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crusaderknight

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REGNUM IUDAEORUM
The Lost Ten Tribes of Israel

Jehu1.png


AwAARDs:
2x WritAAR of the Week - 20/07/08 and 19/07/09
Best Character Writer of the Week - November 16th, 2008. For the character of Jehu Bar-Ahaz
Winner of the Q4 2008 AARland Choice AwAARds for Favourite Rome Narrative
tied with For Rome's Honour by comagoosie
Winner of Round 2 of the 2009 AARland Choice AwAARds for Favourite Rome Narrative
Winner of Round 3 of the 2009 AARland Choice AwAARds for Favourite Rome Narrative
Winner of Round 1 of the 2010 AARland Choice AwAARds for Favourite Rome AAR

Hello everyone and welcome to my third AAR! In keeping with the tradition I started with my first AAR, I simply had to write an AAR about a modification I made to a paradox game. My first AAR, "The Morea, A Palaeologid AAR", is about the Kingdom of the Morea, which I modded into Crusader Kings. My second AAR, "The Heirs of King Arthur - A History Of Wales", isn't really much of a mod, simply some added/corrected Welsh names, and correcting the flags of Wales and Gwynedd. Now, my third AAR, "Regnum Iudaeorum - The Lost Ten Tribes Of Israel", is about my mod for Europa Universalis: Rome, "Regnum Iudaeorum". You can find the link to my mod in my sig.

Now, since my mod is not yet in its completed stage, the story of this AAR (which shall be told in a narrative format) is currently just a prequel to the actual AAR. Once version 1.0 of my mod is released, then the actual AAR can begin.

The AAR will be divided into books. I will post links to each book and its chapters here on this first page. I don't know just how many books this AAR will have yet. But obviously the first book will be the prequel.

BOOK I - The Second Exodus
Soundtrack
"Teaser" Trailer
CHAPTER I - The Prologue
CHAPTER II - Harsh Routines
CHAPTER III - Safety and Distractions
CHAPTER IV - Mixed Blessings
CHAPTER V - The Journey South
CHAPTER VI - New Friends
CHAPTER VII - The Offer
CHAPTER VIII - Guests in Kerkinitis
CHAPTER IX - Caleb the Benjamite
CHAPTER X - A Great Many Changes
CHAPTER XI - The Dniepr Rapids
CHAPTER XII - Jehu's Exile Begins
CHAPTER XIII - Commius
CHAPTER XIV - In the Court of Kimarcus
CHAPTER XV - Lessons Learned
CHAPTER XVI - Recollections of the Past
CHAPTER XVII - A Cruel Twist of Fate
CHAPTER XVIII - Learning To Be A Chief
CHAPTER XIX - The Meeting At Nemetostatio
CHAPTER XX - Cartimandua and the First Test
CHAPTER XXI - The Second Test – That Which is Unexpected
CHAPTER XXII - An Unexpected Revelation
CHAPTER XXIII - A Bittersweet Reunion
CHAPTER XXIV - The Only Way
CHAPTER XXV - Among the Belgae
CHAPTER XXVI - Hail to the Chief
CHAPTER XXVII - The Last Breath Before the Plunge
CHAPTER XXVIII - The Fox and the Bear
CHAPTER XXIX - The Blood of Ephraim
CHAPTER XXX - Dark Omens
CHAPTER XXXI - Return to Kerkinitis
 
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BOOK I
The Second Exodus
Book1.jpg



CHAPTER I - The Prologue


Jehu Bar-Ahaz sat cross-legged on the hard ground that made the floor of the tent. He was 10 years old. For the past five years he had come to this tent every week for six days each week, only taking a break on the Sabbath. This was the tent of his tutor, Eleazar. Jehu's father, Ahaz, had told the boy that he would be educated by Eleazar for the remainder of his childhood.

While other children who received a common education mumbled and groaned, Jehu was always happy to come to his private lessons with Eleazar. Eleazar made everything fun, from arithmetic to learning the Hebrew language, to studying the history of their people. That last subject was Jehu's favourite. He loved history more than anything.

Today was an especially exciting day. Over the next few days, Jehu was going to learn his family history, and today was the first day of this wonderful lesson. He was at last going to learn why his father, Ahaz, was the Chief, and why Ahaz's father, Caleb, had been Chief before him, and so on and so on. Eleazar was going to teach Jehu all about the history of their people: the Hebrews.

