I enjoy it well as it is, I don't have any particular wishes, except perhaps taking a look at Asia, now that all the other major parts of the world is done.
India for example, how is it faring?
India for example, how is it faring?-
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Sure I can do India.I enjoy it well as it is, I don't have any particular wishes, except perhaps taking a look at Asia, now that all the other major parts of the world is done.
I'm really interested in seeing how China and Japan are doing, especially Japan. I don't have Divine Wind yet (I'm on a mac.) so I'm interested in knowing how those countries interact with the world.
I'll include it in the same update
Don't worry everyone, I've just been busy lately. My apologies for not updating this sooner, but I should be able to do so today or tomorrow.
Just got fully caught up on this. Brilliant AAR Scholar! I love detail, and you are definitely giving me my fix! I also love the way you've modelled it around the characters rather than the nation itself. Reminds me very much of CK AARs. A very refreshing way of doing an EU3 AAR.
I have been wondering, as I don't have DW yet... can nations shift their capitals now? Or are you editing the save file? Not that they couldn't shift them before, come to think of it... but it was incredibly expensive, and I rarely saw the AI do it. Particularly not as rampantly as it seems to have happened in your game.
I have been wondering, as I don't have DW yet... can nations shift their capitals now? Or are you editing the save file? Not that they couldn't shift them before, come to think of it... but it was incredibly expensive, and I rarely saw the AI do it. Particularly not as rampantly as it seems to have happened in your game.
You're certainly going into great amounts of detail. I do like how you managed to spell "Venetian" about three different ways in the art and still get it correct in the prose.
It's a gift!You're certainly going into great amounts of detail. I do like how you managed to spell "Venetian" about three different ways in the art and still get it correct in the prose.
I'm glad you are enjoying it.
A lesson from the East
India:
Inside of India there is the Delhi Sultanate, which rules over all of the northern sub continent. Delhi was once a great and powerful nation that ruled over India with complete impunity. As time went on, Deccan conquered the Hindi states, converted them, and built an army that could over power Delhi. Since that point in time Delhi has been one of two states. Just as the German Confederacy was two states vying for influence over all of Germany, here we have two Sultanates fighting for control of India and all the states that are inside of it. Delhi once had all of Tibet and expanded deep into Southeast Asia, now much of that land is lost. Delhi lost a war to the Timurids and the Deccan Sultanate forcing it to lose much of it's Empire, but it has been on the rebound, slowly gathering strength enough to challenge it's enemies.
Deccan's history is very much similar to Delhi's, following Delhi's establishment as Hegemon of India, Deccan worked on attacking and destroying the Hindi states, first among them being Vijayanagara and later Madurai to create a southern state in India with no flanks apart from the ocean allowing it to have a superior position against Delhi. Once Delhi went to war with the Timurids, Deccan pounced along with it's allies. Overpowering the state, they forced the release of many states. Before there was only three independent states in India, now there was many. Deccan's position as unrivaled Hegemon slowly collapsed as Delhi recovered quickly and later the Timurid Hordes invaded India causing strife beyond all imagining forcing Deccan to relinquish lands along the coast. Deccan, however, remains a powerful state and is very much the equal of Delhi.
The third state of India is Gujarat. Gujarat's existence is one of turmoil. Gujarat was obscure until the Genghisids came and made the state into a powerful force in the region. They sided with Deccan against the powerful Delhi sultanate, and later expanded showing great prominence and skill in that respect. Gujarat, however, was still only a minor power. Being the third strongest power of India was no small feat given it's neighbors lust for power and conquest, but it was not enough to truly be independent. Two attempts to expand power into Ceylon and Maldives failed due to Deccan intervention. When the Timurid Horde invaded Deccan, Gujarat sided with the Deccan Sultanate against the powerful and hostile invader. The Hordes swept through the small state, burning everything to the ground, and forced Gujarat to recognize Rajputa which occupied 1/3 of Gujarat's territory, and ceded another 1/3 to the Timurids causing Gujarat to sink into irrelevance, for now at least.
Rajputa, Maldives, and Madurai were born from the Timurid invasions. New states and still closely aligned to the Timurid Empire, there is some question as to whether or not they will remain independent for long, especially as Deccan and Delhi are slowly gaining sway over them. Nepal and Bihar are vassal states of Delhi. They first appeared following the Deccan invasions, but when the time came to defend them, Deccan abandoned them to Delhi, which robbed them of most of their lands, forcing them into vassalization. Since then their existence has been linked to Delhi. Bundlekhand remains very much neutral territory. They have been around for centuries, but because of their neutral stance, they have remained very much independent from Delhi and Deccan. Both sides do hold considerable sway over the state.
Khorasan is a remnant state of a long forgotten era. Over the years as Hindi states came and went, the Hindi faith slowly fell from grace. While there are significant minorities of the faith, there are only three states in the world to have it as their state religion. Even the distant Majapahit was conquered and subdued, and converted. All what remains is Khorasan in the distant mountains on the border of Persia and India, and Manipur which exists at the gateway from India to Southeast Asia. Sunni has become dominant, and it looks as if that will not change.
Southeast Asia:
Southeast Asia has been the victim of countless incursions by powerful neighbors. The Delhi Sultanate was the first among the powers to invade Southeast Asia. Countless states were destroyed inside of their conquest of the region. Their largest mistake was attacking the guaranteed state of Khmer bringing in the great and powerful Celestial Empire of Ming, which sent hundreds of thousands of soldiers to divide the Delhi Sultanate inside Southeast Asia. The Celestial Empire broke through the Delhi Sultanate establishing control from the sea of Bengal to the sea of Japan. However, when the Ming fell into discord, a resurgent Delhi formed a through the Ming to rejoin it's still loyal forces some decades later. The Ming's isolated pocket did not prove as loyal. Taungoo and the Shan States broke free from the Ming. That said, there are still isolated pockets of loyal forces, including Arakan, which has a link by sea to Nanking.
A remnant from the invasions would be the state of Pegu. It survived three invasions from the Sultanate of Delhi leaving it with nothing but two minor territories, never the less, it is still independent, and it is the only state inside of southeast Asia to survive a Delhi Jihad without help from the largest non Sunni nation inside of Asia. Dai Nam has a very uneventful history. It has actively participated in wars, but it has no known expansion. The only war of note occurred when resurgent Khmer invaded and conquered the southern third of the nation. Lan Xiang has a more eventful history, haven gone to war with Delhi and was among the most active nations supporting rebels inside of the Delhi enclave in Southeast Asia once it was cut off from the Ming, but it's efforts did not succeed.
The Khmer Empire was born 800 years ago. It was in a severe case of rapid decline when the 15th century came. However, under the competent leaders of it's Kings, the Khmers, it was able to beat back it's rivals and create a state of superiority among it's immediate neighbors. It fostered close relations with the Empire of Ming, which would suite it well when Delhi's Jihad against the Buddhists finally reached Khmer. While Khmer lost the initial engagements, the Ming's massive army forced Delhi to accept Khmer's independence while the Ming tore apart a nice chunk of it's south eastern quarter. The Khmer Empire got into a war with Dai Nam when it challenged the Khmer Empire's authority inside of Southeast Asia, and among Buddhists. After a quick invasion, the Khmer Empire forced the cession of one province and named it "Khmere" to differentiate between the Empire an the newly acquired piece of sub par land.
