Thank you for all the content. Really helping me get through these weeks of boredom.

AlzaboHD IT’S CHOCOLATINE

I would like to see your review on global mods like "The Witcher Kings" or "Guardians of Azeroth". They are really worth playing

i would like to see a kolguyev challenge. which is a northern russian island with basically no income and 2 months of raising ships can bankrupt you.

top 10 best heirs in CK2?

Or the mystery of how he has so many children :thinking emoji:

@@AlzaboHD ofcourse he was a pro at banging

@@AlzaboHD Thats why he is called Ivar the BONERLESS

Ivar confirmed to be a secret octopus!

labrynianrebel did you know that one of an octopuses 8 tentacles also acts as a penis?

I strongly recommend a Zoroastrian run, making the Saoshyant was one of my favorite campaigns

I’d recommend a Viking play through as well. You can have a lot of fun reforming the religion and such. Sometimes I just like collecting artifacts and bloodlines though, and it seems like Christians have access to the largest number of them.

@@AlzaboHD Excellent, thank you!

breaking free from the abbasids in the earliest start date and forming the persian empire as a zoroastrian is one of my favorite playthroughs edit: read Alzabo's comment right after i hit reply haha

Play as a zoroastrian because it allows you to do incest.

I didnt know about this, will definitely check it out. Thank you!

Ah yes, the tutorial lord, also my first character to create a true empire with, he really is a beast

Hispania never really existed. Definitely you can't call the Iberian peninsula Hispania. Even charlemagne's marca hispanica is debated amongst historians to have ever existed.

@@herman1francis As someone who has studied history (only a Bachelors' degree, but still, it's a degree) one thing I've learned is that saying something never existed is wording the statement far too strongly. I would say it something more like, "we don't have incontrovertible evidence for Hispania's existence; also, historians haven't figured out more productive things to do than fight over the validity of the scraps of evidence we do have." Lack of known evidence is not the same as actual lack of evidence, even though we usually aren't in a position to know for sure which situation we actually have.

@@benjaminmiddaugh2729 You worded it excellently, thanks for your comment Benjamin. I am myself a Historian and everything you said is reasonable and correct. I usually don't go into this kind of depth on youtube but the point I was trying to get across is that there is no "Hispanic" nation. Spain doesn't form as a naton-state until the constitution of cadiz in 1812 and before that date there were many previous constitutions written like the toledo one or the catalan ones, and yes, there is a document from the XIIth century called constitucions de catalunya, not to be undermined as Aragon as it is well known that aragon was not a single group of people as we could understand a nation being today. TLDR There is no Hispanic nation, and there has never been.

that was a big whoopsie moment, thanks for letting me know!

@@AlzaboHD I have to say, I've fallen in love with your Polish. You're nailing it. Really appreciated.

Correction: boleslav II the bold wasnt the third ruler: It was: Mieszko Boleslaw I the brave Mieszo II Bezprym(only 1 year tho) Kazimierz Boleslaw II the Bold I might have skipped a third mieszko between boleslaw II and Kazimierz, I am not perfect at the polish history, but I am 100% sure Boleslaw II wasnt the third ruler

@@adrian225 Bezprym, as you called him, ruled for 6 years (1034-1040). But Polish historians (my history teacher for example) call him Bolesław. Bolesław the Forgotten. So Bolesław the Bold was the third Bolesław in Polish history. I think that what he meant wasn't about Bolesław the Bold being a third ruler, but a third Bolesław. Fun fact: Bolesław the Forgotten isn't actually counted as a ruler of Poland. History books say that during 6 years of his rule there was a period of interregnum. Why? The only reliable source confirming his existence is currently in the Gniezno Archbishopric archives, in posession of the Catholic Church. Why nobody knows about him then? Because, according to the half-legend about him, he turned back to the Slavic faith and executed bishops residing in his domain. That's why his second nickname was "The Cruel". Releasing information about him would hurt the position of the Church in Poland, since it is said that the baptism was the beginning of a sovereign Poland and then the religion couldn't be separated from the state.

@@adrian225 True he wasn't a third ruler, but he was the third king of Poland. In early medieval polish history being the ruler of Poland and being the king of Poland wasn't one and the same. Back in the day a polish ruler had to be crowned with the approval a Pope or a Holy Roman Emperor otherwise he was just a duke. Being crowned was a big thing and a sign of independence. If a ruler was too weak or felt that it would be better to be subservient to the HRE he wasn't crowned. For example Mieszko II was crowned as a king only to be deposed later. He later came back on the throne, but only as a duke. To sum things up there was no "King is dead. Long live the king" rule. CKII simplifies thing and makes every ruler of Poland a king (fun fact even Bolesław II the Bold wasn't crowned as a king until 1076). Hell even after the assassination of Leszek the White in 1227 when the central authority of the ruler already weakened by the feudal fragmentation was completely dissolved we still have kings in ck ii. To be fair those "kings" were the dukes of Cracow (one of the most important provinces) so its not that out of nowhere.

