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Cecil XIX

Second Lieutenant
25 Badges
Aug 5, 2008
185
8
  • Europa Universalis IV
  • Deus Vult
  • Divine Wind
  • Darkest Hour
  • Europa Universalis III
  • Europa Universalis III Complete
  • Europa Universalis III Complete
  • 500k Club
  • Crusader Kings II: Holy Knight (pre-order)
  • Mount & Blade: Warband
  • Europa Universalis IV: Common Sense
  • Crusader Kings II: Conclave
  • Age of Wonders III
  • Age of Wonders
  • Europa Universalis IV: Art of War
Just like the title says, I've decided to write a series MM AARs where I choose a country at random, using random.org to pick one from the history/countries folder. No matter how small, obscure or unplayable that country is I'll give it a shot and see how it goes, with weekly updates starting now. The goal of this AAR is to give people ideas on what nations to play, and hopeful to get them to consider playing in some part of the world they've never considered before. This is my first AAR, so I'm not going to worry about format or writing style too much at first. Hopefully as I get further along I'll be able to develop my own style.

My first nation was Pskov, an OPM Russian Merchan City-State. Here's it's starting position

eu31.png


I'm sure it won't surprise you that I was annexed very quickly. This is a country that requires more skill than I possess, as well as a lot of luck. And yet, I feel like if you luck out early on you can have a really great game. Pskov is in Russia, borders the PLC and it's most obvious avenue of expansion (Against Novgorod when it's fighting with Muscovy, or against the Livonian Order when it's at war with the PLC) moves it up close to Sweden. That's three big powers for you to play against each other, maybe gaining a territory here or there along the way. It's be a tough, long road to form Russia, but what an achievement!

Anyway, that's just a preview. That's the very bare minimum I'll write per country; only when I get annex almost right off the bat. Tomorrow I'll make my first full update, and after that I'll do weekly updates posted every saturday

Table of Contents:
Gondwana
[SPOIL]The Reign of Arjuna Simha[/SPOIL]
 
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Interesting. I'll be following this.

Most OPM aren't that much about skill, it always recuires a lot of luck. If you manage to survive the first years and maybe get some chances for some easy gains, then you can maybe do anything with them... But Pskov is surly unplayable, because they would have to take on one of their direct neighbours and those are all far to big for the begginig (they don't even have access to the sea, which mostly helps a lot, because you have a far greater choise for possible targets, thats how I survived the first years as Epirus)


Oh, and when you have to choose a new country, do you play from the beggining or do you continue where you were annexed?
 
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He can't switch countries once he unpauses the game with Magna Mundi, so he'll have to restart.


I look forward to seeing these! Maybe unbeforeseen gem of a nation that is fun to play will emerge!
 
@ S0ny B1ack: I think with Pskov, you may be able to take a province from Novgorod during one of the times it's fighting Muscovy. But your right, it takes luck.

Thank you, and Iamwinterborn as well, for your replies.

My second MM game will be as Tripoli, the easternmost Berber state. It's probably the weakest of the four, since Tunisia's trade goods are about twice as valuable. However, I think it's starting position is better than Tunisia's with three avenues of expansion. I could try to take a province or two from the Mamluk's while they're being dismantled by the Ottomans, I could invade Tunisia if it's alliances with the other Berber states break down or I could invade Malta and Sicily if those islands become weakened by wars and rebellion, which is somewhat likely.

However, I need allies and the Ottomans are perfect in every regard. So my first of of international business is to get on their good side.

Before that, though, I get a choice of how to support the pirates.

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Since this is my first time playing a Berber nation, I decide to go just short of all in. The tooltip for the third option was to big to read all of it, else I probably would have chosen it.

Slowly but surely I build up my relations with the Turks, it's not too hard since I'm such an active supporter of piracy. We exchange guarentees of military access, trade rights and enter a royal marriage. Offering an alliance rates as "Impossible", but If figure patience will pay off. My plan for the game is to hitch myself onto their star, becoming big enough for them to see me as a valuable partner without being too big to be a real challenge to them. Perhaps I can be their custodian of North Africa and the western Med. :cool:

While this is going on I get Bureaucrats in Tripolitania, Clergy in Cyrenaica, offer refuge to the Jews, and have my Sultan undergoe the Hajj. For those who don't know, the Hajj is a spiritial pilgramage to Mecca. I believe Muslims are obligated to perform it once in their lifetime. For a busy man like the Sultan to take the time is an act of extreme piety. It costs 25 ducats and the leader's absence has a negative affect on the economy, stability and the military. However, you also get +5.0% prestige for 2 years, so I make a point to get it done.

