EU2 AAR: Venice, from Mare Nostra to Terraferma, from Republic to Empire

[Tani Coyote]

1485

January brings the regular flow of wealth - though the ducats are divided between Marius and the Republicans.

Marius realises that a strategy of attacking Italy directly is too costly in manpower, he must conserve his resources and let his enemy waste theirs. Marius' army along the Italian border has shrunk, so the Republicans think they're winning, until they hear that Marius' troops have suddenly landed in the Baleares, and have massacred the army there. They proceed to Aragon shortly afterwards, and open a second front in the war. The Republicans believe that Marius is a fool for attacking so far away from his supply lines - he would have attacked Italy, but he felt his foes would expect that due to Alfons' strategies.

Despite being outnumbered, Marius' forces in Aragon cut their losses, and manage to gain the support of the whole region within the year. After taking out the Greek islands, Marius is ready for the prize - Italy. His forces invade late in the year, but they attack in the southeast rather than the north. The plains of Southern Italy make this an easy conquest, and Marius gradually works his way up...

The Republic hopelessly tries to fight a war on two fronts, having to divert resources both to keep Marius' eastern forces from crossing into Italy, and also slowing his advance into northern Italy from the south. Their work is made harder when the French-held city of Rome begins to supply Marius, hoping he will return the favor and liberate them at a later date.

As the year goes by, France attacks Burgundy, desiring to expand while Burgundy has it's hands full. Burgundy's only ally is Tyrol.

In October, Dal Verme, one of Marius's generals, dies in combat, but his move allows Marius to penetrate Italy. Italy's gates in the north are finally broken, with Republican soldiers caving in and fleeing/turning their posts over to Marius. The end of the Republic is near, with southern Italy conquered, and growing rebel movements in what Marius hasn't taken.

In November, Marco Barbarigo takes power following Giovanni Mocenigo's death. He will be one of the shortest serving rulers in Italian history, being deposed only a few months after his ascension.

 

[Tani Coyote]

1486 Part 1

Marius' forces are now locked in a battle for supremacy with the Republicans, who have used their money to hire mercenaries from across Europe to aid them. The frontlines are the Po River in the North, and Siena-Marche in the South.

In March, Marian forces break through Genoa by getting the city to renounce it's futile efforts against him. In the coming months, Marius takes the south side of the Po, and triumphantly enters Florence for one final, epic battle.

The King of Wirtemberg is elected Emperor in mid-March. May, China annexes Dai Viet and takes northern Vietnam into it's empire.

July, Spain takes all of Granada's provinces except it's capital in a treaty. The Republicans send their congratulations to them, hoping that Spain will join the Republican cause and possibly win Aragon in exchange. But Spain isn't swayed, it would prefer converting it's current provinces than to take even more.

July 24, Marius captures Florence and establishes himself as the governing power of the whole city. Naturally, Marco Barbarigo and the Republicans are mass-executed and exiled in retribution for their grave offenses against the people of the Italian 'Republic'. In the meantime, Marius sets up an interim government.

That government doesn't even last a month, before Marius is coronated as the Emperor of the New Roman Empire.

--- Marian Victory and Marius' Empire ---

Marius's troops attacked Florence late in May. For almost 2 months, battles raged in and outside the city, with Marius gradually pushing his way closer to the Ducal Palace - which was now the National Ministry building. On July 23, his troops entered the Palace and searched for the government. July 24, they were captured, as was the whole city. Marius set up a short interim government, and claimed that he would temporarily take all the major positions in the political structure.

August 16, 1486, Marius held a grand coronation ceremony in Florence, with all citizens of the empire invited to attend. Thousands watched as the Pope - who was French-controlled and thus against the Holy Roman Empire - placed a lavish crown on the rogue general's head, and cheered as they hoped for the possibility of another Mocenigo-esque benevolent dictatorship. Marius was crowned Marius I of Italy.

