I've always liked Mehtar, it's a refreshing change to see him working for good rather than evil.
Rome AARisen - a Byzantine AAR
- Thread starter General_BT
- Start date
-
We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
Whee~ What a crazy week it's been!
One - the next update is about 10% done or so. I'm going to actually have time to work on it this weekend as there won't be any random trips to random places, etc., so hopefully it should get posted by Sunday.
Two - Apartment hunting is a pain.
Three - Job hunting is a pain.
I'll have some replies up later tonight.
One - the next update is about 10% done or so. I'm going to actually have time to work on it this weekend as there won't be any random trips to random places, etc., so hopefully it should get posted by Sunday.
Two - Apartment hunting is a pain.
Three - Job hunting is a pain.
I'll have some replies up later tonight.
Apartment hunting is a pain, I'm going through that myself right now so i sympathize with your plight.
Hopefully you'll have better luck then I've had.
Well, I did not like Mechtar before, and I still do not like him now. But, he is (still) totaly loyal to Thomas, and he is (trying to) keep(ing) the empire together, and prepared for the worst. That gives him points in my book.
Hopefully his spy network is still as good as it used to be, and he can see the conspiracy coming. He might even like some of the ideas of the conspiraters, and implement them himself..... (with more reliable people of course)
Hopefully his spy network is still as good as it used to be, and he can see the conspiracy coming. He might even like some of the ideas of the conspiraters, and implement them himself..... (with more reliable people of course)
Do i need to start making spoon related threats?
Grabs twenty spoons and arranges them in a semi circle around General_BT.
What do I do now?
o
Last edited:
Hey everyone.
Sad news to report. I have an update about 80% done (I got into a writing spat, cranked out most of it in the space of an hour), then Windows Explorer crashed, took down Microsoft Word, and I lost about 2/3rds of it. So I'm retyping it again tonight and tomorrow. It'll probably be a little longer than normal as I have several scenes I want to integrate in at once to get the story moving some.
Avalanchemike - No spoons are necessary! I'm working! I'm working!
Milites - Thank you for the honor and privilege yet again. I hope I can keep up the work that's prompted you to send the award my way!
Quintus Sertori - Well, hopefully there will be a nice new one up tomorrow night, if that's any consolation...
Clydwich - Mehtar and the Roman spy network could be the potential secret weapon Europe did not have IRL when dealing with the sudden appearance of the Mongols. Whether Lainez's hunch and the Roman apparatus are enough remains to be seen...
VILenin - Well, the hunt is over! I have a place, and I have my parent's assistance with the first few months rent in case I can't get a job right away. I'm hoping the job situation will sort itself out quickly too... still got a few months.
AlexanderPrimus - Hey now, don't be hatin'!
Devin Perry - You seem to be in the minority here... I agree though, he's not all that bad...
Enewald - That's called a spelling error on my part, one that's going to be corrected in the future. Good catch! Also, Kaukadenos is assuming Thomas is going to appoint an Exarch... there's no ironclad guarantee he will though...
Plushie - No, he's not into poisoning... just outright murdering. Then again, I'll tell you that he has one enormous surprise still left up his sleeve...
Carach - The Mongols will make strange bedfellows, as you all will soon see...
RGB - Don't blame me, blame the low loyalty stupid dynatoi lol
TC Pilot - The current generation is certainly back to earth, but then again, look at who they are being compared to--Demetrios was a once a century empire builder, Manuel could be credibly called among the more devious men to ever live, Basil was perhaps one of the best commanders of all time... Almost anyone placed in their shadow will come up wanting. The better question is, despite their flaws, can the current generation keep what those three built alive and going?
cezar87 - If the Komnenids end up on the Byzantine throne, my experience is usually the same--they'll hold the line pretty well, which fits with history. I've only seen AI Alexios inherit once, but more times than I can count I see Isaakios Komnenos from Antioch inherit and sometimes even expand the empire...
Fulcrumvale - Nah, it'll be a fun time for all!
Sad news to report. I have an update about 80% done (I got into a writing spat, cranked out most of it in the space of an hour), then Windows Explorer crashed, took down Microsoft Word, and I lost about 2/3rds of it.
So I'm retyping it again tonight and tomorrow. It'll probably be a little longer than normal as I have several scenes I want to integrate in at once to get the story moving some.Avalanchemike - No spoons are necessary! I'm working! I'm working!
Milites - Thank you for the honor and privilege yet again. I hope I can keep up the work that's prompted you to send the award my way!
