It's one of those countries you ignore....

[Bad Santa]

This is my aar "It's one of those countries you ignore..." i will be playing as croatia and i hope you enjoy it. The settings are shown above.

My goals will be as such:

. Not get detroyed in the first couple of years.
. Continue on with it instead of leavng it like i usually do.

What you shouldn't expect:

.A world conquest becuase thats not that interesting in the long run if i conquer everything straight away.
.A structured story line, because im crap at writing stories.

What to expect:

. War
. Me making up my own history that is before the time of the crusader king's series.

My own personal rules:

. No cheating, except to maybe give myself a little prestige boost in the beginning.

The Trpimirovic family tree

The year is 1066, and the dark ages have only just begun to lift and the medieval period is about to be born. And sitting in the cornor, ready to rise as a great nation of Europe, is Croatia and the man to do it is Petar Trpimirovic, or not. Because he seems to have himself in the worst possible situation. He an elderly man stuck with an old, infertile wife, Miroslava. But not all is bad they have one child and it is unfortunately for Petar, a daughter. Meaning that if he is to pass on, his mighty kingdom will go the church or more precisely, this man:

Stjepan, the next in line for the throne​

Stjepan, not a bad man, not a stupid man. Just one touched by god. at least that is what he is told. Becasue he is soon to become one of the most powerful men in Europe. Well not if Petar can do anything about it. But enough with introductions here is the kingdom sought by so many, the mighty kingdom of Croatia:

The Kingdom of Croatia​

Or not so, atleast when compared with it's neighbours, the Holy Roman empire and the Byzantine empire. Who as Petar knows will be looking for any power they can gobble up in the future. Petar's only hope with these two superpowers is the hope that they perfer Muslim prey in the holy land better.

But all is not lost seeing as Croatia is surrounded by much smaller kingdoms then itself the closest being Croatia's long time enemy the count of Ragusa who have often been caught conspiring against Croatia. Petar would invade if it were not for their protection by the Duke of Serbia:

The Duke of Serbia​

The Serbians and Ragusa had such a great relationship that they eventually merged making Serbia larger than ever before. But the serbian lands had no always been so vast after a series of wars when the Croatian Kingdom was young the greedy serbians had annexed it from them, it happened almost 100 years earlier but to most the memory was still fresh. Especially to Petar who often cursed the Serbian lord, waiting for the day to strike. And that day seemed ever closer with the Croatians newest allies the mighty Duke of Apulia who had conquered vast swathes of southern Italy and was in the greatest of relation with Pope in his work to protect the Italian mainland from muslim incursion.

Croatia gains a powerful ally​

Furthermore the Mighty 1000 year empire of the Byzantines had begun to splinter around the edges presenting the perfect oppertunity to crush any and all resistance around the Serbian homeland. Petar took in this new information to reflect on, but the problems of an heir troubled him so deeply.

The Byzantine Empire is breaking under its own pressure​

And this dream of an heir was hampered further with the marriage of the Stjepan to his spy master. Petar had a last ditch attempt if all else failed, and that was to, unfortunately, assasinate his wife. But Stjepan had caught wind of the plot and had quickly canceled his marriage to Irene of Byzantium. And married the only woman who could stop this plan, Petar's spy master. Petar was stuck with a problem, would he hope to God that his beloved wife dies so he can get a new, younger wife or dispose of Stejpan with other means and leave open the possibilty that his kingdom will pass on without any heir?

Stjepan takes a "strategic bride"​

 

[Bad Santa]

The history of Croatia - From the Beginning...
(As seen in wikipedia but edited to include this alternate timeline)


Croatian lands before the Croats (until 7th c.)

The area known as Croatia today has been inhabited throughout the prehistoric period, since the Stone Age. In the middle Paleolithic, Neanderthals lived in Krapina. In the early Neolithic period, the Starčevo, Vučedol and Hvar cultures were scattered around the region. The Iron Age left traces of the Hallstatt culture (early Illyrians) and the La Tène culture (Celts).

In recorded history, the area was inhabited by the Illyrians, and since the 4th century BC also colonized in the north by the Celts and along the coast by the Greeks. The Southern Illyrian kingdom, Illyris, was a sovereign state in modern day Montenegro and northern Albania until the Romans conquered it in 168 BC. The Western Empire organized the provinces of Pannonia and Dalmatia, which after its downfall passed to the Huns, the Ostrogoths and then to the Byzantine Empire. The forebearers of Croatia's current Slav population settled there in the early 7th century.

