The Faith of A Man
A curious thing, religion. There are an innumerable number of faiths, each with their own denominations, and each with their own personal view on the divine. However there was a time, a brief moment, when everyone believed the same thing, and praised the same God. It was a moment brought about by blood, toil, sweat, and dedication. A moment forged by one man, who had a vision for a united world.
Born in the year 752, Akhiban, was the last surviving descendant of the few devoutly Nestorian Assyrian dynasties. The Ashitha dynasty also managed to retained some semblance of control after the Muslim invasions of Persia. Through the centuries his people had been pushed back, marginalized, and made to feel less important than those who dominated the lands of Assyria. This, along with being ruled by a heathen, were unacceptable to Akhiban. However he knew that he wasn't strong enough to take on the Abbasid power, so Akhiban began 'playing a game of chess' as it were.
His first "Conquests" weren't conquests of new lands, but rather a consolidation of power. Slowly building up his control of the lands of Mosul, later called Nineveh. Through guile, intrigue, and no small amount of cash, Akhiban was finally able to secure the lands of Mosul for his own dominion. However it was a slow process taking him over a decade to complete. Now a decade is a long time for anything to take, even for a man with a mission, and goal. So, in his down time he began studying the intricacies of the Nestorian faith. His interest would not go unnoticed by the higher powers, and in the year 776, he was offered to join the most prestigious holy order of the Nestorian Faith, the Community of Saint Abraham.
The Megaloschemos of the Community of Saint Abraham wrote a letter informing Akhiban that he would be accepted if he simply secluded himself and meditated on his life, as a penance of sorts. Suffice to say, Akhiban happily accepted, and after a week of seclusion, was admitted into the Community. Akhiban's piety and dedication to Christ, and the Order, would not go unrewarded. The first gift, a personal item of the then Megaloschemos Halil, was the finger bone of a saint. A holy relic who's original owner was supposedly Saint Abraham himself.
Honestly, Akhiban's rank up to the prestigious level of Stavrophoros was something truly impressive. In less than two years, Akhiban was poised to become the next leader of the Community, and with it the power to really change hearts and minds. However not everything went so smoothly for Akhiban in his life. While he wished to focus on his domain at first, only expanding after the weakness of the Caliph was proven, the wheels of revolution were turning and he was squarely in the center of it.
On the 9th of June, 779, Akhiban finally usurped power in the duchy of Mosul, and crowned himself as Emir, or Du'ku in Assyrian. According to scholarly writings of the time, it was the proudest day of Akhiban's life. Yet it would not come without its own strife and conflict. For exactly six months later, on the 9th of December 779 a war against the tyrannical rule of the Abbasid Caliph was started.
The leader of the revolt, Emir Sulayman of Azerbaijan, was among the most disgusted with the rule of Caliph Al-Mansur. The reasoning behind it likely had something to do his lack of genitalia that seem to have mysteriously disappeared after he was imprisoned by the aforementioned Caliph.
Of course this... theory, was aided by the well known fact that Caliph Al-Mansur was a prideful, and cruel, man who would imprison you at the slightest hint of insult.
Far from the just, and righteous rule of better men, Akhiban felt that it was his duty to side with the revolting party in an attempt to curtail the power of this Abbasid villain. The revolt, while being minor in the grand scheme of things, would aid the future endeavors of Akhiban and his desire for an independent Assyrian state. While Akhiban wished to aid his ally in the revolt, he also could not risk any soldiers for the conflict as his own power was not yet fully secured. So for much of the war he remained "neutral", however neutrality would not be allowed by the Caliph.
On the 6th of May, 780 the armies of Caliph Al-Mansur marched on Nineveh. With a tallied nine thousand soldiers, the Caliph laid siege to the ancient capital. However Akhiban was not about to let a heathen crush his ambitions. Leading a contingent of his forces out from Nineveh, Akhiban was able to successfully stall the Abbasid siege just long enough to allow his thirteen thousand strong army muster on the field of battle. According to historian Ashur-rabi Natan the battle took place near the city of Nineveh, on the flat flood plains of Kanisah, just across the Tigris from Nineveh.
In an excerpt written by Ashru-rabi he states that "...His [Caliph Al-Mansur] armies and generals greatly under estimated the might, and resolve, of the Assyrian people. With an army over four thousand stronger than the Caliphs, Akhiban's victory was assured. Leaving the city of Nineveh to join up with his main forces, Akhiban looked like a true Assyrian king, with his regal Assyrian garb, and riding on the back of an Assyrian heavy chariot. Truly no king could ever look as magnificent, the sun, light from God himself, shining through the dust and haze, to cover Akhiban in a Saintly glow."
Later artists interpretation
While this is clearly propaganda to improve the glory of Akhiban, it can't be said that the Assyrian forces weren't a match for the forces of the Caliph. The battle of Kanisah was a pivotal point for the Assyrian people and Akhiban, as they forces of Caliph Al-Mansur were utterly crushed at that battle, leaving open the pathway into the heartlands of Abbasid power.
At roughly the same time, Akhiban was surprised to be handed the greatest honor to a true Nestorian faithful. On the second of May, 781, after being in the Community of Saint Abraham for only five years, Akhiban was raised up the to status of Megaloschemos, the leader of the Nestorian faithful in the east. Honestly it was a truly magnificent status as it was second only to the Patriarch of the East in terms of importance to the Nestorian faith.
It was at this time that the people in Assyria began referring to him as a Saint, a True Christian Knight, one who fights for the righteous light, and who strives for the divine through acts. Of course it certainly helped that the publicity of Akhiban's success against the Caliph's forces had spread like wild fire through the Assyrian lands.
A True Christian Knight, those were the words spoken by the people on the streets, and the priests in the churches. Honestly that is how the world saw him, and it wasn't entirely wrong. However it also wasn't entirely true, as Akhiban did have some vices, few of which were ever brought to public light until decades after his death. For example, Akhiban's carnal desires, and his insatiable lust for more. Be it power, women, or wealth, he always wanted more, and never rested. A testament to his virility would be the fact, and I do mean fact literally, that he sired no less than twenty children, with a total of four women. By the time he was in his thirties he was already the father of ten children. If one thing is certain, it is that he ensured his dynasty would last for all time.
After his advancement of Megaloschemos and the publicity that was brought along with being called a true Christian Knight, Akhiban decided it was time to take the fight to the Caliph himself. So, mustering his army of 13k, Akhiban marched south, carving a path straight through to Baghdad. Fortress after fortress, castle after castle, none of them stood in the way of Akhiban and his armies. Yet, we can't give all the credit to Akhiban alone, as he did bring back some ingenious siege weapons from the time of his Assyrian ancestors.
Using designs drawn up from stone reliefs by the Neo-Assyrians, Akhiban had effectively reconstructed the great Assyrian Siege Tower, and Battering Ram. Large enough to carry two hundred solders on its platforms, and an impressive defensive tower for archers to fire from all sides, it was a terror on the field of battle to be sure. However Akhiban's engineers made a few adjustments; according to the Abbasid scholar Maslama Ibn Ulaym Ibn Rasheeq al-Ebrahimi, he claims that "... These Assyrian men, just like their ancestors of old, were masters of siege craft. They had improved their forebears' weapon of war to such a degree that they could assemble it, disassemble it, and transport it twenty miles in a day. Just as fast as the army could move."
