You follow a canonic course of events. I suppose that your next aim should be the conquest of Kazan. Try impoving relations with western powers in order to prevent double-front war
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Hooray now that Ivan III has married Sophia as historically how will Russia use this opportunity as the third rome?
The realm goes from a regional power to something that looks like it might one day rival the big boys. Is there nothing Ivan III can't do?
Chapter 5: Sweet Revenge (1474-1482)
Chapter 5: Sweet Revenge (1474-1482)
Several long years of incorporation would soon come to merit the growing Principality, where the fruit of her hard labour in building a better realm would come to be rewarded in kind. Never since the time of the Kievan Rus would the lands of the Rus share a united identity after so many generations of fragmentation and weakness. The scattered princes would submit to the authority of their true leader, a prince that had grown into a righteous and very capable leader. After so many years of weakness, the time for revenge had come to burn within the hearts of all of the Rus. The Tatars, once the master of the east, were about to see a very different fate.
Ever since the marriage to the last Princess of the Romans, Queen Sophia had come to be known as a heart of gold, always eager to do the best to please her husband and treating friends with an unparalleled kindness that had made her beloved by all. Her eagerness to do her best for her new homeland would see the new Queen witness the suffering of the poorest of the lands peasants with her own eyes, and plead with her husband to help the most destitute of the realms subjects. Ivan III would agree to the ambitious plan to look after their people, offering her support to secure funds from the nations treasury. In time, Sophia Palailogous would be remembered as a benevolent and righteous Queen that would be beloved by the faithful, within her own realm and beyond.
With the Orthodox Church entering into a new stage of prosperity due to the support of a like minded and righteous Kniaz, a monumental event was about to take place within the Germanic states that would completely change the nature of Europe forever. Disapproval against the Papacy and the Latin Church would spread across Europe as a result of increasing corruption and greed, but fears of voicing their criticism would be silenced as to not invoke the wrath of the lord and the powerful pillars of the church. A monk in Weimar, who had expressed deep concerns for some time, made the first step by openly expressing his discontent with the church. This would pave the way for reformation of the faith, and in time, the religious nature of Europe was about to change forever.
Long having kept a rather modest army, the Grand Principality would overhaul its army and reorganise her capabilities and new potential. Two new armies would be created, equipped and supplied with the cutting edge of military technology by incorporating cannons to use as field artillery. The armies, stationed in Novgorod and Moscow, would be the defenders of the realm and keepers of the peace for the very large realm.
With the nation being united, the Rurikovich domains and her main rival being exiled to the pages of history, the Grand Principality would begin to look beyond her borders and make preparations for outward expansion. Having been ruled by fountless foreign Khans or Kings, history was about to be reversed. Ivan III, long having hated the Tatar menace that contributed to the untimely death of his father, looked to change history itself.
Much of the Grand Principality’s outward ambitions, and anger, would be directed towards the Tatars within the South. Few of her ambitious claims involved dealing with fellow Slavic peoples, instead looking to put a permanent end to the Islamic menace that had long persisted in destroying and subjugating the Rus.
Continuing his policies in building the Grand Principality as a land of faith and a bastion of the true Orthodox church in Eastern Europe, the crown would come to support the Patriarchy by exerting her influence. While the church served as one of the pillars of the nation, some resources would be spent to assure her loyalty through various means. With the church firmly under the direct influence of the Grand Kniaz, the faithful would be rewarded with the expansion and construction of churches across the entirety of the Grand Principality. While the major cities have prestigious churches, towns with medium to low populations sometimes had no churches at all, something which would be corrected as churches slowly began to appear across the land. This would further ensure that Ivan III, while acting in the interest of faith, would remain beloved by both the church and common man alike.
Following the construction of her new land army, the new forces would be divided and scattered towards the Tatar borders. The Grand Kniaz would come to serve personally in the conquest that he sought to accomplish, deliberately refusing to allow such a conquest to be called a Holy War against the dreaded Tatar menace. Three of the finest generals in the land would come to be brought to fight alongside their leader, and the drums of war would be sounded.
