Meeting of the US BAUA Historical Division on the Subject of Earth 12082015

[GoukaRyuu]

1116 - 1166 Part 3​

"This brief segment will deal with some more developments with Ireland. Following the death of King Neil (I)* "the Kind," his successor was his kinsman Máel-Sechniall/Malachy II "the Lionheart." While the general perception the public of the other world has is that Malachy II was more militaristic than Neil, it isn't necessarily true. We know already from previously that Neil was a Crusader. Beyond that, the last ten to fifteen years of his reign saw him outside his realm helping the Knights Hospitaller against the Fatimids or assisting allies like King Alfonso IV of Castille in dealing with some dynastic issues. Really, the difference between the two is that Malachy II was an expansionist."

King Máel-Sechniall/Malachy II of Ireland "the Lionheart"

"Malachy came to the throne in 1136. He had already proved his worth in the Mauritanian Crusade and had earned his regnal epithet before he even ascended the throne. It only be two years into his reign before he first started flexing his muscles. Due to a rebellion, Sieffre, the then Petty King of Gwynedd was wide open to attack. Cellach Ua Cheinnselaig/Kelly O'Kinsella had a claim to the petty kingdom and Malachy used this moment of weakness to push it. Before 1138 was done Cellach would be the new ruler of an independent Gwynedd."

Petty Queen Cellach "the Usurper" of Gwynedd

"Now, Malachy didn't do this out of the kindness of his heart. Cellach was already an old woman and never married. In 1140 she died at around 67 years of age. With no children of her own, the title passed to her second-cousin-once-removed Duke Énna II of Laign. After his death the title would fall to his grandson Óengus, now Duke of Laign and Gwynedd. That is until Malachy revoked the Welsh title in a move to reorganize his realm. He would give the title to a welshman of the house of Mathrafal, the dynasty that had been ruling Gwynedd until he himself had overthrown them."

"Not even a few months after he had taken Gwynedd, Malachy looked south to Brittany, known to the Bretons as Breizh. The previous ruler, Alan VI of the Sant Nazar dynasty, had passed after a period of illness leaving his son, Konan III, with the title. Konan was about ten or eleven years old. King Neil's first wife had been Gerberga de Rennes. The de Rennes were the dynasty that had ruled Brittany until the Sant Nazars had inherited the title. Neil's son Domnall/Donald had a claim, and like with Cellach, Malachy pressed it. This was a longer war, lasting until 1144 but it was won by Ireland and Donald became Duke of Briotáine, even if he himself didn't have any land on the peninsula. In 1147 Malachy had himself crowned King of Bhriotáin."

Petty King Alan VI of Breizh

Former Petty King Konan III/Count of Vannes

"This series of events is considered the start to what historians of this world call the Celtic Union. Think of it as similar to the Kalmar Union. The Irish were viewed as first-among-equals and all three realms, Wales would be unified under the Irish later, had the same king responsible for foreign affairs. The nobles of those realms largely ran things domestically. The Dukes of Gwynedd and Briotáine being the administrators and go betweens to the king. This is also important because Welsh and Breton as languages and cultures are viewed as sibling cultures to the Irish. Their languages are very similar. It is due to this series of events that these languages are far more spoken and widespread in the present of the other world than they are in ours."

Political Map of Ireland/Celtic Union 1164

"Okay, I know it is getting late, but we just have one more topic to cover and we'll be done the first century of divergence. Let's take a short fifteen minute break and then we'll get into the Third Crusade and some other wars before breaking for the day."


OOC: I actually had nothing to do with this. I stopped playing Ireland once Niall/Neil died.

 

[TheTeaMustFlow]

Interesting way of doing an AAR, very original.

How about playing England? Attack the Normans and maybe you can get English culture established after all.

 

[GoukaRyuu]

Interesting way of doing an AAR, very original.

How about playing England? Attack the Normans and maybe you can get English culture established after all.

