Yes, the Romans should look for expansion closer to home before going on mad quests to the deep end of nowhere.
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Nothing lost, nothing gained right now - but nonetheless thousands of men dead, thousands of women have become widows. This is war alright.
When I looked at the picture I thought "Thats a Catholic priest!". Do they (Orthodox and Catholic Priests) look so similar in their robes? Or did you have no other picture?
When I looked at the picture I thought "Thats a Catholic priest!". Do they (Orthodox and Catholic Priests) look so similar in their robes? Or did you have no other picture?
There's always someone licking their chops in anticipation of who's going to get bloodied the most in these kind of conflicts...
It is insane to wage war deep into Iran when you don't even control Anatolia...
THIS IS MADNESS
Madness is coming the in the third volume, whenever I get to it!
GulMacet said:
I really had no where else to turn at this point. We had our earlier war with the Turks under John. The first of the two Italian Wars. The Mamlukes and the Turks had been going at each other over Syria, so with the minor confederations in the region in decline, I thought it'd be a good idea to swoop in--or I'm just setting the stage for whatever is patiently waiting for in the third volume...
Old habits die hard no?
We have to work with the material that we have. I prefaced in the footnote what even the painting is supposed to depict, I've always liked the paintings of Ambrose barring Theodosius from entering the Milan Cathedral so I wanted to incorporate it somehow into the AAR. Just not as many Renaissance and Romantic paintings of Orthodox Church figures besides all the icons that I've been using heavily for cultural and religious themed updates.
Yeah, you can only use pictures that exist after all. I just wondered how big the differences between Orthodox and Catholic priests are in terms of clothing - my knowledge about the Orthodox faith is quite lacking. It is a nice picture, no question. It's just that my first thought was "He's catholic!" and then I saw the footnote and I thought. "Yeah, that's why."
Chapter XXIII: Dreaming of Alexander
The early campaigns in Roman-Persian War had been met with a standstill with the Persians beaten back after the Siege of Trebizond, but the Roman counteroffensive blunted after a series of stinging defeats and Mohammedan uprisings that caused internal strife and turmoil in the newly conquered Roman lands. Emperor John was posed to march straight into the heart of Persia via a direct route through northern Mesopotamia. His plan was to march out of Armenia and capture the important city of Mosul, and establish it as his base of eastern operations, then swing into Persia and march on Tabriz, the capital of Persia, from the south. He even brought with him engineers to construct a make-shift fleet on Lake Urmia.[1]
The idea to strike south, initially, against Mosul was an attempt to fool the Persians who would have naturally presumed that John would march due east to Tabriz from Armenia. Instead, as John departed, he left a screening army of 6,000 men under the Great Domestic of the Morea to guard his march south with some 15,000 men to capture Mosul and defeat the Mesopotamian forces of the Persian army. Unfortunately, the plan did not go accordingly.
Immediately after departure, it became apparently clear that the Roman forces had been infiltrated by Persian spies who alerted Shah Abbas of the Roman intentions. This spy ring, more shockingly, included members of the Roman Imperial staff who were plotting against the young emperor as had happened during the campaigns of Gordian III. The Persians proceeded to mirror the Roman advance south, and also had the intention to cut-off and destroy the Roman screening force under command of the Great Domestic.
Outside of Gawar, just north of the Mesopotamian Circle, the Persians launched their first bold move in this cat and mouse game. The Roman screening force had become too far separated from the main body, and the Persians had tightened the noose and cut-off communications unbeknownst to the Roman forces. After a day of rest, the Persians began to fight a cautious but tolling hit-and-run campaign against the Roman forces. Attempts to call for help for a pitched battle were met unanswered as all couriers were simply captured by the Persians. After a week of on-and-off fighting, the Persians struck at the remaining Roman troops, who encamped themselves upon a hill for defensive purposes.
Over the course of the next two days, the Persians slowly made their way up the hills and annihilated the Roman army. Of the 6,000 men who started the campaign, less than 1,000 escaped. All of this happened without the knowledge of the emperor, who was still marching south on Mosul. Still thinking his flank was covered, Emperor John rested 20 miles outside of Mosul while being watched by a Persian army of superior size. In addition, Shah Abbas managed to reunite with his formerly isolated Mesopotamian forces, bringing his total number of soldiers, according to best estimates, to about 23,000 men.
The Battles of Gawar, where the Persians defeated the Roman screening force of 6,000 and opened an opportunity to score a decisive victory against John's army marching on Mosul.
