The One True Faith: A Byzantine AAR

[MAlexander06]

Chapter O2: No, Orthodoxy Will Remain Pure and Independent!

Part One: Trebizond

At the point of the Council of Florence, the Byzantine Empire owned all of the provinces on which she claims save two: Trebizond and Corfu. Trebizond was owned by a nation of the same name, which was allied with Georgia. Trebizond was now a one province nation, after being forced to cede Angora to Candar as part of a peace resolution just after the Council of Florence concluded. Corfu, on the other hand, was a heavily fortified island province owned by Venice, the Mediterranean's greatest naval power. Wanting to own all that he claimed, Emperor Ioannes VIII decided that he would bring Trebizond into his realm.

The main problem with making Trebizond part of Byzantium was that one of Ioannes's daughters was married to the Emperor of Trebizond. Trebizond was also an Orthodox nation, meaning that some of his subjects would become restless when war was declared. To save the empire from a possible descent into chaos when Byzantium went to war, Ioannes forced his daughter to return to Constantinople on February 8, 1440, cancelling her marriage to the Emperor of Trebizond. This caused some disturbance in the Empire, but not enough to do any serious long-term damage. And so, once things were just returning to normal, Ioannes secretly ordered the entire Byzantine army loaded onto the fleet and sent to the Eastern Black Sea, off the coast of Trebizond. On May 1, 1441, war was declared.

The troops quickly disembarked from the ships before the army of Trebizond knew what was truly occurring. However, their forces managed to rally together rather quickly and force the Byzantines back onto their ships. Another problem faced by Byzantium besides the unexpected stregnth of Trebizond's army was the fact that the nation of Georgia was also involved in the war. Ioannes made several offers of peace to Georgia, but all were refused. Ioannes was unable to secure his flank through diplomatic methods, and not having the manpower to do it militarily, decided to pray that his the Georgians would not invade.

Meanwhile, the Byzantine army tried to land again, this time with success. The city of Trebizond was besieged while the last elements of the army of Trebizond retreated into neighboring Georgia. The navy blockaded the port, and when Trebizond tried to break this, their navy was all but destroyed and forced into port, until the city fell and Trebizond was annexed on July 11, 1442. Seeing what the Empire had done to Trebizond, Georgia offered a white peace on August 1, 1442. Not desiring any Georgian territory at this point, Ioannes accepted. Now, he turned west, to the last claimed province that was not under his control: Corfu.

[Anibal]

Nice done. Historically, the rulers of Trebizond once claimed to rule the True Byzantine Empire... now you teach them who is the True Byzantine Empire!

[MAlexander06]

Part Two: Kerkyra

On August 22, 1442, just six days after the cessation of hostilities between the nations, Byzantium and Georgia formed a military alliance. But thankfully, that alliance was not tested immediately, as the Turkish states did not seek to challenge the Empire's ownership of Trebizond. For two years, there was not a single major disturbance within the Empire, and indeed the rest of Europe. In 1444, Emperor Ioannes ordered that the government become more centralized, as the decentralization of the Empire was increasing costs for developing new technologies and also decreasing incomes for the central government in Constantinople.

It had now been two years since the peace with Georgia, and Ioannes was looking to expand the empire once again. He eyed the province of Corfu, claimed by the Empire for centuries but owned by Venice. In preparation, he moved the armies overland to Albania and the fleet sailed for Durrës. But more armies had to be conscripted before the war began, and so an additional two years were spent before war was finally declared on Venice on June 4, 1446. Venice was joined by her allies Savoy, Siena, Modena, and the Papal States; the Empire was joined by Georgia.

Immediately, the armies on board the ships in the Ionian Sea disembarked and defeated a Venetian army outside the walls of Corfu. Another army advanced northward into Ragusa, besieging the province. Corfu was blockaded by the Byzantine navy until they were defeated at the hands of the large Venetian fleet off of the coast. Ioannes was very worried about the Venetian naval dominance, as this meant that there was a chance that the Venetians would keep the Byzantine forces from getting off of Corfu and back to the mainland. But fortunately, the Venetians never stayed off the coast of Corfu for very long, and the Empire was able to blockade Corfu once again. In January 1447, Baden joined the Venetian alliance and therefore was now at war with us. However, this did not matter as Baden was a landlocked nation with no access to the Empire.

