Turnovo AAR

[Tzar Simeon Veliki]

I am Ivan Shishman, son of Ivan Alexander, tzar of the bulgars and ruler of Turnovo. My father did this terrible mistake to divide Bulgaria. The capital city, Turnovo, was given to me and my half-brother Ivan Sratsimir (son of my father's other wife) took control of Bdin. Some boyars from Dobrudzha declared independence, claiming the town of Karvuna. Before my father died Wallachia still recognized his suzerenity but after that they also separated. Internal struggle in Macedonia (which was already apart from us), changing rulers almost every month, was something that the serbs took advantage of and soon the province of Macedonia fell in their hands.
I am alone. Sent here with the holy mission of uniting the bulgars and destroying separatism before it's too late. I shall ressurect Bulgaria and bring it once more to it's former glory!
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0003.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0003.jpg)
This is the map of the Balkans currently. My first goal is to cope with the economic problems and make my tzardom stand on it's feet.
I used my good relations with Wallachia, Dobrudzha Byzantia to create trading routes. Me and my two sons started trading - we still can't allow someone else in the Royal Court.
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0004.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0004.jpg)
This strategy soon started to prove as a good one. The trading routes, the tax collectors in Turnovo and and the increasing kingdom power contributed to a high income without any expenditures - something very promising.
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0007.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0007.jpg)
The rich mineral and salt deposits in Stara Planina were soon put to use, thus giving us some quite needed resources.
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0008.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0008.jpg)
A sad day! Our eastern neighbour, Dobrudzha, has expanded it's territories, conquering Moldavia! Thank God, Poland quickly reacted to this and declared war to them. They have my blessing for a successful campaign - may they punish these damned separistic aristocrats! Meanwhile our economy was getting stronger and stronger.
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0010.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0010.jpg)
Glory, glory! Europe has recognized our power and I, tzar Ivan Shishman, have been proclaimed as the wealthiest ruler in the known world! It's time to put this gold to a good use before inflation strikes us down. I assigned my younger son, Radomir, to be a marshal and lead our armies to the lands of my brother in Bdin, whom I have declared war!
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0011.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0011.jpg)
Our troops reached the town of Bdin. Armed with swords, Radomir's loyal units will most probably defeat the enemy and we'll get rid of Ivan Sratsimir once and for all!
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0012.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0012.jpg)
My son has failed! He was terribly defeated by a bunch of peasants! It seems that I have underrestimated my brother's power.
I had decided not to plunder the lands of bulgarians but I was forced to allow Radomir such a terrible deed - we had to provoke our enemy and attack them outside the town!
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0014.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0014.jpg)
While we were plundering Bdin's villages, I sent my diplomats to my northern and southern neighbour. We managed to sign a pact of non-aggression with Byzantia, for which I paid Andronicus III 3600 gold pieces but it was worthy. We also succeeded in allying with Wallachia (with no gold tribute as we had some nice relations) and soon after - they proved to be loyal to us, declaring war to Bdin. Hungary, on the other hand, captured the province of Macedonia and, to be fair, our relations weren't very good as they were friends with Bdin. I hope we won't be having trouble with our new neighbour.

[Kuno of Gersenau]

Good work Tzar Simeon Veliki! :go:
And a very nice way to increase your activity in this board! :wink:

But may I ask why you sent away your first marshall? The trading routes seemed to provide enough gold to keep him at your court...