Revenge for centuries of humiliation and conflict would come at last, within the early months of 1480, the Grand Principality declared war against the Kazani Khanate and Sarayan Khanate within short succession of one another. This was not expected to be an easy conflict, as the former fragments of the Golden Horde had outnumbered the Grand Principality by several tens of thousands of men, and were also fighting on the friendly terrain of the vast steppe. Despite this, the Grand Principality was armed to the teeth and had zealous determination to achieve their revenge.
Looking to break their defences immediately, the Grand Principality would sacrifice their own lands and went straight for the soft underbelly of the Tatars by striking with all of their might at the Sarayans. With the use of their new cannons, the settlements would rapidly fall under quick succession with much of the Khanate quickly falling under the control of the Muscovites before the end of the season.
Reeling the mistake of leaving their exposed flank unprotected, the Tatars would divert some of their own rank to deal with the Christian offensive while the remainder of their men would attack an almost undefended northern frontier. Fighting among the steppe and having their numbers scattered, the Grand Principality’s ranks were within close proximity from one another and could reinforce one of their own whenever they were endangered. Two battles at Kurskas and Babaqti would see the Tatars virtually massacred upon their home terrain, leaving a deep shock upon the horsemen as they were blown apart by the well-armed and supplied Muscovites.
With much of the Sarayan Khanate left down for the count, Ivan III and his commanders would focus upon the much more formidable enemy that was the Kazani Khanate. Several border provinces would fall before the Muscovite commanders one by one, avoiding conflict wherever they could, while the Grand Kniaz would focus upon directly laying siege of Kazan itself.
Realising the mistake of leaving their capital wide open, the Khanate would panic and muster whatever forces they had available under the command of their most capable commander. Ivan III would outnumber his enemy, but Qamay’s forces held the tactical advantage and had an environmental advantage and knowledge of the steppe surrounding the city. It wouldn't be enough, as Qamay’s strong leadership and offensive tactics wouldn’t be enough to shatter the Grand Kniaz as Ivan III would masterfully outmaneuver Qamay’s forces. The Tatar commander retreated, and the Rurikovich and his army would lay siege upon the city the following day after the battle. From that point onward, the Tatar’s wouldn’t have the offensive capabilities to retake or even match the Russians on an even battle.
Within just under ninety days, Qazan would see a brutal siege that would bring the inhabitants of the city to their breaking point. Ivan III would surround the city with forces in almost all directions and pounded the city with cannonfire while sappers worked to undermine the walls of the city. On the eighty eighth day, the wall defending the city would collapse and the Grand Kniaz would march upon the now broken defense with all he had, storming into Kazan. The city would fall shortly after, and Ivan III would arrive upon the defeated capital upon his own triumph.
With the Kazan Khanate left effectively defeated following the Fall of Kazan, the Grand Principality would march back towards the remnant of the Golden Horde and focused his efforts upon bringing down the weakened Tatar threat. Such movement would bring both sides of the war to fight upon the ruined lands of the Sarayan Khanate.
It would be among the steppe that the Tatar’s would hold so dear that the most devastating defeat would be seen, where the Grand Principality would fight against Tatar efforts to liberate the fallen capital of the Sarayan realm. A trap would be prepared, and once triggered, the Tatar’s under the leadership of Bayar would be completely slaughtered to the very last man. In the resulting massacre, Tatar’s ceased to fight under an effective fighting force.
Realising that the tide was rapidly turning against them, and with much of their lands under siege or occupation, the Nogai and Crimean Khanates would both sign a separate peace of surrender. Being allies to the enemy war cause, motives for the resulting peace would be less concentrated upon them. Crimea’s weak control of Circassia would be relinquished and their alliance with Kazan would be annulled, along with a large sum to ensure compliance, ending the war for them while much of their lands burned. Nogai, being distant from the centre of the war, would only be forced to pay for war reperations.
With the forced peace being made by their allies, the true peace would be made shortly after by the Grand Principality and their vanquished foes. The Kazani and Sarayan Khanates would be absolutely decimated, with enormous amounts of territory being conquered by the vengeful hearts of their conquerors. Centuries would come to lead up to this moment, and revenge would finally be achieved. The Tatars, the masters of the steppe and their submissive Russian lords, would finally see their fate turned around entirely.
