Good start date for an Ethiopian game

[Nyrael]

I wish to play a short campaign with Ethiopians with goal of restoring the Coptic Pope in Alexandria, but am not sure which start date to take.
Anyone know a good start date where I have a chance to survive properly for a month o

 

[Olaus Petrus]

I always start with 1066, but there are probably other easier start dates. Try picking any where Egypt looks weak, also later Axum and Abyssinia have united into one realm.

 

[Stratagyfan101]

I wish to play a short campaign with Ethiopians with goal of restoring the Coptic Pope in Alexandria, but am not sure which start date to take.
Anyone know a good start date where I have a chance to survive properly for a month o

The 1066 start date is not impossible but it requires a bit of luck. Send you chancellor to Cairo immediately. Nubia WILL fall. There is no stopping that. If you have positive relations with Egypt, take Nubia's Axum province. When the Somali Emirate is at war with Yemen, attack them. There are zero Sunnis in the area to help. Now you have to subdue your fellow Ethiopians.

As long as you maintain positive relations with Egypt you should be fine. After you have united Abyssinia, the goal is to consolidate your power and build your infrastructure. Ethiopia can be very, very powerful.

Also note that you should always maintain and ally with Egypt's sultanate as well. You will never be able to marry the direct heir, but you can almost always marry the child of an Emir. Do the same with the Seljuks. There will come a time when you can play these two against each other if you keep relations high enough.

 

[anonymouswolfm]

The 1066 start date is not impossible but it requires a bit of luck. Send you chancellor to Cairo immediately. Nubia WILL fall. There is no stopping that. If you have positive relations with Egypt, take Nubia's Axum province. When the Somali Emirate is at war with Yemen, attack them. There are zero Sunnis in the area to help. Now you have to subdue your fellow Ethiopians.

As long as you maintain positive relations with Egypt you should be fine. After you have united Abyssinia, the goal is to consolidate your power and build your infrastructure. Ethiopia can be very, very powerful.

Also note that you should always maintain and ally with Egypt's sultanate as well. You will never be able to marry the direct heir, but you can almost always marry the child of an Emir. Do the same with the Seljuks. There will come a time when you can play these two against each other if you keep relations high enough.

It seems that post 1.08 it's much more easier to survive as Abyssinia starting at 1066 as the Fatamids no longer seem that much interested in its southern neighbours (Nubia would probably still fall though, but probably attributable to Axum than the Fatamids).

But yes, the general strategy is to unite Ethiopia, and take Egyptian lands whenever they have internal revolts. Is certainly doable previously, and more so now.

 

[Stratagyfan101]

It seems that post 1.08 it's much more easier to survive as Abyssinia starting at 1066 as the Fatamids no longer seem that much interested in its southern neighbours (Nubia would probably still fall though, but probably attributable to Axum than the Fatamids).

But yes, the general strategy is to unite Ethiopia, and take Egyptian lands whenever they have internal revolts. Is certainly doable previously, and more so now.

I have yet to notice this trend. Nubia will fall simply because it is de jure Egypt. I'm still not sure why Nubia is not a de jure Kingdom. It exists in 1066 and lasts almost until the very last start dates. Also, Nubia is a relatively traditional Kingdom, no?

 

[Martellus.]

1936 is my favorite

You will probably survive for a few months before the Italians get you or the attrition gets them. In all seriousness, though: I like 1071-1074 or so, because Fatimids and Seljuks blob significantly less.

 

[Isaios]

I have yet to notice this trend. Nubia will fall simply because it is de jure Egypt. I'm still not sure why Nubia is not a de jure Kingdom. It exists in 1066 and lasts almost until the very last start dates. Also, Nubia is a relatively traditional Kingdom, no?

I've wondered this myself. The've been there for some centuries already. Same with Axum actually. It might be because they're small-ish, but they're not smaller than Brittany or Wales.

 

[Stratagyfan101]

I've wondered this myself. The've been there for some centuries already. Same with Axum actually. It might be because they're small-ish, but they're not smaller than Brittany or Wales.

Interesting. I can understand Axum being a duchy however. Unless of course the mega provinces in Abyssinia are made into small provinces, adding more wealth to the region. The real problem is that the AI has no desire to maintain peaceful relations, AND that the mountains are severely underplayed. The default status of hostile between muslims and Christians is what really kills Abyssinia.

 

[Comradebot]

Depends on who you want to start as. With Abyssinia or Axum, you can realistically start in 1066 and survive with good, aggressive gameplay. With Nubia... well, I suppose its possible in 1066, but the amount of pure luck needed is staggering, and 1076 is a much better start date. The Fatimids still have the power to steamroll you without breaking a sweat, but they're small enough that you can realistically build the manpower/alliances to defend against them (even then, it took me about five tries to get a game rolling with them... then on the last try, the Fatimids started off trying to push west, and the Seljuks then stomped them a little).

But if you wanna be an Ethiopian, the Zagwe Kings of Abyssinia is the easiest choice. Take Harer in a holy war, convince Axum to vassalize, and try to snag the last de jure part of Nubia. Then you can start pushing into Arabia, and with any luck the Fatimids will remain busy. If they get into any truly serious wars, just holy war them from the south. Taking the Duchies of Cairo and Damietta will do some serious damage to their levy numbers and their economy, as can Alexandria to a lesser extent (but its also what you need to restore the Coptic Pope).

