"Io Mihailŭ, Împĕratul Românilor" - A Michael the Brave Romania Wank
- Thread starter Zagan
- Start date
Map #36. Comparison of Romania in 1625 and in 1640
Zagan
Donor
Comparison of Romania in 1625 and in 1640
Before the next chapter is ready, enjoy some statistics.
This time, demographic trends. You have both the new (1640) and the old (1625) censusses available for comparison.
Population of Romania in 1625 (by Province and Ethnicity)
Population of Romania in 1640 (by Province and Ethnicity)
Map of Romania in 1625 (with Provinces)
Map of Romania in 1640 (with Provinces)
Geographical Notes:
1. Almost all the Province of Pannonia has been ceded to Hungary.
2. Part of the Province of Slavonia has been ceded to Croatia.
3. The remaining portion of the Province of Pannonia has been ammalgamated to the Province of Slavonia.
4. Corfu and Paxi are not Romanian territories. They are only under temporary Romanian administration and have not been included in any Census.
5. A small part of the Province of Epirus has been ceded to Greece.
6. The whole Province of Thessaly has been ceded to Greece.
7. Part of the Province of Lower Macedonia has been ceded to Greece.
8. The large area taken from the Ottoman Empire has been added to the Provinces of Lower Macedonia, Western Thrace and Eastern Thrace.
9. The Colonies (Lebanon, Holy Land, Sinai) are not part of Romania. They have not been included in any Census.
Demographic Notes:
1. Most Hungarians have been sent to Hungary.
2. The Szeklers are considered different from Hungarians and have not been sent to Hungary but allowed to stay in Romania.
3. The Szeklers (being mainly soldiers, employed in the past to guard the frontier lands of the former Hingdom of Hungary) have been deployed in the frontier lands of Romania, mainly the Provinces of Edisan and Eastern Thrace.
4. Most Orthodoxes have converted to Romanian Orthodoxy and have been assimilated into the Romanian Nation. These are most of the Serbs (including Montenegrins and Orthodox Bosnians), Bulgarians (including Slavo-Macedonians), Albanians, Ukranians / Ruthenians and a few Greeks.
5. Most Muslims (mostly Turks, but also some Tatars, Albanians and Bosniaks) have been sent to the Ottoman State.
6. A few Muslims (mostly Albanians and Bosniaks) have converted to Romanian Orthodoxy and have been assimilated into the Romanian Nation.
7. Many Greeks have been sent to Greece. The process in still ongoing.
8. All Romanians from the territories ceded to Greece, Hungary and Croatia have been taken to Romania.
9. Many Romanians from Greece, Ottoman State (Thrace and Constantinople), Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia, Venice (Dalmatia, Istria), etc have immigrated to Romania.
Conclusions:
1. The population of Romania increased with 15% in less than a generation.
2. The natality was very high and the mortality, including infantile mortality, was lower than before.
3. The emigration of ethnic minorities (mostly forced), immigration of ethnic Romanians and assimilation of the Orthodoxes into the Romanian Nation increased the percentage of Romanians from 58% to 80%, making Romania a more homogenous country.
4. At 7 million people, Romania still had a very low population. From all the Great Powers, only Scandinavia had a lower population and only Scandinavia, Sarmatia and Russia had a lower population density.
5. These trends (rapid population growth and increase of the ethnic Romanian proportion) are thought to continue for the forseeable future.
Note: New censusses will be conducted every 15 years and will be promptly posted and discussed in the thread.
Questions? Comments?
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Zagan
Donor
Thank you.
So their new territories got jews, so thats new money right?
The situation has changed. Suddenly Jews are useful as colonists in the Holy Land.
The idea is to create non-Muslim majorities in the colonies:
1. Lebanon: Local Christians + Christian immigrants from Levant / Syria and Mesopotamia.
2. Sinai: Local Christians + Christian immigrants from Egypt.
3. Holy Land: Local Christians + Local Jews + a few Christian immigrants from Romania / rest of Europe + a lot of Jewish immigrants from Romania / rest of Europe.
The Middle Ages in Europe (OTL and TTL prior to 1630): From time to time, a ruler / country expelles its Jews. They go to another European country.
TTL after ~1630: A ruler / country expelles its Jews. Most of them go to the Romanian Holy Land where they have most usual rights and are treated like human beings.
In a few decades, the Holy Land gets a Jewish plurality, etc...
