Crusader Kings II - Paradox Entertainement (02/12)
- Thread starter Tellus
- Start date
Well, I personally like them because it should make it easier to handle Conclave. I don't think that DLC was a bad idea but it led to a strong increase of the difficulty by making the council and the voting of laws something that needed careful management as it no longer just needs someone with high stats and a good opinion of you, but also someone who would ideally be a Loyalist. The latest change will make determine that fact easier. As for the education change, it's simply going to make it easier to track which education you should give to a child.
If I have to be honest though, these are mostly interface changes: they improve quality of gameplay, but they're not that groundbreaking.
So my new(ish) Sweden game is taking the usual route. I have done quite well and was on the verge of forming the empire when Ragnar Lodbrok was assassinated, then his brother (that nobody liked and was an idiot) took over. I fought a few civil wars and seemingly stabilized the Empire. Then HE was assassinated sparking two more civil wars that I put down with the generous help of tribal armies since the new guy was caught and got kinslayer. Now, I am expecting him to be killed soon but idc, at least his heir is pretty good. I also am having the pleasure of always being just a hundred or so piety away from reforming the faith when I am killed so that is ya know...great. Well at least this game is salvageable and I haven't lost anything to important. I did lose my capital however and it went feudal so now I gotta rush feudalism pretty quick and get all that sweet tax I am missing out on. Sverige lever för evigt!
So, I have in one of my games the closest thing I have seen to the Pornocracy. Basically, after Byzantium took Venice, I eventually went and made them independent again, it looks like many of one exiled and wealthy family went to Rome. What happened is that Venice is one of the few consistently Italian areas from the start of 769 so anyone from there has the coveted Italian modifier when ti comes to papal consideration. The following is the story I made in my head from this. The Galbaio family has for about the last thirty to forty years held some of the most powerful positions in Christendom. They have had two popes, and one or two others who were next in line but died or overshadowed by someone else, and several Prince-Bishops of Orbetello, including one who was the bastard son of a previous Prince-Bishop. In the end, Pope Ursus' bastard son, of the Orseolo dynasty, was elected to the papacy as Theodorus/Theodore II and has been rather long lived and working to end the situation.
So question, do we know if names get localized?
So for instance in my Scotland game if Iain IV converts to English culture, could his son be John V?
So for instance in my Scotland game if Iain IV converts to English culture, could his son be John V?
Speaking of the Pornocracy, one of the dynasties I enjoy playing is the House of Tusculum. Though with my aggressive/save-scumming playstyle, I can never properly keep the Popes under my thumb. Even when I do get a Tusculan pope, they end up hating me.
So, my current game.
The year is 1019, and the House of Tusculum is at the height of its power. The Butcher King Theophylact II of Sicily rules Croatia, Africa, and half of Italy, and has just won the kingdom of Jerusalem from the infidels, and his son the genius crown prince is ready to rule.
France is ruled by a Catholic Ashkenazi aristocracy raised up in the Second Crusade, while the old names like Capet and Welf and de Normandie are now Jewish exiles. The Holy Roman Empire rules the other half of Italy and remains unstable, factions raising up an emperor every decade or so. The Empire of the Romans is relatively stable, ruled by Spartenoi empresses for decades now. And they have a buffer state in Armenia, which has converted to the Orthodox Church while the Tsardom of Bulgaria (whose Tsar pissed off the Butcher King at his coronation) has converted to Catholicism.
The Catholic kingdoms of Spain have expanded and the Umayyad dynasty is getting somewhat desperate. The Idrisids continue to do their thing. The Fatimid Caliphate rules Egypt, and Makouria remains the last Coptic kingdom. And for some reason the Teutonic Knights have conquered Crimea. Probably something to do with the Jewish Khazars.
Playing the After the End Mod as the Celestial Emperor. On my second Emperor, the legitimized bastard because he was way better than my other POS kids. I also have a son named Karl who is the devil. He has already killed my first born and is working on my second so he can take over I am guessing. Meanwhile I eagerly eye Revolts to Restore Imperial Power, two of which have already succeeded (in Socal and Baja) and plan for my triumphant return to the world stage as the God Emperor! But that will probably be as Karl. Meanwhile hte rest of the world is slowly descending into chaos since I keep entertained by killing random rulers. This is really fun.
I think I've taken this as far as I want to go. Hope you enjoy.
CKII: Afghan Campaign
Satrapy of Zabulistan (738-786)
738-786: Jimofuta (Zunbil)
The small but independent state of Zabulistan occupied a tenuous and contested space in the foothills of the Himalayas, straddling the deserts and foothills of Afghanistan whilst clinging to the unique Zunist religion. As the only remaining 'pagan' state in the region, Zabulistan came under much religious pressure from the Abrahamic religions in the West (namely from Sunni Islam) and the ancient Indian religions (chiefly Hinduism and Buddhism). Nevertheless - fiercely loyal to his Sun God, Jimofuta would rebuff foreign missionaries under the threat of imprisonment, often allowing them to contest their beliefs against the judgement of Zun. In this capacity, the small Buddhist states of Northern Afghanistan were assimilated and Zunism remained intact against the desires of the Islamic powers.
Shahdom of Afghanistan (786-)
Shahdom of Khiva (875-)
(846-858: Subjugated by the Karakhanid Khaganate)
786-786: Jimofuta (Zunbil) [1]
786-802: Shiquer I (Zunbil) [2]
802-802: Shiquer II (Zunbil) [3]
802-838: Bozorg I (Zunbil) [4]
838-840: Bozorg II (Zunbil) [5]
840-842: Bozorg III (Zunbil) [6]
842-842: Bozorg IV (Zunbil) [7]
842-844: Hormoz (Zunbil) [8]
844-860: Mîrza (Zunbil) [9]
860-883: Daryûš (Daryûšid) [10]
883-896: Xušyar I (Daryûšid) [11]
896-940: Xušyar II (Daryûšid) [12]
940-944: Ardeshîr (Daryûšid) [13]
Empire of Afghanistan
944-970: Ardeshîr (Daryûšid) [13]
[1] Having fought a lengthy war against the Taid Emirate in the west over the Zunbil occupation of Kabulistan, Jimofuta both secured the holy city of Kabul but also established the independent Shahdom of Afghanistan. He remained monarch only for a few more months, however, as he died at the grand age of 75.
