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I'm actually reading the Alexiad these days (not very far in, I'm just before the war with the Normans), and it's a very interesting book. Some points of interest: -Anna calls Heinrich IV "King Alamannia". As Viscardus said, Alexios sent him a very large gift in exchange for help against the Normans, so one way or the other the Holy Roman Empire claiming to be the successor state to Rome gets ignored or swept under the rug in favour of tending to more pragmatic needs. -By this point it seems that every battle the Empire fights includes Turkish mercenaries at some point; the Byzantines seem to be consistently short on manpower. Alexios' forces had to employ hit and run nighttime attacks in their initial push against the Sultanate of Rum/Iconium. -Anna refers to the Varangians as "warriors wielding their weapons on their shoulders". -Anna is one, big, huge loving fangirl. Viscardus already mentioned the treatment the Normans get (Robert Guiscard is a barbarian but also incredibly strong and tall and handsome and a great warrior). What he didn't mention is that almost every character gets to have their appearance described in some detail and let me tell you, medieval nobility had an abundance of very handsome men.
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Jan 19, 2014 11:34
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Patter Song posted:Is that supposed to be King of Germany (as in, not recognizing the Imperial title, just the royal one underneath it) or does she literally just call him "King Germany" like that's his name? Because the latter is amazing. No, sorry, it's the former, I missed the "of" in my post there. e; Don't let that stop the mental image though that's awesome.
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Jan 19, 2014 19:27
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You can sort of see how Komnene's claims of being partial might be taken as bollocks from that excerpt.  An interesting aside regarding the administration of the empire; Komnene says that Alexios had pretty much left it all in the hands of his mother, Anna Dalassene, to the point where Komnene says that Dalassene might well have been called an empress herself. She wanted to retire to a monastery but with her son shoving all administrative responsibilities to her she couldn't.
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Jan 21, 2014 16:36
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Being that we are the Komnenoi it would be a disgrace if our banner lacked our dynasty's monogram, K.
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Jan 23, 2014 13:21
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A, simple is best.
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Jan 24, 2014 10:56
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Dr. Tough posted:What's the story with CK2+? I know that Wiz stopped working on it, but it's been a while since I've played CK2 or looked at it's mods. Quality control has been less than perfect, those in charge of the continuation made some questionable decisions when it came to including other mods in CK2+. It's better than it was some time ago apparently, though.
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Jan 25, 2014 19:50
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It's okay really, the narrative should not bend to the gameplay. Otherwise you'd get a pretty boring and unrealistic narrative because there's only so many things that can happen in the game.
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Feb 1, 2014 14:20
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I am really enjoying the different narrative styles.Rincewind posted:Okay, that blob is indeed Kiev. We'll be seeing a lot of them in the next couple of updates. Well then 
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Feb 2, 2014 13:54
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 C We must not permit the Saimid gauntlet to go by unchallenged. As much as we must preserve our forces to consolidate the losses of the past decade, we cannot permit greater powers to simply sweep us by. Delay them, stop them, halt them. Should His mercy be with us, and should the All-holy Mary stand with us, we might see a miracle happen. If not, let no-one say the Empire lets its enemies walk all over it unchallenged. Can't we call our brothers of the faith in arms in this? No allies, nothing?
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Feb 17, 2014 13:33
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Ofaloaf posted:I am a proud Roman patriot whose primary concern is the continued existence of the state, thank you. An independent patriarch means nothing if our liege ends up a sultan and not the Emperor, which is what will happen if you keep stubbornly insisting on this policy which isolates us from the rest of Europe! If you were a true Roman patriot you would know enough shame not to even consider the Emperor bowing down to a mere bishop. I would suggest we should have your head, but I would not want to exclude from the Roman economy the Papal money you surely receive. Thanqol posted:This is the worst thing I have ever done and I'm sorry. Never stop never stopping. 
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Feb 20, 2014 13:51
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There is little point in continuing to make noise because of one wayward child on a tantrum. But seeing as we all agree that we truly follow the orthodox church, we must also agree it must be strengthened! Much of our weakness that led the infidel Turks to invade was due to petty squabbles of the nobility. And once we restore these provinces to the empire we will have more, stronger Douxes. But that can be avoided if we put our future eastern conquests under church administration. Metropoles and Patriarchates will not be the breeding grounds of disputes over inheritances and claims. It must be done, gentlemen; a pious empire will be a strong empire.
