Though ambitious and fairly intelligent, Emperor Andronikos V Palaiologos was not the strong willed ruler his father was. He let his court handle most of the Empire’s economic affairs, while the real power behind the Empire’s military was in the hands of Megas Domestikos Theodore Kyrdiniates. He decided when the Empire went to war, and with whom it went to war with, and the weak willed Andronikos blindly followed whatever ‘advise’ he received from Theodore. Though Theodore agreed that a war with Spain was inevitable, he was concerned about the fact that the Empire had no allies at all at this point. Though they were friendly with several nations of power, none of them were really in striking distance of Spain, and the Spaniards were allied with Portugal, another naval power who had a Colony in Goa, India, that was adjacent to the Imperial colony in Mangalore.
However, a new nation had recently broken free from Spanish rule in its Dutch colonies. When the rebels had first managed to organize themselves into a real resistance, Emperor Ioannes X Palaiologos had sent them supplies, weapons, and even military instructors to help them fight against the Spaniards. This, while further worsening their relations with the Spanish, vastly improved them with the fledgling Netherlands, gaining them a new potential ally against their mutual enemy, Spain. As the possibility of war once again began to brew between the two Mediterranean powers, the Roman Empire sought an alliance with the Dutch against their common foe. Though they had only completely thrown off Spanish rule some six years prior to the request, they were still eager to strike at the Spaniards in any way they could.
For Megas Domestikos Theodore Kyridiniates, however, they would be there to counter the threat of Portugal, and distract much of Spain’s military forces. The goal of the war was simple, to take North Africa from the Spanish, and to expand their Indian colonies at the Portuguese expense. The capture of northern Africa, and then, Tangiers, would open the way for western colonial expansion. This was the Empire’s future, and great wealth was said lay in the new world. The rumors of streets lined with gold attracted Theodore immensely to the Americas, and he knew that if he did not take it first, the Spanish, who already had a very strong foothold on the continent, would. The fear of the further growth Spanish power was the primary cause of this war, for the amount of gold being brought into its coffers from the new world was beginning to upset the balance of power.
The Netherlands agreed to join with the Empire against their hated foe, as peace had never been formally signed between the two nations anyway. The Spanish had continued to claim dominance over the Netherlands, and despite being constantly driven from Dutch territory, they always returned in greater force. The fledgling republic was constantly trying to rid itself of the Spanish threat, but knew that they were far too small and weak on their own at this point, to ever have any hopes of defeating what was the strongest world power of their time. The Greeks had defeated Spain before, however, and this gave them hope. With the Roman Empire and the United Republic of the Netherlands now allies, Theodore began drawing up a plan of war. Mangalore was to be reinforced by 10,000 soldiers from the mainland, whose primary goal was to defend the Greek colony, and eventually take Goa from the Portuguese. The 22,000 men stationed in Tripolitania, in the meantime, would march on Tunisia and eventually the rest of Spanish Africa.
In Italy, the bulk of the Imperial Army, nearly 80,000 men, would advance on the remaining Spanish territories of Piedmont and Genoa. The Spanish had been planning an attack on Italy, slated for the Autumn of 1569, and had sent many of their soldiers into the region, however, Theodore was determined to be the one who struck first, while numbers were still on the Empire’s side. As the armies in both Italy and India were positioned, the Imperial fleet was mobilized. They would fight Spain in Spanish waters, and “Not one Spaniard was to set foot on Greek soil”, Emperor Andronikos declared. As the two nations prepared for war, the massive French Protestant rebellion continued to hold Europe, and the Papacy’s eyes, making them unwilling to lend support to Spain in anything but prayer. And Felipe II of Spain wanted far more than prayer from his Catholic brothers. Finally, on July 17th, 1569, The Roman Empire formally declared war on Spain, citing the constant attacks against its ally The Netherlands, as the reason.
