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Monopolies, many of them!!!
I was a little surprised at the number of monopolies at the end of the last war. I think it's pretty funny that the Sultan of Granada has established a Wine Monopoly! :rofl: I'm sure he's extracting lots of European wealth with that monopoly!
Many of my African conquests gave up what they had been producing and switched to Slaves once I conquered them....I guess Spain, France and Portugal gave up the slave trade long ago but we haven't gotten around to that yet.
And yes, even with a wine monopoly, the Sultan really does have to wrest control of Mecca from the weak Sultan of the Hedjaz and combine the power of Islam with the word of Allah in a new Caliphate.Mecca will soon be within your grasp.
And dinofs, morningSIDEr and Enewald, thanks for being readers and commenters! I have really appreciated that!
And of course, thanks to all the readers who are NOT commenters - I've also appreciated that! I look at the number of views now and then! Merci!
Sultan Yusuf XI
In 1779 Sultan Ali I died and his son Yusuf ascended the Granadan throne as Yusuf XI. Yusuf inherited the dreams and ambitions of his father, but is recorded to have most singularly not inherited his diplomatic skills. The accession of Ali I to the throne had brought improved relations across Europe; the accession of Yusuf increased tension with all of Granada’s neighbors, Christian and Muslim alike.
In that year the Russian Kingdom emerged from its long hibernation on the vast steppes of Eurasian by erupting across Europe in a war against the Bohemian Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. In the space of only a few short months the armies of the Tsar of all the Russias assaulted and captured the northern half of Bohemia while it ally, Lithuania made progress against the Bohemian possessions along the Baltic Sea.
The Long War in British America continued through the early years of Yusuf’s reign. In the year of his rise to the throne many American provinces were in the hands of the American rebels, and many towns and fortified places remaining loyal to the King of Great Britain were under siege. The forces of the British king seemed to have been driven from the continent - there are no contemporary reports of British counter-attacks in these final years of the Long War.
By 1779 the entire Atlantic coast of British America was in the possession of the rebellious colonists. At this point the British king was reduced to diplomacy in an attempt to bring his rebellious subjects back into allegiance to his throne.
In 1780, those negotiations collapsed along with British power along the coast of America. The entirety of Britain’s American possessions from the Atlantic to the Mississippi River revolted fromm the British crown to form the United States of America.
The resulting state was a large but relatively powerless Dictatorship with the trappings of a Republic. Aaron Washington was “elected” Dictator for Life. The new country, surprisingly, turned its back on its former masters to such an extent that they rejected all forms of “modern” technology and knowledge - in effect attempting to return to a “State of Nature” by returning to conditions as they existed in Europe in the late 1300’s. While this position was supported by some of the revolutionary leaders and intellectual leaders, the impact was an completely powerless state in the middle of the Americas, barely able to withstand what would be many years of warfare against the Native American tribes that bordered the United States.
In this same year the Sultan received a request from the several of Granada’s American colonies, let by the colony of Pennacook. Drawing upon argument based on natural law, the distance of the colonies from Granada, the example of the successful Canadian state and, most worringly to the Granadan administration and Sultan, the successful rebellion of the United States of America against Great Britian, the colonies attempted to create the rationale for establishing legislatures to deal with local issues. While the colonial “ambassadors” focused on the positive aspects of such a decision, the Sultan and his government focused on the negative impacts, particularly the impact on tax revenues. The Sultan expressly rejected the idea of local legislatures and sent the colonists home.
In 1780 the Sultan sent ambassadors to the court of the Aztlan with requests for access for the armies and ships of the Sultanate. Word returned that the ambassadors had been favorably received at the border and taken on to the capital to meet with the "High Lords of the Aztlan". A few months later a request was relayed via the colonies along the Aztlan border for additional distinguised ambassadors, as the previous ambassadors had met with the approval of the Lords Huitzilopochtli and Copil. The Sultan sent rich gifts and a large ambassadorial delegation, including members of the Sultan’s own family. The hope of the Sultanate, from the records that we have, was to bring the Aztlan into alliance against the Portuguese and Spanish in the Americans. The Portuguese had sent armies against the Sultanate in the last two wars in the Americas through the territories of the Aztlan.
Six months later a single member of the second ambassadorial party returned to Granada in a closed ship. He made the trip from the port to the palace under tight guard in a closed carriage. He brought a message from the King of the Aztlan to the Sultan. The letter has been preserved, as well as portions of the verbal report the returning Granadan.
When questioned, it became clear that the single returnee was in fact the sole survivor of both ambassadorial parties. The Aztlan King and Priests had welcomed the ambassadorial parties of the Sultan, and then following their own mysterious ways had decided to offer them as sacrifice to the gods Huitzilopochtli and Copil. This sole survivor was beyond traumatized - he had watched the beating hearts be cut from the chests of the members of the party and offered on the pagan altars of the Aztlan. He was spared to bring the request for more sacrificial offerings to the court of the Sultan in the name of the "invincible gods of the Aztlan."
The response of the Sultan was swift.
War was declared on the Aztlan with the following remark attributed to the Sultan,
The armies of the Sultan moved quickly into the territory of the Aztlan and met thousands of warriors. Within 6 months, these thousands of Aztlan warriors were defeated and sent to their graves. No prisoners were taken in this war - the Sultan commanded that no quarter was to be given and no surrender was to be accepted except the death of all the warriors who took up sword or staff against the armies of the Sultan.
Over the course of five years, the armies of the Aztlan were found and defeated. Gradually all the towns and fortresses of the Aztlan were discovered and captured. All the male warriors were put to death per the command of the Sultan, and the civilization of the Aztlan was in many fundamentals overthrown. In the end the King of the Aztlan was forced to cede four key provinces that established a strong bulwark for future expansion of the Sultanate’s power in Mexico.
As the war against the Aztlan came to an end, Yusuf XI launched the culminating event in the efforts of Granada to reestablish the Islamic Caliphate. War was declared on the feeble Sultan of the Hedjaz as being one too weak to protect the Holy Cities (although this weakness was directly the result of Granadan attacks in the past); the Mamluk Sultan came to the aid of his ally. Once again the armies of Granada marched against those of Egypt and Mecca, and once again brought both nations to their knees.
In a battle fought before the walls of Cairo and within sight of the great mosques and fortresses of that city, the Mamluk forces were completely destroyed with almost no losses on the side of the Granadan forces. A few months later the forces of Mecca, leaderless through the cowardice of the Sultan of the Hedjaz were also driven from the field and the city of Mecca placed under siege again.
Although it took two years, Mecca fell to the forces of the Sultan. The Holy City was annexed by the Yusuf XI, and he became the first ruler since the collapse of Abbasid power in Arabia to rule over a vast Islamic state. With Jerusalem, Medina and Mecca under the control of the Nasr dynasty, Yusuf was acknowledged as the Keeper of the Holy Cities through Islam.
In 1789 Yusuf sent the following announcement to all the rulers and people of Islam.
The end of the war against the Sultan of Hedjaz and the barbarian Aztlan, while yielding rich territories in America and the Holy City of Mecca also seriously degraded the reputation of the Sultan throughout Europe. He was increasingly regarded as an unstable, untrustworthy ruler, and looked at with a great deal of fear by European nations. As had happened years earlier, pamphlets and rumors began to circulate throughout Europe and parts of the Sultanate undermining the reputation of the Sultan. Ultimatums and demands from the European powers began to arrive in Granada - demands that called on the Sultan to surrender wealth, prestige and power to gain the regard and trust of the European powers. These were all rejected.
The Portuguese were the first nation to move against the Sultanate, pointing to the refusal of the Sultan to accept the terms and limitations demanded by the European powers. But craftily, they used their client in Africa, the King of the Kongo, to act against the Sultanate. Jose II attacked the colonies of the Sultanate in Gabon. The Sultan’s armies in Africa easily repulsed the armies of the Kongo. Having no interest in the poor territories of the Kongo, the Sultan quickly offered peace, which Jose II accepted.
The small Apline states of Gorz and Aquileia (both once vassals of Granada) next attempted to use force of arms against the Sultanate. Both were quickly defeated. Gorz offered an immense reparation and agreed to become a vassal of the Sultan again; the Bishop of Aquileia had no riches to offer the Sultan but was forced to melt down his liturgical plates and candlesticks and to strip all the precious metals and gems from his churches as an offering of peace, and he was forced into vassalization again.
The end of these minor wars brought Granada a few years of peace. Along with her powerful economy, the Sultanate also reaped the benefits of the many decades of scientific focus in Granada and the many universities scattered throughout the Sultanate. The power of the Sultanate’s armies was bolstered by European-leading technology, and while her naval technologies lagged the European leaders it did not lag too far behind. In all other aspects, Granada presented a powerful face to Europe, but it was surely in the field of Land Technology that she dominated Europe in this period.
After three years of peace, the King of Great Britain sent a declaration to the Sultan.
Needless to say, the Sultan rejected this demand. The form of this rejection is said to have been the return the letter as ashes in a jewel box made of a single emerald from the African mines of Granada.
Shortly thereafter, the King of Great Britain declared war on the Sultanate of Granada and the Caliph of Allah.
In 1779 Sultan Ali I died and his son Yusuf ascended the Granadan throne as Yusuf XI. Yusuf inherited the dreams and ambitions of his father, but is recorded to have most singularly not inherited his diplomatic skills. The accession of Ali I to the throne had brought improved relations across Europe; the accession of Yusuf increased tension with all of Granada’s neighbors, Christian and Muslim alike.
In that year the Russian Kingdom emerged from its long hibernation on the vast steppes of Eurasian by erupting across Europe in a war against the Bohemian Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. In the space of only a few short months the armies of the Tsar of all the Russias assaulted and captured the northern half of Bohemia while it ally, Lithuania made progress against the Bohemian possessions along the Baltic Sea.
The Long War in British America continued through the early years of Yusuf’s reign. In the year of his rise to the throne many American provinces were in the hands of the American rebels, and many towns and fortified places remaining loyal to the King of Great Britain were under siege. The forces of the British king seemed to have been driven from the continent - there are no contemporary reports of British counter-attacks in these final years of the Long War.
By 1779 the entire Atlantic coast of British America was in the possession of the rebellious colonists. At this point the British king was reduced to diplomacy in an attempt to bring his rebellious subjects back into allegiance to his throne.
