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Dewirix -Thanks! Actually, both things do happen in the next years. Since I'm in a PU with Hedjaz, I eventually inherit the provinces of Mecca and Medina (along with several others). I also try my hand at colonizing, since the European powers start being more aggressive. My objective now is to westernize and expel the Christians from Muslim lands and to make a larger share of my population of the Kannauji culture.

Ashantai - Thanks! It was easier than I thought, thanks to normal difficulty and normal AI aggressiveness, I think. Now keeping up with the others while being so multicultural and large is going to be difficult.

Next update is going to take a while, because my girlfriend is coming to visit me. Probably only next week.
 
The Reign of Padishah Mubarrak Shah IV Thuqluqid (987-995 AH) (1580-1587 in the Christian calendar) (A/D/M 5/5/6)
also known as Mubarrak Shah, the builder or Mubarrak Shah, the coward.

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Mubarrak Shah IV’s reign didn’t see as many sarkars (provinces) added to the empire as that of his father. In fact, Delhi wouldn’t be involved in any wars with foreign powers during his brief rule.

This doesn’t mean that Delhi’s armies would be idle. Mubarrak Shah IV’s rule was contested by the sheikhs of Adal, and he had to assert his authority during the earlier part of his reign. Fight in Adal would end by February 1581.

Mubarrak Shah IV would also order his armies to commit the Malagasy Genocide in Madagascar between October and December of 1586. He’d do this so that settlers of the Kannauji culture could be sent there to safely start a trading post near Africa’s eastern coast in 1587.

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Mubarrak Shah IV was terrified of the reports his spies gave of the European nations to the west. He had participated in the last war against Persia and knew that a Persian army of more than 49,000 men had been reduced to less than 6,000 while fighting no more than 20,000 Russians. Apparently the Christians had discovered how to mass produce new weapons (something called “gunpowder”) which were very fearsome in battle.

This had upset the balance of power and now Muslim lands were being conquered by the Christian powers of Portugal, Castille, Russia and Naples. The cities of Alexandria and Astrakhan, once centers of trade between the faithful, were now closed, as well as access to the western markets and their valuable goods (furs, salt).

He knew that, as khalifa, he should defend the other Muslism, but he never grew the courage to accept the title of Defender of the Faith due to the stories he heard. He thought that Delhi wasn’t ready to tackle the Christians with their new weapons (and historians agree that he was mainly right, even though contemporaries thought he was a coward).

Instead, Mubarrak Shah IV preferred to find a way to trade with other, less hostile, Christian nations. An explorer called Saikander Nagar would convince the Padishah that this could be done with a western trade rote, circumnavigating Africa. Mubarrak Shah IV would lend him the Delhi expeditionary fleet of 5 galleys, which he’d put to good use, discovering the Cape of Good Hope in March of 1582 and reaching as far as Portuguese Nigeria in 1586. The Padishah would also favor free trade over the mercantilist practices of the day (+1 free trade event merchants pleased).

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Saikander Nagar would receive plenipotentiary power from Mubarrak Shah IV in his mission to find an alternate sea route to Europe, and he’d use it to get treaties of friendship with Kongo and Delhi’s old enemy, Persia, to help him resupply his ships in far away lands (military access with these two countries).

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Saikander Nagar would reach Europe in 1586 and would get a treaty of free trade with the city of Venice which would bear fruits only decades later, as Delhi had to deal with the premature death of Mubarrak Shah IV in 1587, during a hunt.

During Mubarrak Shah IV’s reign, the Indian Coastal Road would be completed, linking all of continental India’s coastal provinces with each other. It was built of granite from local quarries (or the Himalayas when the place didn’t have a quarry nearby) and more than 100,000 slaves were used to construct it. It was a monumental project, and in many parts still works to this day.

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The first part, linking India’s eastern sarkars (provinces), would be completed by December of 1582, while the western road would be completed in December of 1586. The phrase “To rule is to build roads” would be attributed to Mubarrak Shah IV during this time.
 
So the Europeans are approaching! Are you stilll in a position to westernise if you get a 6 Admin ruler?

Poor old Mubarrak Shah got lumbered with a bad epithet. I'm sure he'd have been less cowardly had he lived longer. At least he held on long enough to avoid a regency council.
 
Dewirix - Yes, the Europeans are approaching, specially Castille and Portugal. I'm innovative and centralized enough to westernize, but I don't have a ruler with admin 6 or a connection with orthodox or latin tech groups. That last one is mainly what I'm trying to achieve now, by colonizing east africa.

And Mubarrak Shah IV unfortunately didn't avoid a regency council, even if a very short one. My next post won't have screenshots, since it's two paragraphs long.
 
6th Regency Council (995-996 AH) (1587-1588 in the Christian calendar) (A/D/M 6/4/7)

Also known as the short council

Mubarrak Shah IV’s heir was his little brother, Sayyd Khidr Thuqluqid, which was 13 at the time of Mubarrak’s death and was being raised in the Hedjaz. The able ministers that advised Mubarrak Shah served as Sayyd Khidr’s regents until he came of age the following year.
Not much actually happened during this time, except for the official creation of the Malagasy Trade Post in Bourne (colonization successful) and a harvest failure in Ahmadnagar.
 
The Reign of Padishah Sayyd Khidr I Thuqluqid (996-1021 AH) (1588-1613 in the Christian calendar) (A/D/M 3/6/7)

also known as Sayyd Khidr, the silver tongue or Sayyd Khidr, the learned.

Part 1

Sayyd Khidr was a very charismatic figure, even though he wasn’t much capable in administrative affairs. He was over 6 feet tall, looming over his contemporaries, and liked to ride very much.

Mubarrak Shah IV had sent his little brother, Sayyd Khidr, to be raised in Hedjaz, as part of the relationship of the joint monarchy. Sayyd Khidr would learn to ride with the fierce Arabian sheikhs and through his charismatic personality would earn their respect. They considered him as one of them, an honorary Arab, not a foreign Indian ruler. In July of 1588, when Sayyd was crowned in Delhi, much to his surprise he’d see not only Delhian courtiers, but all of the Hedjaz Arabian leaders swearing everlasting fealty to him (inherit Hedjaz).

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Sayyd Khidr would rejoice at having complete control of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina and of the Red Sea eastern coast. Sayyd Khidr ordered the building of workshops in all of the Arabian provinces, to rule those lands more efficiently.

But all would not be peaceful in the Arabian peninsula. Najd was a neighbor to Hedjaz that was facing a virulent civil war. One of the tribes of Najd, the Sharjahi, decided that their lot would be better serving under the charismatic Sayyd Khidr, so the province of Muskat defected to Delhi in 1588. The ruler of Najd wasn’t happy with that and turned a blind eye to the activities of bandits raiding Hedjaz’s caravans (border friction in October 1590). In 1591 the situation would become unbearable and Delhi would be forced to wage war with Najd and its ally, the weakened Mamluks, in the Najd Border Friction War.

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The fact that Delhi was again involved in a war with a fellow Muslim state confused many of the common people, who thought those wars were behind and thought that conflict should be made with the Christian infidels instead (poor government policies -2 stability).

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War with Najd would rage on until March of 1592. It was at the table of negotiations that Sayyd Khidr would show his brilliance. He’d be lenient with the ruler of Najd and his banditry so long as he swore fealty to the Delhi Padishah. The malik wouldn’t be replaced, as long as he paid an annual tribute and converted from heretic Shia to Sunni. Malik Nasir I accepted this, since he had been completely beaten.

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Meanwhile, the adventurer Saikander Nagai would still explore the Atlantic Ocean. Having discovered a way to Europe, he now wanted to find a place the Castillians had told him about, a land of fabled riches called Caracas. Sayyd Khidr would commission two additional galleys for him to voyage the perilous Atlantic Ocean, but Saikander Nagai would die before reaching that fabled province. He’d reach the shores of Venezuela, where he was sure Caracas was, but would be killed by a strange fever.

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Saikander Nagai’s work would be taken over by his shipmate Daulat Khan Nagar. Daulat Khan would lead an expedition with 10,000 men through the South American jungles until he reached the famous Caracas in May of 1597. After receiving gifts of gold and strange animals (including a talking bird) and plants from the natives, he’d return to Delhi, where tales of that magical place would stimulate the imagination of the Delhians (mission accomplished: disover Caracas +5 colonists). The common people would be more willing to settle in Delhi’s colonies, to see those fabled lands, and colonial enterprises would be set in Demak, Barten, Visayas, Manila and Rasgala. Only the last three would be successful, and the natives of Visayas would have to be pacified first.

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While all of this was happening, Sayyd Khidr would complete his brother works and build roads that crisscrossed all of India (built roads in all provinces). He’d also commission the census his ancestor, Mohammed Shah IV, the reformer, had ordered to be done at the year 1008 AH (1600 in the Christian calendar).
 
Part 2

State of the Nation 1600

Income is still the 2nd highest, after Portugal (190 ducats/month), but European powers are bridging the gap now. In the future, my income is going to be the highest for a while, but Portugal will surpass me again.

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Technology is way behind, being at best 75% of what Europeans have (in case of government and production). Land and naval techs are about 50% of the average European technology.

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Army is the second biggest, just after Castille, but the units suck in comparison. Burgundy, Russia and Portugal aren’t very far behind me.

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Navy is the 5th best, with lots of big ships. But the quality is much behind European’s. Look at the size of the Japanese navy.

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Number of provinces still highest, and got a boost by inheriting the Hedjaz.
The charts show still a good religious situation. Conversion is going at a slow rate, due to being full innovative, but is progressing. Almost 6/7 of all provinces are cored, which is always good.

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Kanauji culture is 1/3 of all the population. Colonization is bearing fruits, since cultural conversions almost aren’t happening anymore.

Goods produced still suck price-wise for some reason that I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I’m Indian that the prices of spices or cotton are so low?

I forgot to save the world screenshot before I re-installed EU3. Sorry, I'll put it in 1650 instead. You'll notice that those are more interesting times actually.
 
Part 3

At the beginning of the 17th century, Delhi’s situation wasn’t good. European powers were expanding more and more eastwards, taking away land of the faithful muslims.

In 1602 Great Britain would win a war against Aceh and take the lands that bordered the Malacca Strait, establishing at once the colony of British Southeast Asia and the British East India Company, to monopolize trade in the market of Malacca, which was closed to Delhians now.

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At the same time, Castille would attack Syria in the Great Persian-Castille War, because the Syrian ruler had taken the title of Defender of the Muslim Faith, thinking himself the like of Baybars or Saladin. But the Syrian ruler would actually undo what these great men had accomplished in the past, as in that war the Syrian armies were utterly humiliated and had to cede control of Jerusalem to the Castillian Crusaders in August of 1603.

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This would lead to the Matter of Jerusalem in Delhi Court. Many of the uramah (nobles) and ulemah (priests) urged Sayyd Khidr I to attack the Castillians, to reconquer the third holiest place in Islam from the hands of the Christians. Sayyd Khidr knew that he couldn’t wage war with Castille if he didn’t share a border with them and he knew that until he discovered how to make those wondrous weapons of them his armies had no chance.

He first bid his time, preferring to appease the merchants of the realm before the nobles or holy men. Delhi now hadn’t been in a war in quite a long time, and Sayyd Khidr’s silver tongue had made many foreign dignitaries very impressed with him. The distrust that foreigners had of Delhians had disappeared, and the merchants took advantage of that, establishing themselves even in European marketplaces (infamy 0.0 in September 1603 and after having 5 merchants in Venice, open market in Lübeck in 1604).

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In 1605, Sayyd Khidr I’s first son died in a hunting accident. Many of the common people said this was a punishment from Allah, for his indifference towards the Matter of Jerusalem (+1 infamy, -5 prestige).

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But Allah writes straight with crooked lines, as Sayyd Khidr’s second wife would gave birth to a healthy baby boy, Khidr Khan (A/D/M 6/6/7) in the summer of 1605. The great coincidence was that Sayyd Khidr’s second wife, Rania, was of an Arabian tribe of the Syrian lands of Tobak. Even though the claim was very weak, Sayyd Khidr would order his armies to march in November of 1606, to take a land that was rightfully of his heir (and that would incidentally border Judea).

In the war against Syria, Sayyd Khidr I would lead an army attacking from the south, from Medina, while the general Sayyd Khidr Lodi would lead another from the east, from the Iraqian lands of the Jalayrids, Delhi’s allies.

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The battles would be difficult, since the Syrians had adapted the European musket to their use, but Delhi’s forces would compensate for this with enthusiasm and courage. The most important encounters would happen in the first and second battle of Tabok. The last major encounter happened in Al Karak in May of 1607. After that, Delhi’s forces just hunted Syria’s remaining armies through the desert until the Syrian regency council accepted Delhi’s demand for Tabouk.

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When I mentioned the threat posed by the Europeans I wasn't really thinking that you'd be responding in quite such a direct manner. You could push on for a universal caliphate now.

Nice to see the 1600 update. The Europeans have a serious technical advantage and they'll have Mauricians by now. Any war for Jerusalem isn't going to be pretty.
 
Part 4

After the war had been won, Sayyd Khidr focused on internal affairs. He unified the set of measurements, weights and scales in all India, which would boost trade and productivity a lot in the following years. He also fulfilled an old demand from the uramah (nobles) of Hotan, by building the 7th Delhian textile manufactory in that far away province. That way also Delhi would have a wool textile manufactory as well, since all the other six dealt with cloth only.

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For a short while after the unification of measures, Delhi was the richest nation in the world, surpassing Portugal.

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Still in economic matters, Sayyd Khidr I declared the statute of monopolies, favoring free trade and putting a limit on how big enterprises could become, outlawing monopolies and trusts.

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Sayyd Khidr I wanted Delhi to become one of the great cities of Islam, as much as Baghdad and Damascus had once been during the time of ancient caliphates. To outdo them he built a great castle, which symbolically had elements from all of the provinces he controlled. He also built a lavish throne for him, with the back in the form a peacock’s feathers, but all in precious stones. This he’d name the Peacock Throne and that’s how Delhi’s seat of power would be known in the following years (build great monument).

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Sayyd Khidr I would also establish three of Delhi’s first universities, the first one being built in Delhi city itself, in January of 1612. The other two would be built near the Indus river, in Indus and Sind. This would earn Sayyd Khidr the epithet “the learned”.

The adventures of Daulat Khan Nagar would all happen during Sayyd Khidr I’s reign. During his lifetime, Daulat Khan Nagar would discover many lands for the glory of Delhi that would entice the curiosity of the common people, who was becoming more and more literate. Daulat Khan Nagar’s exploits would include the discovery of every island in Indonesia and the Phillipines, as well as the mapping of all of Australia’s southeast lands. He also would land in Diego Garcia and other small islands of the Indian Ocean, where he said he encountered small men that battled over silly things, like the correct way to eat an egg. Daulat Khan Nagar would die while exploring the jungles of Kongo in April of 1612.

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In August of 1612 a comet was sighted, that caused much concern to the common people. Those who had read Khidr Khan Jahan’s book on astronomy thought that this was a bad omen, that foretold of Sayyd Khidr’s death in a year’s time and difficult times ahead. Sayyd Khidr would have none of that, and instructed the wise men trained at Delhi University to go forth and become teachers in every madrassa and mosque in the country, so that stupid superstition would disappear (pass school establishment act).

