Baghdad in the Sky with Diamonds - A Jalayirid AAR

[Qorten]

Conquer all shia?

That and Caliphs can't ever have enough gold, so maybe a visit to the Queen of Sheba is in order (or whoever rules those gold provinces now, it's not entirely clear from the post or the map). Pretty good writing by the way, mayorqw. I'm glad you were able to continue.

[loki100]

ah good to see the structured use of the 'way he looked at me' CB ... a favourite in Glasgow as of the weekend.

as to next, well if its sand you want - the only route is west along N Africa?, if its gold, a trip to Zimbabwe? if its a reasonably sensible set of borders, time to start grabbing more and more of Persia?

[mayorqw]

Conquer all shia?

That and Caliphs can't ever have enough gold, so maybe a visit to the Queen of Sheba is in order (or whoever rules those gold provinces now, it's not entirely clear from the post or the map). Pretty good writing by the way, mayorqw. I'm glad you were able to continue.

Thank you very much. Those African horn provinces are owned by Yemen, who took them during their Ethiopian bashing.

ah good to see the structured use of the 'way he looked at me' CB ... a favourite in Glasgow as of the weekend.

as to next, well if its sand you want - the only route is west along N Africa?, if its gold, a trip to Zimbabwe? if its a reasonably sensible set of borders, time to start grabbing more and more of Persia?

I actually felt those were some rather tidy provinces in Persia. But I guess I'll have to go all Ummayad on the Timurids I was thinking first to dislodge my family members from Yemen and take all they have. Also Oman and taking that anoying bit of Syria.

Next: THE WORLD.

[mayorqw]

You wanted gameplay footage, you get gameplay footage. Also, rumaging through my computer, I found my original save But I'm happier the way stuff went here.

Chapter 9 - Consolidation


The Caliphate's army on the march.

While the divinely ordained rule of the Jalayirid Caliph had more or less been accepted within the realm, its recognition was still small or nonexistent among the other muslim states. Many, just like in the time of Ahmad I, feared the interference from an all-too powerful Caliph. So, both to rein them in and to show the people that his power was not to be trifled with, Caliph Hasan began a policy of conquest and integration of the Arab states of the peninsula, beside campaigns against the Tripolitanian sheiks and the Timurid Khanate.

The smaller states folded quickly.

After these had been dealt with and the Omani Shi'ites had accepted his rule, Hasan again looked southwards. The Jalayirid-led Yemenite Sultanate was vast and rich, but mostly undefended. The Caliph reneged his treaties with his cousin, and declared war.

Machiavelli would be so proud. *sob*

His personal army met 'Umar's outside Mocha. Under the command of general Zaid Sa'id, the Omani army was annihilated, and Yemen stood ripe for the taking. Confident that his cousin - or whoever suceeded him* - would still be forced to trade with the Caliphate in slaves, salt and grain - especially now that the Indian Ocean was now closed to them - Hasan annexed the Arabian part of Yemen, letting 'Umar keep his African holdings. Arabia was now his, but fate forced him to focus his attention elsewhere.

*The defeat of the Timurid Khanate*

For 60 years Timur and his empire were the scourge of the Middle East, only being supplanted in the 1440's by a temporarily invigorated Golden Horde. The Jalayirid rulers had originally used a 'good neighbour' policy towards them, accepting them as overlords - in theory - and as the rightful rulers of the Middle East. Since Shah Walad's reign, with the dynasty's strengthening, increasingly bellicose actions were taken to counter the horde. Gradually, western Persia was wrestled from their control, and fortresses built surrounding key mountain passes in the Zagros mountains and in the hills of Ajam. However, the common people still suffered in their cities, which conveniently stood in the undefended valleys.

It is with the reign of Hasan, the first Jalayirid Caliph, that true measures were first taken against the nomads, with the establishment of colonies populated by bureaucrats and retired soldier-farmers in the 15 year-long Islamic-Timurid War. These colonies not only provided stability in the conquered regions, through garrison duties and closer administration, but also provided key manpower for the army in the coming years; this duty was exacerbated by the more peaceful-oriented - manufacturing, trade and farming - economy that arose as a result of the Caliphate's prosperity. The system was later extend to Mesopotamia and the Nile valley under Muhammad II.

