Arabian nights, a Teutonic migratory succession campaign.

[Jiben]

To start with, this is the first session in an i:r succession campaign we had a vote about in which region we should play in and Scandinavia and Arabia got tied first place so we decided to instead migrate a Scandinavian tribe into Arabia.

We use all dlc and the Invictus + Timeline Extender mods.

Session one, the great migration.​

The Teutons of the Jutland peninsula were a suspicious people.

When the leader of the tribe several nights in a row had prophetic visions of the demise of his tribe, he despaired until the gods sent him another vision on how to save his tribe.

It was near madness, but he had to bring his people south, and not just south to Germania or Gaul, but he had to bring his people to a land of endless desert from which his people would thrive.

It took some convincing, but eventually boats were built to house thousands of his people that would in near time set sail to leave their ancestral lands behind them and roll the dice about their new destiny in faraway shores.

The preparations for the journey took almost four years until his people finally could leave the cold, harsh north behind.

While they left as refugees, they would arrive in their new lands as conquerors.

The Teutonic migration eventually came to Egypt, and the Teutonic people were awed at the grand civilization that they found. Egypt were unfortunately a too strong to have as a foe though, and they instead looked even further East to the lands of Arabia

After arriving in Arabia, the Teutons were driven inland, to secure a place for themselves in the region they expanded quite aggressively.

Invading Jubbah and Qedar to secure dominion of a small area for themselves.

After three years of fighting, the victorious Teutons eventually subjugated Jubbah and Qedar to form a small domain of their own.

Realizing that a small Teuton minority would have great issues with permanently subjugating an Arab majority, the Teutons instead decided to integrate many of the local Arabs into their tribe entirely.

Not content with their small domain the Teutons would follow up on their recent successes and invade the kingdom of Lihyan, this war would prove even easier than the last as Lihyan recently lost a war to the powerful Nabateans. Lihyan would be conquered in its entirety, and the Teutons once again found the waters that took them to this strange and unfamiliar land.

While the Teuton tribe hold dominion over vast stretches of land, they felt the need to prove themselves. The Nabateans of the north were a natural foe to prove supremacy of northern Arabia. If they were vanquished, then the Teuton tribe would stand as rulers of the region.

The Nabateans truly were a despicable people, even when their country were being invaded they decided it was better to fight their fellow countryman than to defend their country.

Harsh terms were sent to both the rebels and the old regime, Nabatea would be chased out of Arabia entirely.

The Teutonic tribe in 465. The last expansion I'll do until 475 when my term/session ends. As I want to leave a somewhat stable country for the people after me.

The Teutonic war hosts were mighty, able to field a vast army of 15000 in 475. A majority of that number were native Arabians though.

While not all Arabian subgroups were properly integrated, the two largest groups were, which greatly smoothed the governance and administration of the region.

Teutonia in 475.

All in all, we are in a pretty okay spot. Could have expanded more but wanted to leave the state in an okay spot.

Expansion inwards in Arabia into Tasm and maybe even Maka is possible, would require some migratory units to settle some territories to connect our lands and to fabricate claims but would be an option.

Expansion southward into Saba especially now when they suffer a civil war is another option, a unified Saba is pretty strong but if needed we can raise migratory units and/or hire mercenaries.

Expansion northward into Judea is a third path we could take, it would give us a border with Egypt which could be scary, but it's probably the "best" expansion path as it has many rich cities while most of Arabia is settlements and has to be built from the ground up.

We don't even strictly need to expand, just building cities and buildings in our current domain could make us rich beyond compare.

An internal issue the people playing after me will have to figure out is what to do about religion. Should we stay as Tuistic? Otherwise, converting to Arabic or even Israelite makes some sense.

That's all for now folks!

 

[HistoryDude]

It's nice to see another Imperator AAR!

Also, Teutonic Arabia is an original idea. I look forward to seeing how this goes.

Did the Teutons syncretize their deities with the Arab ones?

How much do you plan to expand in the fullness of time?

 

[Dr. Dudelsack]

Session Two, the Great Revelation​

25 years after his prophetic visions led his people to a new homeland, chieftain Sigimeraz Modijaz was fast asleep in his bed, dreaming of chasing dates across the dunes. Once he caught the precious fruits and prepared to feast, a familiar voice called out his name from behind, and when he turned around, there was a sudden flash of blinding light. When Sigimeraz woke up, he knew what had happened: another message from the divine had come before him, and if he wanted to understand its meaning, he had to go venture deep into the desert, with only dates to sustain himself.

After what felt like an eternity, Sigimeraz found himself in the harsh and unforgiving terrain south of the capital, deemed to be impassible and uninhabitable. Starting to turn back, he encountered a priest from a city called Jerusalem, who had been forced into exile after his kingdom's recent subjugation by the Ptolemies. Moved by the priest's plight, Sigimeraz slowly realized that his visions over the last 25 years had all led to this moment, and that all along, he was destined to follow the one true god and preserve His word after the fall of Judea.

Returning home with the Rabbi, Sigimeraz implemented radical reforms abolishing the traditional Germanic pantheon and devoting all worship to Yahweh, with new schools honoring the prophets Shamshon, Hanok, Ezra, and Abraham. Naturally the other chiefs took objection, but given the earlier success of the migration and a devious combination of bribery and blackmail, they went along with it.

Devastated by years of civil war and famine, the lands of Saba had turned to anarchy, with bandits running rampant across the countryside, critical infrastructure left in ruins, and cities forced to fend for themselves.