In 1780, those negotiations collapsed along with British power along the coast of America. The entirety of Britain’s American possessions from the Atlantic to the Mississippi River revolted fromm the British crown to form the United States of America.
The resulting state was a large but relatively powerless Dictatorship with the trappings of a Republic. Aaron Washington was “elected” Dictator for Life. The new country, surprisingly, turned its back on its former masters to such an extent that they rejected all forms of “modern” technology and knowledge - in effect attempting to return to a “State of Nature” by returning to conditions as they existed in Europe in the late 1300’s. While this position was supported by some of the revolutionary leaders and intellectual leaders, the impact was an completely powerless state in the middle of the Americas, barely able to withstand what would be many years of warfare against the Native American tribes that bordered the United States.
In this same year the Sultan received a request from the several of Granada’s American colonies, let by the colony of Pennacook. Drawing upon argument based on natural law, the distance of the colonies from Granada, the example of the successful Canadian state and, most worringly to the Granadan administration and Sultan, the successful rebellion of the United States of America against Great Britian, the colonies attempted to create the rationale for establishing legislatures to deal with local issues. While the colonial “ambassadors” focused on the positive aspects of such a decision, the Sultan and his government focused on the negative impacts, particularly the impact on tax revenues. The Sultan expressly rejected the idea of local legislatures and sent the colonists home.
In 1780 the Sultan sent ambassadors to the court of the Aztlan with requests for access for the armies and ships of the Sultanate. Word returned that the ambassadors had been favorably received at the border and taken on to the capital to meet with the "High Lords of the Aztlan". A few months later a request was relayed via the colonies along the Aztlan border for additional distinguised ambassadors, as the previous ambassadors had met with the approval of the Lords Huitzilopochtli and Copil. The Sultan sent rich gifts and a large ambassadorial delegation, including members of the Sultan’s own family. The hope of the Sultanate, from the records that we have, was to bring the Aztlan into alliance against the Portuguese and Spanish in the Americans. The Portuguese had sent armies against the Sultanate in the last two wars in the Americas through the territories of the Aztlan.
Six months later a single member of the second ambassadorial party returned to Granada in a closed ship. He made the trip from the port to the palace under tight guard in a closed carriage. He brought a message from the King of the Aztlan to the Sultan. The letter has been preserved, as well as portions of the verbal report the returning Granadan.
“Great King of Shining Granada. We send great thanks for your gifts of wealth and power. The Great Lords Huitzilopochtli and Copil have accepted your offerings and have promised to make the rains strong, the grain grow and the power of our arms invincible. The hearts of your people were strong; their courage was most pleasing to the Great Lords. We bid you send us more of your strong people to guarantee the power and prestige of the Aztlan.”
When questioned, it became clear that the single returnee was in fact the sole survivor of both ambassadorial parties. The Aztlan King and Priests had welcomed the ambassadorial parties of the Sultan, and then following their own mysterious ways had decided to offer them as sacrifice to the gods Huitzilopochtli and Copil. This sole survivor was beyond traumatized - he had watched the beating hearts be cut from the chests of the members of the party and offered on the pagan altars of the Aztlan. He was spared to bring the request for more sacrificial offerings to the court of the Sultan in the name of the "invincible gods of the Aztlan."
The response of the Sultan was swift.
War was declared on the Aztlan with the following remark attributed to the Sultan,
“We will send them more of our strong people. And with those strong people we will tear down a barbarous nation and bring them into the House of Peace. If they resist we will unleash the djinns of Allah and they will be carried to a place of fear and terror from which there is no return.”
The armies of the Sultan moved quickly into the territory of the Aztlan and met thousands of warriors. Within 6 months, these thousands of Aztlan warriors were defeated and sent to their graves. No prisoners were taken in this war - the Sultan commanded that no quarter was to be given and no surrender was to be accepted except the death of all the warriors who took up sword or staff against the armies of the Sultan.
Over the course of five years, the armies of the Aztlan were found and defeated. Gradually all the towns and fortresses of the Aztlan were discovered and captured. All the male warriors were put to death per the command of the Sultan, and the civilization of the Aztlan was in many fundamentals overthrown. In the end the King of the Aztlan was forced to cede four key provinces that established a strong bulwark for future expansion of the Sultanate’s power in Mexico.
As the war against the Aztlan came to an end, Yusuf XI launched the culminating event in the efforts of Granada to reestablish the Islamic Caliphate. War was declared on the feeble Sultan of the Hedjaz as being one too weak to protect the Holy Cities (although this weakness was directly the result of Granadan attacks in the past); the Mamluk Sultan came to the aid of his ally. Once again the armies of Granada marched against those of Egypt and Mecca, and once again brought both nations to their knees.
In a battle fought before the walls of Cairo and within sight of the great mosques and fortresses of that city, the Mamluk forces were completely destroyed with almost no losses on the side of the Granadan forces. A few months later the forces of Mecca, leaderless through the cowardice of the Sultan of the Hedjaz were also driven from the field and the city of Mecca placed under siege again.
Although it took two years, Mecca fell to the forces of the Sultan. The Holy City was annexed by the Yusuf XI, and he became the first ruler since the collapse of Abbasid power in Arabia to rule over a vast Islamic state. With Jerusalem, Medina and Mecca under the control of the Nasr dynasty, Yusuf was acknowledged as the Keeper of the Holy Cities through Islam.
In 1789 Yusuf sent the following announcement to all the rulers and people of Islam.
“Brothers in Allah. The great prophet, Mohammad, may Allah bless his name forever, brought the blessings of Islam and the House of Peace to the people of the world. His loyal followers kept the House of Peace together in the years after the Prophet’s death. Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali, may Allah bless their names forever, were true Caliphs, following the footsteps of the Holy Prophet of Allah and were instrumental in keeping the House of Peace safe from the machinations of our enemies in early years of Islam.
The great Umayyad Caliphs established the House of Peace as a power over the entire land of the Arabs, the Persians, the Greeks and the Egyptians. They overthrew all those who attempted to destroy the House of Peace. They ensured that prosperity and righteousness flowed from Allah to all His followers.
The wicked and greedy Abbasids overthrew this holy family and began the destruction of Islam through the fragmentation of the unified House of Peace. Even today we bear the scars of this fragmentation, although we welcome the children of Timur and the great Khans into the House of Peace.
As you know, one member of that holy family escaped the murderous rampage of the house of Abbas and escaping to al-Andalus, reestablished the Caliphate and the House of Peace in all its glory. The blessings of the Umayyad Caliphs remained established in al-Andalus and the Caliphate was a light to the entire world. But the wickedness of man knows no geographical boundary, and after years of peace and prosperity in al-Andalus the great deceiver came and brought about the downfall of the Caliphate in al-Andalus just as He had in Damascus.
Now I declare to you the rebirth of the Caliphate under the House of al-Nasr of al-Andalus. We are the inheritors of the Umayyad Caliphs of al-Andalus and Damascus, and we claim all the rights and obligations that come with this great honor. We have labored for many years to establish the House of Peace in al-Andalus, and we have accomplished by driving the persecutors of Islam from the land and turning the feeble remainder of those once-proud people into our servants and vassals. We have extended the House of Peace to the Greeks and the Romans. We have brought the blessings of Islam and Allah to the Franks. We have even brought these blessings to the savage tribes of the Americas. In all of these things we have proven that we are the true successors of the most holy Prophet, Allah bless his name forever.
The word of Allah will henceforth be protected and preserved in Mecca by the strength of the arm of Granada. All people are welcome to join the House of Peace and acknowledge the House of al-Nasr as the successors to Mohammad, Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali and the Holy Umayyads.”
proclamation to the House of Peace by Sultan Yusuf XI
The great Umayyad Caliphs established the House of Peace as a power over the entire land of the Arabs, the Persians, the Greeks and the Egyptians. They overthrew all those who attempted to destroy the House of Peace. They ensured that prosperity and righteousness flowed from Allah to all His followers.
The wicked and greedy Abbasids overthrew this holy family and began the destruction of Islam through the fragmentation of the unified House of Peace. Even today we bear the scars of this fragmentation, although we welcome the children of Timur and the great Khans into the House of Peace.
As you know, one member of that holy family escaped the murderous rampage of the house of Abbas and escaping to al-Andalus, reestablished the Caliphate and the House of Peace in all its glory. The blessings of the Umayyad Caliphs remained established in al-Andalus and the Caliphate was a light to the entire world. But the wickedness of man knows no geographical boundary, and after years of peace and prosperity in al-Andalus the great deceiver came and brought about the downfall of the Caliphate in al-Andalus just as He had in Damascus.
Now I declare to you the rebirth of the Caliphate under the House of al-Nasr of al-Andalus. We are the inheritors of the Umayyad Caliphs of al-Andalus and Damascus, and we claim all the rights and obligations that come with this great honor. We have labored for many years to establish the House of Peace in al-Andalus, and we have accomplished by driving the persecutors of Islam from the land and turning the feeble remainder of those once-proud people into our servants and vassals. We have extended the House of Peace to the Greeks and the Romans. We have brought the blessings of Islam and Allah to the Franks. We have even brought these blessings to the savage tribes of the Americas. In all of these things we have proven that we are the true successors of the most holy Prophet, Allah bless his name forever.
The word of Allah will henceforth be protected and preserved in Mecca by the strength of the arm of Granada. All people are welcome to join the House of Peace and acknowledge the House of al-Nasr as the successors to Mohammad, Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali and the Holy Umayyads.”
proclamation to the House of Peace by Sultan Yusuf XI
The end of the war against the Sultan of Hedjaz and the barbarian Aztlan, while yielding rich territories in America and the Holy City of Mecca also seriously degraded the reputation of the Sultan throughout Europe. He was increasingly regarded as an unstable, untrustworthy ruler, and looked at with a great deal of fear by European nations. As had happened years earlier, pamphlets and rumors began to circulate throughout Europe and parts of the Sultanate undermining the reputation of the Sultan. Ultimatums and demands from the European powers began to arrive in Granada - demands that called on the Sultan to surrender wealth, prestige and power to gain the regard and trust of the European powers. These were all rejected.
The Portuguese were the first nation to move against the Sultanate, pointing to the refusal of the Sultan to accept the terms and limitations demanded by the European powers. But craftily, they used their client in Africa, the King of the Kongo, to act against the Sultanate. Jose II attacked the colonies of the Sultanate in Gabon. The Sultan’s armies in Africa easily repulsed the armies of the Kongo. Having no interest in the poor territories of the Kongo, the Sultan quickly offered peace, which Jose II accepted.
