Alright guys, chapter twenty-five! Not only is the word count well ahead of anything else that I've written but after this chapter it will be the longest chapter wise as well, finally overtaking my similar fictionpress story The Marchioness of Torino. Anyway, all of that is well and good but first, lets get through this chapter - here, we pick up as Sultana Helena and Fatimah assume command of the Kirim Ordusu - the Ottoman Army of Crimea. The two work to salvage a victory after a terrible start to The Russo-Ottoman War.
The Legacy of The Romans.
Act II.
The Russo-Ottoman War.
Chapter XXV.
The War on The Crimean Front.
The Kayser-i Rum arrived in the ports near Trabzon flanked by numerous other Ottoman vessels.
Our navy was unopposed on the Black Sea as we arrived in Crimea, dispelling any notion that the Russians built a fleet to destroy our own. The Russians, even with Portuguese ships that managed to reinforce the enemy forces in the Black Sea, did not dare challenge my mighty navy, they did not dare challenge the authority of the Ottoman flagship. The Mediterranean Sea had been the lifeblood of The Roman Empire, they ruled the seas and thus could patrol the entire coastline in a way that no civilization has been able to since. Justinian came close in replicating their success when the Byzantine Empire was at the peak of its power and now we reign supreme over the long Muslim coast of North Africa as well as Syria, Palestine, and Anatolia, but no one has controlled the Mediterranean the way that the Romans have. However, we can and will control the Black Sea. Russia have a few ports in their gaps on either side of Crimea and Georgia may straddle the coast at the base of the Caucasus, but for all their coastline, they have missed their chance to challenge us.
We arrived on Crimea in peace, coming into port at Theodoro. battling the Russians on the Crimean front should be much easier. We would enlist the undamaged Kirim Ordusu and waged war against the local Russian forces rather than the Russian reinforced by the Georgians - we wouldn't need to worry about getting pushed back into the mountains, we wouldn't have to fight Tsarina Anastasia herself, and we wouldn't be victim to any Persian interlopers. The only person who can influence the war in Crimea is me, I know exactly how Crimea was defended before the Ottoman conquest and I know that my husband didn't care for actually making something of his conquests. The fall of Erivan is proof that Suleiman III was an unimaginative Sultan, caring only for conquest and glory without looking at the bigger picture and thinking of how this land can best be utilized to actually benefit and expand The Ottoman Empire rather than overextend it and eventually bleed it dry. Fatimah and I are exactly the kind of people that The Ottoman Empire need but, instead, we have to make due with Spartak Pasha and other traditionalists trying to undermine us and overthrow us and, on top of all that, I must contend with Tsarina Anastasia waging war against my Empire.
It is a damn shame that the two most powerful women in the world must find ourselves at odds with one another. I am not the one that wanted war but it was obvious that the Europeans were going to jump on my reign and perceive my regency as a weakness and, of course, the young and ambitious Anastasia ruling over a Russia on the rise would be the one to strike first. Of course, this was after she struck at The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth - I think what happened there was a blessing and a curse, it was a blessing because it demonstrated that the Europeans still feared us and overestimated our ability to wage war, buying us more time to prepare for this war, but this was a curse as well because, in overestimating us, Tsarina Anastasia raised a mighty, mighty force to destroy us. Not only are the Russian armies themselves great but they are disciplined and hardened after war against Poland, meanwhile, the surviving soldiers of The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth are also hardened by warfare but also itching to avenge their lost and bring back their country's prestige, additionally, the Portuguese have taken advantage of our ceasefire rather than a truce to join Russia in a war - intending to either retake Muscat and Bahrain now or weaken us enough that their eventual reconquest will be easier - and, perhaps worst of all, our treacherous vassals in Transylvania have joined the enemy. Not only was I on the verge of losing my Crimean homeland and the newly conquered Caucasus but Moldavia was likely going to the Poles while Transylvania would escape my sphere of influence, the Principality trading Turkish and Austrian masters for Russian and Polish ones. This war could be a disaster for The Ottoman Empire's European ambitions and, while I have a distaste for war, I am increasingly seeing that pacifism is useless if my enemies do not respect it and I do not want to deny my son or my descendants from pursuing greater European conquests if they so desire, even if I personally disagree with this idea.
"What's that in the distance?" Fatimah asked, I followed her gaze and found the masts of ships, masts of ships topped with Russian and Portuguese flags. I turned around and I saw the same masts coming in from the opposite sides. I watched as a joined Russian and Portuguese force surrounded the Turkish fleet that just came into port here in Theodoro. The Russians finally made their move. They have been waiting and waiting to catch my fleet off guard so that they would not have to face it in a fair fight and, unfortunately, they seem to have succeeded. I looked around and I could see that, with an admittedly challenging and risky strategy, our fleet could break out of this trap and sail out to more open waters where we could wage battle with the Russian fleet, allowing for our experienced sailors led by El Diablo, the fearsome admiral who has slaughtered countless Spanish and Portuguese navies, to turn the tide. That was all well and good, but, for now, this was just an unfortunate inconvenience, we would break out of port after we dealt with the Russian ground forces and turned this war around. Right now, a major ground victory was more important for The Ottoman Empire than a victory at sea. Our navy is not in question right now, but our army is - our failures in Caucasia will only make our European rivals more and more hungry - I don't want to be the next victim when Austria and France finally finish their political struggle thinly disguised as a religious war between the Catholics, lead by the Austrian Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor and the Protestants, lead by the Lutheran Adolphus Rex of Sweden but really propped up by the machinations of a French Catholic Cardinal. I restore my army's reputation before I have to prove it before every European power.