Champa, or rather, the Ming, is a Hindu state that was once closely aligned to the Ming. After the King of Champa, on his death bed, requested a distant prince from the Ming to succeed him, Champa was immediately a part of the Empire of Ming. Being close allies, they were together for some time before civil discord occurred inside of the Celestial Empire of Ming. The Diskuls of Mongolia were able to capitalize on the chaos and crown themselves Emperor of Ming. The Ming court put up resistance, but after it became apparent that the Diskuls could not be removed, they fled to Champa, where the Ming Dynasty still ruled strong. After several decades have passed the Kingdom of Champa still claims to be the Celestial Empire. Two years ago, however, the Empire of Spain declared war on them. So far there has been no engagements, only a blockade.
East Asia:
The Timurid Horde controls the Steppe, as well as Tibet. Originally the Timurid Empire controlled Manchuria, but over time it slowly lost those lands to Ming invasions and rebels. The Timurids' vast holdings inside of East Asia are connected through a narrow corridor from the Chagatai to the Oriat Hordes. If they are taken, then the Timurid Empire would have no connection to it's vast Empire. The Timurid Empire first appeared in East Asia following a series of wars with the Oriat Horde and later they smashed Tibet out of existence. Due to the large size of their empire, if they are at war with another nation it may take up to a year for their armies to reach the Steppe should the need occur.
The Celestial Empire of Ming is a nation with a long history of being the unrivaled leader of Asia. As the Mongol Hordes made another appearance on their borders this changed drastically. Now they take on the role of the defender. Buddhists, Confucians, Shintos, and Hindus look towards the Celestial Empire of Ming for protection against the hostile and powerful enemies on their borders, and it's a position the Ming is happy to be in. Because of the need for Ming's protection, the Ming actually controls and influences land far beyond it's borders, especially in lands that were under Timurid or Delhi occupation or are threatened by them. The Celestial Empire does not recognize the Ming courts inside of Champa, and the Diskuls have long since lied about their heritage to the point that accessing the truth about their own Mongol Heritage is impossible.
The Dual nations of Manchuria and Korea are divided by the Celestial Empire's lands. Both nations fought against each other for decades before the Timurid Hordes came. Manchuria found itself totally annexed. With nothing left to call it's own, it only regained it's independence following an invasion from the Ming into the Manchurian Steppe. Since then Manchuria has been hard pressed to remove Timurid Influences from it's lands. In fact, nearly all of it's lands were Sunni before the Aisen Goro family returned to power, since then there has been force re-education in the ways of Confucianism all across the Steppe. Korea also felt the wrath of the Timurid Hordes, losing half of it's nation to the Sunnis, but after Manchuria was freed, the remaining lands defected back to Korea in time. Unlike Manchuria, the Joseon did not have a lot of Timurid Influences to get rid of, and it benefited from remaining independent while it's northern half was occupied. Some territories remain under the Ming's control, but both Empires are far too loyal to the Ming to even utter a word.
The Oriat Horde rebelled from the Timurid Empire following a period of discord within their Horde. The Oriats, however, were brash and claimed territory on the Golden Horde's land. Immediately following their independence, the Golden Horde invaded the Oriats capturing everything but a distant territory on the other side of the Timurid's lands. The Khagan forced them to cede all lands, apart from their capital, renounce all claims, and release that distant territory as an independent Khanate. Since then the Oriats have been quiet. The Mongol Khanate, however, has been abusing it's relationship to the Golden Horde and is unlikely to survive very much longer on it's own.
In Japan there is the Minamoto Shogunate and the last remaining free Daimyo of the Fujiwara clan. The Minamotos conquered the Tachibana and together with the Fujiwara, divided the Taira lands amongst themselves. As time when on, the Minamoto declared war on and pushed back the Fujiawara clan to the Eastern part of Honshu. Since then the Minamoto clan has declared themselves Daimyo and have taken over the Okinawa island chain as part of their ever increasing empire. The Fujiwara still remain very strong. Alone among the nations of East Asia, they were not threatened by the Timurid Horde invading the steppes, nor did they even notice the Delhi Jihad. The Empire of Japan still remains utterly powerless to stop the Shogunate and have looked towards propping up the Fujiwara to the point where they can challenge the Minamoto to exploit an opportunity to gain power. Nevertheless, the shogun has allowed the Emperor free reign over the capital.
India:
Inside of India there is the Delhi Sultanate, which rules over all of the northern sub continent. Delhi was once a great and powerful nation that ruled over India with complete impunity. As time went on, Deccan conquered the Hindi states, converted them, and built an army that could over power Delhi. Since that point in time Delhi has been one of two states. Just as the German Confederacy was two states vying for influence over all of Germany, here we have two Sultanates fighting for control of India and all the states that are inside of it. Delhi once had all of Tibet and expanded deep into Southeast Asia, now much of that land is lost. Delhi lost a war to the Timurids and the Deccan Sultanate forcing it to lose much of it's Empire, but it has been on the rebound, slowly gathering strength enough to challenge it's enemies.
Deccan's history is very much similar to Delhi's, following Delhi's establishment as Hegemon of India, Deccan worked on attacking and destroying the Hindi states, first among them being Vijayanagara and later Madurai to create a southern state in India with no flanks apart from the ocean allowing it to have a superior position against Delhi. Once Delhi went to war with the Timurids, Deccan pounced along with it's allies. Overpowering the state, they forced the release of many states. Before there was only three independent states in India, now there was many. Deccan's position as unrivaled Hegemon slowly collapsed as Delhi recovered quickly and later the Timurid Hordes invaded India causing strife beyond all imagining forcing Deccan to relinquish lands along the coast. Deccan, however, remains a powerful state and is very much the equal of Delhi.
The third state of India is Gujarat. Gujarat's existence is one of turmoil. Gujarat was obscure until the Genghisids came and made the state into a powerful force in the region. They sided with Deccan against the powerful Delhi sultanate, and later expanded showing great prominence and skill in that respect. Gujarat, however, was still only a minor power. Being the third strongest power of India was no small feat given it's neighbors lust for power and conquest, but it was not enough to truly be independent. Two attempts to expand power into Ceylon and Maldives failed due to Deccan intervention. When the Timurid Horde invaded Deccan, Gujarat sided with the Deccan Sultanate against the powerful and hostile invader. The Hordes swept through the small state, burning everything to the ground, and forced Gujarat to recognize Rajputa which occupied 1/3 of Gujarat's territory, and ceded another 1/3 to the Timurids causing Gujarat to sink into irrelevance, for now at least.
Rajputa, Maldives, and Madurai were born from the Timurid invasions. New states and still closely aligned to the Timurid Empire, there is some question as to whether or not they will remain independent for long, especially as Deccan and Delhi are slowly gaining sway over them. Nepal and Bihar are vassal states of Delhi. They first appeared following the Deccan invasions, but when the time came to defend them, Deccan abandoned them to Delhi, which robbed them of most of their lands, forcing them into vassalization. Since then their existence has been linked to Delhi. Bundlekhand remains very much neutral territory. They have been around for centuries, but because of their neutral stance, they have remained very much independent from Delhi and Deccan. Both sides do hold considerable sway over the state.
