Hello everybody! Here we are with the end of act two. This is the last Ottoman chapter of The Russo-Ottoman War in the penultimate chapter overall. Helena's next chapter will be either chapter thirty-two or chapter thirty-three - thirty and thirty-one are for sure Russia chapters, not sure which way I want to go with chapter thirty-two just yet - there is more Russia story in act three but the Ottoman story line will be absolutely crucial, so we'll see how exactly it shakes out. In any case, lets finish act two before talking about act three. This Ottoman chapter and the next Russia chapter will finish act two.
The Legacy of The Romans.
Act II.
The Russo-Ottoman War.
Chapter XXIX.
The Treaty of Konstantinovskaya - Part I.
We had called for peace in the spring of 1624, however, it wasn't until after Baghdad fell and the year turned to 1625 that the Russians were receptive. Nevertheless, the summer and fall had been relatively inactive and, as usual, they gave way to a silent winter. Now, just as the Georgian mountain snow was beginning to melt, we were here at a royal Georgian resort to meet with our Russian-led foes. Fatimah and I stood at the steps of Konstantinovskaya, looking out at Tiflis in the distance. We had occupied the city at one point, two years ago now, but we were turned back by the Russians at Tskhumi and forced into the mountains by the Georgians soon after. The mountain march destroyed our chance of winning the war before it had even began.
Tsarina Anastasia and King Constantine IV had left us no choice: we were either going to try to fight two armies at once from opposite sides or we were going to march into the mountains and let the cold kill our troops. Either way, the Anadolu Ordusu was going to be annihilated and the Russians would sweep across Caucasia, erasing our gains and making their own. We had a chance to at least prolong the war by taking Crimea, diverting Russian attention, and using the extra time to build up an army, but in that time, Lady Krystyna and her Polish forces had absolutely demolished our defenses in the Balkans. This triggered the naval disaster at Theodoro and having the Balkan Ordusu outmaneuvered and slaughtered at Varna. We traded disaster for disaster in this war and, right now, Konstantiniyye is basically defenseless. Once Fatimah and I return home, treaty in hand, we will have to rebuild the Balkan and Anadolu armies first and foremost. After that, well, with any luck we'll be able to return to a peaceful agenda and develop our magnificent Empire. Though I suspect Europe's belligerence and Fatimah's wish to avenge the Ottoman army's pride will lead us into yet more wars sooner rather than later. I shook my head, grabbed my wife's hand, and we walked together up the steps.
"Sultana Helena, Grand Vizier Fatimah." I turned to see a familiar Hungarian brunette walking up the steps behind us and speaking Arabic, a rare trait, one which revealed to me exactly who she was. She stood next to two blonde women. One I recognized as Lady Krystyna, the other I didn't know. Looking down to the base of the steps, I saw that two carriages had just arrived. One from Russia, but without any royal symbols - meaning that it did not belong to Tsarina Anastasia - the other from Poland, but that one presumably belonged to Lady Krystyna. The Hungarian woman reintroduced herself and introduced her friends "Bathory Terezia, once Portugal's reluctant choice as a diplomat, now the Russian Foreign Minister. I will be translating for the negotiations, as well as representing Portugal one last time. This is Lady Krystyna, representing the interests of both The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and The Principality of Transylvania, I am told you should be quite aware of her after the Second Battle of Varna. This is Scholastyka Wettyn, Poland's junior representative and also her understudy."
I was rather surprised to see that the Hungarian woman had found herself in Russia of all places, but, for whatever reason, I was happy to see the grey-eyed woman who wanted to replace her father as Portugal's diplomat to Transylvania. I was pleased to see that Tsarina Anastasia clearly did care for putting ambitious and talented women into powerful positions in her state - it is a policy that I wish Fatimah and I could implement, though having her as Grand Vizier was controversial enough. I turned briefly to Scholastyka Wettyn. The blonde had green eyes and her surname marked her as a part of the House von Wettin, the ruling dynasty of the Electorate of Saxony - an important state, albeit one that has been significantly reduced in size due to Protestant Princes from the family breaking off - and a family with considerable power in The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth as well. Then I turned to Lady Krystyna, the woman who had beaten me at Varna. She greeted me in a language I didn't understand - either Polish or Russian - and smiled softly at me. This woman, with one green eye and one hazel eye, stood before me in a white and gold dress, looking entirely harmless. She was far from it though, she was a dangerous and powerful woman.
"Pleased to see you again Terezia, it is a small world. It is an honor to finally meet you in person Lady Krystyna. It is a pleasure, Lady Scholastyka." I greeted the three women diplomatically despite not knowing one of them, having lost an army to another, and failing to have signed a treaty with the third. Fatimah did the same before the three women made their way the rest of the way up the stairs and into the complex itself. Fatimah and I stood back for a moment, looking at each other. It was just the two of us representing The Ottoman Empire and we were up against an impressive array of women from all throughout the enemy forces. Terezia, who we had known once as Tereza Hungara, had refused to sign The Treaty of Tunis after I defeated the Portuguese in Arabia, merely signing a ceasefire - a ceasefire which proved short lived given that Portuguese forces were part of an enemy alliance not a year later - and now she was in charge of The Treaty of Konstantinovskaya in a victorious position. I suspect that this treaty may be harsher on The Ottomans than we had been expecting. The Hungarian would no doubt push for anything and everything her alliance could get. The two of us would have to negotiate vigorously and cunningly to produce a fair treaty when confronted with Bathory Terezia and the sheer power of both Tsarina Anastasia and Lady Krystyna behind her.
