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Dec 21, 2011
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So, I decided to make an Ironman AAR in Vanilla CK2, with ALL DLC enabled except the dastardly Sunset Invasion.

But who was a going to play as? I usually play as a Viking petty king, but that just wouldn't do for this series. I had to do the unthinkable. I had to go into this AAR blindfolded, without even knowing who I would play, or having any experience with the character before.

Yes. I clicked those dice.

Let the Completely Random AAR begin!
 
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Year One - 867

So, I am a 57-year-old Basque king. Intriguing. The Basques are sandwiched in between all kinds of more powerful kingdoms. This would be a challenge, undoubtedly. But maybe I can accomplish greatness as the Basques and carve out a name for myself in medieval Europe, and beyond! (Yes, if my dynasty survives, I will continue it in EUIV)

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After marrying off my unmarried courtiers and the usual making sure my children and grandchildren were being educated, I got an intriguing request from the AI. The King of West Francia wanted my daughter to marry one of his sons. I, naturally, said OK to this.

I, King Gartzia I, went on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, and promptly got sick on the way. I survived, thankfully, and returned to Navarra a renowned scholar. My 18-year-old wife then became pregnant! Winning. (EDIT: Or not, as we'll see later)

As the summer drew to an end, and I turned 58 years old, my son Eneko came of age, but something even more fortuitous happened.

The Umayyad Sultanate found itself at war with the pagan chief of the Canary Islands. I, the scheming misguided warrior King Gartzia, could not miss the chance to press the claims of my vassals into the lands of the infidel. Hands were rubbed together and schemes were underway.

Do not click attachment...the move from the old forum made it hard to access and impossible to delete.
 

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Year Two - 868

A series of unexpected events occurred early in 868. As King Gartzia sat safe in Pamplona, my capital, knowing that the West Francian king would come to his aid in any war because of the family ties between their children, he dispatched his son, Prince Antso, to begin mustering troops in Navarra for a possible war. Then, two huge events rocked Gartzia's world. First, Gartzia's son-in-law Carloman Karling died at age 19. He was a maimed cripple, but everyone expected him to live longer. The alliance with West Francia came to an end. My son, also named Gartzia, was born the same spring.

Then, the King of Asturias, my brother-in-law the skilled tactician Alfonso III, declared a war to rid the infidel from Portucale, with tacit approval from Pope Nicholas. With a war cloud brewing over northern Spain, Gartzia began to regret sending his son and best general to the countryside to muster troops. Sure enough, the inevitable soon occurred. Alfonso III called our hero, Gartzia, into the war. Gartzia put his 11 intrigue to good use and got out of joining Alfonso's holy war with no loss of prestige. Gartzia, while deliberately holding Alfonso's messenger outside the gates of Pamplona, decreed that Navarra was now at war with the Umayyads, in order to reclaim Saraqusta for my son-in-law Aznar II! Satisfied when he learned of this news, Alfonso's messenger returned to Alfonso' camp in Castelo Blanco to tell him the news of war.

However, soon after the war was started, Gartzia realized that his 1000 men-at-arms would not be enough to strike fear into the vast Umayyad Sultanate. Gartzia borrowed money from the local Jewish moneylenders, and raised a company of Spanish mercenaries. Now that his army numbered 2500 men, the young Eneko, leader of the army since Antso was still nowhere to be found, wished to press south to his objective. But a company of 900 Umayyad troops had swept into the mountains of Najera to the west, no doubt readying themselves to strike at Pamplona once Eneko led his men south. Eneko, rather than pressing south, decided to meet the threat head-on in the west.

The Battle of Najera 5 May 868 - 24 May 868

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Circumstances: 2534 Navarrese troops under Prince Eneko Iniga (rating 11) attack 907 Umayyad men-at-arms, not organized under a general in the mountainous terrain of Najera.

Battle: The skirmishing at the mountain passes began 5 May 868. Having taken casualties getting through the passes, the Navarrese finally attacked the main body of Umayyad troops on 18 May, and the battle lasted for 2 days. The Muslims were utterly routed, and take 722 casualties. The Navarrese suffered 189 men lost to injury or death. The final escape of the surviving Muslims to the north began 24 May 868, temporarily ending the engagement.

