"Io Mihailŭ, Împĕratul Românilor" - A Michael the Brave Romania Wank

[Zagan]

In 1640, Italy blew up in the face of Europe like a firecracker in the face of an unruly child.​

The Powder Keg​

Before we delve into the mess which was Italy, we should first take a quick look at the rest of Europe in 1640.


1. Iberia
Iberian Empire

Emperor: Felipe (of Iberia, Italy, Africa and the Americas), born in 1605 (35 years old). Autocratic and slightly megalomaniac, he ruled with an iron fist over the largest country in the World.
Empress: Elisabeth, born in 1602 (38 years old), sister of Louis XIII of France, of Cristina of Romania and of Henrietta Maria of Britannia.

Recent history:
- Capital moved from Madrid to Lisbon;
- Successful integration of the Portuguese, Castillians and Catalans into the Iberian Nation;
- Partial conquest (the Continued Reconquista) of North-Western Africa, still ongoing;
- Focus on the Colonies (especially Iberian America and Iberian NW Africa);
- Low intensity conflict in Iberian Italy with the Italian nationalists.


2. France
Kingdom of France

King: Louis XIII, born in 1601 (39 years old), as in OTL, brother of Elisabeth of Iberia, Cristina of Romania and Henrietta Maria of Britannia.
Queen: Anne, born in 1601 (39 years old), as in OTL.

Recent History:
- Low intensity conflict with its German subjects in Flanders and parts of Burgundy and Lorraine;
- Almost no reforms and no nation-building;
- Focus in Northern Italy and less in the colonies.


3. Germany
German Empire

Emperor: Siegfried Augustus, born in 1589 (51 years old), OTL August of Saxony.
Empress: Sophie, born in 1606 (34 years old).

Recent History:
- Increasing nationalist fervour aiming to free the Germans still captive in France and to topple the local German Princes in order to drop the federal character of the State;
- Colonial expeditions in the Indian Ocean and the Südreich (OTL Australia);
- Eager to see the Romanians finish the Sinai Canal (OTL Suez Canal) and lending lots of money for it;
- Solved its ethnic minorities issues with Sarmatia via a population exchange;
- Moved its Capital from Dresden (which had already been defined as provisional) to Prague.


4. Britain
Kingdom of Britannia

King: Henry Frederick, born in 1594 (46 years old), unlike OTL still alive, thus butterflying away the OTL English Civil War.
Queen: Henrietta Maria, born in 1608 (32 years old), sister of Louis XII of France, Elisabeth of Iberia and Cristina of Romania.

Recent History:
- Difficulties in forging a British Nation;
- Ongoing ethno-religious conflict in Ireland;
- Focus on the colonies, including those inherited from the defunct Dutch State.


5. Sarmatia
Commonwealth of Sarmatia

King: Karol, born in 1604 (36 years old), son of Queen Flora, Mihai's daughter. His father, King Sigismund passed away in 1637 (71 years old).
Queen: Catherine, born in 1614 (26 years old) in the House of Baden.

Recent History:
- Political, social, national and religious instability;
- Fear of a renewed conflict with Russia;
- Disengaged from Georgia and Armenia, allowing them to become independent countries and even sold Abkhazia to Georgia and the Port of Soci to Russia, much to the displeasure of the other Black Sea power, Romania.


6. Romania
Imperium of Romania

Imperator / Emperor: Mihai, born in 1558 (82 years old), grandfather of Karol of Sarmatia.
Imperatrix / Empress (and virtual Regent): Cristina, born in 1604 (36 years old), sister of Louis XIII of France, Elisabeth of Iberia and Henrietta Maria of Britannia.
Crown Princess: Iulia, born in 1615 (25 years old), Mihai's granddaughter, not married.
Princess: Maria, born in 1627 (13 years old), Mihai and Cristina's only daughter.

Recent History:
- The cities of Claudia (OTL Cladovo) and Drobeta were merged after the successful restauration of Trajan's Bridge over the Danube. The resulting city was christianed Michaelia Iulia and designated the de jure Capital of Romania, although de facto the institutions of the State were slow to relocate.
Note: Michaelia Iulia = Mihai Caesar, the Imperial City of Mihai, similar to Alba Iulia = White Caesar, the White Imperial City, Iulia from Julius, the given name of Caesar.


