Caucasian Confederation (Principia Moderni III Map Game)

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Caucasian Confederation (English) კავკასიის კონფედერაცია (Georgian) Timeline: Principia Moderni III (Map Game) OTL equivalent: Georgia, Armenia, northern Iraq, western Azerbaijan
Capital		T'bliisi (Georgia), Yerevan (Armenia), Arbela (Assyria)
Largest city		Arbela
Official languages		Georgian, Armenian
Regional languages		Aramaic, Arabic, Kurdish, Azeri
Ethnic groups		Georgian, Armenian, Assyrian, Coptic, Arabic, Kurdish, Azeri
Demonym		Caucasian
Government		Confederal Feudal Hereditary Monarchy
-	Mep'e	Alexandre II of Georgia
-	t’agavor	Zhirayr I of Armenia
Establishment
-	Founding of Iberia	302 B.C.
-	Evangelization	301 A.D.
-	Independence	1413 A.D.
Population
-	1460 A.D. estimate	1,577,000
Currency		Roman Stavraton, Venetian Ducat, Pskovian Zolotnik

History

Timurid Occupation (1400 - 1413)

In 1403, the Kingdom of Georgia was drawn into a border conflict with the nomadic White Sheep Turkmen and the "Sultanate" of Erzincan; taking advantage of Georgian weakness, the Timurid Empire swiftly invaded and overran the country. Within a year, Georgia's King Giorgi Moghalate (the Traitor) was forced to submit to Timurid suzerainty, while Georgian nobles - led by the "rightful king" Crown Prince Constantine, Moghalate's half-brother - waged a guerrilla war against the Timurids that lasted a decade.

Despite the destruction inflicted by the invasion, the Timurid occupation would bring some benefits: the infrastructural and architectural improvements of the Timurids would prove essential to later Georgian projects such as the Bolnisi Sioni cathedral and the Tagaschan highway. Trade links to the markets of Persia and Timurid-controlled northern India would trigger the growth of a mercantile class in Georgian society, which has previously been dominated exclusively by feudal nobles.

In 1409, Timur's failing health and the overextension of the Timurid Empire would trigger a wave of revolts among Timurid vassal states. In Georgia, King Giorgi VII, the second son of the now-deceased Constantine, would lead the resistance, driving the Timurids out of the nation in 1411 and asecnding to the throne. Fighting in Armenia would continue until 1413, when King Hovhannes II pushed Timurid forces back across the Persian border. Georgian assistance at the pivotal Battle of Nakchevan would mark the first instance of cooperation between the Caucasian Orthodox states, and pave the way for closer relations in the future.

Independence (1413 - 1447)

Upon achieving independence in 1413, the Kingdoms of Georgia and Armenia spent five years rebuilding from the destruction inflicted in the Independence War. Relations between Georgia and Armenia grew increasingly cordial, as trade and military contacts increased between the two Orthodox nations; by 1420, the bond between the two had grown close enough that Armenia's new king, Smbat IV, would agree to a marriage alliance between Georgia's Crown Prince Alexandre and Smbat's sister, Princess Alinakh. This dynastic union, which would be sealed by the betrothal of Georgia's Princess Ketevan to Armenia's Prince Garegin in 1426, would set the policy of the Orthodox alliance for the first half of the 15th century.

The Liberation of Assyria (1422 - 1427)

The first test of the Georgian-Armenian alliance arose in 1422, when the two kingdoms intervened in the Ottoman-Mesopotamian War to protect the Christian Assyrians of northern Mesopotamia from persecution. Prior to the Orthodox intervention, the Ottomans had conducted several unsuccessful invasions of Mesopotamia, and were slowly being pressed backwards into Anatolia. Assyrian protests against Mamluk oppression were violently suppressed, prompting Georgia and Armenia to enter the war on the Ottomans' side.

In 1423, the Orthodox coalition flanked Mesopotamian forces in Anatolia, severing their supply lines to the Sultanate's capital in Baghdad and forcing the Mamluks to withdraw after a major defeat at Mardin. The Confederation then pressed into Mesopotamia itself: in 1424, the Georgian Jarishuri captured Erbil (modern Arbela), while the Armenian Azbanak successfully liberated Dahuk (modern Nuhadra). The swift conquest of these regions enabled Confederate forces to press further into the Sultanate: Georgian forces stormed Kirkuk in spring 1425, while the Armenian army of King Smbat IV bypassed Mesopotamia defenses along the Tigris and besieged Mosul later that year. These offensives prompted the Mamluks to sign the Treaty of Adana, which permanently ceded Mesopotamia east of the Tigris and north of the Little Zab to the Confederation. The Confederation would designate this region as a homeland for the Assyrian people, dividiing it into two principalities - Gordyene and Adiabene - under Armenian and Georgian control respectively. Georgia would also gain temporary suzerainty over the area around Kirkuk as collateral for Mesopotamian war reparations; this Principality of Ardalan would be returned to the Mamluks in 1442.

Consolidation (1453 - 1460)

Though the Anatolian War was deemed a success, the lack of Georgian gains soured the Caucasian Confederation's outlook on "Crusades." Stymied in the west, Mepe Alexandre would consequently look to alternative routes for the Confederation's expansion. The disentegration of the Mashriqi and Timurid Empires in the late 1450s would offer an opportunity for Georgia; Assyrian patriots quickly united the lands west of Lake Urmia with their kinsmen in Arbela, expanding the narrow Armenian-Assyrian corridor significantly.

Politics

Political Organization

The Caucasian Confederation is a confederation of feudal kingdoms and principalities, united through a common cultural heritage, religious community, and the shared dynasties of these states' leaders. The Kings of Georgia and Armenia are bound by their feudal obligations to the influential Tavadi princes - powerful landholders equivalent to Western European dukes.

Increasingly,

Foreign Relations

Historically, the Caucasian Confederation has enjoyed strong relations with its fellow Orthodox powers: the Roman Empire has been a particularly strong supporter of the Caucasian coalition, and the two powers have exchanged military and economic assistance of numerous occasions. Relationships with the United Principalities of Rumania and the Grand Duchy of Muscovy are also notable; meanwhile, the introduction of the Pskovian zolotnik to the Caucasus in the mid-1450s greatly improved Caucasian-Pskovian relations. The Caucasian Confederation also conducts significant Black Sea trade with the Serene Republic of Venice and the Jochid Ulus; it enjoys friendly relations with both of these nations due to a long history of economic exchange and military assistance between these powers.

On the other hand, Caucasian relations with its Muslim neighbors have been tense, and tend to follow a "balance of power" policy that prevents any one Islamic state from subjugating the others. Caucasian relationships with the Ottoman Empire were formerly cordial, as the two states allied to counter Mashriqi influence; however, after Caucasian forces fought against the Ottomans in the Anatolian War, relations between the two states grew notably cool. Caucasian relationships with the Timurid successor states are likewise strained due to the destruction inflicted on Georgia and Armenia during the Timurid occupation, while Caucasian diplomacy with the states of the former Mashriqi Sultanate is outright hostile due to these nations' historic oppression of Christian minorities within their territories.

Demographics

Population

N.B. All statistics provided are estimates for 1460.

• Kingdom of Georgia: 488,000 (92% Georgian, 3% Armenian, 3% Assyrian, 2% Coptic)
• Kingdom of Armenia: 463,750 (94% Armenian, 3% Georgian, 2% Assyrian, 1% Coptic)
• Grand Principality of Assyria: 306,250 (60% Assyrian, 16% Kurdish, 10% Coptic, 9% Arab, 3% Armenian, 2% Georgian)
• Principality of Amier-Kavkasia: 155,500 (30% Ossetian, 25% Avar, 20% Didite, 15% Lek, 10% Georgian)
• Principality of Rani: 163,500 (85% Azeri, 10% Ranite, 3% Georgian, 2% Armenian)
• Total: 1,577,000

Religion

See also: Religion

The nations of the Caucasian Confederation tend to adhere to "Oriental Orthodoxy" - a catch-all term for a variety of churches that diverged from Christianity at varying points in the faith's development.

• Georgia: follows the Georgian Orthodox Church, in full communion with Constantinople.
• Armenia: follows the Armenian Orthodox Church. Brought into communion with Constantinople at the Council of Batumi in the mid-1420s.
• Assyria: follows the Assyrian Church of the East; not reconciled with Constantinople. A significant Muslim minority exists in the region, but is required to pay for the right to practice Islam publicly.
• Amier-Kavkasia: follows the Georgian Orthodox Church, though local pagan practices and Islamic influences persist in spite of ongoing evangelization efforts.
• Rani: officially follows the Georgian Orthodox Church; in practice, the region is mostly Sunni Muslim.