To Exile the Sun: An Iberian AAR

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Prologue

Guillem d'Rei's mother was a moron, and his father a craven. Neither were paragons of virtue, skill, or intellect. They had few redeeming characteristics, and so they lost their barony in Valencia, the march of the Moors could not be stopped. But they gave birth together a single child. Guillem d'Rei was a sick boy, getting smallpox, and being born with numerous sicknesses. When he was a child, the doctors were sure he could not survive. He couldn't speak until he was four, and some thought he may be slow. They were wrong, not only did Guillem surpass expectations, but he would later be commended by no less then the Holy Father himself as the most brilliant Christian lord alive.

Guillem d'Rei was nothing short of a genius. Even at the age of seven, he was schooling his teachers in the scholastic arts. He learned to read due to his close relationship with the Bishop Pere-Amat, a Catalan like himself. Guillem was taught to read, to write. He learned much ofthe knowledge of his time, and expanded on it. He debated theology with monks and contributed tomes of knowledge to military strategy. He was a master plotter and created a ledger system throughout his lord's county, making it the most efficient taxation in Europe. But he was a mere courtier. This would not be so forever. Can a courtier fight a war against his lord? By historical law, it was not so. But Guillem d'Rei lived in a troubled time. He was a courtier to the corrupt lords of Mallorca, the primary island in the Mallorca Islands. When he was fourteen, the local tavernkeeper in the city attached to Aludia, the castle in which his lord reigned, gave word of a peasant uprising.

His lord was a direct vassal of the Aquitaine, the Karling King had spent a great deal to fight his wars that never seemed to end, and the Mallorcans were of the Crescent Moon, not the Cross. Bishop Pere-Amat had been trying to change this through charity and good work, but had only minimal success. This Sunni rebellion was stirring, and Guillem was the understudy to the spymaster to his lord. His contacts across Mallorca made him invaluable. But Guillem knew that he could rule Mallorca better by far then his lord, or any of the major barons, so he decided that reporting this rebellion would not do what he desired.

So, Guillem allowed the rebellion to take place, leaving on a trip to Barcelona, where he garnered support with the local lord, a Frank who was a close ally of the Karlings. This duke could convince Louis the Stammerer to pay a good amount of ducats for Guillem to buy a mercenary army. He would wait until the rebellion began, and bring in the mercenaries to capture the capital, push out the rebellion, and save the province. But he would also occupy the capital and institute a palace coup. If he succeeded, then he would swear loyalty to the Frankish lord of Barcelona. If he failed, he would either die, or have to flee to Asturias, the Kingdom under which the Moor invaders were forcing into a shattering grip.

So, when he got word from his spies that the Sunnis began their rebellion, he sailed his mercenaries to Mallorca and defeated the occupying army. He saved Mallorca, and then arrested the lord for tyranny. The Count of Mallorca offered no resistance, he had none to offer.

Upon the throne of the County of Mallorca sat a fifteen-year-old Guillem d'Rei, his vassal lord in Barcelona was his closest ally, but the King of Aquitaine had his eyes set on the brilliant mind of Guillem d'Rei.

The Moors prepared for their war, and launched it deep into Navarra and Asturias. Christian Iberia was on the edge of a knife, but could the Moors challenge the great Carolingian Kings and place all of Iberia under their grip?

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The Mallorca Revival

Year: 867

Upon ascending to the throne of Mallorca, he found a county in tatters. He had an efficient taxation system, but the cities were disorganized and messy, the region was wrought with poverty and there was very little being provided. The technology he had was pathetic and undeniably broken. So, he decided to use his incredible learning to begin a revival of his county. He borrowed money from the Jewish community and used what he made to begin building up the city that was already present, creating a market circle, a trading post, and inviting the local trade barons of the Mediterranean full access to trade. He made deals with each that trade was to be open, and soon tax money was flowing faster then he could have imagined. However, he could not properly oversee it and his current Steward was not all that skilled.

He sent word to his liege's liege, the King of Aquitaine, to ask for a man who would do well as a Steward, and the Stammerer sent him a Jew. Jewish or not, he was one of the single most talented men in stewardship he had ever met, and used him. This new steward created an even more efficient demesne, doubling the tax flow by routing out corruption, making taxation more even and careful, and creating a system to be sure that everyone was taxed, but no more then what was regular.

With more money coming in, Guillem used this to vastly improve his cultural and economic holdings, investing it back into Mallorca.

But reinvestment was not all he was employing. Across the mainland of Iberia, he was building the best spy network he could, and soon he gained word that Navarra had fallen, an unsurprising development. What was worse, however, was hearing that the Moors had carved out a large chunk of the Kingdom of Asturias, and forced them into retreat. With hungry eyes, they looked upon Barcelona, but seemed to fear the wrath of the Carolingians too much. They brooded and waited, or so it was thought. In reality, they were busy fighting a fearsome war against their southern rulers, who had just released that they were Shi'a. This fearsome invasion would take nearly a decade, in which Asturias collapsed under an economic depression and a foolish ruler.