Expecting this, John had kept a small force of elite units, cavalry, his Imperial Guard, and about a dozen cannons in a reserve that would deploy at a moment’s notice, or be able to cover a retreat if necessary. For the next six hours, a fierce battle raged outside of the city, with both sides launching attacks against each other. Just north of the city, John gambled with his reserves. He attempted to cross the river and threaten the city, and the Persian forces, on their flank. He intuitively knew that Abbas would have to respond, hoping it would weaken the Persian center where John would launch a thunderous cavalry strike to break the Persians and capture the Persian artillery.
The Persians took the bait, but it turned out that the battle would not be decided where John intended. Instead, the battle was decided on the banks of the Tigris where the diversionary moves were undertaken. Abbas, realizing John’s gambit, overcompensated with the expectation of crushing the Roman reserves then swinging back across the river and attacking the Romans in the rear. Without his reserves, John would be surrounded and forced to surrender. With the realization that the Persian force being sent to stop the Roman attempt to cross the river could turn into a disaster, John threw all of his available forces to winning the battle across the Tigris.
His artillery turned their focus upon the river banks. His cavalry launched their attack, not on the Persian center, but the advancing flank of the Persian forces that had become overexposed in their attempt to intercept. The battle of Mosul hung in the balance on the banks of the Tigris River. Over the next two hours, a bloody melee ensued, with the Romans emerging victorious after a prolonged fight. Instead of being a knockout blow however, the Persians retired in good order. They surrendered the city of Mosul a week later, but Abbas re-organized in the Persian foothills waiting for John’s advance. It was an advance that never came.
A European Renaissance depiction of the Battle of Mosul. The Battle became part of the powerful imagination of who the emperor of Rome was after the Second Italian War, with many painters and other artists looking to his incredible escape and victory at Mosul as the beginning of his invincibility in battle.
The Romans were exhausted. The capture of Mosul had cost them 12,000 soldiers, most of whom were irreplaceable veterans. The Roman army was in no condition to strike at Persia. Persia, meanwhile, had the capability of launching a counteroffensive into Trebizond once more, but Abbas sat and waited for an “inevitable” strike that was anything but inevitable. After another winter of minor fighting, both sides met for peace.
The inability for Abbas to secure a decisive victory, and with the cult of al-Mahdi that had been built around him, revolts now sprung up in sections of his empire that had grown disillusioned that he was, in fact, the returned Imam to lead the forces of the righteous to victory prior to the Coming of Jesus and the end of the world.[2] The Romans, were more than willing to accept a peace that ultimately won them nothing, other than a momentary respite before John’s gambit in Europe during the Second Italian War, which we covered earlier.
>>> Continue (next chapter in progress)
[1] This is obviously not possible in-game, but reflects the historicity of eastern powers employing make-shift navies where relevant.
[2] In Islamic eschatology, Jesus of Nazareth, a Prophet, will return with the al-Mahdi to defeat the unrighteous and usher in 40 years of peace and prosperity. He will reign in Jerusalem, but will die after 40 years. Jesus’ reign and death signify the “end of history” in the Islamic tradition.
The Mesopotamian Campaign
The evolution of eastern warfare through the ages has always been something that has fascinated military planners. Outside of the conquests of Alexander, Western oriented heavy infantry fighting styles had always been out of place in a land as diverse as encompassing open plains suitable for swift, mobile war, hills and mountains ample for ambushes and close-quarter fighting, to deserts and a baking sun which the Latin Crusaders of yesteryear learnt about the hard way. The Persians were long masters of eastern warfare, but as the Romans had encompassed these lands over the centuries, they had, as I have mentioned before, adopted to a suitable balance of western and eastern style warfare that utilized a mix of composite (medium) infantry and swift cavalry and what we call today, light infantry.The early campaigns in Roman-Persian War had been met with a standstill with the Persians beaten back after the Siege of Trebizond, but the Roman counteroffensive blunted after a series of stinging defeats and Mohammedan uprisings that caused internal strife and turmoil in the newly conquered Roman lands. Emperor John was posed to march straight into the heart of Persia via a direct route through northern Mesopotamia. His plan was to march out of Armenia and capture the important city of Mosul, and establish it as his base of eastern operations, then swing into Persia and march on Tabriz, the capital of Persia, from the south. He even brought with him engineers to construct a make-shift fleet on Lake Urmia.[1]
The idea to strike south, initially, against Mosul was an attempt to fool the Persians who would have naturally presumed that John would march due east to Tabriz from Armenia. Instead, as John departed, he left a screening army of 6,000 men under the Great Domestic of the Morea to guard his march south with some 15,000 men to capture Mosul and defeat the Mesopotamian forces of the Persian army. Unfortunately, the plan did not go accordingly.
