The work of restoring the borders of the old Empire continues, whilst expanding the new Empire as well.
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Did I miss something?
How do you manage to have both, the Homebound and the World Empire Missions active?
How do you manage to have both, the Homebound and the World Empire Missions active?
I've got all the missions unlocked for this AAR via a workshop mod
Oh how nice, I unlocked Homeward Ambitions and basically took all of south america thatnks to easyly taking the colonial nations of the enemy before I even got any claims, now I kinda regret taking that one and not heir of Justinian (which I almost finished without the missions), nor the World empire (which I am already ^^)
So which additional mod are you using to unlock all the missions. I have always wanted to complete the roman empire path and build the agia theotoke together.
The mod is simply called Third Odyssey: All Missions and it basically just unlocks all the missions for mid to late game. All other mods that I'am using for this mod are included on the OP.
The Elysian juggernaut continues to roll across the world, crushing all in its path.
Securing Anatolia will certainly help with the Empire's security, contracting a long border with a suddenly-hostile rival. A shame the Tsars had to turn like that, but I suppose they couldn't keep up the pretense of the "Third Rome" while someone else held onto the Imperial mantle.
The Elysian South China Company will be worth keeping an eye on, to see how far their power and influence spreads. Out of curiosity, are there any events (whether chained or solitary) where the Elysians can send their own missionaries to China, a la the Jesuits?
Securing Anatolia will certainly help with the Empire's security, contracting a long border with a suddenly-hostile rival. A shame the Tsars had to turn like that, but I suppose they couldn't keep up the pretense of the "Third Rome" while someone else held onto the Imperial mantle.
The Elysian South China Company will be worth keeping an eye on, to see how far their power and influence spreads. Out of curiosity, are there any events (whether chained or solitary) where the Elysians can send their own missionaries to China, a la the Jesuits?
From what I understand, there are no official events between Elysian and Chinese interactions. Any events that are "created" would likely just be written by me for the AAR, and likely result in some interesting fantasy ideas
Anatolia is a massive pain to conquer, but its easily the most important region that has been taken in Europe thus far, even more so then Iberia. It will play a significant role in future chapters.
Do you happen to have link to this all missions version of the mod. Or is it just the normal mod itself. Because i have never been able to achieve two paths at once.
Chapter 38: The Emerald Isle (1621-1625)
(It's on the workshop. Just search up Third Odyssey and it should be there, I can't link the mod on here but I can tell you where it is. Hope it helps)
(Authors note: Slight console modifications to the game have been used in this chapter simply for realism, and for the sake of good borders!)
Chapter 38: The Emerald Isle (1621-1625)
With the balance of power turning away from Elysia in the matters of European affairs, the Empire still maintained an incredibly strong hold within its exarchs. The hostility between Russia and Elysia had left the Empire with no ally in Eastern Europe, and what was once a friendship between the two Orthodox nations had turned into a violent rivalry. Russia feared an Elysian hegemony in the Black Sea and the East, while Elysia had grown fearful of Russian hegemony in Eastern Europe. Theological disputes would tear the Orthodox world into two, as Traditional orthodoxy and Elysian orthodoxy was a notable cause of separation that only fueled this hatred.
European Orthodoxy had been the traditional faith of the East, and had experienced plenty of problems during its long history. Largely led by the Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople, the Orthodox world was largely centered around the Eastern Roman Empire and the Slavic states of the north, where they would frequently enter conflict with the Latins and the Islamic realms. When the Romans had left Constantinople and their dying Empire behind for their grand odyssey, they took their faith along with them, leaving the Russian states as the de-facto leaders of the Orthodox world in the Old World.
When Elysia had rediscovered Europe and the rest of the Old World, it had shocked the entirety of the Old World. The Romans of the Odyssey had not just survived their perilous journey, but had thrived in the new world, and their faith had changed alongside with the former Romans. After the Conquest of Hellas and the reclamation of Constantinople, the Elysians would controversially turned the former Patriarchate into a new one with the ambitious goal of unifying the Orthodox world into a single church. As Orthodox nations would convert to the new church, Russia notably refused and re purposed European Orthodoxy into Russian Orthodoxy, with their Eccumencial Patriarch now located in Moscow. Elysia and the remainder of the Orthodox world would refer to the Russian church as the ‘Old Believers’, while the Empire and the Orthodox world would proudly hold their heads up high with the dream to unify Christendom. While it felt like an ambitious and increasingly unrealistic dream due to the newfound dominance of Catholicism, it was still a dream that was worth dreaming.
With the absence of the Russians in the alliance, the Empire would turn Imperial diplomacy towards a new direction. In an unlikely place, the Empire would offer an alliance to the African realm of Ethiopia. Referring to the realm as Abyssinia, the Christian realm was perhaps the most powerful state in all of Africa economically. Fortune had been smiling on Ethiopia as of recently, as Ethiopia had been taking advantage of the political turmoil in Egypt and retaking territory that had been lost for many centuries.
When Imperial ambassadors and diplomats would offer a hand of friendship to the Coptic realm, it would surprise the Elysians with the incredibly warm hospitality they would receive from Ethiopia. Elysia would bring gifts to their Emperors and offer an alliance, to which the Emperor seemed to enthusiastically agree upon. From the loss of a friend in the north, Elysia had gained a new one in the south.
Military reorganization would take place merely weeks after the conclusion of the war against Russia, with the Empire overseeing much of the organisation. Notably, Emperor Basil did not oversee this organisation due to a general disliking of military organisation, and left the task to the Military council. As firearms had become more and more common in the Imperial army, it had become more and more cost effective to supply the Themas with Elysian-built weaponry.
The infantry was reorganized into Battalions of lightly-armored soldiers armed with muskets and harquebusses, which made them extremely proficient as a skirmish force, but could be careful against enemy horsemen and pikemen. While the introduction of a lighter, mobile cannon enabled Elysians to maneuver their artillery to meet the movements of the enemy and give them a distinct tactical advantage against their foes. Unfortunately, the new design of artillery was highly impractical due to components that made the cannon overheat dangerously during continuous use. Regardless of such a weakness, the military council and the introduction of this new design marked the development of light field artillery and bringing the concept of heavy firepower to the enemy.
In the time of the Empire reaching new heights, a notable change had occurred during Emperor Basil’s reign that promoted the value of humanist ideas. Having developed during the Renaissance in Europe, the philosophical and ethical thinking that came along with it was becoming more and more valued by the Empire. As Elysia had always enjoyed a more liberal stance in law and politics than their European counterparts, the Empire started to diverge from classical Imperial law severely.