We'll see. First I'm doing something that is unforgivable in many's eyes, though that probably won't be mentioned until Part 1 of 1166 - 1216.

 

[der Kriegsherr]

First I'm doing something that is unforgivable in many's eyes,

Oooh, can't wait to see what it is!

 

[GoukaRyuu]

1116 - 1166 Part 4​

"Okay, I will try to be as brief as possible with this final segment because it is getting late; and I will be seeing you again bright and early tomorrow. We will quickly be covering the Third Crusade and a few other religious wars to round out the last part of this fifty year period. As you can tell, and I have stuck with what I said, I am only going over the highlights. There is a lot more I haven't mentioned even about the events we have discussed much less the plethora of possible topics that were deemed...well I don't want to say inconsequential but not as important to the overall historical narrative. But, I am starting to digress, so let's get to it."

"Pope Eugene III called for a new Crusade to take Jerusalem from the Saracens in 1160. Including the Papal forces under Eugene III and later Pope Constantine II, several other big names joined in against Caliph Mukhtar of the Abbasid Sunni Caliphate, who had gained control of most of the holy land after the disintegration of the Seljuk Empire in 1142."

Pope Eugene III

Pope Constantine II

"Other contributors that joined in various times through out the three year Crusade include: King Æthelsige II of England; King Sulvan II of Croatia; King Eric I of Scotland; King Sobieslav of Bohemia; Duke Rutger of Upper Burgundy, who's contributions nearly won the Crusade until he died in his late fifties and his troops left to return his body to his family; King Ferran II of Aragon, who ended up fighting in some separate conflicts a few of which are more widely and inaccurately known as the Third Crusade's Iberian front; and King Adalbert (I)* of France. Adalbert/Albert would end up making up for the death of Rutger and claim for himself much of the holy land and the title of King of Jerusalem. King Albert would have to deal with near continuous religious warfare over his prize in the years to come. Some was offensive by him to actually get the holy city itself, but much was by Sunnis and Shias alike trying to wrest control of the holy land away from the Christians. The Kingdom of Jerusalem would become an albatross around France's neck."

King Adalbert of France

"King Ferran/Ferdinand II "the Mad" was actually forming his troops and preparing for the Crusade when dynastic disputes, being called by his ally Aquitaine to help with a rebellion, and finally Emir Abdul-Hazam of the Aftasid Emirate and Shiekh Ya'far of La Mancha both declared war on the Kingdom of Castille for Toledo in 1161. With the aggressors of the simultaneous wars being Sunni Muslims and happening at the same time as the Crusade, it was inaccurately taught for some time that this was the efforts of some Sunni realms to open up a second front in the war. Actually, it was just good old fashioned expansionism."

King Ferran II of Aragon

"Aragon did turn the tide that eventually led to victory. Ferran II was already known as "the Mad" before the war, but he insanely rushed with his troops into a battle where he was greatly outnumbered believing that his allies in the next province over would reinforce. Thankfully for him, they did. The Battle of Madrid saw thousands die but the Muslim force was near eliminated and this turned the tide of the war."

"Sunni Islam was in a lot of trouble in this period. The protectors of the Caliph, the Seljuks, had fragmented and fell. The Caliph, their religious head, had lost to the Crusaders, and they had already lost Mauritania a generation earlier. While the Knights Hospitaller were not involved in this Crusade, their Grandmaster, Prince Álvaro "the Monk" of Navarre, was assisting the Jimena realms in their wars at the time, it has been argued that King Neil's gambit had worked. Much of the Berber population of the area was Christianized and a powerful realm that would have sent troops against the Crusaders was now not involved. Needless to say, things were going to be getting worse before they got better for the Sunnis."

Political map of Western Europe 1164

Religious Map of Western Europe 1164

"Okay, that's it for today everyone! See you tomorrow."


OOC: So there is the first century done. Things are already pretty different from our world. Should be interesting to see what happens next. Also, I am totally serious about Sunni Islam. The few play-aheads I've done Sunni Islam's MA has hit rock bottom and climbed about as high as 12. Shia by comparison is staying in the 50s - 60s range with a high of in the 70s. A lot of Yazidi is popping up.

