Under wings of the Zilant: a Golden horde timeline
- Thread starter Ursogulos
- Start date
You are right. But rest assured Muhammad Sumbul will be a name of controversy ITTL instead of just being a kitten meme online.
All Europe is on fire, and Castile is off gathering cooking ingredients. Fun to see how butterflies are changing the impact of colonialism on Europe's cuisine though. The New World colonial race is going to be interesting, with an intense Christian-Muslim rivalry in the area. Will the Christians be more merciful towards natives that have already converted to monotheistic Islam? Or are they all the same heathens to them?
As is tradition
IOTL the portuguese were far more brutal to muslims in India despite believing in the same deity than they were to the pagan indians(who they, funnily enough, tried to pass off as a hidden christian kingdom), same for the jews and other already existing christians in India(the later which got the full blunt of the Portuguese Inquisition)
So, uh, yeah I dont expect any niceties coming from Europe towards the natives here
Cuisine is only changed for Castile and that too on the insistence of Charles the Glutton , let's see what it entails for the rest of Europe.
Suffice to say Caribbean would be a very contested area with non state actors being the pioneers of expansion for their respective religion (as with OTL).
It is as Aluma said, and also same will happen in east Africa.
More or less the same ITTL, the only difference is Portugal will have a harder time in Hind ocean ITTL. But with the power vacuum in Persia and Ottomans busy in the crusades let's see how far they can go.
Most definitely, Camels will be introduced to America by the moors. But they'll reach their ancestral region after a certain tribe which showed effective resistance against Spain OTL will learn of their durability in the arid regions( guess who?)
Last edited:
No, Chichimeca, they were the first ones to Mount an effective resistance by incorporating horses and steel weapons.
At the crossroads
A campaign too long: beginning of the 2nd Livonian war
The fall of Pskov after a siege of one and a half month wasn’t any surprise since Muscovites being busy with internal revolts and Tatars still dormant. What surprised everyone was the terms of surrender Lithuanian grand duke Sigismund accepted. The Boyars wanted the city to become another free city adopting a mixture of Hanseatic and quasi-feudal laws. Khuril, the 18 year old muslim Knyaz was interned not by the Lithuanians but by a Hansa allied member of of Neuhausen Landtag named Roderic Gottfried. The Reval convention was called for solving the situation of the crumbling duchy of Livonia after the 1st Livonian war which saw the establishment of Duchy of Estonia and the significant reduction in the power of the order. But in reality it barely maintained the ‘Livonian confederation’ which came under increasing pressure from Polish-Lithuanian union and the Hansa league. An agreement between grand duke Sigismund and the Szlata before the start of Pskov campaign also made the merchant cliques in Baltic nervous. This declaration, known as the Wilnow(Vilnius) declaration had several clauses which more or less solidified the status quo between the Grand duke and the nobility. But the most important and controversial clause of this agreement was that any new land acquired by the duchy would solely belong to the Grand duke who will assign some members of the Szalata as administrators who can be replaced at will. Most probably Sigismund picked up this idea during his stay in Golden horde where the sanjakbegs were not hereditary rulers but simple administrators. This sparked a fierce debate within the Szalata and almost nipped Sigismund’s Rus campaign in the bud were it not for an added clause which ensured that despite being mere fiefs, these lords would be able to pass a certain amount of their administered land to their third generation provided that they’ve ruled those lands for a period greater than 5 years. However this came at a cost of their line not having any say in Szalata after the handover. This was a double edged sword meant to dissuade the nobles from developing an interest for these lands.Image: Vilnius declaration being approved by Szalata
