Bachburg: A Complete Parallel History

Prelude:
This is an expansion of the sizable and elaborate Trivoli alternate history. While I'm confident this thread will be easily comprehensible to any that haven't read the Trivoli timeline, there are references and connections to it that are required to obtain the full experience of what I intend to write here. To read Trivoli, visited here: Trivoli: A Complete Alternate History. The point of divergence is prehistoric, allowing for a completely alternate take on human history from start to finish. Either thread, enjoy the read!



History is the making of leaders. Societies invest their power in a few individuals, who in turn, decide how that power is used and shape history as result. The beautiful and proud region of Germany existed between barbaric tribes and minor kingdoms, resisting expansion from external civilized power-hungry empires like Trivoli and Blansko, for centuries and didn’t experience the status of nation-state until 544 A.D.

Up until the 400s, Germans had been divided by uniquely different mythologies. The most prominent of these were the Saxon and the Rhine Mythologies. Saxon mythology constituted of goblins, which they believed served their Goblin King: Earth. Goblins roam the earth to maintain food to grow so their Goblin King rules a fertile, rich empire. When the skies roar with thunder, it’s because the Earth is sick. When the earth shakes, the Goblin army has won a great victory. The polytheistic Rhine Mythologies devoted a god for every resource and activity but largely due to the lack of road and trade networks of ancient Germany, no collective belief can be established for the Rhine pagans.

For generations the two royal families Holsteiner and Krause rivaled interests in Saxony. The rise of the towns, notably Ziegel and Vogel, caused jockeying for municipal power between the rich urban families. Their struggle for power nursed a vendetta between the Holsteiner and Krause families. The murder of one family member only sparked lust for revenge by the other family. Through five generations the family feud costs the lives of participants as well as bystanders. Gustav von Krause despised the family feud he was born into, sickened of lost loved ones and paranoid of his own family's safety. After the two families battled in the streets of Vogel in 513, von Holstein proposed a family truce. The peace formalized its backing by arranging the marriage of Georg von Holstein and Berta von Krause. The two most powerful families in Saxony now united at peace and the sealed the crown for themselves.

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The Township of Vogel​

The townspeople of Vogel sought for Kaiser Georg von Holstein and Königin Berta von Krause to birth as many heirs as possible to assure the Holsteiner and Krause remained united for further generations. The families feared a return to the bloody vendetta as much as the townspeople. Thus the royal couple conceived nine children to successfully continue the Holstein-Krause line. Despite two children dying in childbirth, the rich city of Vogel viewed the seven remaining heirs as a confident sign of stability.

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Claus von Holstein​

Swedish Pagans called “Hedningars” invaded the Ovidiast Jutland Peninsula and North Sea villages in 539. The Swedes had launched their own holy war on Ovidiasm and the growing German power around Vogel and Ziegel. Kaiser Georg the Bearded proudly placed command of his armies to his eldest surviving child, Prince Claus von Holstein. The Prince was extremely charismatic among Saxony’s loyal soldiers and this virtue proved obliging when the young Prince defeated the Hedningars at the Battle of Skäggiga in 542. Word of the surprising pagan Hedningars defeat spread far and wide. Even further success came when the Prince liberated the culturally German, religiously Ovidiast city of Ziegel from Hednigar rule. A Swedish Pagan inquisition was planned by their king Ambrosius, but the rich city luckily was saved by Saxon armies.

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The Kingdom of Saxony in 544, comprising of the three wealthiest cities in Germany: Ziegel, Vogel, and Muschel.​

The victory’s aftermath proved influential enough for Pontifex Donato the First to appoint Prince Claus von Holstein as “Protector of German Ovidiast Realms” in 543. The city of Ziegel felt safe enough as Prince Claus von Holstein’s Protectorate to approve Saxon annexation in 544. The quick success and rise to fame by their Prince, Kaiser Georg I and Königin Berta I honorably abdicated their thrones in favor of their son Claus. Kaiser Claus assumed the throne at the ripe age of 19, an energetic age where his youthful athleticism and ambitious confidence shined that charisma among his soldiers, generals, and nobles. Not to mention Claus’ handsomeness in his prime age. Claus’ parents found the timing of crowning Claus most ideal after the Saxon kingdom strengthened against foreign threats and emerged more powerful in the Universale Abbey.