 

[der Kriegsherr]

Sooooooo....the true Church is being restored to Anatolia when? I mean, the Seljuks won't be putting up much of a fight for it.

 

[GoukaRyuu]

Sooooooo....the true Church is being restored to Anatolia when? I mean, the Seljuks won't be putting up much of a fight for it.

The Byzantines have been slowly whittling away the various microstates there. They have recovered about half the kingdom.

 

[GoukaRyuu]

1166 - 1216 Part 1​

"Good morning everyone! Glad to see everyone here and ready. Yesterday we introduced how we came into contact with Earth-12082015 and discussed the PoD and the resulting century of European history. Today, I hope to cover a little more than we did yesterday, but we will have to see."

"Now, for the most part the next twenty years of the timeline don't have anything that screams out major. As mentioned, there were several holy wars to try to take the holy land back from the Christians as well as attempts by the Christians to actually capture Jerusalem itself. There was an attack on England by the Holy Roman Empire to install a claimant on the throne, but he ended up dying and voiding the whole purpose of the war within a few months of it starting. Really, the next major change I want to discuss deals with the Kingdom of Castile-León and the Kingdom of Aragon falling out of the Jimena Dynasty's control."

"The same thing happened in our universe. Queen Urraca passed on a consolidated Galicia, León, and Castile to her heir Alfonso VII of the House of Burgundy by the 1120s. In Aragon Queen Petronilla was followed by her son Alfonso II of the House of Barcelona in the 1160s. In the other universe the Jimenas had more luck with having sons, so this eventuality was forestalled by fifty to sixty years. Also, there was probably just as much dynastic squabbling as in our world, which led not only to a stop in the offensive against the Moors, but in this case only Castile and Leon were unified. The Jimenas still held Galicia, which included some traditionally Castillian lands, and Navarre."

"Who were the people involved and what were the new dynasties that took over? In Castile-León King Alfonso/Alphonse IV had usurped the title from King Martin II "the Battler," who stilled remained King of Galicia. He had only had one son Anfòs, who disinherited himself by joining the Knights Hospitaller. He did eventually becoming Grandmaster though. The succession laws were agnatic-cognatic primogeniture. This means it was male preference. In this case, where Alphonse had nothing but daughters the eldest would inherit unless one of them had a son then that daughter would be next in line. When the king died from syphilis his eldest daughter, Inés/Agnes, took the throne."

King Alfonso IV of Castile-León

Queen Inés of Castile-León

"Inés had been married to Oveco, the son of Duke Gutierre/Walter "the Handsome" of Asturias, a powerful duke in Castile-León. The marriage was to tie Walter more loyally to the crown. Once it became apparent Inés would inherit it worked rather well. She reigned from 1168 to 1184 before dying a natural death, even if we would consider dying in your fifties to be rather unnatural today. Her eldest son ascended the throne as King Alfonso/Alphonse V. He also had several younger brothers and sisters so succession for the de León family was assured for sometime."

King Alfonso V of Castile-León

"The more interesting replacement of the Jimenas was in Aragon. King Ferran/Ferdinand II "the Mad", who we discussed briefly last night, was followed by his eldest daughter Queen Mafalda/Matilda, who would reign from 1164 to 1188. Mafalda was the eldest of six children. She was not expected to inherit the throne since she had two younger brothers, a third had died not that long after birth. Ferran and Vela both died in "accidents" that are considered murders, but no one knows the culprit or culprits even up to the present in the other world. Mafalda being the eldest daughter became heir."