The dubious nature and the distrust of the Lithuanian grand duke motivated the merchant cliques across Baltics to look for alternative. Whilst Muscovite feudalism was more harsh, the established quasi ruling merchants detested what they called ‘feudal overreach’. The situation in Livonia became particularly volatile as the Teutonic order, eager to reclaim its former glory conspired with their former nemesis, the Lithuanians. The Hansa clique and the Estonian duchy were not idle either. Hansa began to use their connections in Holy Roman empire to steadily built up military infrastructure throughout the Baltic region. The spark that ignited the greater conflict was the disputed city of Dobeln. It was given to Bishopric of Courland following the first Livonian war as compensation after Lithuania grabbled most its western territories. As the bishopric of Courland was suffering from manpower shortage due to lack of fund, a significant number of monks and nuns operating in the area were from the bishopric of Riga. Archbishopric of Riga was the wealthiest jurisdiction of the Teutonic order in Livonia due to backing from the Swedish Sture family. After a few years, the city was under the care of archbishopric of Riga in all but name. This prompted Riga to extend its influence to the town through selling Burgher status to its citizenry and to that of nearby Schildburg. Thus when the Riga council declared the union of Riga, Dobeln and Schildburg[1] in late 1492 (897), it didn’t come as a surprise. However, there was exception and it wasn’t the Poles or the swedes but the Teutonic order who detested the increasing Hansa influence in its cities. Many knights decided to abandon monastic life and instead be hired as mercenaries by the merchant clique which greatly reduced the number of available combatants to the religious military order. Despite their sorry state, the Teutonic order called upon the Lithuanians for help in exchange for territory and Suzareinty of the Grand duchy over Courland. After witnessing the Polish success in establishing the vassal duchy of Prussia, Sigismund was ambitious. Thus after the capture of Pskov, he sent half of his forces to aid the Teutonic order. The combined force of 20,000 occupied the free city of Schildburg. The remaining defenders retreated to the nearby Bauska castle as the allied army of Lithuania and Teutonic order besieged it.
Image: siege of Bauska
Duchy of Estonia seized this opportunity and launched an invasion of nearby order controlled territories. Fellin and Dorpat fell rather easily as there had been furor against the mismanagement of the Diocese under the Teutonic order. But things became complicated when Teutonic forces occupied Neuhausen on Rabiul Sani 898 (February 1493)with help from Lithuanian garrison established in nearby Pskov. Despite not being a free city, Hanseatic League reacted rather harshly to its occupation and sent an envoy reprimanding the Lithuanians for ‘Undue interference in the politics of Livonia’. Nevertheless, the Lithuanian involvement convinced the Swedish Sture family to interfere in the complex conflict to support their house’s interest in Livonia since the archbishop of Riga was Karl Stensson Sture. On Jumada Awwal 898 (March 1493), Swedish forces occupied Lemsal and besieged Grob Roop[2]. An agreement was reached between the three polities whereby they decided to divide Livonia. Territories of north upto Wolmar would belong to Estonia whilst the rest would belong to Archbishopric of Riga. Sweden would gain the island of Hiiumaa and vassalize Bishopric of Osel-Wik. This agreement would be known as the ‘treaty of Lemsal’.
Meanwhile a Karulian host of only 10,000 were now going south. Due to winter the usual landmarks disappeared under snow and the hasty declaration of war meant there was inadequate logistics for the army. So Khan Albag came out with only half of the initial number of troops. But if they could reach Pskov in time a heavy blow could have been dealt to Lithuanians and perhaps saved the city. But deteriorating supply situation forced the Karulians to settle near the Baltic coast. The desperate Tatars raided Narva, a Hanseatic city and captured an immense amount of wealth and prisoners. An envoy from Estonia negotiated the release of prisoners offered them all captured booties if they could take the city of Neuhausen on the shore of Lake Peipus. Albag agreed to it and divided his forces into two. This deal would also ensure their safe passage to their ultimate goal of recapturing Pskov from the Lithuanians. Estonia’s Hanseatic diplomacy gained them a valuable ally that might just change the war in their favour. After replenishing themselves, the Karulians started for south again. On Jumada Awwal 21, 898 (12 March 1493) they faced an army of 9,000 Teutonic knights and allied mercenaries near lake Vagula. Due to a heavy fog the knights were confused by the beatings of war drum which made them move in the wrong direction, ultimately falling into an ambush. This battle was the last time the Monastic order would directly involve itself in a military engagement. But this battle isn’t the ‘death knell’ of the Teutonic order which was reported by many 12th century historians, rather the euthanasia of a dying legacy of the northern crusades.