Combining his native Teutonic sense of honor with his newfound religious zeal, Sigimeraz felt that it was his duty to protect the Israelite minorities of the south. Raising a diverse host of Germanic, Arabian, and Israelite tribesmen, the chief marched south, occupying major cities with little resistance and facing off against what little there were of the enemy's the feeble forces with ease. Emboldened by his successful conquest of a nation twice the size of his own, Sigimeraz sent an expedition to the inland tribes of Tasm, Jadis, and Kindah, who voluntarily submitted and converted.

The year is 500 AUC, and with over 1,000 pops, Teutonia has ceased to be the small band of Germanic migrants it once was, and has laid a foundation for an empire. However, many questions need to be resolved before it can take that next step forward, such as the looming threat of Egypt, the Seleukid-Makan alliance, the selection of a long-term capital, and the very structure of the government itself; questions, that'll be answered by another at the helm.

 

[Jiben]

Also, Teutonic Arabia is an original idea. I look forward to seeing how this goes.

Did the Teutons syncretize their deities with the Arab ones?

How much do you plan to expand in the fullness of time?

I did not synchronize with any local deities, I kinda left religious options up in the air for the other players, I could see a world where we converted to the Arabic religion. We instead went Israelite, which is kinda funny too. Jewish Germanic's in Arabia.

Personally I just wanted to establish a homeland to slowly expand from, my fellow players have already expanded quite a bit, and we now hold much of Arabia, since we are Jewish I plan to capture Jerusalem if nothing else eventually, maybe get some revenge on the Egyptians.

That said, I'm only in 25% control of our nation so who knows really, it heavily depends on what the other players decide to do.

 

[olivenkranz]

Session three, Of Crises and Opportunities

The newly conquered Sabaean territories were on the brink of rebellion, and when the old cheiftain died, the situation got even more precarious.

The worst, however, was that the chief's successors died one after the other, and many despaired and thought that the Teutons had lost divine favour. Soon after, the south rebelled.

A fertile region, the south only had few true Teutons and many unbelievers. Their recent rebellion had top be punished, otherwise they would try again. We are here by divine command!

After consolidating the old Sabaean lands, the new chieftain ordained the levying of the men, for there was a prize to the south, full of frankincese and myrrh, goods the Egyptians, Syrians and Indians paid good money for. The southerners were no match for us and fell to our blades as easily as wheat.

While on campaign, our chieftain was approached by his advisors, pleading him to publicly praise the Lord that led us to this new and propserous home, yet he held firm to his beliefs. May God forgive him for his sins. He is a skilled statesman to steer our ship through the watres of politics, so the priets will not kill him outright, but his people's faith in their leader was wavering.

To conquer the Dragonbloodisland, the chief raised a navy, successfully capturing this prize of the sea.

After placating his people and appeasing diplomats from faraway, the chief set his sights into his neighbor nextdoor, the Kingdom of Hadhramut. A constant thorn in his side and constant thought of being a possible threat made him eliminate it. The South is now an uncontested Dominion of the Faithful Teutons.

After much consideration, the old capital in the northern desert was abandoned. Even though it had grown into a city, the chieftain decied that the old seat of the Sabaean Monarchs, Mariaba, would be a much more fitting seat of power. Most importantly, the region holds the Ma'rib dam, a marvel of engineering and construction that allows to feed manytimes more than would be possible otherwise. To cement his rule, he built academies, places of learning where the powerful and intelligent could advance their societies future in many ways.

The southern people, whose necks were thought to be broken, have rebelled all at once against the aging chieftain. Only one province remained loyaly, yet was occupied quickly by the rebels. While our forces are mustering, we only managed to take back some bordering cities. We need to wait until the reinforcements arrive.

At the end of my Session, 75 Years After the Vision (AV) the Cimbrian Teutons have subjugated much of Arabia and Punt (the locals protest a little bit sometimes), yet the clamoring to liberate the homeland of Our Lord is incessingly increasing. Judea must be free!
A thought has struck the chieftain, maybe it was time to send some agents north to foment a rebellion, to create a united goal. The People's Front of Judea should be demanding it's independence!

 

[HistoryDude]

I didn't initially realize that this was a succession campaign. That should lead to some fun dynamics.

A conversion to Judaism, huh? At least that gives you a goal...

What faith does the new ruler have that his advisors dislike?

 

[olivenkranz]

I didn't initially realize that this was a succession campaign. That should lead to some fun dynamics.

A conversion to Judaism, huh? At least that gives you a goal...

What faith does the new ruler have that his advisors dislike?

He's still Tuistic

 

[IsaacCAT]

The year is 229 BCE, it is only 75 years since the time of the migration from the frigid lands of the Jutland Peninsula. Our tribal Chief Sigimeraz Modijaz led us to the lands of Arabia, converted to the Israelite faith and convinced the tribal chiefs and our people to settle for good. He died 22 years ago, and already three tribal chiefs have tried to reconcile our traditions with the new land, faith and neighbours.

This hasn't been an easy task, the Qedarite and Nabatean people have been accepted as equals but many peoples remain unruly and foreign to Teutonia idea. We are in power only by name but the majority of the people that lives under our rule does not accept us yet.

For one thing, our own leaders have yet to accept the new Israelite faith. Ansugaizaz Sahsijaz remains faithful to the Tuistic ways and with 64 years old he is not going to embrace a new faith.

He has a good health but we know he will not last forever, the next chief will come from one of the four clans: the Bauting, Siging, Moding or Hauhing clan. But only Sigiwarduz Hauhijaz is of the Israleite faith. and he is 75 years old already. The most succession support is for Markamunduz Modijaz a 54 years old chief of the Moding Clan. He is Tuistic but if he is proclaimed the new Tribal Chief of Teutonia he might be forced to convert to the Israelite faith to try unite our diverse people.