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Uff Da the optimist
Donor
Bumping this.
You have a TL where nationalism and nation-states take form centuries earlier, it is simply too interesting to let go without bumping!!
At your own pace of course, just declaring my fandom!
You have a TL where nationalism and nation-states take form centuries earlier, it is simply too interesting to let go without bumping!!
At your own pace of course, just declaring my fandom!
Zagan
Donor
Sorry for the almost 3 month long delay...
Sorry for the delays.
As I had already explained earlier:
- I had some health problems. Now I am fine.
- My Computer had serious problems. Now it is ok.
- The next several chapters plus all kind of sketches about the future of TTL were lost. I have finally finished reworking it. Even if TTL has medium-low believability, I still want very much to make it internally consistent, so I have to write in advance and post sparingly.
Yes. There are TLs on this site with hiatuses longer than one full year.
Mine has only a 2-3 months pause. It will resume... tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.
Thank you. I will do my best. Update(s) soon.
Well... Yes... Maybe.
Let's say that the Eastern Roman Empire morphed from a Romance / Latin Empire into a Hellenic / Greek Empire around a millenium before TTL present time.
Perhaps it is time to have it once again in its old/new Romance incarnation.
We shall see...
Little Spoilers:
- It will not be a Greek-screw. After all, the Greek State has already about twice the area of OTL present-day Greece (although all of Thrace and parts of Macedonia and Epirus are Romanian).
- It will most definitely continue to be a monstrous Turk/Muslim-screw. I will not disclose now the eventual limits of the Eastern Christendom (Romania + Greece), but they will certainly be farther away than in Byzantine times!
Thank you all. And sorry for having to wait for so long.
And a promise (which I very much hope to be able to keep): I will update this very soon (at most 48 hours).
Before the next updates though, I will probably post a short recapitulation. (My readers may have forgotten some important events.)
Sorry for the delays.
As I had already explained earlier:
- I had some health problems. Now I am fine.
- My Computer had serious problems. Now it is ok.
- The next several chapters plus all kind of sketches about the future of TTL were lost. I have finally finished reworking it. Even if TTL has medium-low believability, I still want very much to make it internally consistent, so I have to write in advance and post sparingly.
Yes. There are TLs on this site with hiatuses longer than one full year.
Mine has only a 2-3 months pause. It will resume... tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.
Thank you. I will do my best. Update(s) soon.
So, Romania is becoming the new Ρωμανία... I like, I like!
Well... Yes... Maybe.
Let's say that the Eastern Roman Empire morphed from a Romance / Latin Empire into a Hellenic / Greek Empire around a millenium before TTL present time.
Perhaps it is time to have it once again in its old/new Romance incarnation.
We shall see...
Little Spoilers:
- It will not be a Greek-screw. After all, the Greek State has already about twice the area of OTL present-day Greece (although all of Thrace and parts of Macedonia and Epirus are Romanian).
- It will most definitely continue to be a monstrous Turk/Muslim-screw. I will not disclose now the eventual limits of the Eastern Christendom (Romania + Greece), but they will certainly be farther away than in Byzantine times!
Thank you all. And sorry for having to wait for so long.
And a promise (which I very much hope to be able to keep): I will update this very soon (at most 48 hours).
Before the next updates though, I will probably post a short recapitulation. (My readers may have forgotten some important events.)
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Zagan
Donor
Summary / Recapitulation
As most of my readers have noticed, TTL had suffered a long hiatus.
Since I am now finally ready to resume posting chapters, I decided to post a short Recapitulation first, as many readers may have forgotten important events.
Recapitulation
In OTL, Mihai Viteazul / Michael the Brave was perhaps the greatest ruler the Romanians ever had (at least before the 19th century).
- He was the only Romanian Voivode to successfully invade the Ottoman Empire advancing as far as Adrianople.
- During his rule, Wallachia managed to become independent for the only time in five centuries.
- He managed to create a personal union of the three Romanian Principalities: Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania - The Romanian Lands.
Only God knows what Mihai could have managed to achieve had his life not been cut short by a treacherous assassin in August 1601.
We may not know exactly, but we may speculate... This is TTL about: What if Mihai Viteazul had not been assassinated in 1601 and lived on for another 40 years?
Maybe he wouldn't have been able to achieve a United Romania, but to create a POD and leave everything mostly unchanged is no fun, so I decided to help him a little bit (or more) with an early Romanian National Awakening. And so TTL was born.
