Chapter 24: Åland
As told with many pictures. And a moderate amount of words.
(All formats, fonts, layouts, and even this little disclaimer extorted painfully from phargle's
Knud Knýtling, Prince of Denmark (and other assorted tales))
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Code:Aargau ✓ Abauj ✓ Abkhazia ✓ Abydos ✓ Achaia ✓ Acre ✓ Adana ✓ Adrianopolis ✓ Agder ✓ Agen ✓ Agrigento ✓ Aintab ✓ Akershus ✓ Al Alamayn ✓ Al Amarah ✓ Al 'Aqabah ✓ Al Bichri ✓ Al Djazair ✓ Al Habbariyah ✓ Al Hasa ✓ Al Jawf ✓ Al Jazira ✓ Al Mafraq ✓ Al Miqdadiyah ✓ Al Nadjaf ✓ Al Nasiryah ✓ Åland Alania Albania Albarracin Albret Alcacer do Sal Alcantara Aleppo Alexandretta Alexandria Algeciras Almansa Almeria Altmark Amida Amiens Amisos Amman Ancona Andernach Ångermanland Angouleme Angus Anhalt Ani Anjou Ankyra Annaba Ansbach Anti-Atlas Antiocheia Apulia Aquileia Aracena Aral Ar'ar Arborea Archa Argyll Armagnac Arques Árta Artois Asas Ascalon Asturias de Oviedo Asturias de Santillana Aswan Asyut Atheniai Atholl Atlas Mnt Attaleia Aukshayts Austisland Auvergne Auxerre Avhaz Avranches Az Zarqa Azerbaijan Azov Baalbek Bacs Badajoz Baden Baghdad Bahrein Barcelona Bari Bashkirs Basra Bearn Bedford Beersheb Beirut Bejaija Belgorod Belgrade Beloozero Benevento Benghazi Beni Yanni Bereg Beresty Bergenshus Bern Berwick Besancon Bezhetsky Verh Bihar Bilyar Bira Birlad Biskra Bizerte Bjarmia Black Clobucks Blois Bologna Bordeaux Bornholm Boulogne Bourbon Bourges Brabant Braganza Brandenburg Braunschweig Breda Breisgau Bremen Brescia Bristol Brugge Bryansk Buchan Buhairya Bukhara Bulgar Burgos Burtasy Byzantion Caceres Cadiz Cagliari Cairo Caithness Calatayud Calatrava Canarias Capua Carcassonne Carrick Castellon Castelo Branco Cebta Celle Chaldea Chalkidike Chalons Chandax Charolais Chartres Cheb Chelminskie Chernigov Cherson Chester Chortitza Chud Chur Chuvash Cieszyn Coimbra Compostela Consenza Constantia Constantine Cordoba Corfu Cornouaille Cornwall Corsica Cremona Crimea Csanad Cuenca Cumberland Cyrenaica Czersk Dailam Dal Dalarna Damascus Damman Danzig Darab Darum Dauphine Viennois Deir Delta Demetrias Denia Derbent Derby Desht-i-Kipchak Desmumu Devon Dihistan Dijon Djerba Don portage Dorostotum Dorpat Dorset Dorylaion Druz Dublin Durham Dwin Dyfed Dyrrachion Edessa Eilat El Bierzo El Rif El-Arish Emba Empuries Ephesos Épieros Esfahan Essex Esztergom Eu Euboia Euphrates Evora Evreux Exeter Faereyar Famagusta Farama Faro Fars Feher Fejer Ferrara Fes Fife Figuig Finland Finnveden Firenze Foggia Foix Forcalquier Forez Franken Frisia Fürstenberg Fyn Gabes Gabiyaha Galatia Galaz Galich Galich Mersky Galindia Galloway Galway Gästrikland Gelre Gemer Geneve Genoa Gent Gevaudan Gilan Gizeh Glamorgan Gloucester Gnieznienskie Gorodez Gotland Göttingen Granada Grassland Cheremisa Grisons Guines Gurgan Guria Gwent Gwynedd Hainaut Halland Hålogaland Hälsingland Hama Hamadan Hamburg Hampshire Hanyan Hdemark Hebron Hellas Hendjan Herakleia Hereford Herjedalen Heves Hijaz Hlynov Holland Holstein Homs Hormuz Hradec Kralove Hum Ifni Ikonion Ilam Ile de France Imeretia Infa Innsbruck Irbid Isle of Man Istria Itil Jaca Jacwiez Jaffa Jamtland Jerusalem Jülich Jylland Kabilia Kairwan Kaisereia Kajanaborg Kakheti Kaliopolis Kaliskie Kalmar Län Kama Kaneia Kara-Kum Karbala Karelen Karin Kärnten Kartli Karvuna Kasogs Kemi Kempten Kent Kerak Kerman Kexholm Khopyor Khorasan Khozistan