Dear players,
We are introducing the new server that will take you to the world of the Mediaeval Rus’, into the times when the north-western part of the Mongol Empire known as the Golden Horde began to show the first signs of weakness. That was the epoch that was set to play an immense role in the history of the Russian State because the union of Rus’ to fend off the external enemies began as a process in that epoch.

The game features the eight states (nations) that spread over the vast territory from the Caspian Sea to the Baltic Sea. Play for the Russian Princedoms following in the footstep of Dmitry of the Don in the drive to unite the Russian States against the Tatars. Or rule the German Crusaders who had come to the Russian Land to eradicate the pagans and set the dominance of the Catholic Church. Or command your troops as the Great Prince of Lithuania Vladislaw Jogaila while uniting the Polish and Lithuanian lands. Or get down to solving the internal problems of the Kingdom of Hungary so that later on you can turn your gaze towards the rich southern lands of Rus’. And, lastly, you can show all the Christians of the region that the Mongol Rule will never be eliminated and hit them with the whole might of the Golden Horde!

Build or capture towns, develop the infrastructure, join in political intrigues and plots, select friends rationally, recruit huge armies and destroy everyone who stands in your path to building up the Great Empire!

Preamble

It is the year 1388 A.D. The Great Prince of Muscovy Dmitry Ivanovich of the Don defeated the army of the Golden Horde’s Beylerbey Mamai in the battle of the Kulikovo Field eight years ago and when the Russian nation realised that it could beat the Mongols it once again found the hope of dropping the yoke of the Horde khans. But only two years after that battle the new khan of the Horde, Tokhtamish, sat firmly on his throne and then vanquished the Muscovite and Lithuanian troops that protected Moscow to go on to sack and burn the town to the ground. The tribute-paying to the Golden Horde was resumed. The Tatar Army captured Pereyaslavl, Vladimir, Yuryev, Zvenigorod, Mojaysk and the other towns near Moscow; on their way back home they also looted the Ryazan Lands. Fortunately for the Russian Princedoms, the situation in the region is not as simple as it might appear to be… While the Golden Horde has recovered from the Great Distemper, the descendants of Genghis Khan have another conflict smouldering: there is no love lost between Tokhtamish and Tamerlane though the latter once helped Tokhtamish to access to the throne of the Golden Horde. And it is very far from calm in the Russian Lands. The wind of changes sweeps across these lands and every state is trying to make it hit its own windmill.



The Livonian Order

The Livonian Order develops actively in the North-West of the region. The German knights have the direct access to the sea and good transport communications with Western Europe as well as Scandinavia. The Order chose the Hanseatic town of Riga as its capital and earns a lot on the foreign trade by the sea. The Order has a stable and evenly advanced economy. The Livonian Order constantly exerts the political influence on both Poland and the Grand Princedom of Lithuania that declared a union recently. On the whole, the Order’s foreign politics are active; it plans to launch a large-scale territorial expansion in the East.



The Novgorod Republic

A little western of the Lithuanian Lands is located the Novgorod Republic. Novgorod is its capital city. Similarly to the Livonian Order, the Novgorod Republic has the free access to the seas. Thanks to its alliance with the Livonian Order Novgorod has the profitable trade with the Hanseatic ports, especially so with Riga. The Hanse has its own official representation office in Novgorod. The Republic is at loggerheads with the Grand Princedom of Muscovy in spite of the recently-signed peace treaties. Only a year ago Dmitry of the Don had twice declined a peace offer and attacked Novgorod. Dmitry of the Don only accepted the peace offer having taken the large tribute from the Novgorodians and having also bound them to contributing to the general money tributes to the Golden Horde even though Novgorod is not at war with the Horde.
But that only spoiled the bilateral relations further.



The Grand Princedom of Lithuania

The Grand Princedom of Lithuania with the capital in Wilno is situated to the south from the Novgorod Republic and the Livonian Order. The very different peoples – the pagans and the Orthodox Christians – have lived in those lands since the very old times but two years ago the Great Prince Jogaila Olgerdovich married Jadwiga, the daughter of the King of Poland and Hungary Lajos I with the subsequent transfer to the Catholicism and the prize in the form of the Polish Kingdom. That changed the tide of history dramatically. Being a Catholic state, Lithuania found an ally in the Livonian Order and began the process of merger of the Grand Princedom of Lithuania and the Polish Kingdom. The Lithuanian Kingdom has long been very much at loggerheads with Novgorod and often raided, looted and ravaged the Novgorodian Lands.



