Class on the Balog Dynasty

[EtzelHoveri]

I have decided to write an AAR through my first playthrough of CK2. This AAR will be set in a classroom where a history professor in the future is lecturing the class on this extinct dynasty and their effects on the future of Europe. Each class(chapter) will be centered around one of the wars the family took part in. Though the latter chapters may follow a different guideline.

I hope you enjoy. The first chapter should be posted some time this coming weekend.

Table of Contents
Count Tamas Altmannfi Balog of Gemer
Holy Roman War of Mecklenburg
A King comes to Power
Marching North Again
The future Count is born
Expanding East
A Discussion Before Class
Attacked from the South
Retribution
Three trips for Denmark
Tamas Final Years

Count Domotor Tamasfi Balog of Gemer or Domotor the Lesser
Wars come to an End
Balog's come to Power
Domotor goes on a Crusade
Hungary vs Poland/Novgord
Konrad claims Gemer and a Balog becomes Queen of Hungary

Count Konrad Domotorfi Balog of Feher
Konrad claims Gemer and a Balog becomes Queen of Hungary
Konrad dies young, Child named Count

Count Domotor Konradfi Balog of Feher or Domotor the Greater
Count Imprisoned and Hungary fights for Birlad
Domotor's Early Years
Croatians seize an oppertunity
Domotor seizes a Throne

[Vessol]

This sounds like an interesting approach to an AAR, I've subscribed and am looking forward to your first post. I've personally never have done an AAR or really followed one, so this should be interesting.

[EtzelHoveri]

Chapter 1: Holy Roman War of Mecklenburg
(1066-1068)

Today was the first day at a new university and the first time he would teach a class on the High Middle Ages. Or better known as some as the Crusader Age. He had been teaching for nearly ten years now and it would be fun to start a new class. Sitting down at his desk he waited for the students to walk in. Once they had arrived and the bell rang he rose from his seat and made his way to the board. On it he wrote High Middle Ages - Balog "Welcome to the study of High Middle Ages. We will be covering the time period between 1066 to roughly the 15th century. I originally was going to tell you about all the major events that occured through this era but instead I have decided to start off this semester with just one family. When anybody discuss the High Middle Ages one family above all others is spoken of. So, over the next few weeks I will be telling you the history of the Balog family. This was a minor family in the late 11th century but over the years would come to great power. They like the Habsburg's of Switzerland went from ruling a minor country, in their case Hungary, to become Kings and Queens of Europe.

"The founder of this great family was Altmann Balog. This man was guardian and protector of King Bela the Firsts family. When they were forced to flee north to Poland he kept them safe and was even present for Geza Arpad's birth. He would serve the family faithfully for years and in recognition for his service he was told he would be given land once they had returned to power in Hungary. Sadly for him he would die before the peace talks in 1064 and this line of Arpad's return to power. Instead Geza now Duke of Nyitra and Slovakia would name Altmann's eldest son, Count of Gemer.

"Gemer was a minor county just north of the capitol of Hungary. At this time the capitol was Esztergom. It had a run down territory of Gomor where Tamas and his family would live, a simple village in the east called Dobsina and the monastery of Losonc which is still there today. Under the rule of Altmann's eldest son, Tamas, these lands would flourish. But like all things it would take time, patience, and above all connections and wealth.

"In an attempt to ensure the security of his posiiton Tamas married Lanka Arpad. This woman was the sister to the three great Dukes of Hungary; Laszlo of Transylvania, Lampert of Ungver, and his own liege Geza. He knew that these three men were the true powers of the Kingdom even though they only controlled a third of the entire land. Tamas also had a half-brother Ince who would marry Mayor Jimena, sister to the King Antso IV of Navarra. These union's brought great happiness to Gemer but on the 28th of November 1066 Tamas found himself taking part in his first war. Today's class will focus on this war which will come to be known as the Holy Roman War of Mecklenburg."

Before the teacher could say anything else one of the students raised her hand and asked, "I thought the Holy Roman Wars were battles fought between the Holy Roman Empire and their enemies? Why would a Hungarian Count be fighting in this war?"

Smiling to the young woman the professor nodded. "It is true the Holy Roman Wars were just that. However, at this time in history, the Hungarian King Salamon was basically a vassal to the Holy Roman Empire. He was married to Kaiser Heinrich IV's sister Judith. Though they were not official vassal's any time the Kaiser told him to he marched his armies where he was told.

"Now then as I was saying Salamon agreed to send troops north, but it would not be until the spring that he had begun his march. From the writings of Bishop Andres, the Court Chaplain to Tamas from 1076 to his death, Tamas marched with a force of twenty-two hundred men. This trip through Poland lasted the entire Spring. Tamas was a minor count at the time and only commanded a little more then fifty men in this army.

"Over the summer and into the next year the army laid siege to the province of Worle. After these lands fell the Hungarian and German troops split apart. The Hungarians went west to Mecklenburg itself to join their Swedish allies while the German army went east. At the beginning of March the turning point of the war occured. The Germans which numbered roughly six thousand men from reports fought against the Mecklenburg army at a place called Stralsund. These two armies fought back and forth for the province for nearly the entire month of March and in the end the Mecklenburg army was severly beaten.

"Some reports say the Germans killed the army to the man. However, Bishop Andres states that nearly two thousand men lived and fled. These two thousand would later come across the Germans again at Wolgast where they were severly beaten in two days in April and sent fleeing again. The only thing I'm certain of is that in late September, Rostock fell to two thousand Germans who then fought against an army of six hundred Mecklenburg warriors who tried to take back the province. I do not know if these are freshly recruited warriors or a different army or survivies of one of the previous battles but I do know that they were severly outmatched. The superior leadership of the Germans had them walk away from the Battle of Greifswald with only a hundred losses while the entire enemy army was destroyed.

"With no warriors left alive the Mecklenburg's surrendered to the Kaiser and the Hungarians returned to their homes. This was Count Tamas' first war and he never fought in a single pitched battle. Upon his return hom to Gemer though he was pleased to see that his wife Lanka and his half-brother Ince had been busy."

