I'm really happy that you got the file fixed and will be continuing this, SeanB. I liked the way Alexious handled the rebel prisoners, a pretty fair decision if you ask me. And I agree with Kelvin, there can be only ONE purple empire. 
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YES it's back..... it's great to see this AAR breathing again SeanB. Veary wise move by the emporer about the prisoners.
So what awaits the roman empire? .... kicking some fack purpel but or maby putting some preasure on persia?
So what awaits the roman empire? .... kicking some fack purpel but or maby putting some preasure on persia?
After nearly 40 years of uninterrupted rule, Alexios VI Palaiologos died of natural causes in his bed at Constantinople on March 12th, 1660. His son Ioannes XI succeeded him. Unlike his father, Ioannes XI was not aggressive or particularly ambitious. He was a naturally gifted tactician, but saw little need to cultivate these skills. He was content to simply throw extravagant parties in Constantinople, and was more concerned with his large number of illegitimate mistresses than with running the Empire. Ioannes caused controversy amongst the nobility because of his aforementioned habits, and often upset the royal court with his nonchalant attitude towards running the day-to-day business of the Empire.
Fortunately, the reforms began under Alexios’ rule continued without much alteration. Most historians suspect that Ioannes simply felt content to let the members of the royal court handle the running of the Empire, and actually cared little for policy. In the course of his reign, the real ruler of the Empire was in truth his advisor Alexandros Doukas. Many within the court feared that Alexandros, because of his families past, would attempt to usurp the throne and declare himself Emperor. Most historians agree that this fear was unfounded, however. Though Alexandros did run the Empire during most of Ioannes reign, he ruled it in the Emperor’s name. In the few instances where Emperor Ioannes chose to go against one of Alexandros’ policies, the advisor always stood down without question.
While the Emperor lived the good life in Constantinople, Alexandros Doukas shifted the Empire’s substantial wealth towards building up coastal fortifications along their North African territories, to protect them from French and Spanish incursions. Alexandros was most concerned with protecting what he considered the “Homeland”, that is the Balkans, Italy, Anatolia, Palestine, Egypt, North Africa and the Caucasus; essentially the entire mainland Empire. He put what was left of Empire’s income into improving the army and navy, and only worked on improving existing colonies, rarely ever taking new overseas territories.
This was a unique policy shift, which shared more in common with rulers of the 12th – early 15th centuries than with the more recent Emperors. This new defensive policy would encourage old enemies to more pursue their interests at Constantinople’s expense.
The Empire was not weak, however. Despite the Arab Revolt, its army remained easily the largest standing army in Europe, with the exception of perhaps Russia; and was certainly one of the best trained. Its navy was at the time by far the largest in the world, and its ships were perhaps only second to those of England. This fleet helped to preserve the overseas territories of the Empire, and insured its dominance of the Mediterranean.
Despite his defensive policy, Alexandros was deeply interested in foreign politics. He worked feverishly to improve the Empire’s standing with the other European powers, and even dispatched a large embassy to China, now ruled by the Manchu, in hopes of securing a lucrative trade agreement with the eastern power. The silk trade was still one of the most profitable enterprises of the day, and Alexandros hoped to secure a monopoly on it that would bring yet more wealth flowing into the Empire’s coffers. The Imperial East Indies Company recommended establishing a secure rout by sea for their personal use, which would act as new “Silk Road”. This would force most of Europe to look towards Constantinople, rather than Portugal, Spain, and the Netherlands, for their supply of Silk, as well as other oriental imports.
However, this was perhaps an overly optimistic goal, at least for that particular time. Manchu rule over China in the 1660s and 70s was unstable at best, and constant rebellions made foreign relations low on the Manchu Emperor’s list of priorities. Most of the eastern nations still did not recognize them as the new legitimate China, even after the defeat of the last remnants of the old Ming Dynasty. This led to further disruption in the flow of eastern silk, as well as other luxuries into Europe. Since the collapse of the Silk Road in the early 15th century, trade with China had hit an all time low.
Alexandros had other, even more pressing matters occupying his thoughts, however. After driving Portugal out of India, the Empire was left as the sole European nation that held lands on the mainland, though Portugal retained Sri Lanka. Recently, however, The Kingdom of England had established its own East Indies company, and occupied a stretch of land on the Eastern Indian coast. However, conflict between the two powers was averted due to the larger and more immediate threat: Aurangzib, Emperor of the Mughal Empire. He had begun a rapid conquest of the Indian city-states, prompting great alarm from both England and the Empire.
On April 16th, 1670, Ioannes XI Palaiologos sailed to Amsterdam, where he signed a military alliance with the King of England, Charles II of the House of Stuart. England had seen much social and political upheaval in the past decades; his father, Charles I had been executed after losing a brutal civil war between royalist and parliamentary forces, only to be replaced a few years later by Oliver Cromwell as the sole true ruler of England. The “Lord Protector” ruled England until his death in 1658, and after being briefly replaced by his heir Richard Cromwell, he was deposed and the Commonwealth reinstated. This did not last long however, as Charles II was soon asked to be the King of England once more. He accepted, and he accepted on his terms. Since then, Charles has ruled England with the aid of a Royalist parliament, the Cavalier.
Ioannes and Charles meeting went well, with the treaty being signed by both Monarchs, followed by a celebration afterwards. In order to solidify the alliance, a marriage was arranged between Ioannes son Konstantinos XIV and Charles granddaughter Anne when she came of age. This alliance was received well by the people of the Empire, as things had always been far warmer between the Orthodox Church and the Protestant faith than they had been between the Catholic nations.
The Dynatoi, who had grown increasingly concerned over Alexandros Doukas being left in complete control in the Emperor’s absence, eagerly awaited Ioannes’ return to Constantinople. Good news did not await his return, however.
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Emperor Ioannes XI Palaiologos walked up the steps of the Imperial Palace, amidst the cheers of his subjects, and as flowers were thrown in his path, as was tradition. The guards bowed and opened the doors quickly as he made his way towards the Imperial Throne. He was eager to rest and enjoy the luxuries of the palace once more.
As he entered the throne room, his servants, guards, and his advisor Alexandros Doukas all bowed. Alexandros looked up at the Emperor as he approached, “You majesty, I have kept the Empire stable in your absence to the best of my abilities. It is good to see you return to the throne.” Ioannes nodded with a slight smile, “Rise. We shall throw a great banquet in honor of my return!” He said, raising his left hand in the air in a slightly dramatic way. Alexandros merely bowed his head once more, “Yes sire.”
As Ioannes sat down in his rightful throne, the normal sounds of the ever-busy palace were interrupted as an out of breath messenger dashed into the throne room. “Your majesty!” He shouted, as he stopped and quickly kneeled about ten feet from Ioannes. “What is all of this commotion about? Speak quickly!” Ioannes barked, prompting the messenger to hastily continue, “The Persian Shah, sire. He has sent you an ultimatum.” He reached into his bag and pulled out a small note, handing it to Alexandros who opened it and read it aloud.
“Emperor of Rum, your empire lays claim to lands that rightfully belong to the true children of the prophet. I, Suleiman, Shah of Persia demand that these lands be returned to us. Rum shall cede the land of Azerbaijan to Persia by the end of the year. If you are unwilling to return this province to it’s rightful rulers peacefully, we shall take them by force.” Alexandros lowered the note, sighing. “It has been many years since Azerbaijan was an important center of trade and commerce. The province no longer offers much to us. Let us accept his demands.” Alexandros said, personally not seeing the need to fight a war over such a strategically unimportant land.
“No!” Ioannes shouted, standing sharply, “I shall not give one scrap of my land to that Barbarian!” He said clenching his fists, “That would make me look like a weak fool in front of the Dynatoi, not to mention the other Monarchs of Europe. And what would our new allies, England, think? If we give in to their demands, it will ruin my prestige and my standing amongst my peers. I shall not allow it!” He said, looking Alexandros dead in the eye. Alexandros paused for a moment, going over the options in his head, before letting a slight sigh escape past his lips, “Very well, your majesty.”
Ioannes glanced at the rest of his court, before his eyes returned to Alexandros, “Send the Megas Domestikos out immediately! He may have as many men as he needs! I do not care what it takes, just make it a glorious victory that will reaffirm my standing among the Kings of Europe.” Ioannes slumped back in his throne with a heavy sigh, as Alexandros bowed and reluctantly went to carry out his orders. Going against him now would still be far too risky. The Dynatoi were still watching him.
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In Smyrna, Anatolia, an army of roughly 40,000 was being assembled along side another force of 40,000 in Constantinople. Though the Emperor had decreed that there would be no limit placed on the number of soldiers used, Alexandros had placed a limit of 100,000 men on the Megas Domestikos, the Emperor’s decree allegedly never leaving the ears of those present at the time, thanks to careful political maneuvering by Alexandros.
As the deadline for the ceding of Azerbaijan came and went, the Shah began to launch ever more aggressive raids into Roman lands. This was a signal to the Magas Domestikos that the time to attack had come. On December 29th, 1672, the Empire declared war on Safavid Persia. Its ally England agreed to join, and immediately shipped roughly 35,000 English soldiers to help their allies achieve victory.
The Greco-British army stood at around 120,000 men in all, while the Shah had at least 100,000 of his own soldiers, and around 30,000 from his vassal, Al-Hassa. It was a war of pride and honor.
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There, see? I wasn't lieing. I said fast updates, and I meant it this time.
Fortunately, the reforms began under Alexios’ rule continued without much alteration. Most historians suspect that Ioannes simply felt content to let the members of the royal court handle the running of the Empire, and actually cared little for policy. In the course of his reign, the real ruler of the Empire was in truth his advisor Alexandros Doukas. Many within the court feared that Alexandros, because of his families past, would attempt to usurp the throne and declare himself Emperor. Most historians agree that this fear was unfounded, however. Though Alexandros did run the Empire during most of Ioannes reign, he ruled it in the Emperor’s name. In the few instances where Emperor Ioannes chose to go against one of Alexandros’ policies, the advisor always stood down without question.
While the Emperor lived the good life in Constantinople, Alexandros Doukas shifted the Empire’s substantial wealth towards building up coastal fortifications along their North African territories, to protect them from French and Spanish incursions. Alexandros was most concerned with protecting what he considered the “Homeland”, that is the Balkans, Italy, Anatolia, Palestine, Egypt, North Africa and the Caucasus; essentially the entire mainland Empire. He put what was left of Empire’s income into improving the army and navy, and only worked on improving existing colonies, rarely ever taking new overseas territories.
This was a unique policy shift, which shared more in common with rulers of the 12th – early 15th centuries than with the more recent Emperors. This new defensive policy would encourage old enemies to more pursue their interests at Constantinople’s expense.
The Empire was not weak, however. Despite the Arab Revolt, its army remained easily the largest standing army in Europe, with the exception of perhaps Russia; and was certainly one of the best trained. Its navy was at the time by far the largest in the world, and its ships were perhaps only second to those of England. This fleet helped to preserve the overseas territories of the Empire, and insured its dominance of the Mediterranean.
Despite his defensive policy, Alexandros was deeply interested in foreign politics. He worked feverishly to improve the Empire’s standing with the other European powers, and even dispatched a large embassy to China, now ruled by the Manchu, in hopes of securing a lucrative trade agreement with the eastern power. The silk trade was still one of the most profitable enterprises of the day, and Alexandros hoped to secure a monopoly on it that would bring yet more wealth flowing into the Empire’s coffers. The Imperial East Indies Company recommended establishing a secure rout by sea for their personal use, which would act as new “Silk Road”. This would force most of Europe to look towards Constantinople, rather than Portugal, Spain, and the Netherlands, for their supply of Silk, as well as other oriental imports.
However, this was perhaps an overly optimistic goal, at least for that particular time. Manchu rule over China in the 1660s and 70s was unstable at best, and constant rebellions made foreign relations low on the Manchu Emperor’s list of priorities. Most of the eastern nations still did not recognize them as the new legitimate China, even after the defeat of the last remnants of the old Ming Dynasty. This led to further disruption in the flow of eastern silk, as well as other luxuries into Europe. Since the collapse of the Silk Road in the early 15th century, trade with China had hit an all time low.
Alexandros had other, even more pressing matters occupying his thoughts, however. After driving Portugal out of India, the Empire was left as the sole European nation that held lands on the mainland, though Portugal retained Sri Lanka. Recently, however, The Kingdom of England had established its own East Indies company, and occupied a stretch of land on the Eastern Indian coast. However, conflict between the two powers was averted due to the larger and more immediate threat: Aurangzib, Emperor of the Mughal Empire. He had begun a rapid conquest of the Indian city-states, prompting great alarm from both England and the Empire.
