The year is 950 A.D. The millennial anniversary of Christ's birth is at hand, and less than a decade later, the fourth centenary of Muhammad's exile from Mecca. Both are terrible dates, for the end of the world is forecast at both times. It is a time of desperate struggles, and titanic wars.
The Muslim world, centred on the Abassid capital in Baghdad, has been torn apart. In Egypt, a descendant of Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad, has proclaimed himself Caliph, as has Abd al-Rahman III, the Emir of al-Andalus, a scion of the ancient bloodline of the Umayyads, the first dynasty of Caliphs. The Emir of Sicily has also become independent, and is concentrating more on menacing the various states of Italy than helping create a unified Islam.
The Byzantine Empire is recovering from a nadir in its fortunes earlier in the century. Its great warrior emperor, Nicephorus Phocas, is succeeding at pushing back the imperial frontiers but unrest and treachery at home may cause more problems for him. Also, Islamic and pagan tribes of the east have been moving. Could a mass invasion spell doom for the Empire of the Romans?
In Britain, the Saxon king Athelstan has regained control of his domain and defeated the Vikings and Scots, but there are always more Norsemen to pour out of Scandinavia. His ancient royal line has endured so far but there will be many tests in the future.
In France, the Carolingian king Louis IV's authority is draining, despite his being descendant of Charlemagne. The Carolingians' failure to repel Viking invaders has damaged their influence severely, and their prestige is beginning to be overshadowed by dukes and counts who have claimed glory in the defeat of the pirates.
The Spanish kings' situation is grim indeed. The Umayyad rulers of al-Andalus are constantly embarking on jihad to prove their worthiness, and only by clinging to the rugged mountains of Galicia have they preserved their independence. Although some within the Caliphate are starting to notice signs of rot within it, their rulers' most reliable way of maintaining control is by harnessing the Andalusis' zeal and using it to wage war on the men of the northern mountains.
The new ruler of the Eastern Franks, Otto I, will be tested soon. The Hungarians have massed and will invade the Reich shortly, to avenge the raids his brother Henry has inflicted upon them. However, he cannot afford to spare many troops as the northern provinces of Saxony and Brandenburg are being invaded by Wendish Slavs too. There are also many dissenters within his Empire, including his own son Liudolf, who would seek to usurp his throne. Otto must counter all these threats and more if he is to preserve the empire and frontiers built up so painstakingly by his father, Henry I. The Slavic lands beyond them, and the Hungarian tribes, remain pagans, but Christian missionaries are bringing the faith across the barbaric eastern lands.
The Viking men of the North have yet to be converted to Christianity, but may have to soon, as their lands are menaced by many powers of that faith. The era of the great sea kings is past its height but not over yet. The great warrior Gorm has unified Denmark and in Sweden and Norway, the Jarldoms are beginning to coalesce into tangible realms. In the west, the Irish kings of Connaught are building resistance to the Norse. To the east, Sviatoslav the Brave, has been proclaimed ruler of Kiev, but his rule is limited to the land between Kiev and Novgorod. However, he has plans to expand widely and truly make the Rus' a great people. He remains a staunch pagan, although his mother has converted to the faith of Christ.
This is a mod proposal for 6.2 RR/RC compilation, to add an extra campaign starting around 950 A.D. (or a similar time if that makes the game work better at all...)
Changes:
England becomes a much less Continental faction, with much more focus on Huscarls and similar foot units than the knights of Europe. York may be English or Danish, I'm not sure yet (need to check).
Shahdom of Khwarezm -> The Abbasid Caliphate (using BC units). They'll have dominion over Mesopotamia, Syria and Arabia, but be allied to the Buyids and have mutual military access to represent the Iranian influence over the Abbasid government.
Turks are an emergent faction, pouring into the lands beyond the Caspian in the early eleventh century. (Still Islamic)
Duchy of Norman Sicily -> Emirate of Sicily. Good light infantry and missile troops, excellent naval power. (Islamic)
Novgorod -> Kingdom of the Geats/Uppland. Similar to BftB but a bit earlier.
Cumans -> Khazar Khaganate. Jewish, if possible (see below)
Portugal -> Pechenegs. Pagan, conversion possible?
Almoravids -> The Umayyad Caliphate. Same territory, but they also have Lisbon, Valencia, Toledo and Palma.
Georgia takes up the faction slot left by Ireland as in 1100 campaign, starts with Tbilisi, Kutaisi and possible some of Azerbaijan. Christian.
Hungarians, Poles, Rus', Norwegians, Danes and Swedes all use the Lithuanian conversion script (starting as pagans) to Christian later.
Using the knowledge that in the vanilla Britannia campaign, the religions are different, I propose to merge Catholicism and Orthodoxy because the Great Schism is yet to happen and make Judaism for the Khazars. Don't know if it'll work with the Pope though.
Scripted Viking invasions if possible.
Timurids won't appear, too late on in the campaign. Instead, The Confederate Amirates of the Buyids are in Iran (That's the state of affairs in 1000 AD, I'm looking for better information, but from everything I've found the Saffarids and Buyids were the dominant power of the tenth century, with Khwarezmians and Ghaznavids in the ascendancy). If I can find a slot, then Ghaznavids will be an emergent faction, appearing on the scene around Khiva and Konjikala. They'll probably start out out at war with the Khazars, Khwarezmians and Buyids.
Faction List:
Christian factions are in blue, Muslim factions in green, Pagan factions in red and Jewish* factions in purple.
Emergent factions are in italics.
The Papal States**
The Kingdom of the English
The Kingdom of the Franks
The Holy Roman Empire
The Kingdom of Leon and Asturias
The Kingdom of Navarre
The Kingdom of Scotland
The Kingdom of Italy
The Kingdom of Danemark
The Kingdom of Norway
The Kingdom of Uppland
The Principality of the Poles
The Principality of the Magyars
The Grand Principality of Kievan Rus'
The Khazar Khaganate
The Kingdom of Georgia
The Tsardom of Bulgaria
The Roman Empire
The Umayyad Caliphate
The Abbasid Caliphate
The Fatimid Caliphate
The Kalbid Emirate (of Sicily) - c. 965.***
The Zirid Emirate (of Ifriqiya or North Africa)
The Saffarid Emirate (of Iran)
The Buyid Emirates (of Iran)
The Shahdom of the Ghaznavids - c. 960.
The Sultanate of the Seljuks - c. 1050.
The Khanate of the Mongols - c. 1220
The Oghuz Tribes (may be Muslim or Pagan)
(Independent Sovereignties)
* Many sources claim that only the upper classes of the Khazars converted to Judaism. As such, most of their populations will start as pagans, with a maximum of 10% Jews. (This is only if the religion slots can be swapped about)
** The Papal States may or may not be emergent, to represent the Great Schism. Most likely not, however. The Pope as a tab on the faction slot may be emergent if possible.
*** After 965, although still a Fatimid territory in name, the Emirate of Sicily was almost totally autonomous.
Any help or advice, or maybe even people teaching me what to do if I'm ever going to make this would be great