The Socialist World Republic | A Megacampaign AAR | Part One-Crusader Kings III

[Bfc kfc]

Ah, so Portugal became a Waldensian kingdom with a holy order. That's interesting and new.

Valencia being a crusader kingdom twice over amused me. Maybe there should be mechanics against crusader kingdoms converting, though?

Yes, but as you'll see in today's post, only the holy order is permanent. Xelmirio is a coward and thus has no chance at succeeding against Lourenco, who literally has the support of most of the nobles who didn't really buy into the "equality stuff", and a Duchess of Galicia, with her realm's economy being taller than the Mount Everest.

It was certainly interesting roleplay-wise. They didn't simply convert though. I suppose what happened mechanically is that the Valencian King faced a stack of angry Andalusian Muwalladi peasants, and adopted their traditions, an option which is rarely chosen both by AI and player due to the insane penalties it gives.

 

[Bfc kfc]

Due to issues with the save file, I may have to replay 30 years of gameplay already written here. It may be painful to change the narrative, but if I can't bring back the overwritten savefile with any data restorer then I will rewrite the story from the point where Lourenco was a baby

 

[Bfc kfc]

You all will get a new post this week!

 

[Bfc kfc]

Chapter II, Part III
The Portuguese Civil War

​

King Andrés was a good king, one who cared for his people, a high standard to set for later rulers. The third brother, Xelmirio, had inherited the throne, and Lourenco and the Duchess of Galicia had jumped on the opportunity to claim the throne for the arrogant fool. Meanwhile some vassals also rallied against Xelmirio, hoping to gain a lot more authority over him and then drive out Lourenco.

The Duchess struck from the north, swiftly invading Porto and preparing to move further south. The rebellious vassals by no means had the power to defeat Xelmirio, and with Porto, one of the rebel strongholds occupied by Lourenco, the future looked grim for them. By this time, Lourenco gained combat experience, as the Duchess had appointed him as the leader of the forces of the County of Tui. The Duchess hired mercenaries, and even the Teutonic Order, who were spellbound on clearing Portugal of "heresy".

Outside the wall of Lisbon, the forces of Xelmirio and his German allies gathered to stike the besieging Duchess and Lourenco. However they weren't prepared to fight such professionalism that the new mercenary army of the Duchess contained, so they were crushed swiftly.

Thus Xelmirio and his remaining loyal followers were forced into exile, as the epitome of upper class devilishness became the King of Portugal.

Throughout the years he lead the kingdom as arrogantly as possible, meanwhile ordering strikes against the Waldensian remnants, and restoring the Catholic clergy to it's former place in the feudal hierarchy.

Something though which had changed his position was that the aging Duchess, his benefactor in the Portuguese civil war, and by many accounts, his lover, had couped León, while the legitimate Jimenas fled to the lands newly conquered from the Muslims. When Queen Delyth had called upon Lourenco's aid to reunify León, he came to her aid hastily.

It was a conflict doomed to be long from the start, but the Queen didn't even see it through, only her grandson (a Jimena) managed to reunite the realm of León.

One thing which Lourenco did was that he severely modernized the army of Portugal, now capable to stand face to face with León. And he would use it.

Feeling the need to establish a strict primogeniture in Portugal so that the kingdom doesn't get split at his death, he conquered the area where was Carthage supposed to be, fighting Sardegna e Corsica and various Arabic local strongmen to recreate the fallen old empire in a Christian way, the Catholics praised him for his achievements.

Meanwhile, as the Ilkhanate collapsed, there were many who yearned for the return of a greater strong Armenia, like before the Mongols came. A Greek peasant called Zenon was able to gather the support of both the Armenians yearning for the rebirth of their nation, and the Greeks yearning for stability, the higher nobility had to accept Zenon as the Emperor of Greater Armenia and was coronated by the Armenian Catholicos before a cheering crowd ready to fight for him till they die.

After the Catholics had won a crusade announced by the Pope against the heathens in Egypt, Lourenco's fame was so widespread that Egypt was granted to his nephew, now King Bermudo, who, despite coming from the line of Xelmirio, didn't approve of Waldensianism and followed Catholic dogma.