On April 16th, 1670, Ioannes XI Palaiologos sailed to Amsterdam, where he signed a military alliance with the King of England, Charles II of the House of Stuart. England had seen much social and political upheaval in the past decades; his father, Charles I had been executed after losing a brutal civil war between royalist and parliamentary forces, only to be replaced a few years later by Oliver Cromwell as the sole true ruler of England. The “Lord Protector” ruled England until his death in 1658, and after being briefly replaced by his heir Richard Cromwell, he was deposed and the Commonwealth reinstated. This did not last long however, as Charles II was soon asked to be the King of England once more. He accepted, and he accepted on his terms. Since then, Charles has ruled England with the aid of a Royalist parliament, the Cavalier.
Ioannes and Charles meeting went well, with the treaty being signed by both Monarchs, followed by a celebration afterwards. In order to solidify the alliance, a marriage was arranged between Ioannes son Konstantinos XIV and Charles granddaughter Anne when she came of age. This alliance was received well by the people of the Empire, as things had always been far warmer between the Orthodox Church and the Protestant faith than they had been between the Catholic nations.
The Dynatoi, who had grown increasingly concerned over Alexandros Doukas being left in complete control in the Emperor’s absence, eagerly awaited Ioannes’ return to Constantinople. Good news did not await his return, however.
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Emperor Ioannes XI Palaiologos walked up the steps of the Imperial Palace, amidst the cheers of his subjects, and as flowers were thrown in his path, as was tradition. The guards bowed and opened the doors quickly as he made his way towards the Imperial Throne. He was eager to rest and enjoy the luxuries of the palace once more.
As he entered the throne room, his servants, guards, and his advisor Alexandros Doukas all bowed. Alexandros looked up at the Emperor as he approached, “You majesty, I have kept the Empire stable in your absence to the best of my abilities. It is good to see you return to the throne.” Ioannes nodded with a slight smile, “Rise. We shall throw a great banquet in honor of my return!” He said, raising his left hand in the air in a slightly dramatic way. Alexandros merely bowed his head once more, “Yes sire.”
As Ioannes sat down in his rightful throne, the normal sounds of the ever-busy palace were interrupted as an out of breath messenger dashed into the throne room. “Your majesty!” He shouted, as he stopped and quickly kneeled about ten feet from Ioannes. “What is all of this commotion about? Speak quickly!” Ioannes barked, prompting the messenger to hastily continue, “The Persian Shah, sire. He has sent you an ultimatum.” He reached into his bag and pulled out a small note, handing it to Alexandros who opened it and read it aloud.
“Emperor of Rum, your empire lays claim to lands that rightfully belong to the true children of the prophet. I, Suleiman, Shah of Persia demand that these lands be returned to us. Rum shall cede the land of Azerbaijan to Persia by the end of the year. If you are unwilling to return this province to it’s rightful rulers peacefully, we shall take them by force.” Alexandros lowered the note, sighing. “It has been many years since Azerbaijan was an important center of trade and commerce. The province no longer offers much to us. Let us accept his demands.” Alexandros said, personally not seeing the need to fight a war over such a strategically unimportant land.
“No!” Ioannes shouted, standing sharply, “I shall not give one scrap of my land to that Barbarian!” He said clenching his fists, “That would make me look like a weak fool in front of the Dynatoi, not to mention the other Monarchs of Europe. And what would our new allies, England, think? If we give in to their demands, it will ruin my prestige and my standing amongst my peers. I shall not allow it!” He said, looking Alexandros dead in the eye. Alexandros paused for a moment, going over the options in his head, before letting a slight sigh escape past his lips, “Very well, your majesty.”
Ioannes glanced at the rest of his court, before his eyes returned to Alexandros, “Send the Megas Domestikos out immediately! He may have as many men as he needs! I do not care what it takes, just make it a glorious victory that will reaffirm my standing among the Kings of Europe.” Ioannes slumped back in his throne with a heavy sigh, as Alexandros bowed and reluctantly went to carry out his orders. Going against him now would still be far too risky. The Dynatoi were still watching him.
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In Smyrna, Anatolia, an army of roughly 40,000 was being assembled along side another force of 40,000 in Constantinople. Though the Emperor had decreed that there would be no limit placed on the number of soldiers used, Alexandros had placed a limit of 100,000 men on the Megas Domestikos, the Emperor’s decree allegedly never leaving the ears of those present at the time, thanks to careful political maneuvering by Alexandros.
As the deadline for the ceding of Azerbaijan came and went, the Shah began to launch ever more aggressive raids into Roman lands. This was a signal to the Magas Domestikos that the time to attack had come. On December 29th, 1672, the Empire declared war on Safavid Persia. Its ally England agreed to join, and immediately shipped roughly 35,000 English soldiers to help their allies achieve victory.
The Greco-British army stood at around 120,000 men in all, while the Shah had at least 100,000 of his own soldiers, and around 30,000 from his vassal, Al-Hassa. It was a war of pride and honor.
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There, see? I wasn't lieing. I said fast updates, and I meant it this time.
Ha I guesd right, persia is going down (I hope ), now we'll see just how mutch the emporer knows about tactics.
Anyway great to see you back SeanB
), now we'll see just how mutch the emporer knows about tactics.Anyway great to see you back SeanB
For his other faults, the emperor looks to be quite the military leader. Hope that stands you in good stead in the coming conflict. Oh, and let me add mine to the voices exclaiming their delight that you were able to continue this AAR.
Vann
Vann
I see Persian armies fleeing in terror after horrible events force them to lose battle after battle against the Romans. I'm guessing their tech isn't as advanced as yours which will make winning a mite easier. As long as you don't overextend yourself, that is...nice update.
Woohoo, fast paced updating! I see an easy victory over the Persians, barring the unexpected, as long as the war remains about honor and the Emperor doesn't get too greedy.
I see an easy victory over the Persians, barring the unexpected, as long as the war remains about honor and the Emperor doesn't get too greedy.
As the Roman army approached the border of Persia, the Shah immediately withdrew his raiding parties; having them join with the army he had amassed to combat the Greeks. Megas Domestikos Kalamodios Eugenikos opted to have the bulk of the Greco-British army break up into three separate groups, the northernmost group would be the predominantly Orthodox Turkish soldiers from the Bursa; the central army would be comprised of Greek soldiers from Constantinople and the southernmost army would be made up of English soldiers.
This tactic was considerably ahead of its time, as it presented a somewhat solid front of advancement in an era were most wars were decided in a few major military clashes. Reasons for him choosing such an unorthodox method of attack are heavily debated among modern historians. At first glance it would appear to be quite suicidal to separate your armies in such a way. Upon the Empire’s declaration of war, the Shah had declared a Jihad against the Empire, enabling Persia, with the help of its vassal Al-Hassa, to raise an army that was actually slightly larger than that of the Greco-British army.
One theory, however, is that Kalamodios, upon analyzing the known maps of Persia from the Empire’s previous campaigns, realized that the many Iranian mountains, in particular the Zagros Mountains, which very much stood in their way, could have made moving such a large army through them vulnerable to being ambushed and routed in one fatal blow.
He opted instead to break his force into three separate armies of roughly 40,000 men each. This move allowed the Empire to besiege several important cities at once, rather than trying to take each out one at time, and possibly destroying their army due to attrition. He also knew that on a tactical level, the English generals would want to command their way, and would not enjoy having a foreigner draw up their battle plans.
Outside of Persia, and just south of modern Kuwait, was Al-Hassa. Though originally a province in the Safavid Empire, when the Romans defeated Persia and took Kuwait in the first Greco-Persian war, it began exerting more autonomy, eventually falling under the rule of local Sheiks. The Shah managed to keep a tight enough reign on them however to prevent them from fully breaking away, and demanded annual tribute from the Sheiks who ruled the land. Kalamodios had feared that this Persian vassal would attempt to launch an attack against the Empire through Basrah, and cut off their supplies from behind while the main army was still fighting deep in Persia.
To prevent this, he ordered roughly 10,000 men to remain in the province and defend against any attacks from the South. Though outnumbered by the combined strength of the Sheiks armies, he knew they had superior weaponry, and had far more unity and organization than the many small peasant armies of the Sheiks. His hunch proved to be correct, as on January 19th, 1673, Al-Hassa launch an attack against the province of Basrah with an army of at least 15,000 men.
The Greek soldiers, under the command of Symeon Palaiologos, a nephew of the Emperor, moved to confront them. Symeon’s army was comprised almost completely of infantry, with 20 cannon. Kalamodios had intended the army to be purely defensive, and simply keep the province of Basrah from falling into Al-Hassa’s hands. He had not seen a need to place any large amount of cavalry in the army, having pikes instead used to protect Symeon’s flanks.
Despite the recent decline of the pike’s usefulness in modern European warfare, it was still in use by most armies, though in a limited amount. Against a relatively outdated army like that of the sheiks, which still heavily employed the old Matchlock Arquebus firearms, Kalamodios felt that pikes would be more than sufficient to ward off any attacks. Stopping only a few miles outside Basrah, Symeon ordered his soldiers to hold their ground against the rapidly approaching Shia army.
The plan of attack for Al-Hassa was disorganized at best, with several prominent Sheiks, each owning a large portion of the army, and each disagreeing on how they should proceed with the invasion. By the time the Roman Army was in sight, each Sheik was really treating his own group of soldiers as a separate army, thus causing them to often engage the Greeks as many tiny units rather than as a single army.
As the Arabs approached, the front rank of the Greek army was ordered to kneel, aiming low. When the Arabs came within 250 yards, the first volley of fire was unleashed. The front rank was quickly rotated out and replaced by the rank behind them, who repeated the action, to a far more devastating effect at 180 yards. At that point the cannon that had been kept back opened fire, tearing through the ranks of the opposing army. A third volley followed at 110 yards, followed by a final volley from the reloaded first rank at only 30 yards.
The arquebus that the armies of Al-Hassa were using had an optimal range of only around 40 – 60 yards, being poorly made by local smiths more use to making light armor and swords. The Roman muskets however had an optimal range of close to 100 yards, Roman gunsmiths being renowned all across Europe as some of the best in the world. To top it off, many of the Arabic warriors were only equipped with scimitars and light shields. Al-Hassa was not truly even a single tribe, but a collection of tribes, and any sort of uniformity in equipment was lost to them.
The Arabs equipped with guns opened fire as soon as the Greeks, but as they neglected to kneel or aim low, coupled with the low quality of their already outdated weapons, they hit virtually no targets. The first volley from the Greek muskets only managed to wound or kill perhaps a little over a hundred. The second volley, followed by a barrage by the cannon, inflicted at least 500 losses. The third volley brought down anywhere from 600 to 800 Arabic warriors. The fourth, final, and most devastating volley claimed at least 1,000, likely more. Estimated losses suffered on the initial Arabic charge have been reported no lower than 2,000, and as high as 3,000. Greek losses were between 200 and 400.
After the final volley, the entire army fitted a recently introduced weapon, the plug bayonet into the muzzle of their muskets. Symeon ordered them to engage the enemy in melee as their morale faltered. Several of the Sheiks, along with what remained of their army had retreated at this point, fleeing the battlefield, often leaving their private militias behind in their haste. As what remained of the Arabic army clashed with the Greeks, their morale quickly crumbled, and a massive rout ensued. Symeon ordered the soldiers to remove their bayonets and resume firing at the retreating Arabs.
The Battle of Basrah was the first conflict of the second Greco-Persian war, and was crucial in protecting Roman supplies from being cut off, which would have lead to a disastrous defeat in Persia.
The war against Persia itself proved to be much less decisive in the opening months. Split into three groups, the Greco-British army besieged the three border cities of Tabriz, Hamadan and Awhaz. Upon besieging the cities, they met with little or no resistance from the Persian army itself, excluding the garrisons inside the fortress. This would soon change however, as the Shah began to launch progressively larger raids into the besieged territories. At this point, however, the Shah still refused to commit any large amount of soldiers to a pitched battle. He hoped to weaken and demoralize the Romans first before engaging their armies one by one with the combined strength of the entire Persian army.
Things were not going as the Shah had hoped however; the raids he had sent against both the Greek and English armies had had little effect. They were usually defeated with very few casualties suffered by the enemy. Worse yet, the defenses of the western cities were beginning to crumble. The Shah knew that a decisive battle in his favor would be needed to protect his Empire.