The small Apline states of Gorz and Aquileia (both once vassals of Granada) next attempted to use force of arms against the Sultanate. Both were quickly defeated. Gorz offered an immense reparation and agreed to become a vassal of the Sultan again; the Bishop of Aquileia had no riches to offer the Sultan but was forced to melt down his liturgical plates and candlesticks and to strip all the precious metals and gems from his churches as an offering of peace, and he was forced into vassalization again.
The end of these minor wars brought Granada a few years of peace. Along with her powerful economy, the Sultanate also reaped the benefits of the many decades of scientific focus in Granada and the many universities scattered throughout the Sultanate. The power of the Sultanate’s armies was bolstered by European-leading technology, and while her naval technologies lagged the European leaders it did not lag too far behind. In all other aspects, Granada presented a powerful face to Europe, but it was surely in the field of Land Technology that she dominated Europe in this period.
After three years of peace, the King of Great Britain sent a declaration to the Sultan.
“The vast holdings of our throne in the Americas once brought us great wealth, power and prestige. We have long heard but rejected accounts of the involvement of Granadan money in the fostering of the rebellions in our American holdings. But now we have evidence that we cannot reject that indeed your officers and agents spared no expense or effort in their efforts to foster rebellion and war against our person and possessions in America.
We demand recompense from you for this affront and attack against our person. The wealth of your treasury is not enough; we demand the possession of your colonies in America to replace those that were lost to us through your machinations. If you reject this demand we will take those colonies with the force of our invincible armies.”
- demand from King of Great Britain to Sultan Yusuf XI, 1792
We demand recompense from you for this affront and attack against our person. The wealth of your treasury is not enough; we demand the possession of your colonies in America to replace those that were lost to us through your machinations. If you reject this demand we will take those colonies with the force of our invincible armies.”
- demand from King of Great Britain to Sultan Yusuf XI, 1792
Needless to say, the Sultan rejected this demand. The form of this rejection is said to have been the return the letter as ashes in a jewel box made of a single emerald from the African mines of Granada.
Shortly thereafter, the King of Great Britain declared war on the Sultanate of Granada and the Caliph of Allah.
Finally, the Caliphate is reborn and there is truly nothing left in the Western World that can stop the great Caliph!
Also, most excellent - if the Granadan navies can defeat the British Armada, Western Europe, and the Americas, in time, will surely fall fully under Granadan control and be taken into the House of Peace.
(Not that I support that much conquest, but it is impressive)
Also, most excellent - if the Granadan navies can defeat the British Armada, Western Europe, and the Americas, in time, will surely fall fully under Granadan control and be taken into the House of Peace.
(Not that I support that much conquest, but it is impressive
)
You're doing very well, I hope before the end of the game the Iberian peninsula will be yours though
Great stuff, very fitting to see Granada claim Mecca.
A great many congratulations on the award, very richly deserved.
A great many congratulations on the award, very richly deserved.
Oh - that's YOU! Well, THANKS! I like looking at that number and wondering who is reading this AAR of mine.....And yes, Lithuania has managed to look rather real, hasn't it?I have made at least 33% of the views.
Lithuania looks sane on the map!
Thanks Tweetybird! Yes, reestablishing the Caliphate was cool - I wish it had a few more obvious benefits, but whatever. I know (and all the Muslim world in the game knows) that I'm the Caliph. They can come take the honor from me if they dare! As far as conquests go, what can I say - the heathen nations of Europe need to know that Allah is the One True God and they need to bow down before him (and his current messenger, the Sultan of Granada!)Finally, the Caliphate is reborn and there is truly nothing left in the Western World that can stop the great Caliph!
Also, most excellent - if the Granadan navies can defeat the British Armada, Western Europe, and the Americas, in time, will surely fall fully under Granadan control and be taken into the House of Peace.
(Not that I support that much conquest, but it is impressive
Hi sprites! Yes, this Sultan/Caliph seems to be a little more hungry for territory than his predecessors. I suppose it's all about entering the 19th century at any minute - it's the age of colonial expansion, you know! And as the country with the highest Land Tech in the known world, well, I thumb my nose at infamy (or the Sultan does, I should say!)ho , more conquests!
and a nice infamy
Hi there! Well, you know the Sultans of Granada, sitting in splendor in one of the largest cities in Europe rather enjoy thinking about their vassals (or rebellious vassals, as the case may be) sitting in their little hovels in the mountains of northern Iberia just like THEIR ancestors did back in the days of the Caliphate of Cordoba. So......I think they might just stay there in their towns of a few thousands looking down on Granada with its hundreds of thousands. It somehow seems fitting and proper, don't you think?You're doing very well, I hope before the end of the game the Iberian peninsula will be yours though
AllMyJames, THANK YOU again. I totally appreciate it!
Thanks morningSIDEr!
You should really make a new flag and country forming decision. Seems more befitting that you form a resurgent Abbassid or Almoravid Caliphate, rather than stay Granada ;p.
Sultan Yusuf XI & War with Great Britain
Frederick IV, King of Great Britain and Ireland launched his ill-fated war against the Sultanate in an attempt to quell internal dissent and appease the powerful domestic voices complaining about the loss of the colonies in the Americas and their wealth. What he hoped to accomplish is not known - but what he lost is well know. The King and the Kingdom were not prepared for the response or the capabilities of the Sultan and his forces.
Yusuf sent a powerful navy north towards Great Britain. In the Atlantic west of Cornwall, this fleet under Admiral ibn Muhammad met the main British fleet under Naval Commander Benbow. The battle was a complete disaster for the English, with all fifteen mainline ships and the four supporting frigates lost in the battle. With only minimal losses, and mainly in allied ships, Admiral ibn Muhammad proceeded toward the coasts of Ireland and sent small naval detachments around coasts of Ireland and England to establish the positions of the British land forces.
Although Great Britain had lost her Atlantic colonies to the revolution of the United States, she still maintained significant colonial territory in the heart of the north American continent. Most of these territories were not known in any great detail to the Granadans. This allowed the British to assemble their colonial forces into two forces that moved quickly into Granadan territory once war was declared. In Arkansas a large Granadan cavalry force met 12,000 men commanded by the British General Dampier. This force was completely destroyed by the Granadans under General ibn Isma’il.
General Dampier and a small group of officers managed to escape in the confusion of the battle and join the other large British force moving into Granada’s territory farther to the west. General ibn Isma’il, not far behind, met this force on the plains of Waco and inflicted another significant defeat on the British.
These victories removed the only two significant British forces in America from the field, and Granadan forces moved quickly north, exploring the unknown extent of British possessions on the vast plains of America.
In Europe, Admiral ibn Muhamad had ensured safe sea lanes from al-Andalus to Ireland and England. With the sea lanes controlled, the Convoy Fleet of the Sultanate was able to safely sail toward Great Britain. The Granadan naval armada was positioned around Ireland and England, effectively chocking off trade throughout the entire kingdom of Great Britain and keeping even small craft from leaving the ports to attack the Convoy Fleet.
A small advance cavalry force arrived in Ireland and quickly defeated the Irish Army of Great Britain (ironically led by another General Dampier - the father of the general twice defeated in America) while the main army moved via the Convoy Fleet towards the north of England.
With the defeat of the Irish Army, Ireland was undefended. The blockade of British ports was complete and Frederick IV was forced to look on impotently from Britain as his economy was destroyed by the blockade and his Irish possessions besieged and slowly taken from him.
As the small towns and hamlets of Ireland were brought under the control of the the Granadan forces, northern England was invaded and several towns along the Scottish border were seized. The Granadan troops then boarded their ships and made as if to join the Granadan forces in Ireland. Frederick IV, seeing a chance to act, consolidated most of his forces and moved north to retake the captured towns. Another General Dampier led a large cavalry force northward to join the king.
The battle in Cornwall lasted all of a few hours - the small force left there was overwhelmed by the almost 35,000 Granadan troops that disembarked under the command of ibn Sa’d. Corwall, Devon and the major city of Bristol were all assaulted and occupied before news could even reach Frederick in the far north of the arrival of the Sultan’s troops in the South. After the fall of Bristol, General ibn Sa’d rested and waited to see the reaction of Frederick.
Although Frederick sent a small force south, he remained in the north with the majority of his forces. Seeing this, ibn Sa’d moved north of London and seized control of the towns and castles in the Midlands of England. Realizing the gravity of their situation, the British commanders stopped their southward march in Lincolnshire, sent word to Frederick, and waited for the arrival of the king.
Shortly after this document was sent via courier to Granada, General ibn Sa’d moved his 35,000 men against the entrenched forces of Frederick in Lincolnshire. The British King had 31,000 troops under his command; an additional force of close to 20,000 had been left behind to continue to siege of the northern towns but were (as Frederick realized the seriousness of the situation) moving rapidly south to join him. If this force had managed to arrive before the battle began, or even during the battle, it might have changed the outcome. As it happened, though, the relief force, exhausted from the strain of besieging in the northern towns for many months and the rapid march south to support Frederick, did not make it to the First Battle of Lincoln in time. General ibn Sa’d inflicted a significant defeat on the British forces under Frederick - almost half of the king’s men were killed while not even 1,000 Granadan troops fell.
The 20,000 men marching south under General Herbert came upon the scene of the battle and were met with the sight of a battlefield strewn with the flags and men of England lying still and dying in the dust. And the victorious Granadans still arrayed in fairly good battle formation. From all reports, General Herbert attempted to bring his men about to retreat in orderly fashion, but the dismay of the men turned into a rout as the Granadan forces fell upon them, triumphant in victory. In the Second Battle of Lincoln, General Herbert’s men were destroyed down to the very last man, including the General himself. This double victory by General ibn Sa’d eliminated all but one British force in England.
The final battle between the armies of the Sultan and the King occurred a few months later. General Dampier, defeated in Ireland so comprehensively and yet entrusted with the king's forces once again, was the last of the commanders available to Frederick. He led the last British forces against General ibn Sa’d as the Granadans besieged Lincoln. Inflicting some damage but driven off with a small loss, Dampier fled south where was caught and destroyed to the man in the East Anglian countryside.