Anastasia frightens me because she is the enemy that I know. She possesses a titanic and expanding state, she possesses incredible intelligence and endless ambition, and she has at her disposal an army that suffered only one defeat during her whole reign and that defeat was soon rendered moot by a circumstantial retreat on our part and a naval victory on her part. She will, no doubt, defeat many enemies before her reign is over and I, honestly, would not be shocked if she ends up doubling the size of Russia between her conquests and her evidently comprehensive colonization of Siberia. However, Lady Krystyna represents the enemy that I don't know. Her position in The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and her ties to Anastasia mean that she is practically predetermined to be the next ruler of Poland, however, when I looked into her mismatched eyes, I saw the same fiery hunger in both of them. She will not be satisfied as a second rate power on the fringe of Europe being eaten up by massive Empires and emerging powers. She desires far more. I can only expect that her desire will bring her into conflict with The Ottoman Empire. Between her victory at Varna and her status representing Transylvania, I would be a fool to not realize she has her eyes set on retaking Hungary. The only question is, would she be satisfied with both Hungary and The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth? I don't think it'll be enough for her.
"Why is it called Konstantinovskaya? That sounds more Russian than Georgian to me." Fatimah eventually asked, seeing that both of us were deep in thought over these Russian women and wanting to change the subject to something a little more mundane. There would be plenty of time to stress out and think in circles during the negotiations. Spending a few moments talking about something harmless with the love of my life is exactly what I needed before encountering those three women again, only this time, they'll be with the fiercely intelligent and endlessly ambitious Tsarina Anastasia, along with any other tricks that the Tsarina of all Russia has up her sleeves. The war on the battlefield may be over, but whatever is about to happen at the negotiation table, it will most certainly be a war. Looking at myself and Fatimah, I could only hope there would be no further casualties in this war.
"Constantine IV named it after himself, of course, however, he gave it a Russian name to celebrate the marriage of his sister to the Tsar of Russia. The two had three daughters, chief among them is Tsarina Anastasia. I suppose it makes sense that she would want to sign a treaty here. A palace honoring a member of her family overlooking one of the cities we occupied and lost. It is a monument to her side's glory and, in the distance, we can see a monument of our side's defeat. I'm sure that this was a very tactical choice." I explained, cringing at how quickly the explanation of something so mundane descended back into the realm of politics and mind games. Anastasia was in her element as the absolute monarch of a modern European state. She was a young woman and she hailed from a country that has traditionally been seen as distant and poor, a large country, but one without much depth to it - despite coming from a position that should have disadvantaged her, my opponent took it in stride. She crushed her opponents - first The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, now The Ottoman Empire, and who knows who is next. I dread to see what she will do to her next opponent.
"Hey," Fatimah stopped me before we properly entered Konstantinovskaya "Relax, this is just negotiations. We'll give them Crimea, Caucasia, and Moldavia, we'll let them gloat about their victory and how holy it was, then we'll leave and get back to running our Empire. We will survive this and then we'll be back in Konstantiniyye where we can rebuild, reassert our authority, and see our son again."
"Thank you, Fatimah." I told her before kissing her. She finally relaxed me. She was right, we already knew exactly what the Russians wanted and we would then go back to our capital, the greatest city in the world, and we would return to our agenda. Losing the northern lands in exchange for full control of Arabia - thus strengthening our monopoly over Red Sea and Persian Gulf trade - means that, overall, our reign has been successful. This monopoly, combined with the fact that we revealed how weak the Portuguese presence in the Indian Ocean really is, means that there is a very real chance that more trade will flow through the Ottoman corridor into Europe than around Africa to Europe while the Europeans cannibalize each other over control of the Indian Ocean trade network. The Ottoman Empire is at the center of civilization, the crossroads of the Old World. We are greater than fringe conflicts with Russia and Poland, we will survive this, we will survive anything else the Europeans can throw at us. The Ottoman Empire will reign strong for centuries more.
Fatimah and I sat down at the negotiation table. She was dressed in a red and gold dress which showed a fair bit of skin - it was like she wanted to show that she was unaffected by the cold, perhaps a show of deviance in response to the last time the two of us were in the Caucasus Mountains - meanwhile, I was dressed in a somewhat more modest green and black dress with gold trim. Opposite of me sat Tsarina Anastasia in a purple dress with black and gold trim. On her left was Terezia, but to her right was another woman, one almost identical to her. This other blue-eyed, blonde girl was in a gold and purple dress which complimented Anastasia's. I had to imagine that this was one of Anastasia's sisters. The resemblance is remarkable and the admiration she has for her older sister is clear in the short but meaningful glances the two share whenever they think they have the chance. I took note of that, this younger woman was Russia's future ruler, that meant that she would be a future opponent, if not for myself, for my son.
I still intent to have a part in running The Ottoman Empire once my son comes to power. I will not interfere with Abdullah Timur's agenda, but I will be an advisor, a diplomat, a regent, anything he could need me to be, I will gladly take that role. Especially with Fatimah at my side, the woman was selected, at least in part, because how how young she was despite her impressive experience. The young Tunisian beauty will be Grand Vizier for the vast majority of my son's reign, that continuity will ensure that everything Fatimah and I have worked for will last, even as The Ottoman Empire returns to a Turkish Sultan. Of course, my son would have the power to dismiss Fatimah as Grand Vizier at any point, however, first of all, I won't let him do that, second of all, given that Fatimah is, for all intents and purposes, my wife, she will have just as much a part in raising him as I do. Abdullah-Timur will come to love Fatimah and he won't want to dismiss her as Grand Vizier. In effect, Fatimah and I still intend to rule once Abdullah-Timur comes to power, though, like I said, I want to defer to my son and let him rule the way he wants to. Fatimah and I will simply be there to help him and act as a guiding hand.
"Shall we begin?" Terezia eventually asked, once everyone was done sizing everyone else up. Fatimah and I introduced ourselves before Terezia repeated our introductions in Russian to the opposite group. Once that was done, the Russians began their introductions, which Terezia repeated to us in Arabic "You already know Lady Scholastyka and Lady Krystyna representing The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Krystyna representing The Principality of Transylvania as well. You know me, Terezia Bathory, translator, Russian Foreign Minister, and currently representing The Kingdom of Portugal as well. Then, of course, there is Tsarina Anastasia of Russia, the woman who defeated you needs no further introduction. Next to her is Tsarevna Yelizaveta Aleksandrovna Rurikovich, heiress of Russia. Beyond her, we have two honored guests: first, Yasamin Mirza Shahi al-Bahmani of Persia and India, and second, Lady Katherine Yveson, the daughter of Sir William Yveson of the English Black Sea Company. Now, with introductions over with, is there anything you wish to say before negotiations?"
I pondered Terezia's question. Four blonde women, a pale brunette, a raven haired Persian woman - perhaps she is the interloper from The Siege of Erivan - and an English red head waited patiently for me. Everyone up to Tsarevna Yelizaveta made sense to me, but the last two are interesting. Yasamin may be the Persian interloper after all, but she is not what I was expecting. I had been expecting the Persian who sold out Erivan to the Russians to be a man, likely a disgruntled soldier who lost the fortress to The Ottomans, instead, it was a beautiful young woman of a noble house. The Bahmanid Dynasty once held land in parts of India before fragmenting and then largely being divided between the Mughals from the north and Vijayanagar in the south, however, Yasamin's dark complexion shows a recent link to India, as does the fact she was introduced as Yasamin of Persia and India. Tsarina Anastasia has plans in place for places halfway across the Asian continent, of course she won this war, I had no chance against her from the beginning. As for the Englishwoman, she was here representing William Yveson - her father I had to assume - who evidently set up a trading company in the Black Sea. That meant that, not only was Anastasia openly supported by Poland, Transylvania, and Portugal, but she was also discretely supported by English economic interests. As for why his daughter Katherine was here rather than this William Yveson himself, I had to imagine that the Englishman had returned to his home country once the war was won. He was a merchant from what I could gather and merchants have no interest in negotiations, they know that Russia has Crimea and I'm sure Russian troops are already repairing the docks at Theodoro to accept English ships. I was up against a diverse and impressive array of women, I had to say something. Fatimah and I were outnumbered and outmatched, we had to fight in order to be taken seriously or else these women were simply going to trample over us to partition The Ottoman Empire.
I glanced over at Fatimah for a moment, looking into her brown eyes and holding her hand under the table. Silently, we said a thousand words without letting the Russians here a single one. We remained like that for a precious few moments, all the while I was wishing that I could kiss her again, though I knew I could not. The harpies across the table would seize any ammunition they could get. A kiss here would lead to Tsarina Anastasia blackmailing the homosexual in charge of The Ottoman Empire. She knew that giving that kind of news to the Ottoman people would destroy my reign - Spartak Pasha and his traditionalists would be frothing at the mouth if they knew I was a sinner as well as a woman, any excuse to get Fatimah and I out of power - therefore, she would use that information against me, forcing me to give her more land than she deserves. I didn't want to rule The Ottoman Empire, in some ways, I still don't, but that didn't mean I was willing to trade away its sovereignty for a kiss, no matter how much I wanted to kiss my Grand Vizier. We would restrain ourselves, for now, in the meantime, I learned from Fatimah exactly what I was going to say before negotiations. I nodded at Terezia before rising to my feet and beginning my speech.
