It's amazing that you can hold onto the huge empire.
Lol, death by carriage is a new one to me.
Lol, death by carriage is a new one to me.
Legacy of the Hun - HIP Old Gods AAR
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Chapter VII
Császár Tádor I Oszkárfi Árpád- 14 June 918 - 23 February, 977
Innokentios and The Császár
Imperator Császár of Etelköz
Király of Bulgária
Király of all Magyar
-Under Innokentios' regency, the senate regained power they could not have dreamt of before. It created the foundation of a centralization of power, however, not to the emperor per se... the bureaucracy of the empire started to gain more power, power which partly flowed to the emperor, but to the senate as well... an interesting consequence of this increase in the power of the senate is that Hellenes became of equal standing as Magyars and that Etelköz mostly broke with eastern architectural influence. Magyar script would become Greek, not Arabic, and excepting mosques, the architecture was influenced by classicism. An example of this is the new senate building Innokentios ordered built. Note the almost-naked man: Ibadi Iszlám never cared much for being prude, which didn't help its heretical status.-
Tádor was very young when he ascended to the throne. He showed no signs of the retardation that had plagued his father, Oszkár, and so the senate was mostly unanimous in protecting the boy until he came of age. A few senators went a little mad with the power vacuum and proposed seizing all the power and declaring the state a republic again, with the Dukátus as hereditary protectors of said republic and the Árpád its hereditary figurehead. This suggestion was quickly bashed down by the realistical Innokentios: popular sentiment at the time lay firmly with the emperor, and he himself merely wanted some power, not a revolution. Plus, he needed to keep the southern dukes on his side against his enemies in the north.
Tádor himself grew a merry boy, blissfully unaware of just how little his guardians knew how to build up a proper state. 'Etelköz' is the Magyar name for all lands west of the Carpathia basin. In name, these lands were owned by Tádor in a collective 'pool', called Iqta in the Arabic tongue. From this pool, the dukes drew land and power. However, the land was so fragmented it was a state only in name. There was, of course, no standing army: military was firmly in the hands of the feudal lords. Innokentios was the one to fix this situation: he set up a bureaucracy of administrators to ensure all lords could be taxed, thus establishing a rudimentary level of control. With the money, he hired inspiring architects to rebuild Konstantinápoly, and make it once more an imperial city.
The senate received a new center of operations and a restructured hierarchy. Innokentios was proclaimed 'sole regent', a function that was recallable if the senators were incontent with his rulership. Proposals for religious legislature were in the works. And the city's ruins could finally be restored, something very, very necessary.
Of course, the situation was far from perfect. Magyar and Hellene were distrustful of one another, and with the senate now being a power to be reasoned with, more and more Magyar started entering the senate in search of power. The Hellenes still viewed them as barbarians and looked down on them: at this time, a mutual identity didn't exist yet. There was nothing to have in common: there was barely any state, no common religion, even the dress-code differed. Innokentios' solution was ingenious: he proposed that everyone should be able to speak two languages and read if they lived in the cities. Actual state-sponsored language schools propped up all over the urban counties, and literacy in the cities boomed. Script became uniform: Magyar letters were written in Greek now. This bilingualism ensured that segregation was halted, at least, and that religion became much more plural, paving the way for the eventual conversion of Greece's orthodox population. There were revolts: Rumanian landholders rose up against the emperor in the north, but the northern dukes ruthlessly crushed them in their so-called 'League of Csánad'. Jerusalem was threatened by the Egyptians: it was defended.
Things got tense when the Georgians invaded from the north, traveling through the neutral khanate of Krimea. Their troops, however, were defeated. After that, Innokentios wanted to regain more Greek lands (he was a muslim strong in his beliefs and wanted to save his brethren). While the armies conquered the last core of orthodoxy, Tádor himself turned out to be a nice chap, always bugging the court musicians if he couldn't come and play along.
And when Tádor finally came of age, 14 June 934, he seemed ready to tackle the problems of the state, finally by himself.
