-
We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
Good job. 
The Austrians are a pain aren't they. In my game they DOW me every ten years or so and I really don't want any more of their provinces so I'm in the process of upgrading all my provinces that border them to mighty fortresses. I'm in the early 1700s and itching to take of the Persian Empire which is big and mean and I just don't like their color. Funny thing is that Poland has never been in a war with me the entire game.
Joe
The Austrians are a pain aren't they. In my game they DOW me every ten years or so and I really don't want any more of their provinces so I'm in the process of upgrading all my provinces that border them to mighty fortresses. I'm in the early 1700s and itching to take of the Persian Empire which is big and mean and I just don't like their color. Funny thing is that Poland has never been in a war with me the entire game. Joe
Murad IV and the Unification of Anatolia, 1623-32
jwolf: Well at I least I came out alive. In Europe, I hope to evict Spain from the Adriatic coast, finishing conquering Venice's Mediterranean islands and seize Croatia to unify Ottoman Hungary with the rets of the land. Austria can keep the rest of Hungary for all I care.
Catknight: Ah, but the colonial enterprise has only begun, there are now Ottomans in NY, NC, and South Africa. Who knows where they'll appear next?
Storey: Lucky break not seeing Poland, Austria's been annoying in my game as well. As you can see below, I have also taken to upgrading my anti-Austrian defenses.
Mustafa I sat on the Ottoman throne for only about six months before deciding to retire from politics and become a religious scholar. He would later write a commentary on the Quran that was among the most popular pieces of seventeenth century devotional Turkish literature. This left throne to Murad IV, a Sultan determined to rule by his own right and correct the precedent of rule by bureaucrats and courtiers that had seized the Empire of late. The reigning bureaucrats were unhappy with Murad's resolve but Murad was sufficiently unscurpulous that even the bureaucrats came to fear his abilities in the fields of intrigue and scheming. Murad was a highly energetic and workaholic Sultan who had far too many schemes on hand to ever hope to work them all out at once. Consulting with the divan, Murad decided the most pressing issue was maintaing border defenses on the dangerous Hungarian frontier with Austria. Thus the early years of Murad's reign were spent upgrading fortress in Hungary and the Balkans while quietly completing the colonization of Newfoundland, which was completely covered with fully functional Ottoman cities and villages by 1039/1630.
Murad was also disquieted to learn that the technological gap seperating Austrian and Ottoman armies had emerged once again (land techs at murad's accession--Austria 20, Ottomans 18). To rectify this situation Murad ordered a weapons manufacotry constructed in the province of Ankara to ensure the Ottomans remained fully caught up with the latest military equipment. Upon the completion of the Ankara weapons factory, Murad was disturbed by the ease with which the armies of the Candarids could strike at the valuable porovince sof Ankara and Anatolia, both of which were home to valuable state-owned factories. Thus Murad decided it was time to eliminate the Candarli beylik and fully unify Anatolia under Ottoman rule. The war would not be easy, as Candar had a 46,000-man standing army and one of Anatolia's largest fortresses (level 3) but the Ottomans possesed far greater resources than the Candarlis and Murad was able to station 67,000 Ottoman troops within striking distance when the war began in 1038/1629. The Candarids split to handle the Ottoman threat, one troop being routed outside Ankara but the defenders of the Candar's home province of Kastamon successfully repeelled the first Ottoman invasion led by Kushrev Pasha. While the remainder of the Candarid army led Ottoman forces on a merry chase throughout eastern Anatolia and the Crimea, Khusrev regrouped his forces and was able to drive the last Candarli forces into the citadel. The siege of Kastamon was both long and difficult thanks to Candar's slash-and-burn defense tactics (low supply) but the fortress finally surrendered in 1041/1631 and the Candarid state was annexed bringing all of Anatolia under Ottoman rule at last.
jwolf: Well at I least I came out alive. In Europe, I hope to evict Spain from the Adriatic coast, finishing conquering Venice's Mediterranean islands and seize Croatia to unify Ottoman Hungary with the rets of the land. Austria can keep the rest of Hungary for all I care.
Catknight: Ah, but the colonial enterprise has only begun, there are now Ottomans in NY, NC, and South Africa. Who knows where they'll appear next?
Storey: Lucky break not seeing Poland, Austria's been annoying in my game as well. As you can see below, I have also taken to upgrading my anti-Austrian defenses.
Mustafa I sat on the Ottoman throne for only about six months before deciding to retire from politics and become a religious scholar. He would later write a commentary on the Quran that was among the most popular pieces of seventeenth century devotional Turkish literature. This left throne to Murad IV, a Sultan determined to rule by his own right and correct the precedent of rule by bureaucrats and courtiers that had seized the Empire of late. The reigning bureaucrats were unhappy with Murad's resolve but Murad was sufficiently unscurpulous that even the bureaucrats came to fear his abilities in the fields of intrigue and scheming. Murad was a highly energetic and workaholic Sultan who had far too many schemes on hand to ever hope to work them all out at once. Consulting with the divan, Murad decided the most pressing issue was maintaing border defenses on the dangerous Hungarian frontier with Austria. Thus the early years of Murad's reign were spent upgrading fortress in Hungary and the Balkans while quietly completing the colonization of Newfoundland, which was completely covered with fully functional Ottoman cities and villages by 1039/1630.