Jehu wondered where his tutor was. It was already ten minutes after sunrise. Eleazar always began the lessons right as the sun peeked out over the horizon. But now ten minutes had passed since then and still there was no sign of the tutor. Had something happened to him?

At last Eleazar entered the tent and said, "I am sorry, Jehu. Your father needed to speak with me about something. But I am here now. Are you ready to begin your lesson?"

Jehu nodded his head with excitement, "Yes, rabbi!"

Eleazar smiled and sat down across from the boy. He said, "Good. But first, let me see how much you know already. Can you tell me the origins of the Hebrew people?"

Jehu straightened up and smiled proudly. He had worked hard to memorize the early Scriptures. He knew the book of Genesis by heart. With a loud and confident voice he said, "'In the beginning, Adonai created the Heavens and the Earth--"

The tutor laughed in a jovial manner, "I didn't quite mean that far back. Who is the father of the Hebrew people?"

Jehu thought for a minute, then said, "Is it Jacob?"

"Close," said Eleazar, "but not quite. Think harder."

The boy cupped his chin and thought deeply. After few minutes he said, "Abraham! It's Abraham isn't it?"

Eleazar smiled, "That's right!"

Jehu clapped his hands in excitement.

His tutor then asked, "Do you know why Abraham is the father of our race?"

Jehu thought long and hard, but at last he sighed, "No, I don't."

"Alright," said Eleazar, "Then this is where our lesson will begin..."

Eleazar told Jehu all about Abraham. How Adonai called him from the city Ur and led him to Canaan. He told the story of Abraham's sons, Isaac and Ishmael. He spent a lot of time talking about Isaac's son, Jacob. Jacob was the younger of Isaac's two sons, with Esau being the oldest. Jacob tricked his father Isaac into giving him the inheritance instead of Esau. This made Esau angry and forced Jacob to flee to his uncle Laban. He told Jehu all about the 14 years that Jacob had to work for Laban in order to marry Rachel. He talked about Jacobs twelve sons, for whom the twelve tribes of Israel were named: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulon, Joseph, and Benjamin. He explained that the Tribe of Joseph was actually divided into two "Half-Tribes", named for Joseph's two sons: Ephraim and Manasseh.

He told Jehu about Joseph's time in Egypt, and of how he saved Egypt and his family from the 7 years of famine. He told of Jacob's migration to Egypt, to the land of Goshen. He told of how years later the Egyptians enslaved the Hebrews and forced them into slavery for 400 years. But Adonai raised up for them a deliverer, Moses. Through Moses, Adonai brought 10 plagues upon Egypt, until at last Pharaoh submitted and let the Hebrews go free. But at Mount Sinai, when Adonai gave the Law unto the Hebrews, they instead turned to idols, angering Adonai. But Adonai was merciful, and spared those who repented. He then led them to Canaan, but they did not trust in Him, and rather feared the Canaanite people, so Adonai condemned them to 40 years of wandering in the desert.

When the 40 years were over, it was time at last to enter Canaan. Under their new leader, Joshua...

But that was where the story ended for today. It was already after noon, and time for Jehu to eat a quick meal before beginning his martial training for the day. The rest of the story would have to wait. Tomorrow was the Sabbath, but the next day the story could continue.

And so Jehu left Eleazar's tent, to eat and train. But throughout the day, all he could think of was the history of his people. He was very restless that Sabbath. He couldn't wait until tomorrow, when his lesson could continue...
 
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Very very nice ! I'll follow this one
 
Intriguing start.

You just worry me that you will spread yourself too thinly :)
 
Airfixer said:
Very very nice ! I'll follow this one
etycaj said:
So am i, count me in! - waiting for the next update ;)
Glad to have you both aboard! :D

stnylan said:
Intriguing start.

You just worry me that you will spread yourself too thinly :)
Glad to have you aboard, stnylan! Don't worry, with finals ending on the 13th, I'll have plenty of free time. I will only be working about 30 hours each week, and aside from that I will have nothing to do for the next three months. Plenty of time to work on all three AARs. :cool:
 
BOOK I
The Second Exodus
Book1.jpg



CHAPTER II - Harsh Routines


"Jehu! Jehu! Jehu, wake up! JEHU!"