Császár Tádor I Oszkárfi Árpád- 14 June 918 - 23 February, 977
Innokentios and The Császár
Imperator Császár of Etelköz
Király of Bulgária
Király of all Magyar
-Under Innokentios' regency, the senate regained power they could not have dreamt of before. It created the foundation of a centralization of power, however, not to the emperor per se... the bureaucracy of the empire started to gain more power, power which partly flowed to the emperor, but to the senate as well... an interesting consequence of this increase in the power of the senate is that Hellenes became of equal standing as Magyars and that Etelköz mostly broke with eastern architectural influence. Magyar script would become Greek, not Arabic, and excepting mosques, the architecture was influenced by classicism. An example of this is the new senate building Innokentios ordered built. Note the almost-naked man: Ibadi Iszlám never cared much for being prude, which didn't help its heretical status.-
Tádor was very young when he ascended to the throne. He showed no signs of the retardation that had plagued his father, Oszkár, and so the senate was mostly unanimous in protecting the boy until he came of age. A few senators went a little mad with the power vacuum and proposed seizing all the power and declaring the state a republic again, with the Dukátus as hereditary protectors of said republic and the Árpád its hereditary figurehead. This suggestion was quickly bashed down by the realistical Innokentios: popular sentiment at the time lay firmly with the emperor, and he himself merely wanted some power, not a revolution. Plus, he needed to keep the southern dukes on his side against his enemies in the north.
Tádor himself grew a merry boy, blissfully unaware of just how little his guardians knew how to build up a proper state. 'Etelköz' is the Magyar name for all lands west of the Carpathia basin. In name, these lands were owned by Tádor in a collective 'pool', called Iqta in the Arabic tongue. From this pool, the dukes drew land and power. However, the land was so fragmented it was a state only in name. There was, of course, no standing army: military was firmly in the hands of the feudal lords. Innokentios was the one to fix this situation: he set up a bureaucracy of administrators to ensure all lords could be taxed, thus establishing a rudimentary level of control. With the money, he hired inspiring architects to rebuild Konstantinápoly, and make it once more an imperial city.
The senate received a new center of operations and a restructured hierarchy. Innokentios was proclaimed 'sole regent', a function that was recallable if the senators were incontent with his rulership. Proposals for religious legislature were in the works. And the city's ruins could finally be restored, something very, very necessary.
Of course, the situation was far from perfect. Magyar and Hellene were distrustful of one another, and with the senate now being a power to be reasoned with, more and more Magyar started entering the senate in search of power. The Hellenes still viewed them as barbarians and looked down on them: at this time, a mutual identity didn't exist yet. There was nothing to have in common: there was barely any state, no common religion, even the dress-code differed. Innokentios' solution was ingenious: he proposed that everyone should be able to speak two languages and read if they lived in the cities. Actual state-sponsored language schools propped up all over the urban counties, and literacy in the cities boomed. Script became uniform: Magyar letters were written in Greek now. This bilingualism ensured that segregation was halted, at least, and that religion became much more plural, paving the way for the eventual conversion of Greece's orthodox population. There were revolts: Rumanian landholders rose up against the emperor in the north, but the northern dukes ruthlessly crushed them in their so-called 'League of Csánad'. Jerusalem was threatened by the Egyptians: it was defended.
Things got tense when the Georgians invaded from the north, traveling through the neutral khanate of Krimea. Their troops, however, were defeated. After that, Innokentios wanted to regain more Greek lands (he was a muslim strong in his beliefs and wanted to save his brethren). While the armies conquered the last core of orthodoxy, Tádor himself turned out to be a nice chap, always bugging the court musicians if he couldn't come and play along.
And when Tádor finally came of age, 14 June 934, he seemed ready to tackle the problems of the state, finally by himself.
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I think I'm gonna do that in EU4 (since I'll have to do a load of modding to get this map compatible with the converter anyways). I think I'm gonna split Anatolia, everything that converts to Magyar, what remains Hellene in Greece, and Bulgarian culture to different cultures a la the French division. Etelköz shall be the cultural union.