Furthermore, the priests are demanding that Teutonia liberates the holy sites of Apologou Emporion and Oros Choreb from the hands of the Ptolemaic Kingdom and the Persian Empire. The other holy site that is not controlled by Teutonia is Hebron but they are under the rule of Judea, another Israelite nation.

The three sites need to be under our control if we want to unite the people and this means war with our strongest neighbours. They are far stronger than we are, this endeavour may make or destroy Teutonia.

Sadly, all plans were changed when a slave revolt in Mariaba reached the newly founded capital of Adan. The best of our blood was sacrificed and our nation would take a lot of time to recover from this event.

Not too soon, Ansugaizaz died after the sacking of Adan. The new clan chief was Gunthigaizaz Hauhijaz from the Hauhing clan. He was forced to convert to the Israeli faith to take the leadership of our nation and at 63 years old he looked ailing. But no other clan had a better candidate after the best were killed by the slaves in Adan. How sad! Indeed, Teutonia was doomed and following the slave malediction the successive leaders after Ansugaizaz were dead very soon:

The Teutonian luck was going to turn around when Wakromarhaz of the Siging clan took over, but this will be a story told by someonelse.

 

[Jiben]

Birth of a kingdom​

Wakromarhaz had recently taken power in the tribe, but he already had grand ambitions. Of course, he wanted to expand his realm and etch his name into history as a great conqueror, but if anything what he would become known for in centralizing power and taking the Teutons from a migratory society to a sedentary monarchy.

Wakromarhaz in 550.

By 550 most of the Arabian Peninsula had fallen under Teutonic control and much of East Africa too.

The lands were not rich or well-developed, but it was a quite large power base from where a great empire could be born, with Arabia as its heartland.

Through conquest, assimilation and migrations Cimbrian had become the largest tribal group in the realm, with that said only just above a fifth of the people in the realm considered themselves to be Cimbrians.

Arabians and east Africans made up the majority of the people in the realm.

To help centralize power, a more culturally unified country surely would help.

On the other hand a majority of the people in Teutonia were Jews, if culture couldn't be a unifier maybe religion could play that role?

Especially more recent conquests in East Africa and the Arabian interior still held onto their pagan faiths, though.

A quick war against remnants of Hadhramut in Yemen made sure the region were fully under Teutonic control.

Rebellions cropped up in the outer edges of the country, they were dealt with swiftly and brutally to hold the country together.

Slowly, the centralization of the tribe increased. The tribe leader got more and more power to act as they wished, no matter what the tribal elders thought.

After stabilizing his realm, Wakromarhaz invaded Kush to expand his African holdings and to deny Egypt the area.

There was no doubt in his main that when Egypt eventually finishes their civil war they would subjugate everyone south of them, better to preemptively stop them.

In 558 Wakromarhaz announced a formation of a tribal kingdom and that the nomadic ways of the Teutons would be stopped, while met with opposition in time the nomadic ways of the Teutons would slowly dwindle and a centralized state would rise from the ashes.

Maka a rival on the Arabian Peninsula was busy helping the Mauryans deal with internal revolts, surely this was a golden opportunity to strike.

While the war with Maka and Maurya was ongoing, the state sped up it's centralizing efforts.

Wakromarhaz wanted to leave behind a state more similar to the Greeks to the north of him than the tribal society he grew up in.

Eventually, All the Arabian holdings of Maka were taken. Teutonia now stood unchallenged as master of Arabia.

Large scale tribal reforms continued in an effort to leave our tribal ways behind us.

Using the diadochi states as a model, reforming into a monarchy seemed like the best option

At times reform is painful.

But in the end sometimes to make an omelette you have to crack a few eggs.

A lot of people were unhappy with such a rushed reform process though and instability from this event would surely remain for decades to come, some noble families were outraged by Wakromarhaz's ambitions and most of the country were tribesmen who felt like this new direction of the country failed them.

Wakromarhaz would die in 572, kingship would pass onto his clan mate Aiwariks. One issue with this is that Aiwariks was with one foot in the afterlife already.

About two and a hald years later Aiwariks would die and leave the throne to his toddler son. Not only was the reform into a modern monarchy very recent but now the state was run by a two year old?

The security of Arbabrandazs reign looked very uncertain.

Slowly the imperial capital of Adan grew to become the jewel city of the kingdom.

Adan was where merchants from all corners of the world met to sell their wares. You could find merchants from Egypt, Greece, India and everywhere in between.

This trade between different cultures majorly helped technologically as trade is an excellent medium for ideas.

While it still had some growing to do to compare to the great cities of its era, it looked to be on the path to become quite the metropolis of its own.

Teutonia in 575 when my session ends. Notice the imminent civil war.

Our brave king Arbabrandaz.

So most of my session was spent on changing laws and pushing through tribal reforms. It massively destabilized the country and weakened us quite a bit in the short term. Our maximum manpower went from well over 20k to 12k as an example.

That said, it is something that will help us in the long term as it will make it easier to build up cities and advance our technology, which is quite a bit behind the diadochi.

Losing two rulers in quick succession also did not help with stability, as I basically lost 20 stability just before I left the save to the next in line.

I can only hope the kingdom can be held together during these trying times, if so we will no doubt emerge much stronger that said hard times is ahead.

That's all for my second session.

 

[HistoryDude]

Congrats on settling, although it looks like that's about to backfire spectacularly! Wakromarhaz's ambitions might destroy the realm...

