Chronicles of the Golden Cross

[Lt. Tyler]

This is a great AAR!

Even though I haven't yet picked up CK (a blight I hope to rectify soon!), I am enjoying this immensely AlexanderPrimus.

It has the perfect blend of gameplay and narrative, which for me is crucial. Too much of either, and I tend to loose interest.

Pacing is good, a little faster would be ok if you're comfortable with it. But it's working well I would say, as each update, even if the duration covered it short, advances the story/game appreciably. And each update isn't so long that it is hard to get through. So thumbs I say!

LT

[AlexanderPrimus]

Update:
The Storming of Famagusta video is now uploaded and linked to the "False Emperor" post. I used a capture from one of M2:TW:K's cutscenes for part of it, so don't be surprised that the quality of that portion of the video is better than the rest.

@ Murmurandus & Estonianzulu: Thank you for your compliments. I'm glad you're enjoying my AAR.

@ Lt. Tyler: Thanks! As I mentioned earlier in my response to stnylan, I am planning on increasing the pace of the AAR somewhat. So far, the episodes have only covered about 1-2 years. The next episode (which I will probably complete tonight) may be 2-3, and the one after that 3-4 max. Thus, the increase will be a little bit gradual. I don't think I'll be able to do justice to an entry that's over 5 years game time, not in the style that I've established. I guess that means it'll be a long story.

[AlexanderPrimus]

THE REIGN OF GUY DE LUSIGNAN (1186-1213)

Part V: A Neighbor in Need is a Vassal Indeed

The winter of 1191 brought a great deal of strife to the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Still offended at Guy’s consent to the marriage of his brother Geoffrey and sister-in-law Orengarde, the Latin Patriarch Guillaume demanded that King Guy perform an act of public, humiliating penance. When the King utterly refused to show even the smallest inkling of remorse, the Patriarch threatened to leave the Royal Court forever. Not in a conciliatory mood, Guy brusquely replied, “Good riddance, then! Be off with you!” Incensed, Guillaume gathered his personal retinue and left the Holy City that very day. The scathing report he delivered a month later to the Pope in Rome certainly did not help the royal reputation.

The revolting Muslim peasants in the border provinces had neglected to gather their harvests in the autumn months, and there began to be a terrible food shortage. Spokesmen for the starving peasants begged King Guy to intervene and put an end to the awful dearth, offering any recompense to the King for their rebellion, however, Guy remained unmoved by their pitiful state. Instead of forgiving the peasantry and assisting them in their time of need, Guy countered their plea with a scripture: “Does not the Holy Bible say, ‘My father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions?’ Let that be the answer you take back to your miserable people!” Thus did Guy de Lusignan lay a burden of heavy taxes on the already weakened shoulders of the starving peasants of Irbid and Safed.

Already suffering greatly from the effects of the famine, many people were unable to pay the new, oppressive taxes. Upon hearing this, Geoffrey de Lusignan approached his brother the King with a cunning plan. “If those heathen serfs will not pay their lawful taxes willingly,” said Geoffrey, “Allow me to send some loyal tax collectors to convince them to give what they owe!” This sounded like an excellent idea to King Guy, who agreed immediately. However, the “tax collectors” appointed by Steward Geoffrey were actually bands of uncouth ruffians who beat the impoverished people into submission and robbed them of what little they had left. This brute squad’s random raids and beatings terrorized the poor people and left them in an even more wretched state, which some had not previously thought possible. The state-of-being of the eastern marches waxed very dire indeed.

Shortly thereafter, the royal librarian claimed to have discovered a long lost play from Greek antiquity. Entitled Agamemnon, by the ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus, the play told of how a great king was murdered by a rival who subsequently married his duplicitous queen. Though the play seemed innocent enough, there were many in the court that could not help but draw comparisons between its plot and the recent scandal concerning Geoffrey and Orengarde. Hushed rumors even spread around the court that the play had been planted in order to ridicule the new couple. The veracity of these accusations was never proven, but the damage to the reputation of the King’s brother and sister-in-law was already done.

What a year!

On the feast day of Saint Valentine in the Year 1192, Count Raymond arrived at Jerusalem with grave news. With him he brought an envoy from the north, sent from the court of Leon, Prince of Cilicia, bearing an urgent message for King Guy. One of the court clerics read the document aloud:

“To Guy de Lusignan, by the Grace of God, King of the Franks in Jerusalem, from Leon, Prince of Lesser Armenia in Cilicia, Lord of the Taurus Mountains, Latest Heir of the Rubenid Dynasty.

Great King, I am your humble servant. My people, the Armenians in exile, have suffered greatly at the hands of the infidel Turks throughout the years. We lost our homeland to their vicious hordes generations ago, which tragedy caused us to flee here to our mountain refuge of Cilicia. Over the past several years they have encroached on us ever closer, taking our lands as their own, killing at will, and enslaving our sons to be their eunuchs and our daughters to be their harlots.

Finally in this last year the Seljuks of Rüm, under their dread Sultan, Kilij Arslān, have attacked us in the very fullness of their power, which in turn has beset us with many sore afflictions. Fully half of my realm now chafes under a heavy Turkish yoke, with new losses each day, and I have neither the strength to retaliate, nor any friends great enough to come to my aid.

The Emperor in Constantinople will not help us, for though we Armenians are Orthodox, our clerics will not submit themselves to the Byzantine Patriarch. We cannot turn for aid to your fellow Franks in the west, for they care for nothing save their own wars and quarrels.

