Severance: Patience, patience. I have the difficulty cranked up, and I'm playing to the traits of an Emperor which I tend to decide at his ascension.
Emperor_krk: I've had no less than six "good minister" events, which allow me to get rid of 1% inflation, three "good years", which drop 2%, and two "deflations", which drops 2%. I have 5.5% inflation. If you factor in the events, I've totalled 21.5%. So, yeah. With manufactories and armies, I've minted a lot. Whenever I get an event that drops my inflation, I've minted just a bit more (most of that inflation there came from the original Abbasid war, where I minted 100% to get enough money to pay them off).
Duke of Wellington: I figure they just knew what was good for them. Either the Caliph, or the Emperor. And the Caliph is far more benevolent and tolerant than the Emperor is. Wait, that doesn't make any sense at all!
- - - - - -
To understand the growing intolerance and hostility in the Empire, one must first understand the sitatuation the Roman Empire found itself in. On one side, they faced the Abbasid Caliphate, the mightiest Moslems power in existence. On the other, the Kingdom of Hungary was possibly the greatest Catholic kingdom, and looked greedily on Constantinople. When you consider that the Empire seemed assailed on every turn, Rome adopted a siege mentality. They faced overwhelming odds on either side, with Orthodoxy pathically tiny compared to the endless hordes of Catholics and Moslems. Thus, to protect themselves, they had to lash out at any attack, at any provocation, from anywhere. Despite their power, the Emperors in Rome still saw things in religious terms, greatly influenced by their Patriarchs.
The Empire had grown far beyond its previous boundaries with the incorporation of Jerusalem.
However, the Patriarchy of Constantinople was pushing for the Patriarch of Antioch not to be restored, for, without the Patriarch of Antioch, Constantinople remained absolute and supreme. Konstantinos, however, knew that reinstating the Patriarch of Antioch would gather widespread support in the former Kingdom of Jerusalem. Though it would reduce his power over religion directly, former Patriarchs had virtually taken control of Imperial policy through weak, or religious empires. Spreading that power out would enhance the role of a Patriarch as a solely religious one.
It was some time before the Empire stirred again. Now a power the equal of the Caliphate, Catholic nations were uncompromisingly hostile to the Roman Empire.
There was only one Orthodox nation bordering the Empire, and that was Moldavia. So an alliance was concluded, an alliance Moldavia desperately needed. Unless it found an ally, the crusaders in the north would overwhelm them.
A year later, a campaign was launched, against Ragusa. The shipyards of Ragusa were of exceedingly high quality, and would allow the Empire more control of the seas. So the Ragusan campaign was launched, and, within thirty days, the Empire had taken Ragusa. Fearing repercussions if he annexed it outright, Emperor Konstantinos had it swear fealty to him as a vassal.
A few years later, Croatia found itself momentarily without allies, and was likewise set upon by the Roman Empire. A three-month campaign saw it overwhelmed, and force to become a vassal of the Empire.
These minor, yet extremely successful campaigns, led the Kingdom of Hungary to declare war on the Empire.
This was a mistake.
The Empire was exhausted from a war with Sicily that had extended since the Ragusan campaign, and they were unable to overwhelm the Sicilian navy. Sicily had refused to make peace, and constantly landed on the Empire's lands, always being pushed off. However, three days before Hungary declared war, Sicily paid an indemnity of some three hundred thousand coins to the Empire. This easily paid for a new army, and the experienced Roman troops overwhelmed Hungary, forcing them to pay another indemnity, this time of four hundred thousand gold coins. The Emperor was not interested in aggressive land expansion. Rather, using the money of his enemies to pay for the development of the Roman Empire seemed fair, as opposed to incorporating Catholics and Moslems into the Empire. That sort of thing almost inevitably led to collapse.
Having learned their lesson, the Catholic powers strayed far from the Roman path, and the Abbasid Caliphate, facing constant warfare against the Il-Khanate, was unable to fight them. So, the Empire saw another decade of peace, followed up with the absorption of their Moldavian and Croatian vassals in 1487. (Note: I think I might quit posting pictures of the "annex" and "vassalize" messages. It's getting tiresome)
Another eight years of peace followed, and then, in 1495, the grandest legal reforms ever seen by the Empire took place. Ensuring that the common man could be tried in a court of law by his own peers and only one nobleman, new judges were appointed across the Empire. Naturally, such reforms were expensive, but the vast wealth of the Empire, from manufactories to the indemnities they had been paid, allowed them to reform all of Turkey and Outremer within a few years. Greek law was seen as "well enough" for the moment, although it too was reformed after revolts in Hellas.