Major events in TTL:
- Mihai receives a vivid prophetic dream in the night of the planned assassination. It enables him both to escape his OTL fate and to get a glimpse of a glorious future envisioning a strong, united, prosperous and internationally respected Romania. Convinced that the dream was sent by God, he embarks upon fulfilling both his and his Nation's destiny.
- Instead of a mere OTL short lived personal union, Mihai abolishes the Romanian Lands and creates a United Romania. The new country is strengthened by a common language, ethnicity and religion coupled with the desire to break free from the oppression of its powerful neighbours.
- The fledging Romanian State is promptly invaded by the Austrian Emperor Rudolf in an ill-fated campaign. Romania scores a decisive victory and is internationally recognized as a United Principality under nominal Ottoman suzerainty. Romania gets to have all its traditional territories North of the Danube, East of the Tissa and West of the Dniester and Bug.
- Skillful propaganda, political and religious developments, insightful legislation and a solid network of alliances (especially the close relationship with its massive Northern neighbour - Poland-Lithuania) contribute to the emergence of a strong Romanian Nation and Country.
- In a brutal war waged in the Black Sea Steppe, Romania, Poland-Lithuania, Russia (the Cossacks) and newly born Slovakia all but destroy the Crimean Khanate annexing all its territory outside the Crimean Peninsula, which gets annexed by the Ottomans.
- Romania and Poland-Lithuania exchange a few territories and enter a matrimonial alliance (King Sigismund Vasa marries Mihai's daughter). Free from external interference, safe for the first time in its difficult history and united in a single centralized unitary State, the Romanians continue their unprecedented demographic, economic and military development, looking forward to the future unavoidable confrontation with their traditional foe, the Ottomans.
- In the following decades, the virus of Nationalism spreads throughout Europe. Poland-Lithuania becomes the unitary State of Sarmatia, which modernizes itself and annexes some Russian and Swedish territories. The Holy Roman Empire descends into a bloody and protracted civil war with significant foreign intervention, the end result being a Unitary Protestant German Empire, encompassing most of the former HRE. Iberia (Hispania), Britannia and Scandinavia become Unitary States as well. Italy lags behind for the time being as the Italian Confederation.
- The Romanian-instigated Anti-Ottoman Crusade ends in disaster for the Ottomans which lose territory in Africa, Asia and Europe. Most of Ottoman Europe (the Balkan Peninsula sans Greece) becomes Romanian territory. Romania is elevated from Principality to Empire (Imperium) with Mihai as its first Emperor and almost Demigod-like figure for his subjects.
- Being recently widowed and with a tuberculous son and his only underage daughter as his inheritors, Mihai remarries during the Great Powers Conference in Prague. Christine of France becomes the Empress of Romania and gives birth to a daughter. Her second pregnancy ends in emergency Caesarean Section and Histerectomy but, against all odds, she survives the ordeal.
- Some troubles with the lesser neighbours (Hungary, Croatia, Venice, Greece) are solved diplomatically. Several internal issues and intrigues and, of course, old age take their toll on the Emperor's health who suffers a minor stroke.
- After two successful little wars with Venice, the Greeks take on the Ottoman Empire, which retaliates by engaging in massacres against its numerous and rebellious Greek population. Romania is forced to reluctantly take the side of the Greeks and the Ottomans invade Romania. The war, although very hard and brutal is decisively won by the Romanians who conquer all of the remaining Ottoman Europe stopping just short of the burning Ottoman Capital.
- The Ottoman Empire is almost completely dismembered. Romania gets its first Colonies: Lebanon, the Holy Land and the Sinai. After a decade, actual Romanian control is still tenous in most areas of the three colonies. A canal is being dug in Sinai (OTL Suez Canal). More to come in the next chapters.
- During his seventies, Mihai's health continues to deteriorate and the Empress duly takes increasingly more control of the State affairs, since Mihai's living descendants are his troubled adolescent granddaughter (Crown Princess Iulia) and his infant daughter (Cristina's child Princess Maria). More to come in the next chapters.
Now TTL is the year 1640 (some events from 1630-1640 in Romania and some other European countries are missing and will be covered in the next chapters). Emperor Mihai is 82 years old and will sadly pass away soon.
The next few chapters are almost ready (just need some reviewing, minor corrections and formatting) and will be hopefully online in about 24 hours. Stay tuned!
