They were near the Black Sea - they had access to water (for trade!) and were fairly secluded from other empires (no one really invaded them, not until Peter the Great of Russia came along and needed a warm water port for trade. And countries like England and the HRE referred to them as the “Eastern Question” - “who are they?” “what are their goals?” “what do they want?”).
He was too aggressive in battle. somewhat tentative because of high casualties. They became tentative because the commanders were not aggressive. It encouraged both sides to fight harder.
