- ARCHIVE - Conclave of Devout Nations

[driftwood]

The Conclave of Devout Nations

In the year 1421, by the idolatrous Christian reckoning, the righteous Muslim nations of the world gathered in formal conclave, hoping that Allah would lend the most infinitessimal amount of His wisdom to the endeavor. The council was convoked in Konya, within the domains of the Emir of Karaman, and formerly the capital of the Seljuk Sultanate, first of the non-Arab Muslim empires. Presiding over all as host was Yunus Emre, on behalf of his uncle, the Emir.

A week of feasting and celebrations had preceded the opening of the council. The night before had been spent in continual prayer, hoping that such a show of heartfelt devotion might move Allah to grace the proceedings with His favor. Immediately after the morning prayers, Yunus Emre convened the first session.

"O honored monarchs, rarely, if ever, has any nation been as honored as is Karaman to have all of you visit our humble and impoverished domains for such an august purpose. In particular, the Khan of Khans, the Great Khan Dsaluu Jambyn of the Golden Horde, the Khan Qara Yuluk of the mighty Aq-Qoyonulu, and the Emir Abdulraman of Tunis have gifted us with their presence.

"Perhaps no other personage, though, lends such a respected dignity to these proceedings at the holy Caliph himself, Majid Hassam, of Astrakhan. We are honored, great Caliph," at this Yunus bowed deeply, "with your presence. May your counsel guide us to the path of Allah.

"Before we begin general discussions, may I be permitted to humbly suggest the following topics:

* A military pact among all gathered nations

* Whether this pact should be defensive or offensive

* How this pact would relate to Islamic nations who do not join

* How this pact would relate to heretical nations, such as the Mamelukes

* How this pact would relate to infidel allies of member states, such as Venice or Trebizond

* The status of the Caliph as a sovereign ruler in distant Astrakhan

* Whether and where Jihad is most badly needed"

With this, Yunus Emre seated himself, yielding the floor to the next speaker.

 

[unmerged(6519)]

Oh yes, Giovanna had heard about this Muslim meeting from various sources of intellegence in the area. She had her plans...

A hooded, hunchbacked figure slowly walked into the conclave room, then speaking in a low voice.

"Greetings, Emirs, Kahns, Sultans, representitives. My lord, the Sultan of Candar has sent me to be present at this meeting, which is of great importance to him and the whole of the Muslim world. Although he can't be present himself, and can't conduct active diplomacy at the moment, I shall be the only one representing Candar. Allah is with us all."

The man, of course, was not really Candarian. He was a Neapolitan spy, sent by the Queen in order to gain the plans from the Muslims.

 

[driftwood]

"Ah, yes, the great Sultan of Candar..." Yunus Emre's voice dripped sarcasm. "To the best of my knowledge, the only Sultan is our esteemed ghazi cousin, the Ottoman Sultan, lately of Edirne. Unless you claim a heretical title, like the Shi'ite scum in Egypt."

A strained silence descended upon the council.

"But, of course, it must merely be your zeal in representing your master," Yunus eventually continued.

He would arrange a private dinner with the *Candarian*. If his suspicions were borne out, he would see if the spy spilled the name of his true master as quickly as he spilled the name of his false one.

 

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Originally posted by driftwood
"Ah, yes, the great Sultan of Candar..." Yunus Emre's voice dripped sarcasm. "To the best of my knowledge, the only Sultan is our esteemed ghazi cousin, the Ottoman Sultan, lately of Izmir. Unless you claim a heretical title, like the Shi'ite scum in Egypt."

A strained silence descended upon the council.

"But, of course, it must merely be your zeal in representing your master," Yunus eventually continued.

He would arrange a private dinner with the *Candarian*. If his suspicions were borne out, he would see if the spy spilled the name of his true master as quickly as he spilled the name of his false one.

A nervous chuckle was emitted from the spy.

"My deepest apologies, my mind was elsewhere when I called my emir a sultan. I would never commit such acts of blashpemy toward Allah by saying my Emir claimed the title of sultan..I again apologize."

The spy preyed the leader of Candar was an Emir..No, he was not the best of spies!