Eneko caught up to the retreating Umayyads at Irun, however, and killed or captured 185 soldiers there on 7 June, taking 8 casualties in the process.

Eneko then returned south to Najera, and began its siege on 17 June 868. Some intriguing backstory must be provided about Najera's defender, Lubb Qasid. Though a Sunni cleric, Lubb is actually the nephew of King Gartzia Iniga; Lubb was the offspring of Gartzia's Muslim uncle, Musa Qasid of Zaragoza, and Gartzia's Christian half-sister Assona Iniga, who still lived within the walls of Najera during the siege. Though potentially embarrassing to both sides, the two neighboring realms, now at war, did have relatives on both sides of the borders.

Eneko continued his siege of Najera, despite its vast granaries and defending complement of over 900 levies. Meanwhile, there were whispers of disaster on the battlefield to the west, in Portucale, though the Navarrese were unsure of how truthful these rumors were.

The siege dragged on as summer turned to fall, and then to winter. The new year came, and a new ally appeared in the war. Of all places, he was a Muslim of southern Spain.

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Hopefully the secessionist Sheikh Attab Nasrid of Cadiz will divert the attention of the Sultan from our Asturian allies and my own army!
 
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Year Three - 869

Najera and its defender, King Gartzia's nephew Lubb were still holding out, but barely. The king fell sick in the winter cold in his mountain capital of Pamplona. However, the cold also forced Najera to finally surrender. Princess Assona of Navarra, Gartzia's half-sister, was hauled off to his personal dungeon. By 3 June 869, King Gartzia had recovered, and the entire countryside of the Najera region had surrendered, including the towns of Logrono and Calahorra. More bad news from the west continued to arrive, but Navarrese troops, now led by Prince Antso rather than Gartzia's grandson Eneko, went east instead, to the primary objective.

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Upon the army's arrival in Saraqusa, it discovered a welcome sight. A Catholic uprising had broken out to the east in Larida; its leader was known, strangely, only as Hug. The Navarrese were determined to leave the rebels alone, and let them have Larida. The enemy of an enemy is a friend! Bishop Gerhard of Bavaria was supposed to be on his way with reinforcements from our friends in Bavaria, but his army dallied to the north of the Pyrenees, where local nobles were in revolt against the King of Aquitaine. As King Gartzia, turned 60, the siege of Zaragoza dragged on into the winter months. It was rumored that the Umayyad armies had indeed turned south against the rebels in Cadiz. It was also rumored that boats from the north, bringing pagans, had arrived and were hitting the northern coast of Asturias with full force!
 
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Year Four - 870

An army from Tunis, in the far-off Aghlabid Sultanate, attacked the Catholic rebels in Larida, and routed them in February of 870. Saraqusa finally surrendered on 23 February 870. The men celebrated in the streets of the city by running through the city and taking whatever could be found of value by force. Little else could be expected from mercenaries.

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Meanwhile at home, an apologetic Princess Assona died in the Pamplona dungeon. By mid-September, the entire fertile plains of Zaragoza were taken, including the towns of Alagon and Caspe. Prince Antso sent his troops to the southwest in search of new lands to plunder; the mercenaries seemed to have an insatiable appetite for gold, and slowly our reserves of gold were dwindling. The Catholic revolt appeared to defy the odds, and thanks to the withdrawal of the Aghlabid army, Hug and his band seized control of Larida and had moved southward.

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The Navarrese armies besiege Calatayud, and an enemy soldier has not even been seen in the field for months. Rumor is that Cadiz is about to surrender to the Sultan.
 
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Year Five - 871

Map of the current, confused, war-torn Iberian situation:

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The Catholic uprising has taken Lisbon and Lerida; the Umayyads have almost overrun Cadiz. Navarre has taken several regions from the Sultanate, the Umayyads are pushing into southern Asturias, and the Vikings have landed on Asturias' northern shore.