I also start to experience piracy as a source of income. It happens seemingly at random, but with 6 ducats here, 10 there and sometimes even 20 it easily doubles my yearly income. There's a bit of a give-and-take, sometimes the ask for more money sometimes I do. One time I asked for more, they said no, I decided to withdraw my support in order to avoid a presitige penalty or angering the Turks. But then it cost 75 ducats to restablish the thing, so I think next time I'll take the prestige hit. <_<

Anyway, with the pirates help I was rich enough that when I got the "build up your army mission", I decided to go with it. Until further notice, my standard forces will be 2,000 cavalry and 4,000 infantry. Ideally I'd like to take Gabes, since it has Maghreb Arabic as it's culture. There are only two other provinces with that, and their on the other side of Africa. Gabes only has a base tax of two, which means when I get a core on it my total base tax can only be up to thirteen. My starting base tax is 9, so there's not much room for anything else. It's be nice to get Maghreb Arabic as a accepted culture, something about that mechanic makes me a little OCD. Unfortunately Tunisia is allied with Morocco, so I either need to strengthen my trust with Algiers so they'd support me in an agressive war, or wait until I have a land border with the Ottomans and count on their support.

Finally, on June 7th, 1458 my sultan died and I got my first full monarch: Yusuf I, who at 6-5-8 is pretty good. His reign will be marked by incessent warfare my Tripoli's neighbors and foreign wars on behalf of the Ottomans.

But the first trouble comes from modernization. Tripoli needs to move towards innovation in order to shake off 'Entrenched Past' which causes the usual loss of presitge, stability and advisors. I do luck out though, and get some event that offers me to pay money to increase manpower in one of my provinces. Something to do with making conscription easier, I think. Anyway, I managed to increase my max manpower by about a thousand, up to 4,700.

Then in 1466 I get to choose my fourth idea. Tripoli has National Conscripts, Seahawks and Church Attendence Duty. While I consider taking Excellent Shipwrights, I'm worried enough about my financial situation so I choose Bureaucracy instead. I'll probably take Excellent Shipwrights next so I can get rid of the modifier.

And now the Ottomans offer me an alliance! I happily accept, hoping this will ensure my survival.

Then on August 21, 1467 I get into my first war when the Mamluks attack the Ottomans. Hedjaz joins the former, I and Wallachia join the latter.

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My plan is to take Libya in a seperate peace deal. It's only one base tax, but it's adjacent to Alexandria and that's a real price! Unfortunately the Mamluks capitulate before I can finish one siege. The Ottomans gain Damascus and Badiyat Ash Sham.

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But then in September of 1470, the Ottomans attack the Mamluks again! I tag along, taking the nasty stab hit for the sake of gaining the trust of the Turks.

This time it's a nastier affair, the Mamluks are joined by Georgia, Adal, Ethiopia, Hedjaz and Tunisia. On paper, the numbers are just about even.

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Now, I figure that this war will last as long as the last one. Not enough time to take one province! So instead of wasting time fighting Tunisia's main force, Yusuf heads back to Libya where hopefully the Mamluks will be too busy with the Ottomans to worry about a "1 base tax" province. Fortunately I get "An Improved Defense" in Tripolitania, so I'm not worried.

The Mamluks learned from last time, they sent 5,000 men to stop me from taking Libya. I defeat them there, then pursue them to Alexandria with cavalry and smash them again.

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After that I withdraw my cavalry back to Cyrenaica, since I'm worried about maintaining my forces. They attacked again in late Januray of '72, but the results were the same. Finally, on January 9th, 1473 the Mamluks recognize defeat.

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...And then a week later the Turks declare war againts Morea. :wacko:

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As an aside, during the initial war with Hungary the OE decided to settle for having Hungary release a bunch of nations. The resulting map is pretty interesting in my opinion.

eu333.png


But back to the war, you can see that Morea doesn't have the greatest allies, but they all stood with her against the Ottomans. Here's where the constant warfare was really working against the Turks, as you can see where they stood after two years of war with the coalition led by mighty Serbia.