But Mallorca became one of the wealthiest provinces in the world, and Guillem was quickly one of the wealthiest counts in Europe. While the Kings of Europe were far wealthier, Guillem outstripped his pears by far. However, he knew now that it was a mere matter of time before Mallorca was set upon by the Moor invaders, who were incessant. It was time to build great castles and massive armies.

Immigration to Mallorca was becoming a problem, so to curtail this issue, Guillem passed a law that said that all immigrants must serve a certain amount of time in the military if they are male, and fifteen years or older. This draft was not popular, but the massive improvements placed in by Guillem, now twenty-one, was very popular. In the meantime, Guillem was seeking a wife of equal intellect as himself. He had no fear in gaining connections, but he knew he had to have a wife that could challenge him intellectually. So he spoke to his mentor and friend, Bishop Pere-Amat, and sent him to Rome. There, Pere-Amat became a close adviser to the Holy Father, speaking closely and approvingly of Guillem.

It was not hard to convince the Holy Father that Guillem was a virtuous, just, charitable and Christian ruler. He was, afterall, all of those things. Furthermore, Pere-Amat asked the Bishop of Rome to suggest a wife for Guillem, using his many connections. The Holy Father obliged, offering a strange choice. She was a lowborn German woman who had come to the attention of the Pope after she had gained a reputation in Eastern France for her incredible work as a courtier to the Carolingian ruling in Germany. He used her as an attachment with his chancellor to the King of Lotharingia, and although the King killed the Chancellor and declared war, she was arrested. From a cell, she not only convinced the King to declare a white peace in the war he was undoubtedly winning, but also managed to convince him to release her.

She was hailed as a genius and became Chancellor of Eastern France. She was seventeen years old.

Bishop Pere-Amat was skeptical at first, but upon the request of the Holy Father, he spoke to her. Upon speaking to her, he discovered that this German was perfect for his liege. She was well-schooled, was taught to read and write (although in secret, of course), and knew Latin fluently. Bishop Pere-Amat took the woman to his liege, this German named "Klementia." His liege married her upon the bishop's suggestion. To both of their surprises, however, it didn't take long until Guillem fell completely in love with her, and she reciprocated.

With a brilliant new wife who was one of the few people seemingly in the world that could almost equal Guillem's brilliance, he had himself his closest adviser. Furthermore, there was great rejoicing in the prosperous streets as his many subjects celebrated an entire day for the wedding, especially that there was no special taxation. But after that day, dark news came from Guillem's spies in Northern Africa. The Umuyyads, the Moor Invaders, had captured Mauritania and all of her riches. Suddenly, the Umuyyads had become the single most powerful Sunnis on the face of the planet. Sultan Mohammad had heard whispers that he was the greatest ruler in all of the world.

Guillem's small county could not possibly stand a chance against the might of the Unstoppable Moors, nor, it seemed, did Asturias. As Guillem plotted against his lord, Asturias was shattered by another crushing victory. Now Portugal was completely under Moor control. Only the de jure Kingdom of Asturias remained, and the small county of Viscaya. Realizing what was next, Guillem knew he could not fall to his liege's failures, so he implemented two schemes at once. He fabricated a false claim on the other island in the Mallorcan Islands, and began preparations to declare himself independent. To do this, he went to Lious the Stammerer and asked him if he would support Mallorcan independence, if that meant that Guillem would join him as Chancellor. He agreed, offering Guillem a claim on his rival, the Lord of Menorca.

Furthermore, Bishop Pere-Amat returned to Rome, and gained approval to have a Cardinal personally crown Guillem Duke of the Mallorcan Islands if Menorca was captured, and an approval to come directly from the Bishop of Rome. No one would question Guillem's independence from the Barcelonan Lord.

So, the mighty armies of Count Guillem d'Rei invaded Menorca, and captured it in a single day. The lord wad deposed and he fled to Barcelona. King Louis stayed out of the independence war, but it was over without a single battle. A German Cardinal, on behest of the Bishop of Rome, performed the ceremony that declared Guillem d'Rei the Duke of the Mallorcan Islands. The Barcelonans would not question the German Carolingians or the Holy Father.

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A Cataclysm of Faith

Sultan Mohammad Umuyyad was the most powerful man in Europe or Africa. He even rivaled the Sunni Caliph in power. However, he still feared the combined might of the heirs of Charlemagne. Mohammad fancied himself the Muslim Charlemagne, and that he would grow beyond. That he would build the equivalent of a Roman Empire for the Muslim World. One small slice of land stood in his way, a tiny crescent moon-shaped region in the corner of Iberia called Barcelona. While Asturias was not under his control, the Lord of All Andalusia was well aware that he would crush them in the next war, when the treaty they signed expired. Barcelona was under the protection of the Franks, who were allied with the Germans, who had a close affinity to the remaining powers in Southern Albion. A war for Barcelona risked uniting Europe to one cause.

