Like everyone says, Pentarchy would be fun. 
But the update was great per usual. I'm looking forward to more religious/social updates.
But the update was great per usual. I'm looking forward to more religious/social updates. -
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Dieser AAR gefällt mir?
Ah, old good iconoclasm. Time to light some pyres again?
Ihr Deutsch ist gut, fur eine Finne!
(and my German is probably poor compared to yours)... "Herr Paul, your pronunciation makes my ears bleed!" *I'm sorry* No more pyres shall be light aflame, well, not yet at least...but that pyre will be for a different reason! Oh no, I've said too much already!
I fancy the Eastern Orthodox Church(es) greatly! I have a friend who is a member of the Antiochians!
A Emperor John will be using it as justification for something...
well, not unless the Turks having something to say about it first!Well Seel, you will be disappointed to know that I still intend to hold true to the title of this AAR... in one way or another! Although that would be quite an accomplishment wouldn't it?
Like everyone says, Pentarchy would be fun.
Sadly, as you are the reader, and I am the author, and I control what I am writing about!
(Although I am vastly indebted to the Annales School approach to "Total History", although I disagree with them on a few points, particularly where they place "political-history") And religious/social updates are about to run their course since I have to report about a forthcoming war with a certain AI country that would love nothing more than to "Conquer the City of the World's Desires!" ... :ninja:To All: You will all get to read a very tragic episode in Constantinople's history most likely on Friday!
"The anticipation is palpable isn't it?" (but you all should be able to infer what will happen if you read the last update carefully...
et sursum, et deinceps!- 1
Chapter IV
At the same time of this religious revival in the Roman Empire, Roman society and law changed drastically under Emperor John VIII (as alluded to when discussing the role of the Church earlier this chapter). To compare the hardships that the Roman people were facing, one could compare their lives to those of Cornwall before being vanquished by the English. Likewise, the Roman people had a major threat to their survival looming over them, which is partially responsible, or very much responsible, for their hardships of daily life – the Turkish Mohammedans.
The Roman Empire had always been an agrarian empire, that is, the primary source of their income came from a policy of tax-farming. Tax-farming was the measure by which agricultural production was taxed on behalf of the central government, moneys earned from the production and selling of agriculture often varied based on the season’s production – so in plentiful years, taxes on agriculture went up, and in bad years, taxes on agriculture went up to amend the income shortage that often derived from agrarian decline. While at certain times throughout its history, trade was a central part of Roman life, the empire was always dominated by agrarianism, as is true for virtually everyone kingdom and empire until the Industrial Revolution, when wealth from trade, exploitation, or industry became the central source of income for central governments.
A manuscript showing the arduous labor of tax farming. It was not an ideal means of living, but was often all that most people were afforded during the feudal era. Even during the transition from republic to empire, most Romans were employed in the equivalent of Antiquity tax farming.
The wealth of the Roman Empire had been situated in Anatolia, and following the loss of these lands to the Mohammedans over the course of several centuries, the treasury of the state dried up, and Greece, which still serviced the agrarian economy, was not as fertile as the Anatolian lands had been. Thus, the common Roman was a farmer, a lowly but very noble job where a man had to work, and work admirable, for a living. A smaller and predominately more wealthy class of subjects were merchants, centered primarily in Constantinople, where they traded in luxury and upper-class goods that came from the East. The merchants, while not part of the nobility, were the lucky commoners in that had relatively comfortable lives and often received the financial support of the nobility or the emperor directly because of the wealth and taxable income they generated.
In the early 1450s, trade was largely non-existent outside the confines of Constantinople, and the wide population of Latin and Mohammedan merchants were displacing many Roman merchants, who often either went bankrupt or packed up their goods and travelled to the more lucrative markets in Italy. The burden of income for the empire still fell upon the noble shoulders of the farmer.
Such a daily grind would take a toll on people. Wake up in the early hours of the morning, armed often with only hand tools, since most common Romans did not have the money to own domesticated animals that would aid in the process of farming and harvesting. There was no sense of private-property as we have it today, and the system mirrored that of European feudalism, although one might say it was it was less prone to the harshness of what was occurring in the West, due to a more compassionate system of laws designated at law and order, rather than the benefit of Frankish or German nobles.
The work of the farmer was laborious, as mentioned, and upon the completion of the day’s harvest, one would present the collection to the Roman tax official or land-owning noble and be recompensed for their services. Of course, over time, the Roman tax official would return to collect taxes based on the yearly yield – so the common farmer had to balance the income they made with the future taxes that were to be collected. In other cases, the farmer was dependent upon the generosity of the provincial noble who would provide the housing, food, and possible personal income for the farmer and his family. This naturally created a system of corruption and abuse. Unlike the Iqta or tax farming system of the Mamluks and Turks, which saw rotating nobles or officials every few years to prevent corruption, the Roman system was entrenched with the nobility holding firm over their lands.
This fostered the corruption, rivalry, and power struggles that epitomized Roman nobility. Nobles who were squeezed by tax collectors naturally squeezed those under their domain for restitution, so the commoner was often in a lose-lose situation, trapped in a rock and hard place really. Naturally, through such a progression, some nobles grew extremely powerful, and even had the ability to recruit private armies for their own petty rivalries and land-grabs. And with the state of the Imperial Army largely guarding the city of Constantinople against the constant threat of invasion, the problems of the Greek and Caucasian countryside was “the problem of the nobility” which was the de facto policy of Emperor John in dealing with crises and rivalries among the nobility. Yet, after the successful re-conquests of Trebizond and Georgia, a new merchant fleet was under construction to restore some Roman trading muscle to the Mediterranean, which was dominated by the Mohammedans.
John VIII also embarked on a quasi-war against Latin and Mohammedan traders and merchants in Constantinople, barring them entry to the city (those who came to the city expecting to open shops and conduct business), or skillfully backing Roman merchants to drive competition out of business. Taxes and other tariffs were raised on foreign traders operating in the city. Unfortunately, some zealous patriots would get the wrong impression of what the emperor was planning.
Sometime in July, 1459, a zealous and angry crowd of Romans in the city entered the Mohammedan quarter and began pillaging and sacking the predominately Turkic merchants and traders. After a few days, news of the movement changed to that of a riot – a riot against foreign presence in the city. The same crowd that had been claiming merchant goods and profits for themselves, suddenly turned hostile and deadly toward their targets.
This tragic episode in the history of Constantinople mirrored the slaughter of the Latins, which was used as a catalyst for the Latin conquest of the city in the early thirteenth century. The slaughter of the infidels (or the Mohammedans), as it became known, saw the death of several hundreds of Mohammedan merchants, women, and children in the city, the Mohammedan Quarter ran red with blood, fire, and destruction. By the time the emperor restored order to the city, those traders that remained fled to Edirne (Adrianople) where the Turkic Sultan was informed of what transpired in the city of Constantine.
A very romantic and inaccurate painting of the Slaughter of the Mohammedan Merchants and their families in the streets of Constantinople.
