Single Men - The Holy See MMU

[loki100]

as ever, utterly fascinating stuff. I'd agree with Chris Taylor, even if important to many people, at the level of state policy I'm not sure that being co-religionists ever stopped anyone from grabbing something they wanted - remember the French gleefully funding the Turks to attack Austria during the Italian wars at the end of the 16th C.

This Pope seems to be fairly cautious and trying a modest degree of reform, be interesting to see what that mindset spawns over time.

 

[aldriq]

And there goes another Pope that could fill up an entire book The crusade is shaping up nicely... But honestly, if I were you I'd be counting my blessings for not having to worry about France for the time being... What will you do if there is a Franco-Spanish war down the line? (with France recovered)

But there are some instances in history where similar things happened. Catholic France backing German Protestants against Catholic Spain + Austria, for example. Or Protestant England going to war against the Reformed Netherlands a couple of times. Sometimes domestic concerns (dynastic goals, economic expansion) necessitate opening a can of whoopass on one's co-religionists.

That's true, but it was in the 17th century, when religion was all but a travesty of an excuse to settle old scores. In the mid-16th century at least you'd expect the princes to ride high in their moral horses...

 

[morningSIDEr]

Very good stuff and it seems the current Pope is a very interesting person. Europe as a whole appears quite a mess, especially France as has been detailed. Good to see your various allies growing ever stronger. This part really caught my attention;

the ‘Index’ decision actually fired in-between of the two council sessions; in-game the first one took place in Lothian, Scotland but I find it so unlikely (imagine all the cardinals travelling that far! the logistics of the venture!) that I kept it in Ansbach in this story)

As someone living within Lothian I find it unlikely for another far more important reason; as if anyone would travel miles just to be soaked by rain!

 

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Athalcor: The Bourbons are independent.

Chris Taylor: Thanks for your explanations on Spanish unification. You're right, it seems to be impossible to put an exact date to this process. Whether France will be strong enough to bounce back and become its usual Big Bad Blue Blob... see the next post.

As for Autria - Hungary situation, I agree with aldriq. Also, see Austria's policy in my next post, I don't think Protestant Hungarian nobles would put up with it, especially having no fear of the Ottoman threat or Polish rivalry.

loki100: Being cautious and resorting to scheming rather than mlitary power this Pope will surprisingly secure substantial territorial gains. I myself wonder how this will change the Papacy.

aldriq: You're right about France. I should count my blessings here. My gripe is maybe that when AI starts gang-banging a weakened country it seems a spiral of doom commences and there's no way out. More on it in the next post: check France and Poland. As for a potential clash between France and Spain, well I'm not allied to either of them... so fly on the wall I guess.

As for religion tension in Austira-Hungary, I'd think it's not only the 16th century zeal of neofits but also the Hungarian dream of independence (with the whole complex political-religious 'mythology') would play an important role. I just can't see this union survive in the given circumstances.

morningSIDEr: Yes, Europe is very dynamic. Italy maybe not so (as it was historically) though.

As someone living within Lothian I find it unlikely for another far more important reason; as if anyone would travel miles just to be soaked by rain!

The historical Pius II actually travelled to Scotland before he became the Pope and: (wikipedia) "The journey to Scotland proved so tempestuous that Piccolomini swore that he would walk barefoot to the nearest shrine of Our Lady from their landing port. This proved to be Dunbar, and the nearest shrine 10 miles distant at Whitekirk. The journey through the ice and snow left Aeneas afflicted with pain in his legs for the rest of his life." Poor thing.

 

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Leo X ​

(part II)​

4 August 1529 – 1 October 1551​

PUERORUM AMORIBUS IMPLICITUS​

The Crusade to End All Crusades​

The Crusade had been dragging on for so long but Abdulmecid I refused to admit defeat. Constantinople and Saloniki had actually been under Papal administration for over two decades, still it took a lot of political machinations to bring peace to the East. First, Venice, for the third time, along with Genoa and Naples rejoined the Crusade. Then the Papal military reinforced its control over the Marmara coast, thus taking power over all the trade that flowed to and from the Black Sea. Still, the obstacle remained, Abdulmecid I just would not give in. (gamey but I long-waited the whole strip on both sides of the Marmara, the bonus is very nice but not being trade focused I don’t benefit from it that much)

Eventually the Divan, desperate as endangered by a popular revolt, had the Sultan murdered and with the minor, Davud I, on the throne the peace talks could be finally concluded. In 1543 Ottoman Empire acknowledged its substantial territorial losses to its foes. Leon X decided to reward Skantarios I of Trebizond with some land too. The Curia hoped to secure the Easternmost Catholic ruler’s loyalty. The triumphant mood Leo X was in was marred by the accusations of the Papacy’s temporal greed and expansiveness. The Holy See had to face a lot of criticism from both Protestant and anti-Union Orthodox camps. The similarity of the Papal conquest in the East to the ill-fated Latin Empire of the past sent a wave of criticism across Europe. (my plan was to weaken OE so that it won’t pose a threat any more, I intend to give Trebizond these two coastal provs too as soon as I convert them, Trebizond so far has been very lazy about converting; it’s a Catholic country without a Catholic province)

The officials of the Divan hoped that through scarifying land they would manage to retain their power. However, the Divan’s plan fell through merely three years later, when the old aristocracy got overthrown in yet another popular revolt and the new ruling class, made up from minor nobility, came to power. Miraculously, Davud I retained both his head and his throne. In the late 1540 the Italian alliance was to find out that neither the Ottomans nor the Mameluks abandoned their hopes of greatness. It seemed they just lurked to jump at the first opportunity any weakness of the Italian alliance could be sensed. (OE collapsed, strangely the collapse didn’t hurt them that much, actually collapsing seems to be a blessing to a rebel-torn country; as for the ‘boundary dispute’ core-giving events, it’s odd that these happened within a year, but it plays somehow logically into the story)

The Patriarch of Constantinople​

Leo X did not manage to quiet down the wave of indignation his pontificate provoked, in fact he added fuel to the flame instead by appointing his favourite, Cardinal Innocenzo del Monte, the Patriarch of Constantinople; now the second most important position in the Catholic Church. The nomination was like playing into the Protestants’ hands, their pamphlets became even more fierce and vicious. For the Curia powerful members their righteous anger was mixed with relief, there was hope with his new duties and miles apart Innocenzo would lose his influence on the Pope. This hope proved ill-founded, the bond between the two men was strong enough and even rumours about Innocenzo’s scandalous behaviour, he was alleged to have many female lovers, did not affect the fondness and trust His Holiness had for his favourite. Innocenzo on his part had learned a lot throughout his time as Cardinal, Leo X himself had seen to in, and, now, the new Patriarch, he realised how hard a task – the Union as the ultimate goal in the East - was ahead of him. (Counter-reformation starts, I never really knew what it meant in gameplay terms; my choice with the Eastern Catholic Church event seems to be illogical and go against the story but the Union the way I see it is more about subjugation)

The Curia drew up a long-term religious policy; the plan both Leo X and Patriarch Innocenzo whole-heartedly contributed to. Steps were taken to abolish plurality of benefices and to restore monastic discipline; the Dominicans were given more funds and free hand in bringing the erroneous to the light of Rome. The eagerness of the missionaries and single-mindedness of the Curia soon bore fruit. Alexandria was one of the first important cities of the East in which Catholics became the majority. With the hindsight it seems to have been inevitable; ever since the pontificate of Pius II and the successful Crusade against the Mameluks the policy of the Holy See had been inevitably turning Eastwards. (what can I say, the choice of DS seemed obvious giving the circumstances; a naval NI would be handy too, I had to disband some galleys to stay within support limit, but this will have to wait; as you see with all the bonuses even Thrace has a high enough chance to convert; happy clergy, effective bishops here and there and the Dominicans really help too; actually the ‘Bonfire of Vanities’ Dominicans-related event might be even a bit overpowered; btw are there any other events related to other monasteries? One more thing: a couple of times it happened the cost of sending a missionary was a minus one as a result it earned me a ducat or two!)

