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By the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept, as we remembered Zion - Psalm 137, Tanakh
In the year 70CE, for the second time in the month of Av, the Second Temple was burnt to the ground by the Roman Empire, and the Jewish population of the city were massacred and enslaved. The dream of the Kingdom of David was well and truly dead - its people crushed, its holiest of sites ploughed over, and the Roman heel firmly planted over what would be come the so-called 'Center of the World.' But the Jewish people were no strangers to massacre, destruction and exile. The loss of the Second Temple and the destruction of the heart of Jewish identity - both cultural and religious, spurred the development of Rabbinic Judaism, and the Eretz Yisrael (literally 'Land of Israel') would become mythologised among those who survived. The Jewish people now existed in a state of galut, or 'exile,' a punishment for their sins against Elohim.
But this could not be the end. Would not be the end. Over the almost 800 years between 70CE and 867CE, the fortunes of the Jewish diaspora would continue to wane, even as the fortunes of fellow Abrahamic religions Christianity and Islam waxed. By the year 867, only a single Rabbinic Jew, a man named Benjamin Yitzhak, holds a fiefdom - a lowly count in modern-day Russia, swearing fealty to the Khazar Khagan Manasseh Bulanid. Benjamin is a Radhanite - a group of Jews who settled in the Caucus region to take advantage of the trade passing through the Silk Roads. Keen sailors, used to defending what little they have, and promoting a culture of philosophical and religious thought, the Radhanites do not seem like the sort who would be able to reclaim the Eretz Yisrael, now the heartlands of the massive Abbasid Empire.
But that's exactly what I'm going to attempt to do.
---
Hello everyone of the Paradox AAR Forums! My original intent for my first AAR was that I'd do a modded EUIV game based around a fictional successful Vinland colony, but as I'm still learning EUIV modding, I thought I'd start with a challenge that has, so far, thwarted me throughout my previous attempts - Restoring the Kingdom of Israel, Restoring the Rabbinic High Priesthood, and building the Third (and hopefully final) Temple in its rightful place atop Temple Mount, all starting from a single county in Khazaria. Even if I am successful, this is no doubt going to be a long, gruelling and difficult task, and even when Israel is established, no doubt there'll be plenty of challengers attempting to unseat us from the 'Ir ha-Qodesh.
Before we really get into it though, some brief notes. I have every DLC as of time of writing (so up to Tours and Tournaments,) and the game will be mostly vanilla, with the exception of VIET Events, Succession+, and what is fast becoming my favourite mod out there, Historic Invasions. Historic Invasions also has the extremely useful side effect of making the world able to fit a bit better into EUIV (particularly by allowing the HRE to reform in the 867 start, which I've never seen the vanilla AI manage.) Because... Well, if this goes well, and if people are enjoying it, I am very much open to figuring out the conversion process and taking this story forward as a megacampaign. Isn't that exciting? No promises though. As for ruleset, I've done a little fiddling to make things a bit more difficult and dangerous - alas no big Black Death to sweep across the map and cause momentus changes, but what can you do.
With all that out of the way... Let's get our journey started!
And so we begin this long, arduous journey, with one Benjamin Yitzhak.
A lowly count, he is surrounded on all sides by enemies who are superior to him in every concievable way - more forces, more money and more land. Not to mention that as settled peoples surrounded by tribals, any land he conquers around him must be modernised at significant cost before we can make use of it. Nonetheless though, lamenting his position wouldn't help the young man. His court and council both looked fairly anemic, and so the first matter to attend to is matchmaking. Perhaps absurd, but by spending a day or two scratching out marriage proposals to various lowborns throughout the realm, perhaps he can entice some formidable or skilled individuals to join his court? It's worth a try at the very least.
With this done, Benjamin decided that he and only he could educate his son. Although his liege - the Khan of Khazaria, demanded that the boy be raised in his court, Benjamin refused. He would not allow some horse lord Kuzarite to whisk away his son, to be returned as a stranger to his own family. The Proverbs was clear - if a child was taught the correct way young, and even when old they would not depart from it.
Equally, Benjamin had to look to his own skills. He was already plotting to expand his realm at the expense of his Alanian neighbours, and that meant that he would need to continue to hone his skills as a general and soldier.