The Middle East's situation at the start of the war.
Also, Armenia is a vassal of the Qara Koyunlu, who is a vassal of Georgia.

What helped the Caliphate's success in the war and ushered in the Timurid state's collapse was the utter military disorganization apparent in the Timurid Army. The once formidable legions of Timur had decayed to little more than peasant levies and mercenaries led by officers whose seats were belonged to the highest bidder, in contrast with the nearly meritocratic appointments common in most (at their early stages, at least) steppe empires, dependent on skill of arms and personal loyalty.

The Timurid armies were slaughtered by the well-drilled troops of the Blue Army and the Palace 'Guard' - which was for all effects an army under personal command of the Caliph. Their replacements were often even more ill-trained and fled easily after a well-positioned cavalry charge.

The battle of Kandahar, a joint operation by the Blue army and Palace Guard that rested on the encirclement of a large Timurid force.

The Caliphate's armies were led by their generation's cream of military tacticians. Contrary to the Caliphate's mostly aristocratic - though increasingly less so, due to the already mentioned (Chapter 6) genesis of a wealthy merchant class wielding power at Court - power structure, successful career soldiers were rapidly promoted to command positions when they showed expertise on the field.

Meanwhile, important recognition of the Caliphate from foreign quarters came. The Castillian Crown, having already partitioned North Africa among them and Portugal - a situation the Caliphate sought to reverse as soon as it could - declared a crusade against the Caliphate, seeking to 'recover' the Holy Land from the 'infidel'. A smart choice, given that the 'infidel' was enjoying an economical boom and was the 4th largest land power on Earth. Lithuania and the Beydom of Ramazan, in an act which nearly gave it damnatio memoriae (oblivion) status in the Caliphate, seeking to carve out some land for themselves, joined in on the Crusade.

This lack of support for the crusade in Europe was a herald of changing times, one where crusading zeal was being substituted with conquest for pure economical gain - and ruling over a rebellious, culturally and religiously distinct populace was barely attractive. All that resulted from this crusade was the death of several thousand Castilian hidalgos in the Libyan Desert.

With the Timurid threat dealt with, the Castilians put in check, his rule accepted among his subjects and his power feared abroad, Caliph thought of finally retiring to a life of debauchery in some villa in Alexandria - which he had shortly before declared the Western capital of the Caliphate, and decreed that Court should be held there and in Baghdad alternately each five years* - when news arrived that his beloved and only son, Ahmad, had died fighting the Black Sheep hordes up north.

Wrought with grief, the Caliph allowed few to enter his private chambers. The government carried on through a few of his decrees - including a new focus on the construction of a Mediterranean fleet to counter the Frankish navies and the piracy of the Knights of St. John - but mostly in the hands of his Grand Vizier. On the 2nd of August of 1469, he was found dead in his chambers.

The assassins were never found, and debate abounds about who sent them.

With his male heir and himself dead, the entire Caliphate lay in peril. Would this grand enterprise fail after only one ruler, like the might Qin dynasty of China? Would it too splinter yet again into warring states? Tales and plots of pretenders were repeated across the entire land. Who would arise as the rightful ruler of the Ummah, keeper of the Sunnah, protector of all Muslims?

Bet you didn't expect that, now did you?

***********************************

* The Jalayirid Yemenite dynasty (the junior line) was in fact forced out, and an uncle of the Ottoman Sultan put on the throne.
* This was one of his few decrees that wasn't followed, partly due to the succession issues after his death.

EDIT: Could anyone of you guys tell me how I change my ruler title? 'Padishah' and 'Empress 'look bad. I know I have to put something the localization files, but I don't know what code to insert. I need a way to make al iraqiyah arabic, sunni monarchies use caliph as a ruler.

[loki100]

this was going so well too, knock the Timurids about, beat up the Spanish, bit of a pity the heir dies in a hunting accident (was it just black sheep he was into?) and then ....

at least a number of the neighbours who might feast on the realm during a civil war have been weakened already

[Vesimir]

Hah. The Burkha Emperor.