Image: Aftermath of the battle of Vagula.
The Knights were forced to withdraw from Neuhausen after this debacle. But this was not the end of the Karulian onslaught. They chased the Lithuanians from Schildburg and relieved the siege of Bauska castle. Sigismund’s gains after careful preparations were about to be outdone in a matter of months. But the Lithuanian army was still busy in Livonia and further east.
The continued revolt of the free cities of Tver, Torzhok and Novgorod and the newly declared Perm continued to pose a dire problem for Muscovy. So Prince Ivan III adopted a multi factorial policy. He bribed some leaders of Torzhok to stop aiding Tver after ensuring that their trade privileges would remain the same. However he had to allow Torzhok to send supplies to Novgorod. This ultimately meant betrayal of Tver by other cities involved in the revolt. Tver was captured in 5 Jumada Sani 898 ( 24 March 1493) and brutally sacked. However the muscovite forces were facing unexpected difficulties when trying to subdue the Perm rebellion. Vasylko was able to unify the pagan, Christian and Muslim population of the ost Ykrania (eastern borderlands) against the muscovite occupation. They were further joined by Tatar mercenaries from Kazan. Despite all, the Muscovites were able to retake Ustyug after heavy casualties. However Vasylko had strategically placed his headquarters in Perm so they could attain supplies from Tatar merchants. Thus the rebellion went on as Vasylko shifted to using guerilla tactics to harass the numerically superior Muscovites. But for all of his bravado, the few number of settlements in the region meant that the Muscovites could play the long game and capture them. Whilst Vasylko’s ragtag guerillas could inflict casualties, they couldn’t retake a settlement once Muscovites occupied it. This is why the Permians were staunchly defending Cherdyn from a Muscovite siege in 20 Jumada Sani 898 ( 8 April 1493).
Image: Muscovite siege of Cherdyn
When all seemed lost, a group horseman arrived from the south and routed the besiegers. Has the Khan of Sarai finally decided to intervene?
('From Vikings to Tsars: Early Russian history’ by Vasiley Simkus)
[1] OTL Bauska
[2] OTL Straupe
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Breakup of the Italian League and the siege of Belgrade
Following the inconclusive battle of Cercola, the French position in Naples was anything but secure. This was coupled with the shocking news that the Aragonese reinforcement bound for Italy had been defeated by corsairs. This expedition showcased the rivalry between Louis of Orleans and Charles VIII as the latter was vehemently opposed against taking any sort of assistance from Aragon in Italian affairs. Thus when Francis de Foix was faced with conflicting orders, he chose to follow the king and decided to retreat from Naples before the Ottomans gathered a larger force. Despite being one of the Youngest leaders of the conflict, Charles VIII was no slouch when it came to understanding the bigger picture. In his mind, he was relieved that an Aragonese attempt at retaking Naples over ‘French dead bodies’ was foiled. He understood that if he wanted to take southern Italy for himself without the prospect of an Aragonese reconquest, he must clear the island of Sicily. An opportunity presented itself when he was met by Fransesco Miossi asking for help to restore the ‘rights of the Sicilian parliament to determine the fate of its inhabitants’.Breakup of the Italian League and the siege of Belgrade
After the Ottoman conquest of southern Italy and the increased corsair activity, the Sicilian artisanships of silk and iron totally collapsed as Calabria was now an enemy territory. This was coupled with a climate change which forced the landowners to gradually switch from usual sugarcane to cereal crops. Many guilds depending upon the local taxes and trade routes were in jeopardy. To make matters worse, the Aargonese governor Andrea Ximenez didn’t listen to the complaints and appeal to lower the taxes. He turned the Sicilian parliament defunct by allowing an exploitative alliance between the houses of Adragna and Gravina. Governor Andrea himself was reduced to a mere puppet and his request for the Aragonese fleet to disembark in Sicily was actually a show of force to bring things to an order. With that failed, the tension in the island simmered with the enemy opening its maw nearby and Aragon too far away and apathetic, things looked truly bleak. This was a golden opportunity for Charles VIII as he issued a new order for Francis, to set sail for Sicily. He rearranged the evacuation fleet into an invasion fleet and assigned Robert de Vienne at its head. The Italian conflict was about to get a new theatre.