Going over to his bag the teacher pulled out a small leather bound book. On it's cover was a red griffen on a checkerboard field of red and white. "Let me read you one of the few writings still whole from Count Tamas Altmannfi Balog himself." Clearing his throat the teacher began reading, "After a year in the cold north I found warmth and love again when I set my eyes on Gomor. It had been a long time from home but it was great to return with all of my men. My land had changed a little in our absence where now a great wooden wall stretched around the few buildings which held my family and those who lived in the area. The farms to the east were still without adequate protectiong or housing but that could be taken care of in time.

"I also learned that Bishop Benedek had died. One day he was annoying my wife and a few days later he was gone. I won't ask her about it but I'm pretty sure what had happened. She would need to learn that she was no longer a Princess of Hungary who had servant after servant to serve her. I am not a rich man or powerful for that matter. I must keep the loyalty of the few men who do serve me or else I will never accomplish anything of importance in my life. The greatest suprise of all though was that upon riding up to my manor I saw my family along with two new additions. Ince had had a little boy he named Pal while I was away. But more importantly my wife held a newborn baby girl. Her name was Edit. Edit."

Setting the book back down the teacher smiled to his students. "Count Tamas was a very capable man. Though he was not a warrior he road to war, he did what he could for his people and would prove his loyalties to his Duke following Geza's death just like the man had done for his father." Looking to the clock the teacher nodded once before saying, "Now that ends this class. Tomorrow we will focus on King Salamon's attempt to gain power and the collapse of the south-western portion of the Holy Roman Empire. Have a good day."


(I'm sorry there are no screenshots. For some reason FRAPS didn't take a single photo of my first twenty years. The first photo will show up in the year 1086. I hope you like how the AAR is written and if you have any suggestions I would love to hear it. Thank you.)

[EtzelHoveri]

Chapter 2: A King comes to Power
(1069-1072)

As the kids started to file into the classroom the Professor kept his head down and continued to read the book with the griffen on the front. Finally when the last student sat down and the bell rang he set the book aside and addressed them. "Welcome back class. As I said yesterday, today we will focus on the Hungarian King's rise to manhood. Who here can tell me his name?"

After a few moments the same girl who asked a question the day before said, "Salamon Arpad, sir."

"Very good. Now Salamon the First was like many young men when they hit puberty. They wanted to prove just how tough they were. In an attempt to do this King Salamon ordered that everybody in the land would send more taxes to him each year and when he said so they would also have to send out more soldiers to follow his command.

"This new demand did not go well in the Hungarian court. For the past five years the Counts and Dukes of the land were Kings unto themselves. Why should they allow some sixteen year old boy to do as he wished? Just because he was their King? Unsuprisingly the only person who agreed to this idea was the King himself and his plead for more power fell on deaf ears.

"Furious with this lack of support from the local people the King decided that he would instead declare war. If he could not gain more power from those who were supposed to support him then he would bring more land under his control. He would show his vassals the foolishness of opposing him by bringing death to his enemies."

Making his way over to the map of Europe on the wall the teacher pointed to an area just west of the Black Sea. "This here is the principality of Wallachia. This land along with the territory to it's east and the northern border of the Black Sea was all controlled by a nomadic group of people called the Pechengs. At this same time they were also at war with the Byzantine Empire to their south. Who here can tell me from what group the Byzantine Empire emerged?"

Again his question fell on deaf ears until the young woman once again answered for the class. "The Eastern Roman Empire, sir."

"Indeed. Now as Hungary was preparing their armies King Salamon sent the Kaiser a request for aid which the man accepted. However, to the King's great disappointment when the Pechengs learned that another army was moving against them in the north they surrendered the territory to the Byzantines.

"With no war to fight and no nobles doing what he told them to do King Salamon returned to his home to sulk. He stayed this way until the following year when the Kaiser came to him for aid. The lands of Pisa and the Duchy of Provence had rebelled against his rule and he was in need of assistance. The King wishing to prove himself in battle left the country with his own personal army of two thousand men and headed west."

Seeing that one of the students looked a little confused the teacher pointed at him and asked, "Something wrong?"

"Well yeah. You said this class was going to be on the Balrog..."

"Balog not Balrog, sir. This isn't Middle-Earth."

"What?"

"Nevermind. Continue with your question."

"Well what does this King's wars and the wars in the Roman Empire have to do with this family?"

"Sit down, sir." He hated having jocks or for that matter non history people in his classes. This was History of the High Middle Ages, yet he still had one or two people think the class would be an easy A. In the end it was just more headaches for him. "This King's actions help you understand the state of Hungary during Tamas Balog's life. Though if you want to focus on him right now we can.

"So with the King in the west Tamas learned of a plot unfolding in his county. Maior, Ince's wife, had decided that being the sister of a King should mean that her children should inherit this county and not the Princess Lanka's children. There are no accounts of how Tamas got Maior to stop her plotting but one day she went from trying to gain support to doing everything she could to ensure the girl was safe. She even went as far as tasting the girls meals before she got to try them.

"Bishop Andras wrote of two things during this time period about Tamas. The first was that he had purchased a mighty falcon and spent much of his days out hunting with the animal. The bird was so skilled the cook was forced to give away the extra rabbits to locals just so they would not rot. This animal was a terror of the sky and would sit at Tamas side through his entire reign.

"The second is of his just nature. He went on to write of a court hearing where one of the local farmers boars had broken into another farmers pen. This creature then had seven piglets. Count Tamas decreed that the farmer would give four of the seven to the other farmer in compensation." Looking over his class he saw that he was starting to lose them. "Now then in regards to King Salamon he marched to help his friend for no reason. Once again he arrived just outside of a battle to learn that the enemy had surrendered before he could fight. Both the lands of Pisa and Provence gave up when reinforcements arrived to aid the Germans."

With the smallest of smiles the teacher said, "It would not be until the 9th of March 1085 before the young King would set foot on a battlefield. Now then class you may go." Seeing one of the students drooping in his chair he added, "Make sure you wake him up when you leave."

[EtzelHoveri]

Chapter 3: Marching North Again
(1073-1075)

"Today Tamas returns to battle."

This greatly confused people. It almost seemed like the class was always confused. "No, he is not fighting in a pitch battle but he rides for war again. In our last class the Holy Roman Empire had returned to being a unified nation again. The lands of Pisa and Provence had been quelled. Though I forgot to mention in last class that Count Tamas had two more daughters named Natalia and Hajnal. While his brother had a little girl named Sophia.