"The Russians set a trap and we sprung it." I admitted, this was an unfortunate complication and it could potentially threaten our supply lines later on, but, when the fleet arrived to Trabzon to pick Fatimah and I up, they had more than enough supplies for a Crimean campaign, not to mention that the peninsula itself is fairly able to sustain itself. The supplies and the Kirim Ordusu would be unleashed upon the Russians - we shall see if their navy has the bravery to keep up this blockade if their army is beaten - and, with any luck, the might of the Ottoman armies will be avenged. Even if we are to lose Crimea, even if we are to lose Caucasia, even if we are to lose Moldavia on top of all that, we must maximize the results of this bad situation. Giving up too easily will lead to all our enemies greedily lashing out at us, practically tripping over each other to steal my land, giving too late will cause more suffering for The Ottoman Empire than Crimea, Caucasia, and Moldavia are worth, but, if we can end this war at just the right time, win or lose, our reputation will leave us just strong enough for some European powers to back down entirely and for the rest to hesitate just long enough that Fatimah and I can prepare for a war. Of course, this would be a lot easier if I knew what Tsarina Anastasia's intentions are - does she intend to shatter my Empire completely and cause regional turmoil for Russia to exploit? Does she intend to sack Konstantiniyye and rob my capital of its riches just like she did with Warsaw? Or does she want to keep The Ottoman Empire strong? Keeping my Empire as an exhibit that she can take from whenever she wants? I wasn't sure, Tsarina Anastasia was deadly intelligent woman and, once again, it is a shame that the two of us must be on other sides - in better circumstances, together, we could take advantage of the religious and political chaos in Germany so that I could claim the rest of Hungary while she expanded her sphere of influence to the west beyond the borders of her Polish puppet state.
"Wonderful. Well, we can fight the Russians on the peninsula or on the steppe, we'll drag a victory out of this Helena, I promise." Fatimah assured me and I was glad to find that we were in agreement. There was no denying that the Russian and Portuguese ships were a setback but we cannot let that setback stop us from doing everything we can to maximize the results of this war for The Ottoman Empire.
"Azov is under siege by Russia's Army of the Ukraine, there's thirty-five thousand of them. We have twenty-nine thousand of our own men and we have received further reinforcements from the Kazakh Horde." Fatimah reported as we arrived in Theodoro proper. Part of me wanted to stay here with Fatimah for a little while and pretend that, somehow, despite everything that has happened, I was still a happy Princess of Theodoro with my family and that Fatimah was a part of that family, but I knew better than that. First of all, that fantasy is impossible since I only met Fatimah because I became the Sultana-regent of The Ottomans and second of all, Fatimah and I could not rest while this war was still waging. I was the ruler of The Ottoman Empire and Fatimah was my Grand Vizier, it was our duty to protect the Empire, even if I would rather spend some private time with the woman I called my wife back in the place I called home.
"And what of the Cossacks?" I asked, these Russian horsemen reigned over the steppe, all nominally under Tsarina Anastasia's rule but, in practice, it varied on the whims of Cossack warlords. Some were so deeply ingrained in the state that they were more Muscovite than Cossack, others only paid lip service to their rulers and operated however they wished. The fact that Russia now had the relatively unknown quantity of Cossacks from Zaporizhia and Ruthenia as well as their own only complicated matters. These wild horsemen could and would turn the tide of battle of the vast steppe but Russia would have to convince the warlords to fight, something which might be more trouble than its worth for Anastasia's Russia. The Tsarina clearly has great ambitions and I doubt that she wants to slow herself down by having to fulfill some set of obligations for the Cossacks. The Cossacks were either going to side with Russia or stay out of this war and whatever option they took was sure to have massive consequences. That is why I feel the need to ask Fatimah before proceeding.
"Perhaps five thousand Cossacks have joined the Russians, raiding the steppe surrounding the peninsula, though none have been so bold as to cross onto the peninsula itself." Fatimah told me. We have heard that many more Cossack warlords feel conflicted for a variety of reasons - some feel that they have paid their dues to Russia by joining the last war against The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth without complaints, others still fear my Empire more than they fear Moscow, others yet are Cossacks from the newly conquered regions who are predisposed towards mistrusting Moscow and its Rurikovich overlords. Anyway, Fatimah had more yet to reveal "However, many more warlords have promised to join the war if the Russians are able to break down the walls to Azov. Control over the land around the peninsula and very soon the peninsula itself will be impossible if all of the major warlords of southern Russia join forces together to decimate my Empire.
"Well, it seems that we must respond quickly, before Azov falls." I turned around to face the Kirim Ordusu, an army of Tatars, Turks, Greeks, Genoese remnants, and even Crimean Goths, a small group but a defining one for southern Crimea, so much so that my family's branch of the Komnenos dynasty went by the name of the House of Gothia. This was a diverse army, almost as diverse as the one in Anadolu, but it would serve our purposes just fine, with the proper leadership and the proper timing, we can defeat the Russians at Azov and, with control over the Sea of Azov reestablished, we can use the mainly inland sea to prepare our navy for battle against the Russians - this time, the Kayser-i Rum and my other ships will be more than ready to wage war against Russia. I have failed in Caucasia, I have failed to predict what Tsarina Anastasia would do, but I shall not fail in Crimea.
"Soldiers! Forward to Azov! Today, we fight for your homes!" Fatimah cried out and rose her fist in the air as the army cheered. Fatimah was here for me and the Kirim Ordusu was here for us. Maybe this wouldn't be as pointless as war tends to be. This is no longer a war of balance politics, this is no longer a war between two rivals on a collision course, this was the people of Crimea defending their home...and mine. Failure in Caucasia meant that failing here would mean losing Crimea to Russia, none of us wanted that, thus, in the end, it seemed that defense was a far greater motivator than holy warfare. That lingering thought had worried me, what would be the ramifications of me declaring a Jihad if it failed? Would that erode my Islamic support? What if they find out that I am not a devout Muslim, will I be punished for my declaration? What if my declaration causes other Sunni powers to declare war on Russia and get demolished in the process? I would be absolutely devastated if my spur-of-the-moment motivator for the troops leads to the pointless deaths of soldiers who shouldn't have even been involved with this conflict. There is a big difference between justly dying in defense of your homeland and dying pointlessly because of a glorified foreign war.
