La Serenissima - A History of Venice

[Stormbringer]

I have not written a EU3 AAR before, but after three attempts did write a successful HOI2 one. I've only recently started playing EU3, and now finally feel comfortable enough to write an AAR. I will use the same "style" as I did for my HOI2 AAR and tell the story through people's biographies since I like it, and I should be updating this every day or so. I would love some input from you guys, both to help me learn the game and to make the AAR more interesting for everyone.

Settings:
Venice in 1399
All normal settings, except aggressiveness is low
Goal is to learn, make a story, and have fun, not to WC or anything like that
I will tweak the save as I go along to get rid of the most absurd AI excesses

The Restart
Update 1 (1399-1415)

[Stormbringer]

Carlo Zeno (1333 - 1409) - the Republic's Admiral

Carlo Zeno was supposed to be a priest, and if he had been Venice may very well have not survived. Thankfully for the Serene Republic Zeno liked wine and women too much for church life. He spent his young life as a mercenary, settling down in Negropont and eventually rising to the post of bailiff. As bailiff he commanded the small fleet there and used it to fight and plunder everyone unfortunate enough to come across his path, be it the Genoese, the Turks, or the Greeks.

He was recalled back to Venice in 1378, but took two years and a dozen plundered ships along the way to reach the city. Fortunately, he arrived just in time as the Genoese fleet was threatening Venice. His arrival turned the fortunes in favor of the Serene Republic and the city was spared. Zeno became an admiral and an admired boozer and womanizer in the city.

By 1399 Zeno had become rich through his use of the Venetian fleet to aid his own trade interests and was becoming involved in Venetian politics. At the time Venice held an interest in the western Balkans and Greece rather than in Italy and Zeno figured that in order to rise even higher in Venetian politics he would need to advance the interests of the Serene Republic there.


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Zeno's biggest competitor and a rising star in Venice was Alvise Erizzo. Erizzo had built a trading empire in Greece and Alexandria before moving to Venice. Merchants flocked to his trading house in hopes of riches in the East. His power was beginning to be felt as the Doge, Antonio Veniero, begun to frown on Zeno's use of the Venetian fleet for his personal enrichment, and finally elevated Erizzo to the Collegio which ruled Venice together with the Doge during the time.


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Feeling the pressure Zeno chose to act quickly. He secured alliances with prominent families in Naples, Savoy, and Urbino, presenting these as promises to help Venice while hoping to use them to help himself. At the same time Erizzo's mishandling of trade negotiations with Cyprus caused the small island to withdraw from the Venetian trade league. Momentarily Zeno had half the mind to sail off to Cyprus and bring it back into the Venetian sphere, but the prospect of an incident that would likely cause with France made him change his mind. Instead he seized the moment of Erizzo's weakness to persuade the Doge to follow Zeno's original plan.


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Montenegro and Albania have long been Venetian interests and the Republic had a long running dispute with Duke Balsic of Montenegro. Zeno sailed his fleet down to the small state and demanded acceptance of Venetian sovereignty. The Doge did not learn of Zeno's antics until Zeno had landed in Albania with three thousand men "on his way" to Montenegro. Albania did express support for the small principality, so it was not entirely unexpected, and by this point the Doge had no choice but to send two more thousand men to aid Zeno.


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Even without official help Zeno probably would have won his little war. Rebels had crushed Montenegrin forces two weeks before he landed in Albania and now had Podgorica under siege. Zeno won two battles in Albania before moving on to Podgorica. He dispensed with the rebels and took the city in the fall of 1400. Balsic was replaced with another Prince who recognized Venetian sovereignty while Albania agreed to do the same in return for the end of the Venetian occupation of southern Albania.

Just as the end of the conflict seemed at hand and Zeno's popularity at an all-time high, one of Zeno's allies in Naples begun a war against a small Greek principality of Eperius. The Doge looked on wearily, worried that Zeno may take his now five thousand men strong army south to aid his ally and to secure more glory for himself. In order to counter Zeno's quick rise Veniero sold Erizzo a title of nobility, something that Zeno himself still lacked.


