The Prince

This is my New Story (Sorry about all the other ones)(Der Konigreich Bayern; Sealand; Rome; Realpolitik) Yeah, but Sons of Odin has an update coming soon. The difference between this is that I have some written, so here is a beginning of the story. The title is from the Machiavellian book with the same title.


To skip to a certain Chapter, click one of the links below:

lurker's comment: And so, yet another PoP tale begins...subscribed.

This looks promising.

We read part of the Prince, so I'm kinda basing my story on that.

After having read a lot of PoP's stories already (albeit unfinished stories), I look forward to this one nonetheless. Subscribed etc.

Don't expect it, but possible update today.

Ch. 1: Humble Beginnings

“Whether it is better to be loved or feared?” What a masterpiece, thought Sultan Osman, as he placed his personal copy of The Prince, by Niccolo Machiavelli on the table. Stepping out of his tent, he was greeted by a group of six men and women. These people were his Royal Court of advisors, the greatest politicians and wisest negotiators. His Domestic Advisor, Sofia Sartor, who helped with internal struggles. His Trade Advisor, Mistress Dilara, who kept track of what resources were in the Imperial Trade Network. His Military Advisor, Suleiman the Magnificent, the greatest general in the lands. His Foreign Advisor, the Great Negotiator Mehmed, responsible for negotiation and contact with the other tribes. His Cultural Advisor, Selim, who would tell him what would spread the culture of the Empire to new lands. And finally, his Science Advisor, Piri Reis, an adventurer and inventor who was “Golden in the age of Bronze“.
“Sir, this is a fine place to build a city“, said Mistress Dilara. “There are many natural resources nearby, and the river and sea will be good for travel.”
“I agree with her, my lord.” Piri Reis interjected. “I will be able to set up a large research facility in the hills to the north, as well as explore the surroundings. As well as---”
Here Suleiman interrupts, “My Lord, this place has little natural defenses. If we are to build our city here, means of escape will be small. But we do have the River and the Ocean if it is needed.”
Osman thought about what he should do. He dismissed his advisors to think. Finally, Osman came to a decision. He called his advisors back, and told them.
“We will build the city here. Piri, you are to go with Mehmed and explore the surrounding area. See what you find, and report back here. Suleiman, you are start training my Royal Palace Guard, the Janissaries. As for the Palace, Selim, Sofia, and Dilara will work with me on it. It shall be the grandest palace in the world.”
With that, Osman parted with his advisors, and started trying to find the location for his palace. It did not take him long. He immediately went to the hightest point in the area, a region called Topkapi. The area was like a small mountain. It was flatted topped, and slowly slanted down. In addition, the place had a large natural cave system underneath, which allowed for an additional escape rout to the sea. Suleiman thought, this is the perfect choice for a city.
Piri‘s first report came in 3950 BC, after he had surveyed the nearby regions. He found a large field of wheat to the East of the city, and hills full of incense to the Northwest. To the south was the Ocean.
The Turkish Scientists also started developing a system of characters or an alphabet. This would help in keeping records of texts and occurrences.



Many long years passed without any occurrences in the empire. Finally, in 3825, the first Assault Team, a band of Warriors, is trained by Suleiman in the Imperial Military Base. These Warriors, are sent to explore the unknown lands surrounding Istanbul.

Another large span of time passed without anything happening. But finally, in 3550, a brave group of explorers, led by Mohammed Lewis and Seljuk Clark, ventured into the unknown. Their goal was to claim more territory for Ottomania, and establish a permanent base outside of Istanbul.

In 3350, Lewis and Clark found the perfect place for a new settlement. Northwest of Istanbul, the place had Dyes, Spices, and Cows. It also was close to the Twin Rivers. The city was named Edrine, after Clark’s ailing mother. Edrine would grow to be one of the largest cities in the Empire.



The First building project was erected in Istanbul in 3200. Suleiman needed a place to properly train his troops, so with the permission of Osman, he built a barracks in the city. This would allow stronger, better trained units, and units in the city to regroup and heal quicker.

Soon after this, a band of defensive Infantry was trained in Edrine. These units were called Janissaries. The classification of this unit was a spearman, due to their weapon, being a spear.

