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Great Warriors are not always great rulers. Alderic could forge an empire but not keep it together. Better to divide it on your terms then wait for rebellions to tear things apart.

I look forward to seeing how the Eastern Latins fare.
 
Interim

The D’Albon Residency in Burgundy

St Guignes, The Great - Patron Saint of the D'Albons (ruled 1066-1103)

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Achievements:
• Ruled as Count of Dauphine Viennois from 1066
• Became Duke of Dauphine in 1080
• Became Duke of Svaoy 1081
• Became King of Burgundy 1096
• Patron Saint of the D’Albons

Pros:
• Took D’Albons from petty Counts to a strong Kings
• Frequently stood up to Emperor and defeated him in war
• Pious
• Kind to his vassals

Cons:
• Slightly Warmongering


Ferrand I (ruled 1103-1139)

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Achievements:
• Took wealthy city of Genoa
• Won a civil war
• Invaded North Africa and took Tunis

Pros:
• Secured his father’s legacy by pushing for his canonization
• Set up the Crusading tradition of the D’Albons

Cons:
• Uninspiring
• Suffered civil war
• Cruel to North Africans


Ives, The Crazed (ruled 1139-1147)

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Achievements:
• Expanded realm in Africa and Italy
• Became King of Africa in 1145

Pros:
• Secured D’Albons in Africa

Cons:
• Held heretical beliefs
• Insane
• Attempted to kill his own son


Doumenge, The Crusader (ruled 1147-1196)

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Achievements:
• Took Jerusalem and Antioch in Crusades
• Set up Christian Holy Land
• Expanded realm in Europe and Africa
• Conquered much of Sicily from the Arabs
• Secured grandson’s succession in Flanders

Pros:
• Great Crusader
• Fantastic General
• Loved by people
• Pious

Cons:
• Less effective as a statesman
• Wasted money on needless expeditions


Guy, The Fleming (ruled 1196-1214)

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Achievements
• United Burgundy and Flanders
• Conquered much of Lotharingia to connect Burgundy and Flanders
• Shifted primary line of D’Albons from Occitan culture to Flemish
• Established Burgundy as major power

Pros:
• Moved focus of nation to Flanders which brought great wealth
• Proven in wars

Cons:
• Abandoned Occitan heritage
• Unskilled General
• Annoyed Occitan Old Guard


Raol, The Bold (ruled 1214-1250)

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Achievements:
• Established Burgundy as the most powerful Christian state
• Became King of Jerusalem from 1221
• Became King of Sicily from 1230
• Conquered much of Italy
• Expanded realm in Germany, Flanders and Holy Land
• Claimed Imperial throne
• Placed son on Croatian throne

Pros:
• Great General
• Brave (led from front)
• Ambitious
• Made D’Albons supremely powerful
• Loyal (supported son in Hungarian Civil War)

Cons:
• Foolhardy (died in battle)
• Failed to become Emperor
• Aggressively expansionistic
• Isolated Burgundy from other European Kingdoms


Charles, The Weak (ruled 1250-1254)

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Achievements:
• Ended Hungarian Civil War
• United Croatia and Burgundy

Pros:
• Peaceful (avoided conflict with Turks and ended HCW)
Cons:
• Weak (backed down when baited by Turks)
• Highly unpopular with nobles


Alderic, The Conqueror (ruled 1237-1281)

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Achievements:
• Conquered France, Northern Italy and Germany
• Holy Roman Emperor from 1257
• King of Italy from 1266
• King of Germany from 1274
• King of France in 1281
• Defeated Pope in a major war
• Defeated Franco-Venetians in major war
• Took control of Hospitallers (1268) and Templars (1280)
• Surpassed Charlemagne
• Secured future of Empire through its division

Pros:
• Extremely successful General
• Made his Empire the most powerful nation of earth
• Secured Empire’s future through its division
• Ambitious
• Loved in his core lands (Flanders and Provence)

Cons:
• May have killed his brother (Charles, The Weak)
• Suffered constant rebellions in new lands
• Fought Pope
• Very aggressive
• Divided his Empire
 
I've been reading Rome AARisen and saw when Manuel died that General_BT did a thing sorta like this. I liked it saw stole the idea :D.

Anyway if this gets a good reception then I'll do one every time we move on to a new era of the D'Albons.

I might even look into doing other 'interim' updates.

Also the first chance to see screens :eek:. Atleast there's now some proof that I actually played this game :p
 
A couple of nice pictures there. I like that one in the Doumenge, the Crusader chapter where the crusaders attacks, and seems to be made in photoshop or similiar program. Any chance you have made it?
 
Nice Tommy, brings the first era into perspective of what was accomplished. Bravo sir, and keep it up!

Cheers,
~Hawk
 
This little post seems to have been my most popular update yet :)

There shall be another 2 of these updates made in the same way from the following 2 eras that shall take us all the way to 1453.

I'll try to think of other interims to do as well

Anyway I'm now about to start work on the first update from Jerusalem.

I've also made a new CoA for the Imperial D'Albon line.

Auray: Except for maps and family trees all my pics come from google images
HannibalX: I hadn't thought about the different ethnic groups having different names. The 2 main groups of D'Albons are Occitans/Franks (I'll keep calling them D'Albon) but the significant number of Italian D'Albons will now be called Di Albanos (if I remember).
 
