[SS6.4] Knights of Rhodes

[Alwyn]

Great AAR! I like the idea of continuing the story in a book 2.

I noticed that the ui is included at the bottom of your screenshots - is that your preference? In reviews of AARs in the Critic's Quill, I noticed some reviewers recommending that AAR writers crop the ui out of screenshots (I use Paint to crop screenshots). I wonder how you feel about that.

[Deepstrike101]

Great AAR! I like the idea of continuing the story in a book 2.

I noticed that the ui is included at the bottom of your screenshots - is that your preference? In reviews of AARs in the Critic's Quill, I noticed some reviewers recommending that AAR writers crop the ui out of screenshots (I use Paint to crop screenshots). I wonder how you feel about that.

I've been leaving the UI in so far because it gives details about the flow of the actual battle in addition to what the AAR already details. Since a few people have brought it up though, I think I may just begin cropping images from now on.

[Deepstrike101]

Albertino was glad to finally return home. He had spent most of his life fighting in the Holy Lands, and it was nice to finally let those matters rest. The wars had a definite effect on him. He had married some years ago, while in Jerusalem, but his wife felt like she did not know him. He was not antisocial, but he never took kindly to talking about himself or his past. He, like his long gone brother in law Cristoforo, regretted spending so much time fighting in the Holy Land. Though he had done great things, he wished he could have told himself he’d had enough for one life.

At least he had returned in time for his brother’s funeral. Amadeo passed away in 1173, without any children. He would be missed dearly. Albertino took over his lands in Crete and settled there. He would not play a particularly prominent role in the history of Rhodes and Crete anymore.
The next year, he and his wife, Caterina, happily had a baby girl, whom they named Gingha. Since there Ugolino still had no offspring and was growing old, it was becoming increasingly likely that she would carry on the bloodline.

As the wars in Iberia against the Moors dragged on, Simone knew Rhodes should find a way to help. He could not send an army so soon after Albertino’s campaigns, but sending galleys to blockade Moorish ports was a start.

Bad news was coming from Novgorod. The Republic had lost more land, this time to the Cumans. Only three major settlements remained. The military council at Rhodes was perplexed. They could not send an army, but there was no other support they could immediately offer, either.

In 1178, Duke Simone passed away, leaving Ugolino as the new Duke and Albertino was forced to come out of retirement to become Councilor. The two met on Crete to discuss their plans. They decided that it was necessary to help Novgorod finance their armies, and to blockade Moorish ports. To this end, four more galleys were sent to Iberia and a diplomat dispatched to Rus.

In 1180, pirates began preying on Rhodian ships, and Ugolino paid a hefty sum for mercenary privateers to hunt them down. The following year, Ugolino again was forced to pay for privateers to hunt down pirates, angering him greatly.

Luckily, both Albertino and Ugolino had male children around this time. Albertino’s son, three years older than Ugolino’s, was named Rambertino. Ugolino named his child Stefano. This ensured the bloodline of the di Orias would continue. Albertino had yet another son, Baldassare, in 1182 and Ugolino had Chiaro two years later.

News reached the Duchy that the crusade against Granada, though long, difficult, and bloody, was successful. The Leonese had taken the city and Moorish forces in the area were broken. Some naval skirmished broke out and the Rhodian galleys fought to maintain their blockades.

A famous sea battle occurred, and came to be known as the Battle of the Algerian Coast. Galleys under Admiral Aginulfo completely destroyed a slightly larger force of Moorish ships entirely. The enemy commander, Admiral Sa’d, must have been sad.

In 1184, a fairly new order of knights founded a hospital on Crete. They were known throughout the Holy Land as the knights of Saint John, and nicknamed the Knights Hospitaller. They were said to be capable warriors- some of the best, even. Dressed in black robes and clad in the finest chain armor, they would come to be a great asset to the people of Rhodes and Crete.

The full blockade of Moorish ports was finally established in 1185. With no more Moorish fleets abroad, Rhodian ships were able to cut off the Muslims’ trade, thus giving their allies an edge.

Around the same time, both Rhodes and Iraklion were rebuilt. The populations had grown, and a new set of walls was required. Rhodes went as far as to create two rings of walls, while Iraklion was satisfied to just build stone ones instead of wooden.

In 1186, a Fatimid navy destroyed two Rhodian galleys blockading Moorish shipping west of Gibraltar. This annoyed Ugolino, as it was unexpected… Egypt had no ports to speak of, and it was surprising that they had a navy.

Duke Ugolino died peacefully in 1187. He had accomplished some remarkable feats in his lifetime. He transformed a small castle on a small island into a well-defended stronghold, and had issued an age of prosperity for the Duchy. Since Ugolino’s sons were not old enough to rule, leadership fell to Albertino. At 68, he was tired of leading, but grudgingly accepted the position of Duke nonetheless. At least, he thought, he could enjoy his time building improvements. He liked to build. Since Iraklion had expanded, a new farming system was necessary, and Albertino quickly took charge of its development.

As soon as Ghinga turned 14, she was married to Alessandro Bacoccio. He was quite a bit older than her, but this union was necessary politically. Duke Albertino was old, and in the case he died before his firstborn was old enough to rule, there could be political turmoil. A regent was necessary. Thankfully, the nobility gave legitimacy to Alessandro, and he was accepted as regent, marrying Ghinga. The ceremony was quite delightful, but it was slightly less cheerful than it should have been.

