[Forum Game] - Kingdoms and Khanates

All of the stats are up, unless i did a mistake, and the briefing PMs are sent as we are speaking. i hereby also confirm Spectre as Co-Gm, responsible for Italy and Spain, this regards the Players for: Venice, Naples, Castille, Aragon. as Doom has dropped out, Milan is also probably NPC again.

We are also in need of a GM for Asia, to lessen the work on each of the GMs, furthermore i will be absent until Saturday or Sunday, so the Opening Update will not come until then.

OOC: I will probably put up the starting update (the 1300 update) in the next couple days, then you should start to send in orders.

Europe:
It is the year of the lord 1300,
In the lands of the crown of Castille, a civil war is raging, with the Kingdom of León breaking away into secession from Ferdinand IV, having crowned John of Castille, the uncle of Ferdinand to King of León. However the rebellion is not going well and Leon is not recognized or aided by any foreign rulers.
In the Land of the Crown of Aragon, James II has recently gained the right to conquer the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica. While Sardinia is currently splintered and ripe for conquest, the grant of this kingdom was also a move by the pope, as the Republic of Genoa, a state with which the papacy is rivaling for dominance in Italy, currently controls Corsica.

To the west of Castille, the Kingdom of Portugal born out of a mere county during the Reconquista, looks to the south and west, looking for a way to spread its influence through exploration. Portugal’s peaceful rule is also secured by a pact of alliance with the Kingdom of England, gone into effect in 1294, although not a strong official document and still shaky, it is the start of what could become an alliance lasting over ages.

The Albigensian Crusade has been finished close to 50 years ago in the Kingdom of France, however there is still hatred going on between the Frankish north and the south. The Papacy had supported this “crusade” by the French, but now the Pope is in a rivalry with the Kingdom of France, over who can tax the Bishops in the French realm, a rivalry similar to the one he won in the HRE, where the Emperor had to kneel before his winter residence in Canossa.
Further to the North, the Kingdom of England is at war with a Scottish rebellion, is still continuing, after the English had scored a massive victory in the Battle of Falkirk, they hoped that the Scottish Rebellion would die down. However the war is going on, although for now luck seems to be on the English side. William Wallace, former leader of the Rebellion, and former Guardian of Scotland is currently on visits to Courts in Europe, wishing to gain support for the Scottish Rebellion and its cause.
The construction of new castles is underway in Wales, to ensure that the locals will be unable to rise up in open revolt. English control over Ireland is currently shaky, and should the English control weaken on Scotland, they might choose to secede as well.

In the Italian lands, home to the Papacy, her most Serene Republic of Venice, the Viscountship of Milan, the Kingdoms of Sicily, and many other minor states, a war is fought in the South. The former Kingdom of Sicily is divided into two, with an Aragonese Family member reigning in the Southern Island Kingdom, and Charles of Anjou, reigning in the North and in Provence. Originally, Charles of Anjou rules over all these lands, but the Island of Sicily rebelled against his rule in 1282, and the war is still not concluded.

The Republic of Venice, grown into power out of its position of commerce and Trade is commanding one of the mightiest navies of the known world, and is seeking to expand its already largely grown Empire of Colonies into the Mediterranean, and with its Naval forces, gathering the Islands will be of ease.
The Viscoutship of Milan currently is a small state, and of little influence, in comparison to the Venetian Republic, however Northern Italy is under little Imperial control and most other surrounding states are even weaker. If the Viscountship of Milan can find an ally, or keep any major power out of its conflicts, it could quickly grow to dominate Northern Italy.

Further north, the so called “German-Roman Kings”, struggle with the Pope to be named Holy Roman Emperors again, as they were already elected, but the Pope refuses to crown them, in order to grow its own influence over the Bishops and Northern and Central Italy. This is a problem mainly concerning the Habsburg Lands, a collection of fiefs mainly centered on Austria. If the Holy Roman Empire wants to create a sense of authority again, it will need to assure that it does not rise and fall with the word of the Pope.