The sieges of Ragusa and Corfu progressed rather slowly, as Corfu had a large fortress and Ragusa was constantly under attack from Dalmatia. But finally, on October 1, 1447, Corfu was captured by the armies of the Empire. The forces on the island were immediately sent back to the mainland, in Venetian territory. Unexpectedly, in November, Venice landed forces in Trebizond, and began a siege of the city. They did not have enough men to besiege the city though, and were therfore forced to try and cover the city as best they could. Meanwhile, in the west, Ragusa was captured in February 1448. The army there was sent north to Dalmatia while another force was sent from Corfu to Istria, besieging the capitals of both provinces. But even with control of two provinces, Venice still would not relinquish the island of Corfu.

But just as Venice was crumbling, Emperor Ioannes VIII died on October 31, 1448. He was succeeded by Konstantinos XI Dragases, an emperor determined to continue the war against Venice. He ordered that Dalmatia be blockaded in order to aid the besieging army, and the city was captured on March 28, 1449. However, this gain was all but erased, as Venice captured Trebizond just two days later. Armies were immediately loaded onto the fleet and sent into the Black Sea to recapture the province and claim victory. Also, the province of Veneto was put under a covering force to prevent the recruitment of new troops there.

Suddenly, on June 14, 1450, Konstantinos recieved news that Karaman had declared war! They were joined by the Ottoman Empire, the Mameluks, and Candar, but Georgia chose to leave the Empire's alliance rather than fight the Moslems. Three days later, Dulkadir and Ak Koyunlu decided to go to war with the Empire as well. Forces were immediately sent across the Bosporus to besiege Bursa, the Ottoman capital, which was undefended. Most of the Turkish states did nothing to resist the Byzantine march into Anatolia, but the Empire could advance no further, as most of the army was occupied in the west.

The sieges in both east and west progressed smoothly. On April 15, 1451, Venice was captured for the Empire. With their capital now in enemy hands, the Venetians finally agreed to peace on April 18, ceding Corfu to Byzantium. But now, the task of moving the armies eastward had begun. The Turks faced no opposition if they wanted to march through the empire. Fortunately, they did not do so. But facing the Empire in the east was the threat of invasion by Usun Hasan, Ak Koyunlu's great general. For now, all the Empire could do was pray.

[Anibal]

The island of Corfu is byzantine by right and with Byzantium it shall stay!

Watch out those turks... they can be a real pain for you now, even having you expanded from your former doomed position!

[TreizeV]

I Had originally wanted to begin my first AAR as byzantium, so this is quite intersting.

It seems the byzantine empire is going quite well at this point, but will it succeed?

[Stuyvesant]

Gutsy move, taking on Venice and its big alliance. And you managed to win as well! I Can't really believe that you will be equally successful in your catholic game, as you seem to be doing very well indeed.

So, how do you plan to play the orthodox/catholic paths? Are you going to finish the orthodox one first and only then play catholic, or are you going to alternate them?

[MAlexander06]

Anibal-Luckily for me, the Ottomans have not gobbled up Asia Minor yet. Almost all of the small Turkish states that existed at the start still exist.

Stuyvesant-I am playing both the Orthodox and Catholic paths at the same time. I will write twenty years on one and then switch to the other. So I will write up to 1460 for the Orthodox game and then go to 1460 in the Catholic game. Also, I have added a few events to give cores, mainly to the Catholics, in order to balance the two games.

[MAlexander06]

Part Three: The Turks

The armies in Venetian territory immediately moved back into imperial territory, both by land and by sea. The Ottoman forces invading Hellas were defeated, and after defeating their armies in battle several times, Karaman offered 132 ducats in exchange for peace. The emperor readily accepted, as he did not want unnecessary distractions preventing him from accomplishing his goals. On November 12, 1451, Byzantium gained peace with Crimea as well, paying fifty ducats. Dulkadir attempted two invasions of the Empire, once marching outside of Constantiople and once besieging Trebizond; however, both incursions were unsuccessful, the Empire's armies driving the Turkish forces back.

