In the year 867, just as the Viking Age was progressing in northern Europe with more and more powerful raids by the dreaded Norsemen, the Indian subcontinent in the distant east lay divided between three great empires. The parties in this so-called 'Tripartite Struggle' were the Pratiharas (Hindu) of northern India, the Palas (Buddhist) of Bengal and the Rashtrakutas (Jain) of central and southern India. This conflict is said to have started in the 820s (while some historians give much earlier time frame of 750s) and historically, the Hindu Pratihara dynasty won this three-way war and only time will tell us how it will unfold it in this alternate timeline.
Just a little west of these three rival empires (they are kingdoms in-game for some reason) of the Indian subcontinent is the realm of the Saffarids (Sunni). This Persian dynasty had been founded just six years ago by Ya'qub ibn al-Layth al-Saffar (translation: Ya'qub, son of Layth, the Coppersmith). Further west is the Abbassid Caliphate (the undisputed leader of the Muslim world at least for the time being) and I am pretty sure that this one needs no introduction.
North of the Indian subcontinent, beyond the great Himalayan mountains, lies the land of Tibet. With the fragmentation of the Tibetan Empire, no central authority was in control of the Tibetan region between 842 and 1247 until the Mongol conquest and subsequent Yuan rule. Here as well, only time would tell whether someone would rise to reunite a fragmented Tibet before the historical time period but the powerful kingdoms of U-tsang and Guge have better chances than others.
However, our story does not start in these aforementioned locations. Nonetheless, our story will soon intertwine with theirs.
This book Licchavi Vamsavali, better known as the Legends of the Licchavis by foreigners, will tell readers the stories of Licchavi rulers throughout history after Raja Manadeva IV. However, the stories in this book are from a world similar to ours but one that had a different historical timeline.
In Real Life, the actual Kingdom of Nepal was way smaller than shown on this map. By this, I mean that the so-called Licchavi Kingdom of Nepal comprised only the Kathmandu Valley. Okay, you might not know this but Kathmandu was historically known as Nepal Valley (or Nepala Mandala) until the Gorkhali conquests of mid-18th Century. So technically it is not the fault of the Licchavis or historians (or even the ancient Newa civilization) but of the Gorkhali conquerors who decided to name their rapidly expanding kingdom after this valley.
In this timeline, Manadeva IV, son of Baladeva, is the ruler of a significantly larger than the historical Kingdom of Nepal in 867. This Raja Manadeva is a hardworking administrator and a content man but also known to be very indecisive (the combination of these traits might explain why he is still unmarried at the age of 57). The Real-Life Manadeva IV became the king of Nepal only in 877. Nepali historians still debate whether he was the last Licchavi king or not. You see, there are no records of the Licchavis after Manadeva IV; until all of a sudden in 1201 when Ari Malla is mentioned. Some sources say that the Licchavi ruler Ari Dev just changed his last name from Licchavi to Malla (Sanskrit: "wrestler") since he was fond of wrestling. Other sources claim that the Malla dynasty is much older. It is said that Harisimhadeva, (or Hari Singh Deva) of the Karnat dynasty and ruler of Mithila (or Tirhut), had fled to Nepal Valley during the Turkic conqueror Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq's invasions of India and established the Malla dynasty by replacing the already extinct Licchavis.
Coincidentally, the historical Licchavis themselves had their origins in northern India; in Vaishali and Muzaffarpur of Bihar to be more specific. The Licchavis were a Buddhist clan who had historically been vassals of the Gupta Empire. While the clan itself was ancient, the earliest record of a Licchavi Kingdom in Nepal dates back to an inscription by Manadeva I in the year 464. The Licchavis had established their rule by defeating the last Kirati King Gasti. Despite the Licchavis being Buddhists, the population was a mix of Buddhists, Hindus as well as other lesser-known religions like Bon, Kirat Mundhum and various tribal beliefs.
Raja Manadeva IV had two powerful vassals working under him. The first of these two men was the romantic dreamer Raghadeva Thamsuhang, who ruled the Thikana of Limbuwan. Unlike his Vajrayana liege, the Thamsuhang man was a Mahayana Buddhist. Most of the people in Limbuwan were remnants of the Tibeto-Burman Kirati tribes (even mentioned in the Mahabharata) that had ruled Nepal Valley before the Licchavis did. Raghadeva Thamsuhang also served as the spymaster of the kingdom.
The other vassal was Tiray Ghale of Pokhara (and yes, the same surname as that of Ajay Ghale of Far Cry 4). Unlike the Kiratis in the east who had been part of the Kingdom of Nepal since the beginning of the Licchavi rule, the Tibeto-Burman tribes of west were recent additions to the realm. While being a pacifist booklover and fellow Vajrayana Buddhist, Tiray Ghale always fiercely sought to make independent decisions to assert his autonomy. The various tribes that followed the Ghale ruler - Gurungs (or Tamus as they called themselves), Magars, Chhantyals, Bhujels, Duras and even the northern Thakalis - had formed the Tamu-Magarati federation to oppose Licchavi aggression in the past (in this timeline). These tribes had either been nomads or refugees who had fled from powerful Tibetan clans. Another reason why Manadeva IV was still unmarried was because he had spent most of his life trying to bring these tribes under his realm and it had taken many different wars and battles and campaigns for Tiray Ghale to finally bend the knee. The agreement was made that House Ghale (or any other local noble family) would still rule over what was now called the Thikana of Pokhara while the Licchavis would offer them protection.
Raja Mandeva IV himself directly ruled over the Thikanas of Kathmandu and Janakpur as his demesne. These two regions were heavily populated in contrast to the domains of his vassals. These two regions were heavily cosmopolitan as well. The indigenous Newa civilization in Kathmandu Valley and the local Maithili people of Janakpur now had newer groups such as the Indo-Iranian Khas (another tribe mentioned in the Mahabharata), Rajput refugees and the afore-mentioned Tibeto-Burman tribes from the east (the Kiratis) and the west (the members of the former Tamu-Magarati federation) as their neighbors.
Hi everyone! This is your friendly neighborhood Athara Magarat working on a Crusader Kings 2 After-Action Report (CK2 AAR). I have always been tempted to do a CK2 AAR and now that CK3 has been announced (which means CK2 is "complete" with no more DLCs), it seems the best time for a megacampaign (not sure about others but I will definitely take this into Europa Universalis IV). The game itself is epic and provides excellent story-telling format. Stories that I might use in The Western Isles member Athara Magarat's history if I run out of ideas. Well, what better to start with that something you know about? Thus, I choose the Licchavi dynasty to get this AAR started.
I actually do not have a specific goal in mind (maybe other than create an empire? get a bloodline?) and I am certainly not after achievements. In fact, I am playing in non-Ironman to use previous save files when necessary so as to prevent stuff from getting out of hand. And I am by no means an expert in CK2. And as I said before, the AAR is just to create a (hopefully engaging) story