Hello everyone! Just wanted to share what is probably a playthrough I am most proud of (and it isn't even near some other playthroughs in terms of acomplishment). Ever since I started playing CK I dreamed of doing this but never had a real chance or a way to do it. And now I did it!
I am talking of course about restoration of Karling dynasty. You may ask yourselves ''What is this guy talking about? Karling restoration is not that hard! It's been done a hundreds upon hundreds of times!''
But here ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Norman Carolingian and also Messalian Empire of Jerusalem!
But let's start from the beginning. Basically, I started with Count of Vermandois but our story begins with Count Herbert of Messina, son to Eudes of Vermandois. He was a lad who was born in the court of his mother, a Norman countess and was also her heir, not to mention heir to his father's lands in France. His mother died quickly after his birth, and thus Herbert became lord of Messina not being even one summer old. Not too long after the death of his mother, his father Eudes died as well. Growing up as a Norman, Herbert was taught the ways of war since his early days. After all, he was a descendant of the Duke Robert of Appulia and a Carolingian!
By the time his regency has ended sometimes around 1102, a Holy War for Jerusalem has began and zealous Catholics all over the world sailed to the Holy Land to fight for it. Although young, Herbert possessed exceptional martial ability and joined the Crusade with his small army barely consisting two thousand. He was 14 years old at the time.
War in the Holy Land raged for five years and Crusaders were losing slightly. Year after year in the war, Herbert slowly proved himself and earned the respect of the Crusaders, but the Muslim armies were too powerful. Tide of war changed when Herbert led his army, strenghtened by mercenaries he hired, through the gates of Jerusalem, using the ongoing battles between Crusaders and Muslims as a distraction to surprise Jerusalem's garrison.
Not long after that, heathens were defeated and Herbert was crowned a king of Jerusalem, earning a name The Sword of God.
His reign was known through world as one of expansion, where Kingdom of Jerusalem was stable and powerful, resisting two Jihads at the same time. Herbet's reign was long and although most of it was shrouded in wars, there were those precious moments of peace. He was a just ruler everyone loved and respected. And his descendants were rewarded for it. Just as it was a great honor to be called a descendant of Karl the Hammer, kings of Jerusalem traced their ancestry to the Blessed Blood of king Herbert!
Some half of century later, we have Martin the Great, Herbert's grandson, a first Emperor of Jerusalem and a Messalian ruler who has forsaken the ways of Catholic faith. He is the one who brought great reforms in Jerusalemite army and laws and cemented its position as a powerhouse in the east.
And then at last there is Carloman the Chaste, known as well as the Scourge of Turks, who annihilated Seljuk Sultanute in one war, expanding the Empire to Persia to the east, Arabia to the south, and Georgia to the north, as well as completing the conquest of Egypt. He followed in his father's footsteps concerning his Messalian beliefs and is believed to be the savior of the world.
So here is it guys, my Karling Jerusalem empire! I hope you like it, as I sure do. I am very proud of it and I must say that I roleplayed it quite much, even the Messalian conversion, but I won't bug you with any more information. So yeah, my own Carolingian restoration, in a bit of different fashion.
I am talking of course about restoration of Karling dynasty. You may ask yourselves ''What is this guy talking about? Karling restoration is not that hard! It's been done a hundreds upon hundreds of times!''
But here ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Norman Carolingian and also Messalian Empire of Jerusalem!

But let's start from the beginning. Basically, I started with Count of Vermandois but our story begins with Count Herbert of Messina, son to Eudes of Vermandois. He was a lad who was born in the court of his mother, a Norman countess and was also her heir, not to mention heir to his father's lands in France. His mother died quickly after his birth, and thus Herbert became lord of Messina not being even one summer old. Not too long after the death of his mother, his father Eudes died as well. Growing up as a Norman, Herbert was taught the ways of war since his early days. After all, he was a descendant of the Duke Robert of Appulia and a Carolingian!

By the time his regency has ended sometimes around 1102, a Holy War for Jerusalem has began and zealous Catholics all over the world sailed to the Holy Land to fight for it. Although young, Herbert possessed exceptional martial ability and joined the Crusade with his small army barely consisting two thousand. He was 14 years old at the time.
War in the Holy Land raged for five years and Crusaders were losing slightly. Year after year in the war, Herbert slowly proved himself and earned the respect of the Crusaders, but the Muslim armies were too powerful. Tide of war changed when Herbert led his army, strenghtened by mercenaries he hired, through the gates of Jerusalem, using the ongoing battles between Crusaders and Muslims as a distraction to surprise Jerusalem's garrison.
Not long after that, heathens were defeated and Herbert was crowned a king of Jerusalem, earning a name The Sword of God.

His reign was known through world as one of expansion, where Kingdom of Jerusalem was stable and powerful, resisting two Jihads at the same time. Herbet's reign was long and although most of it was shrouded in wars, there were those precious moments of peace. He was a just ruler everyone loved and respected. And his descendants were rewarded for it. Just as it was a great honor to be called a descendant of Karl the Hammer, kings of Jerusalem traced their ancestry to the Blessed Blood of king Herbert!

Some half of century later, we have Martin the Great, Herbert's grandson, a first Emperor of Jerusalem and a Messalian ruler who has forsaken the ways of Catholic faith. He is the one who brought great reforms in Jerusalemite army and laws and cemented its position as a powerhouse in the east.

And then at last there is Carloman the Chaste, known as well as the Scourge of Turks, who annihilated Seljuk Sultanute in one war, expanding the Empire to Persia to the east, Arabia to the south, and Georgia to the north, as well as completing the conquest of Egypt. He followed in his father's footsteps concerning his Messalian beliefs and is believed to be the savior of the world.

So here is it guys, my Karling Jerusalem empire! I hope you like it, as I sure do. I am very proud of it and I must say that I roleplayed it quite much, even the Messalian conversion, but I won't bug you with any more information. So yeah, my own Carolingian restoration, in a bit of different fashion.