1493: The Columbian Crusade

Hnau

Banned
I'm about to post the first phase of the war. But first:

The expulsion of Jews from Spain. Where do the Sephardic Jews who would have been saved by Bayezid II and the Ottoman Empire go to? I'm also thinking about the ramifications of a large crusader host in Sicily at the same time as the Alhambra Decree forces the Jews to leave that island. Could we see some kind of massacre? It hurts me to think about it, but the ingredients were there for a clash.
 

Hnau

Banned
In the year 1492...

May – Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Bayezid II, gathers two armies, one at Ipsala in Rumelia and his Anatolian portion camped at the Straits opposite Gallipoli awaiting transportation into Europe. The armies in their entirety amounts to 60,000 men.

June – A Turkish fleet of 241 ships are sent to take Corfu. Italian merchants, especially Venetians, are imprisoned in Istanbul and their goods confiscated.

July
- The Ottoman army quickly occupies most of the Morea except for the coastal cities of Napoli di Romania, Coron, Modon, and Navarino. The soldiers live off the land, conscripting food and other supplies as they need it.

- A Venetian fleet of 123 ships, in addition to a Neapolitan fleet of 39 ships and a French fleet of 24 ships is gathered at Corfu in anticipation of Turkish aggression against Venetian territories.

August
– The Ottoman army under Bayezid II and Mustafa Pasha besieges Lepanto, under control of Giovanni Moro.

– The Turkish fleet clashes with the European combined fleet for days near Cape Zonchio, and for the first time in naval history gunpowder cannons are used. The Europeans whittle the Ottomans every time they meet in combat, until the first of September, when the Turks begin to fear that their superiority in numbers has been lost. The Turkish fleet thus retreats back to Portolongo, guarding Modon. Having secured the western coastline of Greece, the Europeans regroup in Zante, guarding shipments of artillery, food, and soldiers to Lepanto.

September
- Bayezid II continues to hammer Lepanto early into the month, but the city will not fall, especially with new artillery pieces and naval support. The Sultan had been counting on a blockade of the Gulf of Corinth. Soon, the Turks give up and retreat to Salonika.

- Christopher Columbus, with news that the fleet of the League of Naples was successful in the Battle of Zonchio, urges King René II to send the Neapolitan fleet to Cyprus with Prince Cem, and then from there to Anatolia. King René II doesn’t feel he has much priority in helping the Venetians guard Lepanto and take back the Modon, but he does feel that the sooner that he can get French crusaders out of his kingdom, the safer it will be. He thus orders the Neapolitan fleet consisting of 61 ships, along with 34 French vessels (King Charles VIII is hungry to destabilize Anatolia in order to take Jerusalem) and 20 Venetian ships from Naples towards Cyprus, with the Papal States providing Prince Cem and his loyal Turkish guard. Christopher Columbus is given the honor of captaining a flagship. The fleet carries 13,000 crusaders in total: 7,000 French soldiers, 2,000 French-hired Swiss mercenaries, and 4,000 Neapolitan troops.

- In late September, Columbus’ fleet would arrive at Cyprus, having encountered little more than pirates. While news had begun to spread from Italy to the Ottomans that a European fleet had set sail for Cyprus, the Ottomans were too late to beat the crusaders to the island. Venetian ships at Crete made passage from the Ionian Sea to the eastern Mediterranean difficult for Turkish ships.

October – Christopher Columbus, Prince Cem, a few Neapolitan captains and 2,000 crusaders (mostly French and Swiss) land in the beylik of Ramazanoğlu and march nineteen miles inland to their capital in Adana. There they consult with the Bey of Adara, and convince him to lend his support for their campaign against the Ottoman Empire in return for an increase of territory, including the city of Karaman. The Bey agrees to the plan passionately: if the Europeans and their captive Pretender to the Ottoman throne show potential for success, they will declare a state of war with the Ottoman Empire. Columbus and a small host return to Cyprus where the fleet and armies will winter, while 1,500 crusaders and Prince Cem journey to the west towards Karaman, to set up a government and convince the people to rise in rebellion. Meanwhile, Columbus planned an invasion of Anemur in the spring of 1493.

