Byzantines: When should i conquer rome

**MyGeneration** · February 03, 2009, 10:30 PM

I am currently playing as the Byzantines because i got tired of the Grandpa in Rome telling me how to run my kingdom, Anyways one of my objectives is to conquer Rome but right now i am at war with the Venetians and The Bloody Turks

So when is it a good time to sack Rome and excommunicate the pope?

**Manoflooks** · February 03, 2009, 10:48 PM

Excommunicate the pope? u cant ...

Take it whenever you can. Or at the end, for the symbolism.

**MyGeneration** · February 03, 2009, 11:05 PM

Originally Posted by Manoflooks

Excommunicate the pope? u cant ...

Take it whenever you can. Or at the end, for the symbolism.

I meant Excommunicate in a Ironic metaphoric kind of way.

Yeah i was going for the Symbolism but i was to impatient and attacked the old bastards family member and now we are at war.

Maybe a ceasefire would suffice and we can imagine it never happened and conquer Rome at the end.

**PhoenixFury23** · February 03, 2009, 10:49 PM

I was wondering today what would be the best starting army to try and rebuild the roman empire by dominating the mediterranean.

Milan or Sicily would be the most appropriate starting point for where the Romans originally came from, but it could be annoying having rome in the middle of your empire without you controlling it.... You can't put a puppet in like you could in the first game.

Interesting though about the byzantines, I could try to tackle it from that angle - Rebuilding it from east to west based on it's real origin.
But... They are classic eastern roman in style, and any resurgence of the western roman empire would have to take place around rome itself.

**MyGeneration** · February 03, 2009, 11:09 PM

Originally Posted by PhoenixFury23

I was wondering today what would be the best starting army to try and rebuild the roman empire by dominating the mediterranean.

Milan or Sicily would be the most appropriate starting point for where the Romans originally came from, but it could be annoying having rome in the middle of your empire without you controlling it.... You can't put a puppet in like you could in the first game.

Interesting though about the byzantines, I could try to tackle it from that angle - Rebuilding it from east to west based on it's real origin.
But... They are classic eastern roman in style, and any resurgence of the western roman empire would have to take place around rome itself.

That is the Real reason i am playing as the Byzantines so i can rebuild the Roman empire and show those other kingdoms that Rome is back and this time we are taking names.

**Lord Feloric's Ambassador** · February 03, 2009, 11:17 PM

The only way to silence the Pope is to conquer the Papacy itself. However, if you would like to cause problems for the old man while you shore up the troops for an invasion my Lord has a tip for you. Create 15-20 Orthodox Priests and send them to Rome, before long that reigon will be converted to mostly Orthodox, putting a thorn in the side of the Pope. If you wish you could also send in some spies and assassins.

**Surgeon** · February 03, 2009, 11:28 PM

To nab and hold Rome, you have two options:
1. Just conquer it outright. You will need a good economy and a means to reinforce Rome with more men. The Pope will keep reappearing with an army each time a new one is elected (until they run out of cardinals, I guess) and chances are he'll call a crusade on you to reclaim his city. You'll need to fend off a goodly amount of Catholic armies, and you may be plunged into war the the entirety of Europe (besides Russia).

2. Conquer or buy a small, isolated, useless settlement somewhere in, say, the Middle-East or Russia and give it to the Pope. Then, conquer Rome. The Pope will now respawn at the settlement you gifted him because that is now his capital. You may still face a crusade, however after it dies down you can again make friends with the Papal States because they are not homeless like in the above scenario.

**PhoenixFury23** · February 03, 2009, 11:41 PM

Kind of defeats the purpose of taking rome if you can't control the power structure there.

**Conquistatore** · February 03, 2009, 11:47 PM

You weren't really meant to. Rome is the home of the pope, he doesn't take kindly to being evicted, and his catholic faction thug friends don't like the holy man being evicted either.

**Monsieur Alphonse** · February 03, 2009, 11:56 PM

You can mod the game so the papal states (cut and paste them from unlockable to playable in the descr_strat) and use the papal powers to recreate the Roman Empire. It is actually very easy, but it can be done.

**Angrychris** · February 04, 2009, 01:02 AM

last

**Spartan90** · February 04, 2009, 01:37 AM

If you don't want the Pope to keep appearing, just give him some tiny, pathetic isolated island / region in Africa or Scandinavia, then take Rome. That means that his forces will appear at his new home in the middle of nowhere instead of outside Rome's gates. Done it many, MANY times

**Viking Prince** · February 04, 2009, 05:16 AM

Effective and certainly within the confines of the rules. Don't you think this is a bit of a cheat though? I am speaking from a role playing perspective. Even Napoleon was not sent into exile until the war in Europe had run its course.

**eggthief** · February 04, 2009, 05:31 AM

*yawn* it's vanilla so just crush the papal states and everything around it, I wonder why people are telling themselves that theyre having a hard time just to denie that they bought a game that brings absolutely no challenge (apart from modded versions).

**Ascarona** · February 04, 2009, 02:03 PM

hmm... you know, I never even thought about giving the pope some backwater place and then taking Rome. I might try that with my new Egypt campaign... Haha, oh just thinking about leaving him and his dying supply of cardinals alive makes my day

im going to burn the place

.

And btw, Viking Prince somethings different about your avatar... I just don't know what.

**Conquistatore** · February 04, 2009, 03:15 PM

It's stopped snowing.

And the Pope is a powerful enemy that has the support of all the catholic factions. Care needs to be taken in deciding when is the best time to oust him from Rome and keep him weak.