I am therefore left with no recourse than to turn to you, O King, for aid in this our darkest hour.

Consequently, in order to save my people from what will certainly be their utter destruction, I am compelled to issue this humble plea to Your Majesty: protect us from slavery at the hands of the Turk, and we will be your servants and call you master; save our fair sons and daughters from death under Seljuk blades, and we will pay you for our lives with a tribute in gold derived from our increase; and lastly, defend us from the fury of the Muslims, and I myself will convert to your faith, should you require it of me.

Assuredly you now see the plight of your servants the Armenians, dread sovereign. Do not delay! Come to our aid, and all that I have promised and more will be yours. Hesitate, and you will surely be forced to wrest our realm from the iron grasp of Kilij Arslān.

Your obedient servant,
Leon, Prince of Cilicia”

Raymond, who had waited patiently for the cleric to finish his reading, now began to speak his mind openly and frankly. “We must help them, my King,” he said. “This is our responsibility as the Soldiers of Christ in the Holy Land. In the past, I have counseled against imprudent wars with fellow Christians; this is different. These people, who other than ourselves are the last Christians free of Muslim oppression in Outremer, are calling for our aid. As King by God’s will here in Jerusalem, it falls to you to lead us to Holy War on the Turks to save our brothers the Armenians. What say you, O King?”

“As ever, you speak the truth, Tiberias,” said the King, rising from his throne and drawing his sword. Feeling the greater purposes of the Divine Will overtake him, Guy drew in a deep breath and shouted at the top of his lungs: “Deus Vult!”

Encouraged by Guy’s words, Raymond also rose to his feet and drew his own blade. He was joined by the watching knights and clerics of the court in echoing the King’s pious warcry: “DEUS VULT!”

Guy immediately sent a summons to all able-bodied soldiers of the realm, calling them to join his army in freeing Armenian Cilicia from the clutches of the Seljuk Turks. Seeing the fervor of Tiberias, who was widely known as the most sensible and peaceable of the royal vassals, the nobles of the realm were emboldened in the great undertaking of the work of Christ and flocked in droves to the King’s Banner, jubilant for a Royal Crusade.

For Christ and Glory! A new Crusade is coming!

In a great council of war at Alexandretta, Guy laid forth his battle plans. Filled with the divine wrath of God, Bohemond the Stammerer had already marched north with his feudal levies. Orders were sent instructing him to meet up with the surviving men of Leon’s retinue in Seleukeia before proceeding northwest to retake Iconium from the Turks. Guy and his men would take the eastern route, retaking Teluch and invading Melitene to cut off the Turkish route of escape. He would be accompanied by the forces of Raymond of Tiberias and Balian of Ibelin. The lot fell to Isaac Komnenos and Reynald de Chatillon to take the dangerous central road through the mountains to recapture Lykandos and hold off the Turkish reinforcements that were sure to come from Caesarea.

Their plans laid out, the Crusaders broke camp and separated to embark on their various campaigns.

Reynald de Chatillon’s army from Oultrejourdain united with Prince Isaac’s Cypriots at Adana before beginning their march north to Lykandos. The renegade Byzantine and the choleric Frank made quite the pair. Isaac greeted Reynald in full Byzantine battle-dress as proper imperial etiquette dictated; the Frankish Crusader was clad only in his usual tunic. The Prince of Cyprus greeted his ally with a Christian blessing, while Reynald cast aspersions about Isaac’s parentage and the dubious origins of his apparel. The campaign ahead was definitely going to be long and arduous.

What’s with the outfit, Byzantine? Are you some kind of Grecian girly-man?

Thus did 1192 become rightly known as the Year of Battles. In the spring, Leon and Bohemond fought off the Seljuk invasion of Seleukeia before proceeding northwest to Iconium, to which they then laid siege. Guy’s host moved at a lightning pace to Teluch, which they quickly took by storm, it being relatively undefended. Slaughtering the Turkish garrison, they left a small company of Templars to hold the keep and marched on to Melitene, which in years past had been a proud Armenian province, but now was ruled by a harsh Turkish Bey.

On their own campaign, Reynald and Isaac encountered the Sultan himself with his main royal army at Lykandos. However, after skirmishing briefly with their horse archers, Kilij Arslān turned back, journeying west with the intent to meet up with the Emir of Cappadocia’s wing of the army that had been defeated at Seleukeia, and thence to lift the Christian siege of Iconium. This move allowed Reynald and Issac to easily take the city of Lykandos back for Armenia before heading north to try to cut off the Turkish host.

The thirsty summer of 1192 saw the capture of Iconium in the west and the continued siege of Melitene in the east, with Kilij Arslān and his army trapped in-between and pursued by Reynald and Isaac. Becoming desperate, the now-united Seljuk forces first probed Iconium for a weakness. Bohemond and Leon would not take the bait, knowing it would expose their smaller army, and the Turks turned away, their feint unsuccessful. In the autumn, Kilij Arslān decided to seek further reinforcements from his more northern provinces in order to gain superior numbers to the Christians, but this plan became impossible when the Byzantine princes of the coast decided to take advantage of the Sultanate’s exposed condition to retake some of their own lost lands in northern Anatolia.

Up close and personal! The garrison at Melitene sallies forth.