--

There was a simmering rebellion in Anatolia against Bayezid II due to the Turkish-Venetian War (1499-1503), beginning in early 1501… and that was when the Turks were winning! Therefore, I believe that the outbreak of conflict in 1492, combined with a loss at Zonchio and Lepanto, could escalate the tension there. Prince Cem will most definitely be successful in carving his domain out of Anatolia, as he has done before.
 
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Sounds like a plan

I don't think Charles VIII was entirely focused enough to stick to strict geopolitical priorities (his predecessor, Louis XI, was a different case).

Charles gets Bar and the King of Jerusalem title. I think he should also be given command of the crusading forces (logical from a standpoint of the forces he's bringing and his rank) and possibly a break on Venetian financing.
 
I like it so far. Are any other nations ready to join the Columbian Crusade? I would think that some countries that previously declined would join now that it seems to be succeeding. Also, do you have any guess as to what effect the Crusade will have on the upcoming Reformations? I'd guess that they'd be coming sooner...
 

Hnau

Banned
I'm modeling the reactions of European powers to the Turkish-Venetian War of 1499-1503, as I've said before, and so I believe that, as in that war, Spain will definitely join the League of Naples (Holy League? Papal League?) a little later, as will Hungary, Poland, Moldavia and hell, even Russia will throw in a hand. Several Italian states are likely to join but almost all as pure financiers and investors, none will front armies or navies of their own. The Holy Roman Empire under Maximilian will make a show of support but it too will likely come to nothing.

Charles gets Bar and the King of Jerusalem title. I think he should also be given command of the crusading forces (logical from a standpoint of the forces he's bringing and his rank) and possibly a break on Venetian financing.

I believe that could be arranged, though this could mean that Venice won't be able to afford the subsidy to Hungary (and later Poland) to join the Crusade. Hmm... perhaps Milan or a coalition of Italian states front the bill.

@ The Reformation - A part of history I don't know that much about, hmmm... How would the Columbian Crusade affect the Reformation? I guess it really matters whether the Europeans are successful or not.
 
I'm about to post the first phase of the war. But first:

The expulsion of Jews from Spain. Where do the Sephardic Jews who would have been saved by Bayezid II and the Ottoman Empire go to? I'm also thinking about the ramifications of a large crusader host in Sicily at the same time as the Alhambra Decree forces the Jews to leave that island. Could we see some kind of massacre? It hurts me to think about it, but the ingredients were there for a clash.

Well, they might end up in Poland. It was probably the most friendly country to Jews in the general period. Problem is, there was a brief period between 1493-1503 Casimir IV, John I Olbracht, and Alexander the Jagiellionian restricted some Jewish rights. However, according to Wikipedia, this didn't stop Zygmunt I and Zygmunt II from re-extending toleration from 1503-1572 and the ten year gap didn't stop Jews from getting to Poland as a refuge, presumably because all the Spanish Jews didn't leave all at once. Poland may be the best bet. Or at least, I find the notion of mixing Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews so early in time very intriguing. <<Paging David bar Elias>>

Otherwise, perhaps a country trying to pull in the wealth the Jews might bring with them...for some reason, I wonder if Henry VII might think it a cunning ploy. Perhaps he uses the extra funds to finance an early Cabot expedition?

Also, why wouldn't some go to the Ottomans? They aren't finished just yet. There's also the Spanish Netherlands, which appears to have avoided the decree.
 
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Hnau

Banned
It just seems that the transportation of Jews to the Ottoman Empire would be a dangerous process. Why would Jews want to escape to a warzone, where they would likely be killed along with the Muslims? Still, I'm having trouble finding that actual number of Sephardic Jews that left for the Ottoman Empire... Aha! Actually, as I was typing this post I just found the perfect statistical article. And, you are right, of course, that the exodus didn't happen all at one time. It's likely the circumstances could be completely different a couple decades down the road. I'm just thinking: Bayezid II dispatched the Ottoman Navy to bring the Sephardic Jews to the Ottoman Empire, free of charge. He doesn't have that freedom with the Crusade going on.

Statistics, statistics, God I love statistics.

Nicomacheus, how many Jews left for Poland in OTL? I couldn't find the numbers so I didn't put it in this equation I made to re-direct the Jews that left for the Americas and the Ottoman Empire. Hmm... well, the following is a rough draft. I basically averaged a bunch of different statistical opinions regarding the Sephardic Jew diaspora to come up with numbers that all staticians could compromise on.

- Sephardic Jew Diaspora in Our Timeline -
6,000 to Algiers
3,000 to Americas
1,000 to Egypt and Tripoli
2,000 to France
15,000 to Holland, England, Scandinavia and Hamburg
5,000 to Italy
11,000 to Morocco
55,000 to the Ottoman Empire
110,000 to Portugal
12,000 to Navarre

220,000 emigrated total
20,000 died en route (not counted in emigrant total)
60,000 baptized, remained in Spain

- Sephardic Jew Diaspora in This Timeline -
7,000 to Algiers
2,000 to Egypt and Tripoli
2,000 to France
22,000 to Holland, England, Scandinavia and Hamburg
6,000 to Italy
14,000 to Morocco
137,000 to Portugal
15,000 to Navarre

205,000 emigrated total
18,000 died en route (not counted in emigrant total)
77,000 baptized

Could lead to some interesting knock-on effects
 
Nicomacheus, how many Jews left for Poland in OTL? I couldn't find the numbers so I didn't put it in this equation I made to re-direct the Jews that left for the Americas and the Ottoman Empire. Hmm... well, the following is a rough draft. I basically averaged a bunch of different statistical opinions regarding the Sephardic Jew diaspora to come up with numbers that all staticians could compromise on.

137,000 to Portugal

I'm not sure. I'd guess they went to Poland via other states. I would bet most came from Portugal, when their decree comes a bit later. Also, OTL that decree did result in some massacres, IIRC.

Probably not very many Sephardim ended up in Poland OTL because of the Ottoman Empire's offer of free passage. What I'm not sure of is how the Sephardim would react to mixing with the Ashkenazi. The potentially fractious nature of the division may make Poland more tolerant of its Jewish population, if that is the Polish administration is cunning enought to recognize it.
 
Yeah, but the Europeans weren't much of a united front, were they?

No, but the Hapsburgs ruled: Milan, Naples (and effectively dominated Italy), the Low Countries, Austria, Bohemia, Spain, and the New World territories. They were by far the strongest European power.
 
King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castille continued to express their approval for the crusade, and expressed interest in opening up the old Asian trade routes, a development that would do much damage to the mercantile Portuguese empire who was profiting from a virtual monopoly of Asian goods.
Why would they express the approval of a brigand-pirate who stole Naples from them (Naples being an Aragonese puppet state under the House of Trastamara)?
There is also an agreement to base half of the French army in Sicily and Venice, so as to not threaten Naples as much.
Sicily was not under the jurisdiction of Naples at that time; it was directly incorporated into the Crown of Aragon a couple hundred years ago. Ferdinand and Isabella would see France staging troops on Sicily as an act of war.

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I agree with Faeelin on this one. I doubt the Europeans could take on the Ottomans in their prime without a sever thrashing
 
I'm not sure. I'd guess they went to Poland via other states. I would bet most came from Portugal, when their decree comes a bit later. Also, OTL that decree did result in some massacres, IIRC.

Probably not very many Sephardim ended up in Poland OTL because of the Ottoman Empire's offer of free passage. What I'm not sure of is how the Sephardim would react to mixing with the Ashkenazi. The potentially fractious nature of the division may make Poland more tolerant of its Jewish population, if that is the Polish administration is cunning enought to recognize it.