His initial forces however, were lacklustre. Not even 150 levied men would respond to his call to arms, and he had no allies - nor could he simply marry his son off to establish one - the faith was passed down matrilinealy, and as his heir, it was unacceptable that the young Seraiah's wife would be of a different faith, even if it was one related to the Rabbinic ways. Luckily though, he did have one force to call on - two hundred hardened shomer sakhar, a hardened core of fellow Rabbinic Jews that sworn their lives to Benjamin and his dynasty. Although these men did eat into Benjamin's admittedly limited funds, these soldiers were more than worth their weight in gold.
But with no way for him to gather more soldiers, what was he to do? The answer was simple: improve his own skills. Benjamin spent much of his time browsing the wares of book merchants in order to add to his personal library, and was delighted when he discovered several tomes focused on the great feats of tacticians before him, the escapades of Hannibal Barca and Han Xin. Resolving to carry these lessons forward with him, Benjamin felt sure he was better prepared for the coming conflict.
But the world outside was not idle as Benjamin studied old books. Far from it, in fact, as one day, sequestered away in his growing library, Benjamin recieved news.
The Abbasid Caliphate - the latest in the long line of those who fasely claimed dominance over the realms that were rightfully given to the tribes of Judah, had managed to provoke yet another massive slave revolt in Mesopotamia. Led by 'Sultan' Ali ibn Muhammed, they sought freedom from tyrrany, and their own realm to call home, having been stolen away from their own lands.
Benjamin could empathise, but little else. The Abbasids, despite the chaos that was now engulfing their realm, were still far too massive (and too distant) for him to be able to impact the course the revolt would take.
The next letter he received though came from a source closer to home. Perhaps viewing the claim on his land as nothing to fear, the High Chieftan of the Alans had sent out invitations to a hunt in his realm to the local tribal lords, and one had arrived in Benjamin's court. The hunt itself would no doubt be an excellent diversion from the usual drudgery of courtly life, but more importantly, Benjamin viewed an opportunity here. The path to where Itaz was hosting his hunt led Benjamin through Zichia - the same land he had had his eyes on capturing. A hunt and a scouting mission? It seemed he had been blessed with a bout of good fortune.
Leaving the running of his small realm in the hands of his capable and dilligent wife, Benjamin set off with a small handful of other adventurous courtiers, making sure to note down any interesting features he saw as he travelled through the land which he could already see as his. The hunt itself proved to be very successful - apart from bringing down a good-sized antelope, Benjamin had also managed to find a young falcon fledgeling fallen from its nest. Young and pliable, it was handed off to one of the hunt assistants, to be caged and placed among his baggage. It seemed the count would have a new hunting bird once it was properly trained.
Setting out on the way back, the days began to blur together, only disturbed when, of all things, a small duck wandered out in front of Benjamin's horse. Dismounting, the young count watched it wander off, and curious as to if perhaps this had been a sign from the Lord, Benjamin followed. Soon, he found himself surrounded by dense foliage, and a low growl began to sound from a particularly large thicket. A wolf - and not a small one either.
Although unarmoured, Benjamin was not unarmed. Drawing his blade just as the beast leapt at him, he was able to turn the wolf aside at the last moment, then lashed out, leaving a long, jagged scar along the beast's flank. Whimpering and yelping it drew back, snarling at the man, but now that it was clear he'd be no easy feast, it seemed much less interested in the hunt. With a last look back it turned tail and fled back into the woods, and Benjamin returned to his entourage. If this had been a test by the Lord, surely he had passed it.
When he arrived home, two pieces of news stood out to him. The first was delightful - his wife was pregnant with her second child, and the midwife expected that the couple would be holding the babe in their arms before the month was out. The second was much more disturbing. although perhaps not to the count himself. Along the north-eastern border of the empire, a threat had begun to grow. With the Khan distracted by many of his vassals of the region agitating for freedom, it had grown unchecked, and now the fearsome Rurikid dynasty was coming to sieze what they saw as rightfully theirs.
Perhaps more concerning for the Khan than young Benjamin though, as the count had preparartions to make. As the midwife had promised, soon he held his newborn babe in his arms. A daughter.
