KING MENAS I 1560-1563 THE LAZY KING
King Menas was a man of little wisdom, he came to the throne a punk and left the throne a punk. While rumors of massive wars came from europe (england dow spain) (france dow spain) and petty wars were fought to no decision in arabia. King Menas cared not for anything but the simple pleasures in life and he died while choking on a hambbone
in late 1563
KING SARSA DENGEL 1564-1596 THE COURAGEOUS WARRIOR KING
Sarsa was so sick of what his brother had done on the throne that he changed the budget to fill the treasury coffers (treasury 10d). He was in all aspect preparing for war from the start. King Sarsa was an able general (4-1-3-0) and in June 1564 he invaded Nubia however to his dismay, Turkey joined against him.
Though at one point in 1565, Sarsa with 25000men defeated a force of 24000turks. Still he was outgunned and lost half his army in one year. (from 56,000 to 25,000) thinking he was going to glorify god and Ethiopia he kept on fighting the war with no money in the treasury. Finally however in another defeat in Keren and with Axum under siege by turkey, Nubia offered peace and he took it paying to nubia 26ducats, or all the money he had.
With this humiliating first defeat he vowed revenge on Nubia and they laughed in his face. So in 1566 Sarsa joined Portugal in their fight against Spain. That war was nothing really and Ethiopia saw no combat. Sarsa was hell bent on taking over the muslims of Nubia and he built up the treasury as best he could with the economy only at 3.0d/mo.
In 1573 POrtugal again wars against spain and Sarsa joins in but instead of worry about some distant war. He was given word that nubia had gotten rid of its ally turkey and was just alone with Aden as ally. So Sarsa said he dreamed of glory one night and declared war on Nubia on february 16, 1573.
Sarsa had an army of 58,000 men and he drove half his army to Massawa where he was victorious. In 1573 he managed to push through to Bisharin and then on to Sudan where he was defeated and pushed all the way back to Keren and then further back to Issas.
After regrouping his army, Sarsa attacked the armies of Aden and Nubia now sieging Keren in 1574. However he was again and then again defeated due to the enemies excellent firepower. Sarsa did weaken them however and after building his army back up he tried to fight once again.
In 1575 Sarsa heard the battle cry of god and he defeated the enemy in Keren and chased them clear accross Massawa then Bisharin and into Sudan were he began to siege the capital. Sarsa had a good army now of 40,000 men. He sieged Sudan and Bisharin while Nubia licked its wounds to the north with no soldiers left.
It would seem now Ethiopia had the upper hand. But back home inflation rose to an alarming 40% and soldiers were very expensive draining the treasury.
1576 Though Bisharin fort fell in october to Ethiopian soldiers, the Ethiopian war effort slowed as the treasury fell to just 80ducats left and desert heat drained the army down to 25,000 men.
1577 With Ethiopia near victory as Sarsa was just days away from taking the fort in Sudan, suddenly 9,000 nubian men attacked him and routed him back to the south. Ethiopia would never recover from this defeat because King Sarsa was blinded in battle and forced to go and stay in his castle in Axum. the army now had no strong leader.(game said general sarsa died, but my monarch still lived, hmmmm)
Battles all accross the land raged with Nubia gaining ground. The ethiopian army lost many men and just could not recover.
1578 more bad news comes as the last ducat is spent on the last recruits. A ray of hope came early when the last stand for ethiopia led them to victory all the way back to sudan, however the men were drained and so a counter assault from Nubia easily pushed them back south into ethiopia.
Nubia refused to give peace in any way to Ethiopia, they were determined to humiliate king sarsa and his country and his god.
1579 In a mad fit, king sarsa breaks his alliance to the europeans. Nubia retook Basharin fort and massawa and sieged Keren. Ethiopias army was in dissaray and down to a token force of 10,000 men.
1580 Nubia lost men to attrition so the siege on keren ended however both sides were so fatigued from war they just sat there.
1581 Inflation skyrockets in Ethiopia to 71% crippling the economy. King Sarsa goes into isolation in his hideout in Afars. On may 8th 1581 ethiopia accepted peace with Nubia at a cost of 35ducats and overall loss of 140,000 men. The country was out of money and out of a real king and out of any standing army worth anything. Ethiopia was in ruins.
1584 God has mercy on ethiopia and gives her a free 9 warship fleet.
1588 relations with portugal fall to +137
1589 Ethiopia enters an alliance with Portugal and france.
1590 Inflation rises to 80% and in a Phony war Ethiopia joins Portugals war against spain. That war ends in 1592.
1595 POrtugal men die in droves but finally get rid of the natives in mogadiscio. Ethiopia takes advantage of this and builds a trade post there claiming more land for Ethiopia and god.
1596 King Sarsa dies but nobody really cared much considering the old blind man was half insane and always in hiding.
Thus the glorous rise of a new King, Jacob.
---------ill continue later, hope you enjoy seeing me get my butt spanked