This incident served as a call for war, and in September 1459, a Mohammedan delegation entered the Imperial Palace of John VIII with an impossible demand – full restitution of the damages and losses incurred on the Mohammedan traders and merchants of the city, including those who were killed, plus free access and the right to trade and export without Roman interference or protection. As expected, the ultimatum was rejected, and the delegation informed the emperor that he had brought the storm of war over his people and his city with his decision. Of course, this was already being calculated and meditated. The Sultan knew John would refuse the ultimatum, and therefore have a pretext for invasion.
By October, the Turks gathered for war. Turkish client states, or some say allies, Algiers, Tunisia, and the Khanate of the Crimea, also gathered for a war against the Romans. The immediate Roman spy network in northern Greece reported that some 15,000 soldiers of the Turkish Army were stationed in Albania and Bosnia, the latter having suffered greatly at the hands of an invasion just a year or so prior. Another force of some 20,000 men were situated in Anatolia, and Trebizond, nearly defenseless, was expected to fall without much opposition. Constantine was called out of the Peloponnese, and recalled to Constantinople to prepare the defenses of the city. The only advantage for the Romans was the 14,000 strong Imperial Army, coupled with the 4,000 strong Athenian army – the Duchy of Athens was a faithful vassal of the Roman empire, and could be depended upon for support in the war. With roughly equal numbers in Europe, Constantine laid out a new plan for war. Admiral Tornikes’s naval reforms were going to be put to the test, as was the new Roman navy, totaling 19 large warships and many smaller auxiliary ships [1]. The Roman navy was called upon to keep the Mohammedan navy at a draw until the Roman armies could, hopefully, defeat the Turkish forces in Europe. On 22 October, a formal declaration of war was given to Emperor John VIII from the Turkish Sultan. The fate of the Roman Empire, indeed, Roman civilization was at stake.
[1] Auxiliary ships do not exist in the game, but in light of the actual sizes of many naval engagements of the period, auxiliary ships is my method of “adding” non-existing ships from the game’s perspective to accurately reflect the size of naval battles from OTL into this timeline (hey, this is a history book right?). To understand the difference, when I state the number of proper warships, this reflects the in-game representation of heavy ships, galleys, “trade ships” and transports present at the battle. Whenever I list a number for auxiliary ships (if I’m otherwise not ambiguous), know that they are not represented in-game, but are a figment of my imagination to reflect a more historically accurate text for the AAR – it is a history book AAR after all, and we must spare no expense to try and keep it that way (poor EU4 pun I know, I’m sorry!)
Tax Farming, Farmers, and the Slaughter of the Mohammedans in Constantinople
At the same time of this religious revival in the Roman Empire, Roman society and law changed drastically under Emperor John VIII (as alluded to when discussing the role of the Church earlier this chapter). To compare the hardships that the Roman people were facing, one could compare their lives to those of Cornwall before being vanquished by the English. Likewise, the Roman people had a major threat to their survival looming over them, which is partially responsible, or very much responsible, for their hardships of daily life – the Turkish Mohammedans.
The Roman Empire had always been an agrarian empire, that is, the primary source of their income came from a policy of tax-farming. Tax-farming was the measure by which agricultural production was taxed on behalf of the central government, moneys earned from the production and selling of agriculture often varied based on the season’s production – so in plentiful years, taxes on agriculture went up, and in bad years, taxes on agriculture went up to amend the income shortage that often derived from agrarian decline. While at certain times throughout its history, trade was a central part of Roman life, the empire was always dominated by agrarianism, as is true for virtually everyone kingdom and empire until the Industrial Revolution, when wealth from trade, exploitation, or industry became the central source of income for central governments.
A manuscript showing the arduous labor of tax farming. It was not an ideal means of living, but was often all that most people were afforded during the feudal era. Even during the transition from republic to empire, most Romans were employed in the equivalent of Antiquity tax farming.
The wealth of the Roman Empire had been situated in Anatolia, and following the loss of these lands to the Mohammedans over the course of several centuries, the treasury of the state dried up, and Greece, which still serviced the agrarian economy, was not as fertile as the Anatolian lands had been. Thus, the common Roman was a farmer, a lowly but very noble job where a man had to work, and work admirable, for a living. A smaller and predominately more wealthy class of subjects were merchants, centered primarily in Constantinople, where they traded in luxury and upper-class goods that came from the East. The merchants, while not part of the nobility, were the lucky commoners in that had relatively comfortable lives and often received the financial support of the nobility or the emperor directly because of the wealth and taxable income they generated.
In the early 1450s, trade was largely non-existent outside the confines of Constantinople, and the wide population of Latin and Mohammedan merchants were displacing many Roman merchants, who often either went bankrupt or packed up their goods and travelled to the more lucrative markets in Italy. The burden of income for the empire still fell upon the noble shoulders of the farmer.
Such a daily grind would take a toll on people. Wake up in the early hours of the morning, armed often with only hand tools, since most common Romans did not have the money to own domesticated animals that would aid in the process of farming and harvesting. There was no sense of private-property as we have it today, and the system mirrored that of European feudalism, although one might say it was it was less prone to the harshness of what was occurring in the West, due to a more compassionate system of laws designated at law and order, rather than the benefit of Frankish or German nobles.
The work of the farmer was laborious, as mentioned, and upon the completion of the day’s harvest, one would present the collection to the Roman tax official or land-owning noble and be recompensed for their services. Of course, over time, the Roman tax official would return to collect taxes based on the yearly yield – so the common farmer had to balance the income they made with the future taxes that were to be collected. In other cases, the farmer was dependent upon the generosity of the provincial noble who would provide the housing, food, and possible personal income for the farmer and his family. This naturally created a system of corruption and abuse. Unlike the Iqta or tax farming system of the Mamluks and Turks, which saw rotating nobles or officials every few years to prevent corruption, the Roman system was entrenched with the nobility holding firm over their lands.
This fostered the corruption, rivalry, and power struggles that epitomized Roman nobility. Nobles who were squeezed by tax collectors naturally squeezed those under their domain for restitution, so the commoner was often in a lose-lose situation, trapped in a rock and hard place really. Naturally, through such a progression, some nobles grew extremely powerful, and even had the ability to recruit private armies for their own petty rivalries and land-grabs. And with the state of the Imperial Army largely guarding the city of Constantinople against the constant threat of invasion, the problems of the Greek and Caucasian countryside was “the problem of the nobility” which was the de facto policy of Emperor John in dealing with crises and rivalries among the nobility. Yet, after the successful re-conquests of Trebizond and Georgia, a new merchant fleet was under construction to restore some Roman trading muscle to the Mediterranean, which was dominated by the Mohammedans.
John VIII also embarked on a quasi-war against Latin and Mohammedan traders and merchants in Constantinople, barring them entry to the city (those who came to the city expecting to open shops and conduct business), or skillfully backing Roman merchants to drive competition out of business. Taxes and other tariffs were raised on foreign traders operating in the city. Unfortunately, some zealous patriots would get the wrong impression of what the emperor was planning.
Sometime in July, 1459, a zealous and angry crowd of Romans in the city entered the Mohammedan quarter and began pillaging and sacking the predominately Turkic merchants and traders. After a few days, news of the movement changed to that of a riot – a riot against foreign presence in the city. The same crowd that had been claiming merchant goods and profits for themselves, suddenly turned hostile and deadly toward their targets.