Marius did not call himself Emperor of Italy, or the Italian Empire, etc. He said that the empire was not Italian anymore by far. He stressed the reason for the bloodshed of the last half-decade was the empire was too Italy and too Catholicism-centric. If the people of Italy and all her possessions were to remain strong and live in perpetual peace and prosperity, they would have to learn to embrace eachother's differences. Marius thus proclaimed the New Roman Empire, after the glorious namesake Italy's people once bore. He said he would end the oligarchy of the Republic and restore his country's good relations with Europe.

Marius would follow his first promise by depriving all wealthy Republican Loyalists of their lands, and banishing/executing them. The land would be used to pay for soldiers' pensions, or to free up the markets of the new territories, which had become congealed thanks to monopolistic nobles.

The Marian Reforms also included the extreme exercise and centralisation of power. Marius would regularly tour the empire in a large fleet like Mocenigo, and would often personally assume the post of governor while he was in an area. He curbed the power of the aristocracy further, while doing his best to subjugate those who rose to wealthy status to his will. He made himself the most dictatorial - albeit one of the most benevolent - leaders in Italy's history. What would Marius' empire have in store for Europe? Only time would tell...

Effects:

Stability goes to 3.
-500 ducats(coronation, government redistribution, etc)
Aristocracy set to 5.
Centralisation to 9.
Innovativeness +1.
Serfdom -1.

---

 

[Tani Coyote]

I felt adventurous, so I made this. While the base map of the world is crappy compared to another I found, I could make this one quickest. It's no entirely accurate, but it'll do. This is the New Roman Empire at Marius' ascension. (It will hopefully have doubled in size when he leaves power...)

Red denotes the empire. Pink-red denotes vassals(Savoy and Bisharin are not included here), thin white lines indicate borders between provinces and between the empire and it's vassals(the vassals are pretty much part of the empire). The thick white lines are borders with foreign countries.

 

[Tani Coyote]

A cleaner version, this time with more land included, as well as Savoy and Bisharin.

 

[IronMan2055]

As Marius's foriegn minister I must say, we're awsome ....

 

[Tani Coyote]

As Marius's foriegn minister I must say, we're awsome ....

Quite! Now what should our next move be? Annexation of vassals? An assault on France to conquer the Papal States, secure our border and connect Italy with Aragon? Mass conversion of the empire's religious minorities? We also can consider expansion in North Africa, due to it's historical role in the Old Roman Empire...

Overall, a plethora of options. Just now tensions with Germans will soar soon, as they're not too happy with there being 2 Roman Emperors...

 

[IronMan2055]

I think getting Rome itself would be quite important for a Roman Empire.

 

[Tani Coyote]

I think getting Rome itself would be quite important for a Roman Empire.

Don't worry, I already have a fake event planned for that. France is told to let go of the Papal States(by ceding it to NRE) thanks to joint pressure from Spain, Austria, and New Rome. The event greatly sours relations with France, while the Papal States have to be released afterwards(to maintain the appearance the Pope is independent).

To some who consider that a bit unfair, I have to pay 500 ducats to compensate France. This will allow France to more easily swallow up Burgundy in it's current war...

And there most likely will be a Franco-Roman war not too long after. France and New Rome need to have the classic battle for supremacy, no?

 

[Tani Coyote]

Part 2:

Shortly after Marius takes power, he orders conversion efforts in all the territories of the Middle East except Syria, using the robust treasury he has gained from confiscating aristocratic assets. He also orders the promotion of tax collectors in Northern Sinai, which has become Christianised. Though Marius is not a really religious man, he understands the role of religion in a nation's stability, and thus tries to use secularised Christian values as a political tool to aid the strength of his regime. He takes this example from how well secular Confucianism works in the Far East.

In addition, Austria declares war on Salzburg, seeing Marius' installment as New Roman Emperor favorable to their chances of taking over much of Germany. A new German war breaks out between Austria and France's alliances.

Using tax benefits to provide further incentives for religious conversion, Marius turns his affairs to the rest of the state. His new government has to get it's feet wet before it can do any serious work. His first move is to appoint a seasoned diplomat - known by his nickname of "Man of Iron" - as his foreign advisor. His foreign advisor recommends that the New Roman Empire should try to obtain Rome in one way or another...