Now, the army in Trebizond moved into the territory of Ak Koyunlu. Sieges were initiated in Armenia and Kurdistan, as Emperor Konstantinos hoped to capture enough territory to gain the gold producing province of Armenia in a peace settlement. In September 1452, the Empire received an offer to buy several cannon for their war. However, the treasury was severely depleted at this point, all of the money being put toward the conscription of more troops. Apparently, the cannons were then offered to the Ottomans who also declined due to a lack of funds. The sieges of Erevan and Bitlis progressed rather slowly, as almost no progress was made by the beginning of 1453. But tragedy was just around the corner.

On May 30, 1453, while leading the siege of Bitlis, Ak Koyunlu's capital, Emperor Konstantinos XI Dragases was hit with a stray arrow as the Byzantine army engaged a scout force outside of the city. He died just hours later, and upon receiving the news in Constantiople, the new emperor, Demetrios ascended to the imperial throne. Demetrios was a progressive emperor, looking to western Europe for guidance. He initiated the Byzantine Renaissance just days after becoming Emperor, trying to emulate the western nations and claiming Asia Minor and much of the Mediterranean for Byzantium. But this did nothing to allay the fighting in Armenia. On September 5, the Excubitors Tagma was forced from Armenia by Usun Hasan. Luckily, this force was forced to retreat when they tried to relieve the capital in Kurdistan.

The depletion of forces by attrition and losses in battle forced the armies in Ak Koyunlu to regroup and move to Trebizond. From there, they moved into Dulkadir's capital province of Sivas on December 4, 1453. This proved not to be necessary though, because Dulkadir offered peace in exchange for forty-eight ducats on December 12. As many of the subjects were restless, Demetrios had no choice but to accept the offer.


The Empire in 1457

With the end of the war, Demetrios now had a chance to try and futher develop the Byzantine economy. He made an alliance with Georgia in April 1454, trying to give the Empire protection in the east. The next few years were spent investing heavily in research, with several new technologies, including plans for an arts academy being unveiled in 1456. The peasants and nobles alike were content with life under the Emperor, and the peace continued until the Golden Horde declared war on Georgia in 1457. Not wanting to desert his ally, Demetrios decided to join the war in name, but he knew that there would be no invasions by the Byzantine Empire. The Uzbek Khanate was involved on the side of the Golden Horde, but Georgia made a white peace with them on August 21, 1459. The Golden Horde had not invaded, and the Byzantines were safe for the moment.


Now, moving to the other Earth, the chronicle details how the Catholic Byzantines have progressed since 1439.

[Stuyvesant]

You're doing very well! Since I've never used the EEP, can you tell me what those events (the Byzantine Renaissance?) do, in game terms?

It's going to be interesting to see what your strategy will be with Catholic Byzantium...

[Lord British]

Great AAR! I am really enjoying this

[MAlexander06]

Stuyvesant-The Byzantine Renaissance adds cores in Asia Minor, Mediterranean, and the southern Balkans. It also makes the Empire a bit more innovative, IIRC. This event only occurs for Orthodox Byzantium when it owns all of the Aegean provinces, excluding Ionia.

Lord British-Thanks for taking the time to read my work.

[MAlexander06]

Chapter C2: Laetentur Coeli, We Accept!

Part One: A Former Ally

Upon conversion to the Catholic faith, Byzantium experienced a large drop in relations, as its citizens were almost all Orthodox and did not favor a reconciliation with the Pope. But Emperor Ioannes VIII knew that in time, these peasants would be convinced to join the one true faith. For the time being, though, it seemed as if revolts broke out every week, most often in Morea or Hellas. Income for the government was very low, as Ioannes's power now did not extend far beyond the walls of Constantinople. A stroke of luck hit the Empire at the beginning of 1440, though as an Italian named Giustiniani took control of the Excubitors Tagma in Hellas. His command gave the army new life, and the ongoing rebellion in Morea was quickly crushed.