At last, the boy leapt from his bed. He looked in the direction of the voice that had awakened him. It was his father, Ahaz. "Yes, Abba?" said the boy.

Ahaz's face was serious. Jehu noticed that he was wearing armour. This did not look good. His father only wore armour to formal ceremonies... or to battle. Since the sun was not up, it clearly was not for a formal ceremony...

With a solemn tone, Ahaz said, "Our camp must move again. You will join the women and children under the escort of Captain Ezra Bar-Jonah and his hundred."

"But Abba, I want to fight this time!" said Jehu.

His father glared at him, "No! You are too young. And what's more, I will not risk my only son. If you and I both fall, who will be chief then?" Ahaz then proceeded to put his helmet on and tie the strings under his chin to hold it in place. He grabbed his sword and put it in its sheath. Then he took up his shield. In his full armour he seemed less a man and more a fighting machine to the boy. In his bronze scale mail, with his round shield large enough to protect his entire torso, Ahaz truly was a sight to behold. Added to this, his curly black beard which covered his face, Ahaz was frightening.

This was the part of life Jehu hated the most. The Hebrews had lived like this for all of Jehu's life, and for many generations before, or so he had been told. He did not know why just yet. That probably would have been answered by Eleazar today, had it not been for whatever urgency required an immediate removal of the camp.

Captain Ezra entered the tent and saluted. Ahaz returned the salute and said, "Ezra, take Jehu to join the women and the children. You and your hundred must get them to safety while the rest of us tear down camp as fast as we can. If the enemy reaches us before we can get away, we will hold them off for as long as possible. Flee to the place we have agreed upon, and don't look back!"

Ezra saluted again and said, "As you command, my Chief." With that he took Jehu by the hand and led him from the tent. As they rushed through the camp Jehu saw the Warriors, the elite few who served as full time soldiers, forming into their sqauds. The Warriors were all equipped just as Ahaz was, but they also carried a six foot bronze-tipped spear. The rest of the men, who during times of war or urgency were called Levies, had no armour. At their side were bronze short swords or axes. Slung over their backs were small wooden shields. At the moment, they were busy tearing down the tents of the camp and packing them up.

At last Ezra and Jehu reached the women and children, who were protected only by Ezra's hundred. Jehu looked around, there were about 8,000 women and children in all. 100 men was not much when it came to protecting 8,000. But it was all the Hebrews could spare if they hoped to hold off the enemy. Jehu wondered who was coming this time. Living on the steppes, the Hebrews had many enemies. But their chief enemies were the Skythians. Skythian raiders would often ride in on their horses and attack the Hebrew camp. The Hebrews were at a terrible disadvantage as they had no horses of their own, and a very small number of spears.

Jehu looked up at Ezra. Ezra was young, only about 18 years old, and Jehu could see in his eyes a yearning for battle, the same yearning that burned within his own heart. Both lads wanted nothing more than to fight against the Skythians and other enemies in defense of their people. But both were bound by their duty.

Ezra had been appointed "Defender of the Innocents", a position which had developed in post-Exilic Hebrew society as a result of the very problems which were happening now. The Defender of the Innocents was duty-bound to get the women and children, and others who could not defend themselves, to safety. He and his hundred were not to engage in battle unless attacked by the enemy.

Jehu, too, was duty bound. As the only son of the Chief, it was his duty to carry on the leadership of the small band of Hebrews if his father fell. He could not be risked. There were only about 11,000 Hebrews in the chiefdom. His father said that there once had been more, but over time the hardships of nomadic life had eaten away their number. The Hebrews had not been a nomadic people for over 1,000 years, but now they had to readjust to that lifestyle.

Jehu looked behind and saw thousands of torches in the distance: the enemy army. They were closing in on the 3,000 Hebrew men who were working as fast as they could to pack up their precious few belongings and shelters and flee with the rest. He prayed silently to Adonai, begging Him to protect them...
 
A rather nervous lifestyle, by the looks of things.
 
Not a very pleasant life, but I hope they get some peace soon
 
I'm enjoying the AAR and I hope to try the mod out soon. :)

נ'צחון בא דרן אלוה'ם

(Through God comes victory)
 
stnylan said:
A rather nervous lifestyle, by the looks of things.
Very true. But such is the price of being nomads in a land not your own.

Enewald said:
Hmm... the story with Abraham sounds familiaar. :p
Awwies, not easy with nomadic culture.
Not easy at all. And things won't get any easier in the near future, but they may get harder...

