Paradox Interactive Forums - When Ottomans Ruled the Earth, part 2

THE REIGN OF SULEYMAN I (1520-1566)

The 2nd Persian War (1519-1522)

While the war on Persia was declared on October 24th, 1519 by Sultan Selim I, the actual fighting was left to his son, Suleyman I, and his newly appointed leader, Prince Ali Bey (4/4/3). The main targets in the war are the provinces of Kurdistan and Azerbaijan, and accordingly, two of the competent colonels in our Imperial Army take their siege forces to these provinces, while Prince Ali Bey's infantry and cavalry regiments are continually on standby, if the Persians decide to send troops to harass the sieges or worse, plunder our provinces.

The latter is what those Shiite dogs decide to do, after both of our siege forces slaughter the defense forces in the target provinces and start their operations. The siege on Armenia is short-lived, as Prince Ali Bey comes to the rescue; after a short battle, the Persians flee in panic into Azerbaijan, and right into an ambush set by the Ottoman siege force stationed in the province. No Persians survive the bloodbath.

Azerbaijan falls in late May, 1520, and the already desperate Persians offer it to us in exchange for peace. We refuse, as our faithful brothers in Kurdistan must not suffer unde Shiite rule any longer. A half-hearted attempt to liberate Persia fails miserably in June, and the Persians are forced to watch helplessly as Kurdistan crumbles under Ottoman power. The garrison finally surrenders on September 3rd, 1520, but the Persians refuse to give Kurdistan and Azerbaijan to us. Do they have an ace up their sleeve?

Apparently, the Persians have managed to raise a significant army of nearly 30000 men while we were sieging their provinces. This force attacks Kurdistan, but it gives us very little trouble, since our blessed scouts saw it coming; they are helpless under the combined force of the Kurdistan siege unit and Prince Ali Bey's cavalry. After the battle, the siege force gets some reinforcements and moves to the province of Kars in April. Kars falls in February 1522, and thanks to the additional leverage, the Empire gains Azerbaijan and Kurdistan in peace negotiations.

The peace came at a very good moment, since just slightly before the fall of Kars, our Empire encountered a political crisis which wreaked havoc on our stability. The first rebellion took place in Macedonia while the war was still being fought.

Soon after the peace treaty, Bujak and Anatolia rebelled as well, so there was no peace for Prince Ali Bey and the other heroes of the 2nd Persian War. The rebellions were not only a concern for our internal affairs; we had to commit a significant part of our army to peacekeeping, thus leaving our borders open for a possible sneak attack. Therefore, the Sultan is exalted when the Khan of Crimea finally agrees to an alliance.

The rebellions delay the Sultan's expansionist plans, but like all the troubles Allah chooses to test us with, they were not without a purpose. The internal infrastructure of the Empire is not on a par with its military strength, and surely Allah sent those rebels to remind us that we must not forget our old provinces, even when we search for new territories in His honor. The Sultan orders significant investments in both infrastructure and commerce, both of which will ultimately benefit not only our civilian subjects but our mighty army as well.

While the Empire is again busy upgrading infrastructure, Mamelukes annex Tunis, and Russians do the same to the Golden Horde. Some day the Mamelukes (and perhaps the Russians as well) need to be dealt with. However, that day is not now, as Sultan Suleyman I has Georgia on his mind.

The Fall of Georgia (1526-1527)

Georgia, a two-province Orthodox nation in the Northeastern corner of the Black Sea, is another one of our old enemies. A newly-appointed General Euldj Ali (5/1/4) is given control of the siege force formerly led by the great General Sinan, and he, along with the field army of Prince Ali Bey head to the Northeastern corner of the Empire in the winter of 1526. When war is declared on February 14th that year, Euldj Ali leads his troops across the border to Georgia. The Georgian army is is sent to rescue the province, but they get slaughtered and the horrified garrison cannot hold on beyond August. The defenders in the capital province of Sochi meet a similar fate in October, but then General Euldj Ali comes face-to-face with a different kind of opponent: the Georgian winter. However, his orders are to take the capital, and that he does, despite an alarming attrition rate; Sochi holds on through the winter, but finally falls on April 24th, 1527. Georgia is officially annexed on May 8th.