It might appear the Papacy, if not ignored or neglected the threat of Reformation, had its hands so full with its schemes in the East, that it simply lacked resources to interfere into European politics. It is true to some extend, with its military in Anatolia, there was very little the Curia could do to take advantage of the turmoil in France for example. All it could resort to was soft power, like diplomacy and supporting the bishops in their wars with the troubled Kingdom. This approach did not bode well for the chance of restoring true faith in France. Still, when war broke out at the Pope’s doorstep, Leo X did not hesitate to intervene. The fanatical, single-minded leaders of the Tuscan ‘New Jerusalem’ felt it their mission to spread the gospel in their radical version. Their ill-fated aggression brought about the end of the mystic republic. In the aftermath of the conflict Leo X, to purify the land, rewarded cardinals and bishops loyal to him with property in Tuscany and to secure ecclesiastical control over Florence he made Giovani Pietro Carafa the bishop of Florence. (it was tempting to attack France at the time of its weakness (you’ll see there was more to its calamities than in the previous post) but I just couldn’t withdraw any troops from the East, I didn’t want to lose my allies either; AI is too ready to jump on the opportunity to attack a seemingly weak minor and it doesn’t seem to take the guarantees into account; obviously Tuscany stood no chance against Urbino’s numerous and powerful guarantors (and unlike alliances guarantees are always binding); and yes Tuscany is a bishopric now as it was a theocracy as this ‘New Jerusalem’ thing)

Wild Wild East​

The war with Ak Koyunlu was not over and to make the picture even more blurred in these far-away parts an Armenian rising added more confusion to the civil war raging there. The Curia decided to conclude the conflict and forced the clans to recognise Armenian independence; however, no diplomatic bonds with the newly created state were created. Soon Armenoia lost its short-lived independence to Georgia. For the Papal interests a seven-year period of relative peace followed. (I’ve had enough, on the release of the Muslim Armenia I immediately broke the alliance; moments later Georgia dows Armenia, the AI just loves devouring weak minors)

The death of Skantarios I opened a succession question as the Emperor had no surviving sons. The Curia after a few years of deliberating and bargaining agreed on a marriage of the Emperor’s daughter to the deposed Despot of Morea’s son, David. Thus the ancient Palaiologos dynasty, with its pretence of legitimacy, retained its rule over the satellite state; in return they relinquished their claims to the already partitioned Greece. The choice of David over his older brother (still, like the whole family, kept captive in Rome) resulted from assessing his personality as submissive and obedient. Submissive and obedient he was, but he was not void of his own ambitions; and stupidity. In 1548 he attacked the much weakened Ak Koyunlu clans, disregarding the gang of powerful allies and guarantors the crumbling horde had. For over a year the Curia watched the disaster this folly brought on the wayward Trebizond before Leo X obtained an agreement to intervene. There was no way the Holy See could join the fight with the strongest of Ak Koyunlu allies, Quara Koyunlu. To bypass this threat the Golden Horde was proclaimed the target of the next crusade. David I was brought to his senses, a permanent ambassador-advisor was placed in his court to ensure no more follies like this would take place and soon enough Trebizond signed peace with its most immediate threat: Georgia. The Papal forces still operated in the region as even when David I concluded peace with the Ak Koyunlu clans, the Pope was officially at war with them. The area was slowly taken control of but there was no sensible design as to how deal with this never-ending potential threat of a tribal federation on the outskirts of Christian domains. (this time Trebizond felt powerful enough to attack a opm AK, my doing, my fault; they were of course losing the war; what I did was to attack GH, which was not allied/guaranteed by the massive QK, in this way I could deal with the other AK’s allies, Trebizond soon backed off and I’m left with a silly conflict and the future problem of the Van province; if I leave it, Trebizond will attack it again, if I take it I’ll get 8 infamy and a border with QK, whom I can’t even see! Vassalisation doesn’t solve a problem of being exposed to QK attack; yet there’s good news too: Genoa’s paying massive subsidies)

Power Struggle in the Empire ​

The 1540s witnessed the rivalry between the Emperor and the Bohemian Flackys over the role of the Catholic champion in the Empire. The Curia and the Pope found it potentially perilous to side with one of the contenders. Philipp II might have made some concessions towards Hungarian Protestants, however he still remained an unwavering Catholic leader. He proclaimed himself the defender of the True Faith not only within the Empire but also outside it. He battled the heresy in historical Austrian lands and tried to limit its influence in the Low Lands. A few anti-heretic resolutions made into the newly formulated and accepted in the Reichstag Criminal Code of the Empire. Philip II had never faltered to support the Catholic cause, which his French intervention proved, and his relation with the Curia and the Pope might be described as friendly. The confirmations of friendship were regularly exchanged between Vienna and Rome: both Dominicans and Jesuits were admitted to teach in the Austrian capital, in return the Pontiff recognised Philipp II’s ambitions to the title of the Archduke. Philipp II’s efforts to receive a more prestigious title may well be explained by his uncertain situation in almost openly disloyal Hungary. (Austria is the DoF, missionary operates in one Dutch prov as well, Brabant I think, this staunch Catholic stance of Austrian AI imo goes against the union with Hungary staying intact)

The Bohemian rise to prominence owed a lot to the tacit Papal encouragement. The second war over Silesia, triggered by the death of the last Silesian Piast duke, turned out to be a one-sided affair. Both, the Pope and the Emperor backed Bohemian claims against Poland. This was a sad day for Catholics as it threw the most powerful Catholic powers of central and eastern Europe at each other throats and resulted in the weakening the solidarity of the Catholic camp. After a few month it was clear Poland was the losing party and it predictably got attacked by its numerous enemies from all sides: the Teutonic Knights ostensibly declared to support the Pope and the Most Catholic King of Bohemia; Russia and Crimea did not need any excuses. In the final outcome of the mess Poland was plunged into it got reduced to a medium power and a potential target for its by no means satisfied enemies. The Kingdom of Bohemia incorporated not only the remnants of Silesia but also the Greater Poland and managed to hold its control over Thuringia and Brandenburg.
(I joined the war on Bohemian’s side, as did Austria: Bohemia had a core; of course I did not lift a finger but was grateful for war subsidies from Sweden; Poland got gang-banged, very much like France, and in the end, when it reincorporated Lithuania due to some mechanism in the game, it ended up in its odd, snakey shape)