More northwards within the HRE, the Kingdom of Bohemia is looking abroad, outside of the Empire to expand its power. Having recently acquired the Crown of a Poland that comprises only a small part of its de jure claims, the Bohemian king also seeks to gain the crown of Hungary for himself or for his heir, possibly creating a superpower in central Europe. The lands of the Bohemian crown are already rich, hosting some of the biggest silver mines in Europe, he who controls them, will be of power already. If the King of Bohemia wants to keep the Crown of Poland, he will have to unify it first, to show authority over what he has gained.

The Kingdom of Hungary, a nation of massive power in Europe, extending from the heights of the Carpathian Mountains to the Adriatic Sea, with claims on the Transcarpathian land currently controlled by the Kingdom of Galicia, is in rivalry over the coastal lands of Croatia with Venice However an even bigger threat as claim to their throne by the Bohemian heir. The Crown of Hungary also possesses a significant amount of Silver in the Mines in Transylvania, and keeping these away from the Mongol Hordes to the East will be crucial for success and riches.

Further to the North, the Kingdom of Norway stands as the leading power of the Scandinavian Nations. With the King of Denmark ruining his country with lavish celebrations, and the lack of Central authority in the Kingdom of Sweden, no foreign threats exist, and the Kingdom of Norway is looking westwards, and rumors are spreading of a map, showing a continent to the West of Greenland, named Vinland, explored by Norwegian Vikings around the Year of 1100.
Further eastwards, the Teutonic Knights are subjugating the last remaining Pagan Tribes between themselves and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the last Romuvan Power still in existence. While the Teutonic Knights aim to achieve supremacy over the Baltic, Lithuania looks to the east, eyeing the Russian states weakened by the Tatar Yoke of the Golden Horde.
Novgorod, the northernmost Russian state faces not only the Problem of the Tatar Yoke, but also Sweden’s expansionism in Finland and Karelia. However Novgorod could grow a fortune from Trade.
The Golden Horde, a unification of two tribes under one Khan controls great amounts of territory, and has subjugated the Rus. While the invasions of Poland and Hungary have failed, the Golden Horde is still strong and currently is in a rivalry with the Ilkhanate over the remaining Caucasian States.

Asia:

The Eastern Roman Empire, seriously weakened from the blow struck in the fourth crusade in, has regained some of its former strength back and is looking closely at any false move made by the Turkish Beyliks in Anatolia, and also seeks to regain its lost lands in Greece and the Aegean Islands.
In the Levant, the Ilkhanate fights the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt for control of the Holy Land and Syria. In 1291, Acre fell as the last crusader stronghold in the levant, and now only a small Island off the Coast of Syria remains controlled by Crusaders, but not all hope is lost. Ghazan Khan, although having converted to Islam, maintains good relations with the Western Europeans, and their aid in defeating the Mamluks for the Ilkhanate would make a Christian Holy Land possible again. Currently, the conflict is undecided, and the last time the two mighty armies have met was in the Battle of Wadi al-Khazandar, close to the City of Homs, where the Mongol army could only achieve a pyrrhic victory over the Mamluks, and aconclusive battle might be fought soon.
East of the Ilkhanate, in India, the Sultanate of Delhi controls much of Northern India, and has nothing to stop them from expanding further to the south other than the weak and divided Hindu states.
In the Far Eastern edges of the known world are Goryeo, Yuan China and Japan.
Yuan China, born out of the Mongol Empire is a nation of unchallenged power. It controls much of Asia directly and as vassals. Only Japan, having evaded Mongol invasion twice by the luck of weather, remains. However the tide of fortune could quickly turn against them and their defiance of Yuan dominance. . The Yuan dynasty itself is looking to achieve the great administrative, scientific and economic power the Song Dynasty had under their command.

Africa:

In their powerbase in Egypt, the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt can look upon Alexandria as one of the oldest and one of the richest cities in the Area.
The only two other nations of significance in Africa are the Mali Empire, in the South-West and the Sultanate of Morocco in the West. The Sultanate of Morocco, guaranteeing the remnant of former Muslim domination of Iberia, in the nation of Grenada, also seeks to expand its influence and control over the rest of North-Africa.