This was fortutious indeed. The newborn Sarah could be betrothed off to secure Benjamin a much needed alliance, but he was still lacking when it came to attacking Alania. He was rescued from this problem though, when a letter came in one day.
A nearby Chieftain seemed to think that Benjamin's small realm could shore up his own defences, and had sent a rider to offer an alliance - without the bonds of blood that would normally tie such an agreement together. It would be a fragile alliance, but an alliance nonetheless. Benjamin and his allies now matched the forces of Itaz and his own ally man-for-man, and it seemed only fitting to press the attack while the chieftain was off attending festivities in a foreign realm. Declaring one of his finest baghatur's to be the new Field Marshal of Tmutarkan, Benjamin raised the war banner and summoned his men.
Only to be faced with a problem.
It seemed that despite his talk of an alliance, Kaydum was less than eager to immediately rush to war against the Alans. It was too late to turn back though, and Benjamin needed those men, and needed them now. Reluctantly parting with a third of his war chest, Benjamin sent a courier to Kaydum with almost forty gold pieces, and was relieved to find that he considered this fair recompense for his men's service.
Only to immediately go and die. The alliance was broken... But he had sworn his men to Benjamin's banner before he died, and so despite this twist of fate his troops would nonetheless march alongside Benjamin's own. Better yet, with the alliance broken, Benjamin was under no obligation to provide his own support to the chieftan's successor later on down the line. It would have been hard for this to go better.
His allies though were mustering in his own realm, and the Alan armies were mustering on the border. Taking his force of a little over three hundred men, Benjamin began a march north, hoping to outrun his foes, link up with one of his allies, then turn around and smash them with greater numbers and troops.
The plan went swimmingly. United with his ally, it was now the Alans being chased across the steppe, not Benjamin. Having thought to take advantage of the count's seeming weakness, they had begun to set themselves up around Benjamin's capital, only for their scouts to report that a force of nearly three thousand men was bearing down on them. Rather than stand and fight, the enemy forces hastily packed up and fled across the Cimmerian Strait, relieving the pressure on Benjamin's capital.
With the way clear, Benjamin and his allies marched into the Alan's lands. A year, two sieges, and with no notable engagements to speak of, the war was won.
Leading this army in the field, and the many discussions that had occured between him and the two other generals he fought alongside, had taught Benjamin much more than his library. With the campaign finished, he felt more and more certain that not only was his course righteous, but that with perseverence and time, it was possible. He would improve his station - for himsellf, his dynasty, and his people.
There was more good news too - while he had been campaigning, one of his courtiers had given birth to a girl, already seemingly quick and alert despite her extremely young age. More importantly than that though, she was born to a Rabbinic mother - Benjamin finally had a viable wife for his son. The two were quickly betrothed.
Nine years had passed since he had first sent out those marriage proposals, and Benjamin considered them nine years well spent. But there was still so, so much more work to do.
It was a fresh year, and Benjamin's coffers were looking fat and healthy. The loot from the recently-won border scuffle was burning a hole in his pocket, and he knew the perfect place to invest it - In a brand new set of walls for Tmutarakan. He had a little more breathing room now, but it couldn't hurt to put in place some actual fortifications, especially since it was still all too easy for an enemy to march through the steppe and besiege his small holding.
While the construction was ongoing, there came another missive from the south. The Zanj Revolt had ended - and seemingly successfully too. The Abbasids, once the premiere power of the region, were beginning to splinter, their control over their realm spilling through their fingers like the desert sands they ruled over. It was the sort of news that brought a smile to Benjamin's face... Although, where one invasion ended, another started. It seemed the Norse were not content with just carving out what was already now being called the 'Ruslands,' but now a young man in frigid, faraway 'Norway,' had made an oath not to cut his hair until he had united the realm.
Upon receiving this news, Benjamin scoffed and immediately forgot all about it. What did he care about some faraway savages stabbing each other over a few fjords?
Besides, he had something far more important to focus on. His son's long years of childhood had ended*, and on the morning of the Shabbat, he proudly watched his firstborn son finish his Bar Mitzvah, a smile wide across his face. He was a man now, and to mark the occacsion Benjamin announced that, in the event of his absence or infirmity, it would be Seraiah who would take the reins of regent, not his wife.