It was into these reforms Ioannes VII took the throne, and his reign was as successful as his namesake's.
In 1499, the fourth year of his reign, his Bosnian vassals were absorbed into the Empire, leaving them with territory almost vast beyond imagining. Even the Caliphate trod warily where the Empire went, for their troops were the finest in the world, and, indeed, at this point, the most numerous. Over one hundred and ten thousand men served in the Roman Army, and, compared to the levies and feudal vassalage that brought other lands their men, they were expertly trained, and, although they were technologically inferior to every other army in the field, Ioannes decided it was time to reform. With vast wealth in the Empire, it would be a simple matter to catch up to his rivals, and perhaps even surpass them.
The Empire in 1499.
For five years, the Empire's production went into weaponry. New muskets, new tactics, the entire army was thrown into a frenzy as Ioannes desired a force that was the envy of a world in training and technology. And, with the vast resources at his disposal, it soon became so.
For those five years, he also carefully cultivated an alliance with the Cossack Hetmanate, and, in 1504, they agreed, like all Orthodox powers had, to pay tribute to the Empire. A minor Russian prince-state, Smolensk, was also brought into the alliance. Ioannes had a plan. A Mediterrannean state, though viable, lacked the stability and Orthodoxy of a northern one. Although Russia was a frozen wasteland, there was no denying that there were a lot of Orthodox Russians. As an intensely religious man, he spent his time attempting to bring Russia under his thumb.
Kiev likewise allied and vassalized themselves to the Empire. Formerly, the independence of most of these Russian states hung on a thread, but with the patronage of the Roman Empire, they were virtually ensured a future.
In 1505, a major revolt took place in Constantinople, in which the City was almost lost, and the entire Roman Army was required to quell the revolt. The revolt had been led in support of the Palaiologos, though no member of the family had overtly been seen there. It was enough for Ioannes, however.
Launching the fleet, he declared the Palaiologos holdings a rebel part of the Empire, and that he would subdue it. The Palaiologos had no real chance to resist. Though there was some popular support remaining, they had not ruled for over a century.
Revolts broke out in much of Greece, but they were easily quelled by the army, and the invasion begun.
Ioannes underestimated, however, the will of those who had once been Roman, even if they were no longer. In 1505, eight naval defeats were suffered, with little casualty taken by the tiny Kretan navy. Like Greece fighting Persia in the ancient past, Ioannes lost eighteen galleys, and was forced to invest almost half a million hyperpyron into the navy in order to be able to decisively defeat Krete. Despite this, though, Crete was a mountainous island, and the effort necessary to defeat it was never quite found.
Though the Roman army was fine, the Palaiologos one was just as fine, and, more importantly, could fend off the Romans at any landing point. Supplies were consistently low, and, in what is seen the largest blunder of the Empire, no less than sixty-five thousand men were lost in eighteen successive failed landings.
Even when, in early 1508, the defensive forces on the shores were finally defeat, the Palaiologos merely retreated into their fortresses, and constantly raided Roman supply lines. Fifty thousand men who had been landed on the island were a mere twenty-two thousand by the siege's end, most dead by disease or by the raiding Palaiologos forces. Overall, no less than ninety-three thousand soldiers, and almost three thousand sailors were lost in the war. This was more than any single war against the Abbasid Caliphate, and was condemned across the Empire.
Indeed, it earned Ioannes so many enemies, that, only six years later, he was assassinated, to let the incompetent and idiotic Dauid II take the throne.
In his reign, the minor Turkish sultantes were destroyed, and, despite his incompetencies as an Emperor, Dauid loved architecture. He commissioned a royal palace greater than any seen before, dominating Constantinople with its spires. Though not as large as the Basilica, it came close, a mere two feet shorter than St. Peter's Basilica.
Dauid II, though widely considered incompetent, had ministers of the highest caliber, who closeted him from the nation, leaving him to his palace. The prestige and the power of the Roman Empire was at a hundred-year high at this point, and, though many thought it could only increase, this would soon be revealed as untrue.
Emperor_krk: I've had no less than six "good minister" events, which allow me to get rid of 1% inflation, three "good years", which drop 2%, and two "deflations", which drops 2%. I have 5.5% inflation. If you factor in the events, I've totalled 21.5%. So, yeah. With manufactories and armies, I've minted a lot. Whenever I get an event that drops my inflation, I've minted just a bit more (most of that inflation there came from the original Abbasid war, where I minted 100% to get enough money to pay them off).
Duke of Wellington: I figure they just knew what was good for them. Either the Caliph, or the Emperor. And the Caliph is far more benevolent and tolerant than the Emperor is. Wait, that doesn't make any sense at all!
- - - - - -
To understand the growing intolerance and hostility in the Empire, one must first understand the sitatuation the Roman Empire found itself in. On one side, they faced the Abbasid Caliphate, the mightiest Moslems power in existence. On the other, the Kingdom of Hungary was possibly the greatest Catholic kingdom, and looked greedily on Constantinople. When you consider that the Empire seemed assailed on every turn, Rome adopted a siege mentality. They faced overwhelming odds on either side, with Orthodoxy pathically tiny compared to the endless hordes of Catholics and Moslems. Thus, to protect themselves, they had to lash out at any attack, at any provocation, from anywhere. Despite their power, the Emperors in Rome still saw things in religious terms, greatly influenced by their Patriarchs.
The Empire had grown far beyond its previous boundaries with the incorporation of Jerusalem.
However, the Patriarchy of Constantinople was pushing for the Patriarch of Antioch not to be restored, for, without the Patriarch of Antioch, Constantinople remained absolute and supreme. Konstantinos, however, knew that reinstating the Patriarch of Antioch would gather widespread support in the former Kingdom of Jerusalem. Though it would reduce his power over religion directly, former Patriarchs had virtually taken control of Imperial policy through weak, or religious empires. Spreading that power out would enhance the role of a Patriarch as a solely religious one.
It was some time before the Empire stirred again. Now a power the equal of the Caliphate, Catholic nations were uncompromisingly hostile to the Roman Empire.
There was only one Orthodox nation bordering the Empire, and that was Moldavia. So an alliance was concluded, an alliance Moldavia desperately needed. Unless it found an ally, the crusaders in the north would overwhelm them.
A year later, a campaign was launched, against Ragusa. The shipyards of Ragusa were of exceedingly high quality, and would allow the Empire more control of the seas. So the Ragusan campaign was launched, and, within thirty days, the Empire had taken Ragusa. Fearing repercussions if he annexed it outright, Emperor Konstantinos had it swear fealty to him as a vassal.
A few years later, Croatia found itself momentarily without allies, and was likewise set upon by the Roman Empire. A three-month campaign saw it overwhelmed, and force to become a vassal of the Empire.
These minor, yet extremely successful campaigns, led the Kingdom of Hungary to declare war on the Empire.
This was a mistake.
The Empire was exhausted from a war with Sicily that had extended since the Ragusan campaign, and they were unable to overwhelm the Sicilian navy. Sicily had refused to make peace, and constantly landed on the Empire's lands, always being pushed off. However, three days before Hungary declared war, Sicily paid an indemnity of some three hundred thousand coins to the Empire. This easily paid for a new army, and the experienced Roman troops overwhelmed Hungary, forcing them to pay another indemnity, this time of four hundred thousand gold coins. The Emperor was not interested in aggressive land expansion. Rather, using the money of his enemies to pay for the development of the Roman Empire seemed fair, as opposed to incorporating Catholics and Moslems into the Empire. That sort of thing almost inevitably led to collapse.
Having learned their lesson, the Catholic powers strayed far from the Roman path, and the Abbasid Caliphate, facing constant warfare against the Il-Khanate, was unable to fight them. So, the Empire saw another decade of peace, followed up with the absorption of their Moldavian and Croatian vassals in 1487. (Note: I think I might quit posting pictures of the "annex" and "vassalize" messages. It's getting tiresome)
Another eight years of peace followed, and then, in 1495, the grandest legal reforms ever seen by the Empire took place. Ensuring that the common man could be tried in a court of law by his own peers and only one nobleman, new judges were appointed across the Empire. Naturally, such reforms were expensive, but the vast wealth of the Empire, from manufactories to the indemnities they had been paid, allowed them to reform all of Turkey and Outremer within a few years. Greek law was seen as "well enough" for the moment, although it too was reformed after revolts in Hellas.
It was into these reforms Ioannes VII took the throne, and his reign was as successful as his namesake's.
In 1499, the fourth year of his reign, his Bosnian vassals were absorbed into the Empire, leaving them with territory almost vast beyond imagining. Even the Caliphate trod warily where the Empire went, for their troops were the finest in the world, and, indeed, at this point, the most numerous. Over one hundred and ten thousand men served in the Roman Army, and, compared to the levies and feudal vassalage that brought other lands their men, they were expertly trained, and, although they were technologically inferior to every other army in the field, Ioannes decided it was time to reform. With vast wealth in the Empire, it would be a simple matter to catch up to his rivals, and perhaps even surpass them.
The Empire in 1499.
For five years, the Empire's production went into weaponry. New muskets, new tactics, the entire army was thrown into a frenzy as Ioannes desired a force that was the envy of a world in training and technology. And, with the vast resources at his disposal, it soon became so.
For those five years, he also carefully cultivated an alliance with the Cossack Hetmanate, and, in 1504, they agreed, like all Orthodox powers had, to pay tribute to the Empire. A minor Russian prince-state, Smolensk, was also brought into the alliance. Ioannes had a plan. A Mediterrannean state, though viable, lacked the stability and Orthodoxy of a northern one. Although Russia was a frozen wasteland, there was no denying that there were a lot of Orthodox Russians. As an intensely religious man, he spent his time attempting to bring Russia under his thumb.
Kiev likewise allied and vassalized themselves to the Empire. Formerly, the independence of most of these Russian states hung on a thread, but with the patronage of the Roman Empire, they were virtually ensured a future.
In 1505, a major revolt took place in Constantinople, in which the City was almost lost, and the entire Roman Army was required to quell the revolt. The revolt had been led in support of the Palaiologos, though no member of the family had overtly been seen there. It was enough for Ioannes, however.
Launching the fleet, he declared the Palaiologos holdings a rebel part of the Empire, and that he would subdue it. The Palaiologos had no real chance to resist. Though there was some popular support remaining, they had not ruled for over a century.
Revolts broke out in much of Greece, but they were easily quelled by the army, and the invasion begun.
Ioannes underestimated, however, the will of those who had once been Roman, even if they were no longer. In 1505, eight naval defeats were suffered, with little casualty taken by the tiny Kretan navy. Like Greece fighting Persia in the ancient past, Ioannes lost eighteen galleys, and was forced to invest almost half a million hyperpyron into the navy in order to be able to decisively defeat Krete. Despite this, though, Crete was a mountainous island, and the effort necessary to defeat it was never quite found.
Though the Roman army was fine, the Palaiologos one was just as fine, and, more importantly, could fend off the Romans at any landing point. Supplies were consistently low, and, in what is seen the largest blunder of the Empire, no less than sixty-five thousand men were lost in eighteen successive failed landings.
Even when, in early 1508, the defensive forces on the shores were finally defeat, the Palaiologos merely retreated into their fortresses, and constantly raided Roman supply lines. Fifty thousand men who had been landed on the island were a mere twenty-two thousand by the siege's end, most dead by disease or by the raiding Palaiologos forces. Overall, no less than ninety-three thousand soldiers, and almost three thousand sailors were lost in the war. This was more than any single war against the Abbasid Caliphate, and was condemned across the Empire.
Indeed, it earned Ioannes so many enemies, that, only six years later, he was assassinated, to let the incompetent and idiotic Dauid II take the throne.
In his reign, the minor Turkish sultantes were destroyed, and, despite his incompetencies as an Emperor, Dauid loved architecture. He commissioned a royal palace greater than any seen before, dominating Constantinople with its spires. Though not as large as the Basilica, it came close, a mere two feet shorter than St. Peter's Basilica.
Dauid II, though widely considered incompetent, had ministers of the highest caliber, who closeted him from the nation, leaving him to his palace. The prestige and the power of the Roman Empire was at a hundred-year high at this point, and, though many thought it could only increase, this would soon be revealed as untrue.
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