The Safavid Empire - The Rising Sun

Shah Tahmasp I - Manipulating the Mughals

Shah Tahmasp I – Manipulating the Mughals (1530 – 1533)​

Tammy decided it was time to deal with the Mughals. After holding council with his advisors a plan was formulated. Some called for the removal of the Mughals altogether; they were a blight on the lands which should be Safavid while others had a more interesting way to deal with them. To the east lay the rich provinces of India which Tammy (being nasty and greedy) wanted to make lots of money from. Unfortunately attacking, annexing and occupying the region would be have a high price both in human life and in ducats. Therefore plans were drawn up to firstly make the Mughals Shiite vassals and secondly aid them in an invasion of India. Then a large proportion of the wealth would be due to the Safavid court in tribute. A master plan!

Without further ado the Safavids declared war – the Mughals weren’t going to convert and become vassals without a fight…

Humayun – the emperor of the Mughals receives news of the war and crushes a rose, claiming the same fate awaits the Safavids (cocky just like the Timurids).​

The Mughals in an alliance with Balkh were already at war with the Uzbeks and their allies so that gave the Tammy and his men a large advantage. Unfortunately the Mughal lands around the Indus River were plagued by bogs and jungles and a nightmare for armies to negotiate. Despite his usually good military planning Tammy missed this detail while gloating over his amazing plan and so the 20,000 strong Persian Army led by Tammy had to retreat after the first month due to horrific losses caused by lack of supplies. The Balkh and Mughals used this opportunity to launch a counter attack which was tracked by the Kara Koyunlu horde.

The Horde tracks the Mughal counter attack​

The Horde fell upon the Mughals at night and routed them within a day, sending them fleeing back to their capital at Kabul with their tails between their legs.

The Venetians wisely decided to beg for peace offering 32 ducats. Tammy accepted without even looking at the gains made by the Ottomans. He was tiring of their war mongering. Meanwhile back on the east front the more righteous war was just getting going. Tammy split the Persian Army into smaller 7000 men groups. The fragmented Safavid army then moved across the southern Mughal provinces and removed any Mughal garrisons present. The Mughal lands were now firmly under Safavid control with only fortresses holding out against Tammy.

The Mughals in tatters​

Next Tammy led a group of infantry to assault these fortresses using newly learnt techniques which were a fruit of Ismail’s investment in the military. Sindh, the Indus, Thar and Panjab all fell in quick succession but then a problem arose. Tammy was running out of infantry and his cavalry were reluctant to dismount and attempt the risky business of assaulting fortresses.

More infantry were trained immediately and the Persian Army reassembled on the borders of Kabul where Humayun, the Mughal Emperor awaited with a 30,000 strong Mughal army. Despite being outnumbered (the Persian Army at this point had only 20,000 men) Tammy ordered the attack. Riding at the front of his army with a few loyal companions he led them on to the Mughal capital of Kabul.

A Mughal warrior on the eve of the Battle of Kabul​

The battle was a bloody affair. Thousands were slain on both sides and farmers turned up bones in the fields outside the Mughal capital for decades to come. Tammy won, partly due to his tactical prowess and partly due to the reforms Ismail made to the military. The Safavid forces were simply better equipped and trained then their Mughal counterparts. After the victory Tammy withdrew, leaving 14,000 infantry to assault the fortress however by this time winter was approaching and snow storms unlike any ever seen in the area hit Kabul. Almost 9000 men lost their lives to the winter of 1532, almost as many as had been died in the battle itself. The men withdrew but the respite was only temporary for the Mughals. The Safavids returned to assault the fortress and force Humayun to convert.

The first part of the plan was complete, now after a little waiting Tammy would return to vassalise the Mughals and then… well then Tammy would soon have all he ever dreamed of – lots of gold.

Yeah went well. I was going to try and include the whole of the Mughal bits in that update but just got the computer fixed and haven't found a screenshot program yet. The rest will be along tomoro or the day after!

Shah Tahmasp I - Suleyman the Magnificently Annoying

Shah Tahmasp I – Suleyman the Magnificently Annoying (1533 – 1543)​

Many people from many factions in the world referred to the Ottoman sultan as Suleyman the Magnificent, Tammy on the other hand referred to him as Suleyman the Magnificently Annoying. He did this for three reasons. Firstly he had an annoyingly good army, secondly he had an annoying habit of attacking people and dragging the Safavids in and thirdly he had nearly as much money and land as Tammy himself!

A few years on after the Mughal conflict, just as Tammy had finished replentishing the army up to full strength again Suleyman attacked the Mamluks and not just a border raid for Aleppo which the Ottomans considered rightfully theirs. Suleyman intended to annex the entire realm of Mamluk Egypt and was arrogant enough to inform Tammy. Now Tammy may not have been a diplomatic genius, indeed many thought he anything but and yet he did know that the Ottomans controlling all of Egypt as well as their current realms would provide a force not even the Persian Army could match. Unfortunately Tammy didn’t have a clue how to stop it and so the Second Mamluk War started.

Suleyman the Magnificently Annoying​

The war itself started well. Tammy defeated a Mamluk assault on Azerbaijan and countered by laying siege to Jordan while the Kara Koyunlu horde marched on Syria. The war was firmly in the hands of the Shiite Alliance and then a 10,000 strong Ottoman force marched to the Mamluk capital of Cairo intent on taking possession of the entire realm. The situation looked grim and then a plan came to Tammy, a military plan, the kind he was good at. The Safavids were still the leaders of the Shiite Alliance and so could negotiate a peace. Behind the backs of the Ottomans Tammy negotiated a peace for Syria and Samaria. While the Mamluks were reluctant at first after Tammy spoke of the Ottoman plan they agreed and also gave up Aleppo so as not to irk the Ottomans too badly.

The result was a corridor between the main Mamluk lands and the Ottomans, hopefully enough to dissuade Suleyman from any more ambitious plans. It also gave the Safavid Empire a route to the Mediterranean and the wealth which it carried on its waves.

The Safavid Corridor​

Suleyman was furious at this and yet with his problems controlling the many ethnic minorities and religions within his realm he had other problems and could ill afford to upset Tammy and the Safavids so remained quiet on the issue.

Meanwhile in the east the Mughal plans were being hampered slightly. The Chinese, a people who Tammy had only heard of in stories and were a really long way away on the map had taken over the Indus just east of Safavid lands and the Uzbeks were pushing the Mughals back rapidly from the north. Had times been easier Tammy may have attacked the Uzbeks to even things up but rebellions were rocking the Empire so ponderings of the Uzbeks and China had to be left for more stable days…

The Uzbeks attack the Mughals​

Rebellions broke out in Kalat, Mascate and Iraq almost simultaneously. Tammy put it down to coincidence but there were mutterings around the court that foreign powers had been meddling in Safavid affairs – almost all the rebellions were on or close to the border and the rebels were well equipped. The fighting was hard and just as they had been put down and the leaders executed another rebellion broke out in Khorasan. Tammy rode out to put it down and did so with ease but suffered a broken leg as he fell from his horse in the battle.

While lying in his tent in agony from the wound he received news that Suleyman had attacked the Danes arrived… Why would he attack the Danes? They were nearly as far away as the Chinese… Despite his annoyance and wonderings Tammy offered his support.

The rebellions were drying up and money began to flow freely again, which Tammy used to commission 500 settlers to be sent to the colony in Karroo. Meanwhile in the centre of the Safavid Empire (they actually marched right through it) 2000 brave Danish soldiers were spotted!

The brave and/or stupid Danes​

Tammy, who was now tentatively riding a horse again after his injury watched the Danes march from a safe distance, he thought it unfair to kill such brave men. Soon after the Danes offered peace and 150 gold tributes which Tammy accepted on behalf of the alliance. The Ottomans were good treasury boosters even if they were annoying. Just as Tammy was beginning to forgive Suleyman for his irritating antics the Ottomans declared war on the Mamluks again. Despite the Safavid corridor they poured into Lebanon the north most Mamluk province. Tammy apologised to the Mamluks and quickly sorted out a white peace which merely infuriated Suleyman even more. The Shiite Alliance was suffering it's weakest moment.

It seemed the Ottomans just needed war, Tammy intended to let them fight some European power for a long time in the near future, let the idiots bash their heads against each other. Fortunately for Tammy’s sanity better news was on the horizon. At last the scientists Ismail had commissioned to research the guns of the Ottomans and Europeans had been mastered the art and the first Safavid gun was produced as a gift to the Shah.

The first Safavid arquebus​

More good news came soon after, rebels in Herat the old Timurid capital had declared loyalty to the Shah of the Safavids which just happened to be Tammy. He was delighted – people wanted to give him their money in taxes so badly they would revolt to do so! A truly historic day… a party reminiscent of those of Jahan Shah was thrown!

The aesthetically pleasing Safavid Empire except the corridor which is ugly​

Despite the party Tammy was still unhappy. The Mamluk-Ottoman problem was unsolved, the long term Ottoman aggresion remined unsolved as well as the Mughals and the ever braver Uzbeks.

Yeah Fulcrumvale definatly hooray for gunpowder especially with an eventual war with the Ottomans looking more likely. As for Isfahan I'll be honest it makes me want to cry especially seen as it was rebelling at one point and I accidently put down the rebellion with my own troops It would have joined the Safavids too.

As for the Mughals they're going to get it just as soon as I can stop worrying about the Ottomans... its all go in the Safavid Empire

Yup the Ottomans are driving me mad but they still scare me too much to do anything about it

Shah Tahmasp I – India and Egypt

Shah Tahmasp I – India and Egypt (1543 – 1553)​

A year after the Ottoman troubles Tammy got back to his favourite past times – counting money and finding ways of making more money. The Mughal Plan was not yet complete and he intended to change that. And so in 1544 Tammy at the head of the Kara Koyunlu Horde led the assault on the Mughals at Kabul. With their primitive firearms combined with traditional horsemanship the horde quickly overran the Mughals in Kabul and Quetta. After the horde had defeated the Mughal forces the Persian Army, now made up of 15,000 infantry marched through Mughal lands laying siege to the fortresses in Kabul, Quetta and Thar.

The war was all but over in just over a year, mainly due to the Mughals coming under attack from Punjab, Delih, China and Gujarat in the east as well as the Uzbeks, Chagatai and Khazaks from the north. Despite the defeat of the Mughals Tammy thought it wise, or rather his advisors did (Tammy didn’t really do much wise thinking), to wait for the Indian states to take what provinces they controlled before making a formal peace with the Mughals.

In the west Mamluk rebels in Judea declared their independence from the Mamluk Empire (although Tammy thought empire was now too generous a word for the realm) and joined Tammy’s empire. The clerics who had led the rebellion were Shiite and so zealously loyal to the Safavids and Shiite faith. This led the unpleasant but not entirely unwelcome conversion of Judea by any means. The clerics caused mayhem across the region but after a year of bloody killings and riots the people of Judea were staunchly Shiite.

The expanded even uglier Safavid Corridor​

A few months on Tammy received a strange letter written in a strange script. It was apparently from China. No one in the court actually understood it and the furthest the scribes got was that the writing flowed from left to right but what it meant was a mystery. As the Chinese, other then their holdings in the Indus were miles and miles away from Tammy he cared little. It emerged decades later that the letter had been a grave insult but considering the 44,000 Chinese soldiers currently stationed in the Indus it was unlikely Tammy would have done anything about it anyway.

In 1548 the vultures had finished picking at the carcass of the Mughals and Tammy decided it was time to make peace. The only terms were that the Mughals became vassals and joined the Shiite alliance. The Mughals, surprised at the relative lenience of the offer accepted eagerly.

In the same year Tammy was informed that he could make even more money if he only moved his capital to a more central location. After some thought Tammy picked Tabriz, it was more central but not too far away from Azerbaijan – a good compromise.

The event doesn’t really apply that well but you can see the effects​

When Tammy saw the maps of the lands past the Indus River he was horrified, his new vassals who were supposed to conquer all of India were weak, very weak. China was still occupying the Indus and they had lost the Panjab and Sindh to Delih and Gujarat respectively. Tammy couldn’t believe his advisors once warned of the Mughals as a threat! Still maybe they could be resurrected with Safavid help but for now the alliance of China, Delih and Gujarat made that a tricky business. Time would tell though and for now Tammy was more concerned with getting the army back up to full strength.

The Mughals in 1548​

The colonists that had been sent to Karroo had also finally paid off. The settlement was now more then a mere colony – it was a true city. Tammy was delighted and ordered the same process be started in Table just to the west of Karroo.

The next 4 years were peaceful, nothing happened really. Tammy counted money, the army was brought back up to full strength and even the Ottomans appeared calm – they hadn’t attacked anyone for 10 whole years! This was of course too good to be true and so the Ottomans attacked the Mamluks again. Tammy held council and it was decided that as long as Suleyman dreamed of annexing the entire of the Mamluk realm there could be no peace in the region while the Mamluk state remained.

After the council Tammy rode to the Ottoman capital of Istanbul to meet Suleyman. Here between them they carved up the Mamluk realm.

The map drawn by Suleyman and Tammy (provinces to the left of the red line go to Ottomans, provinces to the right to the Safavids)

The map was of course flawed in many ways. Firstly Judea, now fiercely loyal to the Safavid Empire would never submit to foreign rule so easily. Secondly when Tammy realised how rich Alexandria was he would not agree to it being handed over to the Ottomans so easily. Finally the map would be ugly and in his old age Tammy was becoming more and more aesthetically aware. And so the real debate over who got what would have to wait for another day, perhaps after the Mamluks were actually defeated but considering the combined strength of the Shiite Alliance this was unlikely to take long. For now the important thing for the Safavids was the Ottomans abandoned dreams of annexing the entire of the Mamluk realm and decided to share.

From that map the Ottomans get Alexandria with its COT so its not all rosey for the Safavids. I'm thinking there will have to be a war with them eventually anyway... I want Isfahan and I'm pulling closer to them in land tech so a war might actually work.

That makes more sense then Yoda but I've never fought the Ottomans. We've been best buddies (kinda) forever... ever since they decided to convert on that Shiite rebels Turko-Persian conflict event

Shah Tahmasp I – Peace Plan for the Middle East

Shah Tahmasp I – Peace Plan for the Middle East (1553 – 1559)​

The war started as a 31,000 strong Mamluk army marched into Samaria. Tammy rode out to meet them on the plains and quick battle followed. The Mamluk forces fought hard, they knew defeat would almost certainly guarantee the end of their nation and yet all the effort in the world couldn’t help against Tammy. When he led the Kara Koyunlu horde, now armed with guns, nothing could stand in his way. Leading the cavalry he tore through the Mamluk lines and soon sent them fleeing back to Cairo.

Tammy, as well as Ottoman forces dispatched to help in the war by Suleyman to aid the Shiite alliance wandered through Mamluk lands, taking castles and killing armies almost effortlessly. A year later Tammy arrived at the Mamluk capital of Cairo and laid siege to the city. After 9 months it fell to Shiite troops and Tammy boarded a ship for Cyprus where Suleyman and his advisors were waiting.

On arrival great feasting took place as the Ottomans tried to show off their wealth. After the merry making the Council of Cyprus met in the palace on the isle. Here the wisest and most powerful men of the Shiite world met and decided how best to split the Mamluk Empire. The original plan was scrapped as unfeasible partly due to Judea and secondly as it would split the Ottoman lands from Istanbul. Eventually after hours of debate it was decided that the lands would be split between two new kingdoms - The Kingdom of Alexandria and The Kingdom of Jerusalem which would act as vassal kingdoms to the Ottomans and Safavids respectively.

The Treaty of Cyprus​

The Kingdoms bore little power of their own and were really just a way for the two superpowers of the area to extract money from the Mamluk Empire without actually having to run.

The vassal kingdoms​

Tammy was pleased with this solution, as he grew older he tired of warfare and hoped that the treaty would bring peace to the region for decades to come. The Ottomans would be happy they had the centre of trade in Alexandria and Tammy was satisfied the gains didn’t make them too powerful. Just as Tammy began to think peace was coming Delih and Gujarat attacked the Mughals. While peace appeared to have come to the western part of the empire this certainly wasn’t true in the east.

Fighting broke out quickly and by the time Tammy had completed the long march from west to east the Mughals were already in control of Panjab, Sindh and Katah. Tammy headed straight for the Gujarat capital (which did have a name but Tammy just couldn’t pronounce it) and assaulted the city. It fell easily and after this Gujarat accepted a peace which gave Panjab, Sindh and Katah to the Mughals, making them powerful enough to defend themselves without Safavid help.

The Mughals after the peace of 1558​

Peace now appeared to have come to the east; at least as far as the main Safavid forces were concerned. Only a year on though, as if to wind Tammy up Sunni separatists revolted in Table (South Africa) – nearly 3000 of them. Quite how they managed such large numbers when there were only around 700 Muslims (Shiite and Sunni) in the whole of Table Tammy didn’t know. Fortunately however in neighbouring Karroo a few regiments of gunners were trained and marched off to crush the uprising.

The colonial uprising of 1559​

After this was put down, just to stop things getting dull and boring for Tammy the Mughals attacked the Uzbeks and Tammy reluctantly offered support. He then quickly began to think up an aesthetically pleasing peace plan for the north-eastern region of the empire. War meant less money and besides Tammy was slowly realising that while it was on of his only talents he didn’t really like war all that much anyway.