[Custom Mod] Age of Crusades - 1105AD (Roleplay Hotseat)

[zender9]

Byzantium Up:
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...zantium_11.sav

Trebizond taken with overwhelming odds.

[Mergor]

I don't believe they did captainnorway. Latest changes are highlighted in blue. What makes you think they did?

[joker0002710]

Fatimid sultanate/caliphate up! http://www.mediafire.com/file/fk9f1e...ds_11.sav/file

[Captainnorway]

I don't believe they did captainnorway. Latest changes are highlighted in blue. What makes you think they did?

I just couldnt remember that i needed catapults for larger assaults rather than ballista

[Mergor]

Pope 12
https://www.sendspace.com/file/odg2cy

[Hannibal2001]

Sent the save yesterday

Save - http://www.mediafire.com/file/v3fpwd...nd_12.sav/file

[Mergor]

Well you can put the link here too.

[Dismounted Feudal Knight]

This seems to be on a lull anyways, but if the turn gets to me in the next 3 days, I shall not be able to take it.

[ScotlandIsBest]

The Prestigous Lords of Scotland are the first to answer the call to arms against the heresy of the so called HOLY Roman Empire. The French were offered a chance to reconsider their actions and allegiance to the heretics. But seems to have fallen on deaf ears. More Scots arrive on the beaches each day to their new stronghold Caen.

Commander David Dunkeld pleas to the French if they want to save their nationhood, they may want to abandon their loyalties and be on the right side of history, and if not we will reluctantly launch full scale war on them and their liege, in defense of HIS HOLINESS!!

Genoa up http://www.mediafire.com/file/24hghy..._Genova_12.sav

[Potatoto]

Novgorod up
https://www20.zippyshare.com/v/ui2S1Z1C/file.html
https://imgur.com/a/JO5J3GV

[REDBOOSTY]

The winter had been a hard one, morale was low, but yet no one dared to leave the camps. The wind was freezing and the fear of wolfs was overhanging. The commanders were not sure what to do. They had marched for months without as much a sign of civilization.

Their supplies were dwindling, and every day that passed their situation got worse. One day, however the weather became calmer, the wind had died down and the snow stopped. The commander ordered the break camp immediately. But many of the horses and dogs had either died from the cold or been killed for food, meaning much of the equipment had to be left behind. This was a gamble, without proper equipment they could not survive long. But they had no choice. After being camped for almost three weeks they could continue their march westwards. These soldiers had been part of the army securing the lands all the way to the Ural mountains. But winter came earlier than expected, traping them far from civilization.


Now that all of this land was under the Duke's control they had even greater ambitions.

Even tho the Duke controlled the largest geographical territory, the settlements were far from each other and small in size. And the Cuman presence was still strong, so strong the Duke himself was starting to get afraid as they were moving ever westwards.

Before any external conflict would be considered the Duke knew that his army from the east had to return and he would need to smash the Cuman hordes, only then can The Republic of Novgorod send it's grand army to war and victory.

Poland up: http://www.mediafire.com/file/0yauk6...nd_12.sav/file

[PeaMan]

Hungary up - http://www.mediafire.com/file/jdmg9d...ry_12.sav/file

[BerryKnight]

Working on it now

Apologies for the wait.

England up ~ http://www.mediafire.com/file/3t052c...nd_12.sav/file

[ArBo]

Denmark up - https://drive.google.com/open?id=10E...Jz_NDk2PTKJ1K3
Pics - https://drive.google.com/open?id=1XS...cft7QJhxTMmfr6
Also took a rebel fort with OWO

The tale of Barnaby Scrope yet continues, as you will undoubtedly see in pbob's post. Impressed by all the adventures that befall him and his merry bunch of friends, he is considering publishing his memoirs for all to enjoy.

[Dismounted Feudal Knight]

'Twas another cold night in the Sweedish mainland, deep in the old withered trees, covered in the snow that forever graced that place in that time of year. Another cold night for an aging monarch, King of Norway, Denmark, and Sweeden; if he can get away with it, King of Scandinavia. It was a late time to hunt, and with no bodyguard, but the King was a hardy man, and to any who could stumble upon him, he was simply an aged hunter who happened to be clad in armor reminiscient of a viking veteran.

