Awesome AARquitania: Reborn! Alternate History with DVIP

[Count Lake]

I don't like the size of Castille. Too much like real life for me. Toulouse should take it down.

Anyways, keep up the good work, Count Lake! How long did Duke Gulheim last? And is Felip his son or grandson (or even great grandson)?

Castille is pretty scary and they seem to be fairly stable under the current ruler (who's portrait and accompanying stats I will post shortly). Why is it that we just can't be friends though? It's nice to see the AI handle all the Muslims in the area competently for once!

Duke Gulheim lasted 69 years and will be replaced by his 38 year old son who currently has four children himself. All the particulars will be around later!

 

[Count Lake]

In preparing this history, I must first give credit to the man that first inspired me to look into the engaging world of Aquitania and Toulouse’s experience in the Middle Ages. Many might expect me to be less than warm toward Gervais Terceil for his part in propagating different myths and faux history in his novels but in truth they were the spark that first got me interested in looking at the course of Occitan development. The alternate history presented in the adventures of King Zavie and his goal of creating a united Aquitania were excellent gateways to finding out the real story behind this fascinating region.

The primary break with established history within Terceil’s books, that of Duke Guihem marrying Agnes d’Aquitaine rather than his cousin Pierre, is what sets up the fantastical journey that follows leading ultimately to a united country following Zavie de Toulouse’s inheritance of both parents. The truth of the matter remains that such a move would have been extremely difficult to see unfold considering the amount of power the union that would have potentially been arrayed against the current French King. Every iota of royal influence would have been directed at keeping the two houses from being united under the same individual.

The birth of multiple sons to the elderly Duke of Aquitaine put an end to any serious chance of Toulouse making a power grab through marriage and Agnes herself would only be a small footnote in history rather than half of an equation leading to the establishment of an independent Occitan super-state. This of course does not mean that real history is any less interesting than the fiction. War, betrayal, political maneuvering and a cast of hundreds made life in the medieval Languedoc far from boring. It is my hope that this volume will let readers enjoy that same level of interest by providing the most comprehensive look at the course of Toulousian politics in the Middle Ages ever set down.

The reign of Guihem de Toulouse is unanimously thought of as the crucial point when the Dukedom evolved from a middling power under the command of their French cousins to the north to something far greater. His marriage with Humberge de Toulouse, a distant relation from the Count of Limousin’s court, was altogether fruitful and produced one son and four daughters. With only one male heir, Felip, to carry on his direct line, Guihem’s worries over the succession were well founded and most of the child’s formative years were spent with an eager father furtively watching his heir’s progress.

Most of the years immediately following his marriage were spent overseeing the droning cycle of harvest and planting in his fief at Toulouse. As one of the richest areas in Occitania, Guihem had plenty of leftover coin to commission improvements to the infrastructure of the region including considerable road networks and a library that garnered the envy of nearly every noble in neighboring regions. All was not peaceful for the Duke however and he was called at least three separate times to attend his King with all his retinue in order to stamp out some minor quibble with the independent German states that infested the Kingdom’s eastern border after the collapse of central authority in the area. The German princes heeded no word but their own as the once fine and mighty empire collapsed into squabbling states.

This disintegration also opened up considerable opportunities for the Duke himself in the realm of material advancement. The nearby Duchies of Provence and Dauphine, normally vassals of the German King, had splintered into its component parts and chaos was the order of the day within the realms. Considering the destabilized regions considerable threats to the integrity of his own eastern border, Guihem plotted a campaign to pull each of the territories into his sphere of influence. A swift campaign of conquest was unleashed with King Phillipe of France’s blessing and support; the French monarch had no love for the crumbling German throne and only thought of the current confusion as a way to increase his own domain into a pair of regions that were respectively Occitan and French in culture anyways. It is important to note that the Duke’s significant prestige was a massive factor in him pulling these operations off successfully and there were only minor grumblings between his peers as the Duke deposed the weakened rulers of several territories and established his own vassals to keep the fiefs in check. Order was brought to chaos and it was not long before the numerous minor nobility in the conquered regions were able to accept their new overlords.