 

[Stratagyfan101]

Depends on who you want to start as. With Abyssinia or Axum, you can realistically start in 1066 and survive with good, aggressive gameplay. With Nubia... well, I suppose its possible in 1066, but the amount of pure luck needed is staggering, and 1076 is a much better start date. The Fatimids still have the power to steamroll you without breaking a sweat, but they're small enough that you can realistically build the manpower/alliances to defend against them (even then, it took me about five tries to get a game rolling with them... then on the last try, the Fatimids started off trying to push west, and the Seljuks then stomped them a little).

But if you wanna be an Ethiopian, the Zagwe Kings of Abyssinia is the easiest choice. Take Harer in a holy war, convince Axum to vassalize, and try to snag the last de jure part of Nubia. Then you can start pushing into Arabia, and with any luck the Fatimids will remain busy. If they get into any truly serious wars, just holy war them from the south. Taking the Duchies of Cairo and Damietta will do some serious damage to their levy numbers and their economy, as can Alexandria to a lesser extent (but its also what you need to restore the Coptic Pope).

I've3 tried this a few times. It is harder than it sounds because sometimes the Fatimids and Seljuks will get involved in every war unless a crusade is going on. This reminds me, crusades are your best friend. The Fatimids/Egypt will not bother defending fellow muslims during crusades. Just be sure to finish quickly, or may He have mercy on your soul.

 

[unmerged(457738)]

You can start as Abyssinia in 1066 very easily now. Before you would have 20k of muslim troops attacking you relentlessly, while now they aren't anywhere near as aggressive. Kind of sad as it was uniquely challenging back in the day.

 

[Sleight of Hand]

East Africa is an interesting challenge for those who do manage to survive, but essentially you're relying on luck alone as you're rarely if ever the master of your own destiny. You just have to try to make the most of events happening elsewhere.

The area is 'broken' (for want of a better word) and the provinces and dynasty history are wrong anyway. There's no harm in being able to play as them (it's a change from the usual characters) but their implementation is a huge disappointment to say the least.

 

[Isaios]

You can start as Abyssinia in 1066 very easily now. Before you would have 20k of muslim troops attacking you relentlessly, while now they aren't anywhere near as aggressive. Kind of sad as it was uniquely challenging back in the day.

This is a "pics or it didn't happen" comment. So far, Ethiopia has been nibbled to death in every start since 1.08

 

[Olaus Petrus]

East Africa is an interesting challenge for those who do manage to survive, but essentially you're relying on luck alone as you're rarely if ever the master of your own destiny. You just have to try to make the most of events happening elsewhere.

The area is 'broken' (for want of a better word) and the provinces and dynasty history are wrong anyway. There's no harm in being able to play as them (it's a change from the usual characters) but their implementation is a huge disappointment to say the least.

What's the correct version of dynasty history? Last time I checked there were several versions of the dynasty history and we don't know certainly how long reigns were and how the kings were related. History of Zagwe dynasty is especially mysterious, because the sources are biased, but I wouldn't put too much faith to description of Solomonid rulers of this era either. Some accounts are more like folk tales than actual history.

 

[Mods]

This is a "pics or it didn't happen" comment. So far, Ethiopia has been nibbled to death in every start since 1.08

in my game The Zagwe are still around owning all Abyssinia at the end date, they've expanded up to oman despite a huge Fatimid Sultanate to the north of them
This was all the AI and I didn't interfere in the slightest

If the AI can do it, so can any human player

 

[unmerged(457738)]

You don't even need a pic to prove it. If you know how the early game used to be as Abyssinia then it's glaringly obvious how different it is now. It's very likely now that your dynasty will still be alive after 10 years without you doing anything at all (just leave the game running and try it). Before, that was a massive achievement that required a huge amount of babying and a lot of luck.

 

[Isaios]

in my game The Zagwe are still around owning all Abyssinia at the end date, they've expanded up to oman despite a huge Fatimid Sultanate to the north of them
This was all the AI and I didn't interfere in the slightest

If the AI can do it, so can any human player

Yes, but I wasn't questioning wether it was POSSIBLE. I was questioning wether it was PROBABLE.

You can start as Abyssinia in 1066 very easily now. Before you would have 20k of muslim troops attacking you relentlessly, while now they aren't anywhere near as aggressive. Kind of sad as it was uniquely challenging back in the day.

You don't even need a pic to prove it. If you know how the early game used to be as Abyssinia then it's glaringly obvious how different it is now. It's very likely now that your dynasty will still be alive after 10 years without you doing anything at all (just leave the game running and try it). Before, that was a massive achievement that required a huge amount of babying and a lot of luck.

Still doubting.

 

[Mods]

Yes, but I wasn't questioning wether it was POSSIBLE. I was questioning wether it was PROBABLE.

The fact that the AI can do it means it's very probable for a human player

 

[Isaios]

The fact that the AI can do it means it's very probable for a human player

Now that is just plain incorrect. The success of the Ethiopian states is determined mostly by the strength of the Fatimids. A human player can do more to ensure a weak Egypt, and can take advantage of more opportunities than the AI, but with a strong, hostile Egypt, you're still mauled. (Also, I'm mostly interested in Nubia, rather than Abyssinia, whose position is far more fragile and prone to being insta-gibbed)

 

[unmerged(457738)]

Well yeah, Nubia is always going to be at risk of an instagib as it's in the de jure lands of egypt. The rest of ethiopia isn't though. To hold nubia for any length of time you'll need to severely weaken the caliph of egypt.