Chagatai Khanate:How the East was won.

"Father, are you blind, why can't you see what is so clear to the rest of us."

"Shir quite, I will not spend my final days in a fruitless war."

"The Timurds are weak, their grasp on power even in their own lands is sliping, this is the time to take back what is ours."

"I have made my decision."

"And I mine."

Shir excused him self from the court, with great haste, he had many things to do. Gather the horde, march on Samarakand, but first he must secure his power.

(OOC:its late, I'll finish this tommarow)

Shir had worked hard to guarente his sucession from the tribes under the controll of the Khanate. With this in hand he set out with the horde to the borderlands of the Timurd Empire, it had been a long time since the Khanate had expanded like this and the border was undefended with a open road to Samarakand at his disposal.

Mehmet hearing of his sun rashness emediatly set out is such a hurry that he gave no warning to his personal guard. He rode for days and days without rest to over take the horde, on several occasions he had to procure new horses because he had riden his previous ones to death. On the 21st of Raby` al-awal, 822 in the Hijriah-Miladiah Calender(April 17, 1419) he stoped and sat in the road waiting for the Hordes approch, he could only pray he had beat them to this point.

"Prince our scouts picked up a man in the road who demanded the Horde turn around, though he quickly colapsed, he has not had water for several days."

"Bring him to my tent, I wish to speak with this man who thinks he can stop the horde. And fetch water, I dont want this aduacious man dieing on me."

The quard left and quickly returned with two more guards, unbeknowst to them they were carrying their king.

"Here is the man prince, and the water you requested."

"Good, now leave."

"Yes Prince."

"So you are the one who has been leaving dead horses in our way father."

Shir took some water and fed it slowly into his fathers crack and bleeding lips. The desert had not be kind to him this ride.

Finding his father like this Shir forced himself to turn the horde back, he would not fight a war with his fathers death on his hands.

So the horde returned to Dsungaria. But the ride had taken the best of Mehmet, he would never return to the man he was, and on the 26th, Thw al-Hijjah 823(Jan 1, 1421) several months after the fast of Ramadan the king sucumbe to his old age.

Shir had been king for several months when Shir heard of his fathers death while Samarakand was under seige. He confined him self to his tent for months accepting only the servent girl who brought him food and water. When he returned from his tent he led his horde against the gates of Samarakand, and with this fitful attack Shir broke the city, giving orders to his horde to kill every noble and man of stature in the city, and let them ransack their holdings, but any man caught harming the poor, weak, a woman would be put to the sword by his own hand. Herat surrenderd soon after hear this news and the new King of the Chagatai Khanate forced the Tirmurd empire to reliquish controll of Tadjikistan and Kirgistan to him.

On the road back to Dsungaria the horde was met by a messenger from the Khazak Horde, he formaly invited the Khanate to join their allice with the Uzbeks and return to war with the Timurds.

After a meeting of his counsil he agreed to join this alliance and send his forces back to pillage the Timurd lands. But war was not in his heart, he left the war to his war chiefs while he returned to his home and his fathers grave with his servent girl by his side.

The war lasted two more years, and after 5 seiges, and many raids into the heart of the empire the Uzbeks agreed to peace with the Timurds, taking land for its self and Surkhandarya to Shir.

After the war was done Shir took his diligent servent girl as his first wife.

Ill update soon. I would have sunday night by the site was down. Ill updated 2 or 3 times a weekend, but until school is out im officaly cut off from the internet till the weekends. Ah well, it was either have internet and go to a school w/ uniforms, or no internet and a school w/o. I figuered the uniforms would be a far worse punishment then no internet.

Shirs decision shocked the cheifs and nobles in the Khanate, they had expected a union with either the Kazak or the Uzbek, but a servent girl was not forseen by any but the closest to Shir. So Shirs decision not to take additional wives shocked them even more. So much so that Shir was forces to abdicate in favor of Uways Khan in the year 828 of the Hijriah-Miladiah calender.

Uways reigen was short and uneventful. He died in 831 and was succeded by his younger brother Satuq.

Satuq reign saw the expansion of fortifications in the west as well as the consiolidation of power in the position of Khan. The Uzbek-Khazk-Chagatai alliance collapsed in 835 and was replaced by a Chagatai-Khazk partnership, concived by Satuq to draw them closer into a union.

But Satuq would not see this come to frution, on the 20th of Jumaada al-awal 837 Satuq died in his sleep, poisioned by nobles who were tired of his familys peacful rule, he was replaced with Esen Buqa who hurriedly declared war on the Timurds.

So began the third war with the heir of Tamerlane. The decision was a hastey one as the Hordes were driven from their seige of Samarkhand by Timurd armys who foolishly fallowed them into the Tajik desert.

After a breif counter push all notable Tirmurd resistance ended in the battle of the wastelands and Samarakhand was once again beseiged.

The war lasted for 6 more years seeing Kabul Qandahar, Kushka, Herat, Birj, and Kerman provinces fall into Khanate hands when the Timurd ruler was captured by rebles in Hormouz after fleeing Samarakhand.

The Khanate was once again at peace, but the work was not over, Esen had to put down several rebellions in the east and retake Kabul from reble forces. But Esens rule had been the longest since Mehmet. And he seemingly had many days to go.

How do you put pictures in threads?

Thanks, ill probly put up a screen shot after the next update.

I know, but ive lowered the number of unfortified provinces down to 2, one of which is being upgraded. Rebles are still a big problem for me though.

Not long after the end of the Timurid war the Uzbeks decided to try their hands at taking on the Khanate. Much to their frustration the Chagatai didnt do as expected.

Esen sent the Horde not at the Uzbek capital, but at the soft under bellie, capturing several provinces that were being fortified costing the Uzbeks months of work. And at the battle of Ashkabad the Uzbeks were handed a stunning defeat, over twenty-five thousand infantry and two thousand cavalry were routed by four thousand cavalry. When the battle was done the Uzbeks no longer had any meaninful numbers of cavalry and had suffered a sever loss of infantry. Otrar was besiged soon after, and after the victory at the battle of Urgench all meaningful Uzbek resistance ended, Otrar fell several months later and the Khanate accepted Kara Kum, Bukhara, Khwarizm, and Khiva from the Uzbeks.

The Chagatai were now connected with their only allie and Esen hoped this would bring them closer, unfortunatly Esen was not diplomaticly adept and repeated gifts and offers of vasselization were usless.

On the 12th of Safar 858 the Timurids enterd into war with the Khanate, soon after their governement fell and Khorosan was seized as compensation for the war.

Two weeks after the end of the Timurid war China attacked, the Khanate was dangerously unprepared for such an action. Making things worse the Khazaks had grown tired of not being the head of the alliance and left the Chagatai high and dry. The eastern provinces were quickly over run by China. The Khandate joined Nogais alliance months later but they refused to aid against the Chinese. At the battle of Urumai five thousand Chagatai lifted the seige of that city from twenty thousand Chinese, they had earned a breif respite, but that would soon be taken away from them.

The Chagatais former allies the Khazaks declared war on the 26th of Sha'ban 861. Uzbek and Astrakhan refused to support the war and left the alliance, though the Uzbek would later return.

Soon after this both the Chinese and Khazak were bought off. But peace would not survive less then a month later Nogai declared war on the Timurids. This was a most unwelcome war as the Khanate was in tourmoil all around, the tribes were tired of war, so Esen was killed and replaced by Yusuf Khan.

Yusuf had his work cut out for him, after Nogai accepted peace from the Timurids both Kerman and Surkhandarya defected, the former to the Uzbeks the later to the Timurids. Kerman was of little importance, having only 700 inhbitants in its largest city, and those were Shi'ites, But Surkhadarya was the only route between the Khanate and its western conquests and effectivly cut off the majority of the army from where it was needed to supress revolts. To make things worse several Uzbek and Persian leaders took advantage of those and gain more power for themselves.

The Timurids were attacked for their transgressions and Surkhandarya was reopened to Chagatai armys. But the revolts, wars, rebellious cheifs, and cleaning up Esens mess had taken its toll on Yusuf and he shut himself in his harem for months leaving his ministers to conduct the business of running the Khanate. The Khazaks chose this time to declare war on the Chagatai alliance. Not prepared to presue two wars to their fullest the ministers declared peace with the Timurids officaly returning Surkhandarya to the fold. The ministers had their work cut out for them, an Khazak onsluaght iminate, a ruler who woouldnt leave the company of his pleasure girls, and revolts in the east of all places.

Yusuf emerged from his harrem in time to lead the Horde against the Khazaks. His forces threw the invaders back forcing them to retreat repeatedly sparing enuf time for reinforcements to arrive from putting down a rebellious cheif in the east.

By wars end Nogai had made peace, and Sibir would not comit troops its vassels defense, it was a fight between the Chagatai and the Khazaks, one the Khazaks were losing. Peace was made turning overf Kyzylkum to the Khanate, and in payment for their repeated trechery Yusuf forced the people of the Khazak capital to sow the earth surrounding their city with salt as a costant reminder of their foolish wars.

Years of peace ensued, Yusuf expanded the border fortifications with China, expanded tax collecting services in the west, and negotiated the vasselization of Nogai. But the peace that lasted for half a decade was ended by China. But this time the Chagatai would teach them a painfull lesson.

A month after the decleration of war Chinese armys crossed into Qinghai and beseiged the city. But the desert would not be kind to them, thousands died of thrist, scores more to murading tribes men, but it was nothing compared to the slaughter handed to them by the Chagatai Horde. At the battle of Qinghai the main Chagatai force attacked the Chinese, in the ensuing battle the Chinese lost half their army of thrity thousand, but this was not enuf to prevent the fall of the city, some Chinese took up position in the city while the battle was raging outside the city gates.

With the main Chinese army routed and not wishing to remain in Qinghai for the seige Yusuf returned the Sichan to wait for reenforcements. This process continued for 2 years, the Chagatai cavalry would decimate large forces of Chinese infantry then melt back into the desert. After losing two armys of thrity thousand men the Chinese retreated to the mountins leaving Yusuf to ride into Qinghai with little fight.

Yusuf sent raiding partys into chinese lands brining back maps that would be usefull the next time the chinese decided to temp fate.

Peace was made on 27 Jumaada al-THaany 884(Sep 14, 1479) for 7 caravans of gold, silks, gems, and other finerys of the Chinese empire(175 gold).

Yusuf returned the Dsungaria and to his wives and heir Mahmud. For three more years Yusuf reigened in peace seeing a drop in inflation on several occasions.

On 20 Thw al-Hijjah 887 a declration of war was recived from the Timurid empire. The empire was standing on failing legs, unable to supress Persian rebles in the west its government soon fell into bankruptcy. But this did not matter to the leaders of a peasent revolt in Bukharm, unfortualty for them the Timurid government feel only months later and the revolts perpitratiors were massicarded on the field.

Yusuf had little time to spare, and spent his last days continuing the schooling of his heir. But it would not be time enuf, on 5 MuHarram 892 Yusuf passed away in his sleep. Songs would sing his praises for centurys to come. Mahmud succeded his father several days later.

Mahmud was ill prepared to run the ever growing Khanate. His father was many times his better in dealing with finaces and diplomacy, the one area where Mahmud shined was fighting. He often took his royal guard out on desert hunts for weeks at time. But when the court kept him there for extended periods of time he succumed to bouts of paranioa. He retreated to his harrem, an action that had become all to commen.

The vultures were circling inside and outside the Khanate.

When i find a host, ived signed up for one but i still havnt got my activation e-mail, any suggestions on one?