In the midst of a long winter season, and with their rations spent, the garrison of Melitene decided to sally forth from their defensive bulwarks in a last-ditch effort to save their skins. Charging directly into the Frankish lines was perhaps not the best way to accomplish this goal.

Though Guy’s army outnumbered the enemy, the beleaguered Turks were desperate, and inflicted a great many casualties in Jerusalem’s ranks. After seven hours of hard-fought battle, the Christian survivors emerged from the chaos amidst the fallen spears and piles of corpses on the blood-soaked battlefield. The Muslim garrison had been slaughtered to a man in the midst of the combat. Finding Guy and his bodyguard alive and well, Raymond and Balian drew near to them. “What ho, my lord?” called Balian, “Are we not victorious?” The Christians let out a mighty cheer.

Raymond and Balian emerge victorious after the battle at Melitene.

Thus did the Year of Battles pass away, and the Year of Victories begin. The Year of Our Lord 1193 saw Kilij Arslān struggle to keep his Sultanate of Rüm intact. With his northwestern vassals fighting off the Byzantines, and with Iconium and Melitene in the hands of the Franks, the Sultan’s army was bolstered only by reinforcements from Trebizond in the northeast, the only quarter of his realm that had not yet seen the war. With sparse allies and a war-weary realm, the Sultan decided that the best course of action would be to defend his capital from the advance of Reynald and Isaac, and hopefully destroy a major Christian army in the process. If he could prevent the central crusader force from uniting with their allies on either side, he would have the Christians cut off from each other, and perhaps he could finish them one at a time. So the Turks marched south.

At the same time, the combined hosts of Reynald and Isaac were marching north to the Seljuk capital of Caesarea, or Kaisareia as Prince Isaac called it. Without the powerful Royal Host of King Guy, the core of their army was their nobles’ personal retinues of heavy cavalry and the usual accompanying support force of archers and footmen. These were supplemented by detachments from the Knights Templar and by mercenary companies: Turcopoles in the case of Reynald, and Latinkon for Isaac.

Through skillful tactics, Kilij Arslān was able to deftly maneuver his highly mobile force of mounted archers into a mountain pass between the Frankish Crusaders and the Cypriots’ smaller force. The Sultan brought all his available soldiers to the battle – the afore-mentioned horse archers, levies of poor Saracen spearmen, Seljuk hillmen armed with bows, Armenians pressed into military service, and the elite Sipahis of the Sultan’s own bodyguard. They outnumbered the Christians by a small margin, but were confident that they would carry the day, eliminating their enemies one after the other.

The ensuing Battle of Caesarea took place on a rainy winter’s day as the Turks advanced on Reynald’s position, howling for vengeance. Reynald attempted to maneuver his men in a circular oblique to rendezvous with Isaac Komnenos, but the Seljuks proved too quick for him. Rather than be caught off-guard by a flanking action, Reynald ordered his men to turn and fight, hoping to God that Isaac’s uncertain loyalty proved true. The Franks waded into the field of blood under the banner of the cross and with Turkish arrows whizzing around their heads.

Wading into battle.

Fortunately for the Franks, Isaac showed himself a man, taking the offensive and sending his heavy Cataphracts plowing through the Turkish infantry in the very flanking maneuver that Reynald had feared earlier. Kilij Arslān’s men turned to engage the Cypriots, but were now faced with a gory two-front mêlée. Over the course of several hours, the Turkish lines slowly began to buckle under the strain, until at the last the light horse-archers fled, abandoning their infantry to be butchered. Leaving the heavier Frankish knights to mop up the Seljuk infantry, the lighter Cypriot lancers chased after the horse archers into the mountains, but were unable to catch them. In the meantime, the Sultan and his elite Sipahis decided that the battle was lost and fled north to their capital. Thus with divine favor were the Crusaders delivered from the very jaws of defeat. With the slaughter complete, the Christians knelt in mighty prayer to the Almighty in gratitude for the hard-fought and closely-won victory they had received that day.

Witness the Battle of Caesarea – 1193

After pulling their battered army back together, Reynald and Isaac moved north to Caesarea, bivouacking outside the city walls for a long siege. They were joined two weeks later by Guy de Lusignan and half of his royal army, the other half remaining to garrison Melitene. Knowing that their army was sorely depleted after over a year of non-stop war, Guy sent a message to the Sultan. Kilij Arslān would have a respite from the Holy Crusade if he renounced his claim to the Armenian territories retaken by the Christians. Under heavy threat from the Byzantines to the northwest and the Franks outside his very city walls, the Sultan acquiesced. Thus did the Kingdom of Jerusalem obtain a well-earned peace with the Sultanate of Rüm in the month of June, in the Year of Our Lord, 1193.

And now, worthy reader, I present to you the Map of Outremer following the events of the great Armenian Crusade.

With the incorporation of Lesser Armenia into the realm, the borders of the Kingdom of Jerusalem have swollen to never-before-seen proportions. Yet this rapid expansion was undertaken far too quickly, which has left the large kingdom quite unstable. And to the east, the former County of Edessa still remains just out of reach.

Splintered and fragmented, the Seljuks of Rüm hold central Anatolia, but they have been severely weakened now that several of their key provinces have been retaken by the Greeks and Franks.

On the shores of the Aegean, the Byzantine Empire begins to grow strong once again. Whither their Emperor’s wily eye will turn next remains to be seen.

In the northeast reaches of Mesopotamia and beyond by the Black Sea, the Emirate of Erzerum and the Kingdom of Georgia remain unscathed by war, though the future may not be so kind to them.

Lastly, to the south and east, Sultan Saladin, Lord of Syria and Egypt, holds dominion. He remains the undisputed Master of the Near East. Any monarch seeking war with him had better proceed with care.

And so indeed was King Guy of Jerusalem forced to consider his next course of action very carefully, for word reached him when yet in the hills of Cilicia that Saladin had moved in force against the Knights Templar at Ascalon, as a just retaliation for Guy's mistreatment of the Saracen peasants.

With their headquarters undermanned while so many were away on crusade, the Templars’ fortress-city fell to the mighty Sultan. War loomed again on the horizon, and the Kingdom of Jerusalem, though large and strong, was nonetheless tired and bloodied from the Armenian Crusade. The King himself was weary after so long a campaign, and desired nothing more than to lie in his bed and recuperate. Even the bloodthirsty Reynald de Chatillon no longer wished to press his earlier desires for war with Saladin!

Guy de Lusignan in a pensive mood: “It’s hard to be the king…”

Yet the loss of the Templar stronghold of Ascalon on the southern coast was keenly felt. With the Egyptian hosts present so near to the Holy City, it was as though a dagger was pointed at the very heart of the kingdom, a danger that could not long be permitted to exist.

Then news arrived from England that King Henry Plantagenet was dead. His son and successor Richard had announced at his coronation that he would take up the cross… and that he would personally lead the long-overdue Third Crusade…

[AlexanderPrimus]

So that's Guy de Lusignan Part V uploaded. I hope that it's not too long and that you guys enjoy it. This is my first attempt to pick up the pace a bit, increasing to about 3 game years in length, so if it feels a bit rushed, that's the reason why. Nevertheless, it was very enjoyable to write.

I'm sure you can appreciate just how frustrating that war with the numerically superior Kilij Arslān was to play out. I'm surprised I even won at all. Chalk it up to divine favor.

Well, I can't even begin to guess when I'll have the next video out. Keep your fingers crossed that it'll be soon. I'm a little burned out at the moment, but I can promise that the AAR will continue in the near future.

@ snude: Thanks for the compliment!

[Kurt_Steiner]

Let's hope that Saladin gives you time to recover... but he's too cunning, methinks...

[Murmurandus]

That was very nice again. Good work!

[coz1]

I had a feeling Saladin might take a watchful eye as you crusaded to the north. Be careful. That war likely won't end up like this one.

[El Pip]

The Third Crusade! Which may well go far better that historically as there will actually be someone to garrison the territory after it's won. Or it may be a disaster due to inept AI, who can tell?

[General_BT]

That was an impressive campaign, and some even more impressive writing! Something tells me that my fellow forumite's suspicions about Saladin will prove true - the Sultan does not seem to be one to merely sit aside and take only the Templar lands while the Kingdom of Jerusalem wobbles, engorged from war with a fellow Muslim power.

How is Guy organizing the new provinces of the Kingdom? And what program are you using to edit your MTW:2 battle sequences before you put them on Youtube? I've been looking for a (free) program for a while...

[VILenin]

Very good stuff so far! Your use of images and videos are excellent compliments to the writing.

I wonder if Richard and his Crusade will actually be any help or if they get "distracted" before they make it to the holy land.

[Estonianzulu]

An excellent victory, well done.

[AlexanderPrimus]

Update:
The Battle of Caesarea video is now uploaded and linked to the "Neighbor in Need" post.

Some questions:
How do you guys like the music I'm using for these videos? Is the quality good enough? Do you guys watch the videos? Should I keep making more of them?

Some answers:
@ Kurt_Steiner & coz1: Saladin presents a very deadly threat. Let's hope I can catch him offguard should the need arise...

@ Murmurandus & estonianzulu: Thanks again for the compliments! I'll try to keep the quality of my entries up to the existing standard.

@ El Pip & VILenin: Yeah, the overcautious AI could present a bit of an issue. I'm hoping the 3rd Crusade actually packs a punch, but I may have to give Richard a little bit of a push out the door...

@ General_BT: Thanks!

Regarding kingdom organization: Prince Leon had two vassals, one in Tarsus, the other in Adana. So they have all of Armenia divided amongst them with the exception of Melitene, which Guy has retained in his demesne for the time being.

As for the video programs, I record game footage with GameCam, available here. It has both a free version and a "non-free" version. The paying version adds some features, but since I can't seem to figure out how to use those features anyway, I would suggest that you might as well just get the free version. For editing the video clips together, I just use Windows Movie Maker, which you should already have on your computer if you're using Windows XP. Hope that helps!

[thrashing mad]

Some questions:
How do you guys like the music I'm using for these videos? Is the quality good enough? Do you guys watch the videos? Should I keep making more of them?

Nice to see that someone else is making M2TW videos as addition to AAR as well. Music is very good, though maybe you`ll consider using CinematicEditor instead of gamecam? With CE you can set camera at any angle, and render each shot on max details without frame-rate losses. It`s quite complicated tool, but final effect might be rewarding. Link:

YouTube Cinematic editor tutorial - All you need to know to use it

tm

[AlexanderPrimus]

THE REIGN OF GUY DE LUSIGNAN (1186-1213)

Part VI: Enter the Lionheart

As autumn turned to winter in the Year 1193, the necessity of the Third Crusade became clearer to the Princes of Europe. Saladin had conquered all of northern Africa as far as Tunis, and was in the process of preparing an invasion fleet to sail for Sicily and Italy.

