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A shame the Mamluks haven't warned you, otherwise I would waste no time and recommend dow'ing some small minor country of wrong religion without hesitation. As it is, burning war exhaustion is the only thing that wouldn't cause your country to collapse.

Maybe in a few years you might think about Iraq again.
 
Thanks everybody for the advice, I went for Option D in the end.

There are no non-Muslim countries guaranteed by a Muslim nation, only OPM Armenia is tempting (only allied to Wallachia) but hardly worth the effort.
 
3

The road rarely ends where you expect
1438-45

Following general advice I opt to wait a bit longer for the WE to cool down. The Mamluks don't waste time and issue a trade embargo against me a few months into 1438. Short of a warning but still useful, I have a CB now.

In March 1439 Iraq-i-Arab converts, a missionary is sent to Beirut. I adopt the Sheikh ul-Islam decision, not for the extra missionaries but to compensate a bit for the stability penalty from the Jizya decision (+20 stab cost).

During the end of 1439 and early 1440 the bulk of Ottoman forces in Arabia start marching back to Anatolia. The alliance of the Golden Horde seems to have worked well as a deterrent :)

In April 1441 -with WE around 3- I can't wait any longer and DoW the Mamluks. Both Najd and Golden Horde desert me. Qara Qoyunlu deserts the Mamluks, so it basically Syria against Mamluks*, Oman, Tunisia and Swahili. My hope is that the Swahili won't bother coming north.

syr1441a.jpg

This time I fight a much more defensive war from the start. The Mamluks have now all their forces consolidated in one big army so there is a lot of back and forth between Sinai and Cairo. They also have a decent 3-shock king general (more decent than my puny 1-shocker), who helps cause a lot more casualties.

syr1442a.jpg

Neither Swahili nor Tunisia show up, but Oman sends one regiment to besiege Al Hasa. I send one of my regiments to deal with it. This time all of my WE comes only from battle casualties. Al Karak and Hawran fall, and the ping pong between Sinai and Cairo continues... more cavalry on my side and a better general finally tip the balance in my favour.

syr1443a.jpg

To the point that when chasing the defeated Mamluk stack to Cairo I get a full overrun and the stack is totally wiped out. I know IN has changed the overrun rules, but I thought the winning army had to be at least double the size for this to happen :eek:

syr1443b.jpg

Anyway, the celebrations don't last long, a month after the annihilation of the Mamluk army Persia DoWs me :eek: :eek: :eek: With the shock I didn't even take a screenshot.

From then on it's a race against time, I need to besiege enough Egyptian provinces to get a meaningful peace before the Persian stacks get to do much damage.

Ironically now Korashan, Khiva and Golden Horde offer me alliances (too late!). I accept them hoping to get my own back on Persia in the future.

Attrition and rebels stop the Persians but not for as long as I would like. Al Hasa falls to Persia. Mosul falls to Persia. Delta falls to Syrian forces. Iraq-i-Arab falls to Persia. I hope Badiyat Ash Sham becomes a good attrition corridor for the Persian armies before they reach Damascus. Cairo falls. Badiyat Ash Sham falls to Persia. Hawran falls to Persia. Alexandria falls.

In January 1445 -as the main Persian stack is starting to besiege Damascus- Diamientia falls.

syr1444a.jpg

I immediately sign peace with the Mamluks. In a 72% peace with 63% WS I obtain Alexandria and Diamientia (Alexandria alone is worth 56% WS).

Back to the Persian invaders, I realise I've left 6 regiments trapped in Alexandria as I rushed the peace deal :eek: With only one transport it'll take some time to ferry them back to Damascus :mad:

syr1445a.jpg

Persia has just as much cavalry as I do, and double the infantry, so things are looking really ugly, even if I get all my army consolidated. On top of that my WE is over 18. So when two months later the Persians offer peace in exchange for Al Hasa and 51 ducats I'm more than willing to accept. Al Hasa was my only remaining Shia province, 1 base tax and non-core. Worth swapping for Alexandria and the definitive crippling of the Mamluks.

syr1445b.jpg

Persia is getting quite dangerous, I'm sure they'll DoW in 5 years' time if they have the chance. I hope I can get them in two fronts with my new allies Korashan and Khiva.

syr1445c.jpg

Elsewhere the Ottomans are busy in Europe fighting a strong Austria-Hungary alliance, and Fez has annexed Morocco :eek:

_________________

Syria in 1445

Provinces: 12
At peace.
Allied with Korashan, Khiva, Golden Horde.
Stability: +2
BB: 0.87
Monarch: Sultan al-Afdal III (5/5/8)
Army: 14 (7/7/0)
Navy: 7 (0/0/6/1)
WE: 18.32 :eek: :eek:

Neighbours

Mamluks: Allied with Tunisia, Oman, Swahili. CB on Syria. Guaranteeing Yemen, Haasa, Nadj, Hedjaz, Candar, Iraq, Algiers, Tripoli. Warning Haasa, Ethiopia.