That slave revolt was surprisingly successful. Did any of the revolting slaves escape into other nations? Does the game specify?

Where is Judea on the map? I can't spot it.

 

[IsaacCAT]

That slave revolt was surprisingly successful. Did any of the revolting slaves escape into other nations? Does the game specify?

The revolt started in the old capital province and was able to siege down the new capital before it could build up its defences. Also the majority of Teutonian forces were deployed in the upper nile, expanding the tribe possessions.

I am not sure if this is a vanilla or Invictus event but when slave revolts siege down the capital you get to decide if you negotiate or not with them. I yielded and made a pact with the slaves after they had crucified some of my best officers.

You take -30 stability but the slaves surrender and settle down. The other option would have kept the hostilities.

 

[Dr. Dudelsack]

At merely two years of age, young Arbabrandaz Sigjaz has had the responsibility of managing and maintaining a vast, burgeoning realm come crashing down upon him. Barely able to walk, no ability to talk, and no family members to succeed him should a mysterious swimming accident befall him, his reign looked to be as short as his predecessor's.

However, instead of designating a single regent in his will, as per traditional Teutonic custom, Aiwariks instead designated the Royal Tutor (Gaizahraukaz) and Court Philosopher (Hramnamunduz) as co-regents, each with equal authority over all realm matters until king Arbabrandaz came of age. This presented a problem for both Gaizahraukaz and Hramnamunduz, for while they each had a significant power base in their own right, neither had a majority of supporters outright; one co-regent moving against the other to depose the legitimate king would rally the royalists, thus forcing an uneasy compromise in which both co-regents would attempt to sway Arbabrandaz their way.

With so many competing influences constantly tugging back-and-forth with his developing mind, even while alone, the voices continued speaking to Arbabrandaz during the night, and he would occasionally speak in tongues or speak to non-existent people; it became well-known in the royal court that the king had gone insane, but with neither co-regent in a position to seize power outright, nothing could be done about it.

Long-neglected with the shifting of the empire's capital southward, the oasis cities of the desert have begun to dry up and food stores have been poorly managed. With many provinces on the brink of mass-famine, an alliance of interior tribes and cities calling themselves the "Ukrush Confederation" arose in opposition to the government, launching what would become known as the "Starvation Wars."

Due to the endless seas of sand which comprise this inhospitable terrain, the war was long and arduous, with many casualties on both sides due to attrition. However, eventually due to the lack of food, Ukrush was eventually crushed and order was restored. To prevent a situation like this from ever happening again, reforms and investments were made to the food infrastructure, with a great many farming settlements constructed around the arable oasis territories to more-efficiently produce dates, improved granaries built in the cities to store more food during times of hardship, and facilitating the import of grain through reworked trade routes. Although many died in the war, the agricultural reforms greatly improved the livelihoods of those in the interior and along the desert coast.

Once settlers were sent to the isle of Saparis to claim it for Teutonia, a curious discovery was made: Apparently there were stragglers from Europe who had followed in the footsteps of our ancestors, who had traveled by ship through the Canal of the Pharaohs to settle the deserted island, surviving through commerce and piracy along the great Erythraean. Naturally these long-lost cousins were incorporated into the Teutonic realm, and utilizing their skills at sea, a new ship-building program commenced with larger and more durable ships then had ever been constructed.

Out of the blue, an envoy appeared from the Persian Empire appeared in the capital city of Adan, seeking to forge an alliance against the Ptolemies of Egypt. The co-regents were hesitant, however, king Arbabrandaz was at an age now where he could act independently from his co-regents, who were loosing their influence on the young king due to his growing insanity, and had steadily lost their support among the nobility owning to their increasingly destructive and petty feud. Enamored with their gifts and his arbitrary loathing of the Ptolemies for the way in which their name was spelled, Arbabrandaz agreed on the spot without the consent of his co-regents, who were too-busy plotting against eachother to intervene. Thus, as per ancient custom, arranged marriages were exchanged to solidify the alliance, with Arbabrandaz securing Mnesistrate Seleukid as his future consort when both parties were to come of age.

As part of the anti-Egyptian policy pursued by Arbabrandaz, the long-abandoned border fortress of Madiama was re-vitalized and restored to its former glory, ensuring the northern route from Sinai would be protected in case of a war.

While the food reforms were successful, the Makan people did not take kindly to being subjugated or to being forcibly converted against their will, thus staged a revolt in the province of Omania. Infuriated at what in his view could only be those too stubborn to see the divine light, Arbabrandaz sent a levied force to deal with the unbelievers. Unfortunately, the levies were ill-trained and the rebel government was highly corrupt, leading to much ravaging of the recently-built food infrastructure projects, prompting a separate slave rebellion to spawn in Omani lands hostile against both governments.

Once order was restored, somebody clearly had to be blamed for this atrocity, and clearly not Arbabrandaz, who was most certainly above all responsibility and clearly was favored by the divine. The co-regency was close to officially ending anyway, and his co-regents Gaizahraukaz and Hramnamunduz were technically still in-charge; thus, they were taken from their homes middle of the night and publicly humiliated in the streets of the capital, and were officially stripped of their regency roles. Normally such a drastic and rash action would strike rebellion in the ranks of the nobility, but Gaizahraukaz and Hramnamunduz had already lost any semblance of support due to their infighting. A voice suddenly whispered in Arbabrandaz's head: perhaps a fitting punishment would be to have Gaizahraukaz and Hramnamunduz fight eachother using weapons made from stale bread, symbolically representing the failures of their reign, with the winner getting to retain a nominal title. Thus the fight was arranged, with Gaizahraukaz winning and keeping ceremonial title of Royal Tutor, with Hramnamunduz loosing and getting stripped of all his titles.

