Bayezid is a highly educated ruler, and has some brilliant stats. 6/6/9 is by far our best ruler for many years, and the 9 in diplomacy will mean far better infamy burn, at 1.19 per year. Bayezid's first action on taking the throne is to expand the shipyard building program begun by the Parliament during his father’s reign. We are 30 over our naval force limits still, and spending slightly more on our navy than our army, so hopefully this is an opportunity to save some money, as well as improving our infrastructure.
The harmony between Bayezid and the Parliament is reflected in 1571, when two random events give us a boost to trade efficiency and to the conversion chance, although the use of missionaries has begun to slow. Merchants are becoming far more influential in the court and the Parliament, with trade rising above 20% of our income for the first time. In part this is due to the reduction in infamy, which has greatly hindered our trade efficiency for some time. Merchants have established monopolies in the trade in our three centres of trade in Kostantiniyye, Palermu and Dubrovnik, and are beginning to establish a foothold in India and Persia in centres of trade as well as in our trading post at Goa. This leads to Hindu teachings influencing the religious schools in the Empire, which boosts our research.
Infamy finally drops below 20 in1572, for only the second time since the beginning of the game. The Empire begins to look for influence further afield, representing an increase in expansionism. On our borders, Austria continues to struggle. Since forming, the Archduchy has been in an almost constant state of instability. Initially large rebellions resisted rule from Vienna, then laterally there have been conflicts with Brandenburg, the HRE, Poland and France. France have extended their influence over much of what was Venice. Remarkably, Austria have managed to hold almost all their territory during this period, but on the 21st July we receive news that a civil war has broken out.
In the event, this proves to be rather anti-climactic, as the Austrian army remains loyal and is able to quickly restore order. However, all this means that Austria has not once attacked us since its union with the Kingdoms of Bohemia and Hungary, and when it has joined a defensive alliance has sued for peace relatively quickly.
On the 1st July 1576 Bayezid fathers a son, and names him Yakub. The Empire at last has an heir. Yakub shows early signs of having inherited his father’s abilities.
In September, Bayezid continues his reforms of the religious establishment by introducing the Din-i Illahi, which increases the cost of missionary activity but substantially decreases the cost of technological research. The Ulema do not challenge Bayezid over his reforms, wary of the widespread support the monarch enjoys, and also conscious of the fact that Bayezid shows no inclination to challenge them.
During these years, the personal union between the Mamluks and the Jalayirids has ended, and the Mamluks have been under almost constant attack by the Europeans and Ethiopia. They are clearly no longer fit to defend Medina, and on the 22nd March 1577 Bayezid declares war. Turkish forces rush to occupy Medina and the remaining Mamluk holdings in Arabia, while another force invades Egypt proper.
Our forces quickly over run much of Egypt, although Castille are able to grab two more eastern provinces, and Ethiopia again gain in the south. As we hold the territory, we finally convert Adana, the last Orthodox province in Anatolia. There has been a missionary present for decades but due to the provinces Armenian culture the success rate has been low. This completes our mission to convert Anatolia, and reduces our infamy by 5. We now have just 9 infamy, despite attacking the Mamluks without a casus belli. Our next mission is to annex Medina, and fortunately the province is already close to defecting.
In July 1580 we gain Medina through event, which means we have succeeded the Mamluks at the Keeper of the Holy Cities, giving us a bonus 0.12 missionaries per year. We also gain the other two Mamluk holdings in Arabia, and Al Suways in Egypt. As the Christians make peace, our forces move in and begin to occupy the remaining Egyptian provinces. Beyezid instructs his generals to continue the fight until the Mamluks surrender. We gain a border with Nadj, a Horde nation in the heart of Arabia. Our forces, fresh from the capture of Medina, attack them immediately before the Jalayirids decide to expand their holdings.
In April 1581 Bayezid decides to continue his reforms of the Empire, but in a more radical direction. His spies have brought much news about the governing of the European states, and Bayezid is convinced their sophisticated administration is the key to their speedier technological progress. We undertake an extensive programme of reforms, designed to modernise our state along European lines. This shatters the working coalition between Bayezid, the Nobles, the Parliament and the Ulema, reducing our stability by 5. Fortunately, in June an advisor event fires giving us 2 stability.