By October of 1441, the revolts were lessening in frequency, as the Catholic government had demonstrated that it would give its mostly Orthodox subjects religious freedom. On February 8, 1442, Byzantine forces engaged a small Ottoman force crossing the border. This nearly brought war between the Empire and the Turks, but Ioannes managed to negotiate his way out of a full-scale war. This also raised confidence among the nobles, resulting the the quieting of the peasants in Morea and Hellas. The internal affairs of the Empire got as close to normal as possible, and on March 1, 1444, a pact of reconciliation was signed with some of the nobles in Morea and Hellas, further promoting stability.

With this, Ioannes decided that it was time to claim one of the provinces over which God had given the Empire the right to rule. This province was Trebizond. However, Trebizond owned another province beside its capital of the same name; it owned Angora, a Moslem inland province conquered from the Ottomans in the war in which they had fought beside Byzantium. Ioannes realized that a nation of that size could not be completely conquered in one war, so he decided to reduce Trebizond to its capital in the first war and then annex it. The troops were loaded onto the ships for the journey to the eastern Black Sea, and on November 28, 1444, a messenger delivered a declaration of war to the city. Trebizond's ally Georgia also decided to participate in the war, but this was of minimal consequence to Byzantium, as the Georgian armies were not large enough to compete with Byzantium.

The landings were successful, and the capital was put under siege in December 1444; Ankara was besieged one month later. The armies of Trebizond were wiped out within days of the landing, and the Byzantine army under Giustiniani lost under 1000 men in the three major battles. After a relatively short siege, Ankara was captured on September 13, 1445, with Trebizond falling on October 18. Apparently, some Catholic nations were impressed by this show of force, as Bohemia invited the Empire to an alliance in December. Ioannes accepted, wishing to gain better relations with his Catholic neighbors. And with this new alliance now facing them, Trebizond decided to surrender the province of Angora in exchange for peace on January 4, 1446. But Angora was a poor Muslim province, of no benefit to Ioannes. So he decided that it would not be protected, and be allowed to revolt and join another nation. However, he was not sure of the consequences that could ensue because of this.

[MAlexander06]

Part Two: A New Enemy

Angora was a province not meant to be held permanently by the Empire. Therefore, Ioannes ordered that all troops in both Angora and Trebizond board the fleet for the journey back to Thrace. And according to plan, the peasants in Angora revolted on September 1, 1446. Even if Ioannes had had a change of heart and decided he wanted to hold the city of Ankara, there was no way to reach the province, as it was landlocked and surrounded by hostile states. Fortunately, Ioannes did not care. He would actually have liked to hand over the city immediately, but he knew that he could not. Instead, he allowed the siege to progress to completion, and the city of Ankara finally fell on February 1, 1448.

Apparently the nobles were happy with this as well, as two months later, a group of old patrician families visited the Imperial Palace to tell the Emperor of their satisfaction with his policies. But by now, Ioannes was an old man. He had been training his successor for some time, knowing that he would not be alive much longer. The emperor hoped that his successor would be able to hold the empire together, even though he too was a Catholic ruling over an overwhelmingly Orthodox population. And on October 30, 1448, it was no longer the hopes of Ioannes VIII that rested upon the man who was to become emperor. Now, Konstantinos XI Dragases, Emperor of Rome, Duke of Athens, and King of Albania, was the emperor of the oldest state in the world.

Konstantinos's reign began with very few major disturbances within the Empire. Angora was still formally a part of Byzantium, but not under its control. However, a major crisis came on June 14, 1450, when one of the emperor's cousins was assassinated. The other nobles became frantic, causing a disturbance in the realm. The emperor, though, handled the situation quite well, and a major disaster was averted. This was the new ruler's first major test, but it was not the last. At the end of 1451, Konstantinos was engaged in several discussions with his advisers over what should be done about Trebizond. The truce had expired earlier that year, and Konstantinos debated whether he should follow Ioannes's policy or focus on internal improvements. In the end, Konstantinos kept the old policy of intervention in the Eastern Black Sea region. Upon his order, the army was loaded onto ships and sent east by the end of December 1451. On January 30, 1452, war was declared upon the Empire of Trebizond and the Kingdom of Georgia.