I didn't know what the consequences of my actions would be, but I know that everything I am doing is for Fatimah, Abdullah-Timur, and myself - I want Fatimah and I to be there together as we raise Abdullah-Timur into a competent leader and Sultan of The Ottoman Empire. I just hope that, in trying to do so, I haven't jeopardized my future and the future of those around me.
Azov withstood the siege long enough for the besieging Russians to have to abandon their positions. The Army of The Ukraine regathered its forces and marched to meet us in the wild steppe outside of Azov. It was summer by now and the sun reigned supreme in the sky - the steppe was a cruel mistress, in the winter, it was bitterly cold while in the summer it was incredibly hot - today was no exception, soldiers on both sides were suffering the heat and, fortunately for us, my troops had a better disposition. Much of Ukraine is steppe as well, but these soldiers were outfitted like the other Russians and were clearly uncomfortable. That could be the saving grace of this battle. The first volleys of cannon fire were exchanged as I assessed both groups of soldiers. The Battle of Azov had begun. Ottoman boots and Russian boots matched towards each other as guns and pikes prepared to join together in combat.
The battlefield was hot and gunpowder was only making it hotter as the Russians struggled to fight in these conditions. This meant that the battle was going a lot better than the battles in Caucasia had. They had more cannons but they were hot to the touch and their artillery crews were visibly getting fatigued - they became slow, sloppy, and ineffective. Their infantry fared little better. The horsemen were a problem, the Russified Cossacks of their ranks were masters of the steppe and thus were able to terrorize our troops despite the condition of their comrades. Their effort was valiant but, alas for them, it was too late. A Russian general with a bushy black beard have the order to retreat and his troops began fleeing the battlefield. I gave my army the order to stand down, there was no reason to keep this fighting going after we only just finished it.
Azov was safe, for now.
My army began to pull itself back together and count its losses outside of the city while Fatimah and I entered its walls, glad to see that the trading city survived despite the lengthy Russian siege. There was plenty of rubble and damage, but that could be repaired, the people were suffering from hunger, but supply lines with Theodoro would be reopened, the guards exhausted themselves holding back the siege, but they could be relieved by soldiers. I had focused too much on the war in Caucasia at the beginning, but now, now I was where I probably should have been all along - Crimea, the place that I once called home. I won a solid victory here, I solid victory which The Ottoman Empire was certainly in need of.
"This city had been a Genoese colony once, you know." I told Fatimah, I was made well aware of the local history of the Black Sea region by my family, including that of the Genoese. Of course, the way that the Genoese had gotten their Black Sea colonies involved deceiving and stealing from the Byzantine Empire, but, when Theodoro bordered these Genoese colonies later on, the Italian merchant Republic became an important ally. Once The Ottomans got their hands on the Crimean Khanate, I do not think that The Principality of Theodoro would have lasted nearly as long without protection from Genoa. Of course, Suleiman III put an end to all that, but at least with my bloodline, Theodoro will remain in the hands of the descendants of the House of Gothia, even if those descendants are Ottoman by the male line. Abdullah Timur will make up for all of it, he will be the most powerful Sultan ever because Fatimah and I are to make sure he rules over something more than just a large blob on a map, we are bringing stability to this blob by modernizing the institutions and winning over the support of the people with vast public works projects. A policy that Fatimah and I will continue with or without Crimea and Caucasia. We will not let this loss undo all that we have planned, all that we still wish to do with The Ottoman Empire. This war maybe turn out to be a blot on my reign, but I will not be defined by it.
"Yes, once the masters of the Mediterranean were the Venetians, the Genoese, and The Kingdom of Aragon...how much things have changed." Fatimah remarked. Things have indeed changed, mainly because of the rapid rise of The Ottomans. Two centuries ago the Turks were reeling in the wake of Timur's invasions, a century after that, The Mamluk Sultanate was brought down and Ottoman rule came over Syria, Egypt, and the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. Since then, North Africa has been brought into the mix with The Ottoman Empire now extending all the way to Algiers, next, we pushed the Qara Qoyunlu out of Kurdistan and Iraq, then my husbands conquests of the rest of Crimea along with Caucasia and, finally, Fatimah and I subjugating Arabia, bringing Najd, Hormuz, Oman, and Yemen into the fold. The Ottoman Empire is far larger and far more powerful than it ever has been before, stretching all the way north into Croatia, but I feared that cracks were beginning to show. I cannot allow this war to be the beginning of a slow decline for The Ottoman Empire. We were allies with France once and France shows us that a loss, even a big one, does not mean the end of a civilization. If we lose this war, then we must simply recover and either regain the land at a later point when Russia is weak or take new conquests. Civilizations, much like the moon that is so often our symbol, wax and wane. Our time will come again soon enough, for now, what matters is survival and stability. I wish that the traditionalists would understand that, overthrowing me for the sake of tradition will only destabilize the Empire further and cause infighting which will pave the way for our European rivals to carve our Empires to pieces.
