Prologue:
In 1439, realizing the desperate position his tiny “empire” was in the Byzantine Emperor John VIII Paleologus had journeyed to Florence in an attempt to seek aid from the west against the growing might of the Ottoman Turks. John had hoped the conference would, at least in name, reunite the Greek Church with that of the Latin and would finally bring western troops to break Turkish hegemony in Anatolia and the Balkans. The conference had in fact been a bitter disappointment to him. The impasse between the two churches seemed as inflexible as ever and as the armies of the resurgent Turks grew stronger by the day so did the chances of a western alliance grow dimmer. In the gloom of the moment John was close to just ordering his Bishops to agree to the Latin demands and hope for a miracle.
As the conference wore on, and the Emperor’s patience began to wear out, an urgent message arrived from his Greeks still in Venice. John VIII made a personal appearance at the conference the next day and declared the conference a failure; he apologized to the assembled clergy and said he and his bishops would be sailing for home. Only relief could be seen on the faces of the theologians.
The ships of the entourage arrived in Morea a few weeks later and met with John’s commanders and diplomats. They boarded the Imperial ships and the bishops were sent on their way. John’s entourage arrived at the Island of Naxos in the occupation zone of the Venetians early in 1440. Upon his arrival, his Genoese allies greeted him at the docks. Taking him to a villa on the coast the Genoese explained to him that the Venetians and themselves had also recognized the threat the Turks were to the whole region and had come up with a plan that might save the Empire but would require great sacrifices of him. We have little left to sacrifice, the Emperor responded, we will listen to what you have to say.
The assembly the Italians had set up was indeed impressive. Representatives from all over the former Empire were present. The Armenians, the Georgians, the Moldavians, the Wallachians, the Serbs, the Athenians, the Knights of St. John, the Empire of Trebizond, the Despotate of Epirus, the Macedonians, and the Bulgarians were there along with other smaller states as well. The Hungarians and Turks were conspicuous in their absence. The arrival of the Byzantine Emperor gave to the proceedings a much-needed prestige. Even in his diminished state it still meant something to hold the title of Roman Emperor to the people of the east. The Venetians drove a hard bargain. All the Imperial territory outside of Thrace would be turned over to the Italians and all the states of the area would give the Italians competitive privileges in trade. In return the Italians would provide the money, ships, and mercenary armies to help the assembled states carve up the Ottoman Turks. It was a desperate gambit for the Italians to regain their dominance of the region, and the Greeks were very suspicious of them. Further many were vassals or allies of the Turks and did not like the idea of soiling their honor by betraying them. It seemed that this conference would also end in failure. Sensing his moment had come John strode to the head of the conference chamber. There he told the assembly that he would only agree to the alliance if the Turks broke their treaties first. Then surely that would be all the Greeks needed to launch their war against the Turks. It was hesitantly agreed by the assembled but all knew the consequences if they failed. The Turks would show no mercy to traitors.
John returned to Constantinople. If the Italians and his allies could be trusted if the Turks ever dared to break their agreements and attempt to take the city, the trap would be sprung. John and his leaders never said a word of this though. Mistra and their other territories would then be turned over to the Italians and while they realized it was a necessary evil they were ashamed. John died with a heavy heart. Could the Italians be trusted?
In 1449 John’s brother Constantine was crowned Constantine XI in Mistra. Constantine arrived at Constantinople to find it a derelict ruin. The ancient walls of the city were in need of repair and his people lived in hovels among the ruins of the ancient city. The Empire had little money and few troops to defend itself. Constantine could only hope the Turks would abide by the treaties that guaranteed the Empire’s independence. It was not to be; in 1451 a new aggressive sultan came to the Turkish throne. Mohammed II was determined to conquer the ancient city and declared that he would take the city or it would take him. Constantine had noted how Mohammed broke his treaties with the Byzantines and sent urgent letters to the other member of what was now called the Holy Alliance of Naxos.
Early in 1453 with Mohammed’s armies assembling in Edirne for the final push the trap was sprung. All at once the small states of the region went to war with the Ottomans supported by Genoa and Venice. At first, oblivious to the danger Mohammed began the siege of Constantinople. When his fleet was driven into the Black Sea by a huge allied fleet it soon became obvious that the situation was far worse than he believed. The Serbs revolted and marched on Sophia, the Moldavians and Wallachians had arrived in Rumelia and Greek armies now had occupied Thessalonika. Similar defeats of Ottoman garrisons were experienced in Anatolia. The Italians were sure this was the end of Mohammed and his Empire.
