All seems pretty reasonable, the new energy and dynamism within the Roman government can only accomplish so many things at once. The army largely falling to the wayside makes sense, and you've given them enough lucky breaks for it to work out. 
- Status
Deleted member 67076
And now it's going to be 1940s Yugoslavia for any invader. A spear behind every blade of grass
You'd be surprised at how effective soft power can be even in this time period.All seems pretty reasonable, the new energy and dynamism within the Roman government can only accomplish so many things at once. The army largely falling to the wayside makes sense, and you've given them enough lucky breaks for it to work out.
In terms of expansion, Anatolia seems like the easiest option. Something along the Megali idea borders, including Trebizond and maybe minus Crete and Cyprus. I'd reckon the best time would be Timur's invasion.
The duchies of Athens and Achaea are under the crowns of Aragon and Naples respectively but could be annexed in time. Bulgaria has made it long clear the Romans aren't welcome and might be better served as a buffer state. Serbia, if not an ally after or near the end of Uros IV's reign, could be scavenged for Albania and modern-day Macedonia, if Uros V comes to power. Taking Cyprus, the last of the Levantine Crusader States, that could stir up a hornet's nest.
Still, it's your TL, Sov, and it's not my place to tell you where you want it to go.
The duchies of Athens and Achaea are under the crowns of Aragon and Naples respectively but could be annexed in time. Bulgaria has made it long clear the Romans aren't welcome and might be better served as a buffer state. Serbia, if not an ally after or near the end of Uros IV's reign, could be scavenged for Albania and modern-day Macedonia, if Uros V comes to power. Taking Cyprus, the last of the Levantine Crusader States, that could stir up a hornet's nest.
Still, it's your TL, Sov, and it's not my place to tell you where you want it to go.
11
Kosta
Banned
Some weirdo from Cuba or Haiti or somewhere sent me an email that said if I post this update and send in $5,000 to a holding company in Lagos, I get 20% of the Princess of Nigeria's inheritance. Let's hope this works!
On the surface, what occurred to the urbanization of the Roman Empire seems to be a depressing affair. Urbanization rates dropped substantially in the 1340s-50s, with some cities such as Thessalonica falling to a ‘paltry’ 30,000 at times and Constantinople dropping to around 40,000- a mere shadow of its former glory when the city harbored 200,000 souls. Cities across the empire were shrinking as people flocked to the countryside. But in practice things are never that easy. In fact if you asked the average Roman bureaucrat what he thought of people moving out into the countryside, he’d think its a good thing. More people to work the lands, defend the frontier, mine, and otherwise do something productive with their lives. Although, we’re getting ahead of ourselves. First of all, why is the number dropping so fast? Why doesn’t the government doing anything about it?
Pretty simple really. Its 2 things, the change in the domestic situation, and this wonderful thing called the Black Death. As you probably know by now, just a few years ago most of the prospects for owning land were relatively low. Various powerful families own most of the land, people were on average poor even by the standards of Medieval Europe, an attempt at creating serfdom, and other economic factors that tended to create a large amount of urban poor. By 1345, that’s all gone. The latifundia have been broken up, the government is giving out land on an unprecedented scale, wages are rising, taxes have been slashed and anyone who might try to press you into not quite serfdom has either fled or been killed. This is a huge opportunity. Predictably, people took it.
The second is this wonderful we know as the Black Death. A transfer of bubonic plague from Asia into Europe in the late 1340s, it ravaged its way across the continent, taking with it c. ⅓ of the population by the start of 1350. Rome, being very urbanized for its time, with many of its cities having less than adequate sewage systems (lack of funds is a terrible thing to have) was one of the worst places hit by the plague. In cities, plague spread rapidly and mercilessly. As such, people eventually made the connection that cities were unsafe places to be and migrated into the countryside setting up their farms and small towns. The new round of land grants that began after the fallout of the Black Death was yet another incentive to move away from the towns. This was especially noticeable in Thessalonica, which had the most drastic drop in population. Many of the urban poor fled the city in droves, taking with them the radical theology they had come to know and support. The so called ‘Zealots of Thessalonica’ was at the forefront of exporting radical doctrine to the masses.