Khorasan is a remnant state of a long forgotten era. Over the years as Hindi states came and went, the Hindi faith slowly fell from grace. While there are significant minorities of the faith, there are only three states in the world to have it as their state religion. Even the distant Majapahit was conquered and subdued, and converted. All what remains is Khorasan in the distant mountains on the border of Persia and India, and Manipur which exists at the gateway from India to Southeast Asia. Sunni has become dominant, and it looks as if that will not change.
Southeast Asia:
Southeast Asia has been the victim of countless incursions by powerful neighbors. The Delhi Sultanate was the first among the powers to invade Southeast Asia. Countless states were destroyed inside of their conquest of the region. Their largest mistake was attacking the guaranteed state of Khmer bringing in the great and powerful Celestial Empire of Ming, which sent hundreds of thousands of soldiers to divide the Delhi Sultanate inside Southeast Asia. The Celestial Empire broke through the Delhi Sultanate establishing control from the sea of Bengal to the sea of Japan. However, when the Ming fell into discord, a resurgent Delhi formed a through the Ming to rejoin it's still loyal forces some decades later. The Ming's isolated pocket did not prove as loyal. Taungoo and the Shan States broke free from the Ming. That said, there are still isolated pockets of loyal forces, including Arakan, which has a link by sea to Nanking.
A remnant from the invasions would be the state of Pegu. It survived three invasions from the Sultanate of Delhi leaving it with nothing but two minor territories, never the less, it is still independent, and it is the only state inside of southeast Asia to survive a Delhi Jihad without help from the largest non Sunni nation inside of Asia. Dai Nam has a very uneventful history. It has actively participated in wars, but it has no known expansion. The only war of note occurred when resurgent Khmer invaded and conquered the southern third of the nation. Lan Xiang has a more eventful history, haven gone to war with Delhi and was among the most active nations supporting rebels inside of the Delhi enclave in Southeast Asia once it was cut off from the Ming, but it's efforts did not succeed.
The Khmer Empire was born 800 years ago. It was in a severe case of rapid decline when the 15th century came. However, under the competent leaders of it's Kings, the Khmers, it was able to beat back it's rivals and create a state of superiority among it's immediate neighbors. It fostered close relations with the Empire of Ming, which would suite it well when Delhi's Jihad against the Buddhists finally reached Khmer. While Khmer lost the initial engagements, the Ming's massive army forced Delhi to accept Khmer's independence while the Ming tore apart a nice chunk of it's south eastern quarter. The Khmer Empire got into a war with Dai Nam when it challenged the Khmer Empire's authority inside of Southeast Asia, and among Buddhists. After a quick invasion, the Khmer Empire forced the cession of one province and named it "Khmere" to differentiate between the Empire an the newly acquired piece of sub par land.
Champa, or rather, the Ming, is a Hindu state that was once closely aligned to the Ming. After the King of Champa, on his death bed, requested a distant prince from the Ming to succeed him, Champa was immediately a part of the Empire of Ming. Being close allies, they were together for some time before civil discord occurred inside of the Celestial Empire of Ming. The Diskuls of Mongolia were able to capitalize on the chaos and crown themselves Emperor of Ming. The Ming court put up resistance, but after it became apparent that the Diskuls could not be removed, they fled to Champa, where the Ming Dynasty still ruled strong. After several decades have passed the Kingdom of Champa still claims to be the Celestial Empire. Two years ago, however, the Empire of Spain declared war on them. So far there has been no engagements, only a blockade.
East Asia:
The Timurid Horde controls the Steppe, as well as Tibet. Originally the Timurid Empire controlled Manchuria, but over time it slowly lost those lands to Ming invasions and rebels. The Timurids' vast holdings inside of East Asia are connected through a narrow corridor from the Chagatai to the Oriat Hordes. If they are taken, then the Timurid Empire would have no connection to it's vast Empire. The Timurid Empire first appeared in East Asia following a series of wars with the Oriat Horde and later they smashed Tibet out of existence. Due to the large size of their empire, if they are at war with another nation it may take up to a year for their armies to reach the Steppe should the need occur.
The Celestial Empire of Ming is a nation with a long history of being the unrivaled leader of Asia. As the Mongol Hordes made another appearance on their borders this changed drastically. Now they take on the role of the defender. Buddhists, Confucians, Shintos, and Hindus look towards the Celestial Empire of Ming for protection against the hostile and powerful enemies on their borders, and it's a position the Ming is happy to be in. Because of the need for Ming's protection, the Ming actually controls and influences land far beyond it's borders, especially in lands that were under Timurid or Delhi occupation or are threatened by them. The Celestial Empire does not recognize the Ming courts inside of Champa, and the Diskuls have long since lied about their heritage to the point that accessing the truth about their own Mongol Heritage is impossible.
The Dual nations of Manchuria and Korea are divided by the Celestial Empire's lands. Both nations fought against each other for decades before the Timurid Hordes came. Manchuria found itself totally annexed. With nothing left to call it's own, it only regained it's independence following an invasion from the Ming into the Manchurian Steppe. Since then Manchuria has been hard pressed to remove Timurid Influences from it's lands. In fact, nearly all of it's lands were Sunni before the Aisen Goro family returned to power, since then there has been force re-education in the ways of Confucianism all across the Steppe. Korea also felt the wrath of the Timurid Hordes, losing half of it's nation to the Sunnis, but after Manchuria was freed, the remaining lands defected back to Korea in time. Unlike Manchuria, the Joseon did not have a lot of Timurid Influences to get rid of, and it benefited from remaining independent while it's northern half was occupied. Some territories remain under the Ming's control, but both Empires are far too loyal to the Ming to even utter a word.
The Oriat Horde rebelled from the Timurid Empire following a period of discord within their Horde. The Oriats, however, were brash and claimed territory on the Golden Horde's land. Immediately following their independence, the Golden Horde invaded the Oriats capturing everything but a distant territory on the other side of the Timurid's lands. The Khagan forced them to cede all lands, apart from their capital, renounce all claims, and release that distant territory as an independent Khanate. Since then the Oriats have been quiet. The Mongol Khanate, however, has been abusing it's relationship to the Golden Horde and is unlikely to survive very much longer on it's own.
In Japan there is the Minamoto Shogunate and the last remaining free Daimyo of the Fujiwara clan. The Minamotos conquered the Tachibana and together with the Fujiwara, divided the Taira lands amongst themselves. As time when on, the Minamoto declared war on and pushed back the Fujiawara clan to the Eastern part of Honshu. Since then the Minamoto clan has declared themselves Daimyo and have taken over the Okinawa island chain as part of their ever increasing empire. The Fujiwara still remain very strong. Alone among the nations of East Asia, they were not threatened by the Timurid Horde invading the steppes, nor did they even notice the Delhi Jihad. The Empire of Japan still remains utterly powerless to stop the Shogunate and have looked towards propping up the Fujiwara to the point where they can challenge the Minamoto to exploit an opportunity to gain power. Nevertheless, the shogun has allowed the Emperor free reign over the capital.
I think it's just because it's not something that the viewers are used to, and the Mongols aren't as popular as some of the other countries, and the Genghisids are not the most popular of the dynasties.
Okay, I'll be heading back to Dynastic Updates, but if anyone wants me to elaborate on anything just let me know.
I can't imagine why! But maybe I'm biased. I find the Mongol expansions as one of the most fascinating periods ever. And the Kipchaq Horde is by far my favourite! Followed closely by the Chagatai and Yuan. Personally I'm over the moon that you've started an AAR with this topic and style!