Immediately after departure, it became apparently clear that the Roman forces had been infiltrated by Persian spies who alerted Shah Abbas of the Roman intentions. This spy ring, more shockingly, included members of the Roman Imperial staff who were plotting against the young emperor as had happened during the campaigns of Gordian III. The Persians proceeded to mirror the Roman advance south, and also had the intention to cut-off and destroy the Roman screening force under command of the Great Domestic.
Outside of Gawar, just north of the Mesopotamian Circle, the Persians launched their first bold move in this cat and mouse game. The Roman screening force had become too far separated from the main body, and the Persians had tightened the noose and cut-off communications unbeknownst to the Roman forces. After a day of rest, the Persians began to fight a cautious but tolling hit-and-run campaign against the Roman forces. Attempts to call for help for a pitched battle were met unanswered as all couriers were simply captured by the Persians. After a week of on-and-off fighting, the Persians struck at the remaining Roman troops, who encamped themselves upon a hill for defensive purposes.
Over the course of the next two days, the Persians slowly made their way up the hills and annihilated the Roman army. Of the 6,000 men who started the campaign, less than 1,000 escaped. All of this happened without the knowledge of the emperor, who was still marching south on Mosul. Still thinking his flank was covered, Emperor John rested 20 miles outside of Mosul while being watched by a Persian army of superior size. In addition, Shah Abbas managed to reunite with his formerly isolated Mesopotamian forces, bringing his total number of soldiers, according to best estimates, to about 23,000 men.
The Battles of Gawar, where the Persians defeated the Roman screening force of 6,000 and opened an opportunity to score a decisive victory against John's army marching on Mosul.
The Battle of Mosul
The next day, John marched on Mosul expecting only a light defense. Instead, he found a Persian force one and half times his size. Outnumbered, and realizing what had happened, the emperor made the fateful and decisive decision to stand and fight. Rather than let the Persians have the advantage, he pressed the initiative. In the early morning hours of June 11, he attacked by unleashing a barrage of cannon fire upon the Persian encampments. However, unlike his earlier engagements, Abbas had brought with him the modernized weaponry he had initially neglected, including artillery that was capable—and did—return fire against the Romans.Expecting this, John had kept a small force of elite units, cavalry, his Imperial Guard, and about a dozen cannons in a reserve that would deploy at a moment’s notice, or be able to cover a retreat if necessary. For the next six hours, a fierce battle raged outside of the city, with both sides launching attacks against each other. Just north of the city, John gambled with his reserves. He attempted to cross the river and threaten the city, and the Persian forces, on their flank. He intuitively knew that Abbas would have to respond, hoping it would weaken the Persian center where John would launch a thunderous cavalry strike to break the Persians and capture the Persian artillery.
The Persians took the bait, but it turned out that the battle would not be decided where John intended. Instead, the battle was decided on the banks of the Tigris where the diversionary moves were undertaken. Abbas, realizing John’s gambit, overcompensated with the expectation of crushing the Roman reserves then swinging back across the river and attacking the Romans in the rear. Without his reserves, John would be surrounded and forced to surrender. With the realization that the Persian force being sent to stop the Roman attempt to cross the river could turn into a disaster, John threw all of his available forces to winning the battle across the Tigris.
His artillery turned their focus upon the river banks. His cavalry launched their attack, not on the Persian center, but the advancing flank of the Persian forces that had become overexposed in their attempt to intercept. The battle of Mosul hung in the balance on the banks of the Tigris River. Over the next two hours, a bloody melee ensued, with the Romans emerging victorious after a prolonged fight. Instead of being a knockout blow however, the Persians retired in good order. They surrendered the city of Mosul a week later, but Abbas re-organized in the Persian foothills waiting for John’s advance. It was an advance that never came.
A European Renaissance depiction of the Battle of Mosul. The Battle became part of the powerful imagination of who the emperor of Rome was after the Second Italian War, with many painters and other artists looking to his incredible escape and victory at Mosul as the beginning of his invincibility in battle.
The Romans were exhausted. The capture of Mosul had cost them 12,000 soldiers, most of whom were irreplaceable veterans. The Roman army was in no condition to strike at Persia. Persia, meanwhile, had the capability of launching a counteroffensive into Trebizond once more, but Abbas sat and waited for an “inevitable” strike that was anything but inevitable. After another winter of minor fighting, both sides met for peace.