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What will happen next? Where should the story go from here? Any tips and advice are appreciated!

[Derahan]

Nice start! subscribed definantly! and if i would be you i would just for the fun compete witht he genoese in crimea or just steal something in italy

Cherrio!

[Rifal]

This seems like a winner, ill be following.

[Stormbringer]

Woo! I've got two readers. Maybe an update tonight. If not then one tomorrow for sure.

[Milites]

This can only be good. Cyprus backing off your trade league might not be such a bad thing at all - it'll give you a story-wise proper casus belli and a good stating point for painting the Mediterranean that ugly shade of Venetian blue.

[kepler]

Seems interesting, I will be following!

[Stormbringer]

Alvise Erizzo (? - 1414) - The Doge's Treasurer

The earliest mention of Alvise Erizzo is from 1380 when he is already mentioned as a prominent Italian trader in Alexandria. He rose to prominence when he moved to Athens and built a trading fleet of four dozen ships that moved almost all of the trade between Greece and Alexandria. In 1392 he brought his operations to Venice, building a large trading house and finally rising to the ranks of the Republic's government by the end of the century.

In the fall of 1400 Erizzo was the most prominent statesman and trader in Venice, and his competition with Carlo Zeno defined Venetian politics. Zeno had finished his conquest of Montenegro and Albania and his popularity was soaring. Erizzo, knowing Zeno's ambition, and knowing about his alliance with the nobility in Naples sailed to southern Italy. The details of who Erizzo met with in Naples or what was talked about is lost to history, but the nobles of Naples begun a war against Epirus not a week later, and Erizzo returned to Venice a good deal poorer.

Riding high off of his easy conquest of Montenegro, Zeno jumped on the chance to extend his winning streak. He led his five thousand men down through Albania and into Epirus despite the objections of the Doge Antonio Veniero.


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The nobles from Naples helped Zeno in his conquest and Epirus fell to Zeno over the course of seven months. Veniero, whose position in Venice was tenuous, was worried that Zeno would return to the city victorious and would supplant the republic in favor or ruling the city himself. When Zeno demanded a title of nobility akin to the one Erizzo was granted two years earlier Veniero denied it to him. Furious, Zeno refused to return to Venice and proclaimed himself Prince of Epirus. By virtue of his completely obscure lineage when he claimed to be a distant descendant of the Palaiologos family there was nobody who could prove otherwise. Erizzo was extremely pleased.


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Unfortunately his pleasure did not last for long. Only two short months after Zeno planted himself on the throne of Epirus, the King of France decided that Provence should be ruled from Paris. Since Provence was tied to Naples and Naples still in an at least nominal alliance with Venice the Doge was in a difficult position. Erizzo advised against war, but the Doge felt that the Republic should honor its obligations, however tenuous their legitimacy. The war with France was a sort of last parting gift from Carlo Zeno to the Republic.


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Veniero hired two thousand knight mercenaries to supplement the five thousand men the Republic kept as guard, and set of for Savoy. Erizzo was left in Venice to rule the city in Doge's absence. His skills were better suited to trade and diplomacy rather than to running a city in the midst of war. He managed to sign two trade agreements, but most of Venice's resources were directed to the war effort.

The Doge joined Bohemian troops in a push into southern France. A large battle in Lyons was won and the war seemed to be going well. Unfortunately Bohemian forces withdrew as Bohemia begun a war against Poland, and Italian forces were driven out of France by 1405. In the winter of that year the war settled into a stalemate - the French had overrun Provence, but had not yet begun an advance into Savoy. Erizzo was hoping that the French would take Provence and leave the rest of the Italian states alone, but the Doge had other plans.


