Imperium Dei - A Papal AAR (Death and Taxes)

[Jaspac]

Chapter 3: The Seven Churches of Asia, Part I

CHAPTER 3: THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA, PART I​

"The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near." - The Book of Revelation Chapter 1, Verses 1-3

On the 5th of April, 1359, a letter was sent to Pope Innocent VI from the Christian communities in Anatolia asking for help against their Muslim overlords. The Pope, interested in weakening the Muslims now encroaching on the borders of Christian Europe, sent a reply requesting ample preparations be made by the Christians in Anatolia for a Crusade against these Muslims and send a reply back to Avignon the moment they are well-prepared.

Only surviving copy of the pastoral letter of Innocent VI to the Christians in Anatolia​

10 days later, Innocent VI commissioned Cardinal Albornoz to Rhodes and Smyrna to learn more about the region. Albornoz returned five months later and wrote a full report to Pope Innocent VI stating that with the war currently ongoing between the Crusader State of the Knights of Rhodes and Mentese, the easiest way to establish a foothold on the region would be through the Beylik of Mentese.

On the 29th of August, the Condottieri and the papal levies sailed across the Mediterranean and lied in wait off the coast of Rhodes while a papal envoy was sent to Malik Orhan Bey Mentesoglu, demanding the release of Christian areas in Mentese to the Pope. 8 days later, the decapitated head of the envoy was found by a Greek fisherman floating off the coast of Mentese. Enraged, the Pope immediately declared a crusade against the Muslim state of Mentese. Envoys were sent to the Kingdom of Naples and County of Savoy, requesting their help in the crusade against Mentese. The following day, the envoys returned with the full support of both nations. On the same day, the Muslim states of Karaman and Saruhan, allies of Mentese, declared war against the Papal States.

On the 19th of September, a 7,000-strong Papal army landed near Antalya, the capital of the state of Mentese, and immediately besieged the town. On the 27th, Pope Innocent VI, accompanied by Cardinal Albornoz and Camerlengo Stefano Aldebrandi Cambaruti, arrived in Antalya to lead the Papal army but the Camerlengo would die a few months later. Two weeks later, a Papal scout spotted the Mentese army coming down the coast from Mugla. On the morning of the 10th of October, the Papal army engaged the 4,000-strong Mentese army near the town of Kumluca, a few kilometers south of Antalya.

Due to the overwhelming forces of the Pope, the Mentese army was decisively defeated and retreated to Konya, losing over 2,000 troops compared to over 600 in the Papal army.

By late-October, Neapolitan and Savoyard troops landed in Smyrna which was controlled by Mentese and Saruhan. A few weeks later, the Knights launched a naval invasion of Mugla and defeated the Saruhan troops stationed there. Cut off from their territories in Manisa, the Saruhan troops surrendered to the Neapolitan-Savoyard troops in Smyrna on the 22nd of November. A few days later, Papal troops arrived and besieged Milas, the capital of the province of Mugla.

By the end of the year, the Muslim states were losing decisively against the Papal States, Naples and Savoy.

In an attempt to relieve the town of Antalya, on the 19th of February, 1360, Mentese and Karaman troops from Konya engaged the Papal troops besieging Antalya near the town of Manavgat.

Losing battle after battle, the states of Mentese and Saruhan requested for a white peace to which Pope Innocent VI declined.

On the 1st of April, the Papal troops won a crushing victory over the Mentese-Karaman forces in the battle of Manavgat, only losing over 700 troops to the 3,000 troops of Mentese and Karaman. The Mentese troops retreated to Mugla while the Karaman troops retreated to Konya.

20 days after the defeat at Manavgat, the garrison at Antalya surrendered to the Papal troops.

The remnants of the Mentese army was finally defeated in the battle of Mugla by the Papal army besieging Milas on the 16th of May.

On the 13th of May, a Saruhan envoy again requested for a white peace with the Pope. But, with victory near at hand, Pope Innocent VI dismissed the envoy.

Finally, on the 21st of October, 1360, the garrison at Milas finally surrendered to the Papal forces.

With the defeat of Saruhan at the hands of the Knights of Rhodes and the fall of Milas, Orhan Bey Mentesoglu agreed to an unconditional surrender and the annexation of the two provinces of Mugla and Antalya by the Papal States. A few days later, Orhan Bey committed suicide in the dungeon of his former castle in Antalya.