Thank you for reading, commenting, criticising and encouraging.
As most of my readers have noticed
, TTL had suffered a long hiatus.Since I am now finally ready to resume posting chapters, I decided to post a short Recapitulation first, as many readers may have forgotten important events.
Recapitulation
In OTL, Mihai Viteazul / Michael the Brave was perhaps the greatest ruler the Romanians ever had (at least before the 19th century).
- He was the only Romanian Voivode to successfully invade the Ottoman Empire advancing as far as Adrianople.
- During his rule, Wallachia managed to become independent for the only time in five centuries.
- He managed to create a personal union of the three Romanian Principalities: Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania - The Romanian Lands.
Only God knows what Mihai could have managed to achieve had his life not been cut short by a treacherous assassin in August 1601.
We may not know exactly, but we may speculate... This is TTL about: What if Mihai Viteazul had not been assassinated in 1601 and lived on for another 40 years?
Maybe he wouldn't have been able to achieve a United Romania, but to create a POD and leave everything mostly unchanged is no fun, so I decided to help him a little bit (or more) with an early Romanian National Awakening. And so TTL was born.
Major events in TTL:
- Mihai receives a vivid prophetic dream in the night of the planned assassination. It enables him both to escape his OTL fate and to get a glimpse of a glorious future envisioning a strong, united, prosperous and internationally respected Romania. Convinced that the dream was sent by God, he embarks upon fulfilling both his and his Nation's destiny.
- Instead of a mere OTL short lived personal union, Mihai abolishes the Romanian Lands and creates a United Romania. The new country is strengthened by a common language, ethnicity and religion coupled with the desire to break free from the oppression of its powerful neighbours.
- The fledging Romanian State is promptly invaded by the Austrian Emperor Rudolf in an ill-fated campaign. Romania scores a decisive victory and is internationally recognized as a United Principality under nominal Ottoman suzerainty. Romania gets to have all its traditional territories North of the Danube, East of the Tissa and West of the Dniester and Bug.
- Skillful propaganda, political and religious developments, insightful legislation and a solid network of alliances (especially the close relationship with its massive Northern neighbour - Poland-Lithuania) contribute to the emergence of a strong Romanian Nation and Country.
- In a brutal war waged in the Black Sea Steppe, Romania, Poland-Lithuania, Russia (the Cossacks) and newly born Slovakia all but destroy the Crimean Khanate annexing all its territory outside the Crimean Peninsula, which gets annexed by the Ottomans.
- Romania and Poland-Lithuania exchange a few territories and enter a matrimonial alliance (King Sigismund Vasa marries Mihai's daughter). Free from external interference, safe for the first time in its difficult history and united in a single centralized unitary State, the Romanians continue their unprecedented demographic, economic and military development, looking forward to the future unavoidable confrontation with their traditional foe, the Ottomans.
- In the following decades, the virus of Nationalism spreads throughout Europe. Poland-Lithuania becomes the unitary State of Sarmatia, which modernizes itself and annexes some Russian and Swedish territories. The Holy Roman Empire descends into a bloody and protracted civil war with significant foreign intervention, the end result being a Unitary Protestant German Empire, encompassing most of the former HRE. Iberia (Hispania), Britannia and Scandinavia become Unitary States as well. Italy lags behind for the time being as the Italian Confederation.
- The Romanian-instigated Anti-Ottoman Crusade ends in disaster for the Ottomans which lose territory in Africa, Asia and Europe. Most of Ottoman Europe (the Balkan Peninsula sans Greece) becomes Romanian territory. Romania is elevated from Principality to Empire (Imperium) with Mihai as its first Emperor and almost Demigod-like figure for his subjects.
- Being recently widowed and with a tuberculous son and his only underage daughter as his inheritors, Mihai remarries during the Great Powers Conference in Prague. Christine of France becomes the Empress of Romania and gives birth to a daughter. Her second pregnancy ends in emergency Caesarean Section and Histerectomy but, against all odds, she survives the ordeal.
- Some troubles with the lesser neighbours (Hungary, Croatia, Venice, Greece) are solved diplomatically. Several internal issues and intrigues and, of course, old age take their toll on the Emperor's health who suffers a minor stroke.
