“Siiiiire!” My court is suddenly disturbed as a messanger bursts in waving a document. He is quickly brought down by my honor guard but I have them bring the document to him and hold off on killing him. Reading the document my eyes go wide and I stand up. As I stand so too does the rest of my court. “See that this man is fed and rewarded for bringing me this news!”
“Kaiser…what is it?” My wife asks of me. The numerous nobles in court as well most curious what is going on.
“Caliph Nabil of the Shia Muslim faith has declared a Jihad upon Anatolia.” My announcement sends a ripple of shock through the court. It is common knowledge that while the Caliph no longer rules Egypt and its lands directly they have a powerful sway on things. Who knows how many will respond to this. There is fear perhaps in my court. Worry. I am not though.
“Let the call go out that we march for war. Who took Anatolia back from the Muslims after it was lost by the Byzantine Empire? We did! Who took Greece back from the Muslims after it was lost by the Byzantine Empire? We did! The Pope will give us his blessing and we will see these lands ours for now and forever!”
“Duke Manfred? How many soldiers can we summon up right now?”
“Well my Kaiser, with lifting the authority of the Crown of Bavaria taken into account we should see some additional forces. With that done we can summon more than 120,000 men armed with the finest steel the Empire can produce.
“By my accounting sire we alone have more than twice the might of the entire Egyptian army.” With these words the atmosphere in the court begins to shift. Perhaps not all trust in God as much as they should but numbers is something they can understand. I smile a touch.
“Put out the call. I want every soldier we can arm with a sword marching to the east. I don’t care if they have to swim from Mallorca.”
“Right away sire!”
“Call out the generals. Send word to the Pope. Let Christendom unite here and show what happens when you mess with the True Faith.”
*A History of the Shia Jihad for Anatolia, Chapter 1*
The war began at the start of 1187. Kaiser Theodorich von Nordheim had been on the throne for only three years. More than 100,000 soldiers were raised up and immediately started to march eastwards across mountain and plain towards Anatolia. Even the Kaiser’s personal force was making the march. At first the Kaiser had planned to take part in the war personally. It was well known that the pleading of his wife made him defer and let his generals handle the details of the war.
Perhaps inspired by the threat facing them the lords of the Holy Roman Empire granted additional authority and power to the Kaiser in this time of war. This would grant him even more soldiers with which to wage the battle against the invaders.
The Holy Roman Empire was not alone though in the war. King Benedikt Ylving of Denmark offered his aid and joined the battle. Shortly after the Pope offered the support of the Papacy and promised that God had spoken of the glorious victory that the Empire would soon enjoy. It was a sign of the confidence of the Kaiser that he spent a great deal of gold to acquire a claim on the county of Bari while all this was going on.
Against the Empire were the forces of the Caliph, the King of Abyssinia, the Sultan of Egypt, the Emir of Medina, the Emir of Sanaa, and the Sheik of Sinai. As the Empire’s soldiers marched east across mountains to Greece and Anatolia their forces moved through Egypt, Syria, and Armenia. Both sides were mostly travelling by foot instead of boat.
As the first year of the war grew close to an end there had yet to be any real battles. The forces of the Holy Roman Empire were just starting to reach Greece and Anatolia. King Jozsef Arpad of Ruthenia finally offered his aid as well. Ruthenia was the fourth largest kingdom in the world with the third largest army.
Peasant revolts meant that some 10,000 soldiers had to make the long march back to the western parts of the Empire just as the winter of 1187 began. In January of 1188 the armies had for the most part assembled and reached the contested area. Amisos was under siege but the Holy Roman Empire had a significant military edge.
April saw two large battles. The first was a crushing defeat at the battle of Ancrya for the Shia forces. The second was at the city of Cotyora in Chaldea. In both instances the Christian forces saw powerful Victories. Muslim forces were pushed outwards from the lands they hoped to invade. Duke Manfred who had served as the Kaiser’s chief war planner and Marshal in this passed away after illness. A lowborn general of the same name took his place. In July word reached the soldiers that their Kaiserin was with child. A moral boosting event to be sure.
In September another great battle was fought. This time Holy Roman soldiers managed to catch a force of 10,000 Muslim’s in Seleukeia and best them pushing them deeper into Holy Roman Territory. By this point the Kaiser himself had joined the battle, bringing his brother with him and was marching with the force that took to chasing down the enemy force.
As the year came to a close the situation was looking very good for the forces of Christianity. Shia forces had won no battles and held no territories yet. They were outnumbered and had no easy targets to move in on. Their hope of dealing a demoralizing blow to the Empire seemed reduced as with the Kaiser’s victory in battle he returned to the his capitol.
In February of 1189 the forces of King Josef of Ruthenia had reached the war and were on the move. While the soldiers of the Holy Roman Empire were content to hold their land Ruthenian soldiers under the command of Grand Prince Trifon marched into the Byzantine lands of Koloneia to bring the fight to the Muslims.
When news reached the Kaiser of what the Grand Prince had done it is said he swore an oath of friendship with the man there on the spot. Such was his acclaim of the deeds that he even chose to name his newly born son after him.
The rest of the year saw little happening. The forces of the Shia Jihad had suffered numerous defeats and were demoralized and trying to rebuild their numbers. It is believe that the Egyptian sultan who was contributing the most to the Jihad had suffered more than 30,000 men dead alone. If the Muslim forces could not get some victories and territory under their belt they would have no chance at winning this war.
Terrible news for the Muslim’s in 1189 while the defenders had more good news. Once again the Kaiserin was with child. Though the Kaiser’s line was already assured with a son this was continued to keep up spirits for the defenders. The von Nordheim’s had been great stewards of the Empire.
*End of a History of the Shia Jihad for Anatolia, Chapter 1*