Aftur í Vínland

Aftur í Vínland

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The Expeditions of Erik Gnupsson

At the eve of the 11th century, a Norse explorer, Leif Eriksson, set off from Greenland and sailed to place he called Vinland. He and his settlement had not been heard of since. In 1121, an Icelandic Bishop, who went by the name, Erik Gnupsson set off from Greenland in search of the almost forgotten land of legend, believing he could seek it out. He decided, having learnt of the legendary barbarian Skræling, to seek the help of Greenlanders who could help him on his journey. One of the men he found, had in his midsts a longship, one used by their ancestors, the Viking warriors. They set off in late Spring and intended to return by Autumn, but sadly for the sailors and their head bishop, were hit by an Artic storm which damaged their vessel and forced them to land in a place they knew was Markland, where Greenlanders commonly scavenged for wood and food when taking sailing trips.

Quoting the writings of Erik Gnupsson himself: "We arrived on the coast of the land the Grænlendingar called Markland. It was fairly wooded so I decided we would camp there while the ship was being repaired. We were ambiguous to know that the Skræling had raided our camp on a gloomy evening, causing a bloodshed that turned the ground to colour of the glimmering fire. That was our last night in Markland, after that we packed our ships and did not return". After those events, it is said by account that they landed at the ruins of the Vinland settlement which had become overgrown by grasses after it's abandonment over a century prior. They set up camp and partially restored some of the structures, which took them most of the Summer. After this short stay, running low on supplies, the Greenlanders and the Bishop returned to Greenland by the passing of Autumn.

The news of the rediscovery of Vinland amazed many around Scandinavia, and knowledge of it spread like a wildfire. By 1124, the Lawspeaker of the Icelandic Commonwealth, Bergþór Hrafnsson had ordered a second expedition to Vinland and Markland, pleased with Erik's achievements. The Bishop was appointed head of the second expedition which set off in Spring 1125. The expedition compromised of a fleet of 10 longships, all headed by Icelandic noblemen (and some Greenlandic followers). The ships landed at the former settlement in late Summer 1125, after a stop in the Western settlement to try and to get others to join. The settlement was quickly reconstructed and a few of the noblemen decided to travel out and subjugate the Skrælings near the settlement. They came back with minor success and Erik was growing fond of the new settlement. He and his Icelandic brothers built basic embankments to defend the settlement which they completed by the next Summer. Most of the fleet and Erik returned to Iceland early that Summer, but over 50 explorers decided to stay there for as long as possible and explore the island. Few had wives so population was nil, until the arrival of a Greenlandic fleet full of more settlers in mid 1127 hoping to log the forests for their own settlements.

Erik and the fleet returned to Iceland with the good news. The Norwegian crown had learnt of the expedition and decided to sponsor the exploration of Vinland, sending their own ships in 1136, under Kings Eystein I and Sigurd. The Icelanders quickly sent back another set of settlers equipped with construction tools in 1130. This was the last time Erik saw Iceland as he died of pneumonia in 1132. After Erik's death, the reestablished Vinlandic settlement had no official head, and after a short period of decision making by the noblemen, a government system identical to that of Iceland, with a Lawspeaker at its head. Loftur Sæmundsson, an Icelandic nobleman who joined the Icelanders on the 2nd journey, was elected Lawspeaker and head of the Vinlandic military. Many of his allies conspired for him to become monarch of Vinland, but that act was only carried out by his son decades later. Vinland had been founded again. Reborn like a Phoenix. It was only a matter of time before it would fall under the sway of the powers that lurked across the Atlantic.
 
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Age of Loftur

Loftur Sæmundsson came into power in 1132 and he and his developments in Vinland were only the first of many. He formed the Vinland Militia which compromised of a group of trained men who would act as the standing defense force. Vinland was poor and insignificant until the arrival of a Norwegian fleet in 1136 which had been damaged by a storm, also originally heading for Vinland for exploration, and subjugation. The head of the fleet asked for the assistance of Loftur and the Vinlanders. He gratefully accepted and over the next few months the Norwegian officials along with many of the brave Icelanders, explorered the majority of Vinland and found the island of Eriksland which they named after their forefather. The experience the Norwegians got from their stay inspired them to leave Vinland with a vision. A vision where all of the unknown Western lands could bow beneath the crown of Norway.