Murad was also disquieted to learn that the technological gap seperating Austrian and Ottoman armies had emerged once again (land techs at murad's accession--Austria 20, Ottomans 18). To rectify this situation Murad ordered a weapons manufacotry constructed in the province of Ankara to ensure the Ottomans remained fully caught up with the latest military equipment. Upon the completion of the Ankara weapons factory, Murad was disturbed by the ease with which the armies of the Candarids could strike at the valuable porovince sof Ankara and Anatolia, both of which were home to valuable state-owned factories. Thus Murad decided it was time to eliminate the Candarli beylik and fully unify Anatolia under Ottoman rule. The war would not be easy, as Candar had a 46,000-man standing army and one of Anatolia's largest fortresses (level 3) but the Ottomans possesed far greater resources than the Candarlis and Murad was able to station 67,000 Ottoman troops within striking distance when the war began in 1038/1629. The Candarids split to handle the Ottoman threat, one troop being routed outside Ankara but the defenders of the Candar's home province of Kastamon successfully repeelled the first Ottoman invasion led by Kushrev Pasha. While the remainder of the Candarid army led Ottoman forces on a merry chase throughout eastern Anatolia and the Crimea, Khusrev regrouped his forces and was able to drive the last Candarli forces into the citadel. The siege of Kastamon was both long and difficult thanks to Candar's slash-and-burn defense tactics (low supply) but the fortress finally surrendered in 1041/1631 and the Candarid state was annexed bringing all of Anatolia under Ottoman rule at last.
Good job against Candar. Kastamanou is one of the nastiest provinces to besiege in that whole area. Now have fun against the Western powers.
Ottomans in Morocco, 1633-40
jwolf: Kastamonu was 8 supply with a level 3 fortress, I really wish I'd taken them out earlier. War with western powers, huh? Interesting idea...
Murad had far more on his agenda than the conquest of Kastamon and had set his sights on Morocco, an Islamic land that had long suffered under the tyranny of Portuguese rule. As surprising as it seemed to the Sultan, the iniquity of Portuguese government in Muslim lands didn't give him a valid excuse to make war on the Portuguese. However, Murad possessed an enormous reserve of guile and cunning in the Ottoman bureaucracy and set a group of bureaucrats the task of manufacturing a legitimate casus belli against Portugal using any dirty, questionable, or underhanded means at their disposal. The bureaucrats were quite excited at the opportunity of giving reign to their viscious thoughts and hit upon the plan of flooding of Lisbon with Turkish merchants, if the peasants, journeymen, thugs, and occasional ox that was sent to Lisbon in merchant's garb could properly be considered merchants anyway. Every time Lisbon's port authorities turned around another ship from Istanbul had come to unload merchants. These "merchants" weren't terribly competitive (except for the ox) but by sheer weight of numbers slowly began to impinge on Lisbon's markets until the Portuguese King finally banned all Turks and oxen from the markets of Lisbon.
Murad had given his bureaucrats each a large raise for their role in the Portuguese affair, but other concerns kept Murad from taking advantage of his CB on Portugal for another 11 years until he was finally ready to fight the Portuguese in 1047/1637. Ottoman forces were positioned well and within a month of the declaration a siege was under way in Lisbon while Turkish Sipahis were clearing out Morocco proper of Portuguese elements, beginning by seizing the two southernmost ungarrisoned provinces of Portuguese Morocco. The sieges went well at first, and both Lisbon and Sarah province gave in in a just a few months. At this point Ottoman strategy was nearly undone by the Portuguese navy, which routed an Ottoman fleet off Lusitania, preventing Turkish ships from ferrying unneeded troops from the Lisbon front to the Moroccan front (land/naval tech comparison--OE 20/13, Portugal 16/16). Further delaying the conflict was the bravery of the Portuguese forces in Marrakesh, who fended off two Ottoman attacks despite superior Turkish numbers, fighting with a boldness born of desperation. THe Moroccan empire was enormous important for the Portuguese national psyche, and it took considerably longer than it should have for the Ottomans to finally reduce all Portuguese garrisons in Morocco.
Finally, in 1051/1641, Marrakesh itself fell to the Ottomans, who could now dictate peace terms to the Portuguese--Portugal was forced to evacuate Morocco, retaining only the colony of Portuguese residents established far to the south of Morocco proper in Nouabidh. The ex-Portuguese trading post in Tasseret was retained by the Ottomans while the rest of Morocco was handed over to the exiled princes of Sus and Morocco, both of which became Ottoman vassal states. This somewhat eased the empire's rather unsavory international reputation for warmongering and left only the Spanish fortress in Tangier of the once-mighty Iberian presence in Islamic north Africa.
Liberated Morocco and its environs (note that Portugal's maps have also been liberated )
jwolf: Kastamonu was 8 supply with a level 3 fortress, I really wish I'd taken them out earlier. War with western powers, huh? Interesting idea...
Murad had far more on his agenda than the conquest of Kastamon and had set his sights on Morocco, an Islamic land that had long suffered under the tyranny of Portuguese rule. As surprising as it seemed to the Sultan, the iniquity of Portuguese government in Muslim lands didn't give him a valid excuse to make war on the Portuguese. However, Murad possessed an enormous reserve of guile and cunning in the Ottoman bureaucracy and set a group of bureaucrats the task of manufacturing a legitimate casus belli against Portugal using any dirty, questionable, or underhanded means at their disposal. The bureaucrats were quite excited at the opportunity of giving reign to their viscious thoughts and hit upon the plan of flooding of Lisbon with Turkish merchants, if the peasants, journeymen, thugs, and occasional ox that was sent to Lisbon in merchant's garb could properly be considered merchants anyway. Every time Lisbon's port authorities turned around another ship from Istanbul had come to unload merchants. These "merchants" weren't terribly competitive (except for the ox) but by sheer weight of numbers slowly began to impinge on Lisbon's markets until the Portuguese King finally banned all Turks and oxen from the markets of Lisbon.