In September, Marius' empire not only reaches Naval and Land Tech 4, but he also initiates diplomatic and military measures that will cause...

--- The Crises of 1486 ---

Marius' revolutionary regime immediately had problems shortly after his coronation. The German states - Brandenburg, Bohemia and Wirtemberg in particular - raised vocal opposition to Marius' declaration of a Roman Empire, as much of Italy itself was in the Holy Roman Empire, yet Marius still called himself an Emperor(the Holy Roman Emperor was the ruler of Wirtemberg). Marius stated that he had the divine sanction of the Pope - despite being nonreligious, Marius knew how to bend religion to his political goals. He further stated that if the New Roman Empire was a fraud, so was the Holy Roman Empire, for the true, antique Roman Empire - the Byzantine Empire - still existed. He also said he was far closer to holding Rome than any of the puny states of the north.

When further saber-rattling occurred, Marius said he would remove his lands from the Holy Roman Empire, and then support a militant bid by Austria for the title of Holy Roman Emperor - citing the secret alliance that Austria and Italy had made years ago. Tensions continued to flare, and many assumed that there would be a German war for the title of Roman Emperor.

A compromise was finally reached - Marius' lands within the HRE would be ruled under the title of Duke, while all outside it's borders would be ruled as Emperor. Marius also said that as members of the Holy Roman Empire, Italians deserved a vote in the HRE's elections. Given how Italians were by far the strongest non-German group in the empire, the German states reluctantly agreed, not wanting a militant Austro-Italian alliance against them once the current German war was over.

The First Crisis was followed by another - tensions flared with France this time. Though his empire was now Roman and not Italian, Marius cited that due to it's roots in an Italian unification, the French should hand over the Latium province to New Rome, so as to complete the goal, as well as to give the NRE's name further legitimacy. France of course disagreed, and the typical saber-rattling that had just been avoided came to the table again. France had a larger army than the NRE - France fielded a force 2x the size of New Rome's - but once Marius summoned his troops and enlarged his forces, he could easily swamp the French. Marius managed to secure Austria's friendship in the matter, while also getting Spain to apply diplomatic pressure(by saying that if France and New Rome went to war, Spain would be given most Aragonese land and any gains in France by siding with New Rome). As France was already at war with Austria and Burgundy, hostile action by Spain and New Rome would mean war on all it's borders apart from with Britain - though Britain wasn't known for being peaceful when the oppurtunity presented itself.

New Rome threatened to block French access to it's many centers of trade, while France already had trade issues thanks to it's war with Burgundy. New Roman naval vessels had amassed in the Mediterranean, encircling France, and there were 4x as many ships than the French. Knowing that in the event of war it would be surrounded, and it would lose Rome anyways in the face of a loss of supply lines, France capitulated. Marius also gave France an indemnity of 500,000 ducats to compensate them for the loss of the territory. Marius also promised that the Papal States would be recreated and be nominally independent, citing that no earthly authority should control the Pope.

With dual crises averted, New Rome's future was secure.

Effects:

NRE gains one vote in Holy Roman Empire. Rome/Latium ceded to NRE. Papal States released from NRE.
-500 ducats. +100 relations with Austria. -100 with France.

---

Shortly after his acquisition of Rome in late September, Marius set the city and the surrounding region free, to be ruled by the Pope as it's governor. Rome would also be the ceremonial capital, while nearby Florence would be the real one.

There is a successful Inquisition in Achaea in Greece, symbolising the religious unity that is slowly engulfing the empire. Marius decides to try converting Athens as well, positioning 31,000 troops in the area to help.

Desiring to end Modena's independence, Marius continually sends money to them in the last parts of the year.

1486 ends. After a few months in office, Marius' empire is poised for greater prosperity.

 

[Tani Coyote]

1487

600+ ducats are collected in census taxes. This means we can afford at least one major conversion a year.

The Franco-Burgundian war ends in late February, with France taking the provinces of Hainaut and Lille in the treaty. Trebizond also takes the province of Mamluk Armenia shortly afterwards. We support the expansion of Christian states, of course.

