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TheCreator901

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The Annionas: Heart of Europe
A CKII Megacampaign

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"I proclaim that the product of my loins shall see the white falcon in Rome" - Anniulf Anniona
Part I: Vassals of the Agilolfings
- Chapter I: War of Bohemia (769 - 773)
- Chapter II: Ducatus Bohemiæ (773 - 785)
- Chapter III: End of a Legend (785 - 790)
- Chapter IV: Dogan and Theoderic (790 - 796)
- Chapter V: Search for Immortality (796 - 805)
- Chapter VI: Danube to Baltic (805 - 811)
- Chapter VII: Rebellion (811 - 817)
 
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I enjoyed your previous AAR, will certainly hope to follow this one.
 
I enjoyed your previous AAR, will certainly hope to follow this one.
Thanks. Unfortunately it had to come to an end due to corrupt files. Hopefully though, this won't suffer the same fate.
 
You have quite the legacy to live up to good sir. I wish you luck.

Just remember don't talk any strange worms or ever trust the Celts. ;)
 
You have quite the legacy to live up to good sir. I wish you luck.

Just remember don't talk any strange worms or ever trust the Celts. ;)

Must also remember to keep inner family relations under control. Can't have little inbreds running around can we?
 
Chapter I: War of Bohemia
War of Bohemia
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The Annionas were a German noble family of minor importance ruling over the lands of Passau and Znojmo with the former being the center of Anniona power. Once Passau had been a Roman colony known as Batavis; now though it had became a place of little importance and grandeur due to the Germanic migrations of centuries ago. It was perfect, a minor holding for a minor family. The fortunes of both Passau and the Annionas, however, was to change. The semi-legendary founder of the Annionas, Anniulf, according to legend came across a nest whilst out hunting. Upon closer inspection, he saw three chicks with feathers of pure white. The chicks' mother, however, would come and attempt to frighten Anniulf off. He, however, refused to back off but instead of attacking him, the falcon of pure white instead rested upon Anniulf's shoulder before flying away. If this legend is true, it is also true that Anniulf was inspired by this experience to reach for great ambitions.

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At age 39, Anniulf secured a marriage with Princess Dauferada Alachisling of Lombardy; daughter of King Desiderius. She would travel north to Passau escorted by a skilled officer named Taso. Much of what is known about Anniulf comes from the letters Dauferada sent to her father. If they are to be believed, Anniulf comes across as a poor soldier with a dark sense of humour. His inability to fight his way to the top also meant that he would lie to gain what he want; something made easy by his silver tongue but hampered by an erratic nature which is believed to have been a case of bipolar syndrome.

Such a marriage was a shock to the Bavarian nobility due to Princess Dauferada's royal blood and Anniulf's lack of importance. This would work in Anniulf's favour as he convinced Duke Tassilo III Agilolfing of Bavaria to reward his loyalty to the grant with the granting of land. Not wishing to anger Desiderius, Tassilo III granted a large swathe of land within Lower Bavaria/Niederbayern. Desiderius would be beneficial in gaining not only land but also absolution from Pope Stephanus II who feared a Lombard invasion if Desiderius' son in law was treated badly.
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King Karloman of Middle Francia, seeking to gain allies in his feud against his brother Karl, launched an invasion of Bavaria in order to place his cousin, Karl, on the Bavarian throne. It was hoped that by doing this, Karloman would have an ally against his brother to the west. That would have been the case where it not for Karloman's sudden death on the 4 March 771 at his villa. The Frankish army had by this point, under the command of Count Welentus Welenti of Verdun, captured the Bavarian capital of Munchen but Karloman's brother after inheriting the rest of Francia refused to carry on support for the cousin whose name he shared. Hence, Karl was left alone in Munchen and without any local supporters, him and Count Welentus headed back west.
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The Bavarians, however, would have to wait longer for peace. The High Chief of the Bohemians, Nezamysl, (a figure as legendary as Anniulf) marched south onto Bavaria to seize Lower Bavaria. Tassilo III had just a few months to regather the realm's forces following the retreat of Karl and thus was unprepared from a northern invasion. Anniulf being on the border with the Bohemians had no choice but to fight in order to defend his lands and thus hired an army of Pechenegs from Central Asia. His first child, a daughter, would be born a month later in December. The date of Ermengard's birth is often believed to be Christmas but whether or not this is truth or propaganda remains unknown. What is known, however, is that she was a redhead and thus was isolated within the Bavarian noble courts.
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Anniulf himself was located within Tassilo's court in Munchen following the retreat of Karl and seeing Tassilo III as a weak Duke, ordered his assassination. In January 772, Tassilo's body was found in a ditch outside Munchen with severe burn marks, only recognized for a piece of clothing he was seen wearing before leaving the capital. His five year old son, Theodo III, was crowned as Duke of Bavaria. King Karl of the Franks would attend the funeral of Tassilo III for reasons unknown, however, Anniulf would gain access to the powerful lord and seized the opportunity to form a betrothal between his daughter Ermengard and Karl's bastard son, Pepin the Hunchback.
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The Bohemian army was crushed at Regensburg by Anniulf's Pechenegs under the command of Taso Tasoingi and the Bavarian army under the command of an unknown lord. Nezamysl's invasion came to a halt, however, Anniulf would use this opportunity to push his advantage and with aid from his new ally Karl, Anniulf invaded the Bohemian lands. Anniulf would remain in Munchen whilst the Lombard, Taso Tasoingi, marched north with his fellow commander, Tyrach. The continued stay in Munchen would cause the suspicious death of Theodo III to be blamed on Anniulf by future historians. The death of the Duke would cause his one year old brother, Tassilo IV, to ascend the throne in September 772.
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Whilst Anniulf achieved political victories in the capital, Taso had successfully repelled a coalition of Slavic armies close to the town of Znojmo whilst the Slavs tried to cross the Thaya River. An important victory, Taso carried on to push north expelling the Slavic armies from Bavarian lands. The White Chroatian, Chief Dragomir Bijelahrvatskic of Bereg, would even be captured as he fell off his horse into the Thaya.
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Taso's invasion, however, was halted at Domazlice with the Pechenegs making up the army inable to cordinate effectively within Slavic lands. Taso led a retreat to Passau to regather his forces and launch a second assault.
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This second assault, however, would have to be delayed due to an invasion by High Chief Boriwoj z Obodrytow of Obotritia (his army was the sole reason for Taso's defeat at Domazlice). At the Second Battle of Regensburg, Boriwoj was defeated and even captured in battle. The Pecheneg mercenaries, however, ended their contract due to a lack of trust in Anniulf's capabilities to pay and thus following their victory at Regensburg, immediately headed west looking for service in the Iberian Wars. Whilst marching to Iberia, the Pechenegs came across a Frankish army marching east to Bohemia. The Pechenegs following this encounter headed back east to the steppes due to the knowledge that the Iberian Wars had come to an end after Frankish intervention forced the Saracens out of Asturias. With the war in the south coming to an end, Karl marched east to aid his Annionan ally. The same would apply to Desiderius who had sent an army north to aid Anniulf. By July 774, an army of 5,000 Franks, 2,000 Lombards and 500 Bavarians was gathered at Passau ready for a second assault into Bohemia.
 