On March 7th, the Safavid army marched into Hamadan with the goal of lifting the siege and routing the Roman army there. The Romans, directly under the command of Megas Domestikos Kalamodios Eugenikos, broke most of its army off from the siege, though still leaving a small detachment to prevent supplies from entering, and engaged the Persian army. The Persians attacked with some 50,000 to Eugenikos’ 40,000. Though the Persian army was a fare deal less advanced than that of the Empire, they had the numerical advantage, and unlike their Vassal Al-Hassa, they were united in a single army under the Shah.
The main weapon of the Persian army was the musket, though they were in general more heavy and less accurate than their Roman counterparts. The Persians were also equipped with cannon of their own, though again, inferior to the Roman armies. These weapons had helped the Safavid Empire defeat it’s enemies, such as the Uzbeks and Mughals, and turn it into arguably the most powerful Muslim nation, Sunni or Shia, in the late 17th century. In contrast, the only major war that the Roman Empire had been in so far in the 1600s was with Austria, which, though it signed a white peace with the power, it lost a humiliating amount of soldiers against the Knights of Rhodes. This coupled with the Great Dynatoi Revolt and the Great Arab Rebellion planted the image of the Empire as an unstable paper tiger.
The Shah believed that if his army could defeat the Romans decisively but once, they would sue for peace on his terms. Most Historians disagree with this view, however, stating that the Emperor, in his desire to not lose face, would have never allowed such a thing to happen. In any case, the two armies met in the afternoon of March 7th, with Eugenikos assuming a defensive position against Suleiman, who launched a full frontal assault with the bulk of his army, while his Qizilbash rode outward in an attempt to flank the Roman army.
Eugenikos, however, had held his cavalry back in reserve, a few miles away from the sight of the battle. Hidden by the Zagros Mountains, they waited for his signal to move. He used his limited number of pikes to guard his flanks in his cavalry’s absence, and told his men to stand their ground whatever the cost.
As the Shah’s army rapidly approached, the Roman cannon opened fire, the cannon fire tearing through, though not stopping the ranks of the Persian army. When the Persian cannon came into range, they returned fire, prompting Eugenikos to order his soldiers to adopt a lose formation until the enemy closed, in order to minimize his losses. As the Persian infantry came within range, the Roman army reformed into a tight formation and opened fire. Due to the superior optimal range of their muskets, the Roman infantry managed to get one shot off from each rank in the first line (a total of four shots,) before the Shah’s army came into firing range.
As the Qizilbash came riding into the flanks, the Roman pikes prepared to hold their ground, though outnumbered, as best they could. Two regiments of musket-men were placed on each flank to support the pikes, and attempt to keep the Qizilbash off balance, and prevent them from mounting a second charge. As the battle rapidly heated up, Eugenikos gave the signal for his cavalry, via galloper, to quickly move from their hidden location roughly a mile away, and slam into the rear of the Qizilbash on the flanks. He had sent the runner as soon as the Qizilbash had gotten close to the flanks, not wishing to rely on his limited number of pikes to hold them off for any length of time.
Indeed, the flanks were under a great amount of pressure; despite the constant barrage of musket fire from the two regiments stationed with them, the Qizilbash were slowly but surely surrounding the pikemen with their superior numbers. The center of the army was holding against the Persians quite well, in contrast. The four extra shots and their superior weaponry were making a large difference in the battle. Still, Eugenikos knew that if his flanks collapsed, it would all be for naught.
Just as it seemed as if the Pikemen would break and surrender to the Qizilbash, the Imperial Hussars slammed into their rear, causing massive chaos among their ranks. Imperial Hussars, armed with steel lances, were known to have an extremely devastating charge, rivaling that of even their Polish counterparts. Their charge into the rear of the Quizilbash caused utter chaos among their ranks, as they, still locked in a confrontation with the pikes, and unable to back up to charge again, found themselves between two groups of hostile spears. Within but a few minutes of fighting, the Qizilbash were in full retreat across the desert. A small detachment of Hussars was sent to make sure they did not rally, while the rest headed towards the left flank of the Safavid army.
The army of Safavid Persia still relied heavily on pikes, having yet to adopt the superior firearms that most European nations by then had. This had proven disastrous in the center, as Pike armed Persian infantry, use to fighting the cavalry of the Uzbeks and Mughals, were cut to pieces by Roman muskets and canon. Though the Persian army had been larger than the Roman army overall, in truth, the Greeks outnumbered the Persians in terms of musketmen. When the Imperial Heavy Hussars, originally based on those of the Poland-Lithuanian Commonwealth, began their charge towards the Persian left flank, most of the Safavid pikes had been routed or were in poor shape.
The Hussars slammed into the Persians flank with the force of nearly 10,000 horses, the Persian cannon being unable to turn and aim properly in time before cavalry were upon them. After this, Eugenikos ordered the center to equip bayonets and charge into the demoralized and confused enemy. This proved to the straw that broke the Shah’s back, as he found his army in a massive rout. As the Imperial Hussars began to run down as many routers as they could trample, the Shah quickly retreated with his loyal bodyguards, escaping the battle unharmed, except for his pride.
Casualties suffered in the battle are sketchy at best, but most historians place the number at around 14,000 dead or wounded for the Persians, and 3,000 for the Romans. The Battle of Hamadan is considered to be one of the most decisive battles of the 17th century. After this, morale in the Shah’s army would reach an all time low, and open the way for their English allies to attack the Persian capital of Isfahan.
The Shah would continue to launch raids against the armies of Constantinople and England, in an ultimately futile attempt to keep them off balance and weaken their morale. If anything, the Shah only served to further deplete and demoralize his own army. The siege of three western towns would continue uninterrupted, as Shah Suleiman I desperately tried to pull his army together after their crushing defeat at Hamadan.
In southern Iraq, Symeon Palaiologos had ordered the local population of Iraq assemble roughly 5,000 soldiers after his defeat of the Sheiks army. He intended, against Megas Domestikos Kalamodios Eugenikos’ orders, to launch an attack into the Al-Hassa province of Damman. With an army of roughly 15,000, Symeon lead his army into a confrontation with 17,000 Al-Hassan Warriors on July 9th. This army was not the same one Symeon had faced in January, however. The Shah had ordered one of his most trusted generals to take command of the Al-Hassan army. In the following months, Isma’il Ahmad had worked to organize and train the army to function as a group. Under the Shah’s orders, the Local Sheiks had to step down as pseudo-Generals, allowing Isma’il to take command.
Eager for the glory of victory and the conquest of Al-Hassa, Symeon Palaiologos launched a direct attack against Isma’il’s army. Sensing the impending attack, Isma’il had had his soldiers dig in for a defensive battle. As Symeon ordered his soldiers forward, they were met a shocking amount of resistance. In one of the longest battles of pre-20th century history, the Battle of Damman lasted for 16 days as Isma’il gradually gave ground to Symeon, all the while inflicting heavy casualties on the Romans, while receiving plenty of his own. Eventually, faced with a potential mutiny from his Arabic soldiers, Symeon was forced to retreat back to Basrah, with roughly 5,000 casualties. Isma’il’s army had actually suffered more losses, around 6,000, against the Romans superior technology, however, his tactics had paid off in the end by using his superior numbers and the attrition of the hostile desert to wear them down.
The battle of Damman effectively ended the military career of Symeon Palaiologos, and was the only major defeat the Imperial Army suffered in the 2nd Greco-Persian War. The Persian-Al-Hassan victory did little to help in the mainland, however. On November 28th, Tabriz fell to the Northern Roman army, and on December 22nd Awhaz fell to the English in the south. Megas Domestikos Kalamodios and his army finally pushed forward, taking Hamadan on February 18th. Both the northern and central armies besieged Tehran, while the English besieged the Safavid capital of Isfahan.
On July 3rd, Tehran fell, and the Roman army began marching towards Isfahan to aid the British in breaching its walls. Shah Suleiman I, knowing this was his last chance gathered as many men as he could find, forcing boys as young as 13, and men as old as 50 into the army to fight. With an army of over 70,000 men, Suleiman launched a direct attack against English forces besieging Isfahan. The two armies met on June 24th, 1674.
The English, with roughly 30 – 35,000 soldiers, were surprised by the sheer size of the Persian army, yet bravely held their ground against seemingly impossible odds. As the battle began, the Shah virtually threw everything that he had at the English in a full frontal attack, hoping to overwhelm them by sheer weight of numbers. Though the superior English muskets and canon inflicted heavy losses on the Shah, and despite the abysmal morale of some of his soldiers, once the Persian army closed and hand to hand fighting began, the English found their army being slowly but surely surrounded.
The fighting continued, lasting into the night as the English continued to fight the seemingly endless numbers of men, despite having lost over 5,000 soldiers by nightfall, they refused to give in, partly because they were almost surrounded and it would almost certainly mean capture, and partly because of pride, not wishing to surrender to those who they saw as inferior. As the hours went on, the situation only grew worse, as the Shah had nearly pressed the English army up against the walls of Isfahan itself. However, it was then, just as the English generals were allegedly considering surrender that the combined Roman army, marching quickly to Isfahan from Tehran arrived.
Megas Domestikos Kalamodios ordered his 60,000-something soldiers to take the pressure off of the English by firing into the compact, relatively chaotic “ranks” of the Persian army that had become jumbled in the extended melee confrontation. The combined musket and cannon fire from the Roman army inflicted horrible losses to the rear of the Persian army, as the Imperial Hussars launched repeated charges into the rears and flanks of the Persians, devastating the morale of the Shah’s army. Upon hearing the sound of the Roman trumpets, the English launched a daring counter-attack against their foes, putting pressure on the Shah from nearly every side.
With much of much of his soldiers being but children, it is not surprising that the army began to break and rout at this point, with reportedly over 20,000 Persians being killed in the battle. The English lost roughly 6 – 8,000, while the Romans lost around 4,000. In the months following this defeat, there would only be minor skirmishes with what remained of the Persian army, this battle having completely destroyed any hopes the Shah had for victory. On October 18th, Isfahan fell to the Greco-British army. The Shah ordered what remained of his army to launch an attack to retake the city, however his army mutinied and disbanded, returning to their homes and families.
With his capital taken, and without an army, the Shah asked for the Roman Emperor’s terms for his surrender. The Emperor demanded that the Shah release Baluchistan as a semi-autonomous part of Persia, and transfer vassalage of Al-Hassa to the Empire, while becoming a protectorate of the Empire itself. Though these terms appalled Suleiman, he had little choice but to accept. The Treaty was concluded in Baghdad on November 22nd. It had been a glorious victory for the Empire, and the Emperor’s reputation was saved amongst the nobles.
The usual post victory celebration was held in Constantinople, now with nearly 600,000 people within its walls, the Emperor lead the parade of victorious soldiers through the streets amidst the cheering crowds. When asked to attend the celebrations by the Dynatoi, it is said that Alexandros Doukas bitterly refused, locking himself within his chambers in the palace. Nevertheless, the celebrations continued, and Imperial lands were secure.
The state of Persia after the 2nd Greco-Persian war.
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Whew, that...was a long one. And a lot of work. Hope you enjoyed. I'll try and get the next update out soon as well.
This tactic was considerably ahead of its time, as it presented a somewhat solid front of advancement in an era were most wars were decided in a few major military clashes. Reasons for him choosing such an unorthodox method of attack are heavily debated among modern historians. At first glance it would appear to be quite suicidal to separate your armies in such a way. Upon the Empire’s declaration of war, the Shah had declared a Jihad against the Empire, enabling Persia, with the help of its vassal Al-Hassa, to raise an army that was actually slightly larger than that of the Greco-British army.
One theory, however, is that Kalamodios, upon analyzing the known maps of Persia from the Empire’s previous campaigns, realized that the many Iranian mountains, in particular the Zagros Mountains, which very much stood in their way, could have made moving such a large army through them vulnerable to being ambushed and routed in one fatal blow.
He opted instead to break his force into three separate armies of roughly 40,000 men each. This move allowed the Empire to besiege several important cities at once, rather than trying to take each out one at time, and possibly destroying their army due to attrition. He also knew that on a tactical level, the English generals would want to command their way, and would not enjoy having a foreigner draw up their battle plans.
Outside of Persia, and just south of modern Kuwait, was Al-Hassa. Though originally a province in the Safavid Empire, when the Romans defeated Persia and took Kuwait in the first Greco-Persian war, it began exerting more autonomy, eventually falling under the rule of local Sheiks. The Shah managed to keep a tight enough reign on them however to prevent them from fully breaking away, and demanded annual tribute from the Sheiks who ruled the land. Kalamodios had feared that this Persian vassal would attempt to launch an attack against the Empire through Basrah, and cut off their supplies from behind while the main army was still fighting deep in Persia.