With the last of his forces destroyed, Frederick put his hope in the strength of the Tower of London and the walls surrounding his capital city. But that hope was in vain - London and the fortress at its heart fell within 6 months to the armies of the Sultan. The towns and fortresses of Kent and Norfolk were also assaulted and captured. Frederick fled London towards Wales, hoping to use the wildness of the land there to avoid capture. General ibn Sa’d regathered his forces and moved north toward Lincoln again, the scene of so many victories agains the British forces, assaulting towns and fortified places along the way and capturing them all with great ease.
Within six months (the middle of the year 1795), all of the towns, fortresses and harbors of England, Ireland and Wales were in the hands of the Sultan. Frederick was captured in north Wales and brought to Granada. There he was forced to sign a peace treaty on behalf of his ally Portugal and his kingdom, Great Britain.
Portugal was forced to pay a large war indemnity, but she kept her American colonies.
Great Britian was forced to surrender five wealthy colonial provinces in Central America and pay a small indemnity. She was also forced to release the Kingdom of Ireland as a sovereign state. With the earlier loss of Scotland to internal rebellion, the loss of Ireland significantly reduced the prestige and capabilities of the crown of Great Britain and removed her effectively fro playing a significant role in world politics.
Combined with the victories against Portugal and Aztlan, the peace with Great Britain gave Granada a significant and wealthy colonial empire in the Americas. And it also revealed the Great Western Ocean on the far side of Mexico and the new American colonies.
It also left the British colonial possessions in the great plains of America in a state of complete collapse. The two colonial armies under General Dampier that has been destroyed had been used by Great Britain to keep colonial tension under control. With the destruction of those two armies (and assisted by Granadan gold according to some writers), rebels sprang up throughout the remaining British territories in America and through the entire area into great disarray.
Portugal, although officially at peace with the Sultanate, tried once again to attack the Sultanate via its proxy state in the Kongo. Pedro Vi, son of the late king, brought a large force to the border and declared war. The Sultan responded quickly, and directed his armies south to meet the forces under Pedro. While a complete mismatch in terms of men, the advanced Granadan military capabilities resulted in a crushing defeat for Pedro and the Kongo; peace was rapidly agreed and resulted in the release of Loango by Pedro as a buffer state between the Sultanate and Kongo.
In 1797 a small group of men sent a message to the Sultan, presenting a proposal and asking for an audience.
The matter was discussed by the Divan of Sultan Yusuf. Some argued that the significant sum requested would be better used in the training of new admirals to safeguard the known seas. But the Sultan and his chief advisors decided to strongly favor this request. The funds were appropriated, the ships were constructed and the expedition was launched with the following instructions:
“Explore the world for the glory of Granada and Allah.”
Frederick IV, King of Great Britain and Ireland launched his ill-fated war against the Sultanate in an attempt to quell internal dissent and appease the powerful domestic voices complaining about the loss of the colonies in the Americas and their wealth. What he hoped to accomplish is not known - but what he lost is well know. The King and the Kingdom were not prepared for the response or the capabilities of the Sultan and his forces.
Yusuf sent a powerful navy north towards Great Britain. In the Atlantic west of Cornwall, this fleet under Admiral ibn Muhammad met the main British fleet under Naval Commander Benbow. The battle was a complete disaster for the English, with all fifteen mainline ships and the four supporting frigates lost in the battle. With only minimal losses, and mainly in allied ships, Admiral ibn Muhammad proceeded toward the coasts of Ireland and sent small naval detachments around coasts of Ireland and England to establish the positions of the British land forces.
Although Great Britain had lost her Atlantic colonies to the revolution of the United States, she still maintained significant colonial territory in the heart of the north American continent. Most of these territories were not known in any great detail to the Granadans. This allowed the British to assemble their colonial forces into two forces that moved quickly into Granadan territory once war was declared. In Arkansas a large Granadan cavalry force met 12,000 men commanded by the British General Dampier. This force was completely destroyed by the Granadans under General ibn Isma’il.
General Dampier and a small group of officers managed to escape in the confusion of the battle and join the other large British force moving into Granada’s territory farther to the west. General ibn Isma’il, not far behind, met this force on the plains of Waco and inflicted another significant defeat on the British.
These victories removed the only two significant British forces in America from the field, and Granadan forces moved quickly north, exploring the unknown extent of British possessions on the vast plains of America.
In Europe, Admiral ibn Muhamad had ensured safe sea lanes from al-Andalus to Ireland and England. With the sea lanes controlled, the Convoy Fleet of the Sultanate was able to safely sail toward Great Britain. The Granadan naval armada was positioned around Ireland and England, effectively chocking off trade throughout the entire kingdom of Great Britain and keeping even small craft from leaving the ports to attack the Convoy Fleet.
A small advance cavalry force arrived in Ireland and quickly defeated the Irish Army of Great Britain (ironically led by another General Dampier - the father of the general twice defeated in America) while the main army moved via the Convoy Fleet towards the north of England.
With the defeat of the Irish Army, Ireland was undefended. The blockade of British ports was complete and Frederick IV was forced to look on impotently from Britain as his economy was destroyed by the blockade and his Irish possessions besieged and slowly taken from him.
As the small towns and hamlets of Ireland were brought under the control of the the Granadan forces, northern England was invaded and several towns along the Scottish border were seized. The Granadan troops then boarded their ships and made as if to join the Granadan forces in Ireland. Frederick IV, seeing a chance to act, consolidated most of his forces and moved north to retake the captured towns. Another General Dampier led a large cavalry force northward to join the king.
“My lord, may Allah bless you and the House of Nasr through all time. The king of Great Britain has fallen into the trap we have set for him. We have reports from our agents along the coast that he moving his main force north to retake the towns seized along the Scottish border. Only a small force remains in Cornwall - the king clearly believes that our major attack will come from the north and that we will move to defend there when he arrives to retake the towns there. However, with the rising of the sun we will move our men into Cornwall and begin the attack from the south. By the time you receive this letter we will have taken the attack to Cornwall and the entire south of England.”
- update from General ibn Sa’d to Sultan Yusuf XI, 1793
- update from General ibn Sa’d to Sultan Yusuf XI, 1793
The battle in Cornwall lasted all of a few hours - the small force left there was overwhelmed by the almost 35,000 Granadan troops that disembarked under the command of ibn Sa’d. Corwall, Devon and the major city of Bristol were all assaulted and occupied before news could even reach Frederick in the far north of the arrival of the Sultan’s troops in the South. After the fall of Bristol, General ibn Sa’d rested and waited to see the reaction of Frederick.
Although Frederick sent a small force south, he remained in the north with the majority of his forces. Seeing this, ibn Sa’d moved north of London and seized control of the towns and castles in the Midlands of England. Realizing the gravity of their situation, the British commanders stopped their southward march in Lincolnshire, sent word to Frederick, and waited for the arrival of the king.
“My lord, may Allah bless you and the House of Peace! Many English towns and fortresses are in our hands and all of Ireland remains under our peaceful control. The King of Great Britain has finally moved south with many of his men and even now prepares for battle with your loyal soldiers. The northern towns remain under siege; the King most surely believes that his forces will be more than a match for the soldiers of Allah. It is my most sincere desire to prove him wrong. In a few days we will have rested and repaired our weapons of war. If Frederick fails to march to us, we will take the war to him on the fields of Lincolnshire.”
- update from General ibn Sa’d for Sultan Yusuf XI, 1794
- update from General ibn Sa’d for Sultan Yusuf XI, 1794
Shortly after this document was sent via courier to Granada, General ibn Sa’d moved his 35,000 men against the entrenched forces of Frederick in Lincolnshire. The British King had 31,000 troops under his command; an additional force of close to 20,000 had been left behind to continue to siege of the northern towns but were (as Frederick realized the seriousness of the situation) moving rapidly south to join him. If this force had managed to arrive before the battle began, or even during the battle, it might have changed the outcome. As it happened, though, the relief force, exhausted from the strain of besieging in the northern towns for many months and the rapid march south to support Frederick, did not make it to the First Battle of Lincoln in time. General ibn Sa’d inflicted a significant defeat on the British forces under Frederick - almost half of the king’s men were killed while not even 1,000 Granadan troops fell.
The 20,000 men marching south under General Herbert came upon the scene of the battle and were met with the sight of a battlefield strewn with the flags and men of England lying still and dying in the dust. And the victorious Granadans still arrayed in fairly good battle formation. From all reports, General Herbert attempted to bring his men about to retreat in orderly fashion, but the dismay of the men turned into a rout as the Granadan forces fell upon them, triumphant in victory. In the Second Battle of Lincoln, General Herbert’s men were destroyed down to the very last man, including the General himself. This double victory by General ibn Sa’d eliminated all but one British force in England.
The final battle between the armies of the Sultan and the King occurred a few months later. General Dampier, defeated in Ireland so comprehensively and yet entrusted with the king's forces once again, was the last of the commanders available to Frederick. He led the last British forces against General ibn Sa’d as the Granadans besieged Lincoln. Inflicting some damage but driven off with a small loss, Dampier fled south where was caught and destroyed to the man in the East Anglian countryside.
With the last of his forces destroyed, Frederick put his hope in the strength of the Tower of London and the walls surrounding his capital city. But that hope was in vain - London and the fortress at its heart fell within 6 months to the armies of the Sultan. The towns and fortresses of Kent and Norfolk were also assaulted and captured. Frederick fled London towards Wales, hoping to use the wildness of the land there to avoid capture. General ibn Sa’d regathered his forces and moved north toward Lincoln again, the scene of so many victories agains the British forces, assaulting towns and fortified places along the way and capturing them all with great ease.
Within six months (the middle of the year 1795), all of the towns, fortresses and harbors of England, Ireland and Wales were in the hands of the Sultan. Frederick was captured in north Wales and brought to Granada. There he was forced to sign a peace treaty on behalf of his ally Portugal and his kingdom, Great Britain.
Portugal was forced to pay a large war indemnity, but she kept her American colonies.
Great Britian was forced to surrender five wealthy colonial provinces in Central America and pay a small indemnity. She was also forced to release the Kingdom of Ireland as a sovereign state. With the earlier loss of Scotland to internal rebellion, the loss of Ireland significantly reduced the prestige and capabilities of the crown of Great Britain and removed her effectively fro playing a significant role in world politics.
Combined with the victories against Portugal and Aztlan, the peace with Great Britain gave Granada a significant and wealthy colonial empire in the Americas. And it also revealed the Great Western Ocean on the far side of Mexico and the new American colonies.
