Chapter Three: The Dynasty Crisis
Mehmet I had grand plans to expand and improve the empire, and firstly this required moving away from the conquest of Kaffa (now within the grip of the Golden Horde), and towards handling their domestic foes. He considered it his mission to vassalize Wallachia, thus adding to their buffer states of Christian nations. For the first decade of his reign, policies restricting the debate of religion, the practice of infidel beliefs, and the division of classes were relaxed. Part of this was the establishment of the Ibadat Khana, a house of worship that fostered debate and discussion between those of various faiths within the Empire. In addition, Mehmet bestowed upon himself the title of Khalifa, furthering his religious authority and helping cement his reforms.
Greek rebels were a constant thorn in the emperor's side, unwilling to accept that their Roman Empire was no more (the pro-Greek attitudes of the Palaiologos dynasty had instilled a strong sense of pride in the Roman Empire in the Greek people). Mehmet believed the only way to keep the empire's substantial Greek population placated and loyal was to grant them greater respect and freedom. This led to criticism abroad of letting "common folk" and "infidel westerners" think and become a part of cultured life, but Mehmet stood by his reforms.
In 1412, his first child was born. The empire rejoiced, and stability was coming slowly to the Ottomans. Bayezid I's fiscal policies were beginning to bear fruit as well; inflation was under control and slowly was being eradicated (minting could not be completely halted without risking the need of loans, but was restricted enough to reduce inflation gradually). The nation was slowly prospering, and the arts and sciences were beginning to make a return at long last. The Ottomans were poised to begin ending the long, dark era of the Muslim world following the ruthless pillaging of the Mongol hordes.
When the Timurids returned in 1413, Mehmet was prepared for war. He had supported Turkish patriots in Mus who sought to unite with the Ottomans rather than remain under the cruel yoke of the Timurid khan. The battles on the front lines were protracted affairs; Ottoman soldiers would defeat Timurid nomads, who would flee quickly towards their homeland and regroup, only to strike again elsewhere. Gradually, Trebizond was besieged and Erserum was taken, but the effort took a massive toll on the Ottoman army. In time, the many veterans of Mehmet and Bayezid's battles came to appeal the sultan for benefits in their infirmity. Mehmet was wise enough to recognize the value of these troops, and established a great hospital and state-funded community for the wounded veterans in Bulgaria. The community ended up serving as an excellent place for officers to learn and train, and later doubled as an academy where aspiring leaders would go to learn firsthand from the nation's veterans.
Meanwhile, the war raged on and Mehmet worked to lay a cunning trap for Timur the Lame. His armies maneuvered to deny the Timurids an easy route of escape, and then pounced. A great battle was fought in Erserum; Timurid soldiers were soundly defeated and, through a series of careful manuevers, led deep into Sivas and annihilated by the thousands. This final, strong victory destroyed a substantial portion of the armies dedicated to invading Turkey, and gave Mehmet the momentum needed to claim Mus, and Erserum, while Ottoman-sponsored rebels held Trebizond with plans to defect. The Timurids finally negotiated a peace and left, once more, in shame.
Mehmet I felt, after his great victory in the East, that it was time to move the capitol to Constantinople. A palace was constructed there, and the city was rebuilt and expanded for its Muslim conquerors. Renamed "Istanbul", the City of the World's Desire was now the crowning jewel of the Ottoman Empire.
Grand things could have been, had Mehmet had his way. He planned to resume the Ottoman invasion of Europe, gradually subduing the infidels and claiming the lands of the old Roman Empire for himself (as he felt obligated to, now that his father had passed to him the mantle of "Caesar"). However, disease struck the emperor down on the 17th year of his reign, leaving a seven year old son as emperor under a regency council. Unfortunately, this caused a revolt; a noble of Dulkadir named Mahmud Turgut managed to build on sentiments against the Osmanli reforms, and raised an army. Though it was swiftly defeated by the other regents, other nobles became restless. The child was frail and often sickly, and many worried he would not become the man his father was. Debate raged in the court, and it was clear that the nation was at risk of being torn asunder. To complicate matters, he fell deathly ill just before his 10th birthday. The regents scrambled to save him, realizing that for all their debates and feuds the nation was truly in danger if the legitimate heir were to die. The Osmanli dynasty had been shunned throughout the Muslim world when it made overtures for royal marriages, and there were no other relatives that could be called upon (Mehmet's bothers were all dead by this point, either in battle or from having attempted to depose their brother). Sadly, it was not enough. All the medicines and surgeons and prayer that could be mustered was lacking; the boy died, and the regents were left with the task of choosing a new Emperor as best as they could.