To prevent this, he ordered roughly 10,000 men to remain in the province and defend against any attacks from the South. Though outnumbered by the combined strength of the Sheiks armies, he knew they had superior weaponry, and had far more unity and organization than the many small peasant armies of the Sheiks. His hunch proved to be correct, as on January 19th, 1673, Al-Hassa launch an attack against the province of Basrah with an army of at least 15,000 men.
The Greek soldiers, under the command of Symeon Palaiologos, a nephew of the Emperor, moved to confront them. Symeon’s army was comprised almost completely of infantry, with 20 cannon. Kalamodios had intended the army to be purely defensive, and simply keep the province of Basrah from falling into Al-Hassa’s hands. He had not seen a need to place any large amount of cavalry in the army, having pikes instead used to protect Symeon’s flanks.
Despite the recent decline of the pike’s usefulness in modern European warfare, it was still in use by most armies, though in a limited amount. Against a relatively outdated army like that of the sheiks, which still heavily employed the old Matchlock Arquebus firearms, Kalamodios felt that pikes would be more than sufficient to ward off any attacks. Stopping only a few miles outside Basrah, Symeon ordered his soldiers to hold their ground against the rapidly approaching Shia army.
The plan of attack for Al-Hassa was disorganized at best, with several prominent Sheiks, each owning a large portion of the army, and each disagreeing on how they should proceed with the invasion. By the time the Roman Army was in sight, each Sheik was really treating his own group of soldiers as a separate army, thus causing them to often engage the Greeks as many tiny units rather than as a single army.
As the Arabs approached, the front rank of the Greek army was ordered to kneel, aiming low. When the Arabs came within 250 yards, the first volley of fire was unleashed. The front rank was quickly rotated out and replaced by the rank behind them, who repeated the action, to a far more devastating effect at 180 yards. At that point the cannon that had been kept back opened fire, tearing through the ranks of the opposing army. A third volley followed at 110 yards, followed by a final volley from the reloaded first rank at only 30 yards.
The arquebus that the armies of Al-Hassa were using had an optimal range of only around 40 – 60 yards, being poorly made by local smiths more use to making light armor and swords. The Roman muskets however had an optimal range of close to 100 yards, Roman gunsmiths being renowned all across Europe as some of the best in the world. To top it off, many of the Arabic warriors were only equipped with scimitars and light shields. Al-Hassa was not truly even a single tribe, but a collection of tribes, and any sort of uniformity in equipment was lost to them.
The Arabs equipped with guns opened fire as soon as the Greeks, but as they neglected to kneel or aim low, coupled with the low quality of their already outdated weapons, they hit virtually no targets. The first volley from the Greek muskets only managed to wound or kill perhaps a little over a hundred. The second volley, followed by a barrage by the cannon, inflicted at least 500 losses. The third volley brought down anywhere from 600 to 800 Arabic warriors. The fourth, final, and most devastating volley claimed at least 1,000, likely more. Estimated losses suffered on the initial Arabic charge have been reported no lower than 2,000, and as high as 3,000. Greek losses were between 200 and 400.
After the final volley, the entire army fitted a recently introduced weapon, the plug bayonet into the muzzle of their muskets. Symeon ordered them to engage the enemy in melee as their morale faltered. Several of the Sheiks, along with what remained of their army had retreated at this point, fleeing the battlefield, often leaving their private militias behind in their haste. As what remained of the Arabic army clashed with the Greeks, their morale quickly crumbled, and a massive rout ensued. Symeon ordered the soldiers to remove their bayonets and resume firing at the retreating Arabs.
The Battle of Basrah was the first conflict of the second Greco-Persian war, and was crucial in protecting Roman supplies from being cut off, which would have lead to a disastrous defeat in Persia.
The war against Persia itself proved to be much less decisive in the opening months. Split into three groups, the Greco-British army besieged the three border cities of Tabriz, Hamadan and Awhaz. Upon besieging the cities, they met with little or no resistance from the Persian army itself, excluding the garrisons inside the fortress. This would soon change however, as the Shah began to launch progressively larger raids into the besieged territories. At this point, however, the Shah still refused to commit any large amount of soldiers to a pitched battle. He hoped to weaken and demoralize the Romans first before engaging their armies one by one with the combined strength of the entire Persian army.
Things were not going as the Shah had hoped however; the raids he had sent against both the Greek and English armies had had little effect. They were usually defeated with very few casualties suffered by the enemy. Worse yet, the defenses of the western cities were beginning to crumble. The Shah knew that a decisive battle in his favor would be needed to protect his Empire.
On March 7th, the Safavid army marched into Hamadan with the goal of lifting the siege and routing the Roman army there. The Romans, directly under the command of Megas Domestikos Kalamodios Eugenikos, broke most of its army off from the siege, though still leaving a small detachment to prevent supplies from entering, and engaged the Persian army. The Persians attacked with some 50,000 to Eugenikos’ 40,000. Though the Persian army was a fare deal less advanced than that of the Empire, they had the numerical advantage, and unlike their Vassal Al-Hassa, they were united in a single army under the Shah.
The main weapon of the Persian army was the musket, though they were in general more heavy and less accurate than their Roman counterparts. The Persians were also equipped with cannon of their own, though again, inferior to the Roman armies. These weapons had helped the Safavid Empire defeat it’s enemies, such as the Uzbeks and Mughals, and turn it into arguably the most powerful Muslim nation, Sunni or Shia, in the late 17th century. In contrast, the only major war that the Roman Empire had been in so far in the 1600s was with Austria, which, though it signed a white peace with the power, it lost a humiliating amount of soldiers against the Knights of Rhodes. This coupled with the Great Dynatoi Revolt and the Great Arab Rebellion planted the image of the Empire as an unstable paper tiger.
The Shah believed that if his army could defeat the Romans decisively but once, they would sue for peace on his terms. Most Historians disagree with this view, however, stating that the Emperor, in his desire to not lose face, would have never allowed such a thing to happen. In any case, the two armies met in the afternoon of March 7th, with Eugenikos assuming a defensive position against Suleiman, who launched a full frontal assault with the bulk of his army, while his Qizilbash rode outward in an attempt to flank the Roman army.
Eugenikos, however, had held his cavalry back in reserve, a few miles away from the sight of the battle. Hidden by the Zagros Mountains, they waited for his signal to move. He used his limited number of pikes to guard his flanks in his cavalry’s absence, and told his men to stand their ground whatever the cost.
As the Shah’s army rapidly approached, the Roman cannon opened fire, the cannon fire tearing through, though not stopping the ranks of the Persian army. When the Persian cannon came into range, they returned fire, prompting Eugenikos to order his soldiers to adopt a lose formation until the enemy closed, in order to minimize his losses. As the Persian infantry came within range, the Roman army reformed into a tight formation and opened fire. Due to the superior optimal range of their muskets, the Roman infantry managed to get one shot off from each rank in the first line (a total of four shots,) before the Shah’s army came into firing range.
As the Qizilbash came riding into the flanks, the Roman pikes prepared to hold their ground, though outnumbered, as best they could. Two regiments of musket-men were placed on each flank to support the pikes, and attempt to keep the Qizilbash off balance, and prevent them from mounting a second charge. As the battle rapidly heated up, Eugenikos gave the signal for his cavalry, via galloper, to quickly move from their hidden location roughly a mile away, and slam into the rear of the Qizilbash on the flanks. He had sent the runner as soon as the Qizilbash had gotten close to the flanks, not wishing to rely on his limited number of pikes to hold them off for any length of time.
Indeed, the flanks were under a great amount of pressure; despite the constant barrage of musket fire from the two regiments stationed with them, the Qizilbash were slowly but surely surrounding the pikemen with their superior numbers. The center of the army was holding against the Persians quite well, in contrast. The four extra shots and their superior weaponry were making a large difference in the battle. Still, Eugenikos knew that if his flanks collapsed, it would all be for naught.
Just as it seemed as if the Pikemen would break and surrender to the Qizilbash, the Imperial Hussars slammed into their rear, causing massive chaos among their ranks. Imperial Hussars, armed with steel lances, were known to have an extremely devastating charge, rivaling that of even their Polish counterparts. Their charge into the rear of the Quizilbash caused utter chaos among their ranks, as they, still locked in a confrontation with the pikes, and unable to back up to charge again, found themselves between two groups of hostile spears. Within but a few minutes of fighting, the Qizilbash were in full retreat across the desert. A small detachment of Hussars was sent to make sure they did not rally, while the rest headed towards the left flank of the Safavid army.
The army of Safavid Persia still relied heavily on pikes, having yet to adopt the superior firearms that most European nations by then had. This had proven disastrous in the center, as Pike armed Persian infantry, use to fighting the cavalry of the Uzbeks and Mughals, were cut to pieces by Roman muskets and canon. Though the Persian army had been larger than the Roman army overall, in truth, the Greeks outnumbered the Persians in terms of musketmen. When the Imperial Heavy Hussars, originally based on those of the Poland-Lithuanian Commonwealth, began their charge towards the Persian left flank, most of the Safavid pikes had been routed or were in poor shape.
The Hussars slammed into the Persians flank with the force of nearly 10,000 horses, the Persian cannon being unable to turn and aim properly in time before cavalry were upon them. After this, Eugenikos ordered the center to equip bayonets and charge into the demoralized and confused enemy. This proved to the straw that broke the Shah’s back, as he found his army in a massive rout. As the Imperial Hussars began to run down as many routers as they could trample, the Shah quickly retreated with his loyal bodyguards, escaping the battle unharmed, except for his pride.
Casualties suffered in the battle are sketchy at best, but most historians place the number at around 14,000 dead or wounded for the Persians, and 3,000 for the Romans. The Battle of Hamadan is considered to be one of the most decisive battles of the 17th century. After this, morale in the Shah’s army would reach an all time low, and open the way for their English allies to attack the Persian capital of Isfahan.
The Shah would continue to launch raids against the armies of Constantinople and England, in an ultimately futile attempt to keep them off balance and weaken their morale. If anything, the Shah only served to further deplete and demoralize his own army. The siege of three western towns would continue uninterrupted, as Shah Suleiman I desperately tried to pull his army together after their crushing defeat at Hamadan.
In southern Iraq, Symeon Palaiologos had ordered the local population of Iraq assemble roughly 5,000 soldiers after his defeat of the Sheiks army. He intended, against Megas Domestikos Kalamodios Eugenikos’ orders, to launch an attack into the Al-Hassa province of Damman. With an army of roughly 15,000, Symeon lead his army into a confrontation with 17,000 Al-Hassan Warriors on July 9th. This army was not the same one Symeon had faced in January, however. The Shah had ordered one of his most trusted generals to take command of the Al-Hassan army. In the following months, Isma’il Ahmad had worked to organize and train the army to function as a group. Under the Shah’s orders, the Local Sheiks had to step down as pseudo-Generals, allowing Isma’il to take command.
Eager for the glory of victory and the conquest of Al-Hassa, Symeon Palaiologos launched a direct attack against Isma’il’s army. Sensing the impending attack, Isma’il had had his soldiers dig in for a defensive battle. As Symeon ordered his soldiers forward, they were met a shocking amount of resistance. In one of the longest battles of pre-20th century history, the Battle of Damman lasted for 16 days as Isma’il gradually gave ground to Symeon, all the while inflicting heavy casualties on the Romans, while receiving plenty of his own. Eventually, faced with a potential mutiny from his Arabic soldiers, Symeon was forced to retreat back to Basrah, with roughly 5,000 casualties. Isma’il’s army had actually suffered more losses, around 6,000, against the Romans superior technology, however, his tactics had paid off in the end by using his superior numbers and the attrition of the hostile desert to wear them down.
The battle of Damman effectively ended the military career of Symeon Palaiologos, and was the only major defeat the Imperial Army suffered in the 2nd Greco-Persian War. The Persian-Al-Hassan victory did little to help in the mainland, however. On November 28th, Tabriz fell to the Northern Roman army, and on December 22nd Awhaz fell to the English in the south. Megas Domestikos Kalamodios and his army finally pushed forward, taking Hamadan on February 18th. Both the northern and central armies besieged Tehran, while the English besieged the Safavid capital of Isfahan.
On July 3rd, Tehran fell, and the Roman army began marching towards Isfahan to aid the British in breaching its walls. Shah Suleiman I, knowing this was his last chance gathered as many men as he could find, forcing boys as young as 13, and men as old as 50 into the army to fight. With an army of over 70,000 men, Suleiman launched a direct attack against English forces besieging Isfahan. The two armies met on June 24th, 1674.
