An Age of War: Iberia
1066: An age of War
As the sun sets on 1065, the world is at an impasse.
The great powers of Europe and the Orient eye each other off like fierce lions, circling and growling, beating their chests and looking for any sign that they can punch. While the lesser kings circle around like wolves, seeking to nip at their better's flanks when the time is right. In this era of sword and shield, who will emerge victorious? Victorious from an age of war.
1: The Umayyad Caliphate
Ruler: Hisham VI
The Caliphs of Cordoba have long been suzerain over the Iberian Peninsula. The petty Goths to the north have been no threat for centuries, and their brethren have been all but assimilated into the Caliphate, even if many still follow the ways of the Kafir. All the Magreb acknowledges their leadership of the Ummah. But the ascension of young Hisham VI following his father's untimely death is no good omen, and his brothers and uncles eye the position of Caliph with envy. The court of Cordoba is a treacherous place, will the Grand Vizier, Joseph Ibn Daud be capable of protecting the young Caliph? Or will they both feel daggers in their backs.
2: The Taifa of Lusatanis
Ruler: Yahya Ibn Muhammed
Lusatanis was once a province of the Umayyad Caliphate, but as times change, so do loyalties. The former provincial Governor's father was a converted Chief of the Moazzabites who was trusted because of his service in the Magreb against raiders, and his son was apart of the Caliph's court. Yet Yahya had more ambition than his father, and when Hisham V died in battle against the Vasconians, he was quick to denounce the Caliph of Cordoba for his opposite in Baghdad. Since Baghdad is a continent away, this gives the 30 year old Yahya defacto independence from his liege. The army of Lusatanis is greater than Cordoba's, but will the half christian inhabitants be loyal to their new liege? Or to...other masters?
3: Exarchate of Hispania
Ruler: Donous Rendakis
When the Emperor Manuel embarked on his ill fated expedition in the image of Belisarius, few expected anything of note to come from it. And indeed little did, after stunning defeats at Tours, Milan and Syracuse, the Emperor was assassinated by his own officers, thus ending the "last conquest" of the Eastern Roman Empire. But as his army split apart, some officers began to embark on their own, mildly more successful campaigns. Donous's grandfather Narses was one such man. At the head of some twenty thousand men, he landed at what the Roman's had once called Valentia*. Over the next thirty years he swiftly conquered a kingdom with nominal allegiance to the Emperor in Constantinople. When he died in 1034, his son Phocas succeeded him, and it was under his rule and a resurgent Caliphate that Valentia was lost once more to the Caliphate. Donous overthrew his father nearly a decade ago now, and he seeks to reclaim Valentia, at any cost.
4: Kingdom of Cantebria
Ruler: Iegos da Uscesia
The era of the western Goths is in a twilight. Gone are the days when they ruled Hispania from coast to coast, gone are the days when their horsemen would blot the very ground from sight, and their arrows the sun. Now in Cantebria, the last Kingdom of the Goths sits between Moors, Vasconians and Romans in a ever shifting dance of diplomacy and war. King Iegos, the third of his name, reigns from Laredo. An old man with no children, he despairs over what is to come. But all hope is not yet lost for the Goths. A messenger from Vasconia has announced their victory over the Caliphate at the field of Crows, that asks for assistance in expelling the Caliphate from Hispania, and if King Iegos answers, perhaps their territory shall not remain so small.
5:The Taifa of Balansiyya
Ruler: Muhammed Ibn Yusuf
As the Taifa of Lusatanis rebelled after the massacre of Caliph Hashim V's forces at the field of Crows, so too did the Taifa of Valencia. Muhammed Ib Yusef is a native of Valencia, appointed for his families long loyalty to the Caliphate of Cordoba. Seeking an alliance with Lusatanis to prevent the Caliph of Cordoba from regaining its bearings, perhaps the two Taifa's will finally topple the behemoth of the west. Or perhaps the rumours of Vasconia resurgent may prove to be more true than previously thought...
6: Great Republic of Balearicana
Ruler: Consul Solomon and Consul Zeno
The breakup of the army of Emperor Manuel was a complicated process. His navy on the other hand was not so. The captains who didn't deign to sail for home made base on the Balearics, and eventually came to rule there. Unlike their Hispanian cousins, they don't even feign allegiance to Constantinople, instead asserting that they, not the usurpers of Constantinople are the true heirs to Roman rule. The oligarchy has both a senate and consuls, though their elections are for 10 years rather than a single one. The descendants of the captains maintain control, with the native islanders, and the inhabitants of what territories they control on Sardinia, Africa and Hispania are given no political power, with most of the military consisting of Frankish mercenaries. Will this republic continue? Or will it fall into the abyss as so many nations have done before?
7: Principate of Vasconia
Ruler: John Eneko
Vasconia is a recent kingdom, emerging from the Carolingian withdrawal from Hispania and Occitania, the Vascones took control of much of Pamplona and the atlantic coast. Their unique language keeps the vasconic lords and population distant from their Latin and Gothic subjects, creating unrest in their farther territories. Yet this has been muted due to the recent victory of a Vasconian army over the advancing forces of the Caliphate of Cordoba at a battle so bloody, it is being called "the Field of Crows". In this battle the Caliph was killed, and all but five of his sons fell with him. Will the Vasconians take the initiative, or will they seek to supplant the Caliphate as the dominate power on the Iberian Peninsula?
AUTHORS NOTE:
In case you didn't notice, this is a POD timeline, there have been three centuries for things to turn out differently to OTL and I hope I can make a decent timeline. I'm currently thinking of doing the civilisations in groups of Seven, but I might be raising that number to fifteen.
Does anyone think there are some things which can be improved?