Murad had given his bureaucrats each a large raise for their role in the Portuguese affair, but other concerns kept Murad from taking advantage of his CB on Portugal for another 11 years until he was finally ready to fight the Portuguese in 1047/1637. Ottoman forces were positioned well and within a month of the declaration a siege was under way in Lisbon while Turkish Sipahis were clearing out Morocco proper of Portuguese elements, beginning by seizing the two southernmost ungarrisoned provinces of Portuguese Morocco. The sieges went well at first, and both Lisbon and Sarah province gave in in a just a few months. At this point Ottoman strategy was nearly undone by the Portuguese navy, which routed an Ottoman fleet off Lusitania, preventing Turkish ships from ferrying unneeded troops from the Lisbon front to the Moroccan front (land/naval tech comparison--OE 20/13, Portugal 16/16). Further delaying the conflict was the bravery of the Portuguese forces in Marrakesh, who fended off two Ottoman attacks despite superior Turkish numbers, fighting with a boldness born of desperation. THe Moroccan empire was enormous important for the Portuguese national psyche, and it took considerably longer than it should have for the Ottomans to finally reduce all Portuguese garrisons in Morocco.
Finally, in 1051/1641, Marrakesh itself fell to the Ottomans, who could now dictate peace terms to the Portuguese--Portugal was forced to evacuate Morocco, retaining only the colony of Portuguese residents established far to the south of Morocco proper in Nouabidh. The ex-Portuguese trading post in Tasseret was retained by the Ottomans while the rest of Morocco was handed over to the exiled princes of Sus and Morocco, both of which became Ottoman vassal states. This somewhat eased the empire's rather unsavory international reputation for warmongering and left only the Spanish fortress in Tangier of the once-mighty Iberian presence in Islamic north Africa.
Liberated Morocco and its environs (note that Portugal's maps have also been liberated
)
zacharym87 said:
Those Turkish oxen did a superb job. And with them it was probably just plain weight and not weight of numbers.
The map showed two nations where I thought Morocco would be -- the light brown and dark brown. Who is what?
Looks like you're set for a colonization bonanza now.
Ibrahim the Mad Builder, 1641-48
jwolf: the brown country south of Morocco is Sus, an AGCEEP country that pops up whenever Morocco experiences a period of internal disunity. As for potential new colonies, read on...
Sadly, Sultan Murad IV had died before the completion of his Moroccan project and the throne passed to Ibrahim I. Ibrahim initially hoped to personally direct affairs of state as his predecessor had done, but the bureaucrats convinced him that his reform plans (which included reduced salaries for bureaucrats) simply "would not work." The bureaucrats discovered that the Sultan's true passion was building, and they happily encouraged him to order new constructions throughout the empire while they held the reins in Istanbul. Ibrahim threw himself so heartily into his building projects that he became known to history as "Ibrahim the Mad Builder." Ibrahim oversaw the completion of the Manhattan, Roanoake, and Transkei colonies while overseeing the foundations of the Connecticut and Massachusetts colonies. Back in the empire, Ibrahim funded a weapons manufactory in Bulgaria, rebuilt the refinery at Smyrna (which had been lost to a devastating fire some years ago), and oversaw the construction of the goods manufactory in Anatolia. So impressed by this flurry of activity were the people of Quattara province that they built a goods manufacotry of their own without seeking imperial aid.
While Ibrahim was busy building new structures, the bureaucrats continued to run the empire itself. An alliance was forged with the new vassal states of Morocco and Sus, but influential circles in Istanbul all agreed that now was not the time for renewed international aggression, both due to the fact that the Austria/Spain/Poland alliance was still in effect and due to the fact that the Ottoman state was reviled as a wanton warmonger by many in the international community (BB of 39). Thus the bureaucrats elected for a decade of peace and internal infrastructure improvements, which Ibrahim's proclivities ensured at any rate. And so eight of the most peaceful years in all of Ottoman history passed until the Mad Builder was killed in a construction accident in 1058/1648, leaving direction of the Ottoman realm to the child-sultan Mehemd IV.
jwolf: the brown country south of Morocco is Sus, an AGCEEP country that pops up whenever Morocco experiences a period of internal disunity. As for potential new colonies, read on...
Sadly, Sultan Murad IV had died before the completion of his Moroccan project and the throne passed to Ibrahim I. Ibrahim initially hoped to personally direct affairs of state as his predecessor had done, but the bureaucrats convinced him that his reform plans (which included reduced salaries for bureaucrats) simply "would not work." The bureaucrats discovered that the Sultan's true passion was building, and they happily encouraged him to order new constructions throughout the empire while they held the reins in Istanbul. Ibrahim threw himself so heartily into his building projects that he became known to history as "Ibrahim the Mad Builder." Ibrahim oversaw the completion of the Manhattan, Roanoake, and Transkei colonies while overseeing the foundations of the Connecticut and Massachusetts colonies. Back in the empire, Ibrahim funded a weapons manufactory in Bulgaria, rebuilt the refinery at Smyrna (which had been lost to a devastating fire some years ago), and oversaw the construction of the goods manufactory in Anatolia. So impressed by this flurry of activity were the people of Quattara province that they built a goods manufacotry of their own without seeking imperial aid.
