Lords of the Earth 

CAMPAIGN TWENTY-FOUR (OLD WORLD) 

The Age of the Crusades

Turn 37

1181 ~ 1185 Anno Domini
542 ~ 546 in the year of the Hegira

Announcements and items of note

General Stuff: Please use my Paypal account () for all Lords’ 24 payments. If you cannot use this facility then please let me know and I will see what I can do about filtering US funds to my account.

Version 6: Lords 24 uses version 6 of the basic rules

The Map: The map now includes India as well as Europe, Central Asia and Africa.

Current Active Non-Player Nations (ANPN) – these are the only open player positions:

The Order of the Dagger

The Papal States

The Anacletan Order

Tithes and Tribute: I think these are automatically updated by the stats program, so no need to declare them in your orders.

Control of the Papacy and Religious Orders: In Lords 24 we will not always have a player Pope (or Caliph etc for that matter) and the following rules are used to determine which player faction controls the Pope’s actions, Papacy Rules.

How to make your GM happy (PLEASE READ! REALLY!):

Please send any and all Lords24 correspondence to lords24gm@throneworld.com or stephenbrunt@yahoo.co.uk .

LORDS 24 WEB RESOURCES 

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All of the on-line resources, including order forms, mailing lists and web-sites for Lords of the Earth are summarized on this page: 
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VARIOUS FEES AND LEVIES 

At the moment the turns are free….

We are using the latest v6.3.5 of the basic rule book that can be found here

http://lords.throneworld.com/players/loterule/rules.html

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Turn 38 Orders due by: March 22nd 2008

Without further ado, the news for these years in Lords 24 history...

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EASTERN EUROPE

Mercenaries
Leaders:	Mustafa of Rum M996
Troops:	12c,2hec,12xc,16i,6xi,2ct,5rw
AQRs:	i5, c6, s5, w3

Duchy of Poland

(Roman Catholic Barbarian Non-Player Nation)
Ziemowit Curlybeard, Duke of the Poles

Ziemowit continued to was forced to look inwards as the borders of Poland became stretched to their linits. 

The Hungarian Eflak Tribes

(Asiatic Pagan Nomadic Non-Player Nation)
Khan of the Eflak Tribes

The Eflak’s made good use of the vacuum left by the Uighur’s departure south by gaining an alliance with the Romanii. Patzinak and Cuman also came under their sway.

The Rum Khanate of Turkiye

(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Crisias, Khan of the Turkiye

Alp Arlsan continued to expand his army with the addition of another 1600 cavalry and three elephant companies. Disaster struck early in 1181 when the Khan suffered a heart attack. The brother’s of Tyox, Alp Arslan II and Mustafa argued over the succession and were unprepared for Crisias’s surge for the throne. The able general was quick to exploit a rather tenuous link to royal blood and declared himself Khan of the Turkiye. Managing to persuade Alp Arslan that this was his only chance of surviving the coup the two rebels took control of Bithnia over the declared heir Mustafa. Mustafa fled the capital to save his skin whilst Bishop Asculias reluctantly joined the rebels. The lands of Isaura, Lydia and Pamphyla rebel along with the city of Hastor. Pausanias died in Sicily from poisoned lamb. Realising that the greater threat was the Uighur’s camped at the gates of Constantinople and the Byzantine Emperor’s lack of understanding of his peril, Crisias moved his army into Paphlagonia. Over five thousand cavalry and five companies of elephant archers easily subdued the region. Alp Arslan took command of the thousand cavalry recently returned from Siclity by Bishop Asculias and along with the eighteen hundred cavalry under his command attempted to starve out the fortress in Paphlagonia. The defender’s were untroubled as they were easily supplied by local sympathisers.

The Western Roman Empire

(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Theodotus, Emperor of the West Romans

Quiet times in the Western Roman Empire. Theodotus found the affairs of state too complex and let the regions of Croatia, Ilyria, Slovenia and Silesia pull away from the Empire.