In September the ever-loyal Philipp II passed away and the electors chose his son Ferdinand I the new lawful sovereign of the Empire. The new Emperor momentarily assured the Pope of his friendship and his support for the Catholic cause. This angered the Hungarian nobility, who saw it as the first step to their religious freedoms being taken away from them. Nor did Hungarians approve of the new policies the Archduke accepted, like constructing the navy and exploiting the trade options the ports of the Low Lands gave. The land-based Hungarian elite got down to plotting how to overthrow their unwelcome king. (ok, in the light of choices Austrian AI did I saw it illogical for Hungary to want to stay in the Union; as I have no idea how I can break it, I simply found and edited the union-related flags giving them lower numbers hoping this might increase the chance of the break-up; one more thing: at first I found it weird Austria chose Grand Navy NI, but it makes sense as long as it controls ports in Low Lands)

Minarets in Paris!​

In the first days of June 1539 it seemed France might yet be saved; Louis de Armagnac hoped he could regain the lost prestige by quelling the revolts and beating the bishoprics and some other minor states France was still officially at war. The territorial losses did not seem so big and the Emperor’s withdrawal appeared to have driven a wedge between Rome and Vienna. However, very soon de Armagnac got attacked by the most unexpected enemy. And unimaginably, Leo X pleaded the Christian Europe to rush to France’s help. Lead by Algiers, the alliance of North African Muslim states launched an unforeseen attack on France. None of the Catholic powers, not even Rome, would openly support the Protestant France; yet indirectly many assisted the French against the Muslim invaders. The role of the Spanish and Portuguese blockades cannot be underestimated. Thanks to them the influx of the infidels was limited, especially in the Mediterranean; the attackers had to ship their armies from oceanic Moroccan ports. (unbelievable, history à rebours, Algierian conquest of France? and a couple of centuries early at that)

De Armagnac tried to fight against the deluge of invaders and rebels for another two years. Finally, he realised he stood no chance. To save his head and get anything out of the mess he wrote a letter to the deposed king and his grandmother, relinquishing his claims and asking them to return to their kingdom, he even named Charles IX ‘the Saviour of France’. In this endeavour he could count on a tacit support of the Curia. The mediation of the Bishop of Alsace put an end to the short-lived Armagnac France; Louis backed down but was recognised, by both the Pope and Charles IX, as the practically independent Count of Armagnac. Queen Sophia could, once again, set off towards Paris, to claim her grandson’s lawful inheritance. The motif behind the Pope’s involvement was undoubtedly the Catholic cause. Leo X hoped Louis Armagnac, seeking protection in his shaky position, like another rebellious French noble, the self-proclaimed Count of Guyenne, would reconvert and submit to Rome. This was not to happen. (France had already lost a prov to Brittany, got attacked and peaced out with Savoy and, as can be seen in the pic, is fighting Guyenne, which had declared independence)

However, there was no way Queen Sophia, who had left Hesse with a rather modest army of volunteers; for the time being she decided to leave the young Charles IX behind; could come back to Paris. The capital had already been taken by the Infidel and its churches and convents had been turned into mosques; minarets were being built everywhere. It did seem the invaders were determined to stay. The Queen set up her base of operation in Auvergne, close to Avignon, where from she received assistance from her most unlikely ally, the Pope. In March 1546, when the South of France seemed safe enough, Charles IX joined his grandmother and launched a counter-offensive heading his smallish but well-trained army northwards, towards the territory, which had been controlled by the Muslims for over three years. (the South is far from peaceful in fact, there’s no shortage of rebels)

The morale of Charles IX’s army, as well as winning for him many battles on his way North, ensured him throngs of volunteers ready to join his forces. France had not seen such a massive popular movement since the times of Joan d’Arc. The King proved to be either a military genius or a born-under-lucky-star gambler; he succeeded in capturing Paris on his non-stop march North. This brought the Muslim invaders to the negotiation table. The African leaders were eager to sign the peace as the local population, no longer living in terror, realised how undermanned the occupants were and numerous atrocious acts of retribution were being committed throughout northern France. It might appear the whole invasion brought the North African states nothing but a modest sum of indemnities, but one cannot forget the shiploads of slaves and plunder seized during the years of occupation. This triumph over the Muslims did not save France from further disintegration though. In order to be recognised the rightful king, Charles IX had to pardon all the rebellious nobles and promise the tolerance of all Christian religions. In the final act of humiliation he was even forced to promise not to take a German princess for a wife but a princess chosen and approved of by the Estates General. Also, he had to send his grandmother Queen Sophia away; she once again ended up in the Hessian court. (this is another alliance leader issue, had it been Algiers and not Morocco occupying northern France, or had Morocco been the alliance leader, the peace terms would have pbly been different and more plausible/logical; why would Muslims demand Christian counties to be released, especially as the outcome of a Holy War?)

But peace in France was not to last. First, there was some diplomatic friction when the Duke of Hesse, a relative of Charles IX and the champion of the Protestant camp within the Empire, proposed the King of France as the next Emperor, were Ferdinand I to die prematurely. This cheekiness surprised everybody, even the Curia did not expect France to try to toss its power around so soon. Queen Sophia was believe to have been the driving force in this endeavour. Later, Henry X, the new king of England, decided to curb this French impertinence and finally put an end to the Lancastrian question; as of course doubts as to his legitimacy re-emerged as soon as he rose to the throne of England; and who else would harbour the Lancastrian claimants but Charles IX. (is France strong enough to survive this? Will there be more vultures?)

Seventeen Days​

Leo X’s pontificate did not do much good for the Catholic cause. On the contrary, the half-hearted reforms, the dubious role in Catholic Poland’s downfall, the machinations during the French crisis and above all the numerous scandals strained the Papal authority beyond repair. The great blemish in his pontificate was nepotism, favouritism and greed of high clergy. In the late1540 Leo X, seemingly having accepted the prime role of the Curia in running the affairs of the Holy See, withdrew to his luxurious palace, the Villa Giulia. Here he spent most of his time in ease and comfort, corresponding with Patriarch Innocenzo, occasionally appointing a cardinal or a bishop, or sending a legate. He gave himself up to enjoyment, amusing himself with the adornment of his villa and often so far forgetting the proprieties of his office as to participate in entertainments of a questionable character. His inactivity during the last years of his pontificate may have been caused by the frequent and severe attacks of unknown illness but it may have been a planned design too. He managed to lull the Curia in a false sense of security, all that time, through his nominations, quietly strengthening his party within it.

