To take back what's ours: an Image heavy mega campaign AAR in Africa

[Donkey Cactus]

So this is my first ever mega campaign and I wanted to do something unique, fortunately for me when Iron century came out and added Sardinian Culture to the game and it took me back to a wikipedia article that said that the Sardinian language is most similar to the forgotten African romance language so I thought; hmm, what would happen if I were to (technically) restore the Africanu to their rightful place in the sun? so here I am.
Rules:
1. I can blob as much as I want as long as I get mega-nerfed for EU4
2. Since I have Flogi's techmod enabled and can take a lot more loans out at a whim combining that with expelling the Jews and taking their money would be too OP so no expelling Jews
3. only using the console to make the world make more sense
more to come as I see fit or as suggested
Goals:
Run the Muslims out of the Maghreb (it is our Rightful clay)
Participate in the crusades (we will assist our european brothers! Deus Vult!)
Have as many pagans convert as possible (Deus Vult again)
more to come as I see fit or as suggested
Prologue:
The year is 768 a 19 year old boy by the name of Samuel (rumored to be a bastard of Pepin Karling) gathered an army of mercenaries and zealots to sail from Sardinia to Africa to liberate it from the Infidel. 36 years earlier presumably his grandfather Karl 'the Hammer' Martel repelled the Muslims at Tours saving Gaul from Islamic Rule and opened the door to reconquering the lands lost was opened. Unfortunately two of his true-born Grandchildren Karl and Karloman squabbled with each other over their father's kingdom leaving Samuel to do the job and finish the job Pepin's father started.

 

[Donkey Cactus]

It is now 769 1 year later, Samuel of Calgari has finally secured his rule over Tlemcen and now is able to dream bigger dreams

shortly after retaking Tlemcen form the Saracen Samuel's realm has been under constant Jihad but the truth is he already has had 3 years under a mercenary band and gained a reputation for brutally disposing of his enemies. Once he beheaded all the soldiers he captured and then boiling the flesh off their skulls and sending every last skull to the Sheikh who dared declare Jihad on him so scaring his enemies into submission wasn't a new tactic for him.

Now however he had yet to get married so he decided to get to work,

and thus decided to secure a future for his dynasty...

In terms of the duke's well being, a nun from Sardinia had recently moved into a monastery in Samuel's land where she gained a reputation treating patients in the leper colony and Samuel thus decided that the nun will be working in his own court. Whether she was an actually competent physician was about to be put to the test.

Having a wife to bear you children and a physician to keep you healthy was all well and good, but in the end if he sat idle for too long the flame of reconquest would die out but one has to start small so he tested his levies on a neighboring sheikh to test the waters before tackling any bigger neighbors.

Afterwards he turned his attention to one of the more powerful sheikhs to be absolutely sure,

the two armies were to meet in figuig...

(location of where the battle of Figuig took place)

The Tlemcleni army despite only having a year to build up after Samuel's Initial conquest of the land, could easily throw its weight around and take on the numerous Sheikhs in the Maghreb with no Issue (the only true threat to Samuel's reign was Ummayads to the north but they currently had no interest in north Africa).

After winning in Figuig Samuel would lead his armies to Tendra to make sure every last man was killed and to his surprise the Enemy commander Amayas abandoned his men and hid in a nearby cave hoping to live to tell the tale. He wouldn't

Samuel had the element of surprise at their duel with his first swing drove Amayas deeper into the cave and the next one hitting when he was off guard, then Samuel had chopped his head of and took it with him placing it on a spike near his camp after the battle.

Stories often tell of the Blood-Stained Samuel walking out of the cave and onto a hill closest to the fighting and raising the head Amayas high into the air, making the enemy flee as he walked down the hill though there isn't enough evidence to prove or disprove this.

and the sheikh's capital Taza was taken care of shortly afterwards

The next move was made against the high chief of Marakech to further cement his power over Mauritania and to land his veterans,

meanwhile however Augusta (Samuel's wife) had given birth to a son. Naming him Guantine she would watch over him while her father was constantly at war with his muslim neighbors.

Meanwhile still Marakech was swiftly occupied,
and it's chieftan surrendered.

 

[streaker77]

Thats a lot of traits.

 

[Donkey Cactus]

Thats a lot of traits.

yea, I used the ruler designer unlimited points mod to give me a good character so that it makes sense 'cuz you don't see incompetent people managing to take over entire realms do ya'?(though i may have gone overkill if not for the wroth,honest,envious and cruel traits) also I have the performance and authenticity mod enabled so stewardship isn't giving me extra demense size and diplomacy isn't giving me extra vassal limit in some of the screenshots especially the one where I was declaring war on Marrakesh where I was at quadruple my demense limit but Samuel is in my current save dead from that nun failing to treat him and Guantine rules as King of Mauritania (which Samuel formed) and to top it all off the improved genetics advanced mod has kept the genius trait in my family (thanks punnet squares!) p.s I educated my kids in pride to nerf them directly (so there's that)

 

[TheButterflyComposer]

Hmm...so you want to take over all of africa and try to destroy islam everywbere else? Are you wanting to keep sardinia too (thus eventually bringing you into conflict with italy/whoever rules rhe peninsula) and the rest of the west med islands?