And speaking of Thessalonica, the city’s character once more changed throughout the 1340s. When the pro regency forces conquered the city, they discovered one much different than what they had come to know. Pre Civil War Thessalonica was an aristocratic dominated shipyard where due to a variety of factors, came to house the largest concentration of nobility outside Thrace and Constantinople. It had, since the fall of Nicaea, shifted into the second city of the empire with a thriving shipyard and industry. However, as previously mentioned, Thessalonica was filled to the brim with poor residents, many of whom made a meager living as dockworkers, fishermen, servants and other such lower class professions. Living in sight of such opulence yet having these riches constantly out of their grasp, the lower classes were a fertile and receptive ground for anything willing to challenge the balance of power. Therefore, when the Zealots of Thessalonica began to organize and take the streets, preaching equality for all, they workers eagerly took to it.
For those who are not familiar, the Zealots of Thessalonica were a popular movement originating during the Second Palaiologian Civil War espousing a radical theology that took Christ’s teaching of social justice to what many had seen as the logical extreme. Rather than simply providing to the poor, the Zealots espoused what allohistorically one would call socialism. They demanded a radical redistribution of wealth amongst which everyone would receive a fair share of resources. In a time when the traditional values of social justice and philanthropy had been seemingly going to the wayside, these new men gave a refreshing message, energizing the population to take action.(It must be noted that such a thing was not without precedent -one can find similar movements all across history, the followers of the Zoroastrian Prophet Mazdak during the reign of the Shahanshah Khavad in ancient Persia are one such example.) Naturally the aristocracy was terrified, but blocked off from their estates by Kantakouzenos’ army (Thessalonica was, strangely enough, always pro Regency despite its relatively high numbers of nobility and other large landowners) there was no way to enforce their demands and stamp out the increasingly aggravated peasantry.
What follows next is a slaughter, as angry mobs led by disgruntled monks and other charismatic leaders revolt against the established order. The aristocracy is brutally massacred within the walls of the city, and their property and wealth is redistributed amongst the lower classes. An interim government was established where in which a council- the majority of which were Zealot members or at the very least friendly to the Zealot establishment- ran the affairs of the city. This state of affairs continued until Regency forces broke the siege in 1343 and returned the city under imperial control. (In theory, in practice this really meant Thessalonica was more of an ally than a province)
Thessalonica, by the time the armies of the Regency breached the gates of the city, was no longer just another imperial city- it had become a de facto independent state. Where what once was an imperial city now lay a commune. And it was this curious state affairs, formed by the blockade of the outside world that allowed such a radical change. But whats even stranger is that due to the weakness of the imperial state, this was allowed to continue. Tired of war and rapidly running out of money, Apokaukos had no time for further adventures, and although he personally detested the Zealots, seeing them as a thorn in his side and a potential fifth column, he was pragmatic enough to leave them be for the time being. The Zealots had pledged their loyalty to his cause throughout the war due to a common hatred of the Old Regime and an interest in reform, and when the army proclaimed the reintegration no one really protested. But none of that involved removing members of the imperial council with his own men and restarting taxation. That would come later, and that would very likely start problems.
Apokaukos, in his seemingly incessant pragmatism, allowed the city to continue to run its internal affairs so long as a certain amount of taxation would be paid to the central government every year. As well, (and this was mostly to mollify his powerbase who viewed the action as a potential showing of weakness) his son John was appointed as mayor of the Thessalonian city council in hopes of working as a liaison between the Zealot controlled local government and the imperial state. And at the time, this deal worked out for everyone more or less. The Zealots got to run their own state in which the peasantry would obtain their rightful share and the old regime would be purged- a mini paradise in their eyes while the Imperial government obtained access to the major port, an additional source of revenue and her people for the navy. The circumstances of control would be a very subtle tug of war in the background where the Imperial and the local government battled for influence amongst the populace. This deal is also noticeable for by giving the Zealots their own autonomy, the state began to focus more of its energies on restoring Constantinople as a center of trade, which had been under steep decline.