Quintus Sertori - Well, hopefully there will be a nice new one up tomorrow night, if that's any consolation...
Clydwich - Mehtar and the Roman spy network could be the potential secret weapon Europe did not have IRL when dealing with the sudden appearance of the Mongols. Whether Lainez's hunch and the Roman apparatus are enough remains to be seen...
VILenin - Well, the hunt is over! I have a place, and I have my parent's assistance with the first few months rent in case I can't get a job right away. I'm hoping the job situation will sort itself out quickly too... still got a few months.
AlexanderPrimus - Hey now, don't be hatin'!
Devin Perry - You seem to be in the minority here... I agree though, he's not all that bad...
Enewald - That's called a spelling error on my part, one that's going to be corrected in the future. Good catch! Also, Kaukadenos is assuming Thomas is going to appoint an Exarch... there's no ironclad guarantee he will though...
Plushie - No, he's not into poisoning... just outright murdering. Then again, I'll tell you that he has one enormous surprise still left up his sleeve...
Carach - The Mongols will make strange bedfellows, as you all will soon see...
RGB - Don't blame me, blame the low loyalty stupid dynatoi lol
TC Pilot - The current generation is certainly back to earth, but then again, look at who they are being compared to--Demetrios was a once a century empire builder, Manuel could be credibly called among the more devious men to ever live, Basil was perhaps one of the best commanders of all time... Almost anyone placed in their shadow will come up wanting. The better question is, despite their flaws, can the current generation keep what those three built alive and going?
cezar87 - If the Komnenids end up on the Byzantine throne, my experience is usually the same--they'll hold the line pretty well, which fits with history. I've only seen AI Alexios inherit once, but more times than I can count I see Isaakios Komnenos from Antioch inherit and sometimes even expand the empire...
Fulcrumvale - Nah, it'll be a fun time for all!
Can I just say I trust Mehtar to do what is best for the Empire about as much as I trust... uh... someone very untrustworthy!
If it weren't for him meddling with the succession we all might be better off now, with no legacy of pope-chucking insanity to deal with.
So the fact that he is maneuvering himself into being in charge of the Roman response to the Mongols makes me deeply, deeply uneasy.
I'm going to agree with whoever it is that kept saying Mehtar delenda est.
If it weren't for him meddling with the succession we all might be better off now, with no legacy of pope-chucking insanity to deal with.
So the fact that he is maneuvering himself into being in charge of the Roman response to the Mongols makes me deeply, deeply uneasy.
I'm going to agree with whoever it is that kept saying Mehtar delenda est.
Like it or not, with Thomas busy with a war in the east Mehtar is the only person smart enough to see that there is something very very wrong out on the steppes and the only one other than Thomas with the power and connections to do something about it.
I will admit that he is neither a good or a trustworthy person but neither was Manuel.
GRUMBLE GRUMBLE GRUMBLE.Hey everyone.
Sad news to report. I have an update about 80% done (I got into a writing spat, cranked out most of it in the space of an hour), then Windows Explorer crashed, took down Microsoft Word, and I lost about 2/3rds of it.
Avalanchemike - No spoons are necessary! I'm working! I'm working!
You have a decent excuse, so you live another day. Nevertheless ... *Sharpens spoons*
CONVERT TO FIREFOX, HEATHEN.
*Rolls up newspaper and smacks you on the nose with it*
No. No. I am very disappointed in you.
Sad news to report. I have an update about 80% done (I got into a writing spat, cranked out most of it in the space of an hour), then Windows Explorer crashed, took down Microsoft Word, and I lost about 2/3rds of it.
You know the old saying, save early save often...
As something to hold everyone over while I finish the rest… here’s the first part!
From James Pritchard’s History of the Western World, Volume II:
To say the appearance of the Mongols on the European scene was explosive does not do the monumental event justice. In size and scope, even this initial, proving wave of attacks was beyond anything ever seen before in human history.
Unbeknownst to their targets, the Mongols had been gathering intelligence on their potential foes for the better part of six months before their main armies even arrived in the region. Travelers had been questioned, and envoys sent not only with messages demanding obedience, but orders to report back what they saw. As a consequence, the Mongol invaders, under the overall command of Jamuqa Khan, blood brother of the Great Khan, had a relatively good idea of what they would be facing—a powerful but crumbling Kingdom of the Rus, an up and coming unknown in the Danes of Sortmark, a power on the scale of the Song in the Roman Empire, and the relatively tiny, easy targets of the Bolgar Sultanate and the remnants of the Cuman Khaganate.