Poland and their insignificant infidel allies go to war against Russia in the fall of 1529. The act is noted in the Ottoman court, and the Sultan appoints another General, Beirleir Bey (3/3/4), in a preparation to a war to liberate the faithful servants of the Only True God in the Polish province of Krementjuk. To get there, we will have to go through Bessarabia, which we also intend to conquer, to establish a connection to Krementjuk.

The War on Poland (1531-1532)

The Sultan declares war on Poland on June 27th, 1531, just months after they have reached a peace agreement with the Russians. Their allies Lothringen and Spain intervene and the latter even refuses an immediate peace treaty, so we keep Beirleir Bey and his army close to Thrace. Those accursed Spaniards will not catch us by surprise.

Bessarabia falls very quickly under the artillery barrage of Gen. Euldj Ali's troops, and he is ordered onwards to Krementjuk. The Polish army crosses the border and attacks Moldavia repeatedly, but each time Prince Ali Bey beats them back. The siege of Krementjuk starts during the first days of spring in 1532, and despite some harassment by the Poles, the siegers are victorious in October. In the peace negotiations, the Polish envoy turns out to be somewhat stubborn. 'Allah is great, our steel is hard, but your necks are soft,' utters the Sultan and watches their faces turn from their regular paleness to the color of newly-fallen snow on the Anatolian mountains, as they recognize that their only options are defeat and total defeat. From November 7th, 1532 onwards, Krementjuk and Bessarabia are Ottoman until the end of time.

After the war, the first priority of the Sultan is to replace the fallen heroes of the two wars, and build up an even mightier army to ensure the security of the Empire. Soon, however, military issues take a second seat, as he engages in a heavy investment in commerce, infrastructure, and related research. The program gets an additional boost from the Only True God; in 1533, the Algerian King dies, and leaves no male descendants worthy of the throne – surely a curse of Allah, even though we do not know what the late King did to anger him so. Be that as it may, the result is that on behalf of the Algerian court and nobility, the Algerian ambassador officially offers the throne of Algeria to Suleyman I on December 1st, 1533, thus effectively unifying the two nations. This brings new tax ducats to the treasury directly, and other income indirectly, as the Algerian merchants, who have monopolized the trade in Alexandria, now work for us. Furthermore, if the Mamelukes decide to fight us, they will now have to fight on two fronts. As do we, of course; but with the help of Allah and under the leadership of Suleyman I, we can do it.

The Empire enjoys an unexpectedly long period of peace, a full 12 years. Only one thing interrupts our steady economic growth: as sometimes happens with those new to the Faith, Bulgarians start interpreting the Quran more and more strictly, and eventually some fork-tongued Shiite missionaries successfully convert the province to their faith. A rebellion starts within weeks, and another is to follow; soon, we station a large army group in the province to police those heretics. We also appoint a justice of the peace in Bulgaria, to promote stability, but to no effect; rebellions still break out frequently and, in fact, the first appointee dies in such a calamity. Eventually, we are forced to ease our restrictions on Shiite activity in the Empire, and to further stabilize Bulgaria, the Sultan orders the Imperial builders to construct an Art Academy in the provincial capital of Sofia. An institution devoted to Islamic architecture, music, and poetry should keep those Shiite fanatics calm.

However, no peace lasts forever, and as we suspect that Mameluke spies were behind the recent conversion of Bulgaria, they will be our next target. This time, we want to honor Allah by acquiring a land corridor to Hejdaz, our weak but faithful ally; the Sultan wants to be a man of his word, and he will need that corridor to be able to defend Hejdaz, if need be. The Mamelukes are still allied with Venice, but those Christians do not frighten us; their god has proven false on a battle ground before.

The War on Mamelukes (1544-1546)

As spring comes, so comes war; the official declaration is on May 18th, 1544. Venice intervenes on the Mamelukes behalf, but we decide not to bother our allies; if the One True God blesses us, we can defeat them both, and if He does not, what good could our allies possibly do?