A popular anecdote was being passed around in the royal courts of Europe. It went something like the following: “At his capital in Alexandria, one of Saladin’s courtiers had asked him why it was that he readied an invasion of Europe when the Franks still dwelled so close by in Jerusalem. Saladin responded, ‘To kill a serpent, do you cut off its head or its tail?’ The men of his court were puzzled, but not surprised. Saladin was always full of wise aphorisms.

‘The head,’ they answered.

‘Very good,’ the Sultan continued, ‘By cutting off the head, you kill the body. The same is true of these Franks – thus shall I first cause the serpent’s head to cease spewing its venom by cutting it off at the source, and only then will the body die.’

"...And my sword's already sharpened..."

He explained his ideas further, ‘I have not destroyed the Franks in Jerusalem because they have not as yet been foolish enough to raise their hands against me. I will not shed blood needlessly in an unprovoked conflict. No, I will destroy my true enemy, the one who inflames the Franks to rash action, to crusade. Once I have eliminated the source, there will no longer be any need to fight the Franks in the east at all! I call for Jihad on the Pope! Without their Pope in Rome filling their minds with poison, the Franks will wither before us like a dry reed!’

And all the courtiers praised the wisdom of the great Sultan Saladin, Ruler of Egypt and Syria.”

Whether it was true or not, after hearing this tale, the Pope was understandably very nervous, and the kings of Europe were outraged. But still, most considered going on crusade alone as equivalent to suicide, despite all of the Pope’s urging.

Additionally, Richard of England was somewhat delayed in his promised departure. After all, his kingdom was still embroiled in a bitter territorial war with neighboring France, which conflict had to be resolved before the King and most of his army went off gallivanting to save the Holy Land from the infidel. Therefore, at Richard’s urging, a tenuous peace treaty was established between the two rival kings on one condition: Richard would relinquish his claim to all contested French lands if Philip Augustus would also join the Crusade.

Philip was not terribly enthused at the prospect of a long, dangerous journey followed by a bloody holy war, but under intense pressure from the Pope, he agreed. Also joining the crusade was Richard’s close ally, the German Emperor Heinrich, who had agreed to fulfill the pledge of his father, Friedrich Barbarossa. Saladin was secretly terrified at the thought of the vast forces of the Holy Roman Empire coming on crusade. Germany was Europe’s largest, most powerful realm.

So on Christmas Day, 1193, Christendom witnessed the departure of the grand Third Crusade, led by the Kings of England and France and the Holy Roman Emperor. Their journey to the Holy Land would take months and most certainly be fraught with peril.

Meanwhile, in Jerusalem, Guy de Lusignan was almost beside himself with frustration. His kingdom was in uproar as peasants across the realm revolted against his cruel oppression. What was more, Saladin had taken Ascalon, and his Ayyubid army garrisoned there sat poised to seize Jerusalem at the first opportunity. If Saladin attacked at that moment, the rebellious Muslims would doubtless see him as a savior and combine with him against the Franks. Something had to be done, so Guy was prepared to once again crush the rebels under the heel of his boot. Perhaps a greater show of force would convince them of the error of their ways…

As Guy sat brooding in the royal bedchamber, Queen Sibylla entered, clad only in her nightgown, her face streaked with tears. Sibylla was a very collected, powerful woman, and seeing her in such a state was entirely foreign to King Guy. He could abide wars and rebellions but he could not bear to listen to a pitiful weeping woman. He was about to ask her to leave when she fell to her knees at his feet.

“My king,” she cried, “Forgive me for coming to you like this, but I could not keep silent any longer. I beg of you to hear me for just a few moments. I know what it is that you are about to do. Forgive me, husband, but I must beg of you to reconsider.”

“Oh?” asked Guy, getting defensive.

“I know those people have made you angry, I know they have done wrong,” continued Sibylla, “But you do not see that by punishing their wrongdoing, all you do is make them hate and fear you, and they will turn to someone else to save them. Be merciful, my lord, and forgive these wretches, and perhaps they may become loyal once again. Act harshly, and you push them into the waiting arms of Saladin.”

Guy growled at the mention of his hated nemesis. Sibylla continued to weep, “Do this for me, please, my king. And if not for me, then for your young son, Godfrey! What sort of a kingdom will he inherit if the infidel has retaken everything you have worked so hard to attain? Be gentle now with your peasants, so that your son will have a strong kingdom in the years to come.”

Sibylla’s pleading on behalf of the Kingdom had a strange effect on Guy. He did not quite understand his wife’s logic, but he knew he wanted his son to be a strong king. And above all else he wanted his queen to cease her incessant weeping, and he couldn’t help but notice her flawless figure under the gauzy nightgown, despite her tears. He decided to grant her plea.

“Very well, Sibylla,” said Guy, “As of today I will lighten my hand. I will lift the extra taxes from the outlying provinces, and I will forgive those who rebel against me. And, though I can hardly make myself say it, I will give in to some of their demands. Their lives shall be my gift to you, my Queen. You have bought them with your tears.”

Sibylla thanked her husband profusely, even kissing Guy’s feet before rising and returning to her own quarters. Guy shook his head. Women.

