Thirst for Revenge: A Bizantine AAR

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Game info: Europa Universalis III In Nomine
Difficulty: Normal, only change made is the agrrissiveness, which was set to High.

Prologue​

“I recall the stories my grandmother told me of the Empire in the hand of Justinian the Great and her divine consort Theodora reclaimed the ancestral lands of my people. A Golden Age now turned to Tin.

I too remember when the Turks assaulted the Balkans and my people were humiliated in Kosovo. Those filthy mongrels are a curse upon my submits, a stain that devours the purity of the Byzantine Empire. All because of the weakness of my father and the his advisors. I hate them all.

My father does nothing to stop the needless slaughter of our Valiant Soldiers, indifferent to their deaths, caring only in which will be the next party to attend. His chief advisor, Nikolai Andronicus, Patriarch of Constantinople does nothing but partake in my fathers indulgences of the flesh, or when the party lack sell places in Heaven to anyone who is idiotic enough to buy. There is only one way to heaven, by flooding the Ottoman lands with the blood of their kind, and we, the Pure and Glorious Greek people shall be the Noe of this new world. The Eagle of Palaiologoi shall cross the skies once more, and it shall cast rays of Divine Retribution upon the infidels.

Today my father and his advisors shall die. I shall hang their rotting carcasses from the towers of the Immortal Walls of Constantinople and my people will rejoice.Turks will believe in my Good Faith by performing said coup. Idiots. I merely show them what will happen to their tainted people soon enough. I hate them all and I shall make sure the next diluve shall be not water, but their blood.” ​

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Well after that uplifting and pro-equality of the races bit I present to you my campaign as the Byzantine Empire.

The set of goals are as following:

Short Term
Clean the Empire's finances and relationship with it's Orthodox brothers, so I can retake the Balkans.

Medium Term

Destroy the Ottoman Empire, Karaman, Candar etc and retake every Core Province of the Byzantine Empire.

Long Term

Teach the blasphemous cousins from the west the Might of the Constantinople and repay them their pillage of the Sacred Town during the Crusades. Return to the Bizantine Empire the Justinian Territories.

And of course, have Fun and hope you also enjoy it.

 

[Plushie]

Good luck. Byzantium is a nation that can only get easier once you get past the first annoying hurdle that is the Ottomans. Once you hold the old ERE you're already a superpower, and retaking Italy and North Africa is just a matter of keeping BB under control.

 

[Enewald]

Aa, a Bizantine aar!

Rawr!

<3 Empire of Greeks.

Teach them latin anyways!

 

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Plushie: I'm aware of that fact, Byzantine are way powerful if I get the Ottomans, but it seems Timurids are a lucky Nation and they will be mean to me, also Bosnia might be a Superpower too since they annexed the croatian provinces of Hungary

Enewald: Of course my vindictive Emperor recognizes the technological advantages of Latin's, he just wants to kill emall

 

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Chapter 1: The Eagle's rise

“-All Hail the glorious reign of Manuel II Palaiologos, Cesar of the Eastern Roman Empire, Ruler of Constantinople and Prince of Morea.- Iason Cillicicus, Patriarch of Constantinople

I was finally crowned, my God given right was passed onto me before my father and his syncopates would have destroyed what was left of my Empire. His death was a necessity.

Two days have passed since my crowning and already envoys of Wallachia, Serbia and Montenegro come extending their congratulations towards me and asking for a stronger bond with the Crown. Vultures they are, they think I shall be like my father, very well I shall accept their please I will marry them with my cousins so they feel happy and create an illusion of power.

Little by little as the time passes, the nobles fearful I would turn to be another Justinian the Second and sink into madness reaping their lives, regain their confidence even if still reserved towards my Holy persona. Idiots, the only blood I shall shed is the necessary for the return of the former days. Perhaps this trust is also based on the current situation of the Ottoman's. It seems a new force, calling themselves the Timurids has been assaulting the “Turkish” Outposts along their far eastern border, and that those salvages in their thirst for blood have wreaked havoc upon my old vassals of Georgia. Vengeance in the shape of a Horde. This is truly a glorious year.

As the years pass so do the Turks situation worsens. Their country is in shambles, in the east, Timurids and Dulkadir Turks lay siege to the 'core' of their Empire, the old Seljuks. In the west Serbians have inflicted a crushing defeat to the Turks in Nis. In Salonica, Byzantine Patriots, Veterans of Kosovo have risen and have vowed to return Greece to the Palaiologoi Eagle, exalted by the triumph of their brothers in Rhodes, who expelled the Western Knights and returned the strategic island to the Crown.

EXCELLENT NEWS! The Ottoman Coffers have been emptied and now the peasants in Asia Minor rebel as the Ottomans try to find ducats under any stone. This is the moment! TO ARMS SON OF CONSTANTINOPLE TODAY WE SHALL RECLAIM OUR LAND!

