Grand Ancestor Shadi Beg Genghisid, Khagan of the Golden Horde
3-5-5
Born January 1363 - May 21 1433
Ruled from January 1400 - May 21 1433
Shadi Beg surveyed a grand empire, though not as grand as it should be. Ever since Timur the Lame (may his name be cursed forever) viciously attacked and sacked the city of Sarai the Golden Horde has been weaker than it ever has been in the past, weaker than it should be. The Khagan knew this and began formulating a grand strategy to rebuild the Golden Horde. First he sent envoys to forge alliances with his neighbors such as the Nogai and the Kazakh Horde, but those pretentious fools refused to ally with the Golden Horde. So instead the Khagan began to focus on rebuilding his empire.
Shadi Beg employed a great many talented and able men from across the Khanate and incorporated them into his royal court. He then wisely headed their advice and began building fortifications along the undefended northern flanks. Shadi Beg also began to centralize the empire and manage it's finances wiser than any Khagan had before him. There was also a great build up of the military establishing garrisons in the far north to protect them from rebels and other belligerents. For a time there was peace, Shadi Beg began to bring up the army steadily and looked towards his neighbors in their wars. While the Khagan was unable to secure aid from his nearest neighbors, he was able to establish a network of marital ties across all of North Africa and Anatolia. The Khagan also watched happily as the Osman Empire was slowly devoured by it's neighbors.
Finally, when the Khagan was ready, he declared war on the Genoan Merchant Republic through some rather shady means. While Genoa had many powerful allies, they were far away. Bohemia was busy in a war with Poland and Lithuania, and thus the Khagan dismissed any potential trouble from the Holy Roman Emperor. The English King was similarly involved with a conflict regarding Brittany and was also thoroughly ignored. Georgia was weak and currently assisting it's ally Trebizond devour the Osman Empire, why should they aid Genoa? Genoa's other ally, Aragon was amidst a war with Castille and was very nearly fully occupied, surely they could not interfere? It is with this taken to heart that the Khagan decided to push into the Genoan territories in 1412. Unfortunately things did not go as planned.
Georgia quickly joined and later brought in it's allies, including Trebizond, into the war. Peace was quickly attained with the Osmans and Trebizond actually won a province in Sinope. Castille was brought in through some Obfuscation of politics and a quick peace was arranged with Aragon where one province and some ducats was ceded to Castille. England and Bohemia joined the war effort and Genoa was nowhere near alone. In fact, curiously, the only nation to not aid the republic was Sicily, the only one which the Khagan felt would actually join the war. As if by some wave of a magician's wand the Khagan found itself up against nine nations. To make matters worse immediately after the attack, the Pope declared a crusade against the Horde. This was, however, not above the Khagan's means of control.
The Horde's armies surged into Georgia and the Georgian territories. There they quickly beat back and occupied most of the forces there. Georgia was forced to cede Abkhazia, from there the Hord troops occupied Trebizond. They offered to concede defeat to the Khagan, and the offer was accepted. With all his military objectives achieved the Khagan sent word to Genoa that peace can be attained if Kaffa and Azow were ceded to the Horde. The Merchant Republic, supported by Portugal, the Papacy, The Holy Roman Emperor, England, and Castille strangely refused to surrender those two distant territories to the Horde. This confused the Khagan greatly. The two provinces he asked for were already in his grasp, neither were the cultural nor religious kin of the Genoan Republic so why continue to resist? The Khagan made another proposal just asking for the territory religiously and culturally similar to his Horde, this was also rejected. Infuriated the Khagan began to hatch a daring and... questionable plan.
The March to Genoa was a long and tedious one. The Khagan began to make treaties with the various European Kingdoms between his Empire and Liguria, the Genoan capital. Moldova was an easy one to secure, the small and feeble nation did not want to face the Horde's wrath and quickly agreed to allow the 12,000 troops go through their lands. Hungary was a tougher nut to crack, the first attempt failed. The second attempt, with the war hanging in the balance, succeeded only barely. Austria was easier to convince. An rival of Bohemia, it quickly agreed to help it's rival humiliate the current Holy Roman Emperor. The last territory, Milan, outright refused to allow the Khagan's troops to pass. Unwilling to go the route of Switzerland to Savoy, a third and fourth offer was made. Finally the troops marched on through without permission from the monarch as it's lands were completely overrun by Pisan Nationalists and Milan Pretenders. For the actual battle that took place, the entire trek seemed disappointing.