The Polish Kingdom

The vast and grateful Polish lands are situated between the Lithuanian Princedom and the Kingdom of Hungary. Krakow is the Polish capital city while the eastern regions of the Kingdom are ruled from Warsaw. Poland is in a very suspended state right now because of the numerous dynastic marriages of the past. On the one hand, the Hungarian woman Jadwiga, the daughter of the Hungarian King Lajos I Nagy, acceded to the Polish Throne at the age of ten in 1384. On the other hand, the Great Prince of Lithuania Jogaila became a Catholic and assumed the name of Vladislaw in 1386; he married Jadwiga the same year and thus became also the King of Poland. The new king began the merger of the two states almost immediately. The Polish-Lithuanian Union is not beneficial for both sides but this is a process that takes a lot of time while the foreign political problems at hand often require immediate decisions. The fact that the Livonian Order is the northern neighbour in the North and the association of the Russian lands that Dmitry of the Don started in the North-East can affect the standing of the new Kingdom in the region at any moment.



The Ryazan Princedom

The Ryazan Lands ruled from their capital city of Pereyaslavl are situated south of the Grand Princedom of Muscovy. The immediate bordering on the Steppes and the numerous conflicts with Muscovy made sure that the position of Ryazan is far from advantageous. The Princedom’s lands and settlements have been ravaged, destroyed and sometimes often burnt since the first Tatar-Mongol raids. The situation, however, has improved notably with the advent to power of Oleg Ivanovich of Ryazan several years ago. The wise prince has to play a far-from-easy game in order to keep his principality safe and, at the same time, gain a better foothold in the political arena of the region. Ryazan was again sacked by the Tatars a year ago in spite of the peace treaty between Oleg and Tokhtamish – that was a serious blow to the economy of the princedom.



The Kingdom of Hungary

The Kingdom of Hungary with the capital in Budapest is situated in the South-West of the region. Munkacs is the privileged town in the Transcarpathian Region that dominates the governance of the north-eastern part of the Kingdom. The Kingdom was thrown into much instability with the death of King Lajos I Nagy in 1382. Zsigmond became the King of Hungary just a year ago, in 1387. Though a cunning and intelligent ruler, the new king invited the dissent of many nobles and, besides, he has to face the dangerous situation in his kingdom. Therefore, the Kingdom is preoccupied on the internal rather than external political affairs. The good communications with both Germany and Poland gives Hungary wonderful trading opportunities that the Kingdom never omits.



The Golden Horde

On the extreme East of the Russian lands begins the boundless expanse of the Golden Horde. The Empire of the Khan spreads over into to the south-eastern part of the region and reaches the Lithuanian, Muscovite and Ryazan lands on the North-West. The present capital city of the Golden Horde is Saray-Berke. Khan Tokhtamish who has been able to unite under his hand the eastern and the western parts of the Horde has rejected the policy of rapprochement with the West that had been pursued by the Beylerbey Mamai. He resumed the tributes taken from the Russian Lands and restored the once-overwhelming Mongol Authority. The vast territory of the empire, the huge and disciplined army and the frequent raids of the neighbours ensures that the state treasury has a good influx of funds. Right now, the Golden Horde is the dominant power in the whole region and stands a serious chance of remaining so but for the open antagonism between Tokhtamish and Tamerlane, the Emir of the Timurides’ Empire. The Golden Horde has to put much effort into the growing conflict and the Russian Principalities hurry to use this opportunity.



The Great Princedom of Muscovy

The Great Princedom of Muscovy is situated to North-East from the Lithuanian Lands and to the West from Novgorod. Muscovy is living through good times in spite of the recent devastation and a fire in its capital – Moscow. The Great Prince Dmitry Ivanovich of the Don who defeated the Mongols in the Kulikovo Field in 1380 still sits on the Muscovite Throne. Moscow has a strong influence on the Ryazan Princedom while also trying to control the Novgorod Republic as much as it can. Moscow can afford it to take care of external goals and prospects rather than focus on internal problems thanks to the glory and reputation of Dmitry of the Don as well as its current political and military design. The good tribute-collection, the broad trade relations with Poland, Lithuania, Ryazan and Novgorod, and the advantageous geographic position make the backbone of this state’s economic prowess. The policy for association of the Russian lands started by Dmitry of the Don and the drive for independence from the Golden Horde continues gathering popularity with the Russian population of the region – only to add to the strong position of the Grand Princedom of Muscovy.


This server is the first time available for new players, as well as visible to the players of the CIS countries. In the near future, probably, will be available to all players.