Lords of the Earth 

CAMPAIGN TWENTY-FOUR

Byzantium Endures

Turn 39

1191 ~ 1195 Anno Domini
552 ~ 556 in the year of the Hegira

Announcements and items of note

General Stuff: Please use my Paypal account (stephenbrunt@yahoo.co.uk) 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. I may also stop using the throneworld email address due to the mass of spam I’m getting!

Non-Payment: some of you still owe me some cash. Although it may come as surprise that this is not my main source of income, I see it only polite that you pay for the occasionally night out. So, if you’re under zero next turn I’ll not process you orders.

A note on Hordes and other NPNs: Hordes and normal Open Empire NPNs are very reluctant to attack Player Nations or other NPNs until such a time as their activation level (not known by Players) reaches a certain value or there are no independent regions available. At this time they will compare MSIs and determine if it’s worth attacking. At the moment we’ve got two hordes that are very close to this (the Eflaks and the Wadai). They have been spending the past few turns gathering strength and will soon be ready to strike. I’m letting you know this as it’s different to usual Lord’s play. Also when a horde or NPN attacks it will go for the richest nations/regions first. In the case of NPNs this usually means adjacent nations, for hordes it’s the richest in its geographical area. For example, the Eflaks now stretch from Western Europe to Eastern Europe. The Wadai from Africa to North Africa.

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. However, Indian nations are not yet available for play.

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. I’ve also added some stuff about gaining support from their armies

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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VARIOUS FEES AND LEVIES 

At the moment the turns cost $5 – please pay up of you owe

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 40 Orders due by: May 17th 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:	23c,2hec,10xc,16i,4xi, 1xei,3ct,7rw,1rxw,1w
AQRs:	i5, c6, s5, w3

The Rum Khanate of Turkiye

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

More elephant archers were raised from imported Indian stock and the army in Paphlogonia augmented with another six hundred heavy cavalry. Crisias took time to persuade the city of Chrysopolis to abandon the Romans but was thwarted by the efforts of Prince John from Constantinople. Rustrum and Osmanli continued their efforts in Isauria when the Buwayids and their Egyptian allies attacked. Their brave defence was mercilessly crushed and left Rustrum dead and Osmanli badly wounded. Bithnia also fell to the attackers and one small success for the Turks was the thwarting of the Buwayid raids into Paphlogonia and Phrygia.

The Western Roman Empire

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

Desperate times in the Western Roman Empire, mercenaries were hired from throughout Eastern Europe and given to the command of Peter the Bulgarian. Gold arrived into Thessaloniki from Norman France and the Jews were enriched with usurious loans. Attempts to strip the royal chapel in Ochridia of its gilt were met with fierce resistance by the monks and the poor general in charge of the engineers sent to do the task was thrown from the city walls. The Grandmaster Stephan of the Knights of Malta arrived in Thessaloniki and along with the able Peter moved into Thrace. The Roman force consisted of around five thousand cavalry and the same again in mercenaries. Thrace was defended by Adem, no slouch himself and with a force of six thousand cavalry, two thousand infantry and the combined mass of the German and Czech refugees. The losses were higher on the Roman side with nearly two thousand cavalry killed to a tenth of that on the Uighur side. However, Stephan's superior command ability forced the Uighurs to withdraw to Dubruja. The Roman's then set about defending the province from Uighur retaliation until the Egyptian under Faruq arrived late in 1195. Peter decided to pull back to Macedonia once the Egyptians had been defeated and Thrace was left to the Uighurs for now.

The Western Uighur Khanate

(Sunni Islam Civilised Open Empire)
Khagan Ahmet

Jirghiz raise around one thousand engineers in Heraclea and started the reconstruction of the city walls. Trade was established from the port to most of the nations within the Mediterranean, with Rum, and the Romans being the notable exceptions. Missionaries were active in Macedonia but had little or no success. The Khagan moved into Constantinople’s surrounding area with his force of ten thousand cavalry, twelve thousand infantry and the Uighur clans. Still determined to capture the city, he set about restricting access to it and hoped the Caliph could do the same at sea. Unfortunately the Byzantine fleet managed to keep the supply lines open and the city endured the siege. Jirghiz died a frustrated man and with no heirs to succeed him Adem took the chance to declare himself Khagan. This was no Jirghiz's wish and his cousin Ahmet was appointed Khagan with the backing of the Uighur clans. However, with the settlement of Thrace and Heraclea, the Germans and Czechs had grown strong and persuaded Adem to claim Thrace. However, the West Romans were again successful in their attack on Thrace (see WRE) and pushed Adem into Dubruja where he sat with his supporters.

Elsewhere in Eastern Europe

The Duchy of Poland concentrates on improving its national infrastructure. Prince John of Constantinople travels to Chrysopolis to reclaim the city from the Turk. Large numbers of ships are commissioned in Constantinople. The Eflaks gain support of the Alans and the Vasi. Their forces conquer Slovenia and Croatis.

THE MIDDLE EAST

Mercenaries
Leaders:	Imran Abdul Nazir M71A
Troops:	5c,6xc,10i,5ct,5rw
AQRs:	i5, c6, s5, w3

Heyrenik'un Armeniam

(Roman Catholic Barbarian Non-Player Nation)
Hieriea Amirspala

Anisha Amirspala marries Prince Leo and gives birth to three children, two sons and a daughter. The Great Kars Road is started from Armenia to Lazica. Old Prince Vestarion spent is last days smoothing the resentment in conquered Azerbaijan. The Armenian missionaries were unsuccessful in Tabriz.

The Buwayid Sultanate

(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Sufyan ibn Awud

Sufyan raised nine thousand cavalry in Mesopotamia and augmented these with some elephants from India. Two thousand siege engineers were raised for the Sultan of Ahvaz. Prince Ayub took command of the Buwayid army of over thirty thousand cavalry and moved up through Mosul to Aleppo where he waited for the Egyptian forces under Faruq. The combined army then moved through Cilicia and attacked Isauria. The Turkish leaders Rustrum and Osmanli vainly tried to rally the defenders but were crushed, Rustrum killed by the attackers. The fortress in Isauria easily fell to Sultan Walid’s Ahvazi troops while Ayub continued into the Turkish homeland of Bithnia. Again the local forces were crushed and Ayub had no trouble capturing the fortress. His attention then turned to raiding the remaining Turkish regions of Paphlagonia and Phrygia. However, Crisias was ready for him and although meagre loot was taken from Paphlagonia, the Turks easily pushed the Buwayids back from Phrygia. While the army was Yahyah as successful in gaining the support of Hastor and Khair al Din in Lydia; although the later was only grudgingly given. Qumri was left to persuade the Christian minority in Cilicia to turn to Islam and met with some success there. Missionaries sent to Antalya were not so successful. Prince Hashm was presented at court and a new postal road built into Cilicia from Aleppo to help control the newly gained regions.

Ar Rassid Imamat as Sa'Na

(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Sheik of Sa’Na

Sheik Ibraham oversaw the construction of ten new cogs in Sana and a further four in Jakhaila. The capability of Aden's assassins was improved this cycle. Ibraham himself ruled the Sheikdom before his death in 1193 aided by Hussein. His cousin was appointed Sheik on his death as Ibraham was without an heir. Admiral Suleiman ferried the Imam and Rakman down to Brava where they disembarked before moving through Mombassa to Kilwa. He successfully managed to explore the waters of Cape Delgado with the aid of some local fishermen. His death on his return to Sana was the result of some malaise picked up off the Kilwani coast. The army in Kilwa under Rakman and the Imam Tareq consisted of over four thousand spearmen. Moving into the harsh lands of Kilwa they were met by the local forces of two thousand Kilwanis. It was local knowledge that won the day and despite large losses the Kilwanis managed to force Tareq to withdraw back to Mombasa.