"I was born in The Principality of Theodoro twenty-three years ago. I grew up around a father who pleaded time and time again to the Genoese to protect us from The Ottomans, hoping to preserve the Principality for long enough to pass it on to me, his heiress. Perhaps if history had gone differently, today, I would be sitting there, on your side of the table, a small part of your alliance against The Ottomans. Things didn't go that way. The Sultan had destroyed Genoa's holding in the Black Sea and then turned his attention to Theodoro. I was taken as the Sultan's bride in exchange for him allowing my family to flee to Genoa, where they will be protected. I gave birth to the next Sultan and my husband was killed by his own men while returning from Persia. I moved to seize authority as regent for my son upon his death. I outmaneuvered the former Grand Vizier and we found him dead not long after. That gave me the opportunity to make Fatimah bint Abdul my Grand Vizier. Together, we have worked to expand The Ottoman Empire in Arabia, however, expansion has a price. I watched as men slaughtered each other in the desert. I watched as inept Portuguese nobles and merchants dressed up as generals and ordered Arabians to their deaths, I watched as the troops I led into battle died time and time again. I have no further interest in war. I wish to leave these negotiations with The Ottoman Empire's dignity intact, I wish to trade hostilities for healthy trade relations between my Empire and your states, I wish to be left alone while Fatimah and I work to improve our Empire and make sure my son comes to maturity to rule over a strong, healthy, and permanent state straddling three continents. Everyone in this room is a woman, everyone in this room is in a position atypical of our gender, we should not be enemies. Let us work together for peace and for the betterment of powerful and ambitious women all around the world." I made my speech before sitting back down as Terezia translated. Fatimah squeezed my hand and smiled at me. She and I may not have exactly the same view as to whether or not we should pursue further wars, but that doesn't mean that we have any animosity towards each other. Fatimah admires the fact that I wish to work for peace and that I want an alliance of sorts with our fellow powerful women, meanwhile, I admire the fact that she has experienced the same horrible defeats that I have seen and that has not deterred her. Fatimah is more than willing to avenge our Empire's losses with victorious and glorious warfare.
I made my speech and thus, the negotiations began. Most of their demands were quite reasonable. The Tsardom of Russia wanted Crimea and Caucasia while The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth wanted control of Moldavia. The Principality of Transylvania wanted full sovereignty - well, that's what they said they wanted, in reality, I had to imagine they were just trading Ottoman and Habsburg dominance for Russian and Polish control - which, again, was expected once Prince Matyas got involved in the war. Another demand was that Anastasia wanted Russian and Polish ships - The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth will have a presence on the Black Sea now that they've taken Moldavia - get free passage through the Dardanelles to the Mediterranean Sea. Lady Katherine stayed that the Black Sea Company would get the same privilege. Some demands, however, were less acceptable. Tsarina Anastasia, speaking on behalf of King Constantine IV, demanded that we pay reparations to The Kingdom of Georgia. This was because we declared war and that we invaded Georgia, however, she knew damn well that war was inevitable and that Georgia was going to be involved one way or another.
"If King Constantine wants reparations, why is he not here at his own retreat asking for them?" I countered. I felt that it was rather improper that Georgia asks for reparations despite not actually being at the negotiation table. Constantine IV is neither here nor is he represented by any of the women present. Besides, if Constantine IV truly needed the money to repair his fortresses, why not sell off some of the riches here in Konstantinovskaya? Imported Chinese porcelain fetches a high price. I mean, Constantine did have it marked with Georgian symbols such as Saint George on horseback or his red cross on a white background, however, it's not like a red cross on a white background is a rare heraldic symbol in Europe. Such porcelain could be sold to The Kingdom of England, The Archbishopric of Trier in The Holy Roman Empire, or even The Republic of Genoa. Not to mention various golden decorations or other luxury goods. In any case, the point is that The Kingdom of Georgia does not need reparations. They have money and, even if they didn't, King Constantine has many unnecessary possessions that could be sold to fix his precious fortifications. I will not be paying reparations to Georgia.
"King Constantine is preoccupied with repairing his cities after the damage your troops have done." Tsarina Anastasia countered, her words were translated by Bathory Terezia. I doubted that was true, the truth is that the man is happy enough to now share a much shorter border with The Ottoman Empire, protecting him from me, albeit in exchange for practically surrendering his independence to his niece. Nevertheless, Anastasia wanted Georgia to get reparations because she wanted to siphon money away from The Ottoman Empire. I gave her my word that I did not intend further war, but she was doing her part to ensure that. I wonder if she knew that, reparations or not, I was going to rebuild those two armies I lost. Not to wage war, however, the armies would be there to protect my borders from the hungry hordes of Austrians and Persians waiting at my borders. Fatimah and I would then devote our resources to minimizing the loss of actual value despite the loss of land. We would build up Arabia and make it more productive in order to turn our reign into a net positive for The Ottoman Empire. I needed plenty of money to accomplish our ambitious plans, I could do it even if I was paying reparations, but that didn't mean I was willing to.
"I reviewed The Treaty of Warsaw during the winter, Tsarina Anastasia, it is quite clear to me that you are not lacking in financial resources. If The Kingdom of Georgia is desperate for money, why not give some of The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth's coffers to Georgia? If not that money, why not all that gold you plundered from Trabzon or Baghdad? You are hardly a poor woman." Fatimah countered. My Grand Vizier truly did look over Anastasia's previous treaty, she wanted to get an idea of preciously what Tsarina Anastasia would try to get out of us at the negotiation table. Fatimah and I went over this information and we agreed that, given that we lost men in this war and that we were going to lose land in this treaty, we were not going to give up any gold to Russia. Not after Tsarina Anastasia prolonged this war to plunder Baghdad. Those were her reparations.
"Very well," Terezia eventually announced after quietly conferring with Anastasia. It seems that Tsarina Anastasia had demanded the reparations in order to push the bargaining further. She was willing to go without reparations, but she was not willing to go without the land or the free passage from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, so, she asked for that first and made these reparations the hill that we were going to die on. Given that I was thinking of dying on a hill, I could not help but glance at Lady Krystyna after what she did to the Balkan Ordusu at the Second Battle of Varna. In any case, I looked away from the frightening Polish noblewoman and turned back to the Hungarian woman who was running these negotiations. Terezia quickly and effortlessly moved on from the loss - she was clearly a confident and put-together woman, after all, she threatened me with the war against Russia back when she was negotiating with Portugal - after that, I should have been expecting The Kingdom of Portugal to get involved with The Tsardom of Russia. The Transylvanian from the House of Bathory moved on to the next outrageous demand "In order to protect Transylvanian sovereignty, Lady Krystyna has requested that The Ottoman Empire moves its defenses and troops back to Bosnia, south of Belgrade, and into Wallachia. Croatia and Hungary will be demilitarized until The Principality of Transylvania is capable of thoroughly defending itself from further Turkish aggression or any reprisals following this treaty.
"I refuse." I plainly and finally stated. That demand was not going to happen. Lady Krystyna didn't think that this was going to happen either, the demand was simply being made now in the case that combination of her overwhelming victory at Varna and Russian military might behind it might make Fatimah and I willing to agree to something so stupid and blatant. Lady Krystyna was here as a representative of The Principality of Transylvania on top of representing The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It is blatant that Krystyna wants the Polish throne, therefore, it is a fair assumption that she intends to replace Prince Matyas as the ruler of Transylvania. If Ottoman defenses were to abandon Hungary, Lady Krystyna would no doubt occupy the former Kingdom of Hungary and the former Kingdom of Croatia, between those three regions, along with Upper Hungary and a few other fringe regions from the Habsburgs, in order to reform The Lands of The Hungarian Crown, a Medieval composite monarchy that was a thorn in The Ottomans side for a long time. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and The Lands of The Hungarian Crown have been united before. One of those unions was put to end by Ottoman troops at the Battle of Varna in 1444 - the victory that Lady Krystyna allegedly avenged - and Hungary, along with Bohemia, was ruled by a branch of the Polish Jagiellon dynasty upon the Turkish conquest of Hungary. We killed off the last of the main line of Jagiellonians in battle and thus, the parts of Hungary we didn't occupy passed to the Habsburgs, along with Bohemia. Thus, a century ago, the current situation in the Pannonian Basin developed, a situation that Lady Krystyna clearly wanted to change. It seemed that conflict was once again inevitable. This time, it would be between The Ottoman Empire and the lands that Lady Krystyna will come to rule.
"Well, it seems that the matter will be settled in a less civilized manner." Terezia smirked once again. It seemed that the Russian Foreign Minister had come to the same conclusion of Lady Krystyna. She knew that the Polish noblewoman would invade Hungary sooner rather than later. I wondered, perhaps this was The Tsardom of Russia's policy. Tsarina Anastasia didn't want Austria to claim the rest of those Hungarian Lands, she claims that this is about the balance of power and preventing her other enemies in Europe from growing stronger. I had to wonder though, is it really about that, or is it about keeping Austria contained so that Krystyna could wage war against them? It was clear that Anastasia was supporting Krystyna to destroy her European enemies and replace them with a number of allied Kingdoms. Allied Kingdoms which would no doubt prove to be enemies of The Ottoman Empire.
"So, thus far we have agreed to cede Crimea and the Caucasian lands to The Tsardom of Russia and to cede Moldavia to The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. I have agreed to allow Russian, Polish, and Black Sea Company ships through the Turkish Straits, and I have agreed to recognize The Principality of Transylvania as an independent state. We have agreed that no reparations are to be paid to The Kingdom of Georgia and I have refused to move my forces back from Hungary and Croatia. What else is there?" I asked, reviewing what has been discussed thus far and asking the Russian party what more they wanted. I've seen a fair bit of both Tsarina Anastasia and even Lady Krystyna by now, I knew well enough that, with them, things cannot possibly be that simple. Anastasia no doubt had something planned to ensure that The Ottoman Empire would not be capable of retaking this territory in the future - something she made somewhat more difficult for herself by keeping our borders intact - she wanted us to both remain weaker than her while remaining stronger than any of the European powers who happen to desire some of the same lands that Anastasia or Krystyna covet. This was going to hurt my Empire, though I was somewhat interested in how exactly she intends to do it. I was also interested in what else Lady Krystyna wants. Something tells me that the Polish noblewoman with her eyes set on The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and The Lands of The Hungarian Crown had ambitions well beyond just those two states, regardless of how large they both were at their peaks.
"The Tsardom of Russia is willing to guarantee The Ottoman Empire's borders as they are. This policy will continue until either your armies return to prewar levels or you declare an offensive war. Russia will publicly announce this policy and enforce it with the Army of the Caucasus and a newly formed Army of Crimea, if necessary. In exchange for this, The Tsardom of Russia wants The Ottoman Empire to fully fund those standing armies for the duration of the arrangement." Terezia said next. So that is how she intended to do it, she wanted us to willingly go along with it. I glanced at Fatimah to see her deep in thought. This was indeed an interesting arrangement - we had the chance to rebuild our armies on the Balkans and Anatolia with Russian protection. That part of the arrangement was good, we would be foolish not to agree to that, but the second part is what makes such an arrangement difficult to accept. The Army of the Caucasus was one of the armies which invaded The Ottoman Empire, the one which took Baku in fact, now, that army was going to sit on newly Russian cities in Armenia and Azerbaijan. Anastasia was asking for us to pay for one of the armies that invaded our Empire as well as a new army in Crimea - said army was probably going to be transported to the Balkans by the Russian fleet that devastated our navy at the Battle of Theodoro. It felt wrong to pay for one army which invaded the country I ruled and another foreign army of conscripts from the place that I was born in, even if those armies were going to enforce my borders.