Not forgotten by the emperors, Angora was still owned by Byzantium on the day of the declaration of war. But seemingly on this cue, the rebels that governed the city offered the province to the Ottoman Empire; it was quickly accepted. Konstantinos was not particularly happy about the province being ceded to the Ottomans, but he did not want it, and in any case, it would not immediately matter. The first major campaign of the second war with Trebizond began on February 14, 1452, and was over by the ides of March, ending in the commencement of the siege of Trebizond. This progressed without interference until the navies of Trebizond and Georgia tried to break the blockade on the city in June and July. Fortunately, they were both defeated. On September 6, a noted artilleryman approached the emperor and offered his services. Konstantinos, though, declined, as the man wanted an exorbitant amount of money. The man left Constantinople in anger, and apparently crossed the Bosporus, where he became an engineer in the Ottoman service. But the worst news an empire could receive was just around the corner.

Konstantinos was heading to the front in May 1453, when his ship was caught in a storm in the Black Sea. His ship lost its way, and collided with rocks off of Sinope. The ship sunk in minutes, taking all of its passengers and crew down to the bottom of the Black Sea. Giustiniani, the Empire's greatest general also was returning from a visit to the capital aboard this ship, and drowned as well. Back in Constantinople, Demetrios was crowned emperor. He continued the war, and Trebizond was captured and made a part of the Byzantine Empire on November 1, 1453. However, the war was still not over.

The annexation of Trebizond did not end the war with Georgia, and since they refused any offers of white peace, Demetrios had no choice but to order an invasion. Two Georgian armies were wiped out before the end of March 1454, and their capital of Tblisi was captured in July. Once again, the emperor was praised for his policies, great encouragment to the new ruler of the Byzantine Empire. However, Georgia still would not accept peace. But advances were made elsewhere. On the first day of November, plans for a fine arts academy were presented to the emperor. He could not afford it at the time, but put the plans in the Imperial Vault for future use. Finally, on January 10, 1455, Georgia offered 173 ducats to Demetrios in exchange for peace. Not wanting any land, he accepted, and the Empire was at peace.


The Catholic Byzantines in 1460

The next five years were spotted with only minor disturbances, such as a small border dispute that was quickly resolved in 1456 and complaints by merchants in 1458. But overall, Byzantium was in a state of relative prosperity. But the peace ended in November 1459, when the Ottoman Empire, Mameluks, and Karaman declared war. Byzantium had entered an alliance with Bohemia and Poland some time earlier, and these nations agreed to come to the Empire's aid. The war in Asia Minor was on.


Now, we switch back to the sister Earth to read the chronicle of the Orthodox Byzantines once again.

[Stuyvesant]

How convenient that the big war between Catholic Byzantium and the Ottomans and their allies kicks off right before you switch back to the story of Orthodoxy. Gives you a nice little hook to make sure people will come back to the story!

I'm wondering how much that alliance with Poland and Bohemia will help you, it would be nice to have allies who can actually fight for once...

Looking forward to see where you're going to take the Orthodox Byzantines now!

[Regent Horthy]

This is an excellent AAR!

Looking forward to more.

[MAlexander06]

Chapter O3: The Byzantine Renaissance

Part One: The Fall of a Nation

The year of 1460 began with the Empire involved in only one war, and even this was a war in name only. There were no battles either on land or on the seas between Byzantium and the Golden Horde, but the Mongols refused to accept a white peace until May 1461. Ironically, although the east was quiet after this, nearly all of western Europe became involved in war just two months later. France had declared war on Provence, and joining France, Aragon, Friesland, Scotland, Castile, Eire, and Naples became involved in a war against Provence and her allies, England, Burgundy, Kleves, and Hannover. Demetrios could only pray that such a melee would not break out in the Balkans. Fortunately, most nations seemed to learn not to fight the Empire after both Venice and the Ottoman Empire were defeated.