[Tzar Simeon Veliki]

I thought that there were enough family members so just giving away any money at the beginning would be useless, especially since I started a war much later.
P.S. Thanks for the nice words :)
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Let's continue further.
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0001.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0001.jpg)
Hungary is constantly attacking Serbia and has pushed them into a tiny province - it now took Epirus. Their increasing power is something quite disturbing as they rather dislike us and they are also friends with Bdin and that friendship could easilly evolve into an alliance pact which could be devastating.
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0002.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0002.jpg)
Our diplomats have achieved a grand success once more. Though he didn't want to mess any further with us, emperor Andronicus III finally changed his mind and for a small tribute of 3300 gold pieces - he became our ally and soon after - he declared war at Bdin.
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0015.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0015.jpg)
My son, Radomir, returned from his conquest in Bdin and adviced me to grant Ivan Sratsimir a peace treaty. I decided to follow Radomir's words and demanded vassalage and 350 gold pieces. The principality of Bdin gladly agreed to this proposal and now we are at peace... For a while, until we recover.
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0016.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0016.jpg)
We signed a trade agreement with Poland. The horses that we needed so much were available in one of their provinces so we took advantage and started importing horses. This will allow us to take out our strongest weapon - the cavalry - and defeat Bdin.

[Doux]

Good job and luck, Tzar Simeon Veliki!
But may I ask you to post the thumbnails or just the links to the images? This decreases loading time enormously and would be a good improvement.

[Tzar Simeon Veliki]

I actually wanted to do that but the pictures are uploaded on a personal host so I can't provide thumbnails... I'll think about it.

[Traveller]

Nice start, though I do have a question and an advice:
1. It would be good if you could check the text before posting it, in order to find and correct any eventual mistakes. Also, it would be good to also use "Preview Post" before submitting it - I noticed that the text starts right after the picture (on the same row) two times in your first post and thus several words are to the right of the picture and not in the main text-block.
2. How do you plan to change the storyteller when Ivan Shishman dies in the game or you're planning the AAR to continue only while he reigns? In my AAR (with Turnovo as well :wink: ) I simply "translated" my name into an older style (from Nikolay Ivanov to Nikita Ioanitsa, or something similar) and made him a scholar from Turnovo from an undefined period of the AAR's future, who was retelling the story of the tsars of Turnovo (and whose manuscript was, alas, damaged and the end - missing). Thus I had no problem with changing a ruler, without changing the "flow" of the story. Also, we know who is the sender (Ioan Shishman, in this case), but who is the addressee/recipient? Is Ivan Shishman speaking to somebody, has he written this or something else? It would be good if you could explain this concept somehow in the AAR...

[Mircoslavux]

very nice very nice,if I remember well, this is the first AAR, when the narrator is telling the story in 1. person (I)...

you should keep 1 person and always give it to a new ruler..

[Tzar Simeon Veliki]

Well the idea is that this is something like a diary where rulers write about important events and the way they saw it.
P.S. Yes, I know there are some mistakes, but forgive me for my native language isn't english :)
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The screeshots have been changed and now you can see their thumbnails; to see the big screenshot - click on the thumb.
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http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0017.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0017.jpg)
The ruler of Wallachia, my ally - Mircea, has demanded from me to attack Bdin, who were my vassal at that time. I agreed - I couldn't allow a drop in my kingdom power.
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0018.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0018.jpg)
Ivan Sratsimir's diplomats seem to be quite skilled! They succeeded in creating peace and a royal marriage with my two allies - Byzantia and Wallachia; they also started trading with both of them! If I aked any of them to start the war - they would probably deny and that would be the end of our alliance and peace, so, at least for now, I will have to deal with Bdin myself.
Meanwhile Serbia has been totally annihilated. Hungary captured their last province and now they are a real threat to us. We should be very careful! My diplomats told me that Hungary is currently the strongest kingdom in Europe!
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0019.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0019.jpg)
After being announced that my tzardom is the wealthiest one, Europe has admitted that my citizen are the most happy in the known world and I am the most beloved ruler! Meanwhile an army, consisting mainly of light cavalry, is being prepared and I hired a new marshal.
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0020.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0020.jpg)
We have conquered Bdin! Radomir and despot Omurtag assaulted the town on two fronts, making it difficult for the enemy to defend themselves. Ivan Sratsimir and his peasents were slain and our territory has expanded.
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0022.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0022.jpg)
Glory, glory! Poland has conquered the province of Moldavia in Dobrudzha and their ruler, Delian, has been slain in battle. It will now be much easier to defeat them so we declared war on them!
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0023.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0023.jpg)
While our troops were plundering a village in Dobrudzha, one of their marshals with about 100 swordsmen attacked Radomir. My son successfuly defeated them and even captured the leader, despot Boris, who is now our prisoner!
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0025.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0025.jpg)
There are always times of success and times of decline. Maybe we have to face reality after all those victories. Poland has conquered the province of Dobrudzha while we were plundering farms and monasteries around the town of Karvuna! Right under our noses! The prisoner we had was now useless so we executed him.
Meanwhile, Mircea, the ruler of Wallachia, died. Another especially important event happened - the Pope excommunicated Hungary from the catholic church! This means that they'll probably be in a lot of trouble and will stay away from us.
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0029.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0029.jpg)
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0030.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0030.jpg)
I am Mikhail, son of Ivan Shishman, tzar of the bulgars and ruler of Bdin and Turnovo. My father did a lot of things to stabilize our tzardom. The economy was so well managed that our country became the wealthies one. The citizen were so happy that Ivan Shishman was declared to be the most beloved ruler. He also succeeded in conquering Bdin.
Now I have to finish what he has started - I have to unite all the main territories of former great Bulgaria and lead it to it's glory because unity makes strenght.
Currently we aren't in a very nice position. Macedonia and Dobrudzha (which we need) are in the hands of our two neighbours who happen to be two of the most powerful kingdoms in Europe. Poland, to the east, is in some comparatively nice relations with us but Hungary, to the west, finds us as a threat and hates us. A war will most probably follow and we must be prepared because we must do everything we can to capture the town of Ochrid.