King Niels was no Viking, but from his posture, his total obliviousness to the freezing chill streaming past him, his mean little eyes that followed an innocent creature of the forest, it was impossible to tell. Those same eyes had tracked the fall of every self styling king in the north, and there was a time when he was prepared to bring the same fate upon foreign invaders. He would do so again.

He knew they were coming. He could not tell one of his retinue who exactly 'they' were; they were Jarls, ambitious lordlings, great fighters. And all three composed his court. It was not a question of if he would be betrayed, or even by who. It was when.

Oh, he took care to surround himself with the more trusty of faces, even if they were not the greatest lords. He also took care to send one of his old drinking partners, an honest Jarl with some fighting talent and a clear head, to take control of his far western affairs. The conqueror, recently returned, would be given a new task. A great war was erupting. Despite every inch of his paranoid mind crawling with uncertainty, King Niel knew the task at hand. There was a mission to be done, and it would forever change the course of the North.

But, all great plans had to start somewhere. He released his arrow, seeing it streak towards his dinner...

The Scandinavian assets of the Isles have come under a new commander. The King continues to manage affairs at home.

Onto the Sicilians,
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen..._Sicily_12.sav

[General Dragon.]

France up!
https://www.sendspace.com/file/7tkepf

King Roger and his forces now arrived to the fair city of Florence ready to support His Holiness and his allies againts the Holy Roman Empire, former friend of Kingdom of Sicily. Roger now only hopes that this conflict hopefully ends with as little blood shed as possible and that the relationships can be reestablished with HRE after this "war" gets resolved. Meanwhile the navy of sicily slowly reorganizes itself to finally deal with the running rampant pirates on the seas, harassing fair traders and stealing major tax incomes from the treasury.

[paladinbob123]

The Prestigous Lords of Scotland are the first to answer the call to arms against the heresy of the so called HOLY Roman Empire. The French were offered a chance to reconsider their actions and allegiance to the heretics. But seems to have fallen on deaf ears. More Scots arrive on the beaches each day to their new stronghold Caen.

Commander David Dunkeld pleas to the French if they want to save their nationhood, they may want to abandon their loyalties and be on the right side of history, and if not we will reluctantly launch full scale war on them and their liege, in defense of HIS HOLINESS!!

The winter of 1111AD proved to be thankfully mild , this year , to the happiness of the southern French vineyards , who were grateful that frost had not blighted there growth of vines for the following year. As for battle , the same quite could be said , from the English and Scottish forces became lacklustre with the glow of there conquests. Firstly the Scottish barbarians continue to harang the French state for its support, to the holy roman empire and threatened to destroy them , for apparently not joining the war against the Pope in the investiture struggle.

Louie was being to tire of Scottish inaccurate bluster , especially as he already stated his opting out of the conflict [#203-"he considered it was not in the french kingdom's interest to embroil itself in the struggle of emperors and popes to the east"]due to the Scottish and English assault on the French State, which meant he had not the means, or the will to get involved in such a struggle , so he found it rather ironic that the Scottish decried there lack of defence of the Pope, when they had seen fit [and lied about not wishing to attack france] to place the catholic French state and foremost defender of the Holyland in such a position as it couldn't help the Pope , even if the king wished too...

Privately thou , the French King little cared about what the lickspittle Scottish people would do , as there words were not honourable , and he was sure , they would decide on there next policy on a spin of a franc, what they would do , on any given day. Louie sighed, for the matter wasn't what the Scottish would do, as lapdogs of the English , it was more about what King Henry was planning, and closer inspection of the English troops disposition perhaps revealed his intensions. Firstly the English warned of a attack on Tours, which had called themselves as france's ally , and the royal army of the anglo-normans was certainly progressing in that direction, and secondly there was the English move to exterminate the pirates which had prayed upon the ships of the west coast of france which seemed to suggest a two pronged assault stretching there forces. Indeed , many spies within the old French state, had told that the second English army had moved near the port of Rennes , and combined with the recent domination of the sea's of the western coast of france , Louie feared that the English would embark on perhaps another sea-bourne invasion, where the English troops stayed for years in there ships on the coastline [as they had done so before , so perhaps the troops were sea hardened or at least had cast iron stomachs due to there diet ].