The massacres in Portugal, IIRC, were prior to the beginning of the official persecution of the Jews, but this were urban events, most of the Portuguese or Spanish-turned-Portuguese Sephardim settled in the countryside and were assimilated in the local population (over a long time). Regarding the Portuguese Jews, the diaspora would be mostly among the rich and educated, to escape the Inquisition.
 

Hnau

Banned
The Knights of Rhodes will certainly take the opportunity to extend their dominions to increase their security against the Ottoman Empire after Cem dies. I don't believe their territory will extend passed the nearby Anatolia peninsulas, however. They might send a force to assist fellow crusaders, but it doesn't seem like they have many men to make a huge difference.

Sicily was not under the jurisdiction of Naples at that time; it was directly incorporated into the Crown of Aragon a couple hundred years ago. Ferdinand and Isabella would see France staging troops on Sicily as an act of war.

This was an assumption based on Spanish support for the Crusade, as mentioned before, with Ferdinand II allowing Sicily to be used as a base. I can see why Isabella and Ferdinand might believe Naples to have been stolen from them, as in taken from a Aragonese blood-relative by a Franco-German, but I do not believe that the Kingdom of Naples was a Spanish puppet state. In fact, Frederick IV of Naples feared Spanish conquest of Naples during the Turkish-Venetian War of 1499 and held onto power by declaring neutrality, that is, refused Spanish ships from his kingdom's ports as well as an alliance with the Ottoman Empire. It seems the kingdom was very independent.

I can see why Spain would decide to deny their support to the Columbian Crusade... then again, Ferdinand II might just outbid the other European monarchs for the rights of Andrea Palaiologos, Titular Despot of Morea and Byzantine Emperor, as he did in OTL. That would give him a motivation to see the Ottoman Empire fall. It is also better for the eastern Mediterranean to be opened back up, as it would hurt their Portuguese competitors.

Still, even with these reasons supporting my argument, I can't shake the feeling that you are right. Hmmm... I guess I'll edit the timeline.

Are your numbers counting the ~100,000 Jews expelled from Sicily by Ferdinand II?

No, unfortunately. Where did they go, the majority of them?
 

Hnau

Banned
1493, the Second Year of the Columbian Crusade

February - Pope Innocent VIII dies. The Papal Conclave of 1493 is ridiculed for its near blatant use of simony. Roderic de Borja literally buys the election by paying off cardinals to make him the next Pope. He chooses the name Alexander VI, and while he won’t be as passionate for the Crusade as his predecessor, he will nevertheless support it.

March
– Venetian offensive on Cefalonia, to take the valuable timber there. This is repelled by the Turks. With news of the Ottomans building new ships at Athens the Venetian navy moves towards the area.

– Bayezid II sends the smaller division of his army, consisting of 11,000 infantry and 7,000 cavalry, back to Anatolia to deal with his brother Cem. After promising new territory and sovereignty to the Karamanid Turks and making deals with other fringe groups, Prince Cem has taken under his command a large part of the interior of Anatolia. His military consists 13,000 crusaders under Christopher Columbus along with 20,000 unruly Ramazan Turkish riders and nearly 10,000 Anatolian Turkish volunteers and conscripts. The crusader fleets of Cyprus largely depart to Naples.

April
- Some two-hundred ships of the League of Naples meet nearly two-hundred Ottoman vessels, many of them built during that winter or relocated from the Black Sea, in combat in the Battle of Monemvasia. After a month of clashes the battle ends in an inconclusive tactical Turkish defeat, with the Ottoman fleet retreating to protect Athens. During the battle, some 2,000 Italian and French soldiers are ferried to Modon.

– Prince Cem and his crusader-rebel army meet the forces of his brother Sultan Bayezid II in battle for the first time outside of Eskisehir. The loyalists route Cem’s upstart army and force them to retreat to their more fortified southern position.

May
– The Venetian fleet ferries another 14,000 crusaders to Modon and Coron, in preparation for a general offensive to recapture the Morea. Turkish soldiers and engineers are preparing the general area for a siege of the two cities. The crusaders conduct raids into the countryside to hinder their efforts, pillaging farmers in order to feed themselves.