While Ibrahim was busy building new structures, the bureaucrats continued to run the empire itself. An alliance was forged with the new vassal states of Morocco and Sus, but influential circles in Istanbul all agreed that now was not the time for renewed international aggression, both due to the fact that the Austria/Spain/Poland alliance was still in effect and due to the fact that the Ottoman state was reviled as a wanton warmonger by many in the international community (BB of 39). Thus the bureaucrats elected for a decade of peace and internal infrastructure improvements, which Ibrahim's proclivities ensured at any rate. And so eight of the most peaceful years in all of Ottoman history passed until the Mad Builder was killed in a construction accident in 1058/1648, leaving direction of the Ottoman realm to the child-sultan Mehemd IV.
Hmm...any chance for one of the second tier powers like the Ottomans to humiliate Portugal, Spain, England or France makes my heart glow. Well done!
Were you going to go after the Persians when things calm down?
Were you going to go after the Persians when things calm down?
zacharym87 said:
Wimp!
That alliance reminds me of my Siena game, when my alliance of Siena, Austria, and Spain utterly smashed the Turks in the late 1600s. Fun times.
Seriously, once a more aggressive Sultan rises to the throne, where do you plan to attack?
jwolf said:
Persia? Anyway interesting idea taking on Portugal. Is colonization going to continue to grow in importance to the Turkish Empire?
Joe
Challening the Spirit of the Conqueror, 1649-61
CatKnight: I'm sure I'll get back to the Persians one of these days, but consolidation first.
jwolf: More agressive Sultan, eh? Read on for the next feat of Turkish arms.
Storey: The colonies are steadily growing, though I'm a bit cautious about trying another colonial war considering how badly the last one turned out.
The child-Sultan Mehmed IV grew into his position slowly, with a regency of bureaucrats superintending his realm in the ealry years as he played at war games, hoping one day to emulate his great-great-great, etc.-grandfather Mehmed II. He had no plans of imitating his nearer nonentity ancestor Mehmed III, and the court historian was actually kept busy for several weeks confirming that there had in fact been a Mehmed III when one of Mehmed IV's playmates asked who the devil Mehmed III was over dinner one evening. The child-Sultan had at last attained the age of his majority in 1066/1656 and hoped to relieve the bureaucratic regency of its duties. But the bureaucrats had other plans and Mehmed soon learned that the bureaucrats ran Istanbul and could resort to any number of spurious claims to ensure that their regency lasted the whole of Mehmed's adult life. Mehmed was initially distraught at this news but eventually a plan came to him. He announced publicly that he had developed an interest in travel and was going off a long trip to tour his vast lands. The bureaucrats were happy to see him leave the capital and wished him a good trip.
Mehmed's first stop was at the port of Alexandria, where he spent a few days seeing the sights and partaking of the local culture. Finally, Mehmed made his way to the Ottoman garrison stationed in the province. The garrison of Egypt was duly surprised when their Sultan announced his true plans: he would take up arms with the soldiers of Alexandria and lead them to victory. Not since the days of Suleyman I had an Ottoman Sultan actually rode into battle with his troops and the soldiers could not believe their good fortune. Mehmed and his soldiers boarder the nearby Alexandria squadron and sailed down the Mediterranean to the domains of the Zayyanid "Caliph" of Tlemecen, who had yet to proclaim the Ottoman Sultans as Caliph and were further holding a number of territories near the Ottoman city of Algiers, which Mehmed felt had lived on the perilous frontier for long enough. Mehmed and his troops now launched a full-scale invasion of the Zayyanid domains. Fighting with some of the best equipment available at the time and inspired by the presence of their Sultan, the Ottoman forces were all but unstoppable, and the Zayyanids were driven from one position after another and were soon pressed up against the walls of their capital at Tlemecen.
Mehmed, though still a young man, had enough maturity to know that a Sultan had to be a great statesmen as well as a great warrior, and in 1071/1661, reached peace with the Zayyanid Amir, who surrendered the title of Caliph together with the provinces of Tunisia, Kabylia, Aures, and Orania. After spending a few days in suitable celebrations with his victorious soldiers over their new conquests, Mehmed and his victorious army boarded ship in Algeirs bound for Istanbul. Once in the capital, Mehmed led his army to the palace where he took up his post as Sultan, kindly informing the bureaucrats that their regency was at an end.
Mehmed's new conquests
CatKnight: I'm sure I'll get back to the Persians one of these days, but consolidation first.
jwolf: More agressive Sultan, eh? Read on for the next feat of Turkish arms.
Storey: The colonies are steadily growing, though I'm a bit cautious about trying another colonial war considering how badly the last one turned out.
The child-Sultan Mehmed IV grew into his position slowly, with a regency of bureaucrats superintending his realm in the ealry years as he played at war games, hoping one day to emulate his great-great-great, etc.-grandfather Mehmed II. He had no plans of imitating his nearer nonentity ancestor Mehmed III, and the court historian was actually kept busy for several weeks confirming that there had in fact been a Mehmed III when one of Mehmed IV's playmates asked who the devil Mehmed III was over dinner one evening. The child-Sultan had at last attained the age of his majority in 1066/1656 and hoped to relieve the bureaucratic regency of its duties. But the bureaucrats had other plans and Mehmed soon learned that the bureaucrats ran Istanbul and could resort to any number of spurious claims to ensure that their regency lasted the whole of Mehmed's adult life. Mehmed was initially distraught at this news but eventually a plan came to him. He announced publicly that he had developed an interest in travel and was going off a long trip to tour his vast lands. The bureaucrats were happy to see him leave the capital and wished him a good trip.
