So before the AAR starts, some OOC back story to help place things in context.
As the Western Empire neared its end, the Eastern Emperor sent the governor of Dalmatia, his nephew-in-law Julius Nepos, to depose the usurper Glycerius and take up the Imperial mantel backed by Eastern recognition. Julius was successful in his mission but not long after was deposed by his Master Militum who exiled Julius to Dalmatia and placed his own son, Romulus Augustus, on the throne. Julius would spend 1/2 a decade building up his forces to retake Italy only to again be betrayed by his Master Militum and assassinated. Romulus in turn would be deemed of no use and retired by his father who would send the vestments of Western Imperial power to the Eastern Emperor with a message that the West no longer had need of an Emperor. In later times this would be seen as the fall of the Western Empire but in truth the Western Senate remained as advisors to the new king and local Roman authorities remained in power. There would be a gradual Germanification of the Western 'Empire' but in the immediate aftermath it would have appeared more a restoration of the old Republic rather than the end of a civilization.
Our point of divergence occurs in that 1st 5 years in Dalmatia. As the political situation in Italy stabilizes Julius comes to realize a war with his resources would be a longshot. With the Eastern empire unwilling to commit it's Legions and the strategic importance of Dalmatia's location along key trade routs becoming apparent, Julius doubles down on his plans to build his powerbase. Rather than marching north after 5 years, he continues building up Dalmatia and has a son/heir whom he entrusts to carryout the reconquest of Italy. Dalmatia goes on to assume the historical position that Venice and Genoa took historically while his son, after assuming the Imperial title following Julius' death, proves content to rule a powerful merchant empire. As the years progress, most of Dalmatia's emperors remain fabulously wealthy merchant kings and the handful that do have greater ambitions reign during periods of stability in the Balkans and Italy and so have no opening to attack.
As years become decades and decades centuries, only Dalmatia and the Imperial Court (and only in public) recognize the Western Imperial title, to everyone else Dalmatia is nothing more than a powerful kingdom. Beyond Dalmatia, history plays out the same.
Our story starts shortly after the earliest start date with the ascension of Emperor Gaius Leonid. While previous emperors had carefully balanced their loyalties between the Patriarch of Constantinople (key to maintaining relations with the Eastern Empire) and the Bishop of Rome (key to maintaining legitimacy in a reconquered Italy), the fact that Italy was no longer an immediate target and the Papal State's territorial ambitions made tolerating the Latin Rite less of an issue and so Gaius commits fully to the Patriarch of Constantinople. In truth the Great Schism hadn't happened yet but this isn't reflected by the game mechanics so I'll be starting with an Orthodox kingdom.
They'll be quite a bit of cheating before the AAR properly starts to set things up and if I have to cheat in the future to avoid absurdities or a game over, I'll note it OOC. For the most part there shouldn't be any cheating after the initial setup. Future AAR posts will be IC except for any OOC cheating notes. This initial post will be updated with a table of contents to help readers uninterested in OOC discussion navigate the AAR. I should have something up tomorrow.
As the Western Empire neared its end, the Eastern Emperor sent the governor of Dalmatia, his nephew-in-law Julius Nepos, to depose the usurper Glycerius and take up the Imperial mantel backed by Eastern recognition. Julius was successful in his mission but not long after was deposed by his Master Militum who exiled Julius to Dalmatia and placed his own son, Romulus Augustus, on the throne. Julius would spend 1/2 a decade building up his forces to retake Italy only to again be betrayed by his Master Militum and assassinated. Romulus in turn would be deemed of no use and retired by his father who would send the vestments of Western Imperial power to the Eastern Emperor with a message that the West no longer had need of an Emperor. In later times this would be seen as the fall of the Western Empire but in truth the Western Senate remained as advisors to the new king and local Roman authorities remained in power. There would be a gradual Germanification of the Western 'Empire' but in the immediate aftermath it would have appeared more a restoration of the old Republic rather than the end of a civilization.
Our point of divergence occurs in that 1st 5 years in Dalmatia. As the political situation in Italy stabilizes Julius comes to realize a war with his resources would be a longshot. With the Eastern empire unwilling to commit it's Legions and the strategic importance of Dalmatia's location along key trade routs becoming apparent, Julius doubles down on his plans to build his powerbase. Rather than marching north after 5 years, he continues building up Dalmatia and has a son/heir whom he entrusts to carryout the reconquest of Italy. Dalmatia goes on to assume the historical position that Venice and Genoa took historically while his son, after assuming the Imperial title following Julius' death, proves content to rule a powerful merchant empire. As the years progress, most of Dalmatia's emperors remain fabulously wealthy merchant kings and the handful that do have greater ambitions reign during periods of stability in the Balkans and Italy and so have no opening to attack.
As years become decades and decades centuries, only Dalmatia and the Imperial Court (and only in public) recognize the Western Imperial title, to everyone else Dalmatia is nothing more than a powerful kingdom. Beyond Dalmatia, history plays out the same.
Our story starts shortly after the earliest start date with the ascension of Emperor Gaius Leonid. While previous emperors had carefully balanced their loyalties between the Patriarch of Constantinople (key to maintaining relations with the Eastern Empire) and the Bishop of Rome (key to maintaining legitimacy in a reconquered Italy), the fact that Italy was no longer an immediate target and the Papal State's territorial ambitions made tolerating the Latin Rite less of an issue and so Gaius commits fully to the Patriarch of Constantinople. In truth the Great Schism hadn't happened yet but this isn't reflected by the game mechanics so I'll be starting with an Orthodox kingdom.
They'll be quite a bit of cheating before the AAR properly starts to set things up and if I have to cheat in the future to avoid absurdities or a game over, I'll note it OOC. For the most part there shouldn't be any cheating after the initial setup. Future AAR posts will be IC except for any OOC cheating notes. This initial post will be updated with a table of contents to help readers uninterested in OOC discussion navigate the AAR. I should have something up tomorrow.
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