[patriot1]

Excuse me Tsar Simeon Veliki but shouldn`t tsar of bulgars be tsar of bulgarians???The way i know it we called bulgars(Прабългари) our ancesters before the christianisation and the creation of a bulgarian nation(народност).Some historians even argue that the usage of a term as bulgars(прабългари) is useless as no one other nation nowadays speaks of protorussians,or protogermans etc.
Furthermore the christianisation happened in the 10th century your game is set in the late 14th so we can assume that by that time the major elements(bulgars and slavs)had already merged and formed the nation we now call bulgarian
Ofcorse this is only my opinion :go:

[Mircoslavux]

very nice narrative Tzar Simeon Veliki,
pray continue...:hello: :hello: :hello:

[Tzar Simeon Veliki]

Excuse me Tsar Simeon Veliki but shouldn`t tsar of bulgars be tsar of bulgarians???The way i know it we called bulgars(Прабългари) our ancesters before the christianisation and the creation of a bulgarian nation(народност).Some historians even argue that the usage of a term as bulgars(прабългари) is useless as no one other nation nowadays speaks of protorussians,or protogermans etc.
Furthermore the christianisation happened in the 10th century your game is set in the late 14th so we can assume that by that time the major elements(bulgars and slavs)had already merged and formed the nation we now call bulgarian
Ofcorse this is only my opinion :go:Yes, you are correct, I used the term "bulgars" because the other one sounded too... contemporary.
Thanks for the nice words, Mircoslavux :)

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http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0034.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0034.jpg)
Macedonia is currently rebelling so now is our time to strike. We declared war on Hungary and our armies started preparing for glorious victories!
Currently Hungary is in a not very nice situation - it's in war with five neighbouring countries so I hope our conquest will be successful.
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0035.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0035.jpg)
Despot Radomir, my brother, was heavily defeated by Ban Andras. He was the only one to return from this tough battle - all of his men died or ran away!
Also, Hungary's king Bela died and his successor achieved to make the Pope accept them back into the Catholic church.
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0036.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0036.jpg)
Hungary is getting weaker and weaker. They lost the war with Austria, giving them the province of Bosnia and were asked to break all agreements with Bohemia. In the sake of peace Hungary had to give the province of Transylvania to Wallachia (which is becoming stronger and stronger) and that which is a big blow for us - Byzantia took Macedonia as a tribute. They are our ally and I don't see any other way to get the town of Ochrid except if we recieve it as a gift. My father's goal is slipping away.
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0038.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0038.jpg)
A few months ago I met this really beautiful woman at a feast. Her name is Teodora. I decided to marry her and soon she bore a baby. I hoped that it would be a boy but, alas, it was a girl.
Meanwhile, despot Radomir had attacked the province of Zeta in Hungary and was plundering villages around the town. Some rebels appeared in the province of Bdin - men, still loyal to Ivan Sratsimir. I hope despot Omurtag will do his job and punish these dogs.
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0040.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0040.jpg)
Victory is in our hands once more! Radomir assaulted the town of Zeta and at first it seemed that he would loose but then Omurtag joined the battle and the town guards were defeated. This new province welcomed us with a lot of rebels - it seems that internally Hungary is pretty unstable.
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0041.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0041.jpg)
King Boleslaw of Poland decided to break our trade agreement. His main reason was the fact that we had attacked Hungary. We were importing horses from Poland but, thank God, the new province we captured - Zeta - provided us with what we need for our cavalry.
Surprisingly, soon after this message we got from Poland, they declared war on Hungary.
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0042.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0042.jpg)
Andronicus III, the emperor of Byzantia, dishonoured our alliance. He refused to follow the rules and answer to our demand. He declined to attack Hungary and that's the end to all of our agreements.
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0044.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0044.jpg)
My daughter, Kera, is now ready to be married. We decided not to wait and a marriage was arranged. We proposed Byzantia and they gladly accepted. Irini (this means peace, I hope that we will improve our relations) and Kera are now husband and wife. May they live happily... Emperor Andronicus III will soon leave our world and this marriage could be a key for us to some of their territories... We'll wait and see.
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0045.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0045.jpg)
The double attack of despot Omurtag's cavalry and despot Radomir's swordsmen and sharpshooters was once more successful and we captured the town of Raska in Hungary! Again - there were many rebels to deal with.
Andronicus III died and he was replaced by Markos. Our royal marriage with them didn't mean anything.

[Tzar Simeon Veliki]

