The Sublime State - An Ottoman AAR

Herr von Steuben,

Zagreb is a beautiful town, and I insist that once all of this revolt nonsense dies down Greta and I must have you and Anna down here for a vacation. The Croatian people seemed to have thrived under Ottoman rule, and maybe its because of the history of more lenient taxation but the revolts and banditry amongst the Magyars and Serbs seems not to have spread as far into Croatian lands.

The town is lovely this time of year, and for the first time in weeks I find myself capable of relaxing. I have used my time well, and have finished another portion of the manuscript in record time. I dare say that I could be done before Christmas!

Although far from the fatherland, I still hear some rumors that are carried by travelers, and I am quite worried by this rise in demands for Republicanism amongst the lower classes. If history has taught us anything, it is that a fair and just monarchy is the pinnacle of political evolution. I pray it is nothing more than rumors and hearsay, and that the fatherland does not fall victim to such radical ideals.

Sincerely,

Johannes Krieger
July 3, 1854​

The Ottoman Empire under Mehmet II was not just a military or cultural power in the near east, it also had many diplomatic ties to a host of nations in the region. From the marriages between different Muslim rulers to claims of lineage to the Roman Emperors, the Ottomans straddled the east and the west in more ways than just geographically. One of the Ottomans most important allies was the Khanate of the Crimea, where the monarch Hajji I had held power for most of the century. The Ottomans had a vested interest in the Khanate, as it acted as a counterweight to the Christian trading posts hold by the Genoese and a bulwark against any Christian expansion from the Poles or Russians. Mehmet had created close ties with the Khanate, marrying into the royal family and placing pro-Ottoman ministers into key positions.

In October of 1460, the Khan of the Crimea died without a direct heir. Mehmet II saw an opportunity and pounced, producing the will of the Khan that claimed Ottoman rule over the Tartar lands. It is not known whether this was a legitimate will or a forgery as no copies exist to be examined, and there is evidence to support both claims. Yet any dissenting voices within the Khanate were quickly silenced by those loyal to the Ottomans; killed, exiled, or simply convinced to change their minds.

To the east of the Crimea, the Tartar Khanate of Nogai was not willing to accept the claims. Khan Timŭr had his own designs on Crimea, his will bolstered by a few fleeing Crimean’s who refused to accept Ottoman dominance over the nation. The Khan produced his own will, claiming he was the legitimate sovereign of the Crimea, and declared war. For Mehmet, this was just another opportunity to demonstrate Ottoman superiority over all Turkish peoples; he could not let the Khan go unpunished for his blatant disregard for Ottoman will, or others would see it as a sign of weakness.

The Ottoman army immediately marched for the Crimean lands, eager to establish the Sultan’s claims over such a strategically important region of land. Mehmet II faced a serious problem in marching so late in the campaigning season: if his army were forced to bring the long and ponderous baggage train needed to keep all of the Sultan’s men in fighting form, they faced a long and slow trek through the Bulgarian and Rumanian mountain ranges that could see the army trapped by the approaching winter. Any such delay could decimate the army and leave the Sultan unable to contest his claims, or even defend his realm in an emergency.

The Sultan, knowing that reaching the more open lands of the Crimea would be decided on a course of action that demonstrated his great military genius and willingness to take risks. The Sultan decided that he would give his army only a fraction of the number of wagons needed to keep it in the field; instead, he would use his fleet to resupply the army by sea. The ships would carry the large supplies and any large siege guns the Ottomans may need in the coming battle, letting the army march quickly through the rough terrain. Portions of the Sultan’s forces would even be transported ahead of the large force moving on foot to help increase the speed of redeployment, while most of the Sultan’s forces would be left behind to guard the Empire’s borders and be brought up for the spring offensive.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

I, most glorious Amir of Algiers,
Do signify righteous support for my brother faithful
Who glorify the holy name of Allah
And Allah's prophet Mohammed
By agreeing to the terms presented by Direnç Piri
Envoy to the Sultan
In sending a force no smaller than six vessels
To aid him in his endeavors.​

- Official decree by Amir Ahmad II, 1460​

Lacking the naval strength to accomplish this directly, the Sultan began to reach out to other parties to find the needed transport capacity. One of the biggest suppliers of naval resources to the Sultan in his Crimean campaign was the Merchant Republics of Genoa and Venice, who were critical to Mehmet’s plans but cost a great deal to employ. Mehmet also sent envoys to the infamous ‘Barbary Pirates‘, the Muslim nations of North Africa who preyed on Christian shipping across the Mediterranean. The envoy was able to strike a small agreement that would have large ramifications in the years to come and act as a precursor to the future cooperation between the two groups. The Ottoman Navy, a fleet of galleys that had help strangle Constantinople years before, were now joined by the Christian merchants and a small force of Berber ships to help transport the supplies and manpower to help deal with the war in Crimea.


