Chapter 21: The Independence War ( ~1086 - ~1092 )
The child Seljuk sultan that Roussel and his conspirators had been plotting against died just before the revolt, being succeeded by his younger brother. (
Note: I don't remember what killed him. Probably court intrigue though!) The new sultan did not prove any more capable of resisting his corrupt advisors, leading Fariburz to insist the plan must continue. After securing the others' agreement, Fariburz formally demanded the sultan grant their independence under the threat of war. The haughty advisors were confident in their strength and refused, leading both sides to levy their troops for war.
The independence faction, consisted of Roussel's duchy of Charsianon, the Danishmends' beylerbiks of Cilicia and western Armenia, Tharwan's beylerbik in central Iraq, and Fariburz's beylerbik of Azerbaijan. Against this motley band was the entirety of the Seljuk Empire, stretching from Armenia to India. However, the Seljuks had been in a state of decline for quite some time, leaving both sides' levies roughly equal at approximately 17,000 each. The rebels acted first as their individual realms were far more concentrated, while the Seljuks took quite some time to muster. The Danishmends immediately set to besieging Adana with roughly 5000 men in order to secure the entirety of Cilicia. Tharwan and Fariburz joined their forces as planned, immediately laying siege to a fortress in northern Iraq. This force was roughly 6,000 men, the bulk of the revolt. Roussel raised his levies and hired the Turkic Band's mercenaries, bringing his army to roughly 5,500 men. He advanced east, into Seljuk Armenia to hunt down levies as they were raised.
Roussel and his men wiped out at least 2,000 Seljuk levies in a matter of months, ambushing them as they marched east to wherever the sultan's army was rallying. Good progress was made in the sieges, but Roussel was frustrated with Gumustekin, beylerbey of the Danishmends. Adana was not strategically important, or a threat to the revolt, but Gumustekin was obsessed with taking the province. Roussel had wanted him to head east to join the others in northern Iraq. Roussel's fear was that the Seljuk's would pick off the armies one by one, ending the revolt once and for all. Therefore, he kept his army within Armenia, relatively close to both the army in Iraq and the army in Adana.
Several weeks after Roussel had finished dealing with the Seljuk levies, Tharwan's scouts reported a massive army marching through his territory in Iraq. Roussel rushed east, desperate to join his comrades in the decisive battle. However, when Roussel was within one province of the battle, he received news that Fariburz and Tharwan were already routed, having taken significant casualties. (
Note: I got there as the battle was ending and didn't want to throw my men away in a battle that was already lost.)
Casualties had been relatively light with only 1,500 of Tharwan's army being killed. He and Fariburz successfully withdrew into central Iraq and began to recover slowly. Meanwhile, the Seljuks counter-sieged everything that had been captured in northern Iraq, taking it back very quickly. The massive army of roughly 10,000 men then withdrew east, for reasons Roussel could not understand.
Gumustekin then finally finished besieging Adana and was decided to head east to join Fariburz and Tharwan's army, bringing them up to an army of roughly 9,000 men. This group laid siege to a province on the border between Iraq and southern Armenia while Roussel laid siege to Edessa, just to their north. The main revolt army succeeded in capturing the province, provoking the Seljuks into attacking once more. This time they arrived with an army of 15,000, marching directly on the smaller revolt army.
The Seljuks fell upon Tharwan, Fariburz, and Gumustekin's army immediately, initially gaining the upper hand thanks to their superior numbers. However, this time the terrain was in favor of the defenders, allowing the rebels to resist much more effectively. Roussel had immediately struck camp when he received news of the approaching Seljuk army, but he could only hope he would arrive this time. If the rebels were defeated, the war would be over, and Roussel would be in danger of punishment by the sultan.
When Roussel's men took the field, they found the battle well balanced by turning slightly in the Seljuks' favor. However, the Norman infantry reinforced the front, steadily pushing the weary Seljuks back. While the battle ground on, Roussel gathered his knights in preparation for a grand charge. The Seljuks were largely locked in battle, and they were not expecting the sudden arrival of heavily armed and armored warriors. After Roussel had organized his men, he leaad a devastating charge against the flank of the Seljuks, quickly routing them from the field.
As the Seljuks' cavalry fled, their infantry soon lost heart and formed into a headless mass, desperate to escape the slaughter. Roussel's fresh warriors rampaged through the retreating horde, striking many of their foes down. As the day ended, the Seljuks had lost almost 8,000 men, over half their army. It is likely the sultan could have eventually gathered a new army, either through mercenaries or new levies from his vassals. However, the massive loss had devastated the sultanate's finances and manpower reserves, leading the regency council to negotiate. All of Fariburz's demands were met, allowing the four conspirators to leave the Seljuk Empire.
Roussel's first goal of shattering the Seljuk Empire was successful, but his ulterior motives remained to be satisfied. Gumustekin had proven he was an incompetent warrior, and his armies had been severely depleted in the fighting. He was greatly overstretched, trying to dominate the restless Armenians in Cilicia while his core realm was only two counties.
Once Roussel's army returned to Kaisereia, he immediately declared a holy war against Gumustekin, intent on taking the entirety of Cilicia. The war was uneventful, especially as one of Gumustekin's two counties in Armenia revolted against him, leaving his army too weak to do anything. After several lengthy sieges, he eventually surrendered Cilicia to Roussel. The Greeks were quick to exploit this sudden weakness on their borders, invading and conquering both Gumustekin and his rebellious vassal.
Roussel returned Seleukeia to the eldest Pahlavuni, restoring his birthright. Teleuch, the easternmost province that served as the gateway to Cilicia, was given to Robert; the boy had grown into a masterful warrior, but he continued to have behavior problems as he was angry, proud, and lazy. Roussel hoped the young would grow into a true ruler if given territory, but it would happen that he was sorely disappointed...
Note: Sorry for the lack of screenshots, but I hope this is still coherent and interesting. This all follows what happened in game, and I actually had played up to Roussel's death.