Philippe, The Good
Lived: 1264-1310
Head of House of D’Albon: 1281-1310
Holy Roman Emperor: 1281-1310
King of Jerusalem: 1281-1310
King of Syria: 1299-1310
Head of Templar Order: 1281-1285
Head of Hospitaller Order: 1281-1294

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Philippe is recognised in history as a good man. He was a talented General, an even more talented statesman and strove to make a fair multi-cultural society in Outremer. Indeed the fact that he treated Muslims as the equals of Christians and gave them positions within his government led to man confrontations with the Papacy, these confrontations coupled with the Papal participation in the Deutschkrieg (German War) would leave the D’Albons forever separated from the Papacy. Is reign led to the inevitable split between the churches in the D’Albon realms and the Catholic mainstream. Philippe, meanwhile, is also quite remarkable in his ability to hold on to Imperial power despite his location in a weak and isolated Kingdom whilst the tumultuous events unfolded across the Ocean.

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To understand this new era for the D’Albons the reader must know some background of the Kingdom that Philippe inherited in 1281. In the West (not featured on the map) the Kingdom ruled over the Balearic islands and Malta (all possessions of the Duchy of Mallorca) whilst it held coastal Cyrenaica due as these lands were ruled by the powerful Duchy of Jerusalem (centred at Acre). On the Levantine coast itself Jerusalem ruled over Cyprus and a long and thin stretch of coastal territory from Antioch to Ascalon. The Kingdom was surrounded on all sides by Arabs: in the North the weak Emirate of Aleppo in the East the mighty Emirate of Medina and in the South the battered but still strong Kingdom of Egypt. Relations amongst these Arab states were strong and thus threatening, however the Turkish states to the East and North of the Arab Emirates were almost as hated as the Christian Kingdom in the eyes of the Arabs. Alexandria had belonged to Christendom since the first tentative Crusades of the 11th Century and was infrequently the seat of Papal power (when the Popes chose not to sit in Prague or Dublin). Meanwhile the rest of the Delta Crusader Counties had been set up in the Crusades of the 1160s which occurred in the aftermath of the 1st Burgundian Crusade. Meanwhile the friendly Roman Empire lay across the Eastern Mediterranean and would be of much great assistance to the Kingdom than their far off Imperial subjects in the Western D’Albon Kingdoms.

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The Kingdom itself was largely Catholic. The initial lands around Jerusalem and Acre had fallen in 1149 (130 years ago) whilst the last major annexations had occurred in 1193 (90 years ago). Since then the Kingdom had slowly converted as locals changed their faith immigrant Catholics from the West arrived. By 1281 the Kingdom of Jerusalem had a Catholic population of roughly 65% whilst around 20% of the population was Muslim with the remaining 15% consisting of significant minorities of Jews and native Christian sects.

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Almost immediately after the death of The Conqueror in 1286 and the division of his Empire the Papacy struck back at its powerful enemy. Alderic had granted the heir to the von Franken dynasty the title Archbishop of Croatia however his holiness had uncovered a more obscure, less legitimate claimant to the old German dynasty and with this young and ambitious warrior (Franz von Franken) he launched a campaign to oust the Empire from Germany. Papal troops began their invasion in mid 1282 and with the support of half of Germany’s Dukes. The beleaguered D’Albon Kings of Germany appealed to their brothers in other parts of the Empire for assistance and both France and Italy answered their call. The Emperor in Jerusalem also sent an army but this force of roughly 12,000 men lasted for less than a year in the bloody conflict. For just as the D’Albons had called upon their friends the Pope did likewise and convinced the Hungarians and even English to send their armies to Germany. For the next few years the Imperial forces were utterly smashed by the Papal led alliance, these forces even invaded France itself in 1285 (suffering a defeat near Paris).

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After the failure to take France the Pope called for peace and on July 8th 1286 the Treaty of Aachen was signed. The Meissen D’Albons, briefly Kings of Germany, lost all of their lands and titles except for their wealthy territories in the Netherlands and the titles of Duke of Holland and Gelre. Meanwhile in the South the Duchy of Carinthia (ruled by an ally of the Empire but not a D’Albon) kept its independence from both the Holy Roman Empire (D’Albon Empire) and the new Kingdom of Germany. The Pope took lands on the Rhine for himself (notably the cities of Cologne and Aachen) whilst his puppet King Franz von Franken took control of the Kingdom of Germany which was withdrawn from the Holy Roman Empire.

Shortly after this the D’Albon Civil War erupted when the French invaded Burgundy in 1192, Italy responded by declaring war on France whilst the Emperor decided to remain neutral and called for peace. The French quickly overran Burgundy and then began a slow and gruelling campaign in Italy. From 1193-1197 all of Italy North of the Po was taken whilst the Italian King managed to prevent the fall of Venice (the capital) itself thanks to his fleet. Then a daring an brilliant attack at the rear of the French army caused it to be collapsed and destroyed. Just as the Italians looked to march into Burgundy in 1198 a peace treaty was signed in which France kept control of Burgundy but paid heavy reparations to Italy.