The invasion was immediate and swift, the 22,000 men under Strategos Stauracius Vataces marched rapidly into Tunisia, defeating the meager Spanish army of 8,000 stationed there. Immediately after driving the Spanish army out of the region, Vataces ordered the city of Tunis to be assaulted. However, the garrison there proved surprisingly well equipped, and Vataces was forced to call of the attack after seven days fighting. He decided that his position in Africa was firm enough for a siege to be conducted, and ordered the city to be surrounded and starved out. In Italy, nearly 80,000 men marched on Genova to confront a Spanish army of 36,000. Under the leadership of Theodoros Heraklios, the Imperial Army defeated the Spaniards despite the fact that they were in a fortified position. The Empire’s superior skill and knowledge with gunpowder weaponry once again showed its strength, and Genoa fail under siege. In India, things seemed uncertain at best, under Strategos Romanos Argyrus the Imperial Army was defeated on its initial assault on the Portuguese city of Goa, and forced to retreat back to Mangalore.
Despite the lack of success in India, the over all war had gone quite well for the Empire, Tunis had fallen shortly before Christmas, and the Imperial Army in Africa was already on the march towards Buna. In Italy, Heraklios suffered constant attack by the Spanish forces, and Genova was proving to be a difficult city to take, yet finally, they had began to make progress, and the Spanish army was beginning to weaken from its constant attempts to lift the siege of Genova. The Imperial Fleet had crushed the Spanish Armada in several significant battles already, in particular, The Battle of Cagliari, where a Roman fleet of 94 ships sunk 12 Spanish galleys from a fleet of 64. This gave the Empire temporary control of the waves, and allowed reinforcements to be sent into Africa. Strategos Stauracius Vataces put his 8,000 new soldiers to the test after securing the region of Kabylia, as he was faced with the tough decision to risk splitting his army into two weaker forces, so that he could attack both the Aures and Al Djzair regions, or simply advancing on one at time, potentially allowing the enemy to circle around him. In the end, he chose the latter, hearing that the population of the Aures region was low, and could be quickly secured.
In India, Romanos Argyrus fought a desperate battle with the Portuguese for control of peninsula, as he was driven from Mangalore by a surprise attack from the. Fortunately for him, the army in Goa had been weakened by the constant fighting, allowing him to just barely drive it from the region, and lay siege to the city. With both nations colonies under siege, it became a race to see which ones walls would fall first. It appeared that Mangalore would fall to the Portuguese first, however Romanos, after much debating with his generals, decided to launch an attack on the Portuguese army besieging the Roman colony. When the two armies met, 10,000 men under Romanos against 8,000 Portuguese, the fighting came down to brutal hand to hand combat, and though bloody for both sides involved, resulted in a Roman victory, as the Portuguese fled back to Goa. Romanos, however, determined not to let his enemies recover, pursued them, and once again defeated the Portuguese army, this time in their own province. Though they fled into Mangalore, they were now too few in number to properly lay siege to the colony.
In Italy, Genova had finally fallen, and the Imperial Army, still 60,000 strong, marched towards Piedmont. The Spanish army, having been broken by repeated unsuccessful attacks against the Roman army at Genova was easily swept aside. Heraklios, seeing no further threat to his position, ordered that the city be assaulted. With a vast numerical advantage, and over 100 canon, they easily breached the walls of Torino, regional capital of Piedmont. The victorious Imperial Army marched into the city, having defeated the Spaniards in Italy. Things continued to fair well in Africa, as Stauracius easily conquered the region of Aures. He wasted no time in marching on Al Djzair, and conquering it in a similar fashion. With only Orania, and a mere 7,000 men left to defend it, the Spanish began offering terms of peace. Finally, in India, Goa fell to Romanos’ strengthened army of 11,000, after which he proceeded to defeat what remained of the Portuguese East Indies company. After losing its last 4,000 soldiers in India, Portugal agreed to cede Goa to the Empire, thus expanding its influence on the Peninsula.