OE: Allied with Bosnia, Serbia, Golden Horde, Karaman. Guaranteeing Yemen, Oman, Karaman. Warning Armenia. At war with Austria*, Hungary.

Persia: No allies. CB on Khorasan, Qara Qoyunlu and Khiva. Guaranteeing Durrani, Khorasan and Qara Qoyunlu and Khiva. Warning Durrani, Korashan and TE.

Najd: Allied with Iraq, Tripoli. CB on Haasa, Oman. Guaranteeing Iraq. Guaranteed by Syria, Yemen, Oman, Algiers, Fez and the Mamluks.

Iraq: Allied with Najd. CB on the OE, Syria. Guaranteed by Yemen, Oman, Algiers, Fez and the Mamluks. Warned by Syria.

Haasa: Allied with Oman. CB on Najd and Persia. Guaranteed by Yemen, Oman, Algiers, Fez and the Mamluks. Guaranteeing Iraq, Hedjaz, Tunisia.
 
Excellent returns from that war. But Syria is looking a little thin and has many potential fronts to fight on. I'd be going for some consolidation now and better borders.

The overrun occurs now if the army has it's morale break in the first five days and the army that breaks (not the starting army) is less than half the winning army. So in that battle what should have happened is that both armies started out about 10K and you luckily killed around 5K in the first five days and then their morale broke. That would give you the overrun.

Top priority must be gettin that WE down now. After that I would say a war on Najd. That would allow you to seize a province off Najd, perhaps Hawran and the other connected province off of Mamluks and get two vassals, Iraq and Najd.
 
Yes, for a little while you are going to have issues, as you are sandwiched between three big powers. The Mamlukes (who will still be strong, don't worry about that :D ), the Ottomans and Persia. And until you get cores on those lands you just conquered, they won't help much in supporting a larger army, which unfortunately, you need soon. Should make for a good read anyways, keep up the good work.
 
demokratickid - It is, especially with sneaky AI algorithms involved :D

Duke of Wellington - I guess giving Al Hasa to Persia counts towards border consolidation. Thanks for the overrun explanation. Najd is an option, anyone in Arabia is an option since they are all guaranteed by the Mamluks... I might even go for Armenia to get some vassal income :D

enkhuush - let me get to Spain first, then I might look at how things are over the Pyrenees :D My sliders are pretty much the same as at the start, I've only made one change since (to 0 cent.):

syr1426b.jpg

Azugal - I hope the Mamluks are more or less finished after the loss of Alexandria. My manpower is already equal to Persia's, my money and support limit aren't though :(

Enewald - I know, and they still have one of my cores! :mad:

Kami - Thanks. Will try to remember the scorching merc next time. I don't have much choice about fighting in the desert with the Mamluks...
 
I recommend you move your slider to Defensive after you Westernized. Point is you can get free forts. Also you're mercantilistic, so you should have one COT, and destroy other COT's which are in your area of interest. In the end you'll become Monopoly in your COT and RICH. ;)
 
This looks like a very fun AAR.
 
enkhuush - Going a bit defensive is probably a good idea. Actually I've completely forgotten to send merchants to my new CoT, Alexandria :rolleyes:

Brandenburg III - I'm afraid the OE is guaranteeing every nation in Arabia :mad:

gabor - I wonder how do you scorch a desert province :confused: I'm putting the update together, hopefully later today.

stnylan - Thanks!

Didaa - Thank you!
 
Nicely done but I think its time to build a few transports. I'd hate to see you lose Alexandria to rebels because you can only send one thousand men at a time to try to beat them off.;)

Joe
 
4

Sealanes and roadblocks
1445-55

While I nurse my painfully high war exhaustion and deal with unfriendly Iraqi rebels, a boundary dispute in April 1446 gives me a core in Al Hasa. I take it since my relations with Persia are already destroyed and the truce has 4 years to go anyway.

syr1446a.jpg

In 1447 the Ottomans end the war with Austria and Hungary inconclusively. Their regiments return to my lands like ants, which is helpful clearing some rebels for a while, but as we start another give/refuse MA diplomatic dance it's clear I'm seen as potential target again :(

syr1447a.jpg

Eventually I manage to maintain MA and they get involved elsewhere in a war with Trebizond and Morea and later with Crimea.

