AHC: Halych-Volhynia wank

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Galicia%E2%80%93Volhynia

Halych-Volhynia was one of the 3 major powers after the fall of the Kievan Rus. Your goal is with a POD between 1199 and 1349, make it one of Eastern Europe's great powers, better than Poland or Muscovy.

Wikipedia said:
In Roman's time Galicia–Volhynia's principal cities were Halych and Volodymyr-in-Volhynia. In 1204 he captured Kiev. Roman was allied with Poland, signed a peace treaty with Hungary and developed diplomatic relations with the Byzantine Empire. At the height of his reign he briefly became the most powerful of the Rus princes.[4] In 1205 Roman turned against his Polish allies which led to a conflict with Leszek the White and Konrad of Masovia. Roman was subsequently killed in the Battle of Zawichost (1205) and his dominion entered a period of rebellion and chaos.

Why not start from there? Roman never campaigns against Poland, and instead extends his realm down the Dnieper to the Black Sea, and cultivates profitable arrangements with the Italian merchant states, and absorbs a Byzantine diaspora from the chaos of the Fourth Crusade. Those literate and cultured Greeks contribute to his dynasty's administration in his reign and after, and add heft to his realm's cultural influence over the other Russian states.

Because of Galicia-Volhyna's greater wealth and far friendlier ties to Poland and Hungary, the Mongols meet far stiffer resistance. As the Mongols campaign against the Cuman Khanate, they also destroy many Genoese trading posts. When the Cuman then beg for aid, they do so alongside Genoa, which promises subsidies for the war. Galicia and the other Russian states are able to make a coordinated effort and inflict a minor defeat on the Mongols under Galician leadership. The Mongols retreat back into Asia where other campaigns are more pressing, greatly enhancing the prestige of the Galician dynasty within the Rus.

A little more than a decade later, Galicia-Volhyna has come to dominate the Dnieper basin, with river tolls and concessions to Italian merchants providing the King a direct source of ready cash, independent of his domestic vassals and estates. The continued conflict between the Latin Empire, Bulgaria, and the Byzantine successor states ensured a steady flow of dispossessed nobility, bureaucrats, and churchmen to Kiev, Lviv, and the King's own court.

The King's army and to a lesser extent, that of his vassals, easily outmatches the other Princes of the Rus, and is favorably comparable to even the wealthy Kingdom of Hungary. The King and his realm is wealthy enough to maintain fine heavy cavalry as good as any western knight, while his Cuman subjects and vassals provide skilled light horse and skirmishers.

This is all tested as the Mongols return. First to fall were the Volga Bulgars, and their refugees were swiftly followed by Mongol emissaries demanding the submission of the lords of the Rus. The Princes, again under the leadership of Galicia, prepared themselves for the onslaught. It was far too slow. Batu Khan had the numbers and organization to storm Rostov, and split his army in order to sack and burn the cities of recalcitrant Russian lords. The army of Galicia was largely unable to bring the Mongols to battle until they came to Kiev. The Mongols advanced on the city, determined to take it, with the Russians determined to hold. The King advanced with the flower of his nobility against the Mongol army investing the city and preparing its engines. The army was as noble as it could be, gleaming armor and bright standards arrayed in the sun. The charge of cavalry was glorious. The honor and bravery of each man unquestionable.

And it was a slaughter. A full day of engagements saw the Galicians driven from the field in disorder, King Mistislav barely escaping. What was left of the army fled west to Lviv, where the King looked to fresh levies, and above all the aid of his neighbors.

The varied courts of the Kings of Hungary, Dukes of Poland, Prince of Moldavia, Grandmaster of the Teutonic order and unusually, the pagan Duke of Lithuania, received their envoys with varying degrees of welcome and enthusiasm. The Polish courts did not allow the envoy to even ask for aid, answering they were already mustering for war and would march as soon as possible. Hungary required bonds of matrimony, Lithuania was satisfied with a "gift", and the Knights had a long list of demands. The Prince of Moldavia promised to march against the Mongols, but fearing for his own realm could not promise direct aid. In the meantime, the divided Mongol army sacked and burned cities from Novgorod to the Crimea, but was becoming slowed by the time necessary to reduce them all. Then Kiev fell, fighting to the last, and offering one last parting shot of a particularly unpleasant nature. Smallpox, an enemy difficult to confront on the battlefield, even for Mongols.

Regardless, now Batu Khan could move west to Lviv, and from there he hoped to the furthest sea. Before the gates of Lviv, King Mistislav resolved to win or die, whether his potential allies arrived or not. Contingents of Polish and Hungarian lords trickled in daily, and even the Lithuanians had arrived, but as yet no sign of the greater western lords. The approaching segment of the Mongol army, though weakened somewhat by disease, was easily more experienced and disciplined than its opposition by any measure, and its leadership confident in their coming victory, as they had experienced throughout their campaign in the Rus.

The battle was long and exhausting, but the outcome did not seem in doubt. The Mongol organization and skill was winning the day, until the afternoon sun gleamed upon a new army toward the Mongol rear. [strike]King Theoden[/strike] King Béla and the Dukes of Poland had arrived at last. Falling upon the Mongols in a brutal melee, they scattered them, inflicting heavy losses.

A small victory won against the Mongols in truth, for it was only a portion of their army in the Rus, and its survivors managed to regroup and retreat in a relatively disciplined manner when it became clear that the battle was lost. Unfortunately for their campaign, the Great Khan had died. There could be no march to the furthest sea. The remainder of the campaign season saw the Kingdom of Galicia and its allies harass the Mongols in small engagements just beyond the Dnieper. Galicia had survived.

In the many years following, Mongol unity would shatter, allowing Galicia to liberate central Russia from Mongol Tribute, giving it the resources to go much further...
 
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Why not start from there? Roman never campaigns against Poland, and instead extends his realm down the Dnieper to the Black Sea, and cultivates profitable arrangements with the Italian merchant states, and absorbs a Byzantine diaspora from the chaos of the Fourth Crusade. Those literate and cultured Greeks contribute to his dynasty's administration in his reign and after, and add heft to his realm's cultural influence over the other Russian states.

Because of Galicia-Volhyna's greater wealth and far friendlier ties to Poland and Hungary, the Mongols meet far stiffer resistance. As the Mongols campaign against the Cuman Khanate, they also destroy many Genoese trading posts. When the Cuman then beg for aid, they do so alongside Genoa, which promises subsidies for the war. Galicia and the other Russian states are able to make a coordinated effort and inflict a minor defeat on the Mongols under Galician leadership. The Mongols retreat back into Asia where other campaigns are more pressing, greatly enhancing the prestige of the Galician dynasty within the Rus.

A little more than a decade later, Galicia-Volhyna has come to dominate the Dnieper basin, with river tolls and concessions to Italian merchants providing the King a direct source of ready cash, independent of his domestic vassals and estates. The continued conflict between the Latin Empire, Bulgaria, and the Byzantine successor states ensured a steady flow of dispossessed nobility, bureaucrats, and churchmen to Kiev, Lviv, and the King's own court.

The King's army and to a lesser extent, that of his vassals, easily outmatches the other Princes of the Rus, and is favorably comparable to even the wealthy Kingdom of Hungary. The King and his realm is wealthy enough to maintain fine heavy cavalry as good as any western knight, while his Cuman subjects and vassals provide skilled light horse and skirmishers.

This is all tested as the Mongols return. First to fall were the Volga Bulgars, and their refugees were swiftly followed by Mongol emissaries demanding the submission of the lords of the Rus. The Princes, again under the leadership of Galicia, prepared themselves for the onslaught. It was far too slow. Batu Khan had the numbers and organization to storm Rostov, and split his army in order to sack and burn the cities of recalcitrant Russian lords. The army of Galicia was largely unable to bring the Mongols to battle until they came to Kiev. The Mongols advanced on the city, determined to take it, with the Russians determined to hold. The King advanced with the flower of his nobility against the Mongol army investing the city and preparing its engines. The army was as noble as it could be, gleaming armor and bright standards arrayed in the sun. The charge of cavalry was glorious. The honor and bravery of each man unquestionable.

And it was a slaughter. A full day of engagements saw the Galicians driven from the field in disorder, King Mistislav barely escaping. What was left of the army fled west to Lviv, where the King looked to fresh levies, and above all the aid of his neighbors.

The varied courts of the Kings of Hungary, Dukes of Poland, Prince of Moldavia, Grandmaster of the Teutonic order and unusually, the pagan Duke of Lithuania, received their envoys with varying degrees of welcome and enthusiasm. The Polish courts did not allow the envoy to even ask for aid, answering they were already mustering for war and would march as soon as possible. Hungary required bonds of matrimony, Lithuania was satisfied with a "gift", and the Knights had a long list of demands. The Prince of Moldavia promised to march against the Mongols, but fearing for his own realm could not promise direct aid. In the meantime, the divided Mongol army sacked and burned cities from Novgorod to the Crimea, but was becoming slowed by the time necessary to reduce them all. Then Kiev fell, fighting to the last, and offering one last parting shot of a particularly unpleasant nature. Smallpox, an enemy difficult to confront on the battlefield, even for Mongols.

Regardless, now Batu Khan could move west to Lviv, and from there he hoped to the furthest sea. Before the gates of Lviv, King Mistislav resolved to win or die, whether his potential allies arrived or not. Contingents of Polish and Hungarian lords trickled in daily, and even the Lithuanians had arrived, but as yet no sign of the greater western lords. The approaching segment of the Mongol army, though weakened somewhat by disease, was easily more experienced and disciplined than its opposition by any measure, and its leadership confident in their coming victory, as they had experienced throughout their campaign in the Rus.

The battle was long and exhausting, but the outcome did not seem in doubt. The Mongol organization and skill was winning the day, until the afternoon sun gleamed upon a new army toward the Mongol rear. [strike]King Theoden[/strike] King Béla and the Dukes of Poland had arrived at last. Falling upon the Mongols in a brutal melee, they scattered them, inflicting heavy losses.

A small victory won against the Mongols in truth, for it was only a portion of their army in the Rus, and its survivors managed to regroup and retreat in a relatively disciplined manner when it became clear that the battle was lost. Unfortunately for their campaign, the Great Khan had died. There could be no march to the furthest sea. The remainder of the campaign season saw the Kingdom of Galicia and its allies harass the Mongols in small engagements just beyond the Dnieper. Galicia had survived.

In the many years following, Mongol unity would shatter, allowing Galicia to liberate central Russia from Mongol Tribute, giving it the resources to go much further...
Galicia was about to convert to Catholicism before it was annexed by Lithuania and Poland, so we could see Galicia to turn into a Catholic Ukraine.
 
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