Yes and a map of the present situation too would be good.
- Status
Deleted member 67076
I'll try to work on a map of the present situations and put that in the Story Only thread. Something a bit better than the previous map, since I didn't like how I ended up splitting it into 2 maps.
As for continuing, I am working on it but the pace is glacially slow as I've got been swamped with work (never try to do 2 Bachelor Degrees at the same time kids; your free time shrinks drastically) that I'm trying to get done before I start working on Renovation again, lest I neglect anything important.
It's on Paradox Plaza, it's one of the big mods so it's easy to find:
https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/index.php?forums/meiou-and-taxes.839/
Deleted member 67076
B-29_Bomber
Banned
Not really. I've been distracted by RL.
I probably won't make it until M&T 2.0 is released.
Dragos Cel Mare
Banned
Okay, to keep this thread alive, I have become addicted to Extended Timeline, a mod for Europa Universalis IV.
Is there a strategy/method to emulate Renovation's achievements in that mod?
Is there a strategy/method to emulate Renovation's achievements in that mod?
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Um... the command console? I haven't played EU4 since I got into coding...
IFwanderer
Banned
Since I'm here, I want to point out, Soverihn gave a LIKE to the post above, so take that as him agreeing with the sentiment of "stop bumping the thread".
Also, since I'm generally a lurker: Nice TL!
Also, since I'm generally a lurker: Nice TL!
42
Deleted member 67076
This was long overdue. Apologies for being so... out of the loop and infrequent with these things.
----
A child is on the imperial throne once more. This is never a good sign, for children are often isolated from the harsh realities of the imperial court. They are dominated by the few figures they see, and the few who they can trust. They are normally ignorant of the realities of their gatekeepers. Or perhaps, the children than that are exposed too early to the great game of politics; their innocence warping into paranoia, megalomania, and the mild sociopathy inherent in the cutthroat world of politics.
Lady Maria Palaiologina begins as the former. Her father Manuel II had been indulgent to her, giving her the best childhood one could offer at this time period. For Manuel had been too good of a man to be emperor, and had shielded his daughter from both the day to day affairs of government and its seedy underbelly. Nonetheless, he had been prudent enough to see her educated by the finest tutors that he could find. Her world is a happy one, if somewhat dull. But Manuel had inadvertently become her gatekeeper- serving as a block between the political realm and herself. She knew nothing of dignitaries and meetings beyond the imagination of a child. With the death of her father, the role of gatekeeper had passed on to the Mezazon, Basil.
It is not known if the two had ever met much beforehand; plenty of idle speculation on this has been the subject of centuries, yet there has been little concrete evidence given Manuel’s attempts to shield his daughter from government affairs. It would seem reasonable to believe the two must have met at some point, but it would be unlikely there had been much contact until Manuel’s untimely death to plague. Regardless of familiarity, the two would have to be in contact with one another; Basil was now her regent, and in practice, her new gatekeeper. Or so he tries to be. Her uncles would say otherwise, and in the end, they would end up having the most personal influence on her than anything else.
Still, decades would pass before she would leave the shadow of his rule. The Mezazon had been a middle aged man, well into his 40s on the day he ascended to the power behind the throne. But regardless of years he was still in great shape for a man of his age, with clarity of mind and a robustness to his health, and would lead the empire for 2 more decades to come. This -as with any period in history- is a time of change.
Basil’s rule is characterized by his loyalties. The man was walking a very thin line between the military-aristocratic complex, between the commercial-bureaucratic axis (and their patron the Bulgarian Empire), and the church. It is a tense position; we cannot fault the man for wanting security in such a high stakes environment. He knows that to obtain legitimacy, he must benefit the empire and/or his own allies while sidelining the others. And while he cannot simply dispossess peasants of their land, he can sell off state lands to private actors, and bribe his way into obtaining some extra support. Additionally, new lands that have come into Roman possession during his rule, were also given first pick to his support base.
It is a slow, grinding process... but a successful one. The decades of commercial rule that had so characterized Rhomania’s Renovation were coming to an end, and a new generation of Dynatoi had once more come to power.
One might be asking, why is this so? Why hadn’t they been stopped in their tracks by the institutions of the government designed to (initially) break the back of these elites? And why hadn’t the other classes of Romania competed with them?
An important reason, is that like all elites, they began to adapt to the changing times.
These new breed of men were different than the aristocrats of old, despite their constant harping of “classical values”. They were not carbon copies of their Western counterparts, living merely off the land and joining the army as in the olden days. A large contingent of these were men and women who were business owners, who came from the caste of Romans who had seen their fortunes rise with the state owned commercial businesses, and by marrying into Middle Class families that had their claim to fame backed by capital, not land. They are, in a sense, the synthesis of the classical Roman Elites of land and army, and the New Roman Elites of the navy and business. As time passed, the stigma of trade had simply removed itself from the cultural consciousness, and more and more of the nouveau riche began to dip their toes into mercantile activities- setting up banks, cottage industries, shipping businesses, and generally diversifying their portfolios. Similarly, many rising families were eager to solidify their prestige by marrying into prestigious clans, and this gave them a much needed injection of capital.
But perhaps the main reason for the gross expansion in power of the Dynatoi (that ones that initially brought much ruin to Rhomania) ironically comes from her successes. The 1420s and 1430s would see something that had been long awaited centuries by the Roman Empire: the reconquest of Central Anatolia. Now freed from constraints in the west, the establishment of a robust economy, and increasingly well adapted to the combat of the frontier Rome finally found herself with the strength needed to break the back of the Turks that plagued her for centuries.
This process was at first more of a way to shore up support for the regime of Basil the Spaniard; curbing raids and clearing land was a solid choice to get support from the border guards and militias of the frontier. However then came surprising success against unruly tribesmen in counter raids. New weapons, new tactics, and a steady system of fortifications had managed to push against light cavalry and take the fight to the invaders themselves.
These small victories in the late 1410s/early 1420s had led Basil to decide to gamble on a much larger, much riskier move. And this was an initially limited invasion of Karaman territory, aiming principally for Ancyra (as a best case scenario). The result however, was far better than expected.
Unlike its predecessors, the Karamanids did not innovate their government or military to a large extent, resorting to a rather… basic Persianate military composition where tribes provided the bulk of the forces. These forces however were unable to counter the slow, methodical approach of the Roman invasion. Roman cannons, rocketry (an innovation heartily accepted by the Romans as a means to break enemy lines in narrow passes) and the extensive use of pikemen were a perfect counter to traditional tactics of Turkmen style light cavalry. Roman troops usually did not fall to false retreats, and were perfectly content to play the long game, holding down whatever land they’ve earned.
Rome did not advance swiftly; Basil and his generals were not arrogant enough for that. They knew they’re victory at home dependent on victory abroad, and took the least amount of risks. The bulk of available troops were steadily relocated to Asia before the campaigning, and were ensured to be well supplied and well provisioned.
Once on the frontier they marched, town after town, building fortification after fortification and conserving their troops wisely. And they were merciless. Roman troops were like lava, a slow yet deadly force. What happens here would by modern standards be considered ethnic cleansing, as countless resisting tribesmen (particularly nomads) were captured, enslaved and deported all throughout the empire. Those that ran away were pushed to the mountains and whatever marginal territory available for them, but even there they were periodically harassed and labeled mere bandits, fit for extermination. Those that chose to submit were used against their ethnic kinsmen as auxiliaries and scouts, and well rewarded for their efforts.
The game was total war, and Basil and his men could not accept defeat. This set of policies led the Karamanids to get risky and take a gamble on a mass assault to attempt to push back the Romans. Yet this maneuver would prove to be their downfall. The flower of the Karamanid nobility was decisively broken on the outskirts of Konya.