Khwarizm Kiev Kirkuk Kleve Kola Köln Kolomna Koloneia Korchev Korinthos Korsun Kostroma Krain Krakowskie Krizevci Kuban Kufa Kujawy Kuma Kurdistan Kurs Kuwait Kyzikos La Mancha La Marche Labourd Laigin Lancaster Laodikeia Lappland Laristan Lausitz Lecce Leicester Leiningen Lemdiyya Leon Leon Leptis Magna Lesbos Lettigalians Liberec Liege Limisol Limousin Lincoln Lisboa Livorno Livs Lleida Lombardia Loon Lorraine Lothian Lower Dniepr Lower Don Lower Silesia Lower Volga Lübeck Lubusz Lucca Lukomorie Lüneburg Luristan Lusignan Lut Luxembourg Lykandos Lykia Lyon Lyubech Maan Macon Madaba Mahdia Maine Mainz Malaga Mallorca Malta Mangyshlak Mantua Manupura Manych Mar Marienburg Marmaros Marrakech Massat Maverannahr Mayo Mazandaran Mecca Mecklemburg Medelpad Medina Medjerda Meissen Melitene Memel Menorca Mertola Merv Merya Mesembria Mesopotamia Messina Methone Metz Mide Minsk Modena Molina Monemvasia Monferrato Monreal Montpellier Morava Moray Mordva Moskva Mosul Mountain Cheremisa Mozhaysk Mstislavl Münster Murcia Murom Mzab Naissus Nantes Napoli Narbonne Närke Narva Nassau Naumadal Navarra Naxos Negev Neuchatel Nevers Nice Niebla Niederbayern Nikaea Nikomedeia Nikopolis Nishapur Nisibin Nitra Nizhny Novgorod Nordgau Norfolk North Dvina Northampton Northumberland Novgorod Novgorod Seversky Nubia Nürnberg Nyland Oberbayern Ochrid Oka Öland Oldenburg Oleshye Olvia Onega Onega Opava Opole Oppland Orania Orava Orbetello Orkney Orleans Oromieh Orsha Orvieto Ösel Osnabrück Osraige Österbotten Östergötland Österreich Ostfriesland Ostrava Oxford Padova Palermo Palmyra Paphlagonia Parma Passau Pavia Pecs Pelusia Penthievre Peremyshl Peresechen Pereyaslavl Pereyaslavl Zalessky Perfeddwlad Perigord Pest Petra Pfalz Philippopolis Piemonte Pinsk Piombino Pksov Plasencia Plauen Plock Plzen Podlasie Poitiers Polotsk Porto Powys Poznanskie Praha Pressburg Pronsk Provence Prusa Qazwin Qohistan Qom Quattara Quena Qwivir Ragusa Rama Rashka Ravenna Rayy Reggio Reims Rennes Reval Rhodos Rioja Rogaland Roma Romny Rosello Ross Rostock Rostov Rouergue Rügen Rummah Ryazan Ryn Desert Sacz Safed Saintois Saintonge Salamanca Salerno Salisbury Saluces Salzburg Sambia Samos Samoyeds Sandomierskie Santiago Saray Saris Sarkel Sarpa Sarqihya Satakunta Savoie Savolaks Scalovia Schwaben Schwyz Seleukeia Semender Senj Senoussi Sens Serdica Severin Sevilla Sharukan Shemakha Shetland Shiraz Shirvan Shrewsbury Siena Sieradzko-Leczyckie Silves Sinai Sinjar Sinope Siracusa Sistan Sjaelland Skåne Slesvig Sligo Slupsk Småland Smolensk Smyrna Snassen Södermanland Somerset Sopron Soria Southern Ural Sozopolis Split Spoleto St. Gallen Starya Russa Steiermark Stettin Sticht Strathclyde Strymon Sudan Sudovia Suenik Suffolk Sugrov Sundgau Surrey Sussex Sutherland Suwaida Suzdal Syria Syrj Syrt Syrte Szekelyföld Szekezfehervar Tabaristan Tabriz Tabuk Tadmor Tana Tangiers Tao Taranto Taron Tarragona Tarsos Tavasts Telemark Tell Atlas Tell Bashir Teluch Temes Terebovl Terra Incognita Tharasset Theodosia Theodosiopolis Thessalia Thessalonike Thouars Thrake Thüringen Tiberias Tigris Tir Connail Tir Eoghain Tirgoviste Tirol Tlemcen Tmutarakan Tobruk Toledo Torki Tortosa Torzhok Toulouse Tourraine Trans-portage Trapani Trapezous Trencín Trent Treviso Tripoli Tripolitana Trøndelag Troyes Tuadmumu Tunis Turkmen Turnu Turov Tver Tyana Tyrnovo Tyrus Uglich Ugra Ulaid Ulm Unused Upper Silesia Uppland Urbino