To prevent further infidelity and rebellion to his unquestioned and divine right to rule, Arbabrandaz created a professional military force loyal to only him and the Torah, called the "Hammer of God," allowing Arbabrandaz to exert more control over his forces and punish those who would oppose him.

The governor of Punt was complaining of a botched procedure by his physician to cure his Mentagra, leaving him worse off then before. Hearing this, after consulting with a wise rock in the desert, Arbabrandaz decided that he could do better then those corrupt doctors, and so-ordered his own operation, much to the disagreement of his governor. Not being trained in medical science or educated on the practice of medicine in any way whatsoever, unfortunately the governor died shortly after the procedure. To honor his memory, Arbabrandaz ordered the construction of a port city at Okelis along the strait separating Arabia and Punt.

As he officially came of age, Arbabrandaz formally wed his Persian bride and, enamored with the envoy's gifts from when the pact was signed, expected a great dowry with even greater gifts. However, unfortunately for Arbabrandaz, the Persians were waging a civil war, thus could not spare any gifts. Although frustrated at the lack of dowry, he considered just dropping the matter, but a voice in his head told him that true friends would have given him lavish gifts even at great cost, while another mentioned that the Israelites once suffered at the hands of the Babylonians long ago, and now could be an opportunity to avenge the captivity. Therefore, Arbabrandaz personally marched the Hammer of God to the Persian border, and unexpectedly declared war, causing widespread shock and disgust from both sides of the civil war.

Marching unopposed into Babylon, the Hammer of God sacked and destroyed dozens of ancient pagan temples along their way, earning the legion numerous distinctions and honors for their piety.

Eventually, the Teutons encountered the Persian forces and those of their Parthian satrapy, who were destroyed in a close-fought battle near the capital of Seleukia Magna, owing to the weakness brought about by their civil war, securing a peace treaty in which Teutonia would seize all of Mesopotamia and the Persian Gulf.

Babylon would be sacked in retaliation for their role in the captivity, but Seleukia Magna and Persepolis would be spared, for Arbabrandaz thought himself a generous man and Cyrus, after all, had been the one to free the Israelites from their captivity.

Arbabrandaz's wife has given birth to a perfectly-healthy, yet strangely-bald heir, who Arbabrandaz has been raising in his footsteps. Originally named "Aiwariks" after his father, Arbabrandaz suddenly realized that his invented names are far-more creative and are vastly superior to the traditional Teutonic names, therefore renamed his son to "Qhulaelaz," a rather unconventional name, and ordered henceforth that all successors shall be named "Qhulaelaz."

The year is 600 AUC, and Teutonia has grown to heights never before seen, and with the destruction of the Persians as a serious military threat, Teutonia has many opportunities where to expand next. However, technology has fallen behind Egypt, there are still some food issues, and Teutonia is led by a madman who has increasingly ruled in an arbitrary and autocratic fashion. Yet, Arbabrandaz has been hearing a new voice in his head, which perhaps will change the character of his rule.

 

[HistoryDude]

Aiwariks was wise to ensure that the regents couldn't seize power from his dynasty by appointing multiple. Given the new king's personality, though, that might have been a bad thing.

Persia is brought low, but that leaves Teutonia with a royal marriage that doesn't secure an alliance.

What did the Ptolemies think of the Teutonic-Seleucid marriage, and what did they think when Arbabrandaz invaded Persia despite it?

What is this new voice in the king's mind? More importantly, who does he think it is?

I'm sure that there is nothing that can go wrong when the mad king has a personal army loyal to him above all else and religiously justified. That won't lead to problems later at all...

 

[olivenkranz]

Aiwariks was wise to ensure that the regents couldn't seize power from his dynasty by appointing multiple. Given the new king's personality, though, that might have been a bad thing.

Persia is brought low, but that leaves Teutonia with a royal marriage that doesn't secure an alliance.

What did the Ptolemies think of the Teutonic-Seleucid marriage, and what did they think when Arbabrandaz invaded Persia despite it?

What is this new voice in the king's mind? More importantly, who does he think it is?

I'm sure that there is nothing that can go wrong when the mad king has a personal army loyal to him above all else and religiously justified. That won't lead to problems later at all...

There won't be unjust treatment at all, nono...

 

[olivenkranz]

150 Years After the Vision (AV), the lunatic king was beset with internal problems: the desert warriors were still starving in places, the recently subjugated peoples didn't want to acknowledge that the conquest was only for their good and an old and stagnating court.

An Important action for the King was to make all people equal under his rule - equally worthless, that is, for none are close to the holiness of the chosen people.

Arbabrandaz proving his divine superiority.

Nothing was more obvious than placing God and His chosen First Servant at the forefront of the kingdom.

Beset by rebellions on all sides, the people of the upper Nile managed to gain independence while rebellions in Arabia and Persis were suppressed. Their so-called freedom wouldn't last long, however. The most unexpected happened during this time: Arbabrandaz was unexpectedly called to the direct service of His God.

While not continuing all supremacist policies of his predecessor, the new king did have a faible for uniformity and obedience. No one would follow the kingdom as willingly as a true Cimbrian.

