Hello to everyone reading.
This is my first post on the Paradox forum so I would appreciate some constructive feedback. From KoH to EUIV i admired how Paradox always made an extra effort to be as historically accurate as possible. Thus, this thread. I would like to point out to some historical inaccuracies that resulted after the change made to Serbia in Denmark patch, and give an idea or two on how to enhance gameplay with Serbia.
If you didn't already notice, the once capital province Srbija (Smederevo) is now split into two provinces: Smederevo (Smederevo) and Braničevo (Kruševac), with Kruševac being set as capital. The fort is removed from Smederevo, and now the only defense the Serbians have is a 1k garrisoned capital fort in Kruševac.
This is also the main issue i want to address in this post.
For you who don't want to read too much info, the point is - historically, Smederevo is the capital of Serbia in 1444. Here is some proof. It's the Serbian capital since early 1430s, with the largest flatland fortress in Europe. In my opinion this checks as a city that actually has a fort built in the game. Regardless, Smederevo is the rightful capital of Serbia in November, 1444.
Kruševac was the seat of prince Lazar Hrebeljanović, who was a loyal stavilac in the court of tsar Stefan Dušan in his youth. After the fall of the Serbian Empire, his realm - Moravian Serbia, was the most powerful of all principalities that succeeded the empire. He built Kruševac in 1371, and united a portion of Serb principalities under his command with a common goal of defending Serb lands against the Ottomans. After Lazar died in the epic battle of Kosovo in 1389, his wife Milica was ruling as a regent until his famous son Stefan came of age. Stefan's rule was marked by great diplomatic stunts, patronage of arts, and great military tradition. Stefan received Belgrade from Hungary, immediately making it his seat in 1404. Kruševac was no longer the capital of Serbia.
^ Reconstruction of medieval Kruševac at its peak (prince Lazar's reign). The town was sacked in a bloody battle in 1454, when armies of John Hunyadi, Đurađ Branković and Nikola Skobaljić (a famous Serb general of the time) rebuffed a 30k+ strong Ottoman army. Today, only the church (Lazarica) and a part of the largest (donjon) tower remain as the witnesses of that era.
Despot Stefan Lazarević, one of the most capable lords and finest knights of his time, made big strides in developing the newly acquired city of Belgrade (Beograd) on the Serbian-Hungarian frontier. The city's geographic position had extreme strategic importance since the time of the Romans, as it's located on Via Militaris, on the confluence of Danube and Sava. This helped Belgrade in becoming one of the fastest growing and developed cities in the Balkans and Europe. As of 1404, it served as Serbia's trading center and capital under his rule. Although Stefan's achievements as a statesman were invaluable (he had the supreme rank in the Order of the Dragon, introduced firearm weaponry to Serbia, and is considered as one of the earliest renaissance poets), in 1427 Beograd had to be returned to Hungary due to the growing importance of the city and pressure from Hungary and the other powerful Serbian noble family, the house of Branković, wealthiest familiy in Europe at the time. Having no heir of his own, Stefan Lazarević made his nephew Đurađ Branković as successor to the throne after settling a long quarrel with him peacefully.
^ Belgrade fortress, a participant in 123 different wars. It's much larger and more imposing than it looks.
As soon as Stefan died, Đurađ Branković became the new despot of Serbia. He returned Beograd to the Hungarians as part of the deal for their support. This meant that the first task for the new despot, is to settle a new capital for Serbia. There already were developed cities with strong defenses in Serbia, but they were all close to the hostile frontier with the Ottomans, so Đurađ, heavily influenced by his wife Eirene Kantakouzenos, decided to build a magnificent fortress that is the Smederevo fortress, building it in 3 years and setting it as the new capital of Serbia in 1430.
^ Smederevo fortress, the largest flatland fortress in Europe
More Unique gameplay and content - events and cities:
Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. There is no Belgrade in this game, which is a pity, because it was the most important gate-keeping city in possession of Hungary (Nándorfehérvár), and the capital bastion when controlled by Serbia (Beograd). A very important military and strategic town since time immemorial, it grew quickly as important trading center under despot Stefan, too. Belgrade is located on the confluence of important Danube and Sava rivers, which poses a significant factor in controlling trade upstream and downstream both rivers. Belgrade should be one of the more developed cities on the Balkans as it had a population between 50,000 and 100,000 in early 15th century. Belgrade is part of Mačva province, which takes a small northwestern chunk of Smederevo province. In November 1444, it's controlled by Hungary, with Serbian/Orthodox culture and religion. Serbia has permanent claim on the province. If Serbia regains it, there should be a decision that makes Beograd (Belgrade) the capital of the state.
Events revolving around brigands - gusars, hajduks, and uskoks. Potential rewards would be in amounts of ducats, which would often result in negative feedback from the Ottomans or other neighboring hated/rival countries. Bay of Kotor (technically a fjord), with it's mountainous terrain, was a perfect host for a number of strong fortified trading and pirate towns with strong naval traditions. The biggest of them are Kotor and Herceg-Novi, but Risan, Perast, and Tivat are also worth mentioning. Outside of Kotor bay, there are several coastal towns - Stari Bar, Budva and Ulcinj.