It also left the British colonial possessions in the great plains of America in a state of complete collapse. The two colonial armies under General Dampier that has been destroyed had been used by Great Britain to keep colonial tension under control. With the destruction of those two armies (and assisted by Granadan gold according to some writers), rebels sprang up throughout the remaining British territories in America and through the entire area into great disarray.
Portugal, although officially at peace with the Sultanate, tried once again to attack the Sultanate via its proxy state in the Kongo. Pedro Vi, son of the late king, brought a large force to the border and declared war. The Sultan responded quickly, and directed his armies south to meet the forces under Pedro. While a complete mismatch in terms of men, the advanced Granadan military capabilities resulted in a crushing defeat for Pedro and the Kongo; peace was rapidly agreed and resulted in the release of Loango by Pedro as a buffer state between the Sultanate and Kongo.
In 1797 a small group of men sent a message to the Sultan, presenting a proposal and asking for an audience.
"Great Sultan and Caliph of Allah, may He bless and prosper you, the House of Nasr and the House of Peace for ever.
Ever since the accession of your noble ancestor to the throne of Morocco a questing spirit has filled our blessed realm. Men loyal to you and brave in the strength of Allah have pushed far to the north, to the distant Great Eastern Sea through the wilderness of Siberia, far to the south along the African coasts, and even in the distant lands of America. The House of Peace has expanded in all directions thanks to the wisdom of your fathers and the protection of Allah.
As your wise councillors have no doubt told you, the wars against the evil and vile Aztlan and the foolish king of great Britain have revealed the Great Western Sea to us. Surely, for all the evil outcomes of the wickedness of the Aztlan and tragic outcomes of the foolishness of the British, Allah sent these experiences to Granada to open the way to greater glory and honor for the House of Nasr and the House of Peace.
We have been seized by great Allah and given strength and courage to come before you to ask a boon. If granted, it will establish the fame of your wisdom and knowledge throughout all the world. We ask you to grant us your leave, blessing and funds to take ships from your Imperial Navy and discover the sea route from the ports of al-Andalus to the Great Western Sea. We know this route must exists, and we desire to discover this great thing for the glory of Granada and Allah.
Allah will protect us as we sail toward the setting sun because we will do it with a eye single to your glory and to honor Allah. We will discover the secret knowledge that Allah has place in the earth. We will discover the secret places of the land and the secrets pathways of the sea. We will discover the distant ports and towns of Spain and Portugal, long fled from al-Andalus in fear of your power.
Grant us this request and we will reward your trust with knowledge, fame, wealth and power.”
Ever since the accession of your noble ancestor to the throne of Morocco a questing spirit has filled our blessed realm. Men loyal to you and brave in the strength of Allah have pushed far to the north, to the distant Great Eastern Sea through the wilderness of Siberia, far to the south along the African coasts, and even in the distant lands of America. The House of Peace has expanded in all directions thanks to the wisdom of your fathers and the protection of Allah.
As your wise councillors have no doubt told you, the wars against the evil and vile Aztlan and the foolish king of great Britain have revealed the Great Western Sea to us. Surely, for all the evil outcomes of the wickedness of the Aztlan and tragic outcomes of the foolishness of the British, Allah sent these experiences to Granada to open the way to greater glory and honor for the House of Nasr and the House of Peace.
We have been seized by great Allah and given strength and courage to come before you to ask a boon. If granted, it will establish the fame of your wisdom and knowledge throughout all the world. We ask you to grant us your leave, blessing and funds to take ships from your Imperial Navy and discover the sea route from the ports of al-Andalus to the Great Western Sea. We know this route must exists, and we desire to discover this great thing for the glory of Granada and Allah.
Allah will protect us as we sail toward the setting sun because we will do it with a eye single to your glory and to honor Allah. We will discover the secret knowledge that Allah has place in the earth. We will discover the secret places of the land and the secrets pathways of the sea. We will discover the distant ports and towns of Spain and Portugal, long fled from al-Andalus in fear of your power.
Grant us this request and we will reward your trust with knowledge, fame, wealth and power.”
The matter was discussed by the Divan of Sultan Yusuf. Some argued that the significant sum requested would be better used in the training of new admirals to safeguard the known seas. But the Sultan and his chief advisors decided to strongly favor this request. The funds were appropriated, the ships were constructed and the expedition was launched with the following instructions:
“Explore the world for the glory of Granada and Allah.”
Hi there! You know - if I were clever I would do something like that. I would reform the Umayyad Caliphate (since that's where the Nasrid dynasty is always looking to emulate!) I mean, the Abbasids are OK but they usurped the throne from the rightful rulers, right?
But I'm not that clever! I had to closely follow the instructions just to get MMP set up with my Mac. Thank Allah for good instructions at the forum!
I've been absent from following this for far too long. Go bring your enlightened Islamic culture to the Iberian exiles, wherever you find them! If they refuse to accept....
Kill them!
Kill them!
Where does the infidel have colonies left to conquer?
Are you not afraid of that USA?
CONVERT THEM!!!
Are you not afraid of that USA?
CONVERT THEM!!!
Why, yes, I agree. Remembering their past grandeur and now even seeing Great Britain being conquered, their jealousy and bitterness will be so great even infinite times infinite doesn't come close to measuring itHi there! Well, you know the Sultans of Granada, sitting in splendor in one of the largest cities in Europe rather enjoy thinking about their vassals (or rebellious vassals, as the case may be) sitting in their little hovels in the mountains of northern Iberia just like THEIR ancestors did back in the days of the Caliphate of Cordoba. So......I think they might just stay there in their towns of a few thousands looking down on Granada with its hundreds of thousands. It somehow seems fitting and proper, don't you think?
Welcome back King_Richard_XI! You've been missed! And yes, thank you for so clearly stating the approach all enlightened cultures should take when faced with those that just don't get it! LOL :rofl:
Just wait and see! And I fel to sorry for the USA to even think about attacking them! I think it's just mean of MMP to let them gain independence with a Land Tech of 2!!! :wacko: I mean, really! But the Native American tribes, while smart enough to attack weren't smart enough to even capture any territory, ever.....go figure!Where does the infidel have colonies left to conquer?
Are you not afraid of that USA?
CONVERT THEM!!!
You captured the Sultan's thinking perfectly - infinity times infinity doesn't even begin to capture how much bitterness he wants them to feel. It helps him sleep at night, counting infinite levels of bitterness slowly piling up in the caves of northern Iberia where the sad children of kings now live!Why, yes, I agree. Remembering their past grandeur and now even seeing Great Britain being conquered, their jealousy and bitterness will be so great even infinite times infinite doesn't come close to measuring it
Thanks as always dinofs!
Sultan Yusuf XI & the Rise of Ali V
The Imperial Naval Expedition of Granada left the shores of al-Andalus and sailed initially toward the American coast and the Bay Colonies of Granada. The passage south from these colonies along the coast had long been unknown - the shallow waters, many islands, strange tides and tales of whirlpools and other disturbances around an island region of Barbados had long kept Granadan mariners from exploring this region. But lack of knowledge had meant that communication between the extensive American colonies in the American south relied on access from the French, then British and now Americans. The wars against France and Britain had eliminated the right of the Sultan’s armies and commerce to pass through the territories of these countries, and the constant rebellions and roaming bands of armed peasants made the trip through the USA dangerous at best and impossible often. Discovering and charting the safe route via the sea was a critical and practical first objective.
Having accomplished this, the Naval Expedition traveled south and explored the Great Inland Sea lying between the newly acquired colonies of Florida and the Mexican towns and harbors. It proved to be much larger than expected, with many islands scattered upon its surface. Some of these were held by the Spanish; others were glimpsed through fog, rain and the shimmering moonlight but precise details on shape and inhabitants were often difficult to distinguish. But the Explorers noted them on their maps and moved onward, confident that the beginnings of knowledge had been captured and anxious to move into truly unknown territory.
Many months later they found themselves sailing back to the Atlantic and rounding what seemed to be a huge headland as the land turned south. Here they found several Portuguese cities and towns - the rumored home of the Kings of Portugal since they had fled Europe for the safety of the American jungles. Farther south they found the nation of Banda Oriental, a nation of slaves that had risen against the Spanish.
As reports streamed back from the Naval Expedition, excitement gripped the entire Sultanate. Although a religious society, the Sultanate had always been open minded and supportive of the innovative mind-sent and of the quest for knowledge. The twelve universities of the Sultanate were sponsored and supported by the Sultan and members of the Imperial family; they produced intelligent, questioning and clever members of society. Some of these men associated with the University and Islamic Foundation in Granada seized upon the reports from the Naval Expedition and established a Science Center for the Studies of the Americas in the city of Cordoba - close enough to the capital to attract funds and interest but far enough away to maintain independence and control. This set off a chain reaction throughout the Sultanate, with many similar, if smaller efforts springing up in many places. The already advanced science of the Sultanate advanced even more quickly - to the delight of the Sultan and the envy of Europe.
Three years of peace and prosperity also had the usual impact on the merchants and wealthy citizens of provincial al-Andalus. Having become used to advising the local government officials on various aspects of government, a few approached the Sultan’s administration with “offers” of assistance - phrased generally as offers to remove the heavy administrative burden of provincial governance but containing thinly veiled threats against the peace of the provinces of al-Andalus if they did not get their way. In the end, the Sultan called them to the al-Hamra, greeted them, and spoke with them. He then sent them on their way and at least for the moment, contained the brewing dangers.
A short entry from the Sultan’s official diary records an anonymous officials view of the events.
The American colonies were a source of great wealth for the Sultanate - the large navy maintained by the Sultanate helped guard the sea lanes and ensured a flow of wealth from America to al-Andalus. However, in one part of the newly acquired colonies in Mexico, the land proved hostile. In fact, after years of attempting to colonize the vacant lands between the Mexican and central American colonies of the Sultanate, the land proved too hostile and unforgiving. Hundreds of settlers met unknown fates as they attempted to build Islamic lives in the tropical jungles.
Rumors came to the court that the Mayan and the Aztlan, from their bases on the Great Western Ocean were actively hindering the Sultan’s colonists - they feared any increase in the power of the Sultanate, especially the Maya, who for centuries had used the paths of the unsettled territory to move between their two centers of power. The Maya also claimed that in distant times their ancestors had lived in great cities lost under the jungle canopy and that the ghosts of their ancestors refused to allow settlers to inhabit the land. With this reason and others, they attempted to forbid the Sultan access to the land.