"To be fair, our predecessors caused most of those changes. What with taking Venetian and Genoese colonies in Greece and opposing the Aragonese navy." I pointed out that those changes were caused by the rise of one power, just like how Russia wants to rise by eclipsing us in the east. If I could, I would tell Tsarina Anastasia that there is room for two powers to the east of Europe - Konstantiniyye is closer to Vienna than it is to Moscow, she has plenty of directions to wage war but she chose mine - to be fair, given her attack on the Poles and policy of expansion eastward, she may intend to wage war in all directions at one point of another - I can see why Russia wants Crimea and Caucasia - the former to put it in touch with Mediterranean trade, the latter to secure their Georgian ally and turn them into a puppet state and eventually integrate them outright, but again, I find myself wishing that we didn't have to be at war. I may not worship in a Muscovite Church but I do acknowledge that I am more Orthodox than I am anything else, the similarities don't end there - we are both ambitious, we are both pursuing an agenda of development as well as expansion, and we are both women in power in a world that has not been kind to our kind - yet we find ourselves as enemies because of a land dispute. Perhaps that is the difference, I know the horrors of war and I despite it for it, while Anastasia thrives in it.
"Well the Aragonese navy has been succeeding by the Spanish navy, so maybe they are still a thorn in our side." Fatimah quipped, pointing out another one of our major enemies, albeit one not involved in this war. Spain, the western branch of The House von Habsburg who cannot contend itself with an entire hemisphere practically for themselves, they must also concern themselves with the Mediterranean, reigning over the major islands of Corsica, Sardinia, and Sicily as well as the southern half of the Italian peninsula, the former Kingdom of Naples.
"We have many thorns in our sides, but we can face them together, my love." I grabbed her hands and she grabbed mine, we locked eyes, all four of our eyes were brown, but they were two distinctly different pairs. Mine told the story of Greece and Rome, the ancient forebearers of civilizations, the ones who conquered the entire known world, the ones who left their march from the coasts of Portugal to the fringes of India. Her eyes are an exotic brown, telling the tale of warriors on the backs of camel as they conquered the deserts of North Africa, setting up great Sultanates in Tunis, building greatness where Carthage once stood. Funnily enough, it was the Romans who reached the coasts of Portugal while the Greeks under Alexander reached the fringes of India, Fatimah's ancestors, the Arabs, did both. We both hailed from mighty backgrounds, and together, surely we were the ones to lead the mighty Ottoman Empire. A Turkish Empire it may be, but Greeks and Arabs are just as much a part of The Ottoman Empire as the ruling Turks, we deserve our post, we deserve to rule. Rule together.
"I'm with you, love." Fatimah promised. That made everything well, we were together and we would fight for what is best for The Ottoman Empire. Spartak Pasha and the other traditionalists may not understand what we want to do and simply want to go back to the traditional Turkish elite that got our Empire into this mess in the first place. We would not let them stop us, Fatimah and I had great plans for this Empire and, while obviously we preferred to keep Caucasia and Crimea - it is my home after all - for The Ottoman Empire as a whole, those provinces would not be that much of a loss. For Russia, they would be incredibly valuable, for us, it was more important to keep our valuable territory in the Syria and Iraq safe. I would not let my pride tear The Ottoman Empire apart to beat Anastasia, but I would not allow The Ottoman Empire to be humiliated either. My armies gained a victory over Russia at Azov, but that was with the Russians trapped between us and our fortress at Azov - that wasn't good enough - I needed to win in an outright fair fight against the armies that devastated The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in order to tell all of Europe that, just because Russia beat me in a war and took two regions, I am not to be trifled with. Fatimah and I are fighting for our Empire, but at the same time, we are fighting for our Empire's prestige and stability. Peace with Russia means nothing if Austria strikes a moment later, or Spain, or Persia, or any other one of the many, many enemies we have around the world. We need a true victory or else, despite my best efforts, my reign will be defined by war.
"The Russians seem to have retreated to Ochakiv, a new port city they've constructed, to regroup and prepare to return to the Crimean front." Fatimah reported, presenting the information in front of me. We were back in Theodoro right now as the summer of 1623 was coming to a close. The last few months of the war have been rough on us. Trabzon and Tabriz are under siege in the east, we beat the Russians at Azov but they're already licking their wounds and getting ready to bounce back, and, in Moldavia, the Polish-led forces are on the verge of capturing Besarabia. I wanted a victory, but I wasn't sure where it was going to come from. In Ochakiv, the Russians would be on the offensive and I had a hard enough time trying to defeat the Russians while they are on the attack, I hate to see what happens when I try to attack them when they're surrounded by the walls of a fortress on their own territory.
"Perhaps they intend to join with the Poles?" I suggested, Ochakiv was to the west of Crimea and thus between here and Besarabia, now, we knew that they were preparing to go back on a campaign, but it was possible that the campaign would be to the west. That was a blessing and a curse, this was a blessing because it would relieve the Crimean front and give Fatimah and I the chance to breath, however, the curse was that the blessing was worthless if the Russians went west just to join up with the Poles, crush our Balkan Ordusu, and open the way to Konstantiniyye itself. I did not think that the Russians and the Poles could actually occupy Konstantiniyye, but if this war over a few fringe provinces escalates to the point that the capital of The Ottoman Empire itself is being pelted by Russian cannons, then it truly will be time to end the war. Now, I still thought that the most likely event was that the Russian army in Ochakiv would return east to Crimea so that they can capture Azov, the steppe, the peninsula, and Theodoro after all, but I wanted to know every possibility.
