Part 19, Preparations Begin
Late October: The Ottomans once again triumph over the Mamluks in Gaza on their grand march to Cairo.
November: In a gracious act, Loredan opens the Venetian-controlled island of Cyprus to the Ottoman navy for their intended invasion of Cairo. Although there is a strong contingent of fighting galleys, the majority of the ships are intended to form a supply line to Ottoman troops in Egypt.
December: Peace is made between the Papacy, France, and Venice.
January 3, 1516: The battle of Ridaniya is fought just outside of Cairo. Once again, the Turks prevail, defeating the last of the Mamluk army. Despite a last minute attempt to acquire cannons and other firearms, it does little use to help the Mamluks make their last stand against Selim.
January 6: The Ottomans finally enter Cairo, the heart of the Mamluk Sultanate causing its immediate collapse.
January 29: With news of the Mamluk fall, the Sharif of Mecca submits to the Ottomans, placing the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina under the control of Selim. This extends the Ottoman Empire into the far south reaches of the Red Sea.
The news of the fall of Cairo and the Mamluk state reaches Venice where it is met with relief. The republic kept a good face during the brief war suffering virtually no casualties, and most importantly work on the Ptolmeic Channel can resume immediately. The leadership of Venice is credited with masterful decision making and diplomacy which saved large sums of money for the city.
February: The incredibly wealthy Cornaro family purchases a block of land ravaged by the fire in the Rialto. This sends shockwaves around the city’s wealthiest families, now all locked in a war of artistic patronage against each other. What is to be built there is yet undetermined, but whatever is destined for the block of charred land will no doubt be magnificently opulent.
In Florence, Niccolo Machiavelli comments in a letter to his friend, an ambassador in Venice. The ex-statesman says that the republic is flawed in having made an already powerful nation (the Ottomans) even stronger, while making a marginal gain in comparison.
Late February: Anxious to continue Red Sea trials, the newest brigade of carracks arrives in Alexandria from Venice where they are quickly disassembled and sent south to Suez. The fleet includes 12 galleys.
Work on the Ptolmeic Channel also formally reconvenes.
March: The Ottomans are quick to renew the previously Mamluk attempts to drive the Portuguese from the Red Sea, and the Spice Route in general. Their Venetian allies are steadfast on this issue as well, and this becomes the main order of business and policy in the region for both nations. The Ottoman navy begins patrols of the Red Sea, temporarily distracted however by the occupation effort of their new Arabian lands. The Venetian navy, currently well on its way to Suez for reassembly, will begin scouting the sea for suitable areas to build bases.
April: The Venetian Bailo in Constantinople meets with the Porte to discuss some details regarding Egypt. While the length of the Ptolmeic Channel is completely open to both Venice and the Ottomans equally (an agreement stopping either –namely the Ottomans- from barring the other from entry), difficulties in getting Venetian ships into newly Ottoman Suez for reassembly has proved difficult. The Ottomans assure them that this is solely due to the heightened military presence in the area for the time being. Nevertheless, the two sides agree that the entry and exit cities of the Channel should be included in the “Ptolmeic Agreement”. The cities of Damietta and Suez are therefore deemed “Ptolmeic Cities”; though they remain under Ottoman rule, Venetians are assured equal access and freedoms as the locals within the city limits. This final agreement makes the canal from end to end and essentially ‘shared’ land between the two nations, allowing for equal mobility and usage of the Ptolmeic.
May: A Portuguese fleet tries its hand at taking the city of Jidda, now under Ottoman rule. The Ottomans manage to repel them, but the battle is costly.
The victorious Pasha in command had overseen the Ottoman fleet stationed in Venetian Cyprus just months ago. Knowing of the Venetian attempts to perfect their ocean-going fleet, he sends three captured Portuguese carracks to Suez, where the Venetians will be alerted of them. The rest is up to them.
June: The Venetian Red Sea fleet arrives at Massaua to construct a base there. They headed straight from Suez to the city, which has been inhabited by Venetian merchants since the early 15th century. Knowing therefore the benefits of its location, they decide that Massaua Island is the place they will build their first fort.
In Suez, Venetian shipwrights are alerted to the arrival of 3 captured Portuguese carracks for them. The shipwrights, though incredibly skilled, are fearful of disassembling all the ships in case it ruins any ‘secret’ components. They decide to carefully disassemble one, taking vigilant notes on the ships’ design and sending those notes to Venice with the ship. The other two will remain in Suez for further inspection. Immediately into the deconstruction valuable information is collected on the ships that had previously eluded the Venetians.
July: The Ottomans begin reinforcing Suakin in order to complement the Venetian fort at Massaua, located further south.
August: The Patriarch of Venice pays a visit to Alexandria. He meets with the various Patriarchs of Alexandria as a show of the similarities between the cities. His visit is met with a lukewarm reception, which turns considerably colder when he announces the plan for a new Catholic Church to be built in the city for the Venetian garrison stationed there.
In Europe, the treaty of Noyon is signed between Francis and the new Spanish king, Charles V, ceasing all further hostilities. France is to be recognized as the ruler of Milan, and Spain as the ruler of Naples. Maximilian reluctantly agrees to the new status quo in Italy, not wanting to fight another costly war alone against the Venetians and the French. War in Italy is finally over with the Papal States’ position in the peninsula vastly diminished, and France, Spain, and Venice left as the lords of Italy (i).
September: With peace in Europe now reached and the threat of Mamuk hostilities ceased, Loredan requests that the great Capitano da Mar Marco Maranazzo head south to Massawa to take up position as head of Venetian Red Sea operations. Here he will work closely with their Ottoman allies to choreograph the strategic building of forts and a joint new Veneto-Ottoman navy to eventually challenge the Portuguese. Ever the adventurer, Maranazzo obliges; his prestigious title of Capitano da Mar (decided by the Council of Ten to be kept for the Mediterranean fleet) is given to Andrea Gritti, and he is given the new title of Capitano d’Otlremare (ii). To avoid confusion of leadership, all Venetian ships stationed in the Red Sea will be part of the new Flotta da Mar Rosso, under the direct leadership of Maranazzo.
October: Kamaran, an island just off the coast of Yemen, is selected as the location for the second Venetian fort (iii). Jizan and Tagiura are to be further looked into as possible fort locations as well.
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(i): At this point most of the other city states were either directly or indirectly controlled by France and Spain, with Venice as virtually the only hold out.
(ii): I’m currently debating between Capitano d’Oltremare (Captain Overseas) and Capitano All’Estero (Captain Abroad). They both mean virtually the same thing; it’s just a matter of which the readers like better. Let me know!
(iii): Around the same time OTL Kamaran was selected as the location by the Ottomans to put a fort. With the accelerated war against the Mamluks ITTL this did not happen.