7. Scandinavia
Empire of Scandinavia

Emperor: Christian, born in 1603 (37 years old), former King of Denmark-Norway.
Empress: None. After the death of Queen Catherine in 1639 (55 years old), Christian disolved the Commonwealth of Scandinavia (between Denmark-Norway and Sweden) and proclaimed the unitary Empire.

Recent History:
- Capital moved to Göteborg (Gothenburg) after the abolition of the federal structure of the state.
- Colonisation in Finland, Whiteland and Scandinavian North America (around the Hudson Sea).
- Exploration of the Arctic coasts of Siberia, (OTL) Behring Sea, Alaska, Kamtcheatka, Kurile, Sahalin, contacts made with Korea and Japan;
- No internal or external troubles.


8. Russia
Tsardom of Russia
- Internal stabilization, absorbing the Cossacks and expanding into Siberia;
- Territorial disputes with Sarmatia;
- Isolationism -- lack of involvement in European politics.


9. Slovakia
- Neutral country, seat of the Great Powers Council;
- No troubles of any kind.


10. Croatia
- Territorial disputes with Venice / Italy.


11. Greece
- Dire economic and social conditions because of the numerous wars with Venice and the Ottomans and the massive influx of Greek refugees from Turkey, Romania and Corfu.
- Extreme nationalism and desire to further expand the country and achieve Great Power status coupled with a complete lack of understanding of the country's actual capabilities.


12. Italy
Italian Confederation
- Ruled by the Council of Italy;
- Major players:
--- Iberia and France, aiming to preserve the status-quo or at least to slow the formation of an unitary nation-state in Italy;
--- Germany, supporting Venice;
--- Venice and Rome, trying to coalesce Italy around them;
--- Italian nationalists who desire to unite Italy around whatever power is disposed to offer meaningful help;
- Altogether highly explosive situation.


13. Hungary
- Complex socio-economic situation, due to a large influx of Hungarians evicted from Romania;
- Muted territorial dispute with Romania;
- Bitter nationalism and revanchism.


14. Georgia
- Recently independent and territorially complete;
- No issues.


15. Armenia
- Recently independent and territorially almost complete;
- Desires access to the sea and maybe some more Turkish lands if easy to obtain.


The Italian Crisis

It was obvious to almost everyone that in that Age of Nationalism when all Nations had achieved their United Nation States, the Italians could not remain the only ones lacking a National State.
The Iberians and the French, having considerable interests in the Italian Peninsula, only hoped to delay the inevitable for as long as possible.

By 1640, the growing nationalist aggitation in Italy had reached the boiling point. It was widely believed that the Italian Unification would follow shortly in a more or less peaceful fashion while others thought that a civil war was likely. Few people considered the terrifying possibility of the conflict escalading into the Second European War.


25 December 1640, Venice, Italy

The Italian States of Venice, Emilia and Liguria (Genoa) were merged into the Kingdom of Italy, member of the Italian Confederation.
Doge Alessandro Rizzi of Venice was proclaimed Alessandro I, the first King of Italy.


1 January 1641, Italy

The German Princes from the Italian States of Ticino and Lombardy (Milan) merged their States into the Kingdom of Italy and abdicated their thrones.
The Italian nationalists rallied en masse to the new Kingdom of Italy created by the Venetians.


7 January 1641, Tuscany, Italy

A revolution evicted the Papal authorities from Florence and merged the State of Tuscany (Florence) into the Italian Kingdom.


10 January 1641, Rome, Italy

Pope Benedict XIII tried to negociate with King Alessandro and the Italian nationalists but to no avail. After the negotiations broke down, the Pope excommunicated the Italian King, the Venetians and all the revolutionaries.


12 January 1641, Italy

The Venetian Army merged with the revolutionaries and invaded the Papal State (Rome). The Papal army collapsed and Rome itself was engulfed by the Italian National Revolution.