- After two successful little wars with Venice, the Greeks take on the Ottoman Empire, which retaliates by engaging in massacres against its numerous and rebellious Greek population. Romania is forced to reluctantly take the side of the Greeks and the Ottomans invade Romania. The war, although very hard and brutal is decisively won by the Romanians who conquer all of the remaining Ottoman Europe stopping just short of the burning Ottoman Capital.
- The Ottoman Empire is almost completely dismembered. Romania gets its first Colonies: Lebanon, the Holy Land and the Sinai. After a decade, actual Romanian control is still tenous in most areas of the three colonies. A canal is being dug in Sinai (OTL Suez Canal). More to come in the next chapters.
- During his seventies, Mihai's health continues to deteriorate and the Empress duly takes increasingly more control of the State affairs, since Mihai's living descendants are his troubled adolescent granddaughter (Crown Princess Iulia) and his infant daughter (Cristina's child Princess Maria). More to come in the next chapters.
Now TTL is the year 1640 (some events from 1630-1640 in Romania and some other European countries are missing and will be covered in the next chapters). Emperor Mihai is 82 years old and will sadly pass away soon.
The next few chapters are almost ready (just need some reviewing, minor corrections and formatting) and will be hopefully online in about 24 hours. Stay tuned!
Thank you for reading, commenting, criticising and encouraging.
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I.49. The Unofficial Regency
Zagan
Donor
When did the reign of Emperor Mihai really come to an end? Nobody knows for sure!
The Unofficial Regency
The fourth decade of the 17th century witnessed several important trends unfolding in the Imperium of Romania:
1. The slow and continuous decline of Emperor Mihai's health, directly matched by Empress Cristina's increasing control over the Romanian State. By the end of the decade, Romania would function as an Unofficial Regency being effectively ruled by Cristina, despite Iulia being clearly of age.
2. The start of a population boom, driven by several factors such as: a significant increase in the agricultural yields, overall increased prosperity, excess of available land both in the Fatherland and in the Colonies, lack of invasions or other external threats in Romania proper, etc.
3. Growing Nationalism fueled by incessant propaganda both in school and in church and a general increase in literacy coupled with wider exposure to the press. Besides its positive role of Nation building, the Romanian Nationalism started to show its ugly face in the form of several attacks against minorities, mostly Muslims and Jews but also Greeks and other Orthodoxes unwilling to convert to the Romanian Church.
4. A massive and fast increase of the proportion of ethnic Romanians because of population exchanges and expulsions / emigration of ethnic minorities (Greeks, Hungarians, Muslims, Jews, etc) and unusually easy and rapid ethnic assimilation of Orthodox minorities (Bulgarians, Serbs, Albanians, Ruthenes, some Greeks, etc).
5. A mini-scientific revolution with rapid advances in Chemistry, Physics, Astronomy, Biology, Mathematics, Cryptography, Medicine, Physiology, Geology, Mineralogy, Metallurgy, Agriculture, with parallel improvements in administration and the millitary. By 1640, Romania would be one of the most advanced countries in some of these fields.
6. Overall, by 1640, the strength of the Romanian Nation and Imperium matched or even surpassed that of the still more populous Occidental Powers. The Romanian Nation was ready for the Colonial Era and it knew it.
The following dialogues are representative of the mood and situation of that time period.
1633, Bituli, Upper Macedonia
Two Bulgarians (Macedo-slavs) in a local pub
Ilija: "So, let me see if I understood you correctly, Ivan... Are you actually trying to tell me that you are no longer Bulgarian? That you are Romanian now?"
Ivan: "Uh... Something like that, basically, yes. And my name is not Ivan anymore, but Ion."
Ilija: "Ion?! Oh my God! My best friend has become one of them!"
Ivan: "It's not like that. It's not us versus them. We all live in Romania. This is our country now and they are treating us very well, not like the bloody Turks. We should all be Romanians now. It is simply better like that."
Ilija: "It is because of that piece of land, isn't it? They bought you with a pogon [1] of miserable land!" [1] ~ 1.24 acres US OTL
Ivan: "Well... It is not only the land. My boys have the chance to go to school now. To study... And, do you know, they told me some facts they learned in their History classes. The Romanians are simply better than us. Much better. They beat the Germans, and the Tatars, and the Turks. And they freed us all. And now we have peace and wealth. Can't you see that?"
Ilija: "What about our Empire from the 1200's? Where were the Romanians back then? Nobody had even heard of them when we threatened Țarigrad! [2]" [2] Constantinople
Ivan: "Ilija, I am sorry to disappoint you, but the Empire you consider Bulgarian had actually been a Romanian Empire. All its Emperors had been Romanians. It's in the History books..."