- In Anatolia, Cem leads a contingent of mostly Turkish cavalry in a counter-attack against Bayezid II’s forces. The counter-attack is successful, and is followed up by bringing in European heavy cavalry to sweep up the remnant forces and drive Bayezid’s army towards Eskisehir. Internal divisions begin to show in Prince Cem’s multicultural army, especially when the European crusaders must be constantly rewarded and doted on in order to keep them from pillaging the countryside.

June
– Another 10,000 crusaders arrive in the Morea, bringing the total to 26,000. Bayezid II begins a general offensive and siege with is own army. He has prepared over the spring and winter by building new roads and stocking the area with munitions and supplies. The non-combatants of the area do not choose to support any one side, as the Ottoman occupation is as bad as the Europeans’ looting of the countryside.

– Prince Cem begins a siege of Iznik, which falls in a few short days. As his forces near the Bosporus, the crusaders are seen as a liability to Cem’s legitimacy as a Turkish leader and not a European puppet, and are sent southwards to Izmir and the Aegean coastline to link up with the Knights of St. John who are eager to join in the conquests.

– The Turks conduct raids into Albania and the Dalmatian coast, which is damaging to Venetian settlements but does not result in territorial gains. French soldiers are used to fortify Venetian ports, which is very effective. However, this forces the Venetian Republic to grant a subsidy to King Charles VIII of France in order to use them this way.

– A conference is held in Leutschau between Brandenburg, Moldavia, Hungary and Poland over the prospects to be earned in an invasion of the Sublime Porte. King Ladislaus II of Hungary is lackluster to join the war but supportive of its neighbors. Elector Johann Cicero of Brandenburg is also supportive but he gives few practical promises. Moldavia is eager to regain recently-lost fortresses from the Ottomans, while King John Albert is genuinely supportive of a campaign to contain the Turks and loot their territory. They each begin to raise an army.

July
- European crusaders pillage the region around of Izmir and generally create havoc, ruthlessly pushing through enemy armies with brute force and ultimately connecting with the coastline where they would join the Knights of St. John and help them annex various coastal territories. The Knights’ chivalrous, disciplined spirit would inspire many common European soldiers and led to a general change of attitude amongst the armies. Nevertheless, most soldiers continued to act as mercenaries. After aiding the Knights in taking various coastal fortresses from Chios to Telmessos, they join forces to begin a siege of Izmir, which would fall within a week.

August
- King René II orders the Neapolitan army of 2,000 moved from Morea to Anatolia, though nearly all of Anatolia except for the general area of the Bosporus and Gallipoli has been already conquered. This is seen as somewhat a betrayal by various powers in the League of Naples, switching from an active combat zone to an in-active one.

- Sultan Bayezid II realizes that the situation in Anatolia with his brother Cem is more out of his control than he believed. He reluctantly withdraws his forces from Morea, having been unable to defeat an opponent with nearly as many men as he and well-defended, well-supplied coastal fortresses, and sends envoys to the League of Naples to request peace, though he believed this would only buy him some time. He would then send 21,000 soldiers to Thrace to be transported to Gallipoli, in order to join with the remnants of his Anatolian division and begin driving Cem back. Defensive forces against Hungary and Turkish raiders in the Balkans are recalled as well. The Janissaries, Bayezid’s most effective fighting force of about 8,000 are extremely angry with how the war has been waged, having faced only loss after loss with no personal rewards. Their loyalty to Bayezid is gone, and the Sultan worries that sending them to Anatolia might result in their defection. Thus, he leaves them to largely live off the land around Thessalonika. Nevertheless, nearly half of the Janissaries desert to join forces with the crusaders in looting the Morea.

- Prince Cem’s forces now control a huge majority of Anatolia, with only coastal fortresses along the Black Sea and the region around the Sea of Mamara and the Bosporus out of his control.

- The leaders of the League of Naples attend a conference in Rome. The war has gone on for more than a year and the unity of motives against the Turks are gone. They are more concerned with convincing their respective populaces that the war is worth the money spent on it. The conference has two effects: the first is a partition of the Balkans. King René II would press the House of Trastamara’s claim to the Despotate of Epirus, which the Pope recognized. The Republic of Venice would receive the Duchy of Athens. King Charles VIII of France had been able to purchase the rights of destitute Andreas Palaiologos to the Despotate of Morea and the Byzantine Empire, and would control the Morea outside of Venetian exclaves (which would include half of the coastline of the Morea). Various other small Italian states would receive much smaller prizes. The second effect of the conference would be the division of the strategic planning of the different kingdoms. Also present in the Rome Conference would be the declaration of the restitution of the Kingdom of Bulgaria, the Kingdom of Thessalonika, and the Latin Empire.

September
– French forces in Anatolia are transported to the Morea, consisting of thousands of ships and a good amount of loot as well. The Neapolitans are the only crusaders remaining in Anatolia.

– Bayezid II’s army begins its first offensive against his brother’s forces. The best Cem will be able to manage from now on are stalemates.

– The French-Venetian navy clashes with the Ottomans outside of Athens with little success.

October
- Venice begins a siege of Cefalonia once more. It will fall to the Venetians within the month, to be annexed into the Republic.

- Bayezid II’s armies begin pushing Prince Cem into southwestern Anatolia, with the eastern frontier out of either’s control. There is still enough European and rebel support to fortify this portion of Anatolia.

--
General outlook at the end of 1493:

After nearly a year of controlling all but the northern-northwestern coast of Anatolia, Prince Cem is being pushed south by the full force of the Ottoman army. His soldiers, consisting of peasant conscripts, mercenaries, adventurers, militia and the odd group of idealists and Anatolian Europeans, are routed time and time again. The western coastline is dominated by the Knights of St. John and Neapolitan crusaders, of which they've built very poor relations with the populace. They are well-defended, but not for the long-term. Prince Cem expects the loss of his campaign by the spring of 1494, despite an increase of supplies from Europe. It doesn't help most of the League of Naples have turned towards more immediate gains and relocated all of their crusaders away from the Anatolia.

The Morea (Pelopponessus) has been abandoned and has been pillaged twice over and subjected to French rule, though at the moment the Europeans are having their way with the island. The majority of the Ottoman fleet is protecting Athens, but very few standing forces are defending the city and surrounding area.

The Balkans are quiet. Ports on the Adriatic Sea are left alone. However, the eastern European powers are building for an invasion.
 

Hnau

Banned
I would guess off-hand that the Sicilian Jews leave for destinations they would have picked in OTL, with little change to note. I will look over your resources, thank you for finding them.

EDIT: Yeah, it looks like some 60,000 Sicilian Jews will make their way to Naples. I don't think King Rene will have any problem with them living there. 'French fly' (actually syphilis likely brought from Spain via Sephardic Jews) will not hit Naples ITTL, so they won't be exiled from the city.
 
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Sargon

Donor
Monthly Donor
Are you still planning to post more of this Hnau? Like others, I am enjoying it rather a lot.


Sargon
 

Hnau

Banned
No doubt that I know at least someone wants to see me finish it, I will now make the effort. It'll take me a few days to wrap up an update for A Lenin-less World as well as look over the notes I took when I was researching this time period. Actually, now that I'm at university, I could check out a number of books to help me out.

I never wanted to write this timeline out as long as it went, rather, I wanted to detail it up to the point of Portuguese discovery of the Americas in the year 1500. Then I'll write a conclusion and forecast for the future of the timeline and if someone wants to take a stab at it, its free game. No doubt Columbus won't stop his crusades until he's taken Constantinople, and the Ottoman Empire, still in their expansionary period, might retake it eventually. Now doubt their spread will be hindered, but I can't see the Columbian Crusade beginning a whole new age of power relations between Europe and Asia or anything. Portuguese claims over the entirety of the Americas will also be interesting...
 
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