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So, once the Byzantines are fully conquered, perhaps then proclaim the unified Empire of the Hellenes?
 
Good job chipping away at the Byzantines. :D

I caused something ridiculous like 14 WE once. Yes, naval battle...
 
loki100: Correct. There’s really nothing in the steppes worth having besides Astrakhan, and that would not be worth risking losing an ally in Russia. Generally the AI will see a similar-sized player as a rival rather than ally if they share a border which is why I’m sealing off the border with the region by selling Georgia its provinces in case Muscowy gets those provinces in future.
Lord Strange: Perhaps, but I would like to stay Alexandria just to remind the rest of the world where the real centre of the world lies.
Enewald: With money. I’d be pretty embarrassed if I were them though, having to buy their name back. :p
Boris ze Spider: Sadly a long way, as Novogorod is still very powerful. They’re doing well culture-converting the Tatar provinces though.
k-a-bob: Thanks for subscribing! Don’t worry about this one dying, as I’ve taken precautions to prevent what happened to my Cornwall AAR.
Malurous: I really want to know what causes it, since it would really help to be able to wreck the AI’s WE at will.

Thanks for all the replies!

The Pharaohs Return: An Alexandrian AAR
Chapter Twenty Seven: Sword Before Pen

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There had been increasing pressure from colonial administrators to the Emperor to order an invasion of Java and the surrounding islands, partly to secure supply lines from Malacca to the eastern islands but also to ensure that no Europeans to control there first. With Byzantium defeated for now the empire’s focus could be placed abroad once again.

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War was declared on the heathen nations of Java. However this was met with much grumbling from foreign diplomats. The religious wars of the past few centuries were becoming less frequent and many in Europe believed that religion was no longer a valid reason to go to war. (This is the last war I declare with the Holy War CB, which expires in 1650.)

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The Kingdom of Majaphit had once ruled most of the island, but recently it had been lost most of that land to invaders from Makassar. They were the first to surrender before Alexandrian troops started to spread to the rest of the island.

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Meanwhile, some of the last free natives of the Americas fought a desperate war against England. Although they had been able to drive off Spanish colonists in the past, the English were far more entrenched in the New World.

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Ioannes was busy at home as well; he pushed through reforms that further marginalised the nobility by reducing the control they had over the peasantry. The ultimate aim was to have the powers of the Empire rest entirely with the Emperor and his staff.

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The lands of Java were very well fortified, as the locals had apparently copied European fort designs that they had seen while trading in Alexandrian territory. Nonetheless the island came under complete control eventually.

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Not long afterwards Ioannes passed away and the crown went to his son Konstantinos I. He had already served significantly in the wars with Byzantium and as a result preferred to settle politics with a blade.

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One of the first acts of his reign was to join in the war with Algiers, which had attempted to break away from Portugal. By forcing them to Orthodoxy he could extend Alexandrian influence further west across Africa.

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In India, Kandesh continued its comeback with a massive invasion of the English territory in the east. With England’s armies dealing with the natives of America this would be very troublesome for them.

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Konstantinos continued his own brand of diplomacy when a dispute came up regarding passage through the mouth of the Red Sea. Rather than worrying about negotiation, he ordered that the Adali side of the Bab-el-Mandeb be seized. As Adal fell firmly within the Alexandrian sphere they had no allies and could only give up and cede the disputed region once Alexandrian troops entered it.

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Next he resolved to push further into Oman. The Emperor was not really a religious man; he just wanted to remind the remaining independent inhabitants of the peninsula who was boss. However the Omani Sultanate had grown incredibly wealthy over the years and was now fortifying its lands to a level unseen outside of parts of Europe. This necessitated the transfer of troops from the Byzantine border to bring artillery to bear on the walls.

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Konstantinos even got in the action, leading an army against his Persian counterpart when they came to Oman’s aid. Having fought alongside the same men in Anatolia, he knew exactly how to wield the cannons to devastate the Persian ranks.