In the course of 1551 Leo X sent his most powerful rivals on prestigious and potentially lucrative missions to far-away places. He had made sure his supporters made up more than two thirds of the cardinals who stayed in or in the vicinity of Rome. On the first of October Leo X, whose ailment had grown to be unbearably painful in the past few months, drank poisoned wine. Cardinal Camerlengo made sure Leo X’s last will was executed. To the traditional 10-day mourning only seven days were given for the absent cardinals to come to Rome. With most of Leo X’s enemies away, the remaining cardinals, who had obviously been bought by the late Pope, within these seven days agreed to elect the tellingly not-present Patriarch of Constantinople, Cardinal Innocenzo del Monte, the next Pope. Later, Innocenzo del Monte made sure those who had voted for him were generously rewarded with the second instalment of the promised incentives. (there was not even 17 day period, it’s the first time I got the pope the ‘regular’ way (no Curia, no conclave), thanks to that I remain the Papal Controller; I was toying with the idea of reloading but decided against it and hence this suicide story; as for the situation of the Catholic Church in the West you can see that even Portugal’s provs are turning Protestant, Vienna is Catholic again but other Austrian lands are prone to become Protestant; England and Sweden remain Catholic although the majority of their provinces are Protestant; in the East Catholicism is making slow but steady advance, Venice has some problems with rebels, typical of AI-run countries with scattered holdings)

The effects of Leo X's policies: the West​

The effects of Leo X's policies: the East​

Treasury / yearly income: 1050d / 185.36 (11.01 monthly-!- due to war subsidies)
Merchants: 5 in Thrace: 54.68/335.64 and 4 in Alexandria: 48.51/394.88
Fleet: 11: 6 galleys, 5 cogs (I had to disband a few galleys as I was making a loss)
Army: 15k tercio; 5k chevauchée
Manpower / discipline:19.220 / 114.90%
Army / navy tradition:54.70% / 0.00%
Prestige: 99
Stability: +3
Infamy: 3.50/25
War exhaustion: 0.59/35

 

[Athalcor]

Oh poor Qara Koyunlu...will it ever be named right?
About Venice - in Divergences Venice has the same problem - it usually goes on a downward spiral of endless revolutions in 1850+. Too bad.

Btw, you are successfully resurrecting the lands of the Autocrator of All The East. (oh no, my Byzantophilia is not yet cured!)

 

[morningSIDEr]

Leo X's Papacy was certainly an eventful one. Weakening the Ottomans should certainly prove useful, Trebizond's stupidity not withstanding. The recount of Algeria's invasion France made fascinating reading. It really shows how weak France now is that the Algerian AI could get so far. Hopefully she can somehow return some semblance of her normal power in time. Christianity on a whole really seems to be struggling looking at the religion maps. War between the two largest eastern European nations, Poland and Bohemia, certainly not aiding things as you alluded to.

I like though that much of the blame is placed with Leo X and his shocking and rather scandalous favouritism of Innocenzo del Monte. It can only be hoped Innocenzo has some actual ability as the coming years are likely to prove all the more testing for Christianity. Perhaps things are not quite as bad as I am making out, this line suggesting otherwise;

One more thing: a couple of times it happened the cost of sending a missionary was a minus one as a result it earned me a ducat or two!)

Understandably people are happily paying to be blessed by Christian teachings!

 

[loki100]

wonderfully convoluted stuff ... do like the idea of Algeria taking advantage of France falling apart, and your somewhat over enthusiastic ally in Trebizond replacing common sense with an excess of zeal. So the next Pope has to deal with the consequences of the Church playing power politics in central Europe, disgruntled Orthodoxy, rampant Protestantism ... such a nice legacy from Leo

 

[chals]

well, its no suprise that most of europe is going anti popism, as he has tried to keep reformers(and bibelcal christianity), away with the reforms he push for. I had hoped for more, mush more, as to see if it was an option to reform the church so much, that lutherism whoud die out. but here we go, I think it gona be a problem, as more and more is gona go ani pope, and might have the same faith as ortodox, that will be ironic thou

 

[Chris Taylor]

France sure got an impressive thrashing from the Berbers. And England is sure to take Normandy, or whatever it is they're after. Your subjugation of Greece ought to make it easy for the remainder of Ottoman Europe (Bulgaria and... whatever has cores west of there) to seek independence.

The effective end of the Ottoman threat and the enormous Berber invasion of France ought to shift the focus of Christian-Muslim warfare to north Africa, no?

I'm interested to see what (if anything) the player can do to combat Protestantism or encourage the Counter-Reformation. I tend to back the Protestants in my games so I don't really know how things evolve for Catholics, in terms of post-Reformation gameplay options.

 

[aldriq]

Glad to see this time it was the game, rather than you, pushing the limits of plausibility with that Berber invasion

While I agree with Chris about the eventual shift of focus, I think it'll be far too tempting for the new Pope to go first for the easy pickings left in Anatolia and Egypt. And who could blame him, if Europe no longer wants the Holy Mother Church, there is plenty of people to be persuaded in the East... and of course in the New World, where presumably Spain and Portugal (?) must be doing a good job expanding the Christian family.

 

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Athalcor:

Btw, you are successfully resurrecting the lands of the Autocrator of All The East. (oh no, my Byzantophilia is not yet cured!)

Inadverently. I assure you.

morningSIDEr:

Trebizond's stupidity not withstanding.

I just can't understand AI, at times it sees a opm as an easy picking (where it is not), at times it lets an unprotected opm live undisturbed.

I like though that much of the blame is placed with Leo X and his shocking and rather scandalous favouritism of Innocenzo del Monte. It can only be hoped Innocenzo has some actual ability as the coming years are likely to prove all the more testing for Christianity.

Leo X's pontificate heralds the upheavals that will come with Innocenzo's rule.

Understandably people are happily paying to be blessed by Christian teachings!

And of course no one dares to call it corruption. (btw check the MMtG latest DD)

loki100:
This legacy should have caused Innocenzo a number of headaches... had he not been such a reckless person.

chals:

well, its no suprise that most of europe is going anti popism, as he has tried to keep reformers(and bibelcal christianity), away with the reforms he push for. I had hoped for more, mush more, as to see if it was an option to reform the church so much, that lutherism whoud die out. but here we go,

You know, I wasn't trying to stop the Reformation all that hard. I think it's doable/possible; but neither me (my personal preferences) nor 'my' Popes wanted it (role-playing Popes who'd expect submission rather than compromise). I can tell you're right that Protestantism is on the roll and it's not the end of its march. Check Portugal, pbly the most surprising place to harbour the reformers.

Chris Taylor:

Your subjugation of Greece ought to make it easy for the remainder of Ottoman Europe (Bulgaria and... whatever has cores west of there) to seek independence.

Alas, so far there has been no Bulgarian nationalists.

I'm interested to see what (if anything) the player can do to combat Protestantism or encourage the Counter-Reformation. I tend to back the Protestants in my games so I don't really know how things evolve for Catholics, in terms of post-Reformation gameplay options.

I'll pbly disappoint you, as this will hardly be my goal. Maybe it's a bit illogical, after all I'm playing the Papal States. But if given a choice, I'll pbly pick the option ensuring short-term bonus rather than thinking of the good of the true Catholic faith. Still, you've seen I conceded with the vernacular over Latin, supported the Inquisition so there might be some Counter-Reformation success. We shall see. Dei Gratia is a really elaborate system and a pretty cryptic too; so I hardly know what my choices will lead to.

aldriq:

While I agree with Chris about the eventual shift of focus, I think it'll be far too tempting for the new Pope to go first for the easy pickings left in Anatolia and Egypt. And who could blame him, if Europe no longer wants the Holy Mother Church, there is plenty of people to be persuaded in the East...

