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The Black Legend of Betotez: The Villains of Visigothia

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A slightly longer update than normal, but not much happened for two kings and then a lot happened with Agila, so it was better to lump it together and bring everyone up-to-date. With the war of independence, I did genuinely ransom the emperor instead of enforcing demands... It was an accident, as I had been capturing a lot of dukes and ransoming was becoming second nature since I desperately needed the money to fund all those mercenaries.

The analysis of social change is a mostly creative aspect, as I always wonder how ingame changes would have impacted society if it had happened in the real world, and my fondness for mercenaries has left both Navarra and Armagnac as some of the most underdeveloped holdings in western Europe, so the bit about pitiful castles is real.

As you can see, the Kingdom of the Sea is a big change in strategy, since strategies on the continent cause me more losses than gains, and a great deal of pain. Britain is highly fractured in the game and ideal for conquest, and Navarra desperately needs a larger power base.
 
Quite an intriguing development! Depending on how things go on the mainland, maybe you'll suddenly end up a Visigoth in England! Though I'd love to see a political map of Europe about this point.
 
It seems like you're starting a slow transition northwards. It'll probably be easier to hold onto territory in the Isles than try to take back land from the Muslims.
 
Really interesting tale of failure and success you have going on! So I'm letting you know that I've nominated you for the Character Writer of the Week. Congratulations, keep up the good work, and don't forget to pass the award on next week!
 
Loving this tomoscaerllion so I'm subscribing. In fact the way you've mixed the 1st person narrative style with a history book style is very effective and has given me an idea for my own AAR so thanks! :)
 
Copy-pasted below from the old forum as it seems I missed the cutoff:

When I read your comment above about ransoming the Emperor, I was worried that that mistake would cost you the war, but thankfully that was not the case. So, money from the Emperor and your freedom! Good stuff!

It's a bit odd to read about the Visigoths invading the British Isles, but the logic (gaining strategic depth and getting out of the way of the Muslims in Spain) is impeccable. I hope you gain enough strength that you'll be able to retake Hispania in the future, rather than this being merely the beginning of a permanent relocation northwards.
 
Just about to return with a bit of a geopolitical update for those wondering what's become of the world. Thanks, alscon, for the nomination! It's always encouraging to get feedback on an AAR, and positive feedback even more so. :p

I don't intend to 'go native' or to forget the Iberian motherland, but I am hoping for a bit of a Visigothic colonisation of the British Isles. As others have said, it's much easier to keep gains there, and so it makes a good base for eventual reconquest. Rest assured that I fully intend a great Visigothic homecoming, once the Umayyads can be broken.
 
The 'World' in 922 A.D.​
Kingdom of the Sea
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We begin in the lands of the Betotez, the Kingdom of Navarra. In 922 the Navarrese Kingdom stretches from scattered holdings in Hispania, based around centres in Navarra and the Bedouin county of Armagnac, to Celtic lands in the Irish sea. King Agila rules over Visigoths in Spain but also Breton counts, Anglo-Saxons, Welshmen and an Irish Count of Dublin. The stability of the realm is threatened by the thirst for independence felt by some conquered lords, but a reinvigorated Navarrese crown stands confident in its integrity, hoping to use rebellion to further consolidate control over its scattered lands, rather than to be forced to recede once more.

Religion and Society in Spain
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The centuries since the Regnum Visigothorum fell to the Muslims has created a cultural and religious shift in Iberia that has only been gathering momentum for the last century. Within the Umayyad Sultanate Catholicism has become a minority religion, with western clusters surviving under the Muslims and the Catholics of Barcelona enjoying a period of Lombard rule which placed them above their converted Muslims countrymen, with Barcelona itself seeing sufficient Lombard arrivals for it to be considered a colony of the Kingdom of Italy. The rebellious history of Castile has been accompanied by an increasingly localised identity, with much of Leon and Castile being independent of the Asturian dynasties but still maintaining a fierce resistance to the Umayyads from time to time. The influence of Islam and exposure to Arabic culture has led to the rise of a Hispano-Arabic dialect as the new lingua franca in Hispania and many populations now feel more connected to their brothers of the faith in distant lands in the Maghreb and Arabia than they do with their blood relatives in the mountainous Catholic enclaves of the north.

