Fall of the Eastern Roman Empire: Cannons & Corona

It takes a true military mastermind to be able to handle both the most offensively dangerous army in the world, and a deadly pandemic far beyond current understanding simultaneously. Approaching the year 1453, the Ottoman Empire sets its sight on an impregnable landscape prophesied about for centuries: Constantinople. Around the early 1400’s, constant land grabs and wandering eyes have fallen upon Byzantine control of Constantinople. The Ottomans understood that this land was past their current abilities to conquer, so they set their sights on the Balkan regions and Anatolia (excluding Constantinople), and besieged it almost effortlessly. We must also look beyond just the Ottoman Empire to acknowledge its counterparts in the region who played a role in Balkan politics. Venice and Genoa were not entirely firm in wanting to capture Constantinople, so instead they chose to focus on the Aegean and Black sea. Conversely, Hungary served as a threat to the Ottoman Empire, forcing them to focus on threats from all directions. In 1422, the Sultan at the time, Sultan Murad II, laid siege to Constantinople; however, as mentioned previously, rebellions and threats outside the region forced him to recall the siege and move his attention back to his empire. Two years later, Murad II failed in defeating a vital battle against a Christian-Balkan alliance, forcing him to abdicate the throne to his son, who was only 12 years old at the time. Once more, by the time Sultan Mehmed II was 14, his father, Murad II, took the throne back from him and defeated the Christian alliance from before. Murad II remained the sultan of the Ottoman Empire until his death in 1451. Now, the year marks 1452 and a variety of events are soon to be underway. Sultan Mehmed II has established himself as the dignified ruler of the Ottoman Empire; however, a clear objective looms over his head. Will the current Sultan be able to conquer lands that his father and everyone before him failed to conquer, or will things get too catastrophic for the Sultan to handle? Oh, and one more note to add, the Sultan and his cabinet members are also dealing with an unforeseen “plague”. Such symptoms include loss of taste & smell, fevers, muscle-aches, and a plethora of other debilitating symptoms for a soldier on the battlefield. More information will be shared to you all, but inshallah your cabinet can sustain it.