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Veniero was gathering forces and preparing for another attack against the French together with forces from Naples. Erizzo was worried that Venice's trade position was deteriorating by the day and that if Venice's main forces were beaten the French would demand much more serious concessions. He traveled to Piedmont to discuss this with Veniero, but to no avail. The Doge was determined to keep fighting the war. Lucky for Erizzo then that Veniero passed away the same day Erizzo was to set back for Venice. Back in the Republic Tomasso Grimani, a close associate of Erizzo coming from an old Venetian family was elected to be the new Doge. He immediately begun negotiating a peace with France.


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[Stormbringer]

This can only be good. Cyprus backing off your trade league might not be such a bad thing at all - it'll give you a story-wise proper casus belli and a good stating point for painting the Mediterranean that ugly shade of Venetian blue.

Woo! Its great to have you back!

[Rifal]

Free tip. Dont fight the French, just dont!

[Derahan]

Great update! I just wonder if that little purple spots next to the biggish green divided in the east is perhaps a future target?

[blsteen]

Yikes, the French and Venice showing up with 7000 men...
Yikes the French!

[Stormbringer]

Tomasso Grimani (1363 - 1414) - The Treasurer's Doge

Tomasso was the third son of a large trading family in Venice. The Grimani were never politically active, but over the years they have built a large trading house. When Alvise Erizzo first arrived in Venice Tomasso's two older brothers scorned him as an outsider, but Tomasso offered him help, and as a result benefited greatly as Alvise rose to the pinnacle power in Venice.

When Antonio Veniero died unexpectedly during his campaign in Piedmont in 1405 an election for a new Doge was called. The Venetian electoral system was complex and unwieldy, with multiple rounds of elections and random weeding out of candidates and electors. It was believed to be impossible to manipulate, and yet, somehow, to Erizzo's luck, Tomasso emerged as the new Doge. Some grumbled about Erizzo's rising power, but there was no apparent problems with the election and so the result stood.

It was now Tomasso who set out for Piedmont to take command of Venice's small army there, and Erizzo became the head of the Collegio which was to govern in the Doge's absence. He immediately turned to raising revenues for the Republic which was struggling to pay even its small army.


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As a Doge Tomasso proved to be cunning rather than brave. He did not follow his predecessor's doomed attempts of confronting the French head on, and instead paid money to those in France who could cause enough trouble for his enemies. Two revolts in the south of France occupied the French army for the better part of 1406 and prevented the looming assault on Savoy.


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In late 1406 the French begun to incorporate Provence into their realm without waiting for a peace treaty with Naples. Both Tomasso and Erizzo hoped that this would bring about the end of the war, but unfortunately it was not to be. The Republic's old "friend," Carlo Zeno, decided to do another "service" to Venice and invaded Cyprus in late 1406 from his base in Epirus.


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Of course Venice's authority was shaky even in Epirus, and it was nonexistent in the newly conquered Cyprus, but the incident infuriated the French and any hope of peace was lost. In fact the war would drag on until 1409 with limited action on both sides. Two small attempts by the French vassals to penetrate Italy were repulsed, and the Italians were smarter than to try to invade France proper, especially after the two thousand knight mercenaries had to be let go in 1408 due to lack of money. Naples finally negotiated a peace agreement in 1409, although Carlo Zeno did not live to see it - he fell victim to a very well paid assassin earlier the same year.


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Tomasso returned to Venice to find the city transformed. In his absence Erizzo had set up a council of prominent merchants to promote trade, had signed trade agreements with two dozen German states, and even with Aragon and England. The port was busier than it had been at any time in the last two decades, and the Collegio was transformed and now included new, more capable members.


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By 1410 Tomasso and Erizzo had a falling out. Tomasso wished to rule as Doge, while Erizzo had gotten used to being the unquestioned lord of the Republic. Their relationship strained, but neither one dared move against the other. Tomasso needed Erizzo's trading expertise, while Erizzo knew that if he stepped out of line Tomasso could drive him out of the city. In this peculiar manner Venice finished the year 1410, becoming in the process the sixth richest country and the largest trading port in the known world.


