7 Jul 1164: The Zirids are beaten back, and Granada remains safely in Catholic (albeit Andalusian Catholic) hands.
16 Aug 1164: Our keep in Ascalon is enlarged, providing room for another 250 men.
Sep 1164: Within days of each other, the Pope throws his direct support into two ongoing defensive holy wars, for
Sardinia (Riyahdids) and Algarve (Almoravids).
17 Jan 1165: Maria reaches age 6, and it is time a tutor was chosen. Although the council suggests the court physician Federigo, I still remember how "effective" he was as a physician, and instead have chosen the former regent Count Isnardo de Pecoriari.
Feb 1165: News reaches us that our Calabrian neighbors are having a bit of a succession crisis. Both sides are weakened and impoverished, and the rebels hold Lecce, to which Maria has a valid claim as Duchess of Apulia. We inform both parties to the conflict, the di Lecces and the de Hautevilles, that we will be asserting her rightful claim.
Our forces are marshalled in Italy and in the Levant. The Italian army will march south into Calabria, while the Levantine
host will land in Bari and march into Lecce. We are aided in happenstance by a strong force of Muslims from Mazar who are fighting the Calabrians over Trapani, as well as the forces of Sicily, who are fighting simply because Duke Torf and Duke Robert hate each other with all the fury of Hell.
21 April 1165: Maria has a baby (half-)brother! Though he will not inherit, perhaps Harald will give her companionship as they grow up.
26 Sep 1165: I have converted the people of Monreal to the Word of the Lord.
1 Nov 1165: Threatened by our presence, the Calabrians have settled their differences. Presented with a united front, we
have little choice but to back down.
20 Nov 1165: Or so they thought....once our troops were honorably back in Apulia, we discharged a messenger to Duke Robert stating that "No, we WILL be asserting our claim in Lecce." The clergy mutter about backstabbing good Christian soldiers fighting the Moslems, but this is a matter of law and right, not some naked power grab.
9 Sep 1166: Duke Robert has arrived at Lecce with a host of 5000 men. Our army is in a mad panic, until the banners of
the Templars are spotted among them. True to their oaths, the Templars refuse to attack us, and Duke Robert's Calabrian
contingent (less than 500 men) is slaughtered.
Jul 1167: The Emir of Damascus is attempting to reclaim Galilee, and has made inroads against the Papal Estates. Our
men in the Levant are still fresh, and our coffers secure. We assemble the army in Jerusalem.
31 Oct 1167: On All Saints' Eve, our army crushes the Damascenes, joined at the last minute by fresh Papal reserves arriving
from Italy. (OOC: Should be noted at this point that the Sunnis have a moral authority of ZERO, while the Catholics have a whopping
+42% multiplier from winning holy wars.)
13 Dec 1167: My little Maria seems to be drawing into herself.... (Shy)
1 Jan 1168: Latium is now considered a de facto part of the Papal Estates, rather than part of Italy.
21 Jan 1168: Maria draws further into herself.... (Sloth)
5 Dec 1168: After 3 years of mostly siege warfare, Lecce is ours. Or rather, Count Fraunk di Lecce's. Who is a Norman and
hates us.
14 Feb 1169: Maria finally seems to be coming out of her shell a bit, even if only to complain bitterly how much nicer other people have it... (Envious)
1 April 1169: Maria's tutor died comatose in bed today. Which is just as well, considering how ill her temperament has grown. I will take over her instruction personally.
26 Sep 1169: Despite being tutor, and Court Chaplain, and Regent, I have found the time to convert the people of
Ascalon to the word of God.
3 Oct 1169: Benevento becomes Italian (from Greek).
13 Mar 1170: I'm afraid I found Maria torturing the pantry cats this morning. I fear that we may have sired a devil in female form, but I have an obligation to my late love to do my best raising her. (Cruel)
7 Sep 1170: Grave news. The Fatimid Caliph has declares a great war, a
jihad in their barbarous tongue. They say they will not rest nor take pleasure in women or in any food other than bread and water, until the Holy Land is once again in their heathen hands. Luckily, Papal forces are still in the area after their recent defense of Galilee, and have taken the advantage by laying siege to neighboring portions of Damascus. Still, this will be a great test of our faith.
12 Jan 1171: Maria has turned 12, and it is time to consider her marriage.
After surveying the rather paltry list of eligible bachelors who would be willing to give up their rights of inheritance, I have chosen Ludwig Udonen, bastard half-brother to Kaiser Albrecht, Emperor of the Germans. This will be a powerful alliance, though it could put us in an awkward position if the Emperor and the Pope come to loggerheads.
16 Apr 1171: Maria climbed to the highest tower in Acre. Part of me wondered if we would all be better off if she fell, but she did not. She shows a preternatural bravery, as if she knows that the things of the world cannot hurt her. (Brave)
11 May 1171: God's work continues to be done, as the people of Acre flock to be shriven of their sins and receive the Lord's blessings.
July-Aug 1171: Bleak news -- the main Papal force besieging Irbid has been savaged by a Moslem force twice their size. The men of God gave equal measure of their bravery though, with fully six thousand dead on each side. But this was a Pyrrhic battle, for it left the Moslem force more than three times the size of the Papal remnant. May God be with us in this dark hour.
15 Mar 1172: Pope Anastasius V has died. Alarico Pepoli, Bishop of Ravenna has take the Papal title of Ioannes XIX.
24 August 1172: God be praised! We have won a most miraculous victory before the gates of Lydda in Jaffa. The remnants of our forces combined with the Templars, the Knights of Calatrava, and newly arrrived forces from the Andalusian converts ambushed a smaller Moslem force besieging Jaffa. We had them nearly in full rout when the main body of the Caliph's forces arrived from the south. The panicked and retreating Moslems plowed into their own arriving countrymen, and the panic quickly spread, leaving the Knights full measure to ride down the fleeing horde. Great service was given this day, and we have captured the son of one of the emirs. Truly the hand of God is shielding us in this, his holiest of lands.
16 June 1173: God grants us another victory, this one a hard-fought encounter at Raffa, where a fresh army from Egypt was repulsed.
8 Nov 1173: Another victory, this one in the mountains of Yahel, as the heathens call it. Our dungeon begins to overflow with Mohammedeans.
9 June 1174: Darum has been taken into the fold of the faithful. Step by step, the Levant is being reclaimed to Christendom.
30 Sep 1174: The Lithuanians have become "civilized", or rather their heathenry becomes more complicated.
11 Oct 1174: Our faithful warleader, Count Emmanuele di Castellaneta, has fallen to the Great Pox, and his line ends with him, returning Almansa
and Murcia to us. We have so many lands, and no family to divest them unto!
In desperation, we ennoble two local knights who have done us small service, and grant them Almansa and Murcia to rule in our stead.
Not, however, before entitling Maria as Duchess of Murcia, lest they think themselves their own masters, so far from our eye.
1 Jan 1175: The Order of the Knights of Santiago has been founded in far Hispania. We immediately enlist their aid.
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Topic: Crusader Kings II Dynasty Succession Game (Persus13) (Read 50200 times)