The survival of a doomed Empire – A Byzantium AAR

[Tom D.]

Chapter I: The Quest for new allies
Byzantium starts, as everybody knows, in a dangerous situation. It’s surrounded by the mighty Ottomans and has very few opportunities to expand. The key for Byzantium survival is finding mighty and powerful allies, since Byzantium can’t fight the Ottomans on its own.

The situation on 11th November, 1444:

Byzantium has 3 provinces, one of which is known as “The City of the World’s Desire” and a strategic point for trade. This will help us gain more money. We also have one vassal, Athens.

Our current ruler is Ioannes VIII Palaiologos, who is 51 years, and our heir is Konstantinos Palaiologos, who is 39 years old. The age of these two will soon turn out to be very negative, as regency councils were installed, but we’ll have to live with that.

As a little country, our economy doesn’t represent much. We have a positive balance of about 0,75 ducats, which is way too low.

If we look at the trade tab, we can see that our positive balance is mostly because of our beloved capital city, since 59,4% of our income came out of trade this month. It could be more if the Ottomans wouldn’t dominate the trade region, but we’ll handle with them soon!

As for missions, we will take the “Recover Greece” mission, which will give us upon completion +1 Yearly legitimacy and -5% Aggressive expansion impact for 10 years.

Our army consists of 8 regiments, with a cap of 10 units, and a fleet of 14 units, with a cap of 17 units. We will build our army to our force limits with 2 extra infantry units at Achaea and Morea and our army will also be shipped to our Greek exclave, where it will be more save if the Ottomans would attack.

Now, let’s start. Byzantium needs allies to hold on. So we started by improving relations with Hungary, Poland and Wallachia. To help ourselves gaining these important alliances we hired a diplomat, increasing our diplomatic reputation with +1.

Our first alliance is installed: the Byzantine-Wallachian alliance is a fact. Now Hungary and Poland.

The Ottomans warned us not to go to war with anyone. They don’t have to worry, we won’t, for now.

Poland formed a union with Lithuania. Only good can come from this!

A godly general was hired at the expense of 25 prestige and legitimacy. Sadly, he died just before we could use him. Rest in peace champion.

Our 2nd alliance and most important one was signed: the Byzantine-Polish alliance.

And eventually in the end, the 3rd: the Byzantine-Hungarian Alliance.

I think we have fulfilled our Quest for new allies. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. In the next chapter we will have brought our greatest enemy the Ottomans their first blow!

EDIT: since screenshots of the first war itself are missing, I'll cover the first and second war with the Ottomans in the next part.

 

[Tom D.]

Chapter II: bashing the Ottomans
Since I don’t have any screenshots of the first war with the Ottomans, I’m going to tell as much as I can remember. I will also cover more than just the first and second war with the Ottomans. When I write a chapter and I see an important event or if I think it will be a good moment to stop a chapter, I will. So not every chapter will be equal of size. I also want to apologise for screenshots with some nasty stripes on it. My computer has some rather frustrating issues for the moment .

As I said earlier, we got a godly general by event, but he died before we could use him . I started the war with a reconquest CB for one of our cores. I shipped my army to our Greek enclave especially for this, since it’s more save there when war is declared (further away of the Ottoman army). With the combined forces of Byzantium, Hungary, Wallachia and Poland-Lithuania, we crushed the Ottomans and managed to regain all our cores, except Selanik because it was conquered by Poland.

We could have taken more from the Ottomans, but the war was turning against us so I decided to end it before it turned out too late. It’s actually astonishing how Byzantium can come out of its dangerous position with just one war. Byzantium is of course still too weak compared with the Ottomans, but when you’ve got your allies, the Ottomans can’t do much more than to concede defeat.

I would like to point out that as you can see in the screenshot above, I took their capital Edirne. This is very important for future wars! The Ottoman capital is in Asia, so their army will go there (not sure if it’s always the case, but it sounds logic). Since you need to own/control one side of a strait to block it, you can block their entire army if you’re fleet is big enough. If I hadn’t take Edirne, they would just walk towards my land with no problem.

France wasn’t doing well, looking at an independent Guyenne and an expansing Burgundy .

Apparently a new thing with the latest patch (or at least that I know of): if you have a core on your vassal’s land, you don’t have to spend DIP points to annex them, and it doesn’t take time. Consequently, I could integrate Athens for NO cost in just ONE month. Nice change .

I also took Crete. Venice lost a war in which they had to release their two vassals Naxos and Corfu and they also had to release Crete. They didn’t stay independent for long though.

To save some money, the Morean fort was demolished and a marketplace was built in Constantinople to increase trade income.

We have reclaimed Athens, and this gave us 10 prestige and 50 ADM. The DLC “Purple Phoenix” is really helpful, since it gives you constant events which grant you 50 ADM, DIP or MIL. There are also some which decrease it by 25, but together with these conquest events, it gives Byzantium the flavour it needs and the necessary monarch points.

With our income increasing due to our newly acquired territory, we started on increasing our galley fleet. This will help us keep the Ottomans in Anatolia during the next war.

Naxos stood pretty much alone when I declared war on them. They’re much better off in our realm .

Our 2nd ruler (heir at the beginning), died. A regency council was installed since our heir is only 7 years old. This will eventually refrain us from declaring some more wars. The Ottomans also declared war on Hungary, which they ultimately lost. We didn’t joined the war since we couldn’t take the risk standing alone with Hungary against the Ottomans.

Austria, which had also became our ally recently, had lost the election for the Imperial Throne when their king died. The king of Brandenburg was crowned Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire soon after.

Now, with our heir crowned king, we declared war on the Ottomans. Austria didn’t join from the beginning, but they will soon. Since we lost our alliance with Hungary, we signed an alliance with the Mamluks, which will deal with the Ottoman allies. I really thought a lot if it would benefit me from allying the Mamluks, since I need their provinces to be able to restore The Pentarchy. But since they can handle the Ottomans allies and I otherwise only have 2 allies, I decided to go for it. Also, we can backstab them later !

As said, Austria soon joined the war and we achieved a big majority on the size of our armies.

While the Balkan got sieged, we received a new heir. He’s not so good, 3/2/0, could be better for an heir to the Byzantine Empire !

I also saw this weird ZoC issue, with my troops in Biga not being able to go to Hüdavendigar despite being occupied by Poland. It’s probably because of the still unoccupied fort in Sunda which the Polish are also sieging, but still annoying at some times.

Our 2nd war ended in a victory for the Byzantine Empire. The Ottomans lost all their coastal provinces in Europe. They now hold some landlocked land from Serbia and Hungary. After this war my goal is to vassalize Walllachia so I can feed them parts of Hungary and Serbia.

Our last conquered province Silistria is finally cored.

Our next goal is Serbia. After a quick blitzkrieg war, we demanded Zeta and Kosovo to be transferred to us.

Our beloved Emperor died, and a regency council of 5 years was installed .

The Ottomans were also clever enough to declare a war on Serbia because they were weakened by me, but they had forgotten that they had no troops over there, and thus lost the war and had to cede a lot of provinces to Serbia.

We noticed that the population of Scio was not happy with their Genoan overlord and rebelled in an attempt to join us.

Of course we supported their actions by funding them some ducats, but we were not lucky. The rebellion was crushed.

Meanwhile in Europe, Castille declared war on France . I know it’s weird to say, but I really hope that they won’t succeed. Since Castille has a PU with Napels, we can’t invade Italy, or at least not via Napels itself. So a weakened Castille is better for us than a weakened France!

But we discovered that the population of Negroponte was also not happy with their overlord, and are willing to revolt. We will also try to help them revolt as we did with our Genoan neighbour.

We finished coring Kosovo. Now our conquered provinces are a rightful part of our Empire.

For those who want to know how our fleet compares itself to others: we can field a fleet of 27 ships, while our enemy Ottomans can field a fleet of 26 ships. This means that we can block the Ottomans from crossing the straits if we block the strait with our entire fleet.

We also discovered some new territory. The west-northern part of India as well as the capital of the big Ming Empire are now known knowledge for us.

Deer news reached us! The ruler of Austria died heirless and became a junior part of a PU with England ! We also received news that Burgundy contests this PU and has gone to war with both. Unlucky for us we lost a great ally because of this PU .

A new heir was born during our war with the Ottomans. Zoe has nice 5/1/3 skills, and despite the low 1 DIP, we will receive a lot of ADM which we can use to core more territory.

For some reason the screenshot of the declaration of war has gone missing . Lucky for us, I still have the screenshots from during the war.

 

[Tom D.]

Chapter III: Wars, more wars and a triumph for the Balkans
I just realized we have survived and have already reached the year 1509! So if we can survive the past few wars, why not join some more ? As you can see below, the Ottomans didn’t join the war and we only have to fight Serbia and Bosnia.

We’re not very pious though, since gaining Patriarch Authority costs us more than losing it. We’ll definitely solve this when we restore the Pentarchy. Now that I’m speaking about the Pentarchy, does someone know for sure that if you want to disable the Papacy AND the Curia if you have to take the mission or if just conquering the required provinces and converting them is enough? That would be much appreciated !

Restoring a decayed Empire requires some violence and wars, who do you think you are? We can’t help it that we don’t have the time to read books !

I occupied Vidin and Temes before Wallachia could, so Serbia had to give cores back to Hungary and the Ottomans, while giving us two provinces, Raska and Skopje.

Apparently, Serbia’s recently conquered provinces were not cored yet, and since they can’t core them anymore, they just sold them all to Poland. As if they didn’t already had enough influence in the Balkan .

We are ahead of time in diplomatic and military tech, but our ADM tech is really lacking behind because of all the coring. Byzantium really should have some more cores in the Balkan if you ask me .

Skopje became a rightful part of our Empire!

Dear news reached us. Castille declared war on France. This game can be a bully sometimes. France is almost always a strong powerhouse, and now they are invaded from everywhere. What’s wrong with you France ?

Peasants, what to do with them? If they don’t see a comet then they’re getting uppity. I guess we’ll have to live with it ?

Our alliance which was forcedly dissolved is now restored. This will keep our influence high enough across the Middle East.

The rebels of Negroponte are weaklings! If they don’t revolt, than we will bring them in our realm !

A regency council was installed after our Emperor past away. Zoe II (don’t know why she’s the 2nd) Palaiologos will soon take her place on the throne.

We reached ADM tech lvl 7, unlocking a new set of idea groups.