Vinland was heavily attacked by the Skrælings who had taken much of their livestock and supplies from the Norwegians. This forced the Milita to put to full use in summer 1139 when they completely ransacked entire villages of Skrælings, eventually causing much of them to cower in fear of the Vinlanders. But as always, fear turns to hate, and hate involves the masscring of your enemies. An army of Skrælings numbering more than the entire populace of Vinland settlement, attacked the embankment walls but was unable to break the siege. They turned to setting the walls on fire which easily ended in the Vinlanders dousing the fire. But as all sieges must end, a breach allowed the head of the Skræling army and his small band to enter the settlement where the Vinlanders were able to kill them with their advanced Iron weaponry (and obviously the good old beserker rage). Their leader was decapitated in front of them and instilled so much fear in the heathen army that they fled the scene, only to chased down by an somewhat scary mob of Icelanders. Vinland had been saved, and all were grateful to their leader, Loftur Sæmundsson.

With the populace of Vinland safe, Loftur returned to normal life, awaiting the arrival of the Norwegians, who appeared in 1141 under their new king, Magnus IV. Magnus had sent more settlers to Vinland who settled just outside the walls of Lofturs settlement. These people, mainly Norse exiles would form the basis of the lower classes of Vinland, despite their loyalty to a great Scandinavian kingdom. Loftur and the Vinlanders continued to expand their settlement as more children were born. Vinland was now numbering over 300 in population and was growing rapidly. Loftur had become older and decided to relax from martial acts anf focus on increasing the trade output of his settlement, as it would need to appeal to the mainlanders of Europe for anyone to invest in. Luckily for Norway, Vinland was prepared to become a export centre for all the goods of their seemingly alien land. They begun to export fish and timber via ship to trading partners in Greenland and Iceland who were amazed by the amount of fish they were able to farm from the sea. The tale of the great fishing stocks of Vinland spread quickly to Iceland and the rest of Scandinavia. The attention of Norway was upholded again and decided to continue investing in possible trading power. Vinland was no longer the legends of Scandinavian folklore, it was real. And it was growing.
 
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I am a bit uncertain about what your POD is here. At first I thought it would be Erik Gnupson surviving his expedition, but then it seems that Vinland had been forgotten before he rediscovered it.

OTL, Vinland was well known of. The Greenlanders got timber from there, and there have been indications that Scandinavian ships visited too, probably after trading with Greenland.

People just didn't think Vinland was very interesting. It didn't have anything that couldn't be gotten easier and closer from Russia. You write that the visit to Vinland caused amazement, and led to fleets being sent by Iceland and Norway, yet there seems no motivation for this amount of interest. Why had fleets not been sent to Northwestern Russia if the interest was there?

European interest in colonizing other countries for the sake of it came about later. When the trade with Asia was strangled, Europe could no longer get spices, so there was a profit motive in finding a new route to the east. Colombus also promised some potentially very nasty people a lot of gold to get funding. SO when he landed in the New World, he wrote a letter vastly exaggergating the small amount of gold he found and disseminated it widely.
And then later expeditions looking for it, actually fluked into vast amounts of gold. Which experience imprinted the profitability of overseas lands on the European mind. Half a millennium later.

There does not seem to be any reason here for why several entities would throw resources into the west. There seems no profit to be had. The areas only valuable product, Narwhale horn is being exploited already.

Iceland, as far as I remember (Icelandic posters will know more about it than me), was suffering under a lack of timber, leaving them dependent on the Norwegian ships. I could see them (and the Greenlanders) making a coordinated effort to set up a shipyard in Vinland, because going to the west like that would make it far more difficult for the Norweigans to interfere. You may need more of a consolidation of power in Iceland than OTL.

Or Gnupsson writes some kind of glowing tale of Vinlands potential -vast reaches of fertile and empty land, pots of gold, souls to be saved. Each attraction will attract a different kind of settler.
 
I am a bit uncertain about what your POD is here. At first I thought it would be Erik Gnupson surviving his expedition, but then it seems that Vinland had been forgotten before he rediscovered it.

OTL, Vinland was well known of. The Greenlanders got timber from there, and there have been indications that Scandinavian ships visited too, probably after trading with Greenland.

People just didn't think Vinland was very interesting. It didn't have anything that couldn't be gotten easier and closer from Russia. You write that the visit to Vinland caused amazement, and led to fleets being sent by Iceland and Norway, yet there seems no motivation for this amount of interest. Why had fleets not been sent to Northwestern Russia if the interest was there?

European interest in colonizing other countries for the sake of it came about later. When the trade with Asia was strangled, Europe could no longer get spices, so there was a profit motive in finding a new route to the east. Colombus also promised some potentially very nasty people a lot of gold to get funding. SO when he landed in the New World, he wrote a letter vastly exaggergating the small amount of gold he found and disseminated it widely.
And then later expeditions looking for it, actually fluked into vast amounts of gold. Which experience imprinted the profitability of overseas lands on the European mind. Half a millennium later.

There does not seem to be any reason here for why several entities would throw resources into the west. There seems no profit to be had. The areas only valuable product, Narwhale horn is being exploited already.

Iceland, as far as I remember (Icelandic posters will know more about it than me), was suffering under a lack of timber, leaving them dependent on the Norwegian ships. I could see them (and the Greenlanders) making a coordinated effort to set up a shipyard in Vinland, because going to the west like that would make it far more difficult for the Norweigans to interfere. You may need more of a consolidation of power in Iceland than OTL.

Or Gnupsson writes some kind of glowing tale of Vinlands potential -vast reaches of fertile and empty land, pots of gold, souls to be saved. Each attraction will attract a different kind of settler.

First off i have to say that Erik Gnupsson in OTL went missing, but in TTL, he returns with a majestic journey that inspires many. The reason there is so much insterest in Vinland is yes A) the lack of timber in Iceland, B) Norways interest in great tracts of goods with Narwhal horns and vast forests of timber, including the near infinite source of fish on the Grand Banks. The Europeans will NOT attempt any conquest or subjugation any time soon. It is far to isolated and only works [currently] as a trading centre for export for Europe.

EDIT: I am in the process of writing the next part. Expect it soon.
 
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Vinland and the Saxons

The knowledge of Vinland grew, and with it, the fantasised tales of its beauty and bounty, people from Great Britain, especially the Saxons who had been conquered by the Normans in 1066, sailed to Vinland during the migration period of 1140-1150, where over 2000 willing Saxons arrived, mainly under the sway of their own King William III, who wanted to expel the Saxons and clean the old ways from his kingdom. The leader of the Saxon migrants was the supposed bastard son of the uncrowned King of England Edgar the Ætheling, Edgar Adeling. Edgar and his Saxon bands travelled across the great sea to meet with Loftur and the nobility of Vinland. Edgar and the Saxons decided to settle further down the coast of Vinland to make better use of the fishing stock. The Saxon settlement grew from a minor, 100 men, to a massive 2000 in a decade. The Vinlanders settlement was only numbering close to a 1000 at the time so they had a lot to catch up on.

The Vinlanders throughout this time, constructed an advanced dock that protruded out of the settlements key district that contained the church and the houses of the nobility. The Saxon settlement, which was closely aligned with the Vinlanders, decided to swear fealty to the Vinlandic Commonwealth, but still had a large amount of autonomy. Edgar sent vessels to the island of Eriksland and decided to set up a trading post with the natives, granting some home in their village, which came to be known as Edgarsburg.

It is said that a war between two tribes of Beothuk (Skræling) had led to an intervention by the Abenaki people who invaded the coast of Vinland, forcing the Beothuk to ask for the military assistance of the nearby Saxons. The Saxons formed a military group they called the Saxon Band, headed by Edgar as captain. Edgar and his valiant band followed the Skræling into battle and were able to expel the Abenaki. The Saxons had triumphed over the invading Skræling, and now they sought to take the island as theirs. All of it.
 
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First off i have to say that Erik Gnupsson in OTL went missing, but in TTL, he returns with a majestic journey that inspires many. The reason there is so much insterest in Vinland is yes A) the lack of timber in Iceland, B) Norways interest in great tracts of goods with Narwhal horns and vast forests of timber, including the near infinite source of fish on the Grand Banks. The Europeans will NOT attempt any conquest or subjugation any time soon. It is far to isolated and only works [currently] as a trading centre for export for Europe.

Of all the things Norway would risk spectacularily long and risky voyages for, fish and timber is not what I'd expect. They're...not scarcity resources in Norway.

I can see Iceland going west for timber. Their lack of it let Norway have too much influence, and so going east would be going straight into Norways sphere of power.

Norway...there is not much reason yet for Norway to go west rather than the much closer east. What did Gnupsson write about that drew so much interest?

EDIT: You know, sometimes people do move because they think a new place will be better. Look at the settling of Greenland. Gnupsson was the Bishop of Greenland, wasn't he? Maybe he simply wants to expand his domain, and make it richer. So, clearly he need more people than the ones in Greenland. He takes a page from the settling of Greenland, well known to him, and writes some absolutly glowing letters about all the fertile empty land in Vinland. Disseminates them widely. And writes to some monarchs about the heathen Skrælings, and how they can be converted. Doing stuff for the disposition of your sould was a sensible course of action to the medieval set of priorities.

Sound passable?
 
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Of all the things Norway would risk spectacularily long and risky voyages for, fish and timber is not what I'd expect. They're...not scarcity resources in Norway.

I can see Iceland going west for timber. Their lack of it let Norway have too much influence, and so going east would be going straight into Norways sphere of power.

Norway...there is not much reason yet for Norway to go west rather than the much closer east. What did Gnupsson write about that drew so much interest?

EDIT: You know, sometimes people do move because they think a new place will be better. Look at the settling of Greenland. Gnupsson was the Bishop of Greenland, wasn't he? Maybe he simply wants to expand his domain, and make it richer. So, clearly he need more people than the ones in Greenland. He takes a page from the settling of Greenland, well known to him, and writes some absolutly glowing letters about all the fertile empty land in Vinland. Disseminates them widely. And writes to some monarchs about the heathen Skrælings, and how they can be converted. Doing stuff for the disposition of your sould was a sensible course of action to the medieval set of priorities.

Sound passable?

Yes. That is what has happened in the timeline (I think). The people of Europe are inspired by the weak (relatively) heathens in Vinland who would be possibly crusaded against. Norway only wants influence, seeing that Europe is fairly established and can't risk going into a war over lands in Europe, so is raising the state of Vinland to give more fame to their own nation. Gnupsson wanted influence and fame, and he got it. He's the equivalent of George Washington in the US (for Vinland).
 
A) the lack of timber in Iceland, B) Norways interest in great tracts of goods with Narwhal horns and vast forests of timber,

Resources Greenlanders and Icelanders already harvested from Vinland/Markland in OTL without major settlements. Albeit a few minor trading posts it would seem.

You'll need some way to create the pandemonium... otherwise the reactions seem out of place... :eek: Sorry to be the spoil sport.
 
I think there being vast tracts of empty land to settle with relative autonomy might be enough of a draw for a slow stream of settlers.
 
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First Vinlandic War

Vinland had become prosperous beyond anything by the 1150s and its expansion was noted by the eager Saxons down the coast. Edgar Adeling, head of the Saxons, decided he and his brothers had enough power to usurp the commonwealth and establish a monarchy. The Vinlanders were unaware of their intentions until the walls of the main settlement were set alight by Saxon intruders in July 1153. Unlike when the the Skræling attacked, the militia was unable to douse the flames and the settlements defenses were ruined. Loftur and the head nobles were assured that the Saxons had planned the attack, forcing Loftur to pull up all men in Vinland to fight against their enemy. Luckily for them, a Norwegian convoy visiting Iceland was only a week away, and could help the militia gain weapons and troops.

Like the Vinlanders, the Saxons had Beothuk allies who were prepared to help the Saxons expel their enemies. A bloodshed was already set. The first major battle was at the Norwegian camping ground outside the main settlement, ending in a slight Vinlander victory. The Norwegians immediately sent ships to Iceland to prepare their ships. The Vinlanders were outnumbered by the Saxon-Beothuk alliance 3 to 1. The Beothuk struck the Vinlander trading post in Eriksland in late 1154. The armies of the Icelanders arrived in 1154 and were just able to help the squandered settlements in Vinland. The reinforcements evened up each others chances and forced the Saxons out of singing the main Vinlanders settlement. Pulling back, but of the Saxon farms on the coast were razed and so were multiple Beothuk villages.

Because of this the Beothuk gave up on the war and attempted to kill Edgar, in a fine swipe to end the war. Unfortunately they failed the Saxons were left alone as the Vinlandic Alliance marched on towards Edgarsburg. The Saxons however, prepared a failsafe and completely upscaled the defenses of their city. The Norwegians were able to break the Saxon naval defense in September 1155, forcing the Saxons to surrender. However, Edgar remained in hiding in the city for almost a decade, after which he spurred the 2nd Vinlandic War.
 