Their collapse meant the sultanate’s collapse. As the Seljuqs before them, a decisive destruction of their army led to a demolition of legitimacy, and numerous warlord emirates popped up, seeking fortune. Here, is the deathblow to any real resistance to the Roman approach.
This was a long war, beginning in 1421 and ending in 1429. Yet it was worth it. Cappadocia, the traditional power base of the Eastern Roman Empire from the fall of Yarmouk to the ascent of Alexios Komnenos, was finally regained. Basil the Spaniard had obtained vast amounts of land to dole out to his followers, and the military was vindicated with a tremendous victory. And with this land, came the vital rearrangement of the balance of power; the nobility was given the land first and foremost, and the citizens of the conquered territory were reduced to tenants at best.
----
A child is on the imperial throne once more. This is never a good sign, for children are often isolated from the harsh realities of the imperial court. They are dominated by the few figures they see, and the few who they can trust. They are normally ignorant of the realities of their gatekeepers. Or perhaps, the children than that are exposed too early to the great game of politics; their innocence warping into paranoia, megalomania, and the mild sociopathy inherent in the cutthroat world of politics.
Lady Maria Palaiologina begins as the former. Her father Manuel II had been indulgent to her, giving her the best childhood one could offer at this time period. For Manuel had been too good of a man to be emperor, and had shielded his daughter from both the day to day affairs of government and its seedy underbelly. Nonetheless, he had been prudent enough to see her educated by the finest tutors that he could find. Her world is a happy one, if somewhat dull. But Manuel had inadvertently become her gatekeeper- serving as a block between the political realm and herself. She knew nothing of dignitaries and meetings beyond the imagination of a child. With the death of her father, the role of gatekeeper had passed on to the Mezazon, Basil.
It is not known if the two had ever met much beforehand; plenty of idle speculation on this has been the subject of centuries, yet there has been little concrete evidence given Manuel’s attempts to shield his daughter from government affairs. It would seem reasonable to believe the two must have met at some point, but it would be unlikely there had been much contact until Manuel’s untimely death to plague. Regardless of familiarity, the two would have to be in contact with one another; Basil was now her regent, and in practice, her new gatekeeper. Or so he tries to be. Her uncles would say otherwise, and in the end, they would end up having the most personal influence on her than anything else.
Still, decades would pass before she would leave the shadow of his rule. The Mezazon had been a middle aged man, well into his 40s on the day he ascended to the power behind the throne. But regardless of years he was still in great shape for a man of his age, with clarity of mind and a robustness to his health, and would lead the empire for 2 more decades to come. This -as with any period in history- is a time of change.
Basil’s rule is characterized by his loyalties. The man was walking a very thin line between the military-aristocratic complex, between the commercial-bureaucratic axis (and their patron the Bulgarian Empire), and the church. It is a tense position; we cannot fault the man for wanting security in such a high stakes environment. He knows that to obtain legitimacy, he must benefit the empire and/or his own allies while sidelining the others. And while he cannot simply dispossess peasants of their land, he can sell off state lands to private actors, and bribe his way into obtaining some extra support. Additionally, new lands that have come into Roman possession during his rule, were also given first pick to his support base.
It is a slow, grinding process... but a successful one. The decades of commercial rule that had so characterized Rhomania’s Renovation were coming to an end, and a new generation of Dynatoi had once more come to power.
One might be asking, why is this so? Why hadn’t they been stopped in their tracks by the institutions of the government designed to (initially) break the back of these elites? And why hadn’t the other classes of Romania competed with them?
An important reason, is that like all elites, they began to adapt to the changing times.