The thing you should do is use the male title. Poland had a female king, so I don't see why the Jalayirids can't have a female Caliph.

[Herbert]

A woman with fabulous military skills. It is quite annoying that you can't have her become a military leader. But well, you have a Mariam d'Arc AND a cause, I see some good sinergy.

[mayorqw]

this was going so well too, knock the Timurids about, beat up the Spanish, bit of a pity the heir dies in a hunting accident (was it just black sheep he was into?) and then ....
at least a number of the neighbours who might feast on the realm during a civil war have been weakened already

Don't worry. Mariam is one tough trooper.

Hah. The Burkha Emperor.

The thing you should do is use the male title. Poland had a female king, so I don't see why the Jalayirids can't have a female Caliph.

The problem is that I don't know what to put in the localization files for neither female nor male. Could you use some help here.

A woman with fabulous military skills. It is quite annoying that you can't have her become a military leader. But well, you have a Mariam d'Arc AND a cause, I see some good sinergy.

She will kick some arse later one. Let's just hope they don't burn her as a witch

*************************
Caliph Mariam I’s Reign
Or
The Beginning of the ‘Rule of the Harem’

Truly, with the death of Caliph Hasan, the realm stood on the brink of annhilation. Foreign courts already started making contacts with the would-be pretenders, in an attempt to tame the Eastern Giant. Regional governors too, dreamt of marching to Baghdad and rewarding themselves with the spoils of the City of a Thousand and One Nights. None of them seemed to mind the late Caliph’s daughters. How wrong they were.

Mariam, shown here playing in a later painting. It was not only her willpower and deceit, but also her seductive powers and charisma that allowed the bint Hasan* sisters to reach power.

Khadija, the eldest and Mariam, as they shed their black mourning robes, prepared to seize power. Indeed, they had a monumental task ahead of them – it was truly a man’s world, to speak nothing of the highest office in a strictly Islamic state, the person who was held as divine will on Earth.

Neither of them had had what could be called an orthodox education. The Caliph had instructed them to be educated with the finest tutors, in the subjects of mathematics, philosophy, geography, literature and, of course, warfare. Mariam, while being mostly known for her conquests, was also a fluent speaker of Greek and Latin, and willfully patronized many leading artists and thinkers throughout her reign.

These teachings had given the sisters a taste of the world outside the palace, and they would not stand to have what they saw as their rightful heritage be partitioned between fat old men and mercenaries.

Thus, the period known as the ‘Rule of the Harem’ – a title given at a later date, in the derisive spirit of the zealous orthodoxy of Caliph Jafar II – began, one which occupied the latter part of the 15th century up to the mid 17th; it was a period of great economic growth and development of the arts, fueled by the Caliphate’s expansion and the rulers’ patronage. It is in this period that the Caliphate experienced its Golden Age. Also, due to the large amount of women in positions of power, there was a relaxation of Quranic law regarding the segragation and different rights enjoyed by men and women; this greatly vexed the Ulema.

In this period many burgeoning bazaars were established, thanks in no small part to the incentives given to trade and the privileges enjoyed by the merchant class.

The two sisters moved quickly, securing the support of the merchants – which had been instrumental in the elevation of their own father, and whose aid was to be duly rewarded. The cities were granted greater benefits, such as tax exemption on the copper trade. The great pillars of opposition, however, were firmly nestled in the countryside, in the Ulema and in the provincial governors.

To counteract these issues, a process of both centralization of power in the palace and of decentralization, with several functions once belonging solely to the Caliph – Hasan had sought to concentrate as much power as he could in his and and his loyal minister’s hands - being delegated to a growing bureaucracy, was begun. The provincial governors steadily began to be palace-appointed civil servants – which were in office temporarily – instead of the quasi-hereditary appointments of nobles to senior positions.

The great expansion of the number of offices at Court meant the creation of many new wings, courtyards, roof gardens and chambers in the palace during this period, such as this one; many of them represented the apogee of palatial architecture.