I wasn't sure how I felt about this. On one hand, I wanted to finally work together with Tsarina Anastasia - I knew that she was only protecting my borders to ensure that as much of The Ottoman Empire as possible was left behind to eventually become part of her Tsardom of Russia, but I was still excited to be able to look at Russia as something other than an enemy - cooperating to halt the expansion of our mutual enemies. I am not expecting this to turn into an alliance, that is too much to ask for, especially when Anastasia considers her country the Third Rome - no successor state to the Byzantines would be complete without the Byzantine capital - meaning that, if she could, Anastasia would take Konstantiniyye. Obviously there cannot be an alliance between two powers when one of those two powers covets all of your lands, up to and including your capital. An alliance is too far, but who knows, perhaps one day, Fatimah and I could find ourselves on the same side as some of the woman across the table, in a war against the Habsburgs for instance.
"Could we have a moment to discuss this?" Fatimah requested. A recess would be nice right now, we had the main parts of the treaty - the land exchanges and the trade through the Dardanelles - figured out and now we are just negotiating what the post-war world will look like. Tsarina Anastasia wants meaningful gains, not gains that are effectively erased by the Habsburgs taking Hungary and Croatia - thus, Russia grows stronger only for Austria to grow stronger as well, the so-called Roman Empress does not benefit if the Holy Roman Emperor erases the gain by making the two powers just as powerful proportionally as they had been prior - therefore, she wants the world after this war to be a world where Russia expands while her enemies stagnate. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, once the limit of Russian expansion, is now an ally and, in many ways, a puppet. At the same time, Anastasia has gotten what she wants, for now, from The Ottoman Empire. This means that Anastasia is now targeting Vienna rather than Warsaw in order to spread Russian influence, thus, Russia's enemies have become Austria and Sweden rather than Poland and The Ottoman Empire. Figuring out what the scenario looks like is a lot less pressing and a lot more complicated that redrawing some maps, which is why I think that we all needed some time to think about it. I watched as Terezia and Anastasia had a short discussion in hushed Russian tones before the Transylvanian diplomat turned to us once more, now possessing an answer to Fatimah's request.
"We feel that we are in a good place for negotiations today. Negotiations will resume tomorrow, in the mean time, Yasamin shall show you to your rooms while the staff prepare dinner. Dinner will be served in here within a few hours." Terezia announced. Thus, the first day of negotiations had concluded, leaving Fatimah and I a lot to think about and a lot to talk about. First though, we would meet face to face with the Persian interloper. Yasamin was hardly what we were expecting, but she was still the reason why the Siege of Erivan was such a disaster for The Ottoman Empire, but now, she was going to be the one to show us to our rooms of all things. This was a strange kind of hospitality, to say the least.
"So, your father was the administrator of Erivan before my husband's conquest?" I asked. Fatimah and I were conversing with Yasamin Mirza Shahi al-Bahmani, the Indo-Persian woman who found herself in Tsarina Anastasia's court. The girl was well educated, her Turkish was probably just as good as mine. I knew Greek natively, a bit of Italian thanks to my family's dealings with the Genoese, and I've learned both Turkish and Arabic as a result of marrying into the Ottoman dynasty. Yasamin, meanwhile, was fluent in Russian and Turkish at very least on top of her native Persian. Her knowledge of Erivan's defenses came from her father's status in the city - the same father also had her educated in the languages of The Tsardom of Russia and The Ottoman Empire - her father did indeed have a good grasp of the political situation in Caucasia. The region passed through Persia to The Ottoman Empire and now it's passing to The Tsardom of Russia. those three languages would all be very important for a woman from Erivan, but something tells me, just like the rest of Anastasia's allies, her ambition extends well beyond just one city. The Shi'ite Persian Bahmanid dynasty reigned over the Deccan in southern India centuries ago, but things are very different now. Vijayanagar, the City of Victory, reigns over the Deccan down to the Tamil country while the mighty Mughal Empire encroaches further and further south into India. All the while, more and more ports are seized by the Portuguese and, increasingly, other European powers such as the Dutch, the French, and the English. I question if there is room for a Shia Sultanate in India, not with the Sunni Turco-Persian and Mongolic lords of The Mughal Empire in the north, the Hindu forces of victory in the south, and the Christians encircling all of it. India was well beyond the borders of The Ottoman Empire, but with Fatimah and I's conquest of Arabia, we now have a much greater interest in the Indian Ocean.
