A Treatise on the Byzantine Empire
Hello all,
Sorry for the non-update. I was busy last weekend, and I'm afraid I'm going off to Taiwan for 3 weeks starting this sunday night, so this is necessarily going to be on hold for a while. As recompense for last weekend, I offer this treatise on the Byzantine Empire which I've been writing...
In brief, this summarises -at a strategic level- the key points of note regarding the Byzantines and analyses the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the Byzantine Empire in the following categories: Military, Economics, Religion & Culture. This can also be applied, with some changes, to any other country in the Balkan-Anatolian region.
Position:
Strategically position between the Oriental and Occidental, Muslim and Christian as well as the waters of the Mediterranean, it is well positioned to exploit any oportunities that present themselves.
Military:
Decent manpower, sufficient to stand up to any medium or similar sized country once the Balkans are secured. Mix of Eastern and Western units to choose from if one has both European and Eastern provinces. This is particularly important for the superior eastern cavalry in the early ages.
Terrain:
The Sea of Marmara is a potent strategic crossroads. This implies that control over the sea with a navy must be present to use this crossroad and prevent it from being used against you. This control has the effect of preventing any enemy movement East and West on land or North and South on sea. This would limit the extent of loss in the event of losing a war.
The Anatolian peninsular is a small and contained theatre of operations. Mountains in general suitable to infantry.
The Balkans is a wider theatre, contained to the north by the River Danube, open to the northwest along the Adriatic coast. Mostly mountainous, good for infantry.
Italy is small and narrow theatre and has a mix of plains and mountains. Exposed to amphibious landings. It is richer and more built up in the north, less so in the south.
Egypt & Levant are poor to average provinces (although the Egyptian heartlands are richer) and composed mostly of deserts. They are large theatres, unbounded and open, suitable to cavalry.
Economics:
Thrace is a good medium sized COT. The Balkans are medium to poor in value, the various Mediterranean islands of medium value and also affected by overseas penalty. Anatolian peninsular medium to poor value. Italy and Egypt are good targets for expasion. Trade is essential to being a first rate earner.
Culture & Relogion:
Orthodox Christianity present in the Balkans, the Eastern Mediterranean islands and Russia. This encourages expansion in the Balkans and tolerance towards a good number of religions (Orthodox Christianity, Catholic Christianity, and Sunni Islam). Conversions are important to long term consolidation in terms of stability and income. Our cultural group is small, and neighbouring cultures are too fragmented to be accepted, except for the Turks. The different culture income penalty will have to be accepted.
Foreign affairs:
The Ottomans are the biggest initial menace, but are unlikely to recover after a heavy series of defeats due to a low income. Poland and Lithuuania are the main rivals to the North, whils Venice, Austria, Hungary and France are the main rivals to the West. Minors are plentiful in the surrounding areas, providing good opportunities for expansion in the initial era.
Hello all,
Sorry for the non-update. I was busy last weekend, and I'm afraid I'm going off to Taiwan for 3 weeks starting this sunday night, so this is necessarily going to be on hold for a while. As recompense for last weekend, I offer this treatise on the Byzantine Empire which I've been writing...
A Treatise on the Byzantine Empire
In brief, this summarises -at a strategic level- the key points of note regarding the Byzantines and analyses the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the Byzantine Empire in the following categories: Military, Economics, Religion & Culture. This can also be applied, with some changes, to any other country in the Balkan-Anatolian region.
Position:
Strategically position between the Oriental and Occidental, Muslim and Christian as well as the waters of the Mediterranean, it is well positioned to exploit any oportunities that present themselves.
Military:
Decent manpower, sufficient to stand up to any medium or similar sized country once the Balkans are secured. Mix of Eastern and Western units to choose from if one has both European and Eastern provinces. This is particularly important for the superior eastern cavalry in the early ages.
Terrain:
The Sea of Marmara is a potent strategic crossroads. This implies that control over the sea with a navy must be present to use this crossroad and prevent it from being used against you. This control has the effect of preventing any enemy movement East and West on land or North and South on sea. This would limit the extent of loss in the event of losing a war.
The Anatolian peninsular is a small and contained theatre of operations. Mountains in general suitable to infantry.
The Balkans is a wider theatre, contained to the north by the River Danube, open to the northwest along the Adriatic coast. Mostly mountainous, good for infantry.
Italy is small and narrow theatre and has a mix of plains and mountains. Exposed to amphibious landings. It is richer and more built up in the north, less so in the south.
Egypt & Levant are poor to average provinces (although the Egyptian heartlands are richer) and composed mostly of deserts. They are large theatres, unbounded and open, suitable to cavalry.
Economics:
Thrace is a good medium sized COT. The Balkans are medium to poor in value, the various Mediterranean islands of medium value and also affected by overseas penalty. Anatolian peninsular medium to poor value. Italy and Egypt are good targets for expasion. Trade is essential to being a first rate earner.
Culture & Relogion:
Orthodox Christianity present in the Balkans, the Eastern Mediterranean islands and Russia. This encourages expansion in the Balkans and tolerance towards a good number of religions (Orthodox Christianity, Catholic Christianity, and Sunni Islam). Conversions are important to long term consolidation in terms of stability and income. Our cultural group is small, and neighbouring cultures are too fragmented to be accepted, except for the Turks. The different culture income penalty will have to be accepted.
Foreign affairs:
The Ottomans are the biggest initial menace, but are unlikely to recover after a heavy series of defeats due to a low income. Poland and Lithuuania are the main rivals to the North, whils Venice, Austria, Hungary and France are the main rivals to the West. Minors are plentiful in the surrounding areas, providing good opportunities for expansion in the initial era.