Two months after the Mentese crusade, Pope Innocent VI renamed the two provinces of Mugla and Antalya to Lycia and Pamphylia respectively, the names of these two provinces during the time of Jesus Christ.

A few days later, realizing that their two territories are separated by Lycia, the Knights of Rhodes sent an envoy to Pope Innocent VI requesting for military access. With the help given by the Knights, Pope Innocent VI accepted the request unconditionally. A few months later, Pope Innocent VI also requested for military access to the Knights' territories, which was accepted.

An internal problem occurred on the 12th of April, 1361, when a Muslim Turk revolt began in Lycia headed by the nephew of Orhan Bey Mentesoglu. Knowing full well that a Muslim revolt would end badly, Pope Innocent VI negotiated with the rebels, agreeing to pay them 30 ducats, a decrease in the taxes in the Lycia until September and freedom for Muslims to leave Lycia into Ottoman territory.

Another internal problem plagued the Papal States when on the 28th of February, a liberal group began rallies in town centers all across Rome and Romagna. Being a slight liberal himself, Pope Innocent VI agreed to increase liberalism in the Papal States and give free thinkers more freedom of speech in exchange for ending the rallies, angering the more conservative cardinals and the traditionalist people.

A few days later, Pope Innocent VI laid claim to the provinces of Modena, Abruzzi, Ferrera and Firenze, noting that these provinces were de jure Papal territories, having been handed to the local nobility in exchange for money. However, the local nobility dismissed the claims and stopped the entry of Papal troops when they came to project Papal sovereignty over these provinces. Pope Innocent VI demanded their annexation by giving them an 8-month ultimatum.

However, on the 27th of May, 1362, Pope Innocent VI fell ill whilst in Lycia and despite disagreements, was requested to return to Avignon by Cardinal Albornoz and the newly-appointed Camerlengo, Arnaud Aubert. He did not make it to Avignon, dying while at sea near Sicily on the 9th of June. News of his death arrived in Lycia, where Cardinal Albornoz was stationed, overseeing the Christian and Muslim communities there, on the 12th, in Rome on the 15th and in Avignon, where Camerlengo Arnaud Aubert was, on the 16th. 15 days after the news arrived in Avignon, the College of Cardinals, mostly made up of French cardinals, entered into conclave. Four days later, on the 5th of July, French Cardinal de Beauvais, legate to the County of Savoy, was elected as the new Pope. During his coronation on the 6th, he took the name Innocent VII.

 

[ATBKING]

A small Foothold in Anatolia, Claims for all of central Italy AND a very decent ruler?? Things are looking rather Nice!!! I love the way you displayed the coming of the war. It was very driven. 10/10 for this update.

 

[Jaspac]

@ATBKING: Thanks so much for your feedback! Really appreciate it!

About the claims, it's kinda a burden right now cause it lowers prestige and those OPM's are allied or guaranteed by Milan or Genoa or one of the bigger Italian states. So most likely I won't attack them yet in the near future but stay tuned!

 

[Jaspac]

I'm sorry to all my readers, there is a problem with imageshack and my pics are broken/missing. I'll try to fix it as soon as possible so that this AAR will continue. (Unfortunately photobucket image upload gets stuck a lot that I gave up on it )

 

[Jaspac]

Chapter 4: The Seven Churches of Asia, Part II

*Finally! I'm really sorry to those who were following this AAR for the unannounced two-week break. I was still trying to look for the reasons why the image was broken and it turned out that the link I was posting was for the URL of the image itself not for the IMG code. I hope you are all still interested in this AAR. I will try to post lots more reports in the coming weeks. Hope you still enjoy!

CHAPTER 4: THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA, PART II​

In the papacy of His Holiness, Innocent the Seventh, Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Primate of Italy, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province, Sovereign of the Papal States of Rome, of Romagna, of Lycia and of Pamphylia, Servant of the Servants of God​

"On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.” I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades." - The Book of Revelation Chapter 1, Verses 10-13, 17-18

