From Shepherds to Kings - A Wallachia AAR

[Henkes]

Mods used to please the eye:
-Arumba Uncovered Acceptance Indicator (would buy if it were a dlc)
-Even Better Terra Incognita
-Cmushi's Simpler Terms Mod (eye candy)
-Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (+Add-on: More Opacity + Add-on: Dynamic Borders + Deep Blue Water)
-Stellaris UI Font
-Vanilla'd - The Grand Exhibition (and the submods)
Mods used to please the ears:
-Star Wars Quotes For Sounds (should be a possible advisor voice in Stellaris)

Ah Wallachia is usually dependably fun.

Since this is my first AAR, i'm counting on anyone who'd read this to give me tips, suggestions and corrections. But I intend to make this a wild ride.


I will be playing on ironman, and other than the mods above i'm only using music mods.

 

[Henkes]

Introduction: The Origins of the Land of Shepherds



Wallachia. Țara Românească. Цара Рꙋмѫнѣскъ. Zemli Ungrovlahiskoi. Blokumannaland. A principality of the Vlach people. Shepherd, is the meaning of the name. These people were born as a delicious soup coming from the melting pot of various daco-roman natives mixing with Avars, Cumans, and Slavs. A people with a Dacian soul, Latin heart and Slavonic body. They are culturally related to minorities such as Aromanians, and the other Vlachs. They would eventually come to be known as Romanians. This is the story of how some iobagi would improvise, adapt and overcome their enemies in the wasteland known as Haemus. Sorry, the Balkans.

It all starts with a dismounting, or rather, descălecat. Now your average yeoman, husbandman and noble of England knows what dismounting means. If you, however, ask any iobag what that means, they'll proudly compare it to the founding of Rome, as it is the legend of the founding of the state of Wallachia. In the tumultuous High Middle Ages, the state of Hungary dominated the region known as Carpathia. Although Wallachia belongs to that region, one could argue that it also belongs in the super-region of the Balkans.
Radu Negru Vodă is a figure that belongs in a semi-mythical setting. There aren't enough records to attest his actual existence as a separate Voievode, as he is often associated with Basarab I, the father of Wallachia, and other local lords of that time ( the late 13th century). It is believed that Radu Negru Vodă is the man that laid the foundations of an autonomous entity, that would come to be known by the beginning of the 14th century as the Principality of Wallachia, under Basarab I the Founder.

A painting of the mythical Voievode, Radu Negru Vodă.


During the 1310's, Basarab I became the ruler of this poor, but Romanian land. He would make a fine ruler, who would truly set the foundations for his country. If Radu Vodă laid the bricks, then Basarab tore it down and built a concrete house with concrete walls made out of concrete bricks. There are even more myths and historical contradictions surrounding this ruler, however, his greatest achievement is leading the autonomous principality into freedom.
The Battle Of Posada

Having outflanked the Hungarian army under Charles Robert, Basarab I defended against any possible invasions and put an end to the King's ambition of crossing the Danube. On the 10th of November 1330, the Principality of Wallachia became independent.

Byzantine Art depicting Basarab I the Founder

But this is not the story of the Basarab dynasty. As kings come and go, the light now shines on Radu II the Dragon, a man who won his country, just like Basarab, by the sword.

 

[Henkes]

Chapter I: The Last Scales of the Dragon

As Wallachia survived countless disasters, invasions and civil wars, Vlad II the Dragon would become the Voivode for a second time, with support from the Ottomans, a nation that desired Wallachian lands for decades.

Truly a fearful man with draconian tendencies

Although he never was the sharpest tool in the shed, Vlad had received advanced education in the courts of Hungary and of the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, so he knew how to please his betters, but how to control his subjects as well. Alas, among his diplomatic capabilities, Vlad II knew best how to keep a secret, or how to let secrets spill to his own gain.

Shortly after ascending to the throne for a second time, Vlad II would offer his support for the Crusade of Varna by sending 4000 Horsemen to aid the cause of the Order of the Dragon, to help aid Christendom and to see the Ottomans weakened. The Turks were the protagonists of many nightmares that wrought fear even to the little children whose mothers would often say: Go to bed before the Sultan makes you into a Janissary! His ascendancy came to the cost of losing many things, among which the freedom of two sons, Radu and Vlad, to the Sultan. Although he'd promised not to intervene in the crusade, he would aid the Crusade by sending his son, Mircea, with the aforementioned horsemen.

Depiction of the havoc that was the Crusade: Both the Ottomans and the Christians suffered greatly from it.

Although the Crusade of Varna ended horribly for the Eastern European Realms, the Burgundians, fellow christian knights, would cooperate with Vlad, and push the war-exhausted Ottomans until they took the fortified city of Giurgiu and liberated around 10000 Bulgarians by taking them as refugees. Afraid of the potential loss of manpower and mass revolts, the Sultan sued for peace.

The decisive Battle of Giugiu. The Voivode promised the defenders a safe retreat, but instead killed them all.

The fortified city of Giurgiu would prove essential to the Danubian Front.

The Wallachian Prince would keep Giurgiu, but send back the refugees. As the war ended, Vlad II developed an astute mind for battles, drills and techniques, as he would personally oversee his retinue's drills and often raise his levies and march with them, keeping his armies ready for war at any moment's notice.