But Mohammad Umuyyad was a brilliant man, and he knew that there was only one man with the stature that could unite these diverse rivals to the cause, and that was the King of Aquitaine, Louis the Stammerer. So, he planned his rival's death, and Louis died. His son, Louis II of Aquitaine, was only ten. A newly crowned duke, of the Mallorcan Islands, rose to power in the Aquitaine as his regent. So, Mohammad and Guillem d'Rei had their first meetings in the discussions that preempted war. Although he was able to delay the war, he knew it would not last forever. He held a summit of Frankish and German rulers, but it dissolved into arguments over claims.

Mohammad knew he had won, and he marched on Barcelona. The resulting war was one of the bloodiest the Christian faith had seen since the Fall of Rome. With the Aquitaine weakened by the fall of their lord, the King of France reluctantly sending aid, their primary ally came from the King of Lotharingia and Italy. The powerful Carolingian sent massive armies to rival the powerful Moors. The Moors were outnumbered by the Europeans, but found that Mohammad was one of the most capable military leaders in existence. He held them in the Iberian Pass, a small sliver of land between the Mediterranean Sea and the impassable mountains. The war that was fought for that pass was short and blunt, and the eleven thousand Europeans that fought in a single battle were all but destroyed. Across Northern Iberia, the last strongholds of Christianity fell violently and brutally. The shattered remnants of Christian Kingdoms were obliterated, thousands more dying in the resulting small regional uprisings.

And his Regency had failed, Guillem was unable to unite Europe and stop the Moors, and the Moors had captured Iberia, all except for some small islands a few leagues off the coast of Aragon.

Guillem failed to hold onto his Regency as Carolingians and Welfs joined to depose the Catalan from the Regency. They succeeded, installing a weak regent. This would be a fatal mistake later on, but it allowed this weak regent to expel the Duchy of the Mallorcan Islands from the Kingdom. They predicted that the Moors would march on the Islands next. They wanted no part in a doomed vassal, and although the aging and weak Holy Father protested, his protests were ignored. Catholicism was collapsing under the reign of this Holy Father, and whispers of an antipope about to be set up in Eastern France were growing.

But the Holy Father died, Catholicism was banished from one of her greatest strongholds, and Iberia was lost.

Christianity was collapsing from the weight of the mightiest invaders they had yet to experience, the Norsemen of the North were defeating the Celtic and Saxon Christians. The Welfs and the Karlings turned on each other and fought over the claim of Western France, now renamed simply France. Rome was petrified by indecision. In the midst, however, a young Iberian Cardinal rose to the Papacy out of a compromise. Pope Nicholas II was meant to be weak pope, and it was thought that it would not be long before an antipope was set up. He was chosen due to indecision. Some wanted to support a Charlemagne approach, some wished to focus on the Northern Invaders, certain (perhaps incorrectly) that the Moors were to be stopped by the Pyrenees Mountains.

Pope Nicholas II had disagreed with both, preferring to take an internal stock and to reform the Church to be more pious and charitable, to take a more activist position in politics, and to become more involved. His reformations had little support, so he was chosen. It was decided in compromise that a weak Papacy was what was necessary, and what Pope Nicholas II would provide.

However, Pope Nicholas would become one of the most important and powerful Popes in history.

The Early Reign of Pope Nicholas II

Possibly Pope Nicholas' closest ally in the church was Bishop Pere-Amat, who had gotten a reputation for skill in intrigue and learning in Rome. This relationship turned into a lucrative alliance between the Duke Guillem, the Last of the Christian Iberians. Guillem, Pere-Amat, and Pope Nicholas met to study the premier issue of their time, the Conquistas de Hispania, as the series of wars under newly crowned Badshah Mohammad were called. Pere-Amat was a highly learned man, and his spies in the Muslim world taught him something quite simple. The decadence of a Great House of Islam is incredibly important, and if there are not many landed men in the Great House, or perhaps if they had a history of losing wars (which the Umuyyads did not,) then the Great House would be under threat of invasion. However, the pure might of Mohammad had kept the Umuyyads from being called decadent. His sons, however, lacked the prestige that his father had.

It was decided that, to end the Conquistas de Hispania, Mohammad must die. Guillem returned to Mallorca with six-hundred ducats from the Roman riches with the purpose of bankrolling the assassination attempts.

Guillem's allies in the Umuyyad Empire quickly recruited a maid to smother the aging Mohammad in his sleep. This failed, and a series of other assassination attempts failed. Finally, Mohammad's spymaster turned against him. After turning his spymaster, Guillem's allies managed to easily assassinate Mohammad. The Spymaster attempted, and failed, to seize the Empire, and for a very short time, the Empire was thrust into war. Unfortunately, Guillem was still too weak to press his advantage in war, but it would distract his enemies from assaulting Mallorca. Furthermore, Pope Nicholas' plan was correct, the Umuyyad dynasty quickly became decadent, losing their massively influential and prestigious patriarch.