An army group from our Algerian provinces starts a siege on Tunisia on the Western battlefront, and General Euldj Ali takes his siege force to Nuyssaybin, where he suffers an unexpected and humiliating defeat. However, the field army of Prince Ali Bey is stationed in a neighboring province, and he sets out for another attack as Gen. Euldj Ali retreats. The ensuing battle is a massacre; the exhausted and disspirited defenders are no match for Prince Ali Bey, and only a few men manage to escape South to Syria. Prince Ali Bey is then ordered out of the province, and General Euldj Ali takes his troops to the neighboring Mameluke province, the populous and prosperous Aleppo. On the Venetian front, General Beirleir Bey sees his first real action in Illyria, which soon finds itself under siege.

Tunis falls on January 4th, 1545, but as attrition has taken a heavy toll on the siege force, we order them to stay put and not move on Eastwards to Tripolitania. The next province to fall is Illyria, in Venice, which surrenders on April 20th. Venice refuses to give it to us in a peace treaty, but instead accept our new proposal a little later; they get Illyria back, but we get 250 ducats and Venice out of the war.

Aleppo holds on bravely, but finally falls in September, and General Euldj Ali advances to Syria, another populous province which we need to secure to reach our goals. The Army of Prince Ali Bey secures Aleppo, and another army group from the Venetian front is sent to the area to crush Mameluke resistance, as they are slowly raising a new army in Nuyssaybin, East of Aleppo. Another Mameluke army marches East from Egypt, intent on liberating Aleppo; the liberators are annihilated in a battle in December. On March 29th, 1546, Syria surrenders.

With Syria now under control and the Mameluke main army torn to shreads, the Sultan now feels that we have some additional leverage in our peace negotiations. He sends a peace offer demanding not only Aleppo and Syria but also 250 ducats in ransom for Tunisia; the offer is rejected. Almost at once, Krementjuk rebels, and our internal advisors report on unrest in various provinces around the Empire, as the Sultan's subjects are growing tired of the war. Surely this is a sign from Allah, a warning against unnecessary greed; as soon as the Mamelukes agree to continue peace negotiations, we send another proposal, settling for Aleppo and Syria. The offer is accepted, and Allah blesses our generosity. All is well in the Empire again.

Now, with the land corridor to Hejdaz secured, we can invite them back to our alliance in good faith. As the Sultan notes that their army is still nearly non-existent, he also offers them the eternal protection of the mighty Ottoman army in exchange of yearly payments. They refuse; we hope they do not meet the same destiny that befell the khaliphate of Irak.

The Hungarian War (1549-1553)

Sultan Suleyman I is the first Sultan to seriously consider the possibility of uniting Europe under Ottoman rule. As his time as an Earthly servant of the One True God is limited, he orders an attack on Hungary and their ally, Austria, only three years after making peace with the Mamelukes. His minimum goal is to conquer the Hungarian provinces of Croatia and Serbia to give the Empire a good position for a future attack on the Austrian gold mines in Styria. However, launching that attack in this war is not ruled out in advance, if Allah is favorable and luck is on our side.

The Empire declares war on Hungary on October 2nd, 1549. As expected, Austria intervenes. The Sultan sends an offer for a separate status quo peace to Vienna, as the rules of good and honorable behavior demand; after all, our issue here is with the Hungarians, not with the Austrians. However, in another show of what Christian promises are worth, the Austrians gladly sign the peace treaty, thus violating every known principle of honor and leaving their friends and allies alone. Those foul, infidel swine are beneath all contempt. If we have any dealings with them in the future, we will not trust anything that comes out of their fork-tongued mouths.

Upon hearing this despicable act by the Austrians, the furious Sultan calls his military leaders to an impromptu meeting. If the best indication of who we really are is the company we keep, how much better can the Hungarians be? The Sultan orders the mighty Ottoman war machine to take his anger out on the Hungarians, and instead of the modest goals set out before the war, our goal is now nothing less than a total victory and the end of Hungary as an independent nation.