Maybe making a small province around Bay of Kotor would be an interesting idea. It would be controlled by Venice in November 1444, with moderate trade power due to its strong merchant and pirate/privateer value. The following spoiler contains towns that are located in the small radius of Kotor.
Dynamic province names
Thank you for reading.
This is my first post on the Paradox forum so I would appreciate some constructive feedback. From KoH to EUIV i admired how Paradox always made an extra effort to be as historically accurate as possible. Thus, this thread. I would like to point out to some historical inaccuracies that resulted after the change made to Serbia in Denmark patch, and give an idea or two on how to enhance gameplay with Serbia.
If you didn't already notice, the once capital province Srbija (Smederevo) is now split into two provinces: Smederevo (Smederevo) and Braničevo (Kruševac), with Kruševac being set as capital. The fort is removed from Smederevo, and now the only defense the Serbians have is a 1k garrisoned capital fort in Kruševac.
This is also the main issue i want to address in this post.
For you who don't want to read too much info, the point is - historically, Smederevo is the capital of Serbia in 1444. Here is some proof. It's the Serbian capital since early 1430s, with the largest flatland fortress in Europe. In my opinion this checks as a city that actually has a fort built in the game. Regardless, Smederevo is the rightful capital of Serbia in November, 1444.
Kruševac was the seat of prince Lazar Hrebeljanović, who was a loyal stavilac in the court of tsar Stefan Dušan in his youth. After the fall of the Serbian Empire, his realm - Moravian Serbia, was the most powerful of all principalities that succeeded the empire. He built Kruševac in 1371, and united a portion of Serb principalities under his command with a common goal of defending Serb lands against the Ottomans. After Lazar died in the epic battle of Kosovo in 1389, his wife Milica was ruling as a regent until his famous son Stefan came of age. Stefan's rule was marked by great diplomatic stunts, patronage of arts, and great military tradition. Stefan received Belgrade from Hungary, immediately making it his seat in 1404. Kruševac was no longer the capital of Serbia.
^ Reconstruction of medieval Kruševac at its peak (prince Lazar's reign). The town was sacked in a bloody battle in 1454, when armies of John Hunyadi, Đurađ Branković and Nikola Skobaljić (a famous Serb general of the time) rebuffed a 30k+ strong Ottoman army. Today, only the church (Lazarica) and a part of the largest (donjon) tower remain as the witnesses of that era.
Despot Stefan Lazarević, one of the most capable lords and finest knights of his time, made big strides in developing the newly acquired city of Belgrade (Beograd) on the Serbian-Hungarian frontier. The city's geographic position had extreme strategic importance since the time of the Romans, as it's located on Via Militaris, on the confluence of Danube and Sava. This helped Belgrade in becoming one of the fastest growing and developed cities in the Balkans and Europe. As of 1404, it served as Serbia's trading center and capital under his rule. Although Stefan's achievements as a statesman were invaluable (he had the supreme rank in the Order of the Dragon, introduced firearm weaponry to Serbia, and is considered as one of the earliest renaissance poets), in 1427 Beograd had to be returned to Hungary due to the growing importance of the city and pressure from Hungary and the other powerful Serbian noble family, the house of Branković, wealthiest familiy in Europe at the time. Having no heir of his own, Stefan Lazarević made his nephew Đurađ Branković as successor to the throne after settling a long quarrel with him peacefully.
^ Belgrade fortress, a participant in 123 different wars. It's much larger and more imposing than it looks.
As soon as Stefan died, Đurađ Branković became the new despot of Serbia. He returned Beograd to the Hungarians as part of the deal for their support. This meant that the first task for the new despot, is to settle a new capital for Serbia. There already were developed cities with strong defenses in Serbia, but they were all close to the hostile frontier with the Ottomans, so Đurađ, heavily influenced by his wife Eirene Kantakouzenos, decided to build a magnificent fortress that is the Smederevo fortress, building it in 3 years and setting it as the new capital of Serbia in 1430.
^ Smederevo fortress, the largest flatland fortress in Europe
More Unique gameplay and content - events and cities:
Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. There is no Belgrade in this game, which is a pity, because it was the most important gate-keeping city in possession of Hungary (Nándorfehérvár), and the capital bastion when controlled by Serbia (Beograd). A very important military and strategic town since time immemorial, it grew quickly as important trading center under despot Stefan, too. Belgrade is located on the confluence of important Danube and Sava rivers, which poses a significant factor in controlling trade upstream and downstream both rivers. Belgrade should be one of the more developed cities on the Balkans as it had a population between 50,000 and 100,000 in early 15th century. Belgrade is part of Mačva province, which takes a small northwestern chunk of Smederevo province. In November 1444, it's controlled by Hungary, with Serbian/Orthodox culture and religion. Serbia has permanent claim on the province. If Serbia regains it, there should be a decision that makes Beograd (Belgrade) the capital of the state.
