1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 397: Visitors from Armenia

Chapter 397: Visitors from Armenia
East of Nicosia, the port of Famagusta.

The Port of Famagusta is located on the east coast of Cyprus, surrounded by the blue Famagusta Bay. It faces the Levant to the east across the sea and the Cilician Plain to the north. It is the largest port on the island of Cyprus.

At present, all the main forces of the Eastern Mediterranean Fleet of the Eastern Roman Empire are docked at the port of Famagusta. Two major mercenary groups and several marines have also set up camp here. Warships are lined up in a row, and tents cover the plains outside the city.

In the bay outside the port, a sailboat was slowly approaching the port. On the deck of the sailboat, two young men were chatting casually. They were both wearing traditional Armenian Taraz, had beards and brown skin, and were obviously Armenians.

"Antonian, have you ever been to Cyprus before?"

A young man turned his head and looked at his companion.

"Yes, I have been there. After all, Cyprus is where I was born."

Andonian nodded.

"My father was born in the city of Adana. When the emperor exchanged populations, he moved his family to Cyprus. My mother gave birth to me in the port of Limassol."

"Cyprus was not so prosperous at that time. My family moved to North Africa when I was three years old. I grew up in Tripoli."

"Why, Edgar, do you think Cyprus is prosperous?"

Edgar nodded silently and said nothing.

His name is Edgar Mamikonian. He was born in the city of Karabakh under the rule of the White Abyssin Dynasty and is a real Armenian.

A few years ago, when Uzung Hasan attacked Georgia, he also completely annexed the Principality of Karabakh, and the last local regime of the Armenians was destroyed. Due to the failure in the power struggle, Edgar's family moved westward and settled in the city of Trebizond, engaging in the Caspian Sea-Black Sea commodity exchange.

Once upon a time, the Armenians had their own heyday. This ancient nation living between the plateau and mountains established the first Christian country. They preserved a large number of ancient Christian texts and developed a unique and prosperous Armenian culture. Churches stood tall among the mountains, and the long bells echoed in the sky above the plateau.

However, the war between Rome and Persia changed the lives of Armenians. The territory of Armenia was located right on the front line of the war between the two countries. The two powers fought for the war, trying to win over the Armenian princes and divide the land of Armenia.

At that time, the Roman Empire had not yet converted to Christianity, and the Armenians had no special feelings for the Romans. The Armenian princes jumped back and forth between the two major powers and established some independent or semi-independent countries. This situation lasted for many years.

After being baptized by Rome, the Armenians developed a sense of fellowship with the Romans and were pro-Roman most of the time. However, the rise of the Arabs broke the stalemate between Rome and Persia, and a series of subsequent changes forced the Eastern Roman Empire to withdraw from the fight for Armenia.

Due to religious oppression and poll taxes by Muslims, a large number of Armenians began to migrate to the Eastern Roman Empire. The Eastern Roman emperors generously accepted them and settled them in Anatolia and even the Balkans. Armenians had a relatively high status in the Eastern Roman Empire, especially in the military. Many Armenians became powerful soldiers and skilled generals of the Eastern Roman emperors.

After Manzikert, the Armenians living in Anatolia began to flee to the Cilician Plain on the northern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, where they rebuilt their own small kingdom. This was the origin of the Cilician Armenian Kingdom.

At present, the Armenians are the largest ethnic minority in the Anatolian Peninsula and the Armenian Plateau. They are distributed widely, from the Cilician Plain to the coast of the Caspian Sea, but 70% of Armenians live under the rule of pagans. Muslim monarchs still rule them in the old way, imposing additional taxes and increasing corvee labor on the basis of allowing them to retain religious autonomy.

Perhaps it was because a thousand years of displacement had bent their spines, or perhaps it was because a succession of foreign rulers had made them indifferent or even accustomed to it. In the original time and space, the Armenians were the most obedient slaves of the Ottoman Empire. When intellectuals of Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece and other nations were calling for independence movements of their own nations, the Armenians remained silent, hoping to increase their autonomy by peaceful means through obedience. They had no strong desire for independence at all, and were even willing to fight for the Sultan in the World War.

As a result, fanatical Turkish nationalists raised their butcher knives against them, and nearly 1.5 million Armenian Christians were subjected to an organized and premeditated genocide. The population killed accounted for three-quarters of the Ottoman Armenian population and three-fifths of the total Armenian population.