"But that is not important." Looking over the class for another moment the teacher finally continued, "No. So at the beginning of the Spring in 1073 the Kaiser declared the Holy Roman Holy War of Pomerania. King Salamon would once again come running to the Kaiser's call, however this time he would send a full thousand more people north in hopes of taking part in a battle. Tamas is reported of marching again with Mayor Gaszi with more then double his last army.

"The collection of all these men would take sometime though. To Tamas great sadness the army was to meet in Gemer before heading north. Following summers end Bishop Andras wrote of the damage and plundering the army had created in the county. It would take nearly a full year for the county to return to the way it was.

"Since he had allowed the King to muster his troops in Gemer, Tamas' troops would be towards the fore front of the marching troops. This made it so that he would be one of the first men to begin the siege of Stettin in the later months of 1073. Because of this he would lose men as the siege began from the enemy archers. Bishop Andras mentioned that losing men he knew struck the Count hard.

"As the siege progressed Tamas and his men were relieved from their position when he had fallen ill. The Slow Fever had struck the lands of Stettin and would slowly spread through the Hungarian army. Mayor Gazsi would return to the fore front of the siege as more men fell to this illness. Luckly the Typhoid Fever passed quickly and Tamas returned to the siege. The Hungarian army however would never take Stettin because the Pomeranians surrendered to the Kaiser as summer began to end."

Pulling out the Griffin book again the teacher read a passage. "This last war in the north had brought us nothing. My men died, I grew ill, and for what? So another King could gain more power? Why should we fight for other men who are not of Magyar..." Putting a finger in the book the teacher looked up and said, "Magyar are what Hungarians call themselves. Even to this day they recognize each other as Magyar and not Hungarian." Returning to his place he went on. "Why should we fight for other men who are not of Magyar blood? What honor is there in this?"

"After this war Count Tamas began growing disatisfied with the leadership of King Salamon I. A sentament felt by many of the Hungarian nobility, but at the same time the King was slowly growing in power. The 'Three Dukes' still stood against the King but they only held a third of the lands and the majority of the wealth and people lived in the Kings lands. They stood against him but they were losing this battle.

"With the second war in the north finished Hungarians are now prepared to begin their own expansion to take more land from the weaker powers around them. This will be the subjects of the rest of the week. Tomorrow's class we will see King Salamon's power finally come to fruit, Tamas will be acknowledged by the Pope, Bishop Andras will fall to weakness, the future Count Domotor will be born, and a Great Tournament will be held. This will be the failure of the coming conflict against the Castle of Belgrade. I hope you guys have a great night and I will see you tomorrow." Taking his seat the teacher returned to his little book until his next class.

[Jestor]

I always enjoy the class format AARs. They lend themselves naturally to the AAR genre. Just a few small suggestions:

1. Assuming this is an American university, there would be no bells to announce the start and stop of class. That's a high school and below thing.
2. It's highly unlikely that class would be held everyday. That's strictly for foreign language and math classes (perhaps music, too, I'm not sure). Instead, it would either be a two day a week schedule of Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday, or a three a day a week schedule of Monday/Wednesday/Friday.
3. I noticed at the end of the last update you have him waiting for his next class. It's possible that he would have back-to-back classes in the same room, but it's more likely that he would be in different classrooms or different buildings all together.
4. I'm assuming the young girl will play a larger role in the story as it goes on? Or that we'll see the professor outside of the classroom? The AAR seems to want to go in directions other than just the straight history class recitation - the professor seems rather unhappy to me and it makes me wonder why he's discontent (could be any number of reasons, actually).

Anyway, not saying you have to go either of those routes at all. Just something to consider.

[EtzelHoveri]

It is an American University and I added the bell thing before I even thought about it. As for it being everyday my university had the more advanced classes be everyday and they were shorter in length overall. An hour class instead of two hours and only 12weeks instead of the normal semester. The majority of my history teachers used the same class. One of my teachers I went from Texas Government to US History to Western Civ with the same teacher in the same class all in a row. Lastly the little girl will be playing a bigger role. And the teacher will have a few interactions outside the class as well.

Thank you for commenting though. It appeared to me like nobody was reading it. *shrug*

[Phandukto]

Absolutely reading it. Gives me an inspiration. I've been floundering in Flanders as intro games...I might look to the east, now. Good writing and keep at it, please.

[EtzelHoveri]

Chapter 4: The future Count is born

(1076-1081)

As the kids sat quietly at their desks they began to wonder if the Professor would ever show up. It was already ten after the hour and they had heard no word from him. They all looked between each other and the look said just give him five more minutes then we will leave. Though close to half the class had already left. Including Jacob Gutlend the dumb jock of the class. He had left one minute after the hour with his little group of friends.

Finally, the Professor walked into the class with a flushed face. It was obvious he had been either running from his car or he was very angry. Either way he jumped right into it as soon as he crossed the threshold of the door. "We left off last class with Count Tamas angry with King Salamon I who will further recieve his and many of the other Counts and Dukes anger when he finally established his control over the minimum number of Counts for his wish for more power to pass. Count Tamas would turn to the guidance of his Count Chaplain Andras when word of this reached him in his castle of Gomor."

Looking up from his bag he suddenly noticed the lack of children in the class. "Where is everybody? Well that is not important really I guess. They will just miss this one lecture which in truth is not all that important.

"Anyways as I was saying he would turn to Bishop Andras who just recently took his place in Tamas' council. He would advise patience and Tamas agreed with him when a few days later he would recieve a letter from the Pope commending him on his chasity and faithfulness. From this letter Tamas decides to become a stronger practioner of the Catholic religion and would be a beacon of the faith throughout Eastern Europe. Because of this, I believe is the only reason anything is really known about Count Tamas Balog of Gemer.

"On or around the third of March in 1077, Tamas was blessed by God with his first and only son, Domotor. Though he would inherit the lands of Gemer following his death and his son would further the power of the Balog family it would be Edit's child who would be the first true great Balog in the family. But that is for another class and I'm already running out of time as it is.