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Keep in mind this is after I took back Macedonia for them. Also not shown is George, besieged one province after another on their way to capturing Constantinople. (!) The Ottomans took back every province immediately after the Georgians left, but it was still impressive. In fact, it pains me to think I was saving the Turks from collapse, but it's necessary for Tripoli that I help them now so they can help me later. AI incompetence really helped the Turks here, if even Athens had gotten involved they probably could have eliminated the army the Turks sent against Morea. Then that army wouldn't have been able to move north and take of Montenegro, etc.

Never mind what would have happened if other Christian powers had gotten involved, or if the Mamluks decided it would be worth breaking truce if they could get their land back.

That's not to say the Serbs don't deserve credit for holding off the Turks for two years, though...

img10.png


But the Ottomans are nothing if not resilient, and eventually they wear down the grand coalition of their enemies. Montenegro is annexed, Morea loses Achaea and Serbia gives up Prizen. This is after almost four years of warfare, ending on Oct. 14th 1477.

And then two weeks later, they declare war on Athens, with Bosnia leading the defense along with Switzerland. :mad:

Needless to say, the WE is getting annoying. But the Turks seem to realized they reached their limit, so they White Peace out with Athens the following January. This leaves a much more managable war, but it still takes another thirty months to subdue two-province Bosnia, most likely due to the Turks reaching their WE limit and having to deal with rebellions in Damascus and Beirut. I do my best to help, but those Bosnians are tough to subdue. King Tvrtko III is a horrible administrator and diplomat, but I'll be damned if he isn't a fine general.

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I don't know why Tripoli's shield isn't on their, especially since it was Yusuf I who was in command. Anyway, in another four months after that Bosnia would cede Hum to the Turks. Counting from when the Ottomans attacked Morea, that's seven years of war. Fortunately the Ottomans didn't go and DoW someone else immediately afterward, so I get some R&R. I even get this nice event!

img13.png


Am I wrong to think that getting extra base tax is worth almost anything, especialy this early in the game?

Unfortunately my break doesn't last for long, the Ottomans are back at it again on January 28th, 1482. Same old, same old.

This time the Mamluks are smart, and immediately send 9,000 men to Cyrenaica. My army still isn't back up to 6,000 because of the wars in Europe, and new regiments are being trained in Cyrenaica. Yusuf I is forced to hold the Mamluks at bay for a week in order to get the new soldiers to escape. With 9,000 Mamluks to the east and 7,000 Tunisians to the west, I decide discresion is the better part of valor and and peace out for 25 ducats.

After another five years of war, the Ottomans accept peace with the Mamluks in exchange for Al Karak and renouncing the core on Hawran. It's good that I managed to skip out on all that, because fourteen months later, on May 8th 1489, the Ottomans redeclare war and the whole thing starts over again.

Rather than face another large Mamluk stack, I go west and slip past the Tunisian army. while they're besieging my level 2 fort in Tripolitania, I'm besieging their level 1 fort in Gafsa with 4,000 infantry while my cavalry goes for Tunis. After a siege n' storm, I take the Gafsa.

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...Unfortunately I forget that AI Berber nations can spawn whole stacks when attacked.

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I try to contain the spawned army in Tunis, but am forced to retreat.

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Another Tunisian army spawns in Gafsa, and quickly takes the province. Now both armies are marching to Tripolitania, tripling the size of the forces there. In their absence I retake Gafsa, and wait for attrition to take it's toll on the Tunisians in Tripolitania. It's around this time that Austria decides to roll back the Ottoman presence in the Balkans, and declares war.

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I figure I'm safe from them, so I tag along. Meanwhile the AI shows it's legendary inability to deal with attrition. The twenty-four regiments besieging Tripolitania complete the siege, but are reduced to four thousand men.

img21.png


We clash, and the AI shows it's other legendary ability to get great dice rolls. I roll a bunch of zeros on my shock phases, tieing them at the fire phase. They're still so weak that it takes a while for me to lose, and I take a good deal of them with me before retreating to Sirt. While recovering my army their I receive word of a conscript sortie in Cyrencia.

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By timing it with my main army I'm able to break the siege of Mamluks and Yemenis. I head west, finding that the Tunisians decided to besiege Gaffsa rather than replenish their army. This will prove a costly mistake.

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And then on June 19th, 1492 the uthinkable happens. Yusuf I dies while leading the siege of the Capital, leaving the promising 6-8-8 Mohammad I the next sultan of Tunisia. A month later the Ottomans make peace with Tunisia. With the Tripolitania returned, It is now time for Mohammad I bring the fight to the Mamluks. Here is the state of the world as we leave it here.