It is said that Lourenco became such a warmonger in his later years that he wanted to become more knowledgeable about war. However, when in Santiago, he suffered a heart attack which had put out the ambitions of a man who lusted for war.

 

[HistoryDude]

The death of the more equal Portuguese realm is a shame. Why did the new Portugal decide to conquer Carthage? A random whim? Or something more substantial?

 

[Nikolai]

This is highly entertaining! Subbed

 

[NarcomancerPL]

Wow Carthage! That was unecpected
One thing I struggle to belief in (unless it's the result of oral tradition and later propaganda) is the fact that "Palailogos Komnenos" is a peasant, when these dynasties were one of the most powerful medieval roman dynasties.

P.S.: This Castillian dynasty sound really exotic can you trace their origins and tell me when they came from?

 

[Bfc kfc]

Chapter II, Part IV
Andrés "the Conquistador"

Andrés II was a strange man. A human of high intellect, Lourenco wrote about him as his great descendant, "who will oversee the Vimaranes conquering the world", only when he was 8 years old. He received special treatment, and thus as a grown man, he made the impression of a divine being on his admirers. Pope Lucius the II famously said in an open letter to the Tögskhöl Khan: "He has the wits and courage of Saint Peter, and the strength of Michael. I hope he keeps his fidelity to God in high regard otherwise Lucifer gained an insanely powerful ally."

He didn't care much about the clergy and his fidelity, but he used them as a powerful tool to control his populace; he cared only about three definitions: power, war and in him, almost instinctive reproductory senses. Through his mother he held claim to León; a once mighty realm that sought to unite Iberia fallen behind due to infighting. He now sought to rule all of Iberia and banish the Muslims once and for all...

The two kingdom's armies met near Viseu and the superiority of both Andrés and his troops had decimated the Leónese, capturing King Manrique and thus winning the war.

The Vimaranes-Valencia of the Kingdom of Valencia came next...

While they've put up a bigger fight, as always Andrés II was victorious, and the kingdom seized. But now the Portuguese sovereign had put his sights on Al-Andalus, the last remnant of the fading Muslim empires who once dominated Iberia.

With the crushing defeat of Al-Andalus at the battle of Alhambra Fortress, Iberia was unified thanks to a man driven by selfishness; this is why the socialist heroes of the past had hard work to do: selfish instincts can catalize a man beyond imagination.

He declared the Empire of Lusitania, and as Pope Lucius II had placed the crown on the man's head, he himself felt that he gave power to one who embodies all that is evil in society. Italian folktales tell about how he prayed for forgiveness from the Lord for empowering such abomination of a man for days after he arrived back to Rome from Lisboa.

And he was right, since the man soon began his rampage across Europe. One of his vassals was from the royal family of Aquitaine, which gave him a good enough excuse to invade the kingdom.

While invading France, Pope Lucius decided it was enough and officially excommunicated Andrés from the Catholic faith. This was a significant setback for him, since while he wasn't zealous, he controlled the populace through faith. So he set his brain on inventing a better religion to control the masses with.

And then it was that he created a cult around him, which worshiped him as the true form of the biblical God born on this earth. He promoted his beliefs which were mostly contrary to Catholic beliefs, like earthly lustfulness and a never ending thirst for power, his followers did not care. There was only one rule; don't try to challenge him. This was the time when Catholic scribes began to call him Conquestus Filius, latin for "Son of Conquest". Taking a liking to the name, he adopted it as his own.

After conquering what was one known as the Roman province of Britannia, and invading Lotharingia, many thought that he is the Anti-Christ and that the end of the world as we know it will soon come. His last great conquest would be conquering the Lowlands and Westphalia from the Holy Roman Empire, after that, things started to go downhill for him.

He won easily there, and to commemorate his humiliating victory over the Germans, he erected a Grand Temple in Paderborn, where the armies of the HRE were decisively defeated in this struggle.

However, the man who was thought by many to be an unkillable god died in his sleep. His son Munio inherited technically, but he was no Conquestus Filius, so the Empire that his father built collapsed around him.

In England and Frisia, the peasants have united under a single leader and had completely ousted any Lusitanian control, meanwhile peasants began to rise up all across the Empire, soon starting the event later known as the Popular Crusade.

