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Nikolai

Basileus Romaion
78 Badges
Jun 17, 2001
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Yeeesh! It's been over a month since I finished my last AAR! :eek: Time to stop slacking, Nikolai! :D

The following is a story about the Holy Francian Empire, based on my game as king of France 1066. Let's see how it goes, shall we? :)

No mods, just plain old vanilla CK3. :)
 
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Chapter I - Short history of The Holy Francian Empire 1120-1210
Short history of The Holy Francian Empire 1120-1210

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The Empire in 1210


The date was December 24th, 1120 AD. The person in center – Emperor Henri I. No longer merely king of France. Now, he was an Emperor. The Capet dynasty had come far. When his forefather king Philippe I of France inherited a shaky kingdom in 1060, the chance of the dynasty losing power was real. Philippe persevered, though, married Maria “the Dane”, who would end up as queen of Danelaw, the rightful queen of what was once England after her father Harald Hardrada.

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Her son was Emperor Henri I himself. After three weak kings, one Russian and two Croats, he claimed his birthright and united France and Danelaw in 1119. The year after, the Pope crowned him the rightful Emperor of the Holy Franconian Empire – to the weakening Holy Roman Emperor’s disdain. Not to speak of the Eastern Roman Emperor.

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Henri I enlarged the Empire south, into Muslim held Iberia. His grandson Henri II enlarged it even more, fighting both in Iberia and against the HRE. Henri II also placed his daughter Julienne on the throne of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Which brings us to the grandson of Henri II, Emperor Guiges I. His father never lived to inherit. He conquered Ireland. And Denmark. Crowned, as of 1210, two of his three sons as kings in their own right. Under him, of course. He is old, but not spent.

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Fiftyeight years of age, his descendants are of questionable desposition, His son and heir is somewhat slow. But has a promising son. His only other surviving son, the king of Andalucia, is a power to be reckoned with, as is his eldest. But his middle son is spindly and club footed. His newborn is promising. But far behind in the succession.

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However, the future proves to be, the Empire is sound at the moment. Guiges I is old, but not dead. His income is good. His military potent. His vassals, as of now, in line. The future is not necessarily bad.

Europe is secure for Christ. Catholicism is strong in western and central Europe. Taking hold in the Levant. Orthodoxy has secured eastern Europe, and is, by the might of the Eastern Roman Empire, taking hold yet again in Africa.

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The Muslims reign supreme in most of Africa and in the eastern Middle East, however. The mighty Persian Empire is, as of now, strong and united. Any new crusades in the area will meet potent opposition. And in the Far East, a new threat is rising. The Mongols ride.
 
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Nice, new Nikolai AAR! Can't wait to see what happens.
 
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Welcome both! :)

Nice, new Nikolai AAR! Can't wait to see what happens.
Glad to have you aboard. :) I've only just finished Guiges' reign as of this moment, so much is unknown to me too. :) I plan to write a little on the vassals in the realm in the next update, then we'll get to the rest of Guiges' reign!
I’ve had hardly any time for AAR reading, writing, and commenting lately, but I managed to read this one!

Well done, my friend. Happy to see you writing.
Glad you managed to read a little! :) Glad to be back in the saddle, so to speak.
 
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Chapter II - Guiges I after 1210 to his death 1223
Guiges I after 1210 to his death 1223


The reign of Guiges I the last thirteen years of his life was filled with two things: War, and sorrow. Ever seeking ways to enlarge his realm, he warred both in Italy and Iberia. In Italy, Piemonte was attacked already in 1210 for the rich provinces along the coast. They stood, of course, no chance.

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In Iberia the ambition was even bigger. A claimant to the Castilian throne approached Guiges I, offering his submission as vassal if the Emperor would support his claim for the kingdom. Guiges I was only too willing, and soon another kingdom on the Iberian peninsula was absorbed into the growing Empire of the West.

All was not smooth sailing, even for a powerful monarch like Guiges I, though. The crusade for Syria, in which he himself led the army, was a disaster from the get-go. The Muslim forces was well coordinated. The Christian forces less so. With the Christian forces spreading out, the Muslim main force dealt Guiges’ army a decisive blow, killing the better part of the army in one, decisive battle. The crusade fell apart shortly after.

With the Imperial forces shattered, Guiges I returned to Francia and was soon met with a demand for a lowering of the crown authority from his vassals. He had to accept it, as there was no way he would be able to win the resulting civil war had he refused.

Then, in 1220, another disaster struck. His son and heir was brutally murdered while touring the realm, leaving Guiges’ grandson Aymar the heir apparent. Aymar was a known drunkard, and with him a long line of drunkard Emperors would gain power in the Holy Francian Empire.

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Guiges had little choice in the matter than to hope for the best, though. The same year his son was murdered, he ordered the construction of a grand cathedral in Paris in memory of his lost son. The cathedral, which would be finished July 24th, 1223, would get the name Notre-Dame. Merely months later, on October 9th, 1223, the Emperor would die of old age, having gone to bed for the night, never to wake up again. Emperor Aymar I ascended the throne the same day, aged 20.