Our first idea group was administrative (I think I better should have chosen religious but we’ll see) and our second will be Quantity, to bolster our armies.

We already unlocked our first military idea, and a national idea, which decreases our mercenary costs .

Zoe II Palaiologos was crowned Empress of the Byzantine Empire. I actually just found out that the official title used here is “Basilissa” .

To differ our Empire to the rest of the world, we announced, on the coronation of Zoe II, that the title of Emperor/Empress was way too humble to honour our rulers. Therefore, our upcoming rulers will be granted the title “Basileus / Basilissa of the Byzantine Empire”.

Long live Basilissa Zoe II Palaiologos of the Byzantine Empire!

For those who want to know more about the title, here’s a link to Wikipedia.

Venice was clever enough to siege the Mamluks capital . There is a risk they will peace the Mamluks out with annulling our alliance again, so we will have to end this war quickly.

Reforms are always good, especially if you can strengthen your legitimacy with it. The Patriarchy didn’t liked it, but we didn’t care.

Peace was signed with Venice, resulting in Zagreb, Dalmatia, Ragusa, Lika, Donji Kraji and Negroponte being ceded to us. As you can see in the background, France isn’t doing well. To be honest, they’re just crap . RIP France.

A triumph for the Balkan, and a victory for us. Our armies gained a lot of army tradition and our prestige got a boost, long live the Basilissa!

Since I can’t core all this territory for myself, I released Croatia as a vassal (unlucky for me I can’t convert the provinces and then release them ). I will feed them Bosnia, Serbia and Hungary later.

Our mission to recover Greece was completed.

Our next mission will be to protect our brethren in Bosnia and then feed it to Croatia.

Our recent conquests in the Balkan haven’t gone unnoticed in Europe, with The Papal State, Sienna and some other minor Italian nation(s) joining a coalition against us . We’ll have to watch out in the future for this, since one war is enough to screw us.

Interesting how you can abuse every situation to your own good. Even a diplomatic insult can turn out positive for us.

Our Empire got a new heir. Demetrios Palaiologos (4/3/4) will serve our Empire well with such stats.

The Ottomans have joined this traitorous coalition of the Papal State . We want to avoid a two front war, so we’ll have to improve relations with our neighbours .

 

[Tom D.]

Wonderful Wednesday

Because I'm ahead on schedule with my chapters and I've got a day off today, I decided to publish the fourth chapter today which is:

Chapter IV: the long march for Rome
But before I start I want to thank @atwix for helping me out with my questions regarding to my pictures for my AAR. A big thank you !

I would also like you to give me some comments about my AAR and more specifically my writing style. This is my first AAR so I'm not used to writing things like this. Tell me if you like it, what I could approve, what you don't like, ... I'm open to any criticism which can help me improving my writing and eventually this AAR.

So let's start. A funny thing happened. Since I didn’t want to lose my most important ally, I accepted the CTA. But for some buggy reason I didn’t went to war, and I still got Poland as my ally and no declined CTA penalty or something like that. Very weird, but better for us of course !

We ended our war with Venice and signed a peace treaty. Venice was utterly destroyed by our might and had to cede Istria and Bosnia to us. We will keep Istria to claim Ferrara and give Bosnia to our vassal Croatia. Venice also had to renounce their claims on Brescia, Zagreb, Dalmatia, Ragusa, Lika, Donji Kraji and Euboea. Their alliance with the Knights was also disbanded.

After our successful siege of Rhodes, we demanded Rhodes. Apparently, you can’t enforce religion anymore in combination with full annexation . I think they will have added this in the recent patch. A shame actually, this was so useful when you conquered OPM which had not the same religion as yours.

And AE is skyrocketing again . The Ottomans, Bosnia, Serbia, Hungary and Venice can all join a coalition against me. We can only hope it won’t happen.

Rhodes is ours! The former crusader bastion is no longer. Only Cyprus remains. They are guaranteed by the Mamluks, which can come in handy if we want to betray them.

As already said, forts on islands like Rhodes and Corfu have no use for us, so we just disband them.

Bosnia was officially sold to Croatia for 98 ducats, not much if you ask me .

France is still being bashed by Spain. If we weren’t Byzantium with Spain as a rival, we would have been happy as hell.

Our fleet was modernised, and has now 24 up to date galleys. This attracted some hardy seamen, which increased our navy tradition.

As you can see, Ferrara is only allied to the Papal State. It’s a wonder they can survive so long with only them as an ally. We soon began with making a claim on Ferrara. And remember, Ferrara is not our goal, but the Pope!

Our missionary has some work to do. Istria will follow the true Orthodox faith within 45 months.

Our CB against Ferrara is ready, be prepared!

To show you the strength of the Imperial army. It consists of 34k men. 24k are infantry, 4k is cavalry and 6k is artillery. This is equal as the combined strength of Ferrara and the Papal State.

None of our allies wants to join, so we’ll just handle with them on our own.

In the meantime, Poland signed a peace treaty with Bohemia. And what a peace treaty indeed! Bohemia has to cede Berlin, Ersekujvar (don’t know what kind of beast that is), Ratibor, Breslau, Spis, Niederlausitz, Szabolcs, Glogau and Uckermark to Poland. That are 9 provinces and Poland only incurs 24,8 AE for it, 24,8 ! If we would do that, whole Italy, Spain and the Ottomans would join a coalition against us !

A first swift victory for us! The Papal army was routed to their homeland.

We are closing our ADM tech gap. We reached ADM tech lvl 10 and now we can unlock a third idea group .

Extra missionary strength will come in handy for our new heretic provinces to convert.

A 2nd victory for us, but a costly one. We lost half our army, but our enemy too.

Brandenburg got elected Emperor of the HRE again. Weird how they are able to do it, since they are just a two province minor now.

Our 3rd idea group will be Influence. The reduced time to fabricate claims and especially the reduced integration cost and reduced AE will be very helpful later on for our further conquests of the Balkan, Italy and the Ottomans.

France lost again . They had to cede Berry, Languedoc and Narbonne to Spain and give their core Rouergue to Guyenne and Auvergne to Burgundy. Also Picardy is an independent state. If you ever see a Spanish Loire, than you now it’s not going well.

Finally some good news. The Mamluks have declared the Papal State as their new rival. This will make them more willing to enter in a war against the Pope.

Firenze got finally sieged, which is not easy in hilly terrain. We will further advance to Rome!

Our MIL tech got upgraded to lvl 11, giving us some fire and shock bonuses as well as a bigger field width.

After a difficult battle at Firenze (which I probably won because of my MIL tech upgraded) we chased the remaining army to Rome where we utterly defeated them. Now nothing will stop us occupying the “Holy” Papal State .

After some quick victories, all Italian lands of the Papal State are occupied.

Heresy is spreading in the Papal State. I see trouble on the horizon, but not for us !

For those who are interested in the current European status: England has conquered the whole British Isles, as normally. France is now a fragmented and shattered land with the English, Spanish, Guyenne’s and a small France fighting for dominance. Burgundy has survived because of it. I see a large Nuremburg, a Swedish Denmark and the east of the HRE eaten by Poland because of the former Polish-Bohemian war for Breslau.

Trebizond has also survived. Don’t ask how, a weakened Ottomans will be the most important factor. They own the former Georgian provinces in the Caucasus region now. The Timurids aren’t dead because of a civil war. Aq Qoyunlu has eaten Qara Qoyunlu.

I would say a normal day in EUIV world .

 

[Tom D.]

Chapter V: Trouble in Constantinople
Ok, so with this new chapter the screenshots should be normal again. I apologise if this is not the case, it will be fixed when I've got the time.
You may also notice that I'm trying another style of writing. As you know I'm still a noob with writing an AAR, so I'm exploring which sort of writing styles fits me and which not.

Trebizond lost the Ottoman offensive war and had to Trebizond and Guria to the Ottomans. It seems like the Ottomans are trying to break through their own isolation.

We received news at our court which we hadn’t heard of since a century. “France has beaten England and demanded Caux, Normandie, Périgord, Auvergne and Charolais to be ceded to France ”.

“U wot mate? Have you gone mad? What an insult to our great Basilissa!” were one of the many astonished cries of the advisors. They shouted so hard they could be heard throughout the whole capital. The population almost thought the apocalypse had begun. They quickly calmed down after they realised how loud they were .

But the population got scared and demanded that they wouldn’t be safe until the heathens were chased from our doors across the Bosporus. The Basilissa agreed to calm the population and demanded the attack on Ankara.

As you can see, the Ottomans have an alliance with Cyprus. We couldn’t attack them because of their guarantee from the Mamluks, but now we can conquer them by making them co-belligerent.

To ensure we don’t suffer a defeat and further scare our population, our army received some fresh recruits, ready to join this holy war against our ancient enemy.

The troops of the Commonwealth quickly ensured a first victory against the Ottomans.

In het meantime, we unlocked a new DIP idea, which reduces our time to fabricate a claim by -33% and a NI which increases our national tax modifier with +10%.

The invasion was halted because of the many forts in Içel, Ankara and Sugla. This didn’t improved our Basilissa’s reputation.

Awaiting the coming invasion of Cyprus and the Ottomans, our fleet received some new transport boats to allow bigger armies to be transported.

With no big stackwiping armies in the vicinity, our army received orders to invade Teke again by sea.

The first Ottoman fort of Sugla fell to our armies. Further inland territories now lay open, as well as the Ottoman capital Konya.

A small stackwipe for the Ottomans. Bolu got occupied by PLC, which is arriving with 50k men.

With western Anatolia occupied, we turned our attention to Cyprus and decided it was time to invade them.

The Cyprian army was bigger in the beginning, but they had been leading a guerrilla war against the Mamluks by constantly landing troops on their land. Bye Cyprus!

Ankara finally got sieged. The Mamluks are closing in on the east side of the Ottomans, while we and PLC are coming closer to Konya and the next fort province of Amasya.

Wallachia declared war on the Ottomans. The AI has become more opportunistic since previous versions, but it’s weird that Aq Qoyunlu didn’t declare war. They could take a bunch of provinces. We don’t mind of course, that’s their loss.

A PLC army got ambushed in Bolu and has been defeated. We will punish the Ottomans for this traitorous warfare.

The Ottoman capital Konya got sieged by the PLC. The Ottomans will soon surrender!

Cyprus still has some guerrilla armies left on Ottoman territory. They got routed after a tough fight, they have a decent general (4-2-3-0).

