Dark Ages

[lechia]

How long do the Dark Ages last? Is it as long as you have plague in some of your cities? I find that during the Dark Ages, opposing factions don't accept any diplomatic relations, even bribing doesn't work. This seems to change once the plagues are over, however, you still have (mindlessly) aggressive AI factions that break alliances and/or perfect relations to declare war on me. How does the Dark Ages setting work? What does it change in the script and how long do these effects last.
Thanks for any answers.

[RedGuard]

like 20 turns but i think it is somewhat random can't last for more than 40 hang in there!!

[Deadman1709]

I got hit by the Dark Ages once but can't remember the starting year.

What is the starting year? Gotta prepare for that.

The last time I got hit, I gotta decommissioned my entire fleet, save for one or two the guard the land bridges. Also all of the siege engines, majority of garrisons. The majority of armies were reduced to the bare minimum effective force, without reserve.

It was hell.

A miracle though: I got the entire Italian peninsular, except Rome. Yet I maintained my alliance with the Pope throughout. It did cost a strong army standing idle right on the Pope's border though.

[Tokus*Maximus]

There really needs a sequence of event pics - tracking the dark ages - even one just prior with signs of omens to come...

[Deadman1709]

Last time after the end turn, I had to load from the quick save just before the end turn (a habit of mine), go back and decommission my forces en-masses.

Even that wasn't enough so I ended up going back ~15 turns, the point which I decided to invade Spain from Italy (I save every time a new front is opened); stop the invasion turn back, mop up the current enemy and prepare for the Dark Age.

Again what is the starting year. It's gonna be unfair for first time player, even with veteran total war player. That damn dark ages (and rise of the machine is just out of nowhere).

As a result of my previous experience with the Dark age, I, playing as Spain now, is invading my Ally Portugal. I aim is to push them out of the Iberian, block the Gibraltar strait with one fleet. Then the only front is to the East (I got Toulouse and Narbonne as strong points).