Also I'm guessing you must have missed my question previously because our avatars are so similar... so I'll ask it again! Is there something in DW that makes it cheaper/easier/the AI more willing to move capitals? I don't ever recall seeing it happen so rampantly before. The Byzantines moving to Africa is certainly something I'd never seen or imagined would happen.
Haha, sorry about that. I honestly didn't even notice you, and I almost didn't this time either.I can't imagine why! But maybe I'm biased. I find the Mongol expansions as one of the most fascinating periods ever. And the Kipchaq Horde is by far my favourite! Followed closely by the Chagatai and Yuan. Personally I'm over the moon that you've started an AAR with this topic and style!
Also I'm guessing you must have missed my question previously because our avatars are so similar... so I'll ask it again! Is there something in DW that makes it cheaper/easier/the AI more willing to move capitals? I don't ever recall seeing it happen so rampantly before. The Byzantines moving to Africa is certainly something I'd never seen or imagined would happen.
The AI moves their capital more freely when their capital is surrounded and most of it's territory is elsewhere, as long as it is cored. So when Byzantium only had Rhodes, it's capital, and two other provinces in Greece/Anatolia, none of which were connected, they fled to North Africa.
Thanks!
Thank you everyone for 6000 views, I'll be sure to update this later on today.
Ahmad I Genghisid, Sultan of Gujarat
Lived From: 1565.8.15 - 1608.2.9
Ruled From 1593.3.19 - 1608.2.9
5 - 7 - 8
Ahmad was the younger brother of Zafar, the sultan to bring Gujarat to it's zenith. Unfortunately, Ahmad would not continue this tradition. His decade and a half of reign over Gujarat saw terrible moments in which Gujarat was nearly wiped off the face of India. However, historians generally regard Ahmad as the most talented Sultan Gujarat has ever had, saving it from an otherwise certain defeat. Immediately following Zafar's death, Ahmad took over the throne as Sultan. He exchanged diplomatic envoys with the Genghisids in Sarai, as well as the Deccan Sultanate.
Sindh, eventually broke free from the Mameluks, and requested an alliance with Gujarat. Ahmad welcomed the Sindh Sultan into his court and considered him inside of his sphere of influence. When Sindh got into a squabble with the Delhi Sultanate, Ahmad harshly rebuked the sultan. The Sultan of Sindh, unwilling to be the subordinate of another, when to the Khagan of Samarkand and requested his aid in defeating the Delhi Sultanate. The Khagan accepted, and the Timurid Horde invaded Delhi in a way that no other nation had done in centuries. Mass rape and destruction lead to an orgy of utter pandemonium. When the dust settled, Delhi, which had been on the rebound, signed over several territories. The Timurid Khagan, tasting the wealth of India, decided to launch a series of campaigns.
The Sultan of Sindh, the man who brought the curse of the Timurid Hordes upon India, actually rebuked the Timurid Khagan. In a war, the Timurids robbed the Sultan of everything but his capital, including several of his wives and daughters. The sultan, in his decrepit state, asked Ahmad to for an alliance. This time Ahmad refused, and actually conquered Sindh. The Timurid Khagan, still wishing for blood, invaded Deccan. Ahmad, knowing that this was a pivotal battle that required his aid, sided with Deccan. Ahmad won several victories against minor Timurid forces, and captured several territories of their Empire. The Timurids, however, were marching almost totally unopposed inside Deccan territory. The Timurid Khagan then turned his sights on Gujarat, the third most powerful of all Indian States, and within months had over 50,000 men burn most of it to the ground.
Ahmad was forced to cede a third of his territory to the Khagan, and release another third under the care of a Rajput ally of the Khagan. With Ahmad out of the way, Deccan fell months later, in which the rich coasts were ceded to the Timurid Empire. With the Timurid scourge over with, the true troubles began. Ahmad found himself without any allies, as Deccan abandoned Gujarat as per the terms of their capitulation to the Timurid Horde's invasion. Without any allies they were left with just two provinces to Ahmad's name. In the following months Ahmad was able to win a short war against the Rajput forces, slightly increasing Gujarat's position inside the sub continent.
Ahmad began pouring all of his investments in spies within the former Sultanate of Sindh. After two years of trying the territories rebelled. Ahmad quickly conquered a single province from Sindh as the rest fell to the Timurids. Following this move, Ahmad switched camps to the Timurid Khagan. He managed to form an alliance with the powerful force before Ahmad finally turned inward to restore the war ravaged lands from the resurgent Mongol Empire. It was at this time that an Oman invasion occurred. Needless to say, Ahmad was woefully unprepared for such an assault. And as Yemen followed suit with their own declaration of war it seemed as i Gujarat would perish into nothingness. That was, until Ahmad pulled some very powerful strings.
The Timurid Horde, upset at the audacity of Oman and Yemen for declaring war on their ally, immediately declared war against the two forces. As the Timurids were already at war with the Mamluks, they need only cross across their occupied territories to reach both forces. In addition to this, Ahmad was able to guarantee a guarantee from the Mamluk Sultan to aid Gujarat in the face of an invasion. Ahmad's navy was able to successfully destroy most of Oman's naval forces that foolishly came in fours, as the Gujarat navy was 15 Carracks. With the fall of Muscat, Oman quickly agreed to a peace with the Timurids and Gujarat. Yemen, however, required a more intimate touch.
The Yemen sultan simply refused to surrender, even as most of his territories were captured by Ahmad and his allies. It took a decisive victory against the remaining free forces of Yemen, as well as the arrival Oman into the alliance against them in order for them to come to terms. Still, the Gujarat Sultan was wise and benevolent. Ahmad only forced the independence of Hedraz upon the Sultanate. With these two victories, Ahmad had secured Gujarat independence for the immediate future. With the addition of the allies he acquired along the way, it seems as if Gujarat may be back on it's rise to power. Ahmad, however, would not live to see this having perished just several months after peace was concluded with Yemen. He left everything to Mahmud III, his young son.
Lived From: 1565.8.15 - 1608.2.9
Ruled From 1593.3.19 - 1608.2.9
5 - 7 - 8
Ahmad was the younger brother of Zafar, the sultan to bring Gujarat to it's zenith. Unfortunately, Ahmad would not continue this tradition. His decade and a half of reign over Gujarat saw terrible moments in which Gujarat was nearly wiped off the face of India. However, historians generally regard Ahmad as the most talented Sultan Gujarat has ever had, saving it from an otherwise certain defeat. Immediately following Zafar's death, Ahmad took over the throne as Sultan. He exchanged diplomatic envoys with the Genghisids in Sarai, as well as the Deccan Sultanate.
Sindh, eventually broke free from the Mameluks, and requested an alliance with Gujarat. Ahmad welcomed the Sindh Sultan into his court and considered him inside of his sphere of influence. When Sindh got into a squabble with the Delhi Sultanate, Ahmad harshly rebuked the sultan. The Sultan of Sindh, unwilling to be the subordinate of another, when to the Khagan of Samarkand and requested his aid in defeating the Delhi Sultanate. The Khagan accepted, and the Timurid Horde invaded Delhi in a way that no other nation had done in centuries. Mass rape and destruction lead to an orgy of utter pandemonium. When the dust settled, Delhi, which had been on the rebound, signed over several territories. The Timurid Khagan, tasting the wealth of India, decided to launch a series of campaigns.