Ilija: "Those are all lies in their books! They want to finish us off. To destroy our Nation!"
Ivan: "What Nation, Ilija? There are no Bulgarian schools, or books, or newspapers, or churches, nothing. There is no Bulgarian Nation! We are all the same, we look the same, we worship God the same way, we live the same way..."
Ilija: "What about the language, Ivan? Sorry, Ion..."
Ivan: "The Romanian language is the language of the State. We all should learn it. My children will speak, read and write Romanian perfectly. And they will be able to blend in the Romanian society, not stand out like ourselves. In the future, there will be only Romanians in this Country. What do you have against the Romanian language? It is quite easy to learn and is written with the letters all other European countries use."
Ilija: "I do not have anything against their language. I just love mine. And I will never send my children to school to become Romanians."
Ivan: "They will not be Bulgarians either. They will be simply illiterates trapped in the middle of a massive literate Romanian population. And they will have no future. Don't let your ideas stand between your kids and their future. Don't deprive them of a chance for a better life. I know, I understand you. I would have liked to have a Bulgarian State. But we do not. And we have to do what is best for our children. Please Ilija, think about it. Do you really believe that there will be an independent Bulgaria ever again? Ruled by Bulgarians? Really?"
Ilija: "... No. You're right. Our situation is hopeless. But I just can't. I can't give up my language and simply turn into a Romanian. Maybe my kids will. I don't know. May God protect us all."
1634, Turtucaia, Dobrogea
A mob of angry, drunk Romanians in the Turkish Quarter
#1: "Let's burn their houses and throw them away! The damn Turks have no place in our Country!"
#2: "No, let's better kill them all! Why should we show mercy to these animals? Did they ever show mercy to us? We have all heard what the Priest told us. About hundreds of years of suffering under their heel. About the killings and the rapes and the forced conversions!"
#3: "Yes, let's kill them all! Scum like that do not deserve to crawl under the same Sun that warms and nourishes our sacred Land!"
All: "Revenge! Let's kill them all!"
238 Turks, 43 Gypsies, 9 Bulgarians and 3 Romanians lost their lives during the 1634 Turtucaia pogrom.
The police arrived late at the scene, found no perpetrators and did not investigate further.
Such scenes of violence were unfortunately quite common during that time in the new Romanian provinces (South of the Danube).
1639, near Alba Iulia
A group of students on the Field of Science (Câmpia Științei)
The first successful hot-air balloon rises slowly in the air over the heads of hundreds of bewildered onlookers.
Petre: "I knew it! I told you that we shall be able to fly in the skies like the birds!"
Vasile: "Yes, you are right. However, that balloon is slow and bulky and cannot steer to take you anywhere you want. And besides, it is tethered."
P: "In the future, the technology will be way better. You will see, our children will fly in these balloons, by then ubiquitous, all over the Country! One will be able to get from here to any other Romanian city in only a few hours. Or even fly to other countries..."
V: "I still think that the rockets are the future..."
P: "Rockets?! Those things can barely lift themselves off the ground! A rocket weighing a few drams [3] needs almost half its weight to be the fuel! Not to mention the fact that its flight path is completely random!" [3] ~ ounce OTL
V: "In the future we will have rockets as large as a carriage transporting people all over the World in mere minutes!"
Răzvan: "I think that both of you are idealists. They are not doing this research for the people, but for the army! The balloons will safely bring invaluable intelligence of the enemy troop movements and the rockets will carry explosives to their positions with absolute impunity."
V: "And you are a bloody warmonger! The future will be peaceful. At least in Europe. The European Nations will never have to fight among themselves. We will work in tandem to conquer the whole World and bring the Holy Scripture to all humankind!"
R: "Or we will continue to kill each other like we always did. Only now we will be able to inflict more casualties in less time thanks to science!"
V: "You are a damn atheist, that's it!"
R: "I am not an atheist..."
V: "Oh yes, you are!"
P: "Those rockets are awful! Imagine if the Turks get them and aim them on us. Imagine the godless Turks firing their rockets from over the Bosphorus only to rain fire and destruction onto our capital minutes or hours later! It would be a nightmare!"
V: "The Turks are inferior people. They will never be able to master rocket science! If they were smarter, they would have accepted Christ, wouldn't they? They are clearly way dumber than us."