The English, with roughly 30 – 35,000 soldiers, were surprised by the sheer size of the Persian army, yet bravely held their ground against seemingly impossible odds. As the battle began, the Shah virtually threw everything that he had at the English in a full frontal attack, hoping to overwhelm them by sheer weight of numbers. Though the superior English muskets and canon inflicted heavy losses on the Shah, and despite the abysmal morale of some of his soldiers, once the Persian army closed and hand to hand fighting began, the English found their army being slowly but surely surrounded.
The fighting continued, lasting into the night as the English continued to fight the seemingly endless numbers of men, despite having lost over 5,000 soldiers by nightfall, they refused to give in, partly because they were almost surrounded and it would almost certainly mean capture, and partly because of pride, not wishing to surrender to those who they saw as inferior. As the hours went on, the situation only grew worse, as the Shah had nearly pressed the English army up against the walls of Isfahan itself. However, it was then, just as the English generals were allegedly considering surrender that the combined Roman army, marching quickly to Isfahan from Tehran arrived.
Megas Domestikos Kalamodios ordered his 60,000-something soldiers to take the pressure off of the English by firing into the compact, relatively chaotic “ranks” of the Persian army that had become jumbled in the extended melee confrontation. The combined musket and cannon fire from the Roman army inflicted horrible losses to the rear of the Persian army, as the Imperial Hussars launched repeated charges into the rears and flanks of the Persians, devastating the morale of the Shah’s army. Upon hearing the sound of the Roman trumpets, the English launched a daring counter-attack against their foes, putting pressure on the Shah from nearly every side.
With much of much of his soldiers being but children, it is not surprising that the army began to break and rout at this point, with reportedly over 20,000 Persians being killed in the battle. The English lost roughly 6 – 8,000, while the Romans lost around 4,000. In the months following this defeat, there would only be minor skirmishes with what remained of the Persian army, this battle having completely destroyed any hopes the Shah had for victory. On October 18th, Isfahan fell to the Greco-British army. The Shah ordered what remained of his army to launch an attack to retake the city, however his army mutinied and disbanded, returning to their homes and families.
With his capital taken, and without an army, the Shah asked for the Roman Emperor’s terms for his surrender. The Emperor demanded that the Shah release Baluchistan as a semi-autonomous part of Persia, and transfer vassalage of Al-Hassa to the Empire, while becoming a protectorate of the Empire itself. Though these terms appalled Suleiman, he had little choice but to accept. The Treaty was concluded in Baghdad on November 22nd. It had been a glorious victory for the Empire, and the Emperor’s reputation was saved amongst the nobles.
The usual post victory celebration was held in Constantinople, now with nearly 600,000 people within its walls, the Emperor lead the parade of victorious soldiers through the streets amidst the cheering crowds. When asked to attend the celebrations by the Dynatoi, it is said that Alexandros Doukas bitterly refused, locking himself within his chambers in the palace. Nevertheless, the celebrations continued, and Imperial lands were secure.
The state of Persia after the 2nd Greco-Persian war.
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Whew, that...was a long one. And a lot of work. Hope you enjoyed. I'll try and get the next update out soon as well.
A little bump, as it got scrolled down really fast by other AARs and some might not see that there is a new update.
Well, the regulars won't lose it, but thanks for the bump anywaySeanB said:A little bump, as it got scrolled down really fast by other AARs and some might not see that there is a new update.
And so the empire stricks again , Persia has been humbeld and the empire gaind a new vassal.
As always a splendid update SeanB, but I'm wondering what that Alexandros is up to.... me thinks he's not so loyal as he seems
, Persia has been humbeld and the empire gaind a new vassal.As always a splendid update SeanB, but I'm wondering what that Alexandros is up to.... me thinks he's not so loyal as he seems
Following the Empire’s victory over Persia, the wealth of the east quickly became far more accessible, without the previously expensive cost of having goods transported across Persian soil. Persia’s trade policy was now dictated from Constantinople, and the Empire could block whom they wanted, in either east or west, from trading from across the Middle East. It became a good idea to not remain on the Empire’s bad side, especially in Europe.
The last of Emperor Ioannes XI Palaiologos’ reign continued in much the same was as it had before, with Ioannes often holding lavish parties, while Alexandros Doukas ran the Empire on a day-to-day basis. The only major events within the Empire or Europe abroad was the formation of the League of Augsburg, a coalition against France which included most of the nations of Central and western Europe, with the goal of halting French expansion into The Palatinate. The Empire was kept neutral and out of this conflict by Alexandros, however, and simply sat back to observe the coming conflict.
On January 11th, 1678, Ioannes XI Palaiologos died of alcohol poisoning, after over drinking at his latest banquet. He was only 51 years old. His son Konstantinos XIV Palaiologos was coronated the following week, and ascended the throne at the age of 34. Konstantinos, unlike his father, was a very talented economist, but also a capable diplomat, and an even better tactician. His furious battle against inflation would earn him the title of “The reformer” after his death.
Upon ascending the throne, Konstantinos had his father’s former advisor, Alexandros Doukas executed, on charges of treason, and attempting to usurp the throne. This decision was loved by the Dynatoi, though the brutality was questioned by the Patriarch, and the common people did not understand the basis of the charges, some were even outraged by it and revolted, but were quickly put down. Having been over 20 years since the Great Arab Revolt, Egypt had not only recovered, but was prospering greater than ever before. The hard work put in by the former rebels lead to the productivity of the land being even higher than it was before the revolt. Crops were larger, and the cost of grain therefore lower.
One issue that Konstantinos saw as a major problem was the fact that it was growing ever more difficult to control the Empire directly from Constantinople. In order to try and alleviate the overstretched Roman Administration, Konstantinos appointed several local Strategoi to administer the eastern provinces. These Strategoi were to always be directly appointed by the Emperor, and would possess both military and civil jurisdiction. These Strategoi would be watched over by two Eparchoi, also appoint by the Emperor. One would be in Antioch, and the other in Alexandria. They would in turn report to the Emperor directly.
It was Konstantinos’ hope that this system would allow for quicker responses to revolts, invasions, and other events that would require quick and immediate reactions that simply couldn’t be achieved under the old system. Before, if, for example a plague broke out in Egypt, a messenger would have to be dispatched via ship to Constantinople, where the Emperor would be informed of the situation and give his decree. This decree would in turn be shipped to the local governors, telling them to quarantine/burn all those infected. This could take over a week, or at least several days, and by then the plague could have grown that much worse.
This was not the only problem with the old system, however. The peasants of Egypt often possessed little loyalty for the Emperor in Constantinople. They were a relatively isolated community, un-influential in Imperial Politics, even as peasants go. Also, the Greek attitude towards the Arabs was less than favorable. While they had grown over time to respect and accept the Turks, especially thanks to the deeds of great Megas Domestikos’ such as Hussein Ibrahim, the Greeks continued to think of the Arabs as barbarians, especially after the revolt lead by another, far less popular Ibrahim. Konstantinos was not ignorant of this, and chose to appoint Arabic Strategoi in Egypt, though keeping the Eparchoi Greek. The Emperor hoped that the local population would be more loyal to these “native” regional governors, and that the constant acts of abuse committed by the former Greek governors would no longer be an issue.
As promised by his Grandfather Alexios VI, the slaves that still lived were released to live out the rest of their lives in peace, so long as they did not repeat their past mistakes. Despite Egypt’s newfound prosperity, Konstantinos couldn’t help but notice the visible decrease in Imperial profits each month. Where they had once been earning nearly 100,000 ducats, they were now only earning roughly 80 – 82,000. This alarmed Konstantinos, as, while this was still the largest income of any single European nation, it was a very large decrease, which could only grow worse.
The problem, as the Emperor soon discovered, was rapid inflation within the Empire. The very income that the Emperor sought to regain was causing the inflation. Ducats had been flowing into the Imperial Coffers so quickly that administrators and even the Royal Court had not known how to properly spend it all. Worse yet, in 1671, the main Roman Gold Mine in Leone, West Africa, dried up. This only served to speed up inflation, and it had at that point reached over 16%. The Emperor, in an effort to stop, and then reduce the inflation, ordered that all minting of ducats and other forms of currency be carefully regulated.
This proclamation upset many, in particular the merchants. The peasants were kept from revolting with promises of lower costs of living, however. Yet, this upset the Dynatoi, who interpreted a decrease in the costs of living for peasants as yet another decrease in their wealth and power. They could do little however, as the Dynatoi by 1680 had lost almost all of their power over the peasants in their land. The Emperor’s authority was supreme, and the Aristocracy had never quite recovered after the crush of the rebellion against Empress Zoe II Palaiologos in the early 1600s. Even the recently appointed administrators in Egypt were handpicked by the Emperor to guarantee their loyalty.
With minting now far more limited, Emperor Konstantinos turned to appointing governors to nearly every mainland province, whose job it was to combat inflation by rooting out corrupt nobility, merchants, and other financial trouble makers. This too proved to be an appalling reform in the eyes of the Dynatoi, who, unable to raise armies of their own anymore, resorted to hiring peasants and other naïve, or simply greedy individuals to cause dissent by spreading anti-Palaiologid sentiments. This plot only proved to be the downfall of many more Dynatoi, though revolts were caused in some regions of the Empire, especially Italy, where several Italian nobles attempted to encourage an all out rebellion of independence. Fortunately for the Empire, their attempts were cut short by a swift reaction from the army.
Inflation and rebellious nobles were not all that Konstantinos had to deal with, however. In 1680, Imre Tokoll’s attempt to start a rebellion to free Hungary from the Austrian Empire, supported by the Hungarian nobility, was facing hard times. Konstantinos did not wish to come to blows with Austria in particular, but the chance to weaken one of Europe’s great powers proved to be too enticing for him to resist. He ordered that 10,000 muskets and several months’ worth of food supplies be sent to the rebels in Austria. Most reached the rebels hands safely, and Austria and Hungary were aflame with well armed and fed partisans. This action greatly damaged relations between the two Empires.
The Holy Roman Emperor did not declare war on Constantinople however, as, thanks to Imre Tokoll, he had more pressing problems plaguing him. Though things remained tense for the next four years, in the end, war never did come between the two powers. The revolt was eventually crushed in Austria, but only with many German troops dead, and Hungary and parts of Austria ravaged, which most agree was the likely reason that the Holy Roman Emperor did not attack.
Konstantinos’ reasons were clear however: his goals for expansion did not lay in Europe, but in the one place were Roman influence was still non-existent: Indonesia. During the late 16th and early to mid 17th centuries, The Dutch occupied the region known today as Indonesia proper. However, there were still some regions that remained free, the Spanish took the Philippines, yet most of Malaysia remained free from foreign rule. Konstantinos desired to colonize this region for the Empire, thus extending its influence across the entire world.
His first target was the Sultanate of Johor, the last remnants of the once powerful Sultanate of Malacca. It was once a strong regional power before the Portuguese came, but its decline was relatively swift, with the Portuguese invading, and driving the Sultan from all of his land except Johor, and the region known as Jambi. Later, the Dutch would nearly drive the Portuguese out of Indonesia, and replace them as the dominant power in the region, however this did little to help Johor. The Dutch more or less vassalized the tiny Sultanate, however, it continued to exert a great amount of independence. In the 1660s, a civil war erupted in Johor, which greatly weakened it, its capital even being sacked by the rebel forces. Though the rebellion was put down with the help of mercenary soldiers, it had taken its toll on Johor whose land had been ravaged by the bloody civil war with the Jambi rebels.
Sensing opportunity, Emperor Konstantinos XIV ordered an army of roughly 12,000 Indian soldiers to be raised in Mangalore, and loaded onto the ships of the “White Squadron” docked in Mangalore’s harbor. Consisting of roughly 22 warships and 50 large transports, it set sail, along with the 12,000 soldiers from India, for the coast of Johor on June 14th, 1685. Strategos Gregorios Laskaris commanded both the fleet and army.
The fleet reached Johore three weeks later, taking the smaller, and outdated fleet of the Sultanate by surprise when it opened fire on the ships docked in the harbor, as they attempted to sail out to meet them in combat. The entire fleet of Johore was sunk in one night without a single Roman sailor losing his life. This attack was immediately followed up by a land invasion, the 3,000 soldiers that had been quickly raised to defend the capital being brushed aside easily by the far larger, and more advanced Roman army. Johore was assaulted, and fell within two weeks. Sultan Mahmud Shah II and his remaining guard escaped to Jambi, where they were captured by a group of resurgent Jambi rebels, and executed. Jambi’s independence was short lived however as the Netherlands moved quickly to occupy the region to keep it out of Roman hands.