At the end of the 15th century, the world's Armenian population should have been close to two million, of which about lived in Eastern Roman territory, four-fifths in North Africa, and one-fifth on the Aegean and Black Sea coasts.

In the past, when the Eastern Roman Empire was conquering North Africa, it carried out a population exchange project in the Cilician Plain. Local religious conflicts continued to intensify under the instigation of the Eastern Roman Empire. The distrust of the rulers and the hatred of Muslims caused a large number of Cilician Armenians to flee. Most of them were settled by the Eastern Roman Empire in major cities along the coast of North Africa. Thirty years have passed since then. Although these people have their own communities, religions and special cultures, the proportion of Greek speakers among the new generation of young people is already very high, and they have basically integrated into the Eastern Roman society.

The rise of the Eastern Roman Empire reshaped the political landscape of half of the Middle East. The Armenians living on the Anatolian Plateau and the Armenian Plateau saw some opportunities. Some hoped to establish an independent country with the help of the power of the Eastern Roman Empire, while others hoped to join the Eastern Roman Empire and become Roman citizens.

In the summer of 1478, Justinian, the crown prince of the Eastern Roman Empire, led the Caucasus Army from Trebizond into the inland of the plateau, burning, looting and destroying Muslim towns and villages along the way. The Armenians outside Cilicia once again came into contact with the Eastern Roman Empire. Justinian did not blame them too much. He transported most of the civilians to the Eastern Roman cities on the Black Sea coast, gathered some high-ranking officials, transported them to the south, and let Isaac make a decision.

After all, Isaac still nominally wore the crown of the Kingdom of Armenia, although this kingdom was not recognized by the Armenians on the plateau.

Because Justinian admired ancient bloodlines, he appointed Edgar from the Mamikonian family as the head of the diplomatic corps. This family was one of the several ancient noble families in Armenia, claiming to be descendants of the Eastern dynasty. They belonged to the "pro-Roman faction" in the disputes of that year. Although they are no longer as powerful as before, they still have some say in the Armenian community.

"Edgar, the emperor's recovery of his homeland is a foregone conclusion. When the time comes, what are you going to do?"

Andonian looked at Edgar.

"Did you come to a conclusion from the discussion?"

"Not yet."

Edgar withdrew his thoughts and shook his head.

"After all, the emperor has not yet reached the Armenian Plateau. Most Armenians still live under the rule of the Aq Qoyunlu, and they have not yet participated in the discussion."

“Once the emperor has reconquered the Armenian Plateau, there will probably be another big debate.”

"It's up to you. Anyway, I will not leave the empire. I grew up in the empire. I will never go back to the mountains and continue to endure the exploitation and oppression of the feudal nobles, even the Armenian nobles."

Andonian said firmly.

"Back then, the Fifth Guards Legion, composed of Armenians, fought a bloody battle on the Theodosian Walls. We used our blood to gain the respect of the citizens of the empire and the same free life as the Greek Romans. They were willing to accept us, which was what we deserved."

"What I can tell you is that most Armenians in North Africa think the same way as I do. If you insist on moving all Armenians back to the East, then I'm sorry, maybe we won't be compatriots anymore."

"I understand, I understand."

Edgar sighed.

"What does the emperor think?"

"How do I know this?"

Andonian curled his lips.

"However, what is certain is that the emperor is willing to help you, but he is definitely not a fool. I suggest you see the situation clearly and not have any unrealistic fantasies."

Edgar nodded, and the two stopped talking. The sailboat approached the port and slowly stopped.

……

On the rooftop of the City Hall in Famagusta, Isaac leaned on the railing and looked at his powerful fleet and majestic army.

As the Eastern Roman Empire shifted its focus from the West to the East, the importance of Cyprus suddenly became apparent. Not only did the island surpass Crete in economic development, it was also more important than Crete in terms of geographical location. If the wind direction was right, fast warships departing from the port of Famagusta could reach the Syrian coast within a day and the port of Itcher on the Cilician Plain within three days, which could very effectively project the Eastern Roman Empire's maritime power onto the long coastline.

To the south of Famagusta is the estuary of the Pedias River. During the flood season every year, goods from Nicosia would reach the Mediterranean coast through the Pedias River, then be loaded onto ships in Famagusta and sail to other ports of the Eastern Roman Empire.

The Padillas River is shallow and has little water, so it cannot support large ships, but flat-bottomed boats are no problem.