When a final group of settlers were lost in the jungles and swamps, the Sultan could take no more. He insisted that the Maya agree to support with food and water the Granadan settlement of the land he desired. When they refused, he declared war.
This war brought a huge coalition opposed to the Sultanate into being - the results of treaties of various powers with the Maya as well as of warnings sent to the Sultan’s court by various European states. In the Americas, Chalco and the Aztlan joined the war in alliance with the Maya and moved to regain territories lost over the years to Granada. In Europe a variety of small duchies, counties and kingdoms arrayed themselves against the Sultan - these included Orleans, Switzerland, Tuscany, and the rebellious vassals of the Sultan in Aragon, Galicia, Ferrara and Navarra. Against this alliance stood the Sultan and his European allies and vassals - the bishops of Mainz, Trier, Salzburg and Aquileia; the French princes of Guyenne and Brittany; and the Italian counts and dukes of Naples, Pisa and Savoy, and Gorz.
In reality, of course, the minor states of Europe could not impede or threaten the forces of the Sultanate. One by one they were overrun, starting with Switzerland within months of the start of the war. Each was forced to pay tribute and indemnities to the Sultan and swear vassalage to him.
In the Americas, the Sultan dealt with Chalco and the Maya quickly; the ruler of Chalco was quickly forced to kneel in homage to the Sultan while the ruler of the Maya was held in captivity while the Sultan turned his attention to the Emperor of the Aztlan.
The Sultan’s newest general, ibn Yusuf was dispatched to the Mexican colonies. Assuming command of a powerful cavalry force there, he harried the Aztlan Emperor, Huanitzin II across the deserts and valleys of Mexico until a decisive battle was fought in the very valley of Mexico itself. Huanitzin and all his men were destroyed in the battle.
This letter was addressed to Sultan Yusuf XI but it was never received by him. Soon after the signal victory over the Aztlan and while the news of the great victory traveled over the seas to Granada, Yusuf XI Sultan of Granada and the Messenger of Allah died. He was succeeded by his son, Isma’il V.
Isma’il V was a the most skilled Sultan to ascend the throne of Granada in generations. He combined Administrative and Diplomatic skills with the keen senses of a great warrior. The European powers both at war and peace with the Sultanate sent out feelers - hoping that the new Sultan would prove to be more amenable to peace and coexistence in Europe, and indeed beyond. They were quickly disabused of this thought. We have the first public proclamation of Isma’il V, reproduced in part below.
This caused great consternation throughout Europe. The Sultanate was already at war with many of the small states on its border; Switzerland was already brought into subjection and the rich Italian city of Florence was under occupation by the new Sultan’s forces. The Sultanate’s expansion in the Americas had pulled some of the richest provinces from the hands of native people as well as European powers. The nations of Europe were on edge, and viewed the statements of Sultan Isma'il with great alarm and concern.
In fact, the panic in the courts of Europe reached fever pitch. Alliances were drawn up between some of the key Atlantic powers, and shortly after the accession of Isma’il to the throne, Great Britain, Spain and Portugal declared war on the Sultanate.
The Sultan directed that Great Britain be dealt with just as it had under his father. Blockades were established outside all the major ports and estuaries of England, choking off trade and income. Once the sea lanes were secured, the Sultan sent several large armies to the shores of England where they quickly assaulted British towns and fortresses. One moved rapidly north and the other moved more slowly south from the Scottish border. Both moved toward the forces of the English King, Frederick IV (this was the same king who had failed in the last war against the Sultanate.) Within six months over half of England was in the hands of the Sultan, and the forces of the Sultan were moving to engage Frederick in the countryside of Yorkshire.
Tariq ibn Husayn was one of the greatest Granadan generals in the long history of the Sultanate. His parents named him after the Arab hero who had first invaded al-Andalus and overthrown the Vandal kingdom. The new Tariq brought the same passion and power to the art of war. In the fields of Yorkshire he met the forces of the King of England in 1807. General ibn Husayn had around 35,000 men at arms with him and he was joined during the course of battle by an additional number of men. Facing a total of over 70,000 Granadan soldiers, Frederick had just under 30,000 men.
The battle was almost over before it began. General ibn Husayn's capabilities in all aspects of warfare outclassed those of the English King. Additionally, ibn Husayn was a man in the prime of life with all his powers at their peak; the English King was an old man, defeated by Granada comprehensively earlier in his reign, and surely dreading the worst. In the fields of Yorkshire the English king was defeated with the loss of almost half of this men. He retreated toward the hills and valleys of Lancashire but ibn Husayn sent half his forces under General ibn Ya’far after the king. Fifteen days later, with not enough time to reform and refresh his weary men the king was met by ibn Ya’far and utterly destroyed along with all the English men at arms amongst the hills and dales of the English countryside.
While ibn Husayn and ibn Ya’far were leading the attack and conquest of England, other armies of the Sultan were moving against the newly discovered lands of Great Britain, Spain and Portugal in the Americas. One of the great benefits of the Imperial Naval Expedition was the discovery of the islands and the various colonies that were sprinkled throughout and along the Great Inland Sea. It must be said that one of the most significant miscalculations of the Atlantic Alliance (Great Britain, Spain and Portugal) was in their underestimate of the total men at arms available to the Sultan in this period. They had assumed the Sultan would not be able to carry on warfare over such a large geographic area. They were proved conclusively wrong in this war.
While the Sultan’s forces moved against the American colonial possessions of the Atlantic Alliance, peace was reached with the Maya and Aztlan kingdoms. The Maya gave up their southern cities bordering the Great Western Ocean. The Aztlan suffered a much greater disaster - they surrendered one province bordering the Great Western Ocean, which accomplished Sultan Yusuf’s goal of connecting his colonial possessions in Mexico and central America. But the were forced to release the Tlaxcalteca as a soverign state - this new nation took all but two of provinces of the Aztlan, reducing this once powerful Empire to a small nation occupying two valleys each with a few cities.
With the Aztlan war finished, the Sultan’s commanders in America sent a strong and fast-moving cavalry force north and west. The Imperial Naval Expedition had found several provinces there occupied by small groups of natives. There were also a few unmapped stretches of the coast - and at the very northern reaches of the Great Western Sea they had found two Portuguese colonies. It was in search of a land route that this cavalry force moved quickly northwards. In what must have been a significant surprise, this force found colony after colony along the coast - each undefended and quickly seized for the Sultanate. In the far north they finally found the Portuguese colonial army defending the two established Portuguese colonies on the coast.
Those forced were defeated and the cities put under siege. Far from the Portuguese homeland and depairing of any assistance, these colonies quickly surrendered.
Similarly, the Sultans forces attacked and captured many Spanish colonies in the great Inland Sea - some had been discovered by the Naval Expedition, others were known only from rumors and the blank spaces on the official maps. The Spanish were simply not able to protect their island colonies once they had been discovered.
By 1808 all of England had been occupied once again by the forces of the Sultan. As the leader of the Atlantic Alliance, peace conditions were sent from Granada to London, where Frederick was being held in the Tower of London.
The victorious generals were called back to Granada for reward and consultation. While the Sultan was extremely impressed with the effectiveness and power of his armies and fleets (and rewarded them richly with land and money in the new colonies), he also wished to challenge his generals and admirals to stay at the forefront of military technology. The launch of multiple wars by the enemies of the Sultanate brought home to him and his leading generals the need to be able to fight on many fronts with great effectiveness and power.
In 1809 the dying Sultan of Yemen launched a war against the Sultan - claiming that an angel from Allah had appeared with the instructions to seize the holy cities of Mecca and Medina and return the Caliphate to the Arabian peninsula.
General Faruq ibn Ya’far moved south with a large force from Egypt. He met the forces of the Yemeni Sultan in the highlands of Asir and drove him from the field. ibn Ya’ar moved into Yemeni territory and assaulted the major towns. The sons of Muhammas IV of Yemen approached ibn Ya’far with an offer of peace - Yemen would surrender her cities and ports on the Red Sea south of Asir in exchange for peace. The Sultan sent his approval for this peace offer and Granada extended her control to the mouth of the Red Sea.
One final gasp of the Atlantic War occurred in the territories seized in the Great Inland Sea in 1809. Many peasants in the towns of Cuba rose in revolt against the governor of that island - claiming that their voices were being ignored by their rulers and that the new Granadan rulers were crushing them under burdens too dreadful to bear. The rulers of Canada, the USA and Banda Oriental (far to the south beyond the Portuguese holdings), each of which had overthrown colonial powers and somewhat related via their European heritage to the majority of the settlers in Cuba showed the support for the position of the rebels. This of course revealed the true source of the rebellion. The Sultan was forced to send troops to put down the rebellion, and left a large force stationed in Cuba and Jamaica to deal with the rising levels of unrest there.
As the first decade of the 1800s ended the Sultan welcomed the return of peace. While he welcomed the opportunity to expand the House of Peace, he also valued the benefits of peace. With the Sultanate increasingly involved in global trade, peace and prosperity within the House of Peace was no longer disconnected from peace at the edge of the House of Peace. With the end of warfare in Europe and America, the Sultan directed his attention to establishing stronger control over global trade. The conquests in the Americas and Africa had placed Granada in control of many valuable resources. In fact, the Sultan’s advisors came to him with a plan to establish a global wine monopoly, which he eagerly embraced. With peace established and trade flowing again, the economy of Granada was able to reap vast wealth from monopolies on goods across Europe, Africa and America.
The Imperial Naval Expedition of Granada left the shores of al-Andalus and sailed initially toward the American coast and the Bay Colonies of Granada. The passage south from these colonies along the coast had long been unknown - the shallow waters, many islands, strange tides and tales of whirlpools and other disturbances around an island region of Barbados had long kept Granadan mariners from exploring this region. But lack of knowledge had meant that communication between the extensive American colonies in the American south relied on access from the French, then British and now Americans. The wars against France and Britain had eliminated the right of the Sultan’s armies and commerce to pass through the territories of these countries, and the constant rebellions and roaming bands of armed peasants made the trip through the USA dangerous at best and impossible often. Discovering and charting the safe route via the sea was a critical and practical first objective.
Having accomplished this, the Naval Expedition traveled south and explored the Great Inland Sea lying between the newly acquired colonies of Florida and the Mexican towns and harbors. It proved to be much larger than expected, with many islands scattered upon its surface. Some of these were held by the Spanish; others were glimpsed through fog, rain and the shimmering moonlight but precise details on shape and inhabitants were often difficult to distinguish. But the Explorers noted them on their maps and moved onward, confident that the beginnings of knowledge had been captured and anxious to move into truly unknown territory.
Many months later they found themselves sailing back to the Atlantic and rounding what seemed to be a huge headland as the land turned south. Here they found several Portuguese cities and towns - the rumored home of the Kings of Portugal since they had fled Europe for the safety of the American jungles. Farther south they found the nation of Banda Oriental, a nation of slaves that had risen against the Spanish.
As reports streamed back from the Naval Expedition, excitement gripped the entire Sultanate. Although a religious society, the Sultanate had always been open minded and supportive of the innovative mind-sent and of the quest for knowledge. The twelve universities of the Sultanate were sponsored and supported by the Sultan and members of the Imperial family; they produced intelligent, questioning and clever members of society. Some of these men associated with the University and Islamic Foundation in Granada seized upon the reports from the Naval Expedition and established a Science Center for the Studies of the Americas in the city of Cordoba - close enough to the capital to attract funds and interest but far enough away to maintain independence and control. This set off a chain reaction throughout the Sultanate, with many similar, if smaller efforts springing up in many places. The already advanced science of the Sultanate advanced even more quickly - to the delight of the Sultan and the envy of Europe.
Three years of peace and prosperity also had the usual impact on the merchants and wealthy citizens of provincial al-Andalus. Having become used to advising the local government officials on various aspects of government, a few approached the Sultan’s administration with “offers” of assistance - phrased generally as offers to remove the heavy administrative burden of provincial governance but containing thinly veiled threats against the peace of the provinces of al-Andalus if they did not get their way. In the end, the Sultan called them to the al-Hamra, greeted them, and spoke with them. He then sent them on their way and at least for the moment, contained the brewing dangers.
A short entry from the Sultan’s official diary records an anonymous officials view of the events.
“These men were called to Granada to the presence of the Caliph. This was done for a specific reason - Sultan Yusuf wanted to impress upon these men that they were in the presence of the Messenger of Allah, not some provincial official. The men entered, and although they stepped through the door with swagger they were overcome with awe at the rooms, with the gilding and jewels and the words of the Qu’ran running in kufic script around the walls.
The Sultan in his role as Caliph entered the room with all seriousness, and welcoming these trouble-makers, engaged them in discussion about the religious state of the provinces. He thanked them for their concern for the people and for being willing to bring their message to the Caliph in person.
He shared a sparse meal with them - something they clearly did not expect, but when the Caliph bid them join him, what could they do? They received a few grains of sand from Mecca in small jeweled boxes - the jewels from African, the silver inlay by artisans from Damascus, the silk they were wrapped in from Italy and Constantinople. They were awed, not by the power and wealth of the Sultan but by the holiness and generosity of the Caliph. And the returned to their provincial homes with declarations of support for the Caliph and Allah on their lips.”
The Sultan in his role as Caliph entered the room with all seriousness, and welcoming these trouble-makers, engaged them in discussion about the religious state of the provinces. He thanked them for their concern for the people and for being willing to bring their message to the Caliph in person.
He shared a sparse meal with them - something they clearly did not expect, but when the Caliph bid them join him, what could they do? They received a few grains of sand from Mecca in small jeweled boxes - the jewels from African, the silver inlay by artisans from Damascus, the silk they were wrapped in from Italy and Constantinople. They were awed, not by the power and wealth of the Sultan but by the holiness and generosity of the Caliph. And the returned to their provincial homes with declarations of support for the Caliph and Allah on their lips.”
The American colonies were a source of great wealth for the Sultanate - the large navy maintained by the Sultanate helped guard the sea lanes and ensured a flow of wealth from America to al-Andalus. However, in one part of the newly acquired colonies in Mexico, the land proved hostile. In fact, after years of attempting to colonize the vacant lands between the Mexican and central American colonies of the Sultanate, the land proved too hostile and unforgiving. Hundreds of settlers met unknown fates as they attempted to build Islamic lives in the tropical jungles.
Rumors came to the court that the Mayan and the Aztlan, from their bases on the Great Western Ocean were actively hindering the Sultan’s colonists - they feared any increase in the power of the Sultanate, especially the Maya, who for centuries had used the paths of the unsettled territory to move between their two centers of power. The Maya also claimed that in distant times their ancestors had lived in great cities lost under the jungle canopy and that the ghosts of their ancestors refused to allow settlers to inhabit the land. With this reason and others, they attempted to forbid the Sultan access to the land.
When a final group of settlers were lost in the jungles and swamps, the Sultan could take no more. He insisted that the Maya agree to support with food and water the Granadan settlement of the land he desired. When they refused, he declared war.
This war brought a huge coalition opposed to the Sultanate into being - the results of treaties of various powers with the Maya as well as of warnings sent to the Sultan’s court by various European states. In the Americas, Chalco and the Aztlan joined the war in alliance with the Maya and moved to regain territories lost over the years to Granada. In Europe a variety of small duchies, counties and kingdoms arrayed themselves against the Sultan - these included Orleans, Switzerland, Tuscany, and the rebellious vassals of the Sultan in Aragon, Galicia, Ferrara and Navarra. Against this alliance stood the Sultan and his European allies and vassals - the bishops of Mainz, Trier, Salzburg and Aquileia; the French princes of Guyenne and Brittany; and the Italian counts and dukes of Naples, Pisa and Savoy, and Gorz.
In reality, of course, the minor states of Europe could not impede or threaten the forces of the Sultanate. One by one they were overrun, starting with Switzerland within months of the start of the war. Each was forced to pay tribute and indemnities to the Sultan and swear vassalage to him.
In the Americas, the Sultan dealt with Chalco and the Maya quickly; the ruler of Chalco was quickly forced to kneel in homage to the Sultan while the ruler of the Maya was held in captivity while the Sultan turned his attention to the Emperor of the Aztlan.
The Sultan’s newest general, ibn Yusuf was dispatched to the Mexican colonies. Assuming command of a powerful cavalry force there, he harried the Aztlan Emperor, Huanitzin II across the deserts and valleys of Mexico until a decisive battle was fought in the very valley of Mexico itself. Huanitzin and all his men were destroyed in the battle.
“Great Sultan, may Allah preserve your power and wisdom and the House of Nasr for ever. We have met the leader of the Aztlan and his men in the Valley of Mexico.
His shining city on the lake was gleaminig behind him - the noxious fumes of hundreds if not thousands of their vile sacrifices was rising into the sky from the innumerable temples that rose from the plazas. I reminded your brave soldiers of those practices that so characterize this race. And reminded that our own brave people had been sacrificed on those very altars that were pouring their black smoky offering to the sky and offending the face of Allah. I told them that the smoke of these sacrifices was an attempt by the Aztlan to hide us from the watchful care and protection of Allah. But I reminded them that Allah had raised a new Messenger and Caliph in Granada, that the smoke of impious sacrifices could never keep His eye from watching and guarding us.
With that, we drew ourselves into battle array. Commending ourselves to Allah we launched our attack against the forces of the Aztlan. All the while the profane smoke rose from the temples in the lake and ascended to the skies to pollute the sight of Allah.
The fighting was fierce and then it seemed as if suddenly it was over. The battlefield was quiet. The smoke from the distant temples dissipated from the sky. The bodies were pied high around me and my men. We looked and saw man after man, friend after friend, comrade after comrade standing amid hundreds and thousands of bodies. The bodies of the Aztlan warriors. Their king was among the dead. A great shout went up from your warriors and as that died out a great wailing was heard from the city on the lake.
Your other commanders will deliver the towns and forts of the Aztlan to you; Allah is with us and will deliver us from harm. And thanks to the protection and guidance of Allah, I have delivered the King and the army and Aztlan to you.”
- letter announcing the absolute victory of Granada over the Aztlan Emperor, 1806
His shining city on the lake was gleaminig behind him - the noxious fumes of hundreds if not thousands of their vile sacrifices was rising into the sky from the innumerable temples that rose from the plazas. I reminded your brave soldiers of those practices that so characterize this race. And reminded that our own brave people had been sacrificed on those very altars that were pouring their black smoky offering to the sky and offending the face of Allah. I told them that the smoke of these sacrifices was an attempt by the Aztlan to hide us from the watchful care and protection of Allah. But I reminded them that Allah had raised a new Messenger and Caliph in Granada, that the smoke of impious sacrifices could never keep His eye from watching and guarding us.
With that, we drew ourselves into battle array. Commending ourselves to Allah we launched our attack against the forces of the Aztlan. All the while the profane smoke rose from the temples in the lake and ascended to the skies to pollute the sight of Allah.
The fighting was fierce and then it seemed as if suddenly it was over. The battlefield was quiet. The smoke from the distant temples dissipated from the sky. The bodies were pied high around me and my men. We looked and saw man after man, friend after friend, comrade after comrade standing amid hundreds and thousands of bodies. The bodies of the Aztlan warriors. Their king was among the dead. A great shout went up from your warriors and as that died out a great wailing was heard from the city on the lake.
Your other commanders will deliver the towns and forts of the Aztlan to you; Allah is with us and will deliver us from harm. And thanks to the protection and guidance of Allah, I have delivered the King and the army and Aztlan to you.”
- letter announcing the absolute victory of Granada over the Aztlan Emperor, 1806
This letter was addressed to Sultan Yusuf XI but it was never received by him. Soon after the signal victory over the Aztlan and while the news of the great victory traveled over the seas to Granada, Yusuf XI Sultan of Granada and the Messenger of Allah died. He was succeeded by his son, Isma’il V.
Isma’il V was a the most skilled Sultan to ascend the throne of Granada in generations. He combined Administrative and Diplomatic skills with the keen senses of a great warrior. The European powers both at war and peace with the Sultanate sent out feelers - hoping that the new Sultan would prove to be more amenable to peace and coexistence in Europe, and indeed beyond. They were quickly disabused of this thought. We have the first public proclamation of Isma’il V, reproduced in part below.
“People of Europe, Asia, Africa and America. My father, the great Sultan Yusuf who also stood as the Messenger of Allah and Guardian of the Holy Cities of Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem, has passed the rule of this great empire and the leadership of the House of Peace to me. He is with Allah, and has gained his reward as one who served Allah in all his acts - political, religious and every other way...