Until then, I just tried to be immersive and adequately try to represent what could be happening if the Magyar overlords didn't just turn Greek. It'll be a long time before we see counties convert in HPP tho (around 200/300 years)
Until then, I just tried to be immersive and adequately try to represent what could be happening if the Magyar overlords didn't just turn Greek
. It'll be a long time before we see counties convert in HPP tho (around 200/300 years)
It's amazing that you can hold onto the huge empire.
Lol, death by carriage is a new one to me.
It's not all that often that we end up on the receiving end of an assassination XD
I think I'm gonna do that in EU4 (since I'll have to do a load of modding to get this map compatible with the converter anyways). I think I'm gonna split Anatolia, everything that converts to Magyar, what remains Hellene in Greece, and Bulgarian culture to different cultures a la the French division. Etelköz shall be the cultural union.
Until then, I just tried to be immersive and adequately try to represent what could be happening if the Magyar overlords didn't just turn Greek
Interesting plans!
It looks like the Empire is stabilizing and the new Emperor will be quite capable. Hopefully he doesn't take any wild carriage rides.
Been following this AAR for a while, so I thought I should drop in and voice my praise! Fantastic writing and storytelling!
With that said, I demand you oust the Pope from Rome.
With that said, I demand you oust the Pope from Rome.
Chapter VIII
Császár Tádor I Oszkárfi Árpád- 14 June 918 - 23 February, 977
Intrigue and Infidelity
Imperator Császár of Etelköz
Király of Bulgária
Király of all Magyar
-"Enough! Are we but a collection of savages?! THIS IS A ROYAL LINE! I descend from a royal line, put on this throne by the grace of might and God. There shall be one line to rule the New Rome, one line descended from the blood of its founders in steel and sweat. By the will of God, He that is One and Indivisible, I declare myself the descendant of Árpád the Lionheart. It is he that founded this state, and it is his name that its rulers shall bear. Through him have passed the duke Linütika and the emperor Oszkár, and through him have I passed: Nova Roma's first true Imperator! Allahu Akbar!"
~Imperator Császár Tádor I Árpád-
The start of the Árpádist can actually be traced back to Tádor. Not because Tádor was such a proud or great ruler: in fact, he was an indulgent wastrel who cared more about pastries than actual reputation. But he and Innokentios both were getting increasingly annoyed with the lack of cohesion the royal family was displaying. The landed descendants of Árpád and Álmos were behaving themselves as if they were mere petty lords, vying with others for lands and influence at the expense of the crown!
-Tádor was, initially, not very well thought of in terms of his qualities as a ruler. He was, howerver, a nice guy.-
But it was this mediocre ruler that would be instrumental in cementing much of the main doctrines of the state. When he came of age, he issued the aformentioned "Decree of Lineage", meaning that all who traced their lineage to Árpád or Álmos were now liable to preferential treatment by the crown, but also faced increased responsibility. If these men were to ashame their own dynasty by, for example, engaging in rape, fraud, murder, or fragrant debauchery, they were subject to immediate imprisonment and banishment or even execution. The people rejoiced at this decree (which pointed at their ruler taking his duties seriously and indeed even carefully implying he and his family had duties towards their people) but the Árpád line's reaction was mixed. At the one side, this brought them prestige, on the other, it made them liable to crown oversight.
A second decree was already in the works, intended to bring the empire under some kind of rudimentary legislation by decreeing the complete and utter overlordship of the Magyar and forbidding Hellenes to hold Counties and Duchies, restricting Hellenes to senatorial power. The bill was supported by Innokentios, (in fact, drafted by Innokentios), to achieve a dualistic solution to the last simmering tensions behind the two dominant cultures in the empire by segregating their spheres of power. Greek landholders, however, understandably lobbied the senate to achieve a solution. It was decided that for Greek interests to be uphold, Innokentios had to be deposed... but the only way to get that done was to have him fall from the Császár's favour... a solution was found, however, in the form of a woman, who could get close to Tádor and make him do her bidding, removing Innokentios from favour...