Even with his newly expanded lordship, Guihem’s next test would be a significant hurdle. The period of 1090 to 1100 saw no fewer than three Crusades called by the Pope to wrest control of Alexandria, Jerusalem and Antioch from the Muslims that had conquered the Levant and recently interfered with pilgrim traffic. King Phillipe, eager to demonstrate the might of his realm as well as his sincere Christian piety, was among the first to take the cross and prepare for the Mediterranean voyage. In his efforts he would enlist the levies of Guihem and other vassals that, while seeming to be honestly faithful to the Catholic creed, were also pragmatic enough to know that the campaign would be expensive in both coin and lives.

Guihem and his compatriots would be proven right in the years to come as Phillipe campaigned endlessly. No lasting success was really made against the fierce Muslim emirates of the region and the best that any of the crusading states could do was grip tightly to the small enclaves they had carved out. Despite being quite powerful in terms of numbers, the Frankish and Occitan crusaders suffered from a lack of controlled leadership as the King marched and countermarched to counter any possible threat to the vulnerable port cities other groups of Europeans had taken. In the end, attrition and a general want of supply meant Phillipe and his exhausted armies were forced from the region with nothing at all to show for their strenuous and bloody efforts. The ragtag formation that limped back to Montpelier was a far cry from the proud force that had embarked so long ago.

Dissent among the nobility that had spent years at a time away from their homes was increasingly apparent during this period and the King of France was forced to provoke the matter further when a war broke out with England over the ownership of Normandy. Guihem had barely had time to attend to affairs within his own demesne before being called away once more to assist in the fighting. Much had changed during his time away, his daughters had all been married off while his son was happily partnered with Margarita Jimenez, sister to the King of the powerful Kingdom of Castile. Grandchildren were constantly underfoot around the castle and the elderly Duke could only be happy in knowing that his efforts in securing his dynasty’s future had paid off. Yet duty to his liege was constantly pulling him away from the things he loved and the death of his wife Humberge from chronic illness during the short time of his return left the Duke a with a much more dour temperament than before.

Campaign life was becoming more difficult for Guihem as he aged and the long bitter fight against the English did nothing to improve his condition. There was plentiful voice for opposition in many of the important courts of the realm, voices that called for a period of rest and respite after all of the losses suffered in the Kingdom over the past decade. Key among the dissenters was Jaque d’Aquitaine Duke of Aquitaine and Pons Duke of Champagne. Guihem himself had very little love of the current warmongering of his liege and the prestigious lord was targeted by the two conspirators during their shared time driving the English into the sea. Plentiful arguments dropped from the two as they built their case for moving against the King. Combined, their might was very similar to what Phillipe could muster from his non-rebellious vassals and a quick strike at the King’s primary holdings around Paris would cripple his warmaking ability to the point that a peace could be reached.

It is quite evident that Guihem himself could see no other alternative than rebellion to the issue that had plagued him for over a decade. The Duke had borne witness to Phillipe’s demands for more troops even in the face of domestic turbulence and it seem reasonable that de Toulouse thought he was pursuing the only course left open to him. After the operation against the English possessions in Normandy ended in success, there is documented evidence that Guihem kept up his close correspondence with the other two rebellious lords. It would not be long before they were able to act upon their treachery.

King Phillipe died of an unknown disease around the middle of June 1104 and was followed by his son Charles Capet. The news of their liege’s death was the signal for Aquitaine, Toulouse, and Champagne to rise. Declaring their realms separate from the greater French Kingdom, the heads of each of these states went directly to war footing in order to capitalize on their surprise and the new King’s hesitation to call up all of his remaining vassal lords into service. Guihem and Jaque’s Occitan forces made excellent progress, beating back attempts by the loyalist northern lords to march in the Aquitaine proper and gaining several victories in the opening field battles. Pons Duke of Champagne was also active, playing a key role in tying up reinforcements from the King’s demesne in Ile de France.