More practical than his predecessor, the king married an Indian princess and started preparing the Invasion of Nubia. With the Meroitic's knowledge of the terrain and experience of fighting their neighbours, coqnuest of the Nile should be but a matter of time

 

[IsaacCAT]

The year was 129 BCE. Teutonia now a Theocratic Monarchy had grown very strong after the defeat of the Persian revolt by Arbabrandaz Sigjaz, the second king of Teutonia. He was married to Mnesistrate Seleukid and went to help the Persian Empire when the revolt started. But Teutonia annexed the lands and never returned them to the Seleukids.

Arbarandaz Sigjaz and Mnesistrate Seleukid

At this time, the autocratic Persian Empire was ruled by Antiochos III Seleukid and was at war with Judea, the small Israelite kingdom embedded in the Ptolemaic Kingdom. The greek aristocratic kingdom was ruled by the Basilissa Kleopatra IV Lagis and they were at war with Judea in the 2nd Ptolmeaic-Judean War as they wanted to take Judea.

Both kingdoms were at war against Judea because they were allied. Both were of Hellenic and Macedonians lineage and they have joined forces threatened by the expansion and strength of Teutonia.

Antiochos III Seleukid and Kleopatra IV Lagis

Tuetonia was ruled by the High King Qhulaelaz II Sigjaz of the ancient Siging family clan. The other clans were not happy after three generations of Siging kings and wanted back the old ways of sharing power between the clans. Qhulaelaz tried to arrange marriages between his clan women with the other clans, getting the other clans favour by bringin them into his family but the result was expensive agreements that almost broke the nation.

The only way to appease the clans was to enact elective succession, an old Greek system for monarchies that looked very much like our own tribal ways:

Thus, the loyalty of the clans was secured as the successor will be chosen by popularity, prominence, family prestige, age but also being part of the ruling family. The best positioned candidate to succeed Qhulaelaz II was Philotheos Sigjaz, the royal tutor. It is true that Philotheos sported the Sigjaz surname but that was only because he married Wodijo Sigini, daughter of famous Walho Siging. Philotheos was of the cimbrian culture but he was assimilated and he could not trace his fathers and family origin from the original clans that moved to Arabia long time ago. This may had been a problem if he ended up being the next king, but the health of Qhulaelaz (31 years old) and the age of Philotheos (58 years old) did not make it probable.

Qhulaelaz II Sigjaz, Philotheos and Wodijo.

Meanwhile, the israelite holy sites were in danger. Teutonia had secured the shrine of Ezra in Aflogh when the revolt of the Persian empire but the shrine of Abraham in Hebron and the Shrine of Moshe in Oros Choreb were in danger in the hands of the Ptolemaic Kingdom. The next war would may be a religious one against the Ptolemaic Kingdom and its ally the Persian Empire to conquer these holy sites.

Years passed without any important event, when the murder of Imruqays Nabatid was pointed to the royal consort Kanchamala Pandya. Qhulaelaz knew that Kanchamala was not seen as equal by the other cimbrians. She was Tamil and Agamic and many powerful men in the clans wanted hium to divorce his spouse as they did not see any benefit with the Pandyan family. The kingdom of Tamilakam in India was very powerful, rivaling that of Teutonia. Maurya decline had allowed the tamils to grow big anbd they were dominating the subcontinent. Qhulaelaz considered the murder a travesty but decided not to frame his wife and keep the Pandya marriage alliance in place.

Imruqays Nabatid and Kanchamala Pandya.

Qhulaelaz wanted his children with Kanchamala to be the best candidates to succeed him. Both Arbrandaz and Fraujandwiduz were growing strong. Saldy, their third child, Gaizahraukaz died when Kanchamala was giving birth. Arbrandaz at 19 years old was appointed Master of the Guard, he required the prominence to increase his chances to become the next ruler. Fraujandwiduz was too yound to hold any position but he was being tutored for a high position as he would become the Marshal of Teutonia when he grew up.

Arbrandaz and Fraujandwiduz

On the year 106 BCE, Kanchamala died of old age. She had dementia in her later days but she had given birth to two strong heirs for Teutonia. Qhulaelaz had to defend her against all the other clans but now he was free to marry again and he decided to spend a fortune to marry Mathlabargo Bautijini against the will of Tomailikiz the head of the Bauting Clan.

Qhulaelaz, the later Kanchamala, Mathlabargo and Tomailikiz.

The king was still strong but his sons were yet to show up as strong candidates for his succession. The king had been demanding support for them and he wished to see both very high in the eyes of the Teutonia clans.

Meanwhile the world was watching the rise of a giant in the West Mediterranean. Rome had expanded from the Italian Peninsula and invaded the Greek nations in Hellas. Will Rome play a role in the near future of Teutonia?

 

[Jiben]

End of a peacefull era.​

The war against the Blemmia dragged to a close in the later half of 650, the deciding factor was when the hammer of god assaulted the enemy capital, in the end all of Blemmia would fall to Teutonia.

The hammer of god would be remembered for their great siege engineering for generations to come.

Adan had slowly expanded into a bustling city, but it would soon balloon in size and become a proper metropolis.

Teutonia would become known for their urban planning, which is what would allow Adan to become perhaps the greatest city on earth eventually.

A minor war against Carmania and their Mauryan allies was declared in 653, Maurya was busy with other wars in India so it seemed like a perfect opportunity.

Teutonia would take much of southern Persia and pushed the Mauryans back towards India.

Barely having recovered from the last war, a new even bigger opportunity arose. Egypt who was allied with the Persians was in the middle of a civil war. Beating them normally would be extremely hard, but with the Egyptians distracted it gave the Teutons a chance to permanently upset the balance of power in the region. Qhulaelaz did not want to miss this chance.