-"Odola's Dilemma", a 16th century painting of the 'Revived' School of painting, by Nándor Czákfi-
Odola Árpád was a woman most looked down upon, even though she was of great beauty. She was too smart, too conniving, and too much suspected of infidelity with numerous men other than her husband (Oszkár's younger brother) to be anything but viewed as a worthless slattern of too obvious Arabian descent (and thus being part of a lesser race). Her husband abused her, (was even rumored to have raped her) and made her wear clothing worthy of only peasants. She was not very keen on working the man's brother, a man with great power, and even less keen on working Innokentios, a man of even greater power... but she had no choice. She needed to save her position.
As such... she approached the emperor during a banquet, and spoke to him, softly, openly, finally daring to complain about her situation. Linütika (as was the name of her husband) voiced his complaints to his brother: but all underestimated Tádor's nature. The emperor scolded his own brother for so blatantly mistreating his wife and kept her behind for a talk after the banquet had ended. Finally alone, there was a seduction (although it's quite unclear who initiated it) and so a passionate affair started that would last for but two years, before culminating in one tragic death and the final invasion and conquest of all Greek lands...
Császár Tádor I Oszkárfi Árpád- 14 June 918 - 23 February, 977
Intrigue and Infidelity
Imperator Császár of Etelköz
Király of Bulgária
Király of all Magyar
-"Enough! Are we but a collection of savages?! THIS IS A ROYAL LINE! I descend from a royal line, put on this throne by the grace of might and God. There shall be one line to rule the New Rome, one line descended from the blood of its founders in steel and sweat. By the will of God, He that is One and Indivisible, I declare myself the descendant of Árpád the Lionheart. It is he that founded this state, and it is his name that its rulers shall bear. Through him have passed the duke Linütika and the emperor Oszkár, and through him have I passed: Nova Roma's first true Imperator! Allahu Akbar!"
~Imperator Császár Tádor I Árpád-
The start of the Árpádist can actually be traced back to Tádor. Not because Tádor was such a proud or great ruler: in fact, he was an indulgent wastrel who cared more about pastries than actual reputation. But he and Innokentios both were getting increasingly annoyed with the lack of cohesion the royal family was displaying. The landed descendants of Árpád and Álmos were behaving themselves as if they were mere petty lords, vying with others for lands and influence at the expense of the crown!
-Tádor was, initially, not very well thought of in terms of his qualities as a ruler. He was, howerver, a nice guy.-
But it was this mediocre ruler that would be instrumental in cementing much of the main doctrines of the state. When he came of age, he issued the aformentioned "Decree of Lineage", meaning that all who traced their lineage to Árpád or Álmos were now liable to preferential treatment by the crown, but also faced increased responsibility. If these men were to ashame their own dynasty by, for example, engaging in rape, fraud, murder, or fragrant debauchery, they were subject to immediate imprisonment and banishment or even execution. The people rejoiced at this decree (which pointed at their ruler taking his duties seriously and indeed even carefully implying he and his family had duties towards their people) but the Árpád line's reaction was mixed. At the one side, this brought them prestige, on the other, it made them liable to crown oversight.
A second decree was already in the works, intended to bring the empire under some kind of rudimentary legislation by decreeing the complete and utter overlordship of the Magyar and forbidding Hellenes to hold Counties and Duchies, restricting Hellenes to senatorial power. The bill was supported by Innokentios, (in fact, drafted by Innokentios), to achieve a dualistic solution to the last simmering tensions behind the two dominant cultures in the empire by segregating their spheres of power. Greek landholders, however, understandably lobbied the senate to achieve a solution. It was decided that for Greek interests to be uphold, Innokentios had to be deposed... but the only way to get that done was to have him fall from the Császár's favour... a solution was found, however, in the form of a woman, who could get close to Tádor and make him do her bidding, removing Innokentios from favour...