Our ADM tech reached lvl 11, and our gap from the past 50 years has gone. Though I’m wondering how we’ll be able to core our new land …

When the fort of Içel fell, our heir Demetrios died tragically during the chase of the remaining Ottoman garrison . The people of Constantinople and the Empire mourned about the loss of such a good heir and regretted they had demanded the Ottoman invasion.

Our MIL tech got upgraded to lvl 12, obtaining some new military units for our armies.

Basilissa Zoe was furious when she found out her heir died. She was also worrying what may happen if she would now die heirless.
She demanded that the remaining Ottoman resistance had to be destroyed. Shortly after, the Ottoman bastion of Amasya had capitulate and the Imperial armies were marching for Trebizond.

Cyprus got finally sieged, while news about discoveries of far and unknown land reached us.

We demanded Cyprus to become a part of our Empire. Hereby the last former crusader kingdom has fallen and the Byzantine Empire will take its place. Byzantium will continue to push back the heretics, which the crusaders had failed to do. Constantinople will never be sacked again!

With Trebizond finally sieged, we signed peace with the Ottomans. We demanded them to give us their southern coast, stretching from Sugla to Içel. I did this on purpose because the Mamluks now can’t take any Ottoman provinces for themselves. Turkey is our land and will always be our land!

Even after the great victory against the Ottomans, the reputation of the Basilissa was still not healed yet. The population saw a comet and immediately thought the worst.

With our eastern expansion on hold, we decided another war would please the population. Hungary will be a good goal to conquer.

In the meantime after the war, the Janissaries event fired for the Ottomans. This can be interesting if the disaster related to the Janissaries will ever fire, since the Ottomans will be wrecked by it. Which would be good for us.

Torontal got sieged while the Hungarian army was attempting at sieging Srbija. We had a better general and army, so they’re not lucky.

Our national stability is finally back at 0 and internal conflicts risk is reducing. We are lucky that we are Orthodox and have a “Great person”, since this reduces our costs to raise stability. The lack of religious unity is increasingly dividing our nation. This is something we should deal with very soon.

The crusader kingdom of Cyprus had succeeded to convince the local people that Christianity is the only true faith. They were right, but not about which sort of Christianity was the true one. Therefore, our missionary received the mission to bring the people of Cyprus back on the right path.

Hungary decided it would cede Torontal to us, and to give Varasd and Slavonia back to Croatia, which has cores on these territories.

 

[Tom D.]

Chapter VI: into Turkey we go, and Italy
With difficult times ceasing to exist and Leon VII Jagielon strongly leading the country, he invested in the administration of the Empire. The ADM tech reached lvl 12.

With better ADM tech, our Empire runs on paper and our Imperial bureaucracy is working better than ever. The Byzantine-Bosnian war was going quit well. Leon VII invaded Italy and Romagna was sieged after a month. A tough fight was now going on in Ferrara, and the Imperial armies quickly moved to help.

Our Imperial armies were victorious and chased the Bosnian and Papal armies out of Italy. Italy now just lies open to take.

Leon also decided to further improve the army, and invested in extra recruits for the fortifications. Now our forts will have 25% more men.

The Pope quickly found out he had lost again. The Papal diplomats met their Byzantine counterparts in Constantinople and agreed to annul all their treaties with Guyenne, Portugal and Modena.

Soon after, Serbia conceded defeat and became a part of our Empire. They ceded their two provinces to us and renounced their claim on Temes. Now Bosnia stands on their own.

Bosnia will be usurped in our Empire, ceding Hum, Travonia and Visoki to us. Leon VII was happy to see the Balkans finally back under Byzantine control.

But there would be no peace! The Ottomans are still an insult to our nation, and so he ordered the attack on Bolu, to take the northern coast of the Ottomans and to isolate them in Turkey. Our allies the Mamluks and the PLC will all join us.

With the help of our allies, we heavily outnumber the Ottomans. They only got 1k artillery and 2k cavalry, and most of their armies consist of infantry, 25k to be precise.

As promised in the comments of chapter V, a full overview of the current state of the world anno 1567.

Africa is mostly dominated in the east by Kilwa, stretching from Mutapa to Ethiopia. In the west, Mali is a regional power, with Timbuktu and Air competing for power. There are some colonies of Portugal and Spain, and there is a Spanish South Africa, but just 2 provinces, so the Europeans don’t show much interest in it.

Asia is dominated by a big, filthy red blob called the Timurids . Yarkand and Oirat are quit big. Ming was in the beginning of the game hit by a civil war, and they recovered most of their cores in south china, but they’re not linked to their capital. Does this makes these provinces oversea or not? I should look at it, would be gorgeous of course . Jaunpur is the most powerful nations in India as far as we can see, South India is not yet discovered.

South America is not colonized much, there is a small British Brazil and a quit big Portuguese one. Inca is not yet discovered, but Sweden will colonize Columbia and Peru in the future. Yes indeed, Sweden .

Europe: a big PLC, Muscovy and a strong Spain. Great Britain has united the British Isles, as usual. Can’t say much about it.

Now we will turn back to our war. The Ottomans got invaded by the west, and the first forts are getting sieged. We are even able to walk to Amasya.

Despite the current unrest in the country, Leon VII decided the country should only accept true pious people following the Orthodox faith. Therefore, he passed the "Advancement of Religion Act", increasing unrest and missionary strength with 1.

To set an example, he ordered his missionary to start converting Umbria to the Orthodox faith. This would normally succeed in 59 months.

After some minor battles, the Ottomans got fully occupied. Leon VII decided he would let the Ottoman people destabilize their country while under our control.

He also announced the end of a long research which puts our DIP tech at lvl 13, enabling a new type of ship, the Brig, and increasing our trade efficiency with 5%.

The Ottoman people are rebelling against their rulers because of the very bad situation. The Emperor was full of joy when the news arrived. The Ottomans have 16,4 WE and because Leon VII don’t want to lose warscore, he quickly demanded the Ottoman diplomats to enter Constantinople.

The Emperor demanded the Ottomans to cede Ankara, Bolu, Kastamonu, Sinop, Canik and Karaman to the Byzantine Empire (they also had to give up their core on Plovdiv), while also giving Hunyad to the PLC, trying to please them for their help in the war. The Mamluks were happy to see the Ottomans bite the dust, and were happy enough with this to not demand anything. Our neighbours didn’t like it, but that’s their loss.

Before leaving Constantinople, the Ottoman diplomats were furious, but were also wise to not upset the Emperor, so they declared that they didn’t see the Byzantine Empire as their rival anymore. As a result, Leon VII decided it would be wise to announce the same, trying to ease the tension with the neighbours.

But an Empire without rivals is an Empire without a soul. Leon VII now officially announced the Papal State as their rival. There can’t be a world with AND a Byzantine Emperor AND a Pope at the same time !

With control of the Constantinople trade region increasing, the Emperor decided it would be in the interest of the Empire to build a new strong trading fleet, counting 16 Caravels.

Our distinct neighbour of Trebizond heard about the end of the war, and decided it would take their bit of the Ottomans. They formally declared war on them, trying to reclaim their provinces left in Turkey.

With the Ottomans at the brink of disaster, they sent diplomats to Cairo stating that also the Mamluks are not seen anymore as valid rivals for the Ottomans. Emperor Leon VII wondered what the Ottomans were planning, but didn’t think much of it, they have become a minor ‘nuisance’ for us.

The Mamluks did the same as us, announcing the same as the Ottomans but also stating the Timurids, yes that big red blob right there, as their new rival. Let’s hope they don’t clash very soon…

With new heretic territory added to the Empire, Leon VII became more ruthless towards any kind of heresy in his Empire or the world. He passed another act to give even more strength to the missionaries.

Though the Ottomans don’t see us as a valid rival anymore, they still desire Constantinople. Leon VII knew he had still to watch out for the Ottomans. He also worried about the growing influence of his family in the PLC in the Balkans. They own almost whole Hungary, Wallachia is a Byzantine ally so they don’t attack them and the rest is all directly or indirectly in our possession.

More MP were invested in our armies, and we could now build a new sort of forts, received new cavalry type divisions and our overall military tactics gained a boost.

Spain, sitting on the south of Italy, is still nerving the Empire. Being a big powerhouse with strong allies means we couldn’t attack them in all those years.

Umbria became Orthodox after 59 months, embracing the true faith. The Pope was outraged when he heard the news. He was losing power in Italy, and was fearing for the future of Italy and the Papal State.

Our Empire still has a significant number of heathens. With only one missionary it will take a long time to convert every province, but the Empire is managing.

 

[Tom D.]

Chapter VII: Taking back what is ours
Welcome back to a new chapter today.

As said in the previous chapter, Eirene II decided to give the northern Italian provinces of Modena and Lucca to Ferrara. This will cost us no ADM and we won’t have to convert those provinces ourselves.

Diplomats were sent to the Timurids to tell them the Byzantine Empire is their competitor and official rival from now on. Let them be warned!

A happy sight here: spies reported that the integration of Austria by Great Britain was halted, because Austria has 54 liberty desire. With some luck they will not succeed at integrating them for some decades.

The Imperial Administration was updated to close the gap, which means we reached lvl 14. We can unlock our fourth idea group by now.

After some long debates with her advisors, the Basilissa decided to unlock the Aristocratic idea group. The increased coring costs for foreign aggressors, the extra manpower, extra diplomat and extra army tradition with, in the end, some reduction in MIL tech costs convinced Eirene to choose for this group.

The first idea of that group was already unlocked, reducing our cavalry costs with 10%. This is in my opinion the weakest idea of the whole group, but it’s the first one, so it’s not bad.

With some spare DIP points ready to be used, the fourth influence idea was unlocked, reducing our AE with 20%! Really helpful for later wars.

With Eirene’s position strengthening, she gave birth to a son Theodosios. He is an average heir with 4/3/0 skills.

Despite some peasants worrying again about a comet they saw, the Basilissa was able to maintain the stability in the realm.

With MIL points flooding in, our 2nd Aristocratic idea was unlocked, increasing coring costs for foreign invaders by 50%. This will strengthen our territories and make it more difficult for our rivals to take provinces which clearly belong to us.

While the Imperial army in Italy was attacking some rebels, it became clear for our neighbours that our cause is just. Our push into Italy and Turkey is justified because they once belonged to the Empire. The nations in question who own these territories naturally don’t agree with us, but we’ll teach them a lesson to show them we’re rightful owner of them.

