Hehe, i'm back, i was having a bad time because of school but now the pressure relieved and i'm already working in the next update, which will be focused in the starting years of the Ukhawia of Wasatbahr
Dang, this is a really interesting TL. I'm going through school as well so I feel your pain. Don't feel pressured to sacrifice school for this TL (no matter how good it is) if you don't want to.
Dang, this is a really interesting TL. I'm going through school as well so I feel your pain. Don't feel pressured to sacrifice school for this TL (no matter how good it is) if you don't want to.
Muslim World - The Age of the Collapse Wasatbahr and the Base of the Maritime Empire
The Government
"Based on the Wasatbahr Archipelago, made up of the larger islands of Ghawlus [Gozo], Malitān [Malta] and Hyfasihtu [Comino], among other smaller islands, the Al-Qada of Wasatbahr run their business from the central point of the Mediterranean Sea, watching the tide behind the beautiful windows of Al-Nasr Palace, as ships from all corners of the world stop at Mu'awiya's Grand Harbour.
From Mu'awiya, his domains extend from Jabal Tariq in the far west to as far as the rich harbor of Fumitnys, the gateway to the great Empire of the Rws. On the way are those behind the great men in Kustantiniyyah and Ruma. Its upper class is more elegant and rich than all the courts in the world, controlling the largest navy ever seen and ruling the rich and wonderful 7 cities of Wasatbahr, all so identical and so unique, the less rich also have their turn, with the ever-growing population of the archipelago providing the manpower needed to construct the archipelago's ornamental works, clothing, food, and military production.
So much wealth...such wonder is too perfect to fall."
- Tameem al-Zahra, The Wealth of the Empire of the Sea, AH 319
Following the Great Raid of Tripoli, the Ukhawia of Wasatbahr underwent years of consolidation, laying the foundations for the Wasatbahrian Empire that would eventually dominate the Mediterranean.
One such base was the government, made up primarily of the Al-Majsim'kabir, the 70-seat parliament, elected between Wasatbahr's high-class and pirate merchant class (called Al-Qada because of its almost exclusive role in government). Its powers are basically treasury control, trade regulation (in every sense) and management of the Al-Majsim'sakin, Wasatbahr's territorial assemblies. Al-Majsim'kabir members elect the Ukhawia Mesheix, which has a duty to balance the powers of Al-Majsim'kabir members, having control of the ukhawia's military and diplomacy, the Mesheix also has veto power in parliament, but for the veto to be confirmed, a popular vote must be taken (among the inhabitants of the Wasatbahr Archipelago).
Wasatbahr politically divides its population between 3 classes:
● Al-Mezia Aelaa: The highest class, made up of Wasatbahr's richest and most powerful merchants and pirates, those in this class have high government benefits and also have their votes worth more in elections. They are divided into 2 subclasses.
- The Al-Qada: All those who have ever had a seat at Al-Majsim'kabir have the highest privileges of any human being in Wasatbahr. Only they can apply for Mesheix, Al-Qada can also personally demand funding for the Wasatbahrian state on their business adventures. Anyone can become Al-Qada with a Mesheix or parliamentary appointment to do so, being served as Wasatbahr's largest civic-military award.
- The Al-Ajanib: The entire "foreign" upper class of Wasatbahr, in this case the merchants born or of origin in the Halat Al-Bahr, that is, the wasatbahrian overseas possessions. They can vote in Al-Majsim'kabir seat elections (but their vote is worth considerably less than that of Al-Qada), but they cannot stand for a seat. They generally dominate Al-Majsim'sakin and thus form a large part of the coordination of wasatbahrian trade with the continental world. Their inferiority to the Al-Qada is one reason for the fall of the Wasatbahrian Empire, and during the ages, conspiracies from them were not uncommon.
● Al-Wusta: The middle class of the Ukhawia, consisting of the common merchant, craftsman and business owner, as well as the military. Although they can vote, Al-Wusta's votes count as a unit, and thus substantially less than those above. They are divided into 3 classes:
Al-Tujjar: Merchants, more specifically, the most common merchants, the least affluent and most in touch with the common people, of the members of Al-Wusta, the merchants are the second most favored group, as they can easily become high class members by making good money in the trading world. Despite a certain bias, there is no official regulation against the Al-Tujjar of overseas possessions.