 

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Abdulraman Al Aziz, emir of Tunisia, sits atop the dais. He is flanked by his long time friend and protector, Pepin, and his half-brother;the bastard of Tunis,they call him - but never to his face. Abudi wasn't exactly the most versed in the arts of diplomacy, but even he could sense that something was definitely wrong in the Candarian's attitude...

"Dear cousin" he murmured into Yunus' ear, "perhaps it would be best to check and recheck this supposed emissary's credentials before allowing him to be seated in our presence."

raising his voice to the council in general, he adds:

"To the matter at hand, then. The Tunisian position is thus:

- this alliance should be defensive by default, and offensive only if the Great Caliph deems it a just war, jihad or not.

- neutral stance towards muslim nations who do not wish to join at present time, but our door should always be open.

- on the matter of heathen states forming ties with nations comprising this conclave, Tunis' position is that they are irrelevant to this alliance's actions, and should not be taken into account when planning operations. This point is, however, open for debate on my part.

- the Caliph should lead the way in our fights. He should be our moral backbone. Our soldiers fight better when they know the cause is just. It should be up to the Caliph to determine, in each case, if the cause is rightful. Of course, it is also his duty and privilege to declare Jihad when needed.

- The last point I wish to make is probably the most controversial and this is why I speak of it last. I believe, along with a majority of my people, that religious infighting is best left for the christians. The Mamelukes, and other shiite nations, are more similar to us than different. Let us welcome them in our midst, they that pray to Allah just as fervently as we do, only in a different way."

The Emir of Tunis, his speech done, sits back down as a stunned silence falls over the conference chambers...

 

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The Great Khan of the Golden Horde begins to speak. On the matther of this Candar emissary, it is the belif of the mongols that his head should be partated from his body, if not for being a spy then for dishonouring all muslim monarchies, however i feel this is not a very imnportant matther.

This alliance should be both offensive and defensive. The reason to why we should be offensive is the orthodox empire in Istanbul. The ottoman empire had almost ended the conquest of their heretic land. Even if this evil empire is our largest foe and a orthodox one it is my firm belif that we should tolerate the orthodox faith. Most of the peasants in the Golden Horde are orthodox and they work well, not nearly as well as the faithfull but their production is vital for the Golden Horde. Also most of the moslem lands are vassals to the Golden Horde. Trabzon specially should be favoured as they have shown friendliness towards our Lands.

But the alliance sould not go into any large wars anytime soon, the Golden Horde, Aq-qounlu and Algeirs are severly weakened from the recent wars and these three are the most powerfull independant moslem lands. But in a few years we should go on the offensive, unless the infidels makes a new crusade, and if then we will be united and stop them!

We also need to protect our brothers in faith, this alliance should not be an alliance betveen lands, it should be the defender of Islam and thus headed by the Caliph.

Concerning the Caliph, i agree that Asratkhan isnt the besy stuited place for him to sule from, perhaps we should try to persuade my cousin in the Timurid Empire to donate Baghdad to the Caliph.

 

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Majid Hassam begins to speak.

"I am glad you all have came here and i am glad to be here myself. To me it is clear that the Moslem world is severly damaged after Great Khan Timur ravedged our lands and the Caliphate lost their rightfull home, Baghdad. It is my firm belif that we should attemt to regain this land, but not with the use of force as the Timurid empire is still strong and our armies severly damaged. If we cannot regain Baghdad then it would be almost as good if we could gain Mecka.

Trabzon have, like the Great Khan said showed great hospitality to our lands. Therefor it is my belif that we should be gentle in return. If they show that they are trustworthy then I would myself bless their nation and therefor make it aceptable with alliances and marriages with their nation."

Majid Hassam turns to Emir Abdulraman of tunis and speaks in a lower very serious voice.

"Untill then i hope you all will stay out of marriages with them."

The Caliph continues to speak

"Wetherever this alliance should be offensive or not i do not know, i am not a man of war. I trust you all will fight and lead us to victory when we enters a state of war."

 

[driftwood]

After the first round of discussion, everyone breaks for a midday meal. Monarchs and diplomats come and go from the sumptuous proceedings. At some point, everyone notices that the Candarian envoy is no longer present.

