TOTAL WAR WIKI

The Holy Roman Empire (M2TW faction)

The Holy Roman Empire
Game: Medieval II: Total War
Culture: Northern European
Religion: Catholic

The Byzantine Empire Denmark Egypt England France The Holy Roman Empire Hungary Milan Moors Poland Portugal Russia Scotland Sicily Spain The Turks Venice
Aztecs Mongols Papal States Rebels Timurids

Contents

Campaign

Opening map

Starting position

Regions

  • Frankfurt - Large town (Capital)
  • Bologna - Large town
  • Innsbruck - Wooden castle
  • Nuremburg - Town
  • Staufen - Wooden castle
  • Vienna - Large town

Purse

6000

Introduction

The Holy Roman Empire is a particularly misleading name for Europe's largest collective of kingdoms and fiefdoms, regardless which way one looks at it. For starters, it is the Byzantine Empire that truly carries on the legacy of the ancient Romans, and the notion that the Kaiser (the Germanic name for "Emperor") truly serves the Roman Catholic Church is presently quite laughable.

A great rift in opinion exists between Kaiser Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII as to the legitimacy of the Papacy's recent move to do away with secular investiture, a change of law that has taken away all of the Kaiser's power over the Catholic Church. How the Kaiser should react to this is undoubtedly the biggest dilemma facing the Holy Roman Empire at present. When a ruler of nations allows a man of the cloth to dictate what he can and can't do, he sets a bad precedent. Of course, if he leads his people into open conflict with the church itself, he is arguably setting an even worse one.

With both extremes looking like perilous choices the Kaiser will need to find the best middle ground he can, very much the same situation he faces when looking at his borders. The Empire itself is Europe's middle ground, centrally located, with opportunities to expand in almost every direction, but also potential competition to come with each opportunity. It is a far cry from the days of Charlemagne when all of Western Europe answered to the Emperor. Now France is a separate entity, Italy has become a formidable group of city states, the Danes block the route into Scandinavia and the kingdoms to the east are more of a threat than a place to lay claim to.

Should the Kaiser successfully deal with the dissent that lingers within the Reich at present, there seems no reason the Reich cannot consolidate and expand into something to rival the first Roman Empire... Though this time it won't be a simple matter of bettering the barbarians.

Strengths

Gothic Knights

Strong all-round.

Weaknesses

Lacks the later period professional armies of England and France.

Campaign rules

Long

Hold 45 regions, including: Rome Region

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Short

Hold 20 regions. Eliminate factions: Milan, Denmark

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See also