[center] Name of Nation: Empire of Jerusalem Leader Name: Baldwin X of Jerusalem Location On Map: Israel, Palestine, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Yemen, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan. Type of Government: Absolute Monarchy Flag: [hider=National Flag] [img]http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2012/021/2/6/standard_of_the_king_of_jerusalem_by_deathpwnie-d4n7g0m.png[/img] [/hider] [hider=Naval Flag] [img]http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2012/021/0/d/civil_flag_of_jerusalem_by_deathpwnie-d4n6wkn.png[/img] [/hider] [hider=Army Flag] [img]http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110402022626/althistory/images/4/49/Kingdom_of_Jerusalem.png[/img] [/hider] [hider=Airforce Flag] [img]http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100719074808/althistory/images/5/52/SV-JerusalemFlag.png[/img] [/hider] [hider=Royal Standard] [img]http://th08.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/f/2013/056/2/a/kingdom_of_jerusalem_flag_by_zalezsky-d5w947s.png[/img] [/hider] Brief History (2 to 3 paragraphs): The Point of Divergence in the timeline the Empire of Jerusalem comes from is when Baldwin IV takes the throne. In this timeline, he does not have leprosy, and he is even better at warfare and combat then in our world. Baldwin IV, with help from Holy Rome, France, and England all declared war on Saladin. Within 2 years they had occupied all of Egypt and the Hedjaz region, annexing it into Jerusalem. After about 5 years, the Pope declared a Crusade for what they called the region of Assyria (Syria and Iraq in our world). All of the little tribes that owned Saudi Arabia in our world at the time joined to fight the Crusade, but where overpowered by the shear strength of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Crusaders as a whole. The Pope gave all the land that was occupied and took from the tribes that ruled those places to the Kingdom of Jerusalem. When this happened, Baldwin IV, now known as Baldwin the Great, renamed his nation to the Empire of Jerusalem. Also like our timeline, at least to what historians say, Baldwin IV wore a mask, but in this world, he wore it to scare his enemies. This started a trend with all of the emperors to come. The Empire of Jerusalem fought several wars around the middle east, majority of them against the Sultanate of Rum, who wanted to expand there borders. The Fatimids, after they recently conquered all the way to Tunis, joined the fight against Jerusalem and joined Rum. The Pope went and joined the war with Jerusalem, declaring another Crusade. By the end of the war, they had occupied majority of Northern Africa, but instead of taking it all, they just took Tunis, and let the Fatimids keep the rest. Tunis was renamed Carthage when Jerusalem took it. The Empire of Jerusalem stayed relatively peaceful after this up until the Mongolian Invasions began, which is another difference that happened in this timeline. The Battle of Baghdad was the bloodiest battle in the series of wars, known as the Tengri Holy Wars. In the end of it, Jerusalem and the Mongols fought each other to a stalemate. After the Tengri Holy Wars ended in 1357, and the Mongols having to deal with revolts, Jerusalem was in another period of peace, known as the Pax Jerusalem. In Europe, the Catholics finished off taking the rest of Spain. Above Jerusalem, Byzantium finished off Expanding against Rum and other Islamic dynasties in that area. Then came the Protestant Reformation, as Jerusalem stayed out of the American colonialism. It began in Carthage in this timeline, and Protestantism spread throughout the Empire, even converting the Brother of the Emperor to the religion. The Brother of the Emperor started a civil war against the current Emperor to make Protestantism the main religion. The Emperor managed to beat his brother, and put him and those who helped him in the revolt to death by burning out there eyes, tying anchors to there legs, and dropping them into the ocean to drown. The Emperor then started to punish any Protestants in the Empire with Taxes and sometimes death. This caused a very large amount of them to convert out of fear. After this, the Empire of the Timurids (Tamerlane wont he mongol revolution against the government and the other revolters, and formed his empire), attacked Jerusalem in an attempt to reclaim the land lost in the crusades. It began what would be known as the Shia Conquests, as it was God-Emperor Tamerlane III the Self Proclaimed Shia Caliph going up against the Pope and other Catholic forces to fight them off. The Shia Conquests where not just about finishing off Jerusalem though, it was also about expanding into India, which they did. They successfully conquered all the way to Delhi before Jerusalem and the United Catholic Armies started to take on the Timurids at full power. In the year 1560, 40 years after the Jerusalemite Civil war ended, the Shia conquets ended, and ended with new Crusader states stretching from Delhi all the way to Persia by the end of the war. Tamerlane III was put to death in front of the Pope, ending any chance of a second Islamic Expansion. Jerusalem had to deal with small revolts, and even more Islamic tribes attempting to expand, but each one of them where stopped against Jerusalem. This stayed the same up until the early 1800s, when Napoleon took control of France, and started the First World War. It was the