Al-Junud: The military, or rather Qiada Gheouli Musalah (Armed High Command) of Wasatbahr, the organization that controls the navy, army, and connections to wasatbahr's piracy. Al-Junud members are specifically all military personnel ranked higher than Musaeid (in the army a commander who has at his command 150-400 troops, in the navy the assistant of a ship captain). They can intervene in wasatbahr policies to "restore order" in the event of instability, most often there is a status quo between the High Command, the army defends the rights/interests of the population (i.e the poor) and the navy. defends the rights/interests of the upper class (i.e the rich). In the case of the former, the armed forces (aka army, because the navy does not intervene in these cases) can strike a blow in the people's intercession in the event of open demonstrations that it is unhappy with the government, so the army must open elections (this time with all citizens having an equal vote) to reestablish order under another government. Similarly, the armed forces (aka navy for the same reasons as the army) may restore order in the event of a "popular revolution", which may end up in fighting between the army and navy, which would be one of the main reasons for the fall of the wasatbahrian empire centuries later.
- Al-Harfiiyn: They are the talented artisans of Wasatbahr, have a prestigious position thanks to their incredible work inside and outside the Wasatbahr Archipelago. Some are even richer than influential merchants, with their architectural and textile work being a very important part of the Ukhawia's commerce and economy. The issue of greater political participation by the Al-Harfiiyn would be cause for instability for a long time, and another reason for the fall of the Wasatbahrian Empire.
● Al-Naas: The lower class, made up of the people, the soldiers and the sailors. In addition to having the right to demand unconditional defense of the wasatbahrian state, Al-Naas members have minimal privileges, removing some expressions for members of the military, there are several divisions within it, but the change of privileges is minimal.
Wasatbahr's government was the basis for most of the established ukhawias of their time, but such governments were always changing according to their doctrine.
Mass Piracy and the First Conquests (746-762)
Wasatbahr, under the command of Mesheix Barehu Shakir "Al-Awal (The First)" soon turned to the piracy in which it was founded, with Wasatbahrian fleets starting a "piracy blitz" in the Mediterranean, raiding the Strait of Gibraltar to the Aegean, and accumulating slaves, valuable products and also ships.
The raids also escalated to capture posts that would serve as another base for piracy, with the first addition to the Ukhawia being made after the capture of the Dodecanese in 749, taking advantage of the Byzantine Civil War after capture, and was soon ordered the construction of extensive fortifications in Rhodes to serve as a control point for the other islands. New additions were made after the capture of the Ionian Islands and Aijtiaz [OTL Preveza] in 750, and the capture of Masaliaan [OTL Marseille], Naribun [OTL Narbonne] and Qubalat Al-Juzur [OTL Cannes] in the span of 751-755, enjoying of the chaos in Faransa to begin the establishment of control in the western Mediterranean.
But the beginning of the expansion didn't go unnoticed, in 753 Kosmos sent a fleet to retrieve the possessions in Rhodes and sent an army to besiege the citadel of Aijtiaz. The fleet was decisively defeated at the Battle of Kefalos, off the coast of Kos, the first victory of many for Admiral Ġwann Al-Muntasir, once a world pirate celebrity, he began his career in Wasatbahr with excellent performances in the capture of Masaliaan and in attacks on the italian coast, having in Kefalos his first battle as commander of a complete fleet. The Siege of Aijtiaz was lifted after the garrison was supported by naval support and Kosmos forces were forced to worry about an invasion from the Avars.
The Battle of Kefalos resulted in the securing of wasatbahrian rule in the Aegean Sea, and was subsequently captured by the capture of the central aegean archipelago, and securing a base in the region facilitated the intensification of raids off the coast of Greece and Ionia.
After the end of the movements in the fall of the First Ibrahimite Rebellion, Azure I of Faransa attacked Masaliaan and Qubalat Al-Juzur in 761, and with the aid of the abbasid governor of Al-Andalus, mobilized a fleet to ensure naval control in the sieges. After an initial victory against the wasatbahrians at the Battle of Mahun, the cooperation between Al-Andalus and Faransa succeeded in blocking the wasatbahrian ports at Faransa, with an Andalusian army also surrounding Naribun. In a risky gamble, Barehu Shakir sent a fleet of as many ships as the Ukhawia could muster to save Wasatbahr's possessions on Faransa, under Ġwann Al-Muntasir, the fleet evaded the blockades and delivered much-needed supplies to the garrison of Masaliaan and headed for Naribun, being intercepted by the Andalusian-Faranese cooperative fleet at Maghwon [OTL Maguelone], where, using tactics to split the fleet into 2 more than once, Ġwann fared decisively victorious, destroying any chance of recovery of Masaliaan, Naribun and Qubalat Al-Juzur for the Farano-Andalusians.
After the defeat, hostilities stopped, with the Emir of Faransa resolving their war with the tribes of Akba-Faransa and Al-Andalus moving their forces for a final invasion of the Kingdom of Asturias.
The war gave Wasatbahr some control over the western Mediterranean and allowed for a calmer political consolidation of the Ukhawia in the coming years, with the death of Mesheix Barehu Shakir in 766 and the election of Yusri Grezzju "Al-Muharib (The Warrior)" as Mesheix, the election was the first case of factionalism within the Al-Majsim'kabir, with Yusri being of the "Black" faction, or, the expansionists, who fought for influence against the "Blue" (The Pacifists) and "Red" factions (Those who only wanted piracy), Yusri's election would be sequenced by the start of a major campaign of expansion across the mediterranean. Which would start in the so-called "Roman Wars".
Well...people in this forum joked about pirate madagascar but this must be the first ever pirate malta, a Muslim pirate malta..and one very awesome buddy
Well...people in this forum joked about pirate madagascar but this must be the first ever pirate malta, a Muslim pirate malta..and one very awesome buddy
Muslim World - The Age of Collapse The Byzantine Civil War
The Stalemate (744-758)
Following the defeat of Kosmos at the Battle of Chariopolis in 744, the hope of a swift resolution of the conflict was quickly broken. With Kosmos having its power base in its holdings in Hellas and the Italian peninsula (although the Papacy has declared neutrality in the conflict and the fact that northern Italy is not effectively controlled by Kosmos), and with Voedos having its power base in Asia Minor and around the City of Constantine.
After Chariopolis, Voedos began in the spring of 745 a campaign to capture Macedonia. Kosmos, still working to raise a new army after the disaster at Chariopolis, bet on using an ambush strategy against the enemy army while taking advantage of fortifications in the region to force Voedos to retire due to supply problems and low morale.
Voedos then initially managed to capture Kártzali, but soon problems with supplies and raids from the bulgarians forced him to stop his siege of Philippopolis, and subsequently retreat back to Kártzali to regroup. In September Voedos would return to siege the coastal town of Alexandroupolis, and this time would receive opposition from the kosmian navy, which would maintain naval superiority, preventing the siege from succeeding. After that, Voedos would stay in winter quarters and attempt a new attack in 746. He also ordered the construction of a vast fleet of ships for the coming campaigns.
This time Voedos tried to force battle with an advance through the lands settled by the Smolenoi tribe, giving them vast riches in exchange for their help, they accepted, and thus Voedos' forces arrived in Thessaloniki, and began a siege of the important city. The sudden movement frightened the kosmian leadership, who ordered a fleet to reinforce the city and the nearby fortifications to join the army sent to confront Voedos' forces. However, that was all the thracian wanted, and shortly after the kosmian army assembled in Macedonia, Voedos left a skeleton army holding the siege and set off north to confront the kosmian army at Kilkis. The ensuing battle (which took place on July 4) resulted in the total defeat of the kosmian army, with great Smolenoi influence in the battle, the victory brought all of Macedonia under Voedos' banner, but their foray into Hellas was defeated by the same strategy of ambushes, this time implemented in the mountains of northwestern Greece. The same result happened in 747 and 748, with the main competition being the naval, where after the construction of the voedian fleet neither side had clear superiority, with Kosmos focusing on protecting the coast from a possible enemy invasion, and being reasonably successful at the work, repelling an invasion of Voedos' forces in Crete.
