Part 8.1 - Idrisid Emirate (Sana'a)
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Stuyvesant: Definitely a very smooth start, and a quick 8 years or so as well. So the war for Kathiri was probably more expensive than it is worth. At one point I'd fallen to around 3100 gold. I don't remember what happened though, but I snagged another 3K somehow by the time the Court Imam was assassinated. So I'm back up to around 6.2K gold. I can't remember if I banished someone or if a relative died or something...it is an old house so I'm sure theres some rich uncles without children somewhere...
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verdas: I was shocked when I saw the size of the Idrisid bank, it makes things seem so much more promising! But as I will come to find out, there are a lot of rich Arabs in our vicinity. Maybe they discovered oil already and are refining it 800 years early lol...IDK. Sana'a is a beautiful duchy its bringing in the tax income too! Think I was bringing in 6 o 7 gold a month for a while before the war. And all the holdings are currently upgraded to my tech levels as well which is nice. Aden is actually held by Muhammad's brother or uncle or relative of some sort. I want to revoke it, and more than likely will at the first opportunity.
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Part 8.1 - Idrisid Emirate (Sana'a)
Well, things have started off perfectly, well as perfectly as they could possibly be. Seems to be a trend lately one turn easy, next turn brick wall, next turn easy, next turn instant death (Vahid Shahdom)...
But well I guess when you're filthy rich and can hire all the mercs in the world without really worrying about anything then that just sort of makes life a pleasant easy coast down hill. We need a bigger enemy maybe. Something to make us sweat...hmmm...Oman is sitting there, under the protection of the Caliph...
hmmm...
No.
Let's kick up our heals and just wait, we have the Husamids to destroy and to do that we need a BIG claim. One of those Emirate tier claims. We want the Holy Sites of Medina and Mecca so that when our descendants want to go on the Hajj they just need to step across the street and
voila! Hajj complete.
But we have a ten year truce soo time for some well deserved R&R for Emir Muhammad. Plenty of time to relax and ponder about the futures of his many sons. One of which is already relegated to the dungeons. Definitely considering resurrecting the BCF in Yemen sometime soon.
While I'm sitting around I notice the Byzantines have elected (yep they're elective now) a week family to the throne.
Michael IV Prinkips, I think this is a typo and it was meant to be Princeps or something...or Pinklips. Definitely had to have been the Pinklips dynasty.
This is actually the only thing of note that occurred in three years of sitting around after our assassination of our Court Imam.
In March of 1181, we marry our son and new Court Imam to an older lady of 30 years because we're not quite sure if we want Abdullah to be our heir yet. I'm hoping the son Muhammad will prove a better heir before deciding though.
Then in August, Sheikh Ubayd of Aden upsets us, I can't remember what exactly it was that allowed me to imprison him, but we make the attempt anyway. Albeit half-heartedly, because I really wanted him to rebel. And rebel he does.
He hires a mercenary order so I hire two just so the playing field is heavily weighted in our favor. See, Sheikh Ubayd is a rich old-Sheikh as well. I guess one could say us Idrisids are the Lannisters of this world with all this gold floating about our family. More on the wealth of Ubayd in a few moments...
The first week of September sees some things happen. Like our Poetic Emir deciding he should no longer be envious and perfectly happy with all he has. But then again, more gold would truly be nice.
Followed up by our Chancellor fabricating the lofty Emirate claim upon Medina and the Husamids.
I then send our Chancellor off to the other Emirate controlled by the Husamids hoping that we can fabricate two emirate claims before the truce expires. As that would pretty much destroy the Husamid giant to our north in one fell swoop.
The last three months of the year pass by insignificantly, not even a battle, yet.
In January of 1182, Muhammad becomes depressed.
And I didn't realize it until just now but we are known as "the Quarreler" now. Not sure when that happened, but its the first time I've ever had that nickname in CKII, and in a way its fitting for Muhammad's trajectory in life.
Three days after becoming depressed our troops engage those of Ubayd's.
With his troops soundly defeated we settle in to siege Aden. As that is the prize we desire more than anything.
While laying siege one of our wives wants to take over as our first wife. I tell her no against my better judgement, mostly because our current first wife is the mother to Muhammad's son Muhammad of whom I hope will be good enough to inherit. The bad thing is our first wife has become a wee bit possessed. So she very well may cause some issues in the future.
In October of 1182 we occupy Aden and force Ubayd to surrender.
Upon Ubayd's arrival in our dungeon we strip him of his title as Sheikh of Aden and take it for ourselves.
A month, later after arriving home, Muhammad realizes just how great his love is for his possessed first wife Hafsa. Leave it to a poet to love a crazy woman.
We go back to laying around and taking it easy. Which is when we notice that Norway has formed by a Norse King Anund Hede.
I wonder how long he will last with Catholic Sweden on his doorstep.
A year and a half passes, again a big leap in time of a whole lot of nothing. We get the very sad news in January of 1184 that Sultan AQ of the Shaiban Sultanate has finally died. After a reign of 68 years, by his last days however things were obviously wearing on him as he too became possessed.
Maybe we're in an age of mass possessions as it seems to becoming more and more prevalent.
Sultan AQ is succeeded by his grandson the new and slightly unimproved Sultan AQ II. He's a homosexual, not as nice stats as his grandpa AQ the Holy, and well I got a feeling that homosexual trait will probably rip the Shaiban Sultanate asunder.
In March of 1185, I notice a rebellion happening over in the Husamid lands. Come to find out its an Ibadi uprising. While sitting there watching them, I fall into a daze and when I snap out of it I realize the 1800 strong band of Ibadis are attacking our band of 500 merry men. But apparently the Ibadis were just passing through and hastily apologized for any inconveniences as they retreat jumping through my lands and crossing off into Nubia never to be seen again.
A few weeks later I'm informed a son of Muhammad's named Bahir has decided to have fun with a serving wench. I make him confess his sins to his oldest brother the Court Imam Abdullah, because none of us really wants some bastard child running about causing mischief in Sana'a.
In January of 1186, my son and the one I thought about making my successor, Muhammad, comes of age. His only good stat is diplomacy, while its a good one to have in a large empire, we needed a kid with more stewardship skills so it looks like Abdullah will remain our heir for the duration.
I then notice that our truce is only a year or two away from expiring, and I need a bit of a treasury injection.
We still have a bit over 4K in gold, but remember how I said the Idrisids are swimming in gold? Well I digressed from that, but its time to revisit it. Ubayd, the relative that rebelled a while back, he has over 3K in his treasury. So what should I do about that?
Banishment of course!
Muhammad informs his cousin Ubayd that it is time for him to leave the dungeon and that the Idrisids won't be building a prison in Sana'a solely for family members like the great Abbasids had in Baghdad 200 years ago.
Our Poetic Emir gives Ubayd a camel and tells him to ride, ride off into the sunset and never ever return, and also thanks him for the 3,000 gold.
We then mistakenly give our son Muhammad the Sheikdom of Bayda which was recently taken from Ubayd after his banishment. This makes Muhammad our current successor, which is something we will have to fix by landing Abdullah. Hopefully Muhammad won't make a shit ton of little Muhammad's during his tenure as Sheikh.
We then have another son come of age, his name is Hussayn. He has the opposite problem that Muhammad had, good stewardship but horrid diplomacy. So he's definitely not a possible successor either. But he would be a decent steward at least. We also learn that the Ice Queen's homosexual hubby Adam Mihaljevic has become King of Hungary.
While passing the time revisiting the age old question of what to do with these darn sons. The fact that First Wife Hafsa's possession comes to slap us in the face.
She has taken it upon herself to take care of Muhammad's children for him. In the form of a knife in the back.
I entertain the idea of letting Hafsa continue with the plot to see if she can actually kill Hussayn. It'd be hilarious if she could. But then I'd have a crazed old woman hell-bent on killing anything and everything. And that isn't something that gives a man happy dreams at night.
I try to have her arrested. However, since she is possessed of course this wouldn't work.
Now Hafsa is off running around on her own far away and out of our reach. She's going to come back for revenge. Thus, I divorce her, might as well take matters to their ultimate conclusion. Perhaps this will keep her from trying to kill our poetic Emir, and make her someone else's problem.
Let the witch rampage in someone else's court you know. Too bad she didn't run off to the Ice Queen's court, they'd make good friends I think.
Things quiet down again, and by June of 1187, we have Bahir acting as Spymaster and Hussayn acting as Steward. I don't intend to marry either of them but at least they're not being decadent.
In December we get notified that we have a Sheikhdom claim on Hajr. Which is on the other side of the peninsula, but its another county so might as well take it. Kind of sad that our Chancellor didn't snag a claim on the Emirate again.
In February 1188, we have a new daughter named Shola. Playing as a Muslim its awesome having daughters!
Now a little while I mentioned Adam had become King of Hungary. Well Hungary didn't enjoy being ruled over by the cuckold of the Ice Queen. Thus they revolted, and the rebels won throwing Adam from his throne. Now, I only mention all this because it means the Mihaljevics have now officially lost everything I built for them. In a way its a bizarre twist of fate, because it was my run as the Ice Queen that brought Adam to Denmark, and I granted him a county title, which made him favored in the Hungarian Election.
Poor King Adam of Hungary, consort of the Ice Queen. He was doomed from the day he was born. Oh well, not like any of our other dynasties last very long after we leave them anyway.
Anyway to conclude this latest digression the new King of Hungary is a Bulgarian named Bertalan Makedonska.
We then receive word that Ubayd isn't going to heed our advice to never ever return to Sana'a.
At least he's bankrupt now.
1189 begins and I see something that makes me chuckle.
The Ice Queen has the pox.
Muhammad is once more getting impatient. He wants war, he wants Mecca and Medina and all of Arabia to himself. After all to make the world more poetic he has to conquer everything so he can teach his newly conquered lands how live in harmony and write poetry. Teach them things like why you shouldn't fall in love with a possessed crazy witch, as they like to kill your boys.
In the Spring of 1190, no longer wanting to wait for another claim, I declare war for the Emirate of Medina and the Sheikhdom of Hajr. Its time to conquer, and destroy the Husamids so we can focus on bigger and better things.