Using his Champagne ally’s domain as a jumping off point, Guihem lead his men to successfully besiege both principal domains under the direct control of King Charles. This success, while not easily won, provided the Duke with the leverage he needed to secure a peace recognizing Toulousian independence. Duke Jaque soon followed with a similar deal allowing for a free Aquitaine but the lands of the Duchy of Champagne proved to be too vulnerable to the French counteroffensive and Pons was forced into exile after his last citadel fell. Within Toulouse, there was great celebration as the old Duke returned once more from war, this time his own master.

The next few years would be a time of expansion for the newly independent Toulouse. With the French threat averted for at least some time, Duke Guihem was able to look southward for opportunities to expand his domain and gain added security. The independent Muslim sheikdoms that had taken up the area formerly known as the Duchy of Barcelona were conveniently placed for takeover and their liberation would accomplish the dual goals of freeing the Catalonian people from their oppressors and providing land to reward his loyal vassals. A swift series of campaigns saw to the inclusion of these parts with a minimum of effort. Guihem rewarded the counts of Foix and Narbonne with additional territory and also set his son Felip as the liege of both the Empuries and Barcelona fiefs. His success was great enough that Guihem had added the title of Duke of Barcelona to his accolades by the time the intervention was over.

Now in the twilight of his years and at the point of his greatest success, Guihem’s life ended. While observing a boar hunt, the sixty-nine year old man was thrown from his horse and suffered seems to have suffered internal injuries. While he lingered for more than a year despite incredible pain, the old Duke succumbed to his wounds in June of 1109. Felip was immediately granted all of his father’s titles and it was up to the son of Toulouse’s liberator to confront the myriad threats and opportunities that remained.

“Toulouse Unveiled: The True Story of the Languedoc Middle Ages” by Ermengarde de Auvergne. ​

 

[Count Lake]

The once uniform Kingdom of France has been split between three primary realms; France continues to hold sway in the north while the independent duchies of Aquitaine and Toulouse exist in the south.

France is still perhaps the most powerful of the three, bringing the rich provinces of the Low Countries, Burgundy and Ile de France under its banner. Charles Capet might not have been able to hold against the sudden rebellion of his Occitan vassals but he is still a capable ruler with vast reaches of territory under his command. While the threat of a French invasion to recapture their lost territory seems possible, both Toulouse and Aquitaine won't go down without a fight.

The Duchy of Aquitaine occupies a sizeable region in the rich southwest of France. Fighting for independence at the same time as the Duke of Toulouse, they were also able to secure their seperation through treaty with the French King. Jaque d'Aquitaine is a clever man and generally able leader but the sudden break with France has left his realm in a bit of turmoil. Vassal counts eager for either their own independence or a return to French rule have risen up in the years after the break but as of yet Jaque has not been terribly hard pressed to stamp them out.

Toulouse itself is a far cry from the duchy it was forty years earlier. The guidance of Duke Guihem led to the inclusion of both former German and Catalonian territory in the growing sphere of Toulousian influence. Opportunities for delving deeper into Iberia or turning eastward are both open and it will be only a matter of time before the next move is made. The scattered Muslim powers that still occupy the Catalonian provinces will likely be the easiest target for the emergent nation.

Finally, the Kingdom of Brittany stands isolated on its penninsula. Once a duchy in the Kingdom of England, Breton nobles eventually revolted and established their own reign. In truth, they are the least powerful object in the region and Guiomarc'h Leon is not thought of as much more than a upstart.

 

[Count Lake]

I will be slowly adding in more of the world update over the weekend etc. This is a lot more work than I remember it being!

 

[Count Lake]

The Iberian Peninsula is shaping up to being dominated by the powerful Castilian Kingdom that has emerged from the brink of defeat to conquer nearly all of its rivals for power.

Castille itself is by far the most dominant state in the region and is perhaps the greatest Kingdom in Western Europe. Based on the timely deaths of several relatives, the Leon branch of the Jimenez family was able to gain full control of Castille and stand firm in the face of multiple Muslim invasion attempts. Eventually the tide turned and the besieged Christian land was able to expand into the territory lost centuries ago in the initial Muslim invasion. Juan Jimenez holds immense power through both his own holdings and his vassals and has recently been able to acquire territory in North Africa.