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Some very hard fighting, or so it sounds like, in this war.
 
I'm in for the ride. :)
 
Ooooh! Let's see where this goes!

Indulge my curiosity though, what mods are you running? I'm seeing traits I don't recognise.
A few mods which can all be found on Steam
  • Another Traits Mod
  • Idiosyncracy
  • Descendants
  • Bastardy
  • Art Replacement
  • Century Gothic
  • Immersive Events
  • Nicknames +
  • Sin Personal Armour
  • Sin Young love
  • Sketchy Traits
  • University
  • Military dynamic leader
  • Mistress
  • Personal Castle
 
A few mods which can all be found on Steam
  • Another Traits Mod
  • Idiosyncracy
  • Descendants
  • Bastardy
  • Art Replacement
  • Century Gothic
  • Immersive Events
  • Nicknames +
  • Sin Personal Armour
  • Sin Young love
  • Sketchy Traits
  • University
  • Military dynamic leader
  • Mistress
  • Personal Castle
Hah, "sketchy traits", "sin young love". Some interesting mod names there. :D
 
Ducatus Bohemiæ
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The Bohemian War was a bloody affair for both the pagan Slavs and the Christian Annionas. The fighting, however, would come to an end with the storming of the fortifications of Praha in November 774. This fortified town had been the seat of High Chief Nezamysl of Bohemia who, after the destruction of his army, seeked refuge in. However, with the fall of Praha came an end to the Bohemian War as the High Chief was captured whilst attempting to flee.

The following period of peace would see very little happen for a while in terms of warfare. However, that did not mean Anniulf remained idle. On the 6 April 775, Eginolf was born. He was immediately declared heir to the lands of Anniulf whilst also being betrothed to the daughter of Count Trozza of Osterreich, Serhilda. Eginolf's birth was followed by that of his sister, Trude, on the 6 December 776. In 778, Anniulf would take several actions behind the scene to see two Bavarian individuals killed. In February, Count Trozza of Osterreich died under suspicious circumstances to be succeeded by his only child, Serhilda. A few months later on the 27 July 778, Tassilo IV was assassinated on the orders of Anniulf causing a nationwide scandal. The Duke was to be succeeded by his 9 year old sister, Benedicta.

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In August 778, High Chief Nezamysl passed away to what is believed to be high blood pressures caused by depression. He was succeeded by his son Mnata. Viewed as weak due to his love of poetry, peace and kindness, Anniulf took this as the perfect opportunity to wage war against the Bohemians.

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The war was short lived ending in March 779 with the storming of Meissen. During the war, Anniulf's daughter was betrothed to the grandson of Duke Hnabi the Accursed of Alemannia, Ruadbert Agilolfing. With the defeat of the Bohemian tribes, Anniulf declared himself Duke of Bohemia. However, he still remained a vassal lord of the Agilolfings of Bavaria. This declaration, however, would cause much tension with the Bavarian Dukes seeing this as a declaration of independence and the Pope legally not recognising such a declaration.