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But Tomasso had not forgotten his old tricks, and wishing to find a way to grab command of the Republic he called on some of the same people again...


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[Stormbringer]

Alvise Erizzo (? - 1414) Part II - Doge for a Day

In 1410 both Venice and Alvise Erizzo were at the pinnacle of their power. Venetian trade has grown two fold since the beginning of the century and the Republic was richer than ever. The future seemed bright for Venice, but not for Erizzo.


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Venice's richest merchant and President of the Collegio was in a bind. Tomasso Grimani, the Doge elected after Erizzo had arranged for the previous one to pass away, had returned to Venice following the conclusion of the war with France, and he wanted to govern. For Erizzo simply being a first among equals at the Collegio was no longer enough - even being second to only Tomasso was not enough. He wanted Venice to be his.

And he had the money to do it. He paid city and port officials. His decrees were often treated as laws. Tomasso was not even always informed when decisions of state were made. Foreign diplomats traveled to Venice to talk with Erizzo, not with Tomasso. And it would all be well if Tomasso was a less ambitious person. Alas he was not.


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Just like Carlo Zeno before him, Tomasso had decided that the only way to seize power back for himself was to bring Venice into a war. Erizzo wasn't going to lead troops - Tomasso was still the unquestioned military leader of the Republic. And so Tomasso insulted every noble from Milan he came across, issued stern warnings to Milan, and allied with Sena and Ferrara for the purpose of fighting Milan.

It was this last alliance that fulfilled his wish. In 1412 Milan declared war on Ferrara, and Tomasso gladly led Venice into a second war in one decade.


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The Milanese had miscalculated badly. With Bavaria and Hungary on their side it was understandable why they would believe victory was possible, but Bohemia occupied those two powers, while Venice's Italian alliance converged on Milan. Tomasso hired five thousand mercenaries to supplement Venice's army and joined his allies in hunting down the Milanese army. Victory was assured when the enemy army surrendered at the end of 1413 in Piedmont.


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Erizzo was smart, ambitious, and cruel. If Tomasso was going to play at Doge then Erizzo would treat him as he had treated the last Doge. And so he did, and Tomasso passed away at the age of 51. This time Erizzo was certain he would be elected Doge. He chose to elevate Tomasso to the post using his influence last time in order to keep the pretense of democracy, but this time he would take no chances.

A day passed between the death of Tomasso and the election of the new Doge. During the day Erizzo moved into the Doge's palace and had begun to sign his orders as Doge. But when the results were read out he had lost. Enough Venetian merchants and nobles had grown quietly resentful of the successful and ambitious merchant and they had instead chosen Antonio Zustiniani, a confidant of Doge Antonio Veniero before his untimely death. Zustiniani first act was to seize Erizzo for his crimes.


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The war ended officially in 1415, and Venice had expanded its holdings in Italy to include Verona. Milan was removed from its position of power in Italy. Unfortunately the Venetian trade league suffered, as Hungary and Bavaria both left, and other countries followed. For the first time Venice felt almost poor. But now without the squabbles and rivalries that Erizzo brought with him the Republic could focus on rebuilding its trading empire and reputation.


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[Derahan]

Nice update! cant waut for more! you sure you wont go for the gold provinces in aquelia?

Derahan

Cheerios!

[Stormbringer]

I am sure I will, but considering what a disaster a war to get Verona was (and that was even with Bohemia on my side!) I may have to pick my time just right. I lost almost 1/4 of Venice's value as a COT because of that one war.

[Stormbringer]

Ioannes Palaiologos (1392 - ) - The Last Emperor and First King of Byzantium

Ioannes Palaiologos was the heir to the Byzantine Empire. Born in 1392 he never witnessed the glory of the state that he was to lead one day, but once he succeeded to the throne he worked tirelessly to bring back at least some of it. By 1415 he had succeeded in winning back Morea and some of the areas on the northern coast of Anatolia.