Al-Khulafa'ur Rashidun

(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Kedar Safawan, the Righteous Caliph

Fifty light warships were commissioned in Antioch and ten cogs in the same city. Mustafa ordered that a city be built in Carhae with the grace of the Buwayids and Allah. The city was called Al Qamishli and was allied to the Caliph. Mustafa continued his expedition into Arabia with the founding of an Abbey in Sana. The ageing Caliph died shortly after and the Imams were recalled to Baghdad. (L02) was declared Caliph and the Imams returned to their duties after the coronation was completed. Jamal ibn Jamal was successful in raising an Abbey in Murcia before his death in 1194. Old Malik Malar also died during this cycle. The most unfortunate event occurred when Tariq al'Fumazi died before the Caliph's expedition against the Romans. The whole affair was aborted and no ships sailed from Antioch. The influence of the Caliph was increased in the lands of the Yemeni, the Uighurs and the Ilig. The small catholic minority in Psidia was overturned by Sunni missionaries and replaced by new converts. In all Churches were built in Ahvaz, Persia, Media, Fars and Tunisia. Abbeys in Sana, Murcia and New Castille; and a new Monastery in Andalusia. The city of Madiera was expanded and the Church raised to an Abbey. Al'Qadi also grew in size and the Abbey there raised to a Monastery. The Caliph was prepared to lend his considerable aid to increasing the size of Al’Qadi, Madiera and Mahidia.

Elsewhere in the Middle East

The Ogaden tribes spring out of their homelands and claim the regions of the Chalbi Horse, Somali, Sidamo and Harar

NORTH AFRICA

Mercenaries
Leaders:	Abu Benadin al’Gefara M544
Troops:	4c,10xc,10i,5ct,5rw
AQRs:	i5, c6, s5, w3

The Ayyubid Sultanate

(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Jel-laddin, Sultan of the Ayyubids

Haqikah, the widow of Badr looks after the Sultanate until Jel-laddin comes of age. Prince Zal was taken away from a life of leisure to serve in the royal court. The Sultanate gains a dramatic improvement in the quality of their assassins. One of Haqikah's last actions was to raise a cavalry force of six thousand in Alexandria and commissioned the building of forty biremes in that city's dockyards. The walls of Sicily's fortress were greatly improved and guarded by the usurped ruler of Rum, Mustafa, along with one thousand heavy cavalry and four thousand other cavalry from Europe's mercenaries. New trade routes were set up to the Uighurs and Aden. Jel-laddin gained word of the fabled worth of India but his merchants were too nervous to set up new trade routes into uncharted waters. Missionaries were active in Kurman, in Adulis. Old Barak marries into local nobility and sires three children, a daughter and two sons. Faraq Dharr gathers the Ayyubid army from Mansura and marches up to Damascus where the remnants of the old Hatimid army are collected. This force of twelve thousand foot, half of that again in cavalry and the same in siege engineers, joins with the Buwayids at Aleppo. Old Mankides al Greki died during the battle for Isauria, not of wounds but of fever. Salim al Rashad travelled by way of Syria to Cyprus and then to Carsk. The hand of Haqikah was offered to the Sultan of Tyria but he was elsewhere occupied to accept the offer. Cyprus pledged full support to the Sultanate. The Sultan of Tyria moved down the Red Sea coast and forcibly gains tribute from the Suakin tribes. Adulis was attacked from Suakin with the Sultan's eighteen hundred cavalry and five thousand infantry. The tiny Adulisian army of sixteen hundred foot managed to fight off the invaders and force them back to Suakin. The mercenary captain, Mustafa of Rum sets sail from Alexandria with sixty biremes, over fifty triremes and some light warships. His intent is the blockade of Constantinople in aid of the Uighurs. The defenders have been readying for the attack and although not equal to Mustafa, the princess Alexandria is extremely able. Her force of over fifty caravels and some triremes is an equal match for the Egyptians. The Byzantines get the upper hand and Mustafa is forced to flee back to Alexandria. His losses number over seventy ships to the Alexandria's eighteen. Many Egyptian ships were captured by the Byzantine forces. The Ayyubid general, Faruq Dharr moved up from Egypt with the bulk of the Egyptian army. He his joined in Syria by Septikagin, sultan of that region. In Damascus he collects the old Hatimidi army to make his force number twelve thousand infantry, six thousand cavalry and the same number of engineers. After assisting Ayub of the Buwayids to settle his dispute with Rum, he moved the Egyptian forces into Thrace. The forces of the Western Roman Empire were preparing defences against a possible Uighur counterattack when the Egyptians arrived. The battle was short with minor loses on both sides but Faruq decided to withdraw back to Bithnia. It was here that his intentions were made clear to Septikagin, why should a great general like himself obey the harpings of the widow Haqikah? Should not the mighty nation of Egypt not be led by a strong leader such as himself? The Sultan of Syria was swayed by his arguments and joined him in his treachery.

Amir al-Bahri

(Sunni Islam Seafaring Religious Order)
Abd Al-Aziz, Grand Commander

Ladrow dies of old age while ruling over the Order, his dying wish was to see the Order's name changed to Amir al-Bahri, meaning the Lords of the Sea. His son Abd Al-Aziz took over theOrder and transported colonists to Sicily, along with sixty light warships and around one thousand light infantry and the same number of engineers. An Order House was built on the island and a Preceptory built in El'Gitar. The Iman Abduhl had a hand in a new Oratory in Alexandria and Ladrow's last actions were to build one in Egypt.

Ummayad Sultanat al Oran

(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Sultan of the Ummayad

Gains were made in the quality of the Ummayad infrastructure and infantry. The Sultan dispatched Sharouf ben Gazi to Santa Maria on his newly constructed fleet of 12 cogs. Ishtmar then ferried across Ummayad cavalry from Oran to augment the force in Spain. Sharouf then moved his five thousand horse into Catalonia to collect the small mounted garrison there and the large contingent of two thousand engineers. The general then returned to Santa Maria to guard the Sultan's Spanish outpost. Qid ad Zil patrolled the Gulf of Lyon out of Oran with the Sultan's fleet of thirty triremes. The Sultan himself gathered his personal guard from the Zirid and Oran garrisoned and rules the Sultanat from Oran. He was blessed with a young son from his Oran wife.

WESTERN EUROPE

Mercenaries
Leaders:	Odo of Aachen M85A
Troops:	31c,5hec,12hei,28i,4s,4ct,14rw
AQRs:	i5, c5, s4, w4

Heiliges Romisches Reich

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

Barbarossa continued to rule the empire from Saxony. Brankoening has no luck in bringing the Burgundians closer to the empire, indeed after the death of Bernard, his son Eudes reduces support to gold alone.. Bruno faired a little better in Bavaria but died in the winter of 1191 and was replaced by Matrunco. Mattaer Kramer also dies this cycle but was instrumental in bringing Bremen fully into the empire before his death. Papichultran travelled to the Dutch city to complete the negotiations.

Jarldom of Orkeneyjar

(Roman Catholic Seafaring Open Empire)
Wulgar Bjornson, Jarl of Orkney

Wulfgar ordered that the Lienster and Iceland be further fortified against any aggression while he travelled north to the Shetlands and claimed them for the Jarldom. His sister Gretal was promoted to Princess and Hildgard granted the fiefdom of Connaught for her trouble. The society of the Orkneys became more formal as feudal ties began to replace the ancient family ones. Gains were made in the quality of the Jarldom's assassins. Sven was present at the investiture of Hildgard in Connaught and shortly after the festivities returned home to Kirkval. Feric and Strom moved north to Fjordane and increased the tribute from the pagan lords there before also returning to Kirkval. The lord of Armagh, known for his strong beliefs and fierce presence, was successful in raising the religious strength of the Jarldom.

Kingdom of Svear

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

The city of Sundvall grew in size due to Erik's largesse. However, a fever struck the nation, taking Erik's wife, Olaf and old Stalhandske amongst others. Missionaries were active in Norway, bringing that region closer to god. A son was born to Erik before his wife's demise.

Norman Kingdom of France

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

Fulbert continues to rule as regent for the young Louis. A road was constructed down to Tours from Paris. Hugh set sail from Cherbourg with gold for the beleaguered Western Roman Empire, arriving in Thessaloniki without event and then returning home to Paris. The able Alain saw Burgundy brought fully into the Kingdom when the marriage of Phillipe and Isabelle sealed the deal. The lands of France now stretch down to the Mediterranean.