Professor: "Come on, class. The demonstration is over. Let's go back to the University."
1639, Adrianople, Eastern Thrace
Several Jews in the local Synagogue
Rabbi: "The Christians never loved us. And neither did we love them. All Christian Kingdoms from all times persecuted us, treated us with contempt, evicted us or even killed us. Since the Exile from the Land of Israel it has always been the same. Anywhere we lived. Now, the Empire of Romania has given us a chance that we may never get again -- the Chance to live among ourselves once more in the Land of Israel, the Land of our forefathers! The chance to rebuild the Holy Temple and the Kingdom of Israel, eternal and led by the Messiah, when the time is right. Remember: Next year in Jerusalem!"
Moshe: "But Rabbi, the Land of Israel is for the time being the Romanian Colony of the Holy Land. That means that we shall still be subjects of the Romanian Christian Emperor."
Rabbi: "Sure Moshe, but... Well, let's put it that way. Here, in Europe, among Christians, we do not stand a chance. There we shall be among our people, thousands upon thousands of Jews from all over Europe congregated in our ancient Land. Some day we shall be numerous and powerful enough to evict the Romanian Colonial Authorities and be once again an Independent Kingdom, like in the days of Kings Solomon and David. We have to be patient. We had patience for over 1500 years while we had no realistic hope besides the mere survival in an adverse land. Now, the deliverance is finally in sight. We will be able to wait another hundred years. Maybe less. And in much better conditions."
Moshe: "But Rabbi, instead of Christians, there are Muslims there."
Rabbi: "Yes. But the Romanians rule the place and they hate the Muslims. We... Let's say that we shall have a licence to kill the Muslims. And the Romanians will thank us. Perhaps they will even help us. We shall first get rid of the Muslims and then of the Romanians as well. And the Holy Land of Israel shall be only ours as it should be."
The Congregation: "Next year in Jerusalem!"
Almost all the Jews from Romania emigrated to the Holy Land, alongside tens of thousands of other Jews from all over the Christian Continent. And the Jewish emigration kept on going, decade after decade.
Meanwhile in Mihai's Palace...
1634, Alba Iulia
Cristina: "Mihai darling, you have some new laws to sign."
Mihai: "Oh... Sure my darling... I cannot find my glasses..."
C: "You are wearing them..."
M: "These glasses have become almost useless. I think I need stronger ones."
C: "I will have the optician try to get a bigger magnification. Till then do you want me to read it aloud to you?"
M: "Sure. You may shorten the unnecessary verbose parts. Just give me the basics, would you."
1636, Alba Iulia
Cristina: "My dearest, another set of documents needs your attention."
Mihai: "How many pages are there?"
C: "About... a hundred."
M: "My dear, I am feeling very tired. Could you please... Do it for me. I need to rest. Nobody will know. I will just sign them."
C: (smiling) "Do you trust my judgement so much?"
M: (smiling back) "I do. Go ahead, be Regent of Romania. Unofficial, of course."
1638, Alba Iulia
Cristina: "My darling, you have to sign some papers, please."
Mihai: "Oh, please. You know my signature very well. You sign them for me."
C: "Sure, darling. I will do that for you. But I also wanted to ask for your advice in a very sensitive matter."
M: "Can't you handle it yourself?"
C: "I could, but you see, it is about your closest counselors, Valerian and Radu."
M: "What is wrong with them?"
C: "There are rumours about some wicked things they do with each other. You know, things which God Himself finds abhorrent..."
M: "Are you sure?"
C: "No, of course not. But I am afraid that word may spread loose and tarnish our image."
M: "And what should we do? Have them arrested?"
C: "It would make such a bad publicity. You know, your beloved newspapers..."
M: "You are right. I will ask them to resign and leave the Capital. Quietly. Thank you, my dear. Of course, it may be that you just want to get rid of them. Anyway, I cannot handle these issues anymore. But if you wish someone out of here, you can tell me straight away... No, I did not ask you anything. I do not want to hear it. Please, leave me out of all this. I am too old for this."
In 1640, Mihai was 82 years old.
Even though nobody could have made these diagnostics back then, we are almost sure that he had emphysema, glaucoma, *Parkinson's, severe rheumathysm, recurrent ischemic strokes and possibly lots of other ailments. On top of all these, his mental state was surely affected. He may have had *Alzheimer's or some other degenerative cerebral disease.