During the fall and winter of 1213, no less than six tumen, totaling some 60,000 warriors massed along the Volga. By April of 1214, the Mongols had already secured the former lands of the Bolgars, as well as the last lands held by the tiny remains of the Cuman Khaganate. Known for their skill at gathering intelligence before their infamous attacks, the great Mongol commanders on this frontier—Jamuqa, his subordinate Subotei, Batu, son of the Great Khan, and Orda—came to the conclusion that the Rus were the weakest target, and would be attacked first. On the 15th of April, Jamuqa and Subotei’s tumen stormed across the north Volga, piercing deep into the lands of the Rus Kingdom. To the south, Batu and Orda conducted a series of massive raids across the Sortmark and Roman frontiers, both for plunder and intelligence. While the Danes responded fiercely to the raids, Batu and Orda noted the Roman response was muted at best.
The mighty Kingdom of the Rus, created by fiat by the Roman Emperor Demetrius in the 1120s, for eighty years had stood as a colossus in its own right, governing lands stretching from the Baltic to, on occasion, the Black Sea. Under the rule of Vasiili Monomachos, the Rus Kingdom reached the height of its power and glory in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. However, by 1213, Vasiili’s grandson Mstislav has just inherited the throne from his uncle, Yaroslav, and his cousins Yaropolk and Dmitrii are disputing his succession. As a result, the Kingdom of the Rus was fatally focused on internal strife, paying the raids on outlying settlements and strange riders in the dark little heed.
That is, until the night of May 3rd, 1214. The Kniaz of Vladimir, Evgenii Rurikovich, had rapidly called his druzhine and levies to confront what he thought was a simple tribe of rampaging nomads. Out of the roughly 4,500 Rus soldiers that tangled with Subotei’s tumen, exactly four escaped. According to legend, three made the fatal mistake of seeking refuge behind the wooden walls of Sudzal—they perished when the Mongols torched the city. One lone man, one Aleksandr Lobov, chose to ride to Novgorod instead, and spread the warning. To this day, “lucky as Lobov” is a phrase in the Russian lands used to express disbelief at an unbelievable turn of good fortune.
It wasn’t until word of the Mongol assaults, and the destruction of Suzdal, Vladimir and Belozero reached Novogorod that the princes of the Rus ceased their infighting, uniting behind Mstislav for the first time. By May, they were attempting to marshal their armies as best they could at Novgorod, but the Mongols moved far too quickly. Despite the dense Russian forests, the Mongol cavalry under Subotei made remarkable speed, ambushing the Rus Karol’ and his army as it sat in camp outside the capital on the 3rd of July. Mstislav himself managed to escape, but the majority of the Rus army was destroyed, and Novgorod itself, the golden city and fortress of the North, was sacked and burned.
Further to the south, convinced by the weakness of a Roman response and the urgent pleas of Hulagu for reinforcements in Persia, Batu Khan lead 2 tumen away, ordering Orda to hold the Volga line until the next summer, when the Great Khan himself would arrive and supervise the attack on the rich and powerful Roman Empire. Between the 21st of May and the 18th of June, Orda did the exact opposite, launching a Great Raid of his own, hoping to provoke some kind of response. Once again, there was little response from the Romans, but the response from Sortmark was vigorous… Skjalm Hvide, “warleader” of the Danes, launched his own counter-raid deep into Mongol territory, searching for the Mongol seasonal foals. While unsuccessful, the raid compelled Orda to cut short his assault, but not before he discovered disturbing information…
…the Romans had not replied because they were marshalling a vast army… almost 50,000 strong. Riders galloped north to Subotei and Jamuqa, begging them to hurry south with all possible speed…
From James Pritchard’s History of the Western World, Volume II:
To say the appearance of the Mongols on the European scene was explosive does not do the monumental event justice. In size and scope, even this initial, proving wave of attacks was beyond anything ever seen before in human history.
Unbeknownst to their targets, the Mongols had been gathering intelligence on their potential foes for the better part of six months before their main armies even arrived in the region. Travelers had been questioned, and envoys sent not only with messages demanding obedience, but orders to report back what they saw. As a consequence, the Mongol invaders, under the overall command of Jamuqa Khan, blood brother of the Great Khan, had a relatively good idea of what they would be facing—a powerful but crumbling Kingdom of the Rus, an up and coming unknown in the Danes of Sortmark, a power on the scale of the Song in the Roman Empire, and the relatively tiny, easy targets of the Bolgar Sultanate and the remnants of the Cuman Khaganate.
