An Age of Miracles Continues: The Empire of Rhomania
- Thread starter Basileus444
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Cryostorm
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Yeah that is a blow though his line seems to be set and still capable. Even better is that the Hohenzollerns managed to get Brandenburg, though I wonder if Ottokar would have been as willing to make that deal if he knew about the effects of Hohenzollerns and Brandenburg.
I have a feeling the Premyslids are going to regret this move in the future.
It’s silly but I really love the nickname bone breaker and hope they keep it as a title. “Duke Karl Hohenzollern of Brandenburg, 1st of his name. Breaker of Bones, Lord of ...” and so on and so forth.
Oof. Hasn't Germany been beaten enough?
Although this Peasant's War might be more successful than the original. In the "Barbarossa" it has an actual leader with even some military experience, which already puts it leagues above the OTL situation. Beyond that, the armies of the people who would suppress it are much weaker than OTL, and there are a lot of dispersed deserters in the area, so the rebellion has access to a lot more weapons. Also, the military technology of the era TTL is more in favor of mass armies vs the OTL 1520's when small, high-quality armies ruled the roost.
This might actually not fail quickly and catastrophically. If Basileus wants a tradition of mob democracy (with all the worst excesses you can imagine) to act as a foil to the Enlightened Empire, this might be how it's born.
The question is, what will Henry II do? Will he concentrate all his forces on the Lotharingians now that there is no serious German army to threaten his back immediately? Will he try to make peace with Ottokar to consolidate his gains in the Rhine? Or will he try to grab as much land possible before Ottokar masses his armies and begins the counterattack? Meanwhile, Ottokar has to respond to the Triune attack, if he wants to increase his popularity as HRE Emperor.
And of course, the great unknown the Raven King's revolt... Well Germany is certainly going to add some pages in the book of world history, in vindication of Hegel's words "World history is not the ground of happiness. The periods of happiness are empty pages in her."
Vince
Monthly Donor
Great update! Loved that we find out what happened to Bone-breaker
Okay, now I have this image stuck in my head...
-----
He laid there dying. A young man among many recruited to serve in the Sultan's armies to defend their land from their eternal enemy. He had been part of the last group trying to defend the city when the Greeks had knocked down the walls and had come through the gaping holes like an endless tide. He had been one of the last of his comrades to fall. In desperation, he threw himself at another enemy almost the same age as himself. The man wore a uniform that indicated some type of high rank.
It had been folly. He was exhausted and barely lasted a few seconds before his opponent had stabbed him through the gut with his sword. As he looked up all he saw from the Greek was a look of pure hatred.
"You can kill us but others will stop you!" He exclaimed.
The dying man's head was slowly turned by his killer back toward the city he was defending. Baghdad. The city he failed to let fall to the Romans.
"No, they will not."
Odysseys turned to the solider next to him. "Burn it."
"But my Kaiser you're father said..."
"BURN IT!"
The Turkish man would live just long enough to see smoke starting to appear from locations all across the city. It would send a message. An army was coming. Lead by a man with the blood of Timur and Andreas Niketas. The Ottomans did not think such a thing was possible. That the horrors of the past were in the past yet it had happened again.
The Lord of Asia has returned.
Okay, now I have this image stuck in my head...
-----
He laid there dying. A young man among many recruited to serve in the Sultan's armies to defend their land from their eternal enemy. He had been part of the last group trying to defend the city when the Greeks had knocked down the walls and had come through the gaping holes like an endless tide. He had been one of the last of his comrades to fall. In desperation, he threw himself at another enemy almost the same age as himself. The man wore a uniform that indicated some type of high rank.
It had been folly. He was exhausted and barely lasted a few seconds before his opponent had stabbed him through the gut with his sword. As he looked up all he saw from the Greek was a look of pure hatred.
"You can kill us but others will stop you!" He exclaimed.
The dying man's head was slowly turned by his killer back toward the city he was defending. Baghdad. The city he failed to let fall to the Romans.
"No, they will not."
Odysseys turned to the solider next to him. "Burn it."
"But my Kaiser you're father said..."
"BURN IT!"
The Turkish man would live just long enough to see smoke starting to appear from locations all across the city. It would send a message. An army was coming. Lead by a man with the blood of Timur and Andreas Niketas. The Ottomans did not think such a thing was possible. That the horrors of the past were in the past yet it had happened again.
The Lord of Asia has returned.
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And so passes the storied Bone-breaker. Shame. But his death feels like a final turn in the evolution of the German state. I think Henri might have made a bigger mess for himself than he expected. That the problem with being too clever by half sometimes.
I do not envy Ottokar, while he go what he wanted three ways, his new lands included, but he now has all of Germany looking to him to deal with the troubles west. As well as having the Army of Zimmerman now in the mix, he has some serious hoops to jump through, to keep the balance. I feel like the title of HRE now is more a greased sword than there ever was. He empowered what has become a quickly legendary, and militarily capable family, with vast lands that could potentially rival his base. The Wittlesbach are cowed but far from broken, and Elizabeth is still around and widowed.