The fact is that his involvement in the functioning of the Romanian State was by 1640 completely non-existent, all his imperial functions having been de facto taken over by his wife, despite the fact that the Crown Princess was already 25 years old and perfectly able to rule by herself.
If the Emperor's precarious health had been made public, it would have been mandatory to declare an official Regency with Crown Princess Iulia as Regent. As Iulia was unwilling or unable to confront Cristina and take power, no Regency has been officially pronounced. That time period will become known as the Unofficial Regency of Empress Cristina.
Cristina ruled Romania quietly and unobtrusively. She was, by all means, an enlightened ruler and Romania developed marvelously under her reign.
In the spring of 1641, the Emperor was dying.
Mihai (or Cristina) decided to undertake a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and pray for a miracle in the Church of the Holy Sepulcre.
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Zagan
Donor
Whew!
Update finally posted!
Comments please:
- plausability (dialogues, etc)
- mention of inhuman actions (pogroms etc). Is this considered ok?
Thank you.
Next chapters:
- International situation
- Fall of Greece
- Death of Mihai
- Romania after Mihai (epilogue of Part I)
Then: Part II.
Update finally posted!
Comments please:
- plausability (dialogues, etc)
- mention of inhuman actions (pogroms etc). Is this considered ok?
Thank you.
Next chapters:
- International situation
- Fall of Greece
- Death of Mihai
- Romania after Mihai (epilogue of Part I)
Then: Part II.
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It seems to me that Cristina has:
1. become knowledgeable in government matters due to Mihai's declining health
2. has a good rapport with not only government officials but locals as well
3. the Iulia incident, from what I recall, was traumatizing for Iulia and may affect her judgment
Cristina seems to have a good relationship with Iulia and, when the time comes, will be an advisor of sorts since traditionally princes are brought up to rule. However, I am curious as to whom she would marry.
Zagan
Donor
Mainly, luck. Romania got lucky, again. Like in, it is a Romania-Wank!
Anyway, see Behemoth's response. It is correct and insightful.
To add to that, Cristina wanted power, but thrived to use it responsably and to the benefit of her country of adoption, where her life was almost miraculously saved (by surgery).
1. Correct. Well, she had been the Princess of Tuscany before marrying Mihai and ruled the place for a few years after the death of her first husband. So, she does have some experience. Romania is merely 100 times larger than Tuscany.
2. Correct. The Romanians seem to love her. She is nice to the people, obtained Romanian Citizenship and converted to Romanian Orthodoxy.
3. Correct. Very much so. Although there are all kinds of sick rumours about that.
4. Correct. Some say too good.
5. Correct. Wow! 5 of 5!
6. Warning:
Tragically, no one. Little Princess Maria (Cristina's and Mihai's daughter) will be the next Imperatrix (after Iulia's reign). Iulia will never want to get too close to a human male.
I certainly hope that you were talking about Crown Princess Iulia (25). Empress Cristina (37), the future Empress Dowager will obviously never remarry. The People (whose opinion does matter a little) would be aghast. Princess Maria (13) will marry a European Prince [1] [2] when the time will be right (soon).
[1] Of course not an OTL character (any OTL character would be at least about 40 years old because there are 40 years since the POD).
[2] However, you will know his name (TTL invented), parents (OTL characters) and country of origin in the appropriate chapter.
Thank you for your analysis and most welcome help while I was away from my computer.
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Wonder if, when it becomes clear that Julia aren't willing/interested in continuing the line, and Maria have become an adult, there would be some subtle pushes to make Julia abdicate, perhaps even willingly retire her to a high ranked nunnery becoming the de jure theocratic leader of the holy lands (although it might be an open question if she would be able to be the de facto leader with the massive jewish population which aren't actively suppressed
Zagan
Donor
First of all, Iulia is a woman and thus completely ineligible to be a religious leader. Not in the 17th century!
Secondly, the Jewish population will not become a plurality in the Holy Land very soon. Right now (1640) the religious composition of the Holy Land is approx. 73% Muslims, 18% Christians, 8% Jews, 1% Others. It will change in the following decades.
Thirdly,
Iulia will indeed not reign for a very long time...
Fourthly, Iulia, besides her future full-time job as an Imperatrix / Empress, has already pursued a career in quite an unexpected field, quite different from theology. It has already been hinted in one of the chapters.
It's the military!
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