http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0046.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0046.jpg)
We finally signed peace with Hungary. We did not take what we needed - Macedonia - but when you loose - you don't know what you are winning. These two new provinces - Raska and Zeta, will be a fine addition to our tzardom.
Whilst we were fighting on this Serbian land, the Pope died. May he rest in peace. The new Pope is from Scotland and is known as Calystus I.
Not only did the Pope die - king Wladislaw from Poland also passed away.
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0047.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0047.jpg)
Horray! Emperor Markos of Byzantia agreed to our proposal - we gave them the territory of Zeta and in exchange - we got Macedonia! It is currently flooded with rebels and all the villages, farms and monasteries are demolished, but we will succeed in crushing them.
Sadly, we lost our horses with Zeta, but our northern neighbour - Wallachia - had them and we started importing right away.
Meanwhile - the glory of Hungary is slowly fading away. They lost the war with Poland and now they have to pay a tribute, being their vassal.
They also got one more enemy - Turnovo. Wallachia demanded us to attack them and we couldn't refuse.
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0048.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0048.jpg)
Hungary is getting weaker than ever and now they are of no importance on the political maps. They lost the war with Poland and became their vassal; they later had to give two of their towns to Wallachia. Left with only two provinces - they can pray for a miracle to happen. Our time has come for revenge! Our troops have been sent to capture Dyrrhachion in Epirus.
Along with the decline of Hungary, Wallachia is getting stronger and stronger. They are even more powerful than us and we should have this in mind!
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0050.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0050.jpg)
We have lost the battle for Dyrrhachion! Our armies have suffered a bitter defeat and despot Radomir and despot Omurtag have been captured and imprisoned! Damn you, Zoltan of Hungary!
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0051.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0051.jpg)
After countless numbers of rebelliions in Bdin, Raska and Macedonia because of the double tax - we succeeded in acquiring 11 000 gold for despot Radomir and we paid Hungary for his freedom. Omurtag will stay in prison for now until we have coped with the rebels and collected 11 000 for him too.
Before this happened - Aragon took over Epirus and king Zoltan died. We signed a peace treaty with them. Wallachia declared war on Poland and something very important for our future Bulgarian state - we now have a cleric so educated that he can become a patriarch and with this we can achieve an independent Bulgarian Orthodox church. But this would lead to a war with Byzantia which we do not want for now, so we'll wait.
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0052.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0052.jpg)
My wife bore me a son! May he be a good successor of mine! His name will be Ioannica and he will be the most powerful ruler of all time!
Our ally, Wallachia, has called our help once more - they asked us to attack Poland and we did so. We need Dobrudzha and the only way to get it is with swords in our hands.
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0053.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0053.jpg)
Austria assaulted the last town of Hungary and in the battle king Stephen IV died. This marks the end of Hungary! The other side of the coin - despot Omurtag died while austrian warriors were plundering Hungary's capital. But he wasn't a very experienced marshal, others will come... What's more important is that Hungary, a kingdom that was once the most powerful in Europe, is now gone and it's time for others to arise!
Wallachia, for example. They captured the province of Carpatia in Poland and their territories are now in very impressive scales. They are becoming a threat to us. Wallachia is starting too many wars and they always drag us in - this could be a big problem.
We hired a new marshal - Boyan, and he was granted control over our most powerful units - the steppe cavalry. Boyan and Radomir were sent in Dobrudzha to plunder and eventually - take over the town of Karvuna.
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0056.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0056.jpg)
A defeat! Despot Radomir and despot Boyan assaulted Karvuna and lost the battle once more (there were 3-4 failures before). This time Boyan was captured alive and sent to Poland's darkest dungeon. Luckily, Radomir managed to escape.
Meanwhile, my son, Ioannica, has become old enough to come under my control and training - becoming a good ruler needs more than luck.

[Doux]

You might want to save the texts and move to the BSS forums!

[Mircoslavux]

I'm currious, how you will proceed...:go:

[Tzar Simeon Veliki]

http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0056.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0056.jpg)
As despot Radomir was fleeing back to Turnovo, two polish marshals pursued him. Thank the heavens, they decided not to assault the town and returned back to Poland.
Later, a new daughter of mine was born, while a new army was getting ready. Radomir then led the new troops to the town of Kavarna but he lost the battle once again. I decided not to pay the ransom of 6000 gold pieces for now because this would nourish their strenght and anything we had achieved in those several attacks over Karvuna would be in vain.
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0060.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0060.jpg)
Betreyal! A member of our court, despot Tervel, who was a trader, was caught spying on us and was imprisoned. He is actually polish and his name is Aurek. We will punish him!
Earlier that day despot Boyan arrived home after we paid the ransom Poland demanded.
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0061.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0061.jpg)
The Wallachian ruler, Roman, died of old age and this caused many internal problems. Hungary emerged again, rising from it's ashes like a phoenix, though much weaker now.
Soon, Poland offered us 4200 golden coins and we gladly accepted them. Their spy was escorted to the polish border, although he barely could walk.
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0062.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0062.jpg)
We must keep on trying to take over Karvuna. Even though we may not be strong enough to do so. Our armies assaulted the town and lost once again. Radomir managed to run away but despot Boyan was unlucky again and has been imprisoned.
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0063.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0063.jpg)
Princess Keratsa has grown up and I have decided to "use" her. We arranged a marriage between her and the chief of the Golden Horde - Jani. This could help us later when he dies and we might inherit some of their territories.
Tzaritsa Teodora bore twins a few days ago, a boy and a girl. They'll be under her guidance for now.
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0060.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0065.jpg)
Another defeat - our forces were crushed while assaulting Karvuna. Luckily, there were no prisoners this time.
My other daughter, Tamara, was also ready for marriage and a royal wedding between her and king Kulin from Croatia took place in their kingdom. This marriage could also help us with some territories in future.
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0069.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0069.jpg)
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0070.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0070.jpg)
At last! Our dream has come true!
Despot Radomir and despot Boyan successfuly assaulted Karvuna! The province of Dobrudzha is ours!
This means that now the former territories of Bulgaria are united and from now on the tzardom of Turnovo will be known as the empire of Bulgaria and I will be the tzar of Bulgaria. Two generations have strived to achieve this unification and I, tzar Mikhail, am the one who finished what was started. I can die peacefuly now.
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0071.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0071.jpg)
A few months after Bulgaria was united - we became a major power in Europe according to the scholars' statistics - and the only orthodox country to match it's strenght with the other european kingdoms. Glory to our tzardom!
Besides this - we paid 11 000 gold coins to Poland as a tribute for our peace. We no longer need to fight with them.
Also, Radomir was granted control over our best units. His army now consists mainly of pronoia and steppe cavalry. Despot Boyan will lead archers, swordsmen and spearmen from now on. May they have many sucessfull battles!
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0072.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0072.jpg)
We declared war on Aragon who are in control of Epirus. This is a province that would help expand our territories and became a stronger empire. We also noticed that Aragon is being crushed by other kingdoms - Provance for example. They'll hardly cope with so many wars.
Except for this, my son Teodor was married to Ana of Wallachia. May they live happily.

[Tzar Simeon Veliki]

http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0073.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0073.jpg)
Despot Radomir and despot Boyan were sent on a mission to take over Dyrrhachion in Aragon and they were successful. They also managed to kill the two defending marshals who happened to be the king and his heir. Glory to our tzardom!
We also heard that soon after we captured Epirus Aragon was completely eliminated by Provance.
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0074.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0074.jpg)
I am Ioannica, tzar of the Bulgarian Empire, son of tzar Mikhail. My ancestors did some very important things. Tzar Ivan Shishman came to rule just the town of Turnovo. He stabilized his tzardom and he became the richest and most loved ruler in Europe. The platform he built allowed the tzardom to expand and flourish. His son and my father - tzar Mikhail - achieved great military success. He expanded Turnovo from two small provinces to a relatively large empire. The most important thing he did was uniting all the bulgarian territories. This way the tzardom of Turnovo became known as the empire of Bulgaria. Soon after that happened - Bulgaria quickly rose as one of the major powers in Europe.
My mission is to stabilize our tzardom - in both economical and diplomatical matter, to achieve an independent Orthodox church and to expand our territories even further.
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0075.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0075.jpg)
Except for achieving so many military victories, my father did some mistakes. He decided to marry all my brothers and sisters to other kingdoms, thinking that this would help us get more territories when their rules die. Well - he died first and that's what got us into trouble.
Croatia asked Raska, Macedonia and Epirus, the Golden Horde asked Moesia, Dobrudzha and Bdin, claiming that they are rightful heirs of these lands. We, of course, denied their request and this got us into war with both of them.
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0077.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0077.jpg)
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0078.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0078.jpg)
Soon after we were declared war - the first armies started emerging in our territories. Tarkan Tode from the Golden Horde invaded the province of Dobrudzha and started plundering villages an rural areas. Our marshals are still not ready for battle so we'll have to let them do whatever they are up to.
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0079.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0079.jpg)
Another war. King Ilias of Wallachia demanded us to declare war on Poland and to support them as our alliance agreement says. We had no other choice but o agree and follow their call.
We, on our hand, asked them to attack the Golden Horde and Croatia. Surpisingly - they really did declare war on those enemies of ours.

[Mircoslavux]

Princess Keratsa has grown up and I have decided to "use" her. We arranged a marriage between her and the chief of the Golden Horde - Jani. This could help us later when he dies and we might inherit some of their territories.

I'm not qiet sure with this??? opposite situation could be, that if your tzar dies, golden horde could inherit your territories....please correct me if I'm wrong:go: Ahh ok...you recognized this lately...

BTW congratulation that you reunited BG...

[Tzar Simeon Veliki]

http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0080.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0080.jpg)
Tarkan Tode from the Golden Horde was plundering the rich rural areas in Dobrudzha when despot Radomir attacked him and killed all his troops. They captured Tode alive and imprisoned him. A glorious victory!
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0081.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0081.jpg)
Wallachia was completely eliminated by Hungary. This means that now we don't have any allies and we should try making friends with some other countries because alone we stand no chance.
Meanwhile Poland and the tatars continued invading and plundering the villages around Karvuna. It's time to act.
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0085.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0085.jpg)
Another victory! Tarkan Batu from the Golden Horde decided to assault the town of Karvuna and failed. Despot Radomir successfuly defended the city and even managed to capture the enemy marshal! We now have two army leaders belonging to the Golden Horde, I think they'll be more willing to sign peace now.
Meanwhile we managed to beat off the polish and croatian armies from our territories.
Almost all of our cities are now surrounded by a palisade and in the others these wooden walls are still being built. We have too many enemies to afford having unprotected towns.
I also got married to a beautiful noblewoman called Irina. May our childen - especially the boys - be healthy.
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0086.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0086.jpg)
Austria asked us to attack Athens and gave us a tribute - the province of Banat. We gladly accepted this addition to our territories, although it's citizen didn't. Besides - Athens is currently a weak state and we'll hardly have any trouble with them. After all - we have eliminated a few kingdoms. And not to forget that Bulgaria is one of the ten major powers in Europe.
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0087.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0087.jpg)
These barbarians - the mongolotatars - finally agreed to a peace treaty with us and paid us a ransom of 4100 gold pieces for tarkan Tode and we accepted it. Their other marshal, tarkan Batu, wasn't so lucky. He was interrogated and we found out that he was one of their best marshals so we executed him as an act of edification. They should all know that the Bulgarian power is no joke and everyone who decides to claim our land as their own shall be punished!
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0088.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0088.jpg)
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0089.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0089.jpg)
The war actions with Athens begined very quickly as they invaded into the province of Banat and attacked the town. The first time the city was hardly defended but the guards managed to defeat the enemy army and even captured the marshal. The next time despot Radomir had arrived in the town and he was prepared for them. Conte Luca attacked and was killed in the battle. After the battle had started - their king, duke Alessandro joined the battle but escaped sucessfuly. Then, at a river crossing, despot Radomir with his cavalry reached the fleeing Alessandro and defeated him thanks to his tactic abilities. The duke was captured and imprisoned. Another glorious victory!
Meanwhile Athen's demanded from their ally Bohemia to attack us, but they declined. They seem to be awed by our power and we should be proud of it!
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0090.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0090.jpg)
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0091.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0091.jpg)
Another athenian marshal was captured! He tried to assault the town of Severin but failed and had to flee. Despot Boyan then followed and engaged him, defeating his army and imprisoning Conte Antonio.
Poland is on the high spot. They declared war on Hungary and recieved the province of Hungary from Bohemia, who also became their vassal, as a peace treaty.
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0093.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0093.jpg)
Athens offered us to become our vassal and we accepted. They will pay us half of their income every month.

[Tzar Simeon Veliki]

http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0094.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0094.jpg)
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0095.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0095.jpg)
A lot of things happened to our athenian prisoners. We decided to kill one of the marshals as a punishment. Athens offered a ransom of 5100 gold for their other marshal and we accepted.
Then they asked for their duke - Alessandro - giving us 1500 golden coins but we declined. We decided to kill him too. This led to many internal problems in their state and rebels appeared almost everywhere. These greeks should know that whoever decides to invade our empire - more than five times in their case - shall get what they deserve.
http://voxbg.com/KoH/thumb:UO0096.jpg (http://voxbg.com/KoH/UO0096.jpg)
This is currently what our cartographers have drawn as a map of all the states around us.

[Emperor_Konstantin]

Bravo! Perfect job! :go: :go: :go: