This chaotic environment provided fertile ground for the Ottomans' growth.
Although founded on the principle of ghazi, no one said they couldn't wage holy war with infidels, so many Christian soldiers were present in the Ottoman's various wars.
Even now, Armenians remain one of the Ottoman's main sources of soldiers, and even though the Purple Tent Khanate controls the Balkans, some Serbian knights, dissatisfied with the Khanate's rule, have gone to join the Ottomans.
This also made the Ottoman's actual available military strength even more formidable.
Before the actual war began, Timur still adopted a traditional strategy, sending people to launch a propaganda attack against the Ottoman, calling on everyone to wage a holy war against the Ottoman.
Soon, the Purple Tent Khanate, France, and other forces responded, sending troops to join the holy war, preparing to advance from the Caucasus, Constantinople, Cilicia, and other places, making it difficult for the Ottoman to cope.
Upon hearing that Timur was coming to fight him, Sultan Bayezid was furious.
He immediately, as the "ghazi of all ghazis," condemned Timur and called on everyone to wage a holy war against him.
Bayezid successfully used a time difference, defeating the Purple Tent vanguard near Nicaea.
While the Purple Tent Khanate was busy contracting its forces, the Sultan, with his elite Serbian guard, quickly rushed eastward to rendezvous with the armies there, preparing to defeat Timur first.
After the two sides approached, the Ottomans discovered that Timur's army contained a large number of Persians.
Persians had always been known for being weak and unfit for battle; putting these people into the front lines indicated that Timur's strength was far less than he boasted.
Bayezid also fell into an attitude of blind underestimation, not choosing a battlefield that was advantageous to him, and even rushed to launch an attack without waiting for his soldiers to rest.
However, the Persians under Timur were exceptionally resilient, preventing the Ottoman army from making a breakthrough for a long time, while the Turkic people, who held a low status in the Ottoman army, defected on the front line.
The Ottoman army was routed, and the Sultan was captured alive by Timur.
This major defeat brought the Ottoman to the brink of collapse.
The defeat of Asia Minor's strongest opponent greatly benefited the Purple Tent Khanate.
The Khanate believed that it needed to express gratitude, show sincerity, and further strengthen the friendship between the two sides.
The Purple Tent Khanate and the Timurid Empire were brotherly nations of different fathers, mothers, and religions.
Timur, the Imperial Uncle, had rendered great service in supporting the Khanate, and this must be proclaimed to the world.
The Khanate announced that Rome had been in decline for a long time.
First Khan Diocletian, for stability, divided the world into four Ulus, managed by two Khans and two Co-Emperors respectively.
However, the country still fell into chaos, and the four Ulus attacked each other, and Rome has not been reunified to this day.
Now, with the stubborn enemies eliminated one by one, there is hope again for the revival of Rome.
Therefore, after consulting with the Roman Great Khan and the Pillars of the State, it was solemnly decided to bestow upon Timur, the Imperial Uncle, the title of "Roman Co-Emperor."
From now on, everyone will be Romans.
This time, Timur himself didn't quite understand what this meant, only feeling that it sounded very impressive.
Later, he found out that it was actually just an honorary title.
The Purple Tent Khanate had a unique understanding of "Rome"; they believed it was an identity.
Theoretically, the whole world could be Roman.
Even Guo Kang's maternal grandfather, Huang, a man well-versed in Central Plains literature, supported this view.
Huang's idea was that Rome was Great Qin—Great Qin was similar to the Central Plains—and anything similar to the Central Plains could be called Rome.
This view was highly regarded by the Han nobles and became the official prominent school of thought.
Therefore, in the eyes of the Purple Tent, declaring the other party also Roman was a very high-level means of praise and co-option.
As for the Roman Co-Emperor, it was actually a title for the rulers of other Roman states.
Scholars with a Central Plains background found it difficult to accept a situation where a country had two emperors, so they treated it as some kind of honorary title.
In the words of traditional opera, it was a "Prince of the Roman Name," used to reward people who had made extremely significant contributions.
For example, after the Timurid Empire accepted this honor, it could be called the "Transoxiana Roman State," and Timur himself would be the "Transoxiana Roman Khan."
Similarly, France, another traditional ally of the Khanate, was also very interested in the Roman title.
Soon after this event, the French King also paid a huge sum to donate for the title of "Frank Roman Emperor."
In principle, these were all similar, falling within the scope of "Co-Emperor."
It was just that because their original titles were different, there were some differences in how they were addressed.
However, because they all had "Roman" in their names, their nature was still the same.
After reaffirming the alliance, everyone turned their next target towards the Mamluk Dynasty.
The allied forces engaged the main Mamluk army in Syria, and at a crucial moment, a rebellion against the Sultan, initiated by the Caucasian Mamluks, broke out in Egypt.
The rebels promised that if they were supported as the new Sultan, they would recognize Timur as overlord and agree to the Purple Tent Khanate's demands for ports, maintaining peace and non-aggression in the future.
The Purple Tent Khanate had long been in contact with them internally and had even dispatched an army from Cyprus to reinforce Alexander.
Upon learning of the trouble in their backyard, the morale of the main Mamluk army was greatly shaken, and the Sultan, anxious to withdraw his troops, was defeated by Timur en route.
After the war's victory, the various parties began to divide the territories relinquished by the Mamluk Dynasty, with the Purple Tent Khanate receiving the city of Antioch in northern Syria.
When Heraclius was forced to abandon Syria, he grieved at the border, saying, "Farewell, beautiful Syria."
And this time, it was the first time the Romans had recovered this place since the Arab conquest.
The Khanate was very satisfied with this and held very grand ceremonies in both the Capital and Antioch to reward the army and bestow gifts upon the people.
In the Hippodrome of Constantinople, the Khanate held a 100-day Naadam, hiring a large group of Mongol wrestlers from the steppe to perform wrestling with the Greeks all day long.
During the day, citizens watched various combat competitions in the arena, and at night, when drunk, they could engage in unlimited combat with the Kheshig who tried to maintain order.
After several months, everyone felt great, feeling as if they had returned to the great era of Rome.
In Antioch, the Khanate also held a ceremony to pay homage to the First Khans since Heraclius.
The entire city was filled with sacred images of the First Khans, and religious figures such as the Heavenly Father Aroha Heaven Lord and the Heavenly Brother Jesus, making it very solemn.
Grand land and water rituals were also held in the port and the city, so large in scale that even the Eastern Orthodox Church priests sent by the then Archbishop Yin Daoren were insufficient, and a group of lamas and monks had to be brought in to help.
After a period of lively festivities, everyone was very happy.
Even the surrounding Arab lords, specially invited by the Khanate to foster good relations, drank grape juice for more than half a month, all with rosy faces and great satisfaction.
This victory finally opened the Khanate's sea passage to the Indian Ocean.
Only after that did negotiations with countries like Java Yuan, attempting direct trade, have a realistic basis.