[2] Jimofuta was succeeded by his second son, Shiquer, as both his eldest and third sons had been imprisoned and subsequently died. Shiquer was a shrewd and stubborn monarch, but these would prove to be advantageous traits given the struggles of the wars ahead. Keen to continue the expansionist streak of his father but wary of the growing strength of his neighbours, in 787 came war with the Hindu Kingdom of Karkota - the war was brief, consisting chiefly of an uncontested occupation of the western Punjab, but at a colossal clash of forces in Udabhanda early into 790 Afghanistan forced King Lalitapida to defeat. Despite the brevity of the war, Afghanistan would need time to recover economically. As the war in Sindh spiraled into a grudge-match between the major Arab and Indian powers, Shiquer held off from re-entering a conflict for the potential acquisition of land in the southern Punjab until 793; the end of the Hindi-Islamic conflict opened an opportunity, and Afghanistan acquired the peripheral territory of Karor. In 795, the Taid Emirate began an invasion in the hope of claiming Kabulistan for a second time but were comfortable repelled and defeated decisively in the Afghan mountains. In 800, Shiquer saw an opening to expand further, attacking Karkota to further Afghan control over the Punjab, and capturing the Taghlibid Caliph Galib during the Battle of Karfikot in 802. Rather than pushing this advantage to bring the war to an absolute close, Shiquer saw that Galib was executed and then dealt with the remaining few forces of his young heir, Ramadan, finally bringing the Zunist holy site of Mulasthana under Afghan control. Together with the Pratiharan conquest of Sauvira on the coast, the 800 war broke the influence of the Taghlibids for good. However, having been in poor health for some time Shiquer died in the autumn of 802.
[3] Shiquer II took the throne of Afghanistan at the young age of 11, and therefore the Shahdom fell into a regency (under the rule of the cousin of Shiquer, Rumofuda). The transition of power to Rumofuda was contested however as Bozorg, Satrap of Kabulistan and the uncle of the Shah, demanded the handing over of the Shahdom on threat of civil war. Rumofuda, with good intentions for the monarchy but overwhelmed, handed over power without a fight. Shiquer II had been in regency for barely three months.
[4] (The Able) Bozorg used his newfound power to immediate imprison his unfaithful wife and clear the Shahdom from rebellious elements as cleanly as possible. War with Karkota recommenced almost immediately, with Maharaja Cippatajayapida captured fortuitously-early on into the conflict - bring all of Gandhara into Afghan territory. In 804 the Arab world was shaken upside down, as the Abbasid dynasty in the Caliphate were toppled by the upstart Najmahids. In 807, the young Bozorg published his studies of astronomy to much distress from those in the Zunist hierarchy, as they believed his questioning of the Zunist supremacy was deeply heretical. The former Shah Shiquer II, now of age and a prominent landowner in the old royal demesne in the Punjab, began to emergence as a problem to Bozorg. In a bid to try and cement support for his wavering regime through conquest, war began with the southern Islamic states in a big to secure the strategic important state of Chaqai from the Shaybanid Emirate, allied with her Midhhalabid and Kufahyid cousins. Things rapidly intensified as the Karkotan Kingdom and the Taid Emirate threw in their lots, and soon what was a small-minded conflict emerged into a war to prevent an Afghan partition. Coupled with both Buddhist and Hindi uprisings, things looked rather grim for Afghanistan. By 813, however, the Islamic armies had been surprisingly defeated on the eastern hills of Persia and by 815 Bozorg emerged with a triumphant nation. Even his fiercest rivals were pleased - especially Shiquer, given that his territories in the east had been spared from the Karkotan invasion. This was short-lived, however, as Bozorg sought to bring to an end the age-long established tradition of gavelkind inheritance. Instead, ultimogeniture was enacted - meaning that the youngest eligible heir would take the throne. This was a forward-thinking yet highly unpopular move, and cancelled out much of the goodwill that Bozorg had gained from his vassals and family. Wars on the periphery continued, as the Zunbil dynasty continued to chip away at their traditional Taid rivals. 822, however, was a bad year for Bozorg. Shiquer, having consolidated his support base, declared his intent to reclaim his birthright by force. Civil war broke out, but did not last long before Shiquer died after being struck in the head and rendered comatose. With the main challenger to the rule of Bozorg, peace was restored and the country settled down again. With the disintegration of the Taghlibids a few years later - wracked to the point of collapse by Buddhist revolts - Bozorg took the opportunity to continue the consolidation of power at the head of the Indus, prompting a response from the Taids in the west. 831 and 837 saw territorial gains from the Taids just as the Caliphate once again fell victim to civil war and the Sulayman dynasty took control. However, after a long and eventful reign it was clear that the elderly Bozorg was being to decay in his mental and physical attributes, coming to a head at his death in 838.
[5] Bozorg II took over from his father in similar circumstances to the extremely short reign of Shiquer II. However, whilst Shiquer had been very young upon his ascension Bozorg II was a mere two years from the end of a regency and managed by his half-brother (also called Bozorg). Tensions almost immediately hit breaking point as a number of factions formed to propel their chosen claimant onto the throne, but against the odds the peace held and Bozorg escaped from his regency without a challenge to his authority. Shockingly, however, the young King - having declared war against the nomadic Mongols to the north - contracted pneumonia and quickly died, leaving his half-brother to take the throne in an unexpected transition of power.
[6] As well as the Shahdom, Bozorg III inherited the newly-begun war with the Karakhanids. The goal was to secure the city and territory of Samarkand which, lying upon a crucial junction of the Silk Road, was a highly-valuable and strategically significant possession. Somewhat sensationally, Bozorg also took the wife of the former Shah as his concubine (perhaps as a power-play among the family). After a grueling trip across the Steppe, losing many men to attrition, the victory against the allied Mongol tribes at Urgench was momentous in the history of Central Asia - Bozorg himself chased the fleeing hordes across the icy wastes until finally assaulting Samarkand itself. Taking control of the city in 842, the war against the Karakhanids could have marked a major change in the direction of the Zunbil dynasty. Turning away from the border regions of India, Afghanistan looked set to unify the west under the banner of Zunism - although in fact the capture of Samarkand marked the beginning of the end for Afghan paganism. Bozorg III was a modernizer barely interested in the religions of his forefathers, and instead fascinated with money and the workings of the Silk Road. However, as soon as the conflict was over Hormuz, Satrap of Gandhara and descendant of Shiquer I, rose in rebellion. Forced to march his tired army east, Bozorg III met the rebellion at the Battle of Nowshera. Despite having a numerical advantage, the Shah met his end by a fluke arrow to become another monarch killed far before his prime. Any potential advances against the fracturing Islamic and Tengri states that the young Shah may have had were wasted as domestic politics took hold.
[7] Bozorg IV was not ready for his reign, and was especially unprepared for the crisis that would face the country during the succession. With Hormuz now gaining upon his successes in the Punjab, the new Shah barely had time to form his court before suffering hammering defeats as the rebellion lay siege to the capital in Kabul. Knowing the game was up, Bozorg IV surrendered rather than see Kabul raised to the ground.
[8] (The Usurper) The arrival of Hormoz in Kabul was the most violent transition of power since the founding of the Shahdom, and consequently the new monarch saw a need to cement his position more forcefully than many of his predecessors. Bozorg IV, imprisoned, was put on trial and banished while hostile Marzobans in recently-conquered Samarkand had their lands revoked and taken under direct royal control. With his Punjabi territories vulnerable in the event of an uprising, Hormoz moved his court west to the fortress at Balkh. Whilst there, he was exposed to the native branch of Zoroastrianism and became a convert (much to the chagrin of the Zunist traditionalists). Perhaps in response to the perceived strength of the Afghan Shahdom, the Karakhanids launched a hefty invasion to secure Samarkand once more in 843; Hormoz rode north to meet them, but in the Battle of Tagtabazar was killed by a strong Tengri warrior. Once again a leader had been struck down in their prime.
[9] (The Strange) Mîrza took control of the country, but the war with the Karluks raged on. All across Central Asia cities burned and temples were raised, as the pagan forces of Tengrism and Zunism collided in epic proportions. However, it was clear that the Afghans would prove unable to resist the onslaught from the north. On the retreat to the perceived safety of the Himalayan foothills, the Zunbil forces were cut off and forced to defend the capital. Having failed, Mîrza surrendered and the Karakhanids subjugated the Afghans. Whilst the Shah lost his direct independence, he now became the most significant landowner in the Khaganate - with more territory than Khagan Gzi himself. Nevertheless, to some extent Mîrza would embrace the culture of his conquerors - he adopted Karluk customs at court, and took Karluk concubines from the harem of his liege. The suppressed Afghan Satraps gnashed their teeth, but remained essentially neutered throughout the dominance of the Karluks. In 856, however, Mîrza joined with sympathetic Khivan Marzobans and declared their independence following the death of Gzi. Easily outnumbering the Karluks, the new Khagan - Pulad - was forced to surrender away all the gains of his father and flee to the depths of the Mongolian Steppe. Mîrzan did not have long to enjoy his victory, however, as his penchant for astrology seemed to worsen his paranoia - in 859 he was declared a lunatic by the court, and faced major domestic unrest. This came to a end in 860, when a rogue Afghan warrior called Daryûš rose up against the Zunbil dynasty in the hope of creating a reactionary regime to lessen the cultural infiltration of the Karluks and Hindus in the east. Few had any further desire to remain under the yoke of Mîrza, and Daryûš took control of the Shahdom.
[10] (The Troubadour) Daryûš immediately set about enacting his reactionary reforms; the Ferzahid Satrapy in the Punjab rose up in rebellion, but the new monarch quickly crushed them - removing their Hindu administration and replacing it with a new Zoroastrian Satrap. Hoping to take advantage of the situation, the Hammadids moved to conquer Kerman, but the mobilized Afghan army moved west to meet them. Crushing a Chaqai revolt, Daryûš hoped to cripple the Hammadids sufficiently to allow him to focus upon the domestic situation without foreign interference. Having defeated the Hammanids, however, the Sulayman Caliphate moved in to capture Kerman for themselves. Not wanting to continue the fight against a much stronger power, Daryûš reluctantly ceded the territory to the Arabs without a fight. In many ways, this was a blessing as it meant the region could not longer trouble the Afghans. A few years later, the Afghans went on the offensive - securing the small Satrapy of Kashgar to the north of the Himalayas. Similarly, the Satrap of Khiva was also brought under control with the elderly Daryûš hesitant to strike any further south for fear of antagonizing the Caliphate. However, as Caliph Sulayman III faced a sizeable Shiite rebellion Daryûš announced the creation of a Khivan Shahdom in personal union with Afghanistan, and invaded both the Taid Emirates to finally bring the Satrapy of Merv under his control. In response, the Shaybanid Emirate invaded and were narrowly repulsed. In 880, pretty much on the 60th birthday of Daryûš, the rebellious Ferzadids launched an uprising in a bid to become independent. The Punjab had long been a centre for dissidence as it still remained prominently Hindu. Fortunately, however, the assassination order launched on their leader prior to the uprising held true and the war was over before it had even begun. As his reign began to wind down, however, the Shah embarked on a wide array of architectural and horticultural projects that were well-received by his vassals.
[11] (The Holy) Sure enough, shortly after sanctioning an invasion of the Shaybanid Emirate Daryûš died at 63 - one of the most defining monarchs in Afghan history. His second son Xušyar took over the throne and the war, leading the Shahdom to a great victory to secure the Zoroastrian holy site at Nok Kundi. Upstart Satraps, keen to take advantage of the new monarch, were bought off. To secure their loyalties more permanently, lesser family members were rewarded with new lands chipped off from the last Taid emirate in Dihistan. Unfortunately for the middle-aged Shah, however, he embarked upon a disastrous campaign against the northern Karluk tribes; as his armies were decimated by epidemics of consumption, the monarch would both contract and die from the disease.
[12] (The Holy) Xušyar II was another accidental monarch, but relatively well-equipped for the job at hand despite taking the throne at the young age of 19. After the unexpected death of his first wife shortly after becoming Shah, Xušyar became the first Zoroastrian monarch in Afghan history to engage in a directly-incestuous relationship - marrying his 17-year-old sister. In many ways it was fortunate that the King had had his first son under his first marriage. The first major pushes of his reign came in 899, when the Daryûšid compact finally subjugated their long-term Taid rivals and took control of the Satrapy of Khorasan. Notably, this brought the Zoroastrian temple at Jajarm under the Afghan jurisdiction. A few years later, the nation went eastwards and conducted a short war to bring Lahore into the Shahdom - a token response from the Pratiharans was surprisingly difficult to defeat, but ultimately Afghanistan emerged the narrow victor. In 908 came a series of great crisis in the Islamic world, as the Catholic Crusade to Aquitaine threw the western Amirids out of southern France and the Shia uprising in the Caliphate overthrew much of the territory of Caliph Sadiq (Haykaberdid). In the chaos, and popular with his vassals, Xušyar II moved into the weak remaining parts of the Kherson and Khorasan states. By now, Afghanistan and Khiva controlled the majority of central Persia and the Shah intended to continue pushing towards the centre of Islamic power in Baghdad, Tigris and Amida. Indeed, the decline of Islamic power was the lasting trait of the reign of Xušyar II. 918 saw two short but violent wars, as Afghanistan intervened in a Caliphate attempt to recapture some of Baluchistan from the Hindus; a fluke victory on the back of an Arab defeat at Al-Haur and the capture of the Hamadan emir widened the western borders. In 921, Xušyar faced a rebellion from the Zunbils in Samarkand. This was fortunate, as it allowed the Daryûšids to place loyal vassals in control of the valuable provinces along the Silk Road; these territories had been poorly managed and were frequently looted by Tengri raiders. (Samarkand was handed to the eldest son of the Shah). As the Caliphate continued to disintegrate, Xušyar II made the most of the great civil wars to snaffle Kermanshah and Tabaristan. In 929 Esfahan was captured from the Haykaberdids, bringing the Afghan control of the traditional Persian kingdom almost to completion. 931 saw an invasion from the upstart Syrian Shiite state, but Caliph Murad was resoundingly defeated on the plains of western Persia. When the Sunni Caliphate once again witnessed a violent regime change, the Afghans moved in for the kill. The young leader of the new Hurmnizid dynasty was widely unpopular, even among those who had supported his ascension. The series of wars that followed virtually dissolved any power projection of the ancient state, and placed Afghanistan as the supreme Central Asian power. Ending in 937, Afghanistan had been at war with almost every regional Islamic state - only overcoming tricky odds by digging deep into the state coffers for mercenaries. However as Xušyar aged and became less active in foreign affairs the state settled down to a period of lull, interrupted only by ill-fated invasions from the West. Personal tragedy befell the Shah, however, as his beloved sister-wife and heir-apparent died within weeks of each other. Increasingly questioning his purpose and deeply depressed, Xušyar II faced a huge rebellion in 940 that would push the nation to breaking point. After three years the rebellious Gurjaratrid dynasty was disenfranchised and their leaders imprisoned. The war took much of what was left out of the old king, and in a fit of bewildered angst Xušyar II committed suicide - bringing to an end a long and influential reign.
