Chapter 17: 1496-1497
In order to collect money for the war, Sultan had given more free trading rights to Omani merchants in order to draw in more merchants
Najd invaded Beni Yas, meanwhile Yemen split its army into many regiements and laid seige to provinces south of Oman
The main Omani army was sent to deal with Najd first since their army was smaller and more prone to collapsing than the Yemeni one
All of Oman was shocked at the news of the defeat, if the Omani army couldnt even get a draw with the Najdi army, how will it win ? is there enough manpower for the army ? is Oman doomed ? all these questions were frequently heard in Muscat and didnt stop even when the sultan passes by
Oman's ally, Ethiopia, was doomed to lose the war, the freshly independent Ethiopia was an easy prey for Adal and Swahili refused to do more than occupy Haud in fears of attack, Oman's arranged victory against Najd failed, the Omanis were becoming more and more worried about the future of their nation
This war now seemed like an all or nothing for Sultan, he has the choice to sacrifice his wealth to give Oman a shot, or to flee with his money and erchant wealth to Swahili and abandon Oman to its fate
Sultan chose to leave, there was no hope to stay in Oman, he told his advisor to bring the ship and inform the royal family that they are going to Zanzibar
While Sultan was gathering his things, he stared at his sword for a ocuple of seconds and remembered the victories he and his ancestors have won and how much they contributed to keep Oman alive, but then he turned his head away quickly to not change his mind, but now his eyes caught a paper with merchants rights written on it, he now paused and felt bad about his decision, he cant let Yemen and Najd split Oman between them like a pie! when his advisor came to tell him that its time to leave, he said: "Never ! victory or death, no other option!"
The sultan used the navy to bring mercenaries, eventhough Oman's economy was just starting to stabilise and such a move would hurt the treasury badly, Sultan didnt care, as long as Oman stays independent he can bring that wealth back
After the main army of Oman took its revenge from Najd, Sultan was extremly happy, and ordered his mercenaries to cut the Yemeni suplly routes
The main Omani army then advanced into Qatar and defeated the last remanants of the Najdi army, then the army went back to attack the Yemenis in Oman
Sultan kept paying for more mercenaries to replace the dead ones until he has run out of money, he didnt mind taking loans to support his army in the long and painful seige of Nizwa, he knew that he can regain this money after the war
The recapture of Nizwa was a symbolic event, Omanis now felt that they have a chance to beat their enemies which led to a large number of conscripts joining the army or attacking the enemy supply routes
2 more overwhelming victories over the Najdi mercenaries led to the destruction of the Najdi economy and army, and left the road clear for capturing Qatar
In order to break Yemen's land prestige, the whole Omani army attacked them at Suhar, the result was a victory for Oman, and eventhough it was an average victory, it was a victory over an enemy that Oman has never won a land victory against in the past 100 years eventhough it was supported by Najd, the Omani people were overjoyed and Oman recieved a much better standing amongst muslim countries