The Dutch were greatly upset by this sudden attack against their vassal, which had been done completely without their consent. The Dutch and the Roman Empire had had warm relations throughout most of their history, and this attack came as a complete surprise. After receiving a strong rebuke from William III, Stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, the Emperor agreed to sign a trade agreement with the Dutch, allowing them to use Roman ports in Malaysia, and granting them large subsidies on all Asian goods shipped through Malaysia to Venice or Constantinople.
With their position in Johore secure from Dutch intervention, the Emperor began making plans for the conquest of other regions in Malaysia. The Sultanate of Brunei to Johore’s northeast seemed to be the obvious choice. Though larger than Johore, it technologically was even more backwards, and would prove to be an easy victory for the Empire. An army of 10,000 was gathered and placed under the command of Gregorios Laskaris. Setting off from Singapore on March 22nd of 1686 and landing in Sarawak on the 26th, Gregorios was immediately forced to defend his position from an attacking native army of over 19,000 men.
Gregorios deeply disliked being forced to fight this close to the shore, fearing that the larger army could potentially drive his soldiers into the sea. In truth, however, such a situation was highly unlikely. The army of the Sultan of Brunei was poorly equipped with an assortment of weaponry ranging from matchlock arquebus to early, 16th century muskets, to even swords and spears. On top of this they had no cavalry and no canon. The Roman army had 9,000 muskets, 1,000 Hussars, and 10 cannon. In the face of these facts, most historians agree that the native armies numbers gave them little real advantage against Gregorios’ army.
As the native army, led by Prince Nassaruddin began its attack on Gregorios, he ordered his cannon to be brought forward, and to open fire at 1,200 yards. This would normally be considered premature, but due to the enemy’s lack of artillery, Gregorios felt that beginning the bombardment early would have the best end effect. The first volleys mostly missed their targets, but the few that hit staggered the Prince and his army greatly. As they grew close, the cannon fire became increasingly accurate, and morale within the already disorganized Princes army plummeted. By the time they had reach 300 yards, and the first volley of muskets were fired, their morale had been utterly crushed, and with that first volley, a massive rout ensued.
Gregorios ordered his Hussars to run down the fleeing army, and capture any prisoners who would surrender. The battle ended with over 3,000 native casualties, and nearly 8,000 prisoners who were quickly shipped to Singapore. The Roman army suffered only 22 wounded, and 1 soldier who died from an infection to his musket wound later in the night. The following day Gregorios ordered the city of Sarawak assaulted. The assault lasted barely a week as the meager defenses of the city were devastated in only four days and a three-day long pillage began. After the soldiers had gathered sufficient supplies, Gregorios marched his army directly on the Capital of Brunei itself.
To Gregorios surprise, Sultan Muhyiddin had raised an army of nearly 30,000 men and met him several miles outside the capital. Still, his army contained no cavalry or cannon. Gregorios, deciding that openly confronting such a large army could potentially inflict heavy losses on his side, instead opted to make a tactical withdrawal back to Sarawak. The Sultan, taking this as a retreat followed him. However, Gregorios was in fact luring Muhyiddin into terrain that favored a smaller army. Gregorios was able to put a fair distance between himself and Muhyiddin, as his smaller army was a far more professional, and organized military unit. In stark contrast, the Sultan’s army was mostly a collection of farmer peasants that had been quickly raised in defense of the Capital, and because of it’s size, was very difficult to support and keep well fed, especially after the Romans looted most of the towns in their path.
Stopping a several miles from Sarawak, as a small pass, Gregorios decided to make his stand. Though relatively small, its cliffs would still be impassable and it would be impractical to try and go around it, so Gregorios knew that the Sultan would be forced to march through the narrow pass. Waiting at the mouth of the pass, he prepared for Muhyiddin to attack. On April 9th The Sultan began moving his army through the pass. His scouts had reported the enemy ahead of him, and he was eager to take vengeance for the loss of his son and heirs honor, and the taking of Sarawak. Gregorios, as he watched the Malaysians approach, ordered his cannon to be positioned at the mouth of the pass. As the artillery crews lined their first shots, the Malaysians were already half way through the pass. By the time they caught clear sight of the cannon at 800 yards, it was too late to turn around.
The cannon opened fire on the tightly packed native army, laying a path of mangled corpses along the valley floor. Unable to turn around, they were helpless to retreat against the onslaught of the cannon fire. The Sultan, still at the rear, realized the trap that he had fallen into, and ordered the army that remained outside of the valley to retreat back to Brunei. Though the Sultan and much of his army escaped, Gregorios accomplished his goals. Over 7,000 of the Sultans army were killed or wounded, with only 2 Roman soldiers be wounded by a slight cannon misfire. Gregorios was quick to seize the initiative and pursued the retreating Sultan, catching up to him before he could reach the safety of his capital.
On April 11th, the two armies met in the open fields of Brunei. The Sultan’s army was reduced to roughly 21,000 men, while Gregorios still pretty much had the same army he came with. With his more mobile opponent forcing him to stand and fight, the Sultan took his only real option and attacked. Taking a defensive position would have been impossible due to both his armies’ complete lack of cannon, and short supply of effective gunpowder weaponry. The following battle was an almost complete repeat of the earlier battle against Prince Nassaruddin: The cannon and musket fire caused the army to retreat before it really even reached the line of the Roman Army. Though the Sultan still had over twice Gregorios’ numbers, the previous attack in the pass near Sarawak had already greatly demoralized his army. By the time the cannon and musket fire of the Romans once again tore into his ranks, his army was already near mutiny.
After the battle, the Sultan’s army had been scattered. The exact numbers of dead and wounded are unknown, but it is generally considered (relatively) low for both sides, as the Sultan’s demoralized army routed almost before the battle really began, returning to their farms and leaving their monarch to flee to his capital. Sultan Muhyiddin would find no solace there, however. The people of the town, discontent with his rule and his constant defeats, which had cost them the lives of many of their sons, overwhelmed his few remaining guards and captured him, sending a small envoy out from the Capital to deliver the former Sultan to Gregorios as a sign of surrender, as long as Gregorios would end his destruction of Brunei, which had left many once prosperous farmlands in ruins, and many families without homes or ways to survive.
Gregorios told the envoy his terms, which was absolute submission to the Roman Empire. To drive that point home, he ordered the Capital besieged anyway. The terrified people within the city saw no real option but to give into the Greeks demands, or face the possible rape and pillage of their city. After only two days of being besieged, they agreed to Gregorios terms, and became a colony of the Empire. This submission carried with it most of the former territories of the Sultan of Brunei, however, in the easternmost corner of the former Sultanate, Prince Nassaruddin, who had barely escaped his first encounter with Gregorios, had managed to raise an army of roughly 12,000 men in an effort to liberate his lost Kingdom, and return him to his throne.
Gregorios was forced to again lead his armies against the Native kingdom, however, with only a slight numerical advantage, the outcome of this battle was clear before it had truly even began. Prince Nassaruddin’s army was completely destroyed without exception. The initial charge of the natives resulted in over 5,000 casualties, and a rout. Roman Hussars were ordered to ride down the fleeing soldiers, and take no prisoners. Nearly 11,000 natives died, with only a very small percentage managing to elude the Roman army. Prince Nassaruddin was the only one taken captive, and, along with his father, he was sent to Constantinople to be displayed to the public.
With Roman power secured in Malaysia, and with hardly any Roman lives lost, Gregorios was promoted to Megas Domestikos with the current ones recent passing. He would prove to be a capable leader within the Greek world.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An update for you. Sorry for the wait, I had to take four 8-hour courses this week. =\ Big hassle. I’ll have another update (with pics!) out for you today hopefully, I intended it to be all one big thing, but this is already so long, I didn’t want to overwhelm you all at once. And do give feedback. I'm not doing this for tumbleweeds and crickets.
The last of Emperor Ioannes XI Palaiologos’ reign continued in much the same was as it had before, with Ioannes often holding lavish parties, while Alexandros Doukas ran the Empire on a day-to-day basis. The only major events within the Empire or Europe abroad was the formation of the League of Augsburg, a coalition against France which included most of the nations of Central and western Europe, with the goal of halting French expansion into The Palatinate. The Empire was kept neutral and out of this conflict by Alexandros, however, and simply sat back to observe the coming conflict.
On January 11th, 1678, Ioannes XI Palaiologos died of alcohol poisoning, after over drinking at his latest banquet. He was only 51 years old. His son Konstantinos XIV Palaiologos was coronated the following week, and ascended the throne at the age of 34. Konstantinos, unlike his father, was a very talented economist, but also a capable diplomat, and an even better tactician. His furious battle against inflation would earn him the title of “The reformer” after his death.
Upon ascending the throne, Konstantinos had his father’s former advisor, Alexandros Doukas executed, on charges of treason, and attempting to usurp the throne. This decision was loved by the Dynatoi, though the brutality was questioned by the Patriarch, and the common people did not understand the basis of the charges, some were even outraged by it and revolted, but were quickly put down. Having been over 20 years since the Great Arab Revolt, Egypt had not only recovered, but was prospering greater than ever before. The hard work put in by the former rebels lead to the productivity of the land being even higher than it was before the revolt. Crops were larger, and the cost of grain therefore lower.
One issue that Konstantinos saw as a major problem was the fact that it was growing ever more difficult to control the Empire directly from Constantinople. In order to try and alleviate the overstretched Roman Administration, Konstantinos appointed several local Strategoi to administer the eastern provinces. These Strategoi were to always be directly appointed by the Emperor, and would possess both military and civil jurisdiction. These Strategoi would be watched over by two Eparchoi, also appoint by the Emperor. One would be in Antioch, and the other in Alexandria. They would in turn report to the Emperor directly.
It was Konstantinos’ hope that this system would allow for quicker responses to revolts, invasions, and other events that would require quick and immediate reactions that simply couldn’t be achieved under the old system. Before, if, for example a plague broke out in Egypt, a messenger would have to be dispatched via ship to Constantinople, where the Emperor would be informed of the situation and give his decree. This decree would in turn be shipped to the local governors, telling them to quarantine/burn all those infected. This could take over a week, or at least several days, and by then the plague could have grown that much worse.
This was not the only problem with the old system, however. The peasants of Egypt often possessed little loyalty for the Emperor in Constantinople. They were a relatively isolated community, un-influential in Imperial Politics, even as peasants go. Also, the Greek attitude towards the Arabs was less than favorable. While they had grown over time to respect and accept the Turks, especially thanks to the deeds of great Megas Domestikos’ such as Hussein Ibrahim, the Greeks continued to think of the Arabs as barbarians, especially after the revolt lead by another, far less popular Ibrahim. Konstantinos was not ignorant of this, and chose to appoint Arabic Strategoi in Egypt, though keeping the Eparchoi Greek. The Emperor hoped that the local population would be more loyal to these “native” regional governors, and that the constant acts of abuse committed by the former Greek governors would no longer be an issue.
As promised by his Grandfather Alexios VI, the slaves that still lived were released to live out the rest of their lives in peace, so long as they did not repeat their past mistakes. Despite Egypt’s newfound prosperity, Konstantinos couldn’t help but notice the visible decrease in Imperial profits each month. Where they had once been earning nearly 100,000 ducats, they were now only earning roughly 80 – 82,000. This alarmed Konstantinos, as, while this was still the largest income of any single European nation, it was a very large decrease, which could only grow worse.
The problem, as the Emperor soon discovered, was rapid inflation within the Empire. The very income that the Emperor sought to regain was causing the inflation. Ducats had been flowing into the Imperial Coffers so quickly that administrators and even the Royal Court had not known how to properly spend it all. Worse yet, in 1671, the main Roman Gold Mine in Leone, West Africa, dried up. This only served to speed up inflation, and it had at that point reached over 16%. The Emperor, in an effort to stop, and then reduce the inflation, ordered that all minting of ducats and other forms of currency be carefully regulated.
This proclamation upset many, in particular the merchants. The peasants were kept from revolting with promises of lower costs of living, however. Yet, this upset the Dynatoi, who interpreted a decrease in the costs of living for peasants as yet another decrease in their wealth and power. They could do little however, as the Dynatoi by 1680 had lost almost all of their power over the peasants in their land. The Emperor’s authority was supreme, and the Aristocracy had never quite recovered after the crush of the rebellion against Empress Zoe II Palaiologos in the early 1600s. Even the recently appointed administrators in Egypt were handpicked by the Emperor to guarantee their loyalty.