As we can see here, in an artists depiction, although agreed by most historians to be slightly smaller than Akhiban's creation, it would have been a terror to face on the field of battle. Unlike many armies of the time, highly decentralized and focused on man to man combat. Akhiban retained almost sole control of the military, only doling it out to those generals who proved worthy of taking command. With this, Akhiban was able to take cities, besiege fortresses, and conquer vast swaths of Abbasid lands in a short period of time. In total it took him five months, to march south, conquering every city, castle, palace, along the way. Finally reaching Baghdad in the late days of October, Akhiban laid siege to the city. The siege though, unlike most, was rather uneventful. The Caliph, terrified of the might of Akhiban, and fearing for his families safety, surrendered to the revolting forces. Thus, on the twenty fifth of October, 781, Caliph Al-Mansur surrendered to Emir Sulayman of Azerbaijan and Du'ka Akiban of Nineveh, swearing to never again take up arms against them.
This victory against the Caliph was celebrated with a great feast, and it was during this feast that Akhiban became truly fascinated about the lands to the east. Now this wasn't by accident, as word had spread up the Silk Road, and back to China about an Assyrian who 'Had the might of the kings of old' and was 'Beloved by all'. It was during this revelry that a stranger, from an even stranger land, arrived in Nineveh.
This stranger, a man by the name of Chengqing, of the house Xie, arrived at the gates of Nineveh, half starved and begging to see Akhiban. Seeing as it was the "Christian" thing to do, Akhiban offered this man his home, and food, but in exchange he wanted information. Chengqing was more than happy to oblige, and after a few months of study, both Akhiban and Chengqing were able to communicate without a translator. They spoke of the vast riches of the lands they knew about, for Akhiban that was Constantinople and Rome, and the Chengqing that was the entire lands of the Middle Kingdom. Speaking about how there were cities ten times the size of Nineveh, and they weren't even the big ones. How vast fields of rice stretched from horizon to horizon, as far as the eye could see. How the Jade Emperor sat upon a golden Dragon Throne, and oversaw the glory of the empire from his capital of Chang'an. How upon that throne, within his high towers, the Emperor saw all, and directed the lands. These stories seemed marvelous to Akhiban, and after a few months deliberation, he decided that he would go and meet with this Emperor, and preform the Kowtow, in the hopes of earning his favor.
We are fortunate to know about Akhiban's travels east as the first portion of the journey was actually catigorized in a number of letters to his then thirteen year old son, Ashur-etil-ilani. While not all of them survive, a few of them do. It is from these letters that we can infer what Akhiban was like as a man, in his daily interactions with his family.
"My son, I write to you with the most exciting of news. While you know I left for the lands of Cathay some months ago, the route there has proven to be more pleasurable than expected. Along the way we stopped in every great Silk Road market from Bav-ilim to Fergana. I tell you the cities are truly something to see, with vendors selling goods from as far east as Cathay, and as far west as the Baltic. With fine Amber goods, beautiful silks, and spices from the far Indus. I tell you I wish I could have brought you. Perhaps one day you too will explore the great trade road of the east.
Our journeys took us into the Fergana valley last week, and upon arrival we were accosted by a group of mercenaries. At first I thought they wanted our goods and money, but after a short discussion I learned that these mercenaries were actually sent to aid us in our journey. While the Jade Emperor might be able to protect those within his lands, all beyond are outside of his reach...."
".... Our good fortune continued as we met a most pleasant governor of the western provinces. After spending a good three days in his house, sampling his hospitality, we bid our host fairwell and continued on our journey east. Honestly son, the things I have seen, the people I have met, and we aren't even in Cathay yet, it confounds the mind and senses. To think the world is so much more vast than anyone could have ever imagined..."
"Lastly my son, I should inform you that this will likely be the last letter as we are nearing the heart of the middle kingdom, and our entourage bid us to not delay too long as the Jade Emperor sees all and would be most displeased if we were not to hasten our journey. So I will leave you with this, my son, never be afraid to explore new lands, and always seek to learn more about your brothers. Be they in faith, blood, or unrelated, there is something that everyone can teach each other."
From these letters we can discern just how much Akhiban truly cared about his children, or at least his oldest son. Although the stories of Akhiban don't really portray him as a great father it is hard to explain in excitement how good of a parent someone is to their children. Thus most historians believe that the tales of his parental skills and love were merely dropped due to lack of interest. For the following years, yes years, as Akhiban didn't return to the Assyrian lands for nearly three years, there is nothing of note.
The nation that Akhiban had established remained stable, there were no revolts, or fights against his rule. The Regent of the realm, a man skilled in diplomacy, ensured the realm remained peaceful in his lord's absence. It was only after the three years spent in China that news of Akhiban's exploits came to light once more.
The return of Akhiban from China was followed by a procession of caravaneers from every corner of the Silk Road. Apparently Akhiban had made such an impression upon those he met that traders from all backgrounds arrived in the great trade capital of Bav-ilim, and the capital city of Nineveh, for the sole reason of seeing the lands in which he ruled. The trade caravan, which extended 'further than the eye could see' according to one report, brought in so much wealth to Nineveh that it would have allowed Akhiban to build, tear down, and rebuilt the great palace of Nineveh three times over. Suffice to say it was more than enough to make even the Caliph envious.
Artists interpretation of the Nineveh Trade Caravan
The return of Akhiban to Nineveh also brought with it tales of the great Middle Kingdom that marveled and astounded all who listened. From the rich cities, laden to the brim with spices from Indo-China, silks from the rich fertile lands near the ocean. No to mention the thousands of jade, gold, and silver trinkets and jewels.
However a few things stood out as objects of true interest and importance to Akhiban. The first was a jade amulet, carved with intricate detail that could only hope to match the beauty of the jade itself. The next was a game, but it was unlike any game Akhiban had seen before. With little round, white and black stones. Akhiban watched the two old masters playing the game, seeing white overpower black, with an intrigue and finesse that seemed to be lost in the more commonly played game of Chess back in his homeland. After watching for a few hours the elder men asked if he would like to join, to which Akhiban happily agreed. He fell so in love with the game that he brought it back to Nineveh with him, and it is still on display to this day in the Nineveh national museum.
According to records of his journeys, Akhiban claimed that he was 'Called to the Celestial Palace, to kneel before the Dragon Throne, and the Jade Empress'. We know that this must have been unusual to Akhiban as he had expected to see a man sitting on the Dragon Throne. It was only after the Kowtow that he was informed of the previous emperor's demise at the hands of illness and how this was the prior emperor's granddaughter.
However after his Kowtow, Akhiban was bayed to remain in China. According to Chinese historians, the Empress had taken a liking to him and wished for him to remain for a while longer so that they could talk, and perhaps learn, from each other. Akhiban, 'reluctantly' stayed, and for the next two years studied philosophy, politics, and war, with his Chinese counterparts.
It was from these learned men that Akhiban brought back a copy of the famous Art of War by Sun Tzu. It was also after the discussions with these learned men that another ambition, another goal, was dreamed up in Akhiban's mind. A dream of a reborn Assyrian empire. While Ashur might have been the high god of the ancient Assyrians, now they would be united under the Nestorian faith. However his ambition could not be completed just yet, not while he only controlled the lands of Mosul. To make matters worse, while he was away, the county of Deir, on the southern border of his lands, was lost to the Shiite muslims who rebelled against the Abbasid rulers and established the Shiite Caliphate in the lands of Iraq.
With the knowledge that the Abbasid power was weakened, and likely would be at it's weakest, Akhiban began making his moves. The first was the establishment of claims to the rest of the lands of Assyria.