Yunus Emre shrugs. "Perhaps he wished to confess his mistakes. Do not worry: two of my best guards are helping him in that process."

After their meal and some time to rest and refresh in their quarters, the conclave reconvenes.

"I believe that this alliance should be defensive without question. However, for offensive operations we should gather in formal council to discuss the matter." He sweeps his piercing gaze around the room.

"At these councils, the will of the majority should be respected. All of you are cousins here. Each of you would fight on blood-soaked fields to defend one another. If one of us truly feels compelled to declare war, all of us should respect that need. And, after formal discussion, a majority feels that the alliance should join in the war, even those who disagree should accept the outcome. After all, the next war may be yours."

He pauses to collect his thoughts. "On the matter of the revered Caliph ... I raised the subject only because he has, in the past, expressed some desire to retire to a life of greater contemplation. If that were still his desire, I would propose that this body, with the advice and consent of the ulemas, should elect a new Caliph. But if he has no desire to step down from his office at this point, we may all feel relief at having his continued guidance."

 

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A man enters the court and leaves a message

Dearest Leaders of the Conclave

I, Charles Angevin of Jerusalem call out to you moslem nations of the world. The ongoing crusade against Jerusalem is of great disturbance to Jerusalem, and would probably also create grave instability in the area, mostly for the arabs muslims there. I want you to join in an alliance to stop these invaders and in gratitude for your help i will raise mosques in Jerusalem to honour the great alliance, also don't forget the current strategial position we have in case you would desire to join. Our nations border each other, some border the enemy and by that it would be quite easy to get troop support throughout the war, while the crusaders would have to travel a longer distance. I hope you will consider this idea, and that we uphold this alliance and share the fruits of war.

Charles Angevin - King of Jerusalem and Defender of the Unified Church

 

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The great khan leaves the table directly after the catholic messenger left the room. After a short while he returns with the messanger walking next to him, the Great Khan doesnt seam furious like most thought. The leaders would have been less suprised if he came walking back with only the head of the messanger.

The Great Khan begins to speak loudly.

"This is a new point of discussion. Shall we aid this Christian Kingdom? Before i will take a stance i wish to know what we could gain from aiding you. Your nation only borders the Mameluke empire which is of a questionable faith and genua which is one of the most evil lands in this world. The land of the Hedjaz is also next to your land but the northmost part is just a desert wasteland.

The instability wouldnt hurt our alliance, your acceptance of faith is indeed a great point, but it would be easier to obtain by taking your land.

What do the pety kingdom of Jerusalem offer our glorious alliance for aid?"

 

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Majid hassam looks at the messanger and only asks one short question

"You said that Jerusalenm would build mosques in Jerusalem, does this mean that the Kingdom of Jerusalem will become a faithfull sunni-moslem land? Before i get an answer on this question i cannot make the decition."

 

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The messenger stares at the floor, and then answers

"The King is a christian, though he is very religously tolerant. Some mosques in Jerusalem would not be upsetting to him, i'm not saying it will be a sunni-moslem land, but a sunni tolerant land. My King wouldn't hurt moslems because of their religion or their alignment within that religion, and if i remember history right i believe the Kaliphate also had freedom of religion. May i ask if there's anything else you require from him if the current offer is not enough?"

 

[driftwood]

Yunus Emre snorted. "I do not see the point of negotiating with this man. Before we could even extricate ourselves from our current wars, which have not yet ended, Venice, Genoa, and the entire might of Christendom will have already crushed this Kingdom of Jerusalem out of existence. And that is not a battle I think we should fight now."

 

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Abdulraman stands, waiting his turn to talk:

"My dear cousin Yunus, you are a pragmatist, and as such always speaks the truth of a situation. Alas, I am a desperate romantic."

He smiles briefly before going on.

"Tunis also feels this is a battle we cannot fight, much less win. My people know first hand how barbaric the catholics are when they go to war. My heart goes out to Charles Angevin, and the people of the Holy Land. I fear much rape and pillage is coming their way, under the false banner of restoring a true faith."

He pauses for a moment, and his tone turns melancholic and sad.

"Although hearing the call to prayer from the minarets of Jerusalem would fill my heart with joy, we cannot help this tolerant heathen of a king in Judea. His kingdom will fall, and with it the utopy of a multi-religious tolerance in the Holy Land. If my brothers of the Council do not see any objections, I will offer asylum in Tunis to Charles of Angevin."

Abdulraman awaits the answer eagerly.

 

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The messenger responds

"My King feared this might become said and if that was the case he would give you a final offer, which is that the state of Jerusalem will convert to the moslem faith, while the King will be christian the nation will be Sunni. Currently he will discuss peace but his offer stands if he is denied. He will then await your answers."

 

[driftwood]

There was a surprised silence after the Jerusalemite's last offer. Then Yunus Emre rose once more.

"My dear cousin Abdulraman, you are truly a tribute to the grand sense of charity with motivates all Muslims in their heart. I do not think any man, Muslim or Christian, could fault such an offer."

Turning to the envoy, he continued, "However, I do not understand this offer. The people of the Crusader kingdom are already devout and loyal Sunnis. And a kingdom has no religion aside from its king. In fact, such a kingdom is nothing more or less than its king. So are you saying that King Charles himself is willing to abandon his infidel ways? I do not believe so."

Having said his piece, he returned to his seat.

 

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The messenger went silent for short while, then stood up and pointed out

"My master has already proven himself being religously tolerant, but i don't know how he feels about converting to Islam, he is now discussing peace with the Europeans but if he is rejected i promise to bring this matter up with him."

The messenger then leaves the court probably heading for Jerusalem

 

[Wulfram]

A procession made up of 4 carriages and a group of 50 lancers, dressed in glittering mail arrive within sight of the walls of Konya.

A standard bearer carrying a glittering eagle rides closer. The Standard bearer cries "Open the gates for the Emperor Alexius IV Comnenus, his son Skantarius Comnenus, his daughter Theodora Megale Comnena and his Cousin Anna Comnena, come to talk to the leaders of the muslim world". The gates swong open.

The imperial party then rode up the streets to the palace and with his family present himself to the court

"Noble Emirs, Khans and all others present,

I heard of this gathering and though that as this illustrious gathering was practically on my doorstep it might be valuable to visit.

Some of you here have responded favourably to my overtures, and some have reacted less favourably", Alexius carefully avoids looking at the Khan of the White Sheep Turks, "but I believe that all of those gathered here may benefit from my being able to discuss things with you in person.

Noble Emir of Karaman, know that I am pleased with our current relations are amicable, and pray that they grow to true friendship

Mighty Emir of Tunis, I am also pleased at our progress, and have brought my cousin Anna with me who I hope you still wish to marry

Great Khan of Khans, I know that we have not become friends or allies and that we in all likelyhood never will. Never the less I am pleased that we are not enemies

Brave Khan of the Aq Koyonlu, you still profess enmity to me and my people, but I still believe that we would both prosper greatly from peace between our states."

Alexius waits for the conclaves reactions

 

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The dissions in the Conclave is ended shortly as the good host, Yunus Emre have ordered his servants to serve the dinner. The large tables are filled with food. More food then Karman was able to support a normal year, luckily the harvest was good this year.

Everyone sits down and eats and drinks. Later in the evning it is reported that the Great Khan had visited the Host and asked why there were so many Infidel representant in this meeting for the faithfull.

 

[driftwood]

The next morning, after early prayers and a small breakfast, the monarchs meet informally.

"I hope we can come to some decisions soon in the Conclave," Yunus Emre began. "The infidels have bought many swords to defend their city on the Bosphorus with, and I would like to be able to give my armies there, now sadly reduced in size, my full attention."

"As to the matter of the stream of petitioners passing through Konya, what can I say except that even infidels respect the authority and wisdom of this body. The Jerusalemite has departed, and I suspect the Grand Comnenus will leave soon as well."

Just then a messenger arrives. Yunus takes the note and scans it with a frown.

"Sad news, my cousins. The Serbians, formally vassals of the Ottoman Sultan, have declared war upon the Ottoman Empire. Even the Greeks seem to be emerging from their stupor. If we do not wish to see all our gains overturned, now is the time for action."