Medieval Croatian state (until 925)

The Croats arrived in what is today Croatia in the seventh century. They organized into two dukedoms; the duchy of Pannonian Croatia in the north and the duchy of Littoral Croatia in the south. The biggest part of Christianization of the Croats ended in the 9th century.

Croatian duke Trpimir I (845–864), founder of Trpimirović dynasty, fought successfully against Bulgarians, and against Byzantine strategos in Zadar. He expanded his state in east to the Drava River. The first native Croatian ruler recognized by a pope was duke Branimir, whom Pope John VIII called dux Chroatorum in 879.

Kingdom of Croatia (925-1102)

The first King of Croatia, Tomislav (910–928) of the Trpimirović dynasty, was crowned in 925. Tomislav, rex Chroatorum, united the Pannonian and Dalmatian duchies and created a sizeable state. He defeated Bulgarian Tsar Simeon I in battle of the Bosnian Highlands. But was defeated against the Duke of Serbia in 957, where Croatia lost much land in the South which propelled Serbia on to the world stage and effectively ending the Croatian war machine for nearly a 100 more years out of fear of another Serbian attack. The mediæval Croatian kingdom would however reach its peak during the reign of King Petar Trpimirović (1058–????).

The Serbian victory over the Croatians at the Battles Of Serbian Dominance​

 

[Farquharson]

Croatia looks like an interesting country to play. Good luck getting yourself an heir!

 

[Bad Santa]

Croatia looks like an interesting country to play. Good luck getting yourself an heir!

Thanks, Croatia is a great country to play with but usually when i play as Croatia the Queen dies straight away but she just isn't this time for some reason.

The First War​

Petar, considered to be a modern hero, has often inspired great feats in his life and now was no exception. He stood infront of his people and gave what many people call a "A Spectical" of a speech. A speech so thrilling his prestige rose beyond belief allowing him to take the next step towards Croatian power, even though he had yet to find a solution to the problem of an heir.

The King's prestige rise as his people stand united with him​

With his new found power Petar set about a huge campaign to put his name in line for every throne around him, including that of his rivals the Duke of Serbia. Petar, although knowing that his Kingdom surpassed even that of the mighty Serbians, feared a Serbian attack on the magnitude of last time so turned his attention to the splintered factions of the Byzantines. To gain the knowledge of the longest living empire in existance, surely if anyone had the knowledge for great power it had to be them.

Petar gains claims on his enemies​

And so the age of Croatian expansion began, with Begrade being their first victim. As the massive army advanced, which was infact Petar's own personal army. All of Belgrade's resistance was swept away with ease as they retreated in the face of the obviously superior force. If Petar couldn't have a son to carry on his legacy surely he could have his name remembered forever.

Belgrade retreats in he face of defeat​

Belgrade are so afraid of the Croatian beast that their offers of peace come pouring into Croatia, they are all refused of course. Great Kings aren't remembered for weakness in the face of victory they are remembered for their decisiveness in battle or so Petar says.

Belgrade tries a futile attempt at peace​

As Petar advances further into Belgrade territory the resistance becomes ever stiffer. However Petar continues on boldly crushing all who oppose him, all the meanwhile Serbia watches with great intensity they know that they are to be challenged by the Croatians and must learn all they can while Croatia are busy.

The Croatians hold great celebrations as Belgrade is inflicted with heavy casualties​

And finally as the last of Belgrade's defenders die Petar walks triumphantly into their castle. Major celebrations are held all over Croatia and Petar is hailed as King Petar the Liberator. Croatia's first major conflict for over a century has resulted in total victory, but their appetite has only been appeased for so long.

Belgrade is completely incorporated into Croatia​

And Petar has already chosen his next target, he is risking everything now. Stjepan is heavily against war and he has many supporters in court, Petar will not be at full strength when war comes but if he dies now, without an heir, Stjepan will leave Serbia alone. Which is something Petar cannot allow especially when they have commited so many crimes against Croatia.

Will there be a repeat of the last Serbian-Croatian War?​