Know this - it was his dream and it is mine that the House of Peace grow until it encompasses all the earth. Allah sees the entire earth and all the people in it; Allah welcomes all to come into the House of Peace. As His Messenger, I bring you these words of sweet invitation. As the Sultan of Granada I command that you hear and obey this invitation.
Come into the House of Peace! Enjoy the blessing of Allah’s protection as the people of Granada have for untold generations. The House of Peace is the place of Peace and Prosperity. Heed the words Allah has placed into my heart and mouth. I am His most Holy Messenger. And as Sultan of Granada, I am also his most sincere warrior and I will not hesitate to bring you to the House of Peace with the Sword of Allah. I will come to the you in the House of War if you insist on remaining in that place.”
- portion of accession speech in Granada by new Sultan Isam’il V 1806
Know this - it was his dream and it is mine that the House of Peace grow until it encompasses all the earth. Allah sees the entire earth and all the people in it; Allah welcomes all to come into the House of Peace. As His Messenger, I bring you these words of sweet invitation. As the Sultan of Granada I command that you hear and obey this invitation.
Come into the House of Peace! Enjoy the blessing of Allah’s protection as the people of Granada have for untold generations. The House of Peace is the place of Peace and Prosperity. Heed the words Allah has placed into my heart and mouth. I am His most Holy Messenger. And as Sultan of Granada, I am also his most sincere warrior and I will not hesitate to bring you to the House of Peace with the Sword of Allah. I will come to the you in the House of War if you insist on remaining in that place.”
- portion of accession speech in Granada by new Sultan Isam’il V 1806
This caused great consternation throughout Europe. The Sultanate was already at war with many of the small states on its border; Switzerland was already brought into subjection and the rich Italian city of Florence was under occupation by the new Sultan’s forces. The Sultanate’s expansion in the Americas had pulled some of the richest provinces from the hands of native people as well as European powers. The nations of Europe were on edge, and viewed the statements of Sultan Isma'il with great alarm and concern.
In fact, the panic in the courts of Europe reached fever pitch. Alliances were drawn up between some of the key Atlantic powers, and shortly after the accession of Isma’il to the throne, Great Britain, Spain and Portugal declared war on the Sultanate.
The Sultan directed that Great Britain be dealt with just as it had under his father. Blockades were established outside all the major ports and estuaries of England, choking off trade and income. Once the sea lanes were secured, the Sultan sent several large armies to the shores of England where they quickly assaulted British towns and fortresses. One moved rapidly north and the other moved more slowly south from the Scottish border. Both moved toward the forces of the English King, Frederick IV (this was the same king who had failed in the last war against the Sultanate.) Within six months over half of England was in the hands of the Sultan, and the forces of the Sultan were moving to engage Frederick in the countryside of Yorkshire.
Tariq ibn Husayn was one of the greatest Granadan generals in the long history of the Sultanate. His parents named him after the Arab hero who had first invaded al-Andalus and overthrown the Vandal kingdom. The new Tariq brought the same passion and power to the art of war. In the fields of Yorkshire he met the forces of the King of England in 1807. General ibn Husayn had around 35,000 men at arms with him and he was joined during the course of battle by an additional number of men. Facing a total of over 70,000 Granadan soldiers, Frederick had just under 30,000 men.
The battle was almost over before it began. General ibn Husayn's capabilities in all aspects of warfare outclassed those of the English King. Additionally, ibn Husayn was a man in the prime of life with all his powers at their peak; the English King was an old man, defeated by Granada comprehensively earlier in his reign, and surely dreading the worst. In the fields of Yorkshire the English king was defeated with the loss of almost half of this men. He retreated toward the hills and valleys of Lancashire but ibn Husayn sent half his forces under General ibn Ya’far after the king. Fifteen days later, with not enough time to reform and refresh his weary men the king was met by ibn Ya’far and utterly destroyed along with all the English men at arms amongst the hills and dales of the English countryside.
While ibn Husayn and ibn Ya’far were leading the attack and conquest of England, other armies of the Sultan were moving against the newly discovered lands of Great Britain, Spain and Portugal in the Americas. One of the great benefits of the Imperial Naval Expedition was the discovery of the islands and the various colonies that were sprinkled throughout and along the Great Inland Sea. It must be said that one of the most significant miscalculations of the Atlantic Alliance (Great Britain, Spain and Portugal) was in their underestimate of the total men at arms available to the Sultan in this period. They had assumed the Sultan would not be able to carry on warfare over such a large geographic area. They were proved conclusively wrong in this war.
While the Sultan’s forces moved against the American colonial possessions of the Atlantic Alliance, peace was reached with the Maya and Aztlan kingdoms. The Maya gave up their southern cities bordering the Great Western Ocean. The Aztlan suffered a much greater disaster - they surrendered one province bordering the Great Western Ocean, which accomplished Sultan Yusuf’s goal of connecting his colonial possessions in Mexico and central America. But the were forced to release the Tlaxcalteca as a soverign state - this new nation took all but two of provinces of the Aztlan, reducing this once powerful Empire to a small nation occupying two valleys each with a few cities.
With the Aztlan war finished, the Sultan’s commanders in America sent a strong and fast-moving cavalry force north and west. The Imperial Naval Expedition had found several provinces there occupied by small groups of natives. There were also a few unmapped stretches of the coast - and at the very northern reaches of the Great Western Sea they had found two Portuguese colonies. It was in search of a land route that this cavalry force moved quickly northwards. In what must have been a significant surprise, this force found colony after colony along the coast - each undefended and quickly seized for the Sultanate. In the far north they finally found the Portuguese colonial army defending the two established Portuguese colonies on the coast.
Those forced were defeated and the cities put under siege. Far from the Portuguese homeland and depairing of any assistance, these colonies quickly surrendered.
Similarly, the Sultans forces attacked and captured many Spanish colonies in the great Inland Sea - some had been discovered by the Naval Expedition, others were known only from rumors and the blank spaces on the official maps. The Spanish were simply not able to protect their island colonies once they had been discovered.
By 1808 all of England had been occupied once again by the forces of the Sultan. As the leader of the Atlantic Alliance, peace conditions were sent from Granada to London, where Frederick was being held in the Tower of London.
“These are the terms of peace offered by the Sultan of Granada and Messenger of Allah.
You will surrender into the possession of the Sultan of Granada the towns, harbors and riches of the colonies your crown and those of the kings of Spain and Portugal we hold in the Great Inner Sea and along the northern reaches of the Great Western Sea. These are addition to those we have seized as rightful gains of war in whatever places they exist. You will also surrender the ancient city of Macau to our most loyal ally the Emperor of China who holds that city in his grasp.
You will admit to the world that you broke your most solemn vow to live at peace with us - a promise made to our father and held in trust by us. For no reason other than your desperate wickedness and fear you attempted to seize what no longer belongs to you. The cost of that decision is to lose even that you hold today.
May your god have mercy on your soul of blackness and deceit. May Allah guard his righteous people from the wickedness that exists in the House of War where you make your home.”
You will surrender into the possession of the Sultan of Granada the towns, harbors and riches of the colonies your crown and those of the kings of Spain and Portugal we hold in the Great Inner Sea and along the northern reaches of the Great Western Sea. These are addition to those we have seized as rightful gains of war in whatever places they exist. You will also surrender the ancient city of Macau to our most loyal ally the Emperor of China who holds that city in his grasp.
You will admit to the world that you broke your most solemn vow to live at peace with us - a promise made to our father and held in trust by us. For no reason other than your desperate wickedness and fear you attempted to seize what no longer belongs to you. The cost of that decision is to lose even that you hold today.
May your god have mercy on your soul of blackness and deceit. May Allah guard his righteous people from the wickedness that exists in the House of War where you make your home.”
The victorious generals were called back to Granada for reward and consultation. While the Sultan was extremely impressed with the effectiveness and power of his armies and fleets (and rewarded them richly with land and money in the new colonies), he also wished to challenge his generals and admirals to stay at the forefront of military technology. The launch of multiple wars by the enemies of the Sultanate brought home to him and his leading generals the need to be able to fight on many fronts with great effectiveness and power.
In 1809 the dying Sultan of Yemen launched a war against the Sultan - claiming that an angel from Allah had appeared with the instructions to seize the holy cities of Mecca and Medina and return the Caliphate to the Arabian peninsula.
General Faruq ibn Ya’far moved south with a large force from Egypt. He met the forces of the Yemeni Sultan in the highlands of Asir and drove him from the field. ibn Ya’ar moved into Yemeni territory and assaulted the major towns. The sons of Muhammas IV of Yemen approached ibn Ya’far with an offer of peace - Yemen would surrender her cities and ports on the Red Sea south of Asir in exchange for peace. The Sultan sent his approval for this peace offer and Granada extended her control to the mouth of the Red Sea.
One final gasp of the Atlantic War occurred in the territories seized in the Great Inland Sea in 1809. Many peasants in the towns of Cuba rose in revolt against the governor of that island - claiming that their voices were being ignored by their rulers and that the new Granadan rulers were crushing them under burdens too dreadful to bear. The rulers of Canada, the USA and Banda Oriental (far to the south beyond the Portuguese holdings), each of which had overthrown colonial powers and somewhat related via their European heritage to the majority of the settlers in Cuba showed the support for the position of the rebels. This of course revealed the true source of the rebellion. The Sultan was forced to send troops to put down the rebellion, and left a large force stationed in Cuba and Jamaica to deal with the rising levels of unrest there.
As the first decade of the 1800s ended the Sultan welcomed the return of peace. While he welcomed the opportunity to expand the House of Peace, he also valued the benefits of peace. With the Sultanate increasingly involved in global trade, peace and prosperity within the House of Peace was no longer disconnected from peace at the edge of the House of Peace. With the end of warfare in Europe and America, the Sultan directed his attention to establishing stronger control over global trade. The conquests in the Americas and Africa had placed Granada in control of many valuable resources. In fact, the Sultan’s advisors came to him with a plan to establish a global wine monopoly, which he eagerly embraced. With peace established and trade flowing again, the economy of Granada was able to reap vast wealth from monopolies on goods across Europe, Africa and America.
I wish I saw this earlier. Thank you for the great AAR, and thank you for playing MM.