"Little else is known about what is occuring in the next few years. Though it is believed that Lanka Arpad gave birth to a little girl named Magdolna who would marry into the great Hasburg family. The next huge event occured on the 9th of December 1080; this is when Bishop Andras turned from his beliefs and embraced Catharism."

"Why is Andras called Bishop Andras if he betrayed his faith? I have heard many great things of him and he is a pivotal person in the Catholic Church in the lands of Hungary. The Pope is even considering making him a Saint after all these years."

After the outburst by one of the girls in the front row the teacher could only smile at her. "If you think about it then it is rather obvious wouldn't you say?" Grabbing the book from the pedestal he read, "Today was one of the hardest days of my life. My Chaplain, Bishop Andras, had come to me today to try and convert me to the way of Catharism. This coming from the same man who had convinced me to look to God during my own trials. In response to this I was forced to have Andras stripped of his position and imprisoned. Though before he was placed in the dungeon he watched me as I burned John's Interrogations and The Book of the Two Principles which he found these new beliefs. Tomorrow I will have the monastery Losonc searched for any other information regarding these beliefs. Tamas would go on to have the Monastery searched and in time Andras was returned to his home. After some pressure by Tamas he would return to Catholisism and become a Paragon of the Church as he is known today.

"The King wishing to see the skill of his men decided to hold a Grand Tournament in Heves. This would be a way for any Count to prove their worth to the Crown. We don't know who fought in it but we do know that it was bloody and the King declared war against the County of Belgrade on their southern borders. This war was forced to be put on hold and then cancelled because to many of Hungary's commanders were injured during the Tournament." Looking up at the clock the teacher heaved a small sigh. "I'm sorry that this class was rather short and that I was late. I promise to be on time tomorrow and we will get to see Tamas fight alongside the King in the Battles of Jaroslav and Kovel. Have a good night."

[EtzelHoveri]

Chapter 5: Expanding East
(1081-1086)

Looking out over the class the teacher smiled to everybody sitting around the room. Everybody was there and he had arrived on time today. "It is nice to see that everybody is here today."

"Nice for you to show up to," said Jacob Gutlend.

"Young man I would be quiet if I were you. Today you will be learning about the beginning of the collapse of your ancestors powers in the South of Hungary."

This comment got a greatly confused look from the young man. "What are you talking about? My family isn't Hungarian."

"You might not realize it but Gutlend is a Hungarian name. Well I should say it was derived from a Hungarian name. It used to be Guthkeled, however after the Balog family took their holdings in southern Hungary they became known as the landless Guth or Guthlanders. Then over time it became Gutlend as it is today in your family. Many of you are descendants of one of those famillies of Hungary though you might not know it. One of you I'm certain of but that will be discussed later. Now if you have no further interruptions I will continue the class I have for today.

"In the later months of 1082 Prince Geza, Duke of Nyitra and Slovakia passed away. With his death his son Kalamon became the Duke of Nyitra whom Tamas would now serve though he had a greater respect for Geza's second son Mihaly who took over as the Duke of Slovakia and protector of the western territory that bordered Poland. Duke Kalamon recognizing the possible threat of Tamas would name him Master of the Horse to keep him happy and for the other nobility of Nyitra to recognize the highest official outside of Nitra itself.

"With the coming of the next year King Salamon decided to press Prince Laszlo's claim on Birlad in the east. With the capture of this province they would gain an important position. Who here can tell me what that is?"

The students were rather quite and shockingly it was Jacob who answered. "It would give them a closer access to the sea."

"Correct Jacob. This province put them one step closer to the sea and naval trade. Something that Hungary has been without for quiet some time. Now Tamas and Bishop Andras would both join the army of Hungary which numbered in the four thousands. They would not begin their attack in Birlad however because the majority of Volhynian soldiers were in the north. So they began their attack on Peremyshl to try and draw in the enemies armies. This would fail though. Once Peremyshl fell to their control they would then move on to their capitol of Vladimir Volynsky. This would be a long siege.

"While the siege was going on Tamas spoke with Keled Guthkeled, Count of Bacs, about a possible union between their two houses. Tamas' eldest daughter Edit was coming of age as was Keled's eldest son Vid. He was not a strong boy and with a large dowry Tamas was able to get Keled to agree to the union. Keled believed Vid would die before him so his stronger son would inherit his lands and with the addition of such a large dowry he was fine with offering to have any children born of the union to be of the Balog dynasty." Looking over to Jacob the teacher said, "This was your families undoing I'm afraid. However, your family would not be the namesake of their union, Vid's daughter would go on to be Empress of the Byzantine Empire.

"Anyways by March of 1085 the capitol had fallen as well to the Hungarians and they still had seen no real army. They would come across the Volhynian army on their way to Galich. These two armies would meet in the woods near Jaroslav where the Volhynians hoped to make use of their small numbers to harass the enemy in the woods and then slip away before they were hit with a counter attack. These tactics might have worked on a normal army but not against the power of the Hungarian horse and bow. The Volhynians were also unaware that the Hungarians had sent a portion of their infantry around the woods incase of this very occurance. King Salamon used his soldiers to perfection as he kept the Volhynians in front of him and harassed them with volleys of arrows and kept them from spreading out with his cavalry. He pushed them down the road until they came out of the woods and ran straight into a large body of Hungarian infantry. The Volhynians were smashed between the two forces and not a single soldier of theirs would make it off the field of battle alive. The Hungarians however only lost 171 men.

"This would be a commen tactic of King Salamon I. He understood the power of the Hammer and Anvil tactic if use properly. He would use this in one form or another in every battle he fought in. Another commen thing for King Salamon was to kill every man on the field of battle facing him. He did not believe in quarter and if you took up a sword against him then you would not live. The Hungarians at this time were masters of war and it would not be until 1132 that they would lose a war and even longer before they lose a battle. Jast as Hannibal proved in Rome during the Second Punic Wars, you can win all the battles but still lose the war.

"Following this victory they would go on to capture Galich the matter of months. They were high on their first great victory which made them a bit reckless. Though they took the province quickly they would lose nearly 300 men taking it. This was two hundred more then when they had taken the previous two provinces. At this time they decided to move north, but along the way Bishop Andras says they had recieved word that a Volhynian army numbering near two thousand was trying to reclaim Galich while they were marching north. They were believed to be besieging the castle Kovel at this time which defenses had been rebuilt before the Hungarians began their march towards Turov.

