Part 17: The Iberian Ua Briain 1263 - 1276

In 1263, it appears that the Golden Horde's progress has stalled. The Russian King of Sweden manages to reclaim some distant land of the old Kingdom of Rus, and an aggressive Kingdom of Georgia pushes against them from the south.



Back at home, the former king of France plots against us and escapes the men our marshal sends to arrest him. This requires us to send men to Iberia to end his rebellion.



But while we're heading there anyway, it may be a fine idea at this point to seize land from the Emir of Beja as well.



A holy war for the Duchy of Portucale will increase our presence in Iberia and potentially allow us to form another kingdom in the region.




Our kinsman, King Fedlimid of France joins us in our struggle against Geoffroy and the Emir of Beja.



King Colman II continues to care for his deceased brother's son and tutor him to the best of his capabilities.



Our forces arrive in Iberia and focus on the forces of the Emir of Beja.



A stunning victory in the field cripples the Emir's army for the time being.



King Colman II manages to take a life lesson away from the hard fought battle.



Word reaches us on the battlefield that the ongoing bugged out tournament continues back home, wounding and maiming friends and family alike.



With the combined Irish and French forces levied against them, the Emir of Beja is unable to form an adequate defense. His counties of Portucale begin to fall to our forces.



Our chancellor succeeds in fabricating claims on another English province, finally giving us another chance to chip away at the Kingdom of England. Acting on this will need to wait until we've finished our current engagements.



As if it wasn't enough, the Holy Roman Empire launches its own holy war against Beja for another slice of their Emirate.




Our armies succeed against the Emir of Beja as well as the traitorous Duke Geoffroy of Navarra. The Duchy of Portucale comes under our control, and Geoffroy is stripped of the title for one of his counties.



We claim the crowns of Galicia and Navarra, increasing the prestige of our dynasty even further. These titles will likely be handed off to family members in the coming years.



The young Duke of Toulouse is goaded into rebellion, and we march against him with the explicit intent of revoking his title.



Our endless tournament won't rest for any reason at all. War, peace, plague, or winter, our friends and family continue to club and stab one another in the castle grounds at Dublin.



King Colman II's daugher Princess Fine exhibits a strong sense of justice, much like her father.



Queen Vseslava becomes pregnant once more and will soon bless King Colman II with another child.



Though we seized all of the counties within Portucale during the war, we still needed to usurp the title for the Duchy itself. The Emir was involved in wars for some time, so we're only just now capable of taking it.



Once it is in our possession, it is handed to Dabid, son of Loeguire. We had already granted him the counties of Portucale upon the conclusion of our war with Beja, but now he is the Duke of Portucale as he should be. It's also apparent that Loeguire's beard genes have skipped a generation.



King Fedlimid of France goes to war with Beja once again, declaring a holy war for the Duchy of Asturias.



Our war against the Duke of Toulouse succeeds, and we plot to revoke his titles while he is locked in our dungeon.



With a few of his former counties and a duchy to hand out, we find another distant relative to install in Toulouse in his place.



We grant this relative the Kingdom of Aquitaine and relieve ourselves of the need to administrate that region any longer.



The Earl of Westmorland rebels against his liege, the King of England. This is great, because we have a claim on that county. If we can quickly crush him and claim his title before his rebellion ends, we'll be able to acquire it without officially declaring war on the Kingdom of England. Since England is currently fighting against the rebellious Earl, their troops will still be hostile against us, but it isn't truly a war between Ireland and England.



There was really no doubt that we'd be able to conquer the Earl of a single county at this point. He is defeated and his title passes to us.



The Emir of Beja dies, leaving a child to rule in his place. We take this opportunity to fight for the Duchy of Beja.



And not only that, we also target the independent Emir of Algarve for his land. Success in this war would put the entire west coast of Iberia under our control.



Our troops land in Beja and Algarve. France simultaneously goes to war for the remaining duchy of Beja in central Iberia.



Another claim to press against England is fabricated by our chancellor. Once again, we're occupied when the opportunity arises and must wait a while before taking advantage of it.




The two Emirs are incapable of mustering the number of men needed to turn back our forces, and they inevitably fall.



With those territories under our control, it's within our power to create the Kingdom of Portugal.



These new territories are assigned to our loyal subjects, and the vassalage of the counts of Algarve are transferred to Dabid of Portucale.



Once this is all in place, we pass the Kingdom of Portugal on to Dabid and leave him in a strong position to take our dynasty wherever he may wish.



Another rebellious Duke rises up against the King of England, and once again he controls a county which we can press a claim on.



The armies of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales descend on this small duchy and succeed in claiming the county of Derby for our realm. Once he is dealt with, we turn our attention to the last remaining de jure county of Lancaster: Chester. We bring our armies up against the King of England to press our de jure claim.



There are only a few remaining powers in the known world which could be considered a threat towards us, and England is no longer one of them. Our armies are easily able to overcome the English and win us the county of Chester.



King Fedlimid of France has borne many children and he fights to get them into positions of authority, such as his heir to whom he has granted a Duchy. He is doing well.



Our relative on the throne of Aquitaine has a less certain future. He still has plenty of years in him to produce more children and strengthen the presence of our dynasty in the small realm, but it is surrounded by larger powers and will probably inevitably come into conflict with France or the Holy Roman Empire.



Dabid of Portugal is a newly crowned King and still unproven. It will take some time before we get an idea of how successful he might be. The only thing we know for certain is that his charming nature will help to keep his vassals happy and loyal.



King Colman II and Queen Vseslava produce two more heirs, both males. The eldest son Brian begins showing a pleasant personality even at a young age.



The current borders of the Kingdoms of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales in 1276. We are only a few counties away from being able to claim the throne of England.