Image: Fransesco and the Sicilian nobles in court of Charles VIII
Charles’s action risked breaking the tenuous alliance that is called the Italian league. But other members of the group particularly Ferrara and Bologna were already working to drive a wedge through it after the unfair distribution of Venetian lands. They hatched a plan which is historically known as the ‘Novellara conspiracy’. Duke of Ferrara Roberto d’Este, Carlo Pepoli of Bologna and the pro French nobleman from Pavia Giovanni Bellini were the prime perpetrators of this scheme. According to their plan, they’d murder the Cardinal Deacon Phillip, the de facto ruler of Ravenna. Their expectation was that the ensuing chaos would allow them to jump in and grab their desired territory under the guise of peace keeping. Contrary to their ambitions, Venice was preparing a retaliatory strike upon the occupying forces in Ravenna. Agents of the republic were sowing discontent within the populace and the merchants, urging them to stand up to the vile Borgia. Whether the conspirators knew of this is debated. Some say they knew of the hatred Juan Borgia was facing in Ravenna and sought to use it without learning the pretext. Others had a wild theory of Venetian correspondence with the conspirators though there isn’t enough evidence to prove this. However, the fact that Venice attacked and successfully blockaded the Ravenna Harbor (Marina Ravenna) during the ensuing chaos proves that the serene republic had enough spies to know of the hatching plot that concerned the fate of their recently lost enclave and they wasted no time to utilize it.
Cardinal deacon Philip was assassinated on 7 Rajab 898 (May, 1493). But throwing water over the plans of Novellara conspirators, Juan Borgia marched in with a retinue of 400 Neapolitan mercenaries. What he didn’t expect was the sudden Venetian assault.
Image: Murder of cardinal deacon Phillip
Caught completely off guard, he requested papal aid. But Papal reinforcements were blocked by Pesaro as Charles VIII demanded the Papacy and Juan to annul the previous territorial distribution and boasted that he alone, as the ‘King of Italy’ had the right to distribute the spoils. This was not just a threat to Papacy but also a declaration of war to the Holy Roman Emperor William I who was behind the partition of Ravenna. The Italian league had all but ceased to exist after this renewal of hostilities and Ravenna would be one of the flashpoints of the Italian wars.
In the Balkans, Musa’s gamble paid off when Ottomans were able to besiege Novigrad after the fall of Banja Luka and Gradacac. By Ramadan 898 (July 1493), the Ottomans were able to raid deep into Croatia. This secondary force was under the command of Suleiman pasha. The Croatians, despite being no match for the mighty Turks were able to mount an effective resistance against the occupiers. An instance of this was the battle of Una river. During the afternoon when the Ottoman camp was busy preparing iftar, Croatian light cavalry assaulted them from two sides. The entire Ottoman camp erupted into chaos as troops scrambled to get into formation. The army of 10,000 were scattered against this sudden assault and struggled to achieve a cohesive defense. Now the Croatian infantry charged and were at the middle of the camp. They were stopped after Ottomans decided to sacrifice their hard prepared iftar following a cannon salvo which destroyed not only the enemy vanguard but also the large cooking pots filled with meal. It was a horrible mess of food, human flesh and armor was littered around the battlefield. The Croatian situation quickly turned worse after the arrival of the foraging party. This prompted the Croatian cavalry to leave and the infantry blocked from retreat. Despite this victory, further ottoman incursion into Croatia was stopped for the remainder of the year.