The new territory, however, was too much to administrate from Passau. The Slavic populace lived in a tribal society which made it hard for centralization of power to be achieved and thus despite being the Duke of Bohemia, Anniulf remained in Passau along the Danube and instead handed out the new lands to loyal lords. The Lombard general who had headed north with Anniulf's wife, Taso, was made a noble and granted the lands of Meissen whilst Thietmar von Rugen, a former German merchant operating from the island of Rugen, was given control of the Bohemian lands (except for Prag) due to his knowledge of Slavic culture and religion.

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In June 781, a second daughter would be born to Anniulf named Eufemia. She was immediately betrothed to Basileus Nikephoros the Depraved of the Romans. However, Nikephoros was overthrown in April 782 by his brother Anthimos. Despite this change in power, the dull Basileus maintained the alliance with Duke Anniulf that had been formed. Nikephoros meanwhile had been exiled to an undisclosed island within the Aegean. However, Anthimos' reign was short lasting under 5 years. A time which saw the naturally overweight son of Anniulf, Anniulf, born in October 782 and the warring against the Muslims in the Levant.

In January 785, Anthimos was slain in the Battle of Tarsus by Wali Jair Jabirid of Iskandriya. The death of the Basileus without any offspring opened up the throne of the Romans; this vacancy was filled in by Anthimos' disposed brother, Nikephoros the Depraved.
 
Nikephorus the Depraved ... sounds like the Romans are in for fun times.
 
End of a Legend
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Following his conquest of Bohemia, Anniulf turned his eyes towards lands within Bavaria. His personal lands lay all to the north of the Danube; good for defence but not so for the projection of influence. Thus in July 786, the Duke's armies crossed the Danube marching south to seize Salzburg from Bishop Gislari. This move, however, gave Anniulf a bad name. The Bavarians had trusted him to be a good Christian and wage war purely against the pagans and thus his declaration of war against Salzburg camed him the name 'the Untrusted'.
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By March the following year, Salzburg had fallen to the Annionan army and the Bishop had surrendered. The city would be taken into the personal territories of Anniulf causing him to turn his attention further south abandoning his lands surrounding Prag which would be given to a Chief Thietmar von Rugen of Boleslav.
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Elsewhere in Europe, King Karl the Strict - forever immortalized by his defeat of the Saxons - passed away splitting the lands between his sons, Werinbert of West Francia and Eberulf of Middle Francia. Their elder half-brother, Pepin the Hunchback, would become High Chief of Brunswick. There would be other deaths too. A few months after the death of Karl the Strict, Nikephoros the Depraved died under suspicious circumstances in January 788. The last Isaurian (and Nikephoros' sister), Anthousa, inherited the empire; her son, however, would be placed on the throne. There was though one issue. Basileus Alaeddin Yabguid was neither Christian or Greek for he was a Tengri Turk.
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The loss of his Roman allies was a deep blow to Anniulf's power and thus he looked west forming alliances with all three sons of Karl the Strict before launching an invasion of Kempten in June 789 against Count Friedrich Hahlinga. This though was a dangerous move as it threatened the power of the Duchess of Bavaria and thus, Anniulf despite his old age, seduced the young Duchess starting an affair between the two.
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Whilst Anniulf slept with his liege, Taso fought for his. A victory was had at Landshut against the forces of Kempten but at great cost for Chief Taso of Meissen was killed by an arrow whilst crossing the Isar. His family had adopted the Pomeranian culture of his subjects and he would be succeeded by his son, Gumpert Tasoingi. In February 790, the army following their victory at Landshut marched onto Kempten which they stormed following a week long siege.
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This good news, however, would be offset by the death of Anniulf's daughter, Ermengard. Assassinated at age 18 by an enemy. Her assassin is not known but chances of him being a Saxon pagan are high.
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This news would not reach Anniulf by the time Count Friedrich surrendered, however. Thus Anniulf had a few days to celebrate before the news of his daughter's death reached him alongside the news of the establishment of realm peace within Bavaria by Duchess Benedicta who wanted to halt but not destroy Anniona power.
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Anniulf would seen meet his daughter for on the 24 December 790, Anniulf passed away aged 60 due to what is believed to be cancer. Many spoke about how God had refused to let the Duke experience Christmas for he was not deserving of such a holy day; a belief caused by Anniulf's hedonistic and drunk ways. His heir would be his 15 year old son Eginolf but his sons Anniulf and Lambert would receive split the lands not surrounding the Bohemian capital of Passau. The mother of Anniulf's sons, Dauferada Alachisling, would act as regent for all three sons.
 
So a new ruler at 15 - that has the possibility to be good long reign to cement Bohemia's place, or be a bad long reign that runs it ruin.
 
So a new ruler at 15 - that has the possibility to be good long reign to cement Bohemia's place, or be a bad long reign that runs it ruin.
The cementing of Bohemia's place in Europe would help keep it safe from the Franks of the West and Pagans of the East. But foreign events will change the power balance in Europe and fate of Rome.
 
A heathen on the throne of the Roman Empire, an Empire whose task it is to lead the faithful and protect the faith? :eek: