Greece: There’s the theme of Hellas, which is most of OTL Greece minus Macedonia, so most Romans at this point ITTL would think of that when Hellas is mentioned. That said, with Anatolia remaining Greek, Ionia will definitely always be remembered as part of classical Greece, rather than often getting mostly forgotten.
Speaking of the Ottomans is there a sizable minority of Zoroastrians there still?
I’m not familiar with their OTL history, but would say that their TTL history is effectively the same. I don’t see how TTL events would affect them much.
I got my eyes on fashion right now.
This is the 17th century, but I gotta wonder. Do the Rhomans follow western fashion traditions from OTL or do they have a trend independent of what we experienced in real life? Get some nice pantaloons good sir!
I’m really not a fashion person; I’m a jeans and t-shirt/sweatshirt guy.
That said, the main reason that portraits of TTL figures are so rare is that I look at OTL European portraits and so many of them feel off for reasons. Anyone with powdered wigs are out, and many are clean-shaven. Also stuff like those huge lace neck things I just think look stupid, and I want my Romans to look cool.
So Roman fashion would be a mix of east and west. I remember making a comment back in the late 1500s that there was a fad for ‘Damascene’ style clothing in the high society.
Speaking of fashion, what does the emperor's loros garment currently look like? Are they even wearing it?
They’re definitely wearing it, at least for formal occasions. That’s a classic. As for how it looks, they’d be looking similar to those of the early Palaiologoi. I figure that the TTL Laskarids of the same time period (late 1200s) would wear an identical garment, and the historical prestige behind said style has kept it unchanged for the last 350 years.
Plus I’m pretty sure I used an OTL image of Manuel II in his loros for one of the Laskarid emperors.
I’d like to get away from all this high minded talk and get back to the last couple updates:
I can’t help but feel Spain has screwed the pooch here with regards to this campaign already. They caught the New Constantinople blockading force and destroyed it but failed to properly follow up on anything. They didn’t break the siege so Rome client still won in the end; and they didn’t follow up by striking at New Constantinople instead leaving to attack Pahang.
I feel like this was a strategic error brought by Spain’s lesser understanding. Like I mentioned in a previous update Rome’s strength in the East is their infrastructure. Spain on the other hand is going about this campaign right now like Rome’s advantage is their ships. Maybe that changes in the next couple updates but if it doesn’t than Spain is going to win all the sea battles and than suddenly see 25 Roman warships come over the horizon and smash them flat in 2 or 3 years.
I also see that being what causes Vijiyanagar allying Rome. They see Spain winning all these battles and approach a seemingly weakened Rome with an offer of alliance including the use of one of their 2nd rates. Rome accepts and is able to sweep Spain, Triunes, and Lotharingia from the east and suddenly Vijiyanagar realizes they backed the wrong horse but it is too late to stop it. It would also be a nice comeuppance to a dynasty that for 2 centuries now has more or less gone from strength to strength suddenly help create their own rival because they were too smart by half.
One issue Pereira had is that by the time he showed up in Java, he didn’t have much time before the monsoon curtailed operations. Trying to launch an amphibious assault against a fortified position in a monsoon with 17th century tech…yeah, I’ll pass. Going after ships is something he can do on the quick. Plus going after Roman vessels only requires ships, which he has, while taking down Roman forts requires ships and ground forces, and he doesn’t have the latter.
The last point, the need for both ships and ground forces on both sides, will be absolutely key for how this all goes.
The more I look at this current situation, and the more I think that the Triunes aren't actually a huge problem for Rome? To a degree, it even seems the Roman government agrees with that take - the idea of them being Jupiter and Saturn with their own satellites implies they can exist without clashing.
The natural zones of influence for both Great Powers seem to not overlap if they're willing to be reasonable with one another. The Triunes are interested in France, the Lowlands, North America, etc, and face the Accord and Germany as foes. Rome is interested in the Balkans/Haemic Peninsula, Italy, the Middle East, and the Far East. The Romans are now facing the Accord too, and have had to face the Germans multiple times in the past.
The Triple Monarchy won't be able to eat all of Germany, and even if they did, it would be absolute insanity to then march even further to Constantinople. Similarly, a Rome that ate all of Italy wouldn't then be interested in marching to Paris or King's Landing.
The Accord has now messed with the Romans during a fight to the death with Germany, rolled into Romania-in-the-East, and has also furiously opposed Triune expansion in Germany. Maybe there should be a repeat of the French-Ottoman alliance of OTL, which would give both powers a very free hand in their areas of interest.
The Triunes and Rhomania don’t have to be rivals. I’m viewing them as similar to France and Russia pre-1870. They’re not necessarily rivals, but they eye each other and can go and annoy each other. And if one goes crazy, the other will intervene.
Java: The western third of Java is Sunda, aligned with the Spanish. About 60% of the rest of Java is now Mataram, which has just finished destroying the Semarang Sultanate. The capital was saved for last. The little bit of Java left is Blambangan in the far east of Java, under Balinese influence.
Unless I'm misremembering, Semarang isn't a Roman client and swept the field? I'm confused.
I think to an extent you're right - but the infrastructure does need to be organised, and I'm expecting that this will be the fundamental change that shifts the war for the Romans. Being able to pump out battle-line ships (even if lighter than in Europe) in numbers would transform things. I'm not sure however that it'll cause Vijayanagar to back the Romans - with the talk of respecting strength, they may well back the Spanish. What is interesting is that with the Spanish using their new route, if the Romans are able to use it in reverse, it could be possible for the Romans to avoid India altogether in their shipping. If the Romans suddenly start taking a huge chunk of trade from Indonesia to Rhomania directly rather than via India, that could be a real economic upset to Vijayanagar, especially if the journey can be done safely, reliably.
Taking that idea further, is the potential for the Romans to trace the Spanish route in reverse - one one hand to allow Rhomania in the East to be able to apply force in Atlantic theatres if required (or at least to send ships to cause havoc on the Cape) but also the potential to find the Chagos Islands. That would allow the Romans to have a base of operations in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Not a main centre, but a place to refit between legs of a journey and strike the African East Coast, Australia and India. Whilst the Romans aren't really in a place of demographic success that they can go full settler-colony, but with that knowledge they can in theory also exploit the west coast of Australia and expand the idea of Rhomania-in-the-East to include Australia in various forms (clients, colonies, etc).
Funny thought, but I doubt it'll happen, but I love the image of Yemen worrying loads about potential Roman attacks from the north, or Ethiopia, or Oman (essentially NW, SW, NE, but is then completely surprised by an attack in the SE by Rhomania-in-the-East. Malay-Roman sailors coming to secure the lines of communication? *chefs kiss*
Current doesn’t work that way. The roaring forties are great from getting from South Africa to west Australia fast, but they just go in that direction. If the Romans wanted to bypass India, they’d be forgoing the traditional trade routes that facilitated commerce between Egypt and India for centuries. They could take the South Equatorial current, which would take them from Java to about Zanzibar but then have to bump their way up the east African coast. It’d be a long haul in an environment that is not healthy for Romans.