"Yes, my father was an administrator for the Qara Qoyunlu and my mother was a Kannada Muslim from India. I suppose that I am both a Persian newcomer to India and one of the assimilated Indo-Persian nobles. I represented both dominant groups of Muslims in south India from the days of old. All that they need now is somebody to create a new state for them. A state which could also be for the Kannada, Marathi, and Telugu Hindus of the Deccan." she replied. Yasamin was testing the waters, she was making it clear that she did intend to try and make a Sultanate in southern India despite the complex political situation, without actually saying it. She was a smart woman, she knew that The Ottoman Empire had to at least tolerate a new Muslim power looking to rise up. The Ottoman Empire controls the holy cities of Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem, along with Damascus, Baghdad, Cairo, and, of course, Konstantiniyye - we are the dominant power and we decide who can and cannot come to Mecca on pilgrimages, we decide who can stop at Ottoman ports while on a journey to India, and we decide who are allies are - our influence is felt throughout the Dar al-Islam. The Ottomans and Mughals had cordial relations - we had no reason to go to war but we also have no reason to really become allies. The Ottomans, Persians, and Mughals were all the so-called gunpowder empires, all rising to power rapidly thanks to heavily Turkic armies favoring firearms and cannons, using them to devastating effect against the previous powers, however, in many ways, that is where the similarities end. I would not necessarily mind seeing The Mughals replaced with another Islamic power, even if this second Bahmanid Sultanate would be Shia rather than Sunni, but I am timid about allowing Russia to gain another ally, especially in India of all places. I did not want Anastasia to crush our attempts to expand into the Indian Ocean before those attempts really got a chance to begin.
"Well, whoever those Muslims and Hindus want as a ruler, that ruler will have to get around Vijayanagar and The Mughals before anything." Fatimah countered, my Grand Vizier did not want to commit to anything with this potential Indian Sultanate until we see evidence that such a state is indeed possible. I understood her perspective, in any under circumstances, a lone woman of all people had no chance of bringing together enough people and enough soldiers to launch a serious invasion of the Deccan. The Mughals, a transformation of the Timurid dynasty from a decaying Turco-Mongol Empire in Persia to a reborn Indian Empire, stretch from Kabul in the west to Bengal in the east and from Kashmir in the north to the northern Marathi country in the south. The Mughals seem impossibly powerful compared to just puny little Yasamin, however, Yasamin has Tsarina Anastasia behind her. I fear that Tsarina Anastasia may turn the tide in her favor, after all, that woman specializes in doing the impossible. I was not necessarily certain that Yasamin would manage to defeat Vijayanagar and The Mughals both, however, I am stating that, given the circumstances, I would not be surprised either if a new Bahmanid Sultanate rises in India, with Yasamin at the helm.
"Well, that could prove to be more easy than you expect, especially if Vijayanagar and The Mughals find each other at work at the same time. Perhaps the person who shall give the Muslims of south India a state will side with The Mughals to regain some of the Deccan Sultanates from the City of Victory, only to then turn on them." I replied, quietly encouraging Yasamin and providing her with a potential strategy for making her dream a reality. The Deccan Sultanates - states like The Sultanate of Bidar, The Sultanate of Golconda, The Sultanate of Bijapur, The Sultanate of Berar, and The Sultanate of Ahmadnagar - were the shattered remains of the old Bahmanid Sultanate which were trampled over by Vijayanagar. These were small and divided states, The Mughals could seek rebuilding those as weak vassal states. Yasamin could go along with this, however, rather than weak vassal states, she builds them up as a foundation for her reborn Bahmanid Sultanate. Of course, this was all theoretical, she had no intention of invading India, or even if she did, Fatimah and I knew nothing of it. This is all theoretical scenarios, this is not the situation that Yasamin actually finds herself. I thought it was a little silly for her to not just openly admit this, surely by now she knew that I was on to her.
"Whatever happens, I am confident that the situation in India will change one way or another. A stalemate between Vijayanagar and The Mughals will not last forever, they will either destroy each other or watch somebody else destroy them both." Yasamin replied, still not giving a definitive answer. I suppose she was right though, the two powers in southern India will find themselves at war sooner rather than later, especially if a third power such as a new Bahmanid Sultanate arrives, lighting the region up with controversy and tension. If they both stagnate, content with one power being dominant in the north and another power dominant in the south, then their enemies will wipe them both out. The Europeans will not be content with their ports forever, the states of India must become strong, centralized, militaristic, and ruthless to resist European conquest, because the Europeans will be even stronger, even more militaristic, and even more ruthless. Indians must depend on each other and their home land to resist the ever growing noose of Portuguese, Dutch, English, and French trade ports surrounding the subcontinent. I may not be able to choose between a Mughal or a Bahmanid Sultanate, but I'll certainly take either of them over a European controlled India.
"Well, regardless of the fate of India, I'm sure you'll find a place in the world. You made defending Erivan completely impossible." I replied. I did not hold Yasamin accountable for the loss of life. The battle was going to happen one way or another, in fact, she may have decreased the overall number of deaths by turning the Siege so heavily in Russia's favor - though, otherwise, perhaps the casualties would be more evenly split between Russians and Turks, other than a complete slaughter of Ottoman troops - Yasamin merely capitalized on the battle, using it as an opportunity to trade her local knowledge in exchange for support from Anastasia. In the world of brutal, opportunistic, modern politics, such a move is shrewd and commendable. Yasamin's dreams are on track to become reality and she avenged the Persian loss of Erivan to The Ottomans,, arranging for us to lose her city to the Russians. I was excited to see a powerful woman potentially rise up in southern India of all places, especially if it would mean that Fatimah and I would no longer be alone as female rulers in the Muslim world. I was also eager for the newly minted Ottoman operations in the Indian Ocean to take advantage of the warfare in the region - Ottoman ships could fill the vacuum left behind as the vessels of The Mughals and Vijayanagar are refitted for war against Yasamin and her forces.
