Europa Universalis IV – Quick Achievement: Definitely the Sultan of Rum

How to get the achievement Definitely the Sultan of Rum as fast as possible!

Definitely the Sultan of Rum Achievement Guide

Note: Credit goes to King Carl of Luigiland

To get the Definitely the Sultan of Rum achievement via my strategy, you need to play as the Ottomans and own Istanbul, Rome and Moscow as cores. This guide is primarily for people who are only really playing for the achievement; this is just a way to get it as soon as possible.

STEP I

When you start the game, check to see if Poland is not hostile or rivaled to you. If they are, I recommend restarting as getting them as an ally will make taking Moscow, which is probably going to be the last of the three provinces you will take, much faster. You also want Poland to get a PU over Lithuania, but that’s what usually happens anyway. As for your opening moves, immediately start a spy network on Circassia, Byzantium and Aragon. You want claims on Byzantium, Circassia and Naples as Byzantium owns Istanbul, Circassia is a weak nation that can get you a foothold in the Russian region, and attacking Naples to take a province bordering the Papal State like Abruzzi is the best way to get in a position to take Rome.

STEP II

When your claims are in, immediately attack Byzantium and start improving relations with Poland. You can probably get an alliance with them once you’re at peace. In my game, Byzantium’s only ally was Serbia and I’ve seen that a lot so Byzantium should be easy. Meanwhile, watch Naples closely and declare war on them the very second they gain independence from Aragon. You don’t want them to get any allies whatsoever.

STEP III

In your peace deal with Byzantium, just take Istanbul. You could do other stuff if you want (I vassalized Athens) but choose wisely as you don’t want too much AE. Your Neapolitan war may have started by now or not, but either way once you’re at war with them get your troops to Naples ASAP and siege down Naples while attacking the small Neapolitan army if they are roaming around. You should also be able to sink their navy, as well as any other navy you encounter, as well. In the peace deal, take a province bordering either Rome itself or the Pope in general. I also took Bari, the province I claimed, but that was probably a mistake as it made AE from taking Rome insane and I got a coalition.

STEP IV

Attack the Pope whenever you safely can, which can happen pretty early. In my game they were at war with Provence at the time I finished off Naples so I attacked them as their allies would not join. Peace out for Rome only when you can. In the meantime, if Circassia is without any good allies, attack them now. If not (in my game they became a Great Horde tributary), attack another country allowing you to get closer to Muscovy such as Inmerti, Trebizond or Crimea. Doesn’t really matter.

STEP V

Get a border with the Great Horde ASAP. I did it by claiming and attacking Trebizond and Inmerti and then Circassia once the Great Horde was busy and Circassia was defenseless. This is probably the step that will be hardest, but still won’t be hard.

STEP VI

Attack the Great Horde after getting a claim. I had 20 favors with Poland at this point so I called them in, but this may be unnecessary for you. All you need from them is provinces leading in a straight line up to the Muscovite border so you border Muscovy. At that point, I claimed Muscovy.

STEP VII

When you can, perhaps immediately after the Great Horde war like me, declare war on Muscovy. You, Poland (who might even be rivaled to Muscovy) and Lithuania can easily stomp Muscovy’s face. If you’d like you can get an anti-Muscovy horde like Kazan on your side as extra help, but it’s not needed nor did I do it. In the peace deal, take Moscow and any provinces that you need to connect Moscow to your nearest province. Wait for Moscow to core and you’re done!

TIPS

• If you want to get this achievement fast don’t take excess land. It’ll slow you down and cause significant AE.
• You may get rebels. Just warning you.
• Sink every enemy navy you can. It’s worth it and you’ll need to do a lot of naval transporting.
• Because you’ll be at war most of the time, you’ll probably lose your manpower and ability to raise troops to your force limit. Hire mercenaries if needed; I wound up having to hire a company of 10 mercenaries after the war with the Papal State as I needed a lot of troops for fighting the Golden Horde and Muscovy.