14 January 1641, Rome, Italy

The Italian army entered Rome and swiftly took control of the City while being welcomed by a jubilant population.
The Pope annulled the excommunications, welcomed the Italian King into the Vatican and amid the cheering of the elated masses crowned Alessandro with the Crown of Italy.


15 January 1641, Rome, Italy

The Papal State (Rome) was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy.
Pope Benedict XIII renounced all claims of temporal power for him and all the subsequent Popes. The Holy See remained a Sovereign Institution separate from the Italian Kingdom. It maintained extraterritorial rights over the Vatican and several palaces and churches in Rome and beyond.
The Kingdom of Italy comprised all of the Italian Confederation with the exception of the Iberian and French States (Naples, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Malta, Piedmont and Nice).


16 January 1641, Rome, Italy

The Italian Confederation was disolved, the Kingdom of Italy claimed all its territory and asked the Iberian Empire and the Kingdom of France to withdraw their armies from Italy.


20 January 1641, Italy

The Italian National Revolution engulfed the Iberian controlled states except tiny Malta.
The Iberian army engaged the revolutionaries.


28 January 1641

Italy declared war to Iberia and invaded Naples.
The Great Powers Council convened urgently to discuss the Italian crisis. No resolution could be voted because of the opposition of Iberia and France.

Newspaper Title in Palermo, Sicily
Protesters Demand an End to the Iberian Oppression!

Newspaper Title in Athens, Greece
Our Brothers in Megali Ellas [1] Call for Our Help! [1] Sicily and Southern Italy

Did the Greeks really believe that Sicily was still inhabited by Greeks?
Was an entire people so delusional?
It seems so, since not even a week later...


3 February 1641, Athens, Greece

Greece declared war to Iberia and the Greek Navy left for Sicily.


17 February 1641, Sicily, Italy

13,000 Greek soldiers invaded Sicily in the weirdest military campaign of the century.
It is incomprehensible how a country with less than two million people and 23 warships invaded the greatest empire the World has ever seen, with a population of about 20 million in Europe alone and having more than 200 warships!


28 February 1641, Agram, Croatia

Croatia declared war to Italy and invaded both Dalmatia and Istria with over 7000 soldiers.


During the following months, most European countries would enter the Italian War turning it into the Second European War and ravaging the Continent for the second time in less than 20 years.

 

[Zagan]

The Italian War​

A couple of maps (more to come later) in order to better visualize the chaotic situation in Italy at the beginning of the Italian Civil War -> Second European War.

Italian Confederation before 1640​

Italy at the start of the War (1641)​

Legend:
1. Istria (Venice)
2. Dalmatia (Venice)
3. Valona (Venice)
4. Corfu (Venice, under Romanian administration)
5. To Corsica (Iberian)
6. To Naples (Iberian)
7. To Sicily (Iberian)
8. To Sardinia (Iberian)

 

[Zagan]

I might be somewhat concerned that Greece is going to get delusions of grandeur believing themselves much stronger than they actually are, and in return getting completely smashed in a later war, probably against Venice or prehaps Spain (by them having illogical designs on southernmost Italy)

Here you are! Greece has just invaded Sicily while the Iberians were busy dealing with the Venetians.
Only that the Iberian Empire is more than able to deal with both threats at the same time!

When's capital moving?

It just did, at least de jure, in the latest chapter!

 

[Zagan]

Questions

I would like some input regarding two issues (TL organization, not actual content). Thank you.


Problem 1.

Synopsis: In the next few years / chapters, lots of important stuff happens at the same time / interwoven:
- Instability / Revolution / Various wars, interconnected or not, all over Europe;
- Intense diplomatic overtures / Great Powers Council in overdrive;
- Developments in Romania and the Romanian Colonies;
- The death of Mihai and the Coronation of Iulia.

Question: How would you like this material to be presented?

1A. Chronologically, jumping from one corner of Europe to another as events unfold.

1B. Localized, finishing with one country / war theatre before going to the next one.

My opinion: 50%-50%.


Problem 2.

Synopsis: TTL will be split in at least two parts. I am unsure where to put the first break (where to end Part I and begin Part II).
Part II will be presented quite differently from Part I with shorter chapters and faster pace.
Some statistics / data / other information will be presented in any case.