-----

That concludes this entry! As Mohammed continues the war against the Mamluks before fighting in the Balkans like his predecessor, will the Ottamon's relentless agression subside? Will the Mamluks be totally conquered during Mohammad's reign? Will he be able to expand a little himself? Tune in next week to find out!
 
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Pictures broken.

Sort of, I thought if I updated without pics I could start uploading the pic immediately afterward before anyone would notice. Didn't think it's take two hours though, yeesh. Definitely not something to repeat.

Just so you know, once the pictures are fixed up, there is a rule of no more than 20 per update.

Thank you very much for warning me before I uploaded them! I'll make sure to review the rules.
 
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Interesting AAR you have going here. It is cool to see some obscure countries played and also to see how you play when you don't really have to worry about the long term.
Great update.

How is your financial situation? And how much of an army are you able to support?
quick-paced, instructive, informative: great read; i definitely will be following
btw, who fiished you off in your Pskov attempt? Novogrod i guess?

Thank you all for your compliments. I'm especially looking forward when I get a country that doesn't exist in 1453. Even if I'm playing a broken situation, it'll be interesting to how things break.

As to your questions, my financial situation without the wars was pretty solid. Averaging 10-12 ducats a year with my six regiment standing army and my 4-ship navy, with a bonus of 100%-200% due to kickbacks from pirates. Unfortunately the constant warfare and the other things caused me take out a few loans and start minting heavily. I'm at 2.5% inflation right now.

Novgorod did take me out, within five years if I recall. I remember being surprised that Muscovy didn't want to be my friend, but I suppose if Novgorod takes Pskov and Muscovy takes Novgorod, that's works fine for them.
 
All right, time for another update.

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Muhammed I's first order of business is to break the siege of Cyrenaica. Though well-matched in numbers and leadership, the Yemeni Duel Infantry is a poor match for Tripoli's Azabs. while Muhammed I pursues them towards Libya the Turks extract Circassia from Georgia in exchange for peace.

img01.png


It's nice to see the OE take land, makes me think these wars won't be endless. :emoticon:

Anyway, Muhammad I defeats the Yemenis in Libya, then pursues them back to Cyrenaica. During this time I get the offer to have a gifted Ibadi join my service, but since I have no need for an Inquisitor I decline. It'd be nice if I could the one year of reduced tolerance to enact the religious decision to kick the Ibadi out, but I'm beening moving towards 'Innovative' in order to make my country more open-minded and shake off my tech penalty. I won't have any Missionaries for a while.

On the plus side, the war with Austria resolved itself simply and peacefully. Mantua, Bohemia and Nurmeburg WP out with the OE on their own accord. Then Austria approaches me for a White Peace, which I happily accept. It was bad enough fighting Serbia and Bosnia seperately, I'm not in the mood to fight Austria and Hungary at the same time.

Soon after I get another quintessential Ottoman-as-an-ally experience.

img02.png


Fortunately my army hadn't even gotten out of Libya yet, so the siege resumes quickly. In October of '95 Muhammed takes Libya, and the Mamluks are so eager to get out of fighting that they eagerly get rid of the province. Next time I'm at war with them, I'm going strait for Alexandria! I get 'Building Bridges' when the core process starts, so hopefully that won't take to long.

Going back to the Ottomans, they're suffering terribly from revolts. I wouldn't worry too much about them of course, but man.

They also take the time to send a stack to Gabes, which worries me. Not that I don't trust them, but If they start expand to the west of me it'll really cut down on my fun!

But I also notice that Morocco is at war with Aragon and Naples. With that, and the Mamluks and Tunisia already in the process of being crushed, I decide to take a chance and declare war on Tunisia. Morroco sides with Tunisia, and Algiers breaks their alliance, but with Algiers blocking Morocco I think I should be fine.

img04q.png


D'oh! Diplomatic reports there's no treaty of military access, how does the AI do this? Oh well, guess I'll just have to retreat and-

img05.png


Man, classic Magna Mundi!

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Well that's it for this week. Right now I'm planning on each update to be the lifetime of one really, including their regency if applicable. Thus, I plan for the next update to include the regency and the Monarch's reign. Make sure to comment if you have any suggestions about how each update should be.

BTW, I snapped this picture of the French-HRE border. Things seem pretty busy!

img03c.png
 
some pics don't show :( EDIT: they do, just slowly
OE are very aggressive early and can be a 'difficult' (but soon reliable) ally, you're doing well anyway
as for Morroccan army marching, might be they were on Algerian soil when the war started, if not sth fishy is happaning here
as for the regency: this could make a great story, couldn't it?! :)
 
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All right, time for Update Three! I've decided to upload my pics as .jpgs from now on, hopefully that will make everything run faster. The size of this update sould be about only 10% of the last one.

Well unfortunately the Tripolitanian army couldn't get out of Gafsa in time to escape the Moroccans. Although they had many more regiments, the Moroccan army was severely depleted when it arrived to battle, leading to an interesting outcome:

img01u.jpg


Not much point in celebrating though, another enemy army in Gabes prevented my army from retreating safely, and everyone routed when reinforcements showed up. As luck would have it though, Morocco was still suffering from having to fight Europeans and wanted to be rid of me as soon as possible.

img02uj.jpg


Pretty soon the Ottomans were at it again, this time with the Knights and their allies Cyprus.

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But apparently the OE quickly loses patience with fighting OPMs, as in a few months they made peace with both in turn in exchange for ducats.

Meanwhile I was having trouble raising a new army and handling my WE. Al Misr Arabic Patriots had sprung up in Libya, 2,000 infantry, so I sent my one regiment of cavalry to deal with them. But wouldn't you know it, while they were passing through Cyrenaica a 4,000 men strong peasent revolt took place! The cavalry had to retreat, making periodic attacks when the regiment recovered. This happened five or six times over the next several years as I attempted to break the siege of Cyrenaica to get to Libya and prevent the rebels from giving Tunisia a core there. During this time I got dragged in to another OE-Mamluk war, altough that mostly left me alone. Kept my WE up though, so I was still having problems with rebels. Unfortunately...

img04d.jpg


At least the rebels went on to bother the Mamluks. Then I got some real good news!

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Then some bad news!

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I'm glad to have a ruler with 8 admin, let me tell you. I had to pay 75 ducats to keep up my support with the pirates, which I needed to finance with a lot of loans. Not that it helped too much though, there were more revolts and my one regiment of cavalry got obliterated. I'd like to raise more regiments, but I don't have the money and rebels are so rampant I can't guarantee their safety. 1502 turns out to be a pretty bad year.

img07p.jpg


Prestige is even at -100 at one point. In foreign affairs, Tunisia becomes a Vassal of the Mamluks. No seperate peace with them, I guess. Meanwhile I get turncoats taking control of Cyrenaica. without an army or an income, there's not much I can do but sit back and watch what happens.

img08qk.jpg

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After a few years though, Yusuf saves enough money to undergo the Hajj, which he embarks on in order to restore his land's horrible prestige. He sets of on September 9th, 1507.

Upon his return, Yusuf II decides to take what money he has and implement a nation-wide extended anti-piracy plan. The many decades of war exhaustion and negative stability have seen a gradual deterioration in Tripoli's pirate situation, and the bold, new plan sees immediate results with the piracy being brought back under control in Libya.

This and the Hajj would be the last major actions of Yusuf II's reign. He died about a year afterword.

img10v.jpg


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That wraps it up for this week. Things are looking pretty bad, but so far the long-term consequences having no army, -3 stability and a nation overrun with rebels have been pretty mild. I guess I can't say the Ottomans never did anything for me, as other nations are probably too scared to tangle with them in order to invade me. I know enacted such a harsh anti-piracy plan may seem like overkill, but since all my provinces right now are coastal, and 90%+ of any future provinces I take are going to be like that too, I think it will be worth it. Next I need to save up for an army, if I can find a place to raise one with it getting butchered immediately. Tune in next week!
 
WOW!!!! :eek:

That was an action and disaster-packed update! But you survived and have an amazing monarch to restore Tripoli's glory! Totally exciting. I'm glad your provinces didn't defect away.
 
All right, time for the next update! Thank you all for your comments, it's been an interesting game. Being so close to the OE is like being in a bubble, you're untouchable even as your country collapses around you. As for long-term goals, I'm going to keep trying to expand west and unite the Berber states. The reign of Muhammed II was definitely a step in the right direction for that.

After taking a month to get acclimated, Sultan Muhammed II embarks on the Hajj, like his predecessors. It was during his travels that I get another MM Tradition:

img01bg.jpg


Getting 'Framed!' at zero (or close to is) infamy! Of course it doesn't really do anything, and I don't have the money to undertake any countermeasures anyway, but still. I think that whenever I'm framed, half the time it's at zero infamy.

Anyway, at this point there's not much stopping the rebels and the country collapses on April 8th, 1512. That's good news for me I figure, since now I can start to rebuild. On the plus side, piracy is experiencing a general decrease across the board, saving me from having trade restrictions as well. Fortunately there hasn't been much in the way of sudden, stability-dropping problems, and between that and my high-admin leader I get one of the best events in all of MM!

img02f.jpg


I've just got a 10% tech penalty now, and it shouldn't be too long before my sliders let me get rid of that, too. Then I'll go for the 'balanced policies' modifer.

Anway, I get more rebels in Libya. There's only 2000 of them, so I hurry along a regiment of infantry and send 'em in. I retreat them ASAP, but the do enough damage that the garrison outnumbers the rebels and I can take my time getting together a real army again. I managed to cobble together another regiment, which was enough to relieve Libya, when...

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9,000 men is a big problem for my 2,000 strong army, but I can still where them done by attrition since they're not going to be moving. Couldn't get them in time though, although I was able to rout them after Cyrenaica had fallen. Unfortunately 'Defenders of Berber Values' arise in Sirt, and then I got into another leg of the Ottoman-Mamluk wars.

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This time, I decided to do what I could to take Alexandria. I was able to control that and a few other provinces, but the Mamluks didn't budge. The Turks got Yemen as a vassal, and took the Nile and Delta from the Mamluks. After that I got my fifth idea, opting to choose 'Excellent Shipwrights' for my 2nd Naval idea. I'm not sure what I'd want to do for my other ideas, I'm going to play it by ear. In any case, the last few years of Muhammed II's reign were pretty peaceful as I tried to recover and rearm. Finally...

img05i.jpg

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Well, that's it for now. Not to bad, things definitely seem to be turning around. With MMP2's HTTT edition around the corner, I've decided to step things up so that I'll finish with Tripoli not to long afterwards. With that in mind I'll be posting another update tomorrow. As a teaser, I can tell you there's a war with Spain!
 
Shortly after 'Ali I's ascension, a two-star Philosopher named Emin Celebi comes to prominence and is given a place on the court. It is also noticed that there is a large revolt on Sicily that the Spanish seem unable to deal with. Then on September 21, 1530 the 9th Ottoman-Mameluk war begins.

img01bh.jpg


Notice that the Mameluks have been so worn down that Khorasan is the leader of their side. For Tripoli the war is uneventful, a white peace is signed in May bringing them out after the Ottomans force Hausa into vassalige. The following November 'Ali I embarked on the Hajj.

Incidentally, the Catholic Church choose it's policy towards the Reformation at this point. While choosing reconciliation over salvation through faith, it chose the Counter-Revolution on the issues of communion and tradition.

It was also at this time that the Republic of Sicily arose, having achieved independence from the Spanish. Seeing the weakness of the Spanish, Sultan 'Ali I began rebuilding Tripoli's navy. This buildup was put on hold on the 18th of January, 1539, when the Ottomans declared war on the Mameluks again, this time with Swahili leading the opposition. This combined with the sudden emergence of the plague.

img02l.jpg


Tripoli signed a white peace with Swahili on October 28th, while the plague resided on April 20th, 1540. Interestingly, shortly thereafter Spain concluded a war with Portugal by seizing Beira Litoral, Banda Oriental, Rio de la Plata and Patos. Despite this apparent Spanish resurgence, 'Ali continued his naval buildup.

In the interim the Turks annexed their vassal, Yemen.

Then on the 7th of October, 1543, Tripoli declared war on Spain while the latter was embroiled in a war with Bohemia and Denmark. The Pope came to the aid of Spanish, while the Ottoman Empire backed their allies in Tripoli.

The objective of this war is to seize Malta. In the opening months Tripoli sweeps away the Spanish forces on the island, while working together with their allies to hunt and kill hostile ships in the region.

img03n.jpg


In November, Spain makes a quick white peace with Bohemia and Norway, while Tripoli's navy defeats a small transport fleet of Spain and the Papacy. Sultan 'Ali uses this momentum to gain a white peace with the Papacy. By now it had become clear that Spain was exhausted from war, and the momentum was clearly with Tripoli.

