Ok 3 of us decided to play 2 positions each and go for the Grand campaign.Such is the nature of the campaign its difficult for positions to 'gang up' on any 1 nation because fate has a way of waylaying the best laid plans. So we ignored possible imbalances in any set ups.

Charlemagne and Byzantium 771 - 815

Actually Charlemagne's rule was fairly mild , some minor advances in southern france and some raids against the Pagan austrians but otherwise faily low key. Byzantium consilidated its empire and fortified its frontiers in Anatolia.

Rise of the new Nations 815-901

On Charlemagne's death , the empire fragments and 5 new nations rise. They are the northern French (including the lowlands).The Burgundians in southern France.The Kingdom of Germany (excluding Saxony and Austria).The English (controlling all of England) and the Northern Italian kingdom with a capitol in Rome.

The French start off very aggresively overrunning the Burgundian province of Anjou, but dont follow this up.Instead through incredibly poor administration run Anjou into the ground creating unrest throughout the province and spend several years putting down discontent.The Burgundians move south ignoring the French, liberating northern Spain from the moors.

The english strong in arms with a great military king nonetheless are beset with problems from viking raiders , which impovirishes the kingdom. Mustering what capital he can an armada sets forth and conquers Denmark . A Vikings raid on Wessex is also defeated resulting in Norway being weakened.

The cautious and 'safe' Emperors of Byzantium in the easy maintain a policy of careful administration , launching only 1 campaign which annexs Bulgaria. By the end of the century Byzantium is extremly rich , secure and its provinces prosperous.

The Germans annex Austria but otherwise are content with cautious admininstration and fortification of their borders. For the new Italian state disaster follows disaster. Attacked again and again by Saracens from north Africa the Italians with a stream of weak and imbecilic kings and is are unable to cope.One king dies in battle,and is unfortunately heirless causing civil war from which Tuscany cedes leaving the kingdom fractured and ruined.

Majesty and disaster in Byzantium 901-951

After a fairly quiet century ,a new Byzantium king rises to the throne Constantine X. Expert in military (lvl 9) but poor in diplomacy and admin but inheriting an enourmous treasury, he embarks on an ambitious policy of reconquering the Roman empire particulaly the Balkans and Italy. In a series of lightning campaigns overruns the Balkans taking the Empire to the Danube. Then having reached the borders of a weak (and still ruled by a line of incompetant kings) Italy , Byzantium strikes.

A terrible war rages across Lombardy and the Italians fight surprisingly well considering their weakness. But they cant resist the resurgent Byzantium and Lombardy falls leaving the Italians state in danger of collapse. Tuscany is invaded by the Byzantines and Rome will be next. The city is bankrupt wrecked by the Saracen raids and plague. Only a miracle can save Rome now. Such is the way of Empires , it happens.

Constantine X dies heirless and civil war breaks out.All of the danuban provinces rebel or go into unrest, the Byzantine provinces in southern Italy are lost. The wars of attempted reconquest have all but emptied the imperial treasury and to make matters worse , famine breaks out in the Byzantine heartlands weakening the Empire further.

Embolden by this change in Fortunes the Italians strike back and sweep away all the Byzantine garrisons in northern Italy removing all remaining Byzantine influence there.

Within 5 years all the gains of the previous 50 are lost, an umitigated disaster.

Elsewhere in Europe things are relatively quiet. Funded by the French (worried by Viking Raids into the lowlands) the English conquer Norway and begin an aggresive campaign of forced religous conversion on the Norwegians. The French try and annex Brittany militarily and diplomatically but fail. The Germans try and cope with a line of mediocre kings and remain static.

New Italian convulsions 951-1001

A minor prince mounts the throne of an independant Saxony and immediately starts attacking his more powerful neighbours the Germans and French. The French almost reluctantly attack and defeat this petty noble annexing Saxony and parts of northern Germany. However feudal changes are occuring in all societies with the rise of powerful nobles and several provinces break away from their more powerful kingdoms. Saxony becomes independent again. The Germans lose Austria, the Byzantines Sicily, the English Denmark,Italians Lombardy and the Burgundians Castille.

The Italians are now down to 3 provinces from their original 5 and due to their exhaustion from wars and Saracens raids only have one province that is not devastated (Venice). The Germans decide to take advantage of this cross the Alps and invade and annex the old Italian province of Lombardy, the Italians maintain a claim over the area but can do little else.

In the east the once former powerful Empire of Byzantium is trying to pick up the pieces from the chaos of 950. Rebuilding its homeland and fretting about the immenant possible appearence of the Turks on his eastern border.


To be continued...

Edit: Edited because intially written up under the influence of 2 bottles of red wine. On rereading when sober you never would have beleived that English was my first language.