Events revolving around brigands - gusars, hajduks, and uskoks. Potential rewards would be in amounts of ducats, which would often result in negative feedback from the Ottomans or other neighboring hated/rival countries. Bay of Kotor (technically a fjord), with it's mountainous terrain, was a perfect host for a number of strong fortified trading and pirate towns with strong naval traditions. The biggest of them are Kotor and Herceg-Novi, but Risan, Perast, and Tivat are also worth mentioning. Outside of Kotor bay, there are several coastal towns - Stari Bar, Budva and Ulcinj.
Maybe making a small province around Bay of Kotor would be an interesting idea. It would be controlled by Venice in November 1444, with moderate trade power due to its strong merchant and pirate/privateer value. The following spoiler contains towns that are located in the small radius of Kotor.
KOTOR
HERCEG NOVI (Hometown of my family) There are four separate forts in Herceg-Novi:
Herceg Novi fortress. Upper town fortress and hardpoint was built by Herzog of Hum Stjepan Vukčić Kosača. During theVenetian rule, hardpoint was reinforced, and another fort was built on the coastline just outside of this photo on the right side (fort was ruined in an earthquake 40ish years ago).
Kanli tower, built by the Ottomans on the northern brink of Upper town. You can see the tallest part of portside wall strongpoint (fort from the previous photo):
Španjola, or Spanish Fort. Built by the Spaniards during their brief 1-year overlordship over city. They were defeated in the Ottoman Siege of Castelnuovo (Herceg-Novi). Francisco de Sarmiento's garrison of 4000 Spaniards was able to resist 50 000 infantry and 200 ship-strong Ottoman army. The Ottomans lost 20 000 men and when they finally took the city, they left exactly 100 Spaniards to live and return home to tell the story.
ULCINJ
BUDVA
SVETI STEFAN
BAR
Sorry for posting so much photos, thought you might enjoy the view, but i hope it proves some point at least - that Bay of Kotor was an important area on the Adriatic and there is some arguments that would give Zeta or the new province slight trade power boost ;-)
HERCEG NOVI (Hometown of my family) There are four separate forts in Herceg-Novi:
Herceg Novi fortress. Upper town fortress and hardpoint was built by Herzog of Hum Stjepan Vukčić Kosača. During theVenetian rule, hardpoint was reinforced, and another fort was built on the coastline just outside of this photo on the right side (fort was ruined in an earthquake 40ish years ago).
Kanli tower, built by the Ottomans on the northern brink of Upper town. You can see the tallest part of portside wall strongpoint (fort from the previous photo):
Španjola, or Spanish Fort. Built by the Spaniards during their brief 1-year overlordship over city. They were defeated in the Ottoman Siege of Castelnuovo (Herceg-Novi). Francisco de Sarmiento's garrison of 4000 Spaniards was able to resist 50 000 infantry and 200 ship-strong Ottoman army. The Ottomans lost 20 000 men and when they finally took the city, they left exactly 100 Spaniards to live and return home to tell the story.
ULCINJ
BUDVA
SVETI STEFAN
BAR
Sorry for posting so much photos, thought you might enjoy the view, but i hope it proves some point at least - that Bay of Kotor was an important area on the Adriatic and there is some arguments that would give Zeta or the new province slight trade power boost ;-)
Dynamic province names
Raska - Raška
Nis - Niš
Lezhë - Lješ
Durazzo - Drač
Vlorë - Valona
Kastoria - Kostur
Bacs - Bačka
Achaea - Ahaja
Nicopolis - Nikopolj
Branicevo - Braničevo
Vojvodina - Banat
Travunia - Travunija
Temes - Temišvar
Somogy - Baranja
Makedonija - Solun
Euboea - Evbeja or Eubeja
Morea - Moreja
Crete - Krit
Rhodos - Rodos
Naxos - Naksos
Tarnovo - Trnovo
Silistria - Silistra
Jedrinje - Jedrene
Oltenia - Oltenija or Mala Vlaška
Tirgoviste - Trgovište
^many thanks and all credit to @@93@
Nis - Niš
Lezhë - Lješ
Durazzo - Drač
Vlorë - Valona
Kastoria - Kostur
Bacs - Bačka
Achaea - Ahaja
Nicopolis - Nikopolj
Branicevo - Braničevo
Vojvodina - Banat
Travunia - Travunija
Temes - Temišvar
Somogy - Baranja
Makedonija - Solun
Euboea - Evbeja or Eubeja
Morea - Moreja
Crete - Krit
Rhodos - Rodos
Naxos - Naksos
Tarnovo - Trnovo
Silistria - Silistra
Jedrinje - Jedrene
Oltenia - Oltenija or Mala Vlaška
Tirgoviste - Trgovište
^many thanks and all credit to @@93@
Thank you for reading.
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