That was the easy part, as each claim took roughly six months to get. After about two more years, Akhiban had laid claim to all of the lands of Assyria. It was on his son's sixteenth birthday, the 1st of December 785, that Akhiban lauched a rapid, five pronged invasion for all the lands he had laid claim to. This war, while obviously to increase Assyrian power, was also to allow Akhiban to prove the mettle of his son on the field of battle. While Akhiban couldn't be there for his son in all factors, he did prove to be an excellent educator and taught his son exceptionally well in all things relating to war. In fact Ashur-etil-ilani was so much like his father that people often confused the two men, and would sometimes think that Ashur-etil-ilani was merely Akhiban's body double or doppelganger.
This war was Ashur-etil-ilani first test of power, and the thing that would set him apart as one of the great commanders of Akhiban's forces. Without ever telling his son what to do, Ashur-etil-ilani lead his fathers forces on the lands of Jazira to the north, and quickly subdued them. With the aide of the great Assyrian Siege Tower, and the impressive Assyrian Heavy infantry, the fortresses of the Emir of Al-Jazira fell quickly to Ashur-etil-ilani. Truly masterful skills made it seem like Ashur-etil-ilani was acting as the hand of god on earth. At that time people from all across the lands looked to Ashur-etil-ilani and could see him as the future king of the Assyrian people.
Assyrian forces besieging the fortress of Jazira in northern Mesopotamia.
In a matter of a few months, ten to be exact, the lands of Assyria were firmly under the command of Akhiban, his son Ashur-etil-ilani, and the growing Assyrian power. It was at this moment that Akhiban made his ambitions clear to everyone. Then he formally declared that he would restore the kingdom of Assyria, and lead them as an independent nation, free from the shackles of Abbasid oppression.
This caused outrage at the Abbasid court, who had just recently lost the lands of Iraq to Shiite rebels. To then know that one of your vassals demanded independence and freedom for forge their own destines. It sent Caliph Al-Mansur into a tailspin of disbelief and hatred for the Nestorians, who he had up until that point, been on good terms with. At least that is what he thought, in reality he was an old man, with failing vision, a weak mind, and an overblown sense of self worth.
It was at his declaration that the great independence revolt began. Now it wasn't started by Akhiban, no he was too cautious to do something so drastic. No the independence revolt was started by a petty count in the far northern reaches of the Abbasid empire. However the revolters who had joined the faction were from all across the lands of Persia and the Middle East. This revolt, one of the largest in recorded history, had a total manpower of roughly twenty thousand. An innumerable amount considering that the Abbasid Caliph could only muster a total of thirteen thousand. However this number did not come from most of the other revolters, as their armies barely numbered in the thousands. No, by this time the sheer brunt of the power came from Akhiban and his domain of Assyria. With a tallied seventeen thousand soldiers ready to heed Akhiban's call, it was the largest army Akhiban had ever assembled. From what reports at the time say, the army of Akhiban, while consisting of mostly professional solders, also held a vast army of militia who joined willingly in the hopes of ridding themselves of the yoke of Sunni rule.
While they might have thought that they were freeing themselves, the reality is that Akhiban was planning on making an extremely centralized and powerful kingdom, just like the ancient Oriental Kingdoms of old. A note about the ancient Assyrian and Babylonian kingdoms, while they weren't massive by later empire standards they had and extremely efficient bureaucratic system that allowed for an extreme centralization of power in their capital cities. This meant that the kings could be Absolute monarchs with none to question their power or authority in anything. This also meant that they were the religious head of the country, and that was something that appealed highly to Akhiban, because if you control the faith, you control the people.
The war for independence, which started in the year 793, would be a shockingly short one by military standards. While most grand war campaigns took years, even a decade or more in some cases, this revolt took barely six months. Now I know what you must thing, 'What? Six months?! Impossible, there is no way the Abbasid caliph would be so easily overthrown'. Well that is where you are wrong. You see the loss of the southern lands of Mesopotamia proved to be too great of a hit to Abbasid power as it was where the vast majority of their military might came from, aside from Egypt of course. So without Iraq, the Abbasid armies were forced to draw upon levies from the local militia all around the Levant and Egypt. These Levies, while supplied with armor and weapons, were poorly trained, and ill equipped to handle the might of the Heavily Armored Assyrian forces. To give a short understanding of the vast difference in clothing and armor of the two forces. The Abbasid military consisted of mostly lightly armored, fast moving troops. While the Assyrian forces were almost all garbed in Heavy Scale armor. In fact, the battle of Damascus, which consisted of nearly twelve thousand Abbasid solders and ten thousand Assyrian solders, found the Abbasid infantry severely lacking in power, and thus unable to deal any significant blows to the Assyrian forces.
Assyrian Heavy Infantry attacking the lightly armed and armored Abbasid militia.
The battle of Damascus was a resounding victory for the Assyrain forces and a crushing defeat of Abbasid power. Just like that, six months after the war was started, Caliph Al-Mansur surrendered to the independence league war, and the state of Assyria was born.
The twenty fourth of September, 793, will be a day rued by Muslim rulers, and a day celebrated by Assyrian historians, for all time. For it was on that day, over a thousand years ago, that the Kingdom of Assyria was restored and Akhiban, then called the Usurper, now called the Glorious, stood proudly at the helm of this reborn nation. Ready to face all threats before him, and ready to expand the nation of Assyria, and the Nestorian faith, to limitless heights. However this is not where Akhiban's story ends, oh no, not even close. For Akhiban would go on to be known as one of the greatest kings in all of Assyrian history.
His first known act as King, or Malka in Assyrian, was to reestablish the royal library, the same library that was established by Ashurbanipal nearly two thousand years earlier. While the original library had been lost to time, this new one was established using a similar design and construction to Ashurbanipal's. To this day, it still stands, as a testament to Assyrian endurance, and quest for knowledge.
19th century painting of the Library of Akhiban at Nineveh.
This library, while built in the same style of Ashurbanipal's, would actually come to house books and scrolls rather than clay tablets. While at the start it was small, and had little in the way of writings, it would soon grow to be one of the greatest libraries in the world, rivaling the Library of Alexandria, and surpassing all of its contemporaries. Not even the Imperial Library in Constantinople would be able to match the number of writings in the great city. However books and libraries were merely distractions to Akhiban, less important things in a world full of war, and conquest.
Following his victory, and the establishment of the Kingdom of Assyria, Akhiban turned his sights southward, towards the recently born state of the Shiite Caliphate. While new, it still had a military of at least twelve thousand, and growing by the year. Akhiban knew that if he were to take out the Shiites, he would have to do it soon, or the power of the Shiite Caliph would be harder to overcome than that of the Abbasid. So, with his armies mustered, and his men prepared, Akhiban launched a holy crusade for the lands of Bav-ilim. It should be noted that Babylon, or Bav-ilim as it would come to be renamed, was still the single greatest trade city in the Near East. While some scholars argue over the true value of Bav-ilim in the grand scheme of politics to Akhiban, almost all agree that it was the riches of trade that really drew him to strike there first. As well as the fact that it was the seat of the Shiite Caliph's power.
On the fifteenth of Apirl, 795, Akhiban launched his attack against the most fearsome foe he had yet faced. The Shiites, having just gained land, were zealous about protecting it, and wished to ensure that none, not the Abbasids, not the Sunnis, and especially not some Nestorian upstarts, laid their hands on their new home. Unfortunately for them, they too face the same problem as the Abbasids, tons of manpower, but they were mostly light infantry and skirmishers. Forces which could do little against the Assyrians. The battle of Makasib was the greatest battle in the entire war, when the armies of the Shiite Caliph met up with the armies of Akhiban. The clash of the Assyrian forces and the armies of the Caliph are written down in the Shiite scholar Marzuq Ibn Abdu'llah ibn Abdul Lateef al-Mansour's book: Histories of the Caliphs; The Rise and Fall of Muslim Rule.