Within the confines of her own room, Sibylla dried her eyes. She had known all along that Guy would be unable to resist her. There were few men living who could. Hopefully the fulfillment of her request would produce the effect she desired. Sibylla smiled to herself, and then laughed.

In conjunction with his new more merciful policy, Guy proclaimed 1194 the Year of the Royal Jubilee. Debts were forgiven, slaves freed, and a great tournament was to be held for the prominent nobles of the realm. Nothing said mercy like hacking away at somebody with a dull-bladed sword. Guy himself would participate in the tournament, if only so the people could see their great king in a light-hearted mood.

While Guy sat in the royal booth, watching the knights charge at each other in the jousting arena, his brother Geoffrey began to whisper in his ear. “I have a proposition for you, my king. Are you familiar with the relic that the Saracens claim is the Mantle of their Prophet Muhammad?”

Guy nodded slightly. Geoffrey continued, “There is a man of considerable importance in the Abbasid Caliphate who would pay generously to obtain it. I can see that it is stolen from its reliquary in Cairo. Never mind how. The question I need you to answer is, should I have it done? It would do a great deal to sully the reputation of Saladin…” Guy nodded again.

A month later, the Ayyubid Sultanate was in turmoil. The loss of the Holy Mantle to an unknown burglar humiliated Saladin and enraged his people, but there was nothing that could be done, since no one knew who had stolen the relic. In the meantime, Guy reveled in the small fortune they had received for the Mantle from none other than the Abbasid Caliph himself, who was jealous of Saladin’s prestige. Nevertheless, the remembrance of the Saracen army at Ascalon hung like a heavy storm-cloud over all of Guy’s recent successes.

And then in August, the swift-moving crusaders arrived on the shores of Egypt. Philip Augustus was the first to arrive, and his Frenchmen captured a toehold in Cyrenaica. He had called on his own ally, the King of Hungary, for aid in the Crusade. The Lord of the Magyars obliged -- coming in force, the Hungarians actually sacked the Saracen capital of Alexandria.

Saladin was in Mesopotamia putting down a rebellion that had doubtless been inspired by his jealous ally, the Abbasid Caliph, and so was caught off his guard. He began a forced march back to Egypt to counter the Christian assault. Meanwhile, more and more of the lesser nobles of Europe were following the example of their liege lords by declaring at least nominal support for the crusade.

"Come on, I’ll take you all on myself!"

Richard and Heinrich arrived in late October. Their journey had been slow because of the difficulty of transporting tens of thousands of Englishmen and Germans over such a great distance. King Philip had not had that problem, for he had brought a much smaller force.

Richard swore that he would not return home until Saladin was in his grave. He had been given the sobriquet “Lionhearted” for a reason, and it certainly wasn’t because he was the paragon of chivalry. It was because of his killer instinct as both a general and an individual warrior; when the red mist descended before his eyes, none of his enemies ever escaped alive. Now he would prove himself worthy of the nickname with the blood of the infidels.

While his Hungarian allies battled the Muslims across the Nile Delta with the help of Richard’s newcomers, Philip sacked the important port city of Damietta, which would be a rich jewel to add to his crown.

Encouraged by the ever-increasing torrent of fresh crusaders arriving each day in Egypt, the Emir of the Sinai foolishly decided to rebel against his overlord. Saladin was too distracted fighting off the Christians to bother putting down the rebellion of an insignificant desert emirate.

However, Guy de Lusignan had been paying close attention. After following his wife’s pacifistic policy for nearly a year, he was itching for a war, and a small unprotected neighbor was the perfect target. While the Emir’s men were busy overthrowing Saladin’s loyal garrisons, a Jerusalemite army crossed their borders and slowly began the work of conquest. The campaign took several months to complete, but Jerusalem’s superior army was irresistible. The Emir was quite helpless without Saladin to protect him. As his last citadel was overrun, the Emir poisoned himself rather than be captured by the Christians.

Other than the capture of the province of Masyaf, this was Guy’s first conquest of Muslim lands of any significance. His war-streaked reign had been filled with subjugating fellow Christians and retaking lost territories. Now he had the opportunity to forge a new Crusader State! The proposition filled the King with glee.

But who was worthy enough to be the Prince of Sinai? The new realm would guard the southern border, so its lord needed to be loyal. And giving it to Balian or Reynald would likely make either man too powerful…

In the end, Guy settled on his own brother, Amaury de Lusignan, who had been rather depressed since his important position in the court had been given to another. A new coat-of-arms was designed for him, featuring the Burning Bush seen by Moses on Mount Sinai. Amaury was really tickled to be given his own principality, and set about rebuilding fortresses and dressing up his retinue in matching livery with burning bush insignia.

Guy’s Sinai campaign was tremendously significant, though he did not fully understand its import. With the Sinai taken, the only land route between Saladin’s two realms of Egypt and Syria was cut off, which meant no further reinforcements from Syria to fight the crusaders in Egypt, unless of course, they sailed across the Red Sea, but that required the construction of a large fleet. This coup had been accomplished without even declaring war on the great Sultan, who couldn’t very well be justified in attacking Jerusalem, as they had been fighting one of his dangerous enemies.

Throughout 1195, the Crusade continued to struggle across Egypt. Saladin besieged Alexandria to take it back from the Christians even as other crusaders pushed south along the Nile. Hearing constant reports of Richard’s successes, Guy longed to join him in fighting the infidel. His nobles advocated caution, but Saladin was vulnerable – Egypt was struggling and Syria could not provide assistance. The timing was perfect.