This deal was not without its problems and opponents. Primarily of which was the Church who opposed the Zealots on the principle of being Barlaamists, and therefore heretical in their doctrine. The reigning Patriarch attempted to pressure the remainder of the Regency faction to move against the Zealots however they could, to limited results. The army simply wasn’t ready for more military actions, much less continue to aggravate potential causes of war, the Zealots were fairly popular in their own right and of course the state’s energies would be needed elsewhere to continue the planned reforms. Then there was the much of the middle class who viewed the Zealots as a threat to their small yet noticeable wealth. Being the ones who staffed the imperial bureaucracy and therefore dictated policy, they did what they could to reduce Zealot influence without resorting to any violent measures. Although it is certain many would be murdered behind the scenes for their beliefs, the most common way to weaken the Zealots was to simply erode their audiences and their popularity. Alleviating the concerns of the peasants with land and other opportunities to improve their station was seen as the moderate option that would dissuage many from choosing more radical paths. This was a mixed blessing- one the one hand Thessalonica shrunk due to all the people moving out and the Zealots were proportionately more powerful (it also didn’t help that the Thermidor effect was kicking in and many began to moderate their positions) but on the other, many peasants themselves exported the ideas of the Zealots to whatever small village they were relocated to, turning those villages into miniature communes as well. Thanks to the decentralization following the fourth crusade and the constant need to avert attention and resources to other matters, once these ideas spread and took root in the far corners of the empire, such matters were difficult to remove. The coming years would see Rome seeing these new ideas of anti aristocratic sentiment move in and spread, far away from their homelands.
Απολαύσατε το, παιδιά!
Urban Culture and other Domestic Developments
On the surface, what occurred to the urbanization of the Roman Empire seems to be a depressing affair. Urbanization rates dropped substantially in the 1340s-50s, with some cities such as Thessalonica falling to a ‘paltry’ 30,000 at times and Constantinople dropping to around 40,000- a mere shadow of its former glory when the city harbored 200,000 souls. Cities across the empire were shrinking as people flocked to the countryside. But in practice things are never that easy. In fact if you asked the average Roman bureaucrat what he thought of people moving out into the countryside, he’d think its a good thing. More people to work the lands, defend the frontier, mine, and otherwise do something productive with their lives. Although, we’re getting ahead of ourselves. First of all, why is the number dropping so fast? Why doesn’t the government doing anything about it?
Pretty simple really. Its 2 things, the change in the domestic situation, and this wonderful thing called the Black Death. As you probably know by now, just a few years ago most of the prospects for owning land were relatively low. Various powerful families own most of the land, people were on average poor even by the standards of Medieval Europe, an attempt at creating serfdom, and other economic factors that tended to create a large amount of urban poor. By 1345, that’s all gone. The latifundia have been broken up, the government is giving out land on an unprecedented scale, wages are rising, taxes have been slashed and anyone who might try to press you into not quite serfdom has either fled or been killed. This is a huge opportunity. Predictably, people took it.
The second is this wonderful we know as the Black Death. A transfer of bubonic plague from Asia into Europe in the late 1340s, it ravaged its way across the continent, taking with it c. ⅓ of the population by the start of 1350. Rome, being very urbanized for its time, with many of its cities having less than adequate sewage systems (lack of funds is a terrible thing to have) was one of the worst places hit by the plague. In cities, plague spread rapidly and mercilessly. As such, people eventually made the connection that cities were unsafe places to be and migrated into the countryside setting up their farms and small towns. The new round of land grants that began after the fallout of the Black Death was yet another incentive to move away from the towns. This was especially noticeable in Thessalonica, which had the most drastic drop in population. Many of the urban poor fled the city in droves, taking with them the radical theology they had come to know and support. The so called ‘Zealots of Thessalonica’ was at the forefront of exporting radical doctrine to the masses.
And speaking of Thessalonica, the city’s character once more changed throughout the 1340s. When the pro regency forces conquered the city, they discovered one much different than what they had come to know. Pre Civil War Thessalonica was an aristocratic dominated shipyard where due to a variety of factors, came to house the largest concentration of nobility outside Thrace and Constantinople. It had, since the fall of Nicaea, shifted into the second city of the empire with a thriving shipyard and industry. However, as previously mentioned, Thessalonica was filled to the brim with poor residents, many of whom made a meager living as dockworkers, fishermen, servants and other such lower class professions. Living in sight of such opulence yet having these riches constantly out of their grasp, the lower classes were a fertile and receptive ground for anything willing to challenge the balance of power. Therefore, when the Zealots of Thessalonica began to organize and take the streets, preaching equality for all, they workers eagerly took to it.
