Despite the ever-changing cast of regents, that period seems to go well.
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The Empire Strikes Back - a Byzantine Megacampaign (Part 1)
- Thread starter Idhrendur
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Yeah! No rebel carpet yet despite having an underaged ruler 
Let's hope it's gonna stay like this.
Let's hope it's gonna stay like this.- 1
Sure, if you're willing to take a look at things. It's attached (let me know once you've got it, I like to keep my forum uploads to a minimum.
I know, right? It almost got comedic.
Yeah! No rebel carpet yet despite having an underaged ruler
You should have seen the factions screen before massive bribe-paying commenced. It was money well-spent, believe me.
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21. The Glory of Battle
This was Konstantinos XIII of the Empire. He had ascended to the throne at the age of nine, and had just come out from the resulting regency in 1196.
He was just, ambitious, patient, greedy, and proud. Surely he would make the Empire much mightier than before. He was also attracted to men instead of women. But he knew he needed heirs, and so married.
Hungry for gold, he raised taxes on the clergy.
He later spent that gold on a tournament. During that tournament, he was able to announce the birth of his first child, a daughter.
Shortly thereafter, he declared war on Egypt to recover Hebron. The war was won swiftly.
It was followed by a few other strategic wars.
During this time, long tradition established Syria as a de jure kingdom in the Empire, not just a de facto one.
Eventually, Konstantinos found himself in truces with the only non-Imperial rulers to hold Imperial lands. He had long since lost his ambition for more, having achieved what few rulers could hope to. However, his chancellors, recognizing his former ambition, had found (at great cost) documents showing his right to rule the duchies of Genoa and Alexandria. The question of the veracity of those documents is still not resolved. Nevertheless, Konstantinos was too proud to let a territory potentially his to slip away. He declared war on France for Genoa.
He was just, ambitious, patient, greedy, and proud. Surely he would make the Empire much mightier than before. He was also attracted to men instead of women. But he knew he needed heirs, and so married.
Hungry for gold, he raised taxes on the clergy.
He later spent that gold on a tournament. During that tournament, he was able to announce the birth of his first child, a daughter.
Shortly thereafter, he declared war on Egypt to recover Hebron. The war was won swiftly.
It was followed by a few other strategic wars.
During this time, long tradition established Syria as a de jure kingdom in the Empire, not just a de facto one.
Eventually, Konstantinos found himself in truces with the only non-Imperial rulers to hold Imperial lands. He had long since lost his ambition for more, having achieved what few rulers could hope to. However, his chancellors, recognizing his former ambition, had found (at great cost) documents showing his right to rule the duchies of Genoa and Alexandria. The question of the veracity of those documents is still not resolved. Nevertheless, Konstantinos was too proud to let a territory potentially his to slip away. He declared war on France for Genoa.
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Odd. I'm able to use vassal levies and such on THIS save, but not any other.
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Many conquests!
Is France much of a power at this time?
It's a regional power, but that's all. And it can't really project power into the Mediterranean very well, so it's easy enough for me.
I just stumbled upon this AAR. A great read so far, subscribed!
Glad to have you along!
Odd. I'm able to use vassal levies and such on THIS save, but not any other.
Odd. Though I had quite a bit of trouble getting LoR to work correctly when I first got it. I finally had to uninstall, reinstall, and double-check the installation of all DLC.
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22. De Jure
Konstantinos had recovered nearly all the lands that were de jure part of the Empire. Meanwhile, his chancellor had produced documents demonstrating his claims to Genoa and Alexandria. While his ambitions had been sated, his pride would not let the opportunity pass. So he declared war on France.
In the midst of this war, rumors flew about large groups of horse-riding invaders on the Seljuks' eastern borders. They were already in the midst of a dynastic upheaval, and Konstantinos prayed they would be shattered.
Some time later, a group of Egyptian vassals began a war with their liege. A war to place Konstaninos on the throne. While their odds of success were low, they provided an opportunity for Konstaninos to step in to pacify things. This would be enough to let him press his weak claim to the Egyptian crown.
The war raged for nearly two years, but eventually Konstantinos was successful.
There was a period of peace. During this time, the Il-Khanate arrived in the east with a massive army.
When the relevant truce was completed, Konstantinos declared war on the King of Sicily.
And when the next relevant truce was completed, on the King of Croatia.
And then finally on the Duke of Croatia.
With this war complete, the Empire was restored to its de jure boundaries. Plus a little more.
But in the north, the Golden Horde arrived with a huge army.
In the midst of this war, rumors flew about large groups of horse-riding invaders on the Seljuks' eastern borders. They were already in the midst of a dynastic upheaval, and Konstantinos prayed they would be shattered.