"Back during the rule of her grandfather Ferran/Ferdinand I "the Ox" her father, the later Ferran II, was part of the party that had gone to France to negotiate the marriage of her younger sister Isabel to King Adalbert of France, though he was not king at the time. Ferran would end up befriending one of the nobles on the French side of negotiations, Gauthier/Walter Karling. These Karlings were descended from Charlemagne's son Pepin, who had been king of Italy, and Pepin's son Bernard. Walter was the second son of Count Guillaume/William of Vermandois. As stated earlier, Mafalda was not expected to inherit so as a sign of friendship between the two men she was married to Walter's only son, William. Now, while not common, it was not unheard of for royal relatives to marry the relatives of counts and countesses. Mafalda was married to William and left Aragon for Vermandois."

Queen Mafalda of Aragon

"Eventually the relations with the King of France soured and King Adalbert claimed the county as his and revoked the title from the Karlings. They fled to King Ferran II's court. Mafalda's eldest son was already of age. He was named Gauthier/Walter after his grandfather, however he received the nickname Francesc from the Catalan friends he made at court. It is the Catalan version of Francesco, or Francis in English. It makes sense why this would be his nickname, Francesco literally means "the Frenchman." At this point it was apparent his mother would inherit the throne, and eventually so would he. He threw himself into learning the Catalan language and culture. When he finally ascended to the throne of Aragon he used Francesc as his regnal name. It is one of the earliest known non-papal examples in Western Europe of someone using a regnal name different from their baptismal name. Upon ascension, Francis I of Aragon became the first Carolingian king in over two centuries."

King Francesc I of Aragon

OOC: So yes, I did something unforgivable in many CK2 players eyes, I reinstated the Karlings on a throne. Also, in Inés' case I have to say I really like the female Irish faces in this game.

 

[GoukaRyuu]

Just posting these as a reference for the last update. Once the CK2 portion of the AAR is done I will probably do this for most major countries/the Papacy so this post will be deleted in future. All the matching footnote/endnote superscript numbers denote the same person:

 

[Dr.Livingstone]

A Karling on the throne? Surely you must know the penalty?

 

[GoukaRyuu]

A Karling on the throne? Surely you must know the penalty?

*sigh* I'll oil up the rack.

 

[GoukaRyuu]

1166 - 1216 Part 2​

"Next I will be mentioning briefly one item before getting into the next major event."

The Rise of the Hansa

"In our universe the Hanseatic League, or the Hansa for short, was established in 1358. In the other universe what would eventually develop into it started in Bremen in 1195, though it would end up being destroyed when the Danes took Bremen in the mid-1200s. It started with a group of merchants, later joined by many cities on the German Baltic coast, to mutually protect each other and gain profit. This was a direct consequence of the dominance of the Trading Republic of Visby, located on Gotland off the coast of Sweden, in the area of Baltic trade. This is important and worth mentioning, especially with the fact that it is established earlier than in our universe, but it is still an aside to the main topic."

Map of the Trading Area of the Republic of Visby, 1195

"After mentioning the change overs in dynasty of Castile and Aragon, we now have the main players out of the way for the next major European event in this universe: The Fourth Crusade."

"The fight against the Muslim realms on the Iberian Peninsula had been going on for centuries. You could argue it had been since Karl/Charles Martel, the actual individual from whom the Karling/Carolingian's get their name, pushed the Moors back at the Battle of Tours in 732. In our universe the Reconquista was a gradual process that lasted nearly 800 years, finishing in 1492 with the Fall of Granada to Ferdinand and Isabella of Aragon and Castile. In this universe things happened a bit sooner, though the end of the Reconquista is still a little further off."

"One of the big reasons Islam was removed from the Iberian Peninsula quicker in this universe was the Second Crusade and Mauritania going to the Knights Hospitaller. The Almoravids, for the brief time they lasted in both universes, were a big contributor to the survival of the Moorish states. Without having the reinforcements and a way of retreat the Moor States' downfall was only a matter of time. However, the late 1100s saw a brief resurgence, which in and of itself was the catalyst for the Fourth Crusade."