In 3100, the Ottomans found out that they were not alone at this place. During his travels, Piri Reis discovered a tribe. They called themselves Arabians, led by Abu Bakr, and they seemed to have the same culture as the Ottomans. They had the same number of cities as the Ottomans, and they had one more technology than the Ottomans. Piri also noticed that they had much less gold in the coffers than the Ottomans, and possessed no resources. Mehmed, being the royal negotiator, began what he did best: Negotiation. Mehmed was a great negotiator. After hours of back and forth, they came to a deal: The Arabs would give Mehmed one of their most skilled potters and all of their gold. The Ottomans would have to give one of their top stone masons to Abu Bakr. The men and their teams would transferred to Mecca and Istanbul immediately.





In 2900, a barracks was build in Edrine. The government in the Province was governed by Lewis, and the Military by Clark. As the city grew, they too were added to the Ottoman trade network.

Soon after the construction of the Barracks in Edrine, a breakthrough occurred.
Osman was sitting on one of the balconies in Topkapi Palace on a brisk, sunny morning in the month of March, when all of a sudden, Piri Reis stormed out onto the Balcony. “Sir, we have completed our alphabet! We are able to write great novels. There is already a poetic Epic, written by a post named Homer. The title is The Iliad, and it tells of a great war. Some of those who have read it believe that it is a prophecy for what it to happen.”
Osman was pleased. His great empire would now be able to record the past. “Well what are the characters in the alphabet?”
Piri handed a torn, wrinkled piece of parchment to Osman. The Paper showed as follows:


The Ancient Script:Capital- 
Lower- 
The Modern Script: Capital- ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
Lower- abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

“Most great epics are going to be written in the Ancient Script, while the Modern is used for common articles and speech. There is only one problem: Homer wrote his epic in a form of writing which most people don’t understand. It will take some time to transliterate his work to Modern Script.”
“We do not have time for that now”, replied Osman. “You must start working on a theory of thinking called Mathematics. This will help the empire with new military innovations.”



In 2775, Istanbul sends out another settler band. This time, they travel farther west than Lewis and Clark.

A great Historian, Gibbon, releases his list of the 8 most wealthiest nations. The Ottomans were #1, but the Arabs were #5.



In 2670, another nation was met: The Byzantines, led by Theodora. They had two more techs, but less gold and only their capital, Constantinople. Osman wondered if the prophecy about the greatest city would stand. It was given by a group of men named They Might Be Giants. The prophecy was simple: Istanbul (Not Constantinople). For now, the Ottomans kept the peace, giving some more of the Stone Masons to Theodora for a group of warriors who followed a code and used a weapon called the bow and arrow.





2610 brought another construction project to Ottomania. In Edrine, a granary was built. This building’s purpose was to store grain and food, which would help allow larger cities.

With this granary brought more manpower. In 2570, a worker band was trained in Edrine. It would join the first, and help with the construction projects outside of the cities.

Bursa, the third city in the Ottoman Empire, was built in 2470. This city was the “Gateway to the West”. It was a port on the “Sea in the Middle of the Land”, or “Mediterranean Sea”. The city would conduct trade missions between Istanbul and itself overseas.

Many more construction projects and trainings of new units occurred in a time span from 2470 to 2270. In 2270, a third nation was met: Carthage, led by Hannibal. He was a general who rose to power after his father’s death. They were cruel and ruthless people, but Osman didn’t fear them. He sends 80 sums of gold to Carthage, their capital city, and buys religion. How is this possible? I have no clue, but it happened. Osman soon was burying his dead. Of course, Osman and the upper class of the Empire was more or less immortal. So this didn’t help at all.





A fourth nation, the Russians led by Catherine, were met in 2150. They did not feel like trading with Osman. So Osman added her to his hit list.



The current order was as follows:
1) Conquer Arabia
2) Expand throughout North Africa
3) Find and conquer Russia.

A good story so far. I particularly liked the reference to Lewis and Clark.

I particularly liked the reference to "They May be Giants"

Do you want me to use the borders which they are now, or go back to default borders?

keep them as they are now.

Don't expect it, but maybe an update this week or weekend.

