On the Verge of Christendom, A Georgia AAR

[Nosnits]

To the west, a decedent Orthodox empire, ruled by incompetents. To the north, vast pagan kingdoms, protected by the cold of winter. To the south, a hungry Muslim Empire, looking north for more land to add to it's control. In the middle is Georgia, a small Christian Kingdom, that doesn't control half of it's lands.

Plus, it's also the subject of my first AAR! Hopefully. I don't know if there are rules I'm breaking by posting one...I've tried reading them all, and I hope I didn't miss many. So I apologize in advance if I did.

Anyways, I have a few goals for my first AAR, and the first time I've ever played the game as this far away from England. Anyways, I have a few goals for the first bit of my playing.

1) Survive! This should be obvious. But after I started playing, and wrote up a bunch of stuff...I found that the Kingdom of Georgia was historically virtually wiped out by the Seljuq Empire. I intend for that NOT to happen, of course.
2) Play realistically. Normally, I just do whatever I want to when I play Paradox games. This time, I want to play the Kingdoms based on the personalities of the people, and realistic goals.
3) In Game Goal: Reunite Georgia. I've done up a nifty map (Or scribbled on Coral with the pen tool over a screen shot) so viewers can see that, if they exist.
4) No Reseting! Unless I consider it a game bug, or my computer messes up, then I will not reset the game, as I've done with every other Paradox game I've played.
5) Have less goals. That's very important.
6) Optional Goal. I saw a Jewish state to the north. Maybe due to careful marrying and assassinations...I could become a Jewish Empire! Or...maybe not.

Anyways, a few notes. This is done on the Vanilla CK, no Deus Vult, because I play on a mac and I can't find it cheap on amazon, as I did these games. Second...wait, that's it really. Anyways, if all goes to plan, this will be a table of contents. If I have time...I should get a post in tonight, just as an introduction, as opposed to this which...is also an introduction. But I must fly off to work for now.

(Also...I'm so paranoid about screwing up, I had to scroll to the top of the screen to make sure this was being posted in the right forum..)

 

[Nosnits]

Chapter I: The Calm Before the Storm.

Winter Court-December 1066

Bagrat Bagratuni, the King of Georgia, sat on his throne as he surveyed the Winter Court session. A paltry few courtiers, his two children, and his single count quietly chatted endlessly amongst themselves. However, this would not last long. He silenced the room with an 'Ahem', and stood up gravely. All eyes turned onto him in anticipation of his speech.

King Bagrat IV

"Gentleman and Ladies, I would like to thank you for coming today. When I was crowned King forty-one years ago, I did not know the problems that we would face. Throughout my reign, I have carved Georgia out of nothing, into the strong country we are today. However, despite our successes, Greater Georgia is still divided. Long ago, land was lost to our neighbors; carved out in tiny chunks. This, members of the court, is unacceptable. Furthermore, our sovereignty is threatened by the accursed Seljuks, as they look northwards in their expansion. This is why we must expand further then the current borders. I am the Rightful Prince of Armenia, created for my ancestor Ashot I, though the title has wrongfully fallen into the hands of a Byzantium Puppet Bishop. Pagans and Muslims fill the lands that were once ours to the east, and will be ours again! We will drive them out, and then hold off against the Seljuks, beating them out of our lands, and back to where they came from!" A ragged cheer went among the courtiers. Georgia was finally ready to make a stand.

The full kingdom of Georgia outlined in black. Current Georgia is in blue, and Byzantine in purple.

From the journal of Bagrat
January 14th, 1067​

Today, my son came into my study bearing good news. 'Father' he said, 'I come to you with news. Our troops are fully mobilized and ready to attack the Sheikdom of Kartli. We await your order to declare war on them.' I smiled. Kartli was by a Muslim Sheik, but was formally part of our Kingdom. 'Very good. Give the order, and have someone prepare the horse. I shall lead this battle to secure our Kingdom.' I gave a little nod to dismiss him, but he did not leave. 'Father', he said, 'You currently don't have a Master of Spies. I wish to formally request that I take up the position, as I am the most fully qualified person in the Kingdom.' I stared at him sternly for a long time, until finally nodding. 'Very well, let it be so. Now, you have business to attend to, Spymaster.' He could barely keep the elation off of his face as he gave a formal bow, and hurried out of the room. I smiled once again. The boy had finally shown some backbone. If he was going to rule this country one day, he would have to be able to act like that.




And I think I'll end it there, lest I have done something wrong. I may or not change it so the pictures are in links, as I don't know what it will look like after I post it. Anyways, that is all I have for tonight. Comments and suggestions are welcome...though, I doubt there are many AARs where they are not.

 

[Heszeth]

Good choice of realm, I look forward to seeing what you do with it. I usually get too cocky and end up being swallowed by the Turks or Cumans. Which way are you thinking of expanding after you have all of Georgia itself?

 

[Serek000]

Georgia is a fascinating country in an equally fascinating region. A word of advice: look to snipe some Byzantine provinces when they Empire falls into inevitable realm duress. They can be pretty wealthy and really help add manpower.

Best of luck in keeping the Seljuks at bay! It's been a while since I've played vanilla, but I recall them being more or less unstoppable.

 

[Samorim]

I don't follow CK AAR's, or AAR's in general, but this one I'll follow. I liked your writing style and the goals you set up for yourself. Good luck!

 

[Alfredian]

Best of luck in keeping the Seljuks at bay! It's been a while since I've played vanilla, but I recall them being more or less unstoppable.

I had similar experiences. However, a fight against the odds can through up some good stories. Better than just being a huge kingdom & squashing lots of minor earls. Good luck!

 

[Enewald]

Starting as a king should not be too hard.

 

[Nosnits]

@Heszeth: Well, I had originally planned to go south. I saw this wave of yellow muslim states, and thought 'Yes! Easy expansion! I will be the King of Persia in no time!'. Obviously..it wont work like that. Hopefully, I'll just pick off states that separate from larger ones, and slowly grow, if I survive.

@Serek000: Well, I don't have many claims on them yet. Though, if one breaks off quite close to me, I'll splurge my prestige on it and take it. Otherwise..I think I'll have to satisfy myself with the surrounding provinces, and hope to win in an all out battle. Also, thanks! I hope I can keep them off. If not...it may be a very short AAR. If they do die out...I'll see if there is anyone that is a descendant from the original family ruler with a title. Then, I'll play as them and try to reclaim the Kingdom they had lost.

@Samorim: Thanks for the support!

@Alfredian: Yes. Last ditch battles and heroics are better then 'Today, I took over three kingdoms. Yawn, when will some interesting news come in.'

@Enewald: Well, I think the key word in that sentance is should. I tried playing as the little Christian county just south of my kingdom...but I was only able to muster 400 men, whilst the Seljuks can pull out 30 000.

I'll start working on Part Two. Hopefully, it will be up today, but I might have to push it back to tomorrow if I get distracted...

 

[General_BT]

Trebizond would be a nice boost to your kingdom--and in my experience, if you don't snap up Derbent, they'll join the Seljuks and bring the might of that enormous beast down on you sooner rather than later. Good luck, Georgia is an interesting challenge!

 

[AllmyJames]

Should be interesting. What with the Sejuks and all. Watch out for Suenik too, they're pretty crazy down there... I'd concentrate on as many minor pagan and muslim provinces as you can get away with. Maybe those Khazars to the north would be easy pickings? Can you convince the Duke of Alania to rejoin the fold peacefully?

 

[Nosnits]

Chapter II: First Steps to Conquest

Kartlian War

The deceleration of war was rushed out with the Kingdom's fastest messenger. A few hours later, the King, his Spymaster and the rest of the court set out to the front. As they arrived, the army had packed up their camp, and they marched towards the Sheikdom.

However, the sheik was able to raise his own army of about 1000 men. Even though the King's army outnumbered them by 500 men, the outcome of the battle was not certain. However, numbers the numbers would win the day. With no military leader to guide them, the sheik cowardly hiding in his estate, the enemy was quickly devastated by the Georgian army on March 16th, 1067.

Georgia had a death ratio of 3:1, wiping out their army.

The sheik's personal estate was quickly put under siege. During this time, the King held his summer court in his personal pavilion. He would go on to appoint an Orthodox Kartlian as the chief Steward of the Realm, and his daughter as the Chancellor (I forgot their names, as I didn't write them down. However, I'll edit this post later, as I don't want to break my train of thought. ). Finally, after 5 months, the starved servants and people on the estate of the sheik, were ready to give up. With no food remaining, and with no neighbors sending armies to support them, they opened the gates and surrendered to the army. The army stormed in, and claimed the estate for the King. The war was over, lasting one day short of 8 months. (No pic here, I skipped it by accident o )

From the Journal of Bagrat
Augest 19, 1067​

Today, the time had come to finally to grant my son his first taste of real authority. No longer would he be a petty Spymaster. After he knelled before me, and I tapped him on the shoulder with the Ceremonial sword, he was no longer Giorgi Bagratuni. He was Giorgi, Count of Kartli. However, as the celebrations and died down and I returned to my chambers, I was left to wonder the future of my Kingdom. I only had one son, and he has no children. I must hope that God will be kind to them, else my line will be finished.

Giorgi is granted the title 'Count of Kartli'. The post of Spymaster is now vacant.


Temporary Reprieve

The following months were uneventful for the kingdom. With debt playing a large role, no new construction projects were undertaken by the liege. It was a time to rebuild, reinforce, and be ready for the next attack. Gabriel Sefareli, a master theologian, was appalled by the state of our diocese. With no Bishop in the kingdom, he beseeched the the King to have him appointed. With few other options, he agreed, adding another skilled man to his court.

The first Chaplin.

Winter Court was subdued that year. The two counts, distant cousins, discussed issues that affected both of their counties. However, the main item on the docket was reclaiming more of Greater Georgia. The consensus was that the Sheikdom of Albania, both of who's provinces rightfully belonged to the King. However, they could muster up a much stronger army then Kartli could. More tactics and strategy would have to be used.

With the specter of war looming once again, Georgia was treated to a pleasant surprise. In late February, their northern Ally, the Prince of Alania, wished to renew the alliance between the two states. At the same time though, a neighboring ruler also requested an alliance. Both offers were accepted, and by the end of the day, Georgia was allies with Alania and the Byzantine Empire.


The War of Albania

The King set off immediately after that to his son's damses. His personal army had already gathered there, but the count's was not; he needed extra time to organize his forces. Bagrat officially declared war, then marched off with his army towards the sheikdom's capital city. Despite being evenly matched in the terms of men, Georgia had God on their side, as the ineffectual Albanian generals fled the battle. However, the day the battle started, the King received some grave news. The Bishoporic of Armenia, the finial piece to Georgi, had fallen to the hands of the Seljuks. However, they had to manage the task at hand.



September 9th was the beginning of the end of the Byzantium Empire. The Prince of Samos declared independence, setting off a chain that would continue for years of vassals declaring independence from the Emperor. At first, Georgia officially supported the Byzantine, but quickly grew weary of their cries for help. They would go on to decline many instances of jumping into war over a vassal...preferring to bide their time and wait. (This is the official explanation to the fact that whenever I seem to accept the request to help them, they turn around and declare war on me. I think it's a bug, as I haven't patched it...but it gives me an excuse not to help those dogs!)

After a siege of after 9 months, Georgian troops finally battered down the gates to the castle, defeated the starving defenders, and claimed it for themselves. Meanwhile, in Dwin, Count Giorgi was having success with his siege, having defeated the army there. Soon enough, the war would be over.

The Fall of Albania

From The Journal Of Bagrat
February 26, 1070​

After I returned home to my castle today, good news was awaiting me. My son's campaign against Dwin had ended in a success. He had crushed the garrison and taken the city. As per our law, which states the commanding officer may take the land from Pagans and other non believers if they win against them, he was granted the title 'Count of Dwin' on the fall of the city. However, I would of given it too him anyways. His County has been running very well, and he deserves a second to add to his name. However...he only has been able to produce a daughter so far. While she is the prettiest granddaughter around, that still leaves him horribly heirless. I should like to hope he rectifies the situation quickly.

The Seljucks have made further inroads into the Byzantium. It's only a matter of time now before they turn their attentions northwards. I might have to start taking more drastic measures...



And so ends Part II! I hope it was enjoyable...it was longer then the first, at least. I think this is also some of the most fun I've had playing CK as well. It's neat to examine things by the point of view from the character. Now...there were some screenshots I would like to of included, like the alliance with Alania and the Byzantine Empire, but I'm used to just hitting 'Return' when something pops up. However, I'm getting better at that. I leave you now with the current map of what is going on now!

As you can see, the Seljuks have already made inroads up to me, and the Byzantine Empire is falling apart. That alliance might not be as valuable as I once thought.


@General_BT: You snuck in whilst I was writing this post! Trebizond...hmm, I'll have to search that up. Yes, Derbent has to join us soon-they own part of Georgia after all! Though, they can field the same size army as I can right now, so that battle will be tough. Thanks for the well wishes...and yes, it's quite a different game then what I'm used to playing.

@AllmyJames: Another post right before I post! Yes, those Sueniks are pretty mad. I actually wanted to play as them, because I thought I'd be able to get an easy kingship from Persia! But...that didn't happen as well as I planned. I think I lasted...all of two or three months. But that's the plan, just pick off all the small ones first, then prepare for the big one. I don't think I can get too far north though, I run into an equally big Pagan conglomerate up there. The Duke of Alania...yes, I think I will need to get them back. But I've never been good at getting people to become my vassal. Maybe a large bribe will be in order...

 

[AllmyJames]

A tip - you'd have been wise to choose a wife for your son before you gave him a county. Now he's probably gone and married some peasant, rather than a princess with a juicy inheritance. The alliance with the Byzantines will be helpful, because (I think this still applies to vanilla) enemies will think twice about attacking you now!

 

[Nosnits]

He was already married, to a 14 year old, no less. She's a decendant of some noble in Byzantinum, not sure if he gets any awesome inheritance or anything, but it's all good. Once, I married off a son to the king og England...then, in 10 or so years...suddenly, I was King! Also...I think I totally missed your reference to another AAR in your previous post the first time around

Hopefully, that will hold true. I've found, in the bit I've played ahead, that my allies are very good to have.

 

[Serek000]

Well done, snatching up those provinces. Looks like you might be running out of weak neighbors to walk all over, though.

 

[Enewald]

Easy so far, soon to Isfahan?

 

[Nosnits]

Chapter III: Gains and Losses

One Week Peace, Two Month War

Despite the massive gains made in the southern regions, Bagrat was becoming increesingly more worried of the Seljuks' advances. To the east was the 4 state sheikdom of Derbent. Drained from the recent war, Georgia would have a slim chance of victory against the well rested army. Instead, they looked north to the chiefdom of Kasogs. Though not part of Greater Georgia, they had men that would be able to fight down south, and liberate the other Georgian Provinces. After only two months break for Bagrat's personal armies, he mobilized them again, and marched into the heart of Kasogs.

They put up a valiant fight, despite their uncivilized, pagan ways. However, their armies were quickly crushed, and the county was annexed on May 25, 1069. This would bring in a new era of peace to the land, and Bagrat finally demobilized all his forces in preparation for the Summer Growing Season.

From the Journal of Bagrat
July 1st, 1069​

Today, I received excellent news. During summer court, my daughter, the Chancellor, requested that I allow her to marry. I asked her who she wished to marry, and she responded that Gubaz Vardanize was an excellent warrior, and would prodice good kids for our line. This is why I appointed her Chancellor-she is always able to put the needs of the realm over herself. I approached him, and broached the subject. Being very minor noble, out of a small family, he could hardly contain the joy from his face. He agreed, and I I named him Lord Martial of the Realm.

Two days later, the Vardanize family was able to scratch up around 260 gold for a duty. Bagrat happily accepted, and the Royal Treasury was almost out of debt.

Gubaz accepts the marriage proposal.


Kasogs, the liberated Cuman pagan province, would prove to be a bigger problem to control then originally thought. They would not bend to Orthodox truth and traditions without qualms. At first, Bagrat allowed the subjects to hold their celebrations. However...the problem would only get worse as time went on.

War Of Derbent

Derbent, controlled by an evil, warmongering Emir, declared on the small, helpless county of Suenik. The count, however, was a distant relative of Bagrat, both sharing the same ancestors, decided that they must jump to the aid of their hapless Christian Brothers. Forces were mobilized right away, but Georgia did not jump into the fray immediately. First, Troops were moved to Kakheti And Dwin. Once all the Derbent forces were concentrated in Suenik, they declared war on them. The King and his son marched the separate armies into the north, Shemahka and the east, Semender, respectively. However, the Emir took a bold move, left Suenik unconquered and marched into Dwin, hoping to draw Georgia's armies away. Bagrat ordered them to not budge-they would not be tricked by this cat and mouse ploy.


By June, Dwin had fallen to the enemy, but Semender and Shemhka and had been liberated by Georgian forces. Both of armies marched towards Dwin, hoping too combine their forces so they could match the number of men the Emir's army had. However, the Turkmens had just declared war on The Count of Kakheti. Bagrat, in a fury, declared war on them to protect his vassal. But, as Giorgi's forces were marching through Kartli, they spotted a Turkmen army en rout to Kakheti. The future king could not let his fellow vassal fall, so his troops attacked the Turkmens. However, this left his father marching into Dwin alone, outnumbered two to one, with no idea his reinforcements were fighting to the north.





And so ends part three. I had originally intended it to be much longer then this, but I thought that here would be a good place for it to end. Plus, I'm massively tired, and out of battery power...

Not that many pics either. Sorry 'bout that..

 

[Enewald]

Woot, something nasty taking place!

 

[Alfredian]

I have got too used to Deus Vult. Lots of what I do in CKDV is focused around vassalising people. The hardcore crusading of orignal CK is coming as a bit of a shock.

 

[Nosnits]

Gah...Sorry for not updating at all. It's been a combination of work, the site being down when I check it, and my holiday to Wales. That, and my cable to my Mac fell apart, so my ability to play the game has been semi-limited. But, I should get an update in b today and tomorrow, hopefully.