May 5, Marius pays a special visit to the city of Ferrara, where Modena has it's capital at. The reason for this visit? The formal addition of the city to the New Roman Empire.

They accept unanimously, and our empire grows once again. Knowing the move will have soured relations with Catholic Europe, he sends out messengers to help strengthen ties with Austria, Bisharin, and Bosnia anew.

Ties go with +200 due to personal gifts to Austria and Bisharin. We form a new alliance with Bosnia, as we desire to add them next.

July 12, Spain annexes Grenada in a second war. With that, there are no more Islamic states in Europe. Christians celebrate, of course.

Shortly after, Bohemia annexes Salzburg. This is likely to cause heating tensions between Austria and Bohemia.

In October, the alliance of North Africa - Tlemcen, Morocco, Tunisia and others - dissolves in the face of a war with Songhai. This is a blessing, for it allows us to attack Tunisia if we so choose and not fight all of North Africa.

November, the German war ends with Bohemia and France signing peace, with France paying a small indemnity. Bohemia's empire is rather bloated and overstretched...

--- The Absorption of Bosnia into the Empire ---

Since Februrary of 1431, Bosnia had remained independent of Venice and it's successor states of Italy and the New Roman Empire. 56 years of independence came to a close in November 1487, when Marius visited Sarajevo, Bosnia, and negotiated the admission of the Bosnia into his empire. The Bosnians had pretty much been Italicised in culture thanks to over half a century of Italian influences. He promised to treat them just the way Croatia was when it voluntarily joined Venice decades ago.

The Bosnians agreed, and earned necessary concessions, such as how New Rome would work to fix the relations between the Catholic Bosnians and the Orthodox Bosnians. Bosnia's culture would also be respected.

After Bosnia's annexation on November 21st, it was lumped together with Croatia to form Pannonia, after the Roman province that took up roughly the same area. With Bosnia's addition, the New Roman Empire had 17 provinces.

Effects:

Bosnia annexed. Bosnia's provinces added as cores. Bosniak will become an accepted culture.

---

The year comes to a close. 4 nations have been destroyed, while 1 'new' one has been born. With an expanded tax base and more secure borders, New Rome is likely to make it's next move soon...

 

[Tani Coyote]

1488

1488 marks further declines in the Muslim states of North Africa. The Tunisian dynasty begins to fall apart, with Tripoli declaring independence and revolts spreading.

The year is quiet.

April, Ak Koyunlu militarily annexes Iraq.

The rest of the year is uneventful.

 

[Tani Coyote]

1489

In the last year of the 1480's, Marius' power base has become secure. He can't find any particular openings in world politics, and so has made the New Roman Empire rather reactionary in foreign policy, rather than acting.

Feburary 1st, the Venetian Queen of Cyprus abdicates and offers her Kingdom to the New Roman Empire. Like how Bithynia's King willed his kingdom to Rome, Cyprus' Queen has willed her kingdom to New Rome.

---

Now that Cyprus is firmly in New Roman hands, and our domination of the Eastern Mediterranean is true, Marius questions where his empire should go next. Europe is strangely peaceful for all intents and purposes.

The Ottomans answer that question for him. May 16, we are attacked by the Ottomans, but we repel them. The Ottoman Army is large - 60,000+ soldiers - but poorly-led. Using our navy, we can attack them at our leisure. Marius orders all his armies to head for Greece, where we will launch an attack on Asia Minor. Marius says that he will not stop until all the Christians and Greeks of the Ottoman Empire are brought under the protection of New Roman rule.

---

As well, we send one of our generals to go to Tripoli and oversee the conquest of it, while also preventing the Byzantine-Lithuanian force there from acquiring it.

--- Another Arab War ---

Marius was not too surprised when the Turks attacked his flourishing empire and ended it's peaceful period. The annexation of Cyprus had made them feel encircled for obvious reasons.

Desiring to expand his territory once more, Marius made plans to absorb much of Turkey's coastal regions, and the Orthodox provinces of the east. He also declared de facto war on the Arab/Islamic World when the Pope gave him the title 'Conqueror of the Deserts, from the Depths of Africa to the Mountains of Persia'. Using this religious empowerment, he could easily rebuild Rome's southern and eastern empire.