Question: Where to end Part I and begin Part II?

2A. Exactly when Mihai dies (this will be in the middle of the chaotic period started by the Italian War).

2B. Shortly after Mihai's death (finishing the Second European War and including Iulia's succession)

2C. After everything is neatly settled in 165x (peace and stability in Europe and the Orient, Maria Imperatrix, clear-cut historical era transition)

My opinion: I prefer 2C slightly.


Next Chapter will be online in about 12 hours... hopefully.

 

[Sian]

1B seems much simpler to follow IMO

Bit uncertain if 2B or 2C is the better choice, but 2A it certainly ain't since that would be a unnatural break, as there would (probably) still be a lot of action going on surrounding that time

 

[Ryan]

1B and 2C. it makes more sense to have the current era be concisely ended and summarized before moving onto the next era of history.

 

[Bogdanmb13]

1B,it is much simpler to follow .2C ,it makes more sense,ending an era and moving onto the next.

 

[Zagan]

Votes registered!

1B seems much simpler to follow IMO

Bit uncertain if 2B or 2C is the better choice, but 2A it certainly ain't since that would be a unnatural break, as there would (probably) still be a lot of action going on surrounding that time

1B and 2C. it makes more sense to have the current era be concisely ended and summarized before moving onto the next era of history.

1B,it is much simpler to follow .2C ,it makes more sense,ending an era and moving onto the next.

Wow! New member and the first post is right here in my timeline (TL)!


Thanks to all.

The issues seem to be solved then.
I will start to compile the bits and pieces into what are going to be chapters 51, 52 and 53, I suppose.

Chapter 51 will be online tonight (UCT+2).

 

[Zagan]

Michaelia Iulia - Capital City of Romania​

Previous Capital City: Alba Iulia (from 1601)

Proposal for a new Capital City: After the First Romanian-Ottoman War and the annexation of the Ottoman Balkan Lands (1620's)

Location decided: 1633 (on the both banks of the Danube, near the geographical center of the country, at the reconstructed Trajan's Bridge)

Previous cities: Turnu Severin / Drobeta on the left bank and Cladova / Claudia on the right bank (merged into a single city)

Ethymology: Michaelia (of Michaelus, latin for Mihai, the Emperor of Romania), Iulia (imperial, from Iulius, the middle name of Julius Caesar).

Michaelia Iulia founded: in 1636

Separate administrative unit (Teritoriul Capitalei / Capital Territory ~ Federal District): from 1637, with territory taken from Oltenia and Moesia.

De jure capital of Romania: from 1640

De facto capital of Romania (most institutions relocated): from 1644

Capital City until: TTL present day (ongoing)

Map (superimposed on Google Earth, as I accustomed you to ):

Note: Alba Iulia remained the most populous Romanian city until the early 19th century and it is still the greatest Romanian University Center.

 

[Zagan]

1641 was the Year of National Suicides. The first to commit one was Greece.​

The Fall of Greece​

A Little Bit of History

Since the fall of the last Byzantine remnants there has been no Greek State on the face of the Earth. For about 160 years, the Greeks have been under Ottoman control, with the exception of several Islands and Peninsulas ruled by Venice.

With the defeat of the Ottomans in the Great Anti-Ottoman Crusade of 1622, the fortunes of the Greeks improved dramatically. At the Alba Iulia Peace Conference of 1625, a Unitary Greek State was created in the Southern tip of the Balkan Peninsula by the victorious Great Powers.

During the subsequent five years, the little Greek Principality grew threefold by capturing Crete and the Ionian Islands from Venice and Cyprus, the Aegean Islands, the Chalcidic Peninsula and the large region called Mikrasia in Anatolia from the crumbling Ottoman State (besides, Romania ceded several small territories to Greece as previously agreed).

The aggrandizement of Greece was facilitated by several factors:
- The weakness of Venice, a State smaller than Greece itself;
- The fact that the disputed islands were closer to mainland Greece than to mainland Venice;
- The presence of restive Greek populations in all the conquered lands;
- The Romanian intervention against the Ottomans which destroyed the Ottoman Empire;
- The general anti-Muslim feelings in Romania and the rest of Europe and the fondness with which the Greeks were perceived by the European classicists.