Jerusalem had long been a backwater of the Empire and upon his arrival in Outremer Philippe had nothing other than Jerusalem itself within his personal demesne and this city was comparatively poor. Whilst Alderic had found it somewhat poetic that the greatest Empire in Christendom should be ruled from the faith’s holiest city the lack of wealthy land greatly damaged the Emperor’s authority. Philippe himself was an administrative genius and between the ages of 15 and 17 had been in charge of the trading system throughout the vast Empire of his predecessor, he was more than capable of ruling more land in an effective manner. The rather poor state of the Kingdom’s finances would lead Philippe into a serious of wars with his Arab neighbours as he searched for more lands to add to his personal demesne for so long as all he ruled was Jerusalem he was effectively at ransom to the Barons who, if they would choose to rise up, could easily depose him.

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This need to expand his personal holdings is what caused Philippe’s expansions inland, beyond the traditional borders of the Latin Holy Land. Just a single year into his reign he invaded and destroyed the Emirate of Aleppo and seized the large and wealth cities of Alexandretta and Aleppo. A Period of peace then settled over the Kingdom during which time both cites converted to the faith of the Latins. Then in a ‘spree’ of tiny conquests between 1290 and 1295 Philippe created a March between Jerusalem and the Emirate of Medina’s Syrian territories by opportunistically annexing minor Sheikdoms that broke free from their Hedjaz masters.

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Sadly, during the late 1290s there was a sinister undercurrent seething through Latin Outremer. In 1296 Inquisitor Ludwig von Hohenberg arrived in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, ordered by the Pope to root out ‘’Heretical pagan elements of the most sacred Kingdom of Jerusalem’’. As has been previously mentioned Philippe was a tolerant man, much more so than most of his contemporary Latin Kings, and kept a court filled with both Christians (of all sects), and many Muslims as well as a smaller force of Jews (mainly in lower administrative roles). Indeed when The Inquisitor arrived in 1296 Philippe’s Marshal, Chancellor and Intelligence Minister were all Muslims whilst his Steward was a Greek Schismatic. At first Philippe, not wanting to offend his holiness, allowed Ludwig to go about his beastly work as he executed many low level non-Christians and suspected heretics within the government of Jerusalem. However when in 1296 he executed all 4 of the previously mentioned prominent government ministers in quick succession (without the King’s consent) Philippe had Ludwig arrested as an enemy of the state. The Pope ordered his release and Philippe refused. The Pope then threatened excommunication and Philippe reluctantly let Ludwig out of his jail. During this period Philippe had rebuilt his court and again had a set of advisors of varying faiths. This time Ludwig again tried to have them arrested but Philippe stopped him. Ludwig then went for an extremely bold move when he attempted to use the powerful Outremer Barons against the King by accusing him of being a heretic and a heathen sympathiser. However Ludwig’s bold move ultimately failed as the Barons stuck by their King and Emperor paving the way for Philippe’s execution of the Inquisitor. There was nothing the Pope could do without risking another major war in Europe and risking the total separation of the Church within the Holy Roman Empire, an entity that had already begun to drift away from the Catholic mainstream.

Fresh from his triumph over Ludwig and the Pope Philippe began to search for another opportunity to increase his popularity and his land holdings. In Spring 1298 the chance came when the wayward soldiers of the Emir of Medina killed several pilgrims who had strayed across the border near the small town of Hebron. Philippe instantly declared war on the powerful Emirate, mobilising the entire army the Kingdom had to offer.

At the same time Medina was suffering from a civil war and so could offer little resistance when the relatively large but extremely well trained and equipped armies of Jerusalem crossed the border. There would be but one major battle which took place at Damascus. The Knights Templar (around 1000 mounted and 3000 dismounted knights) alongside approximately 5000 lightly armoured Arab troops clashed with 15,000 disorganised Medina Arabs. Although the outnumbered Christians suffered heavy causalities (with the light Arab troops fleeing the field) the strength and unwavering zeal of the Templar knights pulled through and the Medina Arab army was brutally crushed.

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By July 1299 the Emir was begging for peace and agreed to cede much of his Syrian domain (including the wealthy cities of Palmyra and Damascus).

Following his victory Philippe had himself crowned King of Syria, this helped to solidify his authority over the entire Levant rather than just Palestine where he had previously been much more respected than in the North. It also helped to appease the Patriarch of Antioch who had long been envious of his fellow Patriarch in Jerusalem as the Patriarch of Jerusalem had much more power over the King and Emperor due to the Jerusalem centric nature of the Realm. Now with a Syrian Kingdom centred at Antioch both Patriarchs felt a sense of greater parity.

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In 1302 Philippe responded to a plea from the local Armenian Christian population of Adana to save them from their Turkish masters and invaded the small Emirate of Cilicia. After barely a month the Turks surrendered and the Kingdom expanded its border northward, taking mastery of the vital Cilician Gate which controlled access to Anatolia.

As ever peace did not last long in this volatile part of the world. In 1303 the newly confident Kingdom of Egypt invaded the Papal Egyptian enclave and brought the Holy city of Alexandria under siege. As much as he disliked the Pope Philippe could not bear to see Alexandria fall from Christian hands and after organising a vast host he invaded the Sinai in 1304, beginning the brief but highly significant Sinai War.