This tragic episode in the history of Constantinople mirrored the slaughter of the Latins, which was used as a catalyst for the Latin conquest of the city in the early thirteenth century. The slaughter of the infidels (or the Mohammedans), as it became known, saw the death of several hundreds of Mohammedan merchants, women, and children in the city, the Mohammedan Quarter ran red with blood, fire, and destruction. By the time the emperor restored order to the city, those traders that remained fled to Edirne (Adrianople) where the Turkic Sultan was informed of what transpired in the city of Constantine.
A very romantic and inaccurate painting of the Slaughter of the Mohammedan Merchants and their families in the streets of Constantinople.
This incident served as a call for war, and in September 1459, a Mohammedan delegation entered the Imperial Palace of John VIII with an impossible demand – full restitution of the damages and losses incurred on the Mohammedan traders and merchants of the city, including those who were killed, plus free access and the right to trade and export without Roman interference or protection. As expected, the ultimatum was rejected, and the delegation informed the emperor that he had brought the storm of war over his people and his city with his decision. Of course, this was already being calculated and meditated. The Sultan knew John would refuse the ultimatum, and therefore have a pretext for invasion.
By October, the Turks gathered for war. Turkish client states, or some say allies, Algiers, Tunisia, and the Khanate of the Crimea, also gathered for a war against the Romans. The immediate Roman spy network in northern Greece reported that some 15,000 soldiers of the Turkish Army were stationed in Albania and Bosnia, the latter having suffered greatly at the hands of an invasion just a year or so prior. Another force of some 20,000 men were situated in Anatolia, and Trebizond, nearly defenseless, was expected to fall without much opposition. Constantine was called out of the Peloponnese, and recalled to Constantinople to prepare the defenses of the city. The only advantage for the Romans was the 14,000 strong Imperial Army, coupled with the 4,000 strong Athenian army – the Duchy of Athens was a faithful vassal of the Roman empire, and could be depended upon for support in the war. With roughly equal numbers in Europe, Constantine laid out a new plan for war. Admiral Tornikes’s naval reforms were going to be put to the test, as was the new Roman navy, totaling 19 large warships and many smaller auxiliary ships [1]. The Roman navy was called upon to keep the Mohammedan navy at a draw until the Roman armies could, hopefully, defeat the Turkish forces in Europe. On 22 October, a formal declaration of war was given to Emperor John VIII from the Turkish Sultan. The fate of the Roman Empire, indeed, Roman civilization was at stake.
[1] Auxiliary ships do not exist in the game, but in light of the actual sizes of many naval engagements of the period, auxiliary ships is my method of “adding” non-existing ships from the game’s perspective to accurately reflect the size of naval battles from OTL into this timeline (hey, this is a history book right?). To understand the difference, when I state the number of proper warships, this reflects the in-game representation of heavy ships, galleys, “trade ships” and transports present at the battle. Whenever I list a number for auxiliary ships (if I’m otherwise not ambiguous), know that they are not represented in-game, but are a figment of my imagination to reflect a more historically accurate text for the AAR – it is a history book AAR after all, and we must spare no expense to try and keep it that way (poor EU4 pun I know, I’m sorry!
)
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Oh, boy...the Roman merchants really stirred up a hornet's nest. Good luck, my friend. And, keep your wits about you.
Truly impressive stuff here VM, such juicy historic...ness, a fantastic effort so far, looking forward to more definately!
Ah, the mob still rules the empire.
Also when it came to late imperial farming, Constantinople was getting so depopulated before the end that some of the land within the walls was abandoned and could be used for various agrarian needs.
Then again not sure where and if I actually read it anywhere or is my head again imagining stuff.
Also when it came to late imperial farming, Constantinople was getting so depopulated before the end that some of the land within the walls was abandoned and could be used for various agrarian needs.
Then again not sure where and if I actually read it anywhere or is my head again imagining stuff.
Very much so, or more or less my mind stirred up the hornet's nest since I wanted a dramatic reason for the Ottoman DoW against me, other than "they declared war on me!"
Great to see you here Jape!
And thanks for the kind words! I fear however, that this project will only wear and tear on me, and possibly the reader, since the traditional focus on war and conquest is but more a sideshow to this AAR. 9 updates in the AAR proper and I only have 3 posts that include military action, of which 2 of them half of the update was focusing on other things besides the conquests! Ah, the mob still rules the empire.
Also when it came to late imperial farming, Constantinople was getting so depopulated before the end that some of the land within the walls was abandoned and could be used for various agrarian needs.
Then again not sure where and if I actually read it anywhere or is my head again imagining stuff.
I thought this was the problem with democracies... :blink:
My head imagines stuff too, too much I think, or perhaps the cobwebs get dusted off and I think I was imagining something I had actually learned!
Have a good farming year and your taxes go up. Have a bad farming year and your taxes go up. Just think about farming and your taxes go up.
And that's when we got the Boston Tea Party...oh, wait. Wrong era.
A very romantic and inaccurate painting of the Slaughter of the Mohammedan Merchants and their families in the streets of Constantinople.
I love your use of the word "inaccurate", volksmarschall. It fits the picture perfectly.
I see the Sultan is taking a page right out of the World War One playbook.
Great to see you here Jape!
If it makes you feel any better, I'm doing an Vietnam War AAR in which there are zero updates about actual military action gameplay in Vietnam. :laugh:
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Have a good farming year and your taxes go up. Have a bad farming year and your taxes go up. Just think about farming and your taxes go up.
Tis the life of the poor farmer in a feudal and agrarian society...
Using a painting depicting Herod's slaughter of the innocents after Jesus's birth is certainly not going to be accurate when I use it to show the image of the Rioters killing Mohammedan merchants in Constantinople...
Well, I don't believe you're in the Vietnam War yet in your AAR. And plus, engaging political confrontation is just as tense as the general post about who and what got conquered!
Perhaps more-so than me writing about the Orthodox Church or agrarianism in the late period Empire!
Chapter V
The outbreak of hostilities between the Mohammedan Turks and the Romans was broke what was a longstanding, nearly 40 year, peace between the two powers since the Turks had failed in the Siege of Constantinople in 1422. The Turks had won great victories over Serbia and Bosnia in the late 1440s, in the middle 1450s, they had won an even more impressive victory over the Poles and Lithuanians who had invaded the protectorate the Khanate of Crimea, although to be fair, the peace restored the status-quo and did not see any acquisitions of land. The Turks had also invaded small Anatolian confederations and kingdoms and absorbed them into their state by 1458.
The outbreak of war was blamed on the massacre of the Mohammedans inside the Mohammedan Quarter of Constantinople, but it was very likely that the Turks were, at this time, simply going to flex their muscle and eliminate the Romans once and for all. Yet, there was a grave miscalculation, or perhaps, mistiming in the war declaration. More than half of the Turkish armies were in Anatolia, with around 15,000 in Europe. The Roman Army totaled an equal size, all of whom were protecting the only city that mattered. The Romans could depend upon another 3,000 men from the Duchy of Athens, thus, they had a slight numerical advantage, which would be offset by the better Turkish fighting spirit and technology.
