So after the recent discussion re: tribal vs. feudal I decided maybe I was a bit out of touch, as I haven't played vanilla in months, and I usually start at 769 and quit when the game starts slowing down (for me around 1050ish).
I decided to play Kanem but this time around 1068, when the ruler is a Sunni tribal. Only cosmetic mods.
It was a lot tougher than I thought it would be. The plan was to stay Sunni until I could reform African tribal. I knew from previous experience I had to use conquest cb instead of holy war or I'd get buried by all the pagans there. I gobbled up counties here and there. In the meantime I joined the warrior lodge to see if I could get a couple of bloodlines early like I normally do.
I was in for a rude awakening. My first five rulers all died before turning 41. The first ruler, Hummay the Able, lived until he was 35, and which time he was killed by a crocodile(!!!) during battle. My next ruler Dunama the Wise gained enough land to become King of Kanem and Hausaland and was promptly assassinated at 40 years old. His dull, frail son Dunama II inherited the throne. He tried to live up to his father's legacy by uniting all of Kanem-Bornu under his leadership, but he died in a freak explosion. Child King Ali did what his father could not and became Emperor of Kanem-Bornu and laid claim to the lands of Songhay, but at age seven had his throat slit by an unknown assailant. Wazizi the Whisperer, Dunama's second son (whom many quietly claimed was responsible for Ali's early passing) succeeded him. He looked westward toward the pagan King of Ghana and Mali. He sought to outshine all his forebears but alas combat was not his forte. He was injured in a chaotic duel and succumbed to his injuries at the ripe age of 33.
Salmama (known as the Warrior-Philosopher) was only 15 years old when his father Wazizi died. Salmama had a conflicted heart. He would fight many campaigns against the pagans in the west and the Christians in Assyria. While he loved battle he was also known to be a poet and a scholar. Perhaps this explains why later in life, when he had had his fill of war and conquest, chose to adopt the faith of his ancient countrymen.
This is how the map stands now:
I say "now" but this was actually taken a bit ago. I noticed Cyrenaica was independent (I conquered it from the Fatimids, but I gave it to a kinswoman who died w/o children so a relative of hers from I think Cumania inherited it; and that person lost it in an uprising). I dueled the duke and won, and got the achievement to boot.
I'm about 10 years from the next.
Maghreb is an interesting case. I guess I abducted a Maghreb princess and forced her to convert. So when the first GHW was called (I reformed with unyielding/equality/AV/hierocratic) I was surprised to see someone else stood to gain all the land. I went ahead with it, as her children were my kin. The weird thing is after the war she was a vassal to some Muslim duke. I declared war for bits of maghreb until she gained her independence. Then I started working on wrestling Africa from the Genoa and Sicily. it was tougher than I thought it would be because I didn't have boats and they already at least 2 HOs. Anyway the former princess turned Queen died and a grandson of hers became king. I didn't intervene and let Fatimid win a Jihad against him. I think this was a mistake because MA dropped from 100% to mid 70s (not all due to Jihad but it didn't help). Anyway the grandson became a vassal of Fatimid so when the next GHW was called there was no beneficiary. Despite the fact I fielded a greater army somehow a vassal had the highest contribution. At least everything stayed in my realm this time.
I wasn't really paying attention to Iberia but the Muslims got pushed around and out fairly quickly. Castille slowly consolidated power until the current ruler created the Empire of Hispania. I'm hoping she'll win some more wars so I can call a GC against her and get Andalusia.
I decided to play Kanem but this time around 1068, when the ruler is a Sunni tribal. Only cosmetic mods.
It was a lot tougher than I thought it would be. The plan was to stay Sunni until I could reform African tribal. I knew from previous experience I had to use conquest cb instead of holy war or I'd get buried by all the pagans there. I gobbled up counties here and there. In the meantime I joined the warrior lodge to see if I could get a couple of bloodlines early like I normally do.
I was in for a rude awakening. My first five rulers all died before turning 41. The first ruler, Hummay the Able, lived until he was 35, and which time he was killed by a crocodile(!!!) during battle. My next ruler Dunama the Wise gained enough land to become King of Kanem and Hausaland and was promptly assassinated at 40 years old. His dull, frail son Dunama II inherited the throne. He tried to live up to his father's legacy by uniting all of Kanem-Bornu under his leadership, but he died in a freak explosion. Child King Ali did what his father could not and became Emperor of Kanem-Bornu and laid claim to the lands of Songhay, but at age seven had his throat slit by an unknown assailant. Wazizi the Whisperer, Dunama's second son (whom many quietly claimed was responsible for Ali's early passing) succeeded him. He looked westward toward the pagan King of Ghana and Mali. He sought to outshine all his forebears but alas combat was not his forte. He was injured in a chaotic duel and succumbed to his injuries at the ripe age of 33.
Salmama (known as the Warrior-Philosopher) was only 15 years old when his father Wazizi died. Salmama had a conflicted heart. He would fight many campaigns against the pagans in the west and the Christians in Assyria. While he loved battle he was also known to be a poet and a scholar. Perhaps this explains why later in life, when he had had his fill of war and conquest, chose to adopt the faith of his ancient countrymen.
This is how the map stands now:
I say "now" but this was actually taken a bit ago. I noticed Cyrenaica was independent (I conquered it from the Fatimids, but I gave it to a kinswoman who died w/o children so a relative of hers from I think Cumania inherited it; and that person lost it in an uprising). I dueled the duke and won, and got the achievement to boot.
I'm about 10 years from the next.
Maghreb is an interesting case. I guess I abducted a Maghreb princess and forced her to convert. So when the first GHW was called (I reformed with unyielding/equality/AV/hierocratic) I was surprised to see someone else stood to gain all the land. I went ahead with it, as her children were my kin. The weird thing is after the war she was a vassal to some Muslim duke. I declared war for bits of maghreb until she gained her independence. Then I started working on wrestling Africa from the Genoa and Sicily. it was tougher than I thought it would be because I didn't have boats and they already at least 2 HOs. Anyway the former princess turned Queen died and a grandson of hers became king. I didn't intervene and let Fatimid win a Jihad against him. I think this was a mistake because MA dropped from 100% to mid 70s (not all due to Jihad but it didn't help). Anyway the grandson became a vassal of Fatimid so when the next GHW was called there was no beneficiary. Despite the fact I fielded a greater army somehow a vassal had the highest contribution. At least everything stayed in my realm this time.
I wasn't really paying attention to Iberia but the Muslims got pushed around and out fairly quickly. Castille slowly consolidated power until the current ruler created the Empire of Hispania. I'm hoping she'll win some more wars so I can call a GC against her and get Andalusia.
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