Mehmed's first stop was at the port of Alexandria, where he spent a few days seeing the sights and partaking of the local culture. Finally, Mehmed made his way to the Ottoman garrison stationed in the province. The garrison of Egypt was duly surprised when their Sultan announced his true plans: he would take up arms with the soldiers of Alexandria and lead them to victory. Not since the days of Suleyman I had an Ottoman Sultan actually rode into battle with his troops and the soldiers could not believe their good fortune. Mehmed and his soldiers boarder the nearby Alexandria squadron and sailed down the Mediterranean to the domains of the Zayyanid "Caliph" of Tlemecen, who had yet to proclaim the Ottoman Sultans as Caliph and were further holding a number of territories near the Ottoman city of Algiers, which Mehmed felt had lived on the perilous frontier for long enough. Mehmed and his troops now launched a full-scale invasion of the Zayyanid domains. Fighting with some of the best equipment available at the time and inspired by the presence of their Sultan, the Ottoman forces were all but unstoppable, and the Zayyanids were driven from one position after another and were soon pressed up against the walls of their capital at Tlemecen.
Mehmed, though still a young man, had enough maturity to know that a Sultan had to be a great statesmen as well as a great warrior, and in 1071/1661, reached peace with the Zayyanid Amir, who surrendered the title of Caliph together with the provinces of Tunisia, Kabylia, Aures, and Orania. After spending a few days in suitable celebrations with his victorious soldiers over their new conquests, Mehmed and his victorious army boarded ship in Algeirs bound for Istanbul. Once in the capital, Mehmed led his army to the palace where he took up his post as Sultan, kindly informing the bureaucrats that their regency was at an end.
Mehmed's new conquests
So long bureaucrats (I'm sure we all hope!).
Technically I shouldn't be rooting for you given that the Moslems are the great enemy in my own game. Still find it a terrific read though!
Technically I shouldn't be rooting for you given that the Moslems are the great enemy in my own game. Still find it a terrific read though!
Hehe. Mehmed outfoxed the old bureaucrats. I think they forgot the basic lessons of Bureaucracy 101 after all those years. Serves them right.
Humbling Tlemcen was all right as far as it went, but how about taking on a real man's opponent? Austria, for example.
Humbling Tlemcen was all right as far as it went, but how about taking on a real man's opponent? Austria, for example.
The Conquest of Hungary, 1662-80
RossN: Glad to have you along. It seems few people are going to miss the bureaucrats.
jwolf: the bureaucrats did indeed forget many important lessons from bureaucrat training school. Being in power obviously went to their heads.
With the decade-long bureaucrat regency at an end, Mehmed now found himself sole ruler of the empire, a position no Sultan had actually wielded in a generation. While the young conqueror was already itching for new conquests, he was a wise enough statesmen to know that a few years of peace could do his empire a world of good. The provinces new wrested from Tlemecen each needed a number of official appointees to bring them into line with the imperial administration. An uprising of Zayyanid loyalists in the former Tlemecen domains in 1078/1667 made Mehmed thankful that a portion of the conquering army had remained in nearby Algiers.
Mehmed also had the colonies to consider. The Ottoman colony of Roanoake was already a Turkish island in an English sea and Mehmed was eager to prevent the same fate befalling the colonies of lower Canada, or New England as the English alarmingly called the territory. Towards that end, the colonies of Connecticut and Massachussetts were completed and new colonies begun in Sebago, Catskill, and Meganantic. English and French activities reamined worrying in this sphere however. The Ottomans had already seen the English destroy the primitive state of the Cherokee and now observed English armies fighting the Iroquois confederation, which bordered the fledgling Ottoman colony at Sebago. Mehmed feigned concern for the territorial integrity of the confederacy, but his real concern was to keep the primitive Iroquois rather than the moden English at his borders.
Back on the mainland, Mehmed was preparing his armies and decided in 1080/1669 to launch his attack by declaring war upon Austria. Spain had left the Austrian alliance by this point, leaving Austria allied to Poland. Ottoman forces in the Crimea invaded Podolia at the same time that Balkan forces laid siege to Croatia. Ottoman Hungarian regiments stayed put to ambush and rout the Austrian invasion of Ottoman Hungary before moving on to Moldavia, which had long blocked Ottoman communications from Hungary to Crimea. The early stages of the war were a rout pure and simple for the Ottomans, the Poles bowed out quickly after the Ottoman occupation of Podolia, paying 125 ducats. Croatia and Moldavia both fell, as did Ruthenia and Pest as the Ottoman forces moved on. Austrian forces were driven back from one defensive position to the next. In 1083/1672 the Austrians finally rallied and drove off an Ottoman force from Stiermark, but by then both sides were engaged in diplomatic wrangling over the peace terms. Moldavia was the sticking point, as Mehmed insisted on gaining the province, which the Austrians were adamantly attached to. Finally in 1084/1673, a peace treaty was reached gaining Krain, Croatia, and Moldavia for the Ottoman Empire.
His international reputation sinking under the weight of his wars, Mehmed restored the voivodes of Moldavia as well granting limited independence to Nubia. These new vassals were brought into the Ottoman alliance to ensure that Mehmed could keep a close watch on them. Mehmed was plotting new conquests by now, but the Austrians decided to avenge their fallen pride in 1089/1678 with a declaration of war upon the Ottoman empire. Ottoman forces crossed the borders once again and lost no time occupying Pest, Magyar, and Oldenburg. Though the war with Poland was coming quite so well this time, Austria was in full retreat as a combination of Turkish armies came before the gates of Vienna itself to begin a siege. Beaten and humiliated, the Habsburgs surrendered the provinces of Oldenburg and Pest for peace in 1091/1680.
The Ottoman Empire in Central Europe, 1680
RossN: Glad to have you along. It seems few people are going to miss the bureaucrats.
jwolf: the bureaucrats did indeed forget many important lessons from bureaucrat training school. Being in power obviously went to their heads.