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However the Spanish were stubborn, and it would be necessary to conquer more lands in order to get them to relent. The Ottomans quickly take Sardinia, and on the 3rd of June the Tripolitanian army lands on the Baleares, but in the beginning of December a force of 3,000 Spaniards appears, seemingly out of nowhere (Event? I didn't have a navy there) and destroys the Tripolitanian army. Though a large setback, a new army is raised with the help of a loan. First it deals with a revolt in Cyrenaica, defeating an army there and retaking the province in 72 days. The Beleares have too many men for an amphibous assault so it is decided that the next target will be Tangiers. The infantry travel by sea while 'Ali himself leads the cavalry by land. They are to meet in Mellila before setting off via Moroccan Pez and Toubkhal.

img06sx.jpg


It was while they were in transit that the work of the Philsopher Emin Celebi comes to fruition. He finishes a work on logic and reason that takes the Tripolitanian court by storm, ushering a new era of thought that will became the basis in Berber lands.

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'Ali I smashes the Spanish army at Tangiers, and once the province falls the Spanish yield to the pressure of the Tripolitanian blockade and relent, seceding Malta and 500 ducats. The acquisition of Matla touches off a series of events whose meaning I am not quite sure of.

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The war money is used on infastructure improvement and the paying of loans, while the churches in Malta are converted into Mosques. 'Ali I introduces the Jizya tax for the heathen majority living in Malta. Tripolitanian claims on Malta are very shaky however, oweing solely to the ethnic similarities between the Maltese and the Berbers. The christian response comes quickly however, as the Knights of St. John attack!

img09d.jpg


The corsairs are no help, arrogantly reneging on their deal with Tripoli.

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Things come to a head when the Ottoman Empire declares war on the Knights and their allies Cyprus. Tripoli is only to happy to help, and together the Muslim fleets sweep aside the infidel.

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The Ottomans quickly annex Cyprus, when in late December of 1561 'Ali I dies.

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With the Mameluks so thoroughly pummeled, and Tripolitania gaining another province, the future looks bright. The pirates have become pretty annoying though, I wonder if taking espionage or internal security would help? Establishing relations costs 75 ducats, which is a lot of money for me.Also, I've included a screenshot of my finances due to some interest expressed a ways back.

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Tune in next week!
 
Man, I'm really regretting not starting this earlier. Gonna be some time before I can get MMP2 for HTTT. Still, here's the update for this week.
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The start of Mammi I reign coincided with a growing intregration in Libya, which had been a possession of Tripoli for over sixty-five years since the reign of Muhammed I.

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The war with the Knights continued, eventually ending in an Ottoman victory.

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The Knights would later relocate to Euboea. With Tripoli at peace, Mammi I embarks on the Hajj on May 17th, 1564. This proceeded a few years of peace, until 1567 when the great philosopher Emin Celebi died. Then in December of the same year, the Ottoman Empire declared war on the Mamluks. Khorosan led the enemy camp. Tripoli had little involvement in this war, and for them it was virtually over in a year.

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Eventually the lack of fighting would lead to an automatic white peace on March 30th, 1572. It is also interesting to note that during this war, the war exhaustion led to a succesful loyalist in Circassia, which the Ottomans had taken from the Kingdom of Georgia in the previous war. The Circassian rebels were succesful, and Georgia was able to regain the province from the turks. This was the only war during Mammi I's reign, a period of stability and development which was overseen in large part by the master statesman Qadir Asim.

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On the first of May in 1576 Asim convinced Mammi I to make specific appointments of ministers and other civil and military servants. At first an adhoc process, it was still a radical departure from the more heavy handed rule of previous sultans. Historians later categorized this moment as marking the transition point from a despotic rule of government to and Administrative type.

Another important part of Mammi I's reign was the consolidation of large powers to the east and west.

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The last key element was continued problems with the Barbary Pirates. demanding start-up money twice in three years forced Mammi I to scale back his involvement, a first in over one hundred years.

Finally, Mammi I passed away and a new Sultan took the throne.

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Well, I've no more covetous eyes for the east anymore. Right now I'm waiting to get a core on Malta before I take another province. The Barbary pirates are really giving me problems, I don't know why I got their start up event twice in three years but it was really expensive. I'm a bit worried about where to expand later on, I may have to attack Algiers because Tunisia is allied with the OE.

I tried a more 'history book' style this time, next time I think I'll be more deliberate in my actions and write my thoughts down as a player. Any comments on my style would be very much appreciated, as I'm still trying to find my voice. Anyways, that's it for now. I may update before next Saturday just to speed things along. The sooner I finish with this, the sooner I upgrade!