"Unlikely, the Poles don't seem to need any help fighting against the Balkan Ordusu. The Prince of Moldavia and the Prince of Wallachia saw their armies devastated. Moldavia is pretty much out of free villages to enlist troops from while the Prince of Wallachia is refusing to raise another army. I already sent him a warning that we will step in if he tries to send envoys to either the Poles or the Russians." Fatimah explained. The Romanian Princes were becoming problematic, the Prince of Transylvania is openly rebelling now that he has Russian backing and the Habsburgs are too distracted to assert their authority over the mountainous vassal, the Prince of Moldavia is the victim of the Polish involvement in this war and thus most of their country is occupied, and now, the Prince of Wallachia seems to be trying to escape my authority. These Princes and their people have traditionally been rebellious, that is why Fatimah and I held off on annexing Wallachia and Moldavia despite wanting to expand, centralize, and stabilize our Empire. I also intended to more strongly assert my authority upon Transylvania, though it's clear how that worked out. I have already pretty much lost Transylvania, I shall likely lose Moldavia to The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and, if not for Fatimah's warning, the Prince of Wallachia may try to escape from my authority. We must assert authority over Wallachia or else all the work the Ottoman dynasty put into pacifying the Romanians will be for nothing. Potentially losing both Transylvania and Moldavia in one war not even directly tied to the region is already a disaster, losing all three of the Principalities is a huge setback and one that would likely compromise our position in Croatia as well.
Croatia was rather recently conquered from the Habsburgs who declared it a part of their Kingdom of Hungary. Other parts of it were conquered by the Venetians - we secured the port cities such as Zadar and Split in Dalmatia and also conquered the Istrian peninsula. Istria serves the ultimate check to Venetian power, if they ever attempt to rebuild their Mediterranean Empire, we will be able to march an assault on the Venetian core lands in northeastern Italy. Thus, we have finally neutralized one of our long term enemies. The Dalmatian cities such as Zadar, Split, and Dubrovnik - the former Republic of Ragusa - were major trade cities and thus rather valuable. Losing our Romanian vassals means that, in a war against the Habsburgs, the Austrians would be able to fight a one front war, something far more manageable. The long border with Austrian Hungary is what prevents the Habsburgs from taking the valuable Dalmatian ports. As things are now, we are able to attack Hungary from Croatia, our portion of Hungary, and Transylvania. With Transylvania gone and the properly Romanian Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, our protrusion into Hungary will be erased, Dalmatia and Slavonia will be occupied, and they will attempt to take Belgrade, the great fortress on the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, the Balkans, and Romania. Our position in Europe is dependent on self-reinforcing territory, but, in this war, the Poles threaten to take that away. That lack of stability and permanence is exactly what the problem with The Ottoman Empire is.
"Well, then we will face them. We should move off the peninsula onto the steppe, I want to be ready to fight the Russians as soon as possible. A victory will be a long way to ensuring peace while we rebuild." It was our duty to make the Europeans think that we're strong enough that they hesitate when it comes to attacking us, hesitate just long enough for us to rebuild our armies and repair our defenses. This would allow us to be fully prepared in time if a war does break out and, if not, it gives us the chance to approach European powers with offers of alliances to prevent a future war. The Ottoman Empire once had an alliance with France to contain the Habsburgs back when Spain and The Holy Roman Empire were ruled in personal union, now, they are separate branches, but this separation will only make an alliance more effective - our comparative strength over Austria or Spain means that our alliance will contain the Habsburg dynasty. Meanwhile, an alliance with a northern European power such as The Kingdom of Sweden could be a check against the alliance between Russia and Poland-Lithuania. These will be rather difficult alliances to craft however, that is because Sweden and France are both already at war with the Habsburgs in The Holy Roman Empire in the religious struggle. By the time they finish that war I bet both sides will want nothing to do with further German wars and while that war is going on, I have no interest in getting entangled in that mess. Too many miniscule Princedoms shifting sides, shifting alliances, shifting religions - all of it is irrelevant compared to the great Ottoman Empire. Thus, perhaps France and Sweden will not be allies to the Turks. For all France has done for us in the past, they will switch that into a justification for their part in a European partition of The Ottoman Empire if it comes to that and Sweden seems more concerned with the borderline adventuring of Adolphus Rex and his son Prince Adolf. The latter of whom is especially unconcerned with the religious justification for this war, looting Catholic, Lutheran, and Calvinist towns and villages alike. The Prince is merely fighting to increase Sweden's wealth and glory so that, once he succeeds to the throne as Adolphus II, he will have a great realm to rule than his father did.
We were turning to leave the palace - Fatimah and I decided to make our base in the old House of Gothia Palace rather than the Ottoman Governor's office, it was mostly a nostalgic choice for me, but my wife was supportive - when a messenger from the very same Governor's office rushed in. The messenger, a short yet again Tatar man, bowed before the both of us before presenting an official message from Konstantiniyye. I eyed the message and the seal closely and suspiciously as I took it. The seal was that of a Pasha - I had to assume Spartak Pasha - and the contents of the message within confirmed that worm's involvement. The message was a demand from the traditionalists to return to the Balkans with the Kirim Ordusu to reinforce the Balkan Ordusu and defend Konstantiniyye. Konstantiniyye was a capital and the center of the Turkish bureaucracy, Crimea was a northern extension of The Ottoman Empire primarily populated by Turkic peoples...but not many Turkish. The traditionalists, made up of a Turkish backbone even if they were presently lead by an Albanian, favored the protections of the Turks and their interests in Konstantiniyye rather than the defenses of a large and contested province. I was livid. He wanted me to sacrifice Crimea to defend him and his friends in Konstantiniyye just because there is a possibility that the Poles and the Lithuanians will attack with their Transylvanian and Portuguese allies. I could only guess how much Spartak Pasha cared to learn about my background, but I think he knew exactly what he was doing when he demanded that I abandon the peninsula that includes my home for the city that he happens to be in. The worst part, by far, is that he laced his letter with an implicit threat to Abdullah Timur, stating that, without help from the Kirim Ordusu, it was possibly that the Sultan would die in a Polish siege. This was that coward's idea of a threat, too scared to threaten to commit to act himself but vile enough to bring it up.