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Oman surrendered the one territory the whole war started over, and Persia was forced to give up something as well. Konstantinos did not like that his ancestors had generally let the Persian get away freely from past wars. In his opinion it was time to start heading east the old-fashioned way.

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Next on his list were the Klatovists of Tunisia. This might be a larger problem, as they were protected by Bohemia which had at one time single-handedly held off almost every neighbour at once plus Burgundy. Whether they could extend that to Africa was another matter. Konstantinos was determined to see the Empire expand and would not let even the strongest European power stand in his way.

The year is now 1652.
To be continued…
 
So, a warmonger on the throne eh? :D

Good to see more of Africa under Alexandrian influence.
 
Everything seems to be going very well, I find Konstantinos' wish to push east 'the old-fashioned way' interesting. Hopefully he can cut a swath through the lands to his east, perhaps in time creating a land bridge all the way to Alexandria's colonies. At present simply tidying up the borders seems a good idea at the very least.
 
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Malurous: Tunisia and Swahili are pretty much the only Africans outside of European control (or my SoI) that I can get to at the moment. That could change in future of course.
loki100: There are so many potential place to expand I just take opportunities when I get them.
morningSIDEr: It would be good to link up with the Asian colonies but that will have to wait for Imperialism considering the infamy cost otherwise.
Enewald: Colonial nations will start to appear after 1750 (or as early as 1700 if the AI’s done well at colonising), so we’ve got a while yet. :p I’ll see what the situations like when I get there.

Thanks for all the replies! Make sure to check to bottom of this post for a vote. I had decided I wasn’t going to put as many votes into this AAR as my Frisian one, but I think this situation deserves a bit of reader input.

The Pharaohs Return: An Alexandrian AAR
Chapter Twenty Eight: City of the World’s Desire

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Much to the annoyance of Emperor Konstantinos, Omani traders were establishing bases and preparing the way for full colonisation of parts of the East Indies. Because the war with them had only recently concluded there was nothing he could do about this blatant attempt to go beyond their station.

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Meanwhile the invasion of Tunisia was far less exciting than expected. No one came to their aid and they submitted within a month.

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In the East Indies, a major push began to get colonists into the Philippines to prevent Portgual expanding too far. This was hindered by the serious resistance from the natives, however the local Alexandrian forces were tied down preventing native uprisings on Java so nothing could be done.

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European politics was very much turning against the old feudal orders with the rise of burgeoning nation states like Bohemia and Burgundy. Among those losing out was the Milanese Holy Roman Emperor. In order to gain a little influence back he attempted to wrest Liguria from its Orthodox Sicilian rulers. In a grand Orthodox alliance Muscowy, Byzantium and Alexandria all came to Sicily’s aid.

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The Army of Alexandria set itself up in the mountains of Central Italy to prevent Milan advancing any further south, while Konstantinos himself led an invasion of Venice. However to the west the allied forces of Savoy had been crushed and Milanese reinforcements were on their way east.

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The Milanese army was equipped with much more advanced weapons and forced Konstantinos to retreat with his army to neutral Mantua. However the loss of Venice was already impacting the Milanese economy, so they were willing to accept a ceasefire. It wasn’t a glorious victory, but Konstantinos was happy with holding onto the status quo that his Holy Roman counterpart had tried to upset.

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There was another reason for ending the war, which was that the truce with Oman was expired. It was time to punish them once again. This time Persia, dealing with a major rebellion in the Khorosan region, did not come to their aid.

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While the colonies were conquered easily, there was a surprising victory for the Omani forces when they ambushed and wiped out the Army of Arabia. Of course, that army had been neglected for centuries so it was inevitable that it would eventually fall.

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Despite their victory, more Alexandrian troops descended upon Oman and more of their territory was taken.

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The removal of troops from Java to take the Omani colonies left the settlements there with neglected defences. The natives took the chance to rise up and massacre the population. For their trouble, a retaliatory strike exterminated the tribe responsible. (This is a Miscmods event designed to prevent the AI getting a bunch of colonies it can’t maintain. In this case a native uprising dropped my colony to about 20 people which triggered the event.)

