Algiers Sultanate

Let me get back to Europa Universalis 3 (EU3).  I've installed the 2 expansions - Napoleon's Ambition and In Nomine and learned that my old saved games didn't work anymore.  This time, I wanted to go back and try the Muslim conquest but I'll do it at an easier difficulty.  I chose the Algiers this time as Morocco was a hot zone.  The Castillians would easily take Granada and move downward.

The expansions add a lot more depth in the game as you have a lot more decisions and you now can enact policies that affects your nation or just a province.  You can also receive missions (like in the newer Total War series) and receive rewards if you successfully complete it.  Each nation now starts at a different technology age and there are more tech levels to research.  Another new thing in EU3 with expansions is that you can move the government sliders faster depending on the size of your nation and your government type. My nation could move policy sliders every 10 years.

I'm starting to like this game a lot with the expansions (and at easy difficulty).  Algiers is bordered to the west by Morocco and to the east by Tunisia.  To the north is the Barbary Coast and a lot of water and to the south is unexplored territory.  I started the earliest you can start in - the start of the 15th century.  I was planning for a warfare takeover at first.  I tried allying with Morocco to take on Tunisia but that didn't work.  I managed to ally myself with Tripoli - the neighbor of Tunisia. 

Morocco actually declared war with me along with Tunisia and Tripoli didn't help.  My armies managed to keep the Moroccans at bay until the Christian nations started attacking Morocco.  Morocco soon decided that it was going to lose a 2 front war so it ended with a truce.  I decided to build up my army to extreme levels.  Tunisia had a  pathetic army which I could crush and once the truce was over I declared war on them (which now Tripoli came to my aid and Morocco to theirs).  I crushed Tunisia in less than a year and quickly annexed them up.  Morocco was losing to Portugal and Castille so I managed to gobble up some of their provinces.  In the end, I gained more land with Tunisia and managed to free the nation of Fez from Morroco.  Fez soon became my ally and buffer plate against the Christians and Morocco.  I set my sights now on Tripoli.  After threatening them several times, I went to war and crushed their army quickly.  They surrendered and I took them as my vassal.

Now in the west, Castille was fighting against England (who took over Aragon), Morocco and Fez.  I went to the aid of Fez only to get beaten back and my navies sunk.  I didn't lose any territory but I was forced to pay 108 ducats for peace.  Later on - there was a massive revolt in Castille, I funded some Nationalist rebels to aid in the disruption.  Granada (a former Muslim nation now Christian and eventually became Protestant after a crusade against them) broke free from the Castillian revolts.

Morocco and Fez started having rebels too which led to the people joining my nation.  My nation was now not a war machine but a trade empire.  I was forced to focus my government on trade as I couldn't expand as fast.  Morocco managed to annex Fez back and return to near its original states.  Around 1515, I noticed that France - probably the world power get shattered with revolts.  I think two different factions broke out in revolt along with several peasant armies leaving the former world power a mere shadow of itself.  Algiers ranks 19th in the world though now I think that the strongest military power is the English who have nearly united Britain and hold the former lands of Aragon.

I have no idea why I've written so much on such a complicated niche game but I might continue to do so cause this game is starting to get fun.