The Ottomans and Tripolitanians would just be the appetizers...

Effects:

New Roman Empire gets permanent casus belli on Ottomans, Ak Koyunlu, Mamluks, and Tunisia. Maghrebi and Turkish become accepted cultures. No cores gained apart from on the Orthodox/Greek Ottoman territories.

---

In May, Europe's quiet disentigrates in a series of several wars. Russia declares war on Kazan. France-Switzerland declares war on England and her allies. Norway-Denmark-Sweden declares war on Saxony and it's few German allies. The distraction of the English-led alliance leads Burgundy to declare war on Utrecht, causing a war with England and her allies. Europe's period of peace is at an end.

August, Austria breaks it's vassalge with Bohemia, seeking to be independent anew. Representing further tensions, Bohemia cancels it's military access treaty in Austria...

---

Using similar tactics from the last war, Marius learns the Ottoman Army has split, with parts of it going towards the islands. By opening Thrace to attack - with 40,000+ men hiding in the forest - he hopes the Ottomans will be gullible to attack, falling victim to attrition, terrain, leadership, and sheer numbers.

The Turks take the bait, and our fleet promptly returns to guard the straits and prevent retreat.

Within 2 weeks, the battle is over, and the Ottoman army is completely decimated. We lose only 1,000 or so of our men, while the Ottomans lose 30,000. Marius orders the straits opened again, as he knows the Turks have a habit of not learning...

At the end of November, the next Battle of Thrace is fought against the remaining half of the Ottoman army. The Ottomans are defeated again at the cost of 3,000 casualties. 4,000 to 64,000... I believe that counts as a profit. Marius personally leads his troops into Turkey to speed up the process of conquest, and crosses the Bosphorus.

The year passes by, with New Rome's troops pouring into Turkey unstopped...

 

[Tani Coyote]

1490:

With the coming completion of conversions, troops are positioned accordingly.

Austria annexes Tyrol in February after Tyrol's duke abdicates. That's fine for us, we wanted good relations with Austria, and the stronger they are the better. Austria's army doubles with the addition of Tyrol.

April 14, Marius and his troops capture Smyrna from the Ottomans. Marius moves south to capture more of Turkey's coast.

Attica is converted to Catholicism on July 16. This represents the elimination of Orthodoxy in Greece. Religious uniformity will be far easier once we convert the Balkans.

Bursa falls in northern Turkey on July 27. To scare the Sultan, Alfonso(yes he's somehow still breathing)'s troops are sent towards Ankara. If we capture Ankara, the Ottomans are defeated.

August, the Ottomans offer us Asmara and Menteshe. But we want the whole Ottoman coastline. So we refuse. A week after, Saruhan is taken.

Shortly after, Menteshe falls as well to Marius and his men. Marius authorises a push deeper into Turkey.

Forgetting to move our men into Tripoli... the city is take and annexed by Lithuania. No matter, they won't hold it long.

October 12, we successfully convert the sparsely-populated region of Matruh in Egypt. October 29, another inquisition is successful in Alexandria. We seem to be lucky this year.

November, Gharbiyah in the Nile Delta follows the mass conversion to Catholicism. The Pope grows more and more powerful with each new convert. But Marius keeps an eye on him...

The Nile Delta is fully converted when Daqahliyah converts on November 11th.

Fresh Ottoman troops attack us in late November. But they are defeated due to their low morale. The Ottomans only have about one or two-thousand troops left.

November 27, the Fayum is converted. Islam has been eliminated from New Roman Egypt. Once Syria is converted, we can adjust our tolerance sliders to give us minimal revolt risk.

November 29, Germiyan falls. In the course of one year, almost half of Turkey has fallen to the empire.

December, we take Teke. The whole Mediterranean coast of the Ottoman Empire now belongs to New Rome.

 

[Tani Coyote]

Empire Map of 1489. Notice the addition of Cyprus.

