This Chapter’s Mood Music
“It seems we are off the hook, General.” Emperor Ákos paced back and forth in front of the same mahogany desk that Stibor had sat behind when he was king.
“Ákos-“
“Emperor.”
General Leopold Dózsa looked abashed for a quick second, remembering the time when the young man who stood before him was just a little boy, but he quickly regained his composure.
“I just don’t think it is wise to withdraw the troops from the border region, Emperor. For all we know the war between France and Austria may not last long at all.”
“It will.”
Leopold quietly cracked his knuckles, “I think perhaps it may be best if we attack now, while the Austrians are distracted in Italy by the French armies,” Ákos cast a challenging look at Leopold, “Emperor.”
“No. I will send the armies forward when the time is right, and it is not now. You may leave, Leopold. I want you on the eastern border in two weeks.”
“As you will, Emperor,” Leopold bowed deeply, “I am merely a humble servant to the throne.”
----------
The Austrians and French were at war once again, battling over who should control the rich lands of Northern Italy. Both would bleed themselves white over the land, to no gain, but Transylvania would not pounce upon the war. Ákos knew that if Transylvania wished to challenge Austria on their own, the Empire would need more land, more resources, and most importantly, more soldiers.
And so Ákos began to expand the army in late 1587, shortly after the conquest of Adana from newly independent Karaman. He needed more funds though, and the opportunity soon presented itself as Lithuania declared war on their age old enemy – the Golden Horde. The Horde was merely a remnant of its former glory, but it still had allies, and one of them was the African nation of Songhai, who Ákos knew held copious amounts of gold within their lands. And so, in 1588 the navy set out loaded with 12,000 Transylvanian soldiers, destined for the Ivory Coast.
They landed off the coast of one of Holland’s colonies, who graciously had given military access to the Empire. From there they marched into the heartland of Songhai’s African land, and it was much the same story as the Aztec war a few years earlier. Songhai threw everything they had against the Transylvanian soldiers, but they stood stoically against the African soldiers, and massacred them in the thousands. Finally, just before Christmas of 1589, peace was signed between the two states, supplementing the Empire’s income and providing the funds to recruit several new regiments for the inevitable clash against the Austrian Reich.
The Treaty of Katsina, December 30th, 1589
Closer to home though, Persia was amassing its army on the border region, and preparing to attack Transylvania. Intent on regaining its land lost in previous decades to the Empire, the Persians declared a Jihad against Transylvania on April 19th, 1590, and flooded across the border.
The Army de Mihály and Ferenc were rushed to the border region to meet the Persian invasion, led by General Leopold Dózsa and General Tamás Gyulai. Combined they numbered over 40,000 strong, and they smashed into the invading Persians, driving them back into their lands, and then the eagles went forward and crossed into Persian land. Ákos wanted to break the Persians, and felt that the previous Emperors and Kings of Transylvania had been too lenient with the enemies that had shared the eastern border of Transylvania. He was young, and did not want to have to see the Empire feel threatened by a Persian attack ever again.
The first major engagement of the war basically decided the outcome. The Persians had refused to reform their army structure even after numerous defeats against the Empire, and they paid the price dearly for that mistake. On March 21st of 1591 the Army de Ferenc met the Persian 1st army in Khursan. The Army de Ferenc was exhausted, and had just taken the province after a costly assault when the Persian army appeared, but even in their weakened state they demolished the Persian army, and afterwards General Tamás detached his cavalry regiments and sent them on the pursuit.
The Battle of Khursan, March 21st, 1591
After his cavalry returned Tamás decided it would be best to retreat back into Transylvanian lands to resupply and replenish his lost numbers, but the Persians again attacked, hoping that after the Battle of Khursan that the Army de Ferenc would finally be weakened enough to be driven away, but again the Persian army merely marched to their death, and the Transylvanians continued on their route, leaving over 10,000 Persian dead behind them as they made camp in Ajam.
The Battle of Dash-i-Lut, April 27th, 1591
Two of Persia’s main armies had been defeated, and the Georgians finished off the third. All that was left was a march into Persian lands unmapped by European explorers since the era of the Roman Empire. As they marched across Persia towns and cities surrendered as soon as they were sighted. The Persian leadership was in tatters – its Generals had been slain in battle, its King had fled to India, and a fair number of the commoners were of the mind that it would be better to work under the banner of the Székely Sun and Towers of Transylvania than the crescent moon of Persia.
By January of 1594 almost every city in Persia flew the Eagle banner of Transylvania over its walls. Lacking a king, and with its leadership in tatters, the Treaty of Fars was signed by a close cousin of the exiled Persian king, and Transylvania finally withdrew from what was left of Persia’s lands, while Baluchistan moved their armies to attack what scraps Transylvania had left.
The Treaty of Fars, January 29th 1594
On the western border, the war between France and Austria had finally died down, and finally Ákos was ready to strike. Both France and Austria had been bled white from their war, and so Ákos ordered his armies back to their posts on the border with Austria; bayonets were sharpened, pikes polished, breastplates burnished, and muskets cleaned. When all was finally prepared, Ákos sent the declaration of war on December 6th, 1595, the same day that he received word that the settlement policy in Thrace had been a success. A Transylvanian Constantinople, and a Transylvanian Balkans.
The Transylvanian Empire of the eve of Emperor Ákos’ declaration of war on the Kingdom of Austria
I included Serbia by mistake, whoops
A Hungarian Constaninople, December 5th, 1595
The First Austro-Transylvanian War, December 7th, 1595