"What had for a short time been a state spanning from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, Guadalupe, was now split into two. These made up half of the four Moor States left on the Peninsula. The Beja Emirate held much of what we would consider central Portugal in the West and Granada, much of Seville, and Cordoba in the East. Dividing this state in the center was the Aftasid Emirate of Badajoz. Both realms were of the same dynasty and successor states to Guadalupe."

Political Map of Iberia, 1191

"In 1191 the Beja Emirate attacked the Kingdom of Galicia, already weakened by wars with Castile, with Aragon as an ally, and Navarre. Save for some lands Galicia held in the East, and the territory of Coruña which was held by Navarre, the kingdom fell entirely. King Mem/Mendo of Galicia was forced to flee. This would only be made worse by the Badajoz Emirate's attack for Toldeo during the Crusade, where the Galician King would be killed near the end of the war."

King Mem of Galicia

"Facing such expansion at the expense of Christians, Pope Constantine III called for a Crusade for Andalusia in 1193. Several powers answered the call including Gwynedd, Hungary under Vilmos II, and the Teutonic Order, who were formed in 1192 and gifted lands on the borders of Christendom near the Russian area of Kazan/Qazan by the Khan of Cumania. I am sure you recall Cumania became Catholic soon after the PoD. But, the main stars of this Crusade were the Kingdoms of Castile-León, Aragon, and the remnants of the Kingdom of Galicia. If anything, because of the stakes and participants involved this Crusade is the one most well-known in the the other world, much like the Third Crusade is for us."

Formation of the Teutonic Order

"The Kingdom of Aragon under its Carolingian king is considered the biggest contributor to the war effort. Francis I "the Troubadour" led his forces into several major battles with thousands of men on both sides and also sieged and captured Lisbon itself. In the end, Pope Constantine III, who had had a chilly relationship with the king over his practice of Free Investiture, acknowledged it was his victory."

"Of course, given everything that had happened and that this was the first Crusade fought on the borders of Christendom or on already Christian territory, there needed to be some agreement over what would happen next. In this way we have a diplomatic event, like the treaties of major wars a few centuries in the future of our universe that redrew borders of many countries. The Treaty of Lisbon will be our next topic."

 

[GoukaRyuu]

1166 - 1216 Part 2.5​

"With the wars over and both the Emirates of Beja and Badajoz wiped off the map, as well as the destruction of the idea of a Kingdom of Andalusia, there were still questions as to what was next. King Mem was dead and his heir was his three year old daughter, Queen Aldonça. Francis called the other Iberian rulers to a diplomatic meeting in the newly liberated city of Lisbon. Over the course of a few weeks they worked out an arrangement that saw the rewriting of some of the borders of their realms."

Political Map of Iberia 1191

"The biggest loser of the Treaty of Lisbon was Queen Aldonça. Viscaya, a traditionally Navarrese possession that had been under Galician control, was given to Navarre, just like the Duchy of Toldeo and what parts of the Duchy of Castile Galicia controlled went to Castile. Finally, the Galician Kingdom was simply agreed among the others to be finished. Navarre was also a loser. It lost as a vassal the county of Coruña and its owner the Duke of Galicia, Garcia III of the Jimena dynasty. He was not only given his independence, but all the land on the Western coast of Iberia. He started a new kingdom, this universe's vesion of Portugal. Castile, on top of receiving old Galician lands also got the Duchy of Badajoz and the Sevillian lands. Aragon for itself kept Cordoba and Granada."

Political Map of Iberia, 1197

"There were still Moorish lands on the Southern coast of the Peninsula, the Abbadid Emirate of Seville and Algarve and the Shiekhdom of Algeciras, as well as the Emirate of Mallorca on the Balearic Islands off the Eastern coast, but it would only be about a decade before the former of those I listed were wiped out."

"Oh, yes, you may be wondering why Francis' epithet is "the Troubadour. He became a fairly renowned poet and musician. While not on the same exact level as Shakespeare, he is still someone that had a dramatic impact on Catalanese language and literature. He is in many ways similar to Richard "the Lionheart" of England in our universe with his popularity and name recognition and unlike Richard he actually dwelled in the realm he was king of and did fairly well by it."

 

[wam-mnebu]

​

"The biggest loser of the Treaty of Lisbon was Queen Aldonça. Viscaya, a traditionally Navarrese possession that had been under Galician control, was given to Navarre, just like the Duchy of Toldeo and what parts of the Duchy of Castile Galicia controlled went to Castile. Finally, the Galician Kingdom was simply agreed among the others to be finished. Navarre was also a loser. It lost as a vassal the county of Coruña and its owner the Duke of Galicia, Garcia III of the Jimena dynasty. He was not only given his independence, but all the land on the Western coast of Iberia. He started a new kingdom, this universe's vesion of Portugal. Castile, on top of receiving old Galician lands also got the Duchy of Badajoz and the Sevillian lands. Aragon for itself kept Cordoba and Granada."

Political Map of Iberia, 1197

"There were still Moorish lands on the Southern coast of the Peninsula, the Abbadid Emirate of Seville and Algarve and the Shiekhdom of Algeciras, as well as the Emirate of Mallorca on the Balearic Islands off the Eastern coast, but it would only be a matter of time before they were finally wiped out."

I don't think i've ever seen treaties make such clean borders. How?

"Oh, yes, you may be wondering why Francis' epithet is "the Troubadour. He became a fairly renowned poet and musician. While not on the same exact level as Shakespeare, he is still someone that had a dramatic impact on Catalanese language and literature. He is in many ways similar to Richard "the Lionheart" of England in our universe with his popularity and name recognition and unlike Richard he actually dwelled in the realm he was king of and did fairly well by it."

So he isn't mandatory reading who exists solely for the misery of high school students across the anglosphere?

This is really exciting, are you planning to transfer the save? It would be really interesting to see all three colonize.

 

[GoukaRyuu]

I don't think I've ever seen treaties make such clean borders. How?

The magic of console commands.

So he isn't mandatory reading who exists solely for the misery of high school students across the anglosphere?

Well, if it gets to that point the Catalansphere. But probably still a yes. Come now, most every major language has at least one or two of them even if they aren't as important to their language as Shakespeare was to English. Has more quotes in Bartlett's Book of Quotations than even the Bible.

This is really exciting, are you planning to transfer the save? It would be really interesting to see all three colonize.

I'm hoping to. I'll probably need help to edit stuff and take time to actually learn how to play EUIV. I want to do like @RedTemplar did for his Lombard megacampaign (PS, check it out it is good). I would love to see them colonize. If Castile takes the rest of Seville than it and Aragon will be pretty evenly matched. I can't wait to see the 1400s - 1800s of this world.

 

[GoukaRyuu]

1166 - 1216 Part 2.75​

"The Fourth Crusade was the last major event to happen that we will be discussing in this fifty year period from 1166 - 1216. Yes, I know that that went rather quickly, that is why I am hoping to cover more ground today than we did yesterday. I will just be finishing up this period by mentioning a few more key events that took place."

"Two kingdoms that didn't really exist in our universe, or at least not at this time, came into existence in Eastern Europe about concurrently to the Fourth Crusade. Both of these change the dynamics of the region a bit."

Political Map of the Baltic, 1216

"The first was the Kingdom of Lithuania in 1195 by King Butigeidis Palemonaitis. In our universe the only crowned king of Lithuania was King Mindaugas. He lasted from 1251 to 1263 when his nephew murdered him and the country descended into infighting. There was an attempt to establish a monarchy after World War I when Wilhelm Karl Duke of Urach was invited to become King Mindaugas II but the Council of Lithuania later changed their minds. Butigeidis faced a lot of resistance from his tribal vassals, who chafed at the authortity he was trying to institute. A holy war by the neighboring Duchy of Pskov, a vassal of the Kingdom of Rus, saw Butigeidis convert to Eastern Orthodox Christianity, negating the purpose of the war. While Butigeidis would loose some revolts by his vassals and have to clamp down on the authority he had over them he is the one to get them to convert to Christianity. And that is another difference, besides a Kingdom of Lithuania that would last beyond its founder, the religion of this realm is Orthodox."