I could not agree with you more.

all: Real Life is a beast. I had no time to work on the update. I might change the format of this aar to a more game-play type one. Time shortage! It's either simplifying it a bit or abandoning it altogether. Also, I do want to squeez Innocenzo's longish reign into one update even though it was quite eventful and there's 20 pics limit; so I'll have to leave some stuff out. I also have to admit to being a king of 'deus ex machina' during Innocenzo's reign and rather frequently intervening into the game/editing the save (and feeling a bit bad about it). Thank you for reading it and stay tuned. Next update hopefully in up to two weaks.

 

[chals]

If you go on like this, I be suprised if not 90%+ is turning away, and if so, your faith might die out, unless you export it to someplace new(egypt like), but that will also be interesting as well ;-=

 

[morningSIDEr]

all: Real Life is a beast. I had no time to work on the update. I might change the format of this aar to a more game-play type one. Time shortage! It's either simplifying it a bit or abandoning it altogether.

Quite understandable, it is clear from the quality of these updates that the time involved in their creation is considerable. I would much rather see the style change slightly as opposed to seeing this excellent AAR abandoned. Regardless, I look forward to reading of Innocenzo's reign sometime soon, it sounds interesting!

 

[unmerged(90806)]

chals:

your faith might die out, unless you export it to someplace new(egypt like)

That's a thought!

morningSIDEr:

Regardless, I look forward to reading of Innocenzo's reign sometime soon, it sounds interesting!

Thank you for your kind words and here comes Innocenzo the Pope.

 

[unmerged(90806)]

Urbanus VII​

17 October 1551 – 1 January 1567​

ID QUOD SUM​

To the East​

To understand the policies of the reign on Urbanus VII one has to understand his background well. An upstart from a destitute family, a former favourite of Leon X he enjoyed little love among the Italian aristocracy. That is why in his Italian affairs he relied on the cabal of his ecclesiastical supporters (created by the former del Monte popes) and the mutually beneficial alliance with Venice, Genoa and Naples. The power of this alliance had been for some time contested by northern Italian states, Savoy leading the discontent, but the triumph over the Porte strengthened the alliance and weakened the opposition. (Savoy got ‘outmanoeuvred’ to the position of the Papal Controller as due to becoming the Pope the regular way I retain the post; ‘pet regiment’ modifier stands for Urbanus VII’s low standing with aristocracy)

Innocenzo del Monte owed a lot to the late Leo X, among other things his thorough education; and he proved a quick-on-the-uptake pupil. His understanding of diplomacy was praiseworthy and, in the East, his skills at winning over various factions, often at variance with one another, have become legendary. In fact, throughout his time as the Patriarch of Constantinople, the honour he had held for over a decade, Innocenzo del Monte managed to bring relative peace to this war-devastated region. Not surprisingly, as the Pope, Urbanus VII devoted a lot of time and effort to the problems of the East: the Union, integration of the Greek population, placating various minorities, dealing with Trebizond’s ambitions and the Knights’ uncontrollable piracy, keeping Sultan Davud I at bay. To a large extent he neglected the problems of the West. One of Urbanus VII’s most radical moves was annexing the territory of the former Ak Koyunlu tribes and granting swaths of territory there to the Dominicans with a view to spreading the true faith to the further and further eastern frontier. (I hate the 8 infamy but I just couldn’t think of any other solution, I don’t want Trebizond to border Quara Koyunlu so in the end I grabbed this useless province, Khorasan – the alliance leader – offering white peace was a perfect opportunity; I intend to convert it along with all the other acquisitions; the missionary chances are pretty high and the process goes apace)

One of Urbanus VII achievements in the East was forcing David I of Trebizond to tighten the ties of Union and pursue a more active religious policy towards his dis-Unite subjects, heathens and heretics alike. This seemingly insignificant accomplishment is considered the first decisive step, which finally led to the shift of the heart of the Papal States. Even if Rome remained the nominal capital, Urbanus VII spent a lot of time in Constantinople and the City slowly rose to predominance. (I was naturally glad to see that, and yes, it’s not only the Pope but also me – the player – who focuses more on what’s going on in the East; so at times goings-on in the West will take me by surprise)

Never-Ending Wars in France​

Imperial Intervention (16 January 1552 – 27 February 1555)​

France, at war with England and Denmark, seemed a temptingly easy target so it did not take much persuading for Ferdinadnd I of Austria to take up the Catholic banner again. Indeed, initially the Imperial forces, supported by Milan, Armagnac and more and more reluctant Hungarians marched confidently into the eastern France. In August the city of Frankfurt, a French ally, was forced to convert to Catholicism. But then the offensive was stopped short rather rapidly. In the disastrous for Austria March of 1533, first Ferdinand I got killed in a battle and then the Hungarian nobility elected his nephew through his sister their king. The late ruler’s cousin Ferdinand II took the throne of Archduchy and retained the Imperial crown but could do nothing against the Hungarians. Emboldened by the Hungarian example, the mostly protestant Dutch nobility started demanding their rights too. (PU between Austria and Hungary broken, I feel a bit guilty as it’s my doing (having edited PU), Hungary remains at war with France though; the Dutch nobility events will now fire pretty regularly for Austria)

Within year, while Ferdinand II worked on strengthening his position, Charles IX d’Anjou managed to score a few victorious points. He ended hostilities with Denmark and Armagnac. Louis de Armagnac had died in battle, his only surviving daughter ceded Gascogne to France and soon through her marriage to a Portuguese king’s brother sought the maritime kingdom’s protection against her mighty neighbours: France and Spain. Shortly the conflict started to peter out, mostly since Austria had got involved into another one and had to redirect its focus. The peace was brought to Lorraine in August 1554, Bavaria in January 1555, and finally Austria and France ceased fire in February 1555. Unlike in the previous French wars, busy in the East, Rome had done next to nothing about this conflict, merely officially, yet half-heartedly, supporting the Catholic cause. The war over, neither France nor Austria were at peace though, as both had other wars to wage; France against England and Austria against the League of Marburg. (I wasn’t paying that much attention, but took the pic of their military forces and was surprised to see France still has an army that can punch)

The War of the League of Marburg (10 March 1554 - 1 May 1559)​

The Protestant Hungarians no longer allied with the Emperor, the minor Protestant states of the Empire finally plucked up their courage, Karl I de Bourgogne of Hesse, no doubt supported by Queen Sophia residing in exile in Marburg, became the leader of the motley collection of German princedoms and city states and in March 1554 the war for the Protestant cause broke out. Milan and Poland supported Ferdinand II. This was an excuse good enough for Hans I von Oldenburg to intervene, ostensibly to back the Catholic cause but in fact to advance his claims to Pommerania, so long contested by both the King of Poland and the Emperor, both of whom were now ready to turn the blind eye to his demands only to secure the Danish involvement in the conflict. (I’ve no idea whether the Protestant states had waited until Austria grew weak enough (this would actually be great) but there couldn’t be a better moment for them to strike, oddly Tuscany is in the Protestant alliance despite me having converted them a while back; it’s the third time Denmark has tried its luck with Holstein and, honestly, I got tired with silly alliance leaders (Switzerland!?) so I saved, edited and made Pommerania the alliance leader, this made me feel guilty again as apparently by doing this I signed Pommerania’s death warrant; still I think this is more logical than what had happened in the two previous Danish wars)