Update day! I promise.

Princeof Persia said:

Update day! I promise.

Click to expand...

Trust no one one April 1st.

Ch. 2: Early Expansion and Diplomacy

The Ottoman Empire grew exponentially from our last update. The next breakthrough in the empire came in 2090 BC, with the discovery of Mathematics. Mathematics would allow a new military weapon known as the Catapult. This weapon could launch large rocks over city walls and other places. But there would be debates for the next few hundred years if this object could actually “pult cats”. Also, this would allow the creation of a giant temple. Piri Reis reported this to Osman.
“Lord, we have discovered mathematics! This will let us build siege artillery! Also, we are able to build a giant temple to a local deity named Zeus.”
“Excellent, Piri. As we are already building a temple in Istanbul, why not extend the project and make it larger.”
The official start of construction of this “Statue of Zeus” started on June 31, 2090 BC.



In 2055, another settler party was dispatched from Edrine. Their location was unknown, but would be soon discovered.

Later that Century, in 2039, the next city in the Ottoman empire was built. Its name was Iznik, and it was in the center of the Mesopotamian Province.



In 1930 BC, another Janissary division came out of Edrine. The governor then made the decision to build a temple to the gods. The temple would not be as large as the one being built in Istanbul, but it would serve a similar function.

In 1830, the settler band from Edrine found a home. They had gone north and founded in the flatlands north of Mesopotamia between the mountains. The city was named Uskudar after one of the gods in the Ottoman pantheon.



Another scientific advance happened in 1800. Osman was at his second breakfast. The Ottomans had a very interesting meal schedule. This was what it was: 1) Breakfast; 2) Second Breakfast; 3) Brunch; 4) Luncheon; 5) Afternoon Tea; 6) Dinner; and 7) Supper. Some of the greatest eaters were known as “hobbits”. Anyway, during his second breakfast, Piri approached in a contraption strapped to the back of what looked like a brown cow. Osman almost choked on his Lembas bread, a delicacy in Istanbul, especially with the hobbits.
“Piri, what is that thing?”
“Why, Lord, it’s a Chariot. We took round pieces of wood, put them on the side of this casing, and strapped to the back of this animal, found to the north of Istanbul, and the east of Edrine. The locals call it a “horse”. There is one catch. The wheel is not too maneuverable, so we only can take it in smooth land or on roads. No mountains, forests, marshes, or jungles. But, we could possibly later learn how to ride on the back of these horses. Then the possibilities could be endless! Imagine these horses charging into a valley on our hideous enemies and destroying them with sheer power!”
“Oh, I can. NOW LEAVE!!!!! Learn something else!”

In 1770, Persia greets Osman with a deal: The best miners of the Persian empire, known as Parthians, would help the Ottomans discover iron near their territory, in exchange for one of the greatest writers in the Ottoman empire, Xenophon. As an act of kindness, 30 gold is given to Persia. Unfortunately, the only source of iron was in Arabian territory.



After Persia, two more civilizations are met: Portugal and Spain. These two are known to be related, called “Iberians”. They are both peaceful to Osman.




In 1680, the temple of Edrine is completed. This allows worship to a certain god, for this city, it was the duo known as Timon and Pumba.

1600 brought another trade. Carthage trades writing to the Ottoman for Mathematics.

The Greatest occurrence to ever happen came in 1575 BC. The completion of the Statue of Zeus. The seated statue, some 43 feet tall, occupied half of the width of the aisle of the temple built to house it. The opening ceremony was spectacular. But suddenly, at the base of the statue appeared a regiment of horses and riders. A voice from above, “These are my Divine Cavalry, they shall be named the Seljuk Riders. You shall name all of your other cavalry Turkish Cavalry, your Defensive Infantry you already call Janissaries, and all your assault Infantry Rangers.” And so the occasion ended.



Well there you go.

lurker's comment: Well, I expected you would update if I posted that, so I did.

I was going to anyway.

Yes!!

Ok, I'm not home until this Wednesday, but I am working on the story now.

I will update this as soon as I can. Lets just say Arabia is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Or as the Turks say, Stuck between Ancient Cavalry and Archers...