For those who are not familiar, the Zealots of Thessalonica were a popular movement originating during the Second Palaiologian Civil War espousing a radical theology that took Christ’s teaching of social justice to what many had seen as the logical extreme. Rather than simply providing to the poor, the Zealots espoused what allohistorically one would call socialism. They demanded a radical redistribution of wealth amongst which everyone would receive a fair share of resources. In a time when the traditional values of social justice and philanthropy had been seemingly going to the wayside, these new men gave a refreshing message, energizing the population to take action.(It must be noted that such a thing was not without precedent -one can find similar movements all across history, the followers of the Zoroastrian Prophet Mazdak during the reign of the Shahanshah Khavad in ancient Persia are one such example.) Naturally the aristocracy was terrified, but blocked off from their estates by Kantakouzenos’ army (Thessalonica was, strangely enough, always pro Regency despite its relatively high numbers of nobility and other large landowners) there was no way to enforce their demands and stamp out the increasingly aggravated peasantry.
What follows next is a slaughter, as angry mobs led by disgruntled monks and other charismatic leaders revolt against the established order. The aristocracy is brutally massacred within the walls of the city, and their property and wealth is redistributed amongst the lower classes. An interim government was established where in which a council- the majority of which were Zealot members or at the very least friendly to the Zealot establishment- ran the affairs of the city. This state of affairs continued until Regency forces broke the siege in 1343 and returned the city under imperial control. (In theory, in practice this really meant Thessalonica was more of an ally than a province)
Thessalonica, by the time the armies of the Regency breached the gates of the city, was no longer just another imperial city- it had become a de facto independent state. Where what once was an imperial city now lay a commune. And it was this curious state affairs, formed by the blockade of the outside world that allowed such a radical change. But whats even stranger is that due to the weakness of the imperial state, this was allowed to continue. Tired of war and rapidly running out of money, Apokaukos had no time for further adventures, and although he personally detested the Zealots, seeing them as a thorn in his side and a potential fifth column, he was pragmatic enough to leave them be for the time being. The Zealots had pledged their loyalty to his cause throughout the war due to a common hatred of the Old Regime and an interest in reform, and when the army proclaimed the reintegration no one really protested. But none of that involved removing members of the imperial council with his own men and restarting taxation. That would come later, and that would very likely start problems.
Apokaukos, in his seemingly incessant pragmatism, allowed the city to continue to run its internal affairs so long as a certain amount of taxation would be paid to the central government every year. As well, (and this was mostly to mollify his powerbase who viewed the action as a potential showing of weakness) his son John was appointed as mayor of the Thessalonian city council in hopes of working as a liaison between the Zealot controlled local government and the imperial state. And at the time, this deal worked out for everyone more or less. The Zealots got to run their own state in which the peasantry would obtain their rightful share and the old regime would be purged- a mini paradise in their eyes while the Imperial government obtained access to the major port, an additional source of revenue and her people for the navy. The circumstances of control would be a very subtle tug of war in the background where the Imperial and the local government battled for influence amongst the populace. This deal is also noticeable for by giving the Zealots their own autonomy, the state began to focus more of its energies on restoring Constantinople as a center of trade, which had been under steep decline.
This deal was not without its problems and opponents. Primarily of which was the Church who opposed the Zealots on the principle of being Barlaamists, and therefore heretical in their doctrine. The reigning Patriarch attempted to pressure the remainder of the Regency faction to move against the Zealots however they could, to limited results. The army simply wasn’t ready for more military actions, much less continue to aggravate potential causes of war, the Zealots were fairly popular in their own right and of course the state’s energies would be needed elsewhere to continue the planned reforms. Then there was the much of the middle class who viewed the Zealots as a threat to their small yet noticeable wealth. Being the ones who staffed the imperial bureaucracy and therefore dictated policy, they did what they could to reduce Zealot influence without resorting to any violent measures. Although it is certain many would be murdered behind the scenes for their beliefs, the most common way to weaken the Zealots was to simply erode their audiences and their popularity. Alleviating the concerns of the peasants with land and other opportunities to improve their station was seen as the moderate option that would dissuage many from choosing more radical paths. This was a mixed blessing- one the one hand Thessalonica shrunk due to all the people moving out and the Zealots were proportionately more powerful (it also didn’t help that the Thermidor effect was kicking in and many began to moderate their positions) but on the other, many peasants themselves exported the ideas of the Zealots to whatever small village they were relocated to, turning those villages into miniature communes as well. Thanks to the decentralization following the fourth crusade and the constant need to avert attention and resources to other matters, once these ideas spread and took root in the far corners of the empire, such matters were difficult to remove. The coming years would see Rome seeing these new ideas of anti aristocratic sentiment move in and spread, far away from their homelands.