[Eleanor of Brittany (1275 – 16 May 1342) was the sixteenth abbess of Fontevrault. She was born in England to John II, Duke of Brittany and Beatrice of England, and in 1281 at the age of seven entered Amesbury Abbey, a priory of the Fontevrault order .In 1290 she moved to Fontevrault Abbey in the Loire region of France, the parent abbey of the order, where she took her vows and became a nun. A richly illuminated gradual was presented to her upon her induction. In 1304 she became abbess. Upon her death in 1342 she bequeathed the gradual to the abbey. It survives to this day and is held by the public library of Limoges.]


[errordata : Should have refered to Tostig's killing rather than Barnaby ..but I do hold him accountable {Barnaby] by association..or at least that is my view on the error ]

There were tales however of Anglo-Norman soldiers taking French women to be exploited as prizes of victory , and the lack of decorum from the anglo-normans was sufficiently poor at there exploits. There was rumours , that the abbeys soon received a massive boost to those young French women wishing to take the veil and becoming nuns in the new climate and a message from the English, extended the tale of one Englishman who had taken a French woman to be his wife , and the French king returned his message in kind .



Seeing that the English were moving there second army to the coast , the French king moved his royal army a little north , to a more central position , giving him options of defending two areas as the need arose .The French kings troops continued there drills and training with the king present throughout the winter months , there fighting and melee training , kept them warmth in the mild winter days, and tales were spun by the French minstrels about the return of the French king, to return unto his own and the false words of Scottish nobles, and keeping your daughters away from English nobles. The new training regime was sufficient for the French king , to lose his name of Louie "the fat" and his nobles began to call him Louie "The honest" which the French king was a little happier about, especially considering his predecessors name's of yore.

What was more important perhaps was the garrison at the city of Angouleme was of paramount importance which its new critical positioning of the defence of what was now france.


[map showing the City & Castle{fort} of Angouleme and the movement of the English second army group to the coast]

---------------
Angouleme


{Coat of Arms of Angouleme}

Located on a plateau overlooking a meander of the Charente River, the city is nicknamed the "balcony of the southwest". The history of the city is not very well known before the Roman period: it is simply known that the plateau was occupied by an oppidum[large fortified iron age settlement], traces of which were found during excavations in the Saint-Martial cemetery under the name "Iculisma".

No Roman monuments have been found but it benefited from the Pax Romana and from trade on the river. The town had a prosperous period at the end of the Roman Empire. The rocky promontory overlooking the Charente 80 metres (260 feet) high and over the Anguienne 60 metres (200 feet) high formed a strategic position. It was raised to the rank of capital of civitas (at the end of the 3rd or 4th centuries) and the first fortress dates from the end of the Roman Empire.


[The Rampart du midi]

The rampart [Since Roman times ramparts have surrounded the Plateau of Angoulême. Repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt their reconstruction was finally stopped in the 19th century] called Bas-Empire which surrounds 27 hectares of land was maintained until the 13th century. The network of Roman roads were then reorganized to link the town with the surrounding cities of Bordeaux, Saintes, Poitiers, Limoges, and Périgueux. The city of Haut-Empire remained unknown for a long time. Recent excavations have provided details on the power of the Roman city. A well dug in an early era shows that the water table was very high. A large thermal spa complex was found under the courthouse which is usually related to water supply through an aqueduct.

The first bishop of Angoulême was Saint Ausone of Angoulême in the 3rd century. The administrative importance of the city was strengthened by the implementation of a County in the 6th century with Turpion (or Turpin) (839–863), adviser to Charles the Bald. However, the town was always attached to the various kingdoms of Aquitaine and the end of antiquity for the city was in 768, when Pepin the Short defeated Hunald II and linked it to the Frankish kingdom.