However these reforms, while increasing the Caliph’s hold overall on the provinces, also led to the creation and appointement of many new offices in the central government, which, on account of their power, were prone to nepotism and infighting – setting the stage for the complex palatial plots common later on - much more so as the 17th century dawned, with the apparent decline of the Caliphate. It is in this context of debauchery and disunity that Jafar II, a strong-willed monarch - much like Mariam - began his authoritarian yet necessary measures to curb the united forces of the harem, army, and a rebellious civil service.

Anyway, the sisters steadily began eliminating their opponents, through subterfuge – their skillful use of anonymous and deadly assassins has lead some even to claim they engineered the death of their father; a bold claim, although their quite machiavellian schemes are well-known - and direct use of force.

The so-called viceroy of Egypt was found dead on his palace garden on a warm Summer day, and the Mayor of Damascus, one Mehmed ibn Ahmad al-Misr famously said:

Let them come I say. If the two whores of Baghdad wish to destroy all that is holy, and claim the title of Caliph as if it was some profane trophy, for their own amusement and their lovers’, let them come. I ask… NO! I DEMAND they raise themselves from that brothel they call a city and correct me! The city of Damascus will never bow to these imposters, these public women!

The Caliph’s Guard arrived several days later, with the Caliphs in tow. He was taken from his quarters, and, with the town hall emptied, was left alone with Mariam, while Khadija set out to pacify any rebellious spirits in the city.

He resigned his position the same day, and became a monk, preaching the holiness of the two Caliphs. The city bowed.

Slowly, the country recovereed from the shock as the opposition was silenced and propaganda measures taken.

Massive propaganda campaigns began in this period to reinforce the legitimacy of Mariam's rule, on a scale comparable with those undertaken in the 19th century, who also used mostly images glorifiying a given subject, due to high levels of illiteracy in the populace.

Abroad, however, news were less than favourable. Other muslims – the christians merely laughed, and sent mock congratulations on the ascension of the so-called ‘Whores of Babylon’ - had more or less accepted Husan’s rule, on account of him mostly allowing them to continue their affairs with little interferance, but in no way were they going to accept the authority of two women. Thus, they, like the many courtiers who underestimated the power of the bint Hasan sisters, sealed their fate and paved the way for further expansion of the True Islamic Caliphate.

While the Ulema was still in uproar, the country steadily descended into peace, so Mariam executed her final move. She disposed of Khadija. In a palatial coup that has not yet been fully understood, Mariam arranged for her sister to be married to a prince from Brunei and whisked her off. A folk tale from the 19th century actually claims that Khadija fled her terrible sister to live happily with her new-found lover; some versions actually feature Mariam as a vile step-mother.

However, these moral judgements, improper of a history worth its salt, pale in the fact that Mariam was a strong monarch, who managed to unite a broken country behind her person – her iron-willed determination and role in world history were used as a model and argument during the Woman’s Suffrage movement in the Arab States.

Woman's Suffrage rally in Baghdad

It is with her that the Modern Age truly begins in the Middle East. With her we witness a sort of second founding of the Caliphate, one fully adapted to the circumstances of managing a vast, rich empire.*

**********************

*meaning 'daughter of Hasan'.
*It is also around this time that all traces, as light as they were, of Mongol culture in the Caliphate truly disapear, with the large-scale patronage of arabic- and persian-style painting, literature, architecture, and so on.

In other news, this will be the only update you'll be getting for the next 2 weeks, since I will be at least 300 kilometeres away from my computer during that time. Still, I ask you to comment on anything you like (or don't like!). I'll be checking this out regularly.

Tune in next time to see half of Europe get its ass kicked by a girl.

[loki100]

this is turning in some interesting and epic directions ... have a good break

[sactwu]

The problem is that I don't know what to put in the localization files for neither female nor male. Could you use some help here.

The arabic term for "caliph" is خَلِيفَة, khalifa, and could probably be used for a female caliph, as it ends on ة, which is the most common suffix used to form female forms. In English you would then differentiate between Caliph and Calipha.
So you need to add these lines to any .csv file in the localization folder:
imperial_government_ruler_al_iraqiya_arabic;Caliph ;Calife;Kalif;Kalif;Califa;;;;;;Califa;;;x;
imperial_government_ruler_female_al_iraqiya_arabic ;Calipha;Califa;Kalifa;Kalifa;Califa;;;;;;Califa;; ;x;

Great AAR by the way, I'll be following

[TKFS]

Two weeks! How the hell am I supposed to wait two weeks! Haha, just kidding. Enjoy the break!