The inability for Abbas to secure a decisive victory, and with the cult of al-Mahdi that had been built around him, revolts now sprung up in sections of his empire that had grown disillusioned that he was, in fact, the returned Imam to lead the forces of the righteous to victory prior to the Coming of Jesus and the end of the world.[2] The Romans, were more than willing to accept a peace that ultimately won them nothing, other than a momentary respite before John’s gambit in Europe during the Second Italian War, which we covered earlier.
>>> Continue (next chapter in progress)
[1] This is obviously not possible in-game, but reflects the historicity of eastern powers employing make-shift navies where relevant.
[2] In Islamic eschatology, Jesus of Nazareth, a Prophet, will return with the al-Mahdi to defeat the unrighteous and usher in 40 years of peace and prosperity. He will reign in Jerusalem, but will die after 40 years. Jesus’ reign and death signify the “end of history” in the Islamic tradition.
And no Anatolian Beyliks to abuse this situation of Roman weakness? Turks please...
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Nothing lost, nothing gained right now - but nonetheless thousands of men dead, thousands of women have become widows. This is war alright.
And I know that I repeat myself here - but this is just the most fitting thing I have to say about this campaign. Who would have thought that the Persians fight harder then the French and Venezian soldiers together?
And I know that I repeat myself here - but this is just the most fitting thing I have to say about this campaign. Who would have thought that the Persians fight harder then the French and Venezian soldiers together?
A bloody stalemate but in removing the mantle of the Mahdi from Abbas the war might cripple Persia through internal dissent.
After about 4 hours of (non-continuous) reading, I have finally caught up. I must say, this AAR is highly informative and I thank you for providing the extra information.
The Turks are so badly bloodied from failed wars with me and the Mamlukes that even after a bloodletting and exhaustion, they can walk over Asia Minor but not the Balkans, and then I just take Ottoman Europe (what's left of it) and we stare at each other until peace.
They say peace leads to prosperity and war destroys prosperity. I think I agree with all the wars we've been fighting in the 1500s. :rofl:
Well, the Persians could muster all their forces against me, whereas France was busy pre-occupied with Austria and Venice, in the Second Italian War, was crippled and weak. Plus, I could bring my entire army to bear against the Europeans so there's that. Plus, without unity in Asia Minor, I have serious logistic problems fighting in the east. I need to protect Constantinople, Greece, and Trebizond with a rather small resource and manpower pool...
Persia will be fine, trust me. No one's in the position to seriously threaten them. Although I think they've hit the roof in terms of expansion.
Non-continuous reading is the most important thing since, I myself, can't really do more than 30-40 minutes without getting bored or my mind wandering. But thanks for the comment and pleasure you've received. As I've maintained, I really don't undertake an AAR for game reasons. I undertake an AAR to interweave proper history as it can relate to the game developments. This is a "history" AAR after all!
Plus it fills my vanity since I'm partially involved in Byzantine historical research and scholarship.Byzantine titles often make people scratch their heads...
Nathan Madien said:Hey! My birthday!
June is a good month. Mostly because the sun is out and it usually isn't raining!
Byzantine titles often make people scratch their heads...
Surely someone is getting paid to come up with these Byzantine titles, right? It would scare me a little bit if these titles were developed for free by a guy who in my opinion has way too much free time on his hand.
Persia is quite a tough nut to crack, isn't it?
Interesting about the Al-Madhi, I know I've heard that before, but you explained it concisely and clearly(as always, except for maybe the concise bit)
Nice user title.
Interesting about the Al-Madhi, I know I've heard that before, but you explained it concisely and clearly(as always, except for maybe the concise bit
)Nice user title.
Byzantine titles often make people scratch their heads...
And Byzantine puns write themselves.
I'm sorry for the extended delay here, but my work and study have sort of overwhelmed me of late. I'm also going through a relocation process too. I hope that, sometime after Mother's Day, I will have some free time once more!
Thanks for your patience.
Thanks for your patience.
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No worries! It's clear you're a busy person, and we appreciate the writing you have done for us. And we patiently anticipate any writing you will do for us in the future.
This post is intentionally left blank so that the new chapter update can begin on the next page, to prevent the readers from having to go back and forth in reading and commenting.
(Thanks for your patience guys, it really means much!)
(Thanks for your patience guys, it really means much!)