It's interesting to see so many Asian nations get involved in colonization and establish such a large colonial presence. I suppose having a massive continent so close to Asia makes it a lot easier for them.
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I like it! It's an interesting departure from the typical characters.
Good to see the rest of the world finally taking advantage of the new territory to colonize. Even better to see you having nabbed the best land.
Vinland is going great, actually.. They may manage to be a decent New World power!
Glad to hear it. i think I found my favourite nation in this AAR then
(just like Brittany in your Lombard story)
Glad to hear it. i think I found my favourite nation in this AAR then
Fun fact -- in 1651, the Manufactories institution appears, and it originated in none other than Vinland!
Was it more by chance or has Vinland somewhat of a medium-sized economy going, with relatively little land but some nice manufactories boosting their income?
Seems more by luck -- I tag switched over to them and while they have a decent economy and a 35-ish sized army, they only have one manufactory that I can see, for naval components.
So they are still the underdog in the new world - all the more reason to support them.
Still can't keep up with China, though... And Franconia + Carinthia, the two largest HRE states, just about equal me in power by themselves, not counting any of the lesser HRE states.
A New Chapter for the Crusades
1625 - 1632 AD
The Greatest Crusade1625 - 1632 AD
The Latin Empire was born out of the Crusades of the Middle Ages, and the centuries-long war against the infidels of Rum had long been a cornerstone of the Empire's identity. By the early years of the 17th century, however, many in the Latin Empire's leadership believed that the Crusades were a relic of previous ages, ready to fade into history in favor of mass colonization and monopolization of trade. Emperor Pelaio III disagreed with this sentiment, however, and pressed for a new campaign against the largest Islamic Sultanate in the world: Syria.
Sultan Muzaffaraddin II Banu Mirdas controlled almost the entire Arabian peninsula, large parts of Africa, and, most notably, the ancient holy city of Jerusalem. Pelaio believed that it was the destiny of the Latin Empire to liberate Jerusalem from Syria, and promised that he would be the one to personally lead its capture. Syria was vast, and its allies added to its formidable strength. Estimates place the full strength of the Syrian allied armies at around 195,000 at the time of the invasion, almost on par with the Latin Empire's, which totaled just over 200,000 men. However, with borders to defend in Italy and Iberia, Pelaio could commit only 170,000 men to the front. Despite being the largest single mobilization in the Empire's history, it still left the Crusaders at a slight numerical disadvantage. This was offset by one major factor -- just months before the beginning of the Crusade, Syria had invaded the African empire of Songhai, meaning that much of the Syrian army was away from the homeland at the time.
The Latin army was divided between Anatolia and Africa, so that they could march along the Mediterranean coast from both sides and meet near the middle. Jerusalem was the first target, and as Pelaio promised, he personally led the 20,000-strong army that occupied the city. Under Syrian rule, Jerusalem's fortifications had been severely neglected, and in July of 1627, he raised the Latin Empire's flag over the ancient city.
But while Jerusalem was poorly defended, a strong fortress in Antioch barred the armies approaching from the north from advancing, leaving the Crusading army split in two until it could be overcome. It took almost an entire year to secure Antioch, and by the summer of 1628, the two arms of the attacking army had met up to press deeper into Syrian territory. The Syrian army remained close at home in an attempt to keep the attackers at bay, but Biyar had a different plan, marching into the Latin Empire to attack Anatolia while the army was away.
Pelaio had to swiftly recall a portion of his invading forces to answer the threat, and he called on Georgia to assist him. The Georgians were in heavy debt following their own lengthy wars to the north, so Pelaio paid the entirety of their outstanding debt in exchange for their participation in the war to help repel Biyar. The largest skirmish came at Samtshke where, despite losing more men, Pelaio was able to break up Biyar's united front, allowing Latin and Georgian troops to conduct a cleanup operation that eventually led to Biyar's Sultan Feramez II bowing out of the war.
The Merzubans, who inhabited a small enclave inside Egypt, had a similar idea and began an attack against Latin North Africa while Pelaio was engaged in Biyar. A separate detachment of troops had to break away from the main invasion to chase the Meruzban army through Africa, eventually cornering them on the small island of Djerba. there, a force of 21,000 men was backed into a corner and routed, which soon led to the Meruzbans following Biyar out of the war.
After the defeat of Biyar and the Merzubans, Syria was forced to stand alone against the remainder of the Latin army's assault. The Sultan ordered his men to withdraw from Songhai, but only a small portion were able to return home via the south, as Latin troops fortified Suez and repelled three separate attempts by Syrian troops to break through via that path. With the Latin Empire and Songhai both on a relentless offensive, Syria was beaten and Jerusalem's liberation was won.
The first leg of the Great Syrian Crusade came to an end in 1632, when Latin rule was recognized in Jerusalem, Gaza, Nablus, Sidon, and Antioch. Muzaffaraddin payed a hefty sum of gold in exchange for a stay of the invasion, and Pelaio III had the privilege of claiming the title of Liberator of Jerusalem, an honor which was conferred and celebrated in a Papal visit to Jerusalem following its conquest. The Latin Empire had won a historic victory for Christendom, and its future campaigns in the Middle East seemed promising.
Not long after this victory was won, it became apparent that multiple significant political changes were taking place in Europe, and the balance of power was about to be shakin considerably.
I'm a bit disappointed you didn't take all of their Mediterranean coast. Your name placements don't do you justice!
@GoukaRyuu -- Actually, the Reformation was a huge dud in this game. No, this change is purely political.
@zenphoenix -- I wanted to, but it was too much warscore and overextension to bite off in one go.
@zenphoenix -- I wanted to, but it was too much warscore and overextension to bite off in one go.
Jerusalem is back! Deus vult, anyone?
Linking up your land is probably the top priority for round two.
The only thing that disappoints me is the utter lack of Vinland in this update
Linking up your land is probably the top priority for round two.
The only thing that disappoints me is the utter lack of Vinland in this update
Jerusalem is back! Deus vult, anyone?
Linking up your land is probably the top priority for round two.
The only thing that disappoints me is the utter lack of Vinland in this update
Yes, I want to get that link so I have a clean land route between Africa and Anatolia. From there, there's enough Syria to conquer that I could probably spend a good portion of the rest of the game just pressing out into Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Europe is an interesting beast though, and I feel like some kind of conflict between the two heirs of Rome is inevitable...