I have taken the Imperial Guard to lay siege on Bythinia, while my Cataphractoi have set course to Edirne to perform a Razia and destroy the Remnants of the Infantry that survived Nis.

VICTORY! Nicomedia has fallen and their inhabitants have filled the streets with Roses welcoming the brave Greek Armies. Even more good news come from the West, the Cataphractoi have wiped the remnants of the Turkish Army at Edirne, surely the inhabitants of that province shall see the weakness of the Turk army now!"

 

[Enewald]

Hehe, greek rebels shall aid you.

It is funny that after constantinople was reconqured in 1260, the fall begin again just because the capital was no more in Asia Minor. o

 

[Beamed]

If you want to fix those yellow rivers, you can overwrite your vanilla files with the mod files, by the way.

Watching!

 

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Hopefully this Byzantine Revival will continue past the "We've Recovered Greece!" stage. I'd like to see an Empire that not only recovers the late Roman borders but proves able to colonize beyond Europe.

 

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Enewald: Yeah silly Greeks!

Beamed: Soon they will be red... WITH THE BLOOD OF MY ENEMIES :rofl:

M79: That's the plan.

 

[Plushie]

Hopefully this Byzantine Revival will continue past the "We've Recovered Greece!" stage. I'd like to see an Empire that not only recovers the late Roman borders but proves able to colonize beyond Europe.

If he's running anything resembling the base game, Portugal will have colonized half the planet long before Byzantium is in any position to begin large scale colonization.

You don't even really need to colonize, though. Just getting Justinian's Empire easily gives you an income four or five times what the next best nation will have.

 

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Chapter 1: The Eagle's Rise (Continued)

“February/March of the 9th Year of the Glorious Reign of Manuel II

The Turks are defeated. They suffered 3 crushing defeats that debilitated the already weakened foundations of their Empire. First at Nis, then at Edirne and now finally, when they had gathered their last troops in Bithynia. Soon their Empire shall return to the caring arms of the Palaiologoi!

My scouts inform me that the Ottoman Peasants, tired of both the incompetence of their Sultan and the advance of an enemy they thought weakened. Bah, I shall teach them a lesson, their blood shall nurture the crops and their bodies shall feed the Ravens.

I have been defeated... I HAVE BEEN DEFEATED! THE BASTARDS! They had been prepared to deal with my army before we could even deploy. One could say I deserved this, for underestimating the peasants and putting them in the same boat as their Imperial Armies. But I had forgotten that the cornered dog bites. Despite this nuisance and inconvenient defeat, they lost almost half of their army whilst I lost 1000 Cataphractoi and Conscripts. The next charge will eliminate them.

The Ottoman peasants have been wiped out. I let none of them survive for the transgression of attacking me. Despite this, I did not hang them but rather gave them a much nobler end by beheading them, a fate I did not even reserve to my father. Their courage and perseverance appealed to me, so their name shall be written in the Scrolls of the Library of Constantinople as the true Defenders of the Ottoman. As I speak it shall be written for I am Magnanimous.

January of the 14th Year of the Glorious Reign of Manuel II

Today the Ottoman Sultan, Beyazhid II and me, the Divine Manuel II have called a halt to discuss the terms of peace in none other than Edirne, their former capital. The terms were simple, and when I first offered them, the Ottomans gasped realizing the consequences of such an humiliating treaty. I am sure they wished to say no, but they knew that it would be that or continuous years of defeats and razzias until there was no Ottoman alive left. So they were forced to accept it and swallow their pride. The terms where as following:

-The Ottoman Empire would cede all of their Asia Minor ports, this would mean that the provinces of Bythinia, Bursa and Smyrna would pass to their rightful owners.

-The Ottoman Empire would cede the strategic province of Antalya, to reassure the protection of Rhodes and confirm their support of it as a Byzantine Port.

-The Ottoman Empire apart from ceding the aforementioned provinces would pay the repair and compensations for the damage inflicted to the Byzantine Lands ascending to 50 Talents of Gold.

The document was sealed by both the Ottoman Sultan, Beyazhid II and me the All Mighty and Merciful Manuel II.

February of the 14th Year of the Glorious Reign of Manuel II

I am Magnanimous, and as such I have honored my word towards those Turkish peasants. Appart from them being consider the true defending army I have, showing my great generosity and compassion, accepted their strange and unrefined Culture into the heart of the Byzantine Empire.

Praise me for I am Magnanimous and Divine.”

 

[Tjena Med Laxen]

YELLOW RIVERS!!!!!

Oh, you annexed the coast that i sailed along last year O.O

 

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Tjena: Hehehe never heard about Rio de Oro? That's Gold bro'

 

[Tjena Med Laxen]

Golden rivers... That even better : - )

 

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So..... Manneke pis is GOD?