The rivalries changed again, with the Pope and the Timurids announcing us as rivals. We’ll challenge them soon, and they will regret their move.

As a response, we announced the Pope again as our legitimate rival, which will make it easier for the Basilissa to take territories from the Pope.

Our spies operating in Moskva reported that Muscovy has declared war against the Timurids, our same rival. Muscovy for the win!

Or not… Eirene decided it would be best to jump onto Trebizond. With this move, we can expand our influence in the Caucasus and break Muscovy, since they’re an ally of Trebizond. With help from the PLC, this shouldn’t be a difficult matter.

With the Imperial armies marching for Trebizond, we received news about an uprising in British land. A country called the Netherlands declared war on them, stating that they want to be free from dictators like Great Britain. The Netherlands are a weak nation (only 2 provinces) and Great Britain is strong and with powerful friends. The Basilissa shall follow the matter, but is not very confident that they will succeed.

During the war, Eirene attended a Great Synod which was hold in Constantinople. The Patriarchs were trying to convince the Basilissa and the people of the Empire to grant more privileges to the Patriarchy. But the Empire hadn’t restored the Pentarchy yet, with vital key cities as Rome, Alexandria and Antioch needed to legitimate this decision. Therefore the matter was rejected, which pleased the people in the realm, because the Patriarchs weren't doing much to help the Basilissa reclaim those cities.
The rejection encouraged both her and the Empire to advance further beyond the current borders.

In the meantime, news reached us that the Dutch independence war was lost, and that the Netherlands had to cede Calais to Great Britain again. On the very same day, Brabant joined the Netherlands, making the OPM after the war a TPM now.

The war is going good for the Empire, while claims were made on our rivals in Pisa.

To help our armies get quicker to enemy territory, ADM tech 15 was reached. This increased the efficiency of the Military Administration and as a result unlocked the ‘Forced March’ ability for the armies.

The Netherlands keep growing peacefully, with Flanders now joining the Republic. The Netherlands also converted to the Reformed faith. I’m already hoping that big Gelre blob will join them .

The PLC are sieging down Muscovy and have already sieged down Moskva. Holland also joined the Republic, and peace will soon be back in the Empire. But for how long though…

After a quick fight in the province of Cheboksary, it became clear for Muscovy they had lost. The diplomats were brought to Constantinople to sign a peace treaty.

Eirene knew that to restore the Roman Empire, she needed to control the former Crimean territory now owned by Genoa. Mariupol had to be ceded to the Byzantine Empire, to serve as a bridgehead for a future war against Genoa.

The DIP tech received another update now reaching lvl 15, making more ship models available to the Empire. The last remaining forts of Trebizond are also getting sieged in the Caucasus.

And when they fell, peace was signed: Trebizond ceded Trebizond, Imereti, Mingrelia, Abkhazia and Guria to us, while also becoming a vassal. They will serve as an extra loyal subject to fight for us and to core and convert the former Georgian and Timurid territory.

With a swift victory of the Imperial armies, Eirene decided the army should receive some bonusses, which meant they were given better cannons and more training which improved the quality of the armies.

She also decided that Croatia had served well as a vassal, but the Croatian territory should legally be controlled by Constantinople. They also don’t follow the true Orthodox faith, which will be fixed when the Empire takes back control of the territory.

But peace was something which cannot be true. The Basilissa had rejected the demands of the Great Synod, but only because the Empire didn’t had the authority to do such thing. Therefore, the Empire must retake the important cities of Antioch, Jerusalem and Alexandria, now owned by the Mamluks. The number of armies are the same, but our MIL should be considered of a higher quality than the Mamlukan one.

“Boys”, Eirene shouted to the army at Ankara, “today, we march for Cairo, but most importantly, today, we will write history! Let’s take back what is ours. Forward march!”

And while her voice echoed away across the rows and rows of soldiers, the army set off to Cairo.

The Imperial armies have never been so ecstatic when invading another country or going to war. At Sugla, the first clash between Byzantine and Mamlukan armies became a fact and the Mamluks suffered a big blow. 1-0 for the Byzantines.

The Mamluks also lost most of their fleet at the Gulf of Cyprus. New ships were ordered to replace the lost ones. The Imperial armies were marching down to Ma’an and Jerusalem after sieging the northern part of the Mamluks. The armies were even more ecstatic when they entered the former city of Antioch. Who knows how they will react if they enter Jerusalem . 2-0 for the Byzantines.

In the meantime, Moroccan allied troops were sent in via the west, and a fight occurred at Ghazzah. The Moroccan king led the troops himself, but it didn’t help them much. They lost another battle near the end of the 5th of April, 1604 by the way (we're almost celebrating our 160th year of surviving, yay me ).
It was also that day that Jerusalem was taken back. The soldiers went mad when they entered, and it took a lot of time to cool them down. Pretty difficult task when it’s April there … 3-0 for the Byzantines.

The joint armies of the Mamluks and Morocco went back after the defeat, only to be defeated again after a tough fight. 4-0 for the Byzantines.

After the troops in Jerusalem cooled down (near the end of November) they pushed further to the west, and defeated the enemy armies again in the battle of Gharbeyya. 5-0 for the Byzantines.

An enemy may have good quality soldiers, may have excellent generals, if they don’t have the spirit of liberating what is rightfully theirs, they won’t win.

The diplomats gathered again at Constantinople, and the Mamluks ceded Tarabulus al-Sham, Tadmor, Hamah, Sayda and Antakiya to the Byzantine Empire. Eirene, the Patriarchy and the Byzantine people were happy: the first sacred city was back in Byzantine hands.

Life is good in the Byzantine Empire .

 

[Tom D.]

Chapter VIII: The stage is set…
This chapter will mostly cover the biggest and most tempting war we had to endure in this whole campaign. So take some popcorn and enjoy !

We declared war on Venice to claim Venezia. As you can see, only 8k men so there’s not much I can say about this (and no, if you read the title well you know this is not that big war I mentioned above! ).

Venice signed peace: the Empire demanded their full annexation, giving us Venezia. Maybe if we want no forts in our Empire we should change our capital to Venice?

Eirene debated much about this with her advisers, but no-one could convince the other. Constantinople is still ‘the City of the World’s Desire’ and abandoning it just because we want no forts is a pity excuse, and it’s a symbol of resistance throughout the whole world of how we survived the Ottomans.

“When the time is there, we will decide whether this symbolic value of Constantinople is more important than the survival of our capital and Empire” Eirene concluded.

The Military Academy messaged us about reaching MIL lvl 17, increasing our cavalry shock.

With the Great Synod still in her mind, Eirene declared war on the Mamluks trying to reclaim the Levant with the big important cities of Aleppo and of course, Jerusalem.

During the war, the Imperial Administration got upgraded to lvl 17, increasing ADM efficiency with +20 (making cores cheaper), as well as development efficiency (which doesn’t influence us since we can’t develop) and Universities being able to build.

The Basilissa still demanded regular reports from spies in the Netherlands, and she received new that Flanders (which probably broke free during a war) rejoined the Netherlands. They also seemed to expand in Gelre. A shame Gelre didn’t join the Netherlands, it would be much stronger than if it has to conquer the Low Countries themselves.

The Imperial armies have already reached Kahire and brought the Mamluks a heavy blow in the battle of as-Suways.

Soon after, the capital of the Mamluks Kahire fell to the Imperial army, just in time to reinforce the battle of Dumyat.

Which we, of course, won. A heavy purple stripe struck down the enemy, they said they never saw such awful thing in their lives (but really, you only see the top of the iceberg, or how do you say it: those stripes really irritate me… )

Right when the diplomats gathered in Constantinople signing a peace treaty, an urgent request came in from Muscovy, asking for help in their reconquest of Alimuly against the Timurids.

Because the Empire just signed peace gaining Dumyat, Ghazzah, Sina, Halab (Aleppo), al-Quds, As Sahiliyah, Naablus (Jerusalem), Rahba, as-Suways and Ras Gareb, this could be a threat to the Empire.

The Basilissa thought about the matter, and decided it would be good to weaken the Timurids and AQ now. We heavily outnumber them (3 to 1) which is of course because the Empire joined.

“Come and get us Timurids” Eirene shouted at her troops.

Eirene travelled to Jerusalem to enter the mighty (despite a pity 5/5/3 development) city of Jerusalem with the Patriarch of Constantinople at her side.

“Well, Patriarch Cyril I, as the Great Synod demanded, Aleppo, Antioch and Jerusalem are all free from heretics and usurpers. I hope you are happy now, the Empire has put a lot of effort to achieve this, but I’m sure you understand that.”

“Of course my Basilissa, just as all the other people in the Empire, the Pentarchy is very happy to see this progress. Though the Pope is probably cursing us in his palace in Rome now. There is though a problem: every important holy city needs a Patriarch. Recently, Antioch received one, but what to do with Jerusalem?”

“I knew you would bring up this matter, that’s why I asked you to join me on this trip. As we all know, we lost Jerusalem in 634 to the Arabs. Now, after 1000 years, it will gain a full authorized Patriarch again, and I want you to be that one”.

“Really my Basilissa? I would be honoured to become Patriarch of Jerusalem.”

“Then it is settled. Let us feast to celebrate your new position. I’ll arrange the war against the Timurids from here. May the Empire flourish even more.”

“Of course my Basilissa. May God protect you.”

The Imperial armies rejoiced when the Patriarch of Jerusalem hold his first ceremony in the Dome of the Rock. Enthusiastic as they were, they stackwiped the AQ army in Aleppo.

But the happy excitement soon ended with the tragic report of the Basilissa’s death. Her son, Theodosios IV Jagielon (4/3/0) succeeded to the throne and immediately designated his new heir Thomas Jagielon (5/6/3).

With the Empire still mourning about her death, Theodosios IV travelled to Jerusalem to attend the burial of his mother.

Some days after the burial, Theodosios received news of loyal spies of his mother, which suspected the Basilissa’s death was not natural. They had evidence a plot was planned to kill the Basilissa.

According to them, the Patriarch met some suspicious people, known to have connections with the assassins who successfully killed the last Habsburg king of Austria, before leaving Constantinople.

