And All Nations Shall Gather To It - Volume I: The Abode of Peace
- Thread starter Ricard (i.e. Rdffigueira)
- Start date
With a name like that the Muslims should just give up already.Seriously, that name is just badass.
Yes, its awesome. In Norwegian he is called "Sigurðr Jórsalafari", which means "Sigurd of Jerusalem", but more properly "Sigurd the Crusader", and he is one of the only monarchs I can remember from the top of my head that got the epithet.
It is interesting to note, as well, that he was the Crusader leader that organized probably the most difficult undertaking: going from Norway all the way through the Mediterranean was daunting - only King Richard the Lionheart would attempt something so bold later on - and no one did this ever since Viking chief Bjorn the Ironside (Ragnar's son in History Channel's Vikings). He was, after all, a great-grandson of Harald Hardrada, who had been a member of the Varangian Guard and spent many years fighting in Asia before his return to Norway and the "let's invade England" shenanigans.
It was all or nothing, I guess. Either Syria would have to completely collapse after being united by Radwan, or we would see an early parallel to Nur ad-Din and Saladin's wars, that completely enveloped the Kingdom of Jerusalem and reduced them to a rump state in the coast. I did not think it would be plausible for Syria to remain united under a single ruler and then having the Crusaders survive. I needed something strong enough to make Syria crumble completely, and now we have the conditions for it.
I had to Google it to catch the reference. God damnit, that's some years too long since I don't play HL.
Yes, I thought it would be a more natural course of expansion for the "Byzantines", who are now the masters of western Syria, than the Crusaders, who have barely even scratched some pieces of Lebanon, and have only a handful of outposts in Palestine proper.
Thanks, Merovingian, I'll make the correction.
Yes... YES...
Thanks, friend. I'll try to not take long until the next installment. I got this hateful thing of leaving chapters in cliffhangers, I know.
Cuāuhtemōc
Banned
The Crusaders shouldn't rest until they reach the Sixth Cataract! Crusader Nubia and Egypt!
They'll be intrigued at least to find Christians there. Dark-skinned Christians, which will confuse and amuse them, but Christians nonetheless.
This is centuries before Europeans developed an idea of scientific racism. They'll probably hold themselves to be superior because the Ethiopians are heretics, but there won't be a racial tinge to that.
I believe this is right about the time when the legends of Prestor John begin to spread, so they might think they found his realm (which could have all sorts of interesting ramifications!)
Marrying a heretic?
I think you need some DEUS VULT
Whoa, this might actually affect Crusader-Nubian/Ethiopian relations. If they really think it’s the realm of Prester John they will respect and honor their delegations more than is strictly necessary and probably be willing to protect Egyptian Copts on their behalf. Europeans of the time really respected mythological institutions IIRC.
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Cuāuhtemōc
Banned
If it was good enough for the Aragonese to consider as an idea, it's good enough for the Normans!
What, really? Neat.
I guess it could’ve been possible for the Portuguese to marry in much later on too.
Cuāuhtemōc
Banned
It was an OTL proposal to have an Aragonese prince marry an Ethiopian princess (I forgot under who) and an Aragonese princess marry an Ethiopian prince.
ar-pharazon
Banned
I still want to see Crusaders on the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. I dunno maybe I played too much Medieval 2 Cruades Expansion but imagining crusaders armies marching down the Tigris River is awesome.
Cuāuhtemōc
Banned
Especially when the Mongols or some other power-hungry tribe comes roaring from the steppes.
The ERE taking Aleppo makes their holdings in Syria larger than Antioch ever was. It will be interesting to see if they can hold it for any real length of time, as they failed to hold what parts of Syria they had while the whole of Anatolia was under their control, much less now when they still have a substantial Turkish salient in the middle of Anatolia.
Except this time the Turks are on the back foot and the Byzantines will be able to divert almost all of their attention to recovering Eastern Anatolia, given the apparent lakc of foreign threats for the near future (hopefully).
I guess it’s being implied that the Turks will be evicted from or made to bow the knee in Anatolia. You might see a substantial (nominally) Christian Turkish remnant in the interior.
Another interesting effect is if the withdrawing Turks manage to attract the interest of the main Seljuk Empire in Persia, which at this point has not yet really started to decline. If Persia gets involved with Byzantium you might see the Greeks get pushed back again—or you might see the Seljuk Empire collapse early. There’s a lot of potential for butterflies here.
I thought I chose my words carefully, I meant to imply no such thing. However they're certainly going to notice it and remark on something that to them will be unfamiliar.
Oh no, the mistake was mine, not yours. I think I may have come off a bit too agressive there, when I was actually agreeing with you by and large. I *cough* may have had a beer or two by that point, and not articulated myself as well as I'd have hoped.