But at the beginning of the next year, Emperor Demetrios noticed that rebels had taken the Serbian capital of Beograd. The king was now governing from the capital of the province of Kosovo, Nish. This looked to be a great opportunity for the Empire. If the armies could just capture the province of Kosovo, the king would be forced to go into exile, and the Empire could claim Kosovo as their own. On February 15, 1462, war was declared on Serbia. The six thousand troops guarding Nish could not hold up against the fifteen thousand strong Byzantine army pouring into their territory. On May 15, the last Serbian troops were defeated and the last Serbian held city, their temporary capital of Nish, was put under siege. On February 15, 1463, the city was captured, and on the first day of the next month, the king of Serbia gave up his throne, ceding Kosovo to Byzantium and leaving Beograd for the rebels.

Having completed another war, Demetrios looked at a map to see where the Empire should expand next. He looked south of Arabia, and saw a small island named Socotra that was not owned by any nation. He ordered that a colonial expedition be dispatched immediately, but recieved word a few months later that the ship on which the colonists had been travelling ran aground near the capital of the state of Oman. But it was determined that there was no Omani sabotage involved, and war was avoided between the two nations. Indeed, the following years would see no conflict at all between Byzantium and her neighbors. Demetrios ordered the Hagia Sophia restored in 1466 at a high price, but at great benefit to the Empire. In December 1469, the Themata were reestablished, as the empire needed a better system of defense than it had. Also, a court painter who had been hired earlier in the year finished his work on a small room in the Imperial Palace, to the great satisfaction of the emperor. But once again, art was not foremost in the emperor's mind. He was looking again at Serbia. However, Demetrios suddenly died of unknown causes at the end of the year, and Andreas I became Emperor of Rome, Duke of Athens, King of Albania, and Emperor of Trebizond on January 1, 1470.

The rebels in Serbia had done an exceptionally poor job of governing their nation, and several of the nobles were asking Andreas for help in liberating them from the destruction of their government. And so, seeing an opportunity to again expand the empire, Byzantium declared war on Serbia on September 14, 1470. The two thousand troops outside of Beograd surrendered almost immediately to the army, and Beograd was besieged. The siege was quick, as several citizens inside the city were aiding the Byzantine armies. On April 25, 1471, just seven months after the start of the war, Beograd was captured. Serbia was incorporated into the Empire one week later.

After the war, there seemed to be heightened tension in the East, as many of the Turkish states believed that they were next in the Byzantine conquest, so armies were sent to Trebizond to guard against incursions there. Fortunately, these troops were not needed, as the Turkish states felt that they could not defeat Byzantium. But in western Europe, a major war broke out again when England declared war on Scotland. All of the participants in the last war save Aragon were again embroiled in conflict. But Eastern Europe was largely kept stable, mostly due to a great Foreign Minister of Andreas. On his heels came the greatest Trade Minister that Byzantium has seen, Konstantinos Gdinios. He initiated a great economic reform, restructuring the estates and reclaiming trade in a great Byzantine economic revival. On March 8, 1475, a great new market in Constantinople opened, and merchants began pouring in from all corners of the world, as nations from Germany to Samarkand began sending their goods to Constantinople. Also, new technology was developed that would allow the Empire's cities to expand their fortresses was developed. After the events of 1475, Byzantium was now poised to become the greatest power in the Mediterranean. But their newfound glory would not remain unchallenged.

[MAlexander06]

Part Two: The Rise of an Empire

Some of the peasants were unhappy with the economic reforms, and as a consequence, revolts occurred in Morea, Rumelia, Serbia, and Thrace. The revolts were quickly suppressed, along with others that occurred in Albania, Trebizond, and Hellas. However, on May 1, 1478, the garrison in the city of Beograd opened their gates to a new rebellion that had been gathering steam in the countryside in the weeks before. The army was forced to lay siege to its own city in order to regain control of the province. Serbia was recaptured on April 16, 1479, and two days later, an council of the Empire's nobles sent gifts to Emperor Andreas I, praising his excellent governing policies. This silenced all revolters in the Empire, as the government once again had a strong hold on power.

