Part 06 - A Long Expected "Party" (1454-1468)
Mansur didn't even get out of Tripoli, heading to Sirt to his beloved veterans, when a messenger arrived - with a declaration of war from the Sultan of Algiers. And then some of the council members deeply considered calling him back...
Because the situation of the High Council wasn't good: they forced their most popular and successful leader into retirement, gave his title to a newborn child and the devastation of Mansur's wars still had it's scars on the country. And now, though he didn't have any legal claim on any of the corsairs land, in his letter the Sultan of Algiers proclaimed himself protector of the Tunisians and claimed that barbarian pirates shouldn't have the right of controlling civilized followers of Allah. Though the Council felt that this statement could be right
vice versa as well but that didn't count - once again they had to defend the people of Tripoli from being conquered by they neighbors.
There were also protesters who blamed the council members and wanted Mansur back and though they numbers weren't high the Council understood that they must win the war if they wanted to remain the leaders of their people...
...but the Algerians had vast naval superiority and they proved that in the battle of the Gulf of Alexandria where they sunk the ships of Tripoli's Turkish allies to the bottom of the sea. Due to this and the fact that the Navy of Naples still didn't exist after its defeat at the hands of the French some 15 years ago the ships of the corsairs didn't even leave port. Despite the fact that the corsairs were mainly seamen and not soldiers, this war had to be fought on land.
The High Council was very cautious with the small armed forces of Tripoli. After more than a year of tactical warfare and the defeat of the Tunisian army at Constantine, the first true battle between the forces of Algiers and Tripoli was fought at the walls of Gafsa. The enemy was a smaller contingent of the main army, besieging the fort of Gafsa, but it was eventually surprised by us and thanks to superior numbers it was utterly destroyed.
In the meantime a mysterious delegation of men appeared before the Council, claiming that they are able to finish the war quickly though they didn't have answer to the question of "how". After some debate, the council members decided to turn they offer down because after Mansur they became cautious about people with superior personal abilities...
The next attack came in late 1456. Seeing that the resistance is heavier than he thought, this wave of the Algerian forces was led by the Sultan himself and consisted twice the size of the whole army of Tripoli. Fifteen thousand Algerian soldier marched across Tunisia and defeated the forces of the corsairs at the battle of Gabes. The casualties were high on both sides but the corsair army, led by council member Mahir Izzet, managed to retreat to Sirt. And then the Sultan committed a mistake that would cost him the war...
Being assured that the forces of Tripoli were defeated once and for all the Sultan laid siege to the capital itself. He didn't cared about his stretched supply lines nor the reforming Tunisian forces he left behind. And thus the first decisive victory over the invaders was won outside the besieged Tripoli.
The tired, hungry, ill and demoralized army of the Algerians was completely destroyed, and after the battle even the Sultan himself was found dead among his soldiers.
Following the great victory, the council decided to take the war into Algerian land. While they were trying to reform their lines, corsairs, Tunisians and contingents of Turkish troops smuggled in with small boats started to siege Algerian border forts.
Though he tried to lift the siege and save his capital it was finally fell to Tripolitanean forces led by Izzet and after that there was little hope for the newly crowned young sultan to win the war. Allied armies began to slowly occupy all of Algiers while local peasants tired of the war started riots in the western parts of the country.
With the war going to foreign countries, the people of Tripoli started to feel a bit more trust towards the High Council as well. And with Mansur's veteran house in Sirt and other aid from the government, a somewhat optimistic atmosphere was set throughout the Free Cities.
Finally, after five years of costly war and with his country mostly occupied, on a sunny day of autumn in 1459 the Sultan of Algiers sat to a table with the representatives of the High Council and agreed upon their terms of peace. And those were harsh terms indeed.
The formerly annexed Fez was freed from the oppression of Algiers and the Sultan had to hand over the rich port-city of Oran and the region of Aures to the High Council. As it didn't border any of the lands controlled directly by Tripoli the latter was almost immediately granted to Tunisian administration.