 

[Tani Coyote]

1491:

Only after little more then a year of conflict, the Ottoman Empire has fallen apart. Without allies and without armies, it is at the mercy of the New Roman troops, who push deeper with each passing day.

July 2, Brandenburg declares war on the new state of Holstein - and all it's allies desert. Marius orders his diplomats to secure Austria's allegiance immediately. The Austrian Archduke accepts without any question, as he's positive New Rome will aid him in his imperial ambitions.

September 1, we simultaneously take Bolu and Ankara from the Ottomans. The Sultan has long since fled East, however, trying to rally support from the Mamluks and other regimes - such as Ak Koyunlu.

In the last months of the year, we do not capture anymore cities, but the rest of the Ottoman Empire hangs by a narrow string. 2/3 of the country is ours, while the remaining 3rd is under siege.

 

[Tani Coyote]

1493 Part 1:

We try to make peace with Bayezid in January. He refuses, even though he gets a spared 15% warscore.

All the way to June, Bayezid keeps refusing, driving his country's stability to -3. But he finally cracks.

--- End of the Fourth Ottoman War and it's Consequences ---

What Bayezid II originally thought would allow him to reclaim lost territory caused him to lose even more. His surprise attack on New Rome did not help him or his empire in any way. Marius imposed harsh terms on the Turks, making their New Year not so happy.

Bayezid was forced to cede all his land around the Mediterranean. He was also forced to fork over Germiyan in the interior of Turkey. Finally, he had to dismantle his conscription center in Ankara and pay an indemnity of 75,000 ducats. Bayezid would refuse the terms several times, but he eventually caved in when Marius took off the provinces of Teke and Bursa.

Under duress and given more generous terms, he had no choice but accepting. Turkey's role as a great power was considered ended by his submission. Ak Koyonlu officially took the mantle of the Islamic great power.

Effects:

Ottoman conscription center in Ankara removed.
Ak Koyunlu put in Latin tech group. Ak Koyunlu gets cores on all remaining Ottoman territory. Conscription centers built in Baghdad and their capital.

---

We take a huge slab of western Turkey in 4 provinces. Bayezid is humiliated in the eyes of the world, and his country consumed by anarchy.

 

[Tani Coyote]

Empire Map of 1493. Obviously, western Turkey has been added. Our next territorial expansion will be to the West.

 

[DJ Bonebraker]

Interesting story... Not sure if I follow how the game mechanics work here, but since I've played Medieval Total War (and won as DENMARK ), I think I have some idea....

Are the events in this game sort of like in Medieval TW: I.e. they happen regardless of what may have transpired (i.e. I'd taken over most of germany from the Almohad Caliphate, when all of a sudden the "Swiss Confederation" popped up in the middle of my empire, only to get ruthlessly crushed a year later)?

 

[Tani Coyote]

Interesting story... Not sure if I follow how the game mechanics work here, but since I've played Medieval Total War (and won as DENMARK ), I think I have some idea....

Are the events in this game sort of like in Medieval TW: I.e. they happen regardless of what may have transpired (i.e. I'd taken over most of germany from the Almohad Caliphate, when all of a sudden the "Swiss Confederation" popped up in the middle of my empire, only to get ruthlessly crushed a year later)?

Most events are determined by circumstances and choices. For instance, Austria will only inherit Burgundy if a) Burgundy exists and b) if Burgundy chooses to be inherited - which it will if it's played by the AI.

There are some events which just can't be controlled and happen regardless, for instance, Venice will get the plague.

Most events in AGCEEP-MyMap(the mod I'm playing), DO make it so that most events aren't predetermined, and it all depends on who's playing who and what choices they make. For instance, in that event 'Blinding the Two Eyes of the Republic', I could've chosen option B, which would've avoided war with the Ottomans, but cost me my claims in Greece. So I chose war because I knew how to play the AI's weaknesses. I took out 60,000+ men while losing only 4,000! Goes to show how easily tricked the AI is...

 

[Tani Coyote]

I also recommend buying it if you ever have the spare change lying around... it's only 10 dollars on Gamersgate. Definitely worth the price, it's even more addicting than Civilisation for me.