"The Volhynians were caught completely by surprise when the Hungarian army was set up around the entire enemy force one morning. They had no where to go as the enemy was in front of them and their former walls behind. Though the Hungarians and Volhynians were more evenly matched the Hungarians had another resounding victory. This happened mostly because the Hungarians on the walls fired arrow after arrow into the enemies that were not engaged directly in the fight. And with their army pressed against the wall with the Hungarian army in front it was pretty simple shooting for those archers. Whenever the Volhynians were preparing a strong counter attack they would be sprayed with arrows from behind and the attack would falter and fail. By the end of the day all the Volhynians would be dead and only a little more then two hundred of the Hungarians would lose their lives in this battle."

"Were the Hungarians really that fierce in those days? I mean if their armies were so powerful why didn't the Hungarians sweep across all of Eastern Europe and then challenge either the Byzantines or the Holy Roman Empire?" asked the young woman who seemed to know more about the subject then all the rest of the class. She was also the student he believed to be a direct decendant of the Balog family.

"They could have if two things didn't happen. The first was that following this war the Volhynians would fall under the control of the Prince's of Novgorod as would the people of Kiev and then a few other provinces in the east. The Princes of Novgorod would be the strongest power in the east with a vast army but it would be Hungary's soldiers that were the most skilled in the east.

"The other major problem was the constant struggle between the Polish and the Holy Roman Empire. For a time Poland possessed all of Silesia, Bohemia, and Mecklenburg. At other times Poland was down to only a few minor provinces before they regained power north of Hungary. Most of the Hungarian Kings tried to avoid these two as they fought back and forth. I hope that answers your question. Now where did I leave off?"

"The Battle of Kovel," came three people.

"Ah yes. The battle was won and the last of the Volhynian soldiers were dealt with. The Hungarians then returned to their march on Turov and they began the attack on the province. During the siege of their main stronghold on the 12th of March 1086 King Salamon rode out with a party of nobles. While he surveyed the siege an archer had a lucky shot and struck the King dead. With his death Salamon's five year old son became King of Hungary.

"With a child sitting on the throne the Hungarian nobles signed a peace treaty with the Volhynians. They would surrender Birland and the Hungarians returned to their homes. Upon his return Tamas and Ince's daughter Sofia both fell ill. Tamas recovered but his niece would not and would die as the 1086 winter set in" After a moments pause the teacher continued, "Well that is a good stopping point for today. I hope you guys have a great weekend and I'll see you on Monday. The upcoming classes we will see the Croation Conflict, the Empress of the Byzantines born, Domotor will become a Count and a Balog marries into the von Habsburg line."

[EtzelHoveri]

I hope you guys are enjoying the AAR so far. The upcoming chapter will be a discussion between a few of the students and the teacher before the Monday class.

[EtzelHoveri]

Chapter 6: A Discussion Before Class

Today the teacher decided to come in early and do a little reading before the class began. This plan would have to be put on hold however since he already had three students in the class and all were waiting by his desk. And these three students could not be anymore different from one another. There was Jacbo Gutlend who he figured would want to talk to him following the last class. Then there was Anna Johnson, who had spoken out about Bishop Andres and was sporting the cross around her neck which she had worn every day last week. She probably never took the thing off and he would not question another's beliefs. Even if he did not share them himself. And lastly there was the only descendant of House Balog he had ever met. There were probably more but he never thought he would actually meet one. Many though the dynasty was gone. This girl was living proof that it was not yet.

"I'll take it there is something you three wished to discuss with me? I'll try to answer any questions before class starts."

The first that spoke up was Anna who said, "I just wanted to let you know that on Sunday Pope Pius XIII has decided to make Bishop Andras a Saint. He will now be honored as Saint Andras of Losonc."

"That is truly good to hear. I'm only sorry it took this long for somebody to finally canonize him. It has been nearly two full millenium since his death and he was such a great man. I suppose it is because he had turned against the faith in his youth. But at least it is finally done." Looking at the other two students he asked, "So what can I do for the two of you?"

After looking between each other for a few moments Jacob finally spoke. "Are you certain that I came from these people who lost all their power and fell to the Balog's?"

"Yes. The name is a bit of a giveaway, Jacob."

"So my ancestors were weak. Failures." With a low sigh Jacob's head fell.

"Jacbo you misunderstand. Though your family may have lost their holdings in the County of Bacs to the Balog's they were not weak. They would still play a pivotal role in Hungary's future. And as I said earlier it would be the daughter of Edit Balog that would become Empress of the Byzantine's and her children would be Emperors for years to come. This child is also a child of Guthkeleds and so your own people would go on to become Emperors and Empresses. Though they may not hold your name they were still your ancestors too."

That perked Jacbo up but before he could say anything the other young girl butted in. "I want to know of the great women of the Balog's. Who are they? Did any become the Queen of Hungary? Did the Balog's ever take the crown of Hungary for themselves?"

"Yes there were Queens of Hungary that were of the Balog. As for your other questions the first great woman of the Balog's was Ibolya Balog, daughter of Edit and Vid Guthkeled. She would become Countess of Bacs following her father's death and eventually she would marry the heir to the Byzantine Emperor, then in 1122 she would ascend the throne with her husband with the Emperor's death.

"After Ibolya there was the daughter of Count Konrad of Feher's eldest daughter Eszter who would go on to marry King Salamon II of Hungary. Her children would not inherit the throne however. Unlike Ibolya's children.

"The last I will tell you about is Czenzi Balog. She was the daughter of Domotor Balog and his second wife, Princess Katrina the Aunt of the King of Sweden. This Balog would marry Prince Herbert Billung of Bohemia. Three years after their marriage Herbert would follow his father to the throne and become King of Bohemia.

"I believe that is enough for now though. Don't think that they only found rank and position in the east. The Balog's found power in all of Europe and I only mentioned the three highest females following their first hundred years in gaining power. There are many other great Balog's who will be discussed in these coming weeks. Now if you will take your seats I'm going to read for a little bit before class."

Taking his own seat the teacher pulled ou the leater bound book with the Griffin on the front and began reading.