And with a French revolt against Munio succeeding, the Empire of Lusitania ceased to exist. The Kingdom of Leó was also created after the Pope joined up with the rebellious peasants and occupied it's core territory.

But then the dream of Conquestus Filius finally shattered when Lourenco, former Duke of Tunis had returned to Portugal to claim it from the evil. The soldiers of Munio had chaged sides quickly, and Lourenco was soon crowned as Lourenco II of Portugal, as an era had come to an end.

León had gained control of the Andalusian lands, but Valencia went to a local low noble who was popular among the peasants, and Aragón went to the son of the King of León, as ordered by Papal decree. The popularity of Lourenco increased as he did not depose the peasant crusader Rodrigo Pereira, but rather granted Coimbra to him to serve as his vassal.

Lourenco II had resumed the positive treatment of his subjects proponent in the Waldensian Era, but at the same time he heavily persecuted both the cultists of Conquestus and the Waldensians. For the rest of his reign the kingdom had turned inside, and did not bother with the politics of Europe at all. In Carthage, a new culture emerged, constituting both Portuguese and local customs, marking the rebirth of the Carthaginian culture in a strange manner.

And while following along with Portugal may be interesting, but alas, anoter portion of the world was making great changes to it's society by then, and it is crucial that you understand it in order to continue further on. Alas, now you shall go my son and have a great night!

End of Chapter II​

 

[Bfc kfc]

The death of the more equal Portuguese realm is a shame. Why did the new Portugal decide to conquer Carthage? A random whim? Or something more substantial?

Lourenco wanted to do something grand to increase his standing amongst the Catholic rulers, so as he loved war, he decided it's time to restore Carthage.

 

[Bfc kfc]

Wow Carthage! That was unecpected
One thing I struggle to belief in (unless it's the result of oral tradition and later propaganda) is the fact that "Palailogos Komnenos" is a peasant, when these dynasties were one of the most powerful medieval roman dynasties.

P.S.: This Castillian dynasty sound really exotic can you trace their origins and tell me when they came from?

Lore-wise I'll go with that oral tradition believes that he has forgotten blood connections to both dynasties, since both of the dynasties were Byzantine emperors in this timelime, which I'm surprised to see since, in my runs the lands of the Palailogos usually get revoked very early most of the time.

The dynastic heritage of the Duchess is an interesting story. Apparently the mom of the Duchess (Queen when died) had married a Welshman patrilineally. Delyth was also originally Welsh, but got educated by her mom to be Castilian. She herself also married patrilineally to one of the Jimenas, so her line was a Jimena one and her unique dynasty died out.

 

[Bfc kfc]

This is highly entertaining! Subbed

Welcome aboard!

 

[Nikolai]

So high the rise - so deep the fall. A story for the ages!

 

[HistoryDude]

That was a massive empire. I'm not surprised that it collapsed. At least the commoners are being treated better in Portugal now (As long as they aren't Waldensian or cultist...)

Speaking of which, I'm amused that he founded his own religion. Did that stick anywhere? Do any remnants of that cult survive?

What happened to the Empire of Lusitania title in game? Was it destroyed?

 

[Bfc kfc]

So high the rise - so deep the fall. A story for the ages!

Indeed, and the border conflicts due to it will haunt the world for ages to come.

That was a massive empire. I'm not surprised that it collapsed. At least the commoners are being treated better in Portugal now (As long as they aren't Waldensian or cultist...)

Speaking of which, I'm amused that he founded his own religion. Did that stick anywhere? Do any remnants of that cult survive?

What happened to the Empire of Lusitania title in game? Was it destroyed?

The problem of this empire was that it heavily relied on one person, and just like the Ottomans in OTL, relied insanely on conquests. If Conquestus Filius died later, maybe they could have captured the entire HRE, but the Christians would unite sooner or later, and it would be the end for them. The better treatment of commoners afterwards happens due to Lourenco's insane reliance on commoners for legitimacy. They are the ones that did push for his rule after all. He doesn't need the higher nobility to rule, they have weakened so much under Conquestus Filius that their titles are only a formality for now.