The peaceful era had brought properity to the Empire at such a level that was unimaginable in 1419. The Empire had come from the brink of destruction to become the most powerful state in the Eastern Mediterranean. And Andreas was about to continue the Empire's rise. Byzantium had had claims on the island of Crete and the city of Ragusa since 1453. Both of these provinces were owned by Venice, which was a nation that was capable of bringing other kings to their knees. But Byzantium had defeated Venice in two previous wars, and now the emperor wanted to claim the final two Venetian provinces that rightfully belonged to the Byzantine Empire. Troops were loaded onto the fleet, and shipped to just off the coast of Crete, and others were placed in position in Albania, along the border with the province of Ragusa.

Before the war could be started, though, the citizens of Athens had started a spontaneous effort to improve their city's fortifications. Andreas looked upon this with indifference, as he had no intention of ever allowing a foreign force to get anywhere near Hellas. The war plans went ahead on schedule, and with all forces in place, war was declared by the Byzantine Empire against Venice, Bosnia, Baden, and Helvetia. The armies marched to Ragusa and Crete without any resistance, besieging the capitals of the provinces. The emperor was truly surprised to see that no Venetian navy was station off of Crete, making his task of landing there far easier. The siege of Ragusa progressed very quickly, and the city was captured on June 25. The army there moved north into Dalmatia and again besieged the city without any resistance.

Apparently, not many European nations were friendly with Venice, as during the war, Andreas's reputation became far greater than it had ever been. But this did not distract him from the matter at hand. Unfortunately, on April 3, 1484, control of Serbia was lost to Bosnia, a vassal of Venice. This loss however, was coupled with the gain of Crete one day later, tempering the loss of Beograd. The forces on the island were ferried back to the mainland and marched to Bosnia, the only province owned by the nation of the same name. Andreas knew that by seizing Sarajevo, he could force Bosnia out of the war instead of merely taking his own province back. As the siege there went on, Dalmatia was captured in October. Venice still would not cede Ragusa and Crete, so the emperor decided that the war would continue.

Armies were sent to Istria, and the small force of two thousand Venetians outside the city was quickly forced to surrender before another siege began. Seeing no other threat, a force was also dispatched to besiege the capital of Krain, Laibach. One month later, Bosnia demanded that the Empire pay 25 ducats for peace. Seeing no reason to fret over such a small sum, Andreas agreed, even though he was winning the war. Now, there would be almost no interference in his war. Or so he thought.

In June of 1486, the emperor discovered that Bosnia was now funding rebels within the country. Rumelia rose in revolt, closely followed by Trebizond and Dalmatia. However, all armies were tied down in sieges, and could not be moved east. Fortunately, Istria was captured on July 11 and Krain on August 23. Venice, though, still would not give Crete and Ragusa to the Empire. The armies moved south in an effort to prevent rebels from taking the province of Dalmatia. However, they failed to reach it in time, and were forced to lay siege to it again.

Oddly enough, two months after the fall of Dalmatia, Venice offered not only Crete and Ragusa, but also Istria for peace. Andreas accepted, even though he did not truly want Istria. He decided he would allow rebels to return it to Venice, though he had to at least pretend to be defending the city, as no nation could condone rebellion without severe repercussions. Now, the rebellions in Rumelia and Trebizond were put down, and the empire, with the exception of Istria, returned to normal. Missionaries were sent to Ragusa in an effort to convert the mostly Catholic inhabitants to the one true faith, as the armies were shifted east, to prepare for the inevitable confrontation with the Turks.

[Lord Durham]

I began reading this AAR yesterday and immediately got caught up in the story -- especially the differing POVs. This is a good tale, and my pick for the Weekly Showcase.

[Anibal]

Hey!

Very well deserved! Congratulations for the Weekly Showcase!

I've been reading it although didn't post. Nice expansion... and yes, Trebizond one claimed to be the true Byzantine Empire. Good to know you teached them!

The screenshots are nice although a bit uneedly big on Kb. It would be nice if you have posted an image of the "restoration of the empire" event, a nice event of the EEP!

[Judge]

Congrats, have not read the entire AAR but will try to do that