After the succession crisis ended, the youngest son of Mohammad came to power, a twenty-four year old Badshah named Hussayn. This young son came to power after a short succession war, becoming the "last man standing" in the dynasty.

In the fallout from the Mohammad Assassination, Guillem decided to use his growing prestige in the Christian world to act as the unifying force. He had two daughters and a son. He married his son to the daughter of the Italian Carolingian king, his eldest daughter to the future King of Eastern France. His youngest daughter went to the new King of Aquitaine. At the same time, he spread his influence and fabricated his claim on the two counties that made up the Island of Sardinia Greater, and created the Duchy of Sardinia. He managed to retrieve Sardinia Minor in a marriage agreement with the Italian King.

So, the middle-aged Duke's future was secure, at least so far as politics was concerned. His marital ties with the many Carolingians insulated him from the Moors, who would not spend much money or political power on capturing the relatively tiny amount of land that Guillem controlled. However, a minor flaw was spotted. While Guillem could certainly affect politics with his powerful family connections and many spies on the mainland, his limited naval forces weakened him. To be fair, there really wasn't much precedent for a massive navy, except by the growing power of Almafi and Venice. For that reason, however, Guillem petitioned the Holy Father for aid.

The Holy Father petitioned Venice to send two of their premier shipwrights to Mallorca to aid them in constructing a navy to rival any in the Mediterranean. Venice was reluctant, but with growing pressure from the Byzantine Empire, it was decided that Venice would not forsake his allies in Rome for his enemies in Constantinople. Mallorca received two great minds in naval warfare, and they began to construct a great naval force to rival anything seen in this era.

Rome had levied further taxes from his lords, and Pope Nicholas was gathering support. However, his attempts to rally fear were blunted by no direct threat. However, as the conflict between the Welfs and the Karlings grew to a head in France, the Lords of Jorvik and Skotland, the Norsemen's kingdoms in Albion, invaded France. The invasion stunned the Carolingian kings, and convinced them that, at least small reforms were needed. In return for some immediate money, it was agreed that the Pope would appoint Bishops throughout Europe (ironically, Nicholas' closest secular ally was exempt, specifically Guillem d'Rei). This allowed Nicholas to institute incredible reforms and levy better, fairer, and stronger tithes. Rome was growing in wealth.

But something would soon happen that would galvanize the entire Christian world far more then the Norsemen ever could.

The Conquista de Francés, and the First Reconquista

Badshah Hussayn had to prove his military might to his rivals, that he was the rightful heir to his father's throne. He had to do something dramatic and shocking. One thing was obvious. He couldn't fight other muslims, no, he needed to end his rivals. He had to put the feared Carolingians in their place. For this reason, he would privately wonder why, exactly, did Mohammad fear to go over the Pyrenees Mountains and defeat the weakened Aquitaine. In a letter to his Martial, he wrote:

"Old Friend, I must question why my father, the Great Mohammad Umayyad, feared to assault Aquitaine. The heirs of Charlemagne are indecisive, divided, and weak. Without a force to unite them, how can such a small Kingdom hope to stand up against the Greatest Empire of the World? Umayyads rival all forces on earth, and our spies have told us many times that in military, our forces outnumber them by far. I see no reason to leave the infidels be, and I must prove that I am as great a conqueror as my father, or perhaps greater. I will not hear my name be called decadent when I rule the House of Umayyad. By the end of the year, I wish to see the Aquitaine under my control.

Badshah Hussayn Umayyad, year 889."

Hussayn shocked the Christian world when he gathered his massive forces and poured them over the Pyrenees. He shocked everyone except Guillem and the Holy Father. Despite Guillem's best attempts, the Moor's Conquista de Francés seemed unstoppable. Louis II was captured and executed, and his family fled to Mallorca. In the meantime, however, Guillem found an opening. His close ally and courtier was the rightful ruler of Barcelona, and Hussayn had dedicated literally all of his forces in defeating the mighty armies of Europe. So, Guillem took a risk, rallied what support was left, and launched an invasion of Barcelona.

It would not be the small sliver of land, but a large chunk of land carved out of the Umayyad Empire, but also securing the Pass of Iberia. It would not cut off the Empire from the Aquitaine completely, but it would limit their transport considerably. So, Guillem received a thousand ducats from Rome. He rallied his large armies, rose his great navy, and hired many mercenaries. When he sailed to Aragon and declared the First Reconquista, he was thirteen-thousand strong, one of the most powerful single armies in the world, although the combined might of the Umayyads was greater, they never had a single army that was so large.

The First Reconquista began well, and in only a few months, Guillem had captured most of Barcelona. However, it was then that Louis II was executed and the remaining Karlings of Aquitaine fled to Mallorca with their mother, Guillem had his grandchildren under his household. Hussayn, no longer distracted in his wars in the Conquista de Francés, returned to repel the First Reconquista. Three armies of five-thousand began to chip away at Guillem's forces. Guillem, who was personally leading the army, decided to do a very risky maneuver.

