There was a growing suspicion that the position of Transylvania’s king was a cursed position. Each king since Stibor had died in a most gruesome of manner. Janos Durazzo took a pike to the stomach and spilled his guts all across the plains of Erz, during battle with the Bohemians. István’s wound re-opened and he bled to death in the bed of the royal chamber, and Mihály inherited the throne, complete with a civil war. His early reign was bleak, with death and violence a frequent part of Transylvanian life during the time. A plague swept across the province of Budjak, narrowly contained within the province by Transylvanian soldiers who halted all persons exiting the region. Trade ground to a halt, as no merchants wanted to travel to the port cities to embark to other countries. Bulgarian rebels sprouted like weeds across the southern parts of the kingdom. It was a dark time.
Times such as those always seemed to give king’s more power, however. In late 1454, Mihály passed an law dictating that the king alone was the supreme commander of the military forces, mitigating the effects of the Liberum Veto somewhat (
decision: Pass Militia Act). Mihály’s other policies were starting to show promise as well, where his brutal efficiency in the craft of governance shone. He was not terribly smart in managing the economy of the kingdom, but what he lacked in skill he made up for in brutality. The regions recently conquered from the Turks had been fully integrated into the Ottoman empire, and held sympathetic views towards the Turkish sultanate. They were Islamic in religion as well, though that would quickly change.
Hell bent on bringing the kingdom united under one faith, a detachment of the King’s guard arrived in Silistria and Bulgaria in December of 1454, and set about burning the mosques of Islam, and slaughtering the few Muslims that had decided to remain within Transylvania, rather than flee back to other Turkish lands. The ‘conversions’ were successful, as people accepted Christ, more through fear than through love; but such minor details were trivial to Mihály; one kingdom, united in faith!
The Slaughter of Bulgarian Muslims, December, 1454
King Mihály wasn’t solely concentrated on internal affairs though. In truth, the internal workings of Transylvania interested him little; his stated purpose was to expand the borders, and make the world fear the name of Transylvania. It was an ambitious goal, but he was an ambitious man. The Kingdom of Napoli to the west of Transylvania had fallen upon hard times. Their ruler had been excommunicated by his Holiness the Pope, and Napoli had found itself at war with the remainder of the Italian states, and a very powerful Castille. Mihály was largely undeterred by such things, and offered the Neapolitans an alliance, which they graciously accepted. It was a fruitless alliance, but Mihály was only interested in having the large powers of the region favourable towards Transylvania, so that he may concentrate on the heathens on his eastern border.
The conflict in the north was coming to a head. Lithuania, seeking to press its claims to the former lands of the Teutonic Order, had declared war on the Holy Roman Emperor, Bohemia, in 1453. Drawing upon the vast manpower reserves and armies that it could field, Bohemia crushed the Lithuanians repeatedly in the Battle of Vilna and the Battle of Mogilyov. Lithuania would still stubbornly refuse to sign peace with the Bohemians until mid 1459, as their main host, the Lithuanian 1st Army, was still intact and lead by their king in northern Lithuania.
The Bohemian Domination of Lithuania, October, 1458
At some point in early 1459, Poland entered the war against Lithuania. Naples, who was allied to Lithuania, answered the call to arms, and Transylvania found itself with a legitimate casus belli against Poland, who held only a narrow strip of land, a beaten shell compared to its former glory. The swords and axes of Transylvania were sharpened once more, and the army set out for Carpathia. Transylvania declared war against the Polish on April 24th of 1459, allies on both sides dishonouring their calls; Naples for the Transylvanian alliance, and Bohemia for the Polish side.
It is a quick war, with the force disposition incredibly one sided. Poland could field an army of around 6,000, while the Transylvanian alliance's side had a total standing force of well over 100,000. The Polish army is caught in Bessarabia and engaged by King Mihaly and the Army de Stiboricz. The Polish retreated in inglorious defeat, and were destroyed entirely near the Transylvanian capital, a scene eerily reminiscent of Transylvania’s previous war against Poland, where their 1st army was routed and hunted down like cattle.
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A Transylvanian Noble surveys the carnage after the Battle of Bessarabia, July, 1459
The Bohemians and Lithuanians finally settled for a peace in the same month that the Polish forces were destroyed. It was a crippling peace for Lithuania, as Bohemia gained the provinces of Estland, Kiev, Podlasia, and Samogita; but it would spell the downfall for Bohemia, as their reputation with the rest of Europe quickly took a nose dive, and shouts ran out to halt the beast’s expansion (
Casus Belli gained: Dishonourable Scum). It was not the end of Lithuania’s troubles, however, as the Horde, smelling blood and easy conquest in the wind, moved their armies into the plump Lithuanian lands that had been ravaged by the Bohemian armies. Could the Horde triumph again, or would the Lithuanians rally to their tattered banners?
The Polish fortresses surrendered within the same week, Ruthenia falling on the 4th of October, and Krakow on the 6th. Peace was signed on the 7th, and Poland finally accepted Transylvanian overlordship.
The Treaty of Krakow, October 7th, 1459
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The King of Poland kneels to his cousin, King Mihály Plater, October 24th, 1459
Poland was still technically at war with Lithuania during this time, however they were sheltered between the lands of Austria and Transylvania, who turned back any Lithuanian forces that would seek to attack the Polish capital. Very few actually tried, as every Lithuanian man or boy who could hold a sword was pressed into service against the invading Tartars.
Naples offered an alliance again to Transylvania, which was accepted by King Mihály, simply because he wanted a legitimate excuse to take on some of the Italian city states attacking Naples. Unfortunately, all of them had too long a list of allies, or were guaranteed by countries far too powerful for Transylvania to take on, such as France or Castille. There was one tiny state that was bereft of allies though, and that was Crete. Transylvania’s pitifully small navy set out, and the Transylvanian 2nd and 3rd Banatian Regiments landed on Crete in the middle of April, 1460. The Neopolitans signed peace with their enemies shortly after, agreeing to cede Modena to the Genoans. Crete fell on the 24th of September, and accepted the treaty of Budjak shortly afterwards.
The Treaty of Budjak, September 26th, 1460
The Map of Eastern Europe, September, 1460
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Painting of the aftermath of the Battle of Grunwald in 1410. More information can be found here.
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Painting of the Teuton’s Grandmaster paying homage to the King of Poland. More information can be found here.