After centuries as a subject state of the Empire, the Kingdom of Kykladia had grown from the small realm of Creta Minor in an isolated sea into a tropical paradise that ruled over an increasingly prosperous archipelago. Enjoying their independence from the mainland due to the inability to implement an effective centralized government, the ruling Nostras dynasty and several leaders of the Imperial Palaiologos dynasty would together make an important meeting in Nea Syracuse on February 16th 1621.
On this momentous day, Despot Constantine II Nostras and Emperor Basil I Pailailogus would announce that the crown of Kykladia would formally become incorporated into the Empire. The reaction among Kykladian commoners was that of jubilation, and celebrations were organised for the next week as the tropical realm was annexed into the greater Empire. The Nostras dynasty, while no longer a ruling house of the realm, would retain their great influence in Kykladia and become regional rulers. Several major cities in Kykladia would immediately join the Senate, and Imperial rule had expanded from the north from Thorfinn Bay to the Kykladies and the edge of Retoria.
With several Kykladian settlements having been inherited on several sides, the Kykladian settlers in Retoria felt compromised in multiple fronts due to French Columbia’s settlement surrounding them. The Empire and French Columbia would enter talks for an exchange between the two realms, and the two would meet in Panama. Elysia would cede all former Kykladian territory to French Columbia up until the dangerous Darien Gap, and in exchange, grant monetary concessions.
Before talks would go through, the Emperor would speak to the Senate about this decision. While some would question this decision within the senate, along with the bureaucratic process of moving the Kykladian settlers around from their former homes, Emperor Basil would prove to provide his reason behind the relocation of the Retorian Kykladians. It was largely as to grant the Empire with strong defensive territory in Panama, speaking his mind in saying that the Empire would be in a much better position to defend these new territories then isolated and landlocked ones in the event of a war with Retorian states.
Representatives of French Columbia would agree to this proposal with Elysia and would come to an agreement. As the Empire prepared to relocate its subjects, Elysia would start to make good relations between the Catholic Columbia and the Protestant French homeland.
The incorporation of Kykladia into the Empire was seen as a giant step towards Imperial hegemony over their home continent. This would only leave the Empire with only the southern realm of Spartania to pose a threat to complete Imperial domination on the Elysian continent. Vinland was hardly a blimp on a radar anymore, and once all of Vinland was to bend the knee to the Empire, the south was next..
The former Kykladian Patriarchate petitioned for patriarchate status for the entire archipelago from their location on Nede. As they had already previously been a Patriarchate, they were easily integrated to the growing patriarchate and the Imperial bureaucracy that overseen the transition for the Patriarchate.
The Kykladian Islands, a tropical and exotic paradise that not even its own people had fully discovered, had undergone a dramatic shift within the recent decades from a cultural standpoint. From their unique adopting of some of the customs of the native Taino, to their form of nature and ancestor worship, the Kykladians were a unique and completely loyal people who proudly served the Empire. For the first time, a Kykladian commoner could look towards the future with a sense of hope. In the times past, they had grown from a small island into a great kingdom. From their origins in the Odyssey, they were split apart during the Great Storm. For the first time, as a people, they were now well and truly home.
With the political sensitivity that was occuring in Europe, the Empire turned towards another means to secure a political alliance. Both Russia and the Commonwealth had hostile relationships with the Elysians, but one former enemy would make ties with the Elysians, and it would come from an unlikely place.
Austria would come to surprise the Elysians with the offer of an alliance at the same time that the Habsburg realms were being visited by Elysian diplomats. While both parties were incredibly hesitant, they would both come to an agreement about common goals against their rivals. With the Elysians becoming less and less interested in the West, the Holy Roman Emperor was interested with securing a reliable ally that would secure his southern and eastern territories. Both Elysia and Austria would sign an alliance, and the power dynamics of Europe would change overnight as a result.
Almost two centuries of expansion, through diplomatic and militaristic means, had led to the dominance of Christendom among the continent of Elysium. Eager missionaries had tirelessly worked to promote the true faith, and the dual swords of Emperor and Church had made the faith of the Romans into what it was today. Elysia would sail across the great Atlantic with their faith, and return with an entirely new form of it. From Thorfinn Bay to Panama, Elysian Orthodoxy had reigned supreme.
The Mamluk Sultanate had been plagued with unrest for many years, ravaged by turmoil and uncertainty. From a realm that once was able to claim dominion over the Arab world, the dreams that carried the Mamluks to supremacy were now unfolding. Khusqadam II had made powerful enemies among the aristocracy, and the Sultanate was falling into Civil War among with what was left of the Sultanate. From the envy of the Islamic world, the Mamluks were now its laughing stock.
In China, the Ming Dynasty had been crumbling for the past few decades. A succession of relatively weak and disconnected emperors had neglected China as they retreated away from worldly affairs. Following the Dynasty’s founding centuries ago, the Ming had won China back from the Mongolian-led Yuan dynasty, and were largely complacent in safeguarding the West and Northern frontiers. But the real danger to the dynasty did not come outside of China but from within.
Irresponsible and incompetent Emperors were seen as an important factor to this unrest, but rampant corruption among government officials and a failing economy was making the matter worse. As the economy neared the verge of bankruptcy, soldiers were severely undercompensated. A shifting climate had caused devastating floods among the Yellow River, drowning livestock and people alike. Famine would then run rampant, and peasantry would start taking up arms against the extremely corrupt government that seemed to listen but never care about their own people.
Such conditions were so bad that the Emperor had lost all legitimacy and the Mandate of Heaven, and the smallest separatist movement had the potential to cause a civil war that could destroy the Ming. Elysia would watch the unrest in China with great interest safely from the merchant island of Taiwan, interested in how the matter would unfold in China.
The civil war that had unfolded in the Mamluk Sultanate seemed to be the final nail in the coffin for the reign of Khusqadam II, and the realm had simply shattered to a degree. The Sultanate would completely lose all control of their Arabian territories, and the Mamluks would only retain control of Egypt and the Levant proper. Left as a fraction of their former strength, the shattered state would be vulnerable for the time being.
Notia Edafi would see the first wave of Elysian settlement take place during this time. While Australia was seen as a more hostile and barren place to settle with, Notia Edafi would be completely different due to the more lush environment and climate in comparison. Notia Edafi would be settled as a civilian colony in comparison to Australia being a mixed citizen and penal colony. Interestingly, Liaisons were incredibly effective in the settlement of the northern island, especially among establishing a relationship with the natives of the region, the Maori.
Due to the sheer distance between the mainland and the islands, Elysian settlers were largely left on their own upon arrival. Notia Edafi’s sheer distance and geographic location away from Australia and Elysium allowed Notia Edafi to gain a reputation as the ‘end of the world’ within the southern hemisphere.
After a period of colonisation, Elysian Australia had grown large enough to establish its own administration. Along the eastern portion of the large colony, the government established its capital in the south surrounded by a large bay. A former banker from Hesperidia, Konstantinos Argyros, would become the first governor of Australia.
Over thousands of miles of land, all settlements were located close to the coastline, the population was little more than over the tens of thousands after two decades of settlement. The capital held over thirty percent of the population upon the foundation of the colonial government. Despite its reputation as ‘Hell on earth’, Australia would provide Elysia with plenty of strong and powerful figures in its optimistic future.
Konstantinos Argyros, the first Governor of Australia. (1578-1647)
Nearby the important city of Antioch was a single state, an Islamic sultanate that recognized itself as the legitimate successor of Syria. Despite only holding the large city of Aleppo, the Syrian successor state had strong claims on the entirety of the region. It was something that Elysia would not allow, and war would be declared to conquer Aleppo. Should the city be taken, it would leave Elysia in an incredibly strong position for future campaigns along the Levant, and helped reinforce Constantinia’s hold along Anatolia.
From what was expected to be a fight, the reality was completely different. Elysian soldiers would barely encounter a fight, and the entire Syrian army would be annihilated under the leadership of Thomas Gabras. From there, the Empire would need to deal with Syrian allies, where resistance would be much more organised.
Anatolia, once the Turkish heartland, was almost completely under Imperial rule. Decades of conquests had left a strong impact on the political and cultural landscape of the realm, resulting in an Hellenified West and a Turkish and Armenian East. Surrounded on all sides, the once great power that was the Ottoman Empire had fallen into a dying shadow of its former self. From the master of the East, it had been pushed back and isolated.
The Ottoman Empire was now where the story of Turkish greatness and prestige had begun, Rum. Fate had a sick sense of humor, as centuries ago, they threatened the Romans with destruction by conquering Constantinople and Hellas. Now, the children of Rome were about to finish the job.
The conquest of Aleppo would come, and Elysia would easily conquer the city and put an end to Syrian ambitions. While suffering an armed resistance to the Kurds, Elysia dedicated all efforts into conquering Aleppo and making peace with the Kurds. With Aleppo taken, Elysia planned for an ambitious campaign of the Levant, bringing the full might of the Empire down onto the necks of the Mamluks.
In the previous decades, a Turkish majority had ruled over Anatolia. Now, decades later, Hellenic rule was slowly being restored over Anatolia. Tensions between both ethnic groups had remained high due to Imperial-led campaigns of Hellenic resettlement and a Turkish diaspora from the heavy-handed approach to the situation. Many Turks had simply assimilated overtime, but many would go on and provide the Empire with plenty of problems, including a previous revolt against Imperial rule. The damage was already done, and Turks from across Anatolia were now leaving the region to settle into new lives.
The rebuilding of Nea Pontus had commenced since the conquest of the city, but legacy of Vinóss still remained. Many of the once iconic Vinlandic buildings were becoming ruins, filled with nothing more then beggars, rats and overgrown flora. The destruction of Vinóss and the currently ruined state of the new city could be considered a representation of the once proud realm.
The once mighty whalebone palace, the Hvulwkiethi Kethsstala, the very symbol of Vinlandic nobility and power was nothing more than a burnt out ruin. The port city and nearby district, the Mekilt Hufr, had become a nest of corruption and violence and a shelter for thugs and the homeless. But perhaps the most devastating loss was the destruction of the Irminsul, considered a pagan shrine and the symbolic representation of the Norse faith. With its destruction, the former shrine had been left into decay and the spirit of the north were broken.
With the Empire focusing on consolidating its Pacific territories along the Atlantic, Elysian might and prestige could be felt across an entire continent. Yet at the same time, Elysia still had a very long way to go. There was an entire world that Elysia available to the Empire, and it was time that Elysia decided to leave its mark on it...
And so Vinland is all but dead - I'm looking forward to the conquest of Spartania and how they have been doing this whole time.
Chapter 39: The Tenth Crusade (1625-1630)
Chapter 39: The Tenth Crusade (1625-1630)
After the festivities of Christmas, Eastern Europe and the Near East would be reshaped by the neighboring powers around them. Despite the season of festivities and joy, the Empire had ceaselessly worked to strengthen their exarchs and to establish a Pax Elysia in the Eastern World. From the mountainous lands of Hellas to the ancient cities of the Levant, order and stability had come to lands that had been suffering under the subjugation of tyrants or were divided among warlords. As the Empire conquered new lands, the new citizens had found that the newfound stability had come at the cost of living under new laws, government, and were under threat from constant warfare.
The Pax Elysia, known as the Imperial Peace, was something that was promoted but was not found. The Empire was frequently at war with neighboring powers, from isolated warlord states to the great powers of Europe, or even all at once. This was done in order to establish a long-lasting peace at the cost of changing the power dynamic of an entire continent, and with the cost of the Empire’s own humanity. Some expected that this Pax Elysia would not be immediate, despite the end of the many wars the Empire had fought.
Emperor Basil, now having become an increasingly frail and elderly man, faced a problem of making peace as an acceptable mode of life for all Elysians and her exarchs. The Empire had been at war with one power or another continuously for nearly two centuries. Like the Romans before them, the Elysians regarded peace not as an absence of war but a rare situation that existed when all of her enemies had been defeated and lost the ability to resist. The Emperor believed that, once order had been established in Europe, only then would a true Pax Elysium be established.
After decades of service under the Empire, the ‘Balkan Shield’ would be integrated into the Exarchate of Constantina. Full civil rights would be granted to Albanian, Serbians and Bulgarian for their long-term commitment and would become recognised and accepted ethnicities. Croatians and Bosnians would, due to being under the heel of the Habsburgs and under the Ragusan Republic, not be included.
The integration would serve to boost Constantina’s economy and their defenses in the Balkans, and would secure a safer area of control within the Balkans. In time, should the Habsburgs act disloyal to the Elysians, the Empire had made their eyes to secure the Northern Balkans and seize Bosnia and Croatia from the Austrian Emperors.
As Elysia had remained concentrated among European affairs, frightening news would come from the former Persian states. For the first time since the Muslim conquests of the region in the seventh century, a new and powerful Persian Empire would emerge. United by one of the descendants of Timur, this Persia would adopt Shia Islam as the official state religion, something that would be seen as a turning point in Islamic history.
Almost immediately, Persia was working to consolidate their new Empire from opposing threats. New territories were being integrated into the administration, the Shia faith was aggressively promoted and the new Persian Shahanshah was redesigning his as a Feudal Theocratic state, blending Imperial and Church rule into one. Like the Persian realms before them, the Elysians expected this Persia to be a dangerous regional threat that should be treated with caution with all interactions.
With the wealthy city of Aleppo seized from the tiny Syrian state, the Empire had been planning for years about a military campaign to seize the Levant. With the decline of the Mamluks, the Sultanate had been weakened by inner turmoil and simply didn’t have the finances to raise and maintain a sizable military. In comparison to the Elysian Thema’s positioned around the Mediterranean alone, the Egyptians had simply nothing to hold the region yet alone from their own rebels and opportunists.
The Empire’s main focus was to seize the important city of Damascus, but none could deny about the opportunity of seizing the Holy City itself, Jerusalem. Everything from Antioch to Ascalon was to be taken under the Imperial banner and that of Christendom itself. This was to be not just a simple war of conquest, but a Holy War in its own right. It was to be a Crusade against the Saracen, and on November 11th 1625, the Tenth Crusade would begin.
In just two weeks, the Imperial Army would make rapid pace along the dusty landscape and seize everything to Damascus. As soon as they made it to the walls of Damascus, it would become apparent that no Muhammadian force would approach the Elysians, leaving the Imperial army confused. Some would question if they would even experience any armed combat at all, and some of the more zealous soldiers quickly entered prayer and gave thanks to God.
Attrition would consist as a problem, as it had always been something that the Empire had suffered against. While not experiencing any professional Mamluk military response to the Crusade, Muslim civilians would harass the Elysians as much as possible. Some would burn their own crops to starve the armies out, poison water supplies, or simply scream and curse at them. As this did seem to have an effect on the Elysian army, as some men would die from the weather, the Empire would make a more aggressive approach in making their campaign. The Military Council of the campaign would order an assault on Damascus, with the intent of breaking Muslim lines and wishing to seize Jerusalem as soon as possible.
Damascus, after experiencing a month of siege, would last mere hours during the assault. With the capture of the important city, the Empire would march south towards Jerusalem at incredible speed, covering a tremendous amount of distance due to smaller yet more mobile units. Should an enemy force enter Jerusalem, it would leave the Empire in a more difficult position to assault the city.
Coffee, a drink associated with the Muslim world, had become more and more commonplace among Christians in Europe. In an increasingly connected world, acquiring coffee was no longer as difficult as it used to be. Largely as a result, coffeehouses are being established in Europe and exotic beans were more and more in demand.
This would also include Elysium and Retoria. Coffee was becoming more and more in demand to cope with the cold winters in Vinland and Northern Elysia, and the tropical forests of French Columbia and Brazil were the perfect place to produce the exotic beans, as well as the more dense tropical regions of Spartania. The drink would become popular among the Elysian aristocracy, and it was incredibly popular among the Imperial Family where more than one member would proclaim their love for the drink.
Andronikos I Palaiologos. Formerly the Prince of Hespredia, Andronikos was fascinated with the cultures of Asia.
Life around the capital and the Empire at large would come to an abrupt stop on June 1st 1626. Emperor Basil I, Emperor of the Elysian Empire, would pass away at the age of sixty six from natural causes. As the Empire would enter a period of three days of mourning, Basil was be the father of eight children, most of whom were well into adulthood and held their own titles within the Empire such as Doukas and Doukissa. Only one of the eight children of Basil would succeed him and sit upon the throne as Emperor, his eldest son Andronikos.
From the beginning of the century, the Ming Dynasty had been in decline. The largest and most powerful state of its era, the Ming would crumble under an economic collapse, administrative mismanagement, famine caused by a shifting climate and rampant corruption. With an underpaid army, the military was openly defecting to the rebel cause and outside realms took the opportunity to cause chaos. With the dying dynasty, the end of the Ming was in sight.
Shortly after the ascension of Emperor Andronikos, Elysian soldiers had captured Jerusalem on June 15th 1626. There was no resistance among its inhabitants and the birthplace of Christianity was captured. It was a blessed day that would go down in history forever. The Pope and the rest of the Christian world would envy Elysian success, for where him and his catholic legions had failed over and over, the Orthodox Thema had succeeded.
Elysian commanders, under the order of Emperor Andronikos, would immediately spend the rest of the campaign restoring the holy city to its status as the centre of Christianity while the rest of the Levant would be seized. All Muslim in the city would be thrown out of the city, and their homes would be sacked along with sacred sites dedicated to the false prophet. Throughout the city, some opposition had arisen to the desecration of such places but were easily resolved with force. The Emperor would order that the Jewish regions of Jerusalem was to be untouched, for Andronikos had his own desires for them
The entire Muslim quarter of the city would be burnt, and all places of worship was to be destroyed. The Al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock, sacred temples among the Islamic world, would be completely destroyed. The Islamic World would recoil in horror as the Elysians ransacked their quarter of the holy city, and the burning of some of the faiths most sacred places was an unforgivable insult to the faith. Despite the horror that occurred, the Elysians were incredibly vengeful towards Islam during the campaign, making some question and noting the hypocrisy the Elysians had about the means of embracing the peaceful humanist teachings it had only recently adopted.
With not a single army in sight, the Mamluk Sultanate would be forced to surrender to the Elysians only a month after Jerusalem was liberated from the Egyptians. It was an incredibly punishing treaty among the Muslims, as virtually the entirety of the Levant was taken and kept under Elysian control. While the Sultanate would retain the Sinai and small portion of Arabia, their internal problems and lack of strength had made a reconquest of the region virtually impossible as long as Elysia maintained a presence in the holy lands.
The Levant would be returned under Christian control for the first time in centuries, and all but a few important territories across the region would be under the imperial banner. Due to the religious makeup of the region, the Levant had been overwhelmingly Muslim for centuries and had lost some of its Jewish and Christian roots. Even with the full backing of the Church, it would still take many years to re-introduce the true faith as a majority religion in the Levant. With the backing of the entire Elysian Orthodox church, the most sacred areas was to experience extensive missionary work, with the holy land becoming a primary focus.
After the weeks following the conquest, the administration of the new area was centralized under a new Elysian Exarchate. Syria et Palaestina would be founded on July 28th 1626, where the new exarch would include much of the land taken from the Sassanian Empire at the Roman Empire’s greatest extent, as well as the large urbanized cities of the Levant. With the area being retaken by Elysia, the area would be ruled by an Elysian-led Syrian exarch in cooperation with the ruling elite
Unsurprisingly, the Persians had openly announced the Elysian Empire as their rival within the Near East and an enemy of the Islamic faith. While nowhere near as powerful as the Elysians they had declared their hatred against, Persia did pose a serious threat to regional interests, especially due to the establishment of a new exarch that haven't been completely integrated into the new administration yet.
Among the lands of Asia was an archipelago, which despite having been explored by the Empire for several decades now, had never seen any real serious settlement attempted by the Elysians. Largely populated by established realms in the area, the region had never interested Elysia as much as the lands of Australia and Taiwan did. With these lands under the Empire, the Empire had turned towards the spice islands.
The Elysians had believed that they had discovered Maniolas, a name used by Ptolemy to refer to a group of islands to the south of China, along with another island known to the Empire as Baroussai. Explorers would speak that that the country was recorded to Ptolemy's maps when a sailor named Hippalus had told him the existence of "beautiful islands" in southeastern Far East. While it was not the true name of the island, the name had stuck among the explorers and Imperial settlement of Maniolas would start to begin.
On the borderlands of Syria et Palaestina, a neighbouring warlord state known as the Fadl were conquered and incorporated into the exarch. Ruled by a group of Arabian nobility known as the Sauds, they were crushed under Imperial might.
Despite having lost almost everything within the previous couple of decades, the pirates of Vinland were still conducting raiding operations along the Elysian coastline. Previously kept dormant for years, the Empire was both enraged and amused that the Althing still had the tenacity to maintain continued hostility. With this raid however, it would be the largest of its kind within a generation, and the Empire was eager to soak the frozen north with the blood of the foolish Vinlandic people.
As religious efforts proceeded in Syria et Palaestina, some regions were adapting to the true faith better than other states. The significance of Jerusalem once again being under the banner of the Empire helped accelerate this growing process, as the willing and the brave started to embrace Christianity.
With Islamic dominance of the Levant after many many centuries, Muslims across the region were not ready to accept Elysian political and religious supremacy by peaceful means and erupted into open rebellion. A Jihad was launched among the Levant by the zealous and the completely fanatical, targeting any Christian ‘crusader’ they seen.
In response, the Empire would respond with just as much zeal as the Jihadists and prove the Muhammadians with the might of Imperial steel. The Jihad would be put down with extreme force and almost instantly, where thousands of zealots would be massacred by the Imperial army. Husayn Nasuh, one of the pivotal leaders of this Jihad against Elysian rule, would be captured after the Battle of Sayda and executed in Damascus, where the central position of the large city was being selected as the Exarch’s capital.
In the campaign to consolidate the remainder of the Levant and secure it within Imperial rule, the Empire organised a campaign against the Anizah to conquer Transjordan from them. While investigating the tribe, the Empire would make a surprising breakthrough that the Ottoman Empire had signed an alliance with them, providing Elysia with the ability to kill two birds with one stone. With one half of the Imperial army surrounding the Ottoman lands, and the other positioned close to the Jordan river, the Empire declared war on March 21st 1628.
In what would become the final battle that the Ottoman Empire would ever face, the Turkish forces were wiped out to the last man and completely humiliated. With the completely annihilation of the once fearsome Ottoman army, all that the Empire had to do was to seize their capital.
With an Anizah army failing to break through the Elysian assault, it had left their defenses open. Unfortunately suffering heavy losses during an attempt to relieve the siege of Kerak castle, it had left the Empire to concentrate on breaking the defense of the enemy. Unexpectedly, Kerak would put up much more of a resistance then initially thought due to an well-supplied and entrenched enemy, leaving the siege to last much much longer then expected
After decades of siege, the breakthrough on the Siege of Amasya would occur on the sixty ninth day. It’s fall to Elysia would send shock waves across the entire Islamic world, and would signal the complete end of Turkish and Islamic rule in Anatolia. No longer would the Turkish menace ever threaten Christian Europe again, and not longer would they pose a threat to the people of Anatolia. The Elysian Empire and her Exarchs now stood as the undisputed power in the East.
The Ottoman Empire was over.
With new developments within metalwork and glassmaking, more refined scientific instruments were being created that magnify the incredibly distant and the incredibly small. These would prove invaluable to the Empire’s astronomers and natural philosophers, and chemists had began to hone their craft with more complex tools. This recent breakthrough had given Elysian Empire an incredible edge in the production of the scientific equipment, and intelecturals across the Empire eagerly awaited the discoveries that could now be made possible.
After a lengthy siege, the defenders of Al Karak surrendered after succumbing to hunger and disease. The defenders of the castle would surrender to Imperial forces and become prisoners of war, while the Empire would take the castle and the area around it.
The conclusion of the siege of Al Karak would be what was needed to enforce a surrender of Anizah, and the war would come to a decisive conclusion. The remainder of Transjordan would be seized by the Empire, where only the Mamlukean held southwest of the country would be safe due to the truce between Elysia an the Sultanate.
After months of preparation and negotiating with the natives, Elysian settlement of Maniolas arrived on the eastern portion of the Island. At first the interactions between the peoples of the archipelago were dealt with by diplomatic means, largely by Liaison interactions and native curiosity. After several months on the island, once the Empire had established the a foothold among the archipelago, the Empire seemed interested in granting decentralized rule to the island or conquering the region outright.
Christianity would spread among the island through the territories that the Empire held an influence over. Through interaction with one of the many tribes in the region, one of the Elysian settlers was able to cure the son of an influential tribal chief. In gratitude, the tribal chief and his entire village would convert to Elysian Orthodoxy. The Empire had seemed interested in the spice trade among the islands, and once that should be secured, the financial gain from Asian trade would finance religious missions among the region.
After years of chaos in China, the Ming Dynasty would completely collapse following the capture of Beijing by rebel forces. On August 5th 1628, the Ming would completely shatter and new warlord realms would appear overnight. The Mandate of Heaven was now available to anyone who could unite China, and new violent period in the long history of China was about to take place. The Second Warring States period had begun.
Within Vienna, the Habsburg Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire had implemented more of their reforms to centralise Imperial rule. The Ewiger Landfriede, one of many Imperial reforms, declared that member states were forced to solve their disputes in courts of law rather than a battlefield. This would make all internal warfare among the member states of the Empire come to a complete stop, only strengthening Austrian authority even further.
After decades of Imperial rule, Elysia had claimed the entirety of the Pacific Islands under Imperial Rule. The Mare Nostrum of the Pacific, as incredible of a feat that it was, was not completed. It did however, bring a new meaning to the Elysian meaning of ‘Our Sea’.
With the destruction of the Ottoman Empire and all of Anatolia restored to Hellenic-Elysian rule, the Empire had re-established the Theme System. The Empire had recovered from the brink of destruction, and many called for the reestablishment of the old Imperial administrative system to ensure that this would never happen again. Greek naming would be restored across all of Anatolia, all the while Hellenic rule would be cemented along Anatolia during the process of Hellenization in Anatolia.
After the festivities of Christmas, Eastern Europe and the Near East would be reshaped by the neighboring powers around them. Despite the season of festivities and joy, the Empire had ceaselessly worked to strengthen their exarchs and to establish a Pax Elysia in the Eastern World. From the mountainous lands of Hellas to the ancient cities of the Levant, order and stability had come to lands that had been suffering under the subjugation of tyrants or were divided among warlords. As the Empire conquered new lands, the new citizens had found that the newfound stability had come at the cost of living under new laws, government, and were under threat from constant warfare.
The Pax Elysia, known as the Imperial Peace, was something that was promoted but was not found. The Empire was frequently at war with neighboring powers, from isolated warlord states to the great powers of Europe, or even all at once. This was done in order to establish a long-lasting peace at the cost of changing the power dynamic of an entire continent, and with the cost of the Empire’s own humanity. Some expected that this Pax Elysia would not be immediate, despite the end of the many wars the Empire had fought.
Emperor Basil, now having become an increasingly frail and elderly man, faced a problem of making peace as an acceptable mode of life for all Elysians and her exarchs. The Empire had been at war with one power or another continuously for nearly two centuries. Like the Romans before them, the Elysians regarded peace not as an absence of war but a rare situation that existed when all of her enemies had been defeated and lost the ability to resist. The Emperor believed that, once order had been established in Europe, only then would a true Pax Elysium be established.
After decades of service under the Empire, the ‘Balkan Shield’ would be integrated into the Exarchate of Constantina. Full civil rights would be granted to Albanian, Serbians and Bulgarian for their long-term commitment and would become recognised and accepted ethnicities. Croatians and Bosnians would, due to being under the heel of the Habsburgs and under the Ragusan Republic, not be included.
The integration would serve to boost Constantina’s economy and their defenses in the Balkans, and would secure a safer area of control within the Balkans. In time, should the Habsburgs act disloyal to the Elysians, the Empire had made their eyes to secure the Northern Balkans and seize Bosnia and Croatia from the Austrian Emperors.
As Elysia had remained concentrated among European affairs, frightening news would come from the former Persian states. For the first time since the Muslim conquests of the region in the seventh century, a new and powerful Persian Empire would emerge. United by one of the descendants of Timur, this Persia would adopt Shia Islam as the official state religion, something that would be seen as a turning point in Islamic history.
Almost immediately, Persia was working to consolidate their new Empire from opposing threats. New territories were being integrated into the administration, the Shia faith was aggressively promoted and the new Persian Shahanshah was redesigning his as a Feudal Theocratic state, blending Imperial and Church rule into one. Like the Persian realms before them, the Elysians expected this Persia to be a dangerous regional threat that should be treated with caution with all interactions.
With the wealthy city of Aleppo seized from the tiny Syrian state, the Empire had been planning for years about a military campaign to seize the Levant. With the decline of the Mamluks, the Sultanate had been weakened by inner turmoil and simply didn’t have the finances to raise and maintain a sizable military. In comparison to the Elysian Thema’s positioned around the Mediterranean alone, the Egyptians had simply nothing to hold the region yet alone from their own rebels and opportunists.
The Empire’s main focus was to seize the important city of Damascus, but none could deny about the opportunity of seizing the Holy City itself, Jerusalem. Everything from Antioch to Ascalon was to be taken under the Imperial banner and that of Christendom itself. This was to be not just a simple war of conquest, but a Holy War in its own right. It was to be a Crusade against the Saracen, and on November 11th 1625, the Tenth Crusade would begin.
In just two weeks, the Imperial Army would make rapid pace along the dusty landscape and seize everything to Damascus. As soon as they made it to the walls of Damascus, it would become apparent that no Muhammadian force would approach the Elysians, leaving the Imperial army confused. Some would question if they would even experience any armed combat at all, and some of the more zealous soldiers quickly entered prayer and gave thanks to God.
Attrition would consist as a problem, as it had always been something that the Empire had suffered against. While not experiencing any professional Mamluk military response to the Crusade, Muslim civilians would harass the Elysians as much as possible. Some would burn their own crops to starve the armies out, poison water supplies, or simply scream and curse at them. As this did seem to have an effect on the Elysian army, as some men would die from the weather, the Empire would make a more aggressive approach in making their campaign. The Military Council of the campaign would order an assault on Damascus, with the intent of breaking Muslim lines and wishing to seize Jerusalem as soon as possible.
Damascus, after experiencing a month of siege, would last mere hours during the assault. With the capture of the important city, the Empire would march south towards Jerusalem at incredible speed, covering a tremendous amount of distance due to smaller yet more mobile units. Should an enemy force enter Jerusalem, it would leave the Empire in a more difficult position to assault the city.
Coffee, a drink associated with the Muslim world, had become more and more commonplace among Christians in Europe. In an increasingly connected world, acquiring coffee was no longer as difficult as it used to be. Largely as a result, coffeehouses are being established in Europe and exotic beans were more and more in demand.
This would also include Elysium and Retoria. Coffee was becoming more and more in demand to cope with the cold winters in Vinland and Northern Elysia, and the tropical forests of French Columbia and Brazil were the perfect place to produce the exotic beans, as well as the more dense tropical regions of Spartania. The drink would become popular among the Elysian aristocracy, and it was incredibly popular among the Imperial Family where more than one member would proclaim their love for the drink.
Andronikos I Palaiologos. Formerly the Prince of Hespredia, Andronikos was fascinated with the cultures of Asia.
Life around the capital and the Empire at large would come to an abrupt stop on June 1st 1626. Emperor Basil I, Emperor of the Elysian Empire, would pass away at the age of sixty six from natural causes. As the Empire would enter a period of three days of mourning, Basil was be the father of eight children, most of whom were well into adulthood and held their own titles within the Empire such as Doukas and Doukissa. Only one of the eight children of Basil would succeed him and sit upon the throne as Emperor, his eldest son Andronikos.
From the beginning of the century, the Ming Dynasty had been in decline. The largest and most powerful state of its era, the Ming would crumble under an economic collapse, administrative mismanagement, famine caused by a shifting climate and rampant corruption. With an underpaid army, the military was openly defecting to the rebel cause and outside realms took the opportunity to cause chaos. With the dying dynasty, the end of the Ming was in sight.
Shortly after the ascension of Emperor Andronikos, Elysian soldiers had captured Jerusalem on June 15th 1626. There was no resistance among its inhabitants and the birthplace of Christianity was captured. It was a blessed day that would go down in history forever. The Pope and the rest of the Christian world would envy Elysian success, for where him and his catholic legions had failed over and over, the Orthodox Thema had succeeded.
Elysian commanders, under the order of Emperor Andronikos, would immediately spend the rest of the campaign restoring the holy city to its status as the centre of Christianity while the rest of the Levant would be seized. All Muslim in the city would be thrown out of the city, and their homes would be sacked along with sacred sites dedicated to the false prophet. Throughout the city, some opposition had arisen to the desecration of such places but were easily resolved with force. The Emperor would order that the Jewish regions of Jerusalem was to be untouched, for Andronikos had his own desires for them
The entire Muslim quarter of the city would be burnt, and all places of worship was to be destroyed. The Al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock, sacred temples among the Islamic world, would be completely destroyed. The Islamic World would recoil in horror as the Elysians ransacked their quarter of the holy city, and the burning of some of the faiths most sacred places was an unforgivable insult to the faith. Despite the horror that occurred, the Elysians were incredibly vengeful towards Islam during the campaign, making some question and noting the hypocrisy the Elysians had about the means of embracing the peaceful humanist teachings it had only recently adopted.
With not a single army in sight, the Mamluk Sultanate would be forced to surrender to the Elysians only a month after Jerusalem was liberated from the Egyptians. It was an incredibly punishing treaty among the Muslims, as virtually the entirety of the Levant was taken and kept under Elysian control. While the Sultanate would retain the Sinai and small portion of Arabia, their internal problems and lack of strength had made a reconquest of the region virtually impossible as long as Elysia maintained a presence in the holy lands.
The Levant would be returned under Christian control for the first time in centuries, and all but a few important territories across the region would be under the imperial banner. Due to the religious makeup of the region, the Levant had been overwhelmingly Muslim for centuries and had lost some of its Jewish and Christian roots. Even with the full backing of the Church, it would still take many years to re-introduce the true faith as a majority religion in the Levant. With the backing of the entire Elysian Orthodox church, the most sacred areas was to experience extensive missionary work, with the holy land becoming a primary focus.
After the weeks following the conquest, the administration of the new area was centralized under a new Elysian Exarchate. Syria et Palaestina would be founded on July 28th 1626, where the new exarch would include much of the land taken from the Sassanian Empire at the Roman Empire’s greatest extent, as well as the large urbanized cities of the Levant. With the area being retaken by Elysia, the area would be ruled by an Elysian-led Syrian exarch in cooperation with the ruling elite
Unsurprisingly, the Persians had openly announced the Elysian Empire as their rival within the Near East and an enemy of the Islamic faith. While nowhere near as powerful as the Elysians they had declared their hatred against, Persia did pose a serious threat to regional interests, especially due to the establishment of a new exarch that haven't been completely integrated into the new administration yet.
Among the lands of Asia was an archipelago, which despite having been explored by the Empire for several decades now, had never seen any real serious settlement attempted by the Elysians. Largely populated by established realms in the area, the region had never interested Elysia as much as the lands of Australia and Taiwan did. With these lands under the Empire, the Empire had turned towards the spice islands.
The Elysians had believed that they had discovered Maniolas, a name used by Ptolemy to refer to a group of islands to the south of China, along with another island known to the Empire as Baroussai. Explorers would speak that that the country was recorded to Ptolemy's maps when a sailor named Hippalus had told him the existence of "beautiful islands" in southeastern Far East. While it was not the true name of the island, the name had stuck among the explorers and Imperial settlement of Maniolas would start to begin.
On the borderlands of Syria et Palaestina, a neighbouring warlord state known as the Fadl were conquered and incorporated into the exarch. Ruled by a group of Arabian nobility known as the Sauds, they were crushed under Imperial might.
Despite having lost almost everything within the previous couple of decades, the pirates of Vinland were still conducting raiding operations along the Elysian coastline. Previously kept dormant for years, the Empire was both enraged and amused that the Althing still had the tenacity to maintain continued hostility. With this raid however, it would be the largest of its kind within a generation, and the Empire was eager to soak the frozen north with the blood of the foolish Vinlandic people.
As religious efforts proceeded in Syria et Palaestina, some regions were adapting to the true faith better than other states. The significance of Jerusalem once again being under the banner of the Empire helped accelerate this growing process, as the willing and the brave started to embrace Christianity.
With Islamic dominance of the Levant after many many centuries, Muslims across the region were not ready to accept Elysian political and religious supremacy by peaceful means and erupted into open rebellion. A Jihad was launched among the Levant by the zealous and the completely fanatical, targeting any Christian ‘crusader’ they seen.
In response, the Empire would respond with just as much zeal as the Jihadists and prove the Muhammadians with the might of Imperial steel. The Jihad would be put down with extreme force and almost instantly, where thousands of zealots would be massacred by the Imperial army. Husayn Nasuh, one of the pivotal leaders of this Jihad against Elysian rule, would be captured after the Battle of Sayda and executed in Damascus, where the central position of the large city was being selected as the Exarch’s capital.
In the campaign to consolidate the remainder of the Levant and secure it within Imperial rule, the Empire organised a campaign against the Anizah to conquer Transjordan from them. While investigating the tribe, the Empire would make a surprising breakthrough that the Ottoman Empire had signed an alliance with them, providing Elysia with the ability to kill two birds with one stone. With one half of the Imperial army surrounding the Ottoman lands, and the other positioned close to the Jordan river, the Empire declared war on March 21st 1628.
In what would become the final battle that the Ottoman Empire would ever face, the Turkish forces were wiped out to the last man and completely humiliated. With the completely annihilation of the once fearsome Ottoman army, all that the Empire had to do was to seize their capital.
With an Anizah army failing to break through the Elysian assault, it had left their defenses open. Unfortunately suffering heavy losses during an attempt to relieve the siege of Kerak castle, it had left the Empire to concentrate on breaking the defense of the enemy. Unexpectedly, Kerak would put up much more of a resistance then initially thought due to an well-supplied and entrenched enemy, leaving the siege to last much much longer then expected
After decades of siege, the breakthrough on the Siege of Amasya would occur on the sixty ninth day. It’s fall to Elysia would send shock waves across the entire Islamic world, and would signal the complete end of Turkish and Islamic rule in Anatolia. No longer would the Turkish menace ever threaten Christian Europe again, and not longer would they pose a threat to the people of Anatolia. The Elysian Empire and her Exarchs now stood as the undisputed power in the East.
The Ottoman Empire was over.
With new developments within metalwork and glassmaking, more refined scientific instruments were being created that magnify the incredibly distant and the incredibly small. These would prove invaluable to the Empire’s astronomers and natural philosophers, and chemists had began to hone their craft with more complex tools. This recent breakthrough had given Elysian Empire an incredible edge in the production of the scientific equipment, and intelecturals across the Empire eagerly awaited the discoveries that could now be made possible.
After a lengthy siege, the defenders of Al Karak surrendered after succumbing to hunger and disease. The defenders of the castle would surrender to Imperial forces and become prisoners of war, while the Empire would take the castle and the area around it.
The conclusion of the siege of Al Karak would be what was needed to enforce a surrender of Anizah, and the war would come to a decisive conclusion. The remainder of Transjordan would be seized by the Empire, where only the Mamlukean held southwest of the country would be safe due to the truce between Elysia an the Sultanate.
After months of preparation and negotiating with the natives, Elysian settlement of Maniolas arrived on the eastern portion of the Island. At first the interactions between the peoples of the archipelago were dealt with by diplomatic means, largely by Liaison interactions and native curiosity. After several months on the island, once the Empire had established the a foothold among the archipelago, the Empire seemed interested in granting decentralized rule to the island or conquering the region outright.
Christianity would spread among the island through the territories that the Empire held an influence over. Through interaction with one of the many tribes in the region, one of the Elysian settlers was able to cure the son of an influential tribal chief. In gratitude, the tribal chief and his entire village would convert to Elysian Orthodoxy. The Empire had seemed interested in the spice trade among the islands, and once that should be secured, the financial gain from Asian trade would finance religious missions among the region.
After years of chaos in China, the Ming Dynasty would completely collapse following the capture of Beijing by rebel forces. On August 5th 1628, the Ming would completely shatter and new warlord realms would appear overnight. The Mandate of Heaven was now available to anyone who could unite China, and new violent period in the long history of China was about to take place. The Second Warring States period had begun.
Within Vienna, the Habsburg Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire had implemented more of their reforms to centralise Imperial rule. The Ewiger Landfriede, one of many Imperial reforms, declared that member states were forced to solve their disputes in courts of law rather than a battlefield. This would make all internal warfare among the member states of the Empire come to a complete stop, only strengthening Austrian authority even further.
After decades of Imperial rule, Elysia had claimed the entirety of the Pacific Islands under Imperial Rule. The Mare Nostrum of the Pacific, as incredible of a feat that it was, was not completed. It did however, bring a new meaning to the Elysian meaning of ‘Our Sea’.
With the destruction of the Ottoman Empire and all of Anatolia restored to Hellenic-Elysian rule, the Empire had re-established the Theme System. The Empire had recovered from the brink of destruction, and many called for the reestablishment of the old Imperial administrative system to ensure that this would never happen again. Greek naming would be restored across all of Anatolia, all the while Hellenic rule would be cemented along Anatolia during the process of Hellenization in Anatolia.
Wonderful update. Be interesting to see if there is any conflict with the papal state.
What is Rome without a powerful rival in the East? Persia is carrying on a proud tradition here.
Chapter 39.5: In Memoriam/Basil I
Basil I Palaiologos
Lived: March 10th 1560 - June 1st 1626
Emperor of Elysia: 1598-1626
Lived: March 10th 1560 - June 1st 1626
Emperor of Elysia: 1598-1626
The reign of Basil I of Elysia would become a reign that was largely responsible for establishing its future ambitions and goals within the century. With an outward focused reign, the Emperor himself did not play a direct role within the growing changes and instead largely acted as a guiding force instead of interfering with them. Many important things would occur during his reign, and by the time of his death, Elysian power was strengthened tremendously worldwide.
Basil was the only son of Alexios I, who himself led a long reign and played a key role in European affairs. Basil was the only male among his siblings, who were all girls, and was the eldest among them. At a young age, Basil would develop a keen interest within the flourishing cultural aspect of the Empire, growing up with a taste for the arts. The future Emperor himself would find himself fascinated with artists, especially painters, and would start to pursue it as a hobby in his teenage years. Future Elysian historians would believe that Basil himself had quite an effeminate personality, and being surrounded and growing up around his many sisters and other female figures had contributed to this.
While becoming an capable artist himself, Basil would find himself more and more preoccupied with government life and preparing himself for his future reign. Growing apart from his passionate interests, the future Emperor would occasionally get time to paint and would become a patron of the arts during his younger years. As the heir to the throne, he held an incredible amount of power and influence among the Imperial government. On the death of his father many decades later, Basil would ascend to the throne close to his fortieth birthday.
Upon ascending to the throne, Emperor Basil immediately went straight to work in conquering territories along Eastern Europe and the Near East. Taking advantage of the political instability of the Islamic world, the Ottoman Empire would be crippled by the Imperial armies. During this time, Elysia would fight its first coalition in the First Europa War, where it would barely achieve victory within the East. Among overseas expansion, the most devastating events during his reign was the destruction of Vinóss and the complete humiliation of the Vinlandic peoples.
Despite the warfare that had occurred during his reign, the Empire had achieved many grand achievements. The ongoing exploration of the Pacific had led to the discovery of the continent of Australia, Notia Edafi and the many lands around Asia that had left Elysia having explored all of the world's oceans. Colonization had occurred at an effective pace and more of the Pacific was claimed for the growing Empire. As well as exploring the seas, Elysian Orthodoxy had been adopted by many of the former Norse and the power of the church would be extended to the far north.
The Empire would continue to prosper under the leadership of Basil I, who had expanded the Imperial borders considerably. As a patron of the arts himself, the Empire was highly responsible for the construction for the Hagia Theotoke and leading a period of culture and architecture in both Elysium. Despite all the achievements that had occurred under the reign of Emperor Basil, it would come at the price as former friends turned to enemies. Russia would cut ties with the Elysians and declare their hostility against them.
As Basil had declared the desires of securing Elysian and Christian dominance within the Islamic world, Basil would unfortunately die from natural causes before the city of Jerusalem could be captured. Having a long and fulfilling life, he would leave behind eight children and would be remembered as one of the better Emperor’s during the new era of the Empire. His eldest, Andronikos, would succeed him. As per the Emperor’s wishes, Basil would not be buried within the capital, instead having a tomb constructed for him in Rontos, along the Borealian Lakes.