Guillem split his forces in half, and put his talented son, Guillem-Guerau, in charge of the second army. He was charged with assaulting the second army, while drew the combined primary forces of Hussayn's Martial, an army of almost ten thousand. Guillem was outnumbered, but he tricked his enemy into attempting to assault him directly. Guillem outmaneuvered him and managed to get away from the trap, and fled to the highest fortress he controlled in the Pyrenees. From this fortress, he held off his opponent for almost three months. During this time, his talented and young son defeated the second army and assaulted the Moors from behind. The battle was over, and Guillem captured the Martial, a powerful supporter of Badshah Hussayn, and one of his uncles, a younger brother of the Great Mohammad Umayyad.

The Martial of the Umayyad Empire was executed by Guillem, infuriating his nephew. However, Hussayn's coffers were spent on his wars in the Conquista de Francés, and his armies were crushed by Guillem. A peace treaty was signed, and Miro de Barcelona was installed as the Duke of Barcelona.

The Rise of the Crusader Kings

The cries of "Deus Vult" could be heard throughout the Islands of Mallorca, and later throughout the great halls of the Great Kings of Christendom. It was a new era, a new age.

Christianity was shocked by the successful Invasion of the Aquitaine, and it seemed that Christianity was to be shattered. But one man rose to power in the fear and suspicion. Instead of splitting into civil war and fear, like it so often happened in the past, they rallied to one man: Pope Nicholas II. Pope Nicholas, who had predicted this for many years, was named "the Apostle." Pope Nicholas the Apostle, supported by Cardinal Pere-Amat of Es Castell, the Head of the Holy College of Cardinals, called the Council of Es Castell in the year 894. Rallied by the success of the First Reconquista, Pope Nicholas the Apostle declared that his involvement in the First Reconquista was responsible for the success, to which Duke Guillem the Wise, the prominent Christian Ruler of the era, agreed.

Pope Nicholas' church reforms, which had been scoffed at, were now accepted by a universal vote. It put far more power in the hand of the Church than ever before, making it the de jure position that bishops be appointed by the Church, and allowing more taxes be levied then ever before. With Rome having more money then ever before, he also created the Crusade, and the Crusader Kings was born.

It was agreed that five holy orders would be created, and they would be trained by the same men that trained Guillem's forces that successfully defeated the Moors in the First Reconquista. The Council of Es Castell was successful, and the Age of the Crusader Kings was born.

And at the same time, the Mirzids began and quickly succeeded in an invasion of Mauritania that resulted in their capture of the Umayyad Empire. However, this didn't sit well with many of the Moor rulers who supported Hussayn "the Great." So, just as the Christians finally rallied under Pope Nicholas the Apostle and Duke Guillem the Wise, the Moors collapsed under the weight of their own decadence. The empire fell apart, and was thrown into a ten-year period of civil war that would utterly shatter their iron-tight grip on their lands.

So, Nicholas the Apostle declared the Crusade for Aquitaine and Aragon. It was agreed that Nicholas' massive forces would support Carloman Karling, a former courtier of Guillem's who would lead a host to capture Aquitaine with the Crusader King allies. At the same time, Guillem would rally the Kingdom of Burgundy and the Kingdom of Italy to aide him and the newly trained and established Holy Orders to captured the fractured states of Aragon under Guillem, who would become one of the first two Crusader Kings, the young Carloman would be the other.

Guillem started his invasion in Valencia, the land of his father. He captured it from the shattered vassals as the Mirzid lost grip on what little they had left of their empire. After Guillem captured Valencia and marched north to capture the Region of Aragon, it was quickly becoming a major issue for the Mirzids. The Papacy had captured their complete holdings in Aquitaine and was moving to capture the remaining lands in Aquitaine. Furthermore, the civil war was becoming more vicious, and Mauritania was the only region the Mirzids still controlled. The rebels supported Hussayn's uncle for the throne, this (of course) included the newly ransomed Hussayn the Great, Emir of Seville, former Badshah. Quickly after Hussayn succeeded in leading the rebellion, the Umayyads became the rulers of their destiny again.

But it was too late, the civil war had begun and it raged on as every trumped up political issue divided them. At the same time, the First Crusade and the Second Reconquista were successful. Pope Nicholas the Apostle crowned King Carloman of Aquitaine and King Guillem the Wise to their respective Kingdoms, and the shattered empire was split, even if it ever did manage to reform. King Guillem the Wise now controlled the southern region of the Pyrenees Mountains, and the newly reformed Kingdom of Aragon was declared the Shield of Europe, to shield the mainland Europe from ever suffering from a Moor Invasion ever again.

 

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The Third & Fourth Reconquistas

Aragon was powerful, and the newly reformed Umuyyad Empire was weakened by civil war. As civil war shattered the region of Southeast Iberia into a thousand small emirates, Guillem the Wise, at the behest of the aging Cardinal Pere-Amat, declared the Third Reconquista. Furthermore, he began the massive bankrolling of the Order of Santiago. The newly formed order of knights were pushing the claim of Arias the Liberator over Asturias and all of Northern Ibera. Grandmaster Salvador and Arias the Liberator lead three separate rebellions in northern Iberia that would come to be called the Fourth Reconquista. At this time, Guillem received the duchy of Genoa from marital politics. With little interest in Italian politics or the Iron Crown of Lombardy, he turned the Duchy of Genoa over to the Order of Santiago.