They had no idea, however, who they were dealing with. Mohammed broke off his siege and turned to face Macedonia. In just two months his armies marched into Athens. The Venetians, who had now occupied the former Byzantine province of Morea, stopped the Sultan at the Peloponnesian Isthmus, but he turned to face Albania and soon had reduced Epirus to ashes. It was the start of what would be a long and bloody 30-year war.
Constantine now controlled the sea and his tiny army marched and seized Gallipoli in the Sultans absence. Soon after this victory he was reinforced by Genoese, Georgians and a contingent of English mercenaries and marched on Edirne itself. In a grueling five-year campaign, the city and all of Thrace was back in Byzantine hands. The Emperor returned to Constantinople and for the first time in 400 years and Emperor marched triumphantly through what was left of the golden gate.
The hungry masses were finally let out of Constantinople and with hundreds of desperate Greek refugees arriving in Constantinople every year soon the land was producing grain to allow the Empire to quickly recover from the loss of Morea. Constantinople was once again a major commercial center and Constantine began to stockpile gold to fund what he thought would be a bitter contest over Thrace.
A Hellenistic revivalist, and an avid student of Plethon and others, Constantine reformed much of how the Empire was run as well. Citing the ancient days of Rome and its citizen armies of small farmers he divided the conquered territories into lots and gave them out to refugees and the poor in exchange for military service. He curbed the privileges of the monasteries requiring them to pay a special “defense tax” to maintain their security. He also reformed the confusing Byzantine tax codes and legal system. The Army was also reformed and the state was reborn as a centralized bureaucratic autocracy. With a new professional standing army and with money to finance its defenses, Thrace was rapidly becoming a nearly impenetrable fortress. Constantine died in 1462 perhaps the greatest Emperor in the history of Byzantium. His 7-year-old son Constantine XII succeeded him. With an infant on the throne Constantine’s prime minister took over as regent and continued to prepare the realm for war.
Mohammed’s arrival in Anatolia in 1460 had an electrifying effect. The Ottoman armies marched to victory after victory. The Armenians never stood a chance and were quickly subjugated. Trebizond was driven from Angora and Mohammed marched into the city in triumph, proclaiming it to be his capitol while in Asia. Soon after Trebizond itself was annexed to the empire. By 1470 all of Anatolia was in Turkish hands. The Italians were stunned. Out-numbered and surrounded the Ottoman Sultan had accomplished the impossible. The Ottoman navy defeated a numerically superior Genoese force in the Black Sea and the Sultan led an army into their Crimean possessions. The Genoese and their allies fought desperately but by 1475 with Kerson and Kaffa in Ottoman hands and with Rhodes resisting a siege the Knights, the Genoese, and their allies sued for peace.
In 1477, now an old man, Mohammed II returned to the Balkans to lead one last campaign. Landing in Thessalonika he immediately drove back the Venetians to Morea and secured the Ottoman position in Albania. The Serbs and Byzantines were badly beaten in Bulgaria and by 1480 Sarajevo in Bosnia was under siege. It appeared just a matter of time before the allied states lost the war. They were exhausted and funds were running low.
In 1480 Mohammed II died. He was hailed as a great hero for foiling the trap of the Italians and finishing the conquest of Anatolia. He was buried in Angora in an elaborate funeral mosque and was given the title “The Conqueror.” His sons were locked in a bitter struggle for the succession. The Ottoman Empire was exhausted from war as well, and with the sudden political instability that came with the succession, the Ottomans made peace with the allies in 1481. The treaty was signed in Belgrade that spring guaranteeing the independence of Serbia and recognizing Thrace as Byzantine territory. The Allies were forced to recognize the Ottoman conquests of the war and allow Ottoman merchants to trade in Constantinople.
Peace had come. But with bitter feelings among all the combatants renewal of the war was inevitable. Constantine XII died young in 1491 and his 17-year-old son took the throne as Constantine XIII Paleologus. His realm was much stronger than the one his Grandfather inherited 50 years before. He had a strong army and navy, possessed the center of all trade in region and the riches that went with it. He belonged to a strong alliance, as the alliance of Naxos was renewed in 1489. Now however just six of the original signers were left. Serbia, Wallachia, Moldavia, Georgia, and Venice still stood with Byzantium against the Ottomans. Mohammed’s son Bayezid had won out over his brother and had become Sultan as Bayezid II. With the Ottoman Empire still strong and hungry for vengeance many would still have predicted the eventual end of the Empire. However events in far off Persia would change everything and rock the Muslim world at its foundation.