King Butigeidis of Lithuania

"The other Kingdom is the Kingdom of Pomerania. This is made up of parts of our modern day Germany and Poland, taking the land from Rostock in Germany to the area of Gdansk/Danzig in Poland. Founded in 1197 by King Martin (I)* de Forez it quickly was inherited by his daughter Queen Izabela/Isabella after he died from leprosy. She, in a rare case, married one of the sons of the then King of Rus with the agreement that the offspring of the marriage would be of her dynasty. She reclaimed Szczecin/Stettin from Poland and fought off a number of revolts and foreign threats to establish a small regional power. In our universe this area remained pagan until it got gobbled up by the surrounding countries."

King Martin (I)* of Pomerania

Queen Izabela of Pomerania

"A brief return to the Iberian Peninsula will show us that as I said, within a decade the Reconquista is practically finished. Portugal declared a holy war for Algarve which lasted from 1203 - 1204. Castile followed with one for Seville from 1204 - 1206. Aragon's county of Granada had two Muslim enclaves. The first was the city of Elvira, the last remnant of the conquered Hudid state of Algeciras/Emirate of Seville; and the Arg/Castle of Moclin held by the BaktashiOrder, a Sunni religious order. It would be Francis' son Francis II of Aragon, Francis I died of old age in January 1210, that would reclaim the city of Elvira. This left by 1216 the Baktashi holding in Granada and the Emirate of Mallorca as the only bastions of Islam left in Iberia."

"Finally, we have some interesting developments with the Papacy. In 1201 the first Pope from Cumania is elected. Uzluk Bakhchiaray became Pope Theodore III. It shows the growing importance of the Catholic steppes peoples. He would be followed by Pope Eugene IV "the Wicked." Considered a black priest who bought his way to the office. An example of the corruption in the church and a sign of the need for change, in ways similar to our world. How all this plays out is interesting. I hope you will agree."

Political Map 1216

"And, that's it for this period. Nothing else major. Next we will be moving on to 1216/7 - 1266. We should hopefully get through that material in time for lunch, if a little late."



OOC: I figured I could update one more time. I've been playing a lot (this game and a few non-AAR ones) because I took off work this week. Have a happy new year everyone! Be safe.

 

[KingJerkera]

What is that little purple spot in the middle of the HRE? Is it Lombardy or Aquitaine I can't quite tell.

 

[GoukaRyuu]

What is that little purple spot in the middle of the HRE? Is it Lombardy or Aquitaine I can't quite tell.

Lombardy. For some reason that is the color it got, even if it is a similar shade to Aquitaine.

 

[GoukaRyuu]

1217 - 1266 Part 1​

"We now move back to Ireland. I already explained that under King Malachy II of Ireland in the 1140s the country gained the northern part of Wales and all of Brittany. This was considered the beginning of the Celtic Union. It was much like the Kalmar Union of our world. In this case it was Ireland and Brittany, with Gwynedd in Wales, all had the same King who handled defense and what would be called foreign policy for the times. At the same time, the Duke of Brittany and Duke of Gwynedd handled the more internal matters of each realm and answered to the King of Ireland as their overlord."

Political Map of Ireland/Celtic Union 1164

"In 1217 the King at the time was Constantín/Constantine (I)*. However, as was bound to happen from time to time, and made worse by succession of the realms being by tanistry, you would get some member of the dynasty that wanted to claim the royal dignity for themselves. The person to do that in this case was Máel- Coluim/Malcolm son of King Éamonn/Edmund (I)* "Hotspur" and grandson of King Donnchad/Duncan II. He was in Gwent, a county in the south-eastern part of Wales and part of the Petty Kingdom of Deheubarth. He died suddenly from illness before he could carry out his plans."