With minting now far more limited, Emperor Konstantinos turned to appointing governors to nearly every mainland province, whose job it was to combat inflation by rooting out corrupt nobility, merchants, and other financial trouble makers. This too proved to be an appalling reform in the eyes of the Dynatoi, who, unable to raise armies of their own anymore, resorted to hiring peasants and other naïve, or simply greedy individuals to cause dissent by spreading anti-Palaiologid sentiments. This plot only proved to be the downfall of many more Dynatoi, though revolts were caused in some regions of the Empire, especially Italy, where several Italian nobles attempted to encourage an all out rebellion of independence. Fortunately for the Empire, their attempts were cut short by a swift reaction from the army.
Inflation and rebellious nobles were not all that Konstantinos had to deal with, however. In 1680, Imre Tokoll’s attempt to start a rebellion to free Hungary from the Austrian Empire, supported by the Hungarian nobility, was facing hard times. Konstantinos did not wish to come to blows with Austria in particular, but the chance to weaken one of Europe’s great powers proved to be too enticing for him to resist. He ordered that 10,000 muskets and several months’ worth of food supplies be sent to the rebels in Austria. Most reached the rebels hands safely, and Austria and Hungary were aflame with well armed and fed partisans. This action greatly damaged relations between the two Empires.
The Holy Roman Emperor did not declare war on Constantinople however, as, thanks to Imre Tokoll, he had more pressing problems plaguing him. Though things remained tense for the next four years, in the end, war never did come between the two powers. The revolt was eventually crushed in Austria, but only with many German troops dead, and Hungary and parts of Austria ravaged, which most agree was the likely reason that the Holy Roman Emperor did not attack.
Konstantinos’ reasons were clear however: his goals for expansion did not lay in Europe, but in the one place were Roman influence was still non-existent: Indonesia. During the late 16th and early to mid 17th centuries, The Dutch occupied the region known today as Indonesia proper. However, there were still some regions that remained free, the Spanish took the Philippines, yet most of Malaysia remained free from foreign rule. Konstantinos desired to colonize this region for the Empire, thus extending its influence across the entire world.
His first target was the Sultanate of Johor, the last remnants of the once powerful Sultanate of Malacca. It was once a strong regional power before the Portuguese came, but its decline was relatively swift, with the Portuguese invading, and driving the Sultan from all of his land except Johor, and the region known as Jambi. Later, the Dutch would nearly drive the Portuguese out of Indonesia, and replace them as the dominant power in the region, however this did little to help Johor. The Dutch more or less vassalized the tiny Sultanate, however, it continued to exert a great amount of independence. In the 1660s, a civil war erupted in Johor, which greatly weakened it, its capital even being sacked by the rebel forces. Though the rebellion was put down with the help of mercenary soldiers, it had taken its toll on Johor whose land had been ravaged by the bloody civil war with the Jambi rebels.
Sensing opportunity, Emperor Konstantinos XIV ordered an army of roughly 12,000 Indian soldiers to be raised in Mangalore, and loaded onto the ships of the “White Squadron” docked in Mangalore’s harbor. Consisting of roughly 22 warships and 50 large transports, it set sail, along with the 12,000 soldiers from India, for the coast of Johor on June 14th, 1685. Strategos Gregorios Laskaris commanded both the fleet and army.
The fleet reached Johore three weeks later, taking the smaller, and outdated fleet of the Sultanate by surprise when it opened fire on the ships docked in the harbor, as they attempted to sail out to meet them in combat. The entire fleet of Johore was sunk in one night without a single Roman sailor losing his life. This attack was immediately followed up by a land invasion, the 3,000 soldiers that had been quickly raised to defend the capital being brushed aside easily by the far larger, and more advanced Roman army. Johore was assaulted, and fell within two weeks. Sultan Mahmud Shah II and his remaining guard escaped to Jambi, where they were captured by a group of resurgent Jambi rebels, and executed. Jambi’s independence was short lived however as the Netherlands moved quickly to occupy the region to keep it out of Roman hands.
The Dutch were greatly upset by this sudden attack against their vassal, which had been done completely without their consent. The Dutch and the Roman Empire had had warm relations throughout most of their history, and this attack came as a complete surprise. After receiving a strong rebuke from William III, Stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, the Emperor agreed to sign a trade agreement with the Dutch, allowing them to use Roman ports in Malaysia, and granting them large subsidies on all Asian goods shipped through Malaysia to Venice or Constantinople.
With their position in Johore secure from Dutch intervention, the Emperor began making plans for the conquest of other regions in Malaysia. The Sultanate of Brunei to Johore’s northeast seemed to be the obvious choice. Though larger than Johore, it technologically was even more backwards, and would prove to be an easy victory for the Empire. An army of 10,000 was gathered and placed under the command of Gregorios Laskaris. Setting off from Singapore on March 22nd of 1686 and landing in Sarawak on the 26th, Gregorios was immediately forced to defend his position from an attacking native army of over 19,000 men.
Gregorios deeply disliked being forced to fight this close to the shore, fearing that the larger army could potentially drive his soldiers into the sea. In truth, however, such a situation was highly unlikely. The army of the Sultan of Brunei was poorly equipped with an assortment of weaponry ranging from matchlock arquebus to early, 16th century muskets, to even swords and spears. On top of this they had no cavalry and no canon. The Roman army had 9,000 muskets, 1,000 Hussars, and 10 cannon. In the face of these facts, most historians agree that the native armies numbers gave them little real advantage against Gregorios’ army.
As the native army, led by Prince Nassaruddin began its attack on Gregorios, he ordered his cannon to be brought forward, and to open fire at 1,200 yards. This would normally be considered premature, but due to the enemy’s lack of artillery, Gregorios felt that beginning the bombardment early would have the best end effect. The first volleys mostly missed their targets, but the few that hit staggered the Prince and his army greatly. As they grew close, the cannon fire became increasingly accurate, and morale within the already disorganized Princes army plummeted. By the time they had reach 300 yards, and the first volley of muskets were fired, their morale had been utterly crushed, and with that first volley, a massive rout ensued.
Gregorios ordered his Hussars to run down the fleeing army, and capture any prisoners who would surrender. The battle ended with over 3,000 native casualties, and nearly 8,000 prisoners who were quickly shipped to Singapore. The Roman army suffered only 22 wounded, and 1 soldier who died from an infection to his musket wound later in the night. The following day Gregorios ordered the city of Sarawak assaulted. The assault lasted barely a week as the meager defenses of the city were devastated in only four days and a three-day long pillage began. After the soldiers had gathered sufficient supplies, Gregorios marched his army directly on the Capital of Brunei itself.
To Gregorios surprise, Sultan Muhyiddin had raised an army of nearly 30,000 men and met him several miles outside the capital. Still, his army contained no cavalry or cannon. Gregorios, deciding that openly confronting such a large army could potentially inflict heavy losses on his side, instead opted to make a tactical withdrawal back to Sarawak. The Sultan, taking this as a retreat followed him. However, Gregorios was in fact luring Muhyiddin into terrain that favored a smaller army. Gregorios was able to put a fair distance between himself and Muhyiddin, as his smaller army was a far more professional, and organized military unit. In stark contrast, the Sultan’s army was mostly a collection of farmer peasants that had been quickly raised in defense of the Capital, and because of it’s size, was very difficult to support and keep well fed, especially after the Romans looted most of the towns in their path.
Stopping a several miles from Sarawak, as a small pass, Gregorios decided to make his stand. Though relatively small, its cliffs would still be impassable and it would be impractical to try and go around it, so Gregorios knew that the Sultan would be forced to march through the narrow pass. Waiting at the mouth of the pass, he prepared for Muhyiddin to attack. On April 9th The Sultan began moving his army through the pass. His scouts had reported the enemy ahead of him, and he was eager to take vengeance for the loss of his son and heirs honor, and the taking of Sarawak. Gregorios, as he watched the Malaysians approach, ordered his cannon to be positioned at the mouth of the pass. As the artillery crews lined their first shots, the Malaysians were already half way through the pass. By the time they caught clear sight of the cannon at 800 yards, it was too late to turn around.
The cannon opened fire on the tightly packed native army, laying a path of mangled corpses along the valley floor. Unable to turn around, they were helpless to retreat against the onslaught of the cannon fire. The Sultan, still at the rear, realized the trap that he had fallen into, and ordered the army that remained outside of the valley to retreat back to Brunei. Though the Sultan and much of his army escaped, Gregorios accomplished his goals. Over 7,000 of the Sultans army were killed or wounded, with only 2 Roman soldiers be wounded by a slight cannon misfire. Gregorios was quick to seize the initiative and pursued the retreating Sultan, catching up to him before he could reach the safety of his capital.
On April 11th, the two armies met in the open fields of Brunei. The Sultan’s army was reduced to roughly 21,000 men, while Gregorios still pretty much had the same army he came with. With his more mobile opponent forcing him to stand and fight, the Sultan took his only real option and attacked. Taking a defensive position would have been impossible due to both his armies’ complete lack of cannon, and short supply of effective gunpowder weaponry. The following battle was an almost complete repeat of the earlier battle against Prince Nassaruddin: The cannon and musket fire caused the army to retreat before it really even reached the line of the Roman Army. Though the Sultan still had over twice Gregorios’ numbers, the previous attack in the pass near Sarawak had already greatly demoralized his army. By the time the cannon and musket fire of the Romans once again tore into his ranks, his army was already near mutiny.
After the battle, the Sultan’s army had been scattered. The exact numbers of dead and wounded are unknown, but it is generally considered (relatively) low for both sides, as the Sultan’s demoralized army routed almost before the battle really began, returning to their farms and leaving their monarch to flee to his capital. Sultan Muhyiddin would find no solace there, however. The people of the town, discontent with his rule and his constant defeats, which had cost them the lives of many of their sons, overwhelmed his few remaining guards and captured him, sending a small envoy out from the Capital to deliver the former Sultan to Gregorios as a sign of surrender, as long as Gregorios would end his destruction of Brunei, which had left many once prosperous farmlands in ruins, and many families without homes or ways to survive.
Gregorios told the envoy his terms, which was absolute submission to the Roman Empire. To drive that point home, he ordered the Capital besieged anyway. The terrified people within the city saw no real option but to give into the Greeks demands, or face the possible rape and pillage of their city. After only two days of being besieged, they agreed to Gregorios terms, and became a colony of the Empire. This submission carried with it most of the former territories of the Sultan of Brunei, however, in the easternmost corner of the former Sultanate, Prince Nassaruddin, who had barely escaped his first encounter with Gregorios, had managed to raise an army of roughly 12,000 men in an effort to liberate his lost Kingdom, and return him to his throne.
Gregorios was forced to again lead his armies against the Native kingdom, however, with only a slight numerical advantage, the outcome of this battle was clear before it had truly even began. Prince Nassaruddin’s army was completely destroyed without exception. The initial charge of the natives resulted in over 5,000 casualties, and a rout. Roman Hussars were ordered to ride down the fleeing soldiers, and take no prisoners. Nearly 11,000 natives died, with only a very small percentage managing to elude the Roman army. Prince Nassaruddin was the only one taken captive, and, along with his father, he was sent to Constantinople to be displayed to the public.
With Roman power secured in Malaysia, and with hardly any Roman lives lost, Gregorios was promoted to Megas Domestikos with the current ones recent passing. He would prove to be a capable leader within the Greek world.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An update for you. Sorry for the wait, I had to take four 8-hour courses this week. =\ Big hassle. I’ll have another update (with pics!) out for you today hopefully, I intended it to be all one big thing, but this is already so long, I didn’t want to overwhelm you all at once. And do give feedback. I'm not doing this for tumbleweeds and crickets.
yay..... even more updates coming soon
It's nice to so the empires power groing, but one question. You said that it was only in Indonesia that the empire didn't hold any power, have I missed something? I don't remamber you controlling anything in the New World.
Looking foward to the next update.
It's nice to so the empires power groing, but one question. You said that it was only in Indonesia that the empire didn't hold any power, have I missed something? I don't remamber you controlling anything in the New World.
Looking foward to the next update.
Hi, SeanB! I just wanted to let you know your AAR was what got me to buy Europa Universalis II.
I still want to see a giant cataclysmic war in Europe before this game ends... even though vicky might be better for that... even so, very good... the empire moves forward.