Perhaps the greatest conflict since the Diadochi wars was about to take place.

Political map on the onset of the war.

In the initial stages of the war, Qhulaelaz ordered most of his armies east to defeat the Persians, the idea being that the Egyptians were busy with their civil war. Large tracts of land in Ariana and Mesopotamia were confiscated from the Persians, who no doubt would have a hard time recovering from such a blow.

The hammer of god would gain great victories under the royal heir during this war.

In the end, Egypt were thrown out of Kush and much of the holy land. The Egyptians would still hold much of Judea, but at least the Israelites now held it in part.

Very few Jews were left in the holy land, something unacceptable that would have to be reversed. The chosen people would return to the holy land.

The Egyptian civil war raged on in the rest of the region.

One of our holy sites were reclaimed from the Egyptians.

Qhulaelaz feeling himself closer to god every day decided that the throne would pass on to his children after all. He wanted his legacies to rule Teutonia and make her reach new heights long after he is gone.

To connect the many bloodlines in his family, he wanted to promote familial marriage. Many of his children were half children with varying pedigrees, uniting them all would no doubt make future generations stronger.

About a year later Qhulaelaz passed on and his son Arbabrandaz would take the throne.

Arbabrandaz would have a challenging reign ahead of him. His father's conquest had destabilized the country, and many of the recently conquered peoples did in fact not wished to be ruled from Adan.

Speaking of Adan, the city had expanded massively in the last two decades. Almost doubling in size during that time. Adan had turned into a shining metropolis that was the envy of ruler from Italia to India.

Teutonia in 675. Kinda ugly borders with Egypt, the Egyptian civil war made in hard to pick entire provinces.

Grew by just under 200 settlements, think I stared in the high 580s.

Isrealite is by far the most common and dominant religion in Teutonia.

Cimbrian culture is also dominant, but not to the same degree as Israelite.

Over half our population are Cimbrian.

But over 80% is Israelite.

Teutonia is the most populous country in the known world at the moment.

In India Maurya seems to have reversed recent losses to Tamilakam and looked likely to instead conquer them while the reverse looked like not too long ago.

With the decline of the Seleucid/Persian empire, both Armenia and Parthia exploited their weakness and grew on the Persian expense. Macedon still holds on to power, but one bad war against Rome, and they would be obliterated.

In the western Mediterranean Rome and Carthage stand as two behemoths, a war between them would set the entire region ablaze.

I expanded a bit more that I should have maybe as our stability is quite low even if it's slowly increasing right now at least, but since Egypt and Persia are allied i wanted to take lands from both of them to make future wars easier.

At least we have partial control of the holy land now.

That's all for me.

 

[HistoryDude]

Rome looks like a threat.

Congrats on your expansion and on reclaiming part of the Holy Land.

Arbabrandaz was an... interesting character. Will people talk about him in hushed voices in the future?

How do Familial Marriage and Elective Succession work in concert? Are all of the clans related to each other? Are the Sigings rigging the elections somehow?

 

[IsaacCAT]

How do Familial Marriage and Elective Succession work in concert? Are all of the clans related to each other? Are the Sigings rigging the elections somehow?

They cannot be both. To appease the clans Qhulaelaz changed to elective succession but when he sensed his death was close he switched to familial marriage to ensure that Arbabrandaz had the throne.

I have been intermarring characters between clans but some characters have married outside the original clans. The elective succession system can be rigged to elect the first son if he can get enough popularity and prominance through his life. Probably being elected only at the end of it.

Being a general and winning battles helps a lot, also governing a region or being in office gives prominence.

 

[Dr. Dudelsack]

At 61 years of age, king Arbabrandaz II realized that his heir, the lovely Hildigardiz, was 42 and had no children of her own. With his heir past her childbearing years, and the second-in-line Ehwawiniz still unmarried, Arbabrandaz II decided to hastily marry off his daughters in a desperate bid to secure the bloodline of his father Qhulaelaz and of his namesake grandfather, Arbabrandaz I.

Fortunately Ehwawiniz's marriage soon bore fruit, giving birth to a daughter at 38 years old, thereby securing a future for house Sigjaz, especially important since Hildigardiz became a leper.

Over the centuries, Teutonia's once-grand fortifications have been left neglected, to such an extent that much of the interior now lays undefended, with successive administrations relying on the elements, harsh terrain, and the Hammer of God to protect the country. Now that the realm spanned from Kush to Mesopotamia, and from Punt to Judea, the Hammer of God was stretched thin and major economic centers on the borders were left vulnerable to attack. Therefore, Arbabrandaz II initiated a major defensive revitalization program, rebuilding the fort at Madiama and constructing great walls at Babylon and Chala in particular.

(The barren state of defenses, with constructed, functional forts in blue and under-construction forts in green)

Although partial control was exerted over the Holy Land, the holiest city of Jerusalem remained outside our grasp, and through incapable leadership, the city was left on the brink of starvation. Arbabrandaz II, hearing the worsening of their plight on a daily basis, out of the generosity of his heart, decided to liberate the Israelites once-and-for all, and launched an attack on the city, securing it while the Egyptians were distracted with their internal affairs.

With the recovery of the Second Temple under Jewish control and with food supplies in the city secured, Arbabrandaz II was hailed as a hero on the streets. To celebrate the occasion, the king ordered the construction of the Great Pilgrim Road, enabling the pilgrims from Adan safe passage and soldiers to quickly reinforce the area in the event of a crisis. However, before the road could finish construction, something unexpected occurred: A declaration of war.