Airfixer said:
Not a very pleasant life, but I hope they get some peace soon
Soon is a very relative term (as is peace). Different characters in the story will get different kinds of peace sooner than others...

Eber said:
I'm enjoying the AAR and I hope to try the mod out soon. :)
Thankyou! I hope you enjoy the mod when you try it. Bear in mind that it is still in Beta stage, and not completed yet. I would appreciate any feedback you could provide (preferably on the mod's forum). Also, any help you could provide (especially in the area of event scripting) would be most appreciated. :cool:
Eber said:
נ'צחון בא דרן אלוה'ם

(Through God comes victory)
Amen! :cool:



To all my readAARs. With finals ending tomorrow (Tuesday) I will be free for the summer! I plan on having an update tomorrow, and regular updates following that. But there is a chance that I won't feel up to updating until Wednesday.
 
ooh Im following this one.
 
BOOK I
The Second Exodus
Book1.jpg



CHAPTER III - Safety and Distractions


Ezra marched the people all day long. They had begun their flight before the sun had even risen, and now the sun had set. There had been times when they had to stop briefly to rest. Most of the younger children simply did not have the stamina to march all day without pause. Indeed, even had Ezra and his hundred been alone, they would have had to stop at least once for food. But with the women and children, the total number of stops was five.

Nevertheless, Ezra and his men got the people to safety, by the shores of the river the Hebrew exiles had named Chayyim which was Hebrew for "Life". The Chayyim flowed into the river the Skythians called Don which simply meant "River". This was the point where Chief Ahaz had commanded Ezra to take the people if the camp was attacked. If necessary, Ezra was to ford the Chayyim and take the people across it, moving ever westward. But only if necessary. It was preferred that he wait here for Ahaz and the men to return. And wait is just what he did.

Ofcourse, the tents were all with the men, and so had not come yet. Ezra's "camp" was merely a large stretch of flatlands along the river bank were the people huddled around fires. Ezra and his men searched out some nearby woodlands and cut down some strong trees. With the thick wood, they make large stakes and built a perimeter around the camp.

Jehu grew bored rather quickly, and sought out Eleazar. "Rabbi," he said, "Will you continue my lesson tonight?"

The old man smiled, "In a way."

"What do you mean?" asked Jehu.

Eleazar pointed out to the camp and said, "Can you hear all of the children crying?"

Jehu snorted, "Yes. They need to grow up. They should be used to this by now. I am."

The teacher shook his head, "Jehu, not everyone is as strongwilled as you and your father. You are of royal blood, and you have been raised to be strong. But most of these people do not have even a drop of royal blood in their veins. They are not held to the same standards of strength as your father must hold you to. Have pity on them, for one day they will be your people, and you must use your strength to protect them in their weakness."

"Okay," said Jehu in a slightly annoyed tone. "So how are we gonna get them to stop whining?"

"By telling them a story," replied Eleazar.

"And what story is that?" asked the boy.

"Why, the story I was going to tell you in your next lesson!"

"You mean you're gonna tell EVERYONE the story?"

Eleazar laughed, "Ofcourse not. I doubt that 8,000 people could hear my voice even if I shouted. No, but we will bring the young children together. Go through the camp and gather as many of the children 5 years old to 13 years old as you can and bring them here."

Eleazar had selected this age group because the children younger than 5 would be too young to be distracted by a history lesson, and the 14 and 15 year olds were too busy. The 14 and 15 year old boys were helping Ezra and his hundred patrol the perimeter. The girls that age were helping the mothers cook food and take care of the infants and toddlers.

Ofcourse, Jehu couldn't gather all of the children aged 5 to 13, because they would number almost 3,000. But he did manage to round up about 300 kids who came with him to listen to Eleazar.

Once the children had taken their seats, Eleazar began, "Over a thousand years ago, after the Exodus from Egypt, our ancestors entered the land of Canaan for the first time in over 400 years! They were led by Joshua, one of the mightiest leaders Israel has ever known. The first enemy they found in Canaan was the city of Jericho. Now, Jericho was a mighty fortress, with the largest walls ever built by Man. How many of you have heard of the ancient city of Troy?"

Many of the children raised their hands. Ever since the Greek conquerer Alexander, the Hebrews had learned much of Greek history and legend, and they knew the Trojan War very well.