And then the Council took a deep (common) breath. The war was long and it costed the majority of Tripoli's finest men so waging more wars in the near future wasn't planned at all - though they agreed on that this is not only theirs to decide. In the meantime Mamluk and Ottoman armies advanced deep into recently conquered Timurid territory and the forming of a strong (and very treacherous) empire just at the outskirts of the Free Cities was certainly not a very comfortable feeling for them.
Also due to the recent wars which were mainly fought on land instead of sea, some deeper military reforms became necessary. The first step of these new reforms of the Council would be a somewhat more offensive military doctrine among the shipmates - as they were fierce and brave soldiers on the sea too, they must take this spirit into battles on the shores as well.
The next three years passed in peace with the Mamluks were still being at war with the Timurids and the new Algerian sultan been dethroned by his own people because of his poor performance in the war his own father started.
New merchant routes were discovered even as far as the German city of Lübeck to help fund the technological development which was already well behind that of the European infidels.
Like it was in the past, the peace brought back the voices of those who had problems with the policies of the High Council but as many times before the council members yet again defended their reforms and pointed out that due to these even against bad odds the Free Cities could win the fight.
And then something unexpected happened. A lone ship under Candari flag arrived at the port of Tripoli with messengers, high-ranking aristocrats and veterans from the Algerian war on board. The envoys headed straight to the Council Chambers and there they made an astounding statement: with the recent passing of they Chief, Malik Ibrahim, with no heir remaining of him and with the long friendship and mutual military operations in the past against Byzantines, crusaders and Algerians alike, they offered all their lands to govern to the wise High Council of The Free Cities of Tripoli.
The council members were truly surprised by this event. While this was hard proof for their authority and good leadership in both Tripoli and abroad the
de facto personal union (or "multipersonal union" in this case) had a hidden danger too which wasn't spoken about by the Candari envoys: the fact that the Sultan of the Ottomans had claims on both of Tripoli's allies in the region. It was very possible that the delegate from Candar came to seek protection from this threat as the High Council had amiable relations with the Ottomans, but they had the same with the Algerians and still they didn't hesitate do declare war if not on Tripoli itself but on its subject lands the High Council had to defend.
Despite this, after some negotiation, the offer was finally accepted because the Council needed all support to its power to keep the Free Cities from falling apart. The Ottomans had bigger issues for the time as they were at war with both the Timurids and the Golden Horde to the north and there was little chance that they would have the time and/or the resources for an attack on Candar in the near future. But chance existed, every member of the council agreed upon that.
Anyway the debate wasn't remained on the Carpet of Ahmad - it slipped off the Council Chambers somehow and the sight of the protesters against "the weakness of the nobility" strengthened the council member's will on accepting the Turkish offer...
However the economy was still thriving. With the relations to the Venetian merchants getting better and better in the last decades some of the wealthier of them decided to start exclusive business in the newly acquired city of Oran.
But it was a long time since the departure of Mansur and the young Ahmad, who was only a little child when the path of his destiny was set by the High Council, grew up and reached the age of maturity. So on 28th may 1468 the little boy "who was found by accident" was raised to the title of Malik, High Chief of the Free Cities of Tripoli and the Sheikdom of Candar, Protector of the True Faith.
It was truly a big, lavish festival in Tripoli and the council members felt entirely relieved as the young Malik stood in the front of his people. They were excellent advisers and diplomats and even better when it came to administration, but leading the corsairs wasn't their destiny.
The soldiers, the shipmates, the merchants... every group of the corsairs cried for a single a person, a leader, whom they could trust. So the Council gave them their leader - for now. And it was up to him if he could live up to their expectations.
Thus for the time being, the council members retreated back to the shadows of the Council Chambers to work on their further plans - they began with the never mentioned "brother" of the young Ahmad, whom they named Mansur...