Caught completely off-guard by this aggressive and blatantly-barbaric act, Arbabrandaz II forcibly marched the Hammer of God across the vast desert from Jerusalem. However, given the sheer distance involved, levies were raised in the first time in a century, in order to hold the line until the professional forces could arrive and until the fortresses finished construction. At first, the Armenian troops were few in number, so over-confident, the ill-trained levies aggressively pushed into Armenian lands, only to suffer a major defeat once the Armenians came en-mass with professional forces and mercenaries, forcing a major retreat.

Unfortunately, the country's fortifications weren't the only thing defunded over the decades: Although the Hammer of God once had struck fear into foes during its heyday, and was still a strong fighting-force, recruitment had stalled, discipline had slackened, and the army had not expanded to match the legions of neighboring rivals. When the Hammer of God arrived, it found itself gravely outnumbered, resulting in its first-ever defeat in the floodplains at Dighva.

The war was absolutely brutal, with many casualties on both sides, best-exemplified with the Armenian sneak-attack on Kush through Egypt, which caused significant damage with limited strategic impact. However, after raising more levies from the capital region and after paying off some of Armenia's mercenaries, the tide of the war turned in our favor, and the Armenians were pushed out of Mesopotamia.

Being an aggressive fighter, infuriated by the brazen nature in which the Armenians had struck, and enraged by the brutality in which Teutons had faced under occupation, Arbabrandaz II pushed onward into core Armenian territory, determined to bring enemy king to justice. Eventually, the level 5 fort of the capital Yervandashat fell to Teuton engineers, but the royal court had fled deep into the hinterlands.

Soon after, lighting struck the temple of Yahweh, which many interpreted as a sign to make peace. However, blinded by his rage, Arbabrandaz II marched forward, still seeking a complete victory over those who had started this conflict, pushing all the way north to Colchis and the Euxine Sea. Then, when a major flood struck the city of Darou, Arbabrandaz II realized that he had gone too far, and had been too zealous in pursuit of victory; thereby, he made peace with Armenia to prevent more destruction and to avoid incurring divine wrath.

In-total, over 130,000 soldiers were killed, and nearly 650 pops either died or were displaced on both sides of the conflict, truly the most devastating war in Teuton history as of yet. As per terms of the treaty, Armenia would cede all of its Mesopotamian holdings, the area surrounding lake Matianus, and free the Cardukoi people of Gordyene from their servile bondage.

Although the war had come at great cost, victory over the northern invaders had made Arbabrandaz II extraordinarily popular back home, which allowed him to push major reforms to prevent such a horrific conflict from befalling Teutonia again. First Arbabrandaz II expanded the Hammer of God, which would increase five times in size, and made significant investments into military research; secondly, he expanded upon his earlier fort-building project, which had proven crucial in the defense of Mesopotamia, and the lack thereof in Kush had allowed Armenian forces to pillage freely through Egypt; thirdly, construction of the Pilgrim Road to Jerusalem would continue, enabling a more rapid response to future crisis'.

Most ambitious of his reforms, however, were those of the government; traditionally, Teutonia's priesthood wielded significant influence over the nation's politics and were granted many powers. Although a devout man himself, the war had taught Arbabrandaz II that the country's strategic defenses couldn't be based faith alone; with his substantially increased personal army and popularity, he quickly and decisively launched a coup, sending his troops to secure the capital in broad daylight. Speaking alongside his soldiers, Arbabrandaz II proclaimed himself absolute ruler over all political affairs, with priests reduced to purely a religious role.

A mere six months after his proclamation, however, Emperor Arbabrandaz II succumbed to the stress of directly going against the priesthood whom he had respected throughout his life. Now reigned Empress Hildigardiz, who in spite of her leprosy, had lived long enough to succeed her father, but was in rapidly failing health.

The youngest sister, Mistilo, seeing the weakness of the empress and sensing an opportunity to seize power, had fled to the remnants of the Persians in the hopes of building a powerbase from which to do so. However, only three years into Hildigardiz's reign, the empress finally succumbed to her leprosy, and was succeeded by Arbabrandaz II's second daughter, Ehwawiniz.

Within three years, there had been one emperor and two empresses, substantially reducing the legitimacy of the empire, especially in the eyes of the priesthood. To remedy this, looking back to the golden years of the realm a century ago, Empress Ehwawiniz decided to start construction of a grand monument in honor of Arbabrandaz I, who historical records tell us had single-handedly destroyed the Persians despite the cowardice of his levies, established the Hammer of God, and reportedly had mystical powers to communicate with the very Earth itself, but had been robbed from us in a mysterious accident. Fittingly titled the "Wisdom of Arbabrandaz," the monument also would function as a lighthouse, capable of leading ships back to port using its guiding light atop a golden dome, just as Arbabrandaz's incomprehendible wisdom had done for Teutonia many generations ago. The exquisite equine statues and marble base symbolized, respectively, his impeccable, unquestionable leadership and his mighty conquest of the Hellenic Persians.

Overjoyed at the attendance at the mandatory groundbreaking ceremony, Empress Ehwawiniz decided to shower gold into the crowd of commoners, greatly endearing her to the common man and increasing the realm's stability.

The Great Pilgrim Road would finally be completed under Empress Ehwawiniz's reign, enabling worshipers from the capital to travel northward to Jerusalem, and with its completion, the holy city would be revitalized, with centralization measures enacted and new foundries constructed to fuel its growth.

The year is 700 AUC, and under Arbabrandaz II, the country has been reformed, the military has been restored, and conquests enamor the Teutonians. With her father's legacy and her rule secured, how will Empress Ehwawiniz's reign unfold?