The Kingdom of Aragon is really only a middling power, holding sway over the mountainous lands of the Pyrenees. They also maintain an enclave in the southern city of Grenada, the fruit of successfully piggybacking on the campaigns of its enormous neighbor. Tensions have recently arisen over the Duchy of Toulouse’s intervention in former Aragonese lands like Barcelona but the small Kingdom is mostly powerless to offer more than harsh words. Enrique Jimenez is a powerful man individually and his reputation as a skilled war campaigner is known throughout the region.

The various Muslim emirates that have avoided extinction thus far are much too fragmented to offer any real hope for regaining their previous position of power. With Castille driving from the northeast and the expanding Duchy of Toulouse approaching from the northwest, it seems likely that it is only a matter of time before they are expelled from Europe. The North African coast remains mostly in their hands despite the successes gathered by the Duchy of Provence and Castilian adventurers.​

 

[Enewald]

If the Lord of Bretons is a King, surely Aquitania and Tolosa are worthy enough for that tittle.
Time to find the old crowns of Visigoths?
King of Narbonne?

 

[Count Lake]

Enewald- You are quite correct in saying that Toulouse deserves a kingly title. I am only about two provinces away from being able to usurp the Aragon title....

 

[unmerged(127999)]

Fun fact; in my own game as the Orsini family (in which I've conquered most of Italy and Croatia, and am one ruler away from the Croat throne), two branches of the Toulouse family have popped up. One is staying in Toulouse and the surrounding areas. The other branch is hanging out at my capital in Spoleto, and have been competent Marshals and Chancellors.

Anyways, good to see you're angling for the Aragon title; are you going to mod it into a full-fledged "King of Toulouse" title?

I also like Guiomarc'h Leon; the extremely weak King is still a king, after all.

Finally, can we see a portrait of your current ruler?

 

[Count Lake]

Splendid- Thank you very much for your interest! I really like the Toulouse family after all my experience with them and its good to know that they are doing well in your game as well. Make sure they stay in power!

I have about four more maps to share and only one of them still needs to be made in paint. I will hopefully have something up after work tonight!

I will share my newest ruler Felip and all the other folks in his court on Monday!

Speaking of the modding in some sort of title title, is anyone still doing custom COAs? I have very limited experience myself but I did find some heraldry that might work if someone could help me.

It kind of brings in the Aragonese part but really keeps it Toulousian.

 

[JDMS]

Nice work. Looks like you might have competition from Castille though.

 

[Count Lake]

The Kingdoms of the British Isles have weathered the last half century fairly well and are generally stable in their internal workings.

Odo de Normandie reigns as ruler of the most powerful construct here. England is rich and prosperous despite losing some of their mainland holdings in their last major war with France. They have a single province on Ireland and it is possible that they will continue to expand there or attempt to take on one of their more organized rivals.

Scotland is led by Donnchad and occupies the northern portion of the main island as well as a strip of provinces on the north coast of Ireland. Despite this moderate success, their king is excommunicated at the moment and it remains to be seen whether or not this will have a significant impact on his vassal’s loyalty.

Wales is newly formed and is easily the most vulnerable of the three major players. Not much opposition could be mounted if England were to desire the lands and incomes Wales now possesses. None of the Irish minors have accomplished anything of note and it would seem that they are likely to be fodder for Scottish or English expansionism.​

 

[Enewald]

Nothing that would matter for you...

 

[Count Lake]

The old Holy Roman Empire has suffered massive collapse along regional lines over the past years. The rise of regionalism has left central Europe without any considerable leader. The massive civil war that broke out amongst the populations here has settled down to a new status quo for the most part.

The von Frankens of Germany have fallen far from their once lofty perches and are kings in name only. Berthold von Franken himself possesses vast land holdings yet they are scattered to the corners of his former Kingdom and he is now surrounded by freed vassals that seek their own advancement.