During the fall and winter of 1213, no less than six tumen, totaling some 60,000 warriors massed along the Volga. By April of 1214, the Mongols had already secured the former lands of the Bolgars, as well as the last lands held by the tiny remains of the Cuman Khaganate. Known for their skill at gathering intelligence before their infamous attacks, the great Mongol commanders on this frontier—Jamuqa, his subordinate Subotei, Batu, son of the Great Khan, and Orda—came to the conclusion that the Rus were the weakest target, and would be attacked first. On the 15th of April, Jamuqa and Subotei’s tumen stormed across the north Volga, piercing deep into the lands of the Rus Kingdom. To the south, Batu and Orda conducted a series of massive raids across the Sortmark and Roman frontiers, both for plunder and intelligence. While the Danes responded fiercely to the raids, Batu and Orda noted the Roman response was muted at best.
The mighty Kingdom of the Rus, created by fiat by the Roman Emperor Demetrius in the 1120s, for eighty years had stood as a colossus in its own right, governing lands stretching from the Baltic to, on occasion, the Black Sea. Under the rule of Vasiili Monomachos, the Rus Kingdom reached the height of its power and glory in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. However, by 1213, Vasiili’s grandson Mstislav has just inherited the throne from his uncle, Yaroslav, and his cousins Yaropolk and Dmitrii are disputing his succession. As a result, the Kingdom of the Rus was fatally focused on internal strife, paying the raids on outlying settlements and strange riders in the dark little heed.
That is, until the night of May 3rd, 1214. The Kniaz of Vladimir, Evgenii Rurikovich, had rapidly called his druzhine and levies to confront what he thought was a simple tribe of rampaging nomads. Out of the roughly 4,500 Rus soldiers that tangled with Subotei’s tumen, exactly four escaped. According to legend, three made the fatal mistake of seeking refuge behind the wooden walls of Sudzal—they perished when the Mongols torched the city. One lone man, one Aleksandr Lobov, chose to ride to Novgorod instead, and spread the warning. To this day, “lucky as Lobov” is a phrase in the Russian lands used to express disbelief at an unbelievable turn of good fortune.
It wasn’t until word of the Mongol assaults, and the destruction of Suzdal, Vladimir and Belozero reached Novogorod that the princes of the Rus ceased their infighting, uniting behind Mstislav for the first time. By May, they were attempting to marshal their armies as best they could at Novgorod, but the Mongols moved far too quickly. Despite the dense Russian forests, the Mongol cavalry under Subotei made remarkable speed, ambushing the Rus Karol’ and his army as it sat in camp outside the capital on the 3rd of July. Mstislav himself managed to escape, but the majority of the Rus army was destroyed, and Novgorod itself, the golden city and fortress of the North, was sacked and burned.
Further to the south, convinced by the weakness of a Roman response and the urgent pleas of Hulagu for reinforcements in Persia, Batu Khan lead 2 tumen away, ordering Orda to hold the Volga line until the next summer, when the Great Khan himself would arrive and supervise the attack on the rich and powerful Roman Empire. Between the 21st of May and the 18th of June, Orda did the exact opposite, launching a Great Raid of his own, hoping to provoke some kind of response. Once again, there was little response from the Romans, but the response from Sortmark was vigorous… Skjalm Hvide, “warleader” of the Danes, launched his own counter-raid deep into Mongol territory, searching for the Mongol seasonal foals. While unsuccessful, the raid compelled Orda to cut short his assault, but not before he discovered disturbing information…
…the Romans had not replied because they were marshalling a vast army… almost 50,000 strong. Riders galloped north to Subotei and Jamuqa, begging them to hurry south with all possible speed…
Last edited:
YES. THANK YOU LORD IN HEAVEN.
MEHTAR YOU ARE ACTUALLY USEFUL. I've forgotten his MAR score
MEHTAR YOU ARE ACTUALLY USEFUL. I've forgotten his MAR score
Oh yes, I guess we're in for some beautiful battles led by Mehtar before Thomas arrives. I can imagine it already, Mehtar holding them north north west of the Black Sea and Thomas overwhelming them from Caucasus when he returns with his armies from the Persian campaign. That would probably be the best scenario imaginable. IF Mehtar can hold out that long of course.