During 1582, we concentrate on recovering stability. The nobles of the Empire are actively resisting the Westernisation, and we have a number of small revolts to deal with. In April, the people of the Empire express their dissatisfaction with the direction of Bayezids reforms, and the legitimacy of the regime falls by 30 points. However, we are able to annex Nadj after a short siege, and Mamluk provinces in Egypt defect to us. After the final defection on the 8th August 1583, we annex the Mamluks. This costs us 8 infamy, and we have now reached 21.2.
Egypt is now divide between Castille and the Empire, but we are not stable enough to attempt to compete the conquest yet. Another event fires costing us 30 legitimacy in September, and we also lose 1 stability. The number of reactionary revolters are increasing, with revolt risk rising due to lower infamy and stability. However, the great city of Cairo is now part of our realm, Egypt’s second city after Alexandria. Bayezid intends to build a strong centre of Ottoman power here.
With an albeit uneasy peace in Egypt, and the internal instability under control, Bayezid undergoes the Hadj as his father and grandfather before him did. In February 1585, the resistance to the westernisation programme spreads, with the merchant factions in the Balkans questioning our course of action. This wipes out our monopoly at Dubrovnik, but Bayezid will not be swayed and refuses the smallest concession or slowing of reform. In February of 1586, we again lose 30 legitimacy. We now have only 16, with an annual increase of 8.
1587 is a year of widespread revolt in the Empire, with at one point 7 sieges underway at once. No rebels are successful however and the army maintains control, but the Empire is in no state to consider further expansion at this time. Our stability has begun to recover, meaning we are again making a sizeable annual profit, and we restart the construction of docks and shipyards, as well as extending paves roads to new territory.
In 1590 Bayezid establishes a Commercial Bank, which provides cheap loans for merchants. Utilising the developed Turkish road network, Merchants are able to access finance across the Empire and even beyond our borders, as the Bank is backed by the state and the Empire has no loans, and has never been declared bankrupt. This boosts our trade efficiency by a huge 10%. Reformers have also begun to call for an overhaul of the military along European standards. Already, we use European designed cannon, but Bayezid is unwilling to take on the Janissary establishment at this time.
At the start of 1591, we are able to choose our next national idea. The merchant factions are clamouring for expeditions beyond our borders, and for access to the lucrative Far East trade. Bayezid bows to the pressure, and we choose Quest for the New World as our next idea. An event fires giving us a choice in how we classify exploration and colonisation, should it be a state venture or open to private investors? Bayezid, again bowing to pressure from the merchant faction, opens this industry up to private ventures. There is, however, as yet no rush to take up this opportunity.
Instead, at the end of 1591 the first state colonists are sent to establish bases on the West coast of the Red Sea, and on the Gulf of Aden. The Red Sea colonies will strengthen our position in Egypt, and bar any Castilian expansion, while the Aden colony will serve the same purpose in the Jalayirids dominated Persian Gulf, as well as providing a naval base on the voyage to India.
Construction begins on the first post office in Kostantiniyye, which we hope will grow into a wide ranging global network one day. However, despite gaining the backing of the merchant factions through support for trade and exploration, there is still popular discontentment with the reforms of Bayezid, and in early 1592 our legitimacy drops to 0.
On the 22nd November, we use the nationalism CB to attack Naxos, who are supported by Georgia and Novgorod. Our fleet blocks any intervention from the Russians, while our armies take care of Georgia's in a few short battles. A siege is started on the Cyclad Islands.
In December 1593 our legitimacy again drops to zero. However, in July ’94 we capture the Cyclad Islands and annex the last independent state in the Aegean, bringing an end to the war. In December an event fires which yet again drops our legitimacy to zero.
On the 13th April 1596, after two years of recovery we declare a Holy War against Naples; Aragon, Milan and Portugal all join the conflict. Our fleet are sent to patrol the Straits between Italy and Tunisia again, and we destroy Aragon fleet and force them to accept a white peace in October, while the following month two Portuguese fleets are sunk and they too agree a white peace.
On the 16th April 1598, we are ready to attack Castille for control of Egypt. Castille are at this time in a war against Austria and France, and are losing, so they are unlikely to pose much of a threat. Much of their once strong garrison has withdrawn from Egypt. They are supported by Lithuania and Sweden. Bayezid has built up 33,000 men in Egypt, and once the token 5,000 Castilian’s are defeated these forces fan out and start sieges in all provinces. Our fleet will prevent any reinforcements arriving, so there is no need to worry about dividing our forces.