In 1449, with WE below 10, I push the slider towards centralisation. Luckily only a pretty manageable revolt erupts as a result.

syr1449a.jpg

1450 arrives and my truces with the Mamluks and Persia end. Neither moves a muscle. Instead my ally the Golden Horde attacks Qara Qoyunlu. As you can see, even the Ottomans abandon the GH, while Persia honours the guarantee on QQ. Between that and my good relations with QQ I leave the Horde to fight this alone.

syr1450a.jpg

Later that year I get another call to arms, this time from Khorasan, which I accept as it is defensive and low risk. I'm busy enough now with rebels occupying Alexandria. I've just finished my fourth cog (WE increases building time dramatically) so I have to ferry batches of 4 cavalry regiments until I finally dislodge the rebels.

syr1450b.jpg

Since I'm already at war I may as well make the most of the reduced WE recovery and my new transport fleet. Cyprus is no longer guaranteed or allied to anybody, so here we go. Both my allies join in, nominally. Nothing like DoWing a defenceless Christian OPM to lift morale :D

syr1451a.jpg

Cyprus is readily annexed within 15 months, Beirut converts and the Korashan-Durrani war ends. In the end Durrani probably wished they hadn't DoWed, they lose a province to Persia and become a vassal of Khorasan.

syr1452a.jpg

Unfortunately Persia hasn't forgotten me, I receive a warning shortly after annexing Cyprus. They are not going to let me focus on the Mamluks so easily. Still, they don't DoW, but this is becoming too much juggling for my liking.

syr1452b.jpg

In 1453 I get another boundary dispute, this time on Mamluk territory. It's always good to have a clean CB.

syr1453a.jpg

In 1454 the Golden Horde offers a new alliance, which I accept again as an insurance policy. Clearly alliances work as a deterrent.

By the end of 1454 my WE is finally approaching 0. Every country in Arabia, from Iraq to Yemen, is guranteed by the OE, so that's a no-go route for now. I have CBs on Persia and the Mamluks but the warning from Persia means I'll have to confront them first directly before I can look back west. I build some more regiments, recruit a new general and prepare for the inevitable clash. I should start sending some merchants to Alexandria.


_________________

Syria in 1455

Provinces: 13
At peace.
Allied with Korashan, Khiva, Golden Horde.
Stability: +3
BB: 0.43
Monarch: Sultan al-Afdal III (5/5/8)
Army: 17 (8/9/0)
Navy: 10 (0/0/6/4)
WE: 0.42

Neighbours

Mamluks: Allied with Tunisia, Oman, Swahili, Najd. CB on Syria. Guaranteeing Yemen, Haasa, Hedjaz, Candar, Iraq, Algiers. Warning Haasa, Ethiopia. Warned by Syria. At war with Castille*, Portugal.

OE: Allied with Bosnia, Serbia, Golden Horde, Tripoli. Guaranteeing Yemen, Haasa, Candar, Najd, Hedjaz and Iraq. Warning Armenia.

Persia: No allies. CB on Khorasan, Qara Qoyunlu and Khiva. Guaranteeing Haasa, Khorasan and Qara Qoyunlu and Khiva. Warning Haasam Syria, Korashan and Qara Qoyunlu.

Najd: Allied with Mamluks, Tripoli. CB on Haasa, Oman. Guaranteeing Iraq. Guaranteed by Syria, OE, Oman and Fez.

Iraq: No allies. CB on the OE, Syria. Guaranteed by OE, Yemen, Haasa, Oman, Najd, Candar, Algiers, Fez, Tunisia and the Mamluks. Warned by Syria.

Haasa: No allies. CB on Najd and Persia. Guaranteed by OE, Yemen, Oman, Algiers, Fez, Persia and the Mamluks. Guaranteeing Iraq, Hedjaz, Tunisia. Warned by Syria, Mamluks and Persia.
 
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Nicely done but I think its time to build a few transports. I'd hate to see you lose Alexandria to rebels

Thanks! Nice to have you here. As you can see I did have to build some transports, but not as quickly as I would have liked :rolleyes: