East African Adventure - An Ethiopian AAR

Selzro said:

Wow. That turned out... bad.

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Sure did. Thanks for reading. I've had a peek at your Indian AAR, looks great. I need to have a good read and catch up.

Zula (1173 - ) - Life in a cell

At age 22, Zula, son of Rahad, became leader of the Fatimid Revolt. He inherited a combination of personalities and traits from his grandfather, Terefi the Cruel and his father, Rahad the Blessed. To sum him up, one could say that he was a sneaky, cruel scholar.


It is by now a tradition that Afari leaders come to the throne in difficult times. Zula has done his bit to maintain this tradition. An army of over 10,000 men marched upon Afar. How did it come to this? Zula defends as best as he can but the situation is beyond hope. The revolt is quashed in the blink of an eye. With the humiliation of defeat upon him, Zula is thrown into prison by the Caliph of the Fatimid Empire. Afar is left in the hands of its chancellor and regent, Melaku Melaku.


Melaku journeyed to Cairo to visit his liege.

"Humble greetings your excellency. I hope that you are well. I must say that Cairo is a most wonderful place to be imprisoned. The architecture is quite fascinating and the ..."
"Melaku! Quiet! Yes, it is wonderful but I'd really like to go home" snapped Zula.
"Oh, we have a small problem Excellency, we do not have the funds to pay your ransom" replied Melaku avoiding the gaze of Zula.
"Well, raise the taxes. You need to get me out of here. Suck up to the new Caliph. Whatever it takes, you understand?" shouted Zula.
"And watch out for my uncle Hackeem, he's got an eye on my throne"
"Oh, we have a small problem Excellency, we just promoted him to Marshall" replied Melaku rather nervously. Zula rolled his eyes.
"Look get me out of here and I'll arrange a beautiful wife for you, maybe two. You will be well rewarded. Now go and don't let me down!".



Melaku returned to Afar determined to get his liege out of prison.

In the year 1176 shortly after Melaku’s return, Emir Lot II declared war over the province of Harer. Melaku had never heard of the Emir. A quick bit of research showed that he was a vassal from up North, near Cairo. One of his own vassals ruled in Ankober which bordered Harer.



Afar's army hadn't fully replenished from the recent revolt. The only saving grace was that Lot’s armies had to travel from the Nile delta, which is quite a distance. Hackeem, the marshall, hoped the army could reinforce before they arrived. A war council is summoned by Melaku. They had to decide whether to make a quick strike against Ankober or to dig in and wait. Hackeem demanded that an attack be made based upon the old myth that attack is the best form of defense. So, the army was raised and marched to Ankober.
Emir Salim the Fat, Zula’s father-in-law, was invited to join the war as an ally. Also, some long lost cousin of Zula's. Both declined mentioning something about the dead belly of a camel.

Back in Cairo, the new Caliph of the Fatimid Empire, was about to get married to, wait for it, Zula's half sister. A few weeks later, the Caliph weds again, to another of Zula's half sisters. Unbelievably, it is not long after that the Caliph scores a hattrick by marrying Zula's third half-sister.



Despite the weddings, the Caliph showed no mercy or intention of letting Zula free. Not surprisingly, Zula had become somewhat affected by the imprisonment, the news of his half-sisters and the impending war. His health was failing and mentally, well, he’d started to lose it.

Back to the war. Afar spies spotted around 4500 troops setting out from the Nile delta.



Then more bad news reached Afar. The Emir of Lot had called an ally into the war. None other than the Wags, the historical enemy of Afar. There is nothing that gets the Afar army worked up more than the thought of killing Wags. They force march to Ankober and meet the Wag army. Once again, the Afar army is victorious over the Wags. By now the 4500 strong Lot army is half way to Afar and moving quicker than expected. The remnants of the Wag army has fled Ankober. Hackeem, the marshall and army leader, has the choice of chasing them or laying siege to Ankober’s capital. An easy decision, the Wags are chased down and killed to the last man.

This is a low point in Afari history. Zula is imprisoned and losing his mind. His countrymen cannot raise the ransom to set him free. The Caliph is laughing at him while he beds his three half-sisters. Oh, and let's not forget the Lot army descending upon Afar. The one small consolation, the Wags got beat up again. Things can't get any worse, can they?

Emir Zula of Afar (1180 - 1187) - Death in a cell

Melaku, regent of Afar, is deep in thought when the Mullah disturbed him. He is very excited about the arrival of a philosopher.


Melaku turned to the Mullah angrily and told him in no uncertain terms that any gold was reserved for the ransom. Absolutely no money would be wasted in such a frivolous way.

Melaku was depressed. Emir Lot's army was approaching, Zula was still in prison and council members were looking to waste money. This could not get any worse...until Emir Axum declared war! The council is called to discuss the latest bit of bad news.

Another plea was made to Afar's allies but they both refused to help. Something about a mangy dog but whatever, the reply was not polite. The council discussed the current situation. Melaku didn't consider Axum a threat with his 200 men until marshall Hackeem told him that he had called in Dawit of Abyssinia (900 men) and Emir of Taizz (1400 men). The council all decided that the situation was bad....very bad.

Uncle Hackeem, and the best military leader, said that Afar could not win both wars. Melaku made the decision to surrender to Lot and lose the county of Harer. The hope was that the army could defeat Axum and his cronies and save the county of Aksum.


The situation was still grim. Axum and his cronies had 4000 men to Afar's 2000. The war began with both sides laying siege to the others cities. Months passed and the sieges continued. Meanwhile, Emir Zula of Afar, received a note in his prison cell.




So Melaku spent the ransom money to buy an army. They could not be maintained for long but Melaku hoped that they could at least defeat the Axum army and gain the upper hand in the war. The Afar army, bolstered by the new arrivals, descended upon the Axum army, who are demoralized from the long months of siege.


The rest of the Axum army is wiped out in a subsequent battle. The mercenaries had to be let go as the gold had been exhausted. The war however had been turned to such an extent that the Emir of Axum signed a white peace. The county of Aksum had been saved and Afar lived to fight another day.

1st December 1181 should have been a great day. The day when Melaku gave the gold to the Caliph for Zula's release. Instead it turned into a humiliation as the Caliph refused to accept the gold and laughed at the suggestion that Zula would ever be released. Melaku later learned that because of the marriages of the Caliph to Zula's half sisters, Zula had a weak claim on the Caliphs title. Hence the refusal, even though the Caliph himself was over 1000 gold in debt.

In 1185 the Emir of Alexandria, Abanoub, declared war on Afar. This was the last straw for Melaku and the poor man died in May of that year. He never did get his wife.


Then in 1187, Zula died in prison.


So, there you go. Zula spent his reign either in revolt or locked up. Fair to say that his reign was not a success, although he had a very tough starting position. Onwards and upwards, hopefully, with Emir Fethee!

Emir Fethee (1187 - ) - Struggles Continue

Afar had a regent in charge for over twelve years now. With Fethee only being twelve years old when his father passed away, the regency continued. In true Afari tradition, Fethee's rule began in difficult conditions. Not only in regency but at war with Alexandria. The Afari army was badly outnumbered. Gorilla tactics were adopted to pick off some Alexandria troops detached from the main army. Once again Afari gold came to the rescue as two mercenary armies were bought and a massive battle took place at Rehayto. The army of Afar numbered over 11,000 as they faced the 8,000 strong Alexandrian army. A crushing victory was obtained as over three quarters of the Alexandrian force was wiped out for a loss of just 1,000 Afari troops.


Alexandria surrendered shortly after and Afar celebrated the victory. The celebration was cut short though when the Duke of Axum declared war over the county of Aksum.


The Duke called in four allies to aid in the war. The last of the Afari gold is spent on another mercenary army and they quickly dispatched the Duke of Taizz whose army was separated from the main Axum army. The army then marched to Aksum where the main army of Axum was camped.


The battle of Mek'ele took place. Six thousand battle hardened Afari troops attacked over four thousand Axum men. Another crushing victory was obtained as Afar only lost three hundred troops whilst killing ten times that number of the enemy. Further victories over the fleeing Axumites demoralized them and they too surrendered just like Alexandria had before.


Afar had no friends but it's gold had saved it. However, that gold had now run out, just as Fethee was old enough to take the throne. After 19 years, Afar was no longer ruled by a regent.


Emir Fethee was a brave warrior but also quite capable at the more sinister skills that could be important in maintaining rule. He was not particularly zealous about religion, unlike his forefathers. He in fact, made an important decision, to renounce the Sunni faith and convert to Shia. Whilst this alienated his vassals and court, it did the opposite with the rest of the Fatimid empire. Fethee hoped that this conversion would allow him to gain allies amongst the other Fatimid vassals in the future. Over the next few years an influx of Shia muslim courtiers arrived and slowly but surely Fethee placed them in important council positions.

In 1194, Fethee wanted to demonstrate to the Caliph the strength of his new found faith. He left Afar for Andalusia on the great Jihad. Little did he suspect that the Jihad would last for a further 28 years. Fethee fought bravely against the infidels and earned great respect from his fellow Shia muslims, although he was wounded in one battle that left a nasty scar.

Whilst the Jihad was in full swing, back home, The Caliph introduced high crown authority. This forbid vassals to fight each other. The only independent kingdom that Afar could hope to defeat was Gondar. In 1200, a claim on Gondar was falsely obtained and Afar declared war against the petty kingdom.


The war was won quickly but confusion reigned as the Duke of Shewa also declared war just before the surrender. Taken by surprise, the Afar army was defeated and forced to surrender. At the end, the war had been for nothing.

In 1222, Fethee returned from the Jihad. His thoughts turned from warfare to his sons and which of them should inherit the realm. He favoured his eldest son but he was murdered shortly upon Fethee's return. The murderer was never found. His second son had been raised as an Egyptian and was also not blessed with any level of intellect. So, Fethee made sure that his third son Zula would take the throne by awarding him a barony.

Fethee's latter days of his reign were dreary and without incident. In 1237, the inevitable happened and Fethee passed away and Zula II succeeded to the throne as he had planned.



Well, Fethee had managed to stabilize the realm. Probably his biggest contribution was the change of faith and the subsequent increase of reputation amongst his fellow vassals. Time will tell. Let's hope Zula II is an improvement on Zula I..

Selzro said:

If someone I knew was called Emir Abebe the Mad, I would not make him my cupbearer... Looks like things are stabilizing for the Duchy of Afar.

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In the next update we get an equally strange choice of court poet. The stable duchy of afar doesn't last long.

Emir Zula II of Afar (1236 - )

Zula the Second was 33 when he ascended to the throne. He was midas touched but that was the only good thing going for him. He had the family cruelty streak along with being greedy and lazy. So lazy, he never bothered with a coronation portrait. So lazy, that for fifteen years he did hardly anything. No wars, no jihads, absolutely nothing of note. The high crown authority appeared to kill any ambition he had.

Then in 1251, Girma, the Duke of Shewa, declared rebellion against the tyranny of the Caliph. It was as though the previous fifteen years had been eating away at Zula and this was a chance for freedom. A very slim chance. Zula took it and joined the Duke in his rebellion. The Caliph sent 11,000 troops to Abyssinia to deal with the rebellion. He underestimated the resolve of the rebels. Zula paid for two mercenary armies and 16,000 troops marched upon the Caliph's army and destroyed them. The rebels started to siege cities and for a glorious moment it seemed that an improbable victory could be achieved. That was until at the last moment, the Caliph sent all the troops he could muster to put the rebellion down. Zula borrowed gold from the Jews and Harashadin to pay for another mercenary army but it was not enough. The rebellion was doomed.

It took another five years until the Caliph could claim victory. Zula's health went downhill rapidly as he went from possessed to infirm to incapable.


The Caliph revoked the Shiekdom of Aksum


The duchy was now in a very poor state. Aksum was lost, the duchy had been badly looted, bankrupt and it owed money. Zula could not rule in his condition and the Caliph made fun of him by cruelly giving him the position of court poet. His son Kelyle took over as regent.


Kelyle started to rebuild the duchy and managed to pay off the debt to the Jews. Then in 1259 Zula II died. The people did not mourn his passing.



Kelyle starts his reign in the usual dire straits that is traditional of Afari rulers.The duchy is desperate for an upturn in fortunes. Can Kelyle lift the people's spirits and make them proud to be Afari once again?

Emir Kelyle of Afar (1259 - )


Kelyle was 36 years old upon his father’s death. He had already shown some promise as a ruler during the previous few years as regent. Yes, he had the customary streak of cruelty and could be a touch lazy but these were offset by his charitable and temperate nature. He was a keen scholar on religious matters. Tutored during his childhood in Cairo he had adopted the Egyptian culture, the first Afari ruler to do so.

He was husband to Mala and father of three sons. Mala was 28 years old and a Sunni muslim. The relationship between Kelyle and Mala had soured to the point where Kelyle started plotting for her untimely end. Any assassination attempt was abandoned when Mala became pregnant. However, a number of years later, Mala succeeded in poisoning one of Kelyle’s sons. Her complicity was discovered and Kelyle had no hesitation in having her executed.

The duchy of Afar at this time consisted of three provinces (Zeila, Tadjoura and Assab). This was half of its former size during the reign of Rahad. Kelyle set about restoring the Duchy. Even though the county of Aksum had been stripped from Afar, Kelyle had inheritance claims on the mosque at Adigrat. Ahead of him, in the line of inheritance, were two children aged 5 and 13 and a new born baby. Kelyle, showed his ruthless streak as he sent assassins to kill the unfortunate trio. It became well known throughout the realm that Kelyle was a murderer and baby killer. He also gained the mosque of Adigrat.


Kelyle turned his mind to gaining further land and power. This would not be obtained by conflict but by stealth and intrigue. To do so, Kelyle needed land to vassalize certain nobles within his court. His own demesne was not large enough to start giving bits of it away. So it was, that Kelyle revoked the Shiekdom of Tadjouri from his vassal, Teferi. Civil war erupted but Teferi did not have the strength of arms to challenge Kelyle.


The war was short and Teferi was imprisoned and then banished.


Kelyle gave the sheikdom of Tadjouri to Azam who was second in line to the throne of Taizz. Kelyle planned the removal of the current Taizz ruler. However, some unexpectedly pleasant news reached Kelyle before long. The Sheik of Taizz had been murdered by unknown parties. Someone had done the job for Kelyle. Taizz became part of the duchy of Afar. Kelyle took this as a sign from God that his goals were just even if the methods were dubious.

For his next plans, Kelyle needed the county of Tadjouri back in his own demesne. Azam, the new Sheik of Taizz, would not let the title go without a fight. This infuriated Kelyle. He had placed Azam in Taizz and this was how he repaid him. Azam had some allies so Kelyle decided to assassinate him rather than risk open war straight away. Kaboom! Azam died in a suspicious explosion and his two year old son Ramadan took over. Straight away, Kelyle revoked the title of Tadjouri and civil war broke out again in Afar. As in the last civil war, Kelyle had the superior number of men and the second civil war was a short affair. The young Ramadan was locked up and then banished to the island of Socotra.

Kelyle had also been plotting for the province of Asayita, a de jure county of Afar. The new sheik of Tadjouri, Badr, was heir to the sheikdom of Asayita. The current ruler was 66 years old so no plot was made against his life, Kelyle just waited patiently. In 1272, the inevitable happened and Badr inherited Asayita. Kelyle, through his manipulations and scheming had restored Afar to a five county duchy.


Kelyle also obtained the mosque of Rama in the former province of Afar, Aksum. He was third in line but some poisoned wine and careless bowman ensured that the mosque joined his demesne. This was to be Kelyle’s last achievement. In 1276, he suffered badly from pneumonia. At the same time, he received news that his son, Abdul–Haq had decided to join the secretive Hashhashins, giving up his inheritance rights. His wife, who had been spymaster for many years, was also murdered in Wag. These events hastened the end for Kelyle and in 1280 he passed away in his sleep.


Definately a turn around in fortunes for the duchy of Afar. It’s now up to his son, Arsenios, to build upon the foundations laid down by his father.

Selzro said:

That's a lot of murdering! I wonder if you can grow strong enough, that way, to eventually challenge the royal dynasty for supremacy in the kingdom...

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Not sure to be honest but the high crown authority is a real pain. No sign of it changing in the near future either. Fatimid Caliph has an iron grip over his vassals.

Emir Arsenios of Afar (1280 )



Arsenios was 32 years of age when he came to the throne. Old enough that he had picked up some tips from his father on how to remove undesirables from lines of inheritance. This line of work suited Arsenios rather than leading troops on the battlefield. With the Caliph still imposing high crown rule, continuing his fathers strategy seemed a good option.


Harer was a de jure county of Afar. Arsenios really wanted it. To do so, he needed to remove Sheik Gabri’el, his son Gabri’el and give some land to the next in line, Abdul-Salaam. Sheik Gabri’el had been imprisoned in Spain. Prison is a notoriously dangerous place. Twice, escape plans were made for the Sheik, with an accident waiting to happen. Twice, he didn’t take the bait. A confused Arsenios didn’t understand. How could a prisoner not want to escape? Why did he find it so difficult to remove people when his father found it so easy.

He decided to try something different. He needed to revoke titles to gain land. The unfortunate Sheik of Tadjouri was chosen. Worried about potential allies, Arsenios plotted for the murder of the sheik. An accident whilst hunting saw to that. With the number of allies reduced, the title was revoked and the subsequent revolt quashed. Arsenios grabbed two titles, Tadjouri and Asayita.





Meanwhile Gabri’el, the Senior, had been released from prison but had rather carelessly allowed himself to be imprisoned a second time. This hadn’t gone down well with his noble courtiers and there was now stronger support for an “accident” to happen.



In 1285, Sheik Gabri’el was killed whilst attempting a prison break out. Not long after, Gabri’el the Junior also met an untimely end. Abdul-Salaam inherited Harer and the Duchy of Afar now contained all its de jure counties.



In 1292, Arsenios made a big mistake. Carried away by his success, he plotted to kill Badr the Cruel, who ruled Makhzumi. A snake did for him and then his son, the 4 year old Tayyib, was smothered in his sleep. The Sheik of Asayita, a vassal of Arsenios, inherited Makhzumi. One small problem:



Yes, Makhzumi was an emirate, so not only did Arsenios not gain Makhzumi, he also lost Asayita in the process. How embarrassing!

In frustration at his own stupidty, he turned to the county of Damot. Twice, bowmen were lined up to kill the incumbent Sheik but both times the plot failed. Finally an explosion did the trick. Another youngster was smothered and a final "obstacle" had a hunting accident. Damot was gained and made up somewhat for the disappointment over the Asayita affair.

This handsome fellow arrived at the court of Arsenios.



He was heir to both Alodia and Sennar. He was granted the title of Damot and then Arsenios waited for the current Sheik of Alodia and Sennar to die. He did not have long to wait as he was already incapable and near to death. In 1301, Alodia and Senna joined the Afari duchy. The Afari holdings now looked like:



The constant revoking of titles caused a number of civil wars. In the fourth of these, whilst revoking the county of Damot again, Arsenios was badly wounded. A year later, Arsenios, passed away. The wound had taken its toll.



So, by Afari measures, a successful reign for Arsenios. If only he hadn't made the "Asayita mistake". Unfortunately, history will remember him more for this than his successes. Kelyle II steps up next. Can he continue the steady if slow progress made by Arsenios and Kelyle I before him?

Emir Kelyle II of Afar (1308 )



Kelyle the Second came to the throne at the age of 25. He was a great warrior, brave and a brilliant strategist. The best of the Afari leaders when it came to military matters. Even though he respected how his father had used intrigue to expand Afari lands and power, he had no interest in such matters himself. His place was on the battlefield. Abyssina was still under high crown authority so Kelyle could not declare wars against other vassals, even though he had just cause. This was a source of frustration, so much so, that he risked the Caliph’s ire and joined a faction to lower crown authority. He would never see this come to anything though.

In 1309, the Caliph declared Jihad against an infidel king in Spain. Kelyle wasted no time and joined the war. For the first time ever, the Afari fleet set sail. It only journeyed up the red sea but it was a fine sight to behold.



Over 10,000 men were carried to the heart of Eqypt. From there, they journeyed across North Africa, to Gibraltar, and eventually to the heart of Andalusia. The army, even though they had lost men on the long journey, attacked the infidels at Alagorn. Their numbers had been doubled by other Muslim forces. A great holy victory was won.



By 1312, the Jihad had been won and Kelyle and his army started the long journey home.

Shortly after arriving home, in 1313, there was a peasant revolt. It was ironic that Kelyle, after surviving unscathed during the Jihad, should get wounded during the uprising.

It was only two years later, that Kelyle was killed in battle, battling infidels in Hungary (of all places). He had only reigned for eight years.



Well, Kelyle’s time was short and sweet. Such promise but it was not to be. He was probably born at the wrong time. Afar needed someone to carry on his fathers work, not a glory seeking warrior. Maybe, Abderahman will fit the bill better?

Michaelangelo said:

Just stumbled upon your AAR and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. You've done an amazing job at surviving as a vassal for many different kingdoms or empires. Like they say, keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Easier to stab a liege than a rival duke.

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Thanks for reading. The story has just flowed really, had no idea how things would turn out. My lack of CK2 expertise has certainly made it a bumpy ride. Enjoyable though!

Emir Abderahman of Afar (1315 - )



Abderahman had the longest name of any Afari ruler so far. He was only eleven years of age when he succeeded to the throne but he already demonstrated a sharp mind in addition to a kind and humble attitude. His regent, Abdul- Salaam, ran the duchy until Abderahman came of age. It was largely an uneventful period with just a few peasant uprisings. The Caliph now resided in Andalusia and his focus was very much on that part of the world. There was a growing Andalusian influence in East Africa with Emirs Seville and Algarve ruling provinces.



In 1320, Abdherahman took his place on the throne. His first act was to ask his spymaster to arrange a triple assassination of Busaso heirs. The task was dutifully carried out and Busaso became part of the Afar duchy.





The latter part of the year also saw a Fatwa issued against the Emir of Taizz. This resulted in an uprising.
The year 1323 was a great one for Abderahman and the Afar duchy. The Taizz uprising was ended.



This was just the start though. Ever since, Abderahman had come to the throne he had gone out of his way to please the Caliph. He’d sent his chancellor to improve relations and sent a gift of gold. This paid off in a big way when the Caliph transferred three duchies to Abderahman’s rule; Asosa, Ankober and Kassala.



The Afar duchy was now looking like:



Abderahman wanted to bring the county of Berbera into the Afari fold. In this glorious year, his chancellor fabricated a claim on the emirate of Berbera and the title was usurped.

The great year ended with a rather strange wedding. The Caliphs son, Prince Ayyub took Abdherahmans mother to be his bride.



In the following year, 1324, one of Abderahman’s vassals, the Shiek of Damot, refused to end his involvement in a plot. A second revolt took place. The Afar army now showed its increased strength as over 14,000 men descended upon the rebel forces.



The rebels were utterly defeated at the battle of Bambasi.



Abderahman had achieved much and he was still only 20 years old. His father-in-law, the younger Ayyub, became Caliph. They did not like each other and a rift developed between the pair which was to prove costly. Ayyub introduced absolute crown authority, whilst Abdheraman still managed to expand by inheriting the county of Berbera.

He also discovered a love for poetry and he began to spend more time reading than ruling his duchy. He lost all ambition. The Caliph had created the title of Emirate of Shewa which caused the loss of the county of Ankober. Interestingly, in 1336, Abdheraman found a new way to gain a county, none other than the de jure one of Asayita, carelessly given away by his father. The Caliph was in deep financial trouble so Abdheraman brokered a deal where the county would be purchased.

Years of peace followed and Abdheraman devoted more time to his poetry. Two more counties were gained, Hayya and Suakin.



Afar was the most powerful it had ever been, at least briefly. The Caliph envied Abdheraman and his wealth. In 1350, he revoked the emirate of Alodia without any resistance. Abdheraman did not want to risk war against the Caliph. However, the revocation of Alodia, only emboldened the Caliph to revoke other titles, Damot, Blemmiya and others. All the gains made by Afar over the last few years were taken away in a moment. Abdheraman did not resist for fear of the Caliph’s might. Instead he muttered over and over.

“The Caliph giveth, and the Caliph taketh away”.

Afar had been reduced to the following lands:



In 1354, a disillusioned Abdheraman passed away in his sleep.



Emir Abdheraman should have been one of the greatest Afari rulers. However, just when greatness was in his grasp he let it slip away. Can his son, Ghiyasaddin, fare any better?

Emir Ghiyasaddin of Afar (1354-)


Ghiyasaddin was 23 years old upon his succession to the throne. Ambition drove him, along with his desire to amass a fortune.A just and patient ruler, he had all the qualities expected of an Afari ruler. Only a year into his reign one of his fathers schemes came to fruition. The Sheik of Kathiri died at the grand age of 76. The counties of Kathiri and Damot joined the Afari duchy as a result.



Ghiyasaddin understood that he needed to keep in the Caliphs good books. He sent his chancellor to the Caliphs court with a large sum of gold. This move paid off when the Caliph transferred a Portugese city to Ghiyasaddin's rule. In 1357, two more Portugese baronies were transferred, along with the county of Dhofar.



Shortly after, the Muhammad Emirate began a rebellion against the Caliphs rule. Afar was invited to join the revolt. Ghiyasaddin considered the proposal. He knew about the last time that Afar joined a revolt, even though it was many years ago. How Zula the First was imprisoned and never released. Ghiyasaddin had spent considerable time and money in gaining the Caliphs favour and just been rewarded with a county and a number of baronies. No, this was not the time for revolution he decided. The revolt was subsequently crushed by the Caliph.
In 1360, another county was gained and added to the growing Afar emirate, that of Semien.



Two more counties were gained in the next sixteen years, Matamma and Asir.
In 1376, the Caliph allowed Ghiyasaddin to assist with the handout of titles that his liege did not have time to govern. Of course, Ghiyasaddin decided to take them for himself; Halaban, Hail, Rafha and Hajr were added to the Afar emirate.
Then in 1379, the long time enemies of Afar, the Wags, started a faction for Ghiyasaddin to claim Abbyssinia. After all these years, Afar and the Wags were allies. The Wags declared revolt against the Caliph and Afar had no option but to join the Wags. Just as the rebellion started, the Caliph died to be replaced by his infant son. This sparked of a series of rebellions in Spain against the Caliph. The Caliph's forces were split trying to fight off the multiple rebellions. The army sent to Africa was destroyed. Afar held it's breath waiting for the Caliphs might to descend but it never came. The wars in Spain were more important. In 1393, the revolt was won:



At long last, Afar was independant and Ghiyasaddin was now Sultan of Abyssinia !





To celebrate his victory, Ghiyasaddin built a memorial:



Ghiyasaddin only had two years to enjoy the spoils of his victory. In 1395, he died to leave the greatest of Afari legacies.



So, eventually, independence has been achieved and the Afari dynasty are now rulers of Abyssinia. How long can they hold it though?