On the northern front, tensions would constantly escalate between the Hungarians and the Wallachians, as the former still wanted to include them into their fold. After many conflicts between merchants and diplomatic tensions, the two states would see themselves enemies yet again.

On the one hand, Wallachia was surrounded by enemies everywhere: the Ottomans to the South, with their arduous conquests in the name of their God; the Magyars, an ancient enemy who sought to control them from even before their independence and the Poles, a slumbering giant, currently tending to their wounds, keeping their eyes on Moldavia. On the other hand, Wallachia was finally free from all bonds. They wouldn't send tribute to the Ottomans, they weren't subjects of the Magyars and the Poles were far more preoccupied with their brethren, the Moldavians. A wise Voivode could make great use of this status-quo. Would Vlad II be remembered as the last Dragon to freely soar the skies? Only time would tell.

Vlad II prioritized the expansion of the military. Being a small, friendless state meant that they would have to expel any enemies' thoughts of invasion. For that, he needed a larger, better equipped army. To accomplish that, he called a diet of the Boyars, where he stressed the importance of a stronger army. He would end up demanding their support, which he would partly receive. Logofătul Dan Ghica of Giurgiu and the Logofăt Mircea Golescu of Buzău sent a mixed force of militiamen and free, volunteer peasants, numbering a thousand each. Combined with Vlad II's additional forces, the Wallachian Oastea de Tîrgoviște would grow to ten thousand strong. Although the Voivode would have to pay for the troops' supplies, uniforms, boots, armors and weapons, the effort was aided by other minor nobles who aided the cause with such military aid.

Vlad II would be the first Voivode to maintain a standing army, hidden and supplied at the Carpathian hillside

Next in line would be Wallachia's mercantile presence in Constantinople. The half-Greek half-Romanian merchant Ilias Scarlat would be the perfect man for the job. Renowned amongst the Romans for his cunning and smart deals, the merchant had secured multiple trade routes and arrangements between Wallachia and the Roman Empire. After a short meeting, Vlad II and the merchant sealed the deal. He would reach Constantinopol in a matter of days.

Corneliu Caragea must have felt gealous

As the Voivode was strolling in the court of his castle, haunting thoughts of Ottoman or Hungarian invasions plagued his mind. He had to secure an alliance with a strong country. To that extent, he called his trusted friend, advisor and diplomat, Radu Ilias. He learned that the Magyars had allied themselves to the ambitious and ever-growing Habsburgs. With the Emperor's cousin in line for Hungary's succession, the country's future looked grim, and so did Wallachia's. The Serbians, despite being Orthodox, saw the Romanians as Latin scum, despite them using the same alphabet at court. The Despot of Serbia had grand plans for his country, and saw himself above the Principality, formally allying the Romans instead. Moldavia had a civil war brewing in the shadows, with Hungary and Poland each supporting a different pretender. Radu Ilias had considered Austria and Poland as potential allies, but winning their alliance wouldn't be easy.

As Vlad II found himself backed into a corner, he decided that the Emperor was already influential enough in the Balkans, and that Hungary was a potential target for conquest. It would be a dormant dream of every Voivode to free the Romanian peasants of Transylvania, and oust nobilii Maghiari și Sași out of Romanian soil. Ultimately, Hungary would act aggressively towards Wallachian dignitaries and people of importance, such as diplomats and merchants, for mere fun. Vlad II would seek to enter the Polish sphere of influence. The Poles were far more friendly towards the Romanians, as soldiers, merchants and even peasants would chat at taverns and inns, each boasting about the quality of their wines, spirits and women. Alas, the Poles were going through a difficult time, through a transitional period, which could either put them at the table of great powers, or keep them sandwiched between stronger countries. Finally, the Rus were brothers of the faith, and shared many traditions with Romanians, but they would be too busy with either fighting each other, or the Tatars.

Vlad II would send Radu Ilias to Cracovia, expressing his support for Roman, the Moldavian pretender backed by the Polish gentry, with gifts of Aur Roșu, the finest Romanian wine, and a golden emblem of the Dragon, meant to remind the Polish of Wallachia's duties and importance as Christian Knights and stalwart defenders against the Heathen. The diplomat left the court, and made way for Cracovia, to improve relations with the Polish Court.

In this time of weakness, the Polish would be much more likely to seek allies, powerful or not.

With the diplomat in Cracovia, the merchant in Constantinopol, the Boyars appeased, Vlad II would turn to solidify the faith in Muntenia. He called upon his Theologist, Avraam Marcu, and announced him of his decision to establish a metropolitan in Muntenia, to properly tie the Church to the State in order to improve the commoners' faith, increase order and overall unity. After a month, the Ecumenical Patriarch Gennadius gave his approval and in consequence, Maxim was appointed the Metropolitan of Ungro-Wallachia.

A bastion of Orthodoxy in a sea of religious differences

The only thing left for Vlad II the Dragon to do was assess. He would patiently wait for opportunities whilst maintaining his armies. As he left his tent one day, all he could think of was his two children, whom he thought were dead, by the Sultan's will. His greatest fear, not only as a ruler, but as a father, was to see the heads of his children at the front of a Turkish army. He would pray for salvation, but he knew the price he paid to rule was too great.

Author's Note: I had to remake this way too many times. It's slow paced, but i feel that immersion beats progress. I am looking forward to suggestions, comments and opinions. If you feel that there's anything that can be improved, don't hesitate to say it. Thank you for taking your time in reading this absolute unit of a PITA.