A lesson from experience

[Edmondo]

Hello,

I recently started my second 'proper' game as the Jewish Khazarian Bulanids, 867 start, intending to create Israel and play until the end. However, it ended up going quite terribly wrong. I abandoned the game because of the amount of uprisings and revolts among other things. I did however manage to create Israel and rebuilt the Third Temple. I thought I'd share what happened...

Before I created and settled in Kingdom of Israel, I already had most of the Caucasus as Muslim/Orthodox feudal vassals. This was probably the first mistake – I should have granted these vassals independence before creating K. of Israel, so this could become my primary title. I constantly had problems with the capital moving upon succession and not being able to change it back to Jerusalem, so I couldn't keep track of technology well.

The whole of the Caucasus/Armenia/Syria just seemed to constantly rebel and due to me trying to revoke titles to replace them with Jewish vassals, my vassals opinion was always low and some rulers basically ruled with 'tyranny' the entire duration.

Eventually around 1070, the plague came, and I was fighting against 4 major uprisings in different parts of the realm (Egypt - Syria - Armenia) while half of the realm rebelled in favour of another leader and the other half died of plague. The Byzantines also started attacked a vassal for some Armenian counties. Some of the Muslim vassals had many titles and many heirs, and could muster large armies. It looked like it wouldn't be feasible to keep the Jazira/Iraq region much longer. On top of all this were the many holy wars (most of which I surprisingly won).

In hindsight, I think that not managing the vassals properly, and perhaps vassalising too many non-Jewish rulers over a short period of time created severe problems for this game. It might have worked out better to play slower and safer for this game, ensuring vassals were mostly on my side and gradually try to make the leadership more Jewish.

At this point, around 1070, I've lost most of Egypt due to a massive Sunni uprising, the Empire of Jerusalem is basically split in two, Armenia and the Caucasus are not happy. The council was almost constantly discontent after settling as feudal, and seemed to always vote against me granting county titles when I had far too many.

Perhaps I will start again as the Bulanids and play a more micro-manage game. I like the look of the 'Improved Genetics' mod which would be interesting for a 'tight' play style I think. Maybe some forum members could say what their experience with it has been?

Does anyone else have stories of how your Empire/Kingdom failed miserably?

Thanks!

 

[knppel]

Recommendation for the Khazar-Israel run: Don't bother invading all the caucasus indeed- it's more trouble than it's worth, unless you pillage it all, in which case it's less trouble but not worth anything anymore.
I've spent the first generation on taking over the Norse Warrior Lodge- more often captured enemy commanders are worth more than a bonus on fight performance you won't need as you out-horde the average enemy you face. As for wars, Besides a little consolidation (namely, eating the remnants of the Magyars before anyone else can), focus fully on Installing tributaries. The once-a-lifetime subjugation ideally goes to Egypt, even with the Mamluks nerfed now it's still a good catch.

And of course, Egypt, besides being an ideal raid-lair in the middle east, opens a world of wonders, namely a border with Israel/Jerusalem to begin conquesting.
If you worry about jihads when only holding your small horde turf and Jerusalem- that Caliph should be your tributary by the time you march in. Or his realm so crippled it's not a big deal anymore. I happened to find the Jerusalemite Emirs independent as the Caliph, crippled by me, had lost the one or other independence war.

Egypt you don't wanna fully raze either, naturally, so instead just revoke all county titles to keep them to yourself, and leave the baron-tier-vassals be (they won't form factions or re-proselytize counties).

On a note regarding failure, you survived for 300 years, and did build a third temple in that time. You likely beat House Capet, even if that scores are anachronistic and not expressing much these days- so all in all not bad.

I don't have that particular remarkable failing realm in ck2- having played it since 2012, I have a bit too many failures to recall on to single out a specific one.
Well, or maybe, that one time was really specially annoying when I carelessly named my pretty daughter "Semiramis", playing as the Doukas Emperor of Byzantium.
She murdered all her brothers while I had to watch as incapable father, and four husbands, all of whom she bore a non-dynastic child to inherit one of my vassal Kingdoms.
She became Empress eventually when the father died, leaving me to a certain game over as by then she was 42 and had a total of 7 kids from 5 men, 3 adult sons already ruling Kingdoms, and the rest of the dynasty extinct too.
A pity it was ironman, I would have loved to see her sons killing each other over her inheritance.
Never rely on a single royal line in this game