[Saithis]

I like the classroom approach and there's a real shortage of Hungarian AARs on this forum. Subscribed.

[vasziljevics]

Hungarian you say? I'm in.

[EtzelHoveri]

Chapter 7: Attacked from the South
(1087-1091)

As the last of the students made their way into the classroom the teacher made his way to the front of the class. "Ladies and Gentleman, today starts a new week and new adventures for the Balog family. In the previous week we went over the beginning wars following the Balog's becoming Counts. These first twenty years will be the building block which this family was to gain further power.

"The last thing I had mentioned was the war in the East. Hungarys attempt to push out to the Black Sea which would let them begin trading along the Mediteranian. In the end the puch east would not go far enough, but they will still have gained more land. With the lands to the east in turmoil Tamas made a very smart decision. He knew that the nobles would try to strengthen their hold on the lands and try to become ruler of the east. One man by the name of Mikhail Khitrov, Count of Terebovl, was the most likely in his eyes to succeed at this. So at the end of 1087 he sent his second daughter, Natalia, to this man to be his wife.

"The following year he sent his third daughter, Hajnal, to Gabor Csak, heir to the County of Trencin. Along with Edit's marriage to Vid Guthkeled these marriages would help increase the Balog family influence. Does anybody understand why?"

This question brought up quite a few hands and the children started blurting out answers.

"Allies."

"Family ties."

"Spreading out the family across the east."

"Yes, yes," the teacher butted in. "All of those answers are correct. These marriages did all those things. As time went on it quickly became a great privelage to become married to a Balog daughter. Princes and Heirs would fight for the honor to say that they had married a Balog daughter."

Making his way over to the map the teacher pointed at an area just north of the Black Sea. "This here is the County of Terebovl. Here and here, are the Counties of Olivia and Bezhetsky Verh. These other two counties fell under the control of Count Mikhail Khitrov by the middle of 1089. You see these lands had fallen into Civil War and Count Khitrov had proven himself as one of the most powerful of the nobles. He won many victories and though he was not leader of the Volhynians many of their people looked to him for guidance. Just like the Hungarians had done with Prince Geza when he had been alive.

"On September 30th of the year 1089, King Stjepan II of Croatia declared the Croatian claim on Bacs War. This will be the first war which would be later known as the Croatian Conflict. The soldiers of Gemer will play a large roll in this conflict. Well I should say they play a large roll in ending the conflict. At the start of the war Tamas only had a little more then fifty men in the three thousand man army the Hungarians had formed to deal with the Croatians. These men came in from November to January at the province of Csanad. Once the army had been formed they made their way south to deal with the twenty-six hundred Croatians on Hungarian lands.

"This coming battle will be the bloodiest in over a century for the Hungarians. On the 14th of February 1090 three thousand Hungarians faced off against the twenty-six hundred Croatians at the Battle of Kaprivncia. This battle the two forces found themselves pitted on opposite sides of a river with no bridges around. Both forces tried to make their way across the river only to be shot down by the others archers. Eventually they turned to night ferries which turned out just as bad. On the 8th of March a Hungarian force had gotten turned around on the river and their own archers started firing on them.

"Finally on the 25th of March, Keled Guthkeled rode out with over a hundred horseman in the middle of the night. The Hungarians had thought Keled had abandoned them, but on the 27th during the Hungarians next attempt to cross the river he suddenly appeared. He had ridden a two day trip up and back down the river to cross the nearest bridge in less then a day and a half. Even though he was outnumbered and his men and horses were tired, the Croatians were caught off guard by his attack. This allowed the Hungarians to make it across the river and force them from the field.

"After fourty-one days of fighting there were 1,780 deaths on the Hungarian side and another 1,699 for the Croatians. As I said this would be their bloodiest battle for quite some time. Though the majority of the bodies would never be found because the river had taken them away." Looking over to the young Jacob, the teacher said, "If Keled Guthkeled had not ridden out like he did, I very much doubt the Hungarians would have won that battle. With his victory he moved the remaining Hungarian soldiers to begin the siege of Croatian lands. The remaining Croatians however would move north and lay siege to Pecs.

"During these sieges Prince Lampert, Duke of Ungvaran, decided to join a Crusade to Spain to free Aaragon from the Moors. This greatly weakened the Hungarian forces in the north. So when the Croatians had captured Pecs there was almost no soldiers to force them out of Hungary. Thankfully Almos a Gomor or Almos of Gemer took the liberty and raised five hundred men under Tamas' name to move against the Croatians. These five hundred men arrived in the besieged province of Bacs on the 17th of July 1091. They were outnumbered by more then three hundred men, but the following day the elven-hundred remaining Hungarians arrived to surround the Croatians.

"These Croatians lost the battle and nearly their entire army while the Hungarians only lost a little more then two hundred on their side. Almos of Gemer had also successfully captured Bishop Mutimir of Krk who had been in command of the Croatian forces in Hungary. Almost had originally thought of pursuing the Croatians, but Tamas had ordered him to return home with the Bishop. Tamas however accompanied Keled Guthkeled to Pecs where they were able to kill the remaining Croatians with only six losses on their side. Two days after the Slaughter of Pecs the Croatians made peace and the Bishop of Krk was ransomed back home.

"That will be the end of the lesson for today. I hope all of you have a good night and I will see you tomorrow."

[EtzelHoveri]

Chapter 8: Retribution

(1092-1097)

Lounging in his chair the teacher finally looked up to see that all the students were already in class. Even though it was not to begin for another fifteen minutes. When his eyes left the book one of the students used that as a reason to ask a question. "What is that book you keep reading, sir?"

"This?" he asked lifting it in the air. "Have you not figured it out yet? It's the collected works and quotes which are said about the Balog family. In some cases its their own personal thoughts and writings. While others are what important people had said or written about them. Such as in the case of 'Saint' Andras and a few other key people who will be mentioned later in this course."

"We figured that, sir. I meant what is the title of the book? Who wrote it?" After a moment she said instead, "Who compiled the writings?"

"The book is called Balog's Through History. As for the author, I will tell you that in a later class. Don't ruin it by looking up the author. It's very fascinating on who wrote it.