Isaac poured himself a glass of wine, squinted his eyes, and looked at the island and the ocean in the sunlight.

The rapid development of the province of Cyprus not only provided Isaac with an excellent copper mine production base and precision machinery manufacturing center, but also provided him with an excellent springboard to the southeast coast of Anatolia and the Levant coast. The naval port of Famagusta had the ability to repair large warships, and the gun foundry in Nicosia was sufficient to build high-quality bronze cannons for the army.

Of course, Isaac also knew that Cyprus' rapid development was almost entirely dependent on the reopening of the large copper mines. A series of manufacturing industries were able to take root only because of the low copper prices. In the original time and space, Cyprus' copper mines had been almost completely exhausted by the 21st century, and no valuable ore could be mined anymore. Once the copper mines were mined out, Cyprus' mining boom would come to an end.

However, when the time came to the 21st century, people were surprised to find that there were such huge natural gas reserves in the waters near Cyprus, and the people of Cyprus can still enjoy the good life brought by natural resources.

"Your Majesty, I'm here!"

Navy Minister Fidel woke Isaac from his thoughts. Isaac came to his senses and looked at his old subordinates who now had white hair.

More than thirty years have passed, and the veterans who followed him to rebuild the country have passed away one by one, and the only remaining prime minister, the minister of the army, and the minister of the navy are all white-haired men.

Isaac shook his thoughts aside, nodded, and went back inside, followed by Fidel, his footsteps still clanging.

"Your Majesty, the fleet and the marines are all ready. We are just waiting for your order and the Port of Ichel will be captured in no time!"

Fidel said with some excitement.

"The navy hasn't fought a big battle in many years. This time, we must let the boys see blood!"

"It's the same as before. Use naval guns to bombard Port Ichel. If Ichel Port is unwilling to surrender, let them be destroyed in the artillery fire."

Isaac said calmly.

"Remember, cannonballs have a price, but human life is priceless. The life of every Roman is precious, especially that of a skilled sailor."

"Your Majesty, Port Icel is not Port Antalya. The Karamans were ready to abandon Port Antalya before the war, but Port Icel has been reinforced many times and is not so easy to capture." Fidel shrugged.

"Of course, if you don't mind the money, I can indeed bombard Port Ichel into ruins with thousands of shells."

"However, as far as I know, the war on land is not going well. The money spent on this war has exceeded our initial expectations, and the War Department is somewhat surprised by this."

"If you can save money, do it as much as possible, Your Majesty."

"Haha, it doesn't matter. You guys just take care of the military affairs, and I'll take care of the financial matters."

Isaac smiled and patted Fidel on the shoulder.

In fact, the war was indeed very costly, with the average daily expenditure approaching that of the First Great Turkish War and continuing to increase at a very rapid rate.

There are three main reasons for this phenomenon. The first is that Isaac was too impatient. The three armies advanced at the same time, and the Eastern Mediterranean Fleet also sent out its elite troops. After updates and iterations, the Eastern Roman army and the Eastern Roman fleet were of course very powerful, but the material expenses were also extremely huge. The treatment of the Eastern Roman soldiers was too good. Liquor, tobacco, coffee, sugar, vegetables, fruits... these things were all bought by Isaac.

The second is the extremely poor infrastructure of the Anatolian Plateau. The legions entering the inland had no way of relying on sea supplies. Before the war, the Turks demolished bridges, blocked wells, polluted water sources, burned villages, and used a scorched earth policy to slow down the pace of the Eastern Roman army.

This is an old method used by Turkic Muslims to deal with the Eastern Roman Empire. More than three hundred years ago, Manuel I of the Komnenos dynasty led tens of thousands of troops to the east to attack the Sultanate of Rum. The Muslims also used this method, which greatly weakened the combat effectiveness of the Eastern Roman army. Manuel I insisted on going deep into enemy territory and suffered a great defeat in the Myriokephalon Gorge. The last effort of the Eastern Roman Empire to regain the central and eastern parts of the Anatolian Plateau also declared bankruptcy.

Isaac had no good solution for this problem. He could only order the army to slow down, not to advance rashly, and to advance step by step, building roads and bridges along the way, digging wells along the way, and constructing supply centers along the way, which was another huge expense.

You destroyed the infrastructure, and I had to transport ten tons of supplies to the front line. After the people and horses ate and chewed, there was only one ton left? Okay, I will directly transport one hundred tons, two hundred tons.