These new breed of men were different than the aristocrats of old, despite their constant harping of “classical values”. They were not carbon copies of their Western counterparts, living merely off the land and joining the army as in the olden days. A large contingent of these were men and women who were business owners, who came from the caste of Romans who had seen their fortunes rise with the state owned commercial businesses, and by marrying into Middle Class families that had their claim to fame backed by capital, not land. They are, in a sense, the synthesis of the classical Roman Elites of land and army, and the New Roman Elites of the navy and business. As time passed, the stigma of trade had simply removed itself from the cultural consciousness, and more and more of the nouveau riche began to dip their toes into mercantile activities- setting up banks, cottage industries, shipping businesses, and generally diversifying their portfolios. Similarly, many rising families were eager to solidify their prestige by marrying into prestigious clans, and this gave them a much needed injection of capital.
But perhaps the main reason for the gross expansion in power of the Dynatoi (that ones that initially brought much ruin to Rhomania) ironically comes from her successes. The 1420s and 1430s would see something that had been long awaited centuries by the Roman Empire: the reconquest of Central Anatolia. Now freed from constraints in the west, the establishment of a robust economy, and increasingly well adapted to the combat of the frontier Rome finally found herself with the strength needed to break the back of the Turks that plagued her for centuries.
This process was at first more of a way to shore up support for the regime of Basil the Spaniard; curbing raids and clearing land was a solid choice to get support from the border guards and militias of the frontier. However then came surprising success against unruly tribesmen in counter raids. New weapons, new tactics, and a steady system of fortifications had managed to push against light cavalry and take the fight to the invaders themselves.
These small victories in the late 1410s/early 1420s had led Basil to decide to gamble on a much larger, much riskier move. And this was an initially limited invasion of Karaman territory, aiming principally for Ancyra (as a best case scenario). The result however, was far better than expected.
Unlike its predecessors, the Karamanids did not innovate their government or military to a large extent, resorting to a rather… basic Persianate military composition where tribes provided the bulk of the forces. These forces however were unable to counter the slow, methodical approach of the Roman invasion. Roman cannons, rocketry (an innovation heartily accepted by the Romans as a means to break enemy lines in narrow passes) and the extensive use of pikemen were a perfect counter to traditional tactics of Turkmen style light cavalry. Roman troops usually did not fall to false retreats, and were perfectly content to play the long game, holding down whatever land they’ve earned.
Rome did not advance swiftly; Basil and his generals were not arrogant enough for that. They knew they’re victory at home dependent on victory abroad, and took the least amount of risks. The bulk of available troops were steadily relocated to Asia before the campaigning, and were ensured to be well supplied and well provisioned.
Once on the frontier they marched, town after town, building fortification after fortification and conserving their troops wisely. And they were merciless. Roman troops were like lava, a slow yet deadly force. What happens here would by modern standards be considered ethnic cleansing, as countless resisting tribesmen (particularly nomads) were captured, enslaved and deported all throughout the empire. Those that ran away were pushed to the mountains and whatever marginal territory available for them, but even there they were periodically harassed and labeled mere bandits, fit for extermination. Those that chose to submit were used against their ethnic kinsmen as auxiliaries and scouts, and well rewarded for their efforts.
The game was total war, and Basil and his men could not accept defeat. This set of policies led the Karamanids to get risky and take a gamble on a mass assault to attempt to push back the Romans. Yet this maneuver would prove to be their downfall. The flower of the Karamanid nobility was decisively broken on the outskirts of Konya.
Their collapse meant the sultanate’s collapse. As the Seljuqs before them, a decisive destruction of their army led to a demolition of legitimacy, and numerous warlord emirates popped up, seeking fortune. Here, is the deathblow to any real resistance to the Roman approach.
This was a long war, beginning in 1421 and ending in 1429. Yet it was worth it. Cappadocia, the traditional power base of the Eastern Roman Empire from the fall of Yarmouk to the ascent of Alexios Komnenos, was finally regained. Basil the Spaniard had obtained vast amounts of land to dole out to his followers, and the military was vindicated with a tremendous victory. And with this land, came the vital rearrangement of the balance of power; the nobility was given the land first and foremost, and the citizens of the conquered territory were reduced to tenants at best.
- Status