Urgell Urmumu Usora Usti nad Labem Usturt Uzens Valais Valencia Valladolid Vannes Varadzin Värmland Vas Vaspurakan Västerbotten Västergötland Västmanland Veglia Velikiye Luki Veliky Ustug Venaissin Vendome Venezia Verdun Vermandois Verona Vestfold Vestisland Vexin Viborg Vidin Viken Viscaya Vitebsk Viviers Vladimir Vladimir Volynsky Vodi Vologda Votyaki Vyazma Warwick Weimar Werle West Dvina Western Isles Westfriesland Westmorland Wolgast Württemberg Yaik Yaroslavl Yatvyagi Yazd Yegorlyk York Yperen Zachlumia Zadar Zagreb Zamora Zaozerye Zaragoza Zeeland Zemigalians Zeta Zhmud Zyriane
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This is the province of Åland. Unlike the base-0.60 desert Arab Muslim provinces we've been going after for a while, it is instead a lush green Swedish pagan island province, whose base is 0.60.
And the game continues to taunt me for my failure in putting Berthold of Aargau onto the throne of Aargau. Not only does Szymond of Åland have the perfect name for being the ruler of his province, but he also gets the benefits from ruling a province full of pagan Swedes, whatever they may be.
Johann, on the other hand, is too poor to even let an itinerant bishop in to be his court bishop. He could have used the half-dozen ecclesiastically-educated children that I set off more than a decade ago to be future bishops, but for some reason despite Johann being Catholic and even the province of Abydos being Catholic, upon graduation they all changed to Orthodox.
And since I loaded the game here I also lose my first battle with Marshal Alfonso, because of that bug that resets the morale of all regiments in battle to zero.
Attaboy, Johann. Attaboy.
And for some reason four unrelated male Hungarians showed up at the court one day. I don't really care about the reason. All I know is that their stats are nothing to look at so they'll be turned into hopefully loyal dynasties ruling places I don't care about.
I also grant the title of Acre to my loyal Marshal Alfonso's eldest son, as Alfonso had fought so valiantly there. It might make more sense to give it to Alfonso himself, but if I do that I lose literally the only good marshal in the Duchy.
I also grant the capital of Abydos itself to Johann's infant son! Why do I do this?
Is it because I am afraid that all of my eastern Mediterranean provinces will be taken by the Turk immediately, thus I am planning to retreat far away so that my province nearest to the Turk will be landlocked by the strongest Christian nation in the game?
Nope! It's because I figured out that maybe the Seljuks won't peace with me because I have some of their core provinces. So I tested that theory, and it turned out to be true.
And there you go. The mightiest Muslim empire the game will ever see has had thirteen of its provinces stripped away by a single Duchy over the course of two years. For this achievement, Johann von Habsburg will go down in history as Johann 'The Turk-Slayer' von Habsburg! Even though he never actually had the chance slaughter any Turks at all, ever. Really. Which is good because otherwise he probably would have gone down in history as Johann 'Slayed-by-Turks' von Habsburg. The von Habsburgs ride again in the next exciting episode of Real Men Do It Alphabetically, an AARgau!
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Originally Posted by Sokraates
as you could read 