As the new year begins, the Navarrese army under Prince Antso continues its siege of Calatayud. My son and namesake Gartzia is accused of being demonspawn, but my faithful court chaplain and grandson Eneko shuts down any talk of this. Then, the unthinkable happens. My son and heir, Prince Fortun, was struck down by illness on 17 March at age 41. He was well-known for his skill as a thrifty clerk, and his stewardship abilities will be missed in my court. My new heir then became the tough soldier Prince Antso.

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Back on the front, the Bavarians finally arrived, and Calatayud surrendered in late March. The province was pacified, and towns Piedra and Alhama captured and looted by June. Prince Antso's army marched south to besiege Balansiyya.

The siege was underway, when in late October, a large Umayyad army was seen by Navarrese scouts approaching from the west. Antso's army realized that it was too late to withdraw, and broke off the siege. The Navarrese and Bavarians would have to mount a desperate defense in the hills above the city to the west.

Crap:
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The Battle of Gandia 7 November 871 - 2 December 871

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Circumstances: 3044 Navarrese and Bavarian troops under Bishop Gerhard of Friesing (rating 9) are attacked by 5800 Umayyad soldiers under Faruk Farukid (R9).

Battle: The Umayyads made good use of their knowledge of the terrain and attacked in echelon, culminating in essentially two separate battles that were decisive victories for the Sultanate. The Bavarians refused to coordinate properly under the superior commander, Prince Antso, and Antso's orders ended being ignored by nearly all the leaders of the allied army. The defeated Navarrese and Bavarians finally withdrew on 2 December 871, having lost 2062 casualties. The Umayyads lost 659 killed and wounded.

King Gartzia, and Prince Antso knew that the saving grace is possibly the now-huge Catholic rebel army to their east. The Umayyads immediately moved against them after their victory at Gandia, and the much-reduced allied army made its winter quarters in Calatayud, while Antso offered gold to any passerby who could fight.
 
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Year Six - 872

The Umayyad army immediately pounced on and annihilated the large Catholic army in a matter of months. The reinforcements the Catholics sent from the west were entirely too late, and the reinforcements decided to avoid the Umayyad army and go south to besiege more territory. The Umayyads decided to besiege the Zaragozan plain once again, causing the Navarrese forces to dash for the hills:

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Meanwhile, in Pamplona, rumors continued that little Gartzia was a demonspawn:

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The Sultanate's forces finished out the year by taking back almost all of Zaragoza.
 
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Year Seven - 873

The Vikings landed and intended on raiding Navarra...and it ended in utter disaster for our Navarrese heroes.
While Antso's reduced army, tired of hiding in the mountains of Upper Aragon, came down to Navarra and attacked the raiders, the Umayyad army moved into position, waiting to strike at the rear of the Navarrese. While the Vikings were defeated and driven back to their ships, the entire Navarrese regiment of 994 men was forced to surrender at Tafalla. The Umayyad army promptly crossed the border into Asturias:

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In Pamplona, the acting steward Duke Aznar II de Aragon, who escaped the disaster at Tafalla and who was more of a misguided warrior than a steward, was accused of embezzlement, forced to pay back a large sum of gold (187) and dismissed from the position. Amid this turmoil in Gartzia's court, our valiant king felt that the war was a good as lost. Additionally, that summer Alfonso III of Asturias called off his holy war for Portucale.

However, King Gartzia was known for being a misguided warrior, not a cowardly warrior. In the winter, Gartzia raised fresh army and planned to go south again, against the odds. This new army was placed under the able command of Martin de Leyre, the new steward of the realm.
 
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Year Eight - 874

Gartzia sends forth his small band; and he orders Martin de Leyre south before his army was fully ready, in order to catch the newly mustered Umayyad army preparing in Saraqusta unprepared.

Battle of Saraqusta - 28 February 874 - 9 March 874

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Circumstances: Martin de Leyre's 674 hastily prepared Navarrese troops attacked 504 ill-prepared Umayyad men.

Battle: The Navarrese overwhelmed the Umayyad position hastily, and gave chase to the Umayyads, but most of them escaped. The Navarrese sustained 38 casualties, while the Sultanate lost 147 men.