The papacy of Innocent VII was marked by the continuation of the reforms introduced by his predecessor, Innocent VI. Many of these included the expansion in trade within the Papal States as well as abroad, the increase in the production efficieny of the local artisans and the appointment of non-French bishops into the College of Cardinals. Other than reforms, Pope Innocent VII also expanded the boundaries of the Papal States in Anatolia, incorporating much of the former territories of the Ottoman Turks. Innocent VII's diplomatic experience as legate to the County of Savoy, helped the Papal States immensely in earning respect among their neighbors, both Christian and Muslim. The early years of his papacy, however, like all other papacies was plagued with a myriad of problems. Seeing the threat of another Catholic state in Anatolia, the Orthodox kingdom of Armenia demanded the release of Pamphylia and Lycia to the Knights of Rhodes. The Knights' Grandmaster met with the Pope on the 1st of May, 1363, revoking this claim by the Armenians and stating, based on the Grandmaster's recovered memoir, "I shall have nothing to do with these Orthodox dogs." The Pope however did not take action, seeing this as a provocation to try and get the Papal States into a war with Byzantium and Georgia, two regional powers at the time. However, it is believed that the rest of the College of Cardinals demanded action against this insult but the Pope, known for his temperance, did nothing.

By the end of 1363, the incident cooled down and the king of Armenia, Gosdantin III, requested for papal pardon, which Pope Innocent VII granted, much to the disapproval of the rest of the Orthodox Church. In March, 1364, the Condottieri demanded that more investment from the Papal treasury be given to them. Pope Innocent VII agreed to their demands, seeing that much of the Papal States' future wars would be on land in Anatolia.

On the 13th of April, a group of revolutionaries led by Francesco Ubaldo Borgia, a member of the Borgia family, a Roman nobility, demanded more powers for the Urbinese aristocracy. The revolutionaries outnumbered the Urbinese army 2 to 1 and the duke of Urbino, requested help from his liege, Pope Innocent VII. Innocent VII sent 7,000 men from Anatolia to Ancona, on the northern coast of Urbino. A few days after the first engagement between the Papal and Revolutionary forces, the Urbinese reinforcements arrived from Perugia and on the 16th of July, defeated the Revolutionary army which retreated to Perugia. The Revolutionaries were again defeated and were forced to fall back to their territory in Ancona where they were once again defeated. It would take half a year to defeat the last remnants of the Revolutionary forces

In preparation for the continuation of the reconquest of Christian lands in Anatolia, Pope Innocent VII instituted a reform in the organization of army in late-1365, prioritizing the quantity of troops rather than the quality of the troops. Through this, a new army organizer was tasked in organizing the new model of the army to be at par with the rest of Europe.

In March of 1366, a group of revolutionaries demanded more privileges for the nobility. Pope Innocent VII gave in to their demands but a few weeks later, a group of merchants demanded the return to a semi-plutocratic government reasoning that an aristocratic government will hurt their interests. When Pope Innocent VII declined the demand, they threathened the Pope with rebellion. A few days later, the Pope finally gave in, decreasing the power of the nobility. A week later, Cardinal Gil Álvarez Carrillo de Albornoz, the Papal representative to the Papal States in Italy, died of a heart attack while in Pamphylia.

On the 13th of February, 1367, as part of the reforms introduced by his predecessor, Pope Innocent VII invited three great men to the Papal Palace in Avignon. Mose Trevisano of Venice, Giovanni Andrea Arborio Mella of Genoa and Pascal de Rochemaure of France. They became the non-clerical Papal advisors along with the Camerlengo, legates, the College of Cardinals and the Papal magistrates, a clear step of liberalism in the papacy of Innocent VII.

On the 16th of May, Pope Innocent VII guaranteed the independence of the Crusader state, the Knights of Rhodes. Two years later, it was invoked when the Ottomans declared war on the Knights of Rhodes in the reconquest of Smyrna.

A few days after the declaration of war by Pope Innocent VII against the Ottomans, Genoa sent war subsidies in the form of 3.39 ducats per month for a year.

By the turn of the year, the Ottoman war against the Knights had escalated to a regional war, with the kingdoms of Georgia, Naples and England with its vassals, the County of Savoy and the Republic of Venice joining in on the side of the Knights of Rhodes. Being the first to agree to the call to arms by the Knights, the Papal States under Innocent VII was declared as the overall leader of the war against the Ottomans.

On the 4th of January, the Armata di Dio led personally by Innocent VII, launched an assault on the province of Denizli, directly north of Lycia.

While in Denizli, Camerlengo Arnaud Aubert reported that the traditionalists in Avignon and Rome have demanded that the Papal States revert back to the traditional ways. With the war ongoing with the Ottomans, Pope Innocent VII gave in to their demands, not willing to have a rebellion during the war.

On the 11th of April, Innocent divided the Armata di Dio, one army will continue besieging Denizli while the rest of the army will head north in the hopes of capturing Anatolia. 16 days later, the Papal army engaged an Ottoman scout group that was supposed to join the main bulk of the Ottoman forces, besieging Manisa. It was a total victory.

A few days after the victory in Anatolia, a number of internal and external problems plagued the Papal States. A group of Turkish patriots rose in revolt in Lycia, taking the opportunity while the main army was distracted elsewhere and the Sultanate of Karaman had finally joined the war on the side of the Ottomans.

A 1,000-strong Karaman force marched from Konya to Pamphylia and besieged Attalia, the provincial capital. Due to this attack, Pope Innocent was forced to abandon the siege of Anatolia, head southeast to the province of Hamid and there divided his army once more, taking a 3,000-strong force to engage the Karamanese forces in Pamphylia. On the 17th of June, 1370, the Karamanese force was totally defeated by the Papal forces under Innocent VII in Pamphylia.

After the death of Padishah Ibrahim I, the defeats suffered by the Ottomans and Karamanese, and with much of the Ottoman territories being besieged by England, Venice, Byzantium and the Papal States, Padishah Abdulrahman Saruhanoglu under a regency council requested for a white peace with Pope Innocent VII. Pope Innocent demanded the release of all Christian areas in the Ottoman lands, and when the regency council refused, the war raged on.

On the 9th of July, Papal forces manage to take the province of Denizli after a 190-day siege. More than two weeks later, the same army that had besieged Denizli, marched north to besiege Anatolia once more.

On the 27th of July, Papal forces under Innocent VII marched from Pamphylia to Lycia to engage the Turk rebellion. Another army arrived by sea to Lycia and the combined forces managed to defeat the Turk rebels. The rebels retreated to Pamphylia and reorganized there.

On the other hand, an Ottoman force from within the fort in Anatolia, attacked the 2,000-strong Papal force besieging them. This proved disastrous as the Ottomans lost all their forces with the Papal force only losing six men.

On the 29th of August, the Armata di Dio, engaged the Turk rebels in Pamphylia, totally defeating it with the destruction of the whole Turk rebel force.

A few days later, a Karamanese envoy arrived in Pamphylia, demanding the annulment of all Papal treaties with the Knights and the payment of 12 ducats. Pope Innocent VII dismissed the envoy, knowing full well that the war's momentum was on their side.

On the 17th of October, the Byzantines accepted peace with the Ottomans at the terms that they cede Giresun, renounce their claims on the Byzantine provinces of Edirne and Kozani and pay 15 ducats.

On the 11th of November, Papal forces joined by an English force from Angora, besieged the capital of the Sultanate of Karaman, Konya.

Four days before Christmas 1370, the Papal forces managed to capture Anatolia after 145 days of siege.

By the end of the year, the war was still on the side of the Knights with the Ottomans exhausting most of their resources and war capability. However, the Ottomans still had a 16,000-strong force besieging Manisa.

Due to the war coupled with reconstruction efforts in Lycia and Pamphylia, the Pope requested for a loan of 43 ducats from the local merchant companies.

By the end of January, word had reached Pope Innocent VII in Konya that the 16,000-strong force was marching from Manisa to Anatolia, in an effort to recapture lost Ottoman territories. Pope Innocent VII immediately sent Camerlengo Arnaud Aubert, who was in Anatolia, to Bursa to demand the surrender of the Ottomans to the Papal forces. Unbeknownst to the regency council of Abdulrahman Saruhanoglu that their 16,000 army had already captured Manisa, on the 1st of February, 1371, the Ottomans accepted the Papal peace offer in the terms that they will cede Anatolia and Denizli to the Pope, renounce all their claims on Smyrna and they will annul all treaties with the Golden Horde to the north, officially ending the Ottoman reconquest of Smyrna.

On the 14th of February, a full 13 days after the surrender of the Ottomans, the Pope renamed the provinces of Anatolia and Denizli after their names in the time of Christ which are Lydia and Caria respectively.

 

[tuareg109]

It would take half a year to defeat the last remnants of the Revolutionary forces
http://img855.imageshack.us/img855/7973/eu3game2013021021062800.png
http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/6673/eu3game2013021021070275.png

If I wanted ping pong I'd play it IRL!!! :angry:

Congratulations on another fine installment OP!
Don't worry about the two weeks wait, you're the one who's creating this, you have the only say on when and why the installments come in.
I can't wait until Constantinopolis is taken!