While Aragon fought viciously in Southeast Iberia, Arias the Liberator and Grandmaster Salvador lead the Fourth Reconquista in Asturias. Both were successful, and when the Third Reconquista looked as if it was about to be successful, another civil war broke out. Hussayn the Great, irritated by his uncle's lack of skill in leading the Umuyyad Dynasty, as well as his failure to push back the counterinvasions of the Christians, decided to overthrow his uncle. In a palace coup (Hussayn was his uncle's Chancellor), Hussayn seized power. However, the base of his uncle's support came from deep Mauritania, which rebelled. Forced to quell a rebellion in Africa, Hussayn's newly acquired empire was collapsing in Iberia. Hussayn did, however, manage to stop the encroachment of the Third Reconquista before it captured the incredibly important Straight of Gibraltar, managing to save his Iberian holdings. However, the Fourth Reconquista was successful, and he was forced to pull his military out of Asturias and Northwest Iberia.

His holdings were the Western Andalusia and Portugal, but he controlled the Straight of Gibraltar, and therefore controlled one of the most strategic positions in Europe.

Strangely, he was able to hold onto another holding in the middle of Aragon, which fell into his control and he held with an army of four thousand to the Aragonian military. The Battle of Tobarra in the Almansa province became the turning point in the Third Reconquista that stopped the seemingly unstoppable Aragonian army. The Battle of Tobarra was the worst defeat the Aragonian military ever suffered in the Age of the Reconquistas, with an army of ten thousand lead by Prince Guillem-Guerau being utterly annihilated by Sheikh-General Mohammad of Cadiz and his army of 4,500 Sunni knights. The Aragonian military never recovered until they were forced to a white peace in the fourth war (the war specifically to capture Seville and the Straight of Gibraltar) in the Third Reconquista. With the loss of much of his forces in Seville, King Guillem declared victory in the Third Reconquista, but it was close.

In a letter to Cardinal Pere-Amat, he acknowledged that if Hussayn had risen to the throne of the Empire originally, instead of his far less competent uncle, the Third Reconquista would have likely been a total failure:

"Old Friend and Confidant, I must admit my dismay at my son's utter defeat at the Battle of Tobarra. It is clear to me now that I should have personally lead the army. I underestimated Sheikh-General Mohammad's martial skill, and Hussayn's own intrigue. I was defeated by Hussayn, and although I hold Gibraltar, I fear that his armies would defeat mine in attrition alone. My coffers grow thin and I do not wish to institute more taxes, as I hear muttering of rebellion from the hated Daughter-in-Law. Without the money to pay my well-armed military, or her levies, I doubt I would have the ability to repel such a rebellion, or defeat Hussayn should he capitalize on my civil war. I fear Hussayn's skill in leading his Empire, and if he had been in control of it, I would not have been able to capture Southeastern Iberia.

I fear I must sign a treaty giving over power of Seville and Almansa to Hussayn again. I have forgotten how honorable and dangerous a foe I defeat. I must respect the man, even if he is sent from the Evil One to defeat Christendom.

Your friend,

Guillem d'Rei"

Although defeated and broke, King Guillem still came out the victor in the Third Reconquista. He expanded his holdings and now Cardinal Pere-Amat was able to begin missionary work to re-Christianize Southeastern Iberia. However, with so much more holdings from the Reconquista, and an interest in playing politics with his now expansive family. However, this was interrupted by the death of his beloved wife, Klementia. Depressed by the death of his wife, he nearly lost his will when his best friend died, Cardinal Pere-Amat. However, it became worse when the venerable Pope Nicholas the Apostle fell ill and, shortly thereafter, passed away. King Guillem's inner circle of allies and friends had all died. He may have been depressed, but he came out on the other side a stronger willed person, and his focus was on securing his dynasty at any cost. To do this, he had to diminish his traitorously incompetent son in favor of his far more competent second Grandson, Guillem.

After the disastrous military leadership shown by his son, King Guillem's relationship and his only son diminished a great deal. It came to ahead when King Guillem revoked the County of Arbero that he had granted to his son and granted the Duchy of Granada to his Grandson. At the age of 74, King Guillem was incredibly strong and healthy. His aging son was irritated by his father's health and began an assassination attempt. In retaliation, upon discovering of it, he imprisoned his son and his son's wife, the Duchess of Barcelona, Valencia, and Toledo. Although there was a very short rebellion, King Guillem was quickly able to crush the Duchess' forces and capture her in a single battle.