Απολαύσατε το, παιδιά!
Kosta
Banned
This is straight from Soverihn's mouth, not mine.
"The easiest bit of expansion would probably be Athens interestingly enough due to what Aragon is dealing with. Not only due they have to deal with the Marinids, (who here have won the Battle of Rio Salado and thus a good chunk of the fleet) they've also go to deal with the fallout of the Hundred Year's War and any possible wars in Castile, where in which the Castilian Civil War might begin. Athens is a pretty marginal territory there isn't much of a loss if its taken."
At the same you're right, any annexation with Bulgaria is not happening. Ivan Alexander is dealing with his own little Renovation so the divison of the Bulgarian state into 3 Tsardoms won't happen- divide and conquer is out of the picture. Achea is a hard nut to crack for now, need to watch developments in Naples. And of course there's Serbia, where in addition to the flaws of Stephan V, there's the problem of being on Hungary's black list.
You are right though with Anatolia being the easiest. On one hand, its divided, its rich and once Timur and gunpowder weapons come in its going to be easier to take than it had been in a long, long time, but on the other hand the Ottomans are still there and they've got plenty of territory already . Hmm... You've given me a lot to think about.
Oh, and you forgot one thing too- Treaty Ports ala Galatta
."
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Hmm, why don't the Byzantines expand into the Caucusus area? Ottomans and powerful opponents are less of a problem there. It's not exactly easy to take control of, but once control is established it could be a sizeable asset.
Perhaps even expand north into Crimea/ Russia?
Perhaps even expand north into Crimea/ Russia?
That is an interesting idea, personally I have always been fond of the idea of the Roman north eastern boarder on the Don and Volga Rivers. Perhaps not Immediately, but reabsorb Trebizond and find someway to acquire Georgia and it becomes more plausible.
Deleted member 67076
Ok that's cool. I need to look into each of these movements now (especially Hussites, need to see if cross pollination of ideas is possible)
Crimea is doable, and in fact a good place to go to, but the Caucasus is very unlikely unless Anatolia is retaken. The Caucasus would make an attractive border primarily because of its defensive terrain, which makes invading the Anatolian heartland that much more difficult.
But here, without Anatolia, there's little point in doing so. Most states in the region were friendly to the Romans (see Georgia for instantce) and Orthodox and pretty good at defending themselves. It'd be a moneysink in men and arms and jeopardize relations with an otherwise inoffensive state. Its just not a sound investment in their eyes right now.
Looking back at Crimea real quick, at this point in time its not a likely prospect, unless you mean taking the principality of Theodoro. The Genoese controlled cities are well defended for the most part (although Venice managed to burn them down from time to time during the period wars) and aren't by themselves worth that much to justify war. Its their position as a trade nexus with the Golden Horde that matters. And attacking the Golden Horde is suicide.
All of this might change when the Golden Horde collapses, which probably will happen soon- I mean Timur hasn't been butterflied by this timeline (he was around 5 or so by the POD and in modern day Uzbekistan, rather far from Serbia). So the would be Crimean Khanate is definitely up for grabs. But we'll cross that bridge when we get there.
Its an interesting prospect I'll note, but its unlikely at this point (getting a border at the Don, not reabsorbing Trebizond).
Of which I should mention, since I probably won't do it onscreen (please forgive me but I don't want to be bogged down as much as possible) but Trebizond is undergoing its historical apogee with Alexios III ruling. During the civil war, he was a hostage in Constantinople throughout the time and even OTL was sent back to Trebizond unharmed as a Roman friendly ruler, which he was (as much as you can be to an Ottoman vassal). Here, that wouldn't change one bit. There's still a desire to get influence in the Pontic coast, but here there's even more desire, what with Trebizond being a major stop on the Silk Road.