Muscovy ascendant, the Grand Principality following the war. C.1482
The Tatar’s power would be broken permanently, and their rule over Moscow would come to a defiant end. The Grand Principality would achieve a monumental victory, one that would come to a triumphant success. Ivan would return back to Moscow to a celebration, but the Grand Kniaz had much work to be done. The Tatar’s power would be broken, but there was much to be done. The Tatar’s were defeated, but they were deeply resentful and hated their new masters. The conquest had not won the Grand Principality any allies, instead doing the opposite and creating more enemies that sought to undermine the growing Rus realm. Ivan III knew that he would not care what his enemies cared about, for it would be his construction of a Third Rome that would soon see a new beacon for the legacy of Rome to live on from.
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Yep!
Ties to Byzantium, or what used to be Byzantium, will prove to be invaluable in the coming generations
Thank you for your comment. I hope you enjoy my rather humble AAR
Not quite yet, but the Houses of Rurikovich and Palaeologus being united in marriage will be important for her future destiny.
He's certainly a blessing upon the realm. He inherited a realm and turned it into quite a juggernaut, perhaps his legacy would carry upon his successors. He's a Tsar in all but name
Not quite a crusade, but it might as well have been
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Alright! You really steppe(d) on them, but even if they got pummeled never should the Russians underestimate their opponent, they were in the same spot just a century ago or so.
Good job. Your obviuos next goal is total subjugation of Kazan and conquest of Astrachan. Take care of your technological development. Big domation is worse developing than compact one. Tech underdevelopment is russian the most dangerous rival.
Now that you have stepped on the steppes are you going to march east to Siberia or west through Lithuania?
Nice to see the Tatars humbled...
Also, Sophia is also useful for good PR. Her claim to Constantinople will probably be more remembered by posterity, though.
Also, Sophia is also useful for good PR. Her claim to Constantinople will probably be more remembered by posterity, though.
Now you have to convert them, and maybe later on teach them of Rome's glory through culture conversion! I eagerly wait the next chapter, as always.
Chapter 6: The Muscovite Enlightenment (1482-1494)
Chapter 6: The Muscovite Enlightenment (1482-1494)
Years of preparation and mobilization would bring the Muscovites to strike against the Tatar yoke that had kept them down for generations, and the conclusion would become both deeply satisfying among every fabric of Rus society. The Muscovites would strike hard and with terrible effectiveness, their arms and discipline tearing apart the horsemen among the lonely steppe. The Tatar would weep for her loss, but among the Grand Prince and the Principality, they would experience a triumph. For the first time in two hundred and forty two years, Russia would be truly free.
Years following the destructive conflict, the spirit of unity within the already fractured Tatar khanates would cease to exist. The last vestiges of the Golden Horde would be invaded by one of her own former kin, and the Sarayan Khanate would begin to see the deepest cracks form within her society. The Khan of Crimea would strike with his tribals against their own, and all Muscow could do was grin devilishly as brother would fight brother.
Taking advantage of the conquest, the Grand Principality would see her southern frontier vastly expanded across an area that was hostile to the new regime. The Tatars that had previously lived within the Sarayan territories were the most hostile to the new change, immediately plotting against the foreign conquerors that had burnt their steppeland in their rampage of revenge. As a result, until direct integration could be made, Ivan III maintained the entire military presence of the nation to be concentrated on rooting out rebellions and, at the best of times, provoking them so that they would be eliminated more effectively.
One such rebellion would occur at Uvek, where a huge uprising would occur after religious discontent had occurred about the construction of a modest church upon the former ruins of a Mosque that would prove to be the last straw for the predominantly Muslim population of the Tatar lands, adding fuel to the fire of the rebellion which had been organised within the shadows. This proved to be the justification needed to fully utilize the might of the army, which would march into Uvek and effectively massacre the entire rebellion movement outright.