"Spartak Pasha is demanding we return to Konstantiniyye, bringing the Kirim Ordusu to support the Balkan Ordusu against the Poles." I relayed to Fatimah. I watched Fatimah's expression turn into confusion and then twist into anger. The nerve of an Albanian to tell us to defend the Turks of The Ottoman Empire over the other populations, I could only imagine what Spartak Pasha intended. Perhaps he wanted to impress the senior Turkish military officials in the traditionalist faction, perhaps he fancied himself a Turk despite not being one, or perhaps he simply wanted to prove to his faction that he had power over me. I wanted to prove to the world that he had no power over me, however, the traditionalists were powerful and influential faction and they were resorting to threatening my son, the very reason why I am in power. I tried time and time again to merely dismiss this faction as a bunch of arrogant Turkish particularists but their continued meddling and their ever increasing boldness symbolizes a very real threat. They were both too powerful and too important to purge - if I purged them one by one, the others would retaliate with very real consequences, if I purged them all at once, I would plunge my Empire into chaos by ridding myself of many generals, commanders, administrators, advisers, and even territorial Governors. Given that my priority was stability and permanence for my Empire, going that far would only make things worse for my Empire. I could simply try to warn them, but if I do, they may call my bluff and plunge The Ottoman Empire into civil war exactly while we are at war against a powerful Russian enemy and a wounded but far from dead Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. We were dangerously short on options and the walls were closing in on us - two Russian armies were reigning unchecked in the northeastern provinces of The Ottoman Empire, a third was about to return to Crimea , and, on top of that, I was now being summoned back to the Balkans to fight a fourth enemy army, thus abandoning Crimea to the Russians.
"Does he want us to lose?!" Fatimah lashed out, she was just as angry as I was over this. If only we were able to get rid of Spartak Pasha a long time ago, because now, he may be too powerful and too confident to resist. He and the traditionalists may have become strong enough and widespread enough that they can control the state even if they don't have the Sultan or the Grand Vizier on their side. We were both angry about this, but it seemed that we had to do it anyway. So much for fighting for our homes, so much for saving our reputation with a key victory, so much for our grand visions for the future of The Ottoman Empire. We were now beholden to a man we considered a greedy fool and a vile opportunist. We would have to gather our troops, board our ships at Theodoro, burst through the Russian blockade, and return to Konstantiniyye. Not only was this strategically stupid, this was stupidly dangerous. I think that Spartak Pasha knew that too, in fact, I think that he would be very happy to see us both dead so he could grab power. I almost wanted to be there to see Spartak Pasha take power just to see Tsarina Anastasia tear his new dominion to pieces, taking Crimea, taking the Caucasus, giving Moldavia to Poland, and bleeding his economy dry. Spartak Pasha is not prepared for ruling over a state such as The Ottoman Empire and, no matter how large and experienced the traditionalist faction is, if he usurps us, The Ottomans are doomed and he is doomed. If anything happens to us, I can at least rest knowing that Tsarina Anastasia will prove that the traditionalists were wrong about us.
"Sultana Helena, Grand Vizier Fatimah." El Diablo greeted, the hardy Ottoman admiral was prepared to personally captain the Kayser-i Rum as we left the port of Theodoro and did battle with the Russian and Portuguese ships in the Black Sea. He was an honorable man who did a valiant service to The Ottoman Empire, he is a much greater man than Spartak Pasha or any of the traditionalists. We greeted in return and told him to take us to Konstantiniyye once the last of the troops from the Kirim Ordusu boarded the ships. Green, red, white, and gold banners filled the skies with crescent moons, stars, swords, and Arabic calligraphy and they were joined with matching sails as we left the port, sailing towards an opposing armada. The Russian ships were, surprisingly, more numerous and actually larger than most of the Portuguese ships - this truly was a state of the art fleet, but a state of the art fleet fielded by inexperienced sailors - these Russian ships were topped with the black double-headed eagle on a golden banner as the Russian flag. The Russian sails matched the flag with plain black and plain gold sails and, just below the flag, was a long purple ribbon. These ribbons reminded me of those at The Battle of Tskhumi, a brilliant Roman purple as an intentional slight against my Empire and our claim to being the Third Rome.
The Portuguese ships, meanwhile, were commanded by more experienced crews but the key difference was that the Portuguese had a global Empire to manage. Their largest, best, and most modern ships were spread across the Atlantic and the Indian Oceans and these vessels in the Black Sea were older, second line ships. The Portuguese would be glad if they beat us, but this was not their war, this was revenge over taking Muscat and Bahrain. Their ships were topped with a white banner holding the red, white, blue, and gold coat of arms of Portugal while their sails were white and blue. White and blue were the colors of The Kingdom of Portugal. The stage was set for a massive naval confrontation between The Ottomans and the Russians. This battle would determine whether or not Russia was ready to become a naval power and it would determine if we were able to stand toe-to-toe with the Portuguese, one of the strongest navies in the world, even if this is the ass end of their navy. The rest of the world does not care if we beat the best or the worst of the Portuguese navy, if we beat them, the message to go around the courts of Europe will be that we crushed the navies of Portugal and Russia, Portugal would tell Europe that these were not their modern ships, but it would be too little, too late. If we win, our navy reigns supreme in the Mediterranean, if Russia wins, they get the best stage in the world to announce their rise as a naval power. If Anastasia was here, she would be delighted to see the next step in seeing Russia become a world power.
