Kennelly
Starfleet Admiral
Constantinople,July 16th 1890
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Sultan Mehmet III walked through the halls of the High Gate in Constantinople,the palace of the Ottoman rulers.So many great rulers like Suleyman the Splendid or Mehmet II had lived and ruled here,when the Ottomans were feared all over the world and their soldiers marched through Cairo,Baghdad,Mecca,Belgrade,Athens,Budapest and almost Vienna.But then,a long decline had begun in the 17th century and more and more territories had fallen to the European imperialists-North Africa,Hungary,Greece,Romania,Bulgaria,Serbia,Albania and only 18 years ago Baghdad had fallen to the new German Empire,ambushing the outdated Ottomans with the newest weapons and forcing them to a humiliating peace.
Following this defeat the old Sultan had been overthrown by Mehmets father,Isnogud. Isnogud was a great man and for the first time in 200 years he had gained new land for the Ottomans.For the last time,the Janitschars were succesful;Persia had been defeated,as well as the Central Asian nomads like Tajiks or Kazachs and even the warring Afghans,whom had resisted the British empire successfully,had been subjugated,at least partly.But now Isnogud was dead and Mehmet had to rule a once again shaking empire.
Afghan,Arabian and Persian rebels were plaging the lands,attacking convoys,outposts,patrols and breaking trade routes to the new eastern lands.Mehmet knew,only with European technology,tactics and thoughts the Ottoman Empire could survive these dangerous times as the last nation honouring Allah's words.
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58 km east of Ankara,May 3rd 1893
Mehmet smiled when he overlooked the fertile valley before him.In the dawn,he could see hundreds of men working on the new railroad Constantinople-Ankara-Mosul.This railroad was the first in the Turkish lands,but many more would follow.Things were going well for the Empire.Mehmet was a man of Great faith and some even said he was a new prophet.He had managed to end the Persian,Arabian and Afghan resistance by convincing them all Muslims had to stand together to remain independent from Christian oppression like in Egypt,Malaya or India.
Of course,there had been rebels who refused to lay down weapons,but they were no more.Mehmet had build new barracks around the country,reorganized the military command structure and education after European model and introduced new techniques into the Ottoman military.Already thousands of Riflemen and cavalrists were protecting the Empire and it became more with everyday.
But Mehmet not only was a great administrator and a military genius,but also a skilled diplomat.He had been able to establish embassies in all important countries of the world and some rulers even liked him so much,that they had signed Defensive pacts with him,most notably King Emmanuele of Italy.By the Italians and the British,who did not want his land to fall to the Russians or Austrians,he had also acquired new technologies,which had not only allowed them to build the railroads laying before him,but also riflemen or ironclads.Soon,the first Ironclads would leave the shipyards and once again restore the glory of the Ottoman navy,lost in Lepanto in 1571.But the price for all of it,was the complete ruin of the Ottoman treasury.This became even worse,as had to import resources like Iron or coal,needed for these new modern weapons.His only hope was one of his augurs,who had told him a strange black liquour found in the Arabian desert would someday get very valuable.
For the moment,he had seen enough.He changed his horse and together with the Imperial guard he rode back to his residence in Ankara,where new work waited for him.
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This story is based on the scenario "The world 1850-1900" by _Impreza_
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Sultan Mehmet III walked through the halls of the High Gate in Constantinople,the palace of the Ottoman rulers.So many great rulers like Suleyman the Splendid or Mehmet II had lived and ruled here,when the Ottomans were feared all over the world and their soldiers marched through Cairo,Baghdad,Mecca,Belgrade,Athens,Budapest and almost Vienna.But then,a long decline had begun in the 17th century and more and more territories had fallen to the European imperialists-North Africa,Hungary,Greece,Romania,Bulgaria,Serbia,Albania and only 18 years ago Baghdad had fallen to the new German Empire,ambushing the outdated Ottomans with the newest weapons and forcing them to a humiliating peace.
Following this defeat the old Sultan had been overthrown by Mehmets father,Isnogud. Isnogud was a great man and for the first time in 200 years he had gained new land for the Ottomans.For the last time,the Janitschars were succesful;Persia had been defeated,as well as the Central Asian nomads like Tajiks or Kazachs and even the warring Afghans,whom had resisted the British empire successfully,had been subjugated,at least partly.But now Isnogud was dead and Mehmet had to rule a once again shaking empire.
Afghan,Arabian and Persian rebels were plaging the lands,attacking convoys,outposts,patrols and breaking trade routes to the new eastern lands.Mehmet knew,only with European technology,tactics and thoughts the Ottoman Empire could survive these dangerous times as the last nation honouring Allah's words.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
58 km east of Ankara,May 3rd 1893
Mehmet smiled when he overlooked the fertile valley before him.In the dawn,he could see hundreds of men working on the new railroad Constantinople-Ankara-Mosul.This railroad was the first in the Turkish lands,but many more would follow.Things were going well for the Empire.Mehmet was a man of Great faith and some even said he was a new prophet.He had managed to end the Persian,Arabian and Afghan resistance by convincing them all Muslims had to stand together to remain independent from Christian oppression like in Egypt,Malaya or India.
Of course,there had been rebels who refused to lay down weapons,but they were no more.Mehmet had build new barracks around the country,reorganized the military command structure and education after European model and introduced new techniques into the Ottoman military.Already thousands of Riflemen and cavalrists were protecting the Empire and it became more with everyday.
But Mehmet not only was a great administrator and a military genius,but also a skilled diplomat.He had been able to establish embassies in all important countries of the world and some rulers even liked him so much,that they had signed Defensive pacts with him,most notably King Emmanuele of Italy.By the Italians and the British,who did not want his land to fall to the Russians or Austrians,he had also acquired new technologies,which had not only allowed them to build the railroads laying before him,but also riflemen or ironclads.Soon,the first Ironclads would leave the shipyards and once again restore the glory of the Ottoman navy,lost in Lepanto in 1571.But the price for all of it,was the complete ruin of the Ottoman treasury.This became even worse,as had to import resources like Iron or coal,needed for these new modern weapons.His only hope was one of his augurs,who had told him a strange black liquour found in the Arabian desert would someday get very valuable.
For the moment,he had seen enough.He changed his horse and together with the Imperial guard he rode back to his residence in Ankara,where new work waited for him.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This story is based on the scenario "The world 1850-1900" by _Impreza_
Very nice. 