The German minors faced little resistance in the Low Lands as the Dutch, mostly Protestant adherents themselves, eagerly supported the Protestant cause against the Emperor, who had on several occasions refused to allow them any semblance of autonomy. However, the Danish troops were successful in the Baltic area and the Austrian lands resisted any invasion, as a result the outcome of the war seemed uncertain. At that time the Curia persuaded Urbanus VII to intervene. First Naples, than the Pope himself struck at the weakest members of the Protestant alliance: Siena and Tucany; whose forces were conveniently engaged in the campaigns in the North. (What can I say, Naples attacked without casus belli but I can easily bypass the -2 stab hit by declaring Cleansing of Heresy war, I do like this feature but I also can’t help feeling HttT makes some thing (too) easy (Venice answered the Naples’s call so no worry here); I have just 1k troops in vicinity but my allies and vassals will do the sieging, so by May 1557 it’s all over; two odd things: 1. all this time Tuscany and Siena kept fighting in the North even, temporarily, grabbing a province or two, so their forces are attritioned but intact 2. me and Naples fight separate wars: War of Neapolitan Aggression and Papal Purge of Siena, in both Hesse is the alliance leader)

With Danish successes in the northern Germany and the Papal intervention Karl X Gustav of Sweden decided to support the Protestant cause. The northern kingdom abandoned the true faith and started getting ready to join in the conflict, most likely Denmark the target of the possible attack. However, internal problems, like the riots in the biggest city of the kingdom Novgorod, thwarted these plans and the kingdom had to tackle its stability issues first. With both France and Sweden unable to lend the Protestant cause a helping hand, the Catholic camp deemed it some ungodly miracle that the German minors eventually gained an advantage.

In fact it was the combination of the Protestant zeal and the Italian and Iberian states’ reluctance to intervene in the North, in what these perceived as a solely German internal strife, that enabled the Protestant victory. The forces of Naples, Venice or the Papal States never crossed the Alps, Bohemia did fight Hessian regiments but did it half-heartedly as since its conquest of Greater Poland its interest, like the Papal ones, moved eastwards. In the end, when Ferdinand II started losing ground in Austria proper, he signed a humiliating peace: the Emperor was forced to hear the voice of his peoples (most of his subjects adhered to the new faith) and he converted to Protestantism. The shockwave was like a cold shower for both the Pope and the King of Bohemia; such outcome surely was not what they had expected. (with Austria weakened by its French campaign, and devoid of Hungarian support, the Protestant success might not be so surprising; remember though that Hesse was actually waging four wars! (against Austria, Denmark, Naples and me, plus allies), I’m awed a collection of AI minors managed to coordinate the war effort somehow logically; but I have to confess to more editing/cheating; in the pic you see the Protestant advantage is obvious but Hesse occupies only one province: Lienze and the AI minors (Switzerland and Bremen who control 4 provs each among them) started to back off in exchange for white peaces; I reloaded from the February save and checked that at least some of the minors could get a favourable peace to which Austria would agree, and most importantly Hesse had enough war score to force-convert the Emperor; I thought over it and decided to impose/cheat this force-conversion on Austria; reasoning: 1. after all that’s what the League was after and as soon as the objective is within reach imo Hesse should demand such a peace resolution (AI should be taught to do it) 2. the Protestant movement within Austria is very strong so I’d expect some push here from within 3. with other minors out of war, Hesse would finally got beaten and the opportunity would have been missed (the very fact Austria is one entity fighting a bevy of minors gives it an advantage / a way-out through separate peaces; I do feel badly about it as it’s my next edit-intervention during Urbanus VII reign and it’s not the last; Luxemburg and Breisgau were just small rewards I gave to valiant AIs, I could not reward Bremen with anything; anyway Breisgau will soon be returned, Luxembourg is protestant so I think it’s reasonable for the Swiss to want it liberated)

It took a few more months for the conflict to terminate for good. Ferdinand II’s conversion prompted Zikmung III of Bohemia to rival the heretic Emperor to the Imperial Crown; the ambition heartily supported by the Pope. With Tuscan and Sienese troops back in Italy Urbanus VII concluded the war with the League of Marburg too. Bringing back Catholicism and Papal control to Italy was only a minor victory in the light of the inexorable Protestant advance in Germany. (I decided to vassalise both Siena and Tuscany I’m even happy they retained their forces as soon they’ll be my allies; it’s a lot of infamy but Urbanus VII is 8 DIP so there’s hope; anyway I was fighting another war at the time hence my inattention to European affairs)

Davud’s Gamble (9 June 1555 – 29 March 1561)​

Sultan Davud I could barely bear the humiliation the latest Crusade inflicted the Sublime Porte. Having consolidated his rule within the country he was determined to give a show of power he believed the Sultanate could still project. It seemed he trod cautiously and chose the weakest target possible: the Knight of Saint John. In June 1555 a Turkish fleet sailed to disembark on Rhodes. It never reached the shores of the island as the Knights’ navy proved powerful enough to repel the invasion and soon the Knights’ powerful allies launched a counter-offensive. The Christian naval superiority was unquestioned but overland the Ottomans still were dominant in Anatolia, which Trebizond was to experience shortly. Still, after initial advance, with the arrival of Spanish regiments the impetus of Ottoman campaign broke. No doubt the failure of the attack was partly due to the fragmentation of the Empire imposed on it in the 1543 treaty with the Pope. (OE dows theKoSJ, Genoa, Bosnia, Trebizond, Austria and Spain rush to protect Rhodes and guess who becomes the alliance leader? Yes, Bosnia… I again have enough of this nonsense, I understand that Spain as DoF should not become the al, despite being the most powerful ally, so I save and make KoSJ the alliance leader, after all they’re the original target; as for me you can see that I barely avoided getting involved in the war (luckily) as I’d lost my SoI on the Knights a few months earlier; had I been asked, I’d’ve answered the call (to protect Trebizond) and I’d’ve got myself into trouble)

