granada enjoyed a superior cavalry, which chased Aragons infantry heavy armier through their own homeland, routing them again and again!
After a long series of battles, Aragon was exhausted and had to watch how province after province fell to sieges. Even though the Aragonese king proved stubborn, he found himself forced to make a peace offer, in the end:
A just compensation for the uncalled for aggression against Granada!
Undisputed hegemony
Through Machiavellian means!
Just as the war with the last of the 5 ended, the peace treaty with the first two, Protugal and Castille, expired. It was time to settle the score once for all! Neither Castille nor Portugal could offer much resistance, having been reduced to just one province each. Both were invaded, besieged, conquered and annexed!
This send Granada's reputation into new depths, but it was surely worth it!
The Surrender of Castille and Portugal.
Living on the edge!
Thus ended the first phase of expansion. Granada was too close to the limit to dare further wars. Already many wimpy Muslim nations were turning away instead of congratulating the Sultan to his successes! Instead, Granada would concentrate on her economy and research for a while, always wary for acts of aggressions from Aragon and France.
Aragon still had some holdings in southern Italy and was allied with many of the myriad of nations there. France had no powerful ally, but needed none! Her armies left the Sultan in awe. A confrontation would be inevitable, as France had claims on two of Granada's provinces. Granada was not looking forward to it...
The current situation. Bearn belongs to an ally
Feedback and suggestions are welcome. I would be especially interested if friendly relations with a nation of different faith are possible. Some sort of cooperation with England against France would make the future a look a lot less threatening!
Great start Till.