The Western Uighur Khanate

(Asiatic Pagan Nomadic Open Empire)
Khagan Jirghiz

Grumash was not interested in the steppes and allowed Kama Bulgar, Kazan, Khazar, Saksiny, Torki and Slovakia to go their own way. His goal was Constantinople and persuaded the bookish Theodore to open the gates for collection of his rightful tribute. No sooner than the gates were opened then the Byzantine’s realised their mistake. Grumash obviously intended to bring the entire Uighur horde within the city walls and that was unacceptable to even Theodore. Fighting broke out at the main gate as the Uighur’s attempted to force their way in. Theodore himself barely escaped an Abasi assassin whilst his general Paulinias took a grievous wound to his leg. The Byzantine’s managed to get the gate closed as the full force of the Uighur army hit the city walls. Grumash himself led the onslaught and was forced back time and time again by the hardy defenders. Grumash’s final assault almost saw him into the city when he was cut down by a Byzantine arrow. Jirghiz claimed the Khanate and pulled the Uighur’s back to Thrace. Over eight thousand Uighur’s and their allies lay dead beneath Constantinople’s walls. The defenders lost a thousand men and general Stephanus. The innocents of Thrace felt the full wrath of Jirghiz’s loss, they were brutally enslaved and replace by loyal Uighur’s and their German lap dogs.

THE MIDDLE EAST

Mercenaries
Troops:	5c,4xc,8i,1xi,4ct,4rw
AQRs:	i5, c6, s5, w3

Heyrenik'un Armeniam

(Roman Catholic Barbarian Non-Player Nation)
Hieriea Amirspala

Kurdistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Vasi, Agisigia, Pontus, Cappadocia and Galatia all rebel! The Armenian’s regain the valuable region of Azerbaijan through conquest.

The Buwayid Sultanate

(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Sufyan ibn Awud

Over three thousand cavalry were raised in Mesopotamia along with the commissioning of five light warships in Antioch. The infrastructure of Mosul was greatly improved. The old post road between Carhae and Aleppo was upgraded to allow greater traffic. Sufyan was blessed with two young sons as he directed the affairs of the Sultanate. Prince Omar travelled to Abadan and oversaw their pledge to ally themselves to the Buwayid cause. Prince Ayub oversaw the defence of the Sultanate with the main army based in Msopotamia. Abdul-Nur attempted to stir up unrest in the Armenian province of Arbiliq but met little success. Farukh also had little success in Qom, attempting to persuade the Persians to join the Sultanate. While Abd-al-Raziq gained a full alliance from the Sultan of Ahvaz. Qumri of Edessa died this cycle and was replaced by his son.

Ar Rassid Imamat as Sa'Na

(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Sheik Ibraham

Ibraham commissioned five new transports in Aden along with some of those elephant units in Adal and Jakhaila. Two hundred spearmen were raised in Aden. Gains were made in the Imanat’s bureaucracy and intelligence service. The city of Sa’Na strarted to grow in size. Ibraham himself was content to defend the Imanat’s borders while Suleiman picked up the new transports and elephant companies and pulled them back to Sa’Na.

The Abasi Caliphate

(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Mustafa

Mustafa ordered the construction of a vast swath of churches across North Africa and into southern Spain. The church at Mahidia was improved to an Abbey. No longer in favour, the Ummayads had their grant of bureaucracy and infrastructure withdrawn and reassigned to Aden, Cyprus and Egypt. Gold was send to the Buwayids and the Cypriots to aid in their religious affairs. A postal road was built between Jerusalem and Faras in Jordan. However, proposed construction in southern Egypt was curtailed when local labour was not available. Endless trade was established with the Caliph’s neighbours, mainly based out of Alexandria and Al’Qairah. The Imams and Mullahs were hard at work across the Caliphate as the religious strength was increased and the Uighur’s almost converted to Islam. Mustafa himself had no luck with the Coptic’s of Funj. They doggedly stuck to their faith despite all his time a persuasion. Jamal ibn Jamal travelled across North Africa and on into Granada to oversee the contraction of the new churches ordered by Mustafa. Tariq al-Fumazi took command of thirty newly built light warships and set off to aid the Uighur’s. He liaised with Bishar of the Cypriot Order off the cast of Cyprus and headed north for the Mare Negri. The Byzantines’ were prepared for an attack by sea and the wounded Paulinias (see the Uighur’s) was forced to take command of the fleet. Thirty three Byzantine warships and triremes and a further two light warships met the combined force of sixty light warships and two thousand marines of the Caliphate and their Cypriot allies. The Byzantines gained the upper hand and ploughed into the light ships of the Islamic forces. The ships of the Caliphate were dispersed and the Cypriots were forced to continue alone. The Cypriot marines were wiped out to a man and both the Caliph and Bishar lost five ships apiece. The Byzantines lost only one ship. Facing Paulinias alone, Bishar’s fleet took heavy losses, seven ships were sunk or capture and Bishar himself grievously wounded. The Cypriot fleet fled back to Alexandria. Paulinias then turned on the forces under Tariq, who had only just managed to regroup the fleet after their first encounter. At first Tariq gained the upper hand but still the losses were high, six Abasi ships were sunk to two of the Byzantine forces. Not deterred, Tariq continued the attack managing to sink a further seven Byzantine ships for the loss of only four of his own. Two warships were captured by the Abasi. Both severely mauled, the respective fleets turned for home. Tariq returned to Antioch and Paulinias to Constanstinople.