After the rapid conquest of Malaysia, and with the new wealth that it brought to the Empire, Emperor Konstantinos XIV Palaiologos decided to focus more on the stabilizing its relations with its protectorates. Though the Hedjaz and Al-Hassa were both Roman protectorates, relations were tense at best. Relations with the Hedjaz had improved over the years, with the commissioning of a special Tagma to protect the pilgrims to Mecca, and with the wealth that the increase in pilgrims provided to the Sharif. Tensions would occasionally flare up due to zealous Christians visiting the now open city, but most were simply curious, some even leaving 10% of their earnings with the Sharif.
In Al-Hassa however, the Sheiks who ruled the land were highly resentful of Roman rule, partly because of a desire to be under Shia rule, partly because of the Empire’s Meritocractic policies that they feared they would try and force on Al-Hassa, thus limiting their power. Konstantinos made several attempts to win the Sheiks over, but these had little effect and in several instances throughout the late 1670s and early 80s many local Sheiks would raise their banner in revolt to attempt to shake off the Roman’s hold on them. After a massive revolt in June of 1687 lead by an alliance of several of the most powerful Sheiks in Al-Hassa, Konstantinos had had enough. If these Sheiks weren’t reigned in, Konstantinos feared that they might actually succeed in provoking the entire population of Al-Hassa to attempt to rebel against Constantinople’s rule.
Konstantinos believed that what they needed was a centralized and organized government. Al-Hassa could not truly even be called a country: it was a lose collection of tribes each lead by their own Sheik. Wars amongst these tribes were not uncommon; the only time they would ever act in unison being when Al-Hassa was in significant danger from a foreign threat. The Emperor sought to bring a sort of unity to the region, a unity loyal to Constantinople. Konstantinos turned to the wealthy Shia noble Muhammad Al-Imad al Din. Muhammad and his family had prospered greatly under Roman rule in Basrah, and his father helped the Roman army put down several revolts in Basrah after the first Greco-Persian war.
On November 17th 1687, Emperor Konstantinos XIV awarded Muhammad Al-Imad al Din the title of Emir (Prince) of Al-Hassa. The newly crowned Muhammad I arrived at his throne in Qatif on the 24th.
The Sheiks of Al-Hassa were intensely angered by this man suddenly declaring himself Prince of their lands, and within only a few months launched an all out revolt against the Emir’s authority. The Emir’s newly raised Royal Army of Al-Hassa clashed with the revolters, as Muhammad struggled to retain control of his Emirate. While the small army managed to hold back the revolters for a few months, they eventually suffered a decisive defeat at the 2nd Battle of Damman, in which an army of 2,000 of the Emir’s soldiers was crushed by an overwhelming force of 7,000 rebels under the banner several renown Sheiks. It was quickly becoming evident whom the vast majority of the peoples support lay behind, and after the victory, the rebel army swelled to over 10,000 men. The Emir, able to only gather 4 – 6,000, was once again defeated in Qatif, and his Capital besieged.
Before his Capital could fall however, the Emir escaped Al-Hassa via ship, fleeing to Basrah. Having been deposed after less than a year on the throne, he bitterly returned to Constantinople to request aid from the Emperor. Angered by Mohammad’s exile, he ordered Megas Demestikos Gregorios Laskaris to take 12,000 soldiers and retake the region for the Emir. Gregorios carried out his orders with brutal efficiency, utterly crushing the rebel army with superior numbers, training, and weapons. Nearly every Sheik that participated in the rebellion was captured, and the Emir was lead back to Qatif and put back on the throne. As his first decree, he ordered all of the captured Sheiks put to death. It seemed that, for the time, the Emir’s rule was secure, and Roman soldiers withdrew back to Basrah.
In order to try and gain the support of his people, Muhammad used the wealth of the executed Sheiks to provide better living conditions to the often starving an impoverished people of his realm. This again greatly upset the Sheiks, however they chose to stay silent this time, after the failed rebellion. With help from his Roman protectorate, he rebuilt his army to be far stronger than before, having been given early to mid-17th century gunpowder weaponry and cannon, as well as several well-made galleys. He built his army around a more European model, attempting to have a well organized and disciplined military. By 1690 he had a small professional army of 16,000 men, which proved itself more than capable against Oman in the Bahrain war, where, following the collapse of Persian authority on the island, the two kingdoms scrambled to capture it, the war ended indecisively, but it proved that Al-Hassa was capable of defending itself even without Roman aid.
In 1691, the Emir, growing ever more worried about tensions with the remaining Sheiks of Al-Hassa, ordered them to be put to death. The Emir’s army quickly rounded up the Emir’s in the land, before any real resistance could be mounted, and had them brought to Qatar, where they were beheaded as an example of the Emir’s supreme authority. Mohammad’s throne was now secure, and a new age of close relations between Al-Hassa and the Roman Empire began.
With its southern vassals securely aligned to the Empire, the Emperor chose to improve Constantinople’s relations with the ambitious King of France, Louis XIV. His wife, Anne Stuart of England pressured him to join the League of Augsburg against Louis, however in 1691, it looked as if Louis XIV would defeat the League of Augsburg, and though the Emperor wished to remain out of this bloody conflict, he understood the need to have good relations with the victor. He sent the King several lavish gifts, and even offered to share some of the Empire’s maps with him, which Louis found particularly interesting. Though the Emperor considered the King of France to be somewhat over zealous in regards to his policies dealing with Protestantism, he realized that the powerful King would be an excellent ally in the times ahead.
As time dragged on, however, it seemed as if Konstantinos’ new friend as not as powerful as he might seem. He was forced by Grand Alliance victories to sue for a white peace in late 1697 at the treaty of Ryswick. Not wishing to anger the other powers of Europe, Konstantinos quickly ended support of the French crown over the other monarchs of Europe. His wife also pressured Konstantinos to reaffirm his alliance with England, and to support them in any future conflict. Though his marriage with Anne had been arranged, most historians agree that real feelings existed between the two, as shown by Anne’s continued support of the Emperor despite him showing support for Louis in the War of the Grand Alliance. The normally very stubborn Konstantinos’ willingness to finally cave in to her pleas to ally with England is perhaps the best indicator of all. This would have a large impact on the course of the Empire.
A new alliance was signed with King William III of England, also Stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands in 1698, much to the happiness of Konstantinos’ wife Anne, and Konstantinos agreed to give William his support should another war break between he and Louis XIV. Unfortunately for Konstantios, he would find that he would need to make good on his word far sooner than he had hoped. The King of Spain was on his deathbed, and the heir to his throne, was uncertain.
Europe, 1700
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Here is your update. Hope you enjoy, and yes, the War of the Spanish Succession is upon the Empire, thanks to its alliance with England.
In Al-Hassa however, the Sheiks who ruled the land were highly resentful of Roman rule, partly because of a desire to be under Shia rule, partly because of the Empire’s Meritocractic policies that they feared they would try and force on Al-Hassa, thus limiting their power. Konstantinos made several attempts to win the Sheiks over, but these had little effect and in several instances throughout the late 1670s and early 80s many local Sheiks would raise their banner in revolt to attempt to shake off the Roman’s hold on them. After a massive revolt in June of 1687 lead by an alliance of several of the most powerful Sheiks in Al-Hassa, Konstantinos had had enough. If these Sheiks weren’t reigned in, Konstantinos feared that they might actually succeed in provoking the entire population of Al-Hassa to attempt to rebel against Constantinople’s rule.
Konstantinos believed that what they needed was a centralized and organized government. Al-Hassa could not truly even be called a country: it was a lose collection of tribes each lead by their own Sheik. Wars amongst these tribes were not uncommon; the only time they would ever act in unison being when Al-Hassa was in significant danger from a foreign threat. The Emperor sought to bring a sort of unity to the region, a unity loyal to Constantinople. Konstantinos turned to the wealthy Shia noble Muhammad Al-Imad al Din. Muhammad and his family had prospered greatly under Roman rule in Basrah, and his father helped the Roman army put down several revolts in Basrah after the first Greco-Persian war.
On November 17th 1687, Emperor Konstantinos XIV awarded Muhammad Al-Imad al Din the title of Emir (Prince) of Al-Hassa. The newly crowned Muhammad I arrived at his throne in Qatif on the 24th.
The Sheiks of Al-Hassa were intensely angered by this man suddenly declaring himself Prince of their lands, and within only a few months launched an all out revolt against the Emir’s authority. The Emir’s newly raised Royal Army of Al-Hassa clashed with the revolters, as Muhammad struggled to retain control of his Emirate. While the small army managed to hold back the revolters for a few months, they eventually suffered a decisive defeat at the 2nd Battle of Damman, in which an army of 2,000 of the Emir’s soldiers was crushed by an overwhelming force of 7,000 rebels under the banner several renown Sheiks. It was quickly becoming evident whom the vast majority of the peoples support lay behind, and after the victory, the rebel army swelled to over 10,000 men. The Emir, able to only gather 4 – 6,000, was once again defeated in Qatif, and his Capital besieged.
Before his Capital could fall however, the Emir escaped Al-Hassa via ship, fleeing to Basrah. Having been deposed after less than a year on the throne, he bitterly returned to Constantinople to request aid from the Emperor. Angered by Mohammad’s exile, he ordered Megas Demestikos Gregorios Laskaris to take 12,000 soldiers and retake the region for the Emir. Gregorios carried out his orders with brutal efficiency, utterly crushing the rebel army with superior numbers, training, and weapons. Nearly every Sheik that participated in the rebellion was captured, and the Emir was lead back to Qatif and put back on the throne. As his first decree, he ordered all of the captured Sheiks put to death. It seemed that, for the time, the Emir’s rule was secure, and Roman soldiers withdrew back to Basrah.
In order to try and gain the support of his people, Muhammad used the wealth of the executed Sheiks to provide better living conditions to the often starving an impoverished people of his realm. This again greatly upset the Sheiks, however they chose to stay silent this time, after the failed rebellion. With help from his Roman protectorate, he rebuilt his army to be far stronger than before, having been given early to mid-17th century gunpowder weaponry and cannon, as well as several well-made galleys. He built his army around a more European model, attempting to have a well organized and disciplined military. By 1690 he had a small professional army of 16,000 men, which proved itself more than capable against Oman in the Bahrain war, where, following the collapse of Persian authority on the island, the two kingdoms scrambled to capture it, the war ended indecisively, but it proved that Al-Hassa was capable of defending itself even without Roman aid.
In 1691, the Emir, growing ever more worried about tensions with the remaining Sheiks of Al-Hassa, ordered them to be put to death. The Emir’s army quickly rounded up the Emir’s in the land, before any real resistance could be mounted, and had them brought to Qatar, where they were beheaded as an example of the Emir’s supreme authority. Mohammad’s throne was now secure, and a new age of close relations between Al-Hassa and the Roman Empire began.
With its southern vassals securely aligned to the Empire, the Emperor chose to improve Constantinople’s relations with the ambitious King of France, Louis XIV. His wife, Anne Stuart of England pressured him to join the League of Augsburg against Louis, however in 1691, it looked as if Louis XIV would defeat the League of Augsburg, and though the Emperor wished to remain out of this bloody conflict, he understood the need to have good relations with the victor. He sent the King several lavish gifts, and even offered to share some of the Empire’s maps with him, which Louis found particularly interesting. Though the Emperor considered the King of France to be somewhat over zealous in regards to his policies dealing with Protestantism, he realized that the powerful King would be an excellent ally in the times ahead.
As time dragged on, however, it seemed as if Konstantinos’ new friend as not as powerful as he might seem. He was forced by Grand Alliance victories to sue for a white peace in late 1697 at the treaty of Ryswick. Not wishing to anger the other powers of Europe, Konstantinos quickly ended support of the French crown over the other monarchs of Europe. His wife also pressured Konstantinos to reaffirm his alliance with England, and to support them in any future conflict. Though his marriage with Anne had been arranged, most historians agree that real feelings existed between the two, as shown by Anne’s continued support of the Emperor despite him showing support for Louis in the War of the Grand Alliance. The normally very stubborn Konstantinos’ willingness to finally cave in to her pleas to ally with England is perhaps the best indicator of all. This would have a large impact on the course of the Empire.
A new alliance was signed with King William III of England, also Stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands in 1698, much to the happiness of Konstantinos’ wife Anne, and Konstantinos agreed to give William his support should another war break between he and Louis XIV. Unfortunately for Konstantios, he would find that he would need to make good on his word far sooner than he had hoped. The King of Spain was on his deathbed, and the heir to his throne, was uncertain.
Europe, 1700
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here is your update.
Hope you enjoy, and yes, the War of the Spanish Succession is upon the Empire, thanks to its alliance with England.