The West
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The hegemony of Francia may be shorlived, as their inability to prevent the breakaway Lombards from seizing more and more lands in Francia, mostly along the river Elbe, and the Navarrese from establishing their independence has led to the Emperor maintaining a very loose grip on power, with the Frankish nobles enjoying near-autonomy. Italy has also managed to expand into the Kingdom of Bavaria, despite the success of Bavaria in protecting itself against Frankish expansion, but are now being tested by incursions by the Bohemian Slavs.

The East
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The Byzantines remain a great empire and have recaptured almost all of Magna Graecia and subjugated many of the southern Slavs. However, they have been unable to expand against the Muslim states of the east despite the fragmentation of the Abbasid empire.

The Ilmenian Rus and the Bohemian Confederacy
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Bordered by the Volga Bulgarians in the east and the lands of Christendom and the Danes in the east, lie two great spheres of power. The first is the Ilmenian Rus, which in 922 is splt into Rus, Ruthenia, Galich and one or two smaller principalities. This great power was established when the Ilmenian Slavs united all the eastern Slavs and created a great empire, reformed the Slavic faith into one with an advanced religious hierarchy under a High Priest, consolidated a set of written holy texts and standardised forms of worship. By 922 the reformed form of Slavic paganism has become almost ubiquitous.
The western Slavs have been similarly united by the Czecks of Moravia and Bohemia, who have spread their dynasty to Pommerania, Poalnd, and Pannonia, as well as Bohemia itself. From time to time this entity is united by one man, but is more often split between two or three close relatives.

A Slavic Century?
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The strength and unity of the new reformed Slavic faith, and the consolidation of eastern and western Slavs into the two powers of Ilmenian Rus and the Bohemian confederacy has changed the face of eastern Europe and has made a poweful bulwark against east and west alike. Could this powerful base be the foundation of a Slavic century, or will their Golden Age be a purely inward affair?

The Abbasid Successor States
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The fall of the Abbasid Caliphate has left the Islamic world shattered, with the Taid sultanate of Khwarezm and the Hashimids of Arabia being the two largest Muslim states in the east, and the Umayyads staying strong in the west. The Muslims of Somalia have been repeatedly conquered by Miaphysite and Monophysite Christians and for the time being it seems that there is little threat to Christendom from any other Muslim than the Umayyad Sultan.

The British Isles
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A fine prospect for would-be conquerors and adventurers. The English and Welsh are highly divided, and the Picts weak. The political division is heightened by religious division as a Lollard Heresiarch now rules over parts of central England, southern Picland and Sussex. This great Lord of Leicester has become one of the strongest states of England over nights, rivalling Kent and Northumbria. The new arrivals in the Navarrese territories pose a new threat for the seemingly weak lords of Britannia. Consolidation is bound to come sooner or later, but circumstances are so uncertain that the next great state to arise could be ruled by an Englishman, Irishman, Welshman, Pict, Viking or Visigoth.
 
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What a melting pot!
 
The collapse of the Muslim world can only bode well for any attempts to return to Iberia. Creating a new power base in the British Isles first couldn't help either.
 
I found my way here from Best Character Writer of the Week, and I'm loving it!
 
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The Middle East and the British Isles are lands of opportunity. I don't see you leading the charge to liberate Jerusalem just yet, but Britain should give you a lot of opportunities, assuming that the Ummayads stay quiet.

Interesting situation in Russia and eastern Europe as well, with the strong Slavic faith. Maybe the Byzantines can knock some Christian sense into them?
 
Ok, just wrote a rather large update and by the time I had finished the forum had logged me out, and when it told me to click back only the title and one line were saved as a draft that I could recover... I'm afraid the next update will be slightly delayed as a result, as I go yell at my keyboard. ​
 
Stuyvesant said:
Ouch. Considering how frustrated I've been for losing a mere response due to the forum having a wobbly, I can only imagine how frustrating this is. Here's to some cathartic yelling.
Click to expand...

I concur...
 
That's always a pain. Even though you have a better idea of what to write the second time, all your motivation is gone by then. I personally always write my updates in Word and copy and paste them into the forum, but I've also had Word freeze on me before, making me lose some of my work. Curse you technology!
 
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A little bonus picture before I post an update. This is what a slightly more united Rus looks like. They spend more time at this size than they do split, so I rarely see Ruthenia. The Slavic faith ain't goin' nowhere... At least until the Mongols arrive, that is.

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Also, Sweden is now Catholic!

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