The Greeks however, continuously fed with nationalist propaganda, had become convinced that they are a Great Power able to conquer all the former Byzantine lands and recreate the Empire.

In 1637, the Greek Navy captured Alexandria, being able to hold it for three days in an abortive attempt to conquer Egypt. After being expelled by the Egyptian army, a white peace was quickly concluded, because Egypt lacked a navy and was thus utterly incapable of engaging the retreating Greek Navy.

Having been recently thwarted in their attempts to conquer more lands belonging to Venice (Corfu), the Ottoman State / Turkey (the rest of Asia Minor), Egypt (presumably all of it) and unable to match the power of Romania or Iberia, the Greeks decided to wait for a favourable moment.


January 1641

The chance the Greeks waited for came in the form of the Italian National Revolution.

With the Iberian army busy fighting the Italians, it seemed that Sicily and / or Southern Italy could be taken.
It quickly became obvious that that had been a gross miscalculation, because of several reasons:
- The Iberian empire was so powerful that it could easily fight both the Italians and the Greeks simultaneously;
- Even with the Iberians losing the war and being expelled from Italy, keeping Sicily would have been impossible since the Italians wanted it and Italy was both more powerful and closer to Sicily than Greece;
- Unlike the other territories merged into Greece in the previous years, the Greek population in Megali Ellas (Sicily and Southern Italy) was extremely sparse, making up less than 5% of the total population of those areas, while almost 94% were ethnic Italians;
- The Great Powers (and especially Romania) did not want Greece to become a Great Power itself and disturb the Balance of Power in South-Eastern Europe.


Excerpts from the Speech of King Constantine XII of Greece

My faithful subjects, the time is ripe for us to free our brethren still kept hostage by the heretical Iberians in our sacred land of Megali Ellas [...]

The next step will be the liberation of all Mikrasia and our beloved Capital City of Constantinopolis from the satanic grip of the heathen Turks, [...]

Only then will the Empire of Rhomaion be finally redeemed. So help us God!


February 1641

With an enthusiasm that was to be soon shattered, a force of 13,000 Greeks embarked in 16 warships and set sail for Sicily.

After an uneventful two-weeks voyage, the Greek Fleet landed unopposed on the Southern shore of Sicily and Greek soldiers began to advance inland.
It was a strange, unknown land almost completely devoid of their conationals so much talked about in Greek propaganda.

Although there were no signs of the large Iberian army, the small Greek force began to take heavy casualties from the local Italian millitias which rightfully viewed them as just another foe and thought they were actually allied with the Iberians.
With no Iberians in sight, the Greeks engaged the Italian revolutionaries and began to loot the country and harrass the civilians.

When the Iberian army finally arrived at the scene of the conflict, a strange three-way war ensued, where each faction fought the other two.
These three-way conflicts would be a typical occurence in the Second European War.

Meanwhile, a large Iberian Fleet surprised the Greek Fleet and managed to sink four ships and capture all the rest at the cost of only two Iberian ships.
It was a harrowing disaster. The Greek Army remained trapped in hostile Sicily fighting both the Italians and the Iberians.


March 1641

Realizing the utter hopelessness of their situation, the whole Greek Army from Sicily surrendered to the Iberians.
Greece sued for peace only to be rebuffed by Iberia.

While still fighting the Italians in Naples and Rome, the Iberians sent a huge fleet to Greece.
In the battle of the Saronic Gulf (near Athens), all the remaining Greek warships were sunk.


April-June 1641

Iberia sent more ships packed with soldiers and conquered with relative ease all the Greek Islands, plus the Morea and Negroponte Peninsulas.

The Greek army was simply no match for the Iberians. By the time Athens was being invested, the Greeks had lost more than 100,000 soldiers (almost their entire army), while the Iberians lost less than 15,000.


July 1641

By July, the situation in Greece and especially in Athens was horrendous:
- More than a quarter of the land was under brutal enemy occupation;
- The Navy was completely destroyed and the Army had lost more than three quarters of its initial strength;
- The Greek State basically stopped functioning;
- The economy was collapsing;
- Famine and disease were widespread;
- The Capital was under siege.