11,000 troops, mostly mercenaries defended Liguria. The Genoan Republic must have not known that the Khagan's forces were on their way, for the mercenary forces were taken completely by surprise. Enjoying incredibly fortune, the Khagan's forces completely routed Genoa's army. The city was quickly put under siege. A small force sent by England was quickly defeated and as time went on the war seemed hopeless. The Papacy and England quickly gave up the war while the walls of Liguria were still being sieged. The Khagan accepted the return to the status quo between the two nations. After 307 days of siege Liguria's walls fell. It was on that day that the Holy Roman Emperor in Bohemia gave up the war. Now there was only the Iberian powers. The Genoan republic fled to Corsica, desperate to make it out of the war with some semblance of power. But when Portugal gave up the war as well, Castille pressured Genoa into peace. The Khagan, however, was merciful. He requested Kaffa and Azow, and demanded that Corsica gain independence. The Genoan republic had no choice but to give in to the demands for peace. Hostilities remained with Castille for a month before a white peace was given to the Khagan.
Immediately following the victory over the Genoan republic the Horde's prestige boomed, the Nogai and the Mameluks immediately became allies of the Horde and engaged in marital ties with Shadi Beg's immediate family. Corsica became closely allied with the Horde as well. Abkhazia also conformed to Islam one year following Genoa's surrender. For a time it looked as if the Golden Horde was experiencing an age of rebirth, this, however, was not meant to be. The Timurid forces declared war on the Qara Koyunlu tribe. The Mamluks, ever loyal, rushed to their aid. Fearing the massive numbers of the Timurids, the Mamluks requested the Horde's aid. Shadi Beg was almost unwilling to go to war with the Timurids, but finally, as the Qara Koyunlu were on the verge of defeat, he agreed to come to the Mamluk's aid. Immediately following this declaration of war, the Mamluks requested the Golden Horde's aid yet again, this time because the Moroccan forces declared war on them over a trade incident. And yet again the Khagan agreed to assist them.
The Khagan sent a force of 12,000 troops into the Timurid lands only to hear that the Qara Koyunlu capitulated to the Timurids. This being their second war with the Timurids, the Timurids robbed them of everything but their capital and two neighboring regions. Broken the Qara Koyunlu Khan fell into complete misery. Unperturbed the Khagan continued to besiege the Timurid holdings bordering the Golden Horde. The Kazakh's also were facing pressure from the Timurids so the Khagan dispatched another 12,000 troops to relieve their forces. Right before the troops entered Kazakh territory, however, the Kazakh Khan capitulated and ceded a second line of territories directly to the Golden Horde's northern flank. The Khagan, now blessing his advisers, continued to attack the Timurids. The Mamluks also continued their struggle against the Timurids. New soon reached the Khagan that the Chagatai had joined the fray as well. Faced now by three powerful enemies the Timurid Khagan attempted to offer a white peace to the Shadi Beg. The offer was tempting, but it would leave the Timurids able to thoroughly crush the Mamluks and the Chagatai and was thus rejected.
When new reached the Khagan that the Qara Koyunlu Khan died without an heir, he was quick to prompt his fourth son to take the Qara Koyunlu throne. Upon reaching his destination he was named Qara Yusuf Genghisid. With Genghisid blood now flowing through the veins of another Khanate, the Genghisid line does will not face extinction even if a coup occurs within the Golden Horde forcing them out of power.
The war dragged on for ages. The Horde won victories and lost many battles, but over time a trend began to favor the Horde. The Timurids were still willing to negotiate a peace. With the Chagatai now out of the war being decisively beaten by the Timurids, leaving the Mamluks behind began to look even better.When the Ak Koyunlu took a territory that severed the land connection between the Mamluks and the Timurids apart from one province, things began to look even better. Still the Khagan needed a victory to motivate the Timurids into ceding enough land to make the war worth while. This occurred in one of the most legendary rematches in all time.
Shadi Beg took control of the 12,000 troops inside the southern border with the Timurids. From there the Khagan attacked 3000 troops inside of Azerbaijan. When victory was nearly upon Shadi Beg's forces 4000 troops arrived under the immediate command of Khalil Timurid, the Khagan of the Timurid Horde. For six more days a fierce battle ensued where the Timurids received more reinforcements. When Timurid Army exceeded 18,000 troops, the Timurid Khan retreated deeper into Timurid controlled territory.