Meanwhile within Central Europe, the Protestant movement would spread like wildfire across the lands of the Holy Roman Empire and make a considerable impact beyond the borders of the German states. With the movement taking over in more and more Catholic countries, fewer and fewer people would begin to observe lent. It would become notable enough to see the demand for fish plummeting within the European markets, impacting the continental economy while the new movement would begin to entrench itself upon the lands that it would spread into.
With the years starting to pass by, the marriage between Ivan III and Queen Sophia would come to bear fruit with the birth of a male heir to the throne, followed by several younger siblings for the crown prince. Ivan would come to name his firstborn Vasilly, after the father that he barely knew, and watched him grow up to develop a great interest in the arts, sciences and scripture since a very young age. Within the royal court, the young heir would demonstrate a very sharp mind and was an excellent pupil by his teachers. While being viewed as a gifted successor, the young Vasilly would also balance himself with a sword, all the while learning the intricacies of bureaucracy and the arts. A well balanced heir with the mind of a scholar, Ivan III would show a great amount of pride for his son.
Already living within prospering times, Ivan III would become renowned for the developing artistic achievements and blossoming economy that would come to coincide with his realm. Artists, philosophers and poets from within Eastern Europe and beyond would begin to flock to Moscow following the thriving economy that would allow extensive artistic funding. Already, several fine-architectural buildings would begin to be erected and beautiful gardens are being built to demonstrate the wealth of Muscovy. Ivan III would begin to invest into better rural infrastructure, looking to increase the agricultural output of the Grand Principality to help accommodate the growing population.
With the Muscovite conquest of much of the steppe within her southern frontier, the war would coincide with the end of an era within the annals of history. Within Europe, the Age of the Renaissance would come to a premature end. The rebirth of classical ideals would come to persist in the generations that would follow it, but with the reformation opening up within European society, matters would become to be drawn towards the religious disruption of the status quo. As the Catholic Church struggled to come to terms with the movement that was rapidly spreading within the German states, Orthodoxy within Eastern Europe never seemed stronger.
Within such delicate matters within the Holy Roman Empire, the Habsburg Emperors within Austria would enact an imperial reform to further reorganise the lands towards their ideals. The Imperial Diet would be consolidated, with legislative complexity being reduced as the Austrians did what they could to keep the peace within the constantly tumultuous lands of their realm.
Religious unity, aided by the pious reign of their Grand Kniaz, would come to see the Church aided with a royal decree. Ivan III would declare blasphemy to be a common law and thereby make it a legal offense to show contempt for or ridicule God, Jesus or the Holy Scriptures in any form or way.
Shortly after passing the Blasphemy Act, Ivan III would come to take further steps towards a united church and would enforce church attendance in the following Act of Uniformity, setting the order of services and prayers to be used in the Book of Common Prayer. With the full support of the Orthodox Church, it would come to see a noticeable unity among the land and empower missionaries acting upon foreign lands.
With the armed forces remaining a powerful and integral part of the Grand Principality, the military organisation of the army would remain largely under the control of the feudal lords that served under the Kniaz. In 1489, this would all change with Ivan III declaring the official formation of the Royal Army, centralising the army upon the monarch and ensuring a strong and loyal force. This would come at the expense of cutting out the middleman or removing the soldiers who were up to the new standards for the royal army, leaving military infrastructure severely weakened by preventing the Principality to field a gigantic army, but this would severely make up for the loss of manpower in sheer prowess.
Staring from Italy and later spreading across Europe, the cultural rebirth of the ancient Greeks and Romans would eventually make its way and arrive within the cold lands of Eastern Europe. In due time, they would arrive within Russia itself, and these new ideas would change the very way of understanding how the world would operate around the Grand Principality. Cultural movements and continuity would greatly influence the fledgling Renaissance within Muscovy and across many Russian cities and territories, with its principles carrying the ancient wisdom that had taken decades to arrive in full force.
While having conquered such a vast and expansive part of the European steppe, the Muscovites had left the new lands under a territorial status until the time was right to bring the Tatars that inhabited the realm into the fold properly. The Steppe was a violent lawless land, and Ivan III realised the dangers that posed against immediately enforcing his new rule of the land. Autonomy was granted and efforts were made to evangelize the new lands, an effort made easy due to the morbid reality of the loss of life within the territories.