Theodosios didn’t know what to do, and was fearing for his own life. What happened after this is unknown, but it is known that a few days after the burial, the Patriarch of Jerusalem was suddenly urged to go back to Constantinople for ‘religious matters’. He never arrived though, because his ship got raided by a Mamlukan fleet near Cyprus.

Did the Basileus arranged something with Mamlukan traders? Did the Timurids played a role in this? Or was it just sheer luck? No-one knows…

I also noticed this weird ‘event’ I guess: the PLC suddenly got a Gonzaga on their throne, but their heir is again a Jagielon. I saw coincidently that Milan had a Gonzaga on their throne as well, but they are a republic. I don’t know what happened, but it seems they got a Milanese on their throne but an event gave them a Jagielon heir again?

Theodosios went back to Constantinople (via land to be sure) and received news that Muscovy signed a separate peace with AQ. They had to cede Rakka to the Byzantine Empire.

"Not very much if you ask me for helping them out, but it’s of course better than nothing." the Basileus said.

The Basileus decided to follow the same principles of his mother, and improved the Postal Service in the Empire to increase diplomatic capacity of the Empire.

And then, the tragic CTA which we were expecting arrived at the Imperial Palace: Muscovy asks our assistance in the PLC conquest of Kaluga, against the PLC, Sweden, Spain and Genoa.

“Yeah Muscovy, well you know, I’ll get straight to the point: allying you was a wrong decision in the first place (and probably the only mistake my mother did)” the Basileus said to the diplomat. The diplomat left, furious of course, but the Empire is safe and that’s the most important thing.

They still like us though, so maybe we can just keep our royal marriage.

The trade fleet received some new ships, 12 early frigates to be precise.

Apparently, we started a war against Circassia and annexed them completely, ceding it all to Trebizond.

Back in Constantinople, Theodosios was going through the administration of his mother, when he found what his mother was trying to do to weaken Spain.

Apparently, Milan was only allied to Spain, which means Spain can be indirectly attacked if the Empire goes via Milan.

“So that’s why the Empire needed that coast of Sienna, to be able to claim Genoa.” Theodosios said to himself.

He quickly ordered the fortifications in the northwest to be destroyed. The enemies can’t take it and thus can’t earn warscore for it.

The PLC signed peace with Muscovy. They got severely punished and had to cede Lappland to Sweden + giving back cores of Västerbotten, Nikolaistadt, Abo, Helsingfors and Tammerfors. Pskov, Tver, Kaluga, Novgorod, Torzhok and Ostrov were ceded to the PLC, while their PU slave Ryazan had to cede Voronezh, Veshensakaya and Ekaterinoslav to them too. Khiva was also released as a tiny state in Asia.

The Empire was saved from disaster, but the happiness about the peace would soon take place for anger.

The PLC is Defender of the Faith, and because they’re now back at peace, they will join against our war if we declare on Milan.

Theodosios was furious when he saw he was blocked from fulfilling the last will of his mother.

“As my mother always told me, those Jagielons in the PLC are not worth the title of king, they’re bastards, all of them!” he shouted to his advisers, quickly searching shelter for his rage.

“But if those bastards think they’ll be able to dictate us what we have to do, then they’re wrong! I’ll swear on my mother’s grave, I’ll find no rest before I finish off the Pope and Spain, and PLC to be brought down, I swear… And come from behind that chair, I'm not blind you fools !"

After the Basileus calmed down, he went through the diplomatic reports. He found out GB was no longer an ally of Spain, and that they’re even rivals and enemies.

Theodosios knew this was a sign, and a plan was growing in his mind, but he wasn’t sure. And he had to be…

The Imperial Administration was getting along its time, they’re actually even ahead of time. The Administration reached lvl 18, unlocking some new NI.

And then, Theodosios saw the light! He knew that the PLC hated GB, it doesn’t matter they’re still catholic. Also most importantly, GB was allied to the Pope and their only European ally was Gelre.

I think you can already guess what he did…

Theodosios declared war on Great Britain, stating it is to take Görz. Little knew which his real intentions were…

But he soon realized he rushed to war too quickly: The Empire has no allies and has fewer troops than the enemy. The Empire recruited 16k infantry and 10k artillery willing men to join the war in the Balkan.

The English navy was soon spotted in the Mediterranean, and Theodosios was even prepared to hire a useless admiral. He wasn’t much of a help, as predicted…

Meanwhile, the Imperial armies were marching in British Austria and are sieging the forts blocking them to move to Italy.

 

[Tom D.]

Chapter IX: A disappointment and an opportunity for the Empire
I'm a bit early in the week, but back to business: last time we were at war with Milan and Spain. I was already fearing I might have the problem of ‘overworking’ myself. I was kind of right . In the beginning, the war went really good, some tough but always victorious battles, as you can see below:

It’s pretty much just battle after battle I won. You can see GB is getting wrecked by Spain + the PLC. But as I said, the war was tiring and exhausting the nation, with already quite some mercenaries and money depleting.

Than this revolt happened, and I feared more would come if I didn’t end this war quickly. So that’s unfortunately what I did.

I couldn’t liberate southern Italy from Spain, but I did get Genoa from Milan. It’s not much, but at least it’s something. And we could weaken Milan and Spain, and show them our strength!

While the army was marching east to end the rebellion, Thomas ordered to tech up the DIP tech to 18, enabling the Galiot and to tech up the MIL tech. It reached lvl 19, enabling a star fort design and more importantly, the Saxon infantry.

With the rebels almost defeated, news reached us that Wien finally got cored. It’s now just 20 years before we can go fully western for no cost.

But after Thomas took the crown, he didn’t announce his next heir. His wife gave birth to a girl, and Thomas announced her as the new heir to the Byzantine Empire.

With some money to spare, a trade depot got built in Canik to increase trade power in Constantinople.

Rome finally embraced the only true faith of Orthodox. Unrest is still high, and some catholic die-hard Papist heretics still oppose us, but they will soon die out. The Patriarchy once more proved its authority, becoming the most powerful religious institution, above the Pope.

The PLC’ heir of Jagielon died and now the PLC will be ruled by a Gonzaga family. I’m now sure the Empire won’t fall in a PU under them, but the opposite is of course also true.

The first Religious idea got unlocked, giving Byzantium a rightful ‘Deus Vult’ CB against all the heathens who still oppose the Patriarchy and the Basileus.

And it got tested on the Ottomans. The PLC joined our war (because why not).

Some quick minor victories for us. I think I will integrate the Ottomans province per province into the Empire until they’re no more. No need to rush it, they’re totally isolated.

And then, reports reached Constantinople that the Byzantine core on Scio has been removed. Thomas looked at the diplomacy overview of Genoa, and saw an opportunistic chance.

Genoa is allied to the Pope and the PLC, that’s why the Empire couldn’t attack Genoa. But now the PLC is in a war with US against the Ottomans, so they won’t join the war. This means we’ll only have to deal with Genoa and the Pope.

Those filthy supporters of the Pope who even dare to fight for him are attacked and chased away of our legitimately hold Rome. Even the thought of having a Papal army at our gates!

Genoa’s army got chased back to their Black Sea possessions.

Those Papal troops won’t be any longer in Italy, I swear.

And they got sieged down. Byzantine diplomats were send to Umbria to negotiate the peace, as anything which has to do with the Pope won’t ever set a foot in Rome or Constantinople.

The Pope had to annul their treaties with the Knights, Alsace, Brittany and Genoa. Because AE is a bit high for now, nothing was taken from them.

Meanwhile, Imperial armies are marching through former Crimea, and will soon occupy whole Genoa.

The Genoan army in Trebizond got routed and defeated at Majar.

The DIP tech lvl got upgraded to lvl 19, enabling some new ship types and buildings.

With the last Genoan provinces sieged, the Genoan diplomats signed peace in Constantinople. Genoa will cede Crimea, Cafa, Yedishkul, Theodoro and Albenga to the Empire. They will also annul all their treaties with the PLC.

This pushed Byzantium above the threshold of 1000 development, which means the Byzantine Empire is a ‘real’ Empire now. We also accept all cultures related to the Byzantine one. A glorious day for us!

And the Ottomans came right after: they will cede Bozok to us. As I said, no need to hurry here, we’ve got the time to fully annex them.

A manufacture was built in Genoa, to increase our production income. More of these investments are needed, but the money for it is lacking. And taking loans for it is something Thomas doesn’t want to do.

 

[Tom D.]

Chapter X: Let’s intimmiedate our enemies
In the previous chapter, we reclaimed the north of Egypt for the great Byzantine Empire. Today, it’s time to push even further, south this time.

Our DIP tech got upgraded to lvl 21, enabling the Chebeck for our fleet.

Do you still now Ming was in a devastating civil war around 1455? I know, long time ago, but it didn’t destroy them entirely. As you can see, they even expanded a bit. Theodora was planning something, but she needed assistance, which she found in Beijing. An alliance was signed on the 25th of April 1662.

Austrian separatists are trying to block us from westernising easily, but they didn’t succeed: the rebellion was crushed, just like the rebellion in Alexandria.

The Military Academy once again improved their quality, reaching tech lvl 21.

Theodora, ready to conquer some more heretic lands, declared a holy war on Hejaz. This will be an easy war, looking at that small army.

But Theodora forgot her troops in Egypt couldn’t march to Hejaz, since the Mamluks own Karak and the Timurids don’t want to give MA. She cursed herself for her ignorance on the matter, and quickly send the Imperial navy on a daring mission to sail across Africa to reach the Red Sea.

War Taxes were collected for the first time to bring in some more money, since a few loans have to be paid.

Unfortunately, the Imperial navy got hit by too many attrition, and sank near the Coast of Pepper. Theodora quickly started improving relations with the Timurids, maybe they would eventually allow Byzantine armies marching through their land…

In the meantime, Hejaz sieged our fort in Ma’an. Things weren’t looking good back then.

But, the supreme quality of the Byzantine diplomats proved itself once again: MA was given to us by the Timurids. Let’s get those heretics!

Hejaz was so stupid to search for the confrontation themselves, and they got stackwiped in the battle of Samawah.

The only fort of Hejaz in Qarif is sieged, now their heartland lay open.

In the meantime, Alexandria got converted as the last of the 5 holy cities, and the Pentarchy was finally restored (without the mission though, a shame). The Empire celebrated a whole month, and the Imperial armies marched quicker than they had ever did.

Another Hejaz army got defeated at Madinah.