The total Imperial army numbered 50,000 men with Philippe himself leading 15,000 whilst Louis of Baalbek The Grandmaster of the Hospitaller led 18,000 and Philippe’s highly gifted son and only legitimate heir Thomas led 17,000. Needless to say the Egyptians were smashed in every battle, the Imperial army spilt over into Egypt proper and occupied the Lower Nile. However it was near Alexandria were the war’s most lasting blow was struck. The King of Egypt, Najmaddin Haddad, met Thomas D’Albon in battle. Thomas was a brilliant General but also a brave and valorous man who like to lead from the front. As always he rode out at the head of his heavily armoured cavalry and as always the light Arab infantry of the Egyptians buckled and broke. However a stray crossbow bolt fired by an Egyptian archer pierced the young Prince’s armour striking deep into his neck. Before night fell he was dead and with that the war ended. The grief stricken Philippe quickly signed a relatively generous peace as despite his total victory he only annexed the Egyptian Sinai and made King Najmaddin Haddad promise not to attack any of the Latin territories in Upper Egypt.

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In the final couple of years of his rule Philippe sent out his Generals to fight another war with Medina, this time the Emir was supported by the Turkish Emirate of Mosul but still suffered a heavy defeat and was forced to give up a large swath of territory. Philippe had been forced to travel all the way to Medina’s capital in Mecca for the negotiations and on the return journey he got pneumonia and died.

The death of Prince Thomas in the dying days of the Sinai War had left Jerusalem and the Empire as a whole in a precarious position. Philippe had had 6 daughters but by 1304 his wife had passed child rearing age. Initially Philippe planned to pass his realm and Imperial title over to his brother Alain of France. However just before leaving for Mecca in 1310 Philippe had declared his bastard, and terribly untalented, son Robert (an actual son of a whore) to be is rightful heir. The choice was questionable at best and would lead to another low quality D’Albon Monarch in the form of Robert, The Bastard.
 
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Hmmm... with the friendly Roman Empire centered in the East, and with the Pope already hating the D'Albons, and with a split coming up, perhaps a mod of Yerushalayim to Orthodox Christianity (with provinces) is in order. I hope Robert's son is Arab- perhaps Saladin al-Albuniya will conquer Aegyptus, winning a battle of Hattin against Medina and the Fatimids? I also say that the Templars should survive, and perhaps be led by Roberts son. That way, secularization can occur, akin to the Hohenzollern acquisition of the Teutonic Order. Hell, maybe Templar Christianity with following of Mases' laws is in order; let the pornocratic Popes be punished!
 
HannibalX: the whole Shcism I've been leading up to his going to be the main theme of this AAR for most of his final parts, I've thought about it quite a bit and although I'm not convinced that I'll be able to make it as epic as I imagine it I still feel its going to be the best part of this AAR.
Also I have no idea why but I failed to breed any Arab D'Albons whilst most of the original families I settled in the East are now Arabs whilst many more native Arab families have become Western. Like the Abdul family which rules Scotland. :wacko:

Enewald: Truth be told I was really pissed at how the succession turned out. Thomas had amazing stats but when he died I wasn't that annoyed as I saw that I could unite France and Jerusalem. Then just at the last moment I got that damned event that makes your bastard legitimate. Now I get a rubbish King and no union. :mad:. We are not amused.

Anyway working on the kinda short and boring reign of Robert, The Bastard now.
 
Robert, The Bastard
Lived: 1280-1314
Head of House of D’Albon: 1310-1314
Holy Roman Emperor: 1310-1314
King of Jerusalem, Syria and Araby: 1310-1314

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Robet, The Bastard had a short and uneventful rule which was defined by his status as an invalid throughout his reign. He is most remembered for his heritage which was not quite up to the standards of his Imperial status. In 1280, whilst his father Philippe was still heir apparent to Alderic, the great Conqueror had arranged for Philippe to lose his virginity to the best whore the Empire had to offer. Thus Robert is, correctly, remembered as a son of a whore.

After Alderic died in 1281 Philippe moved from his grand palaces in Gent (the Imperial capital) to the new centre of the Empire in Jerusalem and decided to take his baby bastard with him to the new court. For several years after becoming Emperor and taking a bride Philippe failed to conceive a rightful heir and so kept Robert as a sort of back up to his dynasty. When Thomas was born in 1287 Robert was sent away to the court of a minor noble in Galilee. However after Thomas’ death at the hands of the Egyptians at Alexandria in 1304 Robert returned to the limelight and came back to the Imperial court. However Philippe decided to support a union between his lands and those of his brother’s in France all the way up to 1310 when he spectacularly declared his bastard son Robert to be his rightful heir.

In 1310 the Imperial crown and the thrones of Jerusalem and Syria were inherited by the Bastard. In his coronation ceremony he had the title King of Araby added to his titles in respect of the conquests his father had secured weeks before passing. Robert possessed neither talent nor respect. He did have a child in the form of 8 year old Alderic however his wife, Flandina Landau, had died shortly after giving birth to baby Alderic and Robert had not remarried. It was hardly surprising when the Duke of Galilee refused to turn up at the coronation and refused to accept a bastard son as his liege.

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Shortly after being crowned Robert rode out to meet the disloyal Duke in battle. As he charged forward and into a melee with the Duke’s cavalry an anonymous archer managed to take the King’s mount from beneath his with a well placed arrow. Robert fell from his stead and clattered to the ground, passing out shortly thereafter. His horse had landed on his right leg, mangling it beyond repair.

Robert would linger through the next 4 years suffering from regular bouts of pneumonia and illness. He would not leave his chambers a single time between the moment he was placed their after his clash with the Duke of Galilee and the moment he died. In 1314 he was finally consumed by his weakness and passed away to leave 12 year Alderic as his successor. This is only lasting legacy for Alderic would go on to change the course of history and alter Christendom, forever.
 
Starting from tommorow I will be making a flury of updates for around 1 week.

Thankfully this takes us to IMO by far the best part of the AAR :D.

Here's just a sample of the evnts that shall be coming up in ''the worst century to be alive'': The Great Western Schism, Black Death, The Great Crusade, The Catholic-Turkish War, The war of the 2 Emperors, the Rape of Mecca ....

This, my friends, is where things start to get good. :cool:

I might even finish up by the end of my push for updates. But 14th Century is definately the best. ;)
 
Alderic II, The Reformer (Part 1)
Lived: 1301-1350
Head of House of D’Albon: 1314-1350
Holy Roman Emperor: 1314-1329
Latin Emperor: 1329-1350
King of Jerusalem, Syria and Araby: 1314-1350
King of Egypt: 1327-1350

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Alderic II is one of the single most important figures in Christian history, much more so than his illustrious ancestor of the same name. Under his reign Western Christendom was torn into two unequal halves. This is a divide that remains to this day and left the Papacy all but destroyed and ushered in a new age of secular dominion over religion. Whether his infamous reforms were beneficial or not is still a major topic of debate however, as if it were retribution from God himself, almost immediately after the Great Western Schism the devastating forces of King Death swept over Europe and the Near East with his legions of pestilence and forever changed the world. Meanwhile Alderic II was successful in securing his power over yet more lands in the East through the execution of three major wars and the conclusion of the Pact of God.

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The first major policy of Alderic upon his assumption of power in 1314 was to secure the prosperous but weak Nile Delta which had long been held by a series of Crusader Counts of Bohemian and Hungarian origin. During the first few years of his reign the Kingdom of Egypt seemed to experience a revival as a large army was built up under the leadership of a new King. This latest Egyptian Monarch was from a minor branch of the traditional Fatimid dynasty which had lost the throne almost a century before. The new King demanded the reconquest of the Christian controlled Delta and had started to assemble a formidable host. In response to this the Delta Counts slowly began to accept Alderic’s protection in exchange for surrendering their long held independence. Meanwhile the last real buffer zone between Egypt and Jerusalem was eliminated when the Sheikdom of Cairo was seized by Imperial troops in 1321.

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As was briefly discussed in previous chapters ever since the D’Albon Kingdom began to send aid to the Byzantines following the Sack of Constantinople by the Arabs relations between the Roman Empire and the D’Albon states had been extremely healthy. Indeed, by the reign of Alderic II Jerusalem was on better terms with the Byzantium than any other state outside the Holy Roman Empire. Byzantium was much closer to Jerusalem than it was to the rest of Europe, it was in much closer collaboration in trade, it was culturally closer to the Romans than to most other Latin nations and perhaps most importantly of all they shared the same enemies. All this considered it is unsurprising really that the two Emperors met in Constantinople in 1322 where the signed the Pact of God. This alliance recognised all the titles of the two Emperors, promised military cooperation between the two powers against all mutual enemies (Turks, Arabs and the Pope and the Hungarians) and saw the Holy Roman Emperor officially recognise the Patriarch of Constantinople and discard the long standing excommunication. This final crucial point is sometimes regarded as the beginning of the Great Schism but although the Pope threatened to excommunicate Alderic for his actions he later backed down due to the Egyptian invasion of the Papal enclave in Egypt.

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In late 1322, hoping to capitalise upon the clear divisions between the Pope and the Emperor in Jerusalem, King Marwan Fatimid of Egypt invaded Papal Alexandria. With the prosperous Delta and the large city of Cairo in the hands of the King of Jerusalem Marwan simply had no other choice than to attack the great city of Alexandria. He had been promising a Jihad to reclaim lost areas of Egypt for years by this stage yet all he had delivered were high taxes and forced conscription, simply the new Fatimid needed a victory. On October 13th Marwan fought Pope Boniface XI near Alexandria. The Pope’s army although larger and more powerful than Marwan’s was utterly crushed leaving the way to the city open for the Egyptian King. Nether the less a tiny contingent Papal troops managed to escape back to the fortress city alongside the retreating Pope to bolster the city’s defences. By the end of October Marwan had Alexandria under siege and was constructing several trebuchets for its assault. The humiliated Pontiff then sent a plea for help to Jerusalem. Alexandria had been back in Christian hands for 250 years its loss would be simply unacceptable for Western Christendom and although he was loath to assist his great enemy Alderic knew he had to save the city.

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The Emperor’s response to the Pope’s call was both immediate and stunning. By February 70,000 men were ready whilst another 10,000 were on their way from the Greece. Marwan had barely 15,000 left on the field after his war with the Pope and most of these men were outside the walls of Alexandria. Very few major engagements took place in the war as almost the entire Egyptian army simply surrendered without a fight. Just outside Alexandria itself Marwan’s main army mutinied against him to surrender to the army of Jerusalem, during the mutiny the King was killed by his own men. With its lands occupied, its army broken and its King dead Egypt submitted to Alderic on September 19th. Orthodox Nubia was granted to the Romans as a vassal nation whilst Alderic annexed all of Marwan’s former Kingdom, meanwhile the Pope managed to regain his lost territories despite an attempt by Alderic to confiscate them.

The Great Western Schism

It would be Alderic’s ambition to secure his domination over all Egypt that ultimately led to the Great Western Schism and in 1326 the process of the splitting of the Catholic Church began in earnest. Alderic issued a bull announcing his claim to the status as the supreme ruler of all of Egypt and demanded the submission of the Pope’s lands in Egypt, including the then Papal seat at Alexandria. Boniface XI, quickly forgetting Alderic’s rescue of him 3 years before, accused Alderic of heresy and questioned his right to wear the Imperial crown. At the time the Pope was tied up in a war in Europe and had temporarily lost Bohemia to the Hungarians and was thus very weak. Knowing of Boniface’s weakness on the Continent Alderic responded to the Pope’s insult with a full blown invasion of the Papal Egyptian enclave. Within weeks it was overrun but the war dragged on for a year and a half until Boniface finally gave in and surrendered all his Egyptian lands in 1327. Following this victory Alderic had himself crowned King of Egypt, therefore securing his control over the fabulously wealthy lands of the Lower Nile.

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After 12 years on the throne Alderic had conquered all of Egypt yet he had also destroyed all other Latin nations in the Eastern Mediterranean and permanently divided himself from the Papacy. By now the Rubicon had been crossed, there could be no going back, Alderic saw but one way forward and for the next two years he would work tirelessly to finally remove his Empire from the shackles of Papal interference and make official the divisions that were already arising within the Church.

In early January 1328 Alderic passed three acts in quick succession which first granted him the right to institute Church taxation, he then removed what little rights the Pope still had over the Investiture process within his lands before finally having all clergy within his Kingdom and Empire swear allegiance to him. These policies were quickly adopted by the other constituent states of the Holy Roman Empire.

Boniface (now holding court in Dublin) declares the Emperor’s actions to be illegal in the eyes of God and threatens to organise a Crusade against the Holy Roman Empire amongst his supporters in Germany, England and Scandinavia.

Alderic then squared up directly to Boniface’s challenge by banning all Papal representatives from the Holy Roman Empire and then claiming that since the Pope lacked control of a single Patriarchal city he ranked bellow the Patriarchs had had no right to claim any authority over the One, Holy, Apostolic and Catholic Church.

Boniface then relented and invited Alderic to the Council of Krain in neutral Carinthia. Here, it seems, the Pope was naïve enough to think he could simply charm the Emperor into backing down, his holiness greatly overestimated his charismatic abilities. For two months between March and May 1328 the Council rumbled on with nothing being decided and both Emperor and Pope refusing to budge on any major points of contention. Finally the Council boiled down to a single famous exchange that was recorded by numerous Chronicles from both sides of the divide:

After the subject of whom the clergy should swear loyalty to came up for the umpteenth time Boniface sneered ‘’my clergy shall submit to no petty monarch, Emperor or otherwise’’.
Alderic then snapped into a rage and roared ‘’they shall submit to me!’’.


The following day Alderic left Krain and called for a Grand Council of the Holy Roman Empire in Rome. Every single King, Duke, Prince and Archbishop were called to the conference alongside the Patriarchs of Rome, Alexandria, Jerusalem and Antioch and hundreds of other lower ranking officials, theologians and nobles of the Empire. It is this conference that gave Alderic II the ‘’Reformer’’ title that he is known as today and it is one more much more deserved than most. In the alarmingly short period of time between June 1328 and March 1329 the Statute of Rome was produced. This Statute radically reformed both the Empire and its Church and changed the world forever.

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Whilst many minor theological and legal issues were settled the main points are stated above. The Imperial reform was quite significant and saw the abolition of the Holy Roman Empire in favour of the Latin Empire. The Latin Empire would have a semi-democratic method of election for its Emperors. Each crown possessed by a member of the Empire would count as a single vote in the election therefore the Electors were the following states: Kingdom Jerusalem 4 votes (Kings of Jerusalem, Syria, Araby and Egypt, Kingdom France 2 votes (Kings of France and Burgundy), Kingdom of Africa 1 vote (Kings of Africa), Kingdom of Sicily 1 vote (Kings of Sicily), Kingdom of Italy 1 vote (Kings of Italy), Patriarchate of Croatia 1 vote (Croatian throne). This appeased the other members of the Empire whilst maintaining the supremacy of the primary D’Albon line. Now the Imperial title was no longer held as permanent title of the primary line although the primary line possessed 4 out of 10 votes in the election.

Reform within the Church was slightly more complex. The Latin Church was created which claimed to replace the Catholic Church entirely although it only established power within the newly created Latin Empire as well as a few minor states along its borders. Whilst many minor issues of Church dogma were adjusted the main overhaul occurred in the highest tier of the Church hierarchy. At the head of the Latin Church stood the Latin Emperor. He was a first amongst equals within the Council of Patriarchs. The longstanding Latin Patriarchates of Antioch, Jerusalem, Rome and Alexandria were joined by the newly invested Patriarch of Croatia and the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople (it is believed that the decision to include the Greek Patriarch was simply a means to further improve relations with the Roman Empire and cement the Pact of God). This Council would sit at Jerusalem for a period of one month every 3 years and be chaired by the Latin Emperor who would have no vote within the Council (which would decide every issue through a vote amongst the Patriarchs) but would have the power to veto any of the decisions made by the Council. Meanwhile the Statute condemned the Pope to rot in hell as he was excommunicated and declared an enemy of the faithful by the Latin Church. Aside from Alderic who now added immense religious power to his already fearsome secular arsenal the biggest winner of the Statute was the unlikely figure of the Archbishopric of Croatia. The only significant non-D’Albon member of the Empire became the 2nd most power religious figure on earth behind the Catholic Pope as he not only controlled large estates and wealth (something the ancient Patriarchs lacked) but a vote in the Imperial election, the prestigious position of Patriarch and a seat on the Council that would guide ½ of the world’s Christians.

