State of the World 1034

Though Anselmo was not the equal of his Father or Grandfather, he knew that if he was to be an effective Emperor, he would have to educate himself about the world around him. A new mapping project went underway by many of the most prestigious scholars.

Spoiler: Abbasids
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The Abbasids were forever being predicted as the next great empire to fall in the rest of the Mediterranean, and yet their power continued to grow. Now under the administration of a teenager of little skill, the empire was mighty but brittle. The Caliph did not have the necessary influence to properly administrate his whole realm, and before long it might finally be time to see the Caliphate start to crumble.


Spoiler: Ammarids
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The Ammarids continued to exist as they have for the past two hundred years. Border skirmishes with the Umayyads, fighting alongside the Italians, slowly becoming richer and richer. Now, however, Aszellay the Second sought to expand Ammarid power further north, by making the new Templar Monastic state of Navarra a tributary. Perhaps this would finally give the Ammarids the power to push the Umayyads completely out of Africa.


Spoiler: Iberia and Aquitaine
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Garsiya Umayyad was a young boy who had to steward a dying empire. The King of Aquitaine was reclaiming Gascogne, the King of Aragon was pushing into Valencia, things did not look good for the Umayyads.


Spoiler: Francia
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After centuries of revolts and uppity nobles, the old Frankish realms were finally starting to calm down. West Francia even saw a new cultural tradition known as "french" start to appear.


Spoiler: Brittania
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Wales continued to survive as a fortress of Cathar heresy, while York was quietly growing in power. The King of York's prestige for holding back the Norse was convincing more and more of the Isles to follow his lead.


Spoiler: Germannia
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The same stability that was blessing the Frankish realms had also been blessing Germany. Frisia was finally able to start reclaiming the Rhinelands that the Slavic church had claimed so long ago. Perhaps soon they might recover Cologne itself!


Spoiler: Baltics
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Norse power was not what it used to be, but as centralized kingdoms broke down, viking adventurers and raiders became more and more of a problem for the rest of Europe.


Spoiler: Slavic lands
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The Slavic kingdoms have had little dealings with the rest of Christendom recently, as they have all feudalized and begun to squabble amongst themselves in a fit of dynastic chaos.


Spoiler: Steppes
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Little is known of the Steppe people or their ways, but after the disastrous losses suffered in the Greek Crusade, many missionaries and spies have been sent to learn more of the lands of the Tengri. Many more spies have been sent to learn more of the Seljuk Khan.


Spoiler: Hinudstan
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Major kingdoms had begun to consolidate in India, with the most powerful being the Palas and Kumarapalid realms lying along the wealthy and fertile lands along the Ganges.


Spoiler: Italia
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Italia was wealthy, but bruised. Mountains of gold flowed to the Imperial coffers, the merchants of Genoa and Venice were welcome wherever they went, and the Viceroyalties kept the peace without becoming threats. But it had all been held together by the wisdom and greatness of Riccardo Gigas. And Anselmo Gigas was no giant.

Lazy and fat and content, Anselmo preferred feasting and luxury over conquest and expansion. He was a kind and just man, at least, and a powerful orator, but without the raw talent seen in the last two generations of emperors, it would be difficult to say what Italia would look like in ten years.

Before long reform may come from the bottom up.