I do not envy Ottokar, while he go what he wanted three ways, his new lands included, but he now has all of Germany looking to him to deal with the troubles west. As well as having the Army of Zimmerman now in the mix, he has some serious hoops to jump through, to keep the balance. I feel like the title of HRE now is more a greased sword than there ever was. He empowered what has become a quickly legendary, and militarily capable family, with vast lands that could potentially rival his base. The Wittlesbach are cowed but far from broken, and Elizabeth is still around and widowed.
Here is the small map patch of what I understand is happening to Wittelsbach North Germany.
Oh man, the Bone-Breaker was such a great character, a shame he died the way he did. At least he did his duty like Blutcher did. At least the Hohenzollerns get Brandenburg out of this ordeal (Though no Prussia this time).
That final sentence on the arrival of those three religious gentlemen is a sign of things to come. Very, dire things.
That final sentence on the arrival of those three religious gentlemen is a sign of things to come. Very, dire things.
Poor Bone Breaker dies the way he lived, consistently inflicting medium sized, non decisive loses onto the enemy.
Just out of curiousity how large is the Lotharingian army? If the Triunes have 150k soldiers marching against the Rhine how would any German entity mount resistance if they can’t even field 10k themselves?
Just out of curiousity how large is the Lotharingian army? If the Triunes have 150k soldiers marching against the Rhine how would any German entity mount resistance if they can’t even field 10k themselves?
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I just found this thread, and the pirate Galileo was my favorite part of an excellent timeline. Maybe he develops a reputation for superior navigation and cannon-usage as compared to other seafarers -- and after he dies, it is revealed these are due to his revolutions in astronomy and ballistics that he kept to himself so as to preserve the advantage?
Pope: Rome will endure! Rome is strong!
Ody: Rome is nothing! You are all nothing!
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The Holy Roman Empire's effective ruler is female, a dynastic rival is usurping core lands of hers, and a Hohenzollern now ruling over Brandenburg is getting very uppity and ambitious - all to the background of dynastic crisis and foreign invasion. Are any of the Habsburgs in Switzerland experiencing unexplained chills or agitation?
Well, I was going with what I pick when playing Byzantium in EU4 rather than what specifically goes with Age of Miracles.
The most prestigious, in terms of social status, occupation is government/military service, with the accompanying rank/title. But in terms of merchants, social status depends on how big of an operator you are and how rich you are. It doesn’t matter how you make your money (trade vs land), but how much you have.
Recently I re-read “Economic Thought and Ideology” by Angeliki E. Laiou in The Economic History of Byzantium. In it she argues that the Byzantines IOTL never had an issue with merchant profit, as was sometimes the case with western theologians, provided it was done honestly and not through exploiting or gouging the poor. This lines up well with their OTL position on charging interest. The Byzantines never had an issue with usury, provided the interest rates were below a certain rate, and more risky loans such as maritime loans were allowed to charge higher interest because of the extra risk.
Yup.
They might, although Brandenburg is a significantly smaller prize than Saxony.
I came up with the nickname ‘Bishop Bone Breaker’ first, and then developed the character. Unfortunately I can’t see them keeping it as a title. Not very posh, it is.
Things are never as easy as hoped for.
I wanted a chance to include that line, which I admit I consider to be one the greatest lines from all of OTL history.
Plus this is an interesting exercise, something I haven’t done before. It’s a rebellion that champions something like equal rights, so we’d put it as ‘modern’, but it’s being done in a very ‘medieval-style’ peasant rebellion with a strong millenarian element of medieval origins.
Henri would like to focus on the Lower Rhine and Lotharingians. That’s the real prize. What’s he has taken so far is all well and nice, but it’s Antwerp and the like that he really wants.
Yeah, Germany’s experiencing that Chinese curse.
And from a sealed-up mausoleum in Samarkand, laughter can be heard…
Henri’s definitely having issues with being too clever. Germany’s descending into chaos, but chaos often backfires.
I don’t envy Ottokar in the slightest. Heavy is the head that wears the crown.
Looking good, as usual.
I wanted to give him a good death. Dying in bed didn’t seem right for him. When I read that bit about the Boxer Rebellion I immediately decided to adapt it for Bone-Breaker.
35-40 thousand in the field army, plus garrisons. Any individual German polity has no chance. Their only hopes are coalitions, plus using fortifications and Triune logistical difficulties to narrow the odds. What the Triunes could throw at, say, Prague is far less than what they could throw at Strasbourg.
That would be funny if he has all this secret ballistics knowledge that explains his success in piracy.
Actually Ody would say “You’re absolutely right. Except…this is Rhomania!” Draws sword.
The Habsburgs be thinking that a fishing expedition to the south of the Alps seems like a good idea.
Like Scourge of the Latins, or Demetrius's Vengeance. Or better, Shadow of Timur.
reminds me of William the Bastard's brother Bishop Odo whose weapon of choice was a rather large mace