The War in Levant (20 June 1555 – 3 January 1558)​

The Papal States did not get involved in the conflict against the Porte, despite having the troops in Asia Minor on the ready. Was it Divine Providence or not, soon the military engagement was needed somewhere else. Ahmed III the Sultan of the Memeluks, saw Genoa, actively fighting the Ottomans, as a target distracted enough to be attacked and ousted of Levant. Ahmed III drew Crimea, Khorasan, Adal and Najd into the conflict. Urbanus VII took control of the joined Christian coalition of likely: Venice, the Knights, Genoa; less likely: Austria and completely unlikely: Russia allies. What was the Reconquest of Gaza for the Muslim party became yet another Crusade for the Christians; and for the Papacy eventually turned into the ‘Pharos’ operation, and later into the whole political concept, often called ‘Pharos’ too. The breakout of the conflict took Urbanus VII by surprise. The Muslims in Alexandria, supported from the outside, revolted, the riots turned into plunder and killings; the Christian survivors again had to seek shelter in the Pharos. The lighthouse never gave in. (I was not prepared for this war; my troops were stationed elsewhere, luckily Venice and Genoa had forces in Levant and with their naval superiority I could with ease transport my soldiers to the battlefields; I won’t show the campaign in detail, I prepared a few pics but there’s 20-pic-per-post limit; so I’ll just say the war was tense but not that hard, despite the Mameluks’ numerical advantage I managed to, step by step, dispose of their four stacks, my land tech was 21, theirs 17 – this might have helped, as well as general Celestinus Pesaro (3/4/0/1); in December 1555 a nice diversion for the enemy took place: Ethiopia dowed the Mameluks)

It took time for the Christian forces to regain momentum but year into the war the Christians were clearly winning. The Venetians, who had been forced to abandon their initial siege of Cairo, managed to secure the Sinai Peninsula and the strip of coast between Delta and Gaza instead, the Genoese took Harwan, Libya was about to fall to the Papal forces. The Emperor Ferdinand II, involved in three wars altogether and unable to lend any military backing, subsided the Crusaders’ efforts. The interesting occurrence of the war was an uprising in Van (former Ak Koyunlu lands); the revolters plundered the area and in the spirit of the horde marched over border to the Ottoman territory, where they disrupted the Porte’s attempts at coordinating its military efforts. The local populace of Van province welcomed the Papal soldiers as liberators, mass conversions followed. (this pic is there to illustrate a few oddities of HttT, I do think war subsidies are over the top, poor Austria (I said this! I, who thinks Austria is overpowered in this mod!) is fighting the Protestants, the Ottomans and the Mameluks and still finds funds to subside my endeavours; the Van rebels is another curiosity – it all played out to my interests; and finally you can see sending missionaries earns me money)

The next year witnessed a series of peace resolutions. One of the unexpected outcomes of the war was the ruin of Crimea. Crimea, cruising for bruising, had unwisely answered the Mameluks’ call to war and doing so exposed its flanks to Moldavia and Russia. Moldavia grabbed Jedysan, Urbanus VII magnanimously just neutralised Crimea and did not ask for any territory. Russian Tzar felt left empty-handed and shortly turned his wrath, and innumerable armies, against Golden Horde. (AI’s second name is hyena; with HttT infamy system I cannot afford to reward Russia with a province as the bad boy points would go to me, pity; but at least I rid Crimea of its cores on Christian lands)

With the early days of 1558 Levant was, almost, at peace again and the Christian triumph was evident. The Mameluks ceded Diamientia to Venice, its southern territories to Ethiopia and Aleppo to the Papal States. Urbanus VII forced Ahmed III to relinquish his claims to all now Christian-held lands save Aleppo. This was not the end of trouble for the Sultanate however; the peasant revolt, which had actually started in Aleppo, soon spread all over half of the country. The conflict between Genoa and Hedjaz, Ottoman ally, simmered still but it proved inconsequential. (I’m glad the Mameluks were the alliance leader (I realise now how important a factor this is!), no infamy for me for Venice’s Diamientia; on signing the peace the rebels in Aleppo, who convenient-!-, obligingly left the province to rampage across the Mameluk territory; the war also shows Genoa is probably the weakest link in my alliance; you see Edirne cored: first newly-conquered province I can recruit from, another incentive to focus eastwards)

Shaky Islands​

France kept on struggling in its war against England. The February 1558 outbreak of the Catholic rebellion made things even more difficult for Charles IX, but eventually his troops broke the defences of Calais, while Lorraine’s took control of Picardy. It appeared the end of the English continental holdings was near but truth is both France and England were equally exhausted. The truce was signed in February 1559, but by this time numerous rebellions overwhelmed the Isles. In the long run the war with France turned out disastrous for England and cost Philip I York his crown. In June, after merely two years on the shaky throne, the king abdicated on behalf of his son, William. This move however did not put an end to the discontent. The war-tired Calais revolted and severed its bonds with England, the townsfolk looking for some other power to protect their interests better. Worse still, the Islands became a stage of an all-out war of religion. (I hardy get what’s going on, but I love it; credits go to Chris Taylor who told me how to disable the ‘save the queen’ spawns, without them England actually can feel the trouble of war exhaustion and rebellion; the Holy War thing is part of Dei Gratia, imo it could do with some refining, especially when one of the bastions happens to be in an inaccessible province, alas here it’s the very London; I’m a bit surprised England is still only a feudal monarchy)

The brutal war of religion for two years devastated the country. The Irish independence movement added yet more fuel to this flame. Finally in 1561 William IV, threatened with sharing his father’s fate, converted to Protestantism and acknowledged the loss of Irish provinces. The Catholic Europe trembled, it was the third power which within a relatively short period of time severed its allegiances to Rome. Protestantism seemed to have won not only in Germany with the Emperor himself adopting the new teachings, but also in Sweden and now England. The legend says Urbanus VII was strangely unmoved by the grave tidings. (don’t ask me how it came about, did London persevere long enough for the other bastion to fall or what; anyway for curiosities see England’s NIs (5 out of 6 naval ones!) and the Tyrone’s ruler’s dynasty name is the same as Naples’s; also what is Transitional Principality? rarely do I see such a strong Protestant movement, but my actions might be to some extent responsible for it; still is it stronger than irl? remember Scotland, Bohemia, Denmark and Poland remain Catholic and historically Protestantism spread there pretty quickly; so they somehow balance the Protestant Ireland, Austria and France)

‘Pharos’ Policy​

The Pope’s inactivity about the Protestant spread in Europe might be explained by him adopting the ‘Pharos’ policy. In his vision Urbanus VII saw the True Faith getting back to its roots, the East. In his concept the major Catholic centres like Rome, Constantinople, Jerusalem, Alexandria should work like lighthouses, guiding to the light of God. The Papacy was in this scheme the ultimate Lighthouse, supported by its allies. Their joint efforts, Urbanus VII wished, should bring back Catholicism to Anatolia, Levant and North Africa (to revert the Islam advance of the early Middle Ages), from there the purified faith should move west and northwards. This purification meant in fact a kind of mixture of the subjugated Orthodox and Eastern traditions and rites with the pre-Reformation Catholicism. It had happened imperceptibly but through Union the Eastern traditions interpenetrated with and reshaped the Catholicism of the Papal States. As it often happens the superior and attractive culture of the subdued had such an appeal that triumphed over the subduer.

The ‘Pharos’ policy won support in most of Italy, where the combined threat of suddenly Protestant powerful neighbours brought the Papal alliance members even closer. But in other European courts the reaction was less welcoming. The Portuguese House especially saw the Papal policy as verging heresy and revoked their ambassador from Rome; relationships with other Catholic powers cooled down as well but to a lesser degree. The fact that throughout his reign Urbanus VII, despite pleas and demands, refused to convene a council no less than five times did not help to ease the strain. There was fear Catholicism might split into two fractions: Unites and Disunites.