Two Ottoman siege forces, led by General Euldj Ali and a young Colonel called Konya (3/0/0, conquistador) take on Serbia and Croatia, and a field army under the leadership of General Beirleir Bey is stationed in Moldavia, on the Hungarian border. Serbia falls surprisingly quickly, and in May 1550 Colonel Konya advances North to Banat; meanwhile, Hungarians try to strike at Moldavia, but are beaten back time and time again. However, in late May General Beirleir Bey makes the mistake of following the fleeing Hungarians to Maros to try to crush what remains of their army; his troops take heavy casualties, and he is forced to retreat.

With Beirleir Bey out of the picture, the Hungarians have some breathing room; instead of trying to fight our massive but rapidly depleting siege forces in Banat and Croatia or liberating occupied Serbia, they advance to Moldavia and siege the fortifications there. However, their forces are lacking in artillery, and the garrison fights back with the valor and courage the Sultan expects from his soldiers.

After receiving reinforcements, the two siege forces move to Pest and Maros; General Beirleir Bey's field army also receives fresh blood, and moves on to attack the Hungarians stationed in Moldavia. The Hungarian army is again forced to retreat, but it does so in a semi-orderly fashion and without much bloodshed; they receive reinforcements from the capital province of Magyar, head south and force the exhausted Ottoman siege force out of Pest. They then try to liberate Croatia, which allows the original Pest siege force to return to action.

In the summer of 1551, General Beirleir Bey rides with his troops from Moldavia clear across Hungary to Croatia, where the Hungarian siegers are massacred just as they were about to defeat our temporary garrison in the province. Meanwhile, a new, small Hungarian army again invades Moldavia, and Beirleir Bey is ordered back there. However, to save time, he has to cut through enemy-occupied territory, and is ambushed in Magyar; even though he has the upper hand at least numerically, the battle seems deadlocked. Fortunately, both Maros and Pest surrender almost simultaneously in January, 1552, and General Euldj Ali comes to his rescue from Pest and starts a siege in Magyar after helping to defeat the Hungarians. Colonel Konya sieges Transylvania, and after a short break and new reinforcements, General Beirleir Bey once again rides to Moldavia, and once again the Hungarians are beaten in the battlefield.

After Magyar and Transylvania fall in August, our victorious siege forces advance to the last remaining Hungarian provinces by the Polish border, Carpathia and Ruthenia. Hungarians make a desperate effort to liberate Pest, an effort which ends in a disaster as soon as General Beirleir Bey's cavalry shows up. The remaining forces gather in Magyar, and make a diversion by moving Westwards. As Ruthenia falls on November 22nd, Hungarians make their last offensive of the war, again directed at Pest, and again their effort ends in a bloodbath.

Meanwhile, the patience of our people is clearly growing thin. Algerian provinces are reportedly restless, even though not openly revolting. As the Hungarian garrison in Carpathia resists, the war drags on, and an open rebellion in Konya is finally a reality in July of 1553. Fortunately, Carpathia falls on August 14th, and on August 25th, 1553, the kingdom of Hungary is no more.

As Allah has again blessed us on the battlefield, the Sultan decides to honor Him by building an Empire which is second to none in both military might and prosperity. While we may have achieved the former, our economy is still in need of improvement. Yearly income is enough to raise a massive army and pay for its maintenance even during wartime, but we need more; we need a justice of the peace and a manufactory in every province. A further problem is created by the fact that our ducats are not what they used to be. The inflation rate in the Empire is above 20% and rising; clearly, something needs to be done about that.

As a sign of our new commitment to peaceful relations, we renew our royal marriage with our faithful friends in Crimea, and again offer vassalization to Hejdaz, which they again refuse. In 1554 the people of Ruthenia, a poor and relatively backwards province, prove that the True Faith can live even in modest surroundings, convert to Islam and erect a new Mosque in the provincial capital.