 

[Donkey Cactus]

Hmm...so you want to take over all of africa and try to destroy islam everywbere else? Are you wanting to keep sardinia too (thus eventually bringing you into conflict with italy/whoever rules rhe peninsula) and the rest of the west med islands?

I just want to take over the Maghreb because that's where the african romance language originates and I started as a custom character in 769 as a christian duke of Tlemcen but I could go after the western med islands eventually It's just that I never had sardinia in the start sorry if you were confused

 

[TheButterflyComposer]

I just want to take over the Maghreb because that's where the african romance language originates and I started as a custom character in 769 as a christian duke of Tlemcen but I could go after the western med islands eventually It's just that I never had them in the start sorry if you were confused

I'm more asking because you've picked a small-ish place to conquer and want to go into EUIV, so what are you stretch goals basically? Are you going to eventually try to make a pan-African empire or a more naturally occurring realm wherever your culture spread too and wherever it makes sense to rule?

 

[Donkey Cactus]

I'm more asking because you've picked a small-ish place to conquer and want to go into EUIV, so what are you stretch goals basically? Are you going to eventually try to make a pan-African empire or a more naturally occurring realm wherever your culture spread too and wherever it makes sense to rule?

I don't think I'll make an empire but I want to limit myself to the Maghreb,Sicily,Corsica and Sardinia and the Baleric Isles (crusading Egypt and making tributary states out of my southern neighbors)

 

[TheButterflyComposer]

I don't think I'll make an empire but I want to limit myself to the Maghreb,Sicily,Corsica and Sardinia and the Baleric Isles (crusading Egypt and making tributary states out of my southern neighbors)

Can you visually map that out on the game map? I approve of tributary states! I really like that mechanic. What do you think you might do if you inherit land outside these places, like Italy (presumably you're going to marry quite a bit into Spanish and Italian families)? Speaking of, are you thus going to try to help the Christians in Iberia reconquer it?

I don't mean to swamp you with questions but I am interested.

 

[Donkey Cactus]

Can you visually map that out on the game map? I approve of tributary states! I really like that mechanic. What do you think you might do if you inherit land outside these places, like Italy (presumably you're going to marry quite a bit into Spanish and Italian families)? Speaking of, are you thus going to try to help the Christians in Iberia reconquer it?

I don't mean to swamp you with questions but I am interested.

I tried to use GIMP to show you but can't but I'll try encompasing the de-jure kingdoms/duchies of Africa(minus cyrencia),Corsica and Sardinia,sicily and the balleric isles and yes helping the Reconquista is a big priority once I've secured the Maghreb

 

[TheButterflyComposer]

All good. And tributing sub-Saharan Africa because by god is it hard to get troops down there.

 

[Donkey Cactus]

View attachment 489595
(the battle of Alhoccima before the Ummayads arrived)
View attachment 489596
To a dimwitted Individual Samuel had bitten off more than he could chew declaring holy war for tangier bringing the Ummayad Sultan into the war and crushing his army at Alhoccima with him taking out several loans and hiring more mercenaries than ever to prep for vengeance. The lord had other plans however as after crushing Samuel the Moors believed that the problem was permanently left to take care of their own problems back at Spain.
View attachment 489602
While this was happening Augusta gave birth to a second son while Samuel began the occupation of Tangiers and this new son named Gabinu was considered to be blessed.
View attachment 489609
Though he had won Tangier his thirst for revenge against the Ummayads was unfufilled to a point that Augusta was concerned as Samuel smashed a new table damning the Ummayads calling them cowards.
View attachment 489610
His Wife requested that while she reorginize the realm that Samuel take the stress out on the neigboring tribes,
View attachment 489611
while that was happening the simple act of Samuel freeing the Christians of Mauritania had inspired others to fight against the Muslim opressors...
View attachment 489789
of course the wars to unify Mauritania was to continue,
View attachment 489797
even if Samuel's choices weren't the best...
View attachment 489821
but things continued as usual Samuel continued his constant wars of reconquering Mauritania for Christendom and for his house.
View attachment 489827 Controversy though would eventually hit Samuel as he granted Sous to a Jewish exile rather than a Chalcedonian otherwise things were to continue as normal though granting land to a Jew did stir the peasants,
View attachment 489829 Then again peasants weren't the most competent fighting force in the world.
View attachment 489831
From defending his realm from hostile neighbors,

to conquering the canaries Samuel never took on any Major powers instead taking on smaller nations to consolidate his power in the region.

However that changed as the Ummayad Sultanate took on Samuel's realm and the Andalusian war began...

Fortunately for Samuel or unfortunately for the Ummayads Samuel had plenty of mercenaries and chased down the ummayad soldiers 'till there were no more and would lay siege to Cordoba (twice).

unfortunately for Samuel, his wife Augusta found out he was having an affair with another woman and denounced both her husband and the woman.

More peculiar however was that Samuel told his steward Giudice to search for an artifact that was rumored to exist somewhere in Africa...

Once the Andalusian war was won though, it was all Irrelevant for Samuel was now a King...

 

[Donkey Cactus]

not to sound a bit off or anything but I managed to download ck2+ and it is converter compatible so please vote on weather you want me to do this on ck2+ or if i should continue
https://www.strawpoll.me/18149355

 

[VillainsAreBetter]

Keep on going man your doing great. And also when are you going to continue.