"If you're interested in reading it, I'll give you my copy once we move on to a new subject. It's really an interesting book and the author split everything up by who was in power at the time." Looking to the clock it was already two minutes into the class. "Now then we shall begin todays lecture. We neded the previous class with the defeat of the Croatians. They had tried to take a portion of southern Hungary since there was a child on the throne, but they had not accounted for the soldiers of Gemer and Keled Guthkeled's great military prowess.

"Following this war the lands of Hungary returned to a rebuilding stage. In Gemer the lands and castle exploded in production since the Balog's first inherited the lands 26 years ago. The castle Gomor had a stone wall, stables, and a thriving town around it. It was easily the most fortified castle in the north. Only Keled's castle in the south and the King's own could match it.

"Two great events happened in the three years following the war. The first was on the First of October 1093. Edit gave birth to her daughter Ibolya, the future Empress was now born. Then eleven days after her birth Keled Guthkeled passed away. With his death Vid became Count of Bacs and Edit and Ibolya left with him. In the year 1095 the Child-King, Luckacs, came of age. Like his father he used this as an oppertunity to gain more power for himself. Unlike his father's attempt, his took only a matter of a few days to get passed. And this was because his first action as King was to declare war against the Croatians.

"The following month the King called up the levies and Tamas joined the four thousand man army in Heves. This took until the end of July before the army was ready and began their march south. On the 15th of August the Hungarians came across three thousand Croatians on the fields of Kaposver. For days the two armies clashed and in the end the Hungarians walked away victorious. They had lost a little more than a thousand men while killing close to the entire Croatian army. After this victory the army continued into Croatia. During the siege of Krizevci word came to Tamas that his younger brother Ince had passed away. Tamas was greatly saddened by the loss of his brother. I believe the King's own writing says it best.

'Count Tamas was not much of a warrior. He had not taken to military matters well like many other nobles. During our siege of Krizevci in our retribution war I saw how saddened he looked by the loss of his little brother. They had been close. I was also there when a lucky arrow took Tamas in the chest. He had been just doing his round of the soldiers when one arrow came from the castle and took him square in the chest. We were forced to move back the lines another twenty yards following the incedent.'

"The very next year Krizevci would be captured and the war would be over. The Croatians did not want a long war with a strong, united Hungary. While King Luckacs had finished his use of the war and was ready to return home. Upon Tamas return to Gomor he spent most of the winter resting. His would never turly healed during the siege since he was always doing something. Luckily by the end of the winter the tightness in his chest was gone and he was back to his old self.

"So tomorrow's class we will be going over a much larger amount of time. Most of the classes have been between two and five years. Tomorrow's will be fifteen years of information. I hope all of you gets a good nights rest and are ready to learn more about how the Balog's grew to power. This upcoming class will also be one of the last with Count Tamas being the head of the Balog family."

[vasziljevics]

while one clearly cannot expect Swedish programmers to use all the Hungarian diacritic signs correctly (to be honest they seem to choose not using them at all...) it would be really nice to see at least the correct usage of the basic Latin letters - though... considering that Hungarian has 44 letters in its extended Latin alphabet that could be quite confusing for anyone get used to much less.


anyway I'm looking forward to the next chapters - interesting!

[EtzelHoveri]

Chapter 9: Three trips for Denmark
(1098-1113)

"Balog's and Habsburgs. Two of the greatest families in the history of the world. The first grew and fell in power in what is known as the Age of Crusades or during the time of the Crusader Kings. The later grew in power following the Balog's fall. In the year 1098 the two families had their first union. Magdolna Balog, the youngest of Count Tamas' children with the Princess Lanka Arpad, and Werner von Habsburg II, the Duke of Mecklenburg and the last living von Habsburg at the time. This union gave promise towards the two families and was also the first union for the Balog children that sent them westward."

Seeing Anna's hand raised the teacher pointed to her. "So were all the future von Habsbrugs also Balog children?"

"No, they are not Anna."

"But if he was the last of the von Habsburg line then how are their children no the future of the von Habsburgs?"

"There are many possible reasons for this. The one that actually happens I will get to in a few moments." After a few moments pause he continued his lecture. "The following year King Luckacs decided to hold his Grand Tournament. Like the one held in his father's honor, Tamas did just as horribly. He was not a warrior in any regards.

"On the 26th of September 1099 a Balog came to power in another County. This is because Vid Guthkeled passed away leaving his daughter Ibolya as the Countess of Bacs and her mother Edit acted as her Regent til she came of age. The future Empress was now in power." Making his way up to the map the teacher pointed to an area and said, "This is the area of Bacs. All of this area." Going over Greece, Turkey, and all the way down to Jeruselum the teacher said, "And this is the land of the Byzantine's which she would soon control. It's hard to believe that a person could go from so little to being so powerful from just saying the simple words of 'I do'. Yet this happens many times in this day and age. Not as frequently for the Balog's but it does happen.

"The next year King Luckacs takes a Hungarian army north to aid the King of Denmark. You see the King had married the eldest daughter to the King of Denmark who had no male heirs. So their child would become King of both Hungary and Denmark. This union would turn the lands of Hungary into the most powerful country in all of Europe. So Luckacs took many trips north to ensure that his son's future lands would be powerful. These trips north the King went mostly alone. Instead the nobles governed the lands themselves while he was away.

"While the King was in the north word came to Gemer that the Duchese Magdolna had passed away. She was giving birth to her first child who came out stillborn. She passed away an hour later." Looking over to Anna the teacher said, "And that is why the von Habsburg's are not Balogs." Moving back to the podium the teacher said, "Following the death of Magdolna, Tamas decided to not send his relatives outside of Hungary anymore. They would either marry local men or bring in women from other lands.

"The in 1103 just as the first war in the north had come to an end a revolt began in the lands of Gemer. An army of nearly three thousand peasants had stood up in revolt against the recent taxes being forced upon them. Thankfully Luckacs arrived with the fifty-one hundred battle hardened men who returned from Denmark. He easily put down the revolt. The land returned to peace until the year 1106 when the King went north again to help the King of Denmark gain more land.

