• 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.
Nah, I doubt the Civil War will last for 50 years. That seems to be too much, even for this timeline's Romanion.

Could be narrative time distortion, but it feels like most of the time Romanion is at war with itself or outsiders. I mean there was a period when Italy seemed to be perpetually supporting a pretender...and Spain has had its share of problems...and imagine how the new French Romans will react to a temporary break-down of the central government...what if a crack forms in Gabrielid Iran? Or if the Aionites get involved? Chinese manipulation of the steppe provinces?

The Empire is chock-full of unresolved tensions to be played out.
 
Nah, I doubt the Civil War will last for 50 years. That seems to be too much, even for this timeline's Romanion.

Fifty years is alot, but mabey its a simmering Civil War, or with breaks in the actions, or it could be a differnt civil war its all just a speculation. Only BT can tell us but I doubt he will hes mysterious like that :cool:.
 
Could be narrative time distortion, but it feels like most of the time Romanion is at war with itself or outsiders. I mean there was a period when Italy seemed to be perpetually supporting a pretender...and Spain has had its share of problems...and imagine how the new French Romans will react to a temporary break-down of the central government...what if a crack forms in Gabrielid Iran? Or if the Aionites get involved? Chinese manipulation of the steppe provinces?

The Empire is chock-full of unresolved tensions to be played out.

You're right on all accounts, I just meant that it couldn't last in continuation (without breaks) for 50 years, that seems like a rather long time. Also, there are no "French Romans", seeing as France has only very recently become a part of the empire; all of the "dynatoi" are still very French. We have the Northern French, who've been under the Capets for ages, and the Souther French, who've been great friends of the Western Empire for a while, albeit independent. The only Roman with any kind of power there would be the Hypatos, the position currently filled by Syrenios. Sure, he's skilled at intrigue, he's playing the Divide et Impera game very well, but sooner or later someone far less skilled will come along, and the French will denounce the Romans; I don't think we should look at France as a part of the Empire at all, it is just about as loyal in long-term as Persia was. Especially now that the Empire has finally gone past its zenith, we now know that only trouble is on the horizon.
 
Hello everyone!

First, thank you all for being patient. I'll have proper replies up with the next interim, as soon as I can! Friends have left, and my nose has been to the grindstone preparing the maps for the 1300 update on the rest of the world. Half of the updates are done, detailing the changes in Russia and the Middle East. The second part, detailing western and central Europe, will be up sometime next week.

First, I’d like to begin with a little more about Mali, both because it’s been brought up a few times, and also because frankly, I find the new Mali’s development to be fascinating.

mali1297mapcopy.jpg


malipart2copy.jpg

Afterwards, we’ll move to the lands of the Rus.

Russian1297copy.jpg

The lands of the Rus have seen many changes over the past half century—the greatest of which is the continued decline of the Blue Horde as a power. As quickly as the Mongols erupted onto the European stage—destroying the titanic Kingdom of the Rus and subjugating peoples as far as Poland in the process—they have ebbed away. A succession struggle between Khan Sartaq and his younger brother Mengu-Timur. The latter was victorious, and Sartaq sought refuge with the Roman princes of Georgia. With the permission of the Megas Komnenos a small punitive expedition defeated Mengu-Timur’s depleted armies near Yaik, and Sartaq was set up as Khan of Astrakhan, with the Roman title of ‘Despotes’ under Roman suzerainty. This weakness caused many of the smaller Christian and Muslim remnants in the northern parts of the Horde to revolt as well. Currently, the weakened Horde is fighting an alliance of former vassals from Chuvash, Cheremesia, Bulgar and Kama.

Further west, the story of fragmentation is coupled with stories of consolidation. The Nevskii princes of the rebuilt city of Novgorod (several miles south of the old capital) have used a combination of guile and a marriage alliance with the neighboring Princes of Belozero to great a new ‘Kingdom of the Rus,’ based on the twin capitals of Novgorod and Belozero. To the Kingdom’s south and east, a few Russian principalities remain outside its grasp—only the threat of the ‘Bohemians’ to the northwest, as well as Sortmark, has kept the Nevskii kings from seizing these small principalities by force.

To the south, Sortmark has retained its size and power. Originally it was the long arm of the Horde Khans, but now, the Kings in rebuilt Havigraes exercise great power in their own names. King Olaf has even gone as far to declare himself a Khagan, completely throwing off the Mongol yoke and daring a weakened Mengu-Timur to do anything about it. More powerful than the Rus, only the Romans have the strength to tangle with the Steppe Danes.

Further to the west, the story of fragmentation takes the lead once more. Many of the great ‘principalities’ created by the Mongols to supervise their dominions have collapsed. In Poland, the Kingdom was reborn in 1261, and so far has absorbed much of the former Archbishopric of Masovia and clung to existence despite suffering disaster during a recent war with the Romans. Krakow’s kneeling before a Roman army resulted in it breaking free from the Polish state—the situation has yet to be resolved.

Gone are the Princes of Smolensk as independent entites. Large chunks of their land have devolved to the Princes of Turov, while their remnants are vassals to Sortmark. Polotsk remains in a smaller form as well, with numerous small counties between her and Poland. To the north, the city of Reval has declared itself a merchant republic.

Even further north is another interesting tale. Mid-century, mercenaries from the German civil wars sailed into southern Finland, and declared a new ‘Kingdom of Bohemia.’ Originally this land was regarded as a laughingstock, but its continued successes, both in fighting Finnish pagans to the north, as well as skirmishes with the Kingdom of the Rus, have made its neighbors regard it as a serious threat. Historians tend to refer to this realm as “Finnish Bohemia” both to clarify its location, and to separate it from the coexisting ‘Duchy of Bohemia’ which formed during the German Civil War of the 1290s.




Finally, we have the Middle East.

middleeast1297copy.jpg

The situation in the post-Andronikene politically has not changed much since 1273—Romanion claimed a small sliver of northern Mesopotamia in the aftermath of Arghun’s repulsion—ostensibly as payment for destroying the Mongol, but in reality to provide a location deep within the Persian borders to begin building forts and other works to support future invasions.

Persia itself is a bedrock of stability—as the Turks have begun moving further and further to the east, so has Roman control over Persia, now consolidated to the end of the CK map. Persia itself has known little war since the mid 1270s, and prosperity has returned, even as the great Lord of Persia plans his campaign to the west.

Transoxania continues on as well. Michael I, known as Jajarid Mikail (“Michael the Foreigner”) proved to be more independent than his Mongol viceroys wished, but wisely never crossed the line enough to provoke the Great Khan or his Roman cousin into intervening. The King-Khan converted to Nestorian Christianity in 1287, and the Church of the East has been flourishing in his realm—much to the disdain of the Orthodox Church. In 1296 some of the more minor tribal leaders in the west and south attempted to declare independence, but by the next year, Michael’s half tumen finished off the abortive revolts. Transoxania will get its own interim update at a later date.

Finally, little has changed in Arabia either. The “Principality of the Sinai” has declared its own independence, led by a maverick Muslim religious scholar named Isa ibn Sulieman. The abortive attempt at freedom would disappear within the year, but would serve as a rallying cry for later, or dangerous rebellions. Isaakios I, known as Ishaq to his subjects, has continued his grandfather’s practice of toleration, though there are rumors in Jeddah that the King/Malik openly has dinners with Muslim and Aionite leaders… Like Transoxania, Arabia will receive its own special interim later on.
 

thecosmopolitanempirecopy.jpg


brotheragainstbrothercopy.jpg

In the Ulema/In Konstantinopolis...
In the Streets of Antioch
The Palaces of Antioch
Antalya
A Tale of Two Princesses
A Riotous Wedding
Sword of God
Cutting off the Head
Triumph?
INTERIM - Cities of the Empire Part One
INTERIM - Cities of the Empire Part Two


thronesofdeceitcopy.jpg

A Hornet's Nest
An Offer He Couldn't Refuse?
GUEST POST - A Komnenid By Any Other Name
INTERIM - Dr. al-Jedawi Responds
INTERIM - Updated Dramatis Personae (spoilers!)
The Eternal War
A Meeting Between 'Friends'
The Coming Struggles
Amol
Ties of Blood
INTERIM - Cultures of the Empire, 1247
An Irresistible Force Meets an Immovable Object
The Stage is Set Once More

chapternineteencopy.jpg

Wives, Mothers, and Sons
The Beginnings of a Faith
INTERIM - Eirini?
INTERIM - A Suitably Byzantine Aristocracy
The Lyra Player and a New Army?
Hunting for Support
INTERIM - Thomas III's Building Projects
A Boy and a Boy-Man
A Thomas, A Godwinson, A Gottfried, and A Gift
Looking a Gifthorse in the Mouth
A Prussian in Konstantinopolis
Under Blacharnae's Pearly Gates...

theboywhowouldbeemperorchaptitlecop.jpg

Andronikos
A Clerk and Guadiana
A Funeral Fit for a Komnenid
Wars at Home and Abroad
Spies and Secrets
Battle of Azov and Persians
INTERIM - The End of All Things (SPOILERS)
A Hero's Welcome
A Tale of Two Lions
Bedchambers and Barcelona
A Very Red Wedding

INTERIM - What if Manuel had survived his assassination attempt unscatched?

chaptertwentyonecopy.jpg

Webs Unspinning
A Cloak, A Plot, and Hope?
The Lion Roars
Visitations
The Coming Deluge
The Storm At Nikaea, Part One
The Storm At Nikaea, Part Two
INTERIM - The Megas Domestikoi and the Army
A Tale of Fathers
A Meeting of Lions...