El Diablo shouted an order and our ships veered off to the left and right so that our broadside cannons were facing the Russian and Portuguese ships. Cannons trained at one another, the naval Battle of Theodoro began. Volleys were unleashed, initially with unclear results. There was smoke everywhere, explosions everywhere, and the ship shook as cannons beat it harder and harder. Not many ships were actually sunk in these battles, a sufficiently damaged ship would retreat and get out of the path of battle, either for the sole purpose of saving itself, or to save itself and ally another ship to take its place. The larger ships, pure sail vessels armed to the teeth, were superior in every way but one - we were dependent on the wind. Ottoman and Russian galleys alike tried to use their oars to outmaneuver the larger ships and open fire open them, but they had to deal with both enemy galleys and the larger ships. Galleys were highly maneuverable but they were slower and required manpower to actually move them. This severely limited how larger galleys could be and how many guns they could have. Theoretically, they could be the size of a flagship and carry just as many guns, but it would require a downright unreasonable number of sailors to actually move those ships - sailors which could be better used as marines or artillery men for our guns. Thus, galleys remained small and at this point served mostly as a tactical tool, attempting to get to a weak point of a ship and then devastating them with an unexpected blast of cannon fire.
Eventually, I started being able to see something out of the chaos. The Portuguese captains and admirals started giving orders to the Russians. The Portuguese had the experience while the Russians had the ships and, together, they were able to apply that to devastating effect. Soon enough, the Russians were timing their cannon bursts perfectly and unleashing maximum damage upon our ships, forcing more and more of our sailors to retreat. Those who could sailed out to the open expanse of the Black Sea - likely attempting to first escape and then make their way over to Konstantiniyye with as many of the troops of the Kirim Ordusu as possible. Other crews were not so lucky, effectively guided back into port by Russian galleys who were trying their hardest to ensure that no more Ottoman ships escaped to Konstantiniyye. Soon enough, the Kayser-i Rum was having to blast Russian and Portuguese sailing ships on one side and galleys on the other as they tried to box us in. El Diablo was not only guiding his own ship at this stage but effectively in command of seven of the largest ships of our fleet as he knew that there was no more winning this battle at this stage. The best that we could hope for is managing to get this group of ships out to open sea and over to Konstantiniyye. He ordered two of our largest ships to veer off to the left and another two to veer off the right while the Kayser-i Rum and two escort vessels went straight ahead. The plot was to break the tight Russian formations and get them to loosen their blockage in pursuit of us, ironically opening the way for us to escape.
We sprung the plan and divided up our ships, the Russians and the Portuguese fell for the bait and pursued, opening up the formation, then, the outer four ships veered back into the middle and unleashed all of their cannons at once at the central pursuing group. The Russian ships, naturally, stopped or slowed down in face of this deadly maneuver, but our ships kept going, now back in one central group. We effectively lined our ships up in a straight line so that we could all fire at once at the remaining ships on our left and right. I braced myself, holding on to the railing and Fatimah put one arm around me and the other had a death grip on the railing of the ship as the Kayser-i Rum shook itself the core, firing all of its cannons on both sides at once, tearing up the pursuant vessels. The ships on our sides veered off and let us go, the Russians had won the Battle of Theodoro but we had escaped. However, the Russians were not quite ready to give up just yet, so, before we were entirely out of the clear, their flagship fired its forward cannons high and hit the deck of our rearmost ship. I turned around to watch the deck explode into pieces, killing the captain and the ship, burning the sails, and leaving that ship stationary. A secondary barrage aimed the same place blew through the last of the deck and blew a whole into the hull itself, sicking the vessel and likely killing most of the soldiers on board alright. We wish that we could return back and recover whatever sailors and troops were left standing, but, first of all, we knew that in their armor the soldiers would not last more than a moment in the water before sinking to their tomb and that, even if we did manage to rescue a few, turning back would only lead to the Russians claiming more of our vessels.
Six large Ottoman vessels would arrive in Konstantiniyye, plus whatever ships got out earlier, and we would return with only fragments of the Kirim Ordusu. Spartak Pasha was a fool, his demand to defend our capital resulted in us losing most of our Crimean army, abandoning the peninsula itself, and only bringing a handful of troops to actually fight the battles in the Balkans. I intended to avenge my army's reputation in Crimea, instead, thanks to Spartak Pasha's demands being made out of either ignorance, incompetence, or deliberate disinterest in the fringes of his Empire, both my army and now my navy have their reputation in tatters. I won the Battle of Azov, however, all that hard work was undone by a terrible defeat at The Battle of Theodoro and that was all because of that damned snake. Now, the Russians would occupy Crimea unopposed, just like they were now occupying the northeast of my Empire unopposed, and, I have my suspicions that Spartak Pasha's actions will lead to us failing in the Balkans as well. Fatimah and I did everything we could to maximize the end of this war for The Ottoman Empire, willing to lose Crimea, Caucasia, and even Moldavia so long as we could leave with our reputation and our strength intact, but now, thanks to that one man, none of that matters, it will be a humiliating defeat. Spartak Pasha and his traditionalists value the Turkish parts of our Empire above all else, but I wonder what they would do if they found our Empire reduced to only the Turkish parts - that meant losing Mecca and Medina, that meant many of the governors amongst the traditionalists would lose their territory, and that meant that, suddenly, the traditionalists would be in power, left to watch helplessly as the Europeans and the Persians looked at the last remaining provinces of The Ottoman Empire and gobbled them all up. They are fools and because of them, we are suffering the first of many humiliating defeats. The Ottoman Empire cannot be an Empire of Turks and Turks alone, all of our people must be Ottomans first and foremost, otherwise, we are destined to lose everything. Europe is destined to dominate the world, that much is clear based on what the Spanish are doing in the Americas and what the Portuguese are doing along the Indian Ocean, their success has prompted the French, the English, and even the Dutch to begin colonizing as well. It is up for the traditionalists to decide if The Ottoman Empire is going to join Europe in dominating the world or just become another power to be dominated, because right now, it certainly feels like The Tsardom of Russia and even The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth are definitely dominant over us.