Right when the Imperial Administration got upgraded to lvl 21, Makkah was sieged. Hejaz has been defeated…

Meanwhile in Europe, the PLC is pushing further and further into the HRE. I fear that PLC will become too big to challenge them one day, just like Spain.

With the last resistance in Ma’an broken, Byzantine diplomats travelled to Makkah to sign the peace treaty. We can view this year as an excellent year, and many men are very willing to join the army.

Hejaz had to cede all their provinces to us, except one, in the middle now of our territory in the Arabian Peninsula. Theodora was happy, and the generals were already gambling about which nation would be next…

The Byzantine focus on the west has not gone unnoticed in Europe. Our conquest of Wien allowed us to prove this, and now we are able to westernise our tech.

All people in Europe and the Empire knew that this was an important point in Byzantine history. Theodora hold a speech in Rome, together with all nobility of Europe (except the Spanish and British of course).

She told them that the Empire has proven itself equal of power and strength as the European countries. The Empire should also take its place among the Great Powers and she demanded the European nobility to recognize Byzantine culture, economy and politics to be a part of the European one.

But our westernisation triggered neighbours in the East to westernise also. AQ made it clear they are trying to achieve the same as the Empire, which is in our eyes pathetic.

Because we now share a border with Najd, we can declare a holy war against them too. We also received another missionary and a prestige bonus because we conquered the holy city of Mecca.

The PLC is expanding again, and is now annexing parts of the Bohemian heartland. Who knows where this will end…

The DIP tech got upgraded to lvl 22, enabling new ship types but most importantly, a stock exchange.

With some money to spare from the War Taxes, stock exchanges were built on many CoT.

Elena Cornaro Piscopia, our most loyal theologian, died in Mecca. She was trying to convert the heretics in the newly conquered territory, but it was too hot out there.

A nice bonus for having Mecca in your Empire, is this event. According to @atwix my previous description wasn't correct, so I'll leave his answer here.

"its siply a generic event that CAN fire each 2 years. But you need luck to get it more then once, or even once."

Detailed information about the event below:

Profits in Mecca!
My $MONARCHTITLE$, an unusual number of nobles and merchants from all across the Islamic world have made their pilgrimage to Mecca this year. The increased traffic of these wealthy persons has bolstered local trade! How should we collect the taxes?

Trigger conditions

• Owns province Mecca
• Has not had this event in the last 5 years
• Does not have ruler modifier "Pious Ruler"
• Is not in a regency

Is triggered only by

Bi-yearly pulse

Send it to my coffers

• Gain 100 ducats
• Gain 2% mercantilism

Invest in local shops

• Gain 5% mercantilism
• If DLC "The Cossacks" is active and Burghers estate exists:
  • Burghers gains 10 loyalty

Send it to the Church

• Gain ruler modifier "Pious Ruler":
  • +1% Missionary strength
  • +5% Trade efficiency
• If DLC "The Cossacks" is active and Clergy estate exists:
  • Clergy gains 10 loyalty

Theodora hired a pretty decent general to lead her armies to war. The previous one drowned himself in the Red Sea after he gambled his whole fortune away because he thought Najd would be the next target

 

[Tom D.]

Chapter XI: Indian adventures
Our expansion across the Mediterranean won’t stop at the Indian border. India is full of riches and has some of the most valuable trade regions in the world. Though India is dominated by 2 big blobs and 2 smaller ones, our Imperial armies should hold out long enough until Ming comes to our aid. Let’s see if those Indians are much of a problem for us:

The usual ‘Europeans influence the prices of goods’ events when they start colonising. Wool is already a useless trade good, and cotton is much more valuable, so we’ll just increase the gap between those two.

GB lost again, they only own Normandie now. Empires rise, Empires fall…

Our first colonist was sent to Palembang. The East Indies now lies open.

Unfortunately, our westernisation allowed our bordering countries to westernise too, and AQ is the first to succeed. Hopefully the rest will struggle with the rebels.

The PLC asks us to join their HRE war again. Weird they actually ask me to join, since they’re strong enough to handle them. Well, we’ll just swallow our pride again than.

The Military Academy went along with its time, and MIL tech lvl 23 was reached, giving us some very nice boosts and a new infantry type.

But the Basilissa forgot to send a small Imperial army with the coloniser: he got killed and the colony was burned down. A new coloniser was sent, and an Imperial army was ordered to accompany him.

Bohemia got defeated, and the PLC grew a little bit more (again).

The Empire boosted the wine production in the Empire, and this ensured the people that there will always be wine. This decreased our cost to increase stability. Some might argue those little bonuses are nothing worth, I find them a nice addition.

Our first Indian war started against the little state of Ahmednagar. Ming is still a useful ally and wants to join our war, just like Jaunpur wants to help Ahmednagar.

We outnumber them with 2:1, and they’re Indians, so this shouldn’t be a big issue, right?

Well I got disillusioned quite quickly. The first battle is a big blow to the moral of the Imperial armies. Theodora wasn’t exactly ‘happy’ when she heard the news:

“Are you going to tell me that the Imperial armies can’t handle some stupid Indians?! I thought they were supreme soldiers of the Empire. Someone’s going to hang for this! We’ll take revenge for this…”

And again, the military commanders of the armies were executed and drown in the Indus to warn others to not make the same mistake.

The DIP tech got upgraded to lvl 23, enabling the most supreme CB there is: nationalism and imperialism. Isn’t it just lovely you can declare war on everyone there is just because you can? Lovely, really lovely…

The new military commanders, fearing how they might end if they lost a new battle, were cautious and succeeded in defeating the enemy army near Umarkot.

“You see, they CAN win, if they want to. And if they’re threatened a little bit…” Theodora mumbled.

Jaunpur sieged our only Indian fort, but was quickly liberated after. Theodora passed the “Removal of all forts” act through the Imperial Military Academy, stating that every Imperial fort, except the capital and some strategic important forts, have to be demolished to prevent the enemy from gaining war score with it.

Despite the need of ADM to core the future provinces, ADM tech lvl 23 was reached, and this reduced the coring costs with another 20%. The Imperial Administration was working better than ever before.

Ahmednagar’s forts were quickly sieged. Now it’s only Jaunpur we have to defeat.

I guess Scandinavia has a little bit problems with CN wanting freedom. This happened a lot from here on, not only Sweden, but Spain and Portugal too. Many CN wars, and almost always they remain a CN.

We are pushing further north through Jaunpur. To be accurate, the sieged provinces on the left are those of Ahmednagar, and all those north and east are from Jaunpur. It’s quite difficult to see the difference, the colours are almost identical.

Our colonial army will protect our new colonial holdings in the East Indies. Soon, Bangka will be properly Byzantine.

Time to defeat Jaunpur: ATTACK!

And they got routed, big battles, big losses.

Very stupid that the AI develops its forts all around the place, they build like lvl 6 & 8 forts, but their capital has or no forts or a lvl 2 fort. Which quickly falls of course. Logic, real logic...

Jaunpur is not co-belligerent, but I want to harm them and to make a presence in the east already, so I take their three coastal belongings in the south.

And with that said, Ahmednagar got fully annexed. Welcome in the Byzantine Empire, Indians!

Which provides us with some new CB against our neighbours, such as Portugal. Actually, if you think of it, the event which gives Goa to Portugal is quite useless, isn’t it? They get Goa, they make it or it becomes catholic, and then they own it until the rest of the campaign. A bit stupid, not? I think so...

Ming was allied with Jaunpur, and they re-established their alliance. We’ll break that alliance block, we’ll break it…

Wallachia’s luck has run out, the PLC declares war on them. The Empire won’t have that!

So we declared war on them too. If we siege it first, the PLC can’t have it. Or at least, the Empire can't have it if they take it all for themselves.

I’m pretty sure that if I hadn’t occupied the Hungarian holdings of Bohemia, they would’ve taken it too. Oh PLC, if you would now just how much I really hate you …

Well as said, the PLC would’ve taken it, so we’ll take it than.

 

[Tom D.]

Chapter XII: Blobbing mode activated
Our previous chapter ended with the declaration of war against Hejaz which brought in the Timurids. They’re still big but the Empire is, of course, way more superior than those horde people.

They got defeated and stackwiped within months after the start of the war. Let’s push them back!

Meanwhile, a little representation of the push of the PLC through ‘Holy Roman’ lands: they have pushed to Hesse, and are probably going to push even further. If we’re “lucky” they will eventually border Spain, how sorry would it be if that would break their alliances …

But for now they’re just pushing once again further into Muscovite lands. Will this nightmare ever stop?

We peaced the Timurids out, and we split them into two parts, a Timurid heartland and a Timurid Persia. There are already some rebels in Persia and I was hoping that they would break free, enabling me to take all those newly independent countries, but apparently their 33k army which was left over remained in Persia, defeating all the rebels.

Well, I guess we can’t always be lucky…

Hejaz got peaced out, but we didn’t annex them: we want to defeat the Timurids later with this indirect method.

The DIP tech lvl got upgraded to lvl 24, enabling a new type of ship and a new building.

Some catholic die-hard rebels popped up in Austria and sieged half Austria and Hungary. The only downside of having no forts at all .

Our third colony was quickly found on the Brunei island, because Spain has landed there too. Scandinavia, Spain and Portugal all are flocking to the East Indies now.
Very strange that it’s only after we began to settle there first don’t you think?

When the PLC-Muscovite war ended, the PLC signed an alliance with Scandinavia (which they broke for some reason I forgot).

I also thought I would be smart to declare on Khiva, because why not. But in the end it seemed that I couldn’t core it (damn you stupid Caspian Sea exception ). So it was just a good training exercise for the Imperial troops.

The Imperial Administration got updated to the standards of the 18th century, now enabling a counting house to be build.

Meanwhile in India: we crushed Jaunpur so hard they now have to deal with internal conflicts. Go ahead, torn your nation apart, I’ll take the rest later.

And as a consequence, only some ducats were taken from Khiva.

But was it time for peace? Of course not: the Empire declared a holy war on Baluchistan, which is allied with, oh yes, Jaunpur. Ming joins again, so their alliance is, oh yes, once again broken. I love this indirect alliance breaking, it’s so nice …

The Imperial Academy got also updated to the new 18th century standards: a new type of artillery was unlocked and the artillery in general is much better now. This will surely help us in our Indian wars.

Here you can see the result of military commanders fearing for their lives and a good, updated military army. Bye Jaunpur!

