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So Mahmud the angry could also be Mahmud the short (lived?) ... really like the contextual material you keep on placing around the game driven narrative
Well, he had good Mil skill?
Yes he did. Which made his inability to win a real surprise (at least for me).
Thank you, I am glad you appreciate it. Of course, the real tricky part is going to be trying to differentiate between what happens due to my own incompetence and what happens in the interests of role-playing.
Wow, what a complete failure!
Nothing like loosing most of your largest army when the Holy Roman Emperor (and his wonderful manpower bonuses) is barreling down on you.
Oh, something is in the air...
Ouch. Let's hope that Mahmud proves to be a spectacular low point in Ottoman history, someone who took the finely tuned machinery of the Ottoman state and army and managed to wreck it in such a short time - only for it to resoundingly rebound under a more competent leader. Perhaps a quick peace is called for, but only to give the Ottoman Empire the time to recover and deliver a body blow to the Austrian interlopers.
very good and dramatic update. Things are definitely still interesting in Ottomania.
very good and dramatic update. Things are definitely still interesting in Ottomania.
I am glad I can still hold your interest. What I do when playing is to keep my story-telling needs the main focus. I am not going to win all my battles/wars... which is especially true the longer the game goes on.
All I can say is that Sultans will be wise not to anger their Janissaries.
Before. Afterwards, of course, he wasn't quite fit to lead an army. Or breath, for that matter.
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Part Forty-Eight
The Cage
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The disastrous loss after the Battle of Buda was not the only misfortune to befall the Ottoman Empire during the late months of 1604. The hasty retreat back to Turkish territory caused mass confusion within the Ottoman lines as orders conflicted and commanders struggled to withdraw in good order. The advancing armies of Emperor Maximilian II were well disciplined, their ranks swollen with the arrival of large detachments under the commands of the Prince-Electors of Bavaria and Brandenburg. The bulk of the Austrian military had followed Maximilian east into Hungary, largely ignoring the relatively unguarded territory of Ottoman Croatia. The Emperor ordered his allies to swing to the west of his armies and invade Croatia while he continued south to drive the Turks out of Hungary.
With less distance to travel the Bavarians, led by young Prince-Elector Anton I, were the first to reach the abandoned fortresses along the Ottoman border. Taking advantage of the disorder within the Ottoman military the Bavarians moved unseen up the Sava River and surprised a larger Turkish force that had just crossed over the Danube River. The Ottomans were divided into two separate commands; the Army of Greece under Cihangir Özdemir Pasha and a detachment of Sipahi cavalry under Kasim Semiz Pasha. The day before the Bavarians arrived a heated disagreement broke out between the two men over which of them were rightfully in charge of the entire formation. The conflict mirrored the wider antagonism within the Ottoman military between Janissaries like Özdemir and Sipahis like Semiz: both groups considered themselves the “elite” of the Ottoman Empire and were disdainful of their opposites.
Normally such a disagreement would be handled by the simple system of seniority within the Ottoman army, where the date when a sufficient rank or title (Pasha being the most common) was bestowed upon a commander determined their relative place within the hierarchy of the military. While it is likely that the older Semiz held seniority over Özdemir, the fact that Özdemir was had been placed at the head of a much larger body of troops evidently added to their disagreement. The inability of the two Turks to establish a proper chain of command, exacerbated by the mistrust between the two service branches and the general state of confusion, further disorganized the Ottoman soldiers.
The two groups had bivouacked some distance apart and, exhausted after days of frantic retreat and the late afternoon crossing of the Danube the day before, the Ottomans failed to practice even basic military discipline as they hastily raised their tents and fell asleep. With no pickets to raise the alarm the Bavarians attack caught the Ottomans completely off guard. With the energetic Anton at their head thousands of Bavarian cavalry stormed into the Ottoman camp, trampling sleeping Turks to death as others fled unarmed and naked into the early morning light. Panic stricken, hundreds of Turks drowned in the Danube as they tried to escape the German onslaught.
Having broken one body of Turks Anton reformed his cavalry and charged into the second Ottoman camp, letting his infantry mop up behind him. The second camp (whether under Semiz’s or Özdemir’s command is unknown) had been roused from their sleep by the sounds of battle and had formed hasty ranks to meet the attackers. Having lost the element of surprise Anton had to wait until his infantry caught up before he attacked again. Despite the initial resistance by the second group of Ottomans the Bavarians soon overcame this body of soldiers as well, and by noon they had taken the field. In total only 4000 Ottomans made it back to friendly lines, representing just one eighth of their initial strength.
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When news of the defeat in Slavonia reached Sultan Mahmud he went berserk, physically assaulting the messenger with a silver goblet until it was left a bloody and deformed lump of metal. Mahmud immediately demanded a new round of executions from amongst his commanders, unaware that his previous orders had been ignored by his Beuluk Janissary bodyguard. The Beuluks controlled access to the Sultan when in the field and thus deliberately kept him isolated and misinformed, cut off from the outside world. Deciding they needed to depose Mahmud, the Janissaries found strong support for their palace coup when they showed the Turkish commanders the orders of execution marked with the Sultan’s own seal. In January of 1605 the Janissaries imprisoned Mahmud in one of the Belgrade fortresses while they conspired to free Mahmud’s younger half-brother Suleiman from his imprisonment within the Kafes.
The Kafes (The Cage) was a portion of the Topkapı Palace that was used to imprison close male relatives of the Sultan who might threaten the Empire with a succession crisis. The creation of the Kafes grew out of Abdülhamid I’s reign when the Empire had faced the real threat of having the Imperial line lost due to the untimely deaths of successive Sultans. The practice of royal fratricide had grown to be viewed as a cruel necessity during the 15th and 16th centuries, but only during Abdülhamid’s reign was it finally seen as an actual risk to the Osman Dynasty. Possessing no brothers Abdülhamid had not needed to order that his siblings be strangled with silk rope, but the fact that he had been the only living male descendent of Osman I seemed to weigh heavily on his mind. Thus Abdülhamid was the first to end the practice by establishing the Kafes, constructing a large living quarters within Topkapı Palace where other claimants to the throne (brothers, cousins, and nephews, usually) would be confined once they reached puberty and were thus forced to leave the Harem. There they would stay until they either they themselves became Sultan, they no longer held a claim to the throne, or they died of old age.
While Abdülhamid’s actions certainly saved many innocent men and boys from being murdered, it was a double edged sword. Before the establishment of the Kafes a Sultan would normally send his sons out to run parts of the Empire to gain experience for when they might become Sultan. When a Padishah finally died it was often the first of his heirs to reach Constantinople who would be able to claim the throne; thus a favoured son would receive a posting near Constantinople to increase his chances of being crowned. To protect his position the new Sultan would then execute his rivals in a brutal system that bred strong willed leaders but left many of royal blood dead. Imprisonment in the Kafes was safer for the Osman Dynasty, as there were almost always guaranteed to be a living heir ready to take the throne if needed. Yet the need to keep the potential heirs locked up denied new Sultans the experience their predecessors had gained by actually ruling before being invested as Padishah. Indeed the new Sultans were generally ill prepared for the demands of ruling, having lived most of their lives as prisoners within a gilded cage.
The Imperial Harem was a crucial part of the House of Osman; it was here that all of the Sultan’s wives and concubines lived, and access to the Harem was strictly controlled by the Master of the Girls (Kızlar Ağasi), or Chief Black Eunuch. Selected from the African populations of the Sudan or Abyssinia, these castrated males were the only ones allowed within the Harem itself besides the Sultan himself and other women. In charge of all the eunuchs, the Chief Black Eunuch held a very powerful position within the government, often considered second only to the Grand Vizier. Both the Grand Vizier and the Chief Black Eunuch possessed power by controlling access to the Sultan. So while the Grand Vizier was the link between the Divan and the Sultan and most certainly the more powerful of the two, when the Sultan was within the walls of the Harem it was the Chief Black Eunuch (and only the Chief Black Eunuch) who could carry messages from the outside world to the Sultan’s ear.
While the Kafes were technically (and physically) separate from the Harem proper to prevent the concubines from consorting with the Sultan’s potential heirs, it was still under the auspices of the Chief Black Eunuch. For the Janissaries to obtain the release of Suleiman they needed to gain the Chief Black Eunuch’s approval, which almost certainly involved bribery. With a sealed abdication from Mahmud the newly freed Suleiman was quickly crowned Sultan Suleiman II with the full knowledge that it was the Janissaries who had placed him upon the throne. Months later the corpse of Mahmud was transported to Constantinople, his exact date of death unknown, and quietly buried.
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Sultan Suleiman II faced a tough challenge in trying to reverse the Empire’s current fortunes in the war against Austria, a challenge made more daunting by his need to please the Janissaries who had deposed his father. While later Suleiman would demonstrate his own talents as a leader, during the first war of his reign Suleiman allowed the Janissaries and the Ottoman military to run the conflict much as they willed. It was the best choice he could have made, although at the time he was mostly going along with the Janissaries through fear and his own lack of power. While his commanders were making all the decisions, tradition and protocol dictated that they still consult with the Padishah for approval and discuss the military campaign before him on major issues.
Listening to his skilled commanders quickly educated the young Sultan on how a war was really to be fought, information he would put to good use later in his long reign. While lacking real world experience on politics and how to run an empire, Suleiman possessed a sharp mind and a quick wit that would serve him well. He knew that he had to be obedient towards his “benefactors” until he could establish his own power base. Thus he quietly kept his own council and let the Ottoman military leadership unknowingly educated him, letting them assume he was indeed nothing but a subservient puppet monarch through whom they could dictate policy; a mistaken notion, as he would soon prove.
