Rise of India: A Rajputana MMP AAR

[volksmarschall]

Quite impressive stuff here! Absolutely enjoyable stuff to read, and not to mention its an AAR on Raj! I'm only half-way through on your AAR, and I'll be sure to find time to get fully caught up. Great stuff thus far!

 

[unmerged(514)]

Great reading!


Congrats NACBEAST.

 

[aldriq]

I finally manage to catch up with this great AAR and you are mostly done... are we going to have a glorious war with France?

 

[unmerged(59432)]

What a pity that after 3 expansion pacts, numerous patches, and years on the market...

...the flag of Rajputana is STILL wrong!

I pointed this out literally years back, when the game was first released, and it still hasn't been sorted.

The saffron flag displayed throughout most of this AAR is infact that of the Sikh religion, and Punjabi Sikh Kingdom.

It displays the Khanda - the symbol of Sikhism, a religion not founded until after the start of this AAR.

Its such an obvious error, that anyone could spot.

Also, I notaced a few historical errors in the events - for example the rise of Bhakti and Tantricism was contemporay to Indian Buddhism rather than Islam.

Also, Hinduism is not really a single religion - it is a collection of several closely related religions and philosophies, which claim nominal lineage with Vedic Brahminism - so, for example, any event that speaks about Hinduism in general terms, as if it were a single religion, is probably a simplification. The same goes for Shinto in Japan - both Shintoism and Hinduism are fairly modern terms.

But my compliments on a very nice AAR, even if the game is inaccurate.

 

[NACBEAST]

The Rise of India: Legacy of Jodha


Chapter 13: Shivaji, The Short-Lived and Melancholy (1610-1616)

Shivaji I, perhaps one of the least talented and weak-minded of the Samraats in Jodha's Line​

Up until the 20th Century, Shivaji I was remembered by historians as a good Samraat of the Empire. After all, in his short reign he managed to obtain more territory from the the other Princely States, and atop of that, set up a system of signal towers in Chandigrah that would help in future wars and battles against the Mongols. However, as with most of the previous records of many of the Indian Samraats, there was underlying information that was not discovered, mostly due to the royal court attempting to keep the 'dignity' of the Samraats in check.

From diaries and letters sent in between the Estates and Shivaji's adviser, we know that his reign in particular was the peak of power of the Indian Estates, the body of nobles and other influential figures in Indian society able to take advantage of Shivaji's lack of intellect and ability by overlapping their powers into those traditionally belonging to the Samraat. Contemporary historians point to Shivaji's all too willing attitude concerning this usurption of his power as one of the base causes of the future in-fighting in the Indian government.

The Estates, a body only meant to assist the Samraat in his duties, wasn't exactly built to take them on fully, and thus government suffered in this period​

Though the Estates deeply interfered in traditionally Samraat duties, it did leave the matter of the military to the Samraat, out of hope that the military tradition of the Jodha line would assist Shivaji in this field. Shivaji, while not militarily skilled, certainly took up the tradition of the Jodha line by declaring war only a few weeks after taking up the throne.

The Indian-Bihari War (1610-1612)

Punjab, though not seen in this illustration, was on the side of Bihar in this war​

Unlike previous wars of aggression within India's history, this war was actually prompted by an aggressive move from the 'opposing side'. Orissa, upon having heard that the feared 'First Samraat' of India had passed, decided to test the meddle of the new Samraat by invading Gondwana and annexing its capitol, a territory that India had claimed as its own since the inception of the Raaj. Shivaji, enraged by this rather abrasive slap in the face of India's claims, declared to the Estates and to his citizens that war was to begin.

Coming to Orissa's aid and, in fact, taking leadership for itself in the conflict, was Bihar, alongside the rather distant state of Taungu, as well as the Sikh stronghold of Punjab. For India, this was an excellent turn of events. Punjab had long since protected the most violent of the Sikh faith within their borders, whom would commonly come across the border to attack, while Bihar also held very key territories that India wished to claim. Having them, plus the foolish Orissan state, on one side, to India, was like killing several birds with a single stone.

Or, at least, it would've been with a competent military leader. Shivaji's initial military plans put India into a very unstable footing, dedicating too many troops to the fight in the west with Punjab, and not enough troops to the fight in the east with Bihar and Orissa. As such Bihar was able to breach many of India's border guards, and begin a siege of Allahabad, and Orissa was managing to keep the fighting going on in Gondwana much longer than India would have been comfortable with beforehand.

Previously, these had just been read as initial missteps that would be fixed by the Samraat in due time. In reality, had Shivaji continued making the military decisions, things would've most assuredly gone downhill from there. Fortunately, or unfortunately, as some would say, the Indian Estates jumped in and elected a new Estates General. Many familiar with the history of the Estates in its early days would surely know who this man was: The Hero of Allahabad - then Lt. Govind Rao Vyas.

Estates General Govind Vyas, Hero of Allahabad, and main official responsible for Indian Military Affairs during Shivaji's reign​

Before being elected by the Indian Estates to be the new Estates General, Govind had been a member of the border guard responsible for keeping Bihar at bay. When Bihari forces attempted to cross the border, Govind's superior officer was killed during the skirmishes, and the border guards were forced to retreat. As the most senior officer remaining in the guard, Govind had command of his particular branch of the guard, whom he ordered to retreat back into the walls of Allahbad. Though this allowed Bihar to begin hammering against the walls of the city, a large chunk of the guard remained alive due to Govind's timely withdrawal. When the forces dedicated to the front began to arrive, few though they were, Govind began to communicate with the command structure of the reinforcements, via messages carried at night by lone-messagers. Govind told the General of the forces surrounding Allahabad, and that a strike then and there would've been fruitless, and only serve to cost the army dear lives.