Humbled by the one sided war, Spanish King Felipe II agreed to cede all of Spain’s African territory to the Empire in exchange for peace. Emperor Andronikos, being content with this offer, accepted. The Empire now ruled most of Northern Africa, only the remnants of the once mighty Algiers remained, as well as Morocco, it‘s protector. Determined to fully consolidate the Empire’s rule in the region, Megas Domestikos Theodore Kyrdiniates ordered that the Algiers be annexed into the Empire, and that Morocco be forced to cede Tangiers, and become a vassal of the Empire. The ‘war’ against the Algeirs was short, as the Imperial Army in Africa easily breeched the walls of Biskra, in the region of Atlas. The Algiers were quickly annexed, and the army was able to turn its attention to Morocco. They marched on Fez, the capital of Morocco, and laid siege to it after a unsuccessful assault. Though the Moroccan army tried to lift they siege, the ultimately proved unable to, and the city fell into Imperial Hands. Marching on to Tangiers, they once again crushed the Moroccan army, and quickly breached the walls of the fortress guarding the city of Tangier.
For Strategos Stauracius Vataces, this seemed to be a laughably easy foe compared to the Spaniards, however, he had yet to face the greatest challenge: The Sahara Desert. As his armies marched on, attrition began to rise. It became almost unbearable during the siege of Taroudant, as the heat, lack of fresh supplies, and the constant raids by the Arabs tested the moral and resolve of the soldiers. Several sources state that the heat was so great that many soldiers were abandoning armor and any anything heavy to try and cool off. Of course this only made things worse, causing painful sunburns and blisters. Eventually, however, the city of Taroudant surrendered, and Vataces ordered his soldiers onward to AntiAtlas. The march would test the resolve of Vataces and his men, as they were force-marched through miles of desert, whilst under constant attack by an enemy that knew the land far better than they.
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Strategos Stauracius Vataces rode at the head of his army atop a sturdy brown horse, while behind him, soldiers marched in long triple file lines. The heat of the sun baked their tender flesh as they as they struggled to keep up their march. How long exactly they had been marching, no one could say, though it felt like an eternity for most. They had barely been given any time to rest after the siege of Taroudant, and moral was low. Many soldiers were contemplating turning back, and many more had already fallen, either to the heat of the sun, or to the blades of their enemies. Somehow, dieing for the Emperor was not looking very attractive to the fighting men of Imperial Africa anymore. As the day wore on, men began to fall behind, many even collapsing from the heat. Vataces lieutenant rode along side him to alerted him of the condition of his men, “Strategos, our soldiers are exhausted…We must rest, or I fear we will face desertion and perhaps even mutiny. You can not push them any further today sir, we have been marching for two straight days in this desert…” He said, sounding quite tired himself.
Stauracius looked at him for a second, turning to see his men, many collapsed in the desert from exhaustion. “Very well, we’ll make camp here.” He said calmly, stopping his steed, and slowly climbing off, sand being kicked up where he lands. He was well aware of how hard his soldiers had fought and marched, he could see it in their faces, the desperation, perhaps even the hate. He did not blame them, but he knew that victory was in their grasp, if only they could take this one last stronghold. As the soldiers unpacked their camping gear, and set up for the night, the Arab doctor that they had brought with them did his best to treat the sick and wounded. Many lay within their tents, simply happy to be out from under the sun, and able to lay down. Night time brought much relief indeed to the heat stricken army. The soldiers settled in for the first good nights sleep that they had had in weeks. Weeks of tireless marching through the Sahara.
Kalamodios, a low ranking musketeer in the Imperial Army was simply glad to be out of the sun. He honestly had no idea how long he had been away from home, the days were long and hard, to him, it seemed like decades since he had last seen his wife or child. The raids did not help either, raiders had already taken the lives of many of his comrades, and he had seen many a good friend die at their hands. The Strategos promised them that they were close to AntiAtlas, and that victory, and a return home, was close at hand. It couldn’t be soon enough, Kalamodios thought, as he stared up at the top of his tent. He rolled over to his side, and closed his eyes, determined to get some rest before the night was over. As he was beginning to doze off, screams erupted from the camp, startling him back into the real world, causing him to leap up, smacking his head on a helmet that dangled from the roof of the tent. “Skata!” He cursed as he gripped his head in pain.