With the decade-long bureaucrat regency at an end, Mehmed now found himself sole ruler of the empire, a position no Sultan had actually wielded in a generation. While the young conqueror was already itching for new conquests, he was a wise enough statesmen to know that a few years of peace could do his empire a world of good. The provinces new wrested from Tlemecen each needed a number of official appointees to bring them into line with the imperial administration. An uprising of Zayyanid loyalists in the former Tlemecen domains in 1078/1667 made Mehmed thankful that a portion of the conquering army had remained in nearby Algiers.
Mehmed also had the colonies to consider. The Ottoman colony of Roanoake was already a Turkish island in an English sea and Mehmed was eager to prevent the same fate befalling the colonies of lower Canada, or New England as the English alarmingly called the territory. Towards that end, the colonies of Connecticut and Massachussetts were completed and new colonies begun in Sebago, Catskill, and Meganantic. English and French activities reamined worrying in this sphere however. The Ottomans had already seen the English destroy the primitive state of the Cherokee and now observed English armies fighting the Iroquois confederation, which bordered the fledgling Ottoman colony at Sebago. Mehmed feigned concern for the territorial integrity of the confederacy, but his real concern was to keep the primitive Iroquois rather than the moden English at his borders.
Back on the mainland, Mehmed was preparing his armies and decided in 1080/1669 to launch his attack by declaring war upon Austria. Spain had left the Austrian alliance by this point, leaving Austria allied to Poland. Ottoman forces in the Crimea invaded Podolia at the same time that Balkan forces laid siege to Croatia. Ottoman Hungarian regiments stayed put to ambush and rout the Austrian invasion of Ottoman Hungary before moving on to Moldavia, which had long blocked Ottoman communications from Hungary to Crimea. The early stages of the war were a rout pure and simple for the Ottomans, the Poles bowed out quickly after the Ottoman occupation of Podolia, paying 125 ducats. Croatia and Moldavia both fell, as did Ruthenia and Pest as the Ottoman forces moved on. Austrian forces were driven back from one defensive position to the next. In 1083/1672 the Austrians finally rallied and drove off an Ottoman force from Stiermark, but by then both sides were engaged in diplomatic wrangling over the peace terms. Moldavia was the sticking point, as Mehmed insisted on gaining the province, which the Austrians were adamantly attached to. Finally in 1084/1673, a peace treaty was reached gaining Krain, Croatia, and Moldavia for the Ottoman Empire.
His international reputation sinking under the weight of his wars, Mehmed restored the voivodes of Moldavia as well granting limited independence to Nubia. These new vassals were brought into the Ottoman alliance to ensure that Mehmed could keep a close watch on them. Mehmed was plotting new conquests by now, but the Austrians decided to avenge their fallen pride in 1089/1678 with a declaration of war upon the Ottoman empire. Ottoman forces crossed the borders once again and lost no time occupying Pest, Magyar, and Oldenburg. Though the war with Poland was coming quite so well this time, Austria was in full retreat as a combination of Turkish armies came before the gates of Vienna itself to begin a siege. Beaten and humiliated, the Habsburgs surrendered the provinces of Oldenburg and Pest for peace in 1091/1680.
The Ottoman Empire in Central Europe, 1680
I have to admit you answered my challenge regarding Austria, and twice! Bravo! Now what about "New England"?
Now what about "New England"?
the Dismembering of Tlemcen, 1681-94
jwolf: Thanks, I do what I can. I'm afraid it's back to Algeria for this update...
Mehmed IV spent his last years in office devoted to pious works, including making concerted attempts to wrest the peoples of Krain and Croatia from the errorenous religion of the Austrians (Krain was successful, Croatia wasn't). There was a third rather uneventful Austrian war in 1095-97/1684-86 than saw some rather languid border fighting before the rival empires signed a no-tribute peace in 1097/1686. By then, Mehmed's own days were numbered and he breathed his last in 1098/1687. The reign now passed to Suleyman II, who sadly was never to earn comparisons with his more illustrious namesake the way Mehmed IV had done. Despite being in no way the illustrious monarch Suleyman I had been, Suleyman II didn't do all that badly for himself, maintaining Sultanic control and keeping the bureaucrats at bay while advancing Ottoman policy goals by encouraging the further settlement of Lower Canada and supporting political development within the vassal states.
The most significant of these developing vassals at this time was the Kingdom of Morocco, which was enjoying something of a resurgence under the gifted leadership of Sultan Mawlay Ismail. The new Moroccan Sultan had recruited a large Sudanese-Arab army to advance the control of himslef and his suzerain in North Africa, and elected to test this army's mettle by declaring war upon the ailing state of Tlemecen after a second round of pro-Zayyanid uprisings had struck Ottoman Algeria. As Ismail expected, his suzerain Suleyman II happily came to his aid against the remnants of the Zayyanid state, even though several of the other allies, such as Moldavia and Nubia, also vassals of the Sultan, bailed on the alliance.
Nevertheless Ismail knew that the Ottomans had created the alliance more to shiled their vassals than to get actual military aid from them and the Ottoman army was far more formidable than any Nubian or Romanian levies in addition to the convenient location of Ottoman garrisons in Algeria. Ottoman forces indeed aided the Moroccan cause in Tlemecen, routing a small Zayyanid army in the capital and contributing logistic support to the Moroccan siege of Tlemecen. The Moroccans captured Fez without any Ottoman assistance and the Ottoman seizure of Malta left the Zayyanid Amir no choice to surrender Fez to Morocco, Malta to the Ottomans, and pledge himself as a vassal to the Moroccan Sultan. Suleyman would have prefered adding the Zayyanids to his own list of vassals, but having them as the vassal of his Moroccan vassals was almost as good. Whatever other plans Suleyman II had for his empire were cut short by his premature death in 1102/1691. Ahmed II took the reigns of the empire at this point, but was a sickly man at his accession and remained so until his death in 1106/1695, during which time he did nothing really worth recording.
jwolf: Thanks, I do what I can. I'm afraid it's back to Algeria for this update...
