Recaps

Vitus prepared the empire for a major war with the Ottoman Empire while campaigns and negotiations reshaped the Black Sea region and Northern Italy. The stretch ended with Thomas back in Constantinople and Ratmir beginning his military training as the army expanded.

• Vitus learned that Prince Henry had broken his promise over Ceuta, then moved to secure Black Sea trade and counter Venice’s warship sales to the Ottomans.
• The Imperial Council approved spending cuts and preparations to raise funds for a future Anatolian campaign, while Roman patrols enforced new rules on Black Sea shipping.
• Venice’s pressure on Ragusa ended in a settlement that divided annual payments among Hungary and Venice, while Skanderbeg and Hunyadi maneuvered for influence in the region.
• John refused to aid Ragusa but invited its merchants and craftsmen to settle in Tauris, where Metsitik inspected the land and arranged to build a textile mill.
• Vitus sent the Roman army against Ryazan after Cossacks clashed with slave catchers, secured a settlement with Ivan III, and arranged for nomadic tribes to settle or work in the empire.
• Thomas joined the French campaign in Italy, fought in the victory over Sforza’s army, and profited from raids before returning to Constantinople after the French defeat.
• Vitus raised funds and organized the army for war, while Cohen’s fleet defeated an Ottoman force near Trebizond and Constantine assessed Georgia’s ability to support an invasion.
• Thomas returned to Constantinople as Vitus prepared nearly one hundred thousand troops for war, and Ratmir was selected for the dragoon company and began training.

Vitus led the Roman army from Karasu through western Anatolia, defeating Ottoman forces and capturing key cities while John VIII sought allies and managed the Empire’s finances. The campaign reached Antalya, but winter halted further advances as famine threatened the newly reclaimed territories.

• John VIII gathered support for war, and Thomas secured the Knights Hospitaller’s promise to join the campaign.
• Murad II prepared to defend the western front as Vitus devised a plan to land at Karasu and advance along the Sakarya River.
• Vitus captured Karasu and Sakarya City, then besieged Nicomedia while Ottoman forces struggled to stop the Roman advance.
• Thomas and Boranov’s Dragoons fought off Ottoman attacks near Sakarya, and the Romans defeated Murad II’s army in a decisive battle near Mount Emali.
• Vitus captured Bursa and Smyrna, organized western Anatolia’s administration, and sent Thomas to restore order in the liberated territories.
• Vitus marched through Lydia and Pamphylia, captured Antalya, and postponed further advances until after winter.
• John VIII faced reports of crop failures and looming famine, and his finance minister proposed buying grain for distribution in western Anatolia.

Vitus rebuilt the recovered provinces, established garrison districts, and led an eastern campaign that captured Ankara and secured the Black Sea coast. He returned to Constantinople to advance medical printing, education, and new industries while the Empire’s allies and rivals pursued their own plans.

• Vitus organized hereditary garrison districts, rewarded the soldiers, and oversaw the Fourth Auxiliary Brigade’s disbandment as Ratmir returned home and Boranov took a post in Anatolia.
• Fabius delivered Aragon’s letter to Constantinople, while Vitus arranged Eli’s workshop to print the Palaiologos Medical Canon and Agnes established the household in Bursa.
• Boranov settled Italian immigrants in Pelican Village, and Thomas reported western diplomatic developments as Andronikos attended negotiations and William and Orlando arrived at Vitus’s court.
• Vitus marched 39,000 troops east, defeated Ottoman attempts to disrupt the campaign, captured Ankara, and occupied towns along the Harris River before founding Galatia and Paphlagonia.
• Vitus assessed the region’s resources, developed bone china production, and expanded profitable mining while Boranov’s garrison defended its settlers and evaluated its soldiers.
• Vitus returned to Constantinople, supported the Golden Horn bell tower and a secular university in Nicomedia, introduced new officer evaluations, and ordered schools in the garrison districts.
• John VIII approved firearms for Georgia and proposed employing the Knights Hospitaller against Cilicia, while the Council appointed Ilya governor of the Circassian Borderland Region.
• Vitus found demand for bone china surging and ordered glass stockpiled, as Cohen accompanied Alexander’s army from Poti into the Armenian Highlands.

Vitus retook Trebizond, rescued Georgia from the Black Sheep forces, and led a winter raid before redirecting his attention to Galatia. Meanwhile, Hungary and Venice weighed their choices, Romanus began studying at Adrian University, and the Empire sought allies against Venice.

• Georgian forces captured settlements but suffered defeat when their cannons were sabotaged and Turkmen Camel Guns shattered their formations, leaving Cohen lost in the mountains.
• Vitus promoted Boranov after the garrison examination and refused Georgia’s request to change his campaign plans, while Wladyslaw prepared Hungary for war and Hunyadi warned him about fighting the Palaiologos.
• Marcus seized Wallachian towns and fortresses as Hungary captured Târgoviște, while Vitus’s forces took Trebizond and Cohen returned after surviving alone in the wilderness.
• Vitus reached Georgia, defeated Uzun Hasan’s advancing forces, and supported Alexander’s abdication before turning back to confront rebellion and Ottoman pressure in Galatia.
• Boranov joined the campaign against nomadic winter camps, and Vitus’s forces killed or captured more than thirty thousand people and seized 280,000 livestock before shifting toward Galatia.
• Władysław rejected Venice’s call for war against the Palaiologos, while Hunyadi considered expanding Hungary’s firearm forces and John VIII organized an anti-Venetian coalition.
• Foscari secured support for yielding part of Dalmatia to Hungary, but Pietro Loredan’s death threatened his position, and Giulio refused to join a war against Venice without Roman naval superiority.
• Romanus began auditing law classes at Adrian University, explored the city’s hospital and theaters, and attended Gennaro Gonnecchia’s doctoral defense.