 

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Interlogue

“
October of the 14th year of the Glorious Reign of Manuel II

I am sick. My physicians say they are unaware of how much I have to live, but they fathom it won't be long till my body fails and I die. The aristocracy say it's God's vengeance for my parricide, and for killing his envoy in Land. What I did, I did it for the Empire, if God desires that I burn in the Fires of hell then I shall gladly for I have saved my Empire from destruction.

There is a pro-Ottoman faction in Bursa, leaded by a man called Temel Erin. He is a 'wise man', a Doctor of the Sunni faith. It seems many of the impoverished turks and greeks have rallied under his flags with the promises of Gold and Food that the Ottoman shall deliver to their heroes. The fools, the Ottoman are a shadow of their former self, soon they shall be forced to return to their nomadic ways if the news of plague coming from Trebizond are correct.

January – February of the 15th year of the Glorious Reign of Manuel II

My condition is in check, lately I've been feeling much better as the soft breeze coming from the Sea of Marmara revitalizes me. It is a familiar scent. The scent of Victory. A scent my people had long forgotten.

This is unacceptable! Temel Eris has taken by storm the province of Bursa and now moves to the prosperous Bythinia! They think I am old and withered! I SHALL TEACH HIM! Tomorrow I shall done my Armor and ride in front of the First Imperial Army. I shall them a lesson that shall perdure for ages to come.

August - September of the 15th year of the Glorious Reign of Manuel II

They had lost before they even revolted. No one can beat me, the Glorious and Powerful Eagle of Byzantium. For I have been chosen by God to lead the Byzantine Empire to Eternal Glory and Bliss. The idiots attacked me at Bithynia, but soon realized my splendor and fled for their lives. But today I was to set an example to all the rebelds. I pursued them and finally gave them they deserved at the plains of Eskisher. Ahhhh what a beautiful sight the woods of Eskisher, the idilic ravens plucking the meat off the hanged corpses of the rebels. Temel Erin asked for my mercy and called me the Sultan of Sultans, he reminds me of the old Patriarch of Constantinople, so I was merciful to him. I tied his limbs to 4 horses and made them ride in opposite directions, his screams of agony being music to my ears. My mercy is boundless, praise me!

January of the 18th year of the Glorious Reign of Manuel II

The last year has been only good news, a consortium of merchants established in Constantinople has declared the establishment of a powerful hold in Asthrakan in the lands of the Golden Horde. Now their revenues only increase even further the already filled coffers of the Great Cesar.

The Venetians are in shambles, their once prosperous Mediterranean Empire is all but gone, their last hold in Greece, Athens, has today declared it's return to the Crown of the Two Headed Eagle, and with that the last of their greats emporiums is sheltered by the Great Palaiologoi Eagle. But it is normal, it is the will of Time, everything returns to it's original state, and we the Byzantines are THE Beginning. It is not a surprise that because of that the Knights, Naxos and the Venetian Ultra mar possessions are all now Byzantine. Achaea will be soon as well, their Genovese friends being a simple nuisance.

It seems that my Generals wish I take a more aggressive stance in World Politics, that now that we are revitalized we should press forward in our Imperialistic Policies. I believe it has come time, even if a bit premature. We shall persevere, for we are Byzantine.

September of the 19th year of the Glorious Reign of Manuel II

I am dying. I have little more than a few days. My two sons have not come, they said they would not reach Constantinople in time. Imbeciles they believe I do not know they are partying and spending Imperial Gold in sleazy whore houses... but it does not matter. My Helene is here, oh Helene the daughter of my eyes, you are from the 3 my favorite, and as such you shall be my heir. Your brothers are lucky I did not kill them as I killed my father.

ARGH! The pain, the pain is so strong, I've been coughing blood for hours now, my skin is deadly white and I smell like death. I open my mouth and say my last words pointing towards the Cross “Εν Τουτω Νικα “ (in hoc signo vinces [by this sign, conquer!]) she looks towards it as someone exclaims my unwavering faith, even at my death bed I speak the word of Christ. But she understands, I was not pointing at the cross, I pointed at the Eagle of the Palaiologoi. She understands, she is indeed my daughter and soon the Divine Empress.

This coldness has found warmth in her, now I can die... in peace.”

 

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Nice job, you've managed to restore 200 years of losses in the space of 20. Where next after Achaea? Bulgaria? Albania? Or into Asia Minor?

 

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M79: In that last image I'm already conquering Bulgaria silly me >.<, But the thing will be Bulgaria, Serbia, Ottoman and then get Alania and Astrakhan.

 

[Enewald]

50 ducats for all what they have done since 1072? :rofl:

That's cheap!
It is funny how easy it is allways to play with byzanz against the turk in eu3. I wonder why they it the hard way in real life... o

 

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Enewald: They didn't have more =( and obviously they did bad because they lacked homicidial drive.