 

[Jaspac]

If I wanted ping pong I'd play it IRL!!! :angry:

Haha, I also hate the AI doing that ping pong thing but I think the reason for this is I guess it is somewhat realistic especially for the rebel forces to be fighting then retreating then fighting then retreating. Being rebels they have to conserve manpower and it just goes to show that stomping out rebels is much more than just a walk in the park. But on the other hand I think the ping pong fights are a little TOO overdone. Anyway, at least I got to defeat them haha.

Congratulations on another fine installment OP!
Don't worry about the two weeks wait, you're the one who's creating this, you have the only say on when and why the installments come in.
I can't wait until Constantinopolis is taken!

Thank you for your continued support! I promised to give one report/week at least in the intro so I would very much like to stick with that, that's why I looked kinda worried about the report being delayed. This one report/week strategy keeps me (and I think you guys, the readers) from being bored or losing track of what happened in the last installment. But, I really appreciate your continued support! Thanks!

 

[aniuby]

I'm glad to see that you're still going! Fine work snatching victory from the jaws of what looked to be a turning point in favour of the Turks - silly of the computer never to think of the possibility of turning the war around in the future. Also, the ping-pong is such a nuisance at low tech levels, but I find it helps if you leave a single regiment in both provinces - in the event that the rebel stack flees and arrives at the next province within the same month, they'll be annihilated.

Your position looks quite precarious, though. Income really doesn't look high at all (a meagre 42 ducat loan...) ... and I'm surprised you took a shift toward Quantity when there are many other areas in which to improve - even with D&T's enhanced sliders, it seems worse off, since I find that Quality makes the best use of what little you have. Have you considered becoming a trader, or are you planning on snatching a CoT soon? I'm sure you'll pull through anyhow though - God is on your side, so you can't possibly lose. =)

One last note - there's a forum rule that only 20 images may be posted in a single post or posts within one hour, so the mods might tell you off for it, and be careful with the picture count in the future. Otherwise, great work, and I look forward to the next update!

 

[Jaspac]

I'm glad to see that you're still going! Fine work snatching victory from the jaws of what looked to be a turning point in favour of the Turks - silly of the computer never to think of the possibility of turning the war around in the future. Also, the ping-pong is such a nuisance at low tech levels, but I find it helps if you leave a single regiment in both provinces - in the event that the rebel stack flees and arrives at the next province within the same month, they'll be annihilated.

Your position looks quite precarious, though. Income really doesn't look high at all (a meagre 42 ducat loan...) ... and I'm surprised you took a shift toward Quantity when there are many other areas in which to improve - even with D&T's enhanced sliders, it seems worse off, since I find that Quality makes the best use of what little you have. Have you considered becoming a trader, or are you planning on snatching a CoT soon? I'm sure you'll pull through anyhow though - God is on your side, so you can't possibly lose. =)

One last note - there's a forum rule that only 20 images may be posted in a single post or posts within one hour, so the mods might tell you off for it, and be careful with the picture count in the future. Otherwise, great work, and I look forward to the next update!

I actually took the quantity move because I couldn't expand my army with the income that, as you said, is quite low. I had to reduce the cost of the troops before this war began and I think it outweighed the discipline and morale hit. With D&T's mod, the taxes, production and the trade income are all severely reduced until the 40 year mark when the province becomes a core. Usually I would try to convert them as soon as possible to increase those as well as decrease the revolt risk but with the percent of conversion so far still below 10% and with my treasury having a deficit every month of -1.8 ducats, I can't send a missionary yet.

About the trading, the competition is too high in most of the CoTs in this area. I waste time and money just to get 1 merchant to set up shop. Most of the chances of getting in are actually below 50% and the highest that I can reach is Kouban which is controlled by the Golden Horde but even there competition is tight. Almost two months after a merchant gets in he gets kicked out by another. Even in Genoa (the league I'm part of) has a less than 30% chance of getting in so it really is a bummer. I would rather save those ducats for something else like production that's why I'm leaning towards more of advancing my production.

Thanks for the tip on the images but I think the max is 32? Anyway, this update was one of the longer ones because I tried to fit a 2 year war in just one post plus a little introduction on the new pope, Innocent VII. I will try to shorten the posts in the next few updates and probably start dividing chapters into 2-3 posts depending on context and need.

Anyhow, thanks for the continued support aniuby! Really appreciate it!