A soldier burst through the doors of his tent, armor and weapons clanging together as they dangle from the ceiling, and waking his other comrades, “Hurry! We’re under attack! More of those damn Arab Raiders it seems.” He shouted to them. Kalamodios grabbed his weapons and armor, and struggled to equip them as quickly as possible. His comrades followed suit. Musketeers weren’t heavily armored in general, but much of what they wore was looted from the bodies of fallen enemies in the Spanish Wars. As they rushed out of their tent, their matchlock muskets in hand, they saw the raiders firing flaming arrows inside the camp, hoping to catch the tents on fire. Some were armed with arquebus, but most used more primitive weaponry. Kalamodios knew from experience however, not to underestimate how effective they could be with these weapons, however. He saw many of his fellow soldiers fall to direct hits from the arrows as they scrambled from their tents. They had to organize if they hoped to quickly repel this attack.
A group of raiders rode forth into the camp, armed with swords and in some cases, even arquebus. They cut down musketeers at close range, before they had time to aim their weaponry, and those with arquebus shot men emerging from their tents before they could load their own guns. Kalamodios rushed behind his own tent in order to take aim at any raider he could find. They rode through the camp atop their horses at such great speed, it was very difficult to get a clear shot, especially as their horses kicked up sand from the desert floor. Kalamodios found his target however, a raider with an arquebus, he was trying to reload while on his horse - not an easy task. As he struggled, Kalamodios took aim, and pulled the trigger, his musket ball bursting from the barrel of his gun and tearing through the air, before planting itself firmly in the raiders neck, causing him to fall from his horse in a gurgled scream of pain.
Stauracious had been woken from his command tent as soon as the attack had began, and was working feverishly to bring order to the panicking camp. The war cries of the Arabs were disorienting for the Greeks as they rode around the camp firing flaming bolts into soldiers tents. Finally, he took his sword and stormed outside the command tent against his lieutenants plea to stay and shouted to the rest of the camp, “Don’t let these heathens beat you men! God is on our side, but you must do your part! Stand strong, you have the numerical and technological advantage!” He rose his sword to draw attention to him, and though, as a result, he had to dodge more than his fair share of arrows, it did gradually began to bring the camp out of its panic. Finally, Musketeers began to form firing lines, and drive the raiders back with concentrated volleys. Gradually, the raiders retreated, and the attack ceased. Many tents were burnt, and many soldiers lay dead, but they had survived, and that is what mattered.
The next morning, they set out once more for AntiAtlas. The Sun was scorchingly hot as usual, but after having at least a partial nights rest, the men were able to press on through it. Kalamodios marched near the front of the line, so he had a good view of what was up ahead. For ever sand dune they went over, he imagined seeing AntiAtlas, hoping, praying that just once, it would be real. He could see it again as they marched over a large incline of sand, it was the most beautiful version of them all to his eyes. As he blinked a few times however, he realized, it wasn’t simply his imagination, others saw, even Stauracious saw it…It was AntiAtlas! Cheers erupted throughout the army, even in the back of the line, as they knew it could only be one thing. They had finally arrived, and their long march through the hostile desert was over. Kalamodios looked up towards the sky, and praised God for delivering him safely to the city. All that remained now was the assault, but after the march that they endured, it was childs play in comparison.
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The Imperial Army of North Africa under Stauracious wasted no time in assault the city of AntiAtlas, the tired and enraged men breaching its walls rapidly, and raping and pillaging on a scale rarely scene in the west. The city of AntiAtlas was a mere shadow of itself after the assault was finished. After its fall, the exiled King ‘Abd Al-Malik, only having small colonies deep in the Sahara left, accepted the Empire’s peace terms, and ceded Tangiers, and also became a vassal of the Emperor. The Empire had fought two successful wars in under 8 years, and had expanded its realm greatly in that time. This was more than simply more expansion for the Empire, more even than the possibility of future colonialism, it was the Empire of Justinian restored, the Empire was once again at its greatest extent, and this time, it was stable. Grand celebrations were held all across the massive Empire, From Constantinople to Rome, people celebrated the great victory. The restoration had been completed, and the Emperor, and people knew, only expansion and growth awaited.
Imperial gains after the Spanish/Moroccan Wars
Imperial East Indies
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Woah, long time no update, but there you go, a nice long one for all your waiting. I hope you enjoyed!