"Do you remember how mighty the walls of Troy were? And how it took the Greeks ten years to finally get through them by using treachery and deceit?"

The children all nodded.

"Well, Jericho had walls even higher, and even wider than Troy's. Nobody could get into Jericho unless the King of Jericho wanted them to. And nobody passed by Jericho unless the King of Jericho wanted them to. Well, the King of Jericho did not want to let the Israelites pass. So Joshua prayed to Adonai for guidance. Adonai sent an angel with a message for Joshua. Joshua was to take the Ark of the Covenant, and together with the Levite Priests and all the army of Israel, he was to march around the whole city of Jericho once each day for six days. On the seventh day, he was to march around the city seven times. Then he and all the company of Israel were to raise a loud battle cry, and the walls of Jericho would collapse. Ofcourse, this sounded rather far fetched to Joshua, but Adonai had spoken, and so Joshua trusted Him. Well, it worked. On the seventh day, the walls did fall down, and the Israelites conquered Jericho. For the rest of Joshua's life, the Israelites would conquer Canaan. Adonai had delivered them into the Promised Land, and the people were thankful. But do you think they remembered Adonai for long?"

The children shook their heads and said, "No..."

"Correct," said Eleazar, "They did not. Instead, the turned to pagan gods and committed terrible sins. They drove Adonai to anger. So He raised up an enemy to conquer Israel and to oppress Israel. In their oppression, the Israelites remembered Adonai, and cried to Him for help. He heard their plea and sent them a deliverer, and they remembered Him again. But in time, they would forget Him again. The cycle continued over and over for centuries. But each time, Adonai raised a deliverer for them. Can anyone tell me their names?"

Jehu immediately stood up, "I can!"

"Please, tell us, Jehu," said Eleazar.

Jehu straightened his back, puffed out his chest proudly, and said in a stong voice, "Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, Deborah, Gideon, Tola, Jair, Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon, Abdon, Samson, Eli, and Samuel."

"Correct, Jehu! But the era of the Judges did not last forever either, did it?" asked the teacher.

"No," said Jehu.

"Correct again, Jehu! In the days of Samuel, the last Judge, Israel yearned for an end to the cycle of Judges. They wanted men to lead them in government and in righteousness always, and not only in crisis. They asked Adonai to give them a King. But that story is for another time. It is late now, and you must all get to bed."

The children all groaned. They wanted to hear more. But Eleazar was right. The children returned to their mothers, their minds no longer fearing the Skythians, but rather filled with thoughts of Joshua and the Judges.

The next morning, one of Ezra's scouts called out in joy. The Chief and his men were seen on the horizon!
 
He seems like a clever chappy, this Ezra.
 
stnylan said:
He seems like a clever chappy, this Ezra.
He is. And a good thing, too. It wouldn't be wise to trust the safety of the women and the children to a dim wit. :)

Enewald said:
ahhh... propaganda to little children.
Lets hope it works. ;)

no one dared to ask why they were besieging Jericho from its lawful owners. :p
Well, lawful owners is a subjective term. It all depends on your definition. I don't want to get into a debate over subjectivity, though. But from the Hebrew persepctive, since God has promised Canaan to them, it was theirs by the highest Law of all, which then makes the Canaanites the trespassers.

gis said:
Wow, nice! I like the idea too!

which name did you intend to meen in Jehu?
ישו?
יהושוע?
I got confused on that part...
I'm not entirely sure which spelling. I don't have much of an education in Hebrew yet, and I certainly can't read it yet (I can only read some transliterated Hebrew right now). In a few years I will have a much better knowledge of the Hebrew language. But for now, all I can tell you is that I was intending to use the same name as King Jehu from the book of 2nd Kings (or 4th Kings, depending on whether you count the history books as 1st and 2nd Samuel and then 1st and 2nd Kings, or as 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Kings).
 
crusaderknight said:
I'm not entirely sure which spelling. I don't have much of an education in Hebrew yet, and I certainly can't read it yet (I can only read some transliterated Hebrew right now). In a few years I will have a much better knowledge of the Hebrew language. But for now, all I can tell you is that I was intending to use the same name as King Jehu from the book of 2nd Kings (or 4th Kings, depending on whether you count the history books as 1st and 2nd Samuel and then 1st and 2nd Kings, or as 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Kings).

יהוא

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