-"Odola's Dilemma", a 16th century painting of the 'Revived' School of painting, by Nándor Czákfi-
Odola Árpád was a woman most looked down upon, even though she was of great beauty. She was too smart, too conniving, and too much suspected of infidelity with numerous men other than her husband (Oszkár's younger brother) to be anything but viewed as a worthless slattern of too obvious Arabian descent (and thus being part of a lesser race). Her husband abused her, (was even rumored to have raped her) and made her wear clothing worthy of only peasants. She was not very keen on working the man's brother, a man with great power, and even less keen on working Innokentios, a man of even greater power... but she had no choice. She needed to save her position.
As such... she approached the emperor during a banquet, and spoke to him, softly, openly, finally daring to complain about her situation. Linütika (as was the name of her husband) voiced his complaints to his brother: but all underestimated Tádor's nature. The emperor scolded his own brother for so blatantly mistreating his wife and kept her behind for a talk after the banquet had ended. Finally alone, there was a seduction (although it's quite unclear who initiated it) and so a passionate affair started that would last for but two years, before culminating in one tragic death and the final invasion and conquest of all Greek lands...
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Interesting plans!
Thank you, thank you! I do hope I'll be able to keep you guys interested! I have a tendency to get bogged down in small things, I know, I just love myself a bit of court intrigue
.It looks like the Empire is stabilizing and the new Emperor will be quite capable. Hopefully he doesn't take any wild carriage rides.
I think he'll be taking *wild* carriage rides once a few husbands aren't looking
Been following this AAR for a while, so I thought I should drop in and voice my praise! Fantastic writing and storytelling!
With that said, I demand you oust the Pope from Rome.
Thank you! That means a lot, it's great to receive such a compliment! Yes, much will happen surrounding that pesky pope! (One of the reasons Frigyes thought Oszkár II to be such a majestic ruler is because of the man's glorious Italian campaigns, but that is not yet where the story is as of now...)
Thanks!
By the way... this new forum has a multi-quote function. I love it already!
I think he'll be taking *wild* carriage rides once a few husbands aren't looking
I can imagine that those carriage rides might prove just as fatal, but in a much different way.
I can see that the cultural divide in the empire will continue to cause quite a dilemma.
Chapter IX
Császár Tádor I Oszkárfi Árpád- 14 June 918 - 23 February, 977
The Fate of Anatolia
Imperator Császár of Etelköz
Király of Bulgária
Király of all Magyar
-Tádor and Odola's affair did not result in the results the senate expected... rather, in a change of foreign policy...-
The császár's shocking lack of interest in the happenings of his harem, or rather, the sudden lack of any such interest, quickly got alarm bells ringing through the entire palace. What was wrong? Had Tádor lost his virility at his young age already? Was he, God forbid, not even interested in women at all? Or was he simply casting his eye outside of the harem? Ibadism, thanks to Árpád's reforms, was not a very pious brand of Iszlám. (Being looked down upon as frivolous and decadent by the other branches.) The people were quite alright with their emperor having a discreet affair, just as in a Christian country in medieval times, it was quite expected (if not very approved of) a king to have a mistress, as long as the man kept it all hush-hush.
Tádor himself was discreet with his comings and goings, and it was quite possibly Odola that finally ruined herself posing to Tádor that it might not be such a smart idea to unland Hellene landowners, since they had such power and influence in areas never completely occupied by Magyar invaders. Tádor apparently was quite sympathetic to her suggestion, as Innokentios desribes in a scrap of his diaries.
"I... I am not sure my suggestions are reaching the emperor all that well, anymore. He seems... troubled. He is saying that it is too difficult to institute segregation of power based on descent alone and that the nobles would balk at the power of the state if we were to go ahead with the plan. I said he should not worry, that if we want a return to Rome, we must return to an imperial structure eventually. He said thatByza Hellene power must be redirected elsewhere to avoid civil war... but where? I fear the worst...
