An Age of Miracles Continues: The Empire of Rhomania
- Thread starter Basileus444
- Start date
Wait a second, I don't get it. Why is Lithuania here called Lithuania? It holds no Lithuanian territory in the map.
Ah, yes it does. Those lands were lost to the German Emperor and his coalition during the Great Northern War and were assigned to the new Kingdom of Prussia. "Lithuania" calls itself such because that's the one name, one symbol tying together the whole territory. After all that's the name of the state that conquered and unified them in the first place. And I'd assume that most nobles in that land are Lithuanian-speaking descendants of the Novgorod-Lithuanian invaders that conquered that land centuries ago.
Hahahahahaha, who does this King think he is, Rhomania can swat Poland away like a fly if they invade by themselves...oh wait. But seriously, it seems like he would be the type of ruler that unnecessary provokes everyone around him, perhaps he tries to challenge the Germans as the preeminent catholic monarch and gets squashed.
Also really interesting to see how well developed the 2nd tier powers are, they can really hold their own, especially compared to how things were in OTL. When the Europe wide conflicts roll around they'll be even more destructive and devastating.
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Looks like the Spanish will have a better developed industry TTL without access to unlimited American gold. Mexican-Chinese trade via Pyrgos sounds interesting, just how much of that gold will flow back to imperial coffers? Or will the colonies use such absurd wealth to further develop themselves and be more autonomous.
Also, it looks like all the countries of Europe are centralising much more effectively compared to OTL (seriously, a joint Cortes for Spain?). How do they compare to OTL in terms of organisation and "tech"?
Also, it looks like all the countries of Europe are centralising much more effectively compared to OTL (seriously, a joint Cortes for Spain?). How do they compare to OTL in terms of organisation and "tech"?
Evilprodigy
Donor
What is the status of Bosnia? Without an Ottoman presence there they would certainly be Christian but where does their loyalty lie? Hungary? Serbia? Romania? Dalmatia?
The border is roughly the same as the current Indian-Pakistani border.
Edit: Completely rewritten because the original was poorly put together.
I'm so sorry Basileus, but as I lay awake this fine night I have come to the conclusion it might be best to unload all the random questions that have formed in my journey across over 500 pages of discussion that led me to make an account on this website, only to show my innate cowardice, withholding launching a series of very random inquiries for awhile. I beg your pardon... but the time has come... Also, I realize with some of these you can't really be concrete, I just reckoned I'd chance asking anyways.
1.) The Wu are in a similar position as the rest of the East Asian civilization, albeit with a less friendly environment. Is it possible they'll face invasion during the latter phases of imperialism (if such exists in this timeline)? Would they have any chance modernizing their nation if faced with those greedily watching?
2.) Are the Zeng dynasty doomed to sit upon the same crumbling greatness as the Ming? I was saddened to see your original idea of a broken Mandate of Heaven was rejected by readers at the beginning of this timeline's creation. A China with no close rivals to keep them adaptive seems like it will likely lag far behind eventually.
3.) You once put forth the idea of an Imperial Commonwealth, similar to British Dominions without the Balfour Declaration. It was long ago, but is there any possibility such a rad (kill me) idea appearing in the 19th or 20th century? The Despotates seem a good predecessor for that sort of organization.
4.) Is it a fair assumption to think all colonial powers involved in Islands Asia will be looking for control of South Africa later on? Westerns for a secure port at the Cape, and Easterns (including Romans here) to prevent the additional access.
5.) Is Russia still intended to be the eventual bastion of Republicism in the timeline?
6.) Is colonialism in the Americas due to pick up pace after its slower start in this timeline? Outside of the Mexican empire of course, with its major native influences.
7.) Speaking of Mexico, are they meant to be the USA of the timeline (simply meaning by that a global power in the New World)? If not, will any power of significant global strength in the New World?
8.) Is Vinland in its entirety only Newfoundland, the Grand Banks and a few surrounding areas with St. George's river being settled by the Triunes?
9.) Who owns which of the major islands in the Caribbean and are there any colonies on the mainland besides the Triunes?
10.) Are the Germans, Lotharingians, or Aragonese involved anyway in the New World?
11.) Does Scotland have a chance of separating itself from Scandinavia, and becoming its own surviving, independent nation in the nation?
I'm so sorry Basileus, but as I lay awake this fine night I have come to the conclusion it might be best to unload all the random questions that have formed in my journey across over 500 pages of discussion that led me to make an account on this website, only to show my innate cowardice, withholding launching a series of very random inquiries for awhile. I beg your pardon... but the time has come... Also, I realize with some of these you can't really be concrete, I just reckoned I'd chance asking anyways.