At this point, Guillem considered executing them both, but he refrained from executing his own son, instead executing his daughter-in-law. This caused a ducal succession crisis as his adult grandchildren recieved duchies and counties. Upon Guillem's orders, the second son, Guillem II of Granada, was exempt from inheriting any duchies from his mother. However, he was granted a claim on all of them. This resulted in a vicious series of wars in Aragon that King Guillem ignored, instead focusing on a courtier that showed up.

As France was controlled by the Welfs, and House Karling and House Welf challenged each other for supremacy in the former Carolingian Empire, an opportunity became clear. A young woman fled to the Court of Aragon and some of her relations that had wed into the House d'Rei, but still held the name House Karling. Although her claim on the Throne of France was very weak, there was no one that would question it if a d'Rei was her husband, and so King Guillem chose one of his grandchildren, and married him to Princess Perenolle of France. It was not matrilineal. He waited until Alfons d'Rei and Princess Perenolle Karling had a son, and then pushed Princess Perenolle's claim.

The war was short, but the successive wars would expend Aragon's vast wealth for many years. As Guillem reached his 78th year, he was still leading armies personally in France. His great grandson was the heir to the throne after several wars to establish his undeniable claim. At the same time, Guillem had managed to capture Almansa, and the renewed battle for Seville would return soon, as Hussayn the Great was about to die. Guillem was still alive, he was still leading armies.

The venerable Guillem the Wise would lead armies against the Moors and other Muslims until the day he died.

The Second Crusade

In a strange coincidence, Hussayn's last surviving son died in battle a few days before Hussayn died of old age. The resulting confusion of battle against the Asturians made it so the Umayyad Empire operated independent of a ruler for almost a month, while the only son of Hussayn was sought after. However, upon realization that he was killed, the Empire was taken over by Hussayn's youngest brother, the last surviving member of that generation of House Umayyad. The youngest brother was nearly sixty, and had no children. However, his scores of nephews were without land and all were adults. Furthermore, the Christian Iberians were becoming more belligerent and as House Umayyad began losing more wars under this new king, there were whispers that their god had banished the venerable House, one of the most ancient and powerful in all of Islam.

So, arose a middle-aged, charismatic Mauritanian who challenged this new Badshah. The war was short and brutal. With Portugal and Seville being the last holdings in Iberia, and Mauritania in full revolt under Sa'daddin Sadaddin, the Umayyads appeared finished. The defeated house lost a critical battle when they attempted to capture both sides of the Straight and cut off Northern Africa from useful food resources. A small offshoot of the rebel forces assaulted Gibraltar and laid siege to it as the Badshah rallied his forces. The siege lasted long enough for Sadaddin to arrive with his primary force, he crushed the Badshah, and executed him. The war was over before many in the Empire were aware it had taken place.

Sadaddin proved a cruel and brutal leader, leading many wars against Asturias. In a few months, he recaptured much of Western Andalusia, which had fallen largely to the Arias the Liberator. He was famous for impaling his foes, raiding houses, and brutally murdering any Christians he found. He violated the Sharia in many ways, and used his exceptional skill in martial skill to utterly defeat the Asturians as much as possible, almost driving them back.

Guillem the Wise was busy with his wars in France, while the suffering of his allies in Northern Iberia were suffering defeat after crushing defeat. The tyranny of Sadaddin, his sadism and insanity reached as far away as the newly converted Hungarians. It reached Guillem's ears as well, and at the pleading of most of the Christian world, he retaliated.

Sadaddin and Guillem faced off in a series of battles in which Guillem lost, and many questioned if Guillem, now nearly eighty years old, was beginning to lose his skill in his old age. However, after losing a third campaign to capture Seville and cut off Sadaddin's new conquests, Guillem was able to regain his wits. In the winter of year 923, Guillem marched his battered forces and faced the hated tyrant, Sadaddin, in an ambush along the coast of Gibraltar again. However, this time Guillem had a back-up plan.

Guillem had contacted an old ally of his, Salvador the Old, and sent the largest Aragonian fleet he had to Genoa to pick up the powerful Knights of Santiago. As the campaigns across the coast reached ahead, the Third Battle of Gibraltar took place in which Sadaddin and Guillem's armies both personally faced off against each other. The battle was close, despite Sadaddin outnumbering Guillem, but Sadaddin had been outplayed for the first time since he ascended the throne. Salvador the Old made port in Gibraltar and assaulted Sadaddin's flank, reinforcing Guillem's battered armies. The shattering Third Battle of Gibraltar became the turning point in the Second Conquista de Hispania. Sadaddin was captured by Guillem, and so was his son.

Sa'daddin Sadaddin was transferred to Arias the Liberator and executed, his body was cut into four pieces, and the lower classes dragged them through the streets of the Holy City of Cordoba. His son was released on the condition that all captured regions of Asturias were returned, and the Duchy of Seville--including Gibraltar and the Straight of Gibraltar--were ceded to Aragon. Sa'daddin II Sadaddin came to the throne of his Empire, and the Second Conquista de Hispania, far shorter lived then the first, was over.