*Valencia
As the sun sets on 1065, the world is at an impasse.
The great powers of Europe and the Orient eye each other off like fierce lions, circling and growling, beating their chests and looking for any sign that they can punch. While the lesser kings circle around like wolves, seeking to nip at their better's flanks when the time is right. In this era of sword and shield, who will emerge victorious? Victorious from an age of war.
1: The Umayyad Caliphate
Ruler: Hisham VI
The Caliphs of Cordoba have long been suzerain over the Iberian Peninsula. The petty Goths to the north have been no threat for centuries, and their brethren have been all but assimilated into the Caliphate, even if many still follow the ways of the Kafir. All the Magreb acknowledges their leadership of the Ummah. But the ascension of young Hisham VI following his father's untimely death is no good omen, and his brothers and uncles eye the position of Caliph with envy. The court of Cordoba is a treacherous place, will the Grand Vizier, Joseph Ibn Daud be capable of protecting the young Caliph? Or will they both feel daggers in their backs.
2: The Taifa of Lusatanis
Ruler: Yahya Ibn Muhammed
Lusatanis was once a province of the Umayyad Caliphate, but as times change, so do loyalties. The former provincial Governor's father was a converted Chief of the Moazzabites who was trusted because of his service in the Magreb against raiders, and his son was apart of the Caliph's court. Yet Yahya had more ambition than his father, and when Hisham V died in battle against the Vasconians, he was quick to denounce the Caliph of Cordoba for his opposite in Baghdad. Since Baghdad is a continent away, this gives the 30 year old Yahya defacto independence from his liege. The army of Lusatanis is greater than Cordoba's, but will the half christian inhabitants be loyal to their new liege? Or to...other masters?
3: Exarchate of Hispania
Ruler: Donous Rendakis
When the Emperor Manuel embarked on his ill fated expedition in the image of Belisarius, few expected anything of note to come from it. And indeed little did, after stunning defeats at Tours, Milan and Syracuse, the Emperor was assassinated by his own officers, thus ending the "last conquest" of the Eastern Roman Empire. But as his army split apart, some officers began to embark on their own, mildly more successful campaigns. Donous's grandfather Narses was one such man. At the head of some twenty thousand men, he landed at what the Roman's had once called Valentia*. Over the next thirty years he swiftly conquered a kingdom with nominal allegiance to the Emperor in Constantinople. When he died in 1034, his son Phocas succeeded him, and it was under his rule and a resurgent Caliphate that Valentia was lost once more to the Caliphate. Donous overthrew his father nearly a decade ago now, and he seeks to reclaim Valentia, at any cost.
4: Kingdom of Cantebria
Ruler: Iegos da Uscesia
The era of the western Goths is in a twilight. Gone are the days when they ruled Hispania from coast to coast, gone are the days when their horsemen would blot the very ground from sight, and their arrows the sun. Now in Cantebria, the last Kingdom of the Goths sits between Moors, Vasconians and Romans in a ever shifting dance of diplomacy and war. King Iegos, the third of his name, reigns from Laredo. An old man with no children, he despairs over what is to come. But all hope is not yet lost for the Goths. A messenger from Vasconia has announced their victory over the Caliphate at the field of Crows, that asks for assistance in expelling the Caliphate from Hispania, and if King Iegos answers, perhaps their territory shall not remain so small.
5:The Taifa of Balansiyya
Ruler: Muhammed Ibn Yusuf
As the Taifa of Lusatanis rebelled after the massacre of Caliph Hashim V's forces at the field of Crows, so too did the Taifa of Valencia. Muhammed Ib Yusef is a native of Valencia, appointed for his families long loyalty to the Caliphate of Cordoba. Seeking an alliance with Lusatanis to prevent the Caliph of Cordoba from regaining its bearings, perhaps the two Taifa's will finally topple the behemoth of the west. Or perhaps the rumours of Vasconia resurgent may prove to be more true than previously thought...
6: Great Republic of Balearicana
Ruler: Consul Solomon and Consul Zeno
The breakup of the army of Emperor Manuel was a complicated process. His navy on the other hand was not so. The captains who didn't deign to sail for home made base on the Balearics, and eventually came to rule there. Unlike their Hispanian cousins, they don't even feign allegiance to Constantinople, instead asserting that they, not the usurpers of Constantinople are the true heirs to Roman rule. The oligarchy has both a senate and consuls, though their elections are for 10 years rather than a single one. The descendants of the captains maintain control, with the native islanders, and the inhabitants of what territories they control on Sardinia, Africa and Hispania are given no political power, with most of the military consisting of Frankish mercenaries. Will this republic continue? Or will it fall into the abyss as so many nations have done before?
7: Principate of Vasconia
Ruler: John Eneko
Vasconia is a recent kingdom, emerging from the Carolingian withdrawal from Hispania and Occitania, the Vascones took control of much of Pamplona and the atlantic coast. Their unique language keeps the vasconic lords and population distant from their Latin and Gothic subjects, creating unrest in their farther territories. Yet this has been muted due to the recent victory of a Vasconian army over the advancing forces of the Caliphate of Cordoba at a battle so bloody, it is being called "the Field of Crows". In this battle the Caliph was killed, and all but five of his sons fell with him. Will the Vasconians take the initiative, or will they seek to supplant the Caliphate as the dominate power on the Iberian Peninsula?
AUTHORS NOTE:
In case you didn't notice, this is a POD timeline, there have been three centuries for things to turn out differently to OTL and I hope I can make a decent timeline. I'm currently thinking of doing the civilisations in groups of Seven, but I might be raising that number to fifteen.
Does anyone think there are some things which can be improved?
*Valencia