The Sultan of Sindh, the man who brought the curse of the Timurid Hordes upon India, actually rebuked the Timurid Khagan. In a war, the Timurids robbed the Sultan of everything but his capital, including several of his wives and daughters. The sultan, in his decrepit state, asked Ahmad to for an alliance. This time Ahmad refused, and actually conquered Sindh. The Timurid Khagan, still wishing for blood, invaded Deccan. Ahmad, knowing that this was a pivotal battle that required his aid, sided with Deccan. Ahmad won several victories against minor Timurid forces, and captured several territories of their Empire. The Timurids, however, were marching almost totally unopposed inside Deccan territory. The Timurid Khagan then turned his sights on Gujarat, the third most powerful of all Indian States, and within months had over 50,000 men burn most of it to the ground.
Ahmad was forced to cede a third of his territory to the Khagan, and release another third under the care of a Rajput ally of the Khagan. With Ahmad out of the way, Deccan fell months later, in which the rich coasts were ceded to the Timurid Empire. With the Timurid scourge over with, the true troubles began. Ahmad found himself without any allies, as Deccan abandoned Gujarat as per the terms of their capitulation to the Timurid Horde's invasion. Without any allies they were left with just two provinces to Ahmad's name. In the following months Ahmad was able to win a short war against the Rajput forces, slightly increasing Gujarat's position inside the sub continent.
Ahmad began pouring all of his investments in spies within the former Sultanate of Sindh. After two years of trying the territories rebelled. Ahmad quickly conquered a single province from Sindh as the rest fell to the Timurids. Following this move, Ahmad switched camps to the Timurid Khagan. He managed to form an alliance with the powerful force before Ahmad finally turned inward to restore the war ravaged lands from the resurgent Mongol Empire. It was at this time that an Oman invasion occurred. Needless to say, Ahmad was woefully unprepared for such an assault. And as Yemen followed suit with their own declaration of war it seemed as i Gujarat would perish into nothingness. That was, until Ahmad pulled some very powerful strings.
The Timurid Horde, upset at the audacity of Oman and Yemen for declaring war on their ally, immediately declared war against the two forces. As the Timurids were already at war with the Mamluks, they need only cross across their occupied territories to reach both forces. In addition to this, Ahmad was able to guarantee a guarantee from the Mamluk Sultan to aid Gujarat in the face of an invasion. Ahmad's navy was able to successfully destroy most of Oman's naval forces that foolishly came in fours, as the Gujarat navy was 15 Carracks. With the fall of Muscat, Oman quickly agreed to a peace with the Timurids and Gujarat. Yemen, however, required a more intimate touch.
The Yemen sultan simply refused to surrender, even as most of his territories were captured by Ahmad and his allies. It took a decisive victory against the remaining free forces of Yemen, as well as the arrival Oman into the alliance against them in order for them to come to terms. Still, the Gujarat Sultan was wise and benevolent. Ahmad only forced the independence of Hedraz upon the Sultanate. With these two victories, Ahmad had secured Gujarat independence for the immediate future. With the addition of the allies he acquired along the way, it seems as if Gujarat may be back on it's rise to power. Ahmad, however, would not live to see this having perished just several months after peace was concluded with Yemen. He left everything to Mahmud III, his young son.
Damn those Timurids! Will Gujarat ever get a break? More importantly, when will the mighty Kipchaqs ride in to rebuke the sons of Tamur the Lame, and remind them that they are not the heirs of Temudjin?
Ulug Muhammad Genghisid, Khagan of the Golden Horde, Defender of the Sunni Faith, and Emperor of all Russia's
Lived From 1561.9.22 - 1623.8.11
Ruled From 1573.3.30 - 1623.8.11
8 - 8 - 6
Ulug Muhammad would be one of the most successful Khagans in the history of the Golden Horde. During his reign the Hungarian Buffer was reduced to irrelevance, the Lithuanians would be incorporated into the Khaganate, the Finish enclave would be reduced by 1/2, The Merchant Republic of Kola would enter the services of the Empire, the Timurid Empire would be cut in two, Bohemia rose and crashed in the Holy Roman Empire, the French would be kicked out of Athens, an Imperial Navy was formed and used against the navies of Europe to great success, and the Golden Horde would begin it's colonization of the Siberian lands. Needless to say, this is an achievement that would be spoken for centuries across the world as the third coming of Genghis Khan. In addition to these military and political achievements, Ulug Muhammad would also complete the westernization of his state making it in par with the Christian states to the west, while embracing cultural ideas leading towards an overall liberalization of the state.
Ulug Muhammad rose to the position of Khagan at the young age of eleven when his father, Karim Berdi, died. Over the next four years his life would be dominated by tutors and powerful Khans all wishing to influence the developing Ulug Muhammad into a powerful leader for the Khaganate as well as a strong ally for their own interests. During these years Ulug Muhammad would face the full force of the Habsburg Empire. Just a few years following the defeat of the Habsburg Empires, and Lithuania, Hungary would declare war on Serbia, a nation the Golden Horde was currently protecting. This protected nation appealed towards the Regency council for aid against Hungary. The council, without contacting Ulug Muhammad or any of his relatives, agreed to come to the aid of the small nation. Armenia would join the Golden Horde in a long war that would ultimately end up reigniting a fully fledged war with the entirety of the Habsburg Empire.
Prussia, Great Britain, and Norway came to Hungary's aid. Several months later, Spain declared war on the pretext of protecting family. A war against one powerful nation soon developed into a war against every powerful nation inside of Europe. The de Valois of France, despite being de facto allies did nothing to aid the Khaganate. After two years of pointless fighting, Ulug Muhammad rose to the throne and kicked out every last single individual that influenced his reign. None were safe from Ulug's purges, not even his own uncle who had tried his best to prevent Ulug from being made into a puppet. After all of these factors came into place, Ulug moved against the von Habsburgs. Hungary had penetrated deep into the Khaganate's territories in the Balkans. 60,000 of the Khagan's troops flooded into the region, defeating the advance Hungarian guard and putting the occupied lands under siege.
In just one year, Ulug Muhammad had utterly crushed the Hungarian offensive. As the Khagan's forces poured over the border into Hungary, war exhaustion rose to the point that many were resolved to end the war now. With the capture of Hungary's capital, at great cost to soldiers due to faulty supply lines and attrition of being so deep in enemy territory, the Hungarian King perished inside of his capital and his son organized a peace with the Khagan. Ulug would spend the next three years battling stray Spanish and British troops that landed inside the Khagan's lands. Prussia and Norway proved utterly uninterested inside the conflicts signing separate peaces with Ulug following just one engagement outside of Novgorod. When Great Britain offered peace after five years of fighting, Ulug Muhammad declared war on the Lithuanians. Just two days following this move, Great Britain's peace offer was accepted leaving the Lithuanian forces without any allies apart from Finland.
Ulug's forces tore through the two Lithuanian cities independent from his rule and annexed the state. The Habsburg King, perhaps as a sign of unusual generosity, or a sign of good faith, was brought to Hungary where he would spend the rest of his days. Finland was almost forgotten about until they laid siege to the Russian territories. The Russians appealed to the Khagan for a swift resolution, and unlike his father, he made sure the Finnish suffered for their foolishness. 32,000 troops invaded the frozen lands in Scandinavia in the dead of winter where the small Finnish detachment of 7000 was destroyed, utterly, and the Finnish territories were brought under siege. After the arrival of Spring and later summer the Finnish forts surrendered, and the Khagan robbed them of 1/3 of their land as punishment for defying him. Two years later Ulug Muhammad would place both Finland and Kola in his sphere of influence, none would disagree with him.
During the campaign against the Fins and the Lithuanians, the Mamluks refused to come to the Khagan's aid. Ulug was not a forgiving man and felt betrayed by the Mamluk's neutrality. He invaded his brother in law (his elder sister was the wife of the Sultan of Egypt) an tore through the country side. The Jalayirids opted to help serve the Khagan in his subjugation of the Mamluks, but the Mamluks would defeat and annex the last remaining territory of the Jalayirid Khanate making this a war not only of betrayal, but of retribution. All the territories bordering the Khaganate would be incorporated into the Horde. This move freed Ulug's friendly Catholic partner, Syria, from the fear of being conquered by a Muslim power.
During this campaign, however, the Timurids and the Qara Koyunlu Khanate got into an engagement in which the Qara Koyunlu lost. Down to their last three provinces, they appealed to the Khagan for protection. Ulug Muhammad, fully aware of what happened to his kin who governed the territory, responded to the request for protection with total war. With the claim of combating heresy inside of the Qara Koyunlu, he swept through the state. in 1592 A.D., the Qara Koyunlu were completely occupied and annexed. During this conflict Mongol Rebels declared independence in the Oriat from Ulug. This was something that could not pass. The entire force of the empire descended upon the fledgling mongol rebellion. From there he crushed it. Robbing them of everything but their capital, he also forced the release of the Mongol Khanate. With Mongol power effectively broken in the region, Ulug began converting the captured territories to Sunni Islam.
In 1593 A.D. the de Valois soon began to crumble leading towards Ulug to declare a very short war which resulted in the capture of Athens. While technically at war, no actual engagements occurred between the two nations, and Ulug came into Athens under the pretext of clearing the region from rebels. This was not merely an excuse as Greek nationalists controlled the entirety of Athens. After six months the de Valois in France recognized Ulug's control over Athens effectively ending French involvement in the middle east. Things were not so peaceful, however, as just days following this peace Hungary attacked declaring a "crusade" against Horde. The Habsburgs were all brought into the war again making this the Third Great War with the von Habsburgs.
The Horde, despite adopting the tech level of the Russians and the Greeks, found themselves still using Muslim armies amassed from Muslim lands. Instead of modernizing the forces, they remained traditional and conservative in nature. The first few engagements with the Hungarians were disastrous for the Khaganate, in just three decades the Hungarians had jumped light years away from the Horde if fighting capability. The Horde still had Capacity on it's side and fought with it's standard 8000 cavalry, 4000 infantry, 4000 cannons throughout the conflict. Two years after this crusade began, on 1600 A.D., the war was not going as well as it could be.
It took eight years, the creation of a Genghisid Imperial Navy, the complete swarming of Hungary, and the kicking out of Prussia, Norway, and Spain out of the war for Hungary to agree to cede three northern provinces. Great Britain agreed to a white peace just several days later. A problem, however, was the fact that Serbia had switched sides against the Khaganate. In five years Ulug was able to modernize the army, but it was at this point, where Ulug was at his weakest, that the Horde invaded Serbia. This decision is widely regarded as rash and unwise in comparison to his otherwise brilliant, if cruel career. Following the invasion of Serbia, Hungary came to it's aid. Hungary brought in not just great Britain, but Austria. Austria took command of the alliance system despite having only three provinces. It in turn brought in the Swiss confederacy, and a major war was started over a minor Balkan nation. Armenia, despite being allied with Serbia, joined the Khagan in his Jihad against the bandits.
The Byzantines, Ulm, and other nations joined the Swiss. Bohemia, ruled by the de Valois, opted to remain out of the war. The following years saw nothing but strife and heart ache. Though the Horde was more than capable of laying siege to these provinces, they took over a year to capture. Even when breached, the walls held as four thousand of the Horde's infantry crashed against them. Meanwhile, the Hungarians and the Serbians were able to capture territories in just over two hundred days creating a scenario that Ulug Muhammad found completely repugnant.
Through perseverance and crafty tactics, Ulug Muhammad would find himself victorious. The Hungarian forces besieging the great Khagan's lands found themselves involved in various pincer movements, this forced them to be defeated and flee. When they fled, the Khagan's armies would pursue and completely route them.
Infuriated over the losses he was taking, the crafty and powerful Ulaszlo von Habsburg lead his forces into Hungary himself. The powerful King crushed several of the Golden Horde's regimens forcing them to regroup in Thrace and Athens, far away from the conflicts taking place in Bulgaria and Macedonia. Over, the great Khagan regrouped his forces and lead them to defeat Ulaszlo all at once. 72,000 troops overpowered the Hungarian King forcing him to retreat. With each retreat he was defeated and pursued. A decisive battle was fought outside of Bosnia. Two armies combining over 32,000 men attacked the Hungarian King who was now leading a demoralized and forgotten army that had been chased from Bulgaria to Macedonia, to Croatia, and finally into Bosnia. Ulaszlo barely escaped with his life and with the destruction of the final large army, the Khagan could begin his work towards Hungary unopposed.
During the fighting, Silesia was brought into the conflict. The tiny nation lead 6000 troops against the mass of the Khagan's horde lead by the Hoppe family. Surprisingly the army caused quite a bit of trouble for the Khagan, harassing supply lines and even capturing a few territories. The final straw was when Jan Krystian Hoppe defeated an army that had just beaten back a remnant Hungarian force lead by Ulaszlo, who persisted to harass the Horde until the end of the war. 16,000 troops descended upon him and crushed the force. Silesia would never be conquered or annexed, but would never be able to field another sizable army for the remainder of the war.
After over 16 years of conflict, the Hungarian forces finally relented. Serbia was annexed, Hungary provided three more provinces to the Horde, and the Swiss would accept a white peace. In addition to this war, Ulug Muhammad had been fighting a war with Naples. Following the defeat of Hungary an offer for a white peace was sent to Ulug Muhammad and agreed to on the very same day. Once again the Horde was at peace. This peace, like all others, proved temporary. The Mameluk Sultan had gotten into a war with the Timurids over the Chagatai Khanate, which had just declared independence from the now struggling Timurid Horde. After a peace was arranged, Chagatai became independent. Immediately following this, Ulug Muhammad declared war on the Chagatai and swiftly annexed the three province nation inside the north which controlled the corridor between the two halves of the Timurid Empire.
The Mameluk sultan refused to allow the Khagan to take the Chagatai Horde, even though Ulug had just protected the Sultanate from Naples a few years prior. The war would be brief. The Mameluks lacked all capacity for war compared to the Eastern style forces of the Golden Horde. Within months Cairo was under siege and Arabia was conquered. Not wanting to lose their empire to rebels showing up in the south, the sultan agreed to recognize the Chagatai Khanate as part of the Golde Horde and would cede Judea along with Basra and several other less notable border provinces. This allowed Ulug Muhammad direct access to Al Haasa, and the Genghisid Malik who ruled there. Ulug Muhammad would assist in putting down a pretender revolt by a Khalid ibd al-Walid just months after gaining the provinces.
