INTRODUCTION
Hello everybody,
after years of lurking the Paradox forums, I will try and write my first AAR at all.
In the past I played EU2, HOI2 and its developments mostly, but I have been intrigued by EU3 AARs I have red so far...
I will play EU3 recently upgraded with the MEIOU mod. I chose the MEIOU mod because I like the realistic borders in the map and the regional province names.
Please bear in mind:
- English is not my mother tongue, therefore please pardon possible writing mistakes;
- I am a total noob with EU3, so you might see me making non-sense choices out of naiveness...;
- (see before) Any advice about national ideas, national focus, advisors and slider settings is welcome;
- I know it's hard to start with Sardinia, but, hey, I have family ties there.
My Goals:
Survive and Expand. I don't like unrealistic total word domination scenarios. I will try to keep the independence of my kingdom 'til the end of the game and establish my country as a Mediterranean power.
In case I am invaded and defeated, I will offer vassallization (happened to Sardinia in OTL) and try to keep the game alive as long as I can, taking any chance to regain freedom.
Posting pace:
Quite slow, at least at the beginning. I work late and I am moving to a new house. Therefore, my gaming time is limited by now. But I will try to carry this AAR on and update it as often as possible.
Style:
I like history books and ancient Irish annals. I will try to have a chronicle-annalistic style with some possible digressions.
House Rules:
I will avoid to annex not contiguous territories that are not bordered by the sea.
Any not contiguous territory that I will possibly conquer will be created as a vassal state whenever it is possible or it will be traded with a coastal territory during peace agreements.
PRELUDE
Una bhorta b'abhiat unu Re,
Ki mandicabat commente a me.
Mandicabat pane e casu,
Tira-tira a custu nasu!
Once upon a time there was a King,
Who used to eat the same as I.
He ate just bread and cheese,
Pull-pull this nose!
(Sardinian nursery rhyme).
A short History of Sardinia during the middle age up to AD 1356.
At the fall of Roman Empire, 476 AD, Sardinia was already belonging to the domains of the Tunisia-centered Kingdom of the Vandals.
Sardinia within the Kingdom of the Vandals
In reality the Vandals exerted a loose control only on the main coastal cities.
In fact, Sardinian tribes of the interior of the island remained untouched by the Vandal rule. The inaccessible central part of Sardinia, featured by the infamous and inaccessible rugged highlands called "Supramonte" helped the inhabitants to enjoy a high degree of autonomy.
Rugged landscape of the internal highlands of Sardinia
There the tribes of the interior quickly reverted to their well known traditional sheep-farming lifestyle, so archaic that it had made them being dubbeb "Civitates Barbariae" (Barbarians) by the more civilized Romans.
With the Vandalic War of AD 533-534 the Byzantines conquered the Kingdom of the Vandals. Sardinia was now annexed to the East Roman Empire.
Main operations of the Byzantine-Vandal War of AD 533/534
However, the Barbaricini tribes of the interior opposed the Byzantine rule as well. In doing so, they distinguished themselves by remaining stubbornly pagan.
In blue - the area controlled by the stubbornly pagan autonomous tribes of Sardinia vs the areas controlled by the Byzantines
Unable to subdue them militarily, the Byzantines decided to try and assimilate them culturally.
AD 594, they seeked the help of Pope Gregory I the Great in order to persuade Hospito, the leader of the inland tribes, to become christian and to open his country to the religious and cultural influx of Basilian christian monks.
Pope Gregory I the Great
The island was administered during Byzantine times by a civil and military leader, a praeses based in Calaris (Cagliari), which became to be known as Iudex Provinciae Sardiniae (aka Judge).
The Arab invasion of North Africa, marked by the fall of Carthage in AD 698, brought an abrupt change in the relationship between Sardinia and the capital Constantinople.
The sea lanes became suddenly perilous for the Christian and Byzantine maritime traffic and the contacts between Sardinia and the rest of the Empire became scarce.
Moreover, the Arabs started in 705 AD to pillage the coastal cities of Sardinia regularly.
When the Arabs from Tunisia invaded Sicily in AD 827 and successfully subjugated the island in AD 902, Sardinia became one of the westernmost outposts of the Byzantine Empires.
With virtually no possible aid coming from the East, the Iudex Sardiniae was basically left alone to fend off the Arab attacks, while the local economy suffered by the interruption of international trade. Due to the difficult contacts with the Byzantine center, the Iudex stopped being appointed and sent from the capital to Sardinia.
The title became hereditary among the most important magnate families of the island.
To better defend against the invading Muslim raiders, the Judges decided to divide Sardinia into four administrative regions, whose Governor also held the title of Iudex/Judge.
These districts were therefore called Iudicati, namely Cagliari (with capital at Santa Igia in the Cagliari lagoon), Torres (with capital at the ancient port city Turris Libissonis, near Sassari), Gallura (with capital at Civita -former roman/Greek Olbia) and finally Arborea (with capital at the ancient Phoenician city of Tharros).
The four Iudicati became soon de-facto independent, although they still showed allegiance to the East Roman Empire officially.
Each Iudicatus acted as an indipendent kingdom, divided into lesser administrative unites called Curatoriae (which reflected ancient tribal territories), whose governor was a Curator appointed by the Judge.
Towns and villages were administered by Majores de Bhiddas, who were also in charge for command of local levies.
Curatores and Majores together with local bishops formed the Corona de Logu , an institution similar to the Anglo-Saxon Witenagemot, which advised the Judge.
Map of the four Sardinian Kingdoms (Iudicati) with their districts (Curatoriae).
For centuries the Iudicati were subject to Arab raids from North Africa and Spain, but the Arab presence did not last long time.
Eventually, between AD 1005 and 1016, Mujahid al Amiri, the king of the newly created Spanish taifa of the port city of Denia, decided to create a Mediterranean empire.
After conquering the Balearic islands, Mujahid invaded Sardinia repeatedly with the intention to add it to the Muslim world.
The Iudicati succumbed to the invading Moors, but the papal pleas of of Pope John VIII and Pope Benedict VIII (who feared the proximity of a Muslim controlled Sardinia to Rome) convinced the rising maritime powers Pisa and Genoa to unite their forces to succesfully expel the Arabs from Sardinia.
But the Pisani and Genoese didn't come to Sardinia just out of religious zeal .
They immediately started to meddle with the internal facts of the Sardinian kingdoms. In the course of the centuries they were eventually able to conquer the Iudicati of Torres, Gallura and Cagliari either by the use of military force or by a smart usage of diplomatic and dynastic moves.
Also very soon Pisa and Genoa started to fight for the supremacy on the island.
By AD 1250 the only existing independent Iudicatus was Arborea, whose Judges tried to maintain a balance between the quarreling neighboring powers, even by allying themselves with the Popes. Thus, they were slowly able to take advantage of the temporary weaknesses showed either by Pisani or Genoese rulers.
In AD 1087 Arborea had transferred its capital from ancient Tharros, too much exposed to the persisting Arab raids by laying on the Sardinian western coast, to the newly founded walled city of Aristanis, laying some kilometers in the interior of the island.
Under the subsequent Judge dynasties of Lacon-Zori, Lacon-Serra and Bas-Serra, Arborea's economy and population had been steadily growing.
Flag/Coat of Arms of the Regnum Arboreae
On its side, the Papacy did not want neither Pisa nor Genoa to gain the upper hand.
Therefore, claiming a presumptuous suzerainty over the island, Pope Boniface VIII, eventually created the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica in AD 1297 and assigned it to the Aragonese Crown, in exchange for the Aragonese drop of claims on Angevin Sicily.
The Arboreans, who used to be allied with the Papacy, pledged alliance to the Aragonese and even helped them in the wars they waged starting in AD 1323, to establish their control over Sardinia at the expenses of Pisa and Genoa.
However there was a basic misunderstanding in the alliance between Arborea and Aragon: the Arboreans considered themselves at equal level in their alliance with the Aragonese, whereas the Aragonese Kings regarded the indigenous Sardinian Judges as mere vassals.
Eventually, in AD 1347 Mariano IV the Great of Arborea was elected Judge by the Corona the Logu .
He realized that an alliance between Aragon and Arborea could not exist anymore. After breaking the vassallage ties, Mariano initialized a period of tensions and growing warfare against the Aragonese positions centered on the cities of Sassari and Cagliari.
He was ready to start an open war to acquire the control of whole Sardinia, when he suddenly died , one of the first victims of the Black Plague, which had just reached Sardinia.