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Oooh, yet another Nikolai AAR! :)
And you know, you should rename Byzantium to Holy Byzantine Empire. Everything looks better if you add Holy to it, it seems!

And this is one very impressive Holy Franconian Empire. Especially the Danelaw part. And well, Denmark as well.

Shame about losing to the Ertugrulids though. Though, by the looks of it, Mongols and them will be having some fun times soon.
 
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I'm very disappointed at this clickbait title - it's the Holy Francian Empire! You lied to us! :mad:
 
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Oooh, yet another Nikolai AAR! :)
And you know, you should rename Byzantium to Holy Byzantine Empire. Everything looks better if you add Holy to it, it seems!

And this is one very impressive Holy Franconian Empire. Especially the Danelaw part. And well, Denmark as well.

Shame about losing to the Ertugrulids though. Though, by the looks of it, Mongols and them will be having some fun times soon.
Welcome! I was lucky with Danelaw. Very lucky. :D The Mongols are eying them, no doubt about it. Don't think I can rename AI Empires, though. :p
I'm very disappointed at this clickbait title - it's the Holy Francian Empire! You lied to us! :mad:
Oh heavens, you are right! An honest case of freudian slip, I assure you! :eek:
 
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Nikolai returns! Will definitely follow!
 
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Chapter III - Aymar I (1223-1256)
Aymar I (1223-1256)

The reign of Aymar I was to a large degree about Iberia. Already weeks after his ascension to the throne, he declared war on the kingdom of Galicia for their last remaining county, thus removing the kingdom from the map. Not long after the victory, which was of course easy enough, he targeted the kingdom of Navarra, the mightiest country in Iberia beside the Holy Francian Empire, for the duchy of Toledo. It was, despite the relative might of Navarra, a one-way affair.

Then gold struck, as a claimant to the Leonese throne appeared in Aymar’s court, asking for help to gain his throne, while promising his fealty in the case of victory. Aymar was all too eager to comply, and soon Leon was a part of the HFE.

Then it was back to Navarra, where the throne itself was in play. Another claimant, this time for the Navarran throne, visited the Francian court. War it was, Navarra fell, and was now the kingdom of Badajoz, effectively halved in size. But there was another claimant, so as soon as the truce was over, there was war again. Aymar now had the entirety of Iberia in his possession.
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In the mean time in the Far East, a schismatic version of true Christianity in the eyes of the Catholics, Nestorianism, has come on the rise. The savage Mongols had united much of the East under their banner by conquest, and the Khan of Khans had adopted this version of Christianity for himself and his realm.
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The bliss for the Nestorians would not last though, for as Aymar was warring in Africa to secure the African coast for his realm – with success one might add – the Mongols splintered. Nestorianism spread far, but not close to the whole of the realm, which still held much Muslim, Tengri and other faithful. Mongolia itself was quite secure for Nestorianism though.
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By this time, Aymar I was ailing. He did manage to squeeze in a crusade in the end though, a crusade for Syria that while successful was not won with the HFE on top, so Aymar I did not get his pick on the throne. Not that it mattered much in the end though, as the new crusader kingdom of Syria splintered before a year had gone.
And so, on August 24th, Aymar I died, aged 53. His premature death was due to excessive eating and drinking, a vice that led to his body giving up the ghost all too early. He accomplished much, and his successor had much to live up to. Which he in many ways did, by looking east to the rival Holy Empire there, among other things. The new Emperor Aymar II had his vices though, as already at an age of 25 he was keep for his daily alcohol…
 
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The HFE is doing well...

It seems as if the Mongols might be a threat. Even if they collapsed, I imagine that a reunification might be on the cards...
 
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Nestorian Great Khan. Heh. The splintering was glorious though!
Btw, that is a lovely shade of blue you have in Europe! ;)
 
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The HFE is doing well...

It seems as if the Mongols might be a threat. Even if they collapsed, I imagine that a reunification might be on the cards...
After that collapse, they have a long way back. :D
Nestorian Great Khan. Heh. The splintering was glorious though!
Btw, that is a lovely shade of blue you have in Europe! ;)
Yeah, loved it. I like it when small changes like that happens! And yeah, loving the blue. ;)

All: I've almost played the entire campaign to end, and have a lot to write about! In the mean time Imperator 2.0 Marius update has sucked me deep into the game again, and I have an idea for a small Rome AAR there... Watch this space, not sure if I'll play some more before writing or if I will start to work on it tonight already. :p
 
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Would you look at that, I posted a new AAR in the I:R forums tonight. ;) Hope to see you over there too, as this AAR continues unabated!

 
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The HFE is really strong. I'm not sure there is an external enemy they have to fear right now.


I will see you I:R AAR. ;)
 
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Another Nikolai IAAR. Wonderful!
 
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The HFE is really strong. I'm not sure there is an external enemy they have to fear right now.


I will see you I:R AAR. ;)
There's not any who can meet me in troop numbers no. But I keep getting strong factions forcing me to lower crown authority, before I increase it again. :p Hope to see you around in both AARs!
Another Nikolai IAAR. Wonderful!
Well, not an iAAR. :) A plain, regular AAR. :) Hope to see you over there, too!
 
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