"...He [Akhiban] stood on top of a great chariot, his forces arrayed behind him. With a wave of his hand, his chariot moved forward, to meet with my Caliph. The two men looked at each other for a time before speaking. After glancing up at the sky he [Akhiban] looked back at my Caliph and spoke to his enemy in his guttural Akkadian tongue. For a while my Caliph did not respond, and after about two minutes the heathen king spoke up properly.
'Fine, we shall converse in your language then.' My Caliph's eyes went wide for a moment. Neither he, nor his servants knew that this man could speak our tongue. 'I do not wish to see a massacre, and judging by your forces arrayed behind you, I know it will be a massacre, just like the Abbasid failures...'
'Do not speak the names of those fools and usurpers!' My Caliph burst out of anger. 'Leave these lands at once, and I might forgive you for your trespass against my sovereign lands.'
At this Akhiban burst out into laughter. 'Your lands? Funny, just a decade ago these were the lands of the Abbasids. Before that the Umayyads, before that the Persians, before that the Romans, before that the Parthians, before that the Greeks....'
'Get to your point fool!'
The smile fled from Akhiban's face. 'My point is, BOY, that these lands have changed hands so many times throughout the histories that no one has any more right to claim this land than you. By your logic, the next man that sets foot on this ground can claim it as his.' With those words Akhiban hopped off his chariot and landed on the beige dust beneath his feet. 'And by that logic, I know rule these lands. Now then, turn your armies around and never come back to these lands, or I will kill you and your kin.' All the sense of joy, and merryment had left this heathen king's voice. It was now stern, and powerful.
My Caliph though merely scoffed. 'I have an army that is larger, a people more serious about victory, and the power of Allah, the All Mighty, on my side. What can you possibly do against that.'
The heathen king was quiet for some time, I had hoped that he knew he couldn't win against my Caliph and would decide to return home. However his answer did not please any good Muslim. His response was curt, and, almost deadly sounding.
'Win' was all he said before climbing back onto his chariot and riding back to his army lines."
With this excerpt, we can see how truly terrifying it must have been to stand with titans of the age such as Akhiban. Suffice to say the Assyrian armies utterly crushed the Shiite forces and pushed them all the way back to Baghdad. The siege of Baghdad, while not especially quick was actually not overseen by Akhiban, but rather one of his generals. Akhiban had to return to Nineveh to plan his next attack against the Uqaylid Sultanate of Armenia.
Assyrian general Iptar-Sin Banipal besieging the city of Baghdad.
Shortly before the war for Armenia was about to begin, Akhiban as approached by a young German man claiming to be of a Bavarian dynasty. However he didn't want help claiming Bavaria for himself, no he wanted help in getting the rich and powerful kingdom of Lombardy for himself. The kingdom of Lombardy was currently ruled by an aging queen, who by all rights shouldn't have taken the throne. Seeing this as a great attempt to expand the Nestorian domain Akhiban agreed on one condition. The condition being that Dieter marry Akhiban's daughter, and that he convert to the Nestorian faith. Supposedly Dieter converted 'without hesitation', and thus Akhiban declared two more wars simultaneously.
On the twelfth of October, 796 a formal declaration of war was called upon both the Queen of Lombardy, and the Sultan of Armenia. If I may take a pause, I would like to point out that this, during any time period, is bizarre. For the most part, when nations declare wars, they usually declare wars focused on a single target, yet in this situation Akhiban, so sure of Assyrian military might, and his role as the arbiter for a Nestorian world, believed that he could not be stopped. It is a testament to the amount of trust Akhiban placed in his generals to lead his armies to victory without him watching over them.
The first proof of the prowess of his generals came in the form of Iptar-Sin Banipal returning to the capital of Nineveh with the Shiite Caliph in chains. After a brief discussion about the future of the lands of southern Mesopotamia, the Caliph agreed to hand over all the lands of Baghdad to Akhiban. It was a tough pill to swallow to be sure, as the Shiite had just recently gained a home, only to loose it all again in a matter of years. However Akhiban could not be concerned with the bemoaning of heathens as he had a nation to run, and wars to win.
The war for Armenia was nearly a quick, with less than a hundred days spend in all out war. The fact was that the Uqyalid Sultanate was actually far weaker than any other Muslim kingdom nearby it, and had been fighting a near constant war of attrition against the Khazar horde just north of the Caucasus mountains. This constant state of war with the hordes to the north left many of the Uqyalid lands depopulated and ripe for the plucking by an upstart conqueror, just like Akhiban.
While both wars that Akhiban had won were important to him, the most important was the war for Lombardy. If he could some how establish a Nestorian king on the throne of one of the most powerful kingdoms in western Europe it would go a long way to pushing his Nestorian agenda upon the whole of the west, and beyond. So Akhiban, along with a contingent of ten thousand Assyrians, marched upon the throne of Lombardy with Dieter to crown him as king. While Akhiban marched with the ten thousand, it turned out that a mere five thousand would have sufficed as by the time Akhiban arrived much of the Lombard army had been worn down by near endless civil wars and struggles between the Queen and those who wished for a king.
All sides were aggressive to Akhiban and this would be usurper, but Akhiban thoroughly crushed and routed each army that face him. Only once did Akhiban loose a battle in the war for Lombardy and that was due to a minor miscalculation of his part where he arrived in Pavia nearly a week before the rest of his army. In so doing putting himself in danger, and the war. So he fell back to join up with the rest of his forces, however on his route back he was ambushed from the rear by some of Queen Agatha's forces. While his rear guard were able to hold them off, keeping Akhiban and the main army safe, Akhiban did end up loosing a good two thousand men needlessly in his retreat. Unfortunately for Queen Agatha, her victory was short lived as the remaining ten thousand arrived and utter crushed her army of three thousand leaving her with nothing more than scraps and militia. While there weren't many battles for Lombardy, the war took some time just due to the seven months spent traveling to the kingdom itself. Yet, less than three months after arriving the war was over, and Queen Agatha abdicated her crown, and throne to the new King Dieter of Italy. After that last great war, Akhiban returned home, and planned for his future conquests.
Over the following decades, Akhiban would go on to conquer the lands of Palmyra, Damascus, Israel, and the remaining lands of Iraq. Finally, after decades of war, an age of expansion, and a near endless conquest, Akhiban decided it was time to rest for a bit. In his rest he ordered all great works of literature be copied, all the copies were to remain in their respective place, with the originals being transported to the Library of Nineveh. In his later years Akhiban could often be seen reading the innumerable scrolls and books of his library, and studying up on all things, from natural philosophy, to the movements of the stars in the heavens. He even found a copy of the writings of Aristarchus of Samos, an Ancient Greek natural philosopher who postulated that the Earth was not the center of everything, but rather the Sun was. While most discounted him, the idea was intriguing to Akhiban so he had copies made and kept safe in his Library.
Akhiban in his later years.
In spite of all the great things he did, of all the wonders he created for the Assyrian people, and all the marvelous battles he won, no man is immortal, and on the 26th of June, 823, Malka Akhiban of Assyria passed away. While succession would have passed to his son, Ashur-etil-ilani, he passed away nearly 8 years earlier due to an unknown sickness. So it would be Akhiban's grandson Nebuchadnezzar who would take up the mantle of Malka of the Assyrians, and continue holding the torch of Assyrian dominance high. Something that must be said before the chapter of Akhiban's story closes is that, while he only reigned as King of Assyria for just under 24 years, his rule lasted for a staggering 65 years from the time he was a petty Sheikh under Abbasid rule, to the time he liberated his people and established a new Assyria.