A young naval officer, Admiral Ahmed (3/1/1, explorer) puts himself in the service of the Sultan, and he is ordered to take a small fleet and go explore the African coastline with Colonel Konya and a small army force. While the Sultan would like to find a way to sail around Africa to gain access to the Red Sea, the first goal of the expedition is much more modest: all we want them to do is to establish one or two colonial naval bases in the African coast to honor Allah, spread the Word of his Prophets, and help further exploration in the future.

On the international front, our new neighbors, those vile Habsburgian dogs in Austria, are at war with Bohemia. In the spring of 1557, Venice and their allies Navarra, Hansa, and the Mamelukes declare war on Austria, which quickly ends the Bohemian war. While the Sultan was not looking for a war on the Austrians just yet, the temptation created by the gold mines of Styria is too much, and the opportunity too good to pass, and the Ottoman Empire declares war on Austria on August 13th, 1557. While Allah usually favors those who adhere to their plans, did He not bless us in our fight against the Hungarians, even if we revised our strategies on the fly?

The Austrian War (1557-1558)

Immediately after the declaration of war, siege forces are sent to Carnolia and Oldenburg. Austria, in turn, sieges Carpathia; General Beirleir Bey is sent to the rescue, and while his troops prevail, the General himself dies in the battle. We will miss him, but in our sorrow, we remember that all those who die in the defense of the One True Faith gain an immediate entrance to Paradise. His army honors his name by beating back any further Austrian attempts on Carpathia and Magyar.

Carniola falls on May 25th, 1558, and the siege force led by General Euldj Ali is ordered to Styria. Oldenburg falls in August, and since Austrian cowards let us conduct our sieges with impunity, Styria follows in December. The Empire gains Carniola and Styria in a December 13th, 1558 peace treaty.

Meanwhile, our African expedition has found Fernando Po, a small island off the coast of Cameroon, an ideal place for a West-African colonial base. Col. Konya's men stay in the province waiting for settlers from Thrace, while Admiral Ahmed is sent to our Algerian harbors to resupply. The Admiral, now down to his last ship, meets a storm on the way, however, and is never heard from again. The colonization is successful though; Allah guides the settlers to their destination and on November 7th, 1558 the Ottoman Empire starts its first official colony on Fernando Po.

In 1561, there is yet more calamity in the Christian churches around Europe, as yet another faction, the Reformed, splits off. How many branches of Christian heresy are there now? Should we really even care? If they cannot explain how their three false gods are actually one, how, in the name of Allah, are we supposed to make sense of their internal strife?

Russia also expands in the 1560s, taking Ingermanland from the Teutonic Order. They then go to war against Astrakhan, which ends in Astrakhan losing one of their Orthodox provinces and paying an indemnity. In the summer of 1562, the Spanish and French alliances go to a war which eventually ends in a stalemate; Oman, however, annexes Aden in October, 1563. In December, the Netherlands declares independence, and settles their independence war by paying a small sum of ducats to Spain.

In a surprise development Astrakhan, apparently still ailing from their war against Russia, is annexed by the heathen kingdom of Sibir on March 30th, 1564. We can but wonder what sins they have committed against Allah to be so humiliated. The sight of true believers languishing under a heathen king is truly atrocious; we send Sibirians a letter, warning them against persecuting our faithful brothers in Astrakhan. We do not know if the letter had any effect; however, the Sultan sends another letter to Crimea, vowing eternal friendship and devotion to our common cause. They can rest assured, if the Sibirians as much as look at them the wrong way, we will let those heathens know what the wrath of Allah and his devout servant, the Sultan, really means.

Suleyman I was a young man when he was forced to take on the responsibilities of a Sultan by the unfortunate and unexpected death of his father, Selim I. However, it has become increasingly clear to everyone in the Ottoman court that he is not a young man any more. Therefore, it comes is no surprise to anyone that Sultan Syleyman I, now known more widely as Suleyman the Great, the Defender of the Faith, the Enemy of all Infidels, the Big Stick of Allah, steps to the eternal joy of Paradise in late 1565 and leaves the Empire to his eldest son, Selim II.

[This message has been edited by Kekkonen (edited 08-01-2001).]