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Hello there! Today we are going to talk about some of the remaining rulers (you know, that are neither Christian nor Muslim) you can find in the Iron Century bookmark.

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The situation in the rest of the world.

Eirik Bloodaxe: Previous king of Norway, known for murdering his brothers. He was pushed out by the Norwegian nobility and replaced by Hakon the Good (see the Dev Diary about Recommended Rulers). Situated in the northern stretches of Scotland with his army and fleet, Bloodaxe is in many ways posed to strike in any direction. Much like Haesteinn in the 867 bookmark, I am sure we will see some interesting Bloodaxe playthroughs not long after you guys get your hands on the bookmark.

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Lestek Piast of Poland: Forefather of more well known rulers such as Mieszko and Boleslav the Brave, he still plays an important role in the local Polish politics as one of the strongest rulers of the region. Though the Polish eventually turned to Christianity under Mieszko (which is actually alive as the grandson of Lestek in the bookmark, as is his father Siemomysl), who’s to say you can’t bring Poland into a more interesting turn of events? Bordering the other Slavic tribes, as well as Otto in the west and Bohemia in the south is sure to bring an interesting playthrough nonetheless.

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Gorm the Old of Denmark: At 59 years old, his nickname is certainly fitting. Father of the more well known ruler Harald ‘Bluetooth’, he is the king of Denmark in the bookmark. He borders some Swedish tribes on his eastern front in Scania (which is held by his bastard son Valtoke), and Otto of Germany to the south. His son Harald would later go on to rule both Denmark and partly Norway, after the death of the Norwegian king Harald Greycloak.

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Yngar/Igor of Kievan Rus: After the death of Rurik, Helge/Oleg expanded the influence of the kingdom and they are left with a massive kingdom from Holmgard/Novgorod in the north and all the way down to Kønugård/Kiev in the south. However, Yngvar/Igor is growing old and his hold over his vassals are tenuous at best. If peace and their loyalty can be secured, however, you sit with a potential powerhouse ready to take control of the eastern stretches of Europe. You only need to beat back the Pechenegs, the Khazars and every Russian vassal who look at you a bit shifty-eyed. I am sure it’ll be fine!

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Historically speaking, the 10th century is when you saw a proper shift towards Christianity across the map. The Russians turned to Orthodoxy, while the Scandinavian, Hungarian and Polish lords turned to Catholicism. But who ever accused us of having a historical game after you click the start button, right? Now then, to turn a bit eastwards.

Cao Yuande of the Guiyi: Cao Yuande is second ruler of Guiyi Circuit, having inherited his realm from his long ruling father Cao Yin. Guiyi is a small outpost of Han people, surrounded by nomads or stronger realms. Fortunately you start the game allied with the powerful kingdom of Khotan and the Uyghurs at your eastern border. It will be challenge, but turning your kingdom into an empire is not an impossible task.

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Khagan Deguang of the Liao Dynasty: Duguang, or Taizong, of the Liao became involved in Chinese internal strife during the Ten Kingdoms period. Eventually Taizong declared himself as emperor of China but was unable to keep his throne. With two other nomadic realms starting as their tributaries, the Liao dynasty is in a strong position to spread their influence across the map.

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Makan Kakinid of Dihistan: Makan was involved in various dynastic struggles in Tabaristan, always willing to fight anyone. Despite being defeated by the Ziyarids twice, he always managed to bounce back. Eventually Makan turned against his protectors, the Samanids, and was killed for his troubles. Perhaps you can be more succesful than the historical Makan?

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Tomorrow we'll go through some decisions and bloodlines added in The Iron Century. As well as the announcing the release date of the Bookmark.

And here's a link to the ongoing AAR: https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...century-mini-aar.1179523/page-2#post-25485539
 
Is Egill Skallagrimsson in the game? The Berserker Viking-Poet. Could be in Athelstan's court, as he fought in a battle for him. He also resided in Iceland later in his life. Should be set as the rival of Eric Bloodaxe's wife Gunnhild (is she his wife in the game? should definitely have the "attractive" and "cruel" traits!)
 
I think the Shahi start is interesting, and similarly with the Paramara Raj (the yellow tributary of situated between Rashtrakuta), as both of them are situated between major powers nearby.
Awesome! I'll have to give them a try! Thank you so much for the suggestion!

There's a Jewish Patrician in the new (mostly) Muslim Merchant Republic of Pechina.
Muslim Merchant Republic of Pechina? That sounds really interesting! Where can learn more about this? Because it sounds like they must have had a really interesting history.
 
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I was going to say, didn't seem like there's a lot going on in India, but apparently there is something.

Is it just me, or is India just incredibly stable?

There's a lot more going on than seems obvious, but in many ways the success of a dynasty depends as much on the quality of the ruler. Weak rulers ruin states, strong ones expand them. In this time frame:

Parantaka I Chola is ruling the Chola kingdom at this start date. When he came to the throne the Cholas were vassals of the Pandyas. And as you can see there's no Pandya kingdom, because he defeated it and it's Lankan allies. In north India we're just short of getting Krishna III as head of the Rashtrakuta dynasty, and he's going to lead an army south and defeat the Chola army led by Parantaka's heir at the Battle of Takkolam. The Pandyas take the opportunity to rebel and reestablish their kingdom.

Rajaraja I Chola and his son Rajendra I Chola rather improved the Chola empire later that century and early into the next, but conquering the Maldives and invading Sumatra and Malaysia isn't really in the scope of this game - though they also took the Chola army north of the Ganges.
 
if he murdered his brothers shouldn't he start with a kinslayer trait?
 
What about India?
 
Excited about Guiyi, I always loved the Chinese side of the map that Jade Dragon brought along!
 
So apparently the maritime republic of of Pechina (Bayyana) was actually a thing. Intriguing!
Anybody have an English link with more info on it? All I could find is this snippet from the official tourism website of Andalucia:

During the Al-Andalus period it was the capital of a region and of the Maritime Republic Bayyana. It was Abderraman II who commissioned the defence of the coast of Almeria to the Yemenite tribes of Gassan and Ru'ayn. These tribes together with the andalusi merchants and sailors formed the Maritime Republic of Pechina. This zone was called Urs al-Yaman. Its capital Bayyana perhaps took its name from a Roman country house called Fundus Baianus which existed there.

This Maritime Republic of Pechina maintained a certain independence from the Caliphate, with governors like Umar Ben Aswad al-Gassani who built the walls and a splendid mosque in the style of the mosque in Cordoba. Its products such as linen and silk were exported through its port al-mariyya Bayyana, currently Almeria.

In the X century Pechina was a cultural and spiritual centre.

Abderraman III, when he saw the predominance that the port of Almeria had acquired, converted it into the headquarters of the Caliphate's admiralty and the port for Cordoba in the trade with the East in the middle of the X century. Almeria was elevated to the category of "medina" and the capital of the region of Bayyana. Pechina was reduced to a hamlet.