Some time later, a group of Egyptian vassals began a war with their liege. A war to place Konstaninos on the throne. While their odds of success were low, they provided an opportunity for Konstaninos to step in to pacify things. This would be enough to let him press his weak claim to the Egyptian crown.
The war raged for nearly two years, but eventually Konstantinos was successful.
There was a period of peace. During this time, the Il-Khanate arrived in the east with a massive army.
When the relevant truce was completed, Konstantinos declared war on the King of Sicily.
And when the next relevant truce was completed, on the King of Croatia.
And then finally on the Duke of Croatia.
With this war complete, the Empire was restored to its de jure boundaries. Plus a little more.
But in the north, the Golden Horde arrived with a huge army.
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This has been a fun read so far. I dream of someday playing a game to completion so I actually have a use for your (probably great!) converters. :c
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You got back Egypt. That's so great and without really trying. The Mongols have come.That should make things interesting. Are the Byzantines up to the challenge?
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Hey man, great AAR. I also started a Byzantine game myself but unfortunately i somehow get my ass kicked by the seljuks time and time again.
Maybe im abit noob here but i lose pretty much every single direct confrontation with their armies. In your first post you made it seem so simple but even when i am defending (mountain and river defensive bonus) and only slightly less troops i get absolutely destroyed every time and i cant seem to figure out why. Any ideas?
Maybe im abit noob here but i lose pretty much every single direct confrontation with their armies. In your first post you made it seem so simple but even when i am defending (mountain and river defensive bonus) and only slightly less troops i get absolutely destroyed every time and i cant seem to figure out why. Any ideas?
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22a. Interlude: Political Map
Sorry about the recent slowdown in posting. I've been working on the converter, and work has been busy, and I've got a new girlfriend. And my backlog of posts has long been taken down to zero.
I'm sure I'll develop a new rhythm in time, but until then, here's the requested political map:
On religion, because I find it interesting how it's working out: apart from France and the HRE (which are Catholic), all Christians are Orthodox. France was as well for awhile, but recently fell to the sway of a Catholic ruler. Iberian Muslims are Ibadi. West African Muslims are Sunni. Horn of Africa Muslims are Shia, and the rest are Zikri. Cumania is still Tengri. There are a few pagan provinces left in Africa, and a few Suomenusko provinces in the north.
And on surviving that first war as Byzantium: as you can see from the first attempt at this campaign, simply attacking the Seljuk army is risky. I prefer what I did in this one. Siege their provinces in the west. Gather your entire set of armed forces to the place you're sieging. You'll lose a few provinces yourself, but you're trading land for time. Keep an eye on the size of their doomstack. Hire any mercs you need to have a sizable edge in size. Eventually, they'll get annoyed at you and march over. Make sure you have the best commanders available (pay attention to traits, not just the martial stat). Let them attack, so as to take any possible hit from terrain. With any luck, you'll beat them. Pursue them until they are completely smashed (but back off if they gather another force). Be willing to accept a white peace. It seems that in 1.08, you'll face two other crises rather soon. You'll have a faction to lower CA. Give in to their demands, because they grow overwhelmingly large. You can recover it later. The second is an independence movement. You can likely smash it entirely. Best of luck!
I'm sure I'll develop a new rhythm in time, but until then, here's the requested political map:
On religion, because I find it interesting how it's working out: apart from France and the HRE (which are Catholic), all Christians are Orthodox. France was as well for awhile, but recently fell to the sway of a Catholic ruler. Iberian Muslims are Ibadi. West African Muslims are Sunni. Horn of Africa Muslims are Shia, and the rest are Zikri. Cumania is still Tengri. There are a few pagan provinces left in Africa, and a few Suomenusko provinces in the north.
And on surviving that first war as Byzantium: as you can see from the first attempt at this campaign, simply attacking the Seljuk army is risky. I prefer what I did in this one. Siege their provinces in the west. Gather your entire set of armed forces to the place you're sieging. You'll lose a few provinces yourself, but you're trading land for time. Keep an eye on the size of their doomstack. Hire any mercs you need to have a sizable edge in size. Eventually, they'll get annoyed at you and march over. Make sure you have the best commanders available (pay attention to traits, not just the martial stat). Let them attack, so as to take any possible hit from terrain. With any luck, you'll beat them. Pursue them until they are completely smashed (but back off if they gather another force). Be willing to accept a white peace. It seems that in 1.08, you'll face two other crises rather soon. You'll have a faction to lower CA. Give in to their demands, because they grow overwhelmingly large. You can recover it later. The second is an independence movement. You can likely smash it entirely. Best of luck!
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