As some of you might know, traditional Jewish law holds 13 to be the age of majority, not 16. CK3 however has everyone coming of age at 16, so I've bent it slightly. A bit annoying, but I guess having coming of age being cultural or religious rather than universal might be a bit of a pain to code. It is what it is.
With that out of the way though, it was time to begin preparing for another campaign. Haaving weighed up his current alliance, Benjamin had quietly broken the betrothal he had established with his eldest daughter, then promised her again, this time to another Khazar lord with a much larger force. Some would consider this callous, perhaps even unjust, but Benjamin dismissed those ideas. There was a certain amount of ruthlessness one had to act with when one was expanding their realm, and he had little need for even fewer men than he could muster.
The year after his son came of age, he raised the warbanners once more. His warchest was, admittedly, rather barren, but he was confident that with the support of his ally and some careful strategy, he could emerge victorious without dipping into his funds. Besides, even with his levies raised, he could manage to turn a small profit, making the war wholly sustainable.
The plan was surprisingly similar to his last war against the Alans. Group with his allies, strike together, and claim victory as switftly as possible, and preferably with as few lives lost as possible. The opening moves of the war also proceeded in much the same way, with Benjamin drawing his forces back as his enemies sought to siege down his lands.
Just as it seemed that the Georgians may, in fact, be able to take Bata though, Benjamin's allies arrived. Having fallen into the monotony of a long siege, his foes were cauaght off guard by the force of more than 2500 men bearing down on them, Khazar horsemen and Benjamin's Shomer joining together to strike across the frigid forests surrounding Bata.
Outnumbering his enemies 2-1, Benjamin and his allies easily sent the Georgians packing, and as the combined forces chased the retreating armies, Benjamin himself split off to briefly return to Tmutarkan. While he had fought on the battlefield, his wife was fighting her own battle on the birthing bed. Benjamin had another daughter.
But the war wouldn't wait for his family. He was needed back on the front. Rejoining his forces, he received reports that the Georgians were loading themselves onto galleys, eager to slip the noose that was tightening upon them by taking to the seas. His allies wouldn't make it in time to stop them from fleeing, but his small force was certainly close enough. If they wanted to decisively win this war, they had to strike now, and hope that their allies could relieve them in time.
Reluctantly, Benjamin gave the order, riding along with his men. If this failed, his life was at just as much risk as theirs was.
Despite the odds against them, Benjamin's time in the field and his library had taught him a thing or two about battle tactics. The roolling hills and thick forests of the Caucuses made attacking difficult, and so instead the count turned to harrying attacks - using his (relatively) elite shomer to harry at his foes, while the levied men and a few brave knights attempted a lightning raid against the docks.
They needn't have feared though. Soon enough, their allies arrived, and another 2000 men allowed for Benjamin to condense his forces into a spearpoint for a grand assault, decisively winning the battle and indeed, the war. Although the Georgians would attempt another few desperate attacks to break the siege of their capital, they would ultimately amount to nought. The war was won. Benjamin's realm expanded.
Returning home though, Benjamin was met with peculiar news. It seemed one of the lesser chieftans on the Azov coast had managed to rise up high enough for the Khan to grant him the title of High Chieftan. Within Azov's borders was Benjamin's land, and thus for the first time he was a vassal not to the Khan himself, but instead to a lesser vassal.
Soon, a letter arrived from his new liege. Benjamin opened it slowly, tentatively. He doubted it could be good news - although he was not particularly familiar with High Chieftan Bulcan, he had little faith that the Kuzarim would truly respect him and the small communities of Rabbanites that dwelt within his realm.
He was pleasantly surprised to find out that instead of a condemnation however, he was being given an offer. His liege had noticed Benjamin's success in expanding his realm, and thought that the man's keen military mind could serve him as well as it had done Benjamin himself. From now on, Benjamin would be in charge of the day-to-day management of Bulcan's forces as his marshal.
But while Benjamin's realm grew, and Azov prospered, the situation was worsening significantly in the north. The continuing pressure by the Rurikids and a seperate invasion by another group of Northmen had pushed the Khanate's borders back further and furrther, Russian vassals more than happy to turn to a liege they saw as a fellow pagan.