Mehmed IV spent his last years in office devoted to pious works, including making concerted attempts to wrest the peoples of Krain and Croatia from the errorenous religion of the Austrians (Krain was successful, Croatia wasn't). There was a third rather uneventful Austrian war in 1095-97/1684-86 than saw some rather languid border fighting before the rival empires signed a no-tribute peace in 1097/1686. By then, Mehmed's own days were numbered and he breathed his last in 1098/1687. The reign now passed to Suleyman II, who sadly was never to earn comparisons with his more illustrious namesake the way Mehmed IV had done. Despite being in no way the illustrious monarch Suleyman I had been, Suleyman II didn't do all that badly for himself, maintaining Sultanic control and keeping the bureaucrats at bay while advancing Ottoman policy goals by encouraging the further settlement of Lower Canada and supporting political development within the vassal states.
The most significant of these developing vassals at this time was the Kingdom of Morocco, which was enjoying something of a resurgence under the gifted leadership of Sultan Mawlay Ismail. The new Moroccan Sultan had recruited a large Sudanese-Arab army to advance the control of himslef and his suzerain in North Africa, and elected to test this army's mettle by declaring war upon the ailing state of Tlemecen after a second round of pro-Zayyanid uprisings had struck Ottoman Algeria. As Ismail expected, his suzerain Suleyman II happily came to his aid against the remnants of the Zayyanid state, even though several of the other allies, such as Moldavia and Nubia, also vassals of the Sultan, bailed on the alliance.
Nevertheless Ismail knew that the Ottomans had created the alliance more to shiled their vassals than to get actual military aid from them and the Ottoman army was far more formidable than any Nubian or Romanian levies in addition to the convenient location of Ottoman garrisons in Algeria. Ottoman forces indeed aided the Moroccan cause in Tlemecen, routing a small Zayyanid army in the capital and contributing logistic support to the Moroccan siege of Tlemecen. The Moroccans captured Fez without any Ottoman assistance and the Ottoman seizure of Malta left the Zayyanid Amir no choice to surrender Fez to Morocco, Malta to the Ottomans, and pledge himself as a vassal to the Moroccan Sultan. Suleyman would have prefered adding the Zayyanids to his own list of vassals, but having them as the vassal of his Moroccan vassals was almost as good. Whatever other plans Suleyman II had for his empire were cut short by his premature death in 1102/1691. Ahmed II took the reigns of the empire at this point, but was a sickly man at his accession and remained so until his death in 1106/1695, during which time he did nothing really worth recording.
zacharym87 said:
An interesting metaphor in view of the Ottoman events with the Beys.
How about a hit on Persia next? Or do you have a more suitable target?
The Years of Pointless Wars, 1695-1715
jwolf: Once more, I will not have the luxury of selecting my own opponents. Sorry to evryone I've taken so long to update this onw.
Upon the death of the "Anonymous Sultan" Ahmed II, the throne passed to Mustafa II, who was also a rather non-descript individual perfectly happy to leave his trusted bureaucrats to administer the realm provided he got to play with his toys without messy interupptions for wars, rebellions, and the like. The bureaucrats felt a time of peace was in order for the empire, as the Ottoman realm suffered from an extremely bad reputation (BB of 35). Yet peace was not to be, as the warmongering Habsburgs of Austria invaded the realm yet again in 1109/1697 together with their Polish allies. Ottoman forces in turn invaded Austria, entering and sacking the Austrian capital of Vienna in 1110/1698. The Ottoman capture of Vienna was easily the most dramtaic point of the war, the rest of which consisted of occasional border struggles, Austrian attacks on Pest and Turkish attacks on Styria both being defeated, while Polish forces invaded the Crimea and were repulsed. Shortly after the fall of Vienna, the captive Habsburg Emperor surrendered the province of Magyar and 50 ducats for peace.
With the messy Habsburg war out of the way, the bureaucrats again returned to important state affairs, such as funding another failed missionary in Croatia and expanding the last of the American colonies. We use the word last since by the time that Megantic, Sebago, and Catskill had all been raised to the status of a full province there were no other immediately available colonizable spaces despite the sparse population of America. For in the Americas, the Turks, together with the English and French, had delineated what came to be known as the "claims" system, where each succesfully established colony had a "claim" that extended about it for many miles in either direction, though the remainder of a claim was frequently virgin territory. As an example, the Ottoman colony of Massachussetts at the turn of the eighteenth century was home to some 2,500 Turkish and mixed Turkish-native families, virtually all of whom were closely huddled in a small cluster of settlements right along the coastline, yet the claim of the Massachussetts colony proceeded northward for miles before connecting with neighboring Ottoman claims in Sebago, despite the fact that almost no-one, Turkish or otherwise, lived in the wildlands seperating the two colonial outposts. Most of the French and English settlements followed this pattern as well.