On the 4th October ’99 we capture and annex Naples, finally consolidating our rule over southern Italy. With this done, we agree a white peace with the alliance leader Mallorca, and can focus on our campaign for Egypt. By the end of November, all Castille transports have been sunk, but unfortunately they managed to twice slip through and have landed armies on Krete and Rhodes. There are 24,000 invaders on Rhodes and 17,000 on Krete, making neither province easy to relieve. We attack Rhodes with 20,000 while the Castilian morale is low, but our army is unsuccessful and retreats to the fleet. A breech has been opened in the fort on Krete, so Bayezid leads his force instead to Candia. We land just after Krete falls, and Castille march towards Candia but do not arrive quickly enough to prevent our landing. Over the course of three battles we defeat the smaller of the Castilian invasions, and Krete is retaken by a quick assault.
On the 4th January 1600 the Papal State, Ryazan and Ethiopia all declare a Holy War against us. By this point, some Castilian provinces in Egypt have defected, but we do not have enough men to resist the Ethiopians for long. Ryazan pour into Dniepr with 34,000 men, but we have two armies of 15,000 close by who are far better trained and led. In Italy, we have two armies of 16,000 and a garrison of 13,000 on Sicily that can deal with the Papal state, we invade with 16,000 men initially and lay siege to Lazio. Bayezid leads his 20,000 men from Krete in a second attempt to relieve Rhodes, but we are again thrown back.
In Egypt, Ethiopia capture our unfinished colony at Meroe, just inland from the Red Sea ports, and capture it, before advancing to siege our fortresses on the coast. There are 26,000 in total. In July, we again fail in an attempt to relieve Rhodes, and Bayezid’s 20,000 men are reinforced with 5,000 fresh recruits on the mainland. Their assault also fails, and Castille capture the province and begin to recover their loses faster.
Our armies heavily defeat Ryazan and pursue them into their territory, but they offer a white peace which we accept. They were allied with Ethiopia, so this removes the threat to Egypt, although we have to accept the loss of our colony for the time being. By May 1602 we have gained most of Egypt by event, and in the Papal States we have defeated their armies and have laid siege to Rome. We recruit an additional 2,000 men, and finally we defeat the Castillians on Rhodes. By this point they have a very high war exhaustion, largely due to losses sustained against France, and on the 27th October they agree to surrender the Fortress on Rhodes, their final Egyptian province which has not defected, and to pay a large indemnity of 475 ducats. During this war our infamy has reached 12.4. Bayezid thus resolves to crush the Pope.
On the 11th February 1603, we attack Tuareg with the Horde CB, who own the province of Barqu in the west of Egypt. Work begins on our first naval equipment manufactory at Bolu.
On the 4th of June, after their total defeat, we capture the final provinces in Italy and annex the Pope. His 4 territories cost just 5 infamy as they attacked us with the Holy War CB. Around the Empire, there are a not insubstantial number of revolts, so we need to use our forces to regain control. However, his crushing of the Christians Pope brings some much needed domestic support to Bayezid, and the coming peace will hopefully allow the western reforms to become firmly rooted in Turkey. On the 23rd February 1605 the conflict with Tuareg ends, we take Banqu and 75 ducats in exchange for peace, and construction begins on a refinery.
Following the end of the war, Bayezid and his son Jakub discuss the Ottoman claims on Arabia and the Caucasus. It seems clear that a confrontation with the Jalayirids will have to take place at some point, and far better it be on Turkish terms. However, following the prolonged conflict with Castille, and with legitimacy still so low, some years of recovery are in order.
On the 19th October 1608, Bayezid dies an old man and is succeeded by Jakub. Remarkably, the last four Khalifahs have ruled since 1504, an average of 26 years each. Bayezid departs with a mixed record – internationally he has done much to improve the Turkish reputation, but this was more than cancelled by his conquest of Rome which has appalled the Christian world. Initially the Khalifah enjoyed a strong relationship with the various domestic factions, encouraging a huge increase in trade and an acceleration of the infrastructure construction programme, but this was also undone when Bayezid embraced the western reforms, and the later part of his reign was marked by instability and revolt. Nevertheless, Bayezid leaves an enlarged Empire to his son, having secured Egypt and the central part of Italy. Our Empire now threatened the borders of the Holy Roman Empire on two fronts, and the Christians seem incapable of assembling a coalition that can resist us. Castillian influence in the Holy Land has again been checked, although their continued presence points to another confrontation in the future. A final consequence f both Turkish strength and the westernisation is that relationsh with our Muslim neighbours are at all an time low, despite our promotion of the true faith in Europe. It regrettably seems inevitable that the Jalayirids will test their strength against us.