This rankled Benjamin. Although ultimately, unless this incursion managed to stretch all the way down to the Black Sea he himself was under little threat, but the pressure of foreign faiths, so often a threat to the Jewish way of life, seemed once again primed to overwhelm Elohim's followers. He would need to be more zealous in his conduct, more fierce in his confronting of those that would crush him... A warrior clad not just by armour, but also by faith.
Even as he trained though, his wife was once again busy bearing his children. This time, the midwife eagerly declared that she had given birth to a baby boy. Although Benjamin rejoiced, this troubled him. Two male sons put his realm at risk when he passed away. Calling together the two barons that answered to him, he laid a blade down on the table and challenged either of them to confront him should they disagree with him changing the laws of succession. Neither grasped the blade's hilt.
If you're wondering how I've managed High Partition this early in the game, it's thanks to Succession+. Mercifully so in my opinion, as basegame succession isn't very fleshed out.
With that excitement out of the way, and plans already set for yet another war against the Georgians, Benjamin retired back to his library as he had done so many times before. He was already now agreed upon by most in the region to be a pre-eminent strategist, and he was eager to begin perhaps penning his own manual or two. It would be an excellent chance to pass down knowledge to his descendents as well!
As he had done so many times before, Benjamin burnt the midnight oil, but he was no longer a man in his twenties, easily able to spar in the yard for hours, wolf down his supper and then spend the evening whiling away the hours in his books. His eyelids grew heavy, the flickering candlelight forcing him to squint at the lines as he read them. Soon enough, he slipped into a slumber.
When he awoke, it was to smoke and flames.
By the time servants rushed in with buckets of water, it was too late. Benjamin Yitzhak lay on the floor, skin blistered and peeling, lungs filled with smoke. He would no longer plan his wars, no longer have to keep the mitsvot. Now, it was the duty of his sons to carry on his legacy.
Time would tell what that legacy would be.
Rurikids have been relatively quiet since they last chopped through Khazaria.
A rapid expansion for Harald over in Norway - he's already Fairhair, and I suspect he'll be taking out that last jarl pretty soon.
King of the Danelaw. because of course he is. Probably one of the more successful Haestinn's I've seen, although time will tell what this dual Danelaw-Jorvik Britain will morph into.
This is I think one of the worse I've seen the Abbasids do outside of just spontaneously exploding or having some random Armenian take control of the empire. They've even lost Medina!
The young count Seraiah, second of house Yitzhak
So it was that Seraiah came to lead the few counties that his father before him had carved out. Or, almost all of those counties. Despite his father's insistence upon High Partition, it seemed that the young count was still not to inherit everything that had been won for him. Instead, Abkhasia, the only feudal territory his father had conquered prior to his demise, had been handed to Seraiah's two year old brother, Ezra, with a Kohen to raise him in the ways of his people.
It was a patently rediculous idea. The already tiny realm divvied up? His brother to be brought up by a priest, instead of his own family? A two year old prioritised over Sereiah? It was nonsense. Absolute nonsense. Looking over the forces and money his father had left him, Seraiah saw an opportunity to take back what was his. Another hundred shomer swore themselves to the young lord, and just as he was preparing himself for war, a missive came in from High Chieftan Bulcan - High Chieften of Azov and a friend of the late Benjamin. Much like his father before him, Seraiah was being offered the position of marshal of Azov. This... Baffled the man slightly, as he was hardly the strategic sort his father had been, but denying such a position was unseemly, and it really couldn't hurt to be in the good graces of his liege, even if the young man was gambling on his own place in the sun sooner rather than later.
A babe in his wife's belly and his sister married to secure an alliance, and Seraiah was ready. The war for Abkhazia had begun.
And ended rather unspectacularly in an overwhelming victory for the elder Yitzhak. The young Ezra would be secured (the boy had been completely ignorant of the war, having still been a toddler for its duration,) and Seraiah swore that he'd raise his brother righteously and properly, placing the young man under the care of his wife, having now recovered from the birth of Seraiah's son and heir, named for the father stolen from the count too soon.
But Seraiah was not content with piecing together the scraps his father had fought for, and nor was he content to be the marshal to some horse-riding high chieftan. He may not have been the great general his father was, but he was determined to bring majesty to the Yitzhak name, to show that there was more to this clan of Jewish merchants than the gentile could ever have expected. His target was clear - the Caucasian principalities were in a state of total flux, battling each other to secure their own place in the sun as the Abbasids continued their slow demise, and the Romans were caught up in a collossal civil war. Into this environment of chaos and uncertainty, Seraiah struck.
The claim he had was... Patently absurd to even the layman - there was absolutely no history of widespread Jewish settlement in this region of the world, but what the claim said was sescondary to what the claim represented - a challenge, sent directly to Prince Bagrat.
In a mildly unfortunate twist of events however, it seemed that High Chieftan Bulcan had had a similar idea. Before Seraiah had finished mustering his troops, the Azovite struck, seizing a border province from the Georgians. Seraiah, furious, had spent several hours angrily cursing the impudence of his liege behind closed doors, only to emerge and address his own marshal.
They marched to war now. Before Bulcan could bite away any more chunks of the principality.
The first skirmish went excellently. Around a thousand men joined in the densely wooded foothills wedged between the Caucasus and the sea. The light infantry of the shomer, easily able to navigate through the trees and having scouted the terrain out beforehand, harried and ambushed the Georgians as they attempted to push through the woodlands and futher into Seraiah's realm. Bit by bit, they were cut down and forced back, until at last the Orthodox warriors were in full retreat. With his dream of power seeming closer than ever, Seraiah urged his men to press the advance, and chase them down wherever they fled to.
A month of hard marching later, and the Georgians attempted their final stand, having retreated to a well build hill fort high in the mountains. Despite their position however, the Radhanites had not only the numbers, but expertise on their side too. Both Seraiah and Prince Konstantine rode at the head of their forces for the battle of Svaneti, both knowing that the war would be won here.
And so it was, as Seraiah's swordpoint rested at the very top of Konstantine's sternum, every breath the Prince took causing the point to prick his neck.
His father may have perished, but Seraiah had not let his legacy be forgotten. Now 31, he ruled not only the humble lands his father had carved out for him, but the dukedom of Abkhazia, breaking him free from the rule of Azov. His liege would once more be the Khagn himself.
Arrogant and presumptuous the duke may have been, but he was not foolish. His position, despite the successful war, was still tenuous, and could be toppled at any point. Konstantine still held provinces in his former duchy, and Azov had turned from an overlord to a rival. The latter issue could be solved rather simply - Seraiah agreed to take Bulcan's daughter, Sati, as a second wife for himself, but the first was slightly trickier. When he demanded Konstantine to hand over his lands, the foolish Christian picked his arms back up, forcing Seraiah to engage in a brief but inconveneint war to finally capture and depose the once-Prince.
With that finally finished, the duke could sit back and relax, at least for the time being. Attacking any of his neighbouring fellow vassals meant securing tribal lands, but pressing outside of Khazaria meant he would either need to take on the smaller gentile counties, or war against the Hayastans, a foe that Seraiah's forces were still far from capable of handling. The years passed quickly - aside from a brief fright at a horde of northmen pouring into Azov only to quickly be repulsed by an organised Khazar counterattack and a feast to push away the winter's cold. Life was, although never easy, comfortable and pleasant, even as the Christians celebrated the turn of a new century.
Nothing to update on the invasion front really - Harald finished capturing the last few bits and pieces of Norway, but there hasn't been a fresh Invasion this episode, but there's some big ones coming up, including a few that'll help shake up our region like the Fatimids and Ziyarids. All in all, I'm still very excited to keep on keepin' on, and I'd like to thank folks considering I came back a week later than I said I would. Nonetheless, onwards!
Alright! Apologies for the wait, things have been hectic on my end... But without further ado, it's time to cover The World of 900! As Benjamin and Seriah have been struggling over small counties in the Caucuses, the winds of change have swept across the world, tearing down some kingdoms while building up others.
The British Isles
The Norse Yoke has firmly settled over the British Isles - Ivar's dynasty looks set to swallow up the last of native Alba from its child-king, while the fearsome raider Haesteinn de Montigau, now 85 years old, has asserted himself over the sons of Lodbrok to become unquestioned king of the Danelaw. His realm stretches from Jorvik down to Mercia, the last holdouts against Norse rule in the south being King Aethelwulf, son of Alfred (not the Great, he died of Typhus in his 20s,) and a few minor Welsh nobles.
