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((Two questions, what all do I need/ should do here? Also, do the double parentheses denote out of character speech?))

((Yep, the double parentheses means someone is speaking out of character. From what I understand, we advise the Empress (Idhrendur) on the course of action that the Empire should take, although we are merely advisors and our choices do not guarantee that the Empress will follow suit. Idhrendur can correct me if I'm wrong.))

It would seem that the Russians are aware of our desire to see them weakened. We must be extra careful if we are to take action against them in the future.

- Michelangelo Favero
 
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No, we must strike as soon as our treaty is over! Losing to the Rus was a humiliation upon our great empire, have you seen the news! They are calling it a shameful defeat and a loss in every sense! We have been hiding from the World Stage for to long and this defeat has not helped us regain our supreme standing on the World Stage.

- Potitus Caristanius Gallio
 
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((Question: how old is the Basilissa? I don't recall you ever telling us.))

(( It's actually not known, thanks to whatever happened in the palace during the fifteen years of no contact. Senator Nicolai Stathopoulos in the first update guessed her at 'nearly seventeen' (in December 1835) based on his memories of seeing her as an infant. So in the next update, she will be nearly twenty. Probably. ))

((Two questions, what all do I need/ should do here? Also, do the double parentheses denote out of character speech?))
((Yep, the double parentheses means someone is speaking out of character. From what I understand, we advise the Empress (Idhrendur) on the course of action that the Empire should take, although we are merely advisors and our choices do not guarantee that the Empress will follow suit. Idhrendur can correct me if I'm wrong.))
(( Well summarized. The rules, such as they are, are in the second post, and if matters change, I'll update that post in addition to making an announcement. But of course, it's my goal to keep power vested in the Empress. :) ))
Greetings, your Highness.
Introducing Nikephoros Doukas, born sometime in the 1790s in Athens to a well-to-do middle-class family with ties to the legions (actual birthdate is unknown due to a fire which destroyed most family records). He is a self-made man and has joined the Foideratoi Party to speak on behalf of the common people. He advocates for social reforms to increase the well-being of the people and has ideas for overhauling the Empire's education system so that we can have the best and brightest men and women serving Your Highness. He is currently neutral on matters regarding the military but slightly learns toward pro-military. He believes that some of the future Great Powers of the world will be in the Far East, and as such the Empire ought to form strong bonds of friendship with nations in Asia.

(( Welcome! You've been added to the characted page! ))



(( Also, in case it wasn't clear before, the Empress is not yet at the place where the Senators meet (Senate hall? Parliament building? Large pub? Is there someone with knowledge of Constantinople/Istanbul who can recommend an official location?), so any in-character discussions before her address to you won't be heard by her. ))
 
((I've never been but I imagine that since the Empire never fell, there will still be any number of palaces or meeting halls that would still pass muster, even in the 19th Century.))

Byzantine_Constantinople_eng.png
 
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((Here's a map of the Imperial district, with the Great Palace, the New Church (Nea Ekklesia) and the great golden reception/throne-room (the Chrysotriklinos) that served as the home of foreign dignitaries and so on. A modern version of the Chrysotriklinos could make sense for a sitting parliament.))

Constantinople_imperial_district.png
 
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((I've never been but I imagine that since the Empire never fell, there will still be any number of palaces or meeting halls that would still pass muster, even in the 19th Century.))

Byzantine_Constantinople_eng.png

(( It's interesting how the Assassin's Creed games has given me a context to understand this. Well, I'll leave it to the Senators to discuss among themselves to pick something appropriate. You could even say you had been meeting one place before 1836, and are now moving. That's all the purview of the Senate.

For that matter, I seem to recall that the Imperial Palace is somewhere outside the city proper, like Versailles. Maybe it's time for the Empress to move back into some of those older palace complexes. Edit: posting at the same time. If you all run with Arakhor's suggestion, Blachernae would be the Empress' palace complex to move back towards. ))
 
Well our time sure is interesting. I think we should name one of these "dinosaurs" after one of our rulers.
Other than that I reserve my thoughts for the Empress.

-Basileios Rellis


{{ I'm not in the List of Senators :( }}
 
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I think we should name one of these "dinosaurs" after one of our rulers.

((Fortunately, dinosaur derives from the Greek, so we don't need to go around Hellenising common names for the added "realism". :D))
 
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((Here's a map of the Imperial district, with the Great Palace, the New Church (Nea Ekklesia) and the great golden reception/throne-room (the Chrysotriklinos) that served as the home of foreign dignitaries and so on. A modern version of the Chrysotriklinos could make sense for a sitting parliament.))

Constantinople_imperial_district.png

((What about the building labelled "Senate" right below the Hagia Sophia?))

(( It's interesting how the Assassin's Creed games has given me a context to understand this. Well, I'll leave it to the Senators to discuss among themselves to pick something appropriate. You could even say you had been meeting one place before 1836, and are now moving. That's all the purview of the Senate.

For that matter, I seem to recall that the Imperial Palace is somewhere outside the city proper, like Versailles. Maybe it's time for the Empress to move back into some of those older palace complexes. Edit: posting at the same time. If you all run with Arakhor's suggestion, Blachernae would be the Empress' palace complex to move back towards. ))

((Ah, Assassin's Creed, always teaching history more than any classroom could. Most of my knowledge of the geography of the Holy Land and Renaissance Italy comes from those games. :p))

Well our time sure is interesting. I think we should name one of these "dinosaurs" after one of our rulers.
Other than that I reserve my thoughts for the Empress.

-Basileios Rellis

((Clearly the correct choice is to put one of those dinosaurs on our flag. That will totally go well. :D))
 
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((What about the building labelled "Senate" right below the Hagia Sophia?))
((Well, if you will go and point out an obvious place... :p))

((Ah, Assassin's Creed, always teaching history more than any classroom could. Most of my knowledge of the geography of the Holy Land and Renaissance Italy comes from those games. :p))
((I was able to spot the Pantheon when looking at an aerial view of Rome, simply because I'd clambered all over it in AC: Brotherhood. :)))
 
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((Well, if you will go and point out an obvious place... :p))

((Is that actually where the real Byzantine Senate would meet? I honestly have no idea. :p))

Arakhor said:
((I was able to spot the Pantheon when looking at an aerial view of Rome, simply because I'd clambered all over it in AC: Brotherhood. :)))

((Brotherhood was always a favourite of mine. Running around Rome, pestering the Borgias, and getting Leonardo da Vinci to make inventions for you was just awesome.))
 
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((Is that actually where the real Byzantine Senate would meet? I honestly have no idea. :p))

((Before the Senate was disbanded in/before the 13th Century, of course, but then I did suggest reviving the Chrysotriklinos, which was already in ruins by the fall of the city in 1453, so it's not as if we're paying that much attention to when these landmarks fell IRL!))
 
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(( I expected much of Revelations with the World's Desire City but apart from that it was clearly disappointing ...
Anyway let us say that we are reading the news in the Hippodrome ; yeah Byzantine nobles wearing purple suits and monocles while watching a good old horse race seems completely legit :D ))
 
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((Chariot racing, my good man! Kyriakos would be betting on the Blues! :p))
 
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((Before the Senate was disbanded in/before the 13th Century, of course, but then I did suggest reviving the Chrysotriklinos, which was already in ruins by the fall of the city in 1453, so it's not as if we're paying that much attention to when these landmarks fell IRL!))

(( I expected much of Revelations with the World's Desire City but apart from that it was clearly disappointing ...
Anyway let us say that we are reading the news in the Hippodrome ; yeah Byzantine nobles wearing purple suits and monocles while watching a good old horse race seems completely legit :D ))

((I think the Senate should meet wherever we feel like. Maybe one day we'll be in the Senate building, Chrysotriklinos the next, and then watching chariot racing in the Hippodrome the next. And yes, Revelations was a disappointment and one of my least favourite of the series, although Rogue didn't please me much either.))
 
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86. 1837-1839 - The Senate's Discussions
It would seem that the Russians are aware of our desire to see them weakened. We must be extra careful if we are to take action against them in the future.

- Michelangelo Favero

No, we must strike as soon as our treaty is over! Losing to the Rus was a humiliation upon our great empire, have you seen the news! They are calling it a shameful defeat and a loss in every sense! We have been hiding from the World Stage for to long and this defeat has not helped us regain our supreme standing on the World Stage.

- Potitus Caristanius Gallio

Well our time sure is interesting. I think we should name one of these "dinosaurs" after one of our rulers.
Other than that I reserve my thoughts for the Empress.

-Basileios Rellis
 
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86. 1837-1839 - The State of the Empire
Senators,


In the wake of the Russo-Ukraine war, it seemed nobody could agree on what to do. But it was clear to Us that nothing could be done until the Legions were restored to strength.

While medicines were being researched, We resumed the industrial programs from before the wars. We began construction of clipper shipyards in Upper Egypt; canned food factories in Croatia, Van, Leon-Castilla (in addition to the ones in Southwest England and Picardie); machine parts factories in Granada, Bourgogne, West Switzerland, Wallonie, Nordrhein, and Karntern-Steiermark; a steamer shipyard in the (British) Midlands. This was more than sufficient to begin meeting the Empire's needs, but it also proved that factories could provide gainful employment for otherwise unemployed citizens. So in any state with one hundred or more potential factory workers, We created new factories that fit the region.
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And We laid plans for naval bases all throughout the Empire. Those plans laid, We began fortifying the Caucasus and the regions nearby. This soon expanded into fortifying all of our borders.

As the Polish peace with the Livonian Order only took away a border state, We continued the process of bringing Livonia into our sphere of influence, a process completed in November 24, 1837.
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We then began pulling Poland into our sphere. But Poland soon became too great in their own right for such effort.
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Instead, We focused on our southern border and sought to draw Ethiopia (long a friend of the Empire) into our sphere again. But Castille caused our efforts there to go astray.
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So We looked across the sea to the United Tribes of America.
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During this time of preparation, there was increased liberal agitation throughout the Empire. Secret societies sprung up everywhere, and local regulations against them only served to liberalize the population. Jacobins held marches in several provinces. The natives in Africa were angered by the number of big game hunts happening in their lands. People were strangely upset about the use of forced labor as a punishment. Business men complained about Imperial procurement contracts. Questions about how education for non-Greeks should be handled grew heated. And as the agitation grew worse, there were Luddite mobs that had to be put down with force.
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It is of no surprise that many of you first became more liberal, and later became more radicalized.
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When the arts of medicine had advanced enough that most lands could support full-sized Legions, we tasked the Imperial Corps of Engineers with finding improvements to the weapons used by the Legions.
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Sadly, this effort had only begun when Germany asked for our help in their war against Denmark and Pommerania. Fortunately, they did not need help in this war, so while we became the war leader, we needed spend no effort.
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Meanwhile, mass recruitment for the legions began. Eighty-nine cohorts were recruited in the first round. Seventeen in the second. When the recruitment was over, each legion had two cohorts of hussars, eight cohorts of infantry, and four cohorts of artillery. The exception was II. Legio, who could not support that many cohorts near the Russian border, and was short two cohorts of infantry. And the Scholai Palatinae now consisted of three cohorts of cuirassiers.

And with the advances in medicine, We were able to send colonists throughout Oceania, further expanding our hold on the region.
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And this proved that it is now time for us to take our place in the sun.
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To demonstrate this, X. Legio assisted in the war against Denmark. They proved most effective in battle (the siegework was left to Germany).
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But of course, domestic matters were more important. For among the refugees from Ukraine was my cousin Yevhen. We fell greatly in love, and so were married May 5, 1839.
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About six months later, Denmark finally surrendered, Germany gaining much land.
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Also, during this time, Bavaria expanded, including into Hungary.
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And Russia completely annexed Bjarmia as well as taking some border territories from Scandinavia.
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In addition to your usual recommendations, We also wish to propose that the royal family refurbish and begin using the palace at Blachernae again. The Scholai Palatinae would, of course, come with us. In turn, the Senate's use of the Great Palace would be properly formalized and written into law.
 

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