Mariano IV the Great
Hello everybody,
after years of lurking the Paradox forums, I will try and write my first AAR at all.
In the past I played EU2, HOI2 and its developments mostly, but I have been intrigued by EU3 AARs I have red so far...
I will play EU3 recently upgraded with the MEIOU mod. I chose the MEIOU mod because I like the realistic borders in the map and the regional province names.
Please bear in mind:
- English is not my mother tongue, therefore please pardon possible writing mistakes;
- I am a total noob with EU3, so you might see me making non-sense choices out of naiveness...;
- (see before) Any advice about national ideas, national focus, advisors and slider settings is welcome;
- I know it's hard to start with Sardinia, but, hey, I have family ties there.
My Goals:
Survive and Expand. I don't like unrealistic total word domination scenarios. I will try to keep the independence of my kingdom 'til the end of the game and establish my country as a Mediterranean power.
In case I am invaded and defeated, I will offer vassallization (happened to Sardinia in OTL) and try to keep the game alive as long as I can, taking any chance to regain freedom.
Posting pace:
Quite slow, at least at the beginning. I work late and I am moving to a new house. Therefore, my gaming time is limited by now. But I will try to carry this AAR on and update it as often as possible.
Style:
I like history books and ancient Irish annals. I will try to have a chronicle-annalistic style with some possible digressions.
House Rules:
I will avoid to annex not contiguous territories that are not bordered by the sea.
Any not contiguous territory that I will possibly conquer will be created as a vassal state whenever it is possible or it will be traded with a coastal territory during peace agreements.
PRELUDE
Una bhorta b'abhiat unu Re,
Ki mandicabat commente a me.
Mandicabat pane e casu,
Tira-tira a custu nasu!
Once upon a time there was a King,
Who used to eat the same as I.
He ate just bread and cheese,
Pull-pull this nose!
(Sardinian nursery rhyme).
A short History of Sardinia during the middle age up to AD 1356.
At the fall of Roman Empire, 476 AD, Sardinia was already belonging to the domains of the Tunisia-centered Kingdom of the Vandals.
Sardinia within the Kingdom of the Vandals
In reality the Vandals exerted a loose control only on the main coastal cities.
In fact, Sardinian tribes of the interior of the island remained untouched by the Vandal rule. The inaccessible central part of Sardinia, featured by the infamous and inaccessible rugged highlands called "Supramonte" helped the inhabitants to enjoy a high degree of autonomy.
Rugged landscape of the internal highlands of Sardinia
There the tribes of the interior quickly reverted to their well known traditional sheep-farming lifestyle, so archaic that it had made them being dubbeb "Civitates Barbariae" (Barbarians) by the more civilized Romans.
With the Vandalic War of AD 533-534 the Byzantines conquered the Kingdom of the Vandals. Sardinia was now annexed to the East Roman Empire.
Main operations of the Byzantine-Vandal War of AD 533/534
However, the Barbaricini tribes of the interior opposed the Byzantine rule as well. In doing so, they distinguished themselves by remaining stubbornly pagan.
In blue - the area controlled by the stubbornly pagan autonomous tribes of Sardinia vs the areas controlled by the Byzantines
Unable to subdue them militarily, the Byzantines decided to try and assimilate them culturally.
AD 594, they seeked the help of Pope Gregory I the Great in order to persuade Hospito, the leader of the inland tribes, to become christian and to open his country to the religious and cultural influx of Basilian christian monks.
Pope Gregory I the Great
The island was administered during Byzantine times by a civil and military leader, a praeses based in Calaris (Cagliari), which became to be known as Iudex Provinciae Sardiniae (aka Judge).
The Arab invasion of North Africa, marked by the fall of Carthage in AD 698, brought an abrupt change in the relationship between Sardinia and the capital Constantinople.
The sea lanes became suddenly perilous for the Christian and Byzantine maritime traffic and the contacts between Sardinia and the rest of the Empire became scarce.
Moreover, the Arabs started in 705 AD to pillage the coastal cities of Sardinia regularly.
When the Arabs from Tunisia invaded Sicily in AD 827 and successfully subjugated the island in AD 902, Sardinia became one of the westernmost outposts of the Byzantine Empires.
