Welcome to another Dev Diary about The Iron Century. Today we are going to talk a bit about some of the Christian rulers you can find in the new bookmark. Note, most of the rulers shown here will have randomized traits.
Here for a glimpse of what Christian Europe look like in 936.
King Louis IV of West Francia: Louis is among the last kings of the Karling dynasty. He was followed by Lothair, his eldest son, and later his grandson Louis V, which ended up as the final monarch of the dynasty. In our bookmark, King Louis is 15 years old and has recently returned from England to rule his homeland. Under his rule is the strongman Hugues the Great of the Capet dynasty, as well as unruly Occitans in the south and the newly settled Normans to the north. If he can only quell his vassals and their bids for power, West Francia is a strong base for the future of the dynasty.
King Rudolf of Arles: Originally the king of Upper-Burgundy, he collected the two halves of Burgundy to form the new Kingdom of Arles. The Italians to the east, led by the industrious Hugues of the Bosonid dynasty, form a threat to the capital of Arles as well as the area around Provence. Besides that, Rudolf is in a good position to ally with most of the rulers around him, though his Kingdom is small enough to be tossed aside by the larger powers at play.
Duke Boleslav (the Cruel) of Bohemia: The Bohemian rose to the title of Duke through the fratricide of his brother (Good King) Wenceslaus. Though his rise to power was bloody, Boleslav ruled well and was known as an efficient administrator. Early in his rule he ended the tribute to the German king Otto, and ended up in conflict with the Germans for the next 15-20 years. Boleslav is a tough start, as he is surrounded by pagans in every direction, be it with the Polish rulers to the north, Hungary to the south or Kievan Rus to the far east.
Tsar Peter of the Bulgarian Empire: Son of the first Emperor of Bulgaria, he is the heir to a strong legacy. To the south and east is the Byzantine Empire, the Bulgarians have a long history fraught with conflicts and interactions with them. To the north the Hungarians have pushed into the Carpathian Basin, and taken huge chunks of land that used to be under Bulgarian rule. As an extra note here, the Bulgarian Empire is actually a DeJure Empire in the 936 start, spanning the Kingdoms of Bulgaria and Wallachia.
Basileus Romanos of the Byzantine Empire: We could not have a list of Christian rulers without the Byzantines, could we? Romanos of the Lekapenos dynasty is the co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire, together with Konstantinos of the Makedon dynasty (he holds Nikomedeia and Herakleia), but he is the elder of the two and functionally the one calling the shots. Though the Byzantine Empire has been through a rough ride lately, they have recently come to a peace agreement with their northern neighbors in Bulgaria, and the muslims are shattering at their southern and eastern fronts. With the rise of the many Shia and Sunni rulers (the Fatimids, the Buyids, the Sallarids, the Jannabids, the Hamdanids, the Ikhshidids, the Al-Thamalis etc) in the vacuum left by the weakened Abbasid Caliphate, the Byzantine Empire are posed to take back some of their ancient lands as their enemies are busy fighting one another.
Hopefully you have found this little look into the some of the different Christian rulers (and of course, there are plenty more for you to find when you get access to The Iron Century yourself). We look forward to see you again tomorrow when we’ll take a look at the Muslim rulers who populate the map in the year 936!
PS, for those who enjoyed the first chapter of Thankmar's Rebellion, here's the second chapter! https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...-iron-century-mini-aar.1179523/#post-25478718
Here for a glimpse of what Christian Europe look like in 936.
King Louis IV of West Francia: Louis is among the last kings of the Karling dynasty. He was followed by Lothair, his eldest son, and later his grandson Louis V, which ended up as the final monarch of the dynasty. In our bookmark, King Louis is 15 years old and has recently returned from England to rule his homeland. Under his rule is the strongman Hugues the Great of the Capet dynasty, as well as unruly Occitans in the south and the newly settled Normans to the north. If he can only quell his vassals and their bids for power, West Francia is a strong base for the future of the dynasty.
King Rudolf of Arles: Originally the king of Upper-Burgundy, he collected the two halves of Burgundy to form the new Kingdom of Arles. The Italians to the east, led by the industrious Hugues of the Bosonid dynasty, form a threat to the capital of Arles as well as the area around Provence. Besides that, Rudolf is in a good position to ally with most of the rulers around him, though his Kingdom is small enough to be tossed aside by the larger powers at play.
Duke Boleslav (the Cruel) of Bohemia: The Bohemian rose to the title of Duke through the fratricide of his brother (Good King) Wenceslaus. Though his rise to power was bloody, Boleslav ruled well and was known as an efficient administrator. Early in his rule he ended the tribute to the German king Otto, and ended up in conflict with the Germans for the next 15-20 years. Boleslav is a tough start, as he is surrounded by pagans in every direction, be it with the Polish rulers to the north, Hungary to the south or Kievan Rus to the far east.
Tsar Peter of the Bulgarian Empire: Son of the first Emperor of Bulgaria, he is the heir to a strong legacy. To the south and east is the Byzantine Empire, the Bulgarians have a long history fraught with conflicts and interactions with them. To the north the Hungarians have pushed into the Carpathian Basin, and taken huge chunks of land that used to be under Bulgarian rule. As an extra note here, the Bulgarian Empire is actually a DeJure Empire in the 936 start, spanning the Kingdoms of Bulgaria and Wallachia.
Basileus Romanos of the Byzantine Empire: We could not have a list of Christian rulers without the Byzantines, could we? Romanos of the Lekapenos dynasty is the co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire, together with Konstantinos of the Makedon dynasty (he holds Nikomedeia and Herakleia), but he is the elder of the two and functionally the one calling the shots. Though the Byzantine Empire has been through a rough ride lately, they have recently come to a peace agreement with their northern neighbors in Bulgaria, and the muslims are shattering at their southern and eastern fronts. With the rise of the many Shia and Sunni rulers (the Fatimids, the Buyids, the Sallarids, the Jannabids, the Hamdanids, the Ikhshidids, the Al-Thamalis etc) in the vacuum left by the weakened Abbasid Caliphate, the Byzantine Empire are posed to take back some of their ancient lands as their enemies are busy fighting one another.
Hopefully you have found this little look into the some of the different Christian rulers (and of course, there are plenty more for you to find when you get access to The Iron Century yourself). We look forward to see you again tomorrow when we’ll take a look at the Muslim rulers who populate the map in the year 936!
PS, for those who enjoyed the first chapter of Thankmar's Rebellion, here's the second chapter! https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...-iron-century-mini-aar.1179523/#post-25478718