"Captain Draganov! Gather your men!" I ordered the second I entered Topkapi Palace, I was on a warpath as I gave Olga the order to gather the Janissaries. Fatimah was with me step for step as we headed for one final stop before going to confront Spartak Pasha directly. We marched through the palace and entered the nursery, finding Xanthippi watching over little Abdullah Timur as played at the other end of the room. My little child was finally waddling around regularly like a child should be, playing with blocks and finally putting to rest any thoughts that something was wrong with him. He was the perfect little child and he would rule The Ottoman Empire one day, but it was Fatimah and I's job to make sure that there was still an Ottoman Empire for him to rule once he came of age. I knew exactly what I was going to do when Fatimah and I faced the traditionalists "Hello Xanthippi, prepare the Sultan. I need him in the finest robes he has with a crown on his head and I need it as soon as you can manage. It is time that everyone remembers who is truly in charge of The Ottoman Empire."
"Of course, my Sultana." Xanthippi bowed and picked up my child, getting to work immediately, meanwhile, Fatimah and I rushed to our quarters. Abdullah Timur was going to look the part and it is time that we follow his example. I put on a green and gold dress with fine jewelry and a crown on my head - the same crown I wore when I took my place next to Suleiman III as his husband. This outfit was deliberately designed to remind everyone of that. Suleiman III, the undisputed Turkish Sultan before me, took me as his wife and I gave birth his child, the Turkish Abdullah Timur, who they accept as the current Sultan. I am a natural choice for regent because of this, the traditionalists are merely power-hungry and, whether they realized it or not, removing me as regent means trading a European who at least has a blood connection to the Sultan as regent for Spartak Pasha, a European with no connection whatsoever to The Ottoman Dynasty.
Fatimah, meanwhile, was in a black and golden robe with green, silver, and red trim, the robe was topped with a headscarf that covered her entire face other than her eyes. This was a far more conservative outfit than she normally wore but the robes were a reminder of what Grand Viziers typically wore and the head covering would appease some of the traditionalists who opposed her primarily on religious grounds. We had one last chance to redeem the Ottoman military in this war and I needed to make sure that the traditionalists would not meddle in my affairs while I did everything I could to salvage as much as possible from this conflict. Fatimah and I could see the big picture, something which these Turks either didn't see or didn't want to see.
I sat down in the throne with Fatimah at my side while Olga had the Janissary round up every traditionalist I knew about and several they have uncovered on their own from their own investigating. Apparently, based on what Olga has found, the traditionalists are funded by the wealthy governor of Cyprus, a Turk installed by Ibrahim Pasha during my husband's reign. Other notable members include the governor of Tripolitania in North Africa and Mirza Ali Pasha, a half Turkish, half Egyptian administrator of the Red Sea coast of Egypt. Both the governor and Mirza Ali Pasha are far from Konstantiniyye and out of my Janissaries grasp. The traditionalists are widespread and dangerous, but we have not yet discovered whether or not they were behind or even involved in the Levantine coup. Nevertheless, following the implicit threat to Abdullah Timur, it is clear that, whether or not the traditionalists were willing to murder back then, they certainly are now. Those traditionalists outside of the city were beyond my current reach, but those who were in Konstantiniyye were all brought to me in the throne room, the very same throne room were I announced my rule and then chose Fatimah as my Grand Vizier. Once everyone was in attendance, a grand procession brought Abdullah Timur in, all of his titles were listed off by a Sunni Cleric before I began speaking. It was time to assert my authority over these damned Turcophiles.
"This is Abdullah Timur, your Sultan, your Lord, your religious and spiritual guide. He is the flesh and blood descendant of each and every Ottoman Sultan who reigned before him and I am his mother. I am the only one here who is both willing to rule and has a blood connection to The Ottoman Dynasty. I rule The Ottoman Empire, I control The Ottoman Army, and I control all of you. Until Abdullah Timur reaches maturity, I am your Sultana, I am your Caliph, and I am the Kayser-i Rum. Do not question me, do not oppose me, and do not dare give me orders." I spoke with deadly seriousness, I was livid with these traditionalists and I was here to tell them that I knew exactly who they were and to remind them that they had no right to rule. I watched as some of them squirmed, as watched as others tried to feign innocence, and I watched as Spartak Pasha narrowed his eyes. The snake was angry to see that I was asserting my authority and even more angry to see that, at least with some of his supports, it was working. I smiled as Fatimah took a step forward, it was her time to shine.
"Sultana-regent Helena, ruler of The Ottoman Empire, named me her Grand Vizier. I outrank all of you, I am second only to Sultan of The Ottoman Empire. In our treaties with The Holy Roman Empire, the Habsburg Lord of Austria himself admitted that The Grand Vizier of The Ottoman Empire is equal to The Holy Roman Emperor. My authority is not to be questioned, not by a general, not by a governor, and certainly not by a glorified Balkan clerk. Sultana Helena are out there fighting a war to preserve The Ottoman Empire, there will be no further disturbances, no further demands, and no further threats." Fatimah was even more intimidating than I was, all these men could see of her were her eyes and those brown orbs were filled with utter hatred, especially for the glorified Balkan clerk. I suspected that line alone would have a number of governors and generals wondering why they choose to be subservient to Spartak Pasha in this faction, blessing of Ibrahim Pasha or not. "Janissaries! Escort these men back to their posts, we all have our duties to attend to."
With that, the Janissaries roughly grabbed the traditionalists and escorted them back to their offices. This had better be enough to remind everyone who is in charge. Only when they were all guided away did I have the procession return to take Abdullah Timur back to Xanthippi. Fatimah and I took one last look at my - our - child before turning back to the war, the Balkan Ordusu and the remains of the Kirim Ordusu were waiting for us.
So this has been the longest Ottoman chapter in awhile and I hope you guys enjoyed.