NORTH AFRICA

Mercenaries
Troops:	3c,10xc,10i,5ct,5rw
AQRs:	i5, c6, s5, w3

The Ayyubid Sultanate

(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Badr III

Badr II dies after extensively improving the internal trade of Al-Qairah and Alexandria. Badr III takes control of the Ayyubid Sultanate from his father without a hitch and is blessed with a young daughter. Gains are made in the quality of the Egyptian cavalry. The outlying regions of Funj, Palyra and Bostra rebel and Sennar and Soba are allowed to go their own way. Jabril dies young so Prince Jel-Laddin is named as Badr’s heir. Vast sums of gold are sent to the Umayyads for the city of Palermo in Sicily, which passes to Ayyubid control. Roads are started from Al-Qairah down to Mount Sinai and onto Jerusalem. Badr orders the destruction of several forts in Egypt and uses these to improve the garrison of Alexandria. The infrastructure of Mansura is greatly improved. Necho’s Canal, linking the Nile with the Red Sea is surveyed. Missionaries are active in the newly acquired city of Palermo. Faruq Dharr takes the Egyptian fleet of forty triremes and warships and sets sail for Rhodes. The navy of Salerno under Raphael Castelano comes across the Egyptian fleet while patrolling the Ionian Sea and engages them of the coast of Sicily. Faruq is forced to return to Alexandria after losing five ships to the Castelano. The Salernese lose one ship. Prince Zahid is also struck down early in the cycle along with Assam and Shul’tan.

The Cypriot Pirates

(Sunni Islam Seafaring Religious Order)
Ladrow,

Jamis orders the construction of twelve new light warships at Alexandria before being struck down with the same flux that killed Badr III of the Ayyubids. Ladrow takes command of the Cypriot Order and designates Abd Al-Aziz as his successor. The Cypriot infrastructure is increased. Ladrow himself moves down to Faiyum were he oversees the expansion of the Cypriot holdings there to an Estate. Bishar takes the Cypriot fleet and heads north to liaise with the Abasi forces of Cyprus. After encountering the defensive patrols of Byzantium, Bishar is forced to return to Alexandria where he dies of his wounds (see the Abasi Caliphate).

WESTERN EUROPE

Mercenaries
Troops:	39c,7hec,15hei,35i,3s,3ct,17rw,1xw
AQRs:	i5, c5, s4, w4

Heiliges Romisches Reich

(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Frederick Barborossa, Holy Roman Emperor

Barborossa oversaw the construction of new roads from Thuringia, though Alsace and Swabia and on to Bavaria. Settlers began to tickle into the deserted lands of Franconia, Bohemia, Austria and Moravia. Stretched to its limit, the empire could not hold onto Pomerania and Bavaria as these lands went their own way. The Emperor was blessed with a young son and daughter. Prince Brankoening was seen talking to the Duke of Burgundy and news soon spread that the Duchy had been in secret talks with the Germans for some time now and had allied itself to them. Muttaer Krmer was successful in bringing Alsace to tributary status. Old Albabert seemed to lose his head when he was put in command of the two thousand foot and told to garrison the lost lands to the east. He was last heard of in the wilds of Slovakia, vowing never to return to that evil tyrant, the emperor.

Jarldom of Orkeneyjar

(Roman Catholic Seafaring Open Empire)
Bjorn Torvaldson, Jarl of Orkney

Bjorn finally saw his goal of a united Orkneys and Iceland when the deal was sealed with marriage of Colleen the Red to Sven Bjornson. The garrison was of Kirkval was expanded as well as fortifications in the Hebrides and Perth. Gains were made in the quality of the Orkney warships and in their intelligence service. A service that was put to use hunting the renegade Prince Yngvarr whose whereabouts in the southern city of Marseilles was brought to the attention of that city’s mayor. More grain was sent from Germany to aid the island Jarldom. Prince Wulfgar was ready for any invasion of the Orkneys but was not called upon this cycle. Missionaries from Brest were active in Galacia but found the going hard in the face of the Akramid influence. A daughter was born to Sven from his Irish bride.

Kingdom of Svear

(Roman Catholic Seafaring Open Empire)
Erik Gustafson, King of the Svear

Anew city was built in Jamtland called Sundsvall but otherwise the kingdom was quiet.