With that all said, my apologies for not having an update right now (and one on something so important as Round 3 of Venice vs Genoa). I'll try to get it within the end of the week at the latest.
12
Deleted member 67076
Thanks! This means quite a lot as I'm often unsure of my writing skills.
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The Genoese-Venetian War: Round 3, Part I
The period of peace and stability of the first decade of the Renovation was an excellent time for Eastern Rome. The economy grew, the population rose (after brutally being cut in the Black Death), state finances were better than they had been in decades and stability was the norm. As a whole, things looked great and the future was bright. But like all good things, it eventually came to an end. War would once more rear its ugly head and return to Rome. Only time would tell if the choices made under the new regime would be enough to save her.
But lets back this up real quick. Why would war return? A variety of factors, but long story short the current war Rome got dragged into was a reaction to the fluctuation of power in the region. You see, following the Black Death, nearly every country in Europe has suffered massive loss in people and thus, labor and tax base. Some of course, were more heavily hit than others. Venice, due to its dense nature and high population, suffered heavily. At the same time, her rival Genoa had lost nearly half of her population and resultingly, a huge source of income and less people to man the navy. This left Genoa in a very awkward position; where in which to keep the budget to a sustainable level Genoa would have to make a tough choice. Either they A) slash the military to a reasonable level (and therefore look weak, potentially inviting Venice or some other enemy to resume hostilities or B) do something drastic to keep the gold flowing. Naturally they chose option B, which translated into a show of force on the neighborhood. In less flattering terms, Genoa had turned to intensely raiding its neighbors, demanding tribute and cutting down on piracy in the region. While this sounds rather odd, it actually made (some) sense at the time. Raiding would provide much needed income quickly, and show that Genoa had not been weakened from the war. Additionally, cutting down on piracy (which in practice amounted to attacking Aragonese ships [1]) is a solid way of increasing your profit margin.
And this worked. Too well in fact. To the point where Venice was so scared it started an anti Genoese alliance with Aragon. (The latter joining in because those pirates ended up making a good amount of money for the state and with Castille suffering a major crises at the time Aargon felt more secure in its position) In the terms of the alliance, Aragon provided an extra ~30 galleys and any additional manpower Venice requested. This coalition of sorts was later expanded to get Pisa in the coalition the following year (1351), who was still furious about losing Corsica in 1295. With such a coalition of powers, Venice felt secure enough to resume its attempts to undermine the competition, which of course led to a resumption of hostilities. War was declared on 1350, with Venice and her allies planning to strike hard and fast on Genoese assets, hoping to strangle key sources of income and bring the Republic to its knees.
And initially, the overwhelming force did the job. In the first few months of the war, both Venice and Aragon moved their fleets to the Aegean. From there they launched concentrated raids, seizing and burning the colony of Galata near Constantinople. Following that, the other Crimean colonies of Genoa were put under siege [2] For the time being, it must have looked as if Genoa’s prospects were dire; they were drastically outnumbered (even with the reduced fleets in the aftermath of manpower shortage) and Genoa was stretched thin, with a host of trading ports, colonies and naval stations that the republic must defend. But that early luck ran out. Genoa regrouped her forces earlier and the war devolved into a chaotic series of hit and run attacks, raids, piracy and the occasional pitched sea battle.
Most of which, initially took place in the Aegean, the Ionian and Black Seas, which brings us to Eastern Rome. Despite intensive pressure from both republics, Rome kept a stance of armed neutrality for the first year. And initially, this was hard to dislodge. Unlike previous years, there was no separatists, no imperial claimants clawing for power and willing to revolt against the emperor and his inner circle, no great general to bribe and attack for them. Just a solid regime that was brutally in control with a loyal support base and a frustratingly large navy. (To the standards of the Genoa and Venice in this war, Genoa could barely field 100 galleys and here was Rome with a fully stacked ~40. Isn’t it wonderful to have a relatively large population?)