In 1115/1703, Mustafa II passed away after an accident suffered while riding his favortite horse and the Sultanate passed to Ahmed III, an individual exhibiting both competence and a desire to succeed as monarch. Much like Mehmed IV before him, Ahmed III needed a few years of backroom politicking to secure control of the Empire from the bureucrats who had taken over once more in Mustafa II's reign. However at his accession, Ahmed faced a more immediate problem, as the vile Habsburgs had invaded his realm yet again. The early years of this war were resoundingly succesfull for the Turks, Vienna fell once again, as did the Polish province of Podolia while Habsburg and Polish attempts to break Ottoman were repeatedly unsuccesfull. Yet the Habsburg and Polish diplomats refused to give way, and as the attrition took its toll on the Turkish soldiers and Austrian and Polish units began to recover lost ground, the Ottomans agreed to a status quo peace in 1118/1706. It was just as well that they did so, for that same year, the English declared war upon the Ottoman realm. The British were targeting the Ottoman colony of Roanoake, a lone Ottoman settlement amidst a sea of British posessions. The inital British attack on Roanoake was a reosunding success, 15,000 British soldiers easily defeated the 6,000 Ottoman defenders the colony was able to muster, yet the British had miscalculated, for in their rush to attack Roanoake, they had left the remainder of their American possessions undefended, and Turkish forces were Manhattan and Catskill swept through Delaware, Chesapeake, Tuscarora, and Kentucky without running into a single British soldier. Seeing their error, the British government ransomed its colonies for 200 ducats and peace was restored yet again.
jwolf: Once more, I will not have the luxury of selecting my own opponents. Sorry to evryone I've taken so long to update this onw.
Upon the death of the "Anonymous Sultan" Ahmed II, the throne passed to Mustafa II, who was also a rather non-descript individual perfectly happy to leave his trusted bureaucrats to administer the realm provided he got to play with his toys without messy interupptions for wars, rebellions, and the like. The bureaucrats felt a time of peace was in order for the empire, as the Ottoman realm suffered from an extremely bad reputation (BB of 35). Yet peace was not to be, as the warmongering Habsburgs of Austria invaded the realm yet again in 1109/1697 together with their Polish allies. Ottoman forces in turn invaded Austria, entering and sacking the Austrian capital of Vienna in 1110/1698. The Ottoman capture of Vienna was easily the most dramtaic point of the war, the rest of which consisted of occasional border struggles, Austrian attacks on Pest and Turkish attacks on Styria both being defeated, while Polish forces invaded the Crimea and were repulsed. Shortly after the fall of Vienna, the captive Habsburg Emperor surrendered the province of Magyar and 50 ducats for peace.
With the messy Habsburg war out of the way, the bureaucrats again returned to important state affairs, such as funding another failed missionary in Croatia and expanding the last of the American colonies. We use the word last since by the time that Megantic, Sebago, and Catskill had all been raised to the status of a full province there were no other immediately available colonizable spaces despite the sparse population of America. For in the Americas, the Turks, together with the English and French, had delineated what came to be known as the "claims" system, where each succesfully established colony had a "claim" that extended about it for many miles in either direction, though the remainder of a claim was frequently virgin territory. As an example, the Ottoman colony of Massachussetts at the turn of the eighteenth century was home to some 2,500 Turkish and mixed Turkish-native families, virtually all of whom were closely huddled in a small cluster of settlements right along the coastline, yet the claim of the Massachussetts colony proceeded northward for miles before connecting with neighboring Ottoman claims in Sebago, despite the fact that almost no-one, Turkish or otherwise, lived in the wildlands seperating the two colonial outposts. Most of the French and English settlements followed this pattern as well.
In 1115/1703, Mustafa II passed away after an accident suffered while riding his favortite horse and the Sultanate passed to Ahmed III, an individual exhibiting both competence and a desire to succeed as monarch. Much like Mehmed IV before him, Ahmed III needed a few years of backroom politicking to secure control of the Empire from the bureucrats who had taken over once more in Mustafa II's reign. However at his accession, Ahmed faced a more immediate problem, as the vile Habsburgs had invaded his realm yet again. The early years of this war were resoundingly succesfull for the Turks, Vienna fell once again, as did the Polish province of Podolia while Habsburg and Polish attempts to break Ottoman were repeatedly unsuccesfull. Yet the Habsburg and Polish diplomats refused to give way, and as the attrition took its toll on the Turkish soldiers and Austrian and Polish units began to recover lost ground, the Ottomans agreed to a status quo peace in 1118/1706. It was just as well that they did so, for that same year, the English declared war upon the Ottoman realm. The British were targeting the Ottoman colony of Roanoake, a lone Ottoman settlement amidst a sea of British posessions. The inital British attack on Roanoake was a reosunding success, 15,000 British soldiers easily defeated the 6,000 Ottoman defenders the colony was able to muster, yet the British had miscalculated, for in their rush to attack Roanoake, they had left the remainder of their American possessions undefended, and Turkish forces were Manhattan and Catskill swept through Delaware, Chesapeake, Tuscarora, and Kentucky without running into a single British soldier. Seeing their error, the British government ransomed its colonies for 200 ducats and peace was restored yet again.
Austria just doesn't learn. They keep hammering at me in my game with as little success as in your game. I'm finding like you that there is always someone who wants to DOW me and prevent me from choosing where I want to expand next.
Joe
Joe
Whether your choice of war or not, the campaign still looks interesting.
Quite frankly I am surprised you are still being DOWed as in my games by this time almost every nation takes a very conservative position with regard to me. On the other hand, my reputation only rarely goes beyond "rather bad" and I don't think I've ever had more than about 25 BB, and even that is pretty extreme for me. Maybe that's the difference?
Quite frankly I am surprised you are still being DOWed as in my games by this time almost every nation takes a very conservative position with regard to me. On the other hand, my reputation only rarely goes beyond "rather bad" and I don't think I've ever had more than about 25 BB, and even that is pretty extreme for me. Maybe that's the difference?