So, Govind messaged that he would give a signal for the appropriate time, in the form of a 'great spire of fire' that would be visible from the distance at which the army was currently placed. Though sources are muddy, to say the least, on the following day, it is often theorized that the great spire of fire that Govind wished to signal the reinforcements with had something to do with the explosion of Bihari blackpowder that occured on the morning of the Battle of Allahabad. Bihari military records from the day indicate that as the sun rose across the sky, troops stationed a few hundred feet from the cannons the roar of a single cannon firing. Assuming it was one of their own merely misfiring, a second later a explosion suddenly rocked the area, the Bihari stores of blackpowder igniting and producing said explosion.

It's not too far fetched to believe that Govind noticed the stores of blackpowder from the walls of Allahabad while the city was under siege, and had one of his cannoneers fire a round right at the stores. After all, the canons in India were hardly the long-ranged marvels that they would be in later centuries, and needed rather vast amounts of blackpowder to carry them through long-terms sieges of enemy cities. In Bihar's case the blackpowder was kept close to the cannons, as well as other cannon equipment in order to cut down on the amount of time spent carrying balls and powder over to the lumbering weapons. The strike from cannon-fire could have produced enough energy to combust the large amount of black powder, and cause the explosion.

Or, alternatively, it could've very well been a misfiring on one of the cannon's part, and a spark from said misfire could've carried over to the black powder. Whether one of these is true or not is not the case, as when the explosion occurred, the relief army swooped in upon the Bihari forces, easily clearing out the highly confused and disoriented soldiers. Thus, whether or not the credit does belong to him, Govind was credited for having produced the column and shattering the enemy concentration, and thus was credited for saving Allahabad.

Questionable though the legend around his acension can be, Govind did a fine job of proving himself over the next two years. As the Estates General, he pushed into the realm of the military, and with the heroic credit he was given, managed to earn the control of the military for a time. By redirecting troops from the rather small fight with Punjab, and back to the west where they were needed, the war quickly turned into what India had come to expect of conflicts: a slow, merciless steamrolling of the enemy, and the taking of territories for itself.

The results of the Indian-Bihari War. India once again came away on top, especially in the peace with Bihar which, on top India's previous victory over Assam, now left Indian-Bihar border with Bihar's capitol completely surrounded on all sides by Indian Territory​

India's victories over the Bihar alliance (minus Taungu, whom did not participate in the war at all) helped to ensure Indian dominance in the north. With Punjab pacified, Sikh militancy drastically decreased, and the peace with both Orissa and Bihar left both states' capitols completely surrounded, ready for the taking by India. Though Bihar still held territory in the Bay of Bengal, India would soon be ready to take that in time. For now, the peace helped to set up for future Indian dominance over trade, via the capture of Bihar.

Govind's control over the military would have theoretically ended there, had not a familiar problem reared it's ugly head in North-West India.

The Mongols, at the moment unable to challenge India directly on the field of battle, took to setting up 'unaffiliated' nomadic raids across the border​

With the return of aggresive Mongol action in the form of new raids in the North-West provinces of India, the Estates once again lifted Govind to the cause. Though Shivaji wished to see complete warfare opened up against the Mongols, Govind was able to work around Shivaji's rage, and instead opened up a more defensive option. The line of signal towers that stand, even today in the provinces that used to make up the borders between India and the mongol powers, proved not only useful in repeling nomadic raids, but woudl also serve as useful warning systems in future wars against the actual mongol nation states. Eventually, Shivaji's call for war was pacified when raid after raid was successfully shot down by the line.

At this time it wouldn't have been all too unkind to say that the Estates were now running India, with Shivaji merely standing in as a figure-head for the citizenry to gather around in harsh times. If Shivaji had remained in power longer than he had, it wouldn't have been outside of the imagination that the Estates would have just made their control over India official by overthrowing Shivaji.

The Brahmin smiles upon Jodha's line by bringing an 'untimely' death to Shivaji​

Shivaji's death was not as violent or as malicious as his elder brother's had been. Shivaji's death came about one morning on September 2nd while he and a party of nobles were out hunting. Shivaji's horse was spooked, some joke, other say seriously, by its own shadow, and bucked Shivaji, the Samraat landing on the ground- neck first. As Shivaji had bore no children, some say thankfully, and his only brother was murdered, a cousin of direct Jodha descendance had to be chosen. This came in the form of Rama Singh I, whose father was Jagat Singh II's brother. Both Rama and his father had been passed over in the line of inheritance by Shivaji, as Shivaji was the direct heir to Jagat II's throne. Now, with his father dead, Rama was able to step up and take the throne himself: a throne that would soon find itself embattled with the Estates over power, over the Princes of India for land, the Mongols for safety... and Mysore for the throne.

 

[blsteen]

Mysore..bah crush them and the Mongols too.

 

[merrick]

Good to see this still going - you seem to have overcome Shivaji I's incompetence fairly well.

 

[unmerged(90806)]

well his reign was mercifully brief
a map of piinsula, please?

 

[GregElSho]

Just coming on board, here.
I'm delighted to have read this indian tale so far, and I hope your silence for the past few months isn't a bad sign.
Keep up the good work!