"Thank you. In any case, here is your room, Sultana Helena. Grand Vizier, your room is the next door on the left." Yasamin stopped and gestured at our doors. Of course they gave us two separate rooms, they had no way of knowing what are relationship is like. In fact, it would probably be seen as some sort of diplomatic snub if they only gave us one room to share - after all, Konstantinovskaya is hardly a small estate - that being said, Fatimah and I had no intention of using two rooms. Soon enough, we would be behind closed doors and I would be able to show Fatimah just how grateful I am to have had her help today. If I was left alone, I would have botched the speech, failed to refuse reparations, and I'd struggle to have the confidence to so categorically refuse Krystyna's request over evacuating Hungary. Fatimah gave me the strength to rule The Ottoman Empire as my son's regent - I was so foolish then, I was so focused on keeping power away from Ibrahim Pasha that I never considered what actually holding power looked like, but Fatimah changed that. Fatimah enabled me to rule The Ottoman Empire, more than my father's preparation in Theodoro ever did - and today, she gave me the strength to maintain that Empire, she deserved to be thanked properly. We thanked the Persian interloper and she said some nonsense about dinner, but I didn't care about it anymore - the second that she left and turned the corner, I ushered Fatimah into my room. I closed the door and locked it before crashing my lips against Fatimah's, joining together in a passionate kiss.
The first layer of clothing hit the ground as Fatimah threw her arms around my neck and rose a leg against my side. We kissed again, Fatimah against the wall with her dress at her feet, my hands resting at her hips for a long moment before reaching for the strings of her corset, pulling the garment loose - it's not like she needed it, she had a perfect figure and there wasn't much for the garment to compact - leaving her in just her underwear...far too much clothing. Our lips met again as Fatimah lowered her hands to my bra, untying the garment and pulling it free. We broke off for a mere moment, the two of us admiring each other's breasts. I watched Fatimah's caramel breasts and chocolate nipples, I've seen them many, many times before, but they were no less magical now than they were the first time I saw them. I leaned forward again, feeling our sensitive nipples coming together as our lips followed suit. I felt her tongue penetrating my mouth, a vivid reminder of just what that tongue could do to me, of what the tongue was about to do to me.
Fatimah guided me over to the bed and gently lowered me down, she leaned down for a quick kiss before hooking her fingers around the hem of my underwear. I held my legs close together and up as Fatimah pulled the garment off. I felt the moist fabric go up my thighs to the knees and then back down, finally slipping off my feet. Free of the offending clothing, I opened my legs for the Grand Vizier, filling with anticipation as Fatimah put her hands on my knees, guiding them apart. Fatimah stopped for only a moment to take her own underwear off before joining me on the bed, straddling my bare body.
"I was supposed to be thanking you," I laughed after we kissed once again, feeling Fatimah's body just over mine, her naked skin against mine. Of course, both of us would be pleasured a number of times tonight, there was no way I could resist Fatimah, even if I did want to please her first. That didn't seem to matter though, because Fatimah showed no intention of getting off me. A part of me wanted to turn her around, pin her down, and ravage her, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. That reminded me of how it was with my husband. Fatimah silenced those thoughts by ever so slightly moving her leg against mine - the smooth skin, the gentle touch, and the soft breasts against mine saved me - this was not loveless sex with a husband I didn't want, this was beautiful love making with the woman who I belonged with. Another kiss and the bad thoughts melted away. I was safe, I was sound, and I was in love.
"Maybe, but we were also supposed to eat dinner. It's safe to say we won't be eating Russian tonight." Fatimah smirked as she decided she was going to please me first after all. I felt her teeth gently bite my nipples, leaving me practically shaking with desire. I felt a trail of kisses down from my breasts to my center. I shivered as she left a kiss on my clit before licking my most intimate of areas. I couldn't resist this, I lifted my hips towards her mouth and my hand found her hair, holding her head in place, all the while, her tongue worked her magic. The Ottoman Empire may have lost this war, but we will stand strong. The Sultana-regent and the Grand Vizier are united in a way that Tsarina Anastasia could not possibly understand. The woman is not even married, let alone experiencing the kind of love Fatimah and I shared. As my Grand Vizier put me over the edge, I knew this defeat would not mean decline. The Ottoman Empire had a bright future ahead of it, Fatimah and I would ensure that, no matter what form the Treaty of Konstantinovskaya takes in the end.
Alright guys, this has been the least Ottoman chapter of act two and, like I said, we have another few Russia chapters coming as we finish act two and begin act three. Also, not sure if I mentioned this before - I couldn't find it in the Tunis chapter where I meant to mention it - but Terezia knows Arabic because of her service to Portugal, which would involve treaties with North African powers such as Morocco as well as setting up trade relations along the Muslim ports of the Indian Ocean. Though I did remember to mention Yasamin knowing Turkish.