However, before Claus could assume the crown he had to accomplish the royal tradition of roaming the woods in search for barbaric beasts. A Saxon prince or princess must kill a threatening brute then skin the creature for evidence of the kill to return home with, as an entire wolf or lion would be too heavy to carry. Claus set off west into Germany’s woods with nothing more than clothes and his wit. German legends state that Claus discovered a bear nest just off the Rhine River. So Claus sharpened a spear out of a branch using stone and entered the bear’s den where three cubs and a mother brown bear sprung into growls at the prince. When the mother bear approached Claus and sprung onto its hind legs, releasing an echoing growl into the forests to protect her cubs. The prince didn’t flinch, nor hesitate. Claus thrusted his spear into the bear’s heart. Upon returning to Vogel, crowds were shocked the prince managed to kill a whole large bear. Before, a lynx or a wolf was a common target for princes and princesses. But Claus impressively accomplished a full grown bear. Killing an “evil” beast symbolically assured that an individual would defend his position in crown against threats outside and inside, as well as emerge as a strong leader. Claus’ father Gustaf IV wrote:

Religion is interpreted, ideas are opinion, but astronomy is certain.
Piety is best understood by my priest, ideas are best debated by my philosopher, but Claus' destiny is best known by my astronomist.

By this, Gustaf expressed his assurance that his son's regime would emerge even greater than that of is own. Astronomy

Claus was temperamental, and this, along with his tall stature, made him an intimidating man, and he often instilled fear in his contemporaries. He was nevertheless charismatic an earned respect of his peers through his achievements as a general and devotion as a pious king.

Kaiser Claus left powerful influences on his court. One of his nobles recorded the Kaiser to be:
“the upmost confident. Capable of conquering each corner of the Earth just by believing he could. His limitless ambition made [Claus] von Holstein ruthless. His soldiers love him and he knows this well. The length of the Trivolin Empire lays the bottom of Claus’ expectations. Kaiser Claus wants the entire world; I hope his cavalry are comfortable in their horseshoes.”

Domestically the new King proselytized his subjects into Ovidiasm and erasing any traces of ancient mythology. The Kaiser strongly believed that a civilized Germany could only be an Ovidiast Germany.

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Territory controlled under Claus by 547​

Westphalia unluckily transpired into Claus’ first region to be picked upon. The region resisted Ovidiasts teachings against their strong devotion to Westphalian mythology. Claus’ first military campaign as King of the Saxons glorified Claus von Holstein with overwhelming victories, but morally degraded him when he forced Ovidiasm upon the pagans against the penalty of death. Being the Protector of German Ovidiasm meant he was recognized as the undisputed ruler of the Saxon kingdom realms – among Ovidiasts. Pagan subjects threatened the stability of an extremely pious kingdom.

Westphalia impressively nearly doubled the size of Claus’ kingdom in terms of territory. However, post-conquering organization occupied four years of Claus’ reign. The political structure was constructed out of religious culture. Ovidiasm’s importance here is incomparable. Claus sought his kingdom to be 100.0% Ovidiasts, thus he measured each principality’s population through Abbey attendance. Collected population numbers accounted for Claus’ royal taxation amount, instead of land size. Logically it seemed the more population, the more peasants there were. More peasants meant more farms. This method was highly efficient for Claus’ empire, especially in medieval standards.

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In the four years it required Claus to reorganize his kingdom, he was able to develop and establish vital cities that would forever shape his domain. The fort of Glatzen (547) expresses Claus’ concern against the Dutch, a people Claus didn’t trust. Kirchedorf (547) centralized the Universale Abbey’s inquisition endeavors to proselytize the pagan population. Kirchedorf is built around an extravagant medieval church and five pagan-torturing dungeons, along with the seat of the Bishop of Westphalia. Claus developed Hügel to harness the iron ore of his kingdom in preparation for his next campaign – east. The Kaiser founded Bachburg (548) in the midpoint of Ziegel, Muschel, and Vogel as a middleman trader’s market. Bachburg appreciates a river port close enough to the sea for productive access and far inland enough to enjoy peaceful protection against any naval assault. Bachburg, “riverside castle”, grew economically rapidly from Kaiser Claus feeding it tax-free access in the Lower Elbe into the North Sea and no tolls to enter the city’s fortifications.

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Claus’ ever-expanding kingdom in 453​

Claus crusaded east from Hügel to subjugate the divided indigenous tribes in 451. While the new annexations went smooth in Saxon endeavors to convert locals, it failed to acquire any immensely valuable settlements or resources. During Claus' tenure, the East appeared undeveloped and too sparsely populated to change that.

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Claus consequently turned his attention west to the “civilized” formalized Dutch. The Kaiser invaded with determination and power lusts. It took several major battles for the Dutch King Hubrecht II to fathom his inevitable defeat. At Burcht in 557, Hubrecht surrendered in agreement he could retain his crown. However, his soldiers must submit to Germany’s command whenever Claus calls upon them. This grew Claus’ military capability considerably and he chose ruling “two armies over a battered one.”

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Coronation of Emperor Claus I, House of Holstein, 559​

Subjugating the Dutch monarchy manifest the most important happening in early German history. Sure a potential rival was eliminated. But King Claus I now assumed power over another King. The kingdom was expanding and self-knowingly wouldn’t stop at Burcht; more kings would follow. Consequently, Claus journeyed to Capraia in 559 for Pontifexal recognition when the already named “Protector of German Ovidiasm” requested to be crowned Emperor. Pontifex Donato II happily agreed to any action that would continue Claus’ power. Claus made the Universale Abbey greatly pleased with him from his endless effort to Ovidiasize German Pagans and the Pontifex hoped his borders would persist their expansion into pagan wilds. On the Ides of October, 559, Pontifex Donato II crowned Claus as Emperor of Germany – marking historical transition into the German Empire.

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Claus I’s adopted emblem used to both symbolize the monarchy and as the Holstein Coat of Arms, which references the bear Claus infamously managed to kill as prince​

Upon the status of the first “Emperor” in Europe since the fall of the Trivolin Empire, many bachelorettes aspired to intervene with the powerful stag. French Queen Henriette II voyaged to Glatzen sometime between 561 and 563. Henriette’s subtle efforts to obtain a German marriage through luring Emperor Claus failed miserably. Claus was deeply religious and, while every man has needs, expressed anger over such un-Ovidiast like conduct. The unity between man and woman, husband and wife, in Ovidiasm is the upmost sacred. Claus possibly took his reaction too far when he had Henriette excommunicated by the Pontifex. This sparked significant chaos in the west when the deeply-Ovidiast French removed their monarch with the saying “Un hérétique nous gouverne pas!” 10 years of internal war over the crown followed. However, the issue of marriage found itself subjected to more attention in Claus’ court after the Henriette Affair.

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Territory controlled by Claus von Holstein by year​

By the 560s, the Emperor Claus was the most powerful man in Europe after the Pontifex. The Henriette Affair occurred in 561/563, when Emperor Claus was approaching his 40s – an age considered well-aged in medieval German standards. Claus’ court insisted on producing an offspring to be named successor and to carry out his legacy. Western nobles encouraged a union with a Burgundy princess by the name of Thérèse which could lead to German acquisition of the land through hereditary right. Others begged the King to voyage to England where an Anglo-Saxon marriage could assure a German-English alliance for ages. Choices of suitable spouses were seemingly everywhere.

The Emperor married at last in 565 after he returned to his royal palace in Ziegel from a successful military campaign in Denmark. Claus chose a beautiful commoner girl he discovered in the German city of Ziegel. Perhaps the Emperor fell in love with her witty charm, long straight hair, blonde German hair, or glowing beauty. But the royal family was shocked that their patriarch chose a German commoner instead of obtaining the hereditary rights of foreign territories or the second-in-line to a potential ally. Claus believed in gigantic importance that he marry a German woman to protect his imperial throne from ambitious foreign families and to insure his successor be of pure German blood. Claus truly believed in a German empire; not a Holsteiner Empire, not a geographic empire, but an Ovidiast German cultural empire to reflect the Italian impact on Europe of the Trivolin Age. The new German Queen “Heidi” was pregnant by the first Spring after their marriage.

Inconsiderate of his family in Germany, Emperor Claus travelled Italy during the time of his successor’s birth. Claus first visited Capraia to convene with the Pontifex. But somewhere during his travels he found himself in awe at the monuments of Trivoli. He realized that any influential empire necessitates an economic-political-cultural city to lead it. Upon his return to Germany in 567, Emperor Claus decreed Bachburg as the German Empire’s Capital. Until then, Germany had no official political capital. Emperor Claus travelled from city to city but rested at an individual town for no more than half a year. Bachburg’s geographic position’s ideal; it’s on the Elbe River which suits quick travel inland and access to the North Sea, it’s on the crossroads of Ziegel, Vogel, and Muschel, and it’s more easily defensible than most other coastal cities by being situated in a harbor where any navy intrusion would be vulnerable by artillery. Bachburg’s merchant economy fostered a population up to 25,000 upon its rank to capital (multiplying even further after being granted capital status).

With a capital, the medieval German Empire's foundations were complete.
 
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