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Hello there! Today we are going to talk about some of the remaining rulers (you know, that are neither Christian nor Muslim) you can find in the Iron Century bookmark.

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The situation in the rest of the world.

Eirik Bloodaxe: Previous king of Norway, known for murdering his brothers. He was pushed out by the Norwegian nobility and replaced by Hakon the Good (see the Dev Diary about Recommended Rulers). Situated in the northern stretches of Scotland with his army and fleet, Bloodaxe is in many ways posed to strike in any direction. Much like Haesteinn in the 867 bookmark, I am sure we will see some interesting Bloodaxe playthroughs not long after you guys get your hands on the bookmark.

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Lestek Piast of Poland: Forefather of more well known rulers such as Mieszko and Boleslav the Brave, he still plays an important role in the local Polish politics as one of the strongest rulers of the region. Though the Polish eventually turned to Christianity under Mieszko (which is actually alive as the grandson of Lestek in the bookmark, as is his father Siemomysl), who’s to say you can’t bring Poland into a more interesting turn of events? Bordering the other Slavic tribes, as well as Otto in the west and Bohemia in the south is sure to bring an interesting playthrough nonetheless.

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Gorm the Old of Denmark: At 59 years old, his nickname is certainly fitting. Father of the more well known ruler Harald ‘Bluetooth’, he is the king of Denmark in the bookmark. He borders some Swedish tribes on his eastern front in Scania (which is held by his bastard son Valtoke), and Otto of Germany to the south. His son Harald would later go on to rule both Denmark and partly Norway, after the death of the Norwegian king Harald Greycloak.

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Yngar/Igor of Kievan Rus: After the death of Rurik, Helge/Oleg expanded the influence of the kingdom and they are left with a massive kingdom from Holmgard/Novgorod in the north and all the way down to Kønugård/Kiev in the south. However, Yngvar/Igor is growing old and his hold over his vassals are tenuous at best. If peace and their loyalty can be secured, however, you sit with a potential powerhouse ready to take control of the eastern stretches of Europe. You only need to beat back the Pechenegs, the Khazars and every Russian vassal who look at you a bit shifty-eyed. I am sure it’ll be fine!

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Historically speaking, the 10th century is when you saw a proper shift towards Christianity across the map. The Russians turned to Orthodoxy, while the Scandinavian, Hungarian and Polish lords turned to Catholicism. But who ever accused us of having a historical game after you click the start button, right? Now then, to turn a bit eastwards.

Cao Yuande of the Guiyi: Cao Yuande is second ruler of Guiyi Circuit, having inherited his realm from his long ruling father Cao Yin. Guiyi is a small outpost of Han people, surrounded by nomads or stronger realms. Fortunately you start the game allied with the powerful kingdom of Khotan and the Uyghurs at your eastern border. It will be challenge, but turning your kingdom into an empire is not an impossible task.

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Khagan Deguang of the Liao Dynasty: Duguang, or Taizong, of the Liao became involved in Chinese internal strife during the Ten Kingdoms period. Eventually Taizong declared himself as emperor of China but was unable to keep his throne. With two other nomadic realms starting as their tributaries, the Liao dynasty is in a strong position to spread their influence across the map.

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Makan Kakinid of Dihistan: Makan was involved in various dynastic struggles in Tabaristan, always willing to fight anyone. Despite being defeated by the Ziyarids twice, he always managed to bounce back. Eventually Makan turned against his protectors, the Samanids, and was killed for his troubles. Perhaps you can be more succesful than the historical Makan?

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Tomorrow we'll go through some decisions and bloodlines added in The Iron Century. As well as the announcing the release date of the Bookmark.

And here's a link to the ongoing AAR: https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...century-mini-aar.1179523/page-2#post-25485539
 
Khagan Deguang of the Liao Dynasty: Duguang, or Taizong, of the Liao became involved in Chinese internal strife during the Ten Kingdoms period. Eventually Taizong declared himself as emperor of China but was unable to keep his throne. With two other nomadic realms starting as their tributaries, the Liao dynasty is in a strong position to spread their influence across the map.

Wouldn't it make more sense for the Liao emperors to have the family name, Yelü, instead of Liao? If you look at the list of Liao dynasty emperors (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_emperors_of_the_Liao_dynasty), you will notice that they have the surname, Yelü.
 
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Cool :) Some recommended characters in India?
 
Shouldn't Eirik be a tribal kinslayer?
 
As it was mentioned before, there will be no special events regarding Christianization of Kievan Rus. So, I suppose, there will be no events for Olga as well?
 
I love these recommendation dev diaries. Wouldn't have thought about playing as that Han guy!
 
Excited to play a round as the Guiyi army. The garrison there was nominally loyal to the Tang dynasty for a long time, before declaring itself a Kingdom on its own right after the Tang downfall.

I wish we had a clearer look at India!

As it was mentioned before, there will be no special events regarding Christianization of Kievan Rus. So, I suppose, there will be no events for Olga as well?

Paradox doesn't add many historical/railroady events, does it? I think Charlemagne and Otto are major exceptions given how central they are (narratively speaking) to their respective boomarks.
 
Any interesting Jewish rulers on the map in this start date?
 
Weren't Liao supposed to assumed Chinese bureaucracy? So, shouldn't their government be Chinese Imperial instead of Nomadic?

Edit: I also like the name Taizong (his chinese-styled name) more than Deguang :D
 
If there isn't a Gorm the Old bloodline for the legendary Jelling-Cnut the Great-Estrid dynasty, and a Rhodri Mawr bloodline for the House of Aberffraw, I will be sorely disappointed.