Aftermath: Martin de Leyre chose to chase the rapidly fleeing Umayyads all the way into Molina, to the southwest, where another skirmish ensued, and the Navarrese lost 12 casualties, while the Umayyads lost another 128. Another skirmish occurred in Kunka, where the Navarrese lost 11 men, and the Umayyads sustained 70 casualties. Finally, the Umayyad contingent was chased back to Molina, where the remaining 149 troops were all killed, wounded, or captured, and the Navarrese lost an additional 6 men.

The Navarrese regiment then returned to Zaragoza, but their siege of Saraqusta was cut short by the arrival of the main Umayyad army into Navarra-held Calatayud. The Umayyads assaulted Calatayud and took it quickly, while the Navarrese found and annihilated another band of about 140 soldiers in Zaragoza.

King Gartzia decided to expel the Jews and seize their belongings for the crown treasury. Mercenaries were hired for the war effort with these funds.

By the end of December, another siege of Saraqusta was underway.

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Year Nine - 875

The Umayyad army quickly made itself known, and swiftly attacked the remaining Catholic rebels, and defeated the remainder of their forces. Then, the Umayyad army turned north to attack our Navarrese heroes, who took up defensive positions in the mountains of Upper Aragon.

The Battle of Jaca 6 May 875 - 24 June 875

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Circumstances: 2643 Navarrese troops, commanded by Martin de Leyre (R18), are attacked by 5139 troops, mostly mercenaries under the flag of the Umayyad sultanate and commanded by Captain Donnchad (R12).

Battle: The Navarrese center quickly gave way, and is exploited by the surging mercenaries and Umayyad troops, who turned the battle into a rout very quickly. However, just as the Umayyads smelled victory, Mayor Markward of Pforzheim and Bishop Gerhard of Friesing unexpectedly arrived in the mountains with another 1886 men-at-arms. It is very unfortunate for King Gartzia that they did not arrive sooner; however, their arrival against already exhausted mercenaries meant that the battle was very much a close affair, with armed group after armed group on either side either getting cut down or routed. Finally, the Umayyads put the remaining Bavarians to flight, and the battle was over. All told, out of 4529 Bavarian and Navarrese participants, 3112 were casualties. Out of the Umayyad and mercenary army of 5139, 1958 were killed or wounded.

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Aftermath: King Gartzia of Navarra realized his nobles had lost any further will to fight after Jaca, and he called off the war on 27 June. A hefty war indemnity was paid to the Umayyad sultan in exchange for peace.

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On 16 July, the outbreak of consumption finally reached the throne, and King Gartzia fell ill but pressed on despite the tuberculosis, uttering in Basque, "Though disease may take me, I will continue to rule until my last breath."
 
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Year Ten - 876

In January, King Gartzia finally succumbed to tuberculosis at age 66.

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Gartzia Enekez Iniga (810-876)
Final Stats:
D: 8 M: 7 S: 9 I: 11 L: 9

Final Traits: Misguided Warrior, Pilgrim, Scholar, Deceitful, Diligent, Paranoid, Temperate, Has Consumption

With King Gartzia dead, it was up to his second son Antso, well-known as a skilled tactician, to rule. His first order of business was to improve my prestige in my court and my realm, for upon coming to the throne he was the laughingstock of Iberia (-283). Antso allowed the return of the Jews.

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Antso's son and heir, Aznar, especially loved studying battle and strategy. Meanwhile, consumption has killed both Sultan Muhammad and his immediate heir al-Mundir, leaving the Umayyad Sultanate in the hands of Jabir, a six-year-old. According to experts, the wife of the late al-Mundir, the lowborn Saama, was really in command.

In other political news from around the world, West Francia and Aquitaine have been unified under King Louis 'the Stammerer'. A major Breton uprising is threatening the pagan Viking Chief Haesteinn's command there. A major uprising of Anglo-Saxon nobles is threatening the southeastern Danelaw. Bavaria has been unified with East Francia under King Karlmann (and conveniently my half-sister is married to his heir). Our more adventurous merchants tell tales of a pagan petty king, Harald 'Fairhair', with aspirations of greatness in Norway. The Magyar peoples, now under King Arpad 'the Wise' have carved out a large realm from what used to be western Bulgaria and eastern Moravia.
 