The Ottoman army advanced at a rapid pace, unencumbered by a heavy siege train or by needing to bring supplies along the winding and difficult roads of Bulgaria and Moldavia. Once the army reached the more open lands of the Crimea, they were able to reunite with the large force of gathered wagons for their trip further inland. They marched to the Don River, where the Sultan decided to encamp for the coming winter. Here his forces set up temporary fortresses of earth and wood to wait until the coming spring, their incredible speed or travel ensuring that the Khan Timŭr of Nogai would be unable to invade the Crimean lands himself.

This military feet was an undeniably risky gambit: navigation at sea in the 1400s was still an art more than a science, and any heavy storms or an early winter would have doomed the army to starvation. But Mehmet succeeded in a startling display of Ottoman military efficiency.

While encamping on the Don had strong military implications in keeping the Nogai from invading the Crimea, the Sultan was also seeking diplomatic gains by displaying his strength to the other Tartar nations that could potentially join the Nogai Khanate in opposing the Ottomans. It was also questionable if the armies of the deceased Khan Hajji would be willing to fight under ottoman leadership, or if they would side with the Nogai. Mehmet quietly began to replace questionable leaders, offering them a quiet and well funded retirement in exchange for their support of the young Sultan. The Sultan had accomplished a military feat, increased his diplomatic ties across the Muslim world, and was now in a position to meet the forces of the opposing Khanate in a decisive battle when the spring came.

- Johannes Krieger, The Sublime State: A History of The Ottoman Empire; vol. 1

Qorten: You sir are a greater optimist than I am. Or a better player.

sniedermeier: Unfortunately I don't know where they came from, but they settled in Thrace, which can handle a little extra RR.

Enewald: Plausible enough for me.

Mannisks: Thats an SAT word right there! :rofl:

. . . I guess you have to know something about the US educational system to actually get that joke.

And thanks! I love playing around with Photoshop, so this is what happens when I do.

canonized: Yarr.

Colonel Bran: Me too. If Mehmet can force Nogai to recognize Crimea as being under a personal union, then for all intents and purposes then it has become one. The only other parties on the Black Sea are Georgia, Moldavia, Trebizond and Genoa.

And I think you might have just given me a title for one of the parts of my AAR!

Taklagarn: Thank you kindly.

Enewald: Oh, they can win me if I get unlucky and have a bunch of angry christians declare war on me.

LordOfBlood: Thank you very much. As for my long-term goals? Well, my aims in the game are pretty much doing what I think will make the AAR interesting, and this time I'm going to go with a more Role Playing kinda of gaming: I plan on letting my characterizations of the Sultan's guide my playing style, even if the actions arn't exactly the best from a gaming standpoint. But I will see the Ottoman Empire become the preeminent power in the Balkans and throughout the Muslim world. And getting all of the Ottoman cores under my control is Mehmet's first priority.

As for more screenshots like income and the like: sure, I'll see what I can do. It might take a while for me to get there, as I have already played a few years down the road and don't have the screenshots yet.

But you have given me a good idea: I think from now on I'm going to create a "backup save" for every 5 years that I will not save over, which will allow me to easily go back and check that information (or grab a screenshot even). Then I would have a save for 1475, 1480, etc.

Milites: Thank you, praetorian. Hail Ceasar! Or in this case, hail Kayser-i-Rûm!

ubik: Thank you very much for the offer, ubik. And also thank you for the excellent mod. I had grown a little bored with Vanilla EU3, and MM really got me interested again by uping the challenge in a meaningful way.

Of course, I have also cursed your name for those damnable "Framed" events as well.

balkanite: I wonder if ubik knows if anyone has done a WC with MMP. I'm pretty sure its been done, but I don't think I could ever do it.

Mannisks: Its what comes with MMP. I quite like the look of it, myself.

ubik said:

No. Not even close.

Click to expand...

Well that answers that then. :rofl: