Lords of the Earth
CAMPAIGN TWENTY-FOUR
Africa Victorious
Turn 42
1205
~ 1210 Anno Domini
568 ~ 572 in the year of the Hegira
Announcements and
items of note
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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. I’ve greyed out repeated areas on the maps to make my life easier.
However, this means some player nations are split across more than one map. I
may increase the size of the main map but I’ll have to think on this.
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
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VARIOUS FEES AND LEVIES
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We are using the latest v6.3.5 of the
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Turn 43 Orders due by: September 17th 2008
Without further ado, the news for these
years in Lords 24 history...
EASTERN EUROPE
Mercenaries
|
Leaders:
|
Mustafa of Rum M996
|
Troops:
|
45c,33xc,40i,5xt,5xw
|
AQRs:
|
i5, c6, s5, w3
|
The Varangian Rus of Kiev
(Orthodox Civilized Open Empire)
Izyaslav, King of the Rus
Missionaries
were active in Atelzuko and the pagan's of that
region saw the benefits of joining their Christian neighbours to the north.
King Izyaslav was content to meddle with mercantile
affairs and managed to sire a daughter during these years. While the other
nobility idled their time away at court, Wladislaw
was active in Novogord -Seversk
and gained a military alliance from the Boyar there.
The Western Roman
Empire
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Scion of Theodotus, Emperor of the West Romans
The harsh
winter of 1207 was hardly noticed by Alexander of Larissa as he pulled his battered
army together for the final push against the Uighur foe. It seems that Uighur
bandits had stolen their pay and Alexander exalted them that only regaining Thessaly would reclaim their gold. Two thousand infantry
and twice that in cavalry moved out of Ochridia and down through Serbia to attack the Uighurs in Thessaly. Belim of the Uighurs
commanded a small force of one thousand engineers, some infantry and one of the
Uighur tribes. Thessaly had recently been
fortified with several small castles to protect against just such an invasion.
As Alexander crossed the mountains a descended into Thessaly,
Belim moved out to meet him. He had little time to
prepare but the Bulgarians were duped by a local guide and were in disarray
when the Uighurs attacked. No mercy was shown and Alexander's whole force cut
down by the fierce tribesman. With the Emperor dead, the army annihilated, the
Bosnians also declared their independence- what hope for West Romans now? The
Uighurs losses were under one thousand men. Any thoughts that John the Sturdy
had of claiming the vacant throne were dashed when he succumbed to a flux in
1209 - the throne went to a distant cousin of the old dynasty of Theodotus.
The Western Uighur Khanate
(Sunni Islam Civilised Open Empire)
Khagan Selim
Selim
moved to Thessaloniki
were he courted the old West Roman dynasty under Theodotus.
A marriage was arranged for himself and even old Fatima
was married off. Some allegiance was gained from the Thessalonians and Selim moved back to Macedonia. His new wife gave him a
son, although healthy he was extremely ugly. Uighur assassins attempt to take
out the West Roman assassin base and manage to hamper their activities during
these years. In Thessaly, Belim
has some small success in converting the local nobility to Islam.
The Oriental Roman
Empire
(Roman Catholic Civilised Open Empire)
Isaac, Emperor of East Rome
Isaac was determined
to regain the lost Roman lands to the west. While he gathered his army of six
thousand elite guards, he sent Moagaritos to Abasigia to gain further support from the region. An
alliance of sorts was formed and more gold flowed towards Constantinople.
Romanos travelled to Chrysopolis
to gather the small garrison stationed there. Issac
was a strong and charismatic leader and managed to rally his men for an attack
on Thrace,
despite the punishment handed out by the Uighurs some years before. His six
thousand strong guard moved into the province and struck the defences set there
by the Khan. Along strongly fortified the province soon fell to the Romans for
the loss of less than a thousand men and Isaac pushed onto Heraclea. However, he was unable to isolate
the port and it prevailed against his siege.
The Ests
(European Pagan Barbarian Open Empire)
Cimir, Kings of the Ests
The cultivation of Veposkava continued, it was only the lack of labour that
prevented the region from fulfilling its promise. The road from Estonia to Novgorod
was updated on the nation's map; its omission the fault of a senile old scribe.
Cimir set up trade links with Poland but his attempts to trade with England
were hampered by the distance. Cimir travels to Novgorod with Jaak and offers his hand in marriage to the local chief's
daughter. The alliance is sealed and Novgorod
becomes part of the kingdom. Jaagup convinces the
lord of Musa to ignore Norwegian influence and offer allegiance to Riga. A wife is found for
Andrus. A daughter is born to Andrus' wife, an ugly, witless thing that Andrus
ignores, hoping for a son.
Elsewhere in Eastern
Europe
The Kingdom of Hungary becomes Eastern Orthodox.
Carinthia, Ialomita, Slovenia and Verona all rebel. Verona returns to Venitians
and thence Salernese control. Rum gains more control
over Pamphyla.
THE MIDDLE EAST
Mercenaries
|
Leaders:
|
None
|
Troops:
|
10c,8xc,24i,5xt,5xw
|
AQRs:
|
i5, c6, s5, w3
|
Heyrenik'un Armeniam
(Roman Catholic Barbarian Open Empire)
Anisha Amirspalar
Queen Anisha continued to oversee the cultivation of Armenia
while missionaries were active in Psidia. Orthodox
feeling was running high and the backlash was felt in Thedyarbekir
when the number of Catholic converts in Psidia was
cut in half. Anisha Amirspalar
herself rules her mountain kingdom alongside her consort Prince Leo. Iskander continued his efforts to convert the nobility of Vaspurakan before his death in 1208. His successor picked
up his work. In late 1209 disaster struck the Azeri city of Tabriz when a huge earthquake claimed many
lives in the city. The city walls were destroyed along with several municipal
buildings.
The Buwayid Sultanate
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Nadir, Regent for the young Sultan
Catastrophe strikes
the Sultanate when Hashm dies at only 27. His young
son is only 9 and his brother Nadir agrees to be regent until his majority. His
other brother Prince Shiraj travels to Baghdad where he offers
his service to the Al-Khulafa'ur Rashidun.
Farukh takes command of six thousand infantry and a
large contingent of engineers. The force travels to Media to protect the
eastern border with Persia.
Crisias was offered the hand of Hashm's
sister in marriage by the able Yahya, he was aided by
Nadir, Khair al Din and Basher of Ahvaz. Crisias was already married to Adrianne of Chrysopolis so declined the offer of marriage. However, the
much needed offer of gold and the ever present threat of Buwayid aggression
meant that the small Khanate offered to support the Sultanate in a military
alliance. This was Yahya's last task for the Sultan
as he too died during these years. Large numbers mercenaries were hired in Hastor but spent these years in leaderless idleness as
Mustafa took the Salernese gold. Some of the ruling
nobility of Cilicia were converted to Islam by the persuasive Qumri of Edessa.
The road from Lydia
to Isauria was repaired and regained its old status.
Ar Rassid Imamat as Sa'Na
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Sheik Farouk of Sa’Na
Farouk ordered
Sinbad to take command of the royal guard. They were when shipped down the
African coast to Scebeli were they waited for the
Imam Tareq. Tareq had moved
up from Kilwa Kivinje with
his army of six thousand infantry and some elephants to punish the Ogaden for their transgressions in during the previous
years. Accompanied by Rakman, he moved from Scebeli into Ogaden and
challenged the horde on their home territory. This was a mistake which cost him
dearly; the entire Ogaden might of nearly fifteen
thousand cavalry and supporting light spearmen attacked the Adenese
Imam as he crossed the border. The Imam was unprepared for the onslaught and
saw his army destroyed by the Ogaden. He only barley
managed to escape to Adal with Rakman,
both men sorely tested and exhausted from their flight.
Al-Khulafa'ur Rashidun
(Sunni Islam Civilized Primacy
Kedar Safawan,
the Righteous Caliph
The vast wealth of
the Khulafa was flexed and the cities of Saa'na, Al'Qadi, Mahidia, Madiera, Mansura and Basra grew from their
largesse. Kedar Safawan was
content to rule the Khulafa from Baghdad and was blessed with four children,
two of them twins. He ordered a new city built
on island of Socotra, to be called Al'Cotra. It was Rasheed Malakai's duty to oversee the settlers leaving Basra for the island
before overseeing the mosque built in Mansura. This was after he successfully
oversaw the building of a Monastery in Abadan.
The Emir of Al'Qamishli was supported by Latif abd-Gabr and Zayn ibn Zulfiq
in lending there knowledge of Magyar traditions to the missionary efforts in Alfold. There was also some minor missionary success in Ludgorie. Al'Qamishli's efforts
in Thrace came to nothing
when the East Roman's invaded from Constantinople but an Abbey was built in Lydia.
The conversion of the Isaurian and Cilician nobility
continued apace. Idle merchant shipping was reassigned to fishing.
Elsewhere in the Middle
East
Quiet times.
NORTH AFRICA
Mercenaries
|
Leaders:
|
Abu Benadin al’Gefara M544
|
Troops:
|
5c,10xc,10i,5xt,5xw
|
AQRs:
|
i5, c6, s5, w3
|
The Ayyubid Sultanate
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Saladin, Sultan of the Ayyubids
Saladin
raised a new army in the Alexandria;
ten thousand cavalry and the same in infantry were gathered for vengeance on
the Farubids. Meanwhile, word was sent to mercenaries
throughout North Africa to gather at El’Uqsor. Harun and Osman were appointed to the Ayyubid court. Ayyubid
missionaries were active in Adulis and Suakin but new
converts were only forthcoming in Suakin. Saladin gathered his army from Alexandria and Mansura and travelled down to the Levant. Now numbering some sixteen thousand infantry and
nearly thirty thousand cavalry, he attacked the Farubid
heartland of Jordan.
Aziz ibn Faruq had managed to hold his army together by will alone,
not having paid them for many months. His force of ten thousand elite guards
with some cavalry and engineers managed to hold off the Ayyubid attack and
force them to retire back to the Levant. Large
numbers of Egyptians were killed with Boguz run down
by the Farubids and Jabril
wounded. The Farubid losses were remarkably light. Again
Saladin tried to force his way into Jordan and again he was repulsed.
However, this time the losses were not so great on the Egyptian side and over
three thousand Farubids were killed. Saladin retired
back to Alexandria
to review his options, surely the impoverished Farubids
could not hold out much longer? Pharnazes was
successful in Dongola, the region grudgingly accepting Ayyubid control. The
roads down from Dongola to Thebes
and onto Alwa were completed. The newly hired mercenaries in El'Uqsor were left to idle the years away as Abu refused
the paltry sum offered to hire him.
Amir al-Bahri
(Sunni Islam Seafaring Religious Order)
Abd Al-Aziz,
Grand Commander
Little of note occurred
Ummayad Sultanat
al Oran
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Abbas al Basha
,Sultan of the Ummayad
Abbas al Basha was blessed with
three daughters during these years. Ishtar was stationed in Santa
Maria in case of Aragon’s
aggression. None came during these years. The missionary work in Catalonia met with mixed
success when the nobility of the province were convinced of the benefits of
Islam but the general population were alienated.
WESTERN EUROPE
Mercenaries
|
Leaders:
|
Odo of Aachen
M85A
|
Troops:
|
20c,12i,5s,5xt,5xw
|
AQRs:
|
i5, c5, s4, w4
|
Heiliges Romisches Reich
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Brandork, Holy Roman Emperor
Emperor
Brankork ordered the rebuilding of Cannes
in southern France.
The city was to become the Empire's port on the Mediterranean
and was built around a central citadel. Brandorks's
beautiful wife gave birth to four children during these years, ensuring his
legacy for years to come. However, his attempt to raise an Abbey in Saxony failed due to religious differences between his
appointed Abbott and the Papal Legate sent to oversee the site's construction.
Prince Brankoening was successful in bringing Stuttgart into a closer
alliance with the Empire but unfortunately died during these years. Eudes of Burgundy used his influence in the Provence court to fully
integrate the province into the Empire's lands. Old Papuchultran
died while travelling from Switzerland.
Vast amounts of gold were given to the Spanish king to aid their efforts in the
south.
Jarldom of Orkeneyjar
(Roman Catholic Seafaring Open Empire)
Wulgar Bjornson, Jarl of Orkney
Wulfgar sent rutters for the New World to England for the gain of much gold.
The princess Gretal sailed from Kirkval with Harald
and Bjorn to further the Orkneys knowledge of these lands. Claims were made of Vinland and Naskapi, although no sign was found of the
men left their on Gretal’s return. Old Harald did not
last the voyage and died on the way back to Kirkval but Gretal
was successful and rutters were made of Cape Race.
Wulgar himself travelled with his son and heir, Lars Wulfson, to Brest.
It was here that he hoped to persuade Le Marteau de Dieu to take up residence further north. His proposals were
listened to by the Frenchmen and were favourably received. Indeed, a new order
house was built by the Orkneymen in far Kirkval. However, the order could not
be persuaded to relocate at this time to Kirkval and remained based in Brest. Strom managed to
raise the piety of the islands before his death in 1210. Searches for the
traitor Yngvarr or his offspring led to nothing;
although there was rumour of a Norse sect in northern Italy or thereabouts.
Kingdom
of Svear
(Roman Catholic Seafaring Open Empire)
Erik Gustafson, King of the Svear
Erik oversaw the building of Helsinfors
in Turku.
Several light transports were commissioned and assigned to trade within the
Kingdom. Although virtually uninhabited, the Svear
missionaries were successful in converting the few fishermen on the island of Saarema to
Catholicism. Aranok and Arvid
die in the desolate island during a diplomatic mission to gain their support.
Erik presents his son and heir Arnold to the court..
Norman Kingdom
of France
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Louis VII, King of France
Over
sixty ships were commissioned in the Cherbourg
dockyards. King Louis was blessed with two young children, events only marred
by the death of their great aunt Constance. Fulques
was successful in diplomacy in both Metz and Champagne. While
Guillaume offered the hand of Roger in marriage to the Count of Auvergne. Hugh
travelled to Cherbourg to collect the newly
commissioned Cogs and sailing around to Marseilles,
picked up Guillaume and set sail for Attica.
The French army was aboard, over ten thousand men, hungry for battle and to
face the infidel. Hugh landed in Athena and awaited the Uighur onslaught. None
came and Hugh spent the time in idle repose with Guillaume and Mustafa of Rum -
hired for the duration by Salerno
but bereft of any men to lead. Hugh returned home to Marseilles at the end of these years but
caught a fever and died in the port city. Paris
as caught in a new found belief in the works of man and support for Rome wavered.
Principality of Salerno
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Ricardo II, Prince of Salerno
Mercenaries
flocked to the Salernese banner; over fourteen
thousand were hired in Calania for Prince Kaspar. In Athens the mercenary
captain Mustafa was hired but his men were tempted away by Buwayid gold. In
Romagna, the rat infested ruins of Bologna were
abandoned and a new port called Ravenna built on
the Adriatic. Taranto
was also built on the same coast in Apulia.
Two daughters were born during these years to Prince Ricardo, the eldest of the
two was as ugly as the youngest beautiful. Eight thousand cavalry, six thousand
infantry and a thousand engineers cross from Calabria
into Sicily. Hasan of the Al'Bahri was ready
for the attackers with over six thousand infantry, two thousand cavalry and the
same number of engineers as the Italians. Tuscany led the battle from the front with
Miguel Urbano. The Duke was badly injured in the
attack trying to rescue Urbano after he was pulled
from his horse by the Bahri. Thinking their leaders
were lost the Italians fled the field and were mercilessly pursued by the Bahri. The Bahri losses were
light but nearly all the Italian mercenaries were left dead or abandoned the
field. Urbano was captured but the Duke escaped to Calabria. Hasan was killed along with the thousand light infantry
losses. Urbano later died of his wounds, a prisoner
of the Al'Bahri. Despite the losses in Sicily, Ricardo was
rewarded with success when the Bishop Beningi, aided
by the Duke of Romagna, persuaded the Venetians to fully ally themselves with
the Principality.
Saxon Kingdom
of England
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Richard, King of England
The
city of Diva
was cleared of the old rat infested buildings that had caused so much despair
and rebuilt to its former glory. King Richard declared that his son William
will become his heir on reaching his majority. Much gold was sent to the
Orkneys for their knowledge of the route to the new world found to the west.
King Wulfgar also let the Saxon's gain knowledge of
the Baltic. Saxon missionaries were unsuccessful in Gronland
and Fjordane. King Richard himself continued to
oversee his nation from London.
Old Lord Dunmore died whilst protecting the south from possible invasion.Lord Esmund was
successful in bring Dyffed closer to the kingdom when
the lord of those lands pledged an alliance.
Reino de Aragon
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Pedro II, El Catolico, King of Aragon
Very little of note happened during these years..
The Akramid
Caliphate
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Mohamed, Caliph of the Akramids
Tiroman, son of Mohamed, becomes heir to the Caliphate. Akramid missionaries have a fair degree of success in Galacia, nearly half of the regions' population now follow
Islam. Mohamed himself is content to rule the Caliphate, his wife Lila giving
him more children for his growing family. Prince Mehkmood
travelled home to Andalusia to begin the
unrewarding work of looking for hidden cultists. He dies suddenly from a heart
attack during 1206. Prince Mohaman dies in Leon from a
flux caught on the way from Galacia in 1207. Tavar and Rithman were also
victims of the same disease but not before the relations with Leon were dramatically improved.
Coincidently, the Imam Sulieman also died whilst
patrolling the Caliphate's lands.
Elsewhere in Western
Europe
|
The Norwegians attempt to gain some more land. Pomern, Musa and Oopland are
all targeted but Musa is swayed by Estonian interests. Attica joins with Thessaloniki. La Milice du Anacletus are active
in England.
|
AFRICA
Mercenaries
|
Leaders:
|
Magabune of Kilwa M5A6
|
Troops:
|
10c,5xc,28i,5xt,5xw
|
AQRs:
|
i5, c4, s3, w1
|
Usama-Yoruba Onium
of Ibo
(African Pagan Civilised Open Empire)
Bhatamai, King of the Ibo
Every
available horse was found in sub-Saharan Africa
and put into service in Bhatamai's army. In the end
over twenty six thousand cavalry were raised to repel the Adjou
Aba and the Air Emirate. Iboan
spies were active in the Adjou horde and contact was
made with the Emir of the Idjil. The Emir waited
until Iboan assassins had killed the Emir of the Adjou before pulling most of his men back into Songhai. The Adjou left the
region after their lords' death to await their new Emir. The Emir of Idjil then liberated Songhai and Ghana before taking Kumbi-Salah for his new masters. Songhai returned to
independence however after the Idjil left for Ghana.
Itogo took command of the new raised cavalry and
together with his ten thousand heavy infantry moved to attack the Air Emirate
at Kurfei. The Emirate was completely outnumbered and
fell back before the might of Ibo. After Kurfei, Kanuri and Om'dir'man easily fell
and the Emirate was no more. Daza rose up against the
few defenders left to control the region and returned to Kanem's
control. Bhatamai himself was defending the western
frontier against the Adjou Aba
when they returned in 1208. His thirty thousand infantry were dug in on the Sudan border when the Adjou
arrived via Songhai. The Adjou
numbered thirty thousand cavalry and about twelve thousand infantry. They descended
upon the outnumbered Iboan with victory assured.
However, although wounded, Bhatamai managed to turn
the tide of the battle by leading the defence against the invaders personally.
The Adjou perished upon stout Iboan
spears and died in their multitude. Nearly thirty thousand of the Adjou and their Idjili and Adwaghost allies died that day with the loss of only two
thousand Iboans. The horde sulked back to their
strongholds and contemplated their mistake in attacking the power of Ibo.
Elsewhere in Africa
The Shahel Sharifs attack Kanem at Soro. Although
overwhelming the defenders with their cavalry supremacy, the Kanem forces managed to repel the attackers. Daza was returned to Kanem after
the demise of the Air Emirate. The Sharifs then
pushed into Darounga, Radom and Ennedi,
meeting minimal resistance from the Funj. The Ogaden Tribes were pushed out of Shoa
by Funj and were badly mauled in the battle; out of
their nineteen thousand cavalry, nearly twelve thousand were killed or
scattered. This was after they had managed to take some of the Adenese holdings on the East African coast. The Mwene-Mutapa converts Nguni. Khosia and Phalaborwa also follow
Unkulunkulu. The cultivation of Gorongo
is well underway.
Central Asia
Mercenaries
|
Troops:
|
6c,10xc,10i,5xt,5xw
|
AQRs:
|
i5, c4, s3, w1
|
Elsewhere in Asia
|
The
Khwarzim claim Tabaristan.
Kirov is
settled by Bolgar tribesmen. Ilig
missionaries are active in Kashmir. The
Mongols incorporate the tribes of Adakh, the Khirgizi and the Khazan. The province of Wu Hai is
attacked and pacified.
|
India
Mercenaries
|
Troops:
|
5c,10xc,10i,5xt,5xw
|
AQRs:
|
i5, c4, s3, w1
|
Pratihara Kingdom of Kaunaj
(Hindu Civilised Open Empire)
Ramapala, Raja of Kaunaj
The Raja
Ramapala raised more troops for the Kingdom's army.
Four thousand elite cavalry were added to the already substantial infantry
based in Rajput. His son Kumarapala
married an extremely ugly bride from Jaunpur but at
least she produced two sons for the heir. Jaunpur was
the target of Kaunaj diplomacy when Viadyadara and Timgyadeva gained
a military alliance from the province. Ananda proved
less successful in Uttar Pradesh and failed to gain any more support from the
rich province.
The Order of the
Dagger
(Hindu Civilised Religious Order)
Angada, Lord of the Order of the Dagger
Angada, Lord of the Order of the Dagger, commissioned vast
fleets for trade out of Benares and Thanesar. A fleet of thirty light warships was built in Tamralipti to defend the Hindu lands. Balavan,
accompanied by Gaman and Isha,
founded a series of Order Houses and Preceptories in Benares, Bihar, Calcutta and Shillong. Their efforts were thwarted in Tamralipti by local red tape.
Elsewhere in India
Kosala is claimed by the Kalachuri
Kingdom.