{Flag of the ancient province of Angoumois}

When held by the Visigoths, the city followed the arian version of Christianity and was besieged for the first time by Clovis in 507 after Vouillé then taken in 508;"miraculously" according to Gregory of Tours and Ademar of Chabannes. During the battle, however, Clovis was seriously wounded in the leg - probably a fracture. The fact is reported by tradition and on a wall of a tower from the 2nd century a leg is carved called the "leg of Clovis".



{"leg of clovis" carving on the tower}


During his stay in Angoulême, after putting the garrison to the sword, Clovis pulled down the old Visigothic cathedral dedicated to Saint-Saturnin to build a new one bearing the name of Saint-Pierre. All that remains of the original building are two carved marble capitals that frame the bay of the axis in the apse of the present cathedral.

In the 7th century Saint Cybard stayed secluded in a cave beneath the extension to the north wall of Angoulême called Green Garden which caused the creation of the first abbey: the Abbey of Saint-Cybard, then created the first abbey for women: the Abbey of Saint-Ausone where the tomb of the first bishop of the city is located.

In 848 Angoulême was sacked by the Viking chief Hastein. In 896 or 930 the city suffered another attack from invading Vikings but this time the Vikings faced an effective resistance. Guillaume I, third Count of Angoulême, at the head of his troops made them surrender in a decisive battle. During this engagement, he split open to the waist Stonius, the Norman chief, with a massive blow together with his helmet and breastplate.

It was this feat that earned him the name Taillefer, which was borne by all his descendants until Isabella of Angouleme, who was also known as Isabelle Taillefer, the wife of King John of England. The title was withdrawn from the descendants on more than one occasion by Richard Coeur-de-Lion then the title passed to King John of England at the time of his marriage to Isabella of Angoulême, daughter of Count Aymer of Angoulême. After becoming a widow, Isabella subsequently married Hugh X of Lusignan in 1220, and the title was passed to the Lusignan family, counts of Marche. On the death of Hugh XIII in 1302 without issue, the County of Angoulême passed his possessions to the crown of France.

In 1236 Jewish communities in Anjou and Poitou, particularly Bordeaux and Angoulême were attacked by crusaders. 500 Jews chose conversion and over 3000 were massacred. Pope Gregory IX, who originally had called the crusade, was outraged about this brutality and criticized the clergy for not preventing it.

From the 10th to the 13th centuries the counts of Angoulême, the Taillefer, then the Lusignan strengthened the defences of the city and widened it to encompass the district of Saint-Martial. In 1110, Bishop Girard II ordered the construction of the present cathedral.

On 18 May 1204 a charter was signed by King John of England to make official the creation of the commune of Angoulême. The King "grants to residents of Angoulême to keep the freedoms and customs of their fair city and defend their possessions and rights".

Château d'Angoulême



The rocky outcrop which dominates the Charente River and the Anguienne had been a strategical position for a long time. The first fortress on this site was built at the end of the Roman Empire. A rampart protecting a 27 ha area has been maintained until the 13th century. The medieval castle was founded in around 886 by Count Alduin.


[The polygonal Tour de Lusignan, remnant of the original castle]

From the 10th to the 13th century, the Counts of Angoulême, the Taillifer then the Lusignan, strengthened the fortifications of the town, and enlarged them to include the Saint-Martial quarter. Important additions to the castle were undertaken by Hugh X of Lusignan in 1226. In 1308, after the death of Guy de Lusignan, the county of Angoulême returned to the French Crown. It was then given to Louis d'Orléans in 1394, and then fell by inheritance to his son Jean de Valois, grandfather of Marguerite d'Angoulême and Francis .

{Note : I shall do a piece of the House of Lusignan which is quite extensive for next turn}

Turn to Holy Roman Empire
https://www.dropbox.com/s/7ci03p4whb...nE_12.sav?dl=0

[Captainnorway]

i’ll get this done tomorrow i think

[Captainnorway]

Turks https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pyU...ew?usp=sharing

assassinated a papal diplomat in the alps, can post pics if requested

[zender9]

Byzantium:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1di8...ew?usp=sharing

Battles:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bFh...ew?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PAQ...ew?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1m-K...ew?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1914...ew?usp=sharing

I will RP in my spare time.