You use nomadic cavalry to attack the transportation line, hoping that I will return empty-handed? Fine, I will build fortresses wherever my army goes, and we will see who can resist better.

Isaac estimated that the Bey states in Anatolia no longer had any hope of defeating the Eastern Roman Empire. They just hoped to create some united front value for themselves so that the Eastern Roman Empire would not be able to bear the high cost and stop advancing eastward, accept their conditions, and accept them as nominal vassals, just like the Sultanate of Rum in the past.

However, Isaac would never give up. He would take this opportunity to wipe them out completely, no matter how great the cost.

In 1478, the Eastern Roman Empire was at its peak, while the Muslim forces were at their lowest point. This absolute advantage in national strength could not last long. The Mamluk Dynasty was recovering its strength, and the civil strife of the Aries Dynasty could not last long. The third Aries King Jacob in the original time and space was also a relatively wise monarch. He preserved his father's foundation well and did not let it go to waste.

Furthermore, the westward migration of the Turkmen has not yet stopped. Every year, many Turkmen tribes migrate to Anatolia, either to seek refuge under the banner of the White Aqoon Dynasty or to pledge allegiance to the Turkish Beys. If Isaac cannot stop this trend while the Eastern Roman Empire is strong, and really allows the Turkish Beys to survive, the tragedy of hundreds of years ago is likely to be repeated, and the central and eastern parts of Anatolia will still be the hunting grounds of Muslim tribes.

Turkmen nomads are somewhat different from Cossacks. The Cossacks adopt a semi-pastoral and semi-agricultural production model, with grazing sites fixed around villages and towns. They are in the process of changing from "nomadic" to "animal husbandry", but these nomadic peoples from the East even refuse to settle down and are unwilling to accept the jurisdiction of local governments. Coupled with their large population, they have always been a big trouble for agricultural regimes.

This contradiction is the fundamental contradiction between nomads and settlers, which cannot be resolved by the same religion and the same language. The Ottoman Empire in the original time and space also hated them, and they were also very dissatisfied with the central government of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Sultan always wanted to let them settle down, and indeed achieved many results, but until modern times, the eastern part of Anatolia was still the world of nomads.

In the original time and space, in order to prevent Sunni herdsmen from becoming war auxiliaries of the Ottoman Sultan, the Persian rulers did not allow too many Sunni tribes to flow to Anatolia. They, who believed in extremist Shia Islam, blocked the way for the Sunni tribes in Central Asia to rush to the West to a certain extent, and even played a certain role in curbing this westward migration. However, if the Eastern Roman Empire rose again and bordered the Persian regime again, they might encourage Muslim tribes to continue to attack the Eastern Roman border, just as they had done hundreds of years ago.

To be honest, if Isaac had put all his efforts, he would have had a chance to strangle the growing Safavid sect in its cradle. In this way, the Shiites would not necessarily be able to grow rapidly in Persia. But no one can tell whether this is good or bad for the Eastern Roman Empire.

If the nomadic tribes were not curbed, the westward migration of Muslims and the eastward advance of the Eastern Roman Empire would turn the entire eastern Anatolia into a powder keg of constant chaos, making it a burden to the Eastern Roman Empire, which Isaac must do his utmost to avoid.

How to stop the westward migration of Muslim tribes? Defeating them once will not cure the problem, and slaughtering them completely is simply impossible. They are like locusts, one wave after another.

In the plateaus and mountains of eastern Anatolia, the advantages of muskets and artillery will be reduced to a minimum. Before firearms are upgraded to a higher level, the gap between settled and nomadic peoples will not be completely widened. It will also be difficult to drive away all Muslim tribes in a short period of time simply by relying on the advantage of weapons.

Of course, Isaac also had some vague ideas. This plan would cost a lot of money and require waiting for the best time.

So many years have passed and he hasn't taken action for a long time. It's time to let those unruly nomadic tribes experience the ruthlessness and cruelty of the "Angel of Death".

Finally, there is the expense of the Immigration Bureau. The military progress of the Eastern Roman Empire on the Anatolian Peninsula was not very fast, and until now it has not fought a decisive battle with the Turks. The only major city it has captured is the coastal port of Antalya. It has been advancing step by step, spending a lot of time and money to reorganize the occupied territories, drive out Muslims, and move in Christians, gradually squeezing the living space of the Turks.