 

[Merrick Chance']

A liberal Pope? Well that's 800 years early

 

[Jaspac]

A liberal Pope? Well that's 800 years early

Haha, actually according to some sources I've researched about the Papal States, a number of the Avignon Popes were quite liberal in terms of making sure that the monarch of France will not exert too much power over the Church in France. But anyway it was just a small step This Pope is still unbelievably biased against Muslims. (as seen in his conquests later on)

 

[Jaspac]

Chapter 5: The Seven Churches of Asia, Part III

CHAPTER 5: THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA, PART III​

“Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown." - The Book of Revelation Chapter 2, Verse 10

In the years between the first and second wars against the Ottomans, the Papal States faced a couple of major revolts and a war between the Kingdom of Naples and the Kingdom of Georgia. Firstly, many of the patriots and nationalists in the Anatolian territories of the Papacy rose up against their Latin Catholic overlords. On the 17th of February, 1371, a group of Mentese nationalists managed to gather enough support in Lycia and started a siege of the provincial capitol.

A few days later on the 25th, the Kingdom of Naples declares war against the Kingdom of Georgia under the reconquest of Messina Casus Belli.

On the 8th of March, the Mentese Nationalists were defeated at the battle of Patara. Nearly a month later, the Armata Gesu Cristo would rout the remaining Mentese nationalists in the battle of Pamphylia.

On the 24th of April, two months after the declaration of war with the Neapolitans preparing to launch an all-out attack on Sicily, Queen Giovanna de Valois of Naples requested for a Papal blessing on her war against the Orthodox Georgians to which the Pope agreed and along with this blessing, also gave his military support in the war, being a Neapolitan ally.

A few days later, the Papal Armata di Dio left Lycia and set sail for Sicily. However, prior to arriving in Palermo, a group of Turks launched a revolt in Pamphylia.

On the 10th of August, the Armata Gesu Cristo engaged the rebels however, due to the high casualties suffered by the Papal forces, the Armata retreated to Lycia and reorganized there.

Encouraged by the defeat of the Papal Armata in Pamphylia, another group of Turkish Patriots rose up in Lydia.

On the 13th of October, with the siege of Palermo still on-going, a 5,000-strong Georgian army attacked the Papal army, 13 days later, the Papal army was forced to retreat to Messina where their Urbinese-Neapolitan allies were stationed.

Before the turn of the year, the Papal army of 10,709-strong engaged the Turk rebels in Pamphylia. On the 8th of January, 1372, the Turk rebels were defeated in the battle for Pamphylia and were forced to retreat to Caria where they were routed by the pursuing Papal army.

A month later, the Papal army engaged the other group of Turk rebels in Lydia securing a victory, forcing the rebels to retreat to Bithynia, an Ottoman territory.

On the 5th of March, a Georgian envoy requested for peace between the Papal States and Georgia under the terms of a white peace. Seeing no quick end to the war and with war exhaustion skyrocketing, Pope Innocent VII agreed to this peace deal much to the dismay of Naples. 5 days later, the agreement paid off with the notoriety of the Papal States decreasing due to the peace deal and Innocent VII's competency in diplomacy, being a former legate to the County of Savoy during Innocent VI's papacy.

Two years of peace and stability would ensue but was broken when on the 2nd of March, 1374, a group of Candari nationalists rose up in revolt in Lycia.

While the Papal army marched from Lydia to destroy the revolt, a group of French cardinals demanded that the heretical practices of the Papal merchants be stopped. Despite no further proof of these practices, Innocent VII was forced to give in due to the strong influence of the French cardinals in Avignon.

On the 12th of April, the Papal army engaged the Candari nationalists and won a devastating victory over them a month later. On the 9th of June, the remaining nationalists were finally routed in Pamphylia.

Another year of stability would ensue in the Papal States of Anatolia. Finally, on the 8th of September, 1375, another group of Turk patriots staged a revolt in Lydia. On the 1st of October, they were defeated and were forced to fall back to Caria where they were routed on the 21st.

One of the last revolts before the second war against the Ottomans came due to the arrival of a pretender to the position of Papal representative to Anatolia. Rafaello Fiume, one of the leading nobles in Romagna, set sail from Italy to Anatolia in the hopes of acquiring riches and power in the highly unstable Anatolian region. He managed to gain support from the Muslim and Orthodox populace who were enraged against the reforms introduced by the current Papal representative to Anatolia, Cardinal Romeo Juez. Rafaello's army rose up in Caria on the 26th of November. His army was easily defeated by the Papal forces but fighting would continue in Pamphylia. On the 18th of January, 1376, Rafaello Fiume was captured by Papal forces as he retreated from Caria to Lycia ending the Anatolian Pretender War of 1375-1376. He was excommunicated and was banished from the Papal States, living in exile in the Crimea until his death in 1385.