The Mohammedan navy was also a major problem to contend with. The new and improved Roman navy meant that Rome would be able to defend the Bosphorus, but likely be unable to move elsewhere. If the Turkish fleet could dislodge Tornikes’s new and improved navy, a swarm of 20,000 or more Turkish soldiers, and an equal number of Mohammedan allies and provincials would come sweeping into Europe. Emperor John initially petitioned for a defensive strategy to the war, but Constantine argued that the Romans should press the advantage of men in Europe and simply pray that the navy would be able to hold the straights.
The Turkish Mohammedan navy was one of the largest and most powerful navies in the world. Galleys, like this one depicted above, were the mainstay of the Turkish Fleet.
The Mohammedan forces in Europe were scattered in three principle locations: Bulgaria, Albania, and Bosnia. During the advent season, Constantine had escaped from Constantinople undetected and marched on Albania where the small Albanian army was stationed. Some might argue that the decision to leave Constantinople was a brash and not well thought decision. However, Constantine’s reasoning was far superior to that of his critics. He reasoned that if the Turks in Bulgaria, roughly 5,000 or so soldiers were to besiege Constantinople, which had a standing garrison of 3,000+ men, he could defeat the small Turkish armies piecemeal and swing back and save the city before it would fall. After all, the walls of Constantinople were the eighth wonder of the world. On Christmas Eve, that is Christmas Eve according to the Western Calendar (December 24), Constantine united the Roman army with the Athenian army and stormed into Albania and caught the Mohammedan army unsuspecting of an attack. At Tirana, the Roman army destroyed the entire Mohammedan force, about 3,000 men, with minimal casualties on their half. This was a tremendous victory, if not just for a boost of confidence. It had been over 100 years since a Roman army defeated a Turkish army in an actual battle, even if the numbers of men so favored one side over the other.
By January, the Turkish armies were laying siege to Trebizond, and some 25,000 men were gathering along the Anatolian coast to move across the Bosphorus, but were stopped by the Roman navy. The Turkish navy was yet to be seen, but that’s because they were down near Egypt, for unknown reasons, and were slowly making their way back north to dislodge the Romans and allow the full force of the armies come down upon the city of Constantine. Likewise, the two Turkish armies remaining in Europe were marching to link up with one another. Facing the dilemma of not wanting to fight a united Turkish army, Constantine thundered out of Albania to block the Mohammedans from uniting their forces into a single cohesive fighting force.
At Sandžak, in February 1460, the Roman army deployed opposite of the Turkish army blocking the main road they were travelling on. Some 17,000 Romans and Greeks were facing a modest sized Mohammedan force of about 7,000 men. Constantine offered a generous term for surrender, but it was naturally rejected. The Mohammedans prepared for battle. At the same time, the Serbians, the faithful ally to the Romans, crossed over the northern borders into various Balkan provinces under Mohammedan rule. For the sake of my narrative, I will not detail their effort in the war, since they never linked up with Roman forces.
The Battle of Sandžak would decide the fate of the Macedonian Campaign, as it became known. If the Mohammedans were to break free, and the Romans defeated, there was little reason to think that Rome would fall within the next few years, if she was able to hold out for that long. A Mohammedan army from Tunis was gathering and setting sail for the Peloponnese with 6,000 men and a large naval fleet of their own right. Trebizond was soon to fall, and additional Mohammedan forces were besieging Batumi and pillaging other Georgian towns and cities – the Despotate of Trebizond was a lost cause (intentionally I might add, despite the constant calls for help by nobles of the despotate who cried for Imperial help (John IV had recently died, and his 5 year old son was far too young to administer his father’s duchy). Likewise, by spring, the Turkish navy would have made their way into the Aegean and would certainly be eager to attack the Romans and help transport 20,000 or more soldiers into action, with an equal amount to reinforce them once Trebizond and the Georgian provinces had fallen.
On 13 February, the Mohammedans pressed the attack and assaulted Constantine’s forward men. The battle initially seemed to be in the Turks favor. The Roman frontline was bending back, but then Constantine gallantly rode forward and rallied the troops, leading a counter attack of 9,000 men straight into the heart of the Mohammedan lines. Chaos fell upon the battlefield. The nearby forest caught fire, smoke and blood covered the fields and the road, which collected the blood as if a pool. One Athenian soldier wrote, “It was if the blood of our Lord was raining down from heaven above, protecting those whom were truly his, and piercing the heathens and non-believers within our own ranks.”
Constantine, in the middle of the battle, was wounded by a Mohammedan warrior, only to be saved by the heroic actions of an Athenian nobleman who dismounted from his horse and ran forth to save the heir of the Roman throne from the hands of a Mohammedan who was eager to pierce his heart with his knife. The nobleman’s name is lost to history, for in his struggle, he was killed by the assailant who was attempting to kill Constantine. His heroic death allowed several of Constantine’s guards to kill the Mohammedan and wrestle Constantine to safety, who apparently wept at the heroic sacrifice of the nameless noble.
The Battle Sandžak, depicting the critical moment when an Athenian Nobleman saves Constantine from certain death!
By nightfall, the battle had turned to favor the Romans. The Mohammedans were in full retreat. Following Constantine’s near run-in with death, the Roman army thrust a great wedge into the Mohammedan left-flank, threatening to envelope the rest of the army if withdrawal was not quickly commenced. There are no official records of the battle, but by all accounts, the Mohammedans suffered greater losses than the Romans. My estimates place the losses at about 1500-2000 Romans and Athenians, and upwards of 4500 Mohammedans [1]. The stunning victory by the Romans sent a shockwave through Europe.
The Pope had feared the war was going to bring about the swift destruction of the Greeks [2]. Europe was holding her breath as she feared a defeat of the Romans would mean a future invasion of their lands from the ascending Mohammedan armies. After the news of Sandžak, Europe breathed easier, as did the Romans. Rather than pursue the fleeing Mohammedan army, Constantine held firm to recover his strength and reorganize his army before marching out to counter the Mohammedan force in Bulgaria, which, upon hearing the news of the defeat, turned around and was marching on Constantinople.
To make matters worse, an auxiliary Roman ship spotted the Turkish navy in the Aegean, and they were sailing straight for the Dardanelles where the Roman navy was stationed. The Romans still had a sizable Turkish force of 8000 or so soldiers still in Europe, and a massive Turkish fleet bearing down on them. The news of Constantine’s victory did not bring the same joy that swept through Europe to Emperor John, who was precariously planning to hide the great treasures of the city if the worst came to pass.
[1] “My” estimations reflect the accurate casualty rates, with a little ambiguity added since most documents of such battles historically (OTL) were rough and sketchy. It wasn’t until the past 200 years that most historians started to reach consensus agreements on how many soldiers had been killed in battles from Antiquity through the Middle Ages. Again, to reflect the fact that this is a history AAR, I am taking as many means as possible to write an accurate history (of the period).
[2] The Latins never referred to the Byzantines as Byzantines, nor did they ever call them Romans. The European term for the Eastern Roman Empire was “Empire of the Greeks.”
The First Macedonian War, The Opening Hostilities and the Battle of Sandžak
The outbreak of hostilities between the Mohammedan Turks and the Romans was broke what was a longstanding, nearly 40 year, peace between the two powers since the Turks had failed in the Siege of Constantinople in 1422. The Turks had won great victories over Serbia and Bosnia in the late 1440s, in the middle 1450s, they had won an even more impressive victory over the Poles and Lithuanians who had invaded the protectorate the Khanate of Crimea, although to be fair, the peace restored the status-quo and did not see any acquisitions of land. The Turks had also invaded small Anatolian confederations and kingdoms and absorbed them into their state by 1458.
The outbreak of war was blamed on the massacre of the Mohammedans inside the Mohammedan Quarter of Constantinople, but it was very likely that the Turks were, at this time, simply going to flex their muscle and eliminate the Romans once and for all. Yet, there was a grave miscalculation, or perhaps, mistiming in the war declaration. More than half of the Turkish armies were in Anatolia, with around 15,000 in Europe. The Roman Army totaled an equal size, all of whom were protecting the only city that mattered. The Romans could depend upon another 3,000 men from the Duchy of Athens, thus, they had a slight numerical advantage, which would be offset by the better Turkish fighting spirit and technology.
The Mohammedan navy was also a major problem to contend with. The new and improved Roman navy meant that Rome would be able to defend the Bosphorus, but likely be unable to move elsewhere. If the Turkish fleet could dislodge Tornikes’s new and improved navy, a swarm of 20,000 or more Turkish soldiers, and an equal number of Mohammedan allies and provincials would come sweeping into Europe. Emperor John initially petitioned for a defensive strategy to the war, but Constantine argued that the Romans should press the advantage of men in Europe and simply pray that the navy would be able to hold the straights.
The Turkish Mohammedan navy was one of the largest and most powerful navies in the world. Galleys, like this one depicted above, were the mainstay of the Turkish Fleet.
The Mohammedan forces in Europe were scattered in three principle locations: Bulgaria, Albania, and Bosnia. During the advent season, Constantine had escaped from Constantinople undetected and marched on Albania where the small Albanian army was stationed. Some might argue that the decision to leave Constantinople was a brash and not well thought decision. However, Constantine’s reasoning was far superior to that of his critics. He reasoned that if the Turks in Bulgaria, roughly 5,000 or so soldiers were to besiege Constantinople, which had a standing garrison of 3,000+ men, he could defeat the small Turkish armies piecemeal and swing back and save the city before it would fall. After all, the walls of Constantinople were the eighth wonder of the world. On Christmas Eve, that is Christmas Eve according to the Western Calendar (December 24), Constantine united the Roman army with the Athenian army and stormed into Albania and caught the Mohammedan army unsuspecting of an attack. At Tirana, the Roman army destroyed the entire Mohammedan force, about 3,000 men, with minimal casualties on their half. This was a tremendous victory, if not just for a boost of confidence. It had been over 100 years since a Roman army defeated a Turkish army in an actual battle, even if the numbers of men so favored one side over the other.
By January, the Turkish armies were laying siege to Trebizond, and some 25,000 men were gathering along the Anatolian coast to move across the Bosphorus, but were stopped by the Roman navy. The Turkish navy was yet to be seen, but that’s because they were down near Egypt, for unknown reasons, and were slowly making their way back north to dislodge the Romans and allow the full force of the armies come down upon the city of Constantine. Likewise, the two Turkish armies remaining in Europe were marching to link up with one another. Facing the dilemma of not wanting to fight a united Turkish army, Constantine thundered out of Albania to block the Mohammedans from uniting their forces into a single cohesive fighting force.
At Sandžak, in February 1460, the Roman army deployed opposite of the Turkish army blocking the main road they were travelling on. Some 17,000 Romans and Greeks were facing a modest sized Mohammedan force of about 7,000 men. Constantine offered a generous term for surrender, but it was naturally rejected. The Mohammedans prepared for battle. At the same time, the Serbians, the faithful ally to the Romans, crossed over the northern borders into various Balkan provinces under Mohammedan rule. For the sake of my narrative, I will not detail their effort in the war, since they never linked up with Roman forces.
The Battle of Sandžak would decide the fate of the Macedonian Campaign, as it became known. If the Mohammedans were to break free, and the Romans defeated, there was little reason to think that Rome would fall within the next few years, if she was able to hold out for that long. A Mohammedan army from Tunis was gathering and setting sail for the Peloponnese with 6,000 men and a large naval fleet of their own right. Trebizond was soon to fall, and additional Mohammedan forces were besieging Batumi and pillaging other Georgian towns and cities – the Despotate of Trebizond was a lost cause (intentionally I might add, despite the constant calls for help by nobles of the despotate who cried for Imperial help (John IV had recently died, and his 5 year old son was far too young to administer his father’s duchy). Likewise, by spring, the Turkish navy would have made their way into the Aegean and would certainly be eager to attack the Romans and help transport 20,000 or more soldiers into action, with an equal amount to reinforce them once Trebizond and the Georgian provinces had fallen.
On 13 February, the Mohammedans pressed the attack and assaulted Constantine’s forward men. The battle initially seemed to be in the Turks favor. The Roman frontline was bending back, but then Constantine gallantly rode forward and rallied the troops, leading a counter attack of 9,000 men straight into the heart of the Mohammedan lines. Chaos fell upon the battlefield. The nearby forest caught fire, smoke and blood covered the fields and the road, which collected the blood as if a pool. One Athenian soldier wrote, “It was if the blood of our Lord was raining down from heaven above, protecting those whom were truly his, and piercing the heathens and non-believers within our own ranks.”
Constantine, in the middle of the battle, was wounded by a Mohammedan warrior, only to be saved by the heroic actions of an Athenian nobleman who dismounted from his horse and ran forth to save the heir of the Roman throne from the hands of a Mohammedan who was eager to pierce his heart with his knife. The nobleman’s name is lost to history, for in his struggle, he was killed by the assailant who was attempting to kill Constantine. His heroic death allowed several of Constantine’s guards to kill the Mohammedan and wrestle Constantine to safety, who apparently wept at the heroic sacrifice of the nameless noble.
The Battle Sandžak, depicting the critical moment when an Athenian Nobleman saves Constantine from certain death!
By nightfall, the battle had turned to favor the Romans. The Mohammedans were in full retreat. Following Constantine’s near run-in with death, the Roman army thrust a great wedge into the Mohammedan left-flank, threatening to envelope the rest of the army if withdrawal was not quickly commenced. There are no official records of the battle, but by all accounts, the Mohammedans suffered greater losses than the Romans. My estimates place the losses at about 1500-2000 Romans and Athenians, and upwards of 4500 Mohammedans [1]. The stunning victory by the Romans sent a shockwave through Europe.
The Pope had feared the war was going to bring about the swift destruction of the Greeks [2]. Europe was holding her breath as she feared a defeat of the Romans would mean a future invasion of their lands from the ascending Mohammedan armies. After the news of Sandžak, Europe breathed easier, as did the Romans. Rather than pursue the fleeing Mohammedan army, Constantine held firm to recover his strength and reorganize his army before marching out to counter the Mohammedan force in Bulgaria, which, upon hearing the news of the defeat, turned around and was marching on Constantinople.
To make matters worse, an auxiliary Roman ship spotted the Turkish navy in the Aegean, and they were sailing straight for the Dardanelles where the Roman navy was stationed. The Romans still had a sizable Turkish force of 8000 or so soldiers still in Europe, and a massive Turkish fleet bearing down on them. The news of Constantine’s victory did not bring the same joy that swept through Europe to Emperor John, who was precariously planning to hide the great treasures of the city if the worst came to pass.
[1] “My” estimations reflect the accurate casualty rates, with a little ambiguity added since most documents of such battles historically (OTL) were rough and sketchy. It wasn’t until the past 200 years that most historians started to reach consensus agreements on how many soldiers had been killed in battles from Antiquity through the Middle Ages. Again, to reflect the fact that this is a history AAR, I am taking as many means as possible to write an accurate history (of the period).
[2] The Latins never referred to the Byzantines as Byzantines, nor did they ever call them Romans. The European term for the Eastern Roman Empire was “Empire of the Greeks.”
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Using a painting depicting Herod's slaughter of the innocents after Jesus's birth is certainly not going to be accurate when I use it to show the image of the Rioters killing Mohammedan merchants in Constantinople...
Wait a minute. You mean this...
Is about Herod killing babies after hearing about Jesus? That just blows my mind. :blink:
It does explain the baby focus though.
Don't you mean December 25th? Or am I mistaken?
Reading this reminds me of Alexander the Great. He was almost killed in one of his early battles but was saved at the last moment by one of his soldiers.
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Well, you are still in a crappy position. The enemy has more more, and they will eventually come get you...
Now, that was an update...that's an update. I'm glad I never played the Romans. I couldn't have done the ARR justice. However, you do find yourself in a bad position...it offers the mind the thought that the end is near...but, wait...
It would be nice if Serbia did more... manpower is always a major problem :glare:
I'm sorry Deus, but it looks like you'll have to wait until Sunday or Monday for more of the war, which will include an almost disastrous naval battle!
But a day in the life of paranoid kings in ancient Palestine!
Fixed that little mistake, thank you!
And the picture of is Ferdinand II of Naples in the middle of battle during the beginnings of the Italian Wars!
I personally think Alexander is overrated, he got credit for having superb and loyal generals, whom, dare I say it, were far better than he! But as King, you always get the credit! (Not to say I think Alexander is not worthy of genius...kinda like Frederick the Great. Actually study his battles and who he fought and he is not that impressive, but his lore and myth has been so powerful since his death; he, on several occasions, almost brought about the destruction of Prussia because of his wars, and when facing competent commanders unlike the idiot Charles Alexander Lorraine, his victories are not even remotely impressive and not to mention his defeats being something that no one wants to focus about for whatever reason, but I digress).Turks are always looking over me...
Well, I had to eventually write about war and conquest - seeing that that actually is what drives the game forward. So this chapter is wholly devoted to what the majority of AARs actually cover... :blush:
Oh well, flip a coin and we'll see what happens next!
To All: Update sometime later in the week, probably a day or two (or three!
)Instead of holding his breath, couldn't the Pope call for a Crusade against the Ottos?
Or doing something USEFUL for a change?
Or doing something USEFUL for a change?
The Pope doing something useful? When did that happen?
At the OP: Supreme AAR, if only I had the imagination to think the events of the game as such
After the inevitable victory over the alothriskoi remember we must give our prayers where they are due:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7mMAcQgzg4
I don't think I will be getting any help from Latin Europe! What a surprise...Rome is on her own! :ninja:
The Pope doing something useful? When did that happen?
At the OP: Supreme AAR, if only I had the imagination to think the events of the game as such
After the inevitable victory over the alothriskoi remember we must give our prayers where they are due:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7mMAcQgzg4
Thank you Pilot for such kind words regarding the AAR!
Orthodox Chants and songs are amazing aren't they? (well, I think they are!)
Chapter V
Despite the Roman victory Sandžak, there was little time for celebration. The smaller Turkish army in Bulgarian was marching on Constantinople, expecting that the larger Mohammedan coalition of armies in Asia Minor would soon arrive in Thrace and help with the siege. Realizing the impending the crisis, Constantine force marched his army to intercept the Turkish army at Edirne, or Adrianople on April 3. Although the Romans possessed a significantly larger force, of about 15,000 men, against a Turkish force of about 5,000 men, the Roman army was tired, hungry, and lacking in the military tactics and technology of the Mohammedans – to whom it is painful for any European to admit, probably had the finest equipped, drilled, and trained military force in the world during the early and mid-fifteenth centuries.
The Battle of Edirne coincided with the Battle of the Dardanelles Straights, which we shall cover in the forthcoming text. Nevertheless, the Battle of Edirne brought dark clouds of the empire. The battle was a disaster almost from the start. Constantine had fallen ill, and was still not fully recovered from his wounds suffered earlier. The de facto command of the army fell to the Athenian Duke, Franceco, who, although competent, was not as skillful and daring as Constantine.
The early stages of the battle went so poorly for the Roman-Athenian army, that by the time the Turks unleashed a major cavalry charge during the afternoon hours of the engagement, news of the folding right flank of the Roman army arrived at Constantine’s quarter. With the dust and chaos of the battle, neither commander knew what was happening. An aid to Francesco wrote that in the midst of the battle, the Duke turned to Constantine and asked, “Do you know what is happening?” Constantine turned to the Duke and replied, “I have no idea.” It was soon after this exchange that the news of the sweeping Mohammedan cavalry attack reached the two generals. Constantine then ordered a general retreat. The battle concluded by nightfall, and some 2,000 Romans and Athenians had been killed, to only around 500 or so Turks. The road to Constantinople seemed clear, although the Roman army still possessed anywhere between 13,000-14,000 men, with reinforcements soon on the way.
About a week after Edirne, the Turkish navy assaulted Admiral Tornikes, who had been waiting for the inevitable Turkish attack. The fleets were grand, 21 major war galleys and other warships formed the backbone of the Turkish fleet, which also brought about 50 or 60 auxiliary ships [1] to the battle, totaling around 70 or more ships. Admiral Tornikes had in his possession 19 major warships, and about 35 smaller auxiliary vessels with orders to defend the straights and prevent the land crossings from occurring at all costs.
By mid-morning, the Turkish admiral made a full assault upon the Roman navy. Several of the Turkish galleys had cannons mounted on the decks, and fired thunderous shots toward the Roman navy – catching them completely by surprise. Tornikes ordered the Roman fleet to sail directly at the Turks and close the distance before their cannons could turn decisive and deadly. A few minutes into the battle, a small Roman auxiliary ship was rocked by one, or several, Turkish cannons and promptly split in two and sank to the bottom of the seas.
By eleven o’clock, the ships were indistinguishable from one another. The masts of all the ships were intertwined with each other, men were boarding ships left and right, cannon fire ripped through the hulls of other ships, some were sinking, and others were burning. Smoke covered the seas, and the screams of the dead and dying pierced into the heavens. By early afternoon, Admiral Tornikes saw the damage that was being inflicted upon both fleets, but he noted that one of the Roman galleys had caught fire and was completely ablaze, the masts burning up right before his eyes. Looking at the larger and more successful Turkish fleet, he made, perhaps, the most important decision in the history of the Late Period Empire. By defying the imperial decree of defending the straights at all costs, and retreating back to the Golden Horn instead, he may have inadvertently saved the empire from defeat. By 3 or 4 o’clock, the Romans had disengaged suffering heavy damage, but also having inflicted serious damage upon the Turkish fleet as well. The Mohammedan navy had not lost any of its major warships, but about 12 smaller ships had been sunk or captured during the engagement, and by captured I mean the crews were utterly destroyed but the ships left to eventually sink unmanned into the bottom of the sea. The Romans, by contrast, had lost one war galley, and 16 smaller auxiliary ships. Despite the defeat, the damage done to the Turkish navy meant the Turkic admiral would have to return for repairs, meaning that skillful action and proper spy reports could still keep the Mohammedan armies in Asia Minor.
"The Battle of the Masts," where the Turkish and Roman navies squared off against one another. After years of training, Admiral Tornikes was able to keep the Roman fleet intact, despite his withdraw from the conflict. However, in doing so, he may have saved the Roman fleet from destruction.
But the news of the defeat was not terrible. The Mohammedan armies were not moving toward Constantinople, instead they were moving to link up. While this may sound like a bad thing, it gave the Roman-Athenian army time to recover and hopefully strike a devastating blow to the Macedonian campaign. For the next several months, Admiral Tornikes periodically set sail to prevent the Mohammedans from crossing the straights, and although Trebizond and Georgia were lost causes, if the Romans managed to keep the larger bulk of Mohammedan soldiers in Asia Minor, there was a sense of confidence that the Roman army could defeat the 7000-8000 strong Turkish force in Europe. By early September, most accounts dating the battle September 2, but a few September 3, Constantine marched to Raška hoping to catch the now unified body of Turkish soldiers by surprise.
Regardless of the date of the battle, the Battle of Raška was the most important during the Macedonian War. The Imperial Army numbered 17000 soldiers, and the Turkish army, commanded by a local Beylik, totaled a little over 8,000 men. Constantine, in full command of the army this time, deployed parallel the Turkish army in a traditional two-deep block formation – that is, about 8000 men in the front force, and about 9000 in the second “block”, ready to react to the battle as necessary. Around noon, in the backdrop of a brutally hot day, Constantine ordered the front forces to advance and engage the Turks, who responded likewise. The two forces, of equal size, since Constantine was holding back the second force of 9000 men in reserve, slowly marched toward one another. When they finally made contact, the bloodshed was immense. Men were not only hacking away at one another, but strangling each other with their bare hands in some instances.
The order of the armies quickly descended into chaos, there was no order, and although lesser nobles and officers on both sides attempted to regain some sense of the order and discipline to the combatants, the worst of humanity was seen. One Roman officer reported, “In the terror and bloodshed of the battle, I found myself face-to-face with a Mohammedan. I had been told they were below us, inferior to us – but as I looked into his eyes and he into mine, I couldn’t help but feel the natural bond of humanity, that he was no different than I. And I slayed him with my hands.”
Casualties were quickly mounting on both sides, and as the sun began its westward descent, Constantine turned to Duke Francesco and smiled, “This is how history is made,” he said, as he rode forth with his entourage and staff to lead the final blow against the Turks. Taking control of the Imperial cavalry, only about 1000 men, which had been held in reserve and with an addition 3000 soldiers, Constantine attacked the left-flank of the Turkish army and utterly cracked their spirit and resolve. During the slaughter, a Mohammedan Imam stood up, standing on the bodies of several men, and stretched his arms out to the heavens and begged God for forgiveness. The sight was powerful, and soul-stirring. Surely if there was a God, he would end the terrible carnage of the battle. The three accounts of the battle then state that a lightning bolt came from heaven, although I remain skeptical of this. Soon after the Imam’s desperate plea, the battle had come to end, the remaining Turks were scattering in all directions.
The Battle of Raška, this depiction highlights the extensive cavalry engagements that were sweeping along the peripheries of the main infantry bodies where the bloodiest fighting had occurred.
Both sides had suffered terrible losses. The Mohammedans lost nearly their entire force, nearly 6000 men were slain on the field of battle. The Romans, in comparison to their larger size, suffered modest casualties, but totaled near 4500 dead (about 1000 were Athenians). The Roman victory had all but decimated the Turkic war effort in Europe. Constantine quickly finished off the few survivors, and promptly laid siege to Thessaloniki, and detached a smaller force into Epirus, commanded by the aforementioned Athenian Duke.
News of the victory re-assured the people of Constantinople that hope for a better day still remained. However, soon after the news of this victory reached the gates of the holy city, news of the fall of Trebizond quickly followed. To make matters worse, the lone Roman spy in Tunis, who had returned to Greece on a Venetian merchant ship, informed Constantine that the Tunisians had set sail and were en route to invade Greece. However, news of the Roman triumph spurred a patriotic Greek and Albanian uprising. Nikomedes Paraspondylos gathered 6000 men and rebelled in Macedonia, and a smaller force of about 4000 Albanians, led by the deposed King George Skanderbeg, rose up to reclaim their homelands from the Turks. In October of 1461 (a year after the battle of Raška), the Kingdom of Albania declared her independence from their Mohammedan overlords. The war between the Romans and Turks however, would continue.
[1] Again, auxiliary vessels are an imaginative force of ships not represented in the game, but added by me to make the size and scale of the naval fighting more reflective of the battles OTL. Whenever I list “warships” – that is the actual number of ships that were present in the game.
The Roman Navy Engages the Turks and the The Battle of Raška
Despite the Roman victory Sandžak, there was little time for celebration. The smaller Turkish army in Bulgarian was marching on Constantinople, expecting that the larger Mohammedan coalition of armies in Asia Minor would soon arrive in Thrace and help with the siege. Realizing the impending the crisis, Constantine force marched his army to intercept the Turkish army at Edirne, or Adrianople on April 3. Although the Romans possessed a significantly larger force, of about 15,000 men, against a Turkish force of about 5,000 men, the Roman army was tired, hungry, and lacking in the military tactics and technology of the Mohammedans – to whom it is painful for any European to admit, probably had the finest equipped, drilled, and trained military force in the world during the early and mid-fifteenth centuries.
The Battle of Edirne coincided with the Battle of the Dardanelles Straights, which we shall cover in the forthcoming text. Nevertheless, the Battle of Edirne brought dark clouds of the empire. The battle was a disaster almost from the start. Constantine had fallen ill, and was still not fully recovered from his wounds suffered earlier. The de facto command of the army fell to the Athenian Duke, Franceco, who, although competent, was not as skillful and daring as Constantine.
The early stages of the battle went so poorly for the Roman-Athenian army, that by the time the Turks unleashed a major cavalry charge during the afternoon hours of the engagement, news of the folding right flank of the Roman army arrived at Constantine’s quarter. With the dust and chaos of the battle, neither commander knew what was happening. An aid to Francesco wrote that in the midst of the battle, the Duke turned to Constantine and asked, “Do you know what is happening?” Constantine turned to the Duke and replied, “I have no idea.” It was soon after this exchange that the news of the sweeping Mohammedan cavalry attack reached the two generals. Constantine then ordered a general retreat. The battle concluded by nightfall, and some 2,000 Romans and Athenians had been killed, to only around 500 or so Turks. The road to Constantinople seemed clear, although the Roman army still possessed anywhere between 13,000-14,000 men, with reinforcements soon on the way.
About a week after Edirne, the Turkish navy assaulted Admiral Tornikes, who had been waiting for the inevitable Turkish attack. The fleets were grand, 21 major war galleys and other warships formed the backbone of the Turkish fleet, which also brought about 50 or 60 auxiliary ships [1] to the battle, totaling around 70 or more ships. Admiral Tornikes had in his possession 19 major warships, and about 35 smaller auxiliary vessels with orders to defend the straights and prevent the land crossings from occurring at all costs.
By mid-morning, the Turkish admiral made a full assault upon the Roman navy. Several of the Turkish galleys had cannons mounted on the decks, and fired thunderous shots toward the Roman navy – catching them completely by surprise. Tornikes ordered the Roman fleet to sail directly at the Turks and close the distance before their cannons could turn decisive and deadly. A few minutes into the battle, a small Roman auxiliary ship was rocked by one, or several, Turkish cannons and promptly split in two and sank to the bottom of the seas.
By eleven o’clock, the ships were indistinguishable from one another. The masts of all the ships were intertwined with each other, men were boarding ships left and right, cannon fire ripped through the hulls of other ships, some were sinking, and others were burning. Smoke covered the seas, and the screams of the dead and dying pierced into the heavens. By early afternoon, Admiral Tornikes saw the damage that was being inflicted upon both fleets, but he noted that one of the Roman galleys had caught fire and was completely ablaze, the masts burning up right before his eyes. Looking at the larger and more successful Turkish fleet, he made, perhaps, the most important decision in the history of the Late Period Empire. By defying the imperial decree of defending the straights at all costs, and retreating back to the Golden Horn instead, he may have inadvertently saved the empire from defeat. By 3 or 4 o’clock, the Romans had disengaged suffering heavy damage, but also having inflicted serious damage upon the Turkish fleet as well. The Mohammedan navy had not lost any of its major warships, but about 12 smaller ships had been sunk or captured during the engagement, and by captured I mean the crews were utterly destroyed but the ships left to eventually sink unmanned into the bottom of the sea. The Romans, by contrast, had lost one war galley, and 16 smaller auxiliary ships. Despite the defeat, the damage done to the Turkish navy meant the Turkic admiral would have to return for repairs, meaning that skillful action and proper spy reports could still keep the Mohammedan armies in Asia Minor.
"The Battle of the Masts," where the Turkish and Roman navies squared off against one another. After years of training, Admiral Tornikes was able to keep the Roman fleet intact, despite his withdraw from the conflict. However, in doing so, he may have saved the Roman fleet from destruction.
But the news of the defeat was not terrible. The Mohammedan armies were not moving toward Constantinople, instead they were moving to link up. While this may sound like a bad thing, it gave the Roman-Athenian army time to recover and hopefully strike a devastating blow to the Macedonian campaign. For the next several months, Admiral Tornikes periodically set sail to prevent the Mohammedans from crossing the straights, and although Trebizond and Georgia were lost causes, if the Romans managed to keep the larger bulk of Mohammedan soldiers in Asia Minor, there was a sense of confidence that the Roman army could defeat the 7000-8000 strong Turkish force in Europe. By early September, most accounts dating the battle September 2, but a few September 3, Constantine marched to Raška hoping to catch the now unified body of Turkish soldiers by surprise.
Regardless of the date of the battle, the Battle of Raška was the most important during the Macedonian War. The Imperial Army numbered 17000 soldiers, and the Turkish army, commanded by a local Beylik, totaled a little over 8,000 men. Constantine, in full command of the army this time, deployed parallel the Turkish army in a traditional two-deep block formation – that is, about 8000 men in the front force, and about 9000 in the second “block”, ready to react to the battle as necessary. Around noon, in the backdrop of a brutally hot day, Constantine ordered the front forces to advance and engage the Turks, who responded likewise. The two forces, of equal size, since Constantine was holding back the second force of 9000 men in reserve, slowly marched toward one another. When they finally made contact, the bloodshed was immense. Men were not only hacking away at one another, but strangling each other with their bare hands in some instances.
The order of the armies quickly descended into chaos, there was no order, and although lesser nobles and officers on both sides attempted to regain some sense of the order and discipline to the combatants, the worst of humanity was seen. One Roman officer reported, “In the terror and bloodshed of the battle, I found myself face-to-face with a Mohammedan. I had been told they were below us, inferior to us – but as I looked into his eyes and he into mine, I couldn’t help but feel the natural bond of humanity, that he was no different than I. And I slayed him with my hands.”
Casualties were quickly mounting on both sides, and as the sun began its westward descent, Constantine turned to Duke Francesco and smiled, “This is how history is made,” he said, as he rode forth with his entourage and staff to lead the final blow against the Turks. Taking control of the Imperial cavalry, only about 1000 men, which had been held in reserve and with an addition 3000 soldiers, Constantine attacked the left-flank of the Turkish army and utterly cracked their spirit and resolve. During the slaughter, a Mohammedan Imam stood up, standing on the bodies of several men, and stretched his arms out to the heavens and begged God for forgiveness. The sight was powerful, and soul-stirring. Surely if there was a God, he would end the terrible carnage of the battle. The three accounts of the battle then state that a lightning bolt came from heaven, although I remain skeptical of this. Soon after the Imam’s desperate plea, the battle had come to end, the remaining Turks were scattering in all directions.
The Battle of Raška, this depiction highlights the extensive cavalry engagements that were sweeping along the peripheries of the main infantry bodies where the bloodiest fighting had occurred.
Both sides had suffered terrible losses. The Mohammedans lost nearly their entire force, nearly 6000 men were slain on the field of battle. The Romans, in comparison to their larger size, suffered modest casualties, but totaled near 4500 dead (about 1000 were Athenians). The Roman victory had all but decimated the Turkic war effort in Europe. Constantine quickly finished off the few survivors, and promptly laid siege to Thessaloniki, and detached a smaller force into Epirus, commanded by the aforementioned Athenian Duke.
News of the victory re-assured the people of Constantinople that hope for a better day still remained. However, soon after the news of this victory reached the gates of the holy city, news of the fall of Trebizond quickly followed. To make matters worse, the lone Roman spy in Tunis, who had returned to Greece on a Venetian merchant ship, informed Constantine that the Tunisians had set sail and were en route to invade Greece. However, news of the Roman triumph spurred a patriotic Greek and Albanian uprising. Nikomedes Paraspondylos gathered 6000 men and rebelled in Macedonia, and a smaller force of about 4000 Albanians, led by the deposed King George Skanderbeg, rose up to reclaim their homelands from the Turks. In October of 1461 (a year after the battle of Raška), the Kingdom of Albania declared her independence from their Mohammedan overlords. The war between the Romans and Turks however, would continue.
[1] Again, auxiliary vessels are an imaginative force of ships not represented in the game, but added by me to make the size and scale of the naval fighting more reflective of the battles OTL. Whenever I list “warships” – that is the actual number of ships that were present in the game.
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