Another Hurricane Production by Amric Al'Aeshir Holdings
800 B.C.
One of the last of the Phoenician colonizing attempts occurred on the island of Cyprus. After the fall of Troy in 1200 B.C. and the falling out of those who had traveled to what would become Rome a small fleet of ships set sail out of Port Ostia to found a new land. Their choice? The island of Cyprus. They hoped that they would be left alone as they weren’t on the mainland. History would prove them wrong.
They would be conquered by the Assyrians, Egyptians, and the Persians over the course of centuries. Despite this they tried and mostly succeeded in keeping their culture and traditions. Then the worst humiliation occurred.
333 B.C.
The Macedonian troops swarmed ashore. They were under orders by Alexander himself to conquer this island and remove all traces of Persia from it. They knew that Greek speaking inhabitants occupied the island and had for many centuries. It would be returned to the fold of the Greek speaking world, under the Empire of Alexander.
The Persians fought valiantly but fruitlessly in their attempt to hold onto the island. All things Persian were destroyed. Buildings, artwork, and even cities that had been built during their occupation were razed to the ground. It took years, longer than Alexander himself had left.
In the end, the Ptolemies of Egypt took over control of the Island. Then the true humiliation happened.
58 B.C.
The Romans entered Salamis, the last holdout of rebellion and the island was now firmly in their control. The onetime home of the ancestors of the Phoenician colonists had come into her own and come after their erstwhile colonists. As their conquerors and betters. It would stay under Roman and then Byzantine rule until 1191 when Richard I of England conquered it.
He would give it to Guy of Lusignan in 1192. It is still in their hands as of today. January 1, 1419. However none of the conquerors of Cyprus ever managed to eradicate the Phoenician presence. In fact the conquerors would end up marrying into the landed families of Phoenicia. The name of the ruling family might be French, but they were Phoenician to the core.
January 1, 1419
King Jannus of Cyprus was also heir to Kingdom of Jerusalem. But that kingdom was gone, eaten by the Islamic hordes. Never to return. Her time in history was done, and if something wasn’t done soon, Cyprus would soon join her into trash heap of history. A place where only scholarly historians traveled and nobody else cared. A place Jannus did not want to find his beloved nation. Therefore there was a council ordered to discuss the ramifications of the Muslim nations and the near death of the Byzantine Empire.
Jannus called his General of the Army, Vataces as well as his Admiral, Diogenes along with the his chief of staff, Andru and the Interior Minister, State Minister, the Cyprian Corps of Engineers commander, and the Head of the Merchants Union: Erdan, Karlos, Tomas, and Georges, respectively. The meeting was to be held, like all such meetings, in the king’s study.
A large, comfortable room filled with sturdy furniture, a desk and a conference table of polished yew wood taken from the palace of the Kingdom of Jerusalem itself many years before. Bookcases full of books, from Sophocles, Aristotle, Archimedes, and many others, including a Greek translation of the Art of War by Sun Tzu which had somehow made it all the way from the land of the Chin through the muslim lands and into the old kingdom lands before it’s fall.
Far above were ancient shields and weapons from the King’s ancestors. A roaring fire crackled ominously in the granite fireplace and the great candelabra with its one hundred candles had been lit to ensure that there was plenty of light for all the men to see properly the maps and other documents that would be perused.
“Gentlemen,” Jannus sighed,” I believe our nation is in grave danger. Not only from the infidel, but from Christian nations as well.”
“Your Majesty,” General Vataces nodded,” I agree, but we just do not have the numbers necessary to defeat a large scale invasion. The entire island only has roughly 11 thousand people on it. Even with every man, woman, and child under arms we have no hope of winning for long before our available manpower pool is completely wiped out.”
“Nor can our fledgling navy be of much hope either,” Admiral Diogenes frowned,” Kato Pafos Harbor and the shipbuilding industry there can only build one ship at a time. It will be quite a while before we can truly be a force on the Mediterranean. I can offer no hope from my end either.”