Image: Battle of Una river
Meanwhile the Ottomans were able to defeat the local garrison of Sabac and occupy it in 23 Ramadan 898( 6 July 1493). Sultan Musa wanted to quickly besiege Belgrade but grand vizier Hanoglu Murad Pasha countered that if the Hungarian army catches them during the siege it will be a repeat of the last time. He also reminded the sultan that it was he who proposed that they meet the Hungarian main force near Belgrade. Little did they know that the grand vizier was right and they would soon face the Hungarian army of 20,000 that was racing towards Danube.
On Shawwal 1, 898 ( 16 July 1493), the Hungarian army under the command of Nicolas Tamasi and the count of Temesvar Gyorgy Albeni arrived in the outskirts of Sabac. Not wanting to remain on the other side, a crossing was attempted. Despite the Ottoman inaction, the Hungarians were having a hard time in crossing the Kolubara river. The Ottoman army of 35,000 outnumbered the Hungarians. Additional troops were supposed to arrive but a ‘Tatar’ raid in Transylvania (which in reality was a Qozak spillover from Moldavia and pontic steppes) hindered any further soldiers from joining this army. The battle began with cannon volleys of which the Ottomans were able to use to their advantage. The subsequent Ottoman cavalry charge was repelled by Hungarians which were divided into two right wings, a center and a left owing to the river crossing. However, the Hungarian numerically inferior left wing sustained damage and. Nicolas Tamasi carefully changed the formation and brought the Szekely contingent from the right wing to the left. A Hungarian cavalry charge was stopped dead in its track by the janissaries though the Szekely horsemen were able to inflict casualties on the Ottoman left. However, a sudden burst of Tatar cavalry from within the Ottoman infantry center caught the Hungarian cavalry off guard. The Szekely were surrounded between the newly separated infantry wings. The Transylvanian knights were being slaughtered by Tatars and janissaries. Understanding the situation, Nicolas ordered a retreat towards Belgrade but the charge of the Ottoman left wing consisting of Kapikulu sipahis forced them to change their direction. The surviving Hungarian forces retreated east towards Sava river while being chased by ottoman cavalry. The Szekely were forced to jump into the river after being surrounded from all sides and many drowned including their count Thomas Kacsiscs. The Ottomans achieved their greatest victory on the occasion of Eid-Ul-Fitr and effectively ended the last crusade.
Image: battle of Sabac, Balkh style miniature.
Following this victory, Sultan Musa proceeded to besiege Belgarde and employed hundreds of Boats to keep the nearby fortress of Zemun occupied so that they can’t aid the nearby citadel. Meanwhile there was an internal tension within the Ottomans camp. Musa appointed Keysarli Fahad pasha as the Beylarbey of Bosnia sanjak. This was detested by pasha of Rumelia Suleiman who desired Bosnai sanjak. So the frustrated pasha berated the new official before his departure to Bosnia. When the sultan heard of this, he wasted no time in demoting Suleiman and ordering his execution and appointed Ali Pasha Kastrioti as the Sanjakbey of Rumelia. Due his popularity amongst the Balkan sipahis, many high ranking officials including the grand vizier begged the sultan to not to do so. However, Musa was adamant on his decision and Suleiman was executed on the same day Belgrade fell. This earned him the title of ‘Musa the mad’ or ‘the cruel’ amongst chroniclers.. After a detonation of an underground mine along the eastern wall, Ottoman troops were able to enter the city through this breach in large numbers, thus hastening its fall. Despite the fear of rebellion within the army, the Sultan’s firm declaration of Suleiman’s execution after the fall of the citadel didn’t rouse the tired soldiers who were preparing to loot the city. The Ottomans once again emerged victorious against the so called crusades launched against it. But despite its failure, the 12th crusade would be an important point from which history of Europe would change forever.