"The following year the Count of Birlad began a civil war for the Duchy of Transylvania. Domotor's wife the Countess Jolan of Feher sided with the Count of Birlad in his rebellion. This rebellion went well at first and it appeared the Duke of Transylvania would be deposed. However, in 1111 the King returned and forced the fighting to end. He imprisoned the Count of Birlad and destroyed the fortress in Feher as punishment.

"While the rebellion was occuring in the south there was another occuring in the north of Hungary. This rebellion was being led by the Count Tamas. He wished to become the future Duke of Nyitra and the only way to do that was to get the laws changed to an elected office instead of a dynastical one. The Count Elod Csak of Trencin gave him his support. With this added support Tamas wrote Duke Kalman a letter suggesting he make the change. Which he did two days later. This letter can still be seen today in the Budapest National Library.

"In the year 1112 the King took his third and final trip north to the lands of Denmark. While the King was away the Duke of Nyitra died on the 16th of August. His second son Almos became the new Duke. Tamas nominated himself to be his successor and also recieved the support from the Count Elod. Sadly one month later Elod passed away and his son Gabor became the new Count. His daughter Hajnal was having problems at this time with Tamas and so Gabor no longer supported Tamas to follow in Almos place.

"After only a year in Denmark Luckacs learned that his son Salamon would not inherit the title of King of Denmark any longer and was told to return home. In time the King's brother would inherit the lands instead. Frustrated the King returned to Hungary with a great rage to go to battle."

Clearing his throat the teacher looked up at the clock and nodded. "Tomorrows class we will go over the final years of Tamas' reign. We will also be going over two Hungarian wars and two rebellions in Hungary. One of these is the war that Tamas died in. I look forward to seeing all of you tomorrow."

[EtzelHoveri]

Chapter 10: Tamas Final Years

(1114-1119)

"Returning to Hungary the King's rage was hard to match. For the past thirteen years he had believed the lands of Denmark would soon go to his son as the King was getting old and weak. Instead they would go to the King's brother. Full of anger upon his return he led a Holy War for the lands of Morevia against Kaiser Eberhand. Oddly enough the King of Denmark came to Hungary's aid in this conflict. Probably as a repayment for the three wars they had fought for them. The important thing to know is that Denmark's move on the north forced the Holy Roman Empire to concentrate there instead of against the Hungarians. The land was ripe with revolt and without an army in the north they could very easily decide to defect to the King of Denmark instead of fight against him.

"With the Holy Roman Empire's armies in the north the Hungarian army was able to easily push through county after county. They were doing so well that on the 16th of August only a year after the war began the Kaiser was forced to surrender the Counties of Brno and Olomouc to the Hungarian King. With his victory in these lands the King turned his army around and marched them to Gemer which was under siege again by an army of peasants. And just like before the King crushed them with little difficulty.

"Upon his return to his home Tamas decided to give his friend Andras a gift. For his long years of service he would be permitted to spend the last of his years living in Rome as Ambassador of Hungary. Their parting was one of joy and sadness as they had grown close over the years. Many people wrote of this parting and there are even a few paintings of their goodbye. Since there are so many I won't be sharing any specific ones with you." Seeing that Anna's hand was raised the teacher nodded to her. He wasn't surprised she was asking a question. She seemed to have some comment every time that he mentioned Andras.

"I was just curious but where is Andras buried? Did they bury him in Rome or did they return him to Hungary and bury him there?"

"To be honest with you Anna, I don't know the answer to that question. If you give me a few days I will try to find out for you." The girl seemed content with his answer so he went on. "The winter following Andras leaving the King decided to push his army from Birlad to the sea. Tamas and his men would not take part in this conflict however. His wife the Princess Lanka Arpad had passed away with some allegations that Tamas had her killed so he could marry a younger woman. I do not know if this is true but only a month after she was buried he had married the twenty year old Wszemila of Johannisburg, sister of the Queen of Poland. And one month after that he declared a war to depose the Duke of Almos of Nyitra and replace him with his brother Mihaly the Duke of Slovakia. Some say this war and the death of his wife was all a plot by the Polish. I however would disagree. Almos was a fool while his brother Mihaly was a strong leader. This would only make Hungary stronger if it succeeded.

"A few days after this decleration of war the King died. Leaving his eleven year old son Salamon as King with Duke Almos acting as Regent." Moving through the class the teacher stopped suddenly before one of the students and asked, "If you were an eleven year old King, what would you do?"

A bit taken back by the question the kid took a minute to answer but finally he said, "Whatever I want. I'm King."

"So you would do what you wish? And the rest of you? Would you do the same? If you would do the same raise your hand." Seeing a large number of hands being raised the teacher smiled. Of those that didn't was Anna and the last of the Balog. "This is the same thing that Salamon did. This nearly cost him his crown and his head. For years these nobles had been led by a strong leader only to lose him and have a child try to play at King. In response to this the Duke of Pest declared rebellion to depose the Child-King.

"Both rebellions started out strong. And thanks to the Pesti rebellion Hungary's armies did not interfere with the rebellion in the north. Tamas led his men west to Trencin which he took in a year. It appeared the Gemer army was unbeatable on the field too. Tamas led them to victory at the Battle of Trencsen with minimal losses. Again at the Battle of Zilina where they lost more then they killed but they still went home the victors.

"Sadly though on the 30th of January 1119 Count Tamas Altmannfi Balog of Gemer passed away. For fifty-three years he led the County of Gemer from a minor northern county to the strongest in the north. So strong that he could face the entire rest of they Duchy he was in and win battle after battle. This land became a starting point that future Balog children could use to gain more power and land. Though Tamas never became more then a Count he is still considered one of the greatest Balog's to ever live. Easily the most powerful until Domotor the Greater, his great grandson.

"I think that will be all today." As kids started to protest he rose his hand and said, "I know you want to know how the wars go and to learn about the new Count, but I fear this is the stopping point today. Tomorrow we will learn about all you want to. At least we still have one more day of class. You don't have to wait the entire weekend to learn more."

[EtzelHoveri]

So I plan on not playing anymore until we get to Domotor the Greater. I'm currently at the year 1204 and the Balog's have finally claimed a throne of their own. This throne will not be going to the direct line from Tamas but rather is a nephew of Domotor the Greater. Do you guys want me to follow what is happening directly with Domotor's children or do you want me to skip over to the Balog's first King?