The Sublime State - An Ottoman AAR

Herr von Steuben,

Well, Albania is thankfully free of all the insanity that seems to have spread elsewhere. I feel recovered enough that I have decided to gather a few more pages together and send them off to you. Hopefully moving east will allow me and my companion to reach home without further complications.

The lack of rail transportation in Eastern Europe will slow me down, but with my luck when aboard trains I feel that is probably for the best.

Sincerely,

Johannes Krieger
September 20, 1854​

Padishah Giyasuddin was much like his father in that he would alternate in his campaigns to expand the Empire’s borders with periods spent working on the current domestic problems facing the nation. After the conquest of Rhodes and Cyprus Giyasuddin decided to work on further integrating the secular laws of the Ottoman Empire and Sharia, the Islamic law that formed a central pillar for Islamic faith.

But while Giyasuddin was attempting to follow his father by further codifying laws he was unwilling to challenge the ulema (scholars who specialized in Sharia law). Eventually there was an agreement made that would keep Sharia law in place but, since the Quran was unchanging and did not cover every possibility that might arise, Ottoman law would work to compliment it. This was the humble beginnings of what later Sultans would expand on to create the Ottoman system of laws that, in time, would supplant Sharia as the most import legal system within the Empire.


Giyasuddin also imitated his father by employing a number of very talented advisors, men who were often given funding by the sultan to form their own schools and academies. Constantinople would thus become the center of learning in the Islamic world as universities were heavily subsidized by the Ottoman government, eager to reap the benefits from having a class of well trained citizens to help expand the bureaucracy.

Although the idea was still in its infancy, the concept of a meritocracy began to filter throughout the lower levels of the Ottoman government. Normally within a monarchy the government’s leaders are carefully handpicked by the monarch in a method much superior to the unorganized method of mob rule used today by republics and democracies. Yet Giyasuddin, for all his political acumen, was not a very capable administrator. The rise of the educational schools within Constantinople and elsewhere in the Empire was also met with Giyasuddin’s apathy towards minor matters of state. Without royal oversight, over time the responsibility of filling many lower positions within the state would fall to the bureaucracy itself, leaving the Sultan to manage only the most senior positions.

This would have a profound effect on the development of the Ottoman Empire. With the emphasis on capability being a requirement for promotion there grew a very efficient corps of lower functionaries that would see the Ottoman Empire run efficiently and skillfully. Yet in time the Sultan’s lack of direct control over many of the lower positions would cause demands for increased rights for the growing middle class.



Giyasuddin may not have paid as much attention to the lower workings of the government as his father, but Giyasuddin possessed a keen military mind and a drive to obtain what he felt was rightfully the Ottoman’s. The biggest problem for Giyasuddin was the control the Christian nations still held over lands that fell within the Ottoman sphere, the biggest of these being the Genoese holdings along the northern coast of the Black Sea. The province of Kaffa was a major trading port that the sultan viewed as a major threat to Ottoman power due to its dominance in the regions trade.

Giyasuddin began to lay plans for a future campaign against Genoa, beginning with reforms within the Ottoman military. These reforms were spearheaded by Emin Çandarlı, a distant relative of the Grand Vizier to Murad II, father of Mehmet II. The changes in the military were mostly applied to the growing body of professional soldiers that made up the Janissary corps that were still a minority within the army. More standardized training methods and improvements in training officers and sub-officers would see the Janissaries transform from just a loyal body of praetorians to the most disciplined and well equipped military force in Europe for centuries. The creation of a specific group of sub-officers that were drawn from the regular enlisted men is also a development worth mentioning, as this is marks the beginning of the modern Non-Commissioned officer that is now a staple of every modern military.

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

RGB: Not at this time, no. The Muslim troops still make up the majority of Ottoman soldiers, but have much in common with their western counterparts in recruitment, being more like feudal levies. This of course may or may not change in time.

EnragedKiwi: Albania is not independent later, actually. Because of conversion efforts and a number of campaigns, not to mention the passage of time, the Muslim Albanians are one of the ethnicities (much like the Greeks) that become very closely tied with the Ottoman Empire. That region is just a very stable region of the Ottoman Empire. Other places, such as Croatia or the Hungarian regions, are not so stable.

Winner: Hes a big fan of the monarchies.

Stuyvesant: Or is it? *Da da duuuuum!*

I actually am running through ideas about where to take this AAR if/when I finish it. I might just continue the story of the Ottoman Empire in HoI3. I am also already working on a few custom events and whatnot for later in the AAR that will link the two games together and let me explain and describe the missing century and a half.

phargle: You are definetly a very perceptive man. Not only is Albania a still-stable part of the Empire, but Krieger is in some ways a mix of conservative and liberal. The man is a dedicated monarchist and, while he himself is of upper-middle-class stock, he is dissmissive towards the lower classes.

Yet while a monarchist he is not opposed to some reforms of government. I would definelty label him as being one who wouldn't oppose a constitutional monarchy, but his feelings and biases would make him suspicious of weakening royal authority too much or in allowing universal sufferage. Hes not a perfect man, not by a long shot. Actually, hes almost the kind of academic who deserves to be slapped. :rofl:

ubik: Probably once I get settled after my vacation. I'll try and get something up soon though; its been a long enough break at it is.

GregoryTheBruce: Thanks for the comments! Its always great to hear from people who have read the AAR and enjoy it. But the one thing that may be apparent soon is that, while some areas of the Balkans are indeed much more 'stable' later on in the years, there are plenty of nationalistic groups that want their independence in the 19th century.

Enewald: So many specific questions about governments other than the Ottomans. Genoa is a... um... cool... republic. Yeah. A Cool Republic. +1 to prestige and +10% awesomeness per year.

asd21593: Thanks a bunch asd! Glad to hear you like my AAR enough to choose me as Writaar of the week!

Herr von Steuben,

The weather has taken a turn for the worse, so my travelling companion and I have been shut up in a local inn for the duration.

Thankfully I have already procured the services of a carriage to take me further east as soon as the rains let up. Until then I find myself with more time to write, and I shall capitalize on the opportunity.

Sincerely,

Johannes Krieger
September 22, 1854​

The glittering gold entranced them in their avarice,
a gilded wall that hid the rot beneath it​

The Most Serene Republic of Genoa was, much like the other Most Serene Republic of Venice, a nation built atop the wealth of the many trade routes across the Mediterranean. Its strength lay in the hands of its merchant families, the most powerful of which possessed greater influence than many princes and dukes. The two trading Republics had long dominated trade in the eastern Mediterranean through territory they administered directly; Venice with Crete and a number of other islands while Genoa held Kaffa on the Crimean peninsula.

Kaffa was a major trading port, and had been for centuries. The trade wealth of the Ottoman Crimea and the lands of the eastern Black Sea flowed throw it out to the rest of Europe, Arabia, and North Africa. The Italian merchants were enriched by this valuable trade, and Giyasuddin was eager to claim it for himself. Kaffa was in a dangerously isolated position, surrounded by Ottoman lands and without any means to be reinforced in case of war. Continued Genoese control over the land had for centuries relied mostly upon the divided nature of the region, where the economic strength of the Genoa Republic was enough to buy the loyalty of nearby tartar princes.

When the Ottoman’s had gained control over the Crimea, Genoa had invested in a series of large fortifications around the key city to dissuade any aggressive moves by the Turks. But the Merchant families of Genoa had slowly reduced investments in these works as war looked like a distant prospect, and by the late 1480s they were only partially completed.


Sensing a weakness in the Genoan military strength, Giyasuddin declared war on Genoa early in the spring of 1490. His military preparations overwhelmed the Kaffa defenders in a matter of days as the un-finished fortresses fell or surrendered within hours, their mercenary garrisons unwilling to die for the Italian merchants. After a single night of bombardment the city council accepted Giyasuddin’s demands for surrender and was swiftly occupied by the triumphant sultan.


The attack on Genoa prompted a retaliatory declaration of war from a number of Italian nations, including the other major merchant power of Venice, and the lands under direct Papal authority. Sensing an opportunity to wrest control of the eastern Mediterranean from Christian hands Giyasuddin embarked on a plan to land troops on the major island of Crete, a strategic asset for the Venetian’s that played a crucial role in ensuring their merchant’s gained unfettered access to the major trading port of Alexandria.

Naval forces from Genoa and the Papal State’s each tried to contest the sea’s around Crete, but both attempt’s were quickly defeated by the Ottoman navy’s superior numbers. By May as many as twelve-thousand Turkish soldiers had landed on the island, and within a month the defenses had been overcome.

But the Ottoman Empire was struck a heavy blow when the Sultan Giyasuddin was killed while on a recreational hunt near the capital while his soldier’s were still engaging the enemy on Crete. The untimely death of the sultan caused a panic in the upper echelons of the military as it coincided with the Papal Army landing forces in Greece andbesieging the city of Mystras. The Pope declared a new crusade had begun, attracting recruits to his banner from across Europe to join what some saw as a far overdue expedition. The Ottoman Empire was leaderless and on the brink of a massive new war, with its armies far from threatened regions of Greece.

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