The Turn to the 17th Century
1581 - 1600 AD
The Century's Last Campaigns
The 16th Century saw the discovery of a New World, the consolidation of multiple powerful European powers, and, for the Latin Empire, the final integration of its constituent kingdoms into a single unified Imperial government. As the final decades prepared to pass and give way to the 17th century, Emperor Aurelio had succeeded twice in campaigning against Castile to conquer many areas of the Iberian peninsula that had never been held by Cordoba in years prior, and had brought Sicily into the fold. Now, the Latin Empire was swelling in size, income, and military strength, and it was time for Aurelio to continue his militant expansion of the realm.
In 1583 two years after his second Castilian campaign, the Emperor's gaze returned to the east and his ancient enemy, Rum. After decades of relentless assaults by the Latin Empire, Rum had been reduced from an influential Sultanate that controlled most of Anatolia to a minor regional power desperately clinging to a small tract of land at the crossroads of the east and west. In terms of economic and military strength, Rum could do very little to oppose Emperor Aurelio, but the invasion that began in 1583 showed that another Muslim country had substantially increased its power, even as Rum declined.
The attack began easily enough -- a massed force of 30,000 troops assaulted the Sultanate's capital in Adana, while smaller armies marched along to the north of the battle to begin occupying the central region of Rum. The forces guarding Adana fell quickly and sieges proceeded as normal, as Georgia marched from the north to aid their allies, hoping to reclaim their own lost territory.
It took only a few months before the summer saw most of southern Rum occupied, and three of four major fortifications under siege by Latin soldiers. Georgian armies were claiming territory in the north, and Rum seemed utterly defeated until the arrival of their last major ally -- Gilan.
Gilan, whose territory lay to the south of the Caspian Sea, had steadily increased in power through the 16th century, and dispatched a large army of nearly 45,000 men to mount a counterattack against Aurelio's forces. Split as they were between a number of active sieges, the Latin soldiers were forced to retreat from central Rum, falling back across the border to regroup as the large armies marched on toward their counterattack. The siege of Canik, along the northern Black Sea coast, had to be abandoned as Gilan's reinforcements relieved Rum's fortresses from assault.
Georgia quickly found itself in a similar position, under relentless assault by enemy armies and losing territory fast. Forts along the eastern coast of the Black Sea made it impossible for Aurelio's men to march to their aid, so the Emperor took to a new strategy -- using his navy, he transported a full 60,000 men across the Black Sea into Crimea, from where they marched eastward to liberate occupied Georgian territory.
The unexpected march forced the Gilanese army to split in two, and once they were divided, they became easy targets. Both large forces were defeated by Latin reinforcements in the summer of 1585, and Georgia was relieved. With allied territory recaptured, the Latin soldiers resumed their assault against Rum, but Gilan was quick to rebound and mount another attack.
Two more large armies attempted to liberate Rum's occupied territories, and as the troops from the Georgian operation tried to march southward to meet them, Rum's remaining fortresses barred their way. Only 35,000 Latin soldiers remained on the western side of the mountain fortresses in the face of 46,000 attackers, who threatened to overrun the western positions. Aurelio's generals needed an answer quickly, so they returned to the use of the Imperial navy to deposit the rest of their forces back onto the main front.
The Battle of Kayseri was the final confrontation of the war, and the Latin Empire's victory there secured their victory. In a gesture of friendship, Aurelio claimed only the Rum capital city of Adana for his own, and forced the return of all Georgian territory previously captured by the Sultan's predecessors. The war ended in the autumn of 1587, a great victory near the end of Emperor Aurelio's life. He died in 1592 AD, succeeded by his brother Pelaio II, who took the throne at the age of 43.
Pelaio oversaw a nearly effortless invasion of Castile in 1593, which claimed Soria, Castilla la Vieja, Salamanca, Leon, and Asturias, leaving Castile with only Burgos, Cantabria, and Rioja in Iberia. Thus, the 16th century ended with a string of Latin Conquests, leading to the empire being in the strongest position of its short lief.
The Latin Empire in 1600 AD
At the dawn of the 17th Century, the Latin Empire controlled over half of Anatolia, almost the entirety of the Balkans, about one third of Italy, almost the entire Iberian peninsula, and well over half of the north African coast. The empire was large and prosperous, but it also faced a challenge in successfully defending four different regions. While the Latin army was powerful, its navy was sorely lacking, and any country with access to the Mediterranean had the potential to threaten its trade and ability to transport troops. Still, with a large empire in the old world and the second largest colony in the New World, the Latin Empire stood as one of the foremost Great Powers of its time, and was well prepared to extend its dominance into the 17th century.
Many potential roads were laid out before Pelaio and his successors. France was still in a personal union with Pomerania resulting in a powerful alliance of major kingdoms, and the Holy Roman Empire was on its way to becoming a more coordinated and consolidated power as Franconia, Carinthia, and Bavaria began to emerge as growing powers within the German electorate. The Holy Roman Empire stood in the way of the Latin Empire's complete dominance of Italy, and stood as the chief rival to the title of the Roman Empire's true successor. In addition to the Holy Roman Empire, France, Egypt, and Syria remained as the only other kingdoms with access to the Mediterranean Sea, and many within the Empire saw the total control of the entire Mediterranean coast as a vital strategic objective.
As the Printing Press spread new ideas and global trade and exploration became the norm, the world was getting much larger -- and, in some ways, much smaller -- into a new century of opportunity.