Yet just as the world was getting to grips with the new order created by the Statute of Rome a terrible foe came rampaging from the East that would change the world much more than Alderic ever could.
 
Interim

The World in 1330

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The Known World just after the Statute of Rome

1. Principality of Pommeralia
2. Principality of Cherginov
3. Khanate of Crimea
4. Emirate of Georgia
5. Duchy of Carinthia
6. Duchy of Bosnia
7. Principality of Rashka
8. Turkish Sultanate of the Steppe


The British Isles
With the Scottish Fitzgerald dynasty ruling England and the English Abdul dynasty ruling Scotland the late 13th and early 14th Centuries saw a rare but extended period of peace between the 2 nations. In early Centuries the two states had frequently waged war with each other but despite this their borders had remained largely the same. In Ulster, Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles the Scandinavian Empire has built up a large collection of holdings in the region (most of these lands were inherited following the Swedish conquest of Norway). In the Southern 2/3 of Ireland lies one of the Pope’s most valuable domains whilst his holiness also controls Iceland and the Faroe Islands. Ever since the fall of Rome many Centuries before Dublin had been one of the most frequent Papal seats, the brought great power and wealth to Ireland.

Scandinavia and Germany
Sweden emerged in the 12th Century as a major power and during the early part of the Century it conquered both Finland and Norway. Then, following the fall of D’Albon Germany and the return of the von Frankens the Swedish av Munso dynasty signed an alliance with the new rulers of Germany against the powerful Danes. The Germans gained Brandenburg, Rostock, Meklenburg and several smaller coastal towns on the Baltic whilst Sweden conquered Denmark proper and gained the Germanic city of Lubeck, meanwhile the Duchy of Silesia took advantage of the invasion and seized Stettin. In 1301, after many years of occupation the King of Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland declared himself Emperor of Scandinavia.

France and Iberia
Following the loss of Germany to the von Frankens and then the D’Albon Civil, which saw Burgundy annexed by France, European D’Albon Kingdoms had been comparatively peaceful. After receiving encouragement from the Emperors in Jerusalem to push the Muslims back in Spain the Kingdoms of France and Sicily alongside the Duchy of Barcelona had been going on regular expeditions into Islamic Spain. Whilst Sicily built up its holdings around Valencia the French advanced deep into the provinces of Castile and Leon, relieving many thousands of Christian Spaniards from Muslim tyranny. The advance of the D’Albonites caused the previously fractured Isalmic states in Spain to pull together as in the West the Kingdom of Zenata (ruled form Lisbon and also a major power in Morocco) and in the South the Emirate of Seville united all the petty Sheiks around them in opposition to the Christian advance. By 1330 the tide seemed to be turning back in favour of the Muslims as the French conquest in particular proved near impossible to maintain control over whilst the Sicilians had suffered a desperate defeat in 1326 after attempting to invade the Emirate of Seville.

North Africa
During the 1290s the weakest of the D’Albon Kingdoms, Africa, had shattered into three. The powerful Archbishopric of Tripoli and Duchy of Constantine proved far too strong for the King of Africa to oppose and both had broken free leaving the Kingdom as a shadow of its former self. Whilst Constantine had quickly joined Sicily Tripoli remained independent, protected by good relations with the Emperors in Jerusalem. After gaining control of Constantine the Sicilians went to war against the Kingdom of Algiers and later several powerful Emirs in Northern Morocco. These conflicts allowed the Sicilians to greatly expand their realm over yet more Muslims lands which they subsequently subjected to a brutal campaign of religious oppression. In Morocco the English managed to seize a port just as the Sicilians rampaged around the region whilst the remnants of Islamic North Africa unified under the banner of Zenata.

The Balkans
The Kingdom of Hungary had been at peace ever since the end of the Hungarian Civil War 70 years before, despite defeat in that conflict the Northern Magyar nation went on to prosper as immigration of Russians fleeing the Bulgars boosted the Hungarian economy and added many more men to the Hungarian army.
In the South the newly promoted Patriarchate of Croatia makes up the Southern Magyar nation and exerts significant religious influence over the nearby independent Western Christian Duchies of Bosnia and Carinthia.
Nearby the long-lived Principality of Rashka remains independent form both the Latin and Roman Empires despite so many years under threat.
The rejuvenated Roman Empire had prospered greatly in recent years. Following the reconquest of Constantinople and the subsequent annexation of the vast, fertile yet largely empty Ukrainian plane many thousands of Greeks had begun to settle in the region. These Greek settlers combined with Russian refugees to create a new and unique culture in what the Greeks called the Northern Mark. With the conclusion of the Pact of God by the 1330s the Romans had started to eye Greek speaking Anatolia, indeed recently uncovered evidence shows that the Roman and Latin Emperors had already started to discuss battle plans for the invasion of Anatolia.