The Greeks had finally realized that they had been lied to and Greece was anything but a Great Power.
Angry demonstrators gathered in the Acropolis blaming the King and the establishment for the disaster.

The King came to talk with the protestors, but was asked to abdicate.
The National Guard tried to intervene and a short fight followed.
At the end of the day, 227 people were dead, including the King of the Hellenes.

The following day, the Royal Palace was stormed and the mob proclaimed a Republic. The armed forces guarding Athens sweared loyalty to the Greek Republic and continued to fight the Iberians.

Soon, the entire Greek State collapsed.
Mikrasia proclaimed its independence and a local noble was crowned King.
Northern Greece called for Union with Romania and proclaimed Iulia as Empress of the Greeks.

Iberia abolished the Greek State and annexed it to their Empire.
The Inquisition was brought in and immediately started to prosecute the heretics, i.e. the entire population. The Greek Orthodox Church was officially disolved and conversion to the Roman Catholic Church was made mandatory.

The Great Power Council protested and did not recognize the Iberian actions.
The Greek authorities still in control in Northern Greece begged for a Romanian intervention.


August 1641

On the 1st of August, while terminally ill Mihai was in the Holy Land, Iulia accepted the Crown of Greece.

Two weeks later, she entered Salonica, cheered by the crowds which hoped that she was going to redeem them from the Catholic menace.
The Metropolitan Bishop of Salonica crowned Iulia as Basileus Autokrator of the Greeks and of the Romans.

A few days later, the first Romanian armies began to enter Greek territory.
Cristina had reluctantly approved to send 100,000 Romanian Legionnaires to help Iulia.

Iulia, who had just finished the prestigious Military Academy of Alba Iulia with magna cum laude, suddenly became supreme commander of a huge, powerful and highly trained Romanian army.


September 1641

During the month of September, Iulia took control of Continental Greece and engaged the Iberian forces who were still besieging Athens.

At the same time, the Romanian Navy engaged the Iberian warships in the Aegean and Ionian Seas.
Romania and Iberia were at war.
For Romania, it was the second war fought to save the Greeks. Only this time, the Romanian army was there to stay.

By the end of the month, Athens was relieved and the Iberians retreated into the Morea.
Iulia disolved the Greek Republic based in Athens, arrested its leaders and assumed total power in the Greek Capital.


October 1641

Romania sent another 100,000 Legionnaires westwards in Croatia and Dalmatia, where war raged between Venice and Croatia (more in the next chapter).

Iulia was made Supreme Commander of all Romanian Armies and of the Romanian Navy and began to coordinate the military actions in all theaters of the rapidly expanding war -- in Morea and Negroponte, in the Greek Islands, in Croatia and Dalmatia, on the Seas and, later, in Italy proper, Mikrasia and elsewhere.

The Italian Revolution has already transformed into a full-blown European War between Iberia, France, Croatia, Hungary, Russia, Turkey, Syria, Mesopotamia on one side and Italy, Romania, Greece, Germany, Britain, Sarmatia, Persia, Morocco on the other side, although the aliances were not always very clear and three-way confrontations were commonplace (more in the next chapter).


November-December 1641

Iulia has managed to evict the Iberians from all the Greek territories with the exception of Crete and Cyprus.
The Greek Kingdom of Mikrasia was disolved and reincorporated into Greece. The self-proclaimed King was executed alongside some of his followers.
With the help of the Venetian and German navies, the Iberian navy was defeated and forced to retreat to the Western Mediterranian.

Before Christmas, Iulia left her Greek Realm for Croatia in order to push her armies into Italy.
She did not arrive there, because she had to attend a very important event in the Romanian Capital in the first days of 1642.

 

[Zagan]

Whew! Three Chapters in 4 days!

That was some crazy stuff there! More to come!

What do you think the result of the European War will be? What should the Peace look like? (Well... I had already written it. While I am still open to some changes, I was actually curious to see if you have the same opinions as I do or not.)

 

[FractiousDay]

This is cool, I've also just gone and watched Michael the Brave from 1970, which was alright, I must admit though I have no idea who he was fighting sometimes.