A curious thing, religion. There are an innumerable number of faiths, each with their own denominations, and each with their own personal view on the divine. However there was a time, a brief moment, when everyone believed the same thing, and praised the same God. It was a moment brought about by blood, toil, sweat, and dedication. A moment forged by one man, who had a vision for a united world.
Born in the year 752, Akhiban, was the last surviving descendant of the few devoutly Nestorian Assyrian dynasties. The Ashitha dynasty also managed to retained some semblance of control after the Muslim invasions of Persia. Through the centuries his people had been pushed back, marginalized, and made to feel less important than those who dominated the lands of Assyria. This, along with being ruled by a heathen, were unacceptable to Akhiban. However he knew that he wasn't strong enough to take on the Abbasid power, so Akhiban began 'playing a game of chess' as it were.
His first "Conquests" weren't conquests of new lands, but rather a consolidation of power. Slowly building up his control of the lands of Mosul, later called Nineveh. Through guile, intrigue, and no small amount of cash, Akhiban was finally able to secure the lands of Mosul for his own dominion. However it was a slow process taking him over a decade to complete. Now a decade is a long time for anything to take, even for a man with a mission, and goal. So, in his down time he began studying the intricacies of the Nestorian faith. His interest would not go unnoticed by the higher powers, and in the year 776, he was offered to join the most prestigious holy order of the Nestorian Faith, the Community of Saint Abraham.
The Megaloschemos of the Community of Saint Abraham wrote a letter informing Akhiban that he would be accepted if he simply secluded himself and meditated on his life, as a penance of sorts. Suffice to say, Akhiban happily accepted, and after a week of seclusion, was admitted into the Community. Akhiban's piety and dedication to Christ, and the Order, would not go unrewarded. The first gift, a personal item of the then Megaloschemos Halil, was the finger bone of a saint. A holy relic who's original owner was supposedly Saint Abraham himself.
Honestly, Akhiban's rank up to the prestigious level of Stavrophoros was something truly impressive. In less than two years, Akhiban was poised to become the next leader of the Community, and with it the power to really change hearts and minds. However not everything went so smoothly for Akhiban in his life. While he wished to focus on his domain at first, only expanding after the weakness of the Caliph was proven, the wheels of revolution were turning and he was squarely in the center of it.
On the 9th of June, 779, Akhiban finally usurped power in the duchy of Mosul, and crowned himself as Emir, or Du'ku in Assyrian. According to scholarly writings of the time, it was the proudest day of Akhiban's life. Yet it would not come without its own strife and conflict. For exactly six months later, on the 9th of December 779 a war against the tyrannical rule of the Abbasid Caliph was started.
The leader of the revolt, Emir Sulayman of Azerbaijan, was among the most disgusted with the rule of Caliph Al-Mansur. The reasoning behind it likely had something to do his lack of genitalia that seem to have mysteriously disappeared after he was imprisoned by the aforementioned Caliph.
Of course this... theory, was aided by the well known fact that Caliph Al-Mansur was a prideful, and cruel, man who would imprison you at the slightest hint of insult.
Far from the just, and righteous rule of better men, Akhiban felt that it was his duty to side with the revolting party in an attempt to curtail the power of this Abbasid villain. The revolt, while being minor in the grand scheme of things, would aid the future endeavors of Akhiban and his desire for an independent Assyrian state. While Akhiban wished to aid his ally in the revolt, he also could not risk any soldiers for the conflict as his own power was not yet fully secured. So for much of the war he remained "neutral", however neutrality would not be allowed by the Caliph.
On the 6th of May, 780 the armies of Caliph Al-Mansur marched on Nineveh. With a tallied nine thousand soldiers, the Caliph laid siege to the ancient capital. However Akhiban was not about to let a heathen crush his ambitions. Leading a contingent of his forces out from Nineveh, Akhiban was able to successfully stall the Abbasid siege just long enough to allow his thirteen thousand strong army muster on the field of battle. According to historian Ashur-rabi Natan the battle took place near the city of Nineveh, on the flat flood plains of Kanisah, just across the Tigris from Nineveh.
In an excerpt written by Ashru-rabi he states that "...His [Caliph Al-Mansur] armies and generals greatly under estimated the might, and resolve, of the Assyrian people. With an army over four thousand stronger than the Caliphs, Akhiban's victory was assured. Leaving the city of Nineveh to join up with his main forces, Akhiban looked like a true Assyrian king, with his regal Assyrian garb, and riding on the back of an Assyrian heavy chariot. Truly no king could ever look as magnificent, the sun, light from God himself, shining through the dust and haze, to cover Akhiban in a Saintly glow."
Later artists interpretation
While this is clearly propaganda to improve the glory of Akhiban, it can't be said that the Assyrian forces weren't a match for the forces of the Caliph. The battle of Kanisah was a pivotal point for the Assyrian people and Akhiban, as they forces of Caliph Al-Mansur were utterly crushed at that battle, leaving open the pathway into the heartlands of Abbasid power.
At roughly the same time, Akhiban was surprised to be handed the greatest honor to a true Nestorian faithful. On the second of May, 781, after being in the Community of Saint Abraham for only five years, Akhiban was raised up the to status of Megaloschemos, the leader of the Nestorian faithful in the east. Honestly it was a truly magnificent status as it was second only to the Patriarch of the East in terms of importance to the Nestorian faith.
It was at this time that the people in Assyria began referring to him as a Saint, a True Christian Knight, one who fights for the righteous light, and who strives for the divine through acts. Of course it certainly helped that the publicity of Akhiban's success against the Caliph's forces had spread like wild fire through the Assyrian lands.
A True Christian Knight, those were the words spoken by the people on the streets, and the priests in the churches. Honestly that is how the world saw him, and it wasn't entirely wrong. However it also wasn't entirely true, as Akhiban did have some vices, few of which were ever brought to public light until decades after his death. For example, Akhiban's carnal desires, and his insatiable lust for more. Be it power, women, or wealth, he always wanted more, and never rested. A testament to his virility would be the fact, and I do mean fact literally, that he sired no less than twenty children, with a total of four women. By the time he was in his thirties he was already the father of ten children. If one thing is certain, it is that he ensured his dynasty would last for all time.
After his advancement of Megaloschemos and the publicity that was brought along with being called a true Christian Knight, Akhiban decided it was time to take the fight to the Caliph himself. So, mustering his army of 13k, Akhiban marched south, carving a path straight through to Baghdad. Fortress after fortress, castle after castle, none of them stood in the way of Akhiban and his armies. Yet, we can't give all the credit to Akhiban alone, as he did bring back some ingenious siege weapons from the time of his Assyrian ancestors.
Using designs drawn up from stone reliefs by the Neo-Assyrians, Akhiban had effectively reconstructed the great Assyrian Siege Tower, and Battering Ram. Large enough to carry two hundred solders on its platforms, and an impressive defensive tower for archers to fire from all sides, it was a terror on the field of battle to be sure. However Akhiban's engineers made a few adjustments; according to the Abbasid scholar Maslama Ibn Ulaym Ibn Rasheeq al-Ebrahimi, he claims that "... These Assyrian men, just like their ancestors of old, were masters of siege craft. They had improved their forebears' weapon of war to such a degree that they could assemble it, disassemble it, and transport it twenty miles in a day. Just as fast as the army could move."
As we can see here, in an artists depiction, although agreed by most historians to be slightly smaller than Akhiban's creation, it would have been a terror to face on the field of battle. Unlike many armies of the time, highly decentralized and focused on man to man combat. Akhiban retained almost sole control of the military, only doling it out to those generals who proved worthy of taking command. With this, Akhiban was able to take cities, besiege fortresses, and conquer vast swaths of Abbasid lands in a short period of time. In total it took him five months, to march south, conquering every city, castle, palace, along the way. Finally reaching Baghdad in the late days of October, Akhiban laid siege to the city. The siege though, unlike most, was rather uneventful. The Caliph, terrified of the might of Akhiban, and fearing for his families safety, surrendered to the revolting forces. Thus, on the twenty fifth of October, 781, Caliph Al-Mansur surrendered to Emir Sulayman of Azerbaijan and Du'ka Akiban of Nineveh, swearing to never again take up arms against them.
This victory against the Caliph was celebrated with a great feast, and it was during this feast that Akhiban became truly fascinated about the lands to the east. Now this wasn't by accident, as word had spread up the Silk Road, and back to China about an Assyrian who 'Had the might of the kings of old' and was 'Beloved by all'. It was during this revelry that a stranger, from an even stranger land, arrived in Nineveh.
This stranger, a man by the name of Chengqing, of the house Xie, arrived at the gates of Nineveh, half starved and begging to see Akhiban. Seeing as it was the "Christian" thing to do, Akhiban offered this man his home, and food, but in exchange he wanted information. Chengqing was more than happy to oblige, and after a few months of study, both Akhiban and Chengqing were able to communicate without a translator. They spoke of the vast riches of the lands they knew about, for Akhiban that was Constantinople and Rome, and the Chengqing that was the entire lands of the Middle Kingdom. Speaking about how there were cities ten times the size of Nineveh, and they weren't even the big ones. How vast fields of rice stretched from horizon to horizon, as far as the eye could see. How the Jade Emperor sat upon a golden Dragon Throne, and oversaw the glory of the empire from his capital of Chang'an. How upon that throne, within his high towers, the Emperor saw all, and directed the lands. These stories seemed marvelous to Akhiban, and after a few months deliberation, he decided that he would go and meet with this Emperor, and preform the Kowtow, in the hopes of earning his favor.
We are fortunate to know about Akhiban's travels east as the first portion of the journey was actually catigorized in a number of letters to his then thirteen year old son, Ashur-etil-ilani. While not all of them survive, a few of them do. It is from these letters that we can infer what Akhiban was like as a man, in his daily interactions with his family.
"My son, I write to you with the most exciting of news. While you know I left for the lands of Cathay some months ago, the route there has proven to be more pleasurable than expected. Along the way we stopped in every great Silk Road market from Bav-ilim to Fergana. I tell you the cities are truly something to see, with vendors selling goods from as far east as Cathay, and as far west as the Baltic. With fine Amber goods, beautiful silks, and spices from the far Indus. I tell you I wish I could have brought you. Perhaps one day you too will explore the great trade road of the east.
Our journeys took us into the Fergana valley last week, and upon arrival we were accosted by a group of mercenaries. At first I thought they wanted our goods and money, but after a short discussion I learned that these mercenaries were actually sent to aid us in our journey. While the Jade Emperor might be able to protect those within his lands, all beyond are outside of his reach...."
".... Our good fortune continued as we met a most pleasant governor of the western provinces. After spending a good three days in his house, sampling his hospitality, we bid our host fairwell and continued on our journey east. Honestly son, the things I have seen, the people I have met, and we aren't even in Cathay yet, it confounds the mind and senses. To think the world is so much more vast than anyone could have ever imagined..."
"Lastly my son, I should inform you that this will likely be the last letter as we are nearing the heart of the middle kingdom, and our entourage bid us to not delay too long as the Jade Emperor sees all and would be most displeased if we were not to hasten our journey. So I will leave you with this, my son, never be afraid to explore new lands, and always seek to learn more about your brothers. Be they in faith, blood, or unrelated, there is something that everyone can teach each other."
From these letters we can discern just how much Akhiban truly cared about his children, or at least his oldest son. Although the stories of Akhiban don't really portray him as a great father it is hard to explain in excitement how good of a parent someone is to their children. Thus most historians believe that the tales of his parental skills and love were merely dropped due to lack of interest. For the following years, yes years, as Akhiban didn't return to the Assyrian lands for nearly three years, there is nothing of note.
The nation that Akhiban had established remained stable, there were no revolts, or fights against his rule. The Regent of the realm, a man skilled in diplomacy, ensured the realm remained peaceful in his lord's absence. It was only after the three years spent in China that news of Akhiban's exploits came to light once more.
The return of Akhiban from China was followed by a procession of caravaneers from every corner of the Silk Road. Apparently Akhiban had made such an impression upon those he met that traders from all backgrounds arrived in the great trade capital of Bav-ilim, and the capital city of Nineveh, for the sole reason of seeing the lands in which he ruled. The trade caravan, which extended 'further than the eye could see' according to one report, brought in so much wealth to Nineveh that it would have allowed Akhiban to build, tear down, and rebuilt the great palace of Nineveh three times over. Suffice to say it was more than enough to make even the Caliph envious.
Artists interpretation of the Nineveh Trade Caravan
The return of Akhiban to Nineveh also brought with it tales of the great Middle Kingdom that marveled and astounded all who listened. From the rich cities, laden to the brim with spices from Indo-China, silks from the rich fertile lands near the ocean. No to mention the thousands of jade, gold, and silver trinkets and jewels.
However a few things stood out as objects of true interest and importance to Akhiban. The first was a jade amulet, carved with intricate detail that could only hope to match the beauty of the jade itself. The next was a game, but it was unlike any game Akhiban had seen before. With little round, white and black stones. Akhiban watched the two old masters playing the game, seeing white overpower black, with an intrigue and finesse that seemed to be lost in the more commonly played game of Chess back in his homeland. After watching for a few hours the elder men asked if he would like to join, to which Akhiban happily agreed. He fell so in love with the game that he brought it back to Nineveh with him, and it is still on display to this day in the Nineveh national museum.
According to records of his journeys, Akhiban claimed that he was 'Called to the Celestial Palace, to kneel before the Dragon Throne, and the Jade Empress'. We know that this must have been unusual to Akhiban as he had expected to see a man sitting on the Dragon Throne. It was only after the Kowtow that he was informed of the previous emperor's demise at the hands of illness and how this was the prior emperor's granddaughter.
However after his Kowtow, Akhiban was bayed to remain in China. According to Chinese historians, the Empress had taken a liking to him and wished for him to remain for a while longer so that they could talk, and perhaps learn, from each other. Akhiban, 'reluctantly' stayed, and for the next two years studied philosophy, politics, and war, with his Chinese counterparts.
It was from these learned men that Akhiban brought back a copy of the famous Art of War by Sun Tzu. It was also after the discussions with these learned men that another ambition, another goal, was dreamed up in Akhiban's mind. A dream of a reborn Assyrian empire. While Ashur might have been the high god of the ancient Assyrians, now they would be united under the Nestorian faith. However his ambition could not be completed just yet, not while he only controlled the lands of Mosul. To make matters worse, while he was away, the county of Deir, on the southern border of his lands, was lost to the Shiite muslims who rebelled against the Abbasid rulers and established the Shiite Caliphate in the lands of Iraq.
With the knowledge that the Abbasid power was weakened, and likely would be at it's weakest, Akhiban began making his moves. The first was the establishment of claims to the rest of the lands of Assyria.
That was the easy part, as each claim took roughly six months to get. After about two more years, Akhiban had laid claim to all of the lands of Assyria. It was on his son's sixteenth birthday, the 1st of December 785, that Akhiban lauched a rapid, five pronged invasion for all the lands he had laid claim to. This war, while obviously to increase Assyrian power, was also to allow Akhiban to prove the mettle of his son on the field of battle. While Akhiban couldn't be there for his son in all factors, he did prove to be an excellent educator and taught his son exceptionally well in all things relating to war. In fact Ashur-etil-ilani was so much like his father that people often confused the two men, and would sometimes think that Ashur-etil-ilani was merely Akhiban's body double or doppelganger.
This war was Ashur-etil-ilani first test of power, and the thing that would set him apart as one of the great commanders of Akhiban's forces. Without ever telling his son what to do, Ashur-etil-ilani lead his fathers forces on the lands of Jazira to the north, and quickly subdued them. With the aide of the great Assyrian Siege Tower, and the impressive Assyrian Heavy infantry, the fortresses of the Emir of Al-Jazira fell quickly to Ashur-etil-ilani. Truly masterful skills made it seem like Ashur-etil-ilani was acting as the hand of god on earth. At that time people from all across the lands looked to Ashur-etil-ilani and could see him as the future king of the Assyrian people.
Assyrian forces besieging the fortress of Jazira in northern Mesopotamia.
In a matter of a few months, ten to be exact, the lands of Assyria were firmly under the command of Akhiban, his son Ashur-etil-ilani, and the growing Assyrian power. It was at this moment that Akhiban made his ambitions clear to everyone. Then he formally declared that he would restore the kingdom of Assyria, and lead them as an independent nation, free from the shackles of Abbasid oppression.
This caused outrage at the Abbasid court, who had just recently lost the lands of Iraq to Shiite rebels. To then know that one of your vassals demanded independence and freedom for forge their own destines. It sent Caliph Al-Mansur into a tailspin of disbelief and hatred for the Nestorians, who he had up until that point, been on good terms with. At least that is what he thought, in reality he was an old man, with failing vision, a weak mind, and an overblown sense of self worth.
It was at his declaration that the great independence revolt began. Now it wasn't started by Akhiban, no he was too cautious to do something so drastic. No the independence revolt was started by a petty count in the far northern reaches of the Abbasid empire. However the revolters who had joined the faction were from all across the lands of Persia and the Middle East. This revolt, one of the largest in recorded history, had a total manpower of roughly twenty thousand. An innumerable amount considering that the Abbasid Caliph could only muster a total of thirteen thousand. However this number did not come from most of the other revolters, as their armies barely numbered in the thousands. No, by this time the sheer brunt of the power came from Akhiban and his domain of Assyria. With a tallied seventeen thousand soldiers ready to heed Akhiban's call, it was the largest army Akhiban had ever assembled. From what reports at the time say, the army of Akhiban, while consisting of mostly professional solders, also held a vast army of militia who joined willingly in the hopes of ridding themselves of the yoke of Sunni rule.
While they might have thought that they were freeing themselves, the reality is that Akhiban was planning on making an extremely centralized and powerful kingdom, just like the ancient Oriental Kingdoms of old. A note about the ancient Assyrian and Babylonian kingdoms, while they weren't massive by later empire standards they had and extremely efficient bureaucratic system that allowed for an extreme centralization of power in their capital cities. This meant that the kings could be Absolute monarchs with none to question their power or authority in anything. This also meant that they were the religious head of the country, and that was something that appealed highly to Akhiban, because if you control the faith, you control the people.
The war for independence, which started in the year 793, would be a shockingly short one by military standards. While most grand war campaigns took years, even a decade or more in some cases, this revolt took barely six months. Now I know what you must thing, 'What? Six months?! Impossible, there is no way the Abbasid caliph would be so easily overthrown'. Well that is where you are wrong. You see the loss of the southern lands of Mesopotamia proved to be too great of a hit to Abbasid power as it was where the vast majority of their military might came from, aside from Egypt of course. So without Iraq, the Abbasid armies were forced to draw upon levies from the local militia all around the Levant and Egypt. These Levies, while supplied with armor and weapons, were poorly trained, and ill equipped to handle the might of the Heavily Armored Assyrian forces. To give a short understanding of the vast difference in clothing and armor of the two forces. The Abbasid military consisted of mostly lightly armored, fast moving troops. While the Assyrian forces were almost all garbed in Heavy Scale armor. In fact, the battle of Damascus, which consisted of nearly twelve thousand Abbasid solders and ten thousand Assyrian solders, found the Abbasid infantry severely lacking in power, and thus unable to deal any significant blows to the Assyrian forces.
Assyrian Heavy Infantry attacking the lightly armed and armored Abbasid militia.
The battle of Damascus was a resounding victory for the Assyrain forces and a crushing defeat of Abbasid power. Just like that, six months after the war was started, Caliph Al-Mansur surrendered to the independence league war, and the state of Assyria was born.
The twenty fourth of September, 793, will be a day rued by Muslim rulers, and a day celebrated by Assyrian historians, for all time. For it was on that day, over a thousand years ago, that the Kingdom of Assyria was restored and Akhiban, then called the Usurper, now called the Glorious, stood proudly at the helm of this reborn nation. Ready to face all threats before him, and ready to expand the nation of Assyria, and the Nestorian faith, to limitless heights. However this is not where Akhiban's story ends, oh no, not even close. For Akhiban would go on to be known as one of the greatest kings in all of Assyrian history.
His first known act as King, or Malka in Assyrian, was to reestablish the royal library, the same library that was established by Ashurbanipal nearly two thousand years earlier. While the original library had been lost to time, this new one was established using a similar design and construction to Ashurbanipal's. To this day, it still stands, as a testament to Assyrian endurance, and quest for knowledge.
19th century painting of the Library of Akhiban at Nineveh.
This library, while built in the same style of Ashurbanipal's, would actually come to house books and scrolls rather than clay tablets. While at the start it was small, and had little in the way of writings, it would soon grow to be one of the greatest libraries in the world, rivaling the Library of Alexandria, and surpassing all of its contemporaries. Not even the Imperial Library in Constantinople would be able to match the number of writings in the great city. However books and libraries were merely distractions to Akhiban, less important things in a world full of war, and conquest.
Following his victory, and the establishment of the Kingdom of Assyria, Akhiban turned his sights southward, towards the recently born state of the Shiite Caliphate. While new, it still had a military of at least twelve thousand, and growing by the year. Akhiban knew that if he were to take out the Shiites, he would have to do it soon, or the power of the Shiite Caliph would be harder to overcome than that of the Abbasid. So, with his armies mustered, and his men prepared, Akhiban launched a holy crusade for the lands of Bav-ilim. It should be noted that Babylon, or Bav-ilim as it would come to be renamed, was still the single greatest trade city in the Near East. While some scholars argue over the true value of Bav-ilim in the grand scheme of politics to Akhiban, almost all agree that it was the riches of trade that really drew him to strike there first. As well as the fact that it was the seat of the Shiite Caliph's power.
On the fifteenth of Apirl, 795, Akhiban launched his attack against the most fearsome foe he had yet faced. The Shiites, having just gained land, were zealous about protecting it, and wished to ensure that none, not the Abbasids, not the Sunnis, and especially not some Nestorian upstarts, laid their hands on their new home. Unfortunately for them, they too face the same problem as the Abbasids, tons of manpower, but they were mostly light infantry and skirmishers. Forces which could do little against the Assyrians. The battle of Makasib was the greatest battle in the entire war, when the armies of the Shiite Caliph met up with the armies of Akhiban. The clash of the Assyrian forces and the armies of the Caliph are written down in the Shiite scholar Marzuq Ibn Abdu'llah ibn Abdul Lateef al-Mansour's book: Histories of the Caliphs; The Rise and Fall of Muslim Rule.
