The Shortest Road to Damascus

[Azugal]

None of this "hopefully" rubbish, we want an update!

[aldriq]

7

The roadrunner from Durrani
1470-79

Despite the Funj consensus I don't feel Cairo is worth losing 3 stability, I decide to warn them and wait instead. Pretty much all of my neighbours have been warned by Syria, surely one of them will cross the line and DoW soon...

Or maybe not as soon as I thought... in the meantime, for the sake of strengthening relations with the Golden Horde, I follow Kami's advice and declare war on Georgia. As predicted, GH happily joins along with Khorasan; Tver and Muscovy join on Georgia's side.

Since the Horde is busy in the west I send some men to besiege Georgia's only province, which falls quickly enough. The Georgians offer a neat sum of money for peace; I accept and run, of course Muscovy and Tver refuse to sign white peace at first, but they eventually get bored and accept a year later.

1472 and 1473 prove to be difficult years for more than one nation, collapse seems to be the name of the game. Hungary is almost partitioned between Austria and the OE...

... the Mamluks are free again after 32,000 rebels convinced Funj -and me- that it wasn't that cheap to keep Cairo...

...and most unexpectedly, in 1473 the Golden Horde imploded due to war exhaustion and total rebel neglect. Kazakh, Sibir and newly born Astrakhan are the main beneficiaries of this collapse.

So much for my new strengthened relations with the now two-province Horde At least they keep their 50 regiments attriting away in their capital, so they might still be useful for a while, and even recover some of their old territory.

Looking back to Syria, 1473 is time for a new policy change. I push the slider towards innovative -I only get a small prestige hit- and later on a 'Merchants Complain' event will let me favour plutocracy.

By 1476 I'm tired of waiting for any of my neighbours to trigger a warning, but if I must sacrifice 3 stability points it must be worthwhile. Persia promises to offer the best reward in terms of land and wealth, so I send the DoW.

Both my allies join, Haasa and Durrani back Persia. The two Haasan non-capital provinces -unfortified- are quickly seized and obtained in a separate peace deal, leaving Haasa an OPM.

Khorasan leaves the war shortly afterwards with a white peace, overrun by Durrani and involved in some obscure succession war, just as a few GH regiments arrive to help out against a really annoying 8K Durrani stack.

Persia has a bigger army than I thought, so I have to regroup my separate stacks to defeat it.

The Persian army is destroyed in 1478, when I can finally focus on finishing sieges and chase down the Durrani stack that has been harassing my smaller siege units. The GH abandons the war at this point.

I get carried away pursuing the Durranis up and down into Afghan provinces, which is not good for my WE, but in the end I exact my revenge. When Sistan and Makran fall I obtain the latter in a separate peace.

And a month later the last Persian province falls and I get a neat 100% peace deal. This leaves Persia reduced to 2 provinces and gives me a solid eastern border. Durrani is left as a buffer against the rapidly consolidating Indian powers, of which Rajputana is the largest. Conveniently the CoT in Hormuz has disappeared (stagnated?), most of its revenue is going now to Fars

In the west the Ottomans are fighting two wars along their new ally Astrakhan; they are doing well against Lithuania but losing ground against Austria. I hope the OE loses some Adriatic or Hungarian provinces, although knowing the AI it might all end up in white peace. After this war I need to consider ditching the GH and getting Astrakhan as ally.

And in Africa Algiers has taken most of Tripoli and Tunisia and vassalised them, they might not be such push over as I expected. On the other hand, attacking and weakening Algiers will only make Castille stronger in North Africa...

Am I ready yet to fight a Lain power? Probably not, looking at the economy and tech levels...

I have a temporary CB against Qara Qoyunlu (they pressed a boundary dispute), but I think it's probably better to let it go this time, WE and BB need some rest. On the admin side I've just breached the 30 provinces, so I can switch to Empire, is it worth the stab hit in the long run?

_________________

Syria in 1479

Provinces: 31
At peace.
Allied with Korashan, Golden Horde. CB on OE.
Stability: +2
BB: 10.10
Monarch: Sultan al-Mu'azzam II (7a/4m/6d)
Army: 27 (12/15/0)
Navy: 15 (0/0/6/9)
WE: 5.99

Neighbours

Mamluks: Allied with Hedjaz, Najd, Adal and Swahili. CB on Syria. Guaranteeing Yemen, Haasa, Najd, Hedjaz and Iraq. Warned by Syria. At war with Kazakh.

Funj: Allied with Yemen and Qara Qoyunlu. CB on Hedjaz. Guaranteed by Swahili and Sokoto. Warned by Syria.

Tripoli: Allied with Yemen, Najd, Algiers and Qara Qoyunlu. CB on Tunisia. Guaranteeing Tunisia. Warned by Syria.

Algiers: Allied with Najd, Tripoli, Tunisia, Khorasan. CB on Castille. Guaranteed by OE. Guranteeing Yemen, Haasa and Oman. Warned by Syria.

OE: Allied with Bosnia, Serbia, Golden Horde, Nogai, Astrakhan. CB on Hungary. Guaranteeing Yemen, Haasa, Oman, Hedjaz, Algiers and Iraq. At war with Lithuania*, Hungary, Brandenburg and Pommerania; at war with Austria and Bavaria.

Najd: Allied with Iraq, Algiers and the Mamluks. CB on Syria, Oman. Guaranteeing Iraq. Guaranteed by the Mamluks, Yemen and Fez. Warned by Syria.

Iraq: Allied with Najd. CB on the OE, Syria. Guaranteed by OE, Yemen, Haasa, Fez and the Mamluks. Warned by Syria.

Haasa: Allied with Oman and Qara Qoyunlu. CB on Syria. Guaranteed by OE, Yemen, Algiers, Fez and the Mamluks. Guaranteeing Iraq. Warned by Syria.

Hedjaz: Allied with Oman and the Mamluks. CB on OE and Yemen. Guaranteed by OE.

Khorashan: Allied with Syria, Kazakh, Durrani and Kashmir. CB on Persia and Delhi.

Qara Qoyunlu: Allied with Funj, Haasa and Khiva. CB on OE, Georgia, GH, Persia and TE. Guaranteed by Persia and GH. Warning Georgia. Warned by Syria.

Persia: No allies. CB on OE, Syria, Khorasan, Qara Qoyunlu and Khiva. Guaranteeing Qara Qoyunlu. Guaranteed by Durrani. Warned by Syria.

Durrani: Allied with Khiva, Khorasan and TE. CB on Syria, Rajputana. Guaranteeing Persia.

[Didaa]

You need to "fix" this inflation, it's too high

[dan of kentucky]

yeah dude fix the inflation 13!


by the way.... LOVE THE AAR!

[Hitmanalex]

Inflation is the best! How else would he grow if not for lots of moneyz. But seriously, too many people put too high of an importance on inflation. Inflation is key for minors such as Syria to expand. But now I think some master of mints are needed :S what really sucks though is inflation adds to tech cost and its especially bad when you are not a latin tech nation.

[Enewald]

Expansion is harder than it was during the 7th century.
You just can't conquer with 10k tribesmen Empires....

[Kami]

SORRY FOR LETTING THE GH DIE!!!

Let WE fall a bit and show the OE whos the boss. Inflation can always be dealt with after that!

Regarding empire i would wait until the next slider move. (Of course unless if the remaining time will actually be shortened...)

[aldriq]

Azugal - Only if and when the caliph has the time and inclination

dan of kentucky - Thanks and welcome!

Didaa, dan of kentucky - I'm afraid there is no quick fix, I'm already minting as little as I can. I can only wait for the next NI to adopt National Bank, which should help a bit, and hope for a mint advisor. I don't regret the inflation though, if I have to choose between a) borrow, b) mint, c) die, I know which one I prefer...



I don't like loans because you don't have control on whether you'll be in a position to pay them back when they're due.

Hitmanalex - I know, I don't like inflation either but it's better than the alternatives Unfortunately I've had no mint advisors appear in the pool in more than 50 years. I had one at the beginning and he died pretty soon. All the advisors in the pool have been invariably stability, missionary chance or land tech

Enewald - you are right, the world was already overpopulated in the 15th century

Kami - Do you mean you are sorry for the GH or that I should be sorry for the GH? Does empire give any benefits other than morale bonus and slightly shorter policy changes?

[humancalculator]

Good job with Persia.

[demokratickid]

Ooof! Apparently, leave the Mams their Cairo, or else...

[Brandenburg III]

“The roadrunner from Durrani”

roadrunner, that made me smile

I was going to leave a comment on a much earlier update about how I’d like to see a Syria covering India. It’s a nice alternative to taking on the Ottomans, plus, bordering the eventual Ming and taking on Rajputana will always be interesting.

Of course Algiers wasn’t going to be a pushover.

And poor Hungary! Do you feel any sense of loss?

[PrawnStar]

I'd say that clearing up the Arabian and Persian minors is probably the best approach to building strength in the near term.

[aldriq]

humancalculator - Thanks! Persia is no longer a concern (apart from rebels of course).

demokratickid - Funj was unlucky as several rebellions broke out in the space of a few months. Annoyingly many of those rebels have become part of the new Mamluk army.

Brandenburg III - My primary objective is to cover the Umayyad caliphate, which in the east stopped at the Indus. But I'm sure at this pace Rajputana will form the Mughal Empire and enter collision course with my plans. And Ming already borders my ally Khorasan, expect some confrontation sooner or later as I will try my best to protect them. So no need for Muhammad to go to the mountain just yet...

Hungary always suffers the curse of the buffer state, they need a strong alliance to survive.

PrawnStar - I agree. I'm actually changing my mind about not using the temporary CB on Qara Qoyunlu, securing the southern Caspian provinces is vital to stop any further Ottoman expansion east. It's taken me five days of thinking time to decide this, Brandenburg III will be appalled at the waste

[PrawnStar]

Blocking potential Ottoman expansion looks to be a wise move, that pack of minors, AK, QK, GH and Persia are all too small to survive. If you don't take them someone else wil.

There's nothing wrong with 5 days thinking time - that 's why I go to work - so I can take some time to think about my next move. You're right though B3 would be horrified

[Azugal]

That's a worry, only going to work so you can think about the game.

[gabor]

How about entering Europe through Iberia?

[Kami]

´How about warning and proclaiming guarantees on every body who should be a part of the Kaliphate? (bar the Ottomans).

[aldriq]

PrawnStar - As I say, better in my hands than in somebody else's

Azugal - His employer should be happy, it keeps morale high and RR low

gabor - That's the plan, although first I'll have to kick the Iberians out of Africa.

Kami - Most of my neighbours are already under warning. I don't like mixing warnings and guarantees though, you invariably end up with two of them conflicting and losing 25 prestige.

[aldriq]

8

Caspian crossroads
1479-89

The temporary CB on Qara Qoyunlu is too tempting to let go, and blocking Ottoman expansion east is a powerful enough reason to DoW. Ironically the Ottomans press a boundary issue on Gaza, giving me another temporary CB. Oh well...

July 1480, I declare war on Qara Qoyunlu. Golden Horde deserts me, and so does Khorasan, too busy with her own succession war. Haasa, Khiva and Persia join QQ. Perfect!

The war is short and uneventful; Khiva's army is destroyed, Qara Qoyunlu's pushed back to their capital, Persia is occupied. One by one I obtain advantageous peace deals: Haasa is annexed, Persia vassalised, Qara Qoyunlu cedes Mazandaran and Gilan and Khiva gives me a nice sum to pay for some forts and missionaries. This must be one of the most productive wars I've fought

At this point I preferred to make Persia a vassal rather than taking yet more high-tax, Shia provinces, I've got plenty of rebels as it is, I can always diplo-annex them later.

With BB at 16.70, I really need to rest now. Fort-building and rebels will keep me entertained for a while.

In 1482 Judea, Gaza and Sinai become cores, and with them al Misr Arabic culture is accepted. Shortly after being accepted Judea gets cultural assimilation to my primary culture

In 1483 the Austrian-Ottoman war ends, after 5 years, very badly for the Turks. At least Astrakhan did well against Lithuania.

Even after that beating the Ottomans still have 36K men Not that I want to DoW them, that would only accelerate Austria sweeping the Balkans.

Khorasan ends up a lesser partner in a personal union with Kazakh, so I can't renew their alliance. The GH is pretty useless, just reduced to OPM by Georgian patriots. Instead I accept an alliance offer from Astrakhan, the new regional power of the north.

With WE down to 0 at the beginning of 1484 I switch to Imperial Administration at the cost of 3 stab. It at least allows me to push one more point toward centralisation a few months later.

Just when I thought everything was too quiet, in November 1485 Algiers DoWs Fez, triggering my warning on them. I gladly honour it, although I don't want any serious war right now. Algiers* and Tunisia against Syria* and Fez. Sadly Najd doesn't intervene.

I simply send a small force to siege Cyrenaica and a larger support army waiting in Lybia. After 12 months the Algerians eventually show up in Cyrenaica, 12,000 men, king and all, but they are defeated and pushed back.

Algiers refuses to give me Cyrenaica (10% value, 8% WS), and then my ally Astrakhan decides to attack Zaporozhie. Just what I needed, a totally unnecessary war. I honour the alliance, but there is not much I can do in it other than harass and destroy Qara Qoyunlu's army. Chagatai is the enemy leader so there is nothing I can get in a peace deal.

At least Algiers finally gives in, Cyrenaica is one more step westwards!

Zaporozhie is quickly annexed by Astrakhan, Qara Qoyunlu is made an OPM and vassalised and other Asian khanates fall one by one to Astrakhan's armies. There is no stopping them it seems, I just hope they don't collapse like the GH did before.

Chagatai finally offers me a white peace in late 1488. Peace again.

A final look at the empire in 1489, just as I realise I need to really build up my 1-cog Persian Gulf fleet if I want to be able to deal with the Pirates that have started to appear...

_________________

Syria in 1489

Provinces: 35
At peace.
Allied with Astrakhan, Persia and Korashan. CB on OE.
Vassals: Persia
Stability: +1
BB: 12.19
Monarch: Padishah al-Mu'azzam III (7a/4m/6d)
Army: 32 (14/18/0)
Navy: 15 (0/0/6/9)
WE: 0

Neighbours

Mamluks: Allied with Hedjaz, Najd, Adal and Swahili. CB on Syria. Guaranteeing Yemen, Najd, Hedjaz and Iraq. Warned by Syria.

Funj: Allied with Yemen. CB on Hedjaz. Guaranteed by Swahili and Sokoto. Warned by Syria.

Algiers: Allied with OE, Tunisia, Durrani. CB on Castille and Fez. Guaranteed by OE. Guranteeing Yemen, Najd, Iraq, Fez and Oman. Warned by Syria.

OE: Allied with Bosnia, Serbia, Golden Horde, Algiers, Astrakhan. CB on Austria, Syria. Guaranteeing Yemen, Oman, Hedjaz, Algiers and Iraq. Warning Georgia.

Najd: Allied with Yemen, Khorasan and the Mamluks. CB on Syria, Oman. Guaranteeing Iraq. Guaranteed by the Mamluks, Oman, Algiers, Yemen and Fez. Warned by Syria.

Iraq: No allies. CB on the OE, Syria. Guaranteed by OE, Yemen, Oman, Najd, Algiers, Fez and the Mamluks. Warned by Syria.

Haasa: Annexed.

Hedjaz: Allied with Oman, Adal and the Mamluks. CB on OE and Yemen. Guaranteed by OE and Fez.

Khorashan: Allied with Syria, Najd and Durrani. Guaranteeing Durrani.

Qara Qoyunlu: Vassal of Astrakhan. CB on OE, Syria, Astrakhan and Georgia.

Persia: Vassal of Syria. Allied with Syria. CB on Khiva.

Durrani: Allied with Khiva, Khorasan, Algiers and TE. CB on Syria. Guaranteed by Khorasan.

[feldmarshall]

I don't like mixing warnings and guarantees though, you invariably end up with two of them conflicting and losing 25 prestige.

if you get 2 opposing call of arms, you can accept both of them without loss of prestige. only the first one you accept will take effect. I don't know if this is considered cheating though