New Vassals: Grumpy old men.

Finally, on the 18th of November, in the Year of Our Lord 1195, one hundred years to the day after Pope Urban II’s famous call for the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont, King Guy de Lusignan of Jerusalem took up the cross and declared war on Saladin.

The first target was Ascalon, where the garrison was now completely cut off. A brief siege starved the Muslims into submission, and the city was returned to the custody of Balian of Ibelin, to whose realm it belonged. Whether the Templars would regain it as a stronghold would be up to Balian.

After the easy victory at Ascalon, Guy prepared to march the royal host south to join up with Richard in Egypt. Before his departure, he was greeted by two nobles, one of whom was Reynald de Chatillon. “You know what I’m going to say,” said Reynald.

“Edessa?” asked Guy.

“Indeed,” Reynald continued, “This man is Joscelin de Courtenay, the Lord of Beirut,” he indicated his companion, “I’m sure you’ve seen him before. He’s the Queen’s uncle, and the titular Count of Edessa. Unfortunately, after the sad day in his childhood when Edessa was captured from his father, his family hasn’t been of much importance. He’s felt too humiliated to come to court, so that’s probably why you haven’t seen more of him. Now that we’ve heard your Majesty has been pious enough to join the crusade, I think it’s high time we stopped postponing the inevitable and recaptured his birthplace, don’t you?”

“Agreed,” said Guy, “You have my blessing to lead your forces north to retake Edessa from the Saracens. I now exhort the lords of Antioch and Tripoli to support you in your endeavor. May God go with you all. My men and I go to Egypt.”

And so it was that Reynald and Joscelin marched north to retake Edessa while the forces of the Lusignan brothers and the Knights Templar traveled south and west to join the main crusade of King Richard. The northern forces of Reynald had already captured Aintab by the time Guy arrived in Egypt, and were moving on to Edessa itself.

"To Edessa!"

Philip of France had declared his pledge fulfilled with the capture of Damietta and returned home, leaving a small garrison behind. Richard and Heinrich however had been steadily marching south on opposite sides of the Nile, capturing the Muslims’ strongholds one by one.

Having retaken Alexandria from the garrison left behind by the French and Hungarian crusaders, Sultan Saladin was also marching south to confront the threat posed by the English and Germans. Heinrich besieged the great city of Cairo while Richard’s forces encamped near the Pyramids of Giza, which was where they were located when the army of King Guy arrived. The King and his retainers rode into the English camp to greet the famous Lionheart.

The camp of Richard’s army was a hive of activity – full of pilgrims singing hymns, camp followers peddling wares, and hardened soldiers preparing for battle. King Guy met the famous Lionheart at his royal pavilion. King Richard was wearing his trademark red tunic and a helmet topped with a golden crown. “Hail, your Grace!” shouted Guy warmly, as his arrival was announced with the fanfare of trumpets.

“Well met, my lord,” answered Richard. The two kings sat in the shade of the royal tent to enjoy goblets of Egyptian wine and a discussion of strategy and tactics. Guy expressed concern that while Heinrich was constantly gaining territory, Richard’s army was not. It seemed as though the English fought the battles, and the Germans reaped the rewards.

Upon hearing this, Richard grew serious. “Other men have come to win glory, riches, or lands,” he said, “I have come to shed the blood of Saladin.”

Guy was a bit unnerved by this cold response. “How does my lord propose to accomplish so great a feat?” he asked gingerly.

“Saladin is coming here,” Richard answered, “He is coming for me. I have broken the back of his kingdom, and he desires vengeance. But more pragmatically, he knows that while one of us lives, the other cannot prosper. This is war to the knife, and he knows it. So we wait here while Heinrich attacks Cairo, and Saladin will come, and then I will kill him or he will kill me.”

“When do you expect him?” asked Guy, his stomach turning somersaults at the grave bent the discussion was taking.

“Sooner than you think,” was Richard’s response, “I am surprised that your scouts didn’t report to you of Saladin’s vanguard, which already draws near. You did send out scouts, didn’t you?”

Guy blushed. He had not sent out scouts; he had been so excited to invade Egypt that he had neglected the proper military protocols.

“Well,” said King Richard, seeing Guy’s embarrassment, “You’re here now, so you’ll be able to join us in the battle which is to come, the battle that will decide all of our fates.”

And so a week later, Richard’s scouts brought word that they had spotted a great Muslim host on the horizon.

“He is here,” Richard said simply, “Rally the men.” The valiant soldiers of England and Jerusalem hurriedly grabbed weapons and put on armor, knowing that for many, this fight would be their last.

Shortly thereafter, a courier arrived from Heinrich, the Holy Roman Emperor, who was still besieging Cairo. He promised to send a contingent of the recently formed Order of Teutonic Knights to join their vast force, led by one of his most prestigious nobleman, Heinrich the Lion of Saxony.

So it was that amidst the ancient ruins of Giza, the greatest warriors of two faiths prepared to fight each other to their last breaths.

The Teutonic Knights’ reinforcements were spotted in the distance, but they were cut off from the rest of the Christians by Saladin’s army.