They pretty much did stick together, adopting a stance that Conquestus will return to them in another flesh. They have their own paramilitary organization, the Guardians of the Heavens, originally created to be the bodyguards of Conquestus Filius. They have huge swathes of followers all across the Empire and it will take a while to root them out fully, if that is even possible, considering their presence in society.

It was destroyed, and the only ruler which died holding it was Conquestus Filius.

 

[Bfc kfc]

Chapter III: House Somavamsi

Some stories of greatness begin with a tragedy. While Lourenco II continues to restore Catholicism in Portugal, in Southern India a queen looks at the dead corpse of his son, and an especially insulting message beside him, stating that "I will also come for you, my sweetheart, but I will use you to my enjoyment before brutally stabbing you and then gloriously returning to Tanjavur!" The Maharaja had took the life of the son of a queen who now barely sees good in life and drinks more wine than water. By all means, through her drunkenness, she is controllable, but only by those who know how to. Her husband tried to force his will on her, but she lost her mind and murdered him. Meanwhile the same Maharaja had claimed her land through inheritance and reigning in the local nobles, and our bitter and lunatic protagonist only exerted control over Udayagiri, and it's immediate vicinity.

Through her daughters though, she had secured the grace of the Paramaras and thus the entirety of Rajastan was her ally. Reckless as he is, in a fit of anger, she mobilised her troops and declared war on the killer of her son.

But before help from Rajastan would arrive, the castle was occupied and the war was over, signing a truce which made her a tributary of the Tamil Maharaja.

However, the corrupt man's luck had turned and he himself got assasinated, so Challeva had a chance to try again against the infant son of the Maharaja.

But due to the fact that the Paramaras had to quell a rebellion, a white peace was made, and what this Maharani was transformed into, was not a human anymore. She though had seemed to retain some minimal logical thinking, since she had decided to attack Tamilakam when they were under attack by Sinhalese rebels and the Somavamsi of Oriya.

This time the Paramara allies came, and the mad Maharani soon entered Tanjavur, deposing the former rulers entirely. She moved her capital to Tanjavur in order to commemorate the event. By that time, many belive that she had been acting independently. This though couldn't have been further from the truth.

Kuladevi Somavamsi was the most powerful human on the Indian subcontinent at the time, since she controlled the larger part of the Paramara diarchy from the bedsheets, while she controlled her mother, directing her fits of rage. Her descendants would be of the Somavamsi line, in exchange the other half of the Paramaras will annex Malwa upon the death of Yograj, her husband. To help her administer her domain, Kuladevi wedded her with Jetsan, a well-known administrator and a famous centenarian. While he died months after, he is important because he travelled the world in his 100 years, documenting important empires like Lusitania.

The mad woman soon followed after him... so Kuladevi inherited.

Ascending to the throne, she had immediately seen an opportunity: aside her, the mainland Deccan was ruled by two branches of the Kalyani Chalukya dynasty: the main branch and the Yashwantrao branch. The latter declared war between them, and while Kuladevi did pledge her support to the main branch, she did nothing against the invading Yashwantraos. This gave her the opportunity to later unify the Deccan in one war.

And after crushing a revolt and expanding the army massively, Kuladevi felt that it was time to subjugate the Yashwantraos.

With war won with the help of the Paramaras and this new professional army, Kuladevi declared herself the sovereign of the Deccan.

But in order to crown herself Samrajni, she had decided to embrace the Lingayat movement, lifting them from just another sect of Shaivite Hinduism to be a significant denomination on their own. Present in South India from 1260 AD, they are radically egalitarian and reject the Vedas, stating that the caste system must be abolished and that all humans are equal. They also place Shiva way over the other Hindu deities, making the denomination pseudo-monotheistic.

From this point on she often argued with her family in Orissa over who is the head of the dynasty. But, as fate would have it, the Somavamsis of Orissa were deposed and subjugated, giving her a perfect claim to the land and it's subjects.

After fighting them many times and occupying most of Orissa, Kuladevi could conquer the country, legitimising her as the head of the Somavamsi.

But her achievements were not only on the battlefield; she ushered in a reinassance for Deccan culture, merging all the subcultures into one big, and the two most frequently used languages of this culture became the Kannada and the Telugu language. She sponsored scientists, musicians and artists, and legends say that a commoner under her rule was as rich as a Ksathriya noble in North India, and that her treasury was so big that it constituted a grander and much bigger building than her palace itself. This cultural reainassance also had an impact on Indo-Aryan cultures living under her rule, often deccanizing them, like in the case of the Oriyas and the former homeland of the Bengali conquerors of Orissa Kuladevi took the land from.

But alas she had met her unglorious end, while traveling across her empire to visit her vassals, a wave had hit their ship so hard that they turned over and everyone, including Kuladevi, drowned.

Will Manamatra, someone who was raised in Ujjayini, be able to rule over this empire justly?

 

[HistoryDude]

That is an unlikely trajectory for a dynasty. Congrats on forming Deccan!

If it lasts, the abolition of the caste system will make shockwaves throughout the Indian subcontinent. Will it be the cause of war?

 

[Bfc kfc]

That is an unlikely trajectory for a dynasty. Congrats on forming Deccan!

If it lasts, the abolition of the caste system will make shockwaves throughout the Indian subcontinent. Will it be the cause of war?

The Buddhist rulers will demolish the caste system in their areas entirely, while the Hindus will be replaced by a dangerous new empire...

 

[Bfc kfc]

Chapter III Part II

The Paramaras thought nothing could topple them. And jet, when nomads came for them from the north by the time Manamatra took the reigns in the Deccan. They were the famed Turkic Auxiliaries of Transoxiana, under the leadership of Captain Siamu. While they have already ruled all of Turan, Siamu dreamt of becoming the Padishah of Rajastan. In Punjab, the organized nomads had vanquished the professional Paramara army, due to their superior tactics and discipline, something which most nomads lacked after the collapse of the Mongol Empire. It was clear that he won't stop until he can be the ruler of Rajastan.

Meanwhile Manamatra got accustomed to his new court, and with surprisingly no uprisings against his rule, he could tend to his business right away. He invited Buddhist scholars from Lanka and the Paramaras, adding more culture to the Deccan Empire. He also decided to subjugate Lanka once and for all.

And in this endeavour he was successful, bringing the island under Deccan control. There, a new Buddhist denomination emerged, supported by Manamatra, called Deccanite Buddhism. It is heavily influenced by the Lingayats and thus rejects the caste system, but the most influence on it was Theravada, followed by Mahayana. Theologically it created a bizarre mix of the two, citing that while you need to find your path to enlightenment based on your experiences, if a leader of a community had done that, he/she has a chance at granting this salvation to the community he/she governs through proper education and shaping the people in that community to a personality which will have the same experiences as his/her, granting buddhahood to all within the community.

Meanwhile the entirety of the Paramaras fell to Siamu, thus he crowned himself as Padishah of Rajastan and abandoned his territories outside India; and to this the mercenaries objected for only a few remained with Siamu in India, while Most backed a man named Ismail, ruler of Ghur to take the territories Siamu left behind.

However with this, the culture of the auxiliaries disappeared, but they had left a serious mark both on India and on Turan and Eran. The turkics under Ismail had mixed with the locals of Turan and Afghanistan, creating the Bactroturkic culture, while in India, the Hindustani culture formed, a new culture in which Kannauji elements were somewhat impacted by the turkics of Siamu, mostly with the religion of Islam and with the introduction of the extensive usage of nomadic tactics.

The Vermid Paramaras of Burma always had conflicts with the Somavamsi, under the rule of Manamatra due to Bengali border friction. Manamatra intended to solve this by conquering Bengal from the Vermids. After the war, the Vermids collapsed, and in Burma, a renewed Islamic movement started to thrive: the Muhakkima. After Islam lost to the Armenian Empire countless times, and not to count the Catholic crusaders, this movement with it's various branches started to emerge, criticising the Sunni establishment. Thus most Sunni rulers have exiled their leaders to India, where they started to preach their doctrine. However, in Burma, the ruler of the Mon people, Duke Waru, had personally adopted Azariqa Islam, marking the greatest success of the Muhakkima Ulema. After the Vermids gave place to various local rulers fighting each other, Waru grasped the opportunity, and conquered all of Burma, crowning himself as it's Sultan. While technically a monarchy, it became a semi-theocratic state, as the Ulema gained insane power. The Somavamsi of Orissa had took power from Waru for a time, but the local populace under the leadership of Ahmad had rebelled and gained the entire area, and his descendants would rule after that.