Furthermore, there are not only Greek Orthodox Christians, Turkic and Turkmen Muslims in Anatolia, but also Armenian Christians and Kurds. Isaac will try his best to gain more support and use money and benefits to persuade them to stand on the side of the Eastern Roman Empire, which is another considerable expense.

Of course, in the final analysis, the frequent financial shortages of the Eastern Roman Empire in a state of war were entirely due to Isaac's refusal to impose too much tax on the people and refused to suspend livelihood projects. Even in times of war, the people of the Eastern Roman Empire still enjoyed a good life, and urban construction along the Aegean coast was still in full swing.

What Isaac wanted was to recover the entire Anatolian Peninsula once and for all without adding burden to the people or affecting economic development, push the eastern border all the way to the Armenian Plateau, eliminate all the lingering Turkic states, drive the core ruling area of the White Abyssin Dynasty to Persia, and then reorganize the newly conquered territories over the course of several decades.

With advanced agricultural technology and cold-resistant and drought-resistant New World crops, Anatolia can now feed at least 10 million people. It will become the most important agricultural and pastoral base of the Eastern Roman Empire, the most important source of troops and the most extensive rear area, and a solid backing for the Eastern Roman Empire's extensive involvement in European affairs in the future, rather than a heavy burden.

It is undoubtedly very difficult to quickly pacify Asia Minor. Isaac has only one core method, which is to spend money to create a prosperous era and peace.

The king and his minister stopped talking. Isaac flipped through the military newspaper on the table. As he expected, neither the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II nor Karaman Bey Ucan were prepared for a decisive battle. They all adopted a scorched earth policy and nomadic attacks, hoping to use large tracts of wasteland to drain the blood of the soldiers and drain Isaac's wallet.

Gonzalo and Mehmet both mentioned the lack of cavalry and hoped that Isaac would mobilize more cavalry to the front line and allocate more horses to the army to deal with the Muslim nomadic cavalry who came and went like the wind.

Isaac did not agree to their request, but only signed several other military mobilization documents.

After finishing his official business, Isaac pulled out a box of cigarettes from the drawer, took out two, and lit them for himself and Fidel.

"It's almost done. Let's implement the Cilicia landing plan within these two weeks."

Isaac looked at Fidel.

"Before you came, you told me that this might be the last war in your life, and you begged for the command."

"In that case, let's fight well and try to completely eliminate Ramazan within a month!"

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. The core cities of Ramazan Bey are all on the Cilician Plain. They can't play the same tricks as Ottomans and Karaman."

Fidel patted his chest.

"Both rivers in the Cilician Plain are navigable for small boats. We don't really need the help of the army. The navy and the marines are enough!"

"No, we have to use the Catalan Mercenaries, the Navarre Mercenaries, and the small mercenary teams formed by the Western Europeans. It's not enough to just fight on the plains. We also have to take over several important passes in the Taurus Mountains."

Isaac shook his head.

"In the future, Cilicia and Cappadocia will become the first line of defense to prevent Muslim tribes from continuing to enter the Anatolian Peninsula. We must lock Karaman and Osman inside the plateau and give them no hope."

Fidel saluted and left, while Isaac continued to read the military newspaper. The military system of the Eastern Roman Empire was already very efficient and basically did not need his participation, but logistics supply was always a big problem. The Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II turned a large area of territory west of Ankara into a no-man's land, causing the commander of the northern army, Gonzalo, to complain bitterly. The southern army had just penetrated into the plateau from Antalya, and the situation was relatively good, but the supply line was still getting longer and longer.

As for the Caucasus Front, Justinian had already taken the Cossack cavalry and Circassian vassal troops to plunder everywhere, and they did not bring any supplies at all.

Of course, under Isaac's teachings, Justinian has become very careful about his life and doesn't dare to charge in the front like he did more than a decade ago. He just circles around the border with his cavalry, occasionally looking for tribes with mostly old, weak and sick people to attack, and he is determined not to take on any tough tasks.

Isaac rang the bell and a secretary came in.

"His Majesty?"

"Tell the cook I'm giving a dinner tonight."

Isaac commanded.

"Aren't the Armenian envoys here? Invite them all over."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The secretary took out a pen and wrote it down in the notebook he carried with him.

"Only this?"

"Also, after dinner, call Foreign Minister Basilius over. I remember he has already arrived in Cyprus."

Isaac continued.

"After taking over Cilicia, he will have to go to the Kurdish areas in the east."

The secretary finished recording and continued to look at Isaac.