In 1439, realizing the desperate position his tiny “empire” was in the Byzantine Emperor John VIII Paleologus had journeyed to Florence in an attempt to seek aid from the west against the growing might of the Ottoman Turks. John had hoped the conference would, at least in name, reunite the Greek Church with that of the Latin and would finally bring western troops to break Turkish hegemony in Anatolia and the Balkans. The conference had in fact been a bitter disappointment to him. The impasse between the two churches seemed as inflexible as ever and as the armies of the resurgent Turks grew stronger by the day so did the chances of a western alliance grow dimmer. In the gloom of the moment John was close to just ordering his Bishops to agree to the Latin demands and hope for a miracle.
As the conference wore on, and the Emperor’s patience began to wear out, an urgent message arrived from his Greeks still in Venice. John VIII made a personal appearance at the conference the next day and declared the conference a failure; he apologized to the assembled clergy and said he and his bishops would be sailing for home. Only relief could be seen on the faces of the theologians.
The ships of the entourage arrived in Morea a few weeks later and met with John’s commanders and diplomats. They boarded the Imperial ships and the bishops were sent on their way. John’s entourage arrived at the Island of Naxos in the occupation zone of the Venetians early in 1440. Upon his arrival, his Genoese allies greeted him at the docks. Taking him to a villa on the coast the Genoese explained to him that the Venetians and themselves had also recognized the threat the Turks were to the whole region and had come up with a plan that might save the Empire but would require great sacrifices of him. We have little left to sacrifice, the Emperor responded, we will listen to what you have to say.
The assembly the Italians had set up was indeed impressive. Representatives from all over the former Empire were present. The Armenians, the Georgians, the Moldavians, the Wallachians, the Serbs, the Athenians, the Knights of St. John, the Empire of Trebizond, the Despotate of Epirus, the Macedonians, and the Bulgarians were there along with other smaller states as well. The Hungarians and Turks were conspicuous in their absence. The arrival of the Byzantine Emperor gave to the proceedings a much-needed prestige. Even in his diminished state it still meant something to hold the title of Roman Emperor to the people of the east. The Venetians drove a hard bargain. All the Imperial territory outside of Thrace would be turned over to the Italians and all the states of the area would give the Italians competitive privileges in trade. In return the Italians would provide the money, ships, and mercenary armies to help the assembled states carve up the Ottoman Turks. It was a desperate gambit for the Italians to regain their dominance of the region, and the Greeks were very suspicious of them. Further many were vassals or allies of the Turks and did not like the idea of soiling their honor by betraying them. It seemed that this conference would also end in failure. Sensing his moment had come John strode to the head of the conference chamber. There he told the assembly that he would only agree to the alliance if the Turks broke their treaties first. Then surely that would be all the Greeks needed to launch their war against the Turks. It was hesitantly agreed by the assembled but all knew the consequences if they failed. The Turks would show no mercy to traitors.
John returned to Constantinople. If the Italians and his allies could be trusted if the Turks ever dared to break their agreements and attempt to take the city, the trap would be sprung. John and his leaders never said a word of this though. Mistra and their other territories would then be turned over to the Italians and while they realized it was a necessary evil they were ashamed. John died with a heavy heart. Could the Italians be trusted?
In 1449 John’s brother Constantine was crowned Constantine XI in Mistra. Constantine arrived at Constantinople to find it a derelict ruin. The ancient walls of the city were in need of repair and his people lived in hovels among the ruins of the ancient city. The Empire had little money and few troops to defend itself. Constantine could only hope the Turks would abide by the treaties that guaranteed the Empire’s independence. It was not to be; in 1451 a new aggressive sultan came to the Turkish throne. Mohammed II was determined to conquer the ancient city and declared that he would take the city or it would take him. Constantine had noted how Mohammed broke his treaties with the Byzantines and sent urgent letters to the other member of what was now called the Holy Alliance of Naxos.
Early in 1453 with Mohammed’s armies assembling in Edirne for the final push the trap was sprung. All at once the small states of the region went to war with the Ottomans supported by Genoa and Venice. At first, oblivious to the danger Mohammed began the siege of Constantinople. When his fleet was driven into the Black Sea by a huge allied fleet it soon became obvious that the situation was far worse than he believed. The Serbs revolted and marched on Sophia, the Moldavians and Wallachians had arrived in Rumelia and Greek armies now had occupied Thessalonika. Similar defeats of Ottoman garrisons were experienced in Anatolia. The Italians were sure this was the end of Mohammed and his Empire.
They had no idea, however, who they were dealing with. Mohammed broke off his siege and turned to face Macedonia. In just two months his armies marched into Athens. The Venetians, who had now occupied the former Byzantine province of Morea, stopped the Sultan at the Peloponnesian Isthmus, but he turned to face Albania and soon had reduced Epirus to ashes. It was the start of what would be a long and bloody 30-year war.