In the north, the Timurid Empire went to war with Delhi to gain another passage to it's eastern half, while this war was going on, a key province defected to Ulug Muhammad by mongol rebels. Ulug Muhammad quickly guaranteed the province as his own. The Timurids and Delhi continued the war regardless, as the Timurids eyed a larger, less narrow, path to Timurid Mongolia.
In the following years things were rather peaceful. Ulug Muhammad founded 8 colonies in Siberia, most of which would develop into proper provinces under his reign. During the final few years of Ulug Muhammad's rule, he began to institute a policy of being an enlightened despot. He reduced the severity of several Islamic laws and protected the Christian minorities in the west. In addition he saw it upon himself to protect several Christian nations from conflict. Kola, Finland, The reformed Catholic Papacy, Silesia, Armenia, and several others were incorporated into Ulug's sphere of influence. He initiated several large scale building projects, but they were limited to a frustrating lack of magistrates to oversee the tasks. Ulug often wondered how a small state could become rich, powerful, and developed, while a large state was restricted by the same restraints despite being so much larger and having so much more resources. An alliance between the Reformed Catholic Papacy and Armenia with the Golden Horde would later prove invaluable. Ulug Muhammad died peacefully in 1623, dying the most successful Khagan in the history of the Golden Horde. Everything would be left to his son, Karim Berdi.
Lived From 1561.9.22 - 1623.8.11
Ruled From 1573.3.30 - 1623.8.11
8 - 8 - 6
Ulug Muhammad would be one of the most successful Khagans in the history of the Golden Horde. During his reign the Hungarian Buffer was reduced to irrelevance, the Lithuanians would be incorporated into the Khaganate, the Finish enclave would be reduced by 1/2, The Merchant Republic of Kola would enter the services of the Empire, the Timurid Empire would be cut in two, Bohemia rose and crashed in the Holy Roman Empire, the French would be kicked out of Athens, an Imperial Navy was formed and used against the navies of Europe to great success, and the Golden Horde would begin it's colonization of the Siberian lands. Needless to say, this is an achievement that would be spoken for centuries across the world as the third coming of Genghis Khan. In addition to these military and political achievements, Ulug Muhammad would also complete the westernization of his state making it in par with the Christian states to the west, while embracing cultural ideas leading towards an overall liberalization of the state.
Ulug Muhammad rose to the position of Khagan at the young age of eleven when his father, Karim Berdi, died. Over the next four years his life would be dominated by tutors and powerful Khans all wishing to influence the developing Ulug Muhammad into a powerful leader for the Khaganate as well as a strong ally for their own interests. During these years Ulug Muhammad would face the full force of the Habsburg Empire. Just a few years following the defeat of the Habsburg Empires, and Lithuania, Hungary would declare war on Serbia, a nation the Golden Horde was currently protecting. This protected nation appealed towards the Regency council for aid against Hungary. The council, without contacting Ulug Muhammad or any of his relatives, agreed to come to the aid of the small nation. Armenia would join the Golden Horde in a long war that would ultimately end up reigniting a fully fledged war with the entirety of the Habsburg Empire.
Prussia, Great Britain, and Norway came to Hungary's aid. Several months later, Spain declared war on the pretext of protecting family. A war against one powerful nation soon developed into a war against every powerful nation inside of Europe. The de Valois of France, despite being de facto allies did nothing to aid the Khaganate. After two years of pointless fighting, Ulug Muhammad rose to the throne and kicked out every last single individual that influenced his reign. None were safe from Ulug's purges, not even his own uncle who had tried his best to prevent Ulug from being made into a puppet. After all of these factors came into place, Ulug moved against the von Habsburgs. Hungary had penetrated deep into the Khaganate's territories in the Balkans. 60,000 of the Khagan's troops flooded into the region, defeating the advance Hungarian guard and putting the occupied lands under siege.
In just one year, Ulug Muhammad had utterly crushed the Hungarian offensive. As the Khagan's forces poured over the border into Hungary, war exhaustion rose to the point that many were resolved to end the war now. With the capture of Hungary's capital, at great cost to soldiers due to faulty supply lines and attrition of being so deep in enemy territory, the Hungarian King perished inside of his capital and his son organized a peace with the Khagan. Ulug would spend the next three years battling stray Spanish and British troops that landed inside the Khagan's lands. Prussia and Norway proved utterly uninterested inside the conflicts signing separate peaces with Ulug following just one engagement outside of Novgorod. When Great Britain offered peace after five years of fighting, Ulug Muhammad declared war on the Lithuanians. Just two days following this move, Great Britain's peace offer was accepted leaving the Lithuanian forces without any allies apart from Finland.
Ulug's forces tore through the two Lithuanian cities independent from his rule and annexed the state. The Habsburg King, perhaps as a sign of unusual generosity, or a sign of good faith, was brought to Hungary where he would spend the rest of his days. Finland was almost forgotten about until they laid siege to the Russian territories. The Russians appealed to the Khagan for a swift resolution, and unlike his father, he made sure the Finnish suffered for their foolishness. 32,000 troops invaded the frozen lands in Scandinavia in the dead of winter where the small Finnish detachment of 7000 was destroyed, utterly, and the Finnish territories were brought under siege. After the arrival of Spring and later summer the Finnish forts surrendered, and the Khagan robbed them of 1/3 of their land as punishment for defying him. Two years later Ulug Muhammad would place both Finland and Kola in his sphere of influence, none would disagree with him.
During the campaign against the Fins and the Lithuanians, the Mamluks refused to come to the Khagan's aid. Ulug was not a forgiving man and felt betrayed by the Mamluk's neutrality. He invaded his brother in law (his elder sister was the wife of the Sultan of Egypt) an tore through the country side. The Jalayirids opted to help serve the Khagan in his subjugation of the Mamluks, but the Mamluks would defeat and annex the last remaining territory of the Jalayirid Khanate making this a war not only of betrayal, but of retribution. All the territories bordering the Khaganate would be incorporated into the Horde. This move freed Ulug's friendly Catholic partner, Syria, from the fear of being conquered by a Muslim power.
During this campaign, however, the Timurids and the Qara Koyunlu Khanate got into an engagement in which the Qara Koyunlu lost. Down to their last three provinces, they appealed to the Khagan for protection. Ulug Muhammad, fully aware of what happened to his kin who governed the territory, responded to the request for protection with total war. With the claim of combating heresy inside of the Qara Koyunlu, he swept through the state. in 1592 A.D., the Qara Koyunlu were completely occupied and annexed. During this conflict Mongol Rebels declared independence in the Oriat from Ulug. This was something that could not pass. The entire force of the empire descended upon the fledgling mongol rebellion. From there he crushed it. Robbing them of everything but their capital, he also forced the release of the Mongol Khanate. With Mongol power effectively broken in the region, Ulug began converting the captured territories to Sunni Islam.
In 1593 A.D. the de Valois soon began to crumble leading towards Ulug to declare a very short war which resulted in the capture of Athens. While technically at war, no actual engagements occurred between the two nations, and Ulug came into Athens under the pretext of clearing the region from rebels. This was not merely an excuse as Greek nationalists controlled the entirety of Athens. After six months the de Valois in France recognized Ulug's control over Athens effectively ending French involvement in the middle east. Things were not so peaceful, however, as just days following this peace Hungary attacked declaring a "crusade" against Horde. The Habsburgs were all brought into the war again making this the Third Great War with the von Habsburgs.