[13] Ardeshîr started off as a tentative monarch, keen to prevent a violent questioning of his succession after the long reign of his father. He did well with his vassals following a large pardoning of those implicated in the Gurjaratrid uprising, and quickly embarked upon a war with the west to consolidate his position. Tigris was taken from the Arabs in a surprisingly-narrow war, and the remainder of Azerbaijan was captured from an errant vassal of the Caliph. With the vast majority of the traditional Persian territories under Afghan control, in 944 Ardeshîr proclaimed the formation of a successor state; whilst in fact a predominantly Afghan-dominated regime the Empire took the Zoroastrian leaders of the old Sassanids as their moral forefathers. The year following the imperial proclamation, Ardeshîr reformed the Zoroastrian Church - the position of High Priest was instigated with significant religious and political powers. The new Moabadan-Moabad almost immediately ordered the resumption of war with Islam, seeking to push the upstart religion back into the long grass and conquer Syria. The subsequent defeat of the Shia Caliphate led calls for a period of jihad against Afghanistan, as both the major Islamic branches sought to reclaim their lost territories in the Middle East. Neither would be successful, although the lengthy period of war was testing to the loyalties of the most distant Afghan vassals - who saw the religious turmoil in the western reaches of the empire as anathema to their interests. The financial strains of the founding of the Empire and these wars were significant. Indeed, the nature of imperial centralization became the dominant domestic issue of the reign of Ardeshîr; the Shahanshah sought to move his court closer to the action in Arabia rather than being forced to return to Kabul at regular intervals.
CKII: Afghan Campaign
Satrapy of Zabulistan (738-786)
738-786: Jimofuta (Zunbil)
The small but independent state of Zabulistan occupied a tenuous and contested space in the foothills of the Himalayas, straddling the deserts and foothills of Afghanistan whilst clinging to the unique Zunist religion. As the only remaining 'pagan' state in the region, Zabulistan came under much religious pressure from the Abrahamic religions in the West (namely from Sunni Islam) and the ancient Indian religions (chiefly Hinduism and Buddhism). Nevertheless - fiercely loyal to his Sun God, Jimofuta would rebuff foreign missionaries under the threat of imprisonment, often allowing them to contest their beliefs against the judgement of Zun. In this capacity, the small Buddhist states of Northern Afghanistan were assimilated and Zunism remained intact against the desires of the Islamic powers.
Shahdom of Afghanistan (786-)
Shahdom of Khiva (875-)
(846-858: Subjugated by the Karakhanid Khaganate)
786-786: Jimofuta (Zunbil) [1]
786-802: Shiquer I (Zunbil) [2]
802-802: Shiquer II (Zunbil) [3]
802-838: Bozorg I (Zunbil) [4]
838-840: Bozorg II (Zunbil) [5]
840-842: Bozorg III (Zunbil) [6]
842-842: Bozorg IV (Zunbil) [7]
842-844: Hormoz (Zunbil) [8]
844-860: Mîrza (Zunbil) [9]
860-883: Daryûš (Daryûšid) [10]
883-896: Xušyar I (Daryûšid) [11]
896-940: Xušyar II (Daryûšid) [12]
940-944: Ardeshîr (Daryûšid) [13]
Empire of Afghanistan
944-970: Ardeshîr (Daryûšid) [13]
[1] Having fought a lengthy war against the Taid Emirate in the west over the Zunbil occupation of Kabulistan, Jimofuta both secured the holy city of Kabul but also established the independent Shahdom of Afghanistan. He remained monarch only for a few more months, however, as he died at the grand age of 75.
[2] Jimofuta was succeeded by his second son, Shiquer, as both his eldest and third sons had been imprisoned and subsequently died. Shiquer was a shrewd and stubborn monarch, but these would prove to be advantageous traits given the struggles of the wars ahead. Keen to continue the expansionist streak of his father but wary of the growing strength of his neighbours, in 787 came war with the Hindu Kingdom of Karkota - the war was brief, consisting chiefly of an uncontested occupation of the western Punjab, but at a colossal clash of forces in Udabhanda early into 790 Afghanistan forced King Lalitapida to defeat. Despite the brevity of the war, Afghanistan would need time to recover economically. As the war in Sindh spiraled into a grudge-match between the major Arab and Indian powers, Shiquer held off from re-entering a conflict for the potential acquisition of land in the southern Punjab until 793; the end of the Hindi-Islamic conflict opened an opportunity, and Afghanistan acquired the peripheral territory of Karor. In 795, the Taid Emirate began an invasion in the hope of claiming Kabulistan for a second time but were comfortable repelled and defeated decisively in the Afghan mountains. In 800, Shiquer saw an opening to expand further, attacking Karkota to further Afghan control over the Punjab, and capturing the Taghlibid Caliph Galib during the Battle of Karfikot in 802. Rather than pushing this advantage to bring the war to an absolute close, Shiquer saw that Galib was executed and then dealt with the remaining few forces of his young heir, Ramadan, finally bringing the Zunist holy site of Mulasthana under Afghan control. Together with the Pratiharan conquest of Sauvira on the coast, the 800 war broke the influence of the Taghlibids for good. However, having been in poor health for some time Shiquer died in the autumn of 802.
[3] Shiquer II took the throne of Afghanistan at the young age of 11, and therefore the Shahdom fell into a regency (under the rule of the cousin of Shiquer, Rumofuda). The transition of power to Rumofuda was contested however as Bozorg, Satrap of Kabulistan and the uncle of the Shah, demanded the handing over of the Shahdom on threat of civil war. Rumofuda, with good intentions for the monarchy but overwhelmed, handed over power without a fight. Shiquer II had been in regency for barely three months.
[4] (The Able) Bozorg used his newfound power to immediate imprison his unfaithful wife and clear the Shahdom from rebellious elements as cleanly as possible. War with Karkota recommenced almost immediately, with Maharaja Cippatajayapida captured fortuitously-early on into the conflict - bring all of Gandhara into Afghan territory. In 804 the Arab world was shaken upside down, as the Abbasid dynasty in the Caliphate were toppled by the upstart Najmahids. In 807, the young Bozorg published his studies of astronomy to much distress from those in the Zunist hierarchy, as they believed his questioning of the Zunist supremacy was deeply heretical. The former Shah Shiquer II, now of age and a prominent landowner in the old royal demesne in the Punjab, began to emergence as a problem to Bozorg. In a bid to try and cement support for his wavering regime through conquest, war began with the southern Islamic states in a big to secure the strategic important state of Chaqai from the Shaybanid Emirate, allied with her Midhhalabid and Kufahyid cousins. Things rapidly intensified as the Karkotan Kingdom and the Taid Emirate threw in their lots, and soon what was a small-minded conflict emerged into a war to prevent an Afghan partition. Coupled with both Buddhist and Hindi uprisings, things looked rather grim for Afghanistan. By 813, however, the Islamic armies had been surprisingly defeated on the eastern hills of Persia and by 815 Bozorg emerged with a triumphant nation. Even his fiercest rivals were pleased - especially Shiquer, given that his territories in the east had been spared from the Karkotan invasion. This was short-lived, however, as Bozorg sought to bring to an end the age-long established tradition of gavelkind inheritance. Instead, ultimogeniture was enacted - meaning that the youngest eligible heir would take the throne. This was a forward-thinking yet highly unpopular move, and cancelled out much of the goodwill that Bozorg had gained from his vassals and family. Wars on the periphery continued, as the Zunbil dynasty continued to chip away at their traditional Taid rivals. 822, however, was a bad year for Bozorg. Shiquer, having consolidated his support base, declared his intent to reclaim his birthright by force. Civil war broke out, but did not last long before Shiquer died after being struck in the head and rendered comatose. With the main challenger to the rule of Bozorg, peace was restored and the country settled down again. With the disintegration of the Taghlibids a few years later - wracked to the point of collapse by Buddhist revolts - Bozorg took the opportunity to continue the consolidation of power at the head of the Indus, prompting a response from the Taids in the west. 831 and 837 saw territorial gains from the Taids just as the Caliphate once again fell victim to civil war and the Sulayman dynasty took control. However, after a long and eventful reign it was clear that the elderly Bozorg was being to decay in his mental and physical attributes, coming to a head at his death in 838.
[5] Bozorg II took over from his father in similar circumstances to the extremely short reign of Shiquer II. However, whilst Shiquer had been very young upon his ascension Bozorg II was a mere two years from the end of a regency and managed by his half-brother (also called Bozorg). Tensions almost immediately hit breaking point as a number of factions formed to propel their chosen claimant onto the throne, but against the odds the peace held and Bozorg escaped from his regency without a challenge to his authority. Shockingly, however, the young King - having declared war against the nomadic Mongols to the north - contracted pneumonia and quickly died, leaving his half-brother to take the throne in an unexpected transition of power.
[6] As well as the Shahdom, Bozorg III inherited the newly-begun war with the Karakhanids. The goal was to secure the city and territory of Samarkand which, lying upon a crucial junction of the Silk Road, was a highly-valuable and strategically significant possession. Somewhat sensationally, Bozorg also took the wife of the former Shah as his concubine (perhaps as a power-play among the family). After a grueling trip across the Steppe, losing many men to attrition, the victory against the allied Mongol tribes at Urgench was momentous in the history of Central Asia - Bozorg himself chased the fleeing hordes across the icy wastes until finally assaulting Samarkand itself. Taking control of the city in 842, the war against the Karakhanids could have marked a major change in the direction of the Zunbil dynasty. Turning away from the border regions of India, Afghanistan looked set to unify the west under the banner of Zunism - although in fact the capture of Samarkand marked the beginning of the end for Afghan paganism. Bozorg III was a modernizer barely interested in the religions of his forefathers, and instead fascinated with money and the workings of the Silk Road. However, as soon as the conflict was over Hormuz, Satrap of Gandhara and descendant of Shiquer I, rose in rebellion. Forced to march his tired army east, Bozorg III met the rebellion at the Battle of Nowshera. Despite having a numerical advantage, the Shah met his end by a fluke arrow to become another monarch killed far before his prime. Any potential advances against the fracturing Islamic and Tengri states that the young Shah may have had were wasted as domestic politics took hold.
[7] Bozorg IV was not ready for his reign, and was especially unprepared for the crisis that would face the country during the succession. With Hormuz now gaining upon his successes in the Punjab, the new Shah barely had time to form his court before suffering hammering defeats as the rebellion lay siege to the capital in Kabul. Knowing the game was up, Bozorg IV surrendered rather than see Kabul raised to the ground.
[8] (The Usurper) The arrival of Hormoz in Kabul was the most violent transition of power since the founding of the Shahdom, and consequently the new monarch saw a need to cement his position more forcefully than many of his predecessors. Bozorg IV, imprisoned, was put on trial and banished while hostile Marzobans in recently-conquered Samarkand had their lands revoked and taken under direct royal control. With his Punjabi territories vulnerable in the event of an uprising, Hormoz moved his court west to the fortress at Balkh. Whilst there, he was exposed to the native branch of Zoroastrianism and became a convert (much to the chagrin of the Zunist traditionalists). Perhaps in response to the perceived strength of the Afghan Shahdom, the Karakhanids launched a hefty invasion to secure Samarkand once more in 843; Hormoz rode north to meet them, but in the Battle of Tagtabazar was killed by a strong Tengri warrior. Once again a leader had been struck down in their prime.
[9] (The Strange) Mîrza took control of the country, but the war with the Karluks raged on. All across Central Asia cities burned and temples were raised, as the pagan forces of Tengrism and Zunism collided in epic proportions. However, it was clear that the Afghans would prove unable to resist the onslaught from the north. On the retreat to the perceived safety of the Himalayan foothills, the Zunbil forces were cut off and forced to defend the capital. Having failed, Mîrza surrendered and the Karakhanids subjugated the Afghans. Whilst the Shah lost his direct independence, he now became the most significant landowner in the Khaganate - with more territory than Khagan Gzi himself. Nevertheless, to some extent Mîrza would embrace the culture of his conquerors - he adopted Karluk customs at court, and took Karluk concubines from the harem of his liege. The suppressed Afghan Satraps gnashed their teeth, but remained essentially neutered throughout the dominance of the Karluks. In 856, however, Mîrza joined with sympathetic Khivan Marzobans and declared their independence following the death of Gzi. Easily outnumbering the Karluks, the new Khagan - Pulad - was forced to surrender away all the gains of his father and flee to the depths of the Mongolian Steppe. Mîrzan did not have long to enjoy his victory, however, as his penchant for astrology seemed to worsen his paranoia - in 859 he was declared a lunatic by the court, and faced major domestic unrest. This came to a end in 860, when a rogue Afghan warrior called Daryûš rose up against the Zunbil dynasty in the hope of creating a reactionary regime to lessen the cultural infiltration of the Karluks and Hindus in the east. Few had any further desire to remain under the yoke of Mîrza, and Daryûš took control of the Shahdom.
[10] (The Troubadour) Daryûš immediately set about enacting his reactionary reforms; the Ferzahid Satrapy in the Punjab rose up in rebellion, but the new monarch quickly crushed them - removing their Hindu administration and replacing it with a new Zoroastrian Satrap. Hoping to take advantage of the situation, the Hammadids moved to conquer Kerman, but the mobilized Afghan army moved west to meet them. Crushing a Chaqai revolt, Daryûš hoped to cripple the Hammadids sufficiently to allow him to focus upon the domestic situation without foreign interference. Having defeated the Hammanids, however, the Sulayman Caliphate moved in to capture Kerman for themselves. Not wanting to continue the fight against a much stronger power, Daryûš reluctantly ceded the territory to the Arabs without a fight. In many ways, this was a blessing as it meant the region could not longer trouble the Afghans. A few years later, the Afghans went on the offensive - securing the small Satrapy of Kashgar to the north of the Himalayas. Similarly, the Satrap of Khiva was also brought under control with the elderly Daryûš hesitant to strike any further south for fear of antagonizing the Caliphate. However, as Caliph Sulayman III faced a sizeable Shiite rebellion Daryûš announced the creation of a Khivan Shahdom in personal union with Afghanistan, and invaded both the Taid Emirates to finally bring the Satrapy of Merv under his control. In response, the Shaybanid Emirate invaded and were narrowly repulsed. In 880, pretty much on the 60th birthday of Daryûš, the rebellious Ferzadids launched an uprising in a bid to become independent. The Punjab had long been a centre for dissidence as it still remained prominently Hindu. Fortunately, however, the assassination order launched on their leader prior to the uprising held true and the war was over before it had even begun. As his reign began to wind down, however, the Shah embarked on a wide array of architectural and horticultural projects that were well-received by his vassals.
[11] (The Holy) Sure enough, shortly after sanctioning an invasion of the Shaybanid Emirate Daryûš died at 63 - one of the most defining monarchs in Afghan history. His second son Xušyar took over the throne and the war, leading the Shahdom to a great victory to secure the Zoroastrian holy site at Nok Kundi. Upstart Satraps, keen to take advantage of the new monarch, were bought off. To secure their loyalties more permanently, lesser family members were rewarded with new lands chipped off from the last Taid emirate in Dihistan. Unfortunately for the middle-aged Shah, however, he embarked upon a disastrous campaign against the northern Karluk tribes; as his armies were decimated by epidemics of consumption, the monarch would both contract and die from the disease.
[12] (The Holy) Xušyar II was another accidental monarch, but relatively well-equipped for the job at hand despite taking the throne at the young age of 19. After the unexpected death of his first wife shortly after becoming Shah, Xušyar became the first Zoroastrian monarch in Afghan history to engage in a directly-incestuous relationship - marrying his 17-year-old sister. In many ways it was fortunate that the King had had his first son under his first marriage. The first major pushes of his reign came in 899, when the Daryûšid compact finally subjugated their long-term Taid rivals and took control of the Satrapy of Khorasan. Notably, this brought the Zoroastrian temple at Jajarm under the Afghan jurisdiction. A few years later, the nation went eastwards and conducted a short war to bring Lahore into the Shahdom - a token response from the Pratiharans was surprisingly difficult to defeat, but ultimately Afghanistan emerged the narrow victor. In 908 came a series of great crisis in the Islamic world, as the Catholic Crusade to Aquitaine threw the western Amirids out of southern France and the Shia uprising in the Caliphate overthrew much of the territory of Caliph Sadiq (Haykaberdid). In the chaos, and popular with his vassals, Xušyar II moved into the weak remaining parts of the Kherson and Khorasan states. By now, Afghanistan and Khiva controlled the majority of central Persia and the Shah intended to continue pushing towards the centre of Islamic power in Baghdad, Tigris and Amida. Indeed, the decline of Islamic power was the lasting trait of the reign of Xušyar II. 918 saw two short but violent wars, as Afghanistan intervened in a Caliphate attempt to recapture some of Baluchistan from the Hindus; a fluke victory on the back of an Arab defeat at Al-Haur and the capture of the Hamadan emir widened the western borders. In 921, Xušyar faced a rebellion from the Zunbils in Samarkand. This was fortunate, as it allowed the Daryûšids to place loyal vassals in control of the valuable provinces along the Silk Road; these territories had been poorly managed and were frequently looted by Tengri raiders. (Samarkand was handed to the eldest son of the Shah). As the Caliphate continued to disintegrate, Xušyar II made the most of the great civil wars to snaffle Kermanshah and Tabaristan. In 929 Esfahan was captured from the Haykaberdids, bringing the Afghan control of the traditional Persian kingdom almost to completion. 931 saw an invasion from the upstart Syrian Shiite state, but Caliph Murad was resoundingly defeated on the plains of western Persia. When the Sunni Caliphate once again witnessed a violent regime change, the Afghans moved in for the kill. The young leader of the new Hurmnizid dynasty was widely unpopular, even among those who had supported his ascension. The series of wars that followed virtually dissolved any power projection of the ancient state, and placed Afghanistan as the supreme Central Asian power. Ending in 937, Afghanistan had been at war with almost every regional Islamic state - only overcoming tricky odds by digging deep into the state coffers for mercenaries. However as Xušyar aged and became less active in foreign affairs the state settled down to a period of lull, interrupted only by ill-fated invasions from the West. Personal tragedy befell the Shah, however, as his beloved sister-wife and heir-apparent died within weeks of each other. Increasingly questioning his purpose and deeply depressed, Xušyar II faced a huge rebellion in 940 that would push the nation to breaking point. After three years the rebellious Gurjaratrid dynasty was disenfranchised and their leaders imprisoned. The war took much of what was left out of the old king, and in a fit of bewildered angst Xušyar II committed suicide - bringing to an end a long and influential reign.
[13] Ardeshîr started off as a tentative monarch, keen to prevent a violent questioning of his succession after the long reign of his father. He did well with his vassals following a large pardoning of those implicated in the Gurjaratrid uprising, and quickly embarked upon a war with the west to consolidate his position. Tigris was taken from the Arabs in a surprisingly-narrow war, and the remainder of Azerbaijan was captured from an errant vassal of the Caliph. With the vast majority of the traditional Persian territories under Afghan control, in 944 Ardeshîr proclaimed the formation of a successor state; whilst in fact a predominantly Afghan-dominated regime the Empire took the Zoroastrian leaders of the old Sassanids as their moral forefathers. The year following the imperial proclamation, Ardeshîr reformed the Zoroastrian Church - the position of High Priest was instigated with significant religious and political powers. The new Moabadan-Moabad almost immediately ordered the resumption of war with Islam, seeking to push the upstart religion back into the long grass and conquer Syria. The subsequent defeat of the Shia Caliphate led calls for a period of jihad against Afghanistan, as both the major Islamic branches sought to reclaim their lost territories in the Middle East. Neither would be successful, although the lengthy period of war was testing to the loyalties of the most distant Afghan vassals - who saw the religious turmoil in the western reaches of the empire as anathema to their interests. The financial strains of the founding of the Empire and these wars were significant. Indeed, the nature of imperial centralization became the dominant domestic issue of the reign of Ardeshîr; the Shahanshah sought to move his court closer to the action in Arabia rather than being forced to return to Kabul at regular intervals.
So I've been all over the Paradox forums recently trying to get two possible mods up and running.
- Culture Conversion - Making it so the top cultural authorities are the realms kings, not the emperors (I view him as the religious authority). Essentially, if a king has a different culture than his emperor, the kings culture will spread to his kingdom. And the emperor's culture will only spread to his personal realm, where he reigns as king.
- To do this, we were working on modding event 55000 and managed to get the opening piece of code to look like this over vanilla.
But ultimately it seems as though the event fires for the emperor no matter who his vassals are. Giving the Kingdom of Poland to Karl Karling ultimately still made the province start converting to the Emperors German culture, not his Frankish culture. As such I am currently at a loss for how to progress.Code:
province_event = { id = 55000 hide_window = yes trigger = { owner = { NOT = { culture = ROOT } religion = ROOT #does not apply to vassals of a different culture than their liege OR = { independent = yes top_liege = { AND = { NOT = { tier = emperor } culture = PREV } AND = { top_liege = { tier = emperor } tier = king } AND = { top_liege = { tier = emperor } any_liege = { tier = king culture = PREV } } AND = { top_liege = { tier = emperor } NOT = { any_liege = { # Has no king, duke reports directly to emperor tier = king } } any_liege = { tier = duke culture = PREV } } AND = { # Direct liege is emperor liege = { tier = emperor } } } } }
- To do this, we were working on modding event 55000 and managed to get the opening piece of code to look like this over vanilla.
- County Drift - Simply, trying to get counties to drift out of duchies if they have different top lieges. Ex: If Duchy A de jure consists of Counties A, B, and C; and the Duchy owns Counties A and B (vassalized under Kingdom A) but County C is a vassal of Kingdom B, then County C would eventually drift away from Duchy A.
- This would take place before Duchy A, which is de jure under Kingdom B, can drift out of Kingdom B and into Kingdom A. And (if possible) then Duchy A will always have a "Historical Claim" casus belli on County C.
I would be most interested if you got the empire thing to work. That is something I think they should do in vanilla anyway to stop cultural genocide. Hell, I would love it if empires had increased revolt risk for differing cultures to actually encourage having people the same culture as a province in charge.. Then again, the Bynzantines and HRE never make the kingdom titles themselves.
The particular thread has shifted conversation away from it. And it would be nice if it worked even if they were of the same culture group. But alas, I can't seem to get it to work. It doesn't seem to work anyway. Maybe someone here might have some insight.
Having started a game as El Cid to get the "Always Count on Duke" achievement, I decided to explore the Iberian Peninsular more thoroughly, with an Ironman Portugal game.
Started in 1090, I think, as Duke Henri, eventually labelled "the fat", who added the county of Evora to the realm, but did nowt else, except reorder the place, and revoke Castelo Branco. During his reign, any plans for southward expansion were ruined by a successful Crusade for Andalusia, led by King Henry I "The Great" of England. Despite a rebellion of two, the English still hold the whole shebang in a line from Lison to Castellon, with Evora poking down like a precarious appendage.
Duke Henri was, in turn, succeeded by his eldest son, Henrique, thanks to his Portuguese culture. This is when crazy Iberian Jimena gavelkind politics becomes very messy indeed. My cousin (and brother-in-law) Alfonso, the King of Galicia (and heir to the kingdom of Castille) refused to stop his plots to assassinate me. I decided to teach him a lesson by nicking Santiago. His mother (Queen of Castille) and Stepfather (King of Aragon) decided they would honour their non agression pact with me - seeing as I'm the latter's Son in Law, and I gave the boy a kicking.
Then, Urraca of Castille died, and Alfonso inherited Castille, while his half brother (again, my cousin) became king of Leon. By the time Alfonso declared war on me, looking to retake Santiago, I had formed an alliance with the young Leonese king, and the pair of us gave the Castillians a drubbing. The prestige gained allowed me to create the Kingdom of Portugal, even if much of OTL's Portugal is stuck in Andalucia. I then forged a claim on Coruna, which I pressed as about five different English-Andalucian Dukes went to war with Castille to take Toledo. The Leonese king decided that this looked fun, so pressed his own claim to Castille, meaning pretty much everybody in Iberia was attacking the benighted Alfonso. If you thought it couldn't get any worse for Alfonso, the aged king of Aragon finally died, leaving his realm to the king of Leon.
At the end of the war, we had the following:
We have a fairly sensible Kingdom of Portugal, bordered by the Kingdom of Castille. Separating Castillian Leon (plus bits of Castille) from Castillian Aragon is the independent Duchy of Castille (owned by the former King of Galicia). Because that makes sense. To the north of this silliness, there is the Kingdom of Navarre, and the separate Duchy of Navarre! To top off the foolishness, the Aragonese gave the Duchy of Barcelona a hiding, which means the rump duchy owns two counties, neither of which is Barcelona!
Started in 1090, I think, as Duke Henri, eventually labelled "the fat", who added the county of Evora to the realm, but did nowt else, except reorder the place, and revoke Castelo Branco. During his reign, any plans for southward expansion were ruined by a successful Crusade for Andalusia, led by King Henry I "The Great" of England. Despite a rebellion of two, the English still hold the whole shebang in a line from Lison to Castellon, with Evora poking down like a precarious appendage.
Duke Henri was, in turn, succeeded by his eldest son, Henrique, thanks to his Portuguese culture. This is when crazy Iberian Jimena gavelkind politics becomes very messy indeed. My cousin (and brother-in-law) Alfonso, the King of Galicia (and heir to the kingdom of Castille) refused to stop his plots to assassinate me. I decided to teach him a lesson by nicking Santiago. His mother (Queen of Castille) and Stepfather (King of Aragon) decided they would honour their non agression pact with me - seeing as I'm the latter's Son in Law, and I gave the boy a kicking.
Then, Urraca of Castille died, and Alfonso inherited Castille, while his half brother (again, my cousin) became king of Leon. By the time Alfonso declared war on me, looking to retake Santiago, I had formed an alliance with the young Leonese king, and the pair of us gave the Castillians a drubbing. The prestige gained allowed me to create the Kingdom of Portugal, even if much of OTL's Portugal is stuck in Andalucia. I then forged a claim on Coruna, which I pressed as about five different English-Andalucian Dukes went to war with Castille to take Toledo. The Leonese king decided that this looked fun, so pressed his own claim to Castille, meaning pretty much everybody in Iberia was attacking the benighted Alfonso. If you thought it couldn't get any worse for Alfonso, the aged king of Aragon finally died, leaving his realm to the king of Leon.
At the end of the war, we had the following:
- The Duke of Portugal owns, as well as his own Duchy, the de jure Kingdom and Duchy of Galicia.
- The King of Galicia owns the counties of Burgos, Catalayud, and Soria.
- The King of Leon (and Aragon) has now also usurped the Kingdom of Castille, which has become his primary title.
We have a fairly sensible Kingdom of Portugal, bordered by the Kingdom of Castille. Separating Castillian Leon (plus bits of Castille) from Castillian Aragon is the independent Duchy of Castille (owned by the former King of Galicia). Because that makes sense. To the north of this silliness, there is the Kingdom of Navarre, and the separate Duchy of Navarre! To top off the foolishness, the Aragonese gave the Duchy of Barcelona a hiding, which means the rump duchy owns two counties, neither of which is Barcelona!
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To prevent more shenanigans when Henrique dies, I have likely scandalised the rest of the peninsula by switching to primogeniture in both kingdoms. I blame the French Burgundian influence of my late father, if anybody asks. My second son, who had been in line for Galicia, decided to react to the news by joining the Hospitallers. Bit of an overreaction, but he was a zealous lad. He seems to be doing okay, as he's currently the heir to the order.
When the current king of Castille dies, unless he copies me, we'll see the whole dance begin again. Since my screenshot, he has taken over ducal Castille, linking his two domains together. The poor son of the Duke is now the Count of Soria. When he was born, his Dad was a king, twice over. Poor sod watched the father throw away both kingdoms, and four duchies.
When the current king of Castille dies, unless he copies me, we'll see the whole dance begin again. Since my screenshot, he has taken over ducal Castille, linking his two domains together. The poor son of the Duke is now the Count of Soria. When he was born, his Dad was a king, twice over. Poor sod watched the father throw away both kingdoms, and four duchies.
Cross post from the Map thread.
Here is my current game in CK2+ after a couple hundred years from the 769 start. The founder of the dynasty, Christoph von Hohenzonnier had many male heirs, who were spread throughout the world. However, following the dynastic tree, I was able to locate and bring the descendants of all his sons to sit as kings upon the thrones within my Germanic Empire.
View attachment 310734
- The Ludwig Branch sits as Margraves of Brandenburg. His descendant, Günther is of the High German culture. This is my current player.
- The Karlmann Branch serves as Kings of Pomerania. The living heir is King Ragnarr II and is culturally Norse
- The descendants of Karl von Hohenzonnier are Kings of Saxony. Herberd von Hohenzonnier is the reigning heir, and is culturally Saxon.
- Arnulf von Hohenzonnier was unlucky enough to only have daughters. As with his daughters. However, his second daughter was able to sire a grandson who had maintained the dynastic lineage (same dynasty through careful marriages.) This great grandson is the eldest living member of the dynasty at present. Arnulf II is culturally Vandalic and is King of Bohemia.
- Konrad von Hohenzonnier had the most sons within the dynasty (after Christoph himself). Unfortunately many of them never survived into adulthood. The living heir to this branch is Pepin II of Austrasia, and is Frankish.
- After many sired daughters, married off into other dynasties, Heinrich was born. His descendants are the Kings of Bavaria. The living heir is Dietmar II who is also the youngest landed descendant at 18 after having inherited the throne at 12.
- Heinrich's twin brother, Otto, became the first King of Germany. His lineage has held that title since. The current King of Germany is Baldarich, who is Alemannic.
- Rudolf von Hohenzonnier became King of Frisia many years after inheriting Flanders through his mother (Gisela Karling). His heir sired no sons but his daughters married off matrilinerally and produced a male heir. Eduard "the Bold" von Hohenzonnier is the first Dutch King of Frisia.
- Hermann's living descendant became the Duke of Switzerland and Helvetica just a few years ago. Named after his lineage, Hermann III is the only living son of his father, and has no heirs to speak of, though his wife is pregnant.
- Lothar "the Bald" became the Queen Consort of Lombardy after Adelchis de Alachisling produced no male heirs. Being as young as he was at the time, he was able to marry the eldest daughter of the King of the Lombards. There he sired few sons, all of whom would reach adulthood. After Karl Karling invaded Lombardy, the sons became respective dukes of Lombardy, Piedmont, Verona, and Ferrara. Over the following decades, the head of the dynasty was able to bring these dukes back into the Familial Empire as tributaries before becoming vassals and a part of the Empire. The current living heir is the great grandson of the second son of Lothar, after his elder brother's line died out thanks to Consumption. Named Indulf, he is the King of Lombardy and is also culturally Lombardic.
- The Most Serene Republic of Venice and Dalmatia is ruled by Serene Doge Friedrich II. He recently flipped to Italian in order to make more money.
- Philipp von Hohenzonnier became the duke of Austria soon after the Bavarian Pacification. Years later, his great-grandson Hanz rebelled against his kinsman, Dietmar II. In the peace, Hanz became the Archduke of Austria and Carinthia. He also just flipped to the Austrian culture because reasons. His title is equal to the Kings of the realm.
- Theodoric was the first bastard son of Christoph (after many bastard daughters
- Wilhelm "the German" became an adventurer when he was tasked with serving as the head of the Brandenburger Mercenary Band. After several years of fighting in the eastern marshes, he eventually raided and pillaged the lands of the lord he was serving and eventually just settled in Sambia. His grandson grew the territory into the Duchy of Prussia. And that man's Grandson was able to form the Kingdom of Prussia earlier in the year. This living heir, Hugo "the Fat" is the Teutonic ruler of Prussia.
- Richard's great great grandson, Vladimir von Hohenzonnier, was granted the Kingdom of Kiev after it had been usurped by Günther's father, Ludwig II. It had been ruled by nomads for years after the Magyar invasions. Its slowly being feudalized.
- Richard's twin Alfons has had the rather unfortunate distinction of only having one son per generation. Luckily however, they have all survived and now his great-grandson, Dagonis "the Wise," is the Prussian King of Lithuania.
- Adolf von Hohenzonnier married a Gepidae woman after the death of Christoph. He then traveled to the east and nearly disappeared from history. However, his grandson, Gundemar, revolted against his liege and became an independent lord on the Russian Steppes. His son, Gundemar II is ruling in Burtasy. As an independent count, his territory serves as the perfect place to train my commanders.
- The sons of Albrecht became vassals to the Byzantines years ago. They were granted the Duchy of Cherson after squashing a local revolt (as far as I can tell). Years later the Bolgar hordes invaded and conquered the land. Though they still reigned. Currently, Albrecht's great-great grandson, Albrecht III is in open revolt against the Bolgars. And naturally, I am funding his war efforts and leveraging my resources to fight the hordes. He's not of pristine health however, and I stand to inherit the title upon his death. I only hope that happens after the war ends.
- Günther von Hohenzonnier nearly disappeared from the game as well. however, his grandson had been serving as Duke of Burgundy under the French Crown. I couldn't have that. So I convinced him to rebel and then vassalized his realm. Günther's Great Grandson, Günther II "the Crusader" is now the King of Burgundy, and is culturally Burgundian as well.
- Lastly we have Wenzel's descendants. They have been given the county of Hamburg as an independent city to prepare for "The Hansa" event. His great grandson Daniel rules comfortably. I hope that once the event fires, Daniel will become the Prince Mayor of the Hansa.