I think the possibility of a rivalry exists but I think it's more likely that the Ottomans would try to ally with the other Islamic power. Honestly, I don't think that Turkestan would try to claim the Sultanate since the Turks would be more likely to recognize the Ottoman claim. The Ottoman ruling class is Turkish after all, from the great migrations of the 1200s. I think the relationship between those two Islamic powers would be simlilar to that of the Ilkhanate and the Ottomans.
The Ilkhanate was a willing Ottoman vassal (meaning they offered their allegiance in return for the additional military security) in what's now the Crimea and the whole area north of it. They were originally the remnants of Genghis Khan's shamanistic mongolian ancestors, but converted to a mystical version of Sunni Islam, just like the Ottomans. That's also a big factor, I believe the Turks are Sunnis, which would make them more likely to ally with the Ottomans than if they were Shiites, like Iran.
Iran and the Ottomans never really allies; rather they were rivals like you were saying the Turkestans might be. A huge reason for this was that they were two different Islamic sects. This was was a source of constant tension between the two powers. Because that wouldn't be the case with Turkestan and the '36 Ottomans, I think they would get along pretty well, at least until their common enemy was humbled.
Actually, if the war with Ukraine and Russia ended early enough, a Turkestan, CTR, Ottoman war with Iran seems far more likely. The Shah of Iran and the Sultan of the OE were at war for much of history after the 1500s. But the land between them was always so hard to cross and the Iranians used slash and burn tactics to make the Ottomans afraid from getting too far into the country and then dying of thirst and starvation, that they never really made much headway. I think there are some possibilities there, but it's also kind of getting ahead of ourselves.
I think the hardest part is going to be finding the Tartar leaders for the CTR. Wikipedia might help though...
The Ilkhanate was a willing Ottoman vassal (meaning they offered their allegiance in return for the additional military security) in what's now the Crimea and the whole area north of it. They were originally the remnants of Genghis Khan's shamanistic mongolian ancestors, but converted to a mystical version of Sunni Islam, just like the Ottomans. That's also a big factor, I believe the Turks are Sunnis, which would make them more likely to ally with the Ottomans than if they were Shiites, like Iran.
Iran and the Ottomans never really allies; rather they were rivals like you were saying the Turkestans might be. A huge reason for this was that they were two different Islamic sects. This was was a source of constant tension between the two powers. Because that wouldn't be the case with Turkestan and the '36 Ottomans, I think they would get along pretty well, at least until their common enemy was humbled.
Actually, if the war with Ukraine and Russia ended early enough, a Turkestan, CTR, Ottoman war with Iran seems far more likely. The Shah of Iran and the Sultan of the OE were at war for much of history after the 1500s. But the land between them was always so hard to cross and the Iranians used slash and burn tactics to make the Ottomans afraid from getting too far into the country and then dying of thirst and starvation, that they never really made much headway. I think there are some possibilities there, but it's also kind of getting ahead of ourselves.
I think the hardest part is going to be finding the Tartar leaders for the CTR. Wikipedia might help though...
Timotheos said:I like the idea of a Crimean nation springing up, though it might be hard to keep it alive as the Ottomans could only reinforce it by sea. Presumably some significant AI changes could be made though, so it should be possible. We'd also need to come up with a good peace treaty sequence as I think it might be going to too far to have either the Ukraine conquering all Anatolia or the Ottomans plunging into Central Russia.
I think that the need to boost the Ottomans at the start (and to change the current Sultan) has come up before. Good to know we were on the right track.
One other idea for the Ottomans that was introduced way back near the beginning, but not in much detail, was a possible Ottoman-Turkestan clash later on in the game. The idea behind it was that Turkestan would be claiming the title of Sultan (or was it Caliph?) itself once it had grown somewhat and this would lead to tensions and maybe war, with Persia stuck in the middle. What's your opinion on these ideas?