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Feb 20, 2014 17:01
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TheMcD posted:But CK2 doesn't allow that. You are limited in how many of your landed vassals can be church vassals, but you can still have them. And if we ever want to go over that limit rincewind can just mod the defines file to permit it.
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Feb 20, 2014 17:12
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TheMcD posted:
You see, this is the problem with the New Byzantines. Maybe you are good at identifying problems, and certainly at identifying things you think are problems. But you are certainly not putting any solutions forward. "Out with the old, in with the new"! It's just too bad you have no idea what the new is. So while you squabble in knee-jerk reaction over what makes the Roman Empire what it is, some of you even getting in bed with those who would see the Emperor kneel to the pope, the rest of us will be trying to Get poo poo Done. That is, unless you get it together and manage to come up with or back an idea that does not include giving in to our enemies voluntarily.
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Feb 21, 2014 00:57
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Our fair and hot Empress, may she rest in peace. Amen. May Emperor Alexios be as great, or even greater than his namesake. Amen. But as we mourn, and with no hint of disrespect to the legacy she left us with, I must be critical of some of her decisions. For while she was lamenting the Folly of the Douxes, she was at the same time setting up new ones, in the reconquered and newly conquered lands. How were we to avoid such revolts when the empress herself fed into the nobility's ambitions? Thus I reiterate my suggestion that new conquests be put under church administration, that the petty patriarchs set up by that model may only put their lots with the Emperor or a rebel, and not harbour ambition and plot themselves the overthrow of our liege. Emperor Alexios' safety calls for it!
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Feb 21, 2014 12:37
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Jimmy4400nav posted:Therefore, I hereby establish the Adelfikós Synénosi Adelfikí Synénosi, as Synénosi is female-gendered and -os is male whereas -i (with a heta (Ηη)) is female (-o is gender-neutral). 
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Feb 21, 2014 23:43
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The nobles only look after their own gain and the patricians betray us the moment they see a glimmer of a chance to stop paying their taxes. When will you finally wake up and see that the greatest ally to the Empire is the Holy Church?
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Feb 22, 2014 13:14
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AJ_Impy posted:The Milvians hereby agree with Senator Binge's proposal. Now that the Bulgars on our doorstep have been permanently dealt with, let us stretch our hand west, that we may return the wayward souls of Europa to the true orthodoxy. Once the Bishop of Rome is in conformity with the Pentarchy, the rest of Europe will follow suit. You speak not for all Milvians, brother. As much as it is our holy duty to show our Papist brothers the light of Orthodoxy, it is necessary to reclaim our Anatolian provinces lost to the Turks. Our Great Empress, may her soul rest in peace, did a great many thing to weaken and destabilise the Mohhamedan kingdom. We have been picking up momentum as opportunities arose from this and started reclaiming our lands in the east. But that is a job currently half-done, and unless God himself presents us with a bridge with which to cross to Italy and then march to Rome, completing our eastern reconquests should remain our top priority.
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Feb 22, 2014 17:42
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Lord Cyrahzax posted:
I wish to proclaim my disagreement on matters of cultural and linguistic customs. Greek is and should remain the lingua franca in the Roman Empire, but we should not expect our subjects to fundamentally change these aspects of their life that are part of their cultural heritage. Submission to the Emperor, submission to God, and submission to the Holy Church are and should be sufficient. For what do we care for whether the a patriarch is a Greek, a Bulgar, an Armenian? So long as he is faithful to the Emperor and truly follows God and he capably performs his duty to the Empire of the Romans and the Kingdom of God, there is no worry and all is well. His descent matters not.
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Feb 23, 2014 17:06
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It pains me to see the senate merely voting for mindless expansionism. Are we not one in our hatred of the douxes? Do we not agree that them and the patricians have been the cause of some of the deepest divisions in our Empire? I agree that reclaiming Anatolia and Antioch should be our greatest priorities while the Turks are weak, but you want to add the Doge of Venice to our courtly intrigue as well? Being that we Milvians have failed to win enough influence I can then only implore Her Highness the Empress to at least consider giving the Anatolian or eastwards reconquests to Church administration.
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Feb 24, 2014 22:09
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Ofaloaf posted:
You are impossible. You really want us to emulate the Latins? To bow down to the so-called pope? The pope who calls for a crusade for Jerusalem and once it comes under Christian control \ crumbles almost immediately. Then when he does it again, and gives the Holy Land to the patricians and merchants of Genoa? Do you not realise, senator Ofaloaf, that as we speak, the money changers are in the temple with a Papal mandate? The Latin church barely qualifies as Christian at this point, I would very much hope you first address its issues before you try to coax us into submitting to it. The man currently playing bishop of Rome is illegitimate, and all holders of the office shall be so until they remember their holy duties.
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Feb 25, 2014 12:30
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The Empress is dead, long live the Empress! I am eternally grateful to the Empress's mother for personally leading the charge to free Antioch. She gave her life in this pursuit, and no other action can command the same kind of respect. It is my firm demand that once her heir finishes her work that we erect statues to Empress Euphrosyne in every square and every garden of Antioch, that no citizen of that holy city ever forgets the crown personally bled for its sake.
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Mar 1, 2014 16:14
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Lord Cyrahzax posted:
Permit me to say, I'm in favour of providing each non-Orthodox faith a place to congregate in. All these to-be converts gathered conveniently in one place, it's like a dream come true!
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Mar 1, 2014 20:06
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JT Jag posted:
I am quite certain that Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ was a firm believer in his own divinity as well as his own teachings. To call him a Jew is to call a tree the ground. Much like a tree grows up from the ground into something great and majestic, so did God the Father place His Son as a seed among the Hebrews to become the mighty pillar of His Kingdom.
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Mar 1, 2014 21:00
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I am a Milvian, but as I've stated before I lack the enthusiasm and fervour demonstrated by my colleague Cyrahzax when it comes to matters of language and culture. I consider myself a more spiritual man, I believe that through pious and honest worship of God and capable and loyal duty to the Empress we can all achieve Man's spiritual zenith. And, being that I am a flexible person by nature I am even willing to accommodate some amount of interfaith dialogue. That being the case... Some of you are new to the City, or new to the City's language, and some don't even share the City's faith, so I'll take the initiative to inform you on a matter spiritual, urban, and natural. There is a neighbourhood in Constantinople called Fanari. It is called so because of a small lighthouse that serves as beacon for vessels passing through the Golden Horn. And indeed, fanari means lantern. It should then be no coincidence that this is also the neighbourhood the Ecumenical Patriarchate is in, a light not only for the City or the Empire but indeed all of Christendom and all the world. And that's what I want to speak to you about today me fellow senators: enlightenment.  I call upon you all to join this Phanariote coalition. Our purpose is to spread God's light: knowledge. We seek to ensure that our leaders are learned scholars rather than intellectual wastelands who cannot remember when they last opened a book. We seek that they be englightened figures who pull ahead instead of hold the Empire back. We seek that they spread their light; God's light, knowledge, across the realm and the world. That they use this divine light to better understand the world He in His magnanimity gave us. We the Phanariotes seek to make the Empire a place of learning, scholarship, and study! Senators of all parties, of all ethnicities, and all religions are welcome to contribute to this holy quest. The Empire must be made to thirst and hunger for knowledge, and have that thirst quenched and hunger sated! All credit for the coalition icon to iconmaster Sniper. YF-23 fucked around with this message at 20:33 on Mar 3, 2014 |
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Mar 3, 2014 20:28
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I don't think you can be a member of more than one coalition. Regardless, you would be ill-fit to join, for you eschew knowledge; you look down upon foreign tongues and customs and in the process knowledge of them. Gnooble posted:
Ah whoops. 
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Mar 3, 2014 22:31
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 I support tightening our ties with Kiev and begin making cultural inroads in the Mongol kingdom. Being friends, and on good terms with them, would be to our mutual benefit. The resulting knowledge exchange would certainly be a major boon.
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Mar 6, 2014 08:36
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Hail our pious Empress, reconqueror of Antioch! The Patriarchate stands as a light of wisdom, illuminating the Christians of the land! The Church truly prospers under the Empress' guidance; so I ask, is it not in prime position to assume more responsibility over local rulership? Empress Valeria already dealt with the more rebellious Douxes, would it not be better to nip these malcontents before they even bud, by refusing ducal ambitions at the root? The Empress listens to the Church, so I ask.
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Mar 10, 2014 07:54
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##Vote Milvians ##Vote Phanariotes Through faith and wisdom we shall prosper, and teach and learn. We are an empire reborn, and thus it is our holy duty to be an example to the world.
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Mar 10, 2014 12:13
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AJ_Impy posted:
So it is. As a Milvian I could never stand for the besmirching of a brother in faith, with his pious service to church and empire. As a Phanariote I could never stand for the besmirching of a fellow man, with his own life experiences and knowledge to add to our collective heritage. So I stand together with our fellow senator against this unwarranted, barbaric attack.
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Mar 12, 2014 00:45
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##Sponsor the the Italian Re-Conquista Act The Italian peninsula is rich, and a vital part of the Roman Empire. Bringing it back to the fold is of great importance, and a necessity for us to stop being merely an eastern power. ##Sponsor the Mongolian Enlightenment Act We can learn the most from the Mongols if we're on good terms with them. For this a shared faith can be a corner stone, though I must say I'm a bit wary that some of their religious traditions may be lost in the process. ##Propose the Imperial Wisdom Act All children henceforth born in the purple must receive an ecclesiastical education, one that shall produce emperors that govern not with might and fear but with wisdom and piety.
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Mar 12, 2014 10:33
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Jimmy4400nav posted:
Should your support of the merchant class come on the condition of pious worship and the performance of one's holy duty, you would certainly have our full backing. There are many roles to be fulfilled in a society, and that of the merchant is among them. They do perform a necessary function. And as a Phanariote, I must admit that they serve a very important part in the transfer of knowledge across towns and realms.
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Mar 13, 2014 12:34
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Rejected Fate posted:
Though I do not think it appropriate to operate a merchant republic on the Levant itself, I would be definitely in favour of establishing a trade republic nearby and protecting their trade in the eastern Mediterranean from foreign competition. Perhaps in western Egypt, or on the land between the Mediterranean and the Red seas? Though there should be no monetisation of the passage Moses took in his flight from Egypt.
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Mar 13, 2014 13:48
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Lord Cyrahzax posted:
The Komnenians are too drunk to tell the Empress apart half the time and too drunk to tell the church apart the other. I don't think we need worry ourselves about them. No more than we already did anyway.
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Mar 13, 2014 14:16
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Rejected Fate posted:
Perhaps my Milvian brothers would disagree with me with regards to a Levantine republic. I do agree that Crete is well-suited for the role of a trade power in the region though.
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Mar 13, 2014 17:39
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The Saurus posted:Is there a party representing the mercantile interests of the black sea republics yet cause I want in on that You'll want either the Fraternalists or the Steppes and Republics parties.
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Mar 14, 2014 19:51
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This is, what, the third time the pope gave the temple to the merchants? Isn't it about time we wrapped this farce of a schism up?
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Mar 15, 2014 13:19
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Ofaloaf posted:
As a Phanariote, I want to be lenient. But reality forces me to respond to this as a Milvian only. The Pope claims to be a spiritual leader. That is fine. He also claims to be Christian. That is also fine. What is not fine is that he claims to be a Christian spiritual leader. The Papacy is an institution that has rewarded merchants with the Temple three times! The Pope is leading the rest of Christendom astray! Sure, he does not need to die. But the Papacy does. It has turned into little more than a tool of Satan.
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Mar 16, 2014 11:04
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Destiny calls.
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Mar 19, 2014 09:55
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TheMcD posted:
That is claim to the Phanariotes, not the New Byzantines (though admittedly the bulk of Phanariote support hails from your party). What you're seeing is something I'd called out early on, and which senator Impy noted in his response to senator Mars: the New Byzantines do not have a platform. They want to do something new, without knowing what that new thing is. So when the time comes to make suggestions they can only suggest the obvious, as in the case of the reclamation of Anatolia, or bar the possibility of such a proposal the only thing they can shoot for is something the Old Romans or the Milvians would've wanted regardless, as in the case with the proposal to conquer Italy or free the patriarchates of Antioch and Jerusalem. There was a time early on when it seemed like you folk had a theme going as asking for the improvement of the realm with buildings, but even then that is suggesting the obvious rather than the new. And being that you want something new that even still escapes you, you are left without guiding principles and just end up being all over the place.
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Mar 19, 2014 19:36
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It should go without saying that the capital must remain in Constantinople. The City is called Second Rome exactly because it's superior to the city with the same name in Italy. Listen! The Roman Empire is centred in Rome! The most Roman of Romes, the one straddling the Bosporus! Looking to give up Constantinople for Rome is not a testament to one's Romanness; it speaks only of an inferiority complex.
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Mar 20, 2014 00:17
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