For a lot of time, the Cedi were considered the closest ally of the Somavamsi, but when their kingdom grew big enough, Manamatra commanded his Orissan relative to subjugate them.

Many historians state that Manamatra became a lecher in his later life, something which his heir Yachamanedu inherited, but at least they expanded the realm and kept the living standards of the common people. As the caste system started to fully disappear, the Deccan looks into a new era. Yachamanedu's rule was quite uneventful, though he did spend a significant amount of money on improving infrastructure. His son Bhuvikrama though... he was exactly between mediocre and bad considering his qualities as a ruler. He did recognize the importance of gold and money in this new era, so he conquered Socotra and created a client kingdom in Ajuraan, nearly controlling the entirety of the Horn of Africa trade. He also sponsored the foundation of a new Islamic denomination heavily biased towards the Lingayats.

But disaster soon struck; the new Padishah of the Baghaturans, Parsa wanted all of India under his rule so he invaded the region of Gondwana. While defeating them near Chauragarh was able to sign a white peace with them, the battle signalled the start of a temporary Somavamsi dark age. The authority of the Samrat collapsed, and the vassals in the Bengal region, while de jure vassals, now acted de facto independent.

Bhuvikrama didn't even try to reassert his authority in the Bengal; instead, he rather started the construction of the Wall of Dravidia, a long wall aimed at keeping the Deccan safe.

To replenish his lost income, Bhuvikrama wanted to make Yemen his client kingdom, so he attacked the locals. And he won, capturing the important coffee trade, which the Somavamsi now had a monopoly on.

And with great courage, he gained control of all of Adal, thus gaining a hegemony on all of the Horn trade. He also created a trade company, the Deccan Company of Adal, which was the first of it's kind, existing solely to extract resources and serve imperialist goals.

But meanwhile the Baghaturans had made short work of the vassals.

And in 1445, disaster came. They attacked. But the walls stood their ground, and the Baghaturans were ultimately repulsed from the Deccan... for now. But before we leave them to reconstruct in a new era, let's take a look at important events around the world.

In Persia, after the local Seljuk remnants couldn't protect the populace from Armenian incursions, Zoroastrianism became widely popular, though, as inflenced by Islam, the Behefaridi branch was adopted by many. The locals then rose up against the Seljuks and the Armenians, conquering all of Persia, and valiantly resisting Armenian incursions. However their dynasty would change several times, as they were not afraid to coup a ruler they didn't like. Thus the Mandate of Persia was created, which states that whoever provides for the well-being and freedom of the Persians shall be their ruler. The current Shah is Shapur, who is insanely popular as a capable military commander, and he captured Mesopotamia from the Armenians.

During the time the Baghaturans were simply mercenary leaders, there was a man among their ranks named Timur, who was a famed auxiliary, and he himself had his own mercenary band, serving various rulers during his lifetime, and influencing the area around Samarkand the most. Now his grandson, Tughril, after the Ismailids collapsed, has conquered much of Transoxiana from Samarkand and hopes to create an empire Timur would be proud of.

While Armenia gained control of Anatolia, the Greek remnants were united under Thessalonika, and their monarchs had decided to embrace Iconoclasm, kicking out the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople through force, and establishing an Iconoclast Patriarchate. Due to this, the Orthodox in Russia are now isolated on the world stage.

In the Baltics, through cooperation, mutual understanding of different cultures had lead to the Baltic cultures under the Palemonaitis dynasty of Lithuania. All the cultures have merged into a single Baltic one, and Lithuania was replaced with Livonia, as the Baltic looks forward to unity.

In a new era, will the Russians, the Portuguese, or the Indians falter? That is a tale for another time, my son!

 

[NarcomancerPL]

Not looking at Scandinavia or "Russian Steppe" this world is surprisingly organised. Really beautiful <3

 

[Bfc kfc]

Not looking at Scandinavia or "Russian Steppe" this world is surprisingly organised. Really beautiful <3

I would later not look at Scandinavia; the only true Nordic kingdom is Denmark, for Swedish culture had Samicised and Norway is the domain of Alba for a long time now.