Norman Kingdom of France

(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Fulbert, Regent to the young Louis VII, King of France

Louis was wise to secure his dynasty as he was struck down by a weak heart early in 1181. Fulbert took control of the Kingdom whilst the young heir, also called Louis, came of age. Fulbert was instrumental in bringing Orleans to an economic alliance with France aiding Alain’s diplomacy.

Principality of Salerno

(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Ricardo Castillo, Prince of Salerno

The orchards and olive groves of Campania were cleared and their irrigation improved. Ricardo Castillo married from the Naples nobility and was blessed with a young daughter. Raphael Castelano took control of the Salernese fleet and managed to badly maul the Ayyubid navy en-route to Sicily (see the Ayyubids). The fleet returned to Calania after the battle. Bishop Benigni travelled to Liguria with Anonio Soliesti and Migual Urbano and gained a feudal alliance from their old enemy. The ties to northern Italy were stretched to breaking and the regions of Switzerland, Lombardy, Savoy went their own way.

Saxon Kingdom of England

(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Edward, King of England

An intense time of growth for the British Isles. The cities of York and Land’s End were built in Northumbria and Cornwall. Great fortresses were built in Cornwall, Wessex, Munster and London. The fortress in London, the Tower of London, was brought within the city walls as the old walls were brought down to make way for new growth. Many lesser fortification were built throughout England and many new ships commissioned to ply the sea between the cities of the island nation. To cope with the new growth the English government increased both on size and the in the number of bureaucrats. The religious capability of England was improved. Edward’s wife Margaret died in 1181 and the king immersed himself in the affairs of state from his tower in London. Santiago in Galacia was the subject of English attention as Edward tried to quell the Akramid advance through Spain. The mayor of the city pledged an alliance with the English king through the efforts of Bishop Rand and Prince George. Elsewhere the defence of the realm was highlighted with the English forces on standby in case of invasion.

The Akramid Caliphate

(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Mehkmod, Regent to the Caliph of the Akramids

The walls of Badajoz were greatly improved and the garrison at Seville increased with the addition of over six thousand men, including five companies of engineers. Missionaries in Galacia were unsuccessful, possibly due to English and Orkney interference. Mehkmod, along with Prince Akbar and Imam Achmed spent these years patrolling the Caliphate in the event of an invasion from the Christian north. Achmed was unused to the arduous task and succumbed to an illness in 1183. The efforts of Tavar in trying to gain closer ties with Sardinia were prevented by Spanish attempts to also sway the Emir of the island. Ali ibn Salim managed to gain some influence in Salamanca before his death in 1183, they swore a military alliance with the Caliphate.

The Kingdom of Spain

(Roman Catholic Civilized Non-Player Nation)
King of Spain

Spain pulled back from Galacia, honouring a forgotten treaty with the Caliphate. Asturias, Leon, Aquitaine and Gascony were also lost in these years due to the incompetence of the Spanish government. Spain then looked east towards Sardinia and Gefara for more territory but their only gains were in the North African region as the Akramids also had a hand in Sardinia.

The Knights of Malta

(Roman Catholic Civilized Religious Order)
Grand Master Stephan

A confused and not very productive time in the island.

The Papal States

(Roman Catholic Civilized Religious Primacy)
Pope Urban III

Victor died in 1182 and the Papacy elected Cardinal Lorenzo as their head. He took the name of Urban after being elected.

AFRICA

Mercenaries
Troops:	10i, 5c, 5s, 5w, 5t
AQRs:	i5, c4, s3, w1

Usama-Yoruba Onium of Ibo

(African Pagan Civilised Open Empire)
M'Bwanza, The Curious, King of the Ibo

With more regions above the Tsetse fly line, the Iboans were quick to gain some skill in horsemanship. The regions of Kam, Niete, Zerma and Gurma were cultivated. However, Kam joined Senufo in rebelling against M’Bwanza. The king spent this time governing his lands and playing with his new grandchildren, two boys and a girl. Tyano travelled to Zerma and gained an economic alliance with the valuable region while Ubaya had similar success with the region of Niete.

Elsewhere…

The Mongols continued their domination of the easter steppe with gains in the Altai Horseman, the Khanate of Jungaria, the Silk Route Raiders and the Tarim-Zao. The Wadai made gains in the oases of Zighan, Bir Tarfawai and Bilma. Savoy gains the support of the Kingdom of Burgundy. The Anacletan Order splits slightly and Le Marteau de Dieu is formed in Brittany.