~Innokentios Anakedon, Diaries, entry c. 935"
It was all for naught. In the end, Tádor presented the senate with a dictate veiled as a plan, a dictate that would end the division between Hellene and Magyar for a while, and pave the ground for the empire to prosper instead of vanquishing into the dust of history. He proposed the invasion and conquest of all Greek lands, officially placing them under Magyar overlordship. He declared that as the population was either Christian or pagan, it made no sense at all to allow any native wordly power instead of those areas it was hard for non-natives to properly rule.
"Once I have established my rule in Anatólia, I will allow every Greek that submits to me and converts to the One True Faith to keep their titles. All Greek landholders will be migrated into conquered land to make up for what they will lose here. From this moment onwards, Anatólia is fenced off from my people's influence. It shall be Greek. Kisászia (Asia Minor) shall remain Greek. Christian Europe will subject to complete Magyar overlordship and that of the senate."
-Tádor holds audience to distressed landowners. "The Tyrant", 18th century 'klasszicizmus' painting, Balácz Mohámadfi-
It resulted in uproar at home, and invasion abroad. The armies of the despot Leon "the Cruel" amassed when news reached the man's court of Tádor's plans. As he sent word to his dukes and started the call to arms, Leon failed to strike first. His lands were occupied effortlessly, and the legacy of Byzantium was ground to dust in a scant three years. Leon was deposed and murdered, replaced by the puppet Prokopios, who failed to hold the realm together. As victorious Magyars ravaged Anatolia's hinterlands, Iconium ceased to exist, splintering into warring dukedoms.
For the Christians, this was horrendous, as they cursed the failure of their first crusade. Never again would they be so stupid as to fail to unite against a foe this dangerous. It was too late. The only unified state that could claim to represent the Greeks, was Etelköz, and the Greeks themselves seemed ready to accept that completely. Any form of unity in Southern Italy had also crumbled, as the Byzantine overlords declared independence from one another. With Orthodox holy sites occupied, heresy spread like wildfire. A great new state was taking shape, ready to dominate European politics, and there was nothing anything could do about it... but the success of the state had not extended to Tádor's personal life. On his return home, he heard of Odola giving birth to a baby Linütika could not have fathered (due to not having been with her intimately for a time) and as emperor was forced to watch her subsequent execution in the Hippodrome.
Mentioning whom she'd adultered with, would have saved her the death sentence, perhaps... but she had not talked, and Tádor's reputation and indeed crown were safe. News of his affair with a married, highborn woman (the youngest daughter of Árpád himself) might have seen him deposed. As it was, Tádor only admitted to the deed as he lay dying of old age, much, much later, thanking his dead love for saveguarding him and the state with her life.
-Tádor had to act indifferent to Odola's death... but he must have been deeply shocked. Romanticized painting by unknown Magyar painter: notice the inconsistencies of the gladiators and Odola's white skin. Also, Tádor ate much... but wasn't quite that fat. c. 12th century-
Császár Tádor I Oszkárfi Árpád- 14 June 918 - 23 February, 977
The Fate of Anatolia
Imperator Császár of Etelköz
Király of Bulgária
Király of all Magyar
-Tádor and Odola's affair did not result in the results the senate expected... rather, in a change of foreign policy...-
The császár's shocking lack of interest in the happenings of his harem, or rather, the sudden lack of any such interest, quickly got alarm bells ringing through the entire palace. What was wrong? Had Tádor lost his virility at his young age already? Was he, God forbid, not even interested in women at all? Or was he simply casting his eye outside of the harem? Ibadism, thanks to Árpád's reforms, was not a very pious brand of Iszlám. (Being looked down upon as frivolous and decadent by the other branches.) The people were quite alright with their emperor having a discreet affair, just as in a Christian country in medieval times, it was quite expected (if not very approved of) a king to have a mistress, as long as the man kept it all hush-hush.
Tádor himself was discreet with his comings and goings, and it was quite possibly Odola that finally ruined herself posing to Tádor that it might not be such a smart idea to unland Hellene landowners, since they had such power and influence in areas never completely occupied by Magyar invaders. Tádor apparently was quite sympathetic to her suggestion, as Innokentios desribes in a scrap of his diaries.
"I... I am not sure my suggestions are reaching the emperor all that well, anymore. He seems... troubled. He is saying that it is too difficult to institute segregation of power based on descent alone and that the nobles would balk at the power of the state if we were to go ahead with the plan. I said he should not worry, that if we want a return to Rome, we must return to an imperial structure eventually. He said that
~Innokentios Anakedon, Diaries, entry c. 935"
It was all for naught. In the end, Tádor presented the senate with a dictate veiled as a plan, a dictate that would end the division between Hellene and Magyar for a while, and pave the ground for the empire to prosper instead of vanquishing into the dust of history. He proposed the invasion and conquest of all Greek lands, officially placing them under Magyar overlordship. He declared that as the population was either Christian or pagan, it made no sense at all to allow any native wordly power instead of those areas it was hard for non-natives to properly rule.
"Once I have established my rule in Anatólia, I will allow every Greek that submits to me and converts to the One True Faith to keep their titles. All Greek landholders will be migrated into conquered land to make up for what they will lose here. From this moment onwards, Anatólia is fenced off from my people's influence. It shall be Greek. Kisászia (Asia Minor) shall remain Greek. Christian Europe will subject to complete Magyar overlordship and that of the senate."
-Tádor holds audience to distressed landowners. "The Tyrant", 18th century 'klasszicizmus' painting, Balácz Mohámadfi-
It resulted in uproar at home, and invasion abroad. The armies of the despot Leon "the Cruel" amassed when news reached the man's court of Tádor's plans. As he sent word to his dukes and started the call to arms, Leon failed to strike first. His lands were occupied effortlessly, and the legacy of Byzantium was ground to dust in a scant three years. Leon was deposed and murdered, replaced by the puppet Prokopios, who failed to hold the realm together. As victorious Magyars ravaged Anatolia's hinterlands, Iconium ceased to exist, splintering into warring dukedoms.
For the Christians, this was horrendous, as they cursed the failure of their first crusade. Never again would they be so stupid as to fail to unite against a foe this dangerous. It was too late. The only unified state that could claim to represent the Greeks, was Etelköz, and the Greeks themselves seemed ready to accept that completely. Any form of unity in Southern Italy had also crumbled, as the Byzantine overlords declared independence from one another. With Orthodox holy sites occupied, heresy spread like wildfire. A great new state was taking shape, ready to dominate European politics, and there was nothing anything could do about it... but the success of the state had not extended to Tádor's personal life. On his return home, he heard of Odola giving birth to a baby Linütika could not have fathered (due to not having been with her intimately for a time) and as emperor was forced to watch her subsequent execution in the Hippodrome.
Mentioning whom she'd adultered with, would have saved her the death sentence, perhaps... but she had not talked, and Tádor's reputation and indeed crown were safe. News of his affair with a married, highborn woman (the youngest daughter of Árpád himself) might have seen him deposed. As it was, Tádor only admitted to the deed as he lay dying of old age, much, much later, thanking his dead love for saveguarding him and the state with her life.
-Tádor had to act indifferent to Odola's death... but he must have been deeply shocked. Romanticized painting by unknown Magyar painter: notice the inconsistencies of the gladiators and Odola's white skin. Also, Tádor ate much... but wasn't quite that fat. c. 12th century-
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I can imagine that those carriage rides might prove just as fatal, but in a much different way.
I can see that the cultural divide in the empire will continue to cause quite a dilemma.
Mostly represented by liberation revolts ingame... but these are so random I have to explain the constant tension, which, I imagine, will have fluctuated organically, depending on how strict emperors were.
Evil women again causing chaos and misery
She's actually quite the sad story... her ingame experience is a short love affair with Tádor, followed by a quick execution by Linütika, the emperor's brother...
Oy vey. Now secure rest of Anatolia before someone else does.
HIP 5 year conquest and holy war cooldown won't let me
Soon all of Anatolia will be yours.
The rest of the world looks quite fragmented. Doesn't look like there's much of a threat out there.
The rest of the world looks quite fragmented. Doesn't look like there's much of a threat out there.