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Age of Ketill

Although the victory of Vinland in the war pleased Loftur, his unexpected resignation from office in 1156, was from severe stress, as he needed to return home to Iceland to tend to his house and family. His successor Ketill Leifsson, son of a Greenlandic ship builder who had come to prominence after the construction of the Port of Vinland, located within the main settlement. Ketill had taken up in the defense of Vinland in both of the previous wars which had led him to become the head of the Vinland Militia. He was the 2nd Lawspeaker of Vinland and the first one to be born in Vinland (in circa 1130).

His first act as Lawspeaker was to reform the government to make room for a Prince Mayor of Vinland who presumes the position of semi-monarch over Vinland, he was by law, automatically elected the position. He and his militia continued to fight the Skræling in Markland and Vinland until the Beothuk were forced to stop raiding the land of Vinland. During his reign, Loftur Sæmundssons son, Gunnar Loftsson arrived in Vinland and joined the militia. In 1158, Ketill invaded the land he called Suðurland, where he encountered the Micmac and Abenaki peoples. They were quelled easily, but it is noted during this war, European livetock, tools and diseases left the semi-isolated Vinland to the greater continent the Vinlanders collectively knew as the Vesturlendir (West lands). The Abenaki were able to steal Vinlandic horses and use them to form a cavalry unit in their collective army, which were known by the Western World as the Knights of the Skrælings. These knights were able to protect Abenaki lands, while the lands of Micmac fell progressively to the Vinlanders.

By 1160 all of the Micmac had been subjugated and their people enslaved by the Norse invaders. The Micmac slaves were common around Vinland and within a few years, their people were enslaved in countries such as Norway, England and Denmark. The new slave trade was bountiful but a large portion of their population died from European diseases, forcing the. Vinlanders to create organised slave farms that were quarantined. Edgar Adeling and the Saxons watched on as the world radically changed around them. In 1165, Gunnar Loftsson was elected the next Prince Mayor, and Týr Jökulsson was elected Lawspeaker. Edgar finally on the day of Ketill's resignation proclaimed himself King of Westanland, and begun to start the events that would lead to the end of the Vinlandic hegemony.
 
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Second Vinlandic War

The 2nd Vinlandic War rose warfare in Vinland to the next level. The Westan Saxons attacked and majorly destroyed settlements along the south coast of Vinland and forced the Vinlanders in Suðurland to submit to King Edgar I. The Suðurland Vinlanders were mainly deported and the Saxons built up their own society there, turning siege camps into villages. The Vinlandic Commonwealth was ruined and Gunnar took this time to shine. He and the militia attacked and destroyed many of the Saxon/Skræling bastions on the north-south defense line, forcing the Saxons to retreat all the way to the coast, to a village called Suðurhöfn. Suðurhöfn was the place where the great Battle of Suðurhöfn occured. It was a remarkable Westan victory and forced the Vinlanders to sign a treaty in which they would return all of the taken Saxon lands including Suðurland, which had already started settlement by the Saxons. The Micmacs and Beothuk were released from slavery in Westan but some were forced into serfdom under rich Saxon lords who were arriving from the increasingly Norman Kingdom of England.

Although Westan had won the war, their battle against the Vinlanders was far from over. Norse pirates that had recently raided Ireland had arrived under in Vinland to work for Gunnar. The pirates raided key Saxon ports including their great capital of Edgarsburg throughout 1167. King Edgar repelled them at the battle of Eriksland Bay, where much of the pirates scrabbling fleet were destroyed. The pirates lost contact with the outside world when they were forced to settle on the south coast of Markland. With the pirates gone, the Vinlanders were forced to build up extreme fortifications along their border and forced Westan to concede and construct their own fortifications. The two states were already in a severe lockdown and only one twitch could start an inferno.

The Vinland-Westan border was peaceful for the rest of the decade and trade went on as usual, allowing for the rich supplies from Vinland to reach the ports of Greenland, Iceland and somehow reach the mystical Sacarens in Andalusia, who struck their own efforts to establish trade in the land of the Skrælings. The Norse continued to expand their reaches of knowledge in Vinland, leading to their dominance over the politics in Skrælingland. Migration to Vinland was crippled by the war, but some soldiers from Iceland and Norway stayed in Vinland causing the population to double (possibly even triple) within the confines of Vinland. Marriages and new children were common and a great church, The Holy Church of Vinland was constructed near the Port of Vinland. The centre of the Vinland settlement begun to urbanise as the population pulled towards the market centre that contained most of the essentials within the town.
 
