In this AAR I will take the Byzantine Empire from 1405 through EUIII to the 1920's in Victoria II and maybe continue into HOI3. Or I may get wiped out by the ottomans in the first 50 years who knows.
I will be playing vanilla on hard for all three games (EUIII is 5.2b).
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Byzantine Empire, it is the eastern continuation of the Roman Empire after it was split by Emperor Diocletian in 285 CE. The term "Byzantine" was made up by archaeologists in the late 19th century to describe the Eastern Roman Empire in the medieval period after the fall of the West. To any person actually living in Constantinople during the empire's existence the term was unknown. They would have called themselves Romans and the Emperor was the Emperor of the Roman Empire.
This game starts in the year 1405, this year was chosen in comparison to the standard 1399 start year because it more accurately reflects the Roman Empire's state at the time. Due to luck and the leadership of Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos the Roman Empire had a real chance to arrest its long decline since the disastrous Battle of Manzikert in 1071 and the horror of the Fourth Crusade in 1204. Due the Timurid invasion and the catastrophic defeat of the entire Ottoman Army (and vassals) at the Battle of Ankara in 1402 Sultan Beyzied I was taken captive by Timur Lenk and the Ottoman Empire entered a vicious interregnum. This period lasted until 1413 wherein the empire was broken into numerous warring factions and no serious external campaigns were fought.
The Roman Empire had a real chance of resurgence and only internal societal and cultural rot (and some bad luck) prevented its resurgence in real life. Ideally, with my superior management, I can guide Emperor Manuel II to take advantage of the ottoman disarray and lead the empire to victory over the invading Turks and a resurgence!
Campaign Goals
So what are my goals for the campaign? First things first, I firmly beleive that the welfare of my citizens is my primary concern followed by the welfare of others. Consequently war is a horror to be avoided as that places my citizens at risk and retards human growth and welfare. However, that being said, the Roman Empire provides prosperity, stability, and growth for all of its citizens and provides a substantially better quality of life than neighbouring govermental regiems. This quality of life should be brought back to those who once enjoyed the Pax Romana and are now living under uncultured and barbaric regiems.
Additionally, I'm concerned for the sould of many christians who have lost thier way and strayed from the orthodox christianity to corrupted versions of the faith. I also care deeply about the souls of those living in the spiritual poverty of Islam and our fellow christians living and being persecuted in Islamic lands.
Therefore, my general goal is to spread peace and prosperity throughout the land, brining mankind forward while saving as many souls as possible.
I will be playing vanilla on hard for all three games (EUIII is 5.2b).
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Byzantine Empire, it is the eastern continuation of the Roman Empire after it was split by Emperor Diocletian in 285 CE. The term "Byzantine" was made up by archaeologists in the late 19th century to describe the Eastern Roman Empire in the medieval period after the fall of the West. To any person actually living in Constantinople during the empire's existence the term was unknown. They would have called themselves Romans and the Emperor was the Emperor of the Roman Empire.
This game starts in the year 1405, this year was chosen in comparison to the standard 1399 start year because it more accurately reflects the Roman Empire's state at the time. Due to luck and the leadership of Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos the Roman Empire had a real chance to arrest its long decline since the disastrous Battle of Manzikert in 1071 and the horror of the Fourth Crusade in 1204. Due the Timurid invasion and the catastrophic defeat of the entire Ottoman Army (and vassals) at the Battle of Ankara in 1402 Sultan Beyzied I was taken captive by Timur Lenk and the Ottoman Empire entered a vicious interregnum. This period lasted until 1413 wherein the empire was broken into numerous warring factions and no serious external campaigns were fought.
The Roman Empire had a real chance of resurgence and only internal societal and cultural rot (and some bad luck) prevented its resurgence in real life. Ideally, with my superior management, I can guide Emperor Manuel II to take advantage of the ottoman disarray and lead the empire to victory over the invading Turks and a resurgence!
Campaign Goals
So what are my goals for the campaign? First things first, I firmly beleive that the welfare of my citizens is my primary concern followed by the welfare of others. Consequently war is a horror to be avoided as that places my citizens at risk and retards human growth and welfare. However, that being said, the Roman Empire provides prosperity, stability, and growth for all of its citizens and provides a substantially better quality of life than neighbouring govermental regiems. This quality of life should be brought back to those who once enjoyed the Pax Romana and are now living under uncultured and barbaric regiems.
Additionally, I'm concerned for the sould of many christians who have lost thier way and strayed from the orthodox christianity to corrupted versions of the faith. I also care deeply about the souls of those living in the spiritual poverty of Islam and our fellow christians living and being persecuted in Islamic lands.
Therefore, my general goal is to spread peace and prosperity throughout the land, brining mankind forward while saving as many souls as possible.
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