The Horde, despite adopting the tech level of the Russians and the Greeks, found themselves still using Muslim armies amassed from Muslim lands. Instead of modernizing the forces, they remained traditional and conservative in nature. The first few engagements with the Hungarians were disastrous for the Khaganate, in just three decades the Hungarians had jumped light years away from the Horde if fighting capability. The Horde still had Capacity on it's side and fought with it's standard 8000 cavalry, 4000 infantry, 4000 cannons throughout the conflict. Two years after this crusade began, on 1600 A.D., the war was not going as well as it could be.
It took eight years, the creation of a Genghisid Imperial Navy, the complete swarming of Hungary, and the kicking out of Prussia, Norway, and Spain out of the war for Hungary to agree to cede three northern provinces. Great Britain agreed to a white peace just several days later. A problem, however, was the fact that Serbia had switched sides against the Khaganate. In five years Ulug was able to modernize the army, but it was at this point, where Ulug was at his weakest, that the Horde invaded Serbia. This decision is widely regarded as rash and unwise in comparison to his otherwise brilliant, if cruel career. Following the invasion of Serbia, Hungary came to it's aid. Hungary brought in not just great Britain, but Austria. Austria took command of the alliance system despite having only three provinces. It in turn brought in the Swiss confederacy, and a major war was started over a minor Balkan nation. Armenia, despite being allied with Serbia, joined the Khagan in his Jihad against the bandits.
The Byzantines, Ulm, and other nations joined the Swiss. Bohemia, ruled by the de Valois, opted to remain out of the war. The following years saw nothing but strife and heart ache. Though the Horde was more than capable of laying siege to these provinces, they took over a year to capture. Even when breached, the walls held as four thousand of the Horde's infantry crashed against them. Meanwhile, the Hungarians and the Serbians were able to capture territories in just over two hundred days creating a scenario that Ulug Muhammad found completely repugnant.
Through perseverance and crafty tactics, Ulug Muhammad would find himself victorious. The Hungarian forces besieging the great Khagan's lands found themselves involved in various pincer movements, this forced them to be defeated and flee. When they fled, the Khagan's armies would pursue and completely route them.
Infuriated over the losses he was taking, the crafty and powerful Ulaszlo von Habsburg lead his forces into Hungary himself. The powerful King crushed several of the Golden Horde's regimens forcing them to regroup in Thrace and Athens, far away from the conflicts taking place in Bulgaria and Macedonia. Over, the great Khagan regrouped his forces and lead them to defeat Ulaszlo all at once. 72,000 troops overpowered the Hungarian King forcing him to retreat. With each retreat he was defeated and pursued. A decisive battle was fought outside of Bosnia. Two armies combining over 32,000 men attacked the Hungarian King who was now leading a demoralized and forgotten army that had been chased from Bulgaria to Macedonia, to Croatia, and finally into Bosnia. Ulaszlo barely escaped with his life and with the destruction of the final large army, the Khagan could begin his work towards Hungary unopposed.
During the fighting, Silesia was brought into the conflict. The tiny nation lead 6000 troops against the mass of the Khagan's horde lead by the Hoppe family. Surprisingly the army caused quite a bit of trouble for the Khagan, harassing supply lines and even capturing a few territories. The final straw was when Jan Krystian Hoppe defeated an army that had just beaten back a remnant Hungarian force lead by Ulaszlo, who persisted to harass the Horde until the end of the war. 16,000 troops descended upon him and crushed the force. Silesia would never be conquered or annexed, but would never be able to field another sizable army for the remainder of the war.
After over 16 years of conflict, the Hungarian forces finally relented. Serbia was annexed, Hungary provided three more provinces to the Horde, and the Swiss would accept a white peace. In addition to this war, Ulug Muhammad had been fighting a war with Naples. Following the defeat of Hungary an offer for a white peace was sent to Ulug Muhammad and agreed to on the very same day. Once again the Horde was at peace. This peace, like all others, proved temporary. The Mameluk Sultan had gotten into a war with the Timurids over the Chagatai Khanate, which had just declared independence from the now struggling Timurid Horde. After a peace was arranged, Chagatai became independent. Immediately following this, Ulug Muhammad declared war on the Chagatai and swiftly annexed the three province nation inside the north which controlled the corridor between the two halves of the Timurid Empire.
The Mameluk sultan refused to allow the Khagan to take the Chagatai Horde, even though Ulug had just protected the Sultanate from Naples a few years prior. The war would be brief. The Mameluks lacked all capacity for war compared to the Eastern style forces of the Golden Horde. Within months Cairo was under siege and Arabia was conquered. Not wanting to lose their empire to rebels showing up in the south, the sultan agreed to recognize the Chagatai Khanate as part of the Golde Horde and would cede Judea along with Basra and several other less notable border provinces. This allowed Ulug Muhammad direct access to Al Haasa, and the Genghisid Malik who ruled there. Ulug Muhammad would assist in putting down a pretender revolt by a Khalid ibd al-Walid just months after gaining the provinces.
In the north, the Timurid Empire went to war with Delhi to gain another passage to it's eastern half, while this war was going on, a key province defected to Ulug Muhammad by mongol rebels. Ulug Muhammad quickly guaranteed the province as his own. The Timurids and Delhi continued the war regardless, as the Timurids eyed a larger, less narrow, path to Timurid Mongolia.
In the following years things were rather peaceful. Ulug Muhammad founded 8 colonies in Siberia, most of which would develop into proper provinces under his reign. During the final few years of Ulug Muhammad's rule, he began to institute a policy of being an enlightened despot. He reduced the severity of several Islamic laws and protected the Christian minorities in the west. In addition he saw it upon himself to protect several Christian nations from conflict. Kola, Finland, The reformed Catholic Papacy, Silesia, Armenia, and several others were incorporated into Ulug's sphere of influence. He initiated several large scale building projects, but they were limited to a frustrating lack of magistrates to oversee the tasks. Ulug often wondered how a small state could become rich, powerful, and developed, while a large state was restricted by the same restraints despite being so much larger and having so much more resources. An alliance between the Reformed Catholic Papacy and Armenia with the Golden Horde would later prove invaluable. Ulug Muhammad died peacefully in 1623, dying the most successful Khagan in the history of the Golden Horde. Everything would be left to his son, Karim Berdi.
Currently the Khagans of Sarai are amused at the Timurids. They are able to accomplish such great things, but they refuse to develop out of being a steppe horde, are laggin behind on tech levels to the point that even Khmer would give them a challenge, and yet they are thriving. They have a colony in Diego Garcia (don't ask me how, but they've had it for a while) and have been having Jihads against the Asians. The Khagans almost want to keep around the Timurids if only to see how much longer they will last or if they will be worthy of being a respectable neighbor of the Khaganate.
(Though, I am considering just making them an empire. I changed their tech level to muslim, but they are still lagging behind. They are even behind the Chinese. I'm planning on making them Eastern and giving them a competent government so that if I actually do go to war it won't be embarassingly easy. Their recent Jihad against Pattani cost them. Gujarat is doing fine, stealing a few colonies from the Europeans who were involved in a war, but the Timurids are getting dragged into war after war making them basically... on the verge of collapse. I think the ultimate victory over the heirs of Timur, however, will be placing a Genghisid in Samarkand. So far, however, the Timurids seem to be propagating without any trouble...)