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God Praise the King!

With the loss of the war, the populace of Vinland started to turn their backs on the ideals of Gunnar and the Commonwealth. The Norwegians had made little effort to help the Vinlanders, and the Irish pirates did not help against Westan. In 1170 the Commonwealth was abolished by rampaging rebels who stormed the city, demanding a "better" Vinland. Gunnar and his close advisors decided to declare feudal monarchy, which pleased the nobility and gave them much more rights than the numberless peasantry. Although this angered the peasant population, they were quelled by the militia and the last rebel holdout, headed by the self declared "Jarl of the People", Hrolfr the Bastard. Hrolfr fled to Iceland wheee he plotted with the governing to reestablish the commonwealth. Gunnar was crowned King Gunnar I of Vinland.

In 1172, a second revolt, supported by the Beothuk tribal confederation, attacked the Capital and many of the major villages outside of the Vinland peninsula. The Beothuk suffered major losses but were able to assert their independence with a reignited alliance with King Edgar of Westan. Edgar sent envoys to Iceland and secretly to Hrolfr the Bastard, where they decreed to help the rebel and his allies in exchange for financing of their army. The revolters were banished to Markland which had become a commonplace for Vinlander slavers.

Then it is said that Niall MacMurchad, head of the Irish Pirates, returned to the capital in Summer 1172, telling the King and the court of the treacherous land beyond Vinland he was forced to survive in. Their settlement, known to most of the Vinlandic world as New Irland, was set upon by Saxons in 1173, when they implored to their leader to join Westan. The Irishmen declined and exiled the Saxon force to Eriksland where they were found by traders months later. All political diplomacy with the Irish was impossible, but they were still hired as mercenaries by the Skræling in their wars.
 
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INTERIM POST: Europe in the 12th Century

This post will cover Europe in the 12th century and inform my loyal readers of the butterflies and futures of many states throughout Europe. The post will be updated until it is complete so don't get all grumpy if it's missing something, just ask!

-/--/--/--\--\--\-​

Let's start with my favourite, the most grand and absolutely awesome, Byzantine Empire

The reign of John II Komnenos which went better than OTL, and allowed the Byzantines to get a foothold in Armenia Minor and conquer Kastamonu and Ankara. His son, Alexios II Komnenos became emperor in 1137 when his father died of illness (in OTL Alexios died of illness before his father died), and continued his fathers conquests and was able to push the Turks even further back, forcing the Sultanate of Rūm to collapse in the 1160s. The Byzantines underwent tension when Alexios passed away in 1186, and the Byzantines underwent a short civil war in which Alexios' third son, Michael II Komnenos became emperor. By 1200, the Empire had begun to expand back in Europe (with the capturing of Syracuse and Malta from the dissented Kingdom of Sicily in 1196) and in Asia Minor grew to encompass most of the former Turk territories, although Turkish revolts during the civil war led to the Turks still controlling minor parts of Eastern and Central Asia Minor. An alliance with the Kingdom of Aragon through marriage (Michael is married to an Aragonese princess).

What about our friends in Iberia?

Al-Andalus has grown under the Almovarids who expanded greatly in North Africa and Iberia. After they were able to defeat a Franco-Aragonese alliance in the 1120s, they quickly swallowed up parts of Aragon and Castille. Portugese invaders came about in the 1130s and 40s but were quickly quelled and forced to retreat to their stronghold in Porto. Aragon went to war with the Almoravids once more in 1143 and were able to defeat them with a Byzantine/French alliance. Although they lost the war and a fair sum if territory in Eastern Iberia, they held out strong and destroyed the Kingdom of Portugal in 1151 and the Kingdom of Leon in 1174, after a long gruelling war, although Leon had been weakened by Castillian forces after a Castillian/English War for Asturias and Galicia played out in the 1160s. Rump states of Leon and Portugal remained but Al-Andalus is stronger than ever. By 1200, the Almoravids and the Kingdom of Aragon-Toulouse stand as the two strongest powers in the Western Mediterrean.
 
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