With this victory on the table Shadi Beg secured two provinces from the Timurids in a peace treaty. Each a province from a former khanate only recently acquired by the Timurids. One from the Kazakh's and another from the Qara Koyunlu. With these two provinces the Timurid border was reduced to just two provinces. Each were to be manned by a fairly sizable force at all times. Things did not go quite as well on the Moroccan front, the Mamluks still fighting two forces at once ended up having a lot of Egyptian territory occupied by the Moroccans. This, however, did not concern the Khagan who was still relishing in his victory over his old nemesis.
With the victory over the Timurids things began to quiet down inside the Golden Horde. As months turned into years there was little of note inside the Horde. The Mamluks had earned a white peace with the Timurid Horde and used it's army to decisively beat back the Moroccan troops. With things returning to the status quo the Mamluks remained quiet for about two years before declaring a Jihad against the Ethiopian tribes to their immediate south. They were quickly occupied and annexed into the Mamluks. One year later they declared war upon the Adal Sultanate, and the Khagan threw the Golden Horde's full support behind the campaign. The Adal sultanate was quickly vassalized, and the Mamluks scored a few territories from their ally in Yemen. The Swahili Tribe was also defiant against Mamluk rule, but in the end it the war ended in a white peace. Following these victories the Mamluk Sultan declared himself Defender of the Faith, with the Khagan's blessing.
When the Tripoli tribe was left without an heir the Khagan sent his fifth son to take control of the Tripoli tribe. He was immediately welcomed into the tribe with high honors and proclaimed Malik Yusuf Genghisid.
While there was joy inside the Khagan's heart, tragedy would soon strike the Khagan. Pulad Genghisid, the first son of the Khagan perished from this world in his fourties. The Khagan's second and third sons both died in early childhood so with the death of his eldest son there was no longer anyone left to rule the Golden Horde once the Khagan died. Overcome with grief, the Khagan built a temple in honor of his son. Over the next few years the Khagan, in his late sixties, attempted to father another son to control the Golden Horde once he passed away. The other Khagan's sons both expressed an interest in claiming the throne of the Golden Horde, but the Khagan wanted his the Horde to dominate all of the neighboring tribes, not be dominated by them. Despite having several daughters, the Khagan did succeed in having a child with his fourth wife. His name was Muhammad.
It was at this time when the Timurid Horde declared war on the Qara Koyunlu tribe with the intent of annexing the last Qara Koyunlu hold out (three territories), however most of the territories were in revolt at the time and many defected to the Qara Koyunlu tribe. The Horde brought on spies with the full intent of rallying all the rebels they could from every possible direction. The Golden Horde declared war as well. Shadi Beg immediately destroyed most of the Timurid armies in the region, personally leading the army even now in his old age. When the Qara Koyunlu tribe accepted a peace offer from the Timurids taking two former territories, Shadi Beg retreated from the Timurid lands. One by one the rebels took care of the rest. (The two provinces isolated the former territories from the Timurids.)
Peace, however, was not an option that the Khagan desired. The 12,000 troops inside the north corridor advanced down south into Timurid controlled lands. Things did not go easily and the Horde's forces were pushed further and further back. Soon 40,000 troops had spilled over the Siberian territories. The Khagan was unable to assist them, however, because Georgia declared war on the Horde bringing Trebizond, Ryazan, and Muscovy. To add further trouble to the mix Lithuania declared war as well bringing in Sweden and an untold number of others. Things were rapidly turning against the Khagan. Rebels began to show up inside of Perm and Kaffa. Now that the Khagan wished to form a peace with the Timurids, they would no longer accept one as most of the rebelling territories are gone and the advantage the Horde had over the Timurids is gone as well.
Shadi Beg first focused on Georgia. Taking two separate armies he occupied the entirety of the country in 3 years. Shadi Beg had wanted to annex the troublesome nation, but due to it's cumbersome size decided to strip it down to it's capital and force Armenia's independence. From there Shadi Beg lead an army against the Lithuanians. Surprisingly, the Khagan totally routed a rather large army besieging Zaphrozie. Afterwords the Lithuanians just requested a white peace. Now Shadi Beg had one enemy left, the Timurids. Taking control of the northern army be began to siege a former province and reclaim it in the name of the Horde when suddenly Shadi Beg died at the age of seventy. There is an old legend that Shadi Beg died on horseback without the horse or the body moving leading many to believe that he was still alive until an attendant attempted to inform him of the progress of the siege.
(current Timurid Controlled Siberia, also includes Shadi Beg's last command.)