chaptertwentytwocopy.jpg

Seven Years On...
Caliphs and Princes
The Komnenid Family Tree #4
INTERIM - The Hammer of the Scots
The Storm Cometh
The Vengeance of God
The Gates of Isfahan
Solace in War
Hemmed in on All Sides
Betrayal at Mashad
Surprises at Homecoming

chaptertwentythreecopy.jpg

Princesses and Revolts
So Much Death...
The Meaning of Honor?
Sisak and Mud
The Spoils of War
INTERIM - Trade and the Navy
A Hollow Victory
The Last Triumph
A Last Meeting Between Friends
INTERIM - The Generals
Where the Diadem Falls
Twilight



 
A new Kingdom of the Rus? Intriguing; let's see if this one does better than the previous entity of the same name. And Sortmark is much, much bigger than I imagined it to be. I trust that the Hungarian throne is still firmly in Arpad hands, after the dissolution of the HRE? So many interesting tidbits in this update, but the Mali section is surely the best; their awesomely large supplies of gold are surely an advantage over the soon-to-be-wrecked Roman state? The Mali and the African Romans might soon be having more than purely verbal disputes, if the Muslims grab the opportunity when Romanion is at war with itself.
 
The pictures and maps are suite. Cannt wait for the next updates.
 
Hello again BT! It has been a while, but after reading the interim I had to comment :D All this craziness that is going on in Europe, how much was your doing? The Grand Duchy of Finnish-Bohemia? :rofol: Mali looks really cool, are you basing what you said on Mali on historical events mixed with the game's history? How is China doing and Japan? Regardless, great job!
 
Mali is in an interesting position - can't really expand much, but cannot be defeated by anyone other than Rome. Watch out for internal divisions!

I can see Bohemia causing a lot of confusion down the ages for students of history and geography.

Nice overviews!
 
The Mali Caliphate looks awesome. I'd totally play that in an EU3 mod if they survive that long. Or Sortmark. Either one would be great. One thing though, you didn't mention anything about the Despotate of Khazaria, and to my knowledge, you've never mentioned them in any updates. What's going on with them? Even though they probably aren't the Jewish Khazars I really like, surely a Byzantine-influence Khazar state has some interesting stuff going on.

Oh, and I'd be interested in knowing more about the Bohemian-Finnish Grand Duchy in the north. They could be a fun nation to play.

Finally, I know you haven't really followed all the rules of Crusader Kings, even when you were playing through it, but I'm curious, do you remember what difficulty, AI aggressiveness, and mods you used to start up Rome AARisen?
 
The Mali Caliphate looks awesome. I'd totally play that in an EU3 mod if they survive that long. Or Sortmark. Either one would be great. One thing though, you didn't mention anything about the Despotate of Khazaria, and to my knowledge, you've never mentioned them in any updates. What's going on with them? Even though they probably aren't the Jewish Khazars I really like, surely a Byzantine-influence Khazar state has some interesting stuff going on.

Oh, and I'd be interested in knowing more about the Bohemian-Finnish Grand Duchy in the north. They could be a fun nation to play.

Finally, I know you haven't really followed all the rules of Crusader Kings, even when you were playing through it, but I'm curious, do you remember what difficulty, AI aggressiveness, and mods you used to start up Rome AARisen?
Conquered by the Mongols then revolted? It would be quite interesting though if the Jewish Khazars actually still exist, and offer safe refuge for European Jews if(read when if this history is anything like ours) things go south for them. IIRC, in OTL quite a few actually went to the colonies in SA and later NA.
 
Took nearly four weeks to read through this epic, and I have to admit tears came to my eyes when the Desert Lion was humbled. I now have numerous questions:

1. Sorry to prolong the wait for everyone, but a while back you promised a series of what ifs, only one of which ever came out "What If Manuel handn't been wounded at the infamous hunt". I'm not going to press for all of them, but have you considered doing "What if the Desert Lion had held his ground at Isfahan". As a Gabreline fan that was particularly galling.

2. How big is a tagma?

3. I have gathered that in CK you can play as Kings and Dukes, but not counts. Could you also play as heirs, as in as the crown prince of Scotland?

4. If I wanted to play a certain dukedom, but don't like the duke, could I play as someone else, help a count overthrow the duke and switch to them like in Vicky?

5. Was Alexios dieing delibirate or a coincedence?

6. Your pictures don't seem to be links, care to share the secret?:confused:
 
Last edited:
6. Your pictures don't seem to be links, care to share the secret?:confused:

I suspect he's just using the "
" tags.

I also am a Gabriel-fanboy, but I cooled on him after he lost perspective (and the crown) with the German seductress. Honestly, he could have been a truly enlightened (if perhaps a bit belligerent) ruler...at least he's sired a so far exceptionally competent, free-thinking dynasty.

I hope Persia becomes a beacon of light and learning in the darkness which will soon descend on Romanion.
 
Anyone here think that Konstantinopolis will be felled by Timur? I know on multiple occasions that BT said the EU3 scenario would exist with several Byzantine successor states vying to retake the Queen of Cities. I think, if the Civil War could be avoided, that the Romans could at least halt Timur's advance, but with everyone focused on each other, Timur will rampage through and end the Empire.