Deus Vult – Social Networks in Crusader Kings 2

The name of the game is based on that expression.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deus_vult

Some rather informal historical explanation can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIs5B2U7US0

> The calm night air was shattered as the Franks screamed out their battle cry "God wills it! God wills it!" With resistance crumbling, the Crusaders poured into Antioch. Amid the gloom of the approaching dawn the chaotic slaughter began. One Latin contemporary noted that 'they were sparing no Muslim on the grounds on the age or sex, the ground was covered with blood and corpses and some of these were Christians Greeks, Syrians and Armenians...'. Afterwards one Crusader described how 'all the streets of the city on every side were full of corpses, so that no one could endure to be there because of the stench, nor could anyone walk along the narrow paths of the city, except over the corpses of the dead'.

And this was just the capture of Antioch. The scenes at the capture of Jerusalem were far worse, with the Crusaders indulging in butchery that's nauseating to read about. In contrast, when Sultan Saladin recaptured Jerusalem 90 years later, it was done peacefully.

When we see people today brandishing swastikas, we know exactly what kind of people they are and what they aspire to be, based on our knowledge of the crimes of the Nazis. Similarly, when you see a far right nut arguing against Islam and using this catchphrase, you know what kind of cloth they're cut from.

Source

- The Crusades: The Authoritative History of the War for the Holy Land by Thomas Asbridge

>On July 4, 1187, the Muslim forces of Saladin (Salah al-Din) decisively defeated the crusader army south of the Horns of Hattin in Palestine, capturing Guy, king of Jerusalem; Reginald of Châtillon, Saladin’s enemy whom he personally killed; over two hundred Knights Hospitaller and Templar Knightly Orders whom he ordered to be killed; and many crusaders whom he ransomed. The remaining captured Christians were sold on the local slave markets. [1]

Such a friendly guy, that Saladin!

Your attempt to draw some great moral distinction between evil Christian and good Muslims is massively confused and, given its underlying intent to delegitimize certain religious/ethnic groups today, actually nauseating.

The reality is that pretty much everyone involved in the Muslim conquests, the Crusades, the Muslim re-conquests, and all conflicts of that era were absolutely brutal. Mohammed himself ordered and carried out countless torture sessions, battles, and massacres, of soldiers and civilians. So as did the Romans and the Franks and everyone else.

If they were ever merciful, on any occasion, it was not for moral reasons, but strategic/political ones.

The ancient world is brutal. Stop trying to manipulate stories from it to stir up hate towards peoples' identities today. We have enough things to fight about already.

[1] http://www.history.com/topics/saladin

Strategy games always have a bit of player indulgence in role-playing. Part of the fun is putting yourself into the role and play-acting -- and having some ironic amusement at how out-of-place it sounds. There's even an entire subreddit about the crazy things people say when playing CK2 ( https://www.reddit.com/r/ShitCrusaderKingsSay/ ). Example: https://i.imgur.com/qI4s0hJ.jpg

It's a shame that modern commentary on video games tends to point out a link between something in a game and something unsavory or "problematic" and think that's the end of the discussion. I thought we had left behind that sort of thing with Jack Thompson.