[mayorqw]

Thanks for the help, and I'll be adding that to the localization files as soon as I get home!
Two weeks in nothing, and you have far better AARs to see

[Calipah]

The arabic term for "caliph" is خَلِيفَة, khalifa, and could probably be used for a female caliph, as it ends on ة, which is the most common suffix used to form female forms. In English you would then differentiate between Caliph and Calipha.
So you need to add these lines to any .csv file in the localization folder:
imperial_government_ruler_al_iraqiya_arabic;Caliph ;Calife;Kalif;Kalif;Califa;;;;;;Califa;;;x;
imperial_government_ruler_female_al_iraqiya_arabic ;Calipha;Califa;Kalifa;Kalifa;Califa;;;;;;Califa;; ;

Great AAR by the way, I'll be following

This is correct, but only to an extent. The problem is, Khalifa as a self-enclosed word, has an implied masculine essence (dhatiyya thukoriyya) which makes it problematic. There are, moreover, legitimate theological objections to the Amir al-Mumineen (prince of the believers) being a woman. I would suggest that a female ruler be titled "Musaltana" which is qualitatively different from Sultan (or the female Sultana) and means "she who weilds (real) authority"

Just a suggestion from an Arabic viewer.

[Vesimir]

And you have far better AARs to see.

Like mine... Not that it's better, but you can go and read it. You know.

Also, you should get a Caliphate minimod going.

[mayorqw]

This is correct, but only to an extent. The problem is, Khalifa as a self-enclosed word, has an implied masculine essence (dhatiyya thukoriyya) which makes it problematic. There are, moreover, legitimate theological objections to the Amir al-Mumineen (prince of the believers) being a woman. I would suggest that a female ruler be titled "Musaltana" which is qualitatively different from Sultan (or the female Sultana) and means "she who weilds (real) authority"

Just a suggestion from an Arabic viewer.

Thank you, but I, for sheer stubborness, think I should use the title 'caliph' for both men and women, since the current period the Caliphate is going through in the AAR is one of a certain relaxation (from the top) in religious strictness. With their rather authoritarian (to say the least) approach to government, I could understand that Mariam and her sucessors would be very keen on having themseles accepted as khalifa. I know it may feel like a gramatical travesty, but rest assured gramatical (and religious) orthodoxy will be eventually restored... the ulema is not exactly the happiest in the supposedly 'most islamic state evah'.

But please, do tell if anything other than that is wrong, its just that it feels more 'right' in-story to have them as women 'caliphs'.

Like mine... Not that it's better, but you can go and read it. You know.

Also, you should get a Caliphate minimod going.

Shameless self-publicity is shameless .
Good idea for a mod. It'll just need more generic description text, some missions and maybe deletion of the female rulers . If I get around to doing it I'll integrate Musultana if anyone is up for harem power-play (separate caliphate female rulers mod maybe). I'll make a caliphate government type, maybe two (a la miscmods empire progression). Maybe they should be a mix of empire, absolute monarchy and theocracy?

Also, you guys could've gotten a Caliph 'Mariam 0# -15', an 8/8/6 earlier . Damn coding. Our 3/3/8 Mariam for story purposes had to be a conqueror zealot patron of the arts sorta gal.

[Arilou]

Are you using some kind of mod? And in that case which one?

[mayorqw]

Are you using some kind of mod? And in that case which one?

I'm using a self made mod, adding in the Caliphate and the decision to form it. Although I am curious about doing a full-blown mod on it.

Also, OT, props on Gilgamesh quotes.

[Alfredian]

This is excellent and continuing to dvelop in interesting ways as it goes along.

Mariam seems a bit like an Elizabeth I in the desert. I am curious to see what she does about the sucession.

[Comrade Chaos]

Baghdad, the city of the 1001 nights.

GLORIOUS NITPICK AHEAD



Isn't that Ctesiphon?

[mayorqw]

Isn't that Ctesiphon?

No