“We’ll just have to open the door for them,” said Richard. “Charge!” he called out to the waiting knights, who thundered forward into the ranks of poorly armored Saracen peasant-infantry, banners waving. Seeing the brave English knights charge into the gaping jaws of death, the Jerusalemites could not be withheld from joining the fray. Gerard de Ridefort led the Knights Templar in a charge into Saladin’s flank, where many of his brave knights were slaughtered.

"Vita brevis, Deus vult!"

The valiant infantry roared into combat next while companies of Templar crossbowmen and veteran English longbowmen from Sherwood Forest and elsewhere rained arrows over their heads into the Arab ranks.

Guy de Lusignan personally led the Knights of Jerusalem into combat with Saladin’s cavalry, where they faced the Sultan’s elite bodyguard. King Guy even managed to cross swords with the great Saladin himself a few times, before being unhorsed by a Muslim lance. As he picked himself up out of the now blood-soaked sands, Guy saw Richard’s knights charge into the Muslim cavalry as well. The whole battlefield was covered in one terrible spectacle of carnage.

Saladin’s bodyguard was mostly annihilated and the Sultan turned to flee behind his lines. At that instant the Teutonic Knights arrived, and joined with the English and Jerusalemites in a magnificent charge following Saladin directly into the heart of the Saracen army. As the wounded and dying were trampled underfoot, Guy managed to leap onto a rider-less horse and rejoin the battle. Richard was leading the charge from the front.

The knights of Christendom broke upon the Muslim spears like ocean waves against a stone wall, but Richard and a few others fought their way through. Soon the mighty English King was blade to blade with the honorable Saladin as the battle reached its climax.

A terrible wailing broke out from the Saracen ranks – Richard had thrust his broadsword straight through the Sultan’s heart, killing the great man instantly. Without the charismatic leadership of Saladin, the Arabs broke as the terrified soldiers fled before the wrath of Richard the Lionhearted. The Christian knights chased the fleeing soldiers past the Pyramids and into the desert, slaughtering all they could catch.

The bloody chaos of the battlefield became the site of rejoicing. Hymns and prayers were offered to Heaven as the victorious crusaders knelt up to their knees in gore to thank God for delivering the Christians so absolutely from their greatest enemy.

Witness the Battle of Giza – 1196

King Guy next saw Richard at the camp, after the battle, when the triumphant King at last rode in to great acclaim. Guy’s wound was being tended by a physician, but he rose from the infirmary tent to greet the victorious Lionheart.

After dismounting from his warhorse, Richard handed Guy his sword, still stained with the blood of Saladin. “Please see that this is conveyed to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in your city of Jerusalem, my lord,” Richard requested, “That all generations may see the blade that single-handedly won victory for Christ over His enemies.”

Guy found himself growing somewhat envious of Richard’s great success, especially in light of his own showing in the battle. Yes, he had personally fought Saladin as well, but he had been unhorsed. Still, his own valor had earned him acclaim, but not anywhere near like Richard’s.

“You had better return to Jerusalem,” said Richard, “For I am certain this war will now move into Syria.” Guy agreed, though he disliked being told what to do, even by a fellow king.

On the road home, a messenger greeted the Jerusalemites with the news that Edessa had been recaptured by the barons, and that Lord Joscelin was restored to his seat. Never had the Christians of Outremer had such cause for jubilation. So did the Year of Our Lord 1196 pass into history as the Year of Christ’s Triumph.

[AlexanderPrimus]

And there's Part VI posted.

I’ll freely admit that this has been the hardest entry for me to write. The time period was longer than ever before, and there was so much that happened. I just hope I did this chapter justice and that you all enjoy it.

I'll also admit manipulating the system a little bit. Since I had the history in mind first and the game content second, I did not feel it amiss to go ahead and give Richard a little push out the door. That created a chain reaction. There were a few months where I kept getting messages about how this or that lord had declared war on Saladin, and this or that other lord had just paid him indemnities for peace. Totally crazy.

Oh, and I also gave the Richard icon a beard because well, Richard the Lionhearted needs a beard.

I had planned to take a little break from writing, but my wife had several things she was working on, and it just seemed like the opportune time to do it. I had also already gotten the Giza Battle video done, so everything worked out great. And now I really need a break.

@ thrashing mad: Thanks very much for the compliment, and for the tip. I'll have to give it a try, though it looks a little too complicated for my non-tech savvy mind.

I've been impressed by your work in your Polish AAR. What is your secret for all those great maps you put together? That's something I would love to do in my own AAR, which is a little lacking in good quality maps.

[Kurt_Steiner]

Magnificient update!

The Kingdom of Heaven hasn't ever appeared better!

And Sybille... my Gosh, what a queen...

[El Pip]

An epically smashing success of a crusade. And it has not yet ended, how large will the Kingdom of Heaven grow?

[Estonianzulu]

An excellent victory! By the way, are you using a mod for MTW2? Or is that the expansion pack?

[VILenin]

The things men will do for a pretty face. Smashing success against Saladin! Though the most amazing part of the whole thing might be that English and German armies actually showed up. In these victories, however, Guy may be looking at the future seeds of his own defeat. The Kingdom will prosper but if there's no external threat to keep the nobles in line then they might well turn on their king.

Out of curiosity, what music are you using for your battle videos?

[Qorten]

I've just read your AAR through from the beginning. It's truly an epic masterpiece for this forum, I enjoyed it very much, even though I'm not into CK or CK AAR's. I'll continue following this, keep it up!