1.) The Wu are in a similar position as the rest of the East Asian civilization, albeit with a less friendly environment. Is it possible they'll face invasion during the latter phases of imperialism (if such exists in this timeline)? Would they have any chance modernizing their nation if faced with those greedily watching?
2.) Are the Zeng dynasty doomed to sit upon the same crumbling greatness as the Ming? I was saddened to see your original idea of a broken Mandate of Heaven was rejected by readers at the beginning of this timeline's creation. A China with no close rivals to keep them adaptive seems like it will likely lag far behind eventually.
3.) You once put forth the idea of an Imperial Commonwealth, similar to British Dominions without the Balfour Declaration. It was long ago, but is there any possibility such a rad (kill me) idea appearing in the 19th or 20th century? The Despotates seem a good predecessor for that sort of organization.
4.) Is it a fair assumption to think all colonial powers involved in Islands Asia will be looking for control of South Africa later on? Westerns for a secure port at the Cape, and Easterns (including Romans here) to prevent the additional access.
5.) Is Russia still intended to be the eventual bastion of Republicism in the timeline?
6.) Is colonialism in the Americas due to pick up pace after its slower start in this timeline? Outside of the Mexican empire of course, with its major native influences.
7.) Speaking of Mexico, are they meant to be the USA of the timeline (simply meaning by that a global power in the New World)? If not, will any power of significant global strength in the New World?
8.) Is Vinland in its entirety only Newfoundland, the Grand Banks and a few surrounding areas with St. George's river being settled by the Triunes?
9.) Who owns which of the major islands in the Caribbean and are there any colonies on the mainland besides the Triunes?
10.) Are the Germans, Lotharingians, or Aragonese involved anyway in the New World?
11.) Does Scotland have a chance of separating itself from Scandinavia, and becoming its own surviving, independent nation in the nation?
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Deleted member 81475
Is it wrong that part of me is cheering for Theodor von Wittelsbach in the eventual WW1? I feel he's so auspiciously named: Theodoros V Germanos, Emperor of All Romans. Just meme enough to be a worthy heir to our favorite miser. Not that I think he would stay in power. Assuming he wins vs. Alexandros (who feels too good to be true) and other claimants, it'd leave Odysseus and Napoleon to take him down and dismantle the Holy Roman Empire (as Napoleon did IOTL).
Rhomania's taken some licks and the successor dynasty (Sideroi, Kalomeroi, some hybrid born of shipping Athena with Napoleon, whoever) needs a grand start. There should be only one Rome.
Rhomania's taken some licks and the successor dynasty (Sideroi, Kalomeroi, some hybrid born of shipping Athena with Napoleon, whoever) needs a grand start. There should be only one Rome.
HanEmpire: Yeah, he’s basically Charles XII of Sweden crossed with Arnaud Amaury.
Augenis: Lithuania has had bits ripped out of it both from the Great Northern War and now this. Lithuania back in the late 1300s had a huge empire that stretched almost to the Black Sea (and actually held some shoreline for a bit). The same happened ITTL so now while the heartland has been mostly lost, the old imperial domains still remain.
Namayan: Serbia’s not a Roman vassal, but it is very much under the Roman cultural and economic umbrella, although not to the extent that Vlachia and Scythia. That said, Romans and Serbs have more of a ‘history’ with each other than the Romans and Vlachs do for example.
ImperatorAlexander: Well, Charles XII of Sweden is the character inspiration for Casimir V…Take out of that what you will.
Aishio: They did get some, although they’re too small to show up on a base map this size (and I made the map a few months ago before I’d planned the Ethiopian conquest).
JohnSmith: Prussia is pulled in both German and Russian directions. Both are spoken at court (Anastasios speaks Greek which gives it some clout but at this point it’s just an old man’s eccentricity; there aren’t the demographics to sustain it). There are court factions that pull in both directions, although the Russophiles took a serious hit with the Sundering of the Rus.
Babyrage: The Spanish are doing much better since they aren’t trying to be Europe’s policeman. With their limited resources the Castilians focused more on developing their own resources. One of the goals of this TL is to make a Europe where the large gap between northern and southern Europe that arose IOTL doesn’t happen (at least neither to the same extent; northern Europe does have a lot of advantages when it comes to industrialization that I can’t butterfly away).
The Imperial government does see taxes from the overseas territories that are forwarded by the Katepanos (otherwise why care?) but a lot of the money generated does stay out east for local use.
At this point I’d say the most advanced parts of Europe are around OTL 1690 levels. Flintlocks are now the most common type of firearm (the French adopted them not long before the War of the Spanish Succession if I remember correctly) and a lot of Galileo’s astronomical work has already been accomplished ITTL.