With the Renaissance arriving in full force within the Russian lands, the Grand Principality would come to enter into a strange yet wonderful period that would come to see an emergence of its unique culture upon a far more lasting stage. In what would become known as the Muscovite/Russian Renaissance, the limited influence and large distance between Russia and the main cultural centres of Europe would lead the Rus to adhere much closer to her Orthodox traditions and Byzantine legacy. Ivan III would order the construction of Renaissance architecture to the Grand Principality, and would especially embellish Moscow itself with the construction of a Royal Palace with a distinctly European flavour.
With peace in the country, and the support of the Grand Kniaz in supporting the thriving cultural development of his people, the cultural enlightenment would improve the mood of prosperity within the Grand Principality. Some would even grant the Renaissance within the nation as the ‘Rurikovich Renaissance’ due to Ivan III’s lasting cultural legacy.
With the Protestant Reformation spreading like wildfire across Europe, several different opposing movements had already formed, proposing alternate ways of reforming the Christian faith. Such reformist learnings would come to be concentrated within the Low Countries, where a devout preacher in Brabant had become the principal figure for a ‘Reformed’ school of thought. With the movement now splitting into two similar yet increasingly separated reformations of the faith, the Reformation would take the next step/
Vasilly III Rurikovich, the Scholar Prince, Grand Kniaz of Muscovy. A brilliant mind, Vasilly would inherit his fathers realm. His reign would be remembered for his bright personality rather than future accomplishments.
With much of the Grand Principality enjoying a period of success that it had not seen within generations, if not centuries, the figure responsible for such a monumental change was only a mortal man. Ivan III Veliky Rurikovich, posthumously granted the prestigious title of ‘The Great’ would come to pass away at the age of fifty three from heart failure. Beloved by his people, respected by his rivals and hated by his enemies, the nation would be left in a period of mourning after the loss of such a beloved monarch. His eldest son, soon to be crowned as Vasilly III, would inherit a throne….and the immense shadow that his father would leave behind.
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Ye. Russia was in a precarious spot over a century ago, but such a monumental victory would probably make the Muscovites rather gleeful that their age-old rival has been dealt with. The victory would probably go to their heads a little bit
Kazan as a Khanate shall be dealt with soon, and the eventually push towards Astrakhan and the southern Tatar lands. Russia isn't a menacing giant quite yet, so fortunatelly such advancements are currently beneficial.
Siberia would be ideal, but my AE is absolutely through the roof atm. Letting things cool down would be very beneficial.
Correct, Sophia's ancestry and claim to the former Imperial throne will be remembered more rather than the roman princess she was in life.
Thank you for your support
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A warrior king followed by a scholar eh? Let's hope this won't mean opportunities across your frontiers get ignored. I think the conquests in the south should just be the beginning!
Great stuff! A scholar king might be good for your AE cool down, bed down the new Muscovite empire and get ready for the next expansion
Chapter 6.5: In Memoriam/Ivan III 'The Great'
Ivan III Vasilievich
Lived: January 22nd 1440 - June 23rd 1494
Grand Prince of Moscow: April 16th 1452 - June 23rd 1493
Grand Prince of All Rus’: March 12th 1482 - June 23rd 1493
Portrait from the 17th-century Titulyarnik
Lived: January 22nd 1440 - June 23rd 1494
Grand Prince of Moscow: April 16th 1452 - June 23rd 1493
Grand Prince of All Rus’: March 12th 1482 - June 23rd 1493
Portrait from the 17th-century Titulyarnik
Ivan Vasilievich, a young prince that would leave a tremendous legacy upon his people, was originally not destined to have become the ruler he was set to become had the fate of his father changed. His monumental rule, built upon the life and reign that his father had battled to secure for his son, would become one of the most successful in Russian history. In a reign that would last for nearly forty years, Ivan would become remembered among the Russians and Europeans posthumously as ‘Ivan the Great’.