Although we didn’t take much, we have almost all important trade centres of the Bengal Delta. Look at that marvellous and beautiful colour in India…

Baluchistan will cede most of their Indian holdings to us and will release Mewar (I'm very sorry @atwix, I couldn't resist ). I thought I could annex them later, but the Timurids declared on them and thus cutting me off from them.

Overextension has never been so high again. Those Indian provinces are most of the times very wealthy, but that’s mostly the north in the Delhi region. Yes, I’m looking at you Jaunpur, my precious ...

Another PLC-European nuisance which we just accept to be polite. New armies were also recruited as you can see on the background.

And Bavaria is just a TPM now, just like the Palatine. What a mess…

A small overview of the current military in the world: the PLC and the Empire are almost equal if we look at the overview. Spain is third with half the Imperial troop count. Ming is 4th and Muscovy and Timurids are respectively 5th and 6th.

Our exploration idea group got filled until we received our 2nd colonist. He was send to colonise the islands east of Majapahit.

But colonizing is not the only method of expanding our colonial holdings: we declared a holy war against Mahajapit.

There goes their army. They won’t bring up much resistance, but they have quite some forts.

Meanwhile in Arabia, we declared another holy war against Najd. No-one will join us, but Kilwa will on Najd’s side.

Najd got stackwiped from the first battle. There won’t be much resistance here either.

The quick blitzkrieg war in the East Indies ended: Mahajapit will cede their northern coastal holdings to us. The Imperial army will stay there until everything is cored and converted, rebels will become a problem there, far far away from the mainland.

And another reports of a peace treaty of a PLC-Muscovite war flocks into Constantinople. And how surprisingly, Muscovy lost again. If the PLC continue pushing east like that, they may end up at the Pacific near the year 1800 .

Tragic news reached us: our Basileus Theodosios died in Mecca. His heir Alexios VI (4/3/1) will be the new Basileus of the Empire. Alexios apparently loves his name very much, because his heir is also named Alexios (5/2/1).

Najd and Kilwa got peaced out: Kilwa will cede their Arabian holdings to us, and the other end of the strait to Africa. Najd will cede almost all their holdings to us except those near the wasteland. They’re no longer a threat anymore.

The Military Academy once again announced the upgrade of the military: new models are available to the Empire and the army is, again, of a much better quality. Long live the Empire!

The DIP tech got upgraded to lvl 25, enabling a threedecker which we probably never will use, but we got the blueprints should we need them.

 

[Tom D.]

Chapter XIII: Aggressive expansion is just a number
As said in the previous chapter, this time I'm a little bit earlier than usual. Last time we ended with the beginning of another Indian war. This time it’s the Empire and Ming against Berar and Jaunpur. As I predicted, the Ming-Jaunpur alliance broke naturally when they bordered each other (which I helped them a little bit with in the previous war).

The balance of power is quite unstable: we have around 4 times more troops than they do. If you add to that superior MIL tech you should think this would be very easy.

Well, I was wrong, very wrong to be honest (again ). The AI seems to focus on the player and not on the other AI. They combine their armies and fight me, but they leave Ming alone (as far as I can see though). To make a long story short, I was quite surprised. But the Empire pushes forward of course.

But then, the most terrible news in a century arrived in Constantinople: the PLC broke their alliance with us and announced us as a rival! Alexios was furious when he received the news:


“What, they broke the alliance?! This is nonsense, we live almost 2 centuries next to each other and now they broke their alliance? Gonzaga’s you bastards, all of you: I curse you!” Alexios shouted.

The advisers quickly left the Imperial Palace when Alexios lost his temper. They never saw the Basileus as angry as he was now.

They say Alexios could be heard in Warsaw, while the king of the PLC laughed as hard as he could back to Constantinople.

But Alexios didn’t have the time to start worrying about the future, he had a war to organise. The Imperial armies were able to defeat the enemies’ armies near Kutch when reinforcements arrived from Arabia.

The Imperial armies than pushed further, the capital of Berar quickly fell (no fort out there, very smart of you AI). But because it doesn’t got a fort, it was quickly recaptured by Berar. And then recaptured by the Empire. A cat-and-mouse game began…

The Military Academy received extra funds to research a new technology, now reaching lvl 27. The Infantry fire was improved, which will become helpful in the war.

But Alexios never lost his temper, and died in Kutch because of a heart attack. His heir, Alexios VII Jagielon (5/2/1) will become the new Basileus.

He also announced his new heir Ioannes (6/3/2). At least it’s not another Alexios…

The Beraran army got defeated near Surat, while another army is being defeated near Pune. Many 1ks stacks are walking through India, like a headless chicken.

Trebizond got integrated, removing the corridor between the two parts of the Empire. The economy immediately flourished because of the removal of the minimum autonomy. The economy peaked at a positive balance of 120 ducats a month at one time.

A quick overview: Berar no longer needs every army, so two armies are sieging forts down in Jaunpur. Bidar and Surat are the two most stubborn forts there are in Berar.

A Beraran army got defeated in Marathwada, while Jaunpur will annul all their treaties with Berar. We didn’t take anything from them this time because this war is really tiring the Empire. A quick peace is needed, and it’s needed now!

With Jaunpur out, the war is quickly decided. The Indian holdings are now all connected, but not overseas as I said in the previous chapter. At that moment I didn’t know why, but the only possibility is that strait in Hormuz. Well, I still got that administrative efficiency modifier .

With all those territories not being overseas anymore, we are able to field an army of 300k. We ordered two new armies of 80k troops. This was also to balance things in case the PLC would attack us, if they want to bring us down they’ll have to do it the HARD way !

But diplomacy can help too of course: we signed an alliance with Milan and Portugal to balance the diplomatic playfield of Europe. The PLC is allied with Milan and Scandinavia if I’m right, so they’ll lose those two allies if they attack me.

A new galley fleet of 78 galleys was ordered to defend the Empire. We are preparing ourselves for the worst.

An update for the military overview: The Byzantine Empire is the strongest military power on earth! We have an army of 316k, while the PLC ‘only’ fields an army of 250k. Do note that I have a 6:4 ratio for mercenary infantry: I have 89 mercenary infantry for 316k, so that’s around 1/3 of the whole army. I think this would help me in a war to preserve manpower.

My army composition is also 20k infantry (12 mercenary, 8 manpower), 6k cavalry and 14k artillery. I think I want to increase the number to armies of 50k, increasing the number of infantry and artillery to 25 and 19.

I think this is a reasonable army composition? You may give your opinion on it if you like. We can always learn from each other.

But now, our holy duty will be completed: the Ottomans will be removed entirely from the map.

And voila, an almost complete Byzantine Turkey. How lovely to see .

And the last events from the Purple Phoenix DLC: the Turks are driven away. Let’s feast!

AQ got declared too to remove them from Turkey, and the Timurids got dragged in also (again without making them co-belligerent, I think it is because I don’t care about AE anymore ).

I started a small war to take Malwa but I couldn’t core them so I just let them remove their cores.

Ming joined our war later, which will make this war even easier.

The first battle is a stackwipe for the Timurids.

But unfortunately, Alexios VII dies in Kutch, just as his father. His heir is only 10 years old so a regency council was installed for the next 5 years.

The Timurids got reduced again in size. Be welcome in the Byzantine Empire nomads…

AQ got fully annexed after that.

With AQ removed, the Theme System was re-established and many heretic Turkish names were renamed to rightful Byzantine ones.

How nice to live in the Empire.

 

[Tom D.]

Chapter XIV: The titans are ready…

I’m almost getting emotional while writing this, because this is the last chapter of this AAR. Yes, I know you’re emotional too now . But no time for getting sentimental, we have to get on! This is going to be a very long chapter and it’s annoying that the last chapter is still on the same page, so loading the last page might take a while. My apologies for that.

Now, you all know what a big blow we received in the last chapter: we didn’t get the Basileus achievement because of Scio. I can tell honestly I was quite disappointed and angry at the same time when I realized that. But I have to admit this is my fault because I should have checked it earlier. Now it’s too late to complain about it.

But Basileus Ioannes IX Jagielon wouldn’t accept this. His ancestors had given so much effort in rebuilding the Empire, and now the PLC would prevent them from truly restoring the Empire?! Ioannes wouldn’t have that, never.

“Those damn, rotten pigs in Warsaw knew this the whole time! Why would they otherwise vassalized Genoa? I’ll declare war on them and we’ll march for Warsaw. Prepare the armies!” Ioannes shouted to his advisers, or actually the one which was left after his rage began…

“My Basileus, I urge you to calm down, don’t make such rapid and definite demands before you calm down! Do you want to ruin the Empire? No so I ask you, no I demand you to calm down and think logically before you demand something like that.” the advisor said.

“Did you now just tell me what to do? Did you now just told me I can’t do what I want?! I AM THE BASILEUS FOR GOD SAKE! I DO WHAT I WANT!” Ioannes shouted.

“My Basileus, if you declare war now, on this very moment, I can exactly predict you that we will lose! And you won’t be Basileus any longer, or at least of a broken Empire in decline. I beg you my Basileus: calm down for now.”

Ioannes was looking for a window through which he could throw his stubborn advisor, but he was smart enough to realize he had a point. When he finally got to a suitable window, Ioannes replied:

“In normal circumstances you would be hanged and drowned for telling me what to do. But you have a point, and I value honourable and honest people like you. All other advisers are too stupid to argue with me, fools they are! I will refrain from declaring war, for now at least… Actually, what is your name? I believe we can achieve much if we work together” Ioannes asked.

“My name is Isaac Komnenos and I’m glad you want to listen to me my Basileus. But what are you now going to do?”

“A Komnenos? I thought your dynasty had died out… Well, I think you’ll be very useful. Now, I have a plan: or at least I think I have a plan, but it’s a daring one. It will demand a lot of patience and mostly money. It can also ruin the Empire, be the cause of a civil war, become my death or might even bring the Empire down to its knees which can be the start of the apocalypse which will bring darkness, sickness and pain to the world while no-one will be able to tell when we will ever see the end of it… So do you want to help me with this task?” Ioannes asked.

“I will do anything you ask, my Basileus.” Isaac firmly replied.

He took a chair, sat in front of the Basileus and began debating this plan. And on nightfall, the plan was optimized and ready to be executed. And only God knew what the future of Europe might look like…

The next day, Ioannes’ first stage of his plan was executed, and a lot of Conscription centres were built in worthless provinces to boost the force limit of the Empire.