By 749, the kosmian army would be raised, and with that in mind, Kosmos ordered a naval blitz to remove the presence of Voedos in the Aegean. Soon multiple clashes occurred, but the biggest and most influential of them would be the Battle of Ikaria, where a kosmian fleet of 44 ships under the Strategos of Hellas would decisively defeat a fleet of 51 voedian ships, annihilating enemy naval danger. In 750, Kosmos would send an army of 23,000 troops under the command of his eldest son, Constantius, who crossed the Aegean Sea and landed on the shores of Anatolia, laying siege to Smýrna and capturing the city shortly thereafter thanks to an internal pro-Kosmos revolt in the city, and thus establishing a foothold in Anatolia, at the same time, Kosmos was sending a campaign to retake Macedonia, but on its own terms, avoiding at all costs battle on unfavorable ground for the next 7 years, the two clamants would maneuver in the macedonian camps to obtain superiority against the enemy, the main battles in this period of uncertainty would be the battles of Giannitsa (753, Kosmian Victory), Serres (755, Pyrrhic Voedian Victory) and Kefalochori (757, Kosmian Decisive Victory), and would end with Macedonia returning to Kosmos and the voedian army severely battered.
In Asia, after the capture of Smýrna, Constantius continued with his army, spending the next 2 years securing his control over the region parallel to the city, while stopping Voedos' reinforcements, with his work being completed in 753 at the Battle of Palaeokastron, defeating decisively the largest (22.000 soldiers) army sent by Voedos to the region, as a result, Constantius in subsequent years would begin a breakthrough against Voedos' Asian possessions, capturing Physkos, Anastasioupolis, Attouda, Polydorion and Attaleia to the south, Abydos, Lampsacus, Pegae, Cyzicus and Prussa to the north and capturing the entire interior of these territories.
Kosmian/Voedian Possessions at 758, the frontier marked at the territories in the aftermath of the Battle of Chariopolis
Immediately, the consequences of the defeats were disastrous for Voedos, who lost much of his source of manpower (Anatolia) and failed to succeed in Macedonia, and still suffered a massive defeat at the Battle of Kefalochori. Kosmos had the upper hand, and with 39.000 troops, took the offensive in 758 to advance to Constantinople, quickly capturing Kártzali and Alexandroupolis, to be challenged by Voedos forces on their crossing of the Maritsa, an unsuccessful contest with the forces of Kosmos crossing the river and set off to capture Thrace, with brief sieges in most cities, with the only major opposition being Hadrianúpolis (which would fall in March 759) and Heracleia (which fell in October 758).
In Asia, Constantius spent 758 in a siege of the heavily fortified city of Nicaea, with the city finally falling in November of the same year. Following the successes of 758, Kosmos visited his son in Helenopolis to agree a double offensive against Constantinople next year, with one goal: Retake Constantinople and all that is of Kosmos by right (of birth).
The Climax (759-764)
The key point of the Byzantine Civil War was definitely the Siege of Constantinople by Kosmos' forces, since anything minor going different could have drastic consequences for the history of the world as a whole. The offensive against the city began in February, when the troops under Constantius' command put Nicomedia under siege, which after 5 months, to the bad luck of Voedos (who hoped Nicomedia would be able to hold on long enough for him to organize) fell to the Kosmians after a betrayal from within the city's fortifications.
At the same time, in April, a kosmian fleet entered the Marmara Sea, and after a brief confrontation with enemies on the nearby coast of Hebdomon, secured the naval blockade of Constantinople, but Voedos would be able to send a message to his separated possessions at the Pontus to gather reinforcements, and after that, he could only prepare the defenses of the isolated city and hope for the best.
Fifty-one thousand kosmian soldiers, including greek and italian soldiers, slav, lombard, and bulgarian mercenaries, arrived in August near the City of the World's Desire, and the siege began.
Voedos had taken precautions, with the sequence of defeats ending him, suspicious, between the time of the beginning of the Siege of Nicomedia and the beginning of the Siege of Constantinople, an unknown (but large) number of nobles were murdered within the walls of Constantinople, under the direct orders of Voedos.
On land, as expected, the siege was going very slowly, with the Theodosian Walls doing much of the work, Kosmos sent armies to reduce Voedos' out-of-the-city positions, and by the end of the year would capture Kosmidion and Galata, in the other side of the Bosphorus, Constantius was struggling to capture Chalkedon. A few frontal assaults on the land walls were repelled with heavy casualties, and attacks on the sea walls were met with - at least - exotic surprises.
Under the direction of the greek inventor Grigoris Miroulis, the naval defenses of Constantinople were unrecognizable. Hired by Voedos in 756 to improve the city's defenses in case the worst happens, Grigoris introduced defensive concepts not previously seen, including, according to voedian sources of the siege:
- Large-Scale Greek Fire (i.e a hell of a flamethrower being used as a coastal defense to BURN enemy ships approaching)
- The Naftikísko, a moving structure that can take soldiers from within the walls to enemy ships, comparable to the roman "Corvus"
- Katastrofeís, high repeating crossbows, used to continually repel whatever comes near the city walls, these also being used on theodosian walls to great effect.
- Kanónia Neroú, a cannon based on the archimedes' screw, throwing water followed by greek fire at the enemies, as greek fire continues to burn in the water (thus using water as conductor for the fire), this was also used on the theodosian walls.
The first assault of Kosmos' forces on the sea walls was particularly frightening, with the fleet attacking in a moment of strong wind, leading the ships towards the walls (which would originally be a good thing), but once they approached the walls, the ships and their crews were quickly consumed by the fire launched from the fortifications, with the Naftikísko leading Voedos' troops to surprise the enemy in their own ships. Losses are estimated at between 50% to 75% of the kosmian fleet during the initial assaults on the seawalls.
Extending to 760, the siege remained in a bloody draw, with Chalkedon falling at the end of the year, and at the same time other kosmian assaults on the city being repelled, and Kosmos' forces getting worse in morale. After the loss of the first marine assaults, the battle at sea came to a draw, with the kosmians failing to impose a total blockade and the voedians not having a fleet capable of defying enemy control of the Marmara Sea.
Voedos took advantage of the opening to literally hire reinforcements, knowing that he can't stay there forever. He soon contacted Ġwann Al-Muntasir, who had already become a renowned military man in his area after his actions against the kosmians, to destroy the kosmian fleet in the Marmara Sea using his 146-ship private fleet in exchange for a large reward in gold and silver. Ġwann, who was one of the examples of the greedy wasatbahrian stereotype, accepted in the first chance and by October 760 would arrive with his fleet in the Marmara Sea, using a group of Berber mercenaries to capture the kosmian strongholds at the dardanelles, and after that, go to confront the kosmian fleet at Helenopolis, taking the fleet by surprise and consequently destroying her. All this movement attracted the attention of Kosmos and Constantius, who began planning to send naval reinforcements while Ġwann made wintery raids along the Marmara Sea.
The campaign decision came in 761, when an army of 17.000 recruited and trained on the Pontus by Voedos' General Philiskos Asius finally marched to reinforce Voedos, catching Constantius off guard at his Siege of Chrysopolis in early May. In the ensuing battle, the armenians on Philiskos' side led a massive attack on the kosmian right flank, and after a failed escape attempt, Philiskos effectively wiped out the enemy army after the city garrison noted the battle situation and went into combat. Constantius would narrowly escape annihilation, sneaking across the Aegean until he reappeared in Italy two years later.
After the Battle of Chrysopolis, Kosmos' forces no longer had an active army on the other side of the Bosphorus, and after Ġwann again defeated the Byzantines in April at the Battle of Gallipoli, they had no fleet to continue the siege. As the wasatbahrian received his pay and retired to serve his nation, Philiskos landed his soldiers on the other side of Hellespont, and marched to save Constantinople.
Knowing the latest developments, Kosmos initiates an immediate retreat from Constantinople, but Philiskos was smarter (or simply received from scouts the news that enemies were withdrawing), and advanced to ambush enemies shortly before Arcadiopolis, resulting in the Battle of Stratigeíon (with the battle naming the place, as "Stratigeíon" comes from the Kosmos quote in the battle, "He trained"), which after desperate charges by the demoralized kosmian troops, resulted in the annihilation of both the kosmian army as its leader.
After the battle, Philiskos went to Constantinople to inform Voedos of what happened, many said that Constantius was dead, so the death of Kosmos would be the end of the Kosmian cause and final roman unification would be inevitable, no? He would be wrong, but nothing prevented him from quickly securing his control over Kosmos' former possessions, but an anomaly was present, Smýrna, who refused to surrender at all, since his garrison received word from Constantius in person that he is alive and that they must not succumb to the treacherous usurper. Voedos didn't bother much, because one hour they would collapse from starvation and lack of supplies without Constantius or Kosmos to do anything. But he was wrong, very wrong.
In 763, while Voedos secured his rule over Hellas and Anatolia, he landed on the beaches of Hydrus [Otranto], declaring the continuation of the kosmian lineage and demanding the loyalty of the Exarchate of Ravenna, who, in opposition to Voedos, quickly accepted. Constantius' return quickly set Hellas on fire, with greek cities rebelling on his behalf quickly, and Voedos having serious problems stabilizing the situation. Meanwhile, Constantius was reshaping his army for future clashes, taking advantage of the hellenic revolts to gain time and develop naval bases, using the fleet previously reserved in Italy as a blueprint for building a fleet to secure coastal positions in Hellas and the Aegean. 764 would be another passing year, with more trouble between Voedos and the greek cities and suffering from wasatbahr piracy, not much beyond that.
The Campaign of the League of Athens and Abbasid Intervention (765-771)
Kosmian/Voedian Possessions at 765
In response to Voedos' inconclusive offensives against the loyalist greek cities, the League of Athens was created in September 765 with the aim of having greater command over the management of the forces raised by the cities to fight Voedos.
The largest unit had widespread positive effects on the forces of the league, which soon reused the ambush tactics implemented by Kosmos in Hellas, thus preventing Voedos' forces from completing their sieges by sheer attrition, and even gaining territory through the United Hellenic Fleet, winning battles on the Peloponnese coast and in the eastern Aegean, having from 768 the support of the Italian fleet of Constantius. In Anatolia, however, Voedos managed to gain momentum and defeat the league's army at the Battle of Mount Sipylus (767), and soon depressed the loyalist defensive cities, with only Smýrna left over by naval reinforcements.
In the years of 769 and 770, the kosmians had victories in succession, defeating an enemy fleet nearly twice as large at the Battle of Naxos (June 769), ensuring control of West Aegean's waters (resulting in the end of voedian activity in Crete in next year), winning the Battle of Chara (October 769) decisively against a divided enemy force, and subsequently capturing Larissa and ending with a victory at the Siege of Thessaloniki (Begun in 767 and ended in May 770).
This transitional period comes to an end, as Abbasid Caliph, Abdallah ibn Muhammad al-Mansur moves his armies to attack roman possessions, of both sides of the civil war. The beginning of the Wars of the Leagues, or, specifically for Wasatbahr, the Roman Wars.
Kosmian/Voedian Possessions at 771, before the Wars of the Leagues
not the calpiphate as a whole but many armies and depending on many things the bulgars can actually take more of the balkans earlier and ....even take asia minor
Isnt usually civil war weaken a state? How on earth they gonna recover, replenish manpower and coffer without couple of years to attack another nations? Unless someone funded the Bulgaria to do so.....
Isnt usually civil war weaken a state? How on earth they gonna recover, replenish manpower and coffer without couple of years to attack another nations? Unless someone funded the Bulgaria to do so.....
if its like the bulgar civil war of the OLT , it wast much of a civil war , teleriq lost the throne in 777 , at it was a pretty bloodless cue aside from some engaments , kardam took power and he was very competent
The reign of Kardam represents the restoration of order in Bulgaria
which had been in trouble since 756 as Constantine V from 756 to 775 did major damage to bulgaria
here with him dying before he could , Bulgaria is a way stronger position
if its like the bulgar civil war of the OLT , it wast much of a civil war , teleriq lost the throne in 777 , at it was a pretty bloodless cue aside from some engaments , kardam took power and he was very competent
The reign of Kardam represents the restoration of order in Bulgaria
which had been in trouble since 756 as Constantine V from 756 to 775 did major damage to bulgaria
here with him dying before he could , Bulgaria is a way stronger position
Yep, the bulgarian civil war wasn't that bad IOTL itself, and without the invasions of Constantine probably would be better TTL.
I'll not give the spoiler about it, but everything that will happen ITTL next decades will depend on which side Bulgaria picks in the ensuing wars. The name "Wars of the Leagues" isn't for nothing
Yep, the bulgarian civil war wasn't that bad IOTL itself, and without the invasions of Constantine probably would be better TTL.
I'll not give the spoiler about it, but everything that will happen ITTL next decades will depend on which side Bulgaria picks in the ensuing wars. The name "Wars of the Leagues" isn't for nothing
Yep, the bulgarian civil war wasn't that bad IOTL itself, and without the invasions of Constantine probably would be better TTL.
I'll not give the spoiler about it, but everything that will happen ITTL next decades will depend on which side Bulgaria picks in the ensuing wars. The name "Wars of the Leagues" isn't for nothing