Andru growled,” Now that you have said what you can’t do, how about telling us what you CAN do?”
Jannus waved for order,” Now Andru, they are only speaking the truth. You know it, and I know it. Harping about our inadequacies will gain us nothing. I don’t need acrimony here, I need a plan of action that will allow us to survive. Not as a satrapy of the Muslims or a province of another Christian nation. An independent country that is powerful enough to be feared in terms of invading us, and our sovereignty respected.”
“Well said,” Georges applauded gently,” Now I do have a limited plan of action on the part of our Merchant Union.”
“Go on,” Jannus prodded gently.
“I believe that we must trade with others,” he replied,” not only Christian nations, but our enemies as well. I say we send merchants to open up trade in Venice, Genoa, and Alexandria.”
“You must be mad!” Admiral Diogenes shouted,” Trade with the infidel? That will only cause them to look upon us as a tasty morsel to be snapped up.”
“Admiral!” Jannus barked,” Which part of not needing acrimony did you not understand earlier?”
Diogenes looked abashed,” I apologize, Majesty.”
“Now Georges, explain your plan,” Jannus urged.
“Venice and Genoa are obvious,” Georges continued,” Alexandria is our nearest and damn near only place we are going to get things from the Orient, such as spices. We could get spices from Venice, and perhaps even Genoa. But it will be far cheaper to get them from Alexandria.”
“Admiral,” Vataces chuckled,” he has you there. You do like your have exotic spices with your food.”
Diogenes smiled,” So he does. I will temper my objections henceforth. I apologize to you, Georges.”
“Thank you,” Georges nodded.
“We need to work on the agricultural situation,” Erdan opined,” If we increase production dramatically we can afford to feed more people. And we could trade our excess to Venice or Genoa. Sending grain to Alexandria would be a complete waste of time. Grain production has been a staple of Egypt since long before the Romans.”
“What of the copper mines nearby?” Vataces queried.
“General,” Erdan replied,” At some point they will be of great use in our military and agricultural endeavors. Very much so. I believe we need to trade some of it, but only to Christian nations. No infidels should have access to it.”
“I most heartily agree,” Vataces nodded.
“The salt of Larnaca has no use in Europe as Salzburg supplies much of Central and Eastern Europe,” Erdan sighed,” And I have no interest in selling it in Venice or Genoa as it wouldn’t pay for itself.”
Georges coughed,” There is always Portugal to trade with, or even the infidel in Alexandria. Alexandria is a very important center of trade and we really must trade there and have a good trading balance there to get the best prices for spices and other goods.”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” Erdan said,” It is definitely worth considering.”
“We also need to expand the wine production in the Limassol region as well as improve the quality of the wine,” Erdan continued,” As well as exponentially expand the farming here in the central plains near Nicosia, as well as around Famagusta and Limassol. We also need to start intensive farming around Morfu as well.”
Andru scribbled some notes,” Very good. I agree. More food would also allow us to let the population of the island to expand as well. Which would give us more taxes, ergo money, and more people that we could conscript into the army and navy.”
Tomas cleared his throat,” I believe that our Corps of Engineers will be quite busy clearing new lands and building irrigation canals. But we also wish to build Roman style roads that would allow for quick passage of troops along with goods. We plan on building major bridges across the Pedieos River, as well as the other major rivers of the island. This will help promote more traffic along the roads.”
“Very good indeed,” Jannus said,” But that doesn’t help us in terms of our external enemies.”
Karlos smiled,” I believe we should ignore them. We have no hope of invading the holy land and taking it from the infidel. Asking for help from other Christian states would make us the staging area for any invasion. Let us not forget what happened to Constantinople not all that long ago with Crusaders.”
“Ignore them? By pretending that they aren’t there and maybe they won’t remember we are here?” Erdan queried.
“No, just not bother trying to come up with a plan to retake a land that no longer belongs to us,” Karlos replied,” I believe we should do what our remote ancestors did so very long ago.”
“Meaning?” Andru asked.
