Finished a short CK3 Ironman campaign.
Started in 1066 as world's only Jewish duchy deep in Ethiopia. I found my options very limited, since I was surrounded by Coptic alliances, with no possible allies of my own. Thus I had no way out but to swear fealty to Coptic Abyssinia and spend a couple generations playing to every anti-semitic stereotype there is, eating their realm from the inside, converting counties to Haymanot, murdering rulers and abusing my powers as regent, until I finally had the throne for myself and my dynasts ruling every bit of land in the kingdom.
My ruler died in a candle-related accident literally two weeks before I took the last county that would have let me create Empire of Abyssinia, but fortunately succession only lost me one kingdom, which was reclaimed in quick order.
Couple tough wars against Ismailis and Egypt was mine...moved capital to Cairo and prepared to declare my last Holy War to take my "home" kingdom of Israel, when... bam, I get invaded by Mongols.
An absolutely humongous Mongol Empire had conquered essentially everything between HRE and India (Novgorod, Poland, Hungary, Byzantium and Persia had all fallen). They had not taken Syria, but instead sneaked up to me unnoticed via Yemen and Oman, so the declaration took me unexpectedly. I had only 30,000 troops to their ~80,000, but decided to fight.
Well, Yahweh helps his own... I hit +30 warscore taking castles in Arabia, when Khagan died, Mongol empire fractured and the war ended without me ever seeing any of their armies.
I built the Third Temple and reestablished Kingdom of Israel by 1266, exactly 200 years in.
Started in 1066 as world's only Jewish duchy deep in Ethiopia. I found my options very limited, since I was surrounded by Coptic alliances, with no possible allies of my own. Thus I had no way out but to swear fealty to Coptic Abyssinia and spend a couple generations playing to every anti-semitic stereotype there is, eating their realm from the inside, converting counties to Haymanot, murdering rulers and abusing my powers as regent, until I finally had the throne for myself and my dynasts ruling every bit of land in the kingdom.
My ruler died in a candle-related accident literally two weeks before I took the last county that would have let me create Empire of Abyssinia, but fortunately succession only lost me one kingdom, which was reclaimed in quick order.
Couple tough wars against Ismailis and Egypt was mine...moved capital to Cairo and prepared to declare my last Holy War to take my "home" kingdom of Israel, when... bam, I get invaded by Mongols.
An absolutely humongous Mongol Empire had conquered essentially everything between HRE and India (Novgorod, Poland, Hungary, Byzantium and Persia had all fallen). They had not taken Syria, but instead sneaked up to me unnoticed via Yemen and Oman, so the declaration took me unexpectedly. I had only 30,000 troops to their ~80,000, but decided to fight.
Well, Yahweh helps his own... I hit +30 warscore taking castles in Arabia, when Khagan died, Mongol empire fractured and the war ended without me ever seeing any of their armies.
I built the Third Temple and reestablished Kingdom of Israel by 1266, exactly 200 years in.