Prince Malcolm of Ireland

"But Constantine was livid that Gwent, and by extension Deheubarth, would harbor a threat to his realm. He used this reasoning to attack and take Gwent in 1217. After gaining his prize he went further. He declared himself King of Bhreatain Bheag, the Irish term for Wales, gained the Couny of Glamorgan as a vassal, and usurped the Petty Kingdom of Deheubarth out from under it's holder giving the Duchy of Deheubarth to the Count of Glamorgan and subjugating the last Deheubarthian King, now only the de facto Count of Dyfed."

"And so, the Celtic Union was now complete. Ireland, Brittany, and Wales united under one king. While you would still have members of the O'Neil family trying to gain one of the crowns or the lords of the realms trying to use the tanistry succession to get a different monarch from Ireland and break away, which even if they succeeded in didn't last long, this union remained together for some time. But, nothing lasts forever, even if that is beyond the scope of our current era."

Political Map of Ireland/Celtic Union, 1218

OOC: So there we have it. If Ireland ever gains Scotland and the Isle of Mann they would have all the states that make up the Celtic union of our world, not a government entity but one to foster growth and appreciation for traditional Celtic language and culture.

And, I'm sure you are wondering, where are those Mongols?

 

[GoukaRyuu]

1217 - 1266 Part 2​

"One of the most fascinating developments of this period has to do with the Byzantine Empire. Just like in our universe, the Doukas/Doukid Dynasty took over after Isaac Komnenos' rule. This happened in 1059 so it is before the PoD and as in our universe. Unlike in our universe however, the dynasty remained on the imperial throne for almost 124 years, nearly a century longer. The empire itself was doing a bit better than in our universe. The earlier fragmentation of the Seljuks, and the lack of a Battle of Manzikert, led to the reconquest of about 1/4 to 1/3 of Anatolia while also having control of the Balkans. But, the good times would not last forever for the successors of Rome."

"The last Doukas Emperor was Demetrios "the Cruel." He was overthrown by a coalition of nobles and, similar to our universe, replaced by a Komnenos, in this case Kallistos II. But, if Demetrios was cruel, Kallistos was even worse. He is known as "the Terrible" and several revolts and rebellions happened during his rule, but he was able to keep the empire together. Unfortunately, he was rather old by the time he had a son. So, when Kallistos died in 1219 at the age of 66, his two year old son Antonios became emperor."

Basileus Kallistos II

"As can be imagined, many nobles saw the weakness of the imperial throne at this time as an opportunity. Some on the fringes of the empire fought for independence while others fought for the limiting of the authority of the emperor over the nobles. What was most unexpected was when the young emperor fell from a balcony of the palace that had clearly been sabotaged. He was only eleven years old. There was no proof as to who actually did the deed, or more accurately who facilitated the plot; there are far too many suspects to really narrow it down and the resulting events only show that many people benefited from the boy- emperor's death."

"After a brief interregnum Antonios' nephew, the son of his eldest sister, laid claim to the throne. Serapion of the Kallokratos dynasty. Unfortunately, the empire was shattered. Only a handful of lords acknowledged Serapion as the legitimate emperor."

Basileus Serapion

"Many refused to acknowledge him as emperor because they believed themselves to be the legitimate heirs, even if they never had a claim to the throne to begin with. Another belief in the minds of a few nobles was that the interregnum was simply continuing with the throne still vacant and Serapion being viewed as a usurper, not the legitimate heir. Finally, those that had been trying to win independence didn't care either way, they didn't recognize Byzantine authority, period."

Political Map of the Byzantine Empire, 1228

"It's interesting that they fell apart like this, but in our universe they were very much touch and go for awhile, seemed to be coming around, and then the Fourth Crusade became the beginning of the end. Needless to say, the future did not bode well for the successors of Rome or the Queen of Cities."


OOC: So yeah, that stupid bug where if a rebellion has a rebellion or the right person dies all rebels gain independence. This was me trying to spin it in a way that makes historical sense. Let me know if I succeeded.