“Colonize,” Karlos shrugged simply,” We explore and find new lands to inhabit. There have been records of lands far to the west from our so distant ancestors. Nobody has found them yet. I propose that we find lands far to the west and colonize them. Build a new nation far from our enemies.”
Jannus rubbed his beard thoughtfully,” Now that is indeed an interesting proposal. How do you think we ought to do this?”
“Sail to the west, of course,” Karlos smiled,” The details are vague of course. I am not a sailor. Perhaps Admiral Diogenes might have a suggestion?”
Diogenes frowned in thought briefly,” I suppose we could ask for access to Spanish and Portuguese ports. That would allow us to really start our explorations from their lands, rather than here in Cyprus. That would shorten the sailing time quite a bit. It would take time, but I believe it could be done. I have no idea how long it would take, but the effort would be worth it.”
Jannus perked up,” I like it. I like it a LOT! By God, we’ll do it! Diogenes, I want you to lead the expedition. Find us new lands to colonize. We WILL escape the infidels and the greedy grasping hands of our Christian brothers.”
The men around the table look a little more hopeful. The meeting wasn’t actually thought to have been much more than the usual griping and finger pointing that past meetings had always become. But two weeks earlier the king had a dream that profoundly affected him. He ordered his advisors to come up with answers, not excuses. Although the General hadn’t really had much choice in his actions, the Admiral redeemed himself with whole heartedly endorsing the colonization plan.
“Very well gentlemen,” Jannus poured wine for each of them,” Let us toast to a new hope. A new future. To Cyprus! A Trail of Hope!”
With that the eight men around the circular table drank deeply and smiled in unison. With that they all peered at the map of Cyprus and made various comments and suggestions to the Engineer and to the Interior Minister including building a new harbor at Salamis. The need for ships was one of nearly paramount importance. The fever of colonization had swept deep into the men and they were eager to get the voyages of discovery under way.
Very late at night the king yawned and stretched,” That is enough for tonight. Let us work individually on our particulars and return here in one year with an update on our progress.”
The other seven men agreed and they all went their separate ways to implement their plans. Even though it was late at night the others all brimmed with energy. Andru cleared the table and placed the maps in their individual cubbies as the king poured another jot of brandy for the two of them.
“What do you think?” Jannus queried.
“I think that it is a good plan,” Andru smiled,” A better plan than has ever been proposed before. No more grandiose plans to reconquer the lost kingdom of Jerusalem or sweeping the infidels out of the middle east. Which just isn’t practical, or possible.”
Jannus quirked an eyebrow,” I agree. Fighting for a kingdom that can never be, let alone destroying the infidels with our tiny power base is impossible. But this new colonization idea is wonderful. A new nation, far from our enemies will be a boon to all of us. Especially if we can get so well established that any latecomers will have no choice but to recognize our supremacy in the area.”
Andru smothered a yawn of his own,” Majesty, with your permission I would like to retire. I have much to do in the morning and I need my sleep.”
Jannus waved him away,” Do get some sleep, my friend. I can’t have you sleeping during important events, now can I?”
Jannus settled himself in front of the fire and looked deeply into the flames. He could see within them tall ships coursing through the ocean swells with Cypriot flags flying from the masts. Men and women crowded the decks, along with some children, looking off toward an unseen landmass. Eager to start new lives in a new land, free from the fear of invasion by infidels.
Here starts a new AAR, about Cyprus. A normal Grand Campaign with the starting settings at normal/normal and with the latest beta of course. This will be a tale of colonization. Perhaps conquest against natives. I am going to try to stay completely out of European and Middle Eastern affairs. At least as much as I can, anyway. This is a story of a tiny nation trying to escape it’s fate of being only a tiny cog in some other Empire. A tale of colonization, perhaps some limited war. Who knows yet? I haven’t played long enough to know whether I will be dragged into a war by someone else or be DoWed by infidels or greedy Christian nations. There will be two exploits. I shall give myself in a few years an explorer and a conquistador. I figure that since I am going under the aegis of Phoenicians that this is an allowable concession to their ability to explore and so forth.
800 B.C.
One of the last of the Phoenician colonizing attempts occurred on the island of Cyprus. After the fall of Troy in 1200 B.C. and the falling out of those who had traveled to what would become Rome a small fleet of ships set sail out of Port Ostia to found a new land. Their choice? The island of Cyprus. They hoped that they would be left alone as they weren’t on the mainland. History would prove them wrong.
They would be conquered by the Assyrians, Egyptians, and the Persians over the course of centuries. Despite this they tried and mostly succeeded in keeping their culture and traditions. Then the worst humiliation occurred.
333 B.C.
The Macedonian troops swarmed ashore. They were under orders by Alexander himself to conquer this island and remove all traces of Persia from it. They knew that Greek speaking inhabitants occupied the island and had for many centuries. It would be returned to the fold of the Greek speaking world, under the Empire of Alexander.
The Persians fought valiantly but fruitlessly in their attempt to hold onto the island. All things Persian were destroyed. Buildings, artwork, and even cities that had been built during their occupation were razed to the ground. It took years, longer than Alexander himself had left.
In the end, the Ptolemies of Egypt took over control of the Island. Then the true humiliation happened.
58 B.C.
The Romans entered Salamis, the last holdout of rebellion and the island was now firmly in their control. The onetime home of the ancestors of the Phoenician colonists had come into her own and come after their erstwhile colonists. As their conquerors and betters. It would stay under Roman and then Byzantine rule until 1191 when Richard I of England conquered it.
He would give it to Guy of Lusignan in 1192. It is still in their hands as of today. January 1, 1419. However none of the conquerors of Cyprus ever managed to eradicate the Phoenician presence. In fact the conquerors would end up marrying into the landed families of Phoenicia. The name of the ruling family might be French, but they were Phoenician to the core.
January 1, 1419
King Jannus of Cyprus was also heir to Kingdom of Jerusalem. But that kingdom was gone, eaten by the Islamic hordes. Never to return. Her time in history was done, and if something wasn’t done soon, Cyprus would soon join her into trash heap of history. A place where only scholarly historians traveled and nobody else cared. A place Jannus did not want to find his beloved nation. Therefore there was a council ordered to discuss the ramifications of the Muslim nations and the near death of the Byzantine Empire.
Jannus called his General of the Army, Vataces as well as his Admiral, Diogenes along with the his chief of staff, Andru and the Interior Minister, State Minister, the Cyprian Corps of Engineers commander, and the Head of the Merchants Union: Erdan, Karlos, Tomas, and Georges, respectively. The meeting was to be held, like all such meetings, in the king’s study.
A large, comfortable room filled with sturdy furniture, a desk and a conference table of polished yew wood taken from the palace of the Kingdom of Jerusalem itself many years before. Bookcases full of books, from Sophocles, Aristotle, Archimedes, and many others, including a Greek translation of the Art of War by Sun Tzu which had somehow made it all the way from the land of the Chin through the muslim lands and into the old kingdom lands before it’s fall.
Far above were ancient shields and weapons from the King’s ancestors. A roaring fire crackled ominously in the granite fireplace and the great candelabra with its one hundred candles had been lit to ensure that there was plenty of light for all the men to see properly the maps and other documents that would be perused.
“Gentlemen,” Jannus sighed,” I believe our nation is in grave danger. Not only from the infidel, but from Christian nations as well.”
“Your Majesty,” General Vataces nodded,” I agree, but we just do not have the numbers necessary to defeat a large scale invasion. The entire island only has roughly 11 thousand people on it. Even with every man, woman, and child under arms we have no hope of winning for long before our available manpower pool is completely wiped out.”
“Nor can our fledgling navy be of much hope either,” Admiral Diogenes frowned,” Kato Pafos Harbor and the shipbuilding industry there can only build one ship at a time. It will be quite a while before we can truly be a force on the Mediterranean. I can offer no hope from my end either.”
Andru growled,” Now that you have said what you can’t do, how about telling us what you CAN do?”
Jannus waved for order,” Now Andru, they are only speaking the truth. You know it, and I know it. Harping about our inadequacies will gain us nothing. I don’t need acrimony here, I need a plan of action that will allow us to survive. Not as a satrapy of the Muslims or a province of another Christian nation. An independent country that is powerful enough to be feared in terms of invading us, and our sovereignty respected.”
“Well said,” Georges applauded gently,” Now I do have a limited plan of action on the part of our Merchant Union.”
“Go on,” Jannus prodded gently.
“I believe that we must trade with others,” he replied,” not only Christian nations, but our enemies as well. I say we send merchants to open up trade in Venice, Genoa, and Alexandria.”
“You must be mad!” Admiral Diogenes shouted,” Trade with the infidel? That will only cause them to look upon us as a tasty morsel to be snapped up.”
“Admiral!” Jannus barked,” Which part of not needing acrimony did you not understand earlier?”
Diogenes looked abashed,” I apologize, Majesty.”
“Now Georges, explain your plan,” Jannus urged.
“Venice and Genoa are obvious,” Georges continued,” Alexandria is our nearest and damn near only place we are going to get things from the Orient, such as spices. We could get spices from Venice, and perhaps even Genoa. But it will be far cheaper to get them from Alexandria.”
“Admiral,” Vataces chuckled,” he has you there. You do like your have exotic spices with your food.”
Diogenes smiled,” So he does. I will temper my objections henceforth. I apologize to you, Georges.”
“Thank you,” Georges nodded.
“We need to work on the agricultural situation,” Erdan opined,” If we increase production dramatically we can afford to feed more people. And we could trade our excess to Venice or Genoa. Sending grain to Alexandria would be a complete waste of time. Grain production has been a staple of Egypt since long before the Romans.”
“What of the copper mines nearby?” Vataces queried.
“General,” Erdan replied,” At some point they will be of great use in our military and agricultural endeavors. Very much so. I believe we need to trade some of it, but only to Christian nations. No infidels should have access to it.”
“I most heartily agree,” Vataces nodded.
“The salt of Larnaca has no use in Europe as Salzburg supplies much of Central and Eastern Europe,” Erdan sighed,” And I have no interest in selling it in Venice or Genoa as it wouldn’t pay for itself.”
Georges coughed,” There is always Portugal to trade with, or even the infidel in Alexandria. Alexandria is a very important center of trade and we really must trade there and have a good trading balance there to get the best prices for spices and other goods.”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” Erdan said,” It is definitely worth considering.”
“We also need to expand the wine production in the Limassol region as well as improve the quality of the wine,” Erdan continued,” As well as exponentially expand the farming here in the central plains near Nicosia, as well as around Famagusta and Limassol. We also need to start intensive farming around Morfu as well.”
Andru scribbled some notes,” Very good. I agree. More food would also allow us to let the population of the island to expand as well. Which would give us more taxes, ergo money, and more people that we could conscript into the army and navy.”
Tomas cleared his throat,” I believe that our Corps of Engineers will be quite busy clearing new lands and building irrigation canals. But we also wish to build Roman style roads that would allow for quick passage of troops along with goods. We plan on building major bridges across the Pedieos River, as well as the other major rivers of the island. This will help promote more traffic along the roads.”
“Very good indeed,” Jannus said,” But that doesn’t help us in terms of our external enemies.”
Karlos smiled,” I believe we should ignore them. We have no hope of invading the holy land and taking it from the infidel. Asking for help from other Christian states would make us the staging area for any invasion. Let us not forget what happened to Constantinople not all that long ago with Crusaders.”
“Ignore them? By pretending that they aren’t there and maybe they won’t remember we are here?” Erdan queried.
“No, just not bother trying to come up with a plan to retake a land that no longer belongs to us,” Karlos replied,” I believe we should do what our remote ancestors did so very long ago.”
“Meaning?” Andru asked.
“Colonize,” Karlos shrugged simply,” We explore and find new lands to inhabit. There have been records of lands far to the west from our so distant ancestors. Nobody has found them yet. I propose that we find lands far to the west and colonize them. Build a new nation far from our enemies.”
Jannus rubbed his beard thoughtfully,” Now that is indeed an interesting proposal. How do you think we ought to do this?”
“Sail to the west, of course,” Karlos smiled,” The details are vague of course. I am not a sailor. Perhaps Admiral Diogenes might have a suggestion?”
Diogenes frowned in thought briefly,” I suppose we could ask for access to Spanish and Portuguese ports. That would allow us to really start our explorations from their lands, rather than here in Cyprus. That would shorten the sailing time quite a bit. It would take time, but I believe it could be done. I have no idea how long it would take, but the effort would be worth it.”
Jannus perked up,” I like it. I like it a LOT! By God, we’ll do it! Diogenes, I want you to lead the expedition. Find us new lands to colonize. We WILL escape the infidels and the greedy grasping hands of our Christian brothers.”
The men around the table look a little more hopeful. The meeting wasn’t actually thought to have been much more than the usual griping and finger pointing that past meetings had always become. But two weeks earlier the king had a dream that profoundly affected him. He ordered his advisors to come up with answers, not excuses. Although the General hadn’t really had much choice in his actions, the Admiral redeemed himself with whole heartedly endorsing the colonization plan.
“Very well gentlemen,” Jannus poured wine for each of them,” Let us toast to a new hope. A new future. To Cyprus! A Trail of Hope!”
With that the eight men around the circular table drank deeply and smiled in unison. With that they all peered at the map of Cyprus and made various comments and suggestions to the Engineer and to the Interior Minister including building a new harbor at Salamis. The need for ships was one of nearly paramount importance. The fever of colonization had swept deep into the men and they were eager to get the voyages of discovery under way.
Very late at night the king yawned and stretched,” That is enough for tonight. Let us work individually on our particulars and return here in one year with an update on our progress.”
The other seven men agreed and they all went their separate ways to implement their plans. Even though it was late at night the others all brimmed with energy. Andru cleared the table and placed the maps in their individual cubbies as the king poured another jot of brandy for the two of them.
“What do you think?” Jannus queried.
“I think that it is a good plan,” Andru smiled,” A better plan than has ever been proposed before. No more grandiose plans to reconquer the lost kingdom of Jerusalem or sweeping the infidels out of the middle east. Which just isn’t practical, or possible.”
Jannus quirked an eyebrow,” I agree. Fighting for a kingdom that can never be, let alone destroying the infidels with our tiny power base is impossible. But this new colonization idea is wonderful. A new nation, far from our enemies will be a boon to all of us. Especially if we can get so well established that any latecomers will have no choice but to recognize our supremacy in the area.”
Andru smothered a yawn of his own,” Majesty, with your permission I would like to retire. I have much to do in the morning and I need my sleep.”
Jannus waved him away,” Do get some sleep, my friend. I can’t have you sleeping during important events, now can I?”
Jannus settled himself in front of the fire and looked deeply into the flames. He could see within them tall ships coursing through the ocean swells with Cypriot flags flying from the masts. Men and women crowded the decks, along with some children, looking off toward an unseen landmass. Eager to start new lives in a new land, free from the fear of invasion by infidels.
Here starts a new AAR, about Cyprus. A normal Grand Campaign with the starting settings at normal/normal and with the latest beta of course. This will be a tale of colonization. Perhaps conquest against natives. I am going to try to stay completely out of European and Middle Eastern affairs. At least as much as I can, anyway. This is a story of a tiny nation trying to escape it’s fate of being only a tiny cog in some other Empire. A tale of colonization, perhaps some limited war. Who knows yet? I haven’t played long enough to know whether I will be dragged into a war by someone else or be DoWed by infidels or greedy Christian nations. There will be two exploits. I shall give myself in a few years an explorer and a conquistador. I figure that since I am going under the aegis of Phoenicians that this is an allowable concession to their ability to explore and so forth.
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