During the two years immediately after 1415 Venice was busy rebuilding its trade position. Doge Antonio Zustiniani arranged for an alliance with a newly independent Croatia and worked to undermine Milan by supporting rebels there, and the Hansa, by sending spies to undermine their trade league. But the definitive events of the next decade took place in Greece.

By 1417 the Ottoman Empire was overrun by the Golden Horde. Turkish troops were routed and city after city were falling to the Khan. Doge Zustiniani saw his opportunity and approached Ioannes with an offer of Venetian help against the Turks. Ioannes perhaps should have known better given the Venetian reputation for espionage and treachery, but the promise of a restored Empire had him throw his caution out the window.


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Venetian troops landed in Morea and Constantinople in 1417. Ioannes recognized their intentions too late - Morea was overrun and Constantinople fell to the Venetians just before the end of the year. Doge Zustiniani did want a restored Byzantine Empire, but he wanted it on his own terms. Under threat of death Ioannes converted to Catholicism and was crowned King Ioannes I of Byzantium.


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Once the formalities in Constantinople were taken care of, Zustiniani took his forces into Turkish Balkans. The only battle of the war took place right outside the Bosporus - with the Venetians routing the Turkish fleet and securing control of the straits. It took until 1419 for the war to be over. In the process Turkey signed a humiliating peace with the Mongols, losing all of its satellite states. The Mongols were replaced by rebels though, and the Venetians never met any resistance. The Byzantine Empire, or rather Kingdom, was restored, but on Venetian terms.


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In another year the Bulgarian rebels formed their own government and created the Kingdom of Bulgaria. Unfortunately for them it would not last long, but that is not due to Ioannes, but to another foreign ruler who had an impact on Venetian history during the 15th century.


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[Derahan]

Nice! just wondering, will you restore Asia minor to the byzantine Empire or will you just leave it or make ottomans your vassal? i mean you dont want a to powerful byzantine as you vassal as it might get ugly later!

Derahan

Cheerios!

btw good luck!

[Stormbringer]

The Ottomans recovered pretty well by 1435 or so though. I have a lot of vassals, but I am afraid Venice is a bit of a paper tiger. I doubt I could actually take the Ottomans on - I only was successful because they were already ripped to shreds by the Mongols and rebels. All I had to do was hire 5k mercenaries and send my 10k army there to take over the provinces. I've been staying out of any serious wars because I'm afraid I wouldn't do so well.

[Stormbringer]

Sayid Ahmad (? - ) - Genghis Khan's Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great Grandson

Sayid Ahmad emerged as Khan of the Golden Horde in 1408 after a period of chaos following the death of his father. He led his horde against his distant relative in Crimea and won a decisive victory. Then, in 1412 he swept down against the Turks, prompting the Venetian invasion of Constantinople and Turkey. Two campaigns have left Lithuania ravaged and shrunken. Russian states were either paying tribute, or gone. And in 1420 he begun his biggest campaign yet.

Sayid swept down against the recently created Kingdom of Bulgaria. The Bulgars proved to be easy targets and their last bastions would fall only six months later. The Horde then swept into Transylvania, crossing the Carpathians for the first time, burning and pillaging. By 1422 all of the eastern Balkans were under Sayid's rule, except for Wallachia whose Princes were smart enough to pay tribute.


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The Khan did not stop there. In 1422, after a raid on Poland, he took his horde deeper into the Balkans. He invades Serbia and Bosnia, and then Croatia. The countries were overrun, with no chance to resist. When the Horde was invading Bulgaria Europe could care less, but Croatia was on Europe's doorstep. Austria could be next. Doge Zustiniari begun to organize a European alliance to resist the Horde.


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Unfortunately Zustiniani passed away before he could finish. Agostino Lando, a much lesser man, was elected in his stead, and the negotiations fell apart.


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