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It made me tense up. With how much work he puts into his scripts I guarantee you, that he did it on purpose...

"proszę jeden piwo" was the expression I learned first before visiting Poland lol

@@AlzaboHD Well, *akshuallly*, it's "Jedno piwo", because Polish needed to be more confusing.

How _is_ Bolesław pronounced? I've always had trouble figuring out those Slavic pronunciations.

@@djaevlenselv It's complicated to explain in writing alone, but you were pretty close, thing is, Polish tends to put emphasis on the second syllabel, rather than the first, you basically said *Bo*lesław, rather than Bo*le*sław, but honestly, you weren't that far off. I'm not sure what the OP comment's on about.

Also am I the only one who can't "find" these people? Like I find them but they aren't rulers or anything as they come under family memebers i.e. King Ivar isn't a King but his Brother is?

@@birphon You are just a loser! Nobody used your time stamps and you cannot find the rulers.

@@attorneyinvestor3941 Calm down sis.

I agree with Baybars. Man's a fucking beast. And Tamerlane, now that's a world conqueror there, both irl and in-game, and one of the greatest men to have lived.

@@someorclad9738 I am not sure if Timur can be described as a 'great man'. Too destructive in my opinion.

@@lastword8783 To me, he is the epitome of ambition and making your mark upon the world, regardless of normality and right and whatever moral and legal nonsense that affects any self-respecting monarch. If he wants it, then he will take it, and the world and its mediocre rules can be damned, and cross him, then you, your family, your neighbor, and that tree by your house, will burn. That is respectable and admirable, for he knows that by the end, the one that's staring back at the mirror is himself, not others. He started with nothing, less than a peasant and lower than a slave, yet he died an emperor ruling an expansive and powerful empire, with his enemies dead and destroyed. That makes him a great man, possibly one of the greatest to have ever lived. Destructive? Yes, you have to be to make your mark upon the world, to wrest destiny for yourself. Besides, he destroyed his enemies, so who cares, and no, I could care less about the civilian deaths. He made his mark, he had a great character about him, he lived his life to the fullest, and he remained true to himself till the end of his life. That's what matters. Few could ever live without regrets like him. The only regret I believe he had was that he never got the chance to conquer China, and that's it. He is greatness, especially in regards to utter individual accomplishment, and that makes him far better than Cyrus, Darius, Saladin, Umar Al Khattab, Napoleon, Charlemagne, or any other. The only rulers that can hope to match him would be Nader Shah, Oda Nobunaga, Qin Shi Huang Di, and Julius Caesar. If you want a more in-depth look on this chad level emperor, check out the book Tamerlane: Sword of Islam Conqueror of the World by Justin Marozzi. Its a great and fun read without being too insufferably academic.

@@someorclad9738 These things are all subjective so by your own criteria of greatness, truly he was great. Yet I would wager that what makes men great is not what they did for themselves but what they did for civilization itself. By that measure, I find it strange that you would not mention the grand city of Samarkand or the architecture that Timur patronized but rather the butchery and his indulgence and certainly, excess of it. Violence and power is supposed to be a tool as all great men would see it and not one that should be wielded to simply satisfy our own thirst for it in of itself. All the other men you mentioned transcended (at least cyrus, saladin, umar al khattab who i am more familiar with) their conquests to build a better world than they found where as with Timur, he ended his life on being the proverbial 'king of the ashes' and his capital, a jewel amongst a smoldering world. On that note, they all surpass him and for good reason, they are all remembered more favorably. I also read Marozzi's book and really liked it. I also recommend Harold Lamb's book. It reads more like a novel but I also really enjoyed it.

@@lastword8783 I believe everyone knows about Samarkand and him being a patron of architecture, so I don't think I need to mention it. Its obvious that he was a man of good taste in art, and his descendants the Mughals, more than made him proud. So yeah, no need to mention that. Besides, tales of craft and aesthetics are boring. Lets get to the good stuff. Indeed, violence is a tool, but Tamerlane used it very, very effectively, and unlike most, actually not a sop at using it (no I am forced to do this nonsense) and can actually enjoy himself. What better way to prove your supremacy than by slaughtering everyone else, and ensure that only your palace remain. That's a good way to both build your empire, and denying anyone else a chance to rise. It is indeed a jewel in a smoldering world, and that's a good thing to me. The jewel is his empire, and the smoldering world is everyone else, and when all is said and done, its your people and yourself that matters, not others. Such audacity and will is astounding, and I doubt even someone as impeccable as Umar or Trajan would dare such a thing. Besides, most of those killed by him are his enemies or rebels, so who cares. I like his indulgence. He knows what he wants, and gets what he wants. No need for bullshit like right and law and stuff. His character is that of a force of nature, and till the end of his life, he is true to his desires. That is respectable, as he, unlike most rulers, can proudly view himself as he is, not some construct by the needs of his kingdom or people or insert heroic nonsense here. With Tamerlane, he is himself. With others, I cannot tell whether you're acting on your own behalf or that of others. Granted this great man is not always so independent, but compared to others, Tamerlane is not just another automata. Plus, damn he's got a lot of waifus. As a man, now that's a fucking achievement, especially when one of your legs is fucked. I can say for certain that had 2B, Tanya, Touka, Maho Nishizumi, Kino, Sophitia, Erza, and Saber and all of them fine waifus exist in our world, he would have no trouble charming and acquiring them all. Now that's thad level domination right there. Perhaps their conquests did build a better world (Cyrus without a question), but were they their own men by the end of the day? Were they true to their desires? Were they really self-made men? Tamerlane cared not for a better world, since why build it when you can batter that selfish entity it into bloody submission, then shape it to your own perfect vision. And Tamerlane cared not for building that flimsy utopia, since it is better to build yourself up, to rise above the dregs of your station and reach as far as you can go. Like I said, he began with nothing, a horse thief and the lowest of the low, yet he died an emperor, above all and everything, enemies grounded to ash and ruin while his empire the only worthy jewel worth witnessing. That to me is far more superior than building a better world. He build, conquered, and did everything for himself, for his ambition, and for his desires. This makes him greater than most rulers. Tamerlane was his own man, instead of some extension of the state or representation of his empire. Why would you want to build for civilization and others, when you can prop up your own palace, satiate your own desires, achieve anything you want, reach the highest hierarchy of power, and be yourself. Doing things for others, trampling your own wants in the process, is the act of a weakling and a dishonest man. Doing things for yourself and achieving things for yourself and your comrades and loved ones, now that's greatness. Heroism is foolishness. Indulgence is proper. You're the one that's looking back at the mirror by the end of the day, not civilization or others. So who cares. So in short, yes. Tamerlane is greater than Cyrus, Umar, Augustus, or any of those world makers. What matters more to me is being your own man and staying true to what you want and your desires, instead of some overly lofty and moral goal that's just insufferably boring to comprehend. Solidarity is key to greatness, not any of that utilitarian drawl. Being a hero can be a pretty alright read, but being your own man makes an awesomely great read. Tamerlane is essentially a rugged Griffith, but no treachery to his comrades. Anyway, thanks for the book mention, I'll check it out. Edit: Some spellings and additions.

I know right? I thought this was an ISP video

lol fuck, same here lol

you're all men of culture

I agree, it was tough since Dyre has better stats and I've already included 3 norse characters. Maybe he would have been better than Ivar to be included :shrug:

@@AlzaboHD i like playing as rurik, he has some slav-related events

@@tada-kun982 He also has that useful alliance to the Swedish dude.

@@brianbates212 he does? Btw marry into ragnarr lodbroks dynasty, instant alliance with 5 strong vikings

@@tada-kun982 His wife is Bjorn Ironside's daughter, you can get the alliance for the asking and are also eligible to get at least NAPs with the other sons of Ragnar (depending on the random traits some may require a little schmoozing to approve).

Chunky Chew yeah you need dlc and alot of it(although you can get all the dlc free online)

paradox giving the game and some dlc for free is like drug dealers' "the first one is free"

unocualqu1era because the game is as good as crack

Only one of these characters is playable without DLC. Kind of ironic that he'd advertise the game being free in this video

You could always just play with people who have the DLC already? Contrary to popular belief, multiplayer for this game is still very much a thing.

Lol I'm sure if any Tibetan heard this video they would be happy for the attempt, that pronunciation was completely improvised. How do you pronounce Piety?

@@AlzaboHD Pie-Uhh-Tea sounds like a good treat

Dziekuje for the correction! I don't know much about Poland's history

Also, it's quite ironic how he is perceived as a strong character in the game, as he ended up in exile IRL.