A few more major occurrences happened before the second war against the Ottomans. Firstly, the first major loan of the Papal States from the local merchant companies was finally paid off on the 2nd of January, 1376. Secondly, on the 14th of March of the same year, while brushing through the old Avignon libraries, Pope Innocent VII read a document over a 100 years old stating that the Papal States had legitimate rights to control Siena due to it being a part of the Exarchate of Ravenna before it fell to the Lombards. Another document, over 600 years old, stated that the 1st and 2nd Ecumenical Councils of Nicaea was held in the Ottoman province of Bursa, thereby giving the right for the Church to own this spiritually valuable province.

 

[Jaspac]

Chapter 6: The Seven Churches of Asia, Part IV

CHAPTER 6: THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA, PART IV​

“Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches." - The Book of Revelation Chapter 1, Verses 19-20


In the early part of the year 1376, the Ottoman Empire under Padishah Iskender I Damat, who was himself under a regency council, found itself fighting, not for more land across the Marmara but for survival. The Byzantine Empire with its Orthodox allies declared a war of Byzantine Restoration to recapture lost Byzantine territories now under Ottoman control. With the total defeat of Ottoman forces in the battle of Bitynia by the Byzantine forces, the Pope Innocent VII saw this as an opportunity to finally complete the recapture of the seven ancient centers of Christianity, colloquially nicknamed by the Book of Revelation as the "Seven Churches of Asia". This was the Casus Belli used by him and his predecessor, Innocent VI, to capture the provinces of Lydia, Caria, Pamphylia and Lycia. On the 16th of May, 1376, a Papal envoy demanded the release of the Christian areas in Balikesir, Angora and Hamid to the care of the Papacy. On the 20th of May, the envoy returned with the flat denial of the Padishah and his council. Two days later, Innocent VII declared a Papal crusade against the Ottomans to recapture the three provinces. A few days later, the Pope's Catholic allies, Naples (now the Kingdom of Sicily after reconquering Sicily from Georgia), Switzerland, Venice and Urbino joined in the crusade while Karaman, an Ottoman ally, accepted to the call to arms of the Padishah.

On the 20th of June, the Armata di Dio besieged the province of Hamid which was quickly followed by the siege of Bithynia by the Armata Gesu Cristo.

From the 9th of July to the 30th, Ottoman and Karamese forces would try to relieve the siege of Bithynia to no avail due to the support of the Byzantine army, despite being Orthodox.

A few days later, Papal and the Knights landed troops in Balikesir, engaging the local rebels, while Urbinese-Venetian troops attacked the capital of the Karamese sultanate. The latter won a total victory against a Karaman force that was stationed in the capital province on the 22nd of September while the former defeated the rebels on the 28th with the help of a Byzantine force.

On the 20th of October, the Papal-Sicilian force defeated an Ottoman force stationed in Bursa, beginning the siege of Bursa. 8 days later, the rebel force that retreated from Balikesir to Bursa was totally eliminated by the joint Papal-Sicilian force besieging Bursa.

On the 5th of November, the Urbinese forces manage to capture Konya, the capital of Karaman, in a mere 53 days of siege. A day later, the Papal-Sicilian forces defeated the Ottoman forces, formerly stationed in Bursa, in Lydia defeating the last remnants of Ottoman resistance.

On the 16th of November, the Papal States demanded the concession of defeat by Karaman to which the latter agreed to a day later.

By the end of the year, the Papal alliance was nearing a total victory against the war exhausted Ottomans.

On the 4th of January, an Ottoman envoy pleaded for a white peace with the Pope. When the Pope demanded the release of the same provinces he demanded before, the envoy declined under the orders of the Padishah and returned to Bursa empty-handed.

On the 17th of January, Balikesir fell followed by Bithynia on the 25th then Hamid on the 2nd of May. In the same month, the Ottomans agreed to a peace with the Byzantines, ceding Kastamon.

On the 25th of May, the Byzantine Empire requested for military access across the Papal States. Due to the help given the Orthodox Byzantines in the crusade, Innocent VII agreed.

On the 11th of June, the capital of the once-great Ottoman Empire finally fell to the Papal-Sicilian forces effectively ending the crusade against the Ottomans.