Ivan III would be born in Moscow as the eldest child of Vasily II of Moscow and Maria of Borovsk, the heir to a troubled throne the very moment he was born. His life would be within turmoil during the chaotic troubles of the Muscovite Civil War and the near complete defeat of his father’s loyalists during the Shemyaka Rebellion. Ivan would barely know his father, losing him in his prepubescent years, but sought to use the growing realm that he had inherited to turn his nation from a backwater among the slavic lands into a growing power in its own might.
Upon having a short regency where his mother acted as Queen Regent until Ivan was old enough to fully ascend to the throne, the teenage boy would immediately get to work upon implementing reforms that sought to strengthen the internal bureaucracy of the realm, supporting the Orthodox Church and using much of the newfound wealth of the Grand Principality’s new territories to fuel the economic prosperity of his people and splendor through various architectural projects.
The Rurikovich Domains, the numerous subjects spread out across much of the Grand Principality, would become one of Ivan’s lasting legacies through their annexation. Lasting much of his early reign, the various domains that had been ruled by various members of the ruling dynasty would be individually annexed one by one. Ivan would bring the duchies under the direct control of Moscow, leaving much of the princes alone while only punishing the disloyal. The Roya system of succession, which had plagued his fathers reign, would be put to an end following his death as Ivan would adopt Primogeniture succession to the Muscovite crown and establishing new succession laws within the government that, in effect, the domains of all his kinsfolk would pass directly to Grand Kniaz instead of reverting to the Prince’s heirs, putting a permanent end to the semi-independent princelings and sapping much of their authority.
With further integration of the former Novgorod territories, the Grand Principality would stretch from the White Sea to the Don River following the conquest of much of the Steppe ruled among the Tatar’s near Muscovy’s southern frontier. Leading his men to victory with his generals, Ivan III would come to break a centuries long domination against the Russian lands that were held by the Tatars and reasserted the independence and authority of the Rus. It would be that following the conquest, riding among his victory, that Ivan would become the first Russian ruler to style himself as ‘Tsar’, albeit not as an official title, instead establishing himself as the ‘Grand Prince of All Rus’”. It would not be until decades after his death that the title of Tsar would be elevated to imperial ambition and status.
Ivan’s piety and righteousness would be fondly remembered through the architectural rebuilding of much of the Grand Principality, with many churches and houses of worship being built across the thriving realm he was governing. Alongside his realm, Ivan III would come to see the introduction of the Renaissance movement that would quickly begin to prosper within his lands. Ivan III’s lengthy reign would come to coincide with what many would consider to be the start of the Russian Renaissance, also known as the Rurikovich Renaissance due to Ivan’s efforts and patronage.
Ivan III would come to pass away at the age of fifty three, leaving behind his prestigious life Sophia Palaiologos and having several children with her, merging the legacies of the Grand Principality and the Romans into a synthesis of something new. His death would leave a nation in mourning for over a week with a legacy that would be far more permanent than the life he had lived. His eldest son, Vasilly III, would come to inherit the throne at the age of eighteen.
Ascending to the throne as a teenager, Ivan the Great would come to be remembered as one of the finest rulers within his generation. He would double the territory of his state, end the dominance of the Tatars over Russia, introduce a new legal codex and would be responsible for laying the foundations of the future Russian state that would come to dominate much of Eurasia. He would be buried in Moscow for several years until the renovation of the Moscow Kremlin several years after his death, where his remains would be buried in the Imperial Mausoleum, where many other members of the future Imperial dynasty would be buried.
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The South is only the beginning. But that will occur in due time, Russia needs plenty of time to rest and recover, but that doesn't mean that she would sit idle and do nothing!
Eurasia shall be Russian, or at least most of it will be!
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What's your current idea groups? I'd imagine your at least picking religious ideas to convert all those non-orthodox lands. If I remember right you alread picked defensive and if so maybe you havent unlocked the second one?
Defensive and Religious so far. I find no need to look into Quantity at all given that I will be playing as Russia, plus not relying on those ideas makes the story much more challenging.
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It's always nice to see AARs where people show a little imagination in the ideas they choose.
Ivan was a bringer of change! Let's hope his descendants make something out of reforms!