"...He [Akhiban] stood on top of a great chariot, his forces arrayed behind him. With a wave of his hand, his chariot moved forward, to meet with my Caliph. The two men looked at each other for a time before speaking. After glancing up at the sky he [Akhiban] looked back at my Caliph and spoke to his enemy in his guttural Akkadian tongue. For a while my Caliph did not respond, and after about two minutes the heathen king spoke up properly.
'Fine, we shall converse in your language then.' My Caliph's eyes went wide for a moment. Neither he, nor his servants knew that this man could speak our tongue. 'I do not wish to see a massacre, and judging by your forces arrayed behind you, I know it will be a massacre, just like the Abbasid failures...'
'Do not speak the names of those fools and usurpers!' My Caliph burst out of anger. 'Leave these lands at once, and I might forgive you for your trespass against my sovereign lands.'
At this Akhiban burst out into laughter. 'Your lands? Funny, just a decade ago these were the lands of the Abbasids. Before that the Umayyads, before that the Persians, before that the Romans, before that the Parthians, before that the Greeks....'
'Get to your point fool!'
The smile fled from Akhiban's face. 'My point is, BOY, that these lands have changed hands so many times throughout the histories that no one has any more right to claim this land than you. By your logic, the next man that sets foot on this ground can claim it as his.' With those words Akhiban hopped off his chariot and landed on the beige dust beneath his feet. 'And by that logic, I know rule these lands. Now then, turn your armies around and never come back to these lands, or I will kill you and your kin.' All the sense of joy, and merryment had left this heathen king's voice. It was now stern, and powerful.
My Caliph though merely scoffed. 'I have an army that is larger, a people more serious about victory, and the power of Allah, the All Mighty, on my side. What can you possibly do against that.'
The heathen king was quiet for some time, I had hoped that he knew he couldn't win against my Caliph and would decide to return home. However his answer did not please any good Muslim. His response was curt, and, almost deadly sounding.
'Win' was all he said before climbing back onto his chariot and riding back to his army lines."
With this excerpt, we can see how truly terrifying it must have been to stand with titans of the age such as Akhiban. Suffice to say the Assyrian armies utterly crushed the Shiite forces and pushed them all the way back to Baghdad. The siege of Baghdad, while not especially quick was actually not overseen by Akhiban, but rather one of his generals. Akhiban had to return to Nineveh to plan his next attack against the Uqaylid Sultanate of Armenia.
Assyrian general Iptar-Sin Banipal besieging the city of Baghdad.
Shortly before the war for Armenia was about to begin, Akhiban as approached by a young German man claiming to be of a Bavarian dynasty. However he didn't want help claiming Bavaria for himself, no he wanted help in getting the rich and powerful kingdom of Lombardy for himself. The kingdom of Lombardy was currently ruled by an aging queen, who by all rights shouldn't have taken the throne. Seeing this as a great attempt to expand the Nestorian domain Akhiban agreed on one condition. The condition being that Dieter marry Akhiban's daughter, and that he convert to the Nestorian faith. Supposedly Dieter converted 'without hesitation', and thus Akhiban declared two more wars simultaneously.
On the twelfth of October, 796 a formal declaration of war was called upon both the Queen of Lombardy, and the Sultan of Armenia. If I may take a pause, I would like to point out that this, during any time period, is bizarre. For the most part, when nations declare wars, they usually declare wars focused on a single target, yet in this situation Akhiban, so sure of Assyrian military might, and his role as the arbiter for a Nestorian world, believed that he could not be stopped. It is a testament to the amount of trust Akhiban placed in his generals to lead his armies to victory without him watching over them.
The first proof of the prowess of his generals came in the form of Iptar-Sin Banipal returning to the capital of Nineveh with the Shiite Caliph in chains. After a brief discussion about the future of the lands of southern Mesopotamia, the Caliph agreed to hand over all the lands of Baghdad to Akhiban. It was a tough pill to swallow to be sure, as the Shiite had just recently gained a home, only to loose it all again in a matter of years. However Akhiban could not be concerned with the bemoaning of heathens as he had a nation to run, and wars to win.
The war for Armenia was nearly a quick, with less than a hundred days spend in all out war. The fact was that the Uqyalid Sultanate was actually far weaker than any other Muslim kingdom nearby it, and had been fighting a near constant war of attrition against the Khazar horde just north of the Caucasus mountains. This constant state of war with the hordes to the north left many of the Uqyalid lands depopulated and ripe for the plucking by an upstart conqueror, just like Akhiban.
While both wars that Akhiban had won were important to him, the most important was the war for Lombardy. If he could some how establish a Nestorian king on the throne of one of the most powerful kingdoms in western Europe it would go a long way to pushing his Nestorian agenda upon the whole of the west, and beyond. So Akhiban, along with a contingent of ten thousand Assyrians, marched upon the throne of Lombardy with Dieter to crown him as king. While Akhiban marched with the ten thousand, it turned out that a mere five thousand would have sufficed as by the time Akhiban arrived much of the Lombard army had been worn down by near endless civil wars and struggles between the Queen and those who wished for a king.
All sides were aggressive to Akhiban and this would be usurper, but Akhiban thoroughly crushed and routed each army that face him. Only once did Akhiban loose a battle in the war for Lombardy and that was due to a minor miscalculation of his part where he arrived in Pavia nearly a week before the rest of his army. In so doing putting himself in danger, and the war. So he fell back to join up with the rest of his forces, however on his route back he was ambushed from the rear by some of Queen Agatha's forces. While his rear guard were able to hold them off, keeping Akhiban and the main army safe, Akhiban did end up loosing a good two thousand men needlessly in his retreat. Unfortunately for Queen Agatha, her victory was short lived as the remaining ten thousand arrived and utter crushed her army of three thousand leaving her with nothing more than scraps and militia. While there weren't many battles for Lombardy, the war took some time just due to the seven months spent traveling to the kingdom itself. Yet, less than three months after arriving the war was over, and Queen Agatha abdicated her crown, and throne to the new King Dieter of Italy. After that last great war, Akhiban returned home, and planned for his future conquests.
Over the following decades, Akhiban would go on to conquer the lands of Palmyra, Damascus, Israel, and the remaining lands of Iraq. Finally, after decades of war, an age of expansion, and a near endless conquest, Akhiban decided it was time to rest for a bit. In his rest he ordered all great works of literature be copied, all the copies were to remain in their respective place, with the originals being transported to the Library of Nineveh. In his later years Akhiban could often be seen reading the innumerable scrolls and books of his library, and studying up on all things, from natural philosophy, to the movements of the stars in the heavens. He even found a copy of the writings of Aristarchus of Samos, an Ancient Greek natural philosopher who postulated that the Earth was not the center of everything, but rather the Sun was. While most discounted him, the idea was intriguing to Akhiban so he had copies made and kept safe in his Library.
Akhiban in his later years.
In spite of all the great things he did, of all the wonders he created for the Assyrian people, and all the marvelous battles he won, no man is immortal, and on the 26th of June, 823, Malka Akhiban of Assyria passed away. While succession would have passed to his son, Ashur-etil-ilani, he passed away nearly 8 years earlier due to an unknown sickness. So it would be Akhiban's grandson Nebuchadnezzar who would take up the mantle of Malka of the Assyrians, and continue holding the torch of Assyrian dominance high. Something that must be said before the chapter of Akhiban's story closes is that, while he only reigned as King of Assyria for just under 24 years, his rule lasted for a staggering 65 years from the time he was a petty Sheikh under Abbasid rule, to the time he liberated his people and established a new Assyria.
I wrote the last bit of Akhiban's life story while listening to this song...
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