AHC: Unite most of Europe before 1200 AD

Could most of Europe have been united into a single state or empire by the end of the High Middle Ages? (POD can be any time period, even in ancient times).

By most of Europe, I mean about 70% of the continent's area. Tributaries, client kingdoms, and vassal states count as part of the empire's area, even if not directly administered.

Bonus points: Center the empire around the European Plain, instead of Rome or Constantinople.
emwrOp6.png
 
Center it around Franks maybe? Moravian empire got incorporated into it. Magyars are either defeated in Carpathians or peacefully settled in Panonia.
 
Honestly, the only way to unite Europe by 1200 AD other than Rome surviving and expanding into Germania is the Frankish Empire ditching Gavelkind inheritance and adopting primogeniture to help stabilize the empire then avoiding partition for hundreds of years while expanding into Eastern Europe. Not impossible but they need quite a bit of luck and competent leaders.
 

Kaze

Banned
Yes, it was a myth. The Empress at the time was not playing ball - her letters to Charlemagne's court was laced with much vitriol and sardonic language. Charlemagne's responses was not that good either. It would take a cross-eyed cupid to make them even to like each other enough to meet, fall in love, and have competent kids together. Even if they did, their respective courts might object to it - unless the actions of either forced the issue - such as having competent kids.
Then the other problem once Charlemagne dies - the second Viking invasion. Unless their kid is competent enough - he is going to loose a lot of the empire to them.
 
Honestly, the only way to unite Europe by 1200 AD other than Rome surviving and expanding into Germania is the Frankish Empire ditching Gavelkind inheritance and adopting primogeniture to help stabilize the empire then avoiding partition for hundreds of years while expanding into Eastern Europe. Not impossible but they need quite a bit of luck and competent leaders.
Exactly what I did in a CK2 game, took me maybe 3 generations to get the law tech high enough.
 
Much of the Great European Plain was forested for the time period we are talking about. You need the Roman Empire to expand deeper into Germany earlier and for deforestation to occur there as a result. That allows a future alt-Charlemagne type to have a more coherent, urbanised geographic base from the Bay of Biscay to the Elbe.
 
Honestly, the only way to unite Europe by 1200 AD other than Rome surviving and expanding into Germania is the Frankish Empire ditching Gavelkind inheritance and adopting primogeniture to help stabilize the empire then avoiding partition for hundreds of years while expanding into Eastern Europe. Not impossible but they need quite a bit of luck and competent leaders.
I wonder if somehow Christianized Vikings could usurp the Frankish Empire, which would give the Frankish Empire an interest and means of forming outposts in the east by connecting them to the Varangian trade network.

I could see Sviatoslav of Kievan Rus' creating an empire that ruled almost all of Eastern Europe if he lived longer. In less than ten years of campaigning, he conquered a centuries-old prosperous empire (Khazaria), dominated most of Eastern Europe, and almost brought the Byzantine Empire to its knees. What could he have conquered with 2 more decades of rule? And perhaps loot from further conquests could have created something similar to the Carolingian Renaissance in Kiev.
 
A Saxon Viking state descended from Guthrum's conquest sounds like it would have a great raiding position plus the Diplomatic chops to subvert things like the Frankish Empire.

Well, I love the idea of Vercengetrix defeating Caeser, and in the next generation Roman Republic fragmenting into ten or so mini realms similar to Sextus Pompey's Sicily. In the meantime the Gauls having faced a near death experience reform militarily, unite, and 2000 years later Western civilization is primarily Celtic with varying degrees of German and Classical admixture (Romans are seen like the Persians vis a vis Greece), "everyone" worships a faith descended primarily from Druidism.
 
Attila got pretty close to the borders in the OP. So, if you want Europe that united, a steppe empire is your best bet.

Also, Irene and Charlemagne aren't likely a good match. More likely is her son, Constantine, and Rotrude, who were betrothed.
 
I've got it! Early Mongolian conquests reach Bordeaux and establish a Khanate based out of somewhere in Poland stretching from the Atlantic coast to the Urals.
 
I think it's impossible given the geography and the communications technology of the time.

Unless the Arabs have an industrial revolution, and then use it to conquer Europe?
 
Top