Image: Siege of Belgrade
(From ‘Age of Chivalry’ by Thomas Siegfried)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
25 Shawwal 898 (9 August 1493)
Sikandarpur, Kashmir
Despite the season being late summer, the cold wind from the Himalayas made Mustafa feel a familiar and comforting chill. The mountains of Khurasan where he grew up had so much similarity with this paradise of a land they were trying so hard to conquer. If only Hind wasn’t there…
“My sultan, emir Muzaffar Shah wants to speak with you.” A soldier lifting the entrance flap of his tent spoke.
An old man wearing a fur hat and traditional Pashtun attire entered the secluded abode of Mustafa.
“Selam, honorable sultan. I hope I’m not intruding..”
“It’s alright. I was just checking the letters my mother and brother sent me.”
“I’m truly sorry about Muqit Khan.”
“No need, now I have immense respect for my father and grandfather on how they managed to make the Pashtuns get along with each other….”
“Indeed, the Pashtun spirit is rebellious. You never thought Bettani tribe would revolt, right? They were the most loyal tribe after Lohani after all. But I hope it’s just a case of misunderstanding on sharing of war spoils between them and the Dilzak.”Muzaffar replied as he straightened his posture a bit.
“Something tells me the Lohani are treating their Pashtun brethren worse than the supposed non-Pashtun Dilzaks and the Turkic Aimaqs.”
“Well, interest serves first and the only one who can placate a Pashtun is another Pashtun. I suppose we wait and see how Rashid manages it?” Muzaffar spoke while trying to avoid eye contact with Mustafa.
“You want me to trust your brother? In another time perhaps I would. But the situation in Persia is changing for the worst. Not just that, situation in the entire central Asia is gonna change. And I’m going back to Kabul anyway; mother wrote that father is sick.”
“Muhkam has been sick for a while now, it seems.” Muzaffar pondered as he twirled with a few strands of his beard.
"I guess he never recovered from trauma of the sudden death of my brother Ahmed, stepmother Firuze and her unborn child in a row. Anyway, you don’t need to fret. We have divided the sultanate and have instilled our Vassal Shaheedullah Khan on the throne of Sikandarpur. Those heretics based on Srinagar can’t do anything as they are basically surrounded by our vassals, Delhi and Sikandarpur.” Mustafa spoke as he began to prance around in his tent until going over to one of the safes and retrieving a letter from inside.
Handing it over to Muzaffar Shah, he said,
“It is better that you read this letter sent by my brother from Samarqand. Perhaps the situation would be a bit clear to you.”
Muzaffar took the letter with apprehension and started reading it:
My sultan,
My dear brother, it has been quite a long time since I’ve heard from you. The developments in hind are quite interesting. The Muslim Rajputs of further south and the Uzbeks of Bengal making contact with us for an anti Rajput alliance is quite interesting. But I have severe misgivings about our vassal Queen Rowshan Ara.
Anyway there have been big developments in the Jochid realm. The current Khan Ildar has been proclaimed as Khagan in Sarai by a kurultai of nobles and sanjakbegs from all across the state. It was necessary since the pagan Yuan Mongols to the east claimed their own Khan as the great Khan who controlled just the steppes east of Qumul(Hami). I personally think Jochids are more deserving of the title since they control a larger area and population.
Anyway, the new great Khan has been busy sending letters of recognition to nearby states. The Shaybanids have accepted and I as well have accepted on behalf of our state. The Shia heretics of Persia have rejected this proposal and insulted the great Khan by calling the Jochids ‘a bloated corpse’. The Ottomans are silent for now but given the war that is raging in Europe it is understandable.
You know of the predicament the trade I Mwerunnehr is in after the Chinese stopped their trade. Add the conservative policies by the previous Datu beg and everyone is dissatisfied. But he hasn’t returned after the kurultai yet and a new man called Qutlugh Muhammad is now the acting Sanjakbeg. There might be a letter heading your way straight from the Khagan where he’ll ‘request’ you to send up more exotic goods to Samarqand so as to keep the silk route alive. He’ll probably grant you ‘stewardship of Hind’ as a Jochid descendant. So please try to capture Kashmir as soon as possible. The caravan must go on!