With virtually no possible aid coming from the East, the Iudex Sardiniae was basically left alone to fend off the Arab attacks, while the local economy suffered by the interruption of international trade. Due to the difficult contacts with the Byzantine center, the Iudex stopped being appointed and sent from the capital to Sardinia.
The title became hereditary among the most important magnate families of the island.
To better defend against the invading Muslim raiders, the Judges decided to divide Sardinia into four administrative regions, whose Governor also held the title of Iudex/Judge.
These districts were therefore called Iudicati, namely Cagliari (with capital at Santa Igia in the Cagliari lagoon), Torres (with capital at the ancient port city Turris Libissonis, near Sassari), Gallura (with capital at Civita -former roman/Greek Olbia) and finally Arborea (with capital at the ancient Phoenician city of Tharros).
The four Iudicati became soon de-facto independent, although they still showed allegiance to the East Roman Empire officially.
Each Iudicatus acted as an indipendent kingdom, divided into lesser administrative unites called Curatoriae (which reflected ancient tribal territories), whose governor was a Curator appointed by the Judge.
Towns and villages were administered by Majores de Bhiddas, who were also in charge for command of local levies.
Curatores and Majores together with local bishops formed the Corona de Logu , an institution similar to the Anglo-Saxon Witenagemot, which advised the Judge.
Map of the four Sardinian Kingdoms (Iudicati) with their districts (Curatoriae).
For centuries the Iudicati were subject to Arab raids from North Africa and Spain, but the Arab presence did not last long time.
Eventually, between AD 1005 and 1016, Mujahid al Amiri, the king of the newly created Spanish taifa of the port city of Denia, decided to create a Mediterranean empire.
After conquering the Balearic islands, Mujahid invaded Sardinia repeatedly with the intention to add it to the Muslim world.
The Iudicati succumbed to the invading Moors, but the papal pleas of of Pope John VIII and Pope Benedict VIII (who feared the proximity of a Muslim controlled Sardinia to Rome) convinced the rising maritime powers Pisa and Genoa to unite their forces to succesfully expel the Arabs from Sardinia.
But the Pisani and Genoese didn't come to Sardinia just out of religious zeal .
They immediately started to meddle with the internal facts of the Sardinian kingdoms. In the course of the centuries they were eventually able to conquer the Iudicati of Torres, Gallura and Cagliari either by the use of military force or by a smart usage of diplomatic and dynastic moves.
Also very soon Pisa and Genoa started to fight for the supremacy on the island.
By AD 1250 the only existing independent Iudicatus was Arborea, whose Judges tried to maintain a balance between the quarreling neighboring powers, even by allying themselves with the Popes. Thus, they were slowly able to take advantage of the temporary weaknesses showed either by Pisani or Genoese rulers.
In AD 1087 Arborea had transferred its capital from ancient Tharros, too much exposed to the persisting Arab raids by laying on the Sardinian western coast, to the newly founded walled city of Aristanis, laying some kilometers in the interior of the island.
Under the subsequent Judge dynasties of Lacon-Zori, Lacon-Serra and Bas-Serra, Arborea's economy and population had been steadily growing.
Flag/Coat of Arms of the Regnum Arboreae
On its side, the Papacy did not want neither Pisa nor Genoa to gain the upper hand.
Therefore, claiming a presumptuous suzerainty over the island, Pope Boniface VIII, eventually created the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica in AD 1297 and assigned it to the Aragonese Crown, in exchange for the Aragonese drop of claims on Angevin Sicily.
The Arboreans, who used to be allied with the Papacy, pledged alliance to the Aragonese and even helped them in the wars they waged starting in AD 1323, to establish their control over Sardinia at the expenses of Pisa and Genoa.
However there was a basic misunderstanding in the alliance between Arborea and Aragon: the Arboreans considered themselves at equal level in their alliance with the Aragonese, whereas the Aragonese Kings regarded the indigenous Sardinian Judges as mere vassals.
Eventually, in AD 1347 Mariano IV the Great of Arborea was elected Judge by the Corona the Logu .
He realized that an alliance between Aragon and Arborea could not exist anymore. After breaking the vassallage ties, Mariano initialized a period of tensions and growing warfare against the Aragonese positions centered on the cities of Sassari and Cagliari.
He was ready to start an open war to acquire the control of whole Sardinia, when he suddenly died , one of the first victims of the Black Plague, which had just reached Sardinia.
Mariano IV the Great
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