But, in the meantime, war stirred elsewhere that would wrap both the Islamic and the Christian world into one of their bloodiest wars yet...

Perhaps it was a bad decade to be named Sa'daddin, but Sa'daddin Xoisid ruled a powerful Shi'a Caliphate in Jerusalem and Syria, as well as much of Mesopotamia. Romanus II, at the behest of Phillip Karling, Grandmaster of the Teutonic Order, declared the Second Crusade, this time into the beating heart of the World, Jerusalem.

It was to be a very long, very grueling war. King Guillem the Wise, whose son had recently died of old age, was eighty-four years old. His Great Grandchild just ascended to the throne of France, and d'Rei was at a height. But King Guillem was old, and he was running low on money, and he had only just ended the Sadaddin Conquista de Hispania. But it was his duty to answer the call, so, with 1,000 ducats from Rome in hand, he raised the Knights of Santiago and his remaining, battered levies. They sailed across the Mediterranean and landed on the shores of Jerusalem.

None of them would ever return.

King Guillem the Wise left his second Grandson as his heir and, as he was his Chancellor, the regent while Guillem was spearheading the Crusade. Salvador the Old and King Guillem the Wise, as well as a comparatively small army of 8,000 from Romanus II, which equaled a force of 22,000. It was a force to be reckoned with.

But, upon landing on the shores of Ascalon, the army was immediately beset by two armies of ten thousand from the Caliph. While managing to repel these forces, the Crusader Army was badly diminished, with a staggering number lost. They marched on Jerusalem immediately, hoping that a capture of Jerusalem would rally the quarreling Karlings into putting their support behind the Crusade properly. The initial siege was successful, but then they were assaulted. The Aragonian Army was utterly defeated at the Battle of Mirabel, forced to retreat north, to a region named Sur.

From Sur, Guillem the Wise launched a counter-campaign that very nearly redeemed the early periods of the Second Crusade. However, outnumbered, the Kingdom in debt to his vassals, and the Knights of Santiago nearly completely defeated, there was little hope. There was still no aid from the House Karling, and the Kingdom of Eastern France were using the Teutonic Order to fight the Pomeranians, a growing power of heathens. This didn't sit well with Guillem the Wise, who had joined at the behest of Phillip Karling, and Romanus II agreed. As Romanus and Guillem II (the Grandson of Guillem the Wise) attempted to convince the Karlings to join the war properly, the Second Crusade looked as if it was going to fail.

But then something that changed everything took place...

King Guillem the Wise died of a heart attack on the eve of an important battle. Salvador the Old was killed, as well as all of the Knights of Santiago, in the battle the next day. The Second Crusade seemed doomed.

But Pope Romanus II, infuriated by the lack of aid from House Karling and by the death of a close ally and friend in both Guillem the Wise and Salvador the Old, did something completely unprecedented. He threatened the Grandmaster of one of the holiest of Holy Orders with excommunication, as well as ever single person who ruled an independent realm under the House Karling. If they did not join him in redeeming the Second Crusade, they would be forever expelled from the fruits of the afterlife. Phillip Karling, fearing his holdings of the spiritual and physical realm, managed to pull together the various Kings and Dukes in House Karling.

Grandmaster Phillip Karling lead the remaining period of the Second Crusade, and the resulting redemption proved that House Karling remained the most powerful force on the planet, and that the Carolingian Era had not quite ended.

The Teutonic Order was given control of Jerusalem, a powerful military theocratic powerhouse that fought off and counterattacked many Jihads, Conquests, and Holy Wars from both Sunnis and Shia.

But King Guillem the Wise was still being mourned in Mallorca, where he ruled for over seventy years. Some had thought that he was immortal, a Judge sent by God himself to repel Islam and rally the quarreling houses of Christianity. If that was so, then even his death acted to do precisely that. Even if he wasn't immortal, his soul would remain remembered, and his impact would never be forgotten. The people of Mallorca wrote songs about him, "Good King Guillem" they called him, built statues to him. Even then, over sixty years after his reforms in Mallorca which lead to a revival of their culture and incredible prosperity, they were wealthy and prosperous.

Whether in war, or in peace, there was never a king quite so commanding, or so loved, as King Guillem the Wise.

 

[GreatUberGeek]

That was quite an achievement, I must say. Good old king Guillem! Will you be joining the Crusade?

 

[unmerged(620439)]

Phillip Karling had already beaten it before I was able to rejoin the Crusade. Was sad, because I wanted to crown a d'Rei King of Jerusalem. House d'Rei would have been able to snuff out the heart of the Muslim world, but alas. It fell to the Teutonic Order; at least they can hold off the Muslims well. I saw them raise an army of 30,000 at one point.

 

[unmerged(620439)]

Sadly, my save game got corrupted somehow. I'll have to restart on a different AAR, probably with a slightly different (or perhaps more organized) response.

Thanks for the positive support on the AAR, the game was fun. I almost got to 1066 before it corrupted, although it slowed down a great deal after the Second Crusade.