Fortunately for the Empire, the regents chose wisely. Korkud Mentesoglu, a noble from western Anatolia, was chosen. He was not the most skilled in matters of court or diplomacy, but this only secured his position, for he was seen as someone who could be trusted by the various factions of the nation (as he was deemed too clumsy at intrigue to be able to betray anyone). He was, however, a skilled bureaucrat and had excelled in his time in the army, showing immense promise as a general (though he had little love for war despite his talent).
While Mehmet dreamed of an Ottoman Army marching through the streets of Rome and driving back the crusader nations once and for all, Korkud I was a man of humbler, but perhaps (for the empire) better dreams. He reformed the government extensively, and formalized the styling of the ruler of the Ottomans as a "Padishah". Though his reforms strained the empire, they ended up strengthening it in the long run.
Korkud I was, despite his military brilliance, concerned exclusively with statecraft and the strengthening of the nation. He continued the innovation and improvement of the land, leading to a golden age of culture and technological advancement.
Under him, the inflation problem was finally eradicated and the nation's treasury saw enough surplus to begin long-overdue improvements to major cities and regions. The shaky instability and corruption that had begun under Bayezid I was finally cleared out, and the Ottoman Empire was, in time, a strong and stable nation capable of weathering calamities that would have shaken it to its core. He also began to seek marriages and support from nearby Muslim leaders, hoping that blood ties to established maliks and caliphs would prop up the weak claim to the throne of his dynasty. Despite his reluctance to wage war, war often came to him. He refused to back down from the various khanates that threatened his lands, and each time they invaded he replied that he would take land from them to deter future attacks. Gradually, he moved east and north, seizing much of Georgia and moving all the way to Astrakhan and Sarai, and south almost to the old borders of Persia. Modern scholars theorize that, with his great skill and tactical ability, Korkud could have crushed much of the remaining Khanates and greatly expanded his empire, or even realized Mehmet's dream of invading Europe. Others argue that the empire was surrounded by eager foes, and too much aggressive warring would have opened them to a fatal multi-front war. Regardless, by the time of his death in 1461, Korkud I had caused the khans to rightly fear war with the Turks, and had convinced Europe that the Ottomans were a threat of the past (as they had not seen western expansion for decades, and did not know the extent of his wars in the east).
At the time of his death, the Empire stretched from Greece to the Caspian Sea. He had seized the gold mines of Alania, the trading hub of Astrakhan, and the steppes of Georgia. His four-decade rule had seen the nation through the beginnings of a terrible succession crisis to the dawn of a true Golden Age.
The Eastern Borders of the Ottoman Empire: Orange, 1402; Red, 1419; Purple, 1461
((Author's Note: The Hordes are proving annoying. I've found that colonists only come fast enough to take one, maybe two provinces per war (assuming you start with 4 or 5 when you invade). Defensive campaigns are critical, as attrition is lethal in horde country, and their massive armies seem to replenish instantly. Relentless pursuit is also key; once you completely destroy a 20+ stack, you've got the war locked (since it's rare that you're the only country they're fighting). Right now my only strategy is throwing my entire army at them, taking a territory or two, then sitting on them and luring the enemy into battles they'll lose while colonists gradually take them. By the second defection I'm down to getting colonists one by one, and it's time to peace out before more hordes invade or enemies in the west attack.
Also, try to concede defeat whenever possible to the hordes, unless you REALLY want their territory. I'm bordering four now (Nogai, Golden Horde, Timurids, Qara Koyunlu), but I really one have the resources to fight one at a time. I've taken all I want from most of them, so I plan to keep conceding defeat from the three in the east, and only fight the Timurids as part of an effort to move down the Mediterranean coast towards Alexandria. The Mamluks have lost a ton of land to the Timurids, so by the time I re-open our borders they should be too weak to threaten me.
Europe has been strangely silent; Naples declared war on me to reclaim Janina, but they never sent troops and eventually asked for a white peace. Odd, but I decided that there was no point in mentioning it in the story since it was so inconsequential. The death of Mehmet I for no reason annoyed me, and then even more so when I got the random event where your heir is sick in bed DURING A REGENCY. At first I considered reloading to eliminate this nonsense, but then thought of a way to explain it, and went along with it. I'd prefer to do little to no tweaking, reloading, or outright cheating in this AAR, since it's as much about my learning to play better as it is the story.))