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Unfortunately for Sayyd Khidr I, he died in April of 1613 of a heart attack, fulfilling the prophecy and leaving his country with his son too young to rule yet. The international situation as well wouldn't be good, since the Castillians had won the war against Persia in 1608 and now had a base in Baluchistan, right next to the western Indian border.

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New neighbours who can teach you strange and exciting new ways to kill people! Just make sure they don't use your army as a demonstration.

Your economy really seems to be building up momentum now. I like the idea of a Delhi-colonised Australia too.
 
7th regency council (1021-1029 AH) (1613-1620 in the Christian calendar) (A/D/M 4/3/7)

Bahlul Lodi, the master of mint and minister of finances of Delhi, became regent for the young Khidr Khan and Islam Shah. His regency would be troubled times, but he’d prove capable of dealing with the problems.

The former Padishah, Sayyd Khidr the silver tongued, had arranged that Baluchistan would be inherited by his sons on his death, and so this came to be in April of 1613. But Bahlul Lodi thought that the Delhian court was already too difficult to control without the addition of non-Indian courtiers, so he appointed a leader to rule Baluchistan as a vassal, a mufti. This would prove fortunate, as Baluchistan would prosper under Delhi’s guard, even winning a minor war against Khorasan and doubling its size in the next five years, never forgetting to pay tribute meanwhile.

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The regent Bahlul Lodi would be criticized over his failure to colonize Natal, in the eastern African coast. Portuguese settlers arrived there first and there was nothing Delhi could do. This in fact left all of the Eastern African coast under the control of the Europeans (Castille and Portugal), making it very hard for Delhi to retake the Muslim lands in Western Africa in the future.

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Bahlul Lodi would instead direct his attention to building a university in Eastern India, in the commercial town of Bihar. This would be India’s 4th university and many great minds from these universities would help Delhi reach greater glories in the future.
In 1618 Bahlul Lodi embarrassed the court by giving in to a Russian arms dealer’s demands and making prince Khidr Khan appear in the Peacock Throne room while wearing clothes in the western style of Byzantium and Russia. Many uramah (nobles) criticized what they saw as humiliation and losing face in front of the world (-1 stability, Regency Council embarrasses court).

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But this would bear fruits, as the arms dealer accepted Bahlul Lodi’s offer of 100 gold ducats and told him the secret behind the matchlock rifle. In June of 1618 the Indian regiments would be reformed, with both the infantry and the cavalry now adopting muskets as their main weapons.

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In 1619 Bahlul Lodi would establish the Department of Immigration in the Delhi court, that would found colonization companies and attract most of Delhi’s poors to the colonies (new national idea: colonial ventures). The fact that only people of Kanauji culture could go to the colonies angered the Bihari courtiers, that had the audacity of yelling in the presence of the prince. Bahlul Lodi would banish them all from the Delhi palace and put them in chains, working in the cotton field plantations (Bihari culture acceptance lost).

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1619 would be even more of an ominous year, as the Christian Pope, under Portuguese influence, called for a Crusade against Delhi. But Delhi was so strong that no Catholic power dared declare war against it, at least at that moment. Delhi’s armies would continue training with the new weapons, knowing now that a religious conflict could come at any time.

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I've never been a crusade target before. You'd think if you launched one and no-one joined you should take a hefty prestige hit.

Colonial Ventures will give your colonisation a nice boost. Shame about missing out on East Africa - have Madagascar/Bourbon/Mauritius gone too? In my Japan game at the moment I'm struggling to project power outside the Indian Ocean and Pacific due to European colonisation of all the choice spots around the Atlantic.

The Europeans better look out now too. Khidr Khan is about to take the throne, and he's an Admin 6 ruler! Too bad you need Admin 7 to westernise your military, but I'm sure it will come.
 
I liked this update a lot! Go Dehli!