Iberia
The mighty Andalusian Empire has certainly seen better days - which is something of a running theme with several of the nations that were so powerful a few decades ago. Although it still holds on to a significant portion of Hispania and helmed by the Umayyads, other Muslim kingdoms have split off. Sultan al-Mundir's cousin, Sirhan ibn Abdallah has formed the breakaway kingdom of al-Sarq, while Batalywas has been split between five different fiefs. The Iberian Struggle has descended into a complex, hostile quagmire, one which Christian Asturias has managed to exploit for some small gains. Barcelona meanwhile, a fresh Christian Duchy, is filled with potential.
France
Once the center of the mighty Carolingian empire, Louis' France could not have fallen further from grace. Normandy has been carved out by the Norse under Duke Ragnarr (son of Halfdan Whiteshirt,), and France itself has been shattered, first by Aquitaine breaking free under the Karling king Geraud, and then as Aquitane was torn again, birthing Gascogne and Tolouse in the south. Only time will tell if these errant fiefs will once again be brought under the blue fold.
Italy... And Burgundy, and Lotharingia... And Bavaria?!
While Iberia and France have fractured, Italia has grown larger and larger. Empress Ermengade, daughter of Louis the Younger, has slowly gobbled up many of the independent Karlings, creating an Empire that, while certainly can't live up to the crumbled Roman Empire, still manages to be one of the most powerful in the world. Despite this impressive realm, southern Italy still remains fractured, and with such a long and cumbersome territory, only time will tell if Ermengarde can hold it all together.
Scandinavia
The mighty king Haraldr Fairhair passed away in 892, having successfully seen his dream of a united Noreger come to fruition. Alongside this kingdom sits Sweden, ruled by the Ruthless King Eirikr, who succeeded where his father Bjorn Ironside could not, while Denmark has formed under another King Eirikr, but has yet to claim its rightful territory of Sjaelland. None of the Finns have yet managed to secure themselves as king, and Sweden looks on hungrily, having already begun snapping at these smaller chiefdoms.
Central and Eastern Europe
Ludwig's Germanic kingdom has suffered for Italia to rise, losing vast chunks of southern Germania and taking surprisingly little to its east to make up for it. Bohemia, meanwhile, has survived almost unchanged, while Polania and Vistulania have torn through the smaller chiefdoms to establish themselves as regional powers. Perhaps, one might even be able to unite all the Poles?
The Balkans
The greatest change to the Balkans has come from the Mogyers, when in 870 they swept through Bulgaria to sieze the Grand Duchy of Hungary. Bulgaria itself was then further partitioned upon the death of King Boris Balgarsko, to form Wallachia in the north.
The Byzantine Empire
Standing proud across the Bosporus, the Byzantine Empire has gone through great internal upheaval, without any significant external changes. The hated Makedons were overthrown after a grinding civil war, with Basileious' son being, of course, disfigured as he was deposed, in quintissential Byzantine fashion.
Far Eastern Europe/Northwestern Asia
The story of this region is indelibly marked by the explosion that is the Rurikids, who have torn through the minor Russian chiefdoms to create an empire to rival Khazaria. Already bitter rivals, the two titans have clashed before, and it seems that the region is a little too small for both empires to exist comfortably next to each other. Who the victor will be remains to be seen.
The Near East
The tale of the Near East is that of tragedy... For the Abbasids, at any rate. While the Tulunids in Egypt have survived almost unchanged, the mighty Arabic Empire has been struck by the Zanj revolt, the holy city of Medina breaking free, and various fractious nobles taking their chance to also break loose. While the Byzantines have so far contented themselves with smaller pickings in the Balkans and a handful of border counties, Caliph Adhid ibn al-Mu'tazzh has much work ahead of him if he hopes to keep his polity together.
Persia and India
To conclude our whip around the world, we come to yet another region that has been shattered almost beyond recognition. Perisa has seen the rise of the Tahrids and Samanids at the expense of the Saffarids, while India... I mean, just look at it. The only true victors in the subcontinent have been Bihar, which has risen in place of Pala and swallowed up many of the smaller fiefs surrounding it.
