Moravia

Moravia is a kingdom located in Central Europe. Once the hegemon of West Slavs, it is now formed only by its two founding principalities of Moravia and Nitra.

Lore
The Kingdom of Moravia is a far cry from its glorious past as hegemon of the Western Slavs. Once ruling everything from Lusatia to Pannonia, it has now been reduced to a fraction of its former size, controlling only its two founding principalities of Moravia and Nitra.

Moravia reached the height of its power in the 9th century under Svatopluk, who took over the country from his uncle Rastislav with Frankish support. He repaid the Franks by expelling the holy men educated by Cyril and Methodius and inviting back the Frankish priests who were expelled under Rastislav, thus bringing the country back under the bishop of Rome’s jurisdiction. Svatopluk was the proclaimed ‘Rex Sclavorum’, King of the Slavs by the Pope, and with his blessing subjugated the surrounding Slavic tribes.

This did not last long however. Soon after Svatopluk’s death, his empire disintegrated. Among the first to leave were the Bohemians and the Pagan Poles. The final blow came when the nomadic Magyars invaded the Pannonian basin, raping and pillaging unimpeded until they were finally defeated by a combined force of Franks and Slavs in 907 at the Battle of Preslava. They have not dared to cross the Danube since, but the damage was already done, and Moravia lost everything outside of their core lands.

After the battle old wounds were reopened, as the Archbishop of Nitra continued holding liturgies in the Church Slavonic instead of Latin. Cyril and Method’s disciples were welcomed back into the country and the rift continued to widen, until finally in 1054 at the time of the Great Schism they rejected the Pope’s authority.

Moravia spent the last few centuries as a buffer state wedged between the Holy Roman Empire and the Pagans surrounding it. The times grow more dire as her lands are eyed hungrily by the Magyars, who are preparing to cross the Danube yet again with an ambition to bring all Carpathia under their heel. The Bohemians and the German counts to the west may also pose a threat, eager to exploit Moravia’s weakened state. One thing is certain, only a strong ruler can bring this old and proud nation through these trying times. Will Moravia die and be replaced by new, ascendant nations, or will it survive and prosper, perhaps even to reclaim all the that was lost and resurrect Svatopluk’s legacy?

National Ideas

 * Traditions:
 * +10% national manpower modifier
 * +10% goods produced modifier
 * Ambition:
 * -15% state maintenance
 * Ideas:
 * Druzhina:
 * +10% infantry combat ability
 * Triumph at Brezalauspurc:
 * +1 yearly prestige
 * Cities of Moravia:
 * -10% development cost
 * Land of Vineyards:
 * +10% production efficiency
 * The Amber Road:
 * +15% trade efficiency
 * Rex Sclavorum:
 * -10% province warscore cost
 * -10% core creation cost
 * Legacy of Great Moravia:
 * -25% unjustified demands