Ioannes also sent his diplomats to the edge of Europe. They signed an alliance with Great Britain, the former enemy of the Empire. Every army and fleet would be needed for his plan to succeed.

Meanwhile in India, Ceylon became an independent state after a big rebellion on the east of the island. They agreed to become a protectorate of the Empire.

A third stage of the plan contained the injection of sufficient funds to the Imperial Industry. This would result in an increase of goods produced in the Empire, an increase in money for the treasury, and also provides some nice bonuses related to the goods themselves, such as a -15% mercenary maintenance cost reduction.

The common people, but also the aristocracy began to worry about the Basileus’ attempts of reforms. They knew something was about to happen and were getting resistant to further changes.

“The people are starting to question your investments in the industry, my Basileus, while the aristocracy is wondering your right to totally empty the Imperial Treasury for this. If you don’t show them who the boss of the Empire is, they will rebel one day.” Isaac told him.

“I know, the Imperial Council has already demanded explanations for my acts. What do you suggest I would do now?” Ioannes asked his advisor.

“Well my Basileus, as you know, the government form of the Empire is still a feudal monarchy. This is a very outdated form of government, most of the kingdoms and Empires in the world are Absolute Monarchies or have a more ‘up to date’ government. We should implement this kind of government in the Empire and abolish the Imperial Council. YOU are the only rightful ruler of the Empire, my Basileus.”

“Then it is decided. Let us pay a visit to the Council.”

But the aristocratic members of the Council rejected the Basileus’ demands. Some of the nobles were so outraged they even took their swords. Soon after the Imperial Guards were fighting against the nobles. The result was an Imperial Council full of dead bodies. The Basileus had what he wanted...

Ioannes announced that the Council was abolished because the nobles were about to assassinate him and usurp the Imperial throne of the Empire. Although many wondered if this was the full truth of what happened, the Absolute monarchy was installed and the Basileus now had the supreme might of the Empire.

As a gift to the Imperial Guards, which helped him, he asked the Military Academy to upgrade to lvl 29, enabling the last and best type of supreme artillery, the Flying Battery.

The Empire was never so prestigious. The Empire will never lose its prestige across the world, and this encourages the armies, navies and common people of the Empire to withstand everything which come along their path. The common people quickly forgot what happened with the Council as the Empire was getting richer and richer because of the Imperial investments, but the aristocracy was still not amused with the Basileus’ actions…

With supreme might of the Imperial Treasury, Ioannes demanded 25 galleys to be built to increase the size of the Imperial navy.

Reports arrived at Constantinople, announcing the PLC was once again in a regency. This time it would last 5 years. Ioannes was happy, he could execute the last parts of his plan without the need to fear a DOW from the PLC.

On the 1st of April 1770, he demanded every aristocrat and ordinary people to attend his speech he was about to give in front of the Imperial Palace. It was a dedicated and strong speech, he wrote it with Isaac which now is the head of his Imperial Embassy and Military Academy. He now was, besides the Basileus, the most influential person in the Empire.

“Dear aristocrats, dear people of the Empire. I know we have gone through some uncertain years with a lot of changes passing by. We all know how the PLC is blocking us of recreating and reinstalling the true Roman Empire. I decided I wouldn’t let that happen, and promised myself to do everything I can to bring down the PLC.” Ioannes loudly announced.

The common people loudly applauded, the nobles a bit less enthusiastic. When they stopped applauding, he went on:

“And I came to the conclusion there is only one weak element in our Empire, and this is our sacred Capital, Constantinople. It is honoured, praised and loved by every one of you, and also abroad many defy our mighty capital. But it is therefore extremely vulnerable.
Therefore, I decided to move all Imperial authorities to Venice. We will be able to safely hide in Venice while our fleets make sure no-one can cross the strait between Venice and the mainland. The aristocracy will be shipped to Venice, the Imperial Fleet lies ready to set off in the harbour. The common people are able to stay, and if they want to go to Venice, they can walk.”

The people and nobles were astonished: leaving Constantinople? The place where they lived their whole lives? The Basileus really had gone crazy, right? They quickly began to protest, but Ioannes quickly replied:

“I do not want to hear any complaint! This is for the best of the Empire and if we don’t move now we will risk to lose everything. Now you can freely choose to move or not, but I’m definitely going to Venice.”

And while the Basileus left the balcony and began to prepare himself for the long journey, the aristocrats quickly realized upsetting the Basileus wouldn’t help them. They decided it would be best to follow him to Venice, and embarked on a long journey. Most of the common people thought the same and decided to risk the long trip to Venice. Constantinople quickly became an empty city, a shadow of what it once was.

Ioannes looked very anguished when he saw the long line of people leaving the city, but sacrifices had to be made. He turned around and commanded the admiral to set sail to Venice.

But Ioannes had forgotten one thing: Venice has its own trade node, and with the capital and of course the collection of trade now being located in Venice, it became clear the Imperial Treasury wasn’t collecting as much ducats from trade as before. Even to the extent the Empire had to borrow money.

“What do we have to do know?” Ioannes asked Isaac. “We are safe in Venice but we can’t survive a loss of 100 to 160 ducats a month just because our capital is now in Venice. This is an utmost disaster!”

“Not completely my Basileus. We just need to relocate our capital back in the Constantinople trade region, and everything will be fine again.” Isaac replied.

“But then our relocation had been for nothing, and the aristocracy is still angry for that mass murder in the Council. We can’t risk this, we have to find another place for our capital which can be sealed of the mainland with the Imperial fleet.”

“But that’s not a problem at all my Basileus. Naxos is located in the Constantinople trade region and the strait can be blocked by the Imperial fleet. Move the capital to there.”

“I think we’ve got no choice. The aristocracy will not like it though… I’ll announce it immediately.”

“So be it, my Basileus.”

And as a result the nobles were shipped over again. They were not amused at all when they heard they had to move again, they had barely installed them. But the common people who came on foot were totally outraged. Ioannes decided they would be allowed to embark on the Imperial fleet, now totally outraging the aristocracy (again). But in the end, everybody arrived calmly but frustrated at Naxos, becoming the new capital of the Empire.

The capital now lay back in the Constantinople trade region, balancing the Imperial Finances back as it was. Ioannes was happy his plan didn’t become a total disaster.

With the capital now safely established in Naxos, Ioannes demanded the fortifications in Constantinople to be demolished. There were no forts anymore in the Empire, and only a small garrison fort of 1000 soldiers was located in Naxos, guarding the capital.

The last diplomatic tricks from Ioannes’ plan became clear, as the PLC was now officially a rival of the Empire. The common people and aristocracy are holding their breath…

The Imperial Embassy reached lvl 29, increasing naval morale and maintenance.

The first Offensive idea was unlocked, increasing the land leader shock with 1. This would ensure the Empire of better generals. The current generals were all crap, and that for a truly magnificent Empire (AT is around 30 and never became anything bigger than that).

Spies in Warsaw now reported to Ioannes that the regency in the PLC has ended. King August III Gonzaga was crowned king of the PLC, and he already has an heir, who is 2 years old.

The Imperial Administration was lacking behind because of all the relocations of the capital, and it received an update to help them find their way in Naxos.

Meanwhile in India, all future military campaigns were cancelled, and would remain so. But Ming still expands into Jaunpur, and is demanding aid for it. Ioannes accepted this CTA, but wasn’t going to be of any assistance.

The war quickly ended, without the Empire interfering, and Ming took some more northern provinces from Jaunpur.

Back in Europe, Spain is busy in a European war, and the PLC honoured their alliance.

The Imperial Administration received more funds, and reached lvl 29, enabling the last possible idea group.

And Ioannes decided he would take another military idea group. It was way too late in the game to fully full them, but he could still use the first ideas.

With Spain embroiled in a small European war, Ioannes came up with the idea to isolate Spain. After some debating with Isaac, he declared war on Colombia, who was allied with Spain. He would bring Spain down and force them to annul all alliances with the PLC.

While the armies were marching west, he was briefed that his heir has fallen ill. He spent everything he had to find a suitable doctor, and the next day it became clear his heir would survive. With this positive news he moved further into Milanese land, almost reaching Spanish France.

The Spanish had already sent an expeditionary force through Milan to spot enemy armies, and they got ambushed in Vaud. The Spanish heir to the throne, Carlos, led the army himself, but lost to the 4 times bigger army of the Empire. They routed far behind their many forts.

But they came back, this time attacking our army in Nevers, and once again they were chased back deep into Spanish lands.

The same happened at Narbonne, and it was weird the Spanish heir definitely wanted to lead the armies himself.

While Eastern Spanish France is getting sieged, reinforcements from China arrived. Ioannes was surprised to see the many Chinese soldiers aiding the Byzantine armies. The Chinese Emperor led the army himself, and Ioannes met him at Languedoc.

It was a very strange sight, Byzantine and Chinese soldiers next to each other…

The Spanish army was finally stackwiped in the Battle of Poitou. For some very strange reason, the Spanish heir went missing, despite the whole Spanish army being defeated.

But he didn’t went missing at all! The Spanish heir was able to infiltrate in the Imperial army and poisoned Ioannes. But by the time the Imperial Guards noticed this, Carlos was already gone.

Ioannes quickly asked his heir Andronikos to enter the room.

“My son, my heir, come here.” Ioannes demanded.

Andronikos was scared, he had never saw his father so pale and weak as he saw him now.

“My son, as you are well aware, I am dying. I will die, and I will not be able to see those bastards of a Gonzaga to be hanged in Warsaw. But you can, my son, you have to!”

“But father, I don’t have any military skills, not even diplomatic ones. I’m just a little bookkeeper in the Imperial Administration, I only got 2 ADM, all the rest is 0.” Andronikos replied.

“Don’t say that my son, monarch points don’t say everything about a ruler’s skills. I know you’re able to fulfil this task. My most loyal advisor, Isaac, is waiting in Naxos. You can trust him 100%, and he has the complete plan which you just have to follow. Complete what our ancestors started 400 years ago, I know you can…”

“But father, I…” but Andronikos quickly realized that his father had passed away.

“Don’t worry father, I do as you told me.” Andronikos mumbled to himself. “I’ll teach those Spanish and Polish bastards a lesson, I swear…”

When the news of Ioannes’ death spread through the Empire, pretenders rose but were quickly defeated. Andronikos announced Theodoros (6/4/4) as his rightful heir.