Give Unto Caesar What Is Caesar's II - Roman Empire AAR

[nalivayko]

Consider this my birthday present to you I am back with a sequel... well, not exactly a sequel, but since the idea of the aar remains the same, I am going to keep the "brand" name.

Country: Roman Empire
Scenario: Mongolian Scenario (1150), version 2.03(?)
Difficulty: Hard
AI Aggressiveness: Aggressive

Prelude: The idea of this aar is

Realistic Goals (required):

• To preserve Roman Empire (50 points, -5 points for ea CB province not under my control by 1419)
• Crush Crusader States (10 points)
• Survive the Fourth Crusade without losing any land (10 points)
• Re-gain the control of the southern Italy (2 points for each of the following provinces: Naples, Apulia, Messina, Sicily, Malta)
• Be the leader in victory points (20 points)

Unrealistic Goals (bonus points):

• To control every Mediterranean province by 1419 (20 points, -5 points for ea Med province not under my control by 1419)
• Control 10 trading centers (10 points)
• Have all the Orthodox countries in my alliance (10 points)

Rules:

No rules, except for usual no cheating, no reloading, no unreasonable editing of the savegames.

Maybe God be with my enemies for they will be the ones needing all the help they can get.

[richvh]

Be a leader in victory points (20 points)

What constitutes being "a leader"? Top 3, top 5, top 10? Within x points of the top score? Or did you mean "the leader"?

[anti_strunt]

Sounds like fun, but what do these "points" you award for the objectives mean?

[King Yngvar]

I think he means to use these points to award himself at the end of the game and the end of the AAR...

[nalivayko]

richvh, it's "the leader", corrected.

anti_strunt, King Yngvar, yes, I will award myself a grade based on points collected. 100 - A, 90 - B, etc. Of course, I expect to get at least a 100.

[coz1]

Well, it's a fine birthday indeed! The franchise continues!!

[mfigueras]

Well, happy birthday, nalivayko, and thanks for playing again with the Mongolian. Looking forward your first installment of the other emperor's history.

EDIT: btw, I'm also playing a Roman AAR: Istoria Basileon Romaion (see my sig). Unfortunately it's only in spanish.

[stnylan]

Excellent choice sir. Roma aeterna!

[nalivayko]

Unnecessary Introduction

In 1150 the Roman Empire, also known as the Empire of the East and the Byzantine Empire, once again had a chance to rise from the ashes and establish its hegemony over the East Mediterranean and beyond. The splendor years of the Comneni rule made Romans forget about the catastrophic defeat at Manzikert and gave them reasons to hope for a brighter future. Constantinople, the Second Rome or simply the City, was the largest and most-fortified city in the world, making Rome look like a monastery and London but a common marketplace.

The Emperor, Manuel I Comnenus, was an able administrator as well as a brilliant general, who did not shy away from commanding his armies in person. Like the warrior-kings of the barbaric North, he preferred to rule the Empire from the saddle rather than from the throne. His plans were ambitious, his energy inspiring and his optimism never-ending. With an emperor like that, no one in the Empire doubted the future.

Still, for all his abilities, the Emperor was but a single man, and single men may create the empires, but do not make them last. The dangers faced by the Byzantines were all too real. Manzikert might have been forgotten, but Turks still ruled over the eastern provinces. The first waves of the crusades washed over the Empire, but did not crush the Byzantine’s archenemy. When the East called upon the West for help, who could have known that those barbarians would think Jerusalem was the same “holy city” the Emperor Michael VII was talking about?

And so, surrounded from the East and the South by the infidel Muslim hordes, from the North by the pagan Cuman tribes and warlike Princes of Rus’, and from the West by the schismatic “Frankish” kingdoms, the Emperor Manuel still held the reins of power tight and awaited his destiny. Many rulers of his time liked to send a message to their enemies before going to war against them. The Emperor was no exception. He would fight many battles during his lifetime, but his message would always stay the same: give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s.

[nalivayko]

coz1, that's the word I was looking for today - franchise!

mfigueras, I'll try reading it My Spanish is still "in progress" on my resume, but once you've studied couple of languages, the others start making sense somewhat.

stnylan, it is the only choice that would fit this... what was the word?... franchise.

Vincent Julien, I don't know about a blast, all I can try is to finish this one as well... which I always consider as a major accomplishment.

[Machiavellian]

I look forward to another entertaining tale and have to wonder what role the German Kingdom will play in this AAR? will it fall apart? Be an ally? or a dire enemy?

[richvh]

And so, surrounded from the East and the South by the infidel Muslim hordes, from the North by the pagan Cuman tribes and warlike Princes of Rus’, and from the North by the schismatic “Frankish” kingdoms,

Um, aren't the Franks (mostly) to the West (the one direction you left out)?

[nalivayko]

Machiavellian, there is only one Caesar Although at this point I have no idea.

richvh, it was a typo, of course.

[Amric]

Yes! Another nalivayko production! I'm gonna be reading this one for sure!

[Judas Maccabeus]

Ah, good choice of country. Mainly because now you're much less likely to bother Baden.

Don't worry, I won't be insisting upon the freedom of any countries during this AAR.

[Amric]

Pity I can't demand a free Ukraine...

[Pablo Sanchez]

Pity I can't demand a free Ukraine...

A free Kievan Rus perhaps?

I'll definitely be watching this AAR. To be honest, Nalivayko is one of my two or three favorite authors.

[Rhodz]

oh goody goody goody. I didn't think the new one would be so quick good work, nalivayko

[Dan Cook]

Great AAR nal.

Happy bday too.

[TreizeV]

Interesting...this is the first Roman empire AAR i have seen! I shall keep tabs on this

And happy bday!