The newly minted Kingdom of Bohemia stands out as perhaps the most powerful of the new states created in the wake of the cataclysmic war. Vladislav Premyslid maintains his country bordered on nearly all sides by fragments of the realm Bohemia once belonged to.

Croatia has prospered in the recent years by expanding into the Slovene territories in northeast Italy. Not much can really be said about the Kingdom other than it appears quite stable and will likely remain a player in the Balkan region for the foreseeable future.

All of the other German states have either elected to try an independent existence or aligned themselves with their regional dukes. None can really be said to be more powerful than the others and one can easily say that dominance is completely up for grabs.

Eastern Europe has seen both expansion and contraction among the principal player nations in that region as well as the near extinguishing of the pagan tribes that once held sway there.

Poland has maintained its power even through multiple rebellions, including the one that put its current King on the throne. Dobieslaw Wlostowic rose to overthrow the Piast dynasty nearly ten years ago and has seen Poland grab bits of territory in the land once occupied by the powerful Cuman tribes. His only real competition now comes from a stagnant Hungary and the Russian princedoms that hold sway over the steppe.

Hungary has suffered its share of setbacks during the previous years. Salamon Arpady still holds the throne yet he is childless and altogether quite ill at ease with his situation as an excommunicated king with rebellious vassals. It seems that the days of Hungary’s unity are soon to be a thing of the past.

The Russian princes further east are of little importance outside their respective regions and most of their time is spent clearing up the small scraps of pagan territory that remain in their reach.​

 

[unmerged(127999)]

I like the CoA you chose; you should keep it as your coat of arms for your kingdom title.

The overview of Europe is nice; there's no real surprises, other then the non-Piast Polish king, which I've never seen before. I hope England shatters, as I really hate how powerful the Normans get.

Other then that, great job so far; I hope to see Felip's reign soon.

 

[Count Lake]

Tuesday- Thank you very much for sticking with me! Things have been going very slow so far I know but that is mostly because of little things that keep on popping up rather than a lack of dedication on my part.

When you say you like the COA, did you mean this one?

Also, I have one more map to do, Byzantium and the Near East. After that its all bout the Toulouse!

And, due to the fact that I said I would show him off tonight, here is Felip. I can honestly say that I am pretty excited to play a guy that is pretty far away from the Christian ideal of Zavie!

 

[unmerged(127999)]

Yeah, that's the CoA I like. Use that one, please.

As for Felip, oooh, lustful, proud, vengeful, valorous, and suspicious? Sounds like a fun person. Not like Zavie at all.

Also, how do you keep the stats from being absurdly high within the first few generations?

 

[Count Lake]

DVIP has an event that fires when children are between 12-16 that lowers their score in an attribute that exceeds a certain threshold. I kind of nerfed it a little myself but I am thinking of putting it back up to full strength in because I am seeing some really high level prodigies out there now!

 

[Enewald]

The more bastards in early game, the larger dynasty.

 

[Count Lake]

The Byzantine Empire still stands fairly strong in the Near East. Despite years of being on the frontline of the war between Christendom and Islam, the remnant of Rome holds its own in many places and really faces its most serious threats from internal dissension rather than outside attack. A load of rebellious vassals means that the current Emperor will have a tough job keeping his nation focused on resisting the still powerful Seljuk threat

The Orthodox nations of Georgia and Armenia are also players in the region yet both are not as powerful or noteworthy as the Byzantines.


A multitude of small Christian enclaves along the coast have sprung up in the aftermath of the Crusades. Most are independent but small states like the Duchy of Provence as well as powerful Kingdoms like England have made an impact here. None would really be able to stand against determined Muslim assault and they are really too scattered to be very effective.

The Seljuk Turks remain the most powerful Muslim power in the area in spite of years of rebellions and wars with their Christian neighbors. Things seem to have settled down and it will be interesting to see if the Turks make another bid to bring about the Empire’s downfall sooner rather than later.​

 

[Enewald]

Close enough pretty east. +1