Principality of Salerno

(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Amadora Castillo, Princess of Salerno

Amadora Castillo continued to rule the Principality until her son comes of age. She dispatched diplomats to Lombardy, Liguria and Tuscany and managed to gain alliances out of the the Tuscans and Savoyards. Raphael Castelano was alert to any incursions into the waters around Sicily, still a bone of contention between Salerno and Egypt. He managed to capture forty cogs en-route to Palermo with their holds full of Egyptian settlers. The Ayyubid general Mashara was also captured. Increases were made in the quality of Salerno's assassins.

Saxon Kingdom of England

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

King John oversaw the commissioning of large numbers of warships in most of England's ports. The cities of Caer Myrrdin, Diva and Berwick grew in size and a number of other cities were greatly improved. Prince George and Princess Catherine both fell to the fever during these years. Missionaries were again active in the Shetlands and saw those islands turn to god. The quality of the Kingdoms' siege and assassins improved during this cycle.

The Akramid Caliphate

(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Mohamed, Caliph of the Akramids

The walls of Madiera were pulled down and the city expanded with fresh colonists from the Caliph in Baghdad. Mohamed then ordered the walls returned to their original size. The missionaries in Galatia were unsuccessful in gaining more converts. The city of Leon was rebuilt with loyal Moslem settlers and its walls expanded. Leon itself was dotted new forts. The walls of Lyssa and the fortresses in Salamanca and Talavera were improved. Mohamed gains a son. Mehkmod attempts to discover any illicit activity in Andalusia but uncovers nothing of interest. Tavar was successful in gaining an alliance out of Talavera while Rithman gained grudging support from the lords of Galacia. The Imam Suliman was left in charge of the defence of the Caliphate.

Elsewhere in Western Europe

Spain makes gains in Asturias and Gascony. The Moslems in Gefara are sold the benefits of Christianity – the benefit being life over death by the sword! Missionaries from the Marteau de Dieu are active in Galatia. The Knights of Malta expand into Gefara and Sardinia at the behest of the King of Spain. Grandmaster Stephan is send to aid the West Romans. Le Milice du Anacletus creates a Order House in Poitou and Preceptories in Vermandois, Nivernais and Orleans. The Pope is instrumental in converting Slovenia and Bakony to Christianity and increasing the converts on the Dalmatian coast.

AFRICA

Mercenaries
Leaders:	Magabune of Kilwa M5A6
Troops:	20i, 13c, 5s, 5w, 5t
AQRs:	i5, c4, s3, w1

Usama-Yoruba Onium of Ibo

(African Pagan Civilised Open Empire)
A'Damana, King of the Ibo

Songhay is no more. M'Bwanza lived long enough to see his son complete the destruction of their neighbour and take their lands into Ibo's embrace. A massive ten thousand elite infantry were built in Ife to protect the nation against the Wadai threat. Sudan was slightly appeased by Tyano after the war there five years ago. Ghana saw the benefits of being part of A'Damana's kingdom and fully joined with their conquerers..

Elsewhere in Africa

Missionaries from Unkulunkulu are active in Kafue. The Adjou Aba gain the support of the Idjil Bedouins, Khalem and Jenne. Gambis is conquered. The Air Emirate meets the Wadai at Agades. The Wadai one hundred thousand easily defeat the Emirates twenty-six thousand and force them back from the oasis. TheWadi make gains in Agades, Ghat-al-Bharket, Adowa and Funj.

Central Asia

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

Elsewhere in Asia

The Mongols gain the support of the Uighur and the Keraits. The Greater Wheel gains Churches in Chiennan, Kweichou, Guizhou and Manipur. The Order of the Dagger builds Order Houses in Jats and Ajmer. Preceptories are built in Jihjhoti, Nadavaria, Vatsa and Chandela. A new city is built in Johor called Tanjung Puteri. The Western Dhara gains Surashtra, Gujerat, Chitor and Vengi. The Ghazni convert Shis and Lahore to Shiite by force.