I've only finished two campaigns so far and on my 3rd one I decided to play as the Egyptians on hard, early period. This has been my toughest and most brutal campaign so far I'm wondering what yours has been with a nice written account.
My campaign started out non-violent with the building up of all provinces to maximize florin profit. I, the Egyptian Sultan, began my major money making efforts by building a trading fleet. For 20 years I built Dhows to start trade in the Eastern Mediterranian. The world of Islam was united against Catholic Europe and the first major blows came from the Seljuk Turks.
The Turks quickly took over Byzantine lands and converting them to Islam. I took this opportunity to seize the islands of Rhodes and Cyprus from the Orthodox Latins as well as Greece. Years passed and soon the Byzantines were confined to just Crete, they sued for peace with the Turks and I and we accepted.
During this 10 year conquest of Byzantium I had built up my trading fleet even more to extend all the way to the Straits of Gibraltar. My yearly income was around 10,000 florins a year and my coffers were building up. This I would be grateful for later on as you will see.
By this time, The Almohad dogs had conquered the Iberian and moved into Galli (France/Gaul). I had conquered the Italian peninsula except for the Papal states because I knew the nasty tendency of the Pope to often come back after being conquered. Genoa, Milan, Tuscan, Venice, Naples, and Sicily were all mine.
The German and French infidels of the North decided to declare war on me and so I sent the great Armies of the Sultan to conquer Galli and some Germanic lands. My push ended at Flanders and extended from Milan, a thin line of provinces. This line was wedged between the Holy Roman's and the Almohads and so I could not expand my line westward.
As I was about to continue my conquest Eastward into infidel land, the Almohad dogs backstabbed me The bastards started their punches at my ships. 8 Almohad dhows slaughtered my trading ship in the Straits of Gibraltar, cutting off all trade out of the Mediterranean. The pirates moved deeper east and destroyed more of my ships before stopping.
Their land conquest started with my territory of Burgundy 3 thug armies invaded and I gave them the territory easily, which was all part of my larger plan. A Decade earlier I had ordered the Alims and Ribbats of the Holy Lands to stir up the Jihad fever of my citizens. Now was the time to unleash that anger upon my enemies. 8 Jihad armies formed and quickly headed for Galli over sea with my remaining trade fleet.
Along this thin front against the Almohads I had 4 large armies tucked away in Flanders. The Almo dogs had nearly 6 large armies poised to invade all of my remaining lands and cut us off from Islamic Italy. The Jihad arrived in time to create a second front in Southern France and two Non Jihad Armies led by Prince Babyars and Muhammed to invade Aragon.
The armies of Flanders and Jihad linked up in Burgundy to repel the dogs of Almo. They then stabbed westward to destroy the remaining Almohad presence in Galli. Prince Babyars Moved North and west to seize Aquitaine.
Earlier in Egyptian History the Almohad dogs had showed their true colors, some twenty years before. A small army of Almohad banditry (but paid by their King) invaded my North African Province of Egypt. Not standing for this the Egyptians quickly mustered up an army that eventually pushed all the way to Tunisia. The Almo dogs sued for a cease fire by this time.
Now with few provinces left, the Almohad citizens rose up in such a rebellion never seen before in my time. The whole of Iberia revolted and threw off the Orange for the Grey. The Almohads were quickly elminated from the map of Europe.
This whole campaign took some 15 years and the Egyptian soldiers were in need of a long lull in battle. But this would not be
The moronic Seljuks declared war on me and invaded Antioch500 barbarian hounds descended upon the walls of Antioch as 5,000 Egyptian soldiers in Gaul could do nothing. The fleets were severely damaged still and it took some time for all to make a line back to Egypt from Genoa. It took another 3 years to move my armies from Central France to Milan. Prince Suleyman in Tripoli with an army of 400 brave men harried the rear of the barbarian Seljuks.
3 years later 5,000 howling mad Egyptians invaded the whole of Turkey, Syria, and Constantinople. The Seljuks were quickly retreating and here it is I stand today.
Both these wars took up 30 years and one is still going on, the French have reappeared in Gaul and taken all but a few provinces in southern France.
These wars that took up 30 years took a chunk out of my coffers as well. I started the war with 200,000 florins and am now at 130,000 because without my trade fleet and my huge armies i was making -4,000 florins for 25 years
This is my toughest campaign yet and I'm not even close to done, what was yours?