Poland and the Baltic
There was a time in the 12th Century when Poland ruled over several Anatolian cities and frequently sent armies across Russia to raid the Seljuk Empire. However after the rapid rise of the Bulgar in the 13th Century the Turks were able to start sending armies across the lands of their Sunni brethren and into Poland. After the arrival of the first Turkish army in Poland in 1304 the Turks had steadily conquered more and more Polish territory. In Turkish occupied Poland life was extremely harsh as Turkish armies frequently ransacked Polish towns and burned Christian churches. The only way to avoid the wrath of the Turks was to convert and that is just what thousands of Poles did in the early 14th Century. By 1330 60% of occupied Poland was Muslim.
To the West the Duchy of Silesia had benefited from the invasion by finally forcing the King of Poland to relinquish his claim to sovereignty over Silesia. The invasion also allowed the Duchy to greatly expand as it fought both Turk and Pole to build up a large realm.
The history of the Principality of Pommeralia is quite peculiar. When the Greeks first arrived in Danzig in the 1120s the entire region was dominated by Pagan tribes yet the small Orthodox outpost managed to survive decades of warfare with its neighbours to preserve independence. However in later decades the entire region was conquered by Catholic nations leaving the Greek speaking Orthodox enclave terrible isolated. In the early 13th Century a Greek branch of the expansive House of Rurik took control of the Principality and following this the Greeks of Danzig started to move closer to the Russian Princes. This lead to the conquest of a series of islands to the North of Kurland that acted as trading posts with the powerful Principality of Novgorod. However after the collapse of the Russian states in the face of the Bulgars in the 13th Century the Principality started to drift back away from the Russians leaving it utterly isolated from its surroundings.
A mixture of Danish, Swedish, Polish and German Baltic Crusader Counties Prussia is a culturally mixed but overwhelmingly Catholic state. Much like Silesia it took advantage of the Turksih attack on Poland to trim some of the border provinces from the Polish King and now stands as a nation even more powerful than the Poles.

Russia
Russia is dominated by one state: the Bulgar Empire. After crushing 3 separate Mongol hordes that dared cross the Urals into the Bulgar domain the Bulgars were able to exact a considerable yearly tribute from the Asiatic conquerors. Flush with wealth and battle hardened from decades of intense warfare the Bulgars spilt over the Volga in the 1260s. By 1278 Only a shrunken Cherginov and a still proud Novgorod remained from the once numerous Russian Princes. Between 1280 and 1286 the Bulgars struck into Novgorod, even burning the ‘Jewel of the North’ itself, however a major rebellion by angry nobles in the Bulgar heartland forced them to make peace with Novgorod allowing the last major Russian Principality to maintain some considerable power. From 1286 to the mid 14th Century an uneasy peace existed between the Russians and their Roman allies and the mighty Bulgar Empire. In the meantime In the Bulgar heartland on the East bank of the Volga several large and wealthy cities sprouted up whilst in Russia an Islamic Bulgar ruling class emerged that lorded over the Orthodox Russian peasantry. So far several large Bulgar armies kept Russia on a tight leash but discontent was never far below the surface as the Russian common folk quietly plotted the downfall their oppressors.
In the Crimea the remnants of the Cuman horde converted to Islam and formed a Khaganate on the Peninsula.

Anatolia and the Southern Caucuses
By 1330 the Anatolia had become thoroughly divided. The Seljuk Turks rule over two ‘Sultanates’ in Western Anatolia (Rum) and in Armenia. In the centre of the Peninsula the local Turkish nobility was able to overthrow the Arabic Emirate of Medina and establish several small and divided Sheikdoms, leaving only an enclave around the Black Sea as a reminder of the Emirates once great Anatolian Empire.
In the lands that once made up the Kingdom of Georgia an Islamic Emirate has grown up, despite this the local Georgian populace maintains their Orthodox faith.
On the Western Bank of the Caspian the powerful Emirate of Azerbaijan emerged triumphant over Turkish, Georgian and Bulgar invasions that left the nation with only brief periods of peace between 1100 and 1300. However by 1330 the country had been at peace for several decades and was beginning to prosper once more.

Persia, Central Asia and Arabia
In Central Asia and Eastern Persia there was no single major power in 1330, instead numerous petty Sheiks, Emirs and a minor Sultan ruled. However in Persia proper the main part of the Seljuk Sultanate was strong and in the 1330s was regarded as little more than a mustering ground for Turkish armies bound for Europe.
The Eastern shore of the Arabian peninsula was dominated by the Emirs of Bahrain having only recently secured freedom from the Seljuks. On the Western bank lay the weakened Emirate of Meidna which also ruled Cyrenaica two enclaves in Syria and a small enclave on the Black Sea shore. Finally the most powerful independent Turkish Emirate lay between the Latin and Seljuk Empire and was regarded as an important buffer zone between the two nations.

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Religion of the known world following the Statute of Rome

Red – Latin Church
Dark Red – Mixed Latin Church and Muslim
Blue – Catholic Church
Dark Blue – Mixed Catholic and Latin Church
Light Blue – Mixed Catholic and Muslim
Tan – Orthodox Church
Dark Green – Mixed Orthodox Church and Muslim
Green – Muslim

The transition between the Catholic and Latin Churches was remarkably smooth. All the Churches within the Latin Empire as well as the Churches in Bosnia and Spain were transformed into the new Latin Church. Meanwhile several Churches in Carinthia and in Germany West of the Rhine followed the schismatic Churches but were not in the majority in those regions.