@@AlzaboHD no worries! Your videos are super entertaining in spite of your occasional oopsies. You have a narrating gift and I'm glad I've run into your channel!

Correction: Bolesław I was the SECOND ruler of polska, Bolesław II would be the 6/7 th ruler

Thank you, my job is to mispronounce English not the more cultured languages of Europe!

@@AlzaboHD your polish is on par with Taureors tries with German :3

A victory for team pain au chocolat

Gotta say you caugth me off-guard with this one

Carrément ! :D

@@AlzaboHD Every day, the 'pain au chocolat' opressors attack without any reason the 'chocolatine' team. France had Religion Wars a few centuries ago, now it's Bakery Wars.

@@AlzaboHD the only team there is

Mon dieu, t'es sudiste de la cote hérétique?

AlzaboHD Disons que j’ai quelques familiarités avec l’Aquitaine et le Poitou vil nordiste !

@@AlzaboHD De la part d'un Poitevin, je dis Chocolatine. Mes oreilles saignent à chaque fois qu'un gars dit Pain au chocolat...

​@@Nuketown458 alors ca fait du bien pour toi qu'on apprend le mot "pain au chocolat" a l'ecole aux states ; - )

Vive le VRAI sud, vive la Provence et vive les pains au chocolats!

That's overexaggerated You mean one feature

You're just stuck playing a Christian

@@anthonyreynolds1995 the islamdlc was free awhile back

@@greekcommie621 I bought the game like 4 years ago when it wasnt free lmao

@@anthonyreynolds1995 oof

I'm going to read more about him that sounds interesting, thanks!

@@AlzaboHD Temujin himself relied alot to him as one of the 4 great generals of the Mongols. His vows to the Khan was simple yet so deep: "I will repel all your enemies, like a cloth repel the winds" One of the reason Mongol Empires declined, was his death too, as a siege leader, genius tactician, inventor of "quick building bridge" to capture enemy stronghold from behind, and using early tech gunpowder from China to siege the European strongholds. Truly one of a kind general, on par with the modern Von Clausewitz.

Илиан Тодоров I think gunpowder was already invented before the mongol conquest and Subutai

A guy who rose from being a simple commoner to casually conquering Eastern Europe while on a scouting trip.

@@@AlzaboHD There is a trilogy of novels about the Mongols I recommend called "Conqueror", written by Conn Iggulden. He also has a series about Caesar and one about the War of the Roses, all excellent.

Who the fuck would overlap?

@@alanjacker1374 I mean like there would be some of the top 10 powerful kings also featured in top 10 interesting starting characters in the different dates. Not like across the start dates lol

@@deanbphillips ahh i see

I spent my time in Poland wisely as you can see lol

I am using the graphics overhaul Novus Graphicus, its on the steam workshop. Cheers!

After the End Old World is recently released masterpiece ^^

Which language?

@@shashwatsinha2704 Turkish

@@AhmetCanE99 Ok, great. There is an eatery chain in my city(Kolkata) by the name of Arsalan.

I think so, now if only we can uninstall the ccp DLC irl am I right

@@AlzaboHD china delenda est

Almos n Arpad are quite the strongest starts in ck2.

1) Catholic 2) Norse pagan 3)Sunni and Shia Islam 4)Tengri 5)Zoroastrian Everything else is boring and generic

Norse Catholic Everything else Heresies Norse and Catholic are the only two fleshed out religions in the game and heresies are a total afterthought.

@@trentn1127 Messalian is interesting because it's Christian with Divine Marriages and Yazidi - Islam (in game mechanics) with excommunications. I want more examples like that :)

@@MS-Melas oh God, Hellenic being unteformed pagan, combined with the location of mostly Orthodox is OP

@@MS-Melas Never played it, looks interesting

he is also Halfdan Ragnarsson’s bastard child, ironically he is better than all of Halfdan’s children in 867

Jonathan Simms we don't actually know why both are possible

Yes. This x1000

He definitely is! He features in the newest top 10 ck2 video - I think you'll appreciate it !

Haha yeah most people think Im English or Canadian!

@@AlzaboHD To be fair unless it's a heavy Californian or Texan accent it's kind of hard to tell for us :(

Hey thanks! Im from USA but stayed briefly in Wrocław for work. Still learning, its a tough language

Więc Pozdrowienia z Wrocławia (greetings from Wrocław). Its my hometown.

I am using novus graphicus steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=459129816

@@AlzaboHD Ah alright, thank you

Unfortunately they're not