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Year Eleven - 877

As Prince Aznar Iniga comes of age, a great ceremony surrounds his marriage to Princess Irmingarde of Italy. This marriage secures the Navarrese alliance to two out of the four major Carolingian states in Europe, and greatly increases their prestige. While no one is as yet impressed with King Antso's accomplishments, he was no longer synonymous with failure and ridicule.

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Then, Antso's reign of all of a year and two months came to an end when his 9-year-old half-brother stabbed him in the eye in his sleep.

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Antso Gartzes Iniga (832-877)
Final Stats:
D: 7 M: 17 S: 5 I: 5 L: 8

Final Traits:
Skilled Tactician, Wroth, Brave, Gluttonous, Charitable

So, King Antso is dead, and a boy of 16, King Aznar, ruled Navarra. Though Antso's son Aznar was young, many already referred to him as a brilliant strategist and a fine student of warfare.

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Another part of the court unravels, as the venerated nun Alice, previously special religious advisor to all three recent Navarrese kings, converted to the Fraticelli heresy. She was promptly thrown in the dungeon and King Aznar replaced her with the less outstanding, but still capable, Bishop Fortun of Leyre.

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Then in August, two interesting developments occurred. The Shia Idrisid Sultanate declared a religious war on the Umayyads. Good news! But Duke Aznar de Aragon gave King Aznar Iniga an ultimatum to lower crown authority over the nobles in the realm of Navarra, and civil war broke out in late September.

To check Aznar de Aragon's advance, King Aznar hired mercenaries and appointed Martin de Leyre to lead his army. Despite Martin's command of the army's center, King Aznar himself took command of the right flank of the army. Though well-led, this army was hastily being mustered, and was hardly ready for battle by the end of September. Luckily for King Aznar, Aznar de Aragon declined to march on Pamplona, instead opting for a defensive stance in the mountains. King Aznar, Martin de Leyre, and Lope Iniga continued to train and organized the Navarrese troops and mercenaries.

Though King Aznar wanted to wait for his ally Louis II of Italy to arrive with troops, the impetuous Martin de Leyre led his troops straight into Aznar de Aragon's mountain stronghold! [I accidentally told my army to attack. Whoops]

The Battle of Huesca 27 December 877 - 20 January 878

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Circumstances: 2129 Navarrese troops and mercenaries led by Martin de Leyre (20) attack 1591 Aragonese troops, led by Aznar de Aragon (10) at Huesca in the mountains of Upper Aragon.

Battle: Though Martin de Leyre's center ended up buckling, they held out long enough for King Aznar's flanking army to arrive and rout the Aragonese. By 20 January, the remainder of the Aragonese army had escaped, though the rebels had lost 1188 men, compared to only 475 Navarrese casualties.

Aftermath: The Aragonese fled to the south, and Martin de Leyre's men caught up to them at Saraqusta, and killed, captured, or wounded another 288 men, while losing 12. The survivors then wheeled back to Huesca, where the 115 survivors were captured, at the cost of 4 mercenaries.
 
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You really have to use the "proper" way of posting pictures by using tags, real eye strain otherwise.

[IMG]http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l334/Lou_Nickerson/ck2_27_zps814aa0eb.png

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There, looks much better, don't it?!
 
Year Twelve - 878

King Aznar, Martin de Leyre, and Lope Iniga had besieged the rebel capital of Jaca at the end of December, and efforts were made to starve out the defenders. 750 Italian soldiers arrived to bolster the siege in mid-year. By November, Jaca fell to the besieging army, and Duke Aznar de Aragon surrendered and was placed in King Aznar's dungeon.

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The title of Duke of Aragon was promptly usurped by the rightful king of Navarra, Aznar Iniga, after Aznar de Aragon was locked up.
 
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You really have to use the "proper" way of posting pictures by using tags, real eye strain otherwise.

There, looks much better, don't it?![/QUOTE]

Thanks, I'm a noob.
 
Year Thirteen - 879

News arriving from North African merchants have told tales of some Umayyad victories in the Idrisid Sultanate, though the war still raged there. Unfortunately for King Aznar, he doubted that the Umayyad Sultanate had weakened sufficiently for any renewed war to the massive Muslim realm to the south to succeed. Additionally, the Idrisid Sultanate was opportunistically invaded by its neighbors to the east in the Rustamid Sultanate.

The most important news of the year was the announcement of the birth of King Aznar's first child on 16 May, who the glorious Navarrese king named Antso in honor of his father.

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Year Fourteen - 880

King Aznar dealt this year with the lingering after-effects of the revolt. He forced Aznar de Aragon to pay a hefty sum of gold, and then freed him. Alice, who had converted to the Fraticelli heresy and was rotting in my dungeon, was forced to re-convert and freed. Her position at the head of religious functions in my court was generously restored. King Aznar invited new noblemen into the court for the purpose of finding an effective administrator of my realm. A capable man named Alfontso de Loarra arrived at Pamplona and was chosen to administer the storage and payment of funds for public works. Alice formally left the sisterhood of Christ and married this newcomer:

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King Aznar learned from visitors that the war between the Idrisid Sultanate and the Umayyads had ended in another Umayyad victory, but they also told us of a new war between Alfonso III of Asturias and the 10-year-old Umayyad Sultan Jabir (and the shadowy woman Saama who was his regent). Could King Aznar succeed where his grandfather had failed?
 
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Year Fifteen - 881

King Aznar of Navarra decided to renew his grandfather's war for the fertile lands of Zaragoza (Saraqusta) to the south. The kingdoms of Italy and Bulgaria agreed to send as many troops over to Navarra as they could, though Italy was beset by Tuscan rebels and at war with West Francia. Saaman and Jabir would have to prove their worth by defending against both the Navarrese and Asturians at once!

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The Catalanese sellswords were ready to fight once again, and King Aznar had a convenient idea of how to fund these mercenaries:
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Martin de Leyre was put in overall command of the army, though he was responsible for answering to me, King Aznar, as well as my cousin Lope Iniga, who both Martin's lieutenants, but in many ways his superiors in terms of prestige and upbringing. It is not necessarily an easy job to be the overseer of the actions of a king!

The siege of Zaragoza began on 25 March:
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On 5 June, a large Umayyad army moved in, and Martin de Leyre abandoned the siege, already hampered by rampant smuggling, and took up defensive positions behind the Ebro river.

The Battle of Caspe 7 June 881 - 8 August 881
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Circumstances: 3261 Iberian Muslim men-at-arms under Sami of Loule (10) attack 2677 Navarrese troops and Catalanese mercenaries under Martin de Leyre (20), aided by a company of Italians. The leader of the Italians, Count Maginfredo di Milano, a well-known flamboyant schemer, effectively managed to issue orders to the left flank of the Navarrese army in place of Lope Iniga, who was busy fighting on the front. Maginfredo also managed to rally a large number of mercenaries around him, and the Navarrese left flank was numerically the strongest and the outset of battle.

Battle: For weeks the Muslims tried to cross the Ebro in raiding parties. and it was not until 25 June that the forces of Emir Aslam of Beja crossed the river in numbers, and attempted to attack Maginfredo di Milano. The attack was poorly executed, and the Umayyad right flank was routed, dismaying the commander Sami, whose forces remained on the southern side of the river Ebro.

No other major river crossing were made, and strong incursions from the Navarrese forced Sami to withdraw as well, leaving the cavalry on the poorly-led Umayyad left. By 8 August, the Umayyads had fled the field, leaving behind 2314 casualties. The Navarrese, Italians, and Catalanese mercenaries had lost 682 men.

Aftermath: The Navarrese scouts south of Zaragoza saw a sizable army of Umayyad mercenaries approaching; clearly Saama had intended to reinforce the flagging Caspe campaign with sell-swords of her own, but they had gotten in the area too late. Once they realized the battle was lost, they ceased their advance toward Zaragoza, and began advancing on Albarracin, toward where the survivors of Caspe were retreating. The Navarrese chose not to pursue, and instead tentatively to resume the siege.

By September, a united Umayyad and mercenary army had crossed the Ebro to the southeast and were heading northwest, according to Navarrese scouts. Based on this information, Martin de Leyre cautiously decided to withdraw toward Upper Aragon. The Umayyad army chose not to attack the mountains, and left the area of Zaragoza entirely.

In late October, thinking the Umayyads had left the region, Martin de Leyre moved back to the Ebro river, but before crossing Navarrese scouts informed the army that the Umayyads and their mercenaries were returning to do battle again along the river. De Leyre hoped his forces could hold out again; this time retreat was not an option.

The Battle of Alagon 31 October 881 - 11 December 881
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Circumstances: 2724 Umayyads (including a large company of their dreaded heavy cavalry) and mercenaries under Donnchad (10) attack an increasingly disorganized group of 2096 Navarrese, mercenaries, and a half-strength company of Italians, this time commanded by Duke Boson of Provence (10), who had used his influence to send the talented Martin de Leyre to fight on the front lines.

Battle: Raids and archery characterized most of the meetings between the armies on opposite sides of the river, and Boson of Provence himself was driven off of the battlefield as all of his Italians were killed in an enemy raid. The center, poorly commanded after Boson's cowardice, eventually was forced to withdraw in mid-November. On 21 November Emir Aslam, now commanding the Umayyad left, again tried to cross the river and was met with stiff resistance by the waiting troops under King Aznar's personal command. Despite Aznar's valiant try, he and his men were eventually routed by the superior numbers of Aslam. Lope Iniga was eventually forced to retreat on 11 December. The Navarrese ran for the mountains, leaving behind 1255 killed and wounded. The Umayyads and their mercenaries suffered 862 casualties in the successful river attack.

Aftermath: The Umayyads decided not to pursue the Navarrese into the mountains of Basque country. Meanwhile...a game-changer had stepped onto the scene.
 
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Year Sixteen - 882

While King Aznar and Martin de Leyre rallied their troops and recruited new men in the mountains of Upper Aragon, a welcome sight could be seen in the Pyrenees in February:
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King Boris had finally arrived, with over 4000 men-at-arms! The combined army moved south, and besieged Zaragoza. By the end of the year, both Zaragoza and Alagon had fallen to the Navarrese. News from Asturias spoke of Umayyad victories there, but undoubtedly inspired by the fall of Zaragoza, a new Catholic uprising against the Umayyads in Valladolid had broken out.
 
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Year Seventeen - 883

Caspe fell to the Navarrese, mercenaries, and Bulgarians, and so did Albarracin to the south of Zaragoza. Then, in the later part of the year, a large Umayyad army was spotted moving toward Zaragoza, but when they saw the size of their opposing force near Albarracin, the turned back and tried to escape to the west, but after both armies passed through the hills of the Molina region, the armies met in the hills near Guadalajara.

The Battle of Guadalajara 24 September 883 - 23 October 883
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Circumstances: 5218 Navarrese, mercenary, and Bulgarian troops under King Boris the Lionheart (17) attack 3313 Umayyad and mercenary forces under Captain Donnchad (10), including the Umayyad heavy cavalry.

Battle: After two weeks of maneuver and skirmishing, a large detachment led by Condottiere Felip of the Catalan Band (20) found and assaulted a mercenary band led by Tighearnach Ui Cleirigh, Marshal of the Irish Band (14). The overwhelming numbers of the Catalanese mercenaries won the day. Meanwhile, King Aznar's personal command attacked Emir Aslam's detachment in mid-October. Emir Aslam's forces proved themselves well, and showed the superiority of the heavy cavalry, as the outnumbered Umayyads inflicted heavy casualties on King Aznar's troops. But Donnchad's center soon collapsed, and the entire army was forced to retreat in disarray despite Emir Aslam's defense. The Umayyads left behind 2735 casualties on the fields of battle. The Navarrese and allies lost 901 casualties.

Aftermath: The retreating remnants of the Umayyads and their mercenaries fled to Valladolid, where the Navarrese and allied pursuers engaged them and killed, wounded, or captured 720 men, while losing 29.

After the battle, the Umayyad leading men decided to cede control of Zaragoza. Saaman had died of illness the year before, and Emir Umar was in effective control of the Umayyad throne, through the boy Jabir.

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