Part 26: The Ottomans Part 3: 1451-1510

The Ottomans Part 3: 1451-1510

The first war of the The Ottomans and Morocco against the Mamluks damages them beyond repair. They will never be able to reclaim the strength they once had with the losses that they've suffered.



Morocco seized Alexandria, taking their wealthy trade center. We claim their rich coastal cities. The only truly valuable territories that remain under their control are Cairo and Damascus.



With the remaining Mamluk provinces still separating us from the Timurids, we are allowed to focus on restoring internal order in our new holdings.



Austria continues with their attempts at diplomatic expansion.



Qara Koyunlu is an aggressive horde state, but they are too small to be of any real threat. They are easily pacified whenever they rise up.



Castille is outraged by our capture of their southern holdings. They declare war with the intent of reclaiming their lost territory. We've prepared for just such an event by positioning our main army with our most talented general in Iberia. We must defend these provinces while our clerics do their work.



Morocco comes to our aid as well. Ottoman troops push towards Toledo while our Moroccan allies lay siege to other nearby settlements.



Castille wasn't truly prepared for this invasion, and they suffer a defeat a modest defeat because of it.



Qara Koyunlu is pacified and forced to pay tribute.



With a period of peace at hand, we're able to spend time on domestic matters. Granada is released as an Emirate under our control and we gradually cede other nearby provinces to them as our clerics complete their conversions..



Georgia falls yet again to steppe nomads, this time being absorbed by the Golden Horde.



The people of Andalucia now mostly adhere to the Sunni faith. Once Cordoba follows, we will transfer control of the remaining two territories here to Granada.



Qara Koyunlu becomes hostile once again, but they are quickly subdued by Ottoman and allied armies. Even Granada ships a regiment up here to help.



Morocco engages in war with the Mamluks once again they call us to their side. Just as before, we declare a separate war of conquest in order to aid them in our own way.



England declares war on us. They have their sights set on our Castillian provinces as well. England maintains a sizable navy of ocean-faring vessels that would ravage our galleys if we were to attempt to leave the Mediterranean and approach the British Isles.



In the midst of the war against England, we gain a core on La Mancha through a random event and seize it with a reconquest of our own.



With the second conquest on the Mamluks over, we now border a long stretch of horde territory. I decide that its time to start pushing back against the hordes. There are rich provinces waiting to be claimed in Persia with high tax bases as well as valuable textile industries and spices. The advance towards those valuable provinces will be slow, however. We will need to colonize territories as we go along.



Morocco comes out of the last war with the Mamluks as the undisputed masters of North Africa.



Castille urges for a new crusade to be called against us. They are greatly worried by the speed with which we've undone their Reconquista.



Our colonists pour into conquered horde lands, slowly wresting them from the control of the nomads.



Castille declares yet another war against us. They are determined to see their old possessions returned to them.


This time they fight with such ferocity that our army is routed and nearly destroyed. Our ruler makes a last-minute peace with the Castillians to admit defeat lessen our level of influence on foreign states. Our largest army is spared, but we had to allow the Castillians to taste victory.


While difficult battles wage in the west, our slow expansion continues in the east with relative ease.


A completely isolated Cyprus is invaded and annexed. Cyprus has a strong tax base and a booming wine industry.



English Admiral Guy Braddock causes us to suffer a handful of embarrassing naval defeats. With superior ships and superior leadership, there's nothing we can do but hide in port and allow England to land troops in Iberia again and again.



Thankfully, their armies are not as invincible as Braddock's fleet.



With the defection of Imereti we find ourselves sharing a border with the Golden Horde yet again. A fresh batch of Georgian revolutions springs up to keep them busy for the time being.



An extremely odd war begins in the mid 1490s. France uses the crusade against us to declare holy war.



Castille somehow ends up on our side of the war, and once the French and Castillians realize what happened, they immediately start punching each other. All we really need to do is lean back and watch them fight it out. The French navy is not as sophisticated as the English, and our galley fleet is able to prevent them from approaching our core territories with any substantial force. After several months of watching the French and Castillians punish each other, I end the war with a white peace.



The remaining Iberian territories are transferred to Granada's control and we remove our forces from the region. Being our vassal makes Granada essentially immune to annexation, as Castille needs to negotiate with us for their territories.



Central Europe is filling with strong states. The Netherlands, Bavaria, Bohemia, and Austria are all prominent HRE nations.



Morocco pushes even further east by seizing the Persian Gulf province of Basra.



The Protestant Reformation begins in Europe. This is great for us, because now the European powers will need to spend more time worrying about one another. Plus, protestant and reformed nations won't be able to use catholic crusades as a cause for war against us.



Azerbaijan defects to our nation, providing us with another new strong tax base. This also reminds me that I need to catch up on Wiz's thread.



Our tech levels are really starting to fall behind the tech levels of western Europe. We need to get to land tech 13 to remain competitive in battle against the more advanced foreign units. Janissary Infantry would equalize us once more, but I think that by the time we get there, we'll be up against firearm wielding troops.



Bayezid II is crowned ruler of the Ottoman Empire. He's an all around man of great talent and should be capable of seeing our nation through westernization. In fact, the option to begin the westernization process lights up on the day he takes the crown. It may be in our best interests to wait just a bit longer before we begin, though. There are some things we can do to make it easier on ourselves.




Current technology levels



The Ottoman Empire in 1510.