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With troublesome natives and other powers making plays for the East Indies, colonial companies were established to speed up Alexandrian conquest of the area.

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Georgia had grown arrogant from regaining the majority of its territory. It declared war on Byzantium with eyes on the Crimean peninsula. Its own allies abandoned it, leaving it alone against the still-powerful Greek juggernaut. Konstantinos did not want to see the work of his father undone and Georgia fall into Constantinople’s hands once again so he offered them an alliance and joined in the war.

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The Emperor’s first act of the war was to order the fleet to secure control of the straits leading to Constantinople. While the city was defended by a large army, its once famous walls would be no match for modern cannon. His aim was nothing less than capturing the City of the World’s Desire!

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Displaying amazing incompetence, the Georgians surrendered and gave up some of their land before Alexandrian troops could even come to their aid. Konstantinos was beginning to wonder whether they were worth aiding.

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The Alexandrian court was not short of skilled diplomats who assured the rest of the world that this was dispute between the Hellenic nations and did not indicate any Alexandrian intention to push deeper into Europe.

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Anatolia fell without a fight, but the army guarding the enemy capital showed no signs of moving. In an attempt to draw them off Konstantinos sent General Choniates across further along the crossing. However, the defenders did not fall for it and stayed put. They knew that as long as they held out, reinforcements could be brought up from Greece to aid them.

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But Konstantinos had no intention of waiting that long. When the plan to draw them away failed, he decided to do it the hard way. Amassing all of his forces in the region he attacked the city directly.

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It was a bloody and brutal battle but the city fell, its ancient walls crumbling against enormous volleys of cannon fire. For the first time in centuries the City of the World’s Desire had fallen to a foreign invader. In an unusual display of brutality, the Emperor ordered the city sacked and many of its treasures to be shipped to Alexandria. It was time to show the world that there was a new city that should all be longing for.

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In contrast, the peace treaty was far more lenient. Georgia was returned and more of Anatolia was taken. Additionally Bulgaria was freed and made into an Alexandrian protectorate. The Holy Roman Empire was losing power, the Pope was a puppet, and the Byzantium Empire was rapidly failing. It seemed that the era of Rome and its remnants was at long last coming to an end. Alexandria was not alone in its meteoric rise but it sat at the forefront of the new era and could only get stronger.

The year is now 1659.
To be continued…

The Fate of Byzantium

While in the city, Konstantinos was able to meet the current Byzantium Emperor. He was only four years old. With many of the nobles ruling in his stead killed during the sacking of the city, the Byzantine Empire is now in political chaos. It would not take much to see it dismantled completely. What fate will Konstantinos decide for it in the next war? (Okay, the problem is it will take a lot of time and infamy to wipe out Byzantium completely even when story-wise they should be gone at this point. This vote decides what CB I will get and what the outcome will be.)

Option A: Claim the throne: Gain the Claim Throne CB. PU if successful.
Option B: Dismantle the Empire: Gain the Liberation CB. Byzantine Empire will be split into Greece, Anatolia, Cyprus, Crimea and Astrakhan and all placed into the Alexandrian SoI if successful.
Option C: Divide up the Empire: Gain the Conquest CB on Anatolia. Alexandria will get Anatolia and Cyprus, Muscowy will get the Asian territory and the rest will become Greece, left to fend for itself against whatever goes after it next.
 
Claim the Throne!

The Empire of Alexander must be yours!
 
C sounds interesting.

Nice to have a CB like that on Oman so you could take care of their colonial attempt.
 
C. A large Muscovy and a free Greece would be interesting.
 
C.

All the options have some merit to them though, it was a hard one :)
I hope though that you vassalise Greece though if you go for C
 
Seems like I'm the only one to prefer option B... but since no one has voted for that yet I'll vote for option C.

I just read the whole thing from the start, btw. This is quite awesome. :)