Evilprodigy: They’re Christians. If the Bosnians had their way they’d be independent and everyone would lead them alone. If forced though they lean more towards Dalmatia since it’s the only one of its neighbors that can’t dominate it.
Mental Wizard: The Indus River is the eastern border, plus a part of the Punjab. Which means a bit of the red on the right should actually be marked as Vijayanagari…
AJustMonster:
1) The Wu do have the advantage of being out of the way and having an obvious lack of any sexy resources to pilfer like spices or silk. Although that said, outside of the Belgian Congo, did any of the Scramble for Africa make any economic sense?
2) Yeah, most likely. A united China I believe is guaranteed to suffer the same types of problem as OTL China. Once the steppe gets smacked back (as it happened here, albeit later than OTL) nobody can seriously threaten China so they have no reason to innovate. Until the Industrial Revolution comes along, massively boosts some barbarian that can now go Opium War on the Chinese. However that said, it is possible that China could handle the shock better than the Qing IOTL as the dynasty was clearly approaching its expiration date even before the British started mucking around.
3-6) All yes. There will be at least one update focusing entirely on the New World (1650?)
7) Mexico will be more of a power than IOTL but it won’t be a superpower like the US. There will be major powers in the New World (not for a long while though).
8) Vinland is basically TTL Canada, with Triune North America playing the role of British North America.
9) Greater and Lesser Antillia (OTL Cuba and Hispaniola) are Arletian and Jamaica is Triune. The rest are an undetermined (by me) mix. Triunes and Scandinavians have mainland colonies in North Numenor, Spain and Al-Andalus in South Numenor.
10) Germans and Lotharingians both have some of the small Caribbean islands. The Aragonese are not involved.
11) The problem is if Scotland becomes independent from the Empire of All the North, what prevents the United Kingdoms from coming over and killing it?
Charcolt: Theodor as Emperor of both Roman Empires does have quite the epic feel to it. It’s Charles V on steroids.
Although from Constantinople’s perspective there is only one Rome. This HRE thing is just puffed-up German delusions of grandeur.
Augenis: Lithuania has had bits ripped out of it both from the Great Northern War and now this. Lithuania back in the late 1300s had a huge empire that stretched almost to the Black Sea (and actually held some shoreline for a bit). The same happened ITTL so now while the heartland has been mostly lost, the old imperial domains still remain.
Namayan: Serbia’s not a Roman vassal, but it is very much under the Roman cultural and economic umbrella, although not to the extent that Vlachia and Scythia. That said, Romans and Serbs have more of a ‘history’ with each other than the Romans and Vlachs do for example.
ImperatorAlexander: Well, Charles XII of Sweden is the character inspiration for Casimir V…Take out of that what you will.
Aishio: They did get some, although they’re too small to show up on a base map this size (and I made the map a few months ago before I’d planned the Ethiopian conquest).
JohnSmith: Prussia is pulled in both German and Russian directions. Both are spoken at court (Anastasios speaks Greek which gives it some clout but at this point it’s just an old man’s eccentricity; there aren’t the demographics to sustain it). There are court factions that pull in both directions, although the Russophiles took a serious hit with the Sundering of the Rus.
Babyrage: The Spanish are doing much better since they aren’t trying to be Europe’s policeman. With their limited resources the Castilians focused more on developing their own resources. One of the goals of this TL is to make a Europe where the large gap between northern and southern Europe that arose IOTL doesn’t happen (at least neither to the same extent; northern Europe does have a lot of advantages when it comes to industrialization that I can’t butterfly away).
The Imperial government does see taxes from the overseas territories that are forwarded by the Katepanos (otherwise why care?) but a lot of the money generated does stay out east for local use.
At this point I’d say the most advanced parts of Europe are around OTL 1690 levels. Flintlocks are now the most common type of firearm (the French adopted them not long before the War of the Spanish Succession if I remember correctly) and a lot of Galileo’s astronomical work has already been accomplished ITTL.
Evilprodigy: They’re Christians. If the Bosnians had their way they’d be independent and everyone would lead them alone. If forced though they lean more towards Dalmatia since it’s the only one of its neighbors that can’t dominate it.
Mental Wizard: The Indus River is the eastern border, plus a part of the Punjab. Which means a bit of the red on the right should actually be marked as Vijayanagari…
AJustMonster:
1) The Wu do have the advantage of being out of the way and having an obvious lack of any sexy resources to pilfer like spices or silk. Although that said, outside of the Belgian Congo, did any of the Scramble for Africa make any economic sense?
2) Yeah, most likely. A united China I believe is guaranteed to suffer the same types of problem as OTL China. Once the steppe gets smacked back (as it happened here, albeit later than OTL) nobody can seriously threaten China so they have no reason to innovate. Until the Industrial Revolution comes along, massively boosts some barbarian that can now go Opium War on the Chinese. However that said, it is possible that China could handle the shock better than the Qing IOTL as the dynasty was clearly approaching its expiration date even before the British started mucking around.
3-6) All yes. There will be at least one update focusing entirely on the New World (1650?)
7) Mexico will be more of a power than IOTL but it won’t be a superpower like the US. There will be major powers in the New World (not for a long while though).
8) Vinland is basically TTL Canada, with Triune North America playing the role of British North America.
9) Greater and Lesser Antillia (OTL Cuba and Hispaniola) are Arletian and Jamaica is Triune. The rest are an undetermined (by me) mix. Triunes and Scandinavians have mainland colonies in North Numenor, Spain and Al-Andalus in South Numenor.
10) Germans and Lotharingians both have some of the small Caribbean islands. The Aragonese are not involved.
11) The problem is if Scotland becomes independent from the Empire of All the North, what prevents the United Kingdoms from coming over and killing it?
Charcolt: Theodor as Emperor of both Roman Empires does have quite the epic feel to it. It’s Charles V on steroids.
Although from Constantinople’s perspective there is only one Rome. This HRE thing is just puffed-up German delusions of grandeur.
The thing that differed the most ITTL is which direction they were facing when on the same field with a Rhoman army.
I am currently rereading the story and I've just read the part about the War of the Rivers (rebellion of Helena's firstborn son Andreas and husband Nikolaos Polos).
One of the reasons for rebellion was Triumvirates refusal to invade the Ottoman empire while they were entangled with Khorasan (just after Timur II's invasion). The army was at full muster, its reforms over, and foreign allies ready to participate (I think Georgians, Uzbeks, Ethiopians and Omani).
All in all, it seemed like good opportunity to prevent all this trouble with Iskandar. Triumvirate refused it on the account of cost, but instead of it Nikolaios started War of the Rivers, which must have incurred even larger expenses than potential invasion + subsidies for allies.
Since the invasion had potential for much gain and instead the Empire bled itself instead, would you the Triumvirate made a pretty big mistake (evident with hindsight)? Or does crushing the revolt and reinforcing rule of law long term had a much more beneficial effect?
Beside that, I've been thinking about Kennedy's Rise and fall of great powers. One of the more interesting things in it was the fragility of states finances during 15-18th century. In the 18th century, UK and France had to subsidize their allies which were otherwise unable to fight long and major wars, thus making them in a way a superpowers of the day.
In this era of the story, how does the TTL Great Powers stand in relation to OTL ones (by financial capacity and organization)? Europe seems much more capable here.
Who are the real first rates, comparable to OTL UK and France?
One of the reasons for rebellion was Triumvirates refusal to invade the Ottoman empire while they were entangled with Khorasan (just after Timur II's invasion). The army was at full muster, its reforms over, and foreign allies ready to participate (I think Georgians, Uzbeks, Ethiopians and Omani).
All in all, it seemed like good opportunity to prevent all this trouble with Iskandar. Triumvirate refused it on the account of cost, but instead of it Nikolaios started War of the Rivers, which must have incurred even larger expenses than potential invasion + subsidies for allies.
Since the invasion had potential for much gain and instead the Empire bled itself instead, would you the Triumvirate made a pretty big mistake (evident with hindsight)? Or does crushing the revolt and reinforcing rule of law long term had a much more beneficial effect?
Beside that, I've been thinking about Kennedy's Rise and fall of great powers. One of the more interesting things in it was the fragility of states finances during 15-18th century. In the 18th century, UK and France had to subsidize their allies which were otherwise unable to fight long and major wars, thus making them in a way a superpowers of the day.
In this era of the story, how does the TTL Great Powers stand in relation to OTL ones (by financial capacity and organization)? Europe seems much more capable here.
Who are the real first rates, comparable to OTL UK and France?
I think Andreas should do a massive reform to well everything, especially if he wants to surpass his ancestor with the same name. he should reform his government in creating the ministry system, with a prime minister, finance minister, etc.; but he should also reform the empire into provinces with their own senates. In the provincial senates, he could have like one person per county (in the province) and 2 people per cities in the senate. The provincial senates could create their own laws, add their own taxes but could not have any form of military not even militias, their laws and taxes also can not touch Imperial Laws and Taxes. Above all that he should create an Imperial Senate where each province gets to send 2 men (no women sorry not their time yet) to vote stuff but the Emperor should get a veto and can just use an imperial order to bypass them. Also, Constantinople should not be in any province and in the Imperial Senate the capital should get 1 vote so they have a voice.