Towards the end of his pontificate Urbanus VII resided in Constantinople, visiting Rome on rare occasions. Clearly, the Pope’s focus was on the matters of the East. In 1561 in the Kurdish province of Van a semi-independent Patriarchate was created. The state was deemed to be a buffer against the Muslims further East and as a missionary centre for Catholic expansion. This created tension with Muslim neighbours, while the Porte and the Mameluks could be largely ignored, the powerful Quara Koynulu posed a real threat. (as you see I try to find a ‘story’ for my somewhat pushed eastwards Papacy; the ‘force Sunnis to convert’ goes well with this policy; even though it might be considered a bit overpowered imo, the way I’m shaping my country I feel fully entitled to enact it; the House of High Lords: I’ve been through it in my Navarre game, here I enacted it for the immediate benefits: infamy and decentralisation, although I do realise it can become a costly luxury item down the road; the Portugal’s case is intriguing: at one point all its Europeans provs turned Protestant but the country for decades remained Catholic, now I think I owe it to its extensive colonial holdings; as for Van I just couldn’t come up with a better solution, I don’t want to mess with QK, national focus in Thrace will hopefully speed up its conversion, I should have done it earlier, as you see the heathen uprising proves the process of reshaping United Catholicism was far from peaceful)

Last Convulsions? (3 March 1565 - ???)​

The war between the Ottomans and the Knights of Saint John alliance was a long-drawn-out affair. The Porte was like a wounded beast that just would not die. Trebizond dropped out of the war first, then Hedjaz decided it had had enough. The Ottoman Empire survived an Orthodox uprising and despite Austria’s and Spain’s involvement it more than once showed it could bite. However, fragmented by the Papacy in the previous Crusade, it just could not protect its scattered bits. Davud I organised a masterful resistance in the Balkan provinces but Athens and the territories in Anatolia were slowly taken by Christians. In March 1561 the Sultan had to admit defeat. Urbanus VII mediated in the peace talks and the terms though might seem lenient carried out the Pope’s long-term plan. The Porte lost land to its seemingly the weakest enemy and Davud I might hope for this loss to be reverted. Urbanus VII made sure the Turks were further ousted of Anatolia and their new capital was completely surrendered by Catholic powers, making it an easy target in case of any future conflict, which all parties realised was inevitable. (it seems OE AI still gets a lot of hidden help; I’m glad I’d fragmented it in the long Crusade, otherwise it might have wiggled out (my rebels from Van disrupted them a bit too); the outcome proves the choice of alliance leader matters, a lot; you can clearly see Bosnia was the only member of the anti-OE coalition who was losing the war; I know Greece will sooner or later tempt either Venice or Naples so I send an insult their way, sadly the conflict there will put me at odds with the Knights and I had already built two new priories: Alexandria and Cyprus)

What made Davud I launch another war even before the Porte managed to lick its wounds is beyond comprehension. Nevertheless it enabled Urbanus VII to pursue his ‘Pharos’ plan with full force. It did not matter much that Serbians were disunite Orthodox, as were Russians, or that all the other member of the coalition, which rushed to Serbia’s help were Protestant. Urbanus VII gave an inspiring speech on the need of Unity within Christianity and called Papal allies to stand up to the Ottoman aggression. The war was very dynamic as Duvad I proved a skilful commander but time and numbers were against him.

On the day of Urbanus VII’s death, which tellingly happened in Constantinople, the war had been clearly won and the peace talks were under way. However, the death of this unlikely yet surprisingly capable Pope brought up other issues to the fore and the negotiations with the Porte had to be suspended. The Curia faced a difficult task how to react to the late Urbanus VII’s policies; especially his neglect of Rome, his indifference to the rise of Protestantism and his visionary schemes in the East. (HttT casus belli system again opened a window of opportunity here; when I said Davud I proved a capable commander I meant it, he marched a 20-odd regiment across the Balkans, OE AI should never be underestimated, I had to manoeuvre my troops so that I could face him in joint battles, together with my allies, Asian territories proved easier to secure; no pics of the war progress either but all in all it wasn’t that dramatic; out of my allies Genoa turned out lazy and Ferrara surprisingly eager and helpful; sadly QK is the alliance leader (and sent some regiments to Levant1) I won’t edit this as I feel I’d done too much of it in this reign; this means no separate peaces for my allies; QK can still reach me even though I dis-allied my buffer AK before declaring the war, all the others OE allies are equally distant and inconsequential)

The East at the death of Urbanus VII​

Treasury / yearly income: 1104d / 16.63 (I lose money monthly, no war subsidies, full military maintenance)
Merchants: 4 in Thrace: 13.47/283.82 and 4 in Alexandria: 17.82/374.61 (huge drop)
Fleet: 12: 7 galleys, 5 cogs
Army: 22k Reformed tercio; 7k Gallop cavalry (attritioned to 18.4 and 6.0 respectively)
Manpower / discipline: 21.118 / 114.80%
Army / navy tradition: 37.50% / 0.00%
Prestige: 98
Stability: +3
Infamy: 6.03/22.50 (Urbanus VII was a 8 DIP Pope, I’ve had a 3-star diplomat for 6 years too)
War exhaustion: 0.96/28

 

[dinofs]

Well done! The Ottomans can be a nasty foe, but at this point they're practically on their deathbed. Try to release the land they have in the Balkans to help finish them off!

 

[blsteen]

Well done with the defeat of the Otto's, nice to see the Protestants picking up speed

 

[loki100]

this really does reinforce the eastward tilt of the papacy, looks like Constantinople maybe on its way to being the new even newer Rome (this gets too confusing to actually work out how new this would be). Those events in England sound dramatic and, as with the other comments, you've done a really neat job on the Ottomans

 

[Chris Taylor]

I love the Pharos policy; seems plausible and realistic for a church that suddenly has to integrate tons of new believers from a different tradition at the same time that it is losing its grip on its traditional strongholds. A Catholicism that is losing central and western Europe has to do a little bit more marketing to make itself palatable to the East, whereas if the Reformation had been roflstomped in the early going, the church might have felt secure enough to go the brute-force Inquisition route instead.

This purification meant in fact a kind of mixture of the subjugated Orthodox and Eastern traditions and rites with the pre-Reformation Catholicism. It had happened imperceptibly but through Union the Eastern traditions interpenetrated with and reshaped the Catholicism of the Papal States. As it often happens the superior and attractive culture of the subdued had such an appeal that triumphed over the subduer.

Graecia capta ferum victorem cepit.

I am also suitably impressed by the performance of the Protestant rebels in England. It is a shame that the "moral fibre" spawns can't be limited to AI defence against France/Scotland invasions in the early game and then dispensed with from 1500 onward. The Netherlands forming in Calais might short-circuit the Austrian Dutch revolt events; I hope not.

And what wouldn't I give for a king with stats like Phillip or William IV.

Good thing you didn't get involved in that 1555 Ottoman conflict, or you would have been hosed by the Mameluks! A rather Providential twist of fate.