Earlier that month, news had arrived of the Battle of Hattin: The greatest defeat ever suffered by the Crusaders. It threatened the stability and sovereignty of the Kingdom of Heaven, and was cause for concern and mourning in the Duchy of Rhodes. It did, however, contribute to an influx of Hospitallers to the two islands.

As time went on, Albertino got into some politics. The nation consisted of two constantly competing islands, and was known as the Duchy of Rhodes. Yet, Duke of Iraklion and Duke of Rhodes were both titles given to rulers of the islands. In 1190, the Hospitallers founded another hospital, this time in Rhodes. As the castle became a fortress, and the population grew, the feudal system took deeper roots and a new class of heavy cavalry emerged: Feudal knights. These were the upper nobility. That year, two knightly orders emerged on Rhodes and came to dominate politics: The order of the Knights Hospitaller and the Order of Rhodes. The Knights Hospitaller were an autonomous entity, and would choose their leaders, although they came to be very close allies and near subjects to the ruler of Rhodes. The Order of Rhodes, the Golden Knights, however, were loyal subjects to the ruler of Rhodes, who afterwards was forever known as the Grandmaster of Rhodes.

Albertino formalized this new title in the same year, and renamed the nation to the Kingdom of Aegis. Many of the neighboring islands in the various island chains of the Aegean Sea were loyal to the ruler of Rhodes, so the title, King of Aegis, did not cause much of a stir among the neighboring islands. Albertino was the first King of Aegis, but he also restructured the political system to resemble something of a republic. Although there was only one king, who would hold the title, Grandmaster of Rhodes, there would also be a Duke of Iraklion. The political reforms Albertino brought around offered more autonomy to the Duke of Iraklion, but kept him the subject of the crown. This would prevent feuds between the two islands.

News arrived from the far north. After the siege of Jerusalem, knights journeyed north to the Holy Roman Empire and founded a new order there, known as the Teutonic Order. They would fight Pagan Lithuania, which had been unacceptably expanding against Christian countries in the area.

The same year, Alessandro Bacoccio had a baby boy, whom he named Noddo. Noddo was the first non Oria born, rather than married, into the family.

In 1191, the Mason Guild which was established on Rhodes built a small church to serve as a second place of worship in addition to the increasingly ancient chapel.

King Albertino died in 1193. He was old, and had regrets- but he knew that his lift was well spent, if not well enjoyed. Thanks to him, the Kingdom of Heaven was established, and a Jihad against Jerusalem was foiled. He had reorganized the political system of the nation and build countless improvements to Iraklion. He died proud.

There was but one issue which Albertino had left that could tear the Kingdom apart: Alessandro liked being king. He claimed the title of Regent, although Rambertino, the rightful heir to the throne, was already fifteen and married. Furthermore, Alessandro eventually began calling himself King, and claimed the title of Duke of Iraklion. He had attempted to claim Grandmaster of Rhodes as well, but the Golden Knights remained loyal to the rightful heir. The Hospitallers were generally supportive of Rambertino, but they were an outside organization, and had little influence on the politics. Rambertino decided to wait until his brother, Baldassare, and cousin, Stefano, came of age. If at this point Alessandro refused to surrender the crown, there would be blood…

In the meantime, new arrived from the Kingdom of Heaven. Despite their best efforts, they said, Baghdad was taken by the Kwarezmians. It was not much of a surprise to the citizens of Aegis. Baghdad had always been too far inland for Jerusalem to effectively control. Since most of the Kingdom of Heaven’s troops were actually foreign, and arrived by ship, it was difficult to provide military support to cities so far inland.

At last, the Pope declared a crusade against Vilnius, a Lithuanian city. The pagans would not have much longer to live. Alessandro had tried convincing the Pope to declare a crusade against Baghdad. Rambertino supported Alessandro’s decision, but secretly wrote to the Pope himself, asking for a crusade against the Lithuanians instead. He said Aegis would send its own knights to take Baghdad back, and there was no point sending good Christian soldiers who could be fighting pagans to the Far East.

The truth of the matter was, Rambertino had created a plan to get rid of Alessandro very discretely. Although Alessandro was not a terrible ruler, he lacked any kind of authority. He had no legitimacy in the eyes of the nobility, and the island of Rhodes simply refused to obey his orders. He needed a great victory to assert his legitimacy on the throne. There were few greater victories than the conquest of Baghdad. Rambertino was well aware of the dangers in the east, and he knew that under the proper circumstances, not everyone returns from the east alive.

In 1196, when Alessandro still refused to surrender the throne, Rambertino decided to act. He successfully petitioned the Pope to grant a blessing for a crusade to Aegis. Alessandro did not need a second invitation. Faking friendliness, Rambertino offered knights from Rhodes for Alessandro’s crusade. One of these included the general Moreno Della Tosinghi. He was Rambertino’s longtime friend, and was quite loyal. Though Alessandro at first protested against taking Moreno along, Rambertino convinced him that since Moreno was the Lord High Marshall, not including him in the crusade would only undermine Alessandro’s legitimacy further. Rambertino had a purpose for including Moreno…

The crusaders set out with an army of around 450 knights in 1196. They were all mounted, and no militia was taken. Moreno insisted that with modern cavalry tactics, they would only prove a burden. It was about speed and shock, not slow grinds with peasants. True, they were all knights and they were all elite. And they were all loyal to Moreno and Rambertino. They too had a purpose.