Pope Innocent VII met with the regency council in Bursa, demanding the annexation of Balikesir, Angora and Hamid to the Papal States, the renouncement of all Ottoman claims to Lycia and the annulment of all treaties with Qara Koyunlu and the Eretnids. Being totally defeated, the regency council agreed with no conditions. On the 16th of June, all official hostilities ended but local revolts continued in all Ottoman and former Ottoman provinces.

On the same day, Pope Innocent VII renamed the same three provinces, Troad, Phrygia and Pisidia respectively. The conquest of these three provinces finally ended the recapture of the "Seven Churches of Asia" after nearly 300 years under Muslim control and further strengthened Papal influence in the region but was by no means the end of Papal interests in Anatolia with much of the lands previously visited and "Christianized" by the Apostles and St. Paul of Tarsus still under Muslim control.

 

[Nikolai]

Muslims and Orthodox alike should be worried now... Good AAR you've got going here!

 

[Jaspac]

Muslims and Orthodox alike should be worried now... Good AAR you've got going here!

Haha There is still one thing that I have to be worried about, that huge Muslim blob to the east that keeps on interfering in Anatolian affairs haha.

Anyway, thanks Nikolai!

 

[aniuby]

Well done taking much of the rich provinces of Anatolia, though I'm also a little surprised at the success Byzantium and the Knights are enjoying, no doubt due to your intervention. Perhaps you should consider taking what's left of the Ottomans to prevent Byzantium from linking their territories, and probably try to seize (or save up to build) a CoT somewhere so you can get some proper income rolling in.

Or maybe, considering how your chapter is titled 'The Seven Churches', representing the seven provinces you now have, that might be all you're going to do? How far ahead have you played in this game?

Haha There is still one thing that I have to be worried about, that huge Muslim blob to the east that keeps on interfering in Anatolian affairs haha.

And which blob is that? The Mamluks? Or that big green thing ... the Ilkhanate?

Anyway, excellent progress, looking forward to more.

 

[Jaspac]

Well done taking much of the rich provinces of Anatolia, though I'm also a little surprised at the success Byzantium and the Knights are enjoying, no doubt due to your intervention. Perhaps you should consider taking what's left of the Ottomans to prevent Byzantium from linking their territories, and probably try to seize (or save up to build) a CoT somewhere so you can get some proper income rolling in.

Or maybe, considering how your chapter is titled 'The Seven Churches', representing the seven provinces you now have, that might be all you're going to do? How far ahead have you played in this game?

Haha thanks aniuby! I am actually planning to annex the rest of the Ottomans but that will most likely be with the next pope. The CoT will most likely come from Constantinople since that is both the nearest and its owner is the weakest among the CoT-owning non-Catholic nations. (No offense to the Byzantine lovers out there but this doesn't mean they're weak overall haha. I'm comparing them to nations like the Golden Horde and the Mamluks who both have CoTs as well) I would rather use the ducats for my wars and tech advances, I'm kinda lagging behind (but that's expected of the Pope isn't it? hehe).

About my progress in game, I've actually played well into the 1390s/early 1400s. I might skip or skim through some events from the early 1380s to the early 1390s since nothing exciting really happened there. I will stick to those 7 provinces for now since that's the title of the chapter BUT, the conquest of Anatolia will not end there. The next pope will continue what both Innocents have done so far.

And which blob is that? The Mamluks? Or that big green thing ... the Ilkhanate?

Anyway, excellent progress, looking forward to more.

The blob's actually the Mamluks, they've captured everything from northern Sudan and Yemen all the way to Georgia and Iran. I'm trying to keep Armenia and Karaman (Konya) as buffer states but I need to strengthen fast before they start realizing that they have a rising Christian power encroaching on their borders haha. The "big" green thing is actually the Eretnids and they aren't actually that big, they're just 5 provinces big and they have only a handful of troops all the time (around 3-4k). To give you guys a better idea of the region surrounding my territories, I will be having a world overview probably after 2 or 3 more updates.

Anyway, thanks so much aniuby for the continued support!

 

[Jaspac]

Btw, for those of you who might be wondering. I will be having a global update every half-century (e.g. 1400 then 1450) to give you an idea on how the AI has "messed up" history (haha jk).

 

[Jaspac]

Since this page is already quite long as it is, I will just be posting a couple of comments to make it skip to the next page so that it will be easier to load. Please bear with me. Update will be coming up by tomorrow

 

[Jaspac]

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