SouthernKing
crickety cricket
Update 4: Red Morning Skies (850 AD/232 AH)
Northern Europe
The situation in Britain finally hit the ultimate breaking point when the city of Eboracum, the capital of Eborica, was sacked by Norse raiders prowling the British coast. The Eborican army could do little against the invaders, and many, fearing their lives, simply pledged allegiance to the Norsemen. The King of Eborica was brutally murdered. Churches and villages were burned, and Norse settlements mushroomed to their places. A Norse warlord, leader of the raiding party, had himself crowned king of the lands formerly Eborican – The Kingdom of Jorvik was forged in blood.
(Eborica -> Jorvik)
The Brythonians came too late to help Eborica in their war, but Brythonia began funding the Catuvellauni tribes in their fight. The Catuvellauni, fighting for their homeland, met a large party of Norse invaders near the ancient town of Camulodunum. In a stunning victory, one Catuvellauni chieftain leading the warriors outmaneuvered the Norse, encircling the raiders and cutting them off from their ships. The victorious chieftain proudly claimed a title as King of the Catuvellauni, and placed his royal seat in Camulodunum itself. Most of the tribal chiefs bowed down and pledged their allegiance to the new king.
(Catavalu Casualties: 3 Tribal Warrior Companies)
(Catavalu: +Stability)
(Catavalu -> Tribal Monarchy)
Brythonia itself was forced to walk a careful balancing act between the threat of Norse invasion and the trade the Norsemen brought with them. The Brythonian kingdoms have begun to build ports in the larger towns and cities to help fuel this trade; however, internally, the individual kings are divided over whether or not to continue risking the safety of Brythonia for extra cash flow.
(Brythonia: +Economy, -Stability)
The King of Dublin declared that his domain included all Ireland, and sent out the requisite armies to prove it. But that expansion would come at a large price. While the Norse raiders were too adept to suffer major casualties, and the new land brought increased cash flow mainly in the form of tribes paying tribute, but in some areas Dublin has authority in name only – something which allows the locals to operate as if Dublin does not even exist.
(Dublin: +Economy, -Stability)
With a decades-long civil war between traditional Savoyards and Catholics raging, it was all too easy for Aquitaine to swoop in. With support by the Franks to the north, Aquitaine began the decisive event of the war: the siege of Arles. Just as it looked like the Savoyards were safe inside the well-fortified city, and all they would have to do was wait, Catholics in the city rose up, overpowering the defenders and turning over the city to the Duke of Aquitaine. The same was true all across Savoy; Catholics rose up. With Catholic support, every Savoyard rebellion was quickly destroyed. Savoy’s once-proud variant of Christianity is now all but dead, with only a few enclaves in the mountains.
(Frankish Casualties: 2 Swordsman Companies, 1 Horseman Company)
(Aquitaine Casualties: 2 Swordsman Companies)
(Franks, Aquitaine: +Economy)
(-Savoy)
Aquitaine decided that it would implement a variation of the Jizya tax, used extensively by the nations of Iberia. However, it was unable to prove itself as successful as had been seen under the Moors. The implementation of the system only meant continuing the spread of Forn Siðr into France, dispersing the Gallic animists who previously lived there. The skalds found that the new system only protected their activity. With a sizable – and growing – Forn Siðr minority a very real threat in France, a number of figures in the Aquitaine court protested the tax.
(Aquitaine: +Economy, -Stability)
Thuringia began expanding east and up the Oder River, establishing a settlement at the mouth of the Oder. With this, Thuringia has been able to tap into the valuable Novgorod-Jutland trade route. Thuringian excursions in the region have begun to encounter – and upset – fringe Polish tribes. Thuringia has begun to expand this small settlement – the rewards of trade could be huge.
(Thuringia: +Economy)
South of the Norse homeland itself, Norse raiders began scouring the coast of Jutland. While most kept away for fear that Odin or Thor would bring their wrath against them for attacking their hallowed lands, some did tried to raid anyway. They did so much to their chagrin, as the only things the raiders were able to get their hands on without running into heavy opposition from a massed Jute army were some docked ships. The incidents were scattered and ineffective to the point of not even being a nuisance. Religious schools were built throughout Jutland, and planning has begun for an institution of higher learning at the temple – for a single jar of Greek fire, which has become something of a royal treasure.
(Jutland: -1 Galley Group)
And by 850, there were rumors spreading. Rumors of Norse raiding ships being sighted in the Mediterranean, in the Adriatic, in the Aegean. Ships sighted from Rome, from Constantinople, even from Hormuz.
The Mediterranean
Those rumors may have been fueled by Vandal raiders, who once again set off to raid Christian settlements and towns across the sea. The raids were now solidly aimed at the coasts of powerful nations. While not as successful as they would have hoped, the Vandals did find some gold – which now lies, inconspicuous, in the court in the city of Carthage. The Vandals have also begun to fund the construction of one of the known world’s grandest ports in Carthage.
(Vandal Casualties: 2 Galley Groups, 1 Swordsman Company)
(Venetian, Athenian, Sicilian Casualties: 1 Galley/Dromon Group each)
(Venice: -Economy)
(Vandals: +2 Plunder)
Fearing that there would be a great Muslim-Christian conflict over Epir, Sicily ceded half of Epir to Castile. Both nations released their respective halves as vassals; Sicilian Epir had more independence, as the Castilian half had to pay Castile some of its income. However, the Castilian half is not particularly stable, with a Muslim prince but few Muslims to rule over.
(Sicily: -Economy, +Stability)
(+Sicilian Epir, Castilian Epir)
However, when Epir was all but split, the Byzantines returned, seeking to reconquer Epir. Invading with their entire available army, they faced down the Sicilians and Castilians. While Byzantine casualties were higher than expected due to the mountainous terrain and fortified defenders, plus the lack of siege equipment on the Byzantine side, the heavily Hellenic populace of former Epir not only wanted the Byzantines to win, but actively supported them. Despite the fact that the Byzantines were unable to force any decisive battles due to the fact that the defenders dug in behind fortifications, the conquest was relatively short due to the fact that the Hellenists in most cities revolted in favor of the Byzantines. A naval battle off the Epiran coast, fought between Byzantine ships and a combined Athenian and Epiran vassal fleet, was also a Byzantine victory and an utter decimation of the opposing, thanks to the unrelenting force that was Greek fire.
(Sicilian Casualties: 2 Irregular Companies, 4 Swordsman Companies, 3 Crossbow Companies)
(Byzantine Casualties: 5 Irregular Companies, 1 Avar Companies, 2 Swordsman Companies, 3 Dromon Groups)
(Athenian Casualties: 3 Dromon Groups)
(-Sicilian Epir, -Castilian Epir)
(Byzantium: +Economy)
Meanwhile, the Angoran army had landed in Athenian territory, wanting to restore order to a “rebellious province.” The Angorans far outnumbered the Athenians, but the Athenians fought hard to keep their land, inflicting heavy casualties. But then, the battle-hardened Byzantine army stormed in, and crushed the remnants. It only took some short and uneventful sieges for Athens and the Greek cities to fall. However, after the cities fell, there was the Byzantine cleanup. Several cities, when they tried to break free, were sacked, burned, and leaders were brutally executed, something that did not sit very well with the Athenians following them – and the Orthodox who feared what was coming with Byzantine rule, although those fears never materialized. Countryside rebellions were a constant threat, and while most that did come up were swiftly and efficiently dealt with, underground groups still remain in formerly Athenian lands, wishing for a return to independence.
(Angoran Casualties: 3 Irregular Companies, 2 Swordsman Companies, 1 Dromon Group)
(Athenian Casualties: 2 Irregular Companies, 1 Swordsman Company, 1 Dromon Group)
(Byzantine Casualties: 1 Avar Company)
(-Athens)
(Byzantium: -Stability, +1 Plunder)
As part of the uneasy peace ending the Byzantine Crusades, the Byzantines had promised to the Venetians that they would build a Catholic church. That church was a wooden cross planted in a field, with no building surrounding it, with no more than five worshippers allowed to pray there. Catholicism, however, has begun to regain a significant foothold, albeit unsteady, in Anatolia.
Venice, fearing another Tatar incursion, paid their requisite tribute while at the same time constructing a wall in their eastern lands, to protect against an invasion from the east. The wall, similar in construction and purpose as Hadrian’s Wall built by the Romans in Britain centuries earlier, helped the Venetian nobles feel better about their city’s and trade’s security, and the city began to recover.. Plans are in place to renovate the city of Venice into a “Golden Port,” although the last few Venetian leaders have been more concerned with the wall to pay much attention to the latter.
(Venice: +Economy, +Stability)
The Pope in Rome has decreed that a number of religious schools are to be built across Papal lands. Increased missionary activity has also convinced a number of Italian city-states to accept Papal protection, although most of the other missionary activity was unsuccessful due to yet another conflict in Greece. There is also talk about unifying the Lombards of northern Italy into a Papal-chartered state, similar to Naples to help secure and protect Catholicism’s stronghold in Italy. However, there is talk around Europe – and Rome itself – that the Pope is not doing enough to protect his personal lands.
Naples built a number of forts along the coast, to protect its lands from raiders such as the Norsemen and Vandals, and to help placate increasing fears that the Byzantines are returning to Italy to reclaim former Roman lands. With the forts constructed, however, Neapolitan men of power feel safer and more secure.
(Naples: +Stability)
Thanks to Castilian royal funding, Forn Siðr was pushed out of Iberia, major advances made against Catholicism, and large numbers of the populace converted to Islam. At the same time, the Castilian Royal Guard was created; elite swordsmen, they were ready to fight in the name of Castile, and Islam.
(Castile: +Stability)
Badajoz, while appearing bloodthirsty and hungry for war, did not attack. Instead, the new Emir of Badajoz revoked the Jizya and turned on the Catholics within his own country. Trade with the south easily made up for the economic difference, however.
(Badajoz: -Stability)
To the south, in Cordoba, Emir Abd al-Rahman II remembered the glorious past of the Umayyad Caliphate. The glorious future, should the Caliphate be reborn. The Emir, with the claims created from an intertwined bloodline, managed to inherit Morocco, and a third Caliphate was declared, one in the west. Thus was born the al-Maghribi Caliphate. The Moroccans have been so far pleased with this arrangement, although many are unsure about a single man ruling so much land.
(Cordoba -> al-Maghribi Caliphate, +Stability, +Economy, Inherits Morocco)
The Middle East
With a third Caliphate created in the west, there appears to be an ever diminishing need for the Fatimid Caliphate. A rebellion in Nubia took a heavy toll on the Caliph’s ability to administer its lands, and even after it was put down many regions of Nubia remain under little but nominal control. Already, Axumites have begun to reclaim former Merkurian lands, mostly along the Nile and the Red Sea coast. Rebels have massed in the west. A collapse of the Fatimid Caliphate could mean a vast disturbance in the entire Muslim world.
(Axumite Casualties: 5 Irregular Companies)
(Axum: +Economy)
(Fatimid Casualties: 3 Irregular Companies, 1 Swordsman Companies)
(Fatimids: -Economy, -Stability)
In the Zengid Emirate, it seemed like all the chaos in the Fatimid lands was simply nonexistent. In Damascus, a second university was opened. Zengid libraries were overflowing with volumes from all over the Middle East and Europe. Artisans in the major cities began operating on a guild system, the first of its kind in the known world. An efficient census tax was established, and with that and the increasing influence of the Emir and the nation’s higher learning more and more tribes in Arabia were pledging their allegiance. In fact, the entire country was a beacon of peace and light amongst a sea of near-constant warring and darkness.
(Zengids: +Economy, +Stability)
Armenia, through coin, wise words, and iron, convinced a number of Caucasian tribes and minor states to accept the King as supreme. Although the Armenians made great territorial gains, a number of states, mostly in the eastern Caucasus, still stubbornly refuse to accept Armenian sovereignty over their lands. Armenia now shares a frontier with the newly risen Duchy of Taman.
(Armenia: +Economy)
The Sharif of Mecca finally accepted Yemen and Oman as independent, Sunni, imamates. With peace now finally having come to this region, the states resulting can now peacefully develop. Hijaz in particular has expanded somewhat into the Arabian interior. The Imams of Yemen and Oman have both opened religious schools in their respective states, and there are plans for Hijaz to finish building its uncompleted road network.
(Hijaz: +Economy)
(Hijaz, Yemen, Oman: +Stability)
But some states were not so lucky to see peace. Hormuz, still fragile from its conquest of the Tahirids, tried to retain peace, but the Uyghurs fell upon them. It seemed impossible that the Hormuzi would win, and it seemed a foregone conclusion that Hormuz would burn. By some manner of miracle, at the walls of Isfahan, the outclassed, outnumbered Hormuzi soldiers held firm, and the Uyghur horde was repulsed. But the cost? Virtually the entire Hormuzi army, save one small group of soldiers, was killed. Rumor has it that for weeks after the victory, Isfahan’s people did nothing but celebrate.
(Hormuzi Casualties: 5 Irregular Companies)
(Uyghur Casualties: 3 Horse Archer Companies)
(Hormuz: +Stability)
The Abbasids were not so lucky in combat. The Uyghurs, while not fighting full war, have attacked Abbasid ground forces stationed along the frontier. The results have been nothing but disastrous for the Abbasids – the battles are glorified bloodbaths. The Uyghurs have now begun to flood across the frontier in droves, and the situation is quickly devolving as the Turks in the area are incapable of fighting without support from Baghdad, which so far has not materialized.
(Abbasid Casualties: 8 Swordsman Companies)
(Uyghur Casualties: 1 Horse Archer Company)
(Abbasids: -Stability, -Economy)
(Uyghurs: +1 Plunder)
The Guptas expanded to the north, and have conquered some of the minor Khorasani kingdoms. The Guptas seem to be still occupied in their own lands to the east, and have not made any major incursions into Persia – yet.
(Guptas: +Economy)
Eastern Europe
To help keep the Tatar Khanate intact, the new Khan divided some of the frontier land among powerful chieftains, further decentralizing Tatar society. But the raids – they were still relentless. In the lands north of Venice, the Christian settlements were sacked and burned, and the churches especially targets. Loot was hauled to and sold in Venice. In addition, the Khan also helped shelter pirates – who gave even more loot. Although raids continued with as much zeal as before, the Tatars became less and less nomadic as time went on.
(Tatar Casualties: 2 Horse Archer Companies)
(Tatars -> Semi-Sedentary Horse Nomads)
(Tatars: +Economy, +Stability)
(Tatars: +4 Plunder)
Novgorod continued its aggressive campaign of expansion. To help organize its new territories at the fringes of the kingdom, the king began giving land to some subordinate lords, creating a basic feudal system – which has helped fuel the creation of a simple form of aristocracy out of the old warlords which used to rule the petty states before they were taken over by the kingdom. The nation’s economy was also boosted by increased trade with the west.
(Novgorod: +Economy, +Stability; -> Early Feudal Monarchy)
In a similar manner to the Tatars, the Poles crossed into Slavic lands searching for conquest and land. Towns, villages, and farms went up in flames as the horse archers stampeded across the frontier. The Slavic horse archers tried to meet them, but the momentum of the Polish advance simply could not be stopped, and the Slavic horsemen were slaughtered in one bloody field.
(Polish Casualties: 3 Horse Archer Companies, 1 Tribal Swordsman Company; Slavic Casualties: 5 Horse Archer Companies)
When the locals refused to submit to Polish rule, the Poles advanced further and sacked Kyiv. Although not as well-heard of as the sack of Venice but a generation earlier, it was far more brutal; the city was reduced little but a smoldering ruin. The King of the Slavs disappeared during the sack, never seen, assumed dead. The sack meant that the Kingdom was effectively destroyed; while Polish tribal warlords and chieftains established a hold, albeit uncertain, over the western half of the former kingdom, independent Khazar, Slavic, and other steppe tribes broke away with the eastern half.
(Slavs: -Existence)
(Poland: -Stability, +Economy, +2 EP Plunder)
Far to the east arose the Duchy of Taman, a state formed by Khazars fleeing the Tatar incursions. Once a number of city-states, the Duchy was united when a merchant declared himself the first duke. The new, Orthodox, nation has established trade links with the Byzantines, and threatens to serve as a potential enemy for nations around it.
OOC:
Thanks guys for reserving me top post!
Some map colors got changed to ease map editing.
Popcornlord: You only accounted for 7 EPs; you had an income of 8 last turn. I banked the last one.
Nuclear kid and Terrance: I arbitrarily divided Savoy between you two, feel free to redraw the border.
Mosher and Lopaz have been kicked for inactivity. In addition, Lord of Elves failed to send orders. Nutranurse also did not send orders, but I understand he is RL busy so he is excused.
There are undoubtedly some stat errors; please inform me ASAP.
