Hey, look at all these posts!
I'd better reply:
The best way I can think to bring down the inflation would be to play another country for a while and let the AI cheat the inflation down for you. I've never tried that, but that's all I can think of. Otherwise, you need not just an exceptional year, but an exceptional 20 or 30.
Nice idea jwolf, but I can't bring myself to abandon my beloved Tunisia even for temporarily!
Yes, ladyfabia, who can tell the workings of a diseased mind like Muammar's...
Anibal - I promise you, Hannibal will be honoured, even if I die trying!
Stroph1, Lofman and calcsam2 - your comments regarding my outrageous inflation were very encouraging. They rekindled my hopes! I was especially glad to hear of someone with even higher inflation than me, calcsam2 - but don't worry - I'll catch you up!
Wasa, and others - thanks!
And finally, Machiavellian, the Ottoman alliance I like the sound of - I had the same idea myself
And if this AAR seems to you like a bit of a rollercoaster ride, hold on tight 'cos here comes...
Episode 7: The Bit where Everyone Sticks their Arms out and Shouts “Wheeeeee”!
Al-Hassan was a Sultan in the same mould as his father and his grandfather, that is, fairly useless. When his ally Sultan Ahmad of Fez declared war on Morocco in January 1526 a few days after Al-Hassan rose to the throne, Al-Hassan cancelled the Hafsid royal marriage with Morocco and joined in. He regarded this as a good opportunity to slim down the Hafsid Army, and thus save some money. The Tunisian Navy, newly acquired from Tripoli and consisting of one warship and one transport, was dispatched to the coast of Morocco with a contingent of 2000 men, who, as it turned out, were unable to land due to repeated sallies by the Moroccan Navy. The fleet finally turned for home but sank in its entirety somewhere off Tangiers. Thus did Al-Hassan successfully reduce his military budget. In March 1527 Sultan Ahmad made peace with Morocco.
Meanwhile Algiers had a new Sultan, Abdullah III, who was of a warlike disposition. Looking around for obvious enemies to attack, his gaze not unnaturally fell upon a certain neighbour who had so far conquered two of Algiers’ five provinces, and now had virtually no army to speak of. He declared war in August 1527.
Al-Hassan had fond hopes that, with the help of the Fezzis and a large bank loan he might be able to fight the Algerians off. He immediately sent the Hafsid Army to Aures and began raising reinforcements. The Hafsid Army arrived in the mountainous province just ahead of two Algerian armies, but was soon driven out again. They then tried to attack a small army defending the Algerian capital, but they were again defeated.
In March 1528 the aging Sultan Muammar emerged from his retirement home in Tripoli to lead another revolt. Two months later the Ottomans, now allies of the Algerians, landed a large army in Kabylia and laid siege to B-... that is, Annaba. Then in January 1529 Aures fell to the Algerians. Sultan Al-Hassan held a hasty consultation with his advisors:
Sultan Al-Hassan the Fairly Useless of the Much Imperilled Sultanate of Tunisia: Well guys, something tells me this one’s not quite going our way.
First advisor: Nonsense, Your Majesty, we’ve just had some poor luck to begin with. I say we send our 600 remaining cavalry against those 15000 spineless Ottomans and drive them into the sea!
The might of the Hafsid Army
Al-Hassan: Er- yes... Well, thanks for that contribution. Anyone got any other ideas?
Second advisor: Sire! Let us revive the glory of the Hafsid Army. A few more bank loans will enable us to recruit a vast host that will easily defeat the Ottomans, the Algerians and even that geriatric Tripolitanian imbecile Sultan Muammar
Al-Hassan: Hmm, nice idea - I must say I was just longing for Tunisia to go bankrupt again. OK, who else?
Third advisor: Perhaps we could cede Aures to the Algerians, My Lord?
Al-Hassan: Never! That is where we are going to build our weapons manufactory! We will never give it up!
First advisor: Quite right Your Majesty! If we give in to international terrorism like this we will never be free of it! Send forth the glorious Hafsid Cavalry Squadron!
Second advisor: I agree, Your Excellency - except for the bit about the glorious Hafsid Cavalry Squadron. All we need is cash.
Al-Hassan: Cash, yes! That’s what we need! I have just had a brilliant idea of my own. Can someone lend me a coin?
Third advisor: Here you are, My Lord.
Al-Hassan takes the coin and examines it
Al-Hassan: OK, here’s my plan. Heads we give away Aures and end the war, tails we fight on. * He tosses the coin, catches it, and looks at it surreptitiously so no-one else can see * Ahem - heads it is! Well that settles that - the war’s over boys...
The actual coin used - now on display in the Bardo Museum, Tunis
And so, for the price of 3500 mountain dwelling berbers and a few iron mines, Tunisia bowed before the combined might of Algiers, the Ottoman Empire and ‘Sultan Muammar’. The Algerians and Turks went home, but ‘Sultan Muammar’ still had to be dealt with. By March 1532 the Hafsid Army’s 600 cavalry had been suitably reinforced and an attempt was made to drive the by now sizeable rebel army out of Tripolitania. Despite the fact that most of the rebels were killed, the attempt still ended in defeat. By August, however, the army’s morale had been restored and a second attack was successful. This time ‘Sultan Muammar’ was to be beheaded, but, rebel to the last, he died rather irritatingly the day before the ceremony.
In May 1532 Morocco had persuaded their allies Songhai to go to war with them against Fez. The Fezzis came to Al-Hassan asking for his aid. War-weary, and with the glimmer of a plan in his mind, Al-Hassan refused, cancelling the ties of friendship and the royal marriage that had bound Tunisia to Fez for over a hundred years. In August 1532 he sent an emissary to the Sublime Porte in Constantinople, offering to become an ally of the great and mighty Ottoman Empire, and the somewhat less great and mighty, but still quite scary, Sultanate of Algiers. The Turkish Sultan Suleyman I Kanuni accepted.
This brought Tunisia into a number of interesting wars, which all had the great merit of being fought far away from Tunisia, by their powerful allies, against weak and ill-equipped enemies. One such war was already going on against Moldavia in 1532. Al-Hassan was still trying desperately to scrape together enough money to repay his loan, which was due in August 1537. In November 1536 Moldavia made peace with Sultan Suleyman, handing over Bujak and a large wagonload of gold. Suleyman magnanimously sent a portion of the booty to his loyal ally Al-Hassan, and a few months later the loan was paid off at last.
Ibn Gaddafi - just like his father in every way
Meanwhile, in 1534 ‘Sultan Muammar’s son, styling himself ‘Ibn Gaddafi’ had led yet another revolt in Tripoli, and the Hafsid Army, currently posted there, were driven out. It was not until 1540 that the army could be reinforced sufficiently to counter-attack, but the job was well done and Ibn Gaddafi fled. At last the Sultanate appeared to be secure and at peace. What’s more, Tunisia were now in an alliance with their western neighbour, and once again with the mighty Ottomans, rekindling the hope that they might be able to extend the realm eastwards by taking some provinces from the nasty Mameluks. Yes, thought Al-Hassan, as he neared the end of his days, the dream of Carthage Reborn has not yet died... And with that he ended his days, in January 1542.
OK, so it’s a little like the map from 1452, but that’s not the point. The point is, we’re having a blast, right?