- Johannes Krieger, The Sublime State: A History of The Ottoman Empire; vol. 2
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Sounds like Suleiman will go on to greater glories in the future. That's good, because it's hard to see right now how he's going to salvage much from this catastrophic war with the Austrians.
In-depth description of the Kafes. Mostly historical, I assume? It certainly gives a very plausible background to your palace coup.
I hope those four armies in the last screenshot are not the only forces left standing in the Balkans - a mere 6,000 demoralized troops are not going to stop that Austrian juggernaut.
In-depth description of the Kafes. Mostly historical, I assume? It certainly gives a very plausible background to your palace coup.
I hope those four armies in the last screenshot are not the only forces left standing in the Balkans - a mere 6,000 demoralized troops are not going to stop that Austrian juggernaut.
ouch .... that was an impressive set of disasters, esp at Slavonia ... and of course, as ever, excellent writing and a really enjoyable mixing of game events with history
I suppose we, other MM players, won't get hit with the Jenissary Coup event, as it's bound to be your creation; right?
I do hope OE coffers and manpower reserves are full, I can't see how otherwise the Empire is going to wiggle out of this mess.
I do hope OE coffers and manpower reserves are full, I can't see how otherwise the Empire is going to wiggle out of this mess.
Being locked up is certainly preferable than being murdered with a silken rope... at least presumably they had access to books and servants to talk to so as not to go insane, I imagine those Janisaries wouldn't want to replace a mad sultan with another one
Being locked up is certainly preferable than being murdered with a silken rope... at least presumably they had access to books and servants to talk to so as not to go insane, I imagine those Janisaries wouldn't want to replace a mad sultan with another one
As long as the new mad Sultan is amenable to the demands of the Jannisaries and does not appear to be hellbent on steering the Empire off a cliff, I don't think they would hold insanity against him...
So I'm back from Thanksgiving break, and the end of the semester is rapidly approaching. Three hurrahs for term papers and final exams! Anyway, I should manage to get another update done in the next few days.
Now, onto the posts from my adoring (*cough cough*) fans.
Yeah the Kafes are mostly historical, although the dates of their use and such have been changed to reflect the TSS reality. And unfortunately, those armies were the bulk of my forces in the Balkans.
But as Napoleon said, "The Turks can be killed, but they can never be conquered." The Ottoman Empire is no pushover.
Glad you appreciate it. And yeah, it was a major setback.
You wouldn't be mocking me in my moment of weakness, would you?
Thats what happens when you aren't a terribly good player.
Yeah reserves are mostly full, but then I am on the backfoot here. And yeah, it was a custom event. I'm going to probably be writing a few more of those for some later occurrences too.
Its more akin to the old saying of a "gilded cage". The are imprisoned in luxury... but still imprisoned. Most of them have spent their lives in the Harem anyway (and the Harem is massive) though, so madness is possible but not guaranteed.
Sometimes a little insanity can be a good thing.
Now, onto the posts from my adoring (*cough cough*) fans.
Yeah the Kafes are mostly historical, although the dates of their use and such have been changed to reflect the TSS reality. And unfortunately, those armies were the bulk of my forces in the Balkans.
But as Napoleon said, "The Turks can be killed, but they can never be conquered." The Ottoman Empire is no pushover.
Glad you appreciate it. And yeah, it was a major setback.
You wouldn't be mocking me in my moment of weakness, would you?
You're really getting owned here.
Thats what happens when you aren't a terribly good player.
I suppose we, other MM players, won't get hit with the Jenissary Coup event, as it's bound to be your creation; right?
I do hope OE coffers and manpower reserves are full, I can't see how otherwise the Empire is going to wiggle out of this mess.
Yeah reserves are mostly full, but then I am on the backfoot here. And yeah, it was a custom event. I'm going to probably be writing a few more of those for some later occurrences too.
Being locked up is certainly preferable than being murdered with a silken rope... at least presumably they had access to books and servants to talk to so as not to go insane, I imagine those Janisaries wouldn't want to replace a mad sultan with another one
Its more akin to the old saying of a "gilded cage". The are imprisoned in luxury... but still imprisoned. Most of them have spent their lives in the Harem anyway (and the Harem is massive) though, so madness is possible but not guaranteed.
Sometimes a little insanity can be a good thing.
Well, you've amply demonstrated the first part of that quote, now let's see about the second half.*
*Obligatory occasional snarky comment.
I need to stop telling when I am going to get another update done; it is a curse upon me. But finals are completed, so that weight is off my shoulders at least. More time to think about writing.
=P
The Empire will loose territory; if not now, then in the future. I can guarantee that!
Well, you've amply demonstrated the first part of that quote, now let's see about the second half.*
*Obligatory occasional snarky comment.
=P
The Empire will loose territory; if not now, then in the future. I can guarantee that!