Constantine now controlled the sea and his tiny army marched and seized Gallipoli in the Sultans absence. Soon after this victory he was reinforced by Genoese, Georgians and a contingent of English mercenaries and marched on Edirne itself. In a grueling five-year campaign, the city and all of Thrace was back in Byzantine hands. The Emperor returned to Constantinople and for the first time in 400 years and Emperor marched triumphantly through what was left of the golden gate.
The hungry masses were finally let out of Constantinople and with hundreds of desperate Greek refugees arriving in Constantinople every year soon the land was producing grain to allow the Empire to quickly recover from the loss of Morea. Constantinople was once again a major commercial center and Constantine began to stockpile gold to fund what he thought would be a bitter contest over Thrace.
A Hellenistic revivalist, and an avid student of Plethon and others, Constantine reformed much of how the Empire was run as well. Citing the ancient days of Rome and its citizen armies of small farmers he divided the conquered territories into lots and gave them out to refugees and the poor in exchange for military service. He curbed the privileges of the monasteries requiring them to pay a special “defense tax” to maintain their security. He also reformed the confusing Byzantine tax codes and legal system. The Army was also reformed and the state was reborn as a centralized bureaucratic autocracy. With a new professional standing army and with money to finance its defenses, Thrace was rapidly becoming a nearly impenetrable fortress. Constantine died in 1462 perhaps the greatest Emperor in the history of Byzantium. His 7-year-old son Constantine XII succeeded him. With an infant on the throne Constantine’s prime minister took over as regent and continued to prepare the realm for war.
Mohammed’s arrival in Anatolia in 1460 had an electrifying effect. The Ottoman armies marched to victory after victory. The Armenians never stood a chance and were quickly subjugated. Trebizond was driven from Angora and Mohammed marched into the city in triumph, proclaiming it to be his capitol while in Asia. Soon after Trebizond itself was annexed to the empire. By 1470 all of Anatolia was in Turkish hands. The Italians were stunned. Out-numbered and surrounded the Ottoman Sultan had accomplished the impossible. The Ottoman navy defeated a numerically superior Genoese force in the Black Sea and the Sultan led an army into their Crimean possessions. The Genoese and their allies fought desperately but by 1475 with Kerson and Kaffa in Ottoman hands and with Rhodes resisting a siege the Knights, the Genoese, and their allies sued for peace.
In 1477, now an old man, Mohammed II returned to the Balkans to lead one last campaign. Landing in Thessalonika he immediately drove back the Venetians to Morea and secured the Ottoman position in Albania. The Serbs and Byzantines were badly beaten in Bulgaria and by 1480 Sarajevo in Bosnia was under siege. It appeared just a matter of time before the allied states lost the war. They were exhausted and funds were running low.
In 1480 Mohammed II died. He was hailed as a great hero for foiling the trap of the Italians and finishing the conquest of Anatolia. He was buried in Angora in an elaborate funeral mosque and was given the title “The Conqueror.” His sons were locked in a bitter struggle for the succession. The Ottoman Empire was exhausted from war as well, and with the sudden political instability that came with the succession, the Ottomans made peace with the allies in 1481. The treaty was signed in Belgrade that spring guaranteeing the independence of Serbia and recognizing Thrace as Byzantine territory. The Allies were forced to recognize the Ottoman conquests of the war and allow Ottoman merchants to trade in Constantinople.
Peace had come. But with bitter feelings among all the combatants renewal of the war was inevitable. Constantine XII died young in 1491 and his 17-year-old son took the throne as Constantine XIII Paleologus. His realm was much stronger than the one his Grandfather inherited 50 years before. He had a strong army and navy, possessed the center of all trade in region and the riches that went with it. He belonged to a strong alliance, as the alliance of Naxos was renewed in 1489. Now however just six of the original signers were left. Serbia, Wallachia, Moldavia, Georgia, and Venice still stood with Byzantium against the Ottomans. Mohammed’s son Bayezid had won out over his brother and had become Sultan as Bayezid II. With the Ottoman Empire still strong and hungry for vengeance many would still have predicted the eventual end of the Empire. However events in far off Persia would change everything and rock the Muslim world at its foundation.
. A couple things I have noticed. When you have all the extra CoTs in Europe none seem to appear in the new world. Also Wallachia revolted from Poland in like 1529 and rebels have held the province right up until the start of the Moldavian war in 1556. Why have the Wallachians not declared independence? I had one game when the Dutch rebels held the Low Countries the entire game and the Netherlands never formed. Is there something wrong with the IGC and revolts?