 

[Behemoth]

Depending on the state of the treasury/finances of Greece, I believe that they will have to pay for damages not only to other states involved but to the property owners in Sicily. Another possibility is that Greece will end up losing territory (some islands in the Aegean) to either Romania or Iberia, possibly both. A limit on the amount of personnel in the standing army of Greece could also be brought to the table.

 

[Zagan]

This is cool, I've also just gone and watched Michael the Brave from 1970, which was alright, I must admit though I have no idea who he was fighting sometimes.

That movie is a masterpiece.

He was fighting almost everyone (in OTL): the Ottoman Empire, Poland-Lithuania, the Tatars, the Moldavians, the Transylvanians and (almost) the Imperial armies.

Depending on the state of the treasury/finances of Greece, I believe that they will have to pay for damages not only to other states involved but to the property owners in Sicily. Another possibility is that Greece will end up losing territory (some islands in the Aegean) to either Romania or Iberia, possibly both. A limit on the amount of personnel in the standing army of Greece could also be brought to the table.

State of Greece's Treasury: empty.
Greece will be made to behave properly in the International Arena. Iberia as well... That's enough for now. New chapter tomorrow. The Italian mess.

 

[Sian]

an important change in the view of Romania from the greek perspective, is that whereas they previously was seen as bumpkins with luck and aspirations above their worth, now they're seen as the lesser of two evils, and probably even a related (if distinct) member of the family with some weird idiosyncrasies when it comes to religious believes, with Iberia being typecasted as a dirty all-out heretical foreigner.

Greece would probably still not be a fun place to run for Romania since there would always be the possibility of it sparking in revolt, as they're very distinctly not of the same ethnicity, but its much less of a potential powder keg than it was earlier.

 

[Zagan]

an important change in the view of Romania from the greek perspective, is that whereas they previously was seen as bumpkins with luck and aspirations above their worth, now they're seen as the lesser of two evils, and probably even a related (if distinct) member of the family with some weird idiosyncrasies when it comes to religious believes, with Iberia being typecasted as a dirty all-out heretical foreigner.

Greece would probably still not be a fun place to run for Romania since there would always be the possibility of it sparking in revolt, as they're very distinctly not of the same ethnicity, but its much less of a potential powder keg than it was earlier.

Wow! Congrats!
My thoughts exactly.

By the way, there are two differencies between the Greek and Romanian Orthodox Churches and they are both minor:
- Lithurgical language: Greek vs. Romanians (not negotiable);
- A few different / local saints (not really important).

 

[gianni_rivera]

They accept a woman as the head of army? That liberal then????

 

[Sian]

whereas previously they (specially Greeks towards the Romanian church) was aggressively angry about them cutting ties with the Constantinople Patriarch, now it might be more of an inoffensive "you're weird" ...

Actually, a thought struck me ... how is the relationship between Iulia and Maria? ... earlier on you've mentioned that Cristina and Iulia had somewhat of a sisterly relationship, but how about between Maria and Iulia?

 

[Zagan]

They accept a woman as the head of army? That liberal then????

There will be, ahem, issues. That is, until the first string of spectacular military victories and conquests. It seems that military prowess runs in the family.
Besides, Jeanne d'Arc.

1. Whereas previously they (specially Greeks towards the Romanian church) was aggressively angry about them cutting ties with the Constantinople Patriarch, now it might be more of an inoffensive "you're weird" ...

2. Actually, a thought struck me ... how is the relationship between Iulia and Maria? ... earlier on you've mentioned that Cristina and Iulia had somewhat of a sisterly relationship, but how about between Maria and Iulia?

1. The former ties will be tied again. With the opposite balance of power within the reunited Orthodox Church (only Moscow will be left aside).

2. With the little Princess Maria: quite fine, for now. Maria is 13-14 years old and does not have very much influence. And she may never have, because Cristina, Maria's mother is kind of dominant.
With Iulia's mother, also named Maria, now a nun (forced), the relation is frosty. Iulia visits her monthly at the nunnery.

 

[Ryan]

didn't the European powers agree that all branches of Christianity are equal? As such, how was the reaction to Spain trying to spread the inquisition to Greece?