French, Spanish, and English (English supported Napoleon in this because of them both hating the HRE) going up against Holy Rome, Byzantium, Jerusalem, and Russia. Napoleon was able to take Berlin under his control when he stated he would attempt a sea invasion of Jerusalem. Jerusalem would be the battle that would end the war, Napoleon was captured, the English Prince murdered, and the Spanish Kingdom fully occupied by the HRE. Napoleon was put to death by the Emperor of Jerusalem, and was beheaded. The Pope split up France, England, and Spain into other Smaller nations, with examples being Aragon and Normandy. This Timelines Earth stayed peaceful once again until 1905, when the Second World War began. A friend of the King of Normandy (Who Conquered all of the little kingdoms in France, England, and Spain) killed the Archduke of the Holy Roman Empire, which started the war between the two nations. The Kingdom of Normandy, the United Republic of America, and the Russian Empire fought against The Holy Roman Empire, the Empire of Jerusalem, Byzantium, and the Holy Kingdom of Indo-Persia (All of the Crusader States formed during the war against Tamerlane where united as one kingdom). The war ended in a Victory for the Papal Alliance (The Side with Jerusalem), and the treaty of Carthage was signed. This treaty weakened the Kingdom of Normandy by forcing them to give everything from Paris westward to Holy Rome and by forcing them to pay 50% taxes to Jerusalem. A young fascist revolutionary took control of the Kingdom of Normandy in 1932, named Louis Hieler. He stated that the land lost in WW2 should belong to Normandy. When he took power, he began a mass genocide of those who where not French. This was enough to rouse up all the nations who where in Ww2 to fight back against Normandy, in what would be known as Ww3. Normandy was able to quickly destroy all of Holy Rome, conquering 3/4 of it and leaving the other 1/4 to form the Fascist Germanic Kingdom. Jerusalem and Byzantium advanced upwards into southwestern Germany when Russia joined the war against Normandy. The United Republic of America started a naval expansion in what would be known as D-Day, or the invasion of the Spanish Coast (Portugal is apart of Spain, or in this case Normandy, in this timeline). This was too much for Normandy, and on September 1st, 1945, Louis Hieler killed himself. This would also be the same day that WW3 ended. This was the last major event in the timeline of this nation, they have remained peaceful since this event. Main Export (Up to 3): Oil, Pearls, and Weapons Main Import (Up to 3): Organic Food, Stone, and Lumber Cultural Description (2 to 3 paragraphs): The Culture of the Empire of Jerusalem is French, with some Arabic things here and there. Majority of the Empire looks French, because of assimilation and Immigration (In this Timeline, Napoleon still took control of France, which led to a good amount of those wanting to escape Napoleon moving to the Empire of Jerusalem), and over 80% of the population is Catholic. In fact, one of the main things in the Empire is a holiday celebrating Saint Charlemagne, because in there timeline, he became a Saint. Another holiday in there culture is the day of the Iron Mask, the anniversary of When Baldwin IV defeated Saladin and took Egypt. On that Holiday, majority of the people go out and where Metal Masks that have the flag of the Empire of Jerusalem painted on them. The Main language of the Empire is French, with minorities of Greek and Arabic speaking communities in the Empire. The Capital is Jerusalem, which is one of the Largest cities on Earth. Jerusalem also has the largest statue on Earth, of Saint Baldwin IV, Emperor of Jerusalem. Other Large cities include Carthage, the Second Largest city in the Empire, and Mecca, which holds majority of the Arabic speaking population in the Empire. Main Religion: Catholicism is the State Religion. Protestant and Orthodox make up 7 and 8 Percent themselves, and Islam made up the other 5%. (80% Catholic, 7% Orthodox, 8% Protestant, and 5% Islamic) Name of Character: Baldwin the Tenth (Baldwin X) Appearance: Tall, 6 foot 2, Long Blond Hair, Typically wears an Iron Mask connected to His golden Crown. He has a white cape with the insignia of Jerusalem on It. Race: French. Religion: Catholicism Age: 17 Occupation: Emperor Biography (2 to 3 paragraphs): Baldwin the Tenth was born in the Castle of Carthage during his father, Franco the Second's vacation in the beaches of Carthage. Baldwin X was educated by one of the Best Generals in the Empire, and Cousin to Franco. The General, named Louis, trained Baldwin X to be as cruel as possible. For 10 years, Baldwin X was trained by Louis, up until he was 14. Baldwin had developed a minor superiority complex, he had ADHD and OCD, and he was a little insane, but he was also insanely powerful physically and mentally. After Baldwin X left the tutelage of Louis he joined the Royal College in Paris in his timeline. There, he honed his strength and intelligence, but he also met the person who would end up being his wife, the princess of England in his timeline, named Victoria. At 17, Baldwin and Victoria both left the royal college and moved to Jerusalem. They got married at Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Six months later, Franco died and Baldwin took the throne, taking the lead of the strongest nation in his timeline. Currently, his wife is pregnant with there child. [/center]