But back to the carnage. Despite all sides having a much smaller manpower base than before, they both fought harder and more fanatically than previously recorded, leading to much higher casualty rates. This was punctuated by a trend of increasingly more pitched battles with more and more ships and men thrown into the meatgrinder, culminating in the Battle of the Bosphorus in spring 1351. Over 100 ships were involved, the vast majority of them ending up at the bottom of the sea by the end of the battle. It was this moment that the Romans decided to gamble and join the war effort. The sheer amount of carnage and devastation that occurred right outside Constantinople’s doorstep convinced the inner circle of the empire that both sides would be exhausted and this was a golden opportunity to expand. A month after the battle’s conclusion, an emissary reached doge’s palace in Genoa. Rome would lend her men and ships to Genoa’s cause.
[1] Aragon was a major source of pirates and occasionally privateers in the Mediterranean. I say occasionally as when caught raiding Christians states Aragon denied all involvement to my knowledge, throwing those sailors under the bus to save face. You know, despite sanctioning the sailors and funding them. Anyway the pirates were officially sanctioned as a countermeasure to Muslim pirates in the region, but these men didn’t discriminate on religious grounds. Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Tengri- it didn’t matter. You’re cargo is as a good as anyone else’s.
[2] Happened OTL. This is not an attempt to subtly improve the Byzantines’ prospects although one can see how they’d benefit from this. In any case, Galatta is simply too valuable to leave alone, as with one quick strike, the best trading port in the Aegean has just been neutralized.
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I think you forgot footnotes and some sentences are wrong.
Example fo both:
"Venice and Aragon moved their fleets to the Aegean and seized the colony of Galata, near Constantinople was burned down and the Crimean colonies were put under siege [2]"
Besides that, looking good. I like Roman intervention in Genoese favor, I've never liked Venice.
Example fo both:
"Venice and Aragon moved their fleets to the Aegean and seized the colony of Galata, near Constantinople was burned down and the Crimean colonies were put under siege [2]"
Besides that, looking good. I like Roman intervention in Genoese favor, I've never liked Venice.
I agree with you on that, I envisioned that boarder as more of a long term goal, not one to be taken right this minute.
Excellent update by the way.
GdwnsnHo
Banned
frustratingly large navy. (To the standards of the Genoa and Venice in this war, Genoa could barely field 100 galleys and here was Rome with a fully stacked ~40. Isn’t it wonderful to have a relatively large population?)
Is this meant to be only ~40?
I'm confused if this is meant to appear intimidating. Is it meant to be ~140?
Although, certainly interesting times - Athens, trade concessions, and brutalisation of Venice on the horizon.
Ah, if only they had the strength to persuade Genoa to seek the protection of the Emperor
They raided Galata? Surely that would need Rome's active approval, given that the settlement faces the Golden Horn, 400-500 metres across the water.
Deleted member 67076
Dammit. These have been fixed. Ugh, I hate how no matter how many times I proofread mistakes like that somehow don't get noticed.
Hmm... Maybe if there's a desire to push and fortify borders in the long term (this is assuming the entirety of Anatolia has been retaking and security is needed)
Lets go genoa and rome! Kick some venetian asses!
No, its meant to be approximately 40. In the aftermath of the Black Death where manpower was scarce in the Merchant Republics (we need to remember that Venice had less than 50,000 people at this time and Genoa around 20-30,000, making them unable to field fleets like they used to.) there were so many undermanned ships that any increase would be viewed as a valuable asset. For example, historically in mid 1351 Genoa sent in what was recorded to be a 'huge fleet' into the Aegean to protect their interests and citizens- but closer examination reveals that the fleet was only 67 galleys. A number like 40, that's almost doubling the size of this fleet, that's a big increase.
But, those 40ish galleys probably represents the amount of fully staffed and manned vessels. Rome wasn't immune to the Black Death- but having several times more people to draw from than either of the Merchant Republics for the navy allows them to recover faster.
Yup. Venice just makes a more attractive target then Genoa, even disregarding the whole avenging the Fourth Crusade angle.
Nope. Venice went in with that blatant violation of sovereignty and the same amount of bullheadedness that Venice was prone to. I mean these are the same people who burned down towns in the Golden Horde to undermine Genoese trading and then were surprised for being kicked out of the Azov Sea for a decade. Rome simply didn't do anything because of fear of getting into another war- that is until a big, decisive battle happens at your doorstep where both fleets would suffer heavily, giving you extra bargaining power.
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