Another disturbing news I’ve heard is the policies being enacted by the Mushashiya heretics. Every bachelor Sunni man must marry a Shia as his first wife before he can marry another Sunni woman. At first I laughed at this but then a Tatar commander told me this is exactly how Chingis Khan maintained his control over his vassals. So the Shias are planning to turn every Sunni household into Shia with feminine charm. Two converted majoosi families who fled Persia claimed that another absurd law was formulated where every new convert must become a Shia. These two families were victims of forced conversions since they converted to Sunnism. Allah forbid, if the new Khagan doesn’t do something about it I fear greatly for the safety of Sunnis in Persia.
I’m at the end of my letter. Please write as soon as possible and pass my salam and greetings to mom and dad. I hope dad recovers, I miss my mom. May Allah grant you victory, brother.
Khurshid
2 Shawwal, 898 years after the Hijra
“What a mess..” Muzaffar mumbled as he finished the letter.
“Indeed, and we have to clean it.” Mustafa said as he got up and left the tent, leaving Muzaffar alone.
“If only we Pashtuns were united instead of fighting each other so often, then no land between the Hindukush and Bengal would have been spared. But it is what Allah willed.” Muzaffar contemplated and sighed
**********************************************
Ramadan Mubarak to everyone! Hope you all are doing great. Here's another update.
The Ottomans have finally crushed the Hungarians and finished the 12th crusade. How'd you perceive Sultan Musa? My inspiration for him was Selim the grim. Despite the Ottoman threat, the big European powers are going against each other to claim the riches of Italy.
The Livonian war is becoming a long drawn out conflict which our grand duke Sigismund didn't comprehend. The arrival of Swedes will trigger a greater regional conflict by drawing other powers.
After much struggle, the Khurasanis have been able to carve out a vassal state from Kashmir. And a general outlook on the regional developments by a spectator in Samarqand. I do hope you guys love my letter formats
Last edited:
Ramadan Mubarak to you to author.
I like the chapter and I feel like the ottoman empire is going to stretch it's supply lines but let Hope not
I like the chapter and I feel like the ottoman empire is going to stretch it's supply lines but let Hope not
Thank you. For now Balkan chapter is over but the war isn’t as you’ll see Ottomans moving to a new frontier.
For a TL centred on Golden horde, they got nerfed twice (by Timur and by Ottomans) so safe to say that no one can say it's a wank😅😅
These are made up for this TL and different than OTL safavids since the rulers belong to a different order and have a more pronounced claim to the Ahlul Bayt( being arabs and all). We'll see a trickle down pressure on the sunnis rather than the immediate forced conversion of OTL.
This baltic campaign is one fascinating pile-up of competing interests! I like the focus on its politics and how the Hanseatic League is getting involved, the process of forming a modern centralized state is a complicated and winding path. To think the Lithuanians need to take advice from the Golden Horde of all people!
At the battle of Vagula, what portion of the Teutonic army was fully armored knights, versus lesser mercenary or local troops?
At the battle of Vagula, what portion of the Teutonic army was fully armored knights, versus lesser mercenary or local troops?
The footnote to explain Grob Roop is missing.
If you read the info dump on Europe before start of the 12th crusade, there was a 1st Livonian war that involved a myriad nearby states. I decided not to elaborate on it. Needless to say,things will be even more complex now with Rus free cities in revolt and tatars closing in.
Grand Duke Sigismund was a Tatar ally just a decade back if you remember the retaliatory campaign by Tatars after the Vladimir crusade. So of course he'll borrow some ideas.
As the monastic order is scraping the bottom of the barrel at this point, not more than 300-600. Most are regular mercenaries from HRE and Lithuania. Either way this is somewhat similar to battle of Vasuli with early spring fog.
Thanks, corrected