Lords of the Earth
CAMPAIGN TWENTY-FOUR
Rise
of the East
Turn 47
1231
~ 1235 Anno Domini
593 ~ 597 in the year of the Hegira
New for T47
The use of fleets for Reaction and mitigating the effects
of Pirates: My understanding
of how this works is given below. However, this may change slightly as its
still in discussion amongst the GMs.
Reaction
·
Only used for enemy units attacking controlled LAND regions (at NT or better). It
cannot be used for Sea Zones (you do not control them). An exception to this is
that units on react can respond to a successful patrol in a Sea Zone as long as
they are in a port within that Sea Zone. They will not respond to Trade Route
patrols.
·
Can be used for Rivers when used to support land
units. The units must be light warships and based in a port adjacent to the
river segment.
·
Can be used for Coastal Areas when used to
support land units within the warships reaction range.
·
Warships on react are based in a port, not a Sea
Zone.
Patrol (new action)
·
Only used in Sea Zones by fleets
·
Can be used to patrol a Sea Zone or a specific
Trade Route
Trade Route Escorts
- This
is specific to Lords 24. Units can be assigned to a trade route to act as
static convoy escort using the G type leader. Note this is not as good as
patrol as the warships assigned will only reduce the effects of piracy,
not capture or destroy the pirates themselves.
Improved cultivation at TL5: If a nation has reached the
dizzy heights of TL5 than it can benefit from improved cultivation. You can
Improve a cultivated homeland region from 2GPv to 3GPv, or any other controlled
cultivated region from 1GPv to 2GPv. This is a level one megalithic
construction.
New for T46
NPNS: I’ve tweaked the NPN and Primacy/Order rules a little to make them
fit better with the 24 game. I’ve also reduced their overall RRV to make
diplomacy easier.
Second Positions in the East: As I’ve not got a lot of players
in the East, I would be willing to allow a second position from existing
players. Let me know if you’re interested.
New for T45
New Rivers: I’ve added in some new possible rivers onto the map.
These are rivers that were once passable by light traffic (remember Cogs cannot
travel on rivers) and have now become silted up. You can dredge a stretch of
the river (along one region border edge) as a 0.5 level project.
Gripes:
Agro as conversion –
this has restrictions (see 2.11.5.3) which I will be enforcing from now on.
Rivers can only support
light ships – as far as I know Cogs cannot travel on rivers. This also includes
Cogs built for trade.
New Primates: We have two new Primate positions
this turn. Jumal Skyfather,
which is an Estonian god and the Coptic Church based out of Axum.
New for T44
Minor islands and City States: I’ll be allowing minor islands (Corfu, Jerba, Wight etc) and
city states to be used as locations from T44. Just let me know the rationale
behind why you want it separate and if reasonable I’ll add it in. Once they are
created as locations, they obey all the rules of islands etc. However, their Gpv cannot go above 0.
Flooding: The last few turns have seen a massive increase in the
amount of flooding that has occurred. It appears that the years are getting
warmer and wetter. As a result of this some of the minor rivers on the map are
once again becoming passable to river traffic.
Denmark:
Following on from the Minor Islands stuff, you can see that Denmark is now separated out to Jutland and Syaland (Zeeland).
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!
Order Form: Please use the standard excel
order form from now on. I’ll update the site with a link to it next week when I
get some time. This is important as it helps me process the turn more quickly.
THIS IS NOW MANDATORY.
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.
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. 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
How to make your GM
happy (PLEASE READ! REALLY!):
Please send any and all Lords24
correspondence to lords24gm@ymail.com
or stephenbrunt@yahoo.co.uk .
LORDS 24 WEB RESOURCES
The Lords Twenty-Four homepage is
at:
http://lords.throneworld.com/lote24/index.html
All of the on-line resources, including
order forms, mailing lists and web-sites for Lords of the Earth are summarized
on this page:
http://lords.throneworld.com/?page_id=2
You can subscribe to the Lords 24 mailing
list by pointing your web-browser at:
http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/lote24
…and following the instructions on that
page.
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
Turn 48 Orders due by: Wednesday 25th March 2009
Without further ado, the news for these
years in Lords 24 history...
Eastern Europe
The Varangian
Rus of Kiev
(Orthodox Civilized Open Empire)
Peter, King of the Rus
The
walls of Chernigov and Saratov were further expanded. Over two
thousand cavalry were raised in Kiev
for the Princess Anya to aid against defence from the Magyars. Peter of Kiev
married Airiona of Estonia. Trade relations between
the two northern nations were greatly improved following the marriage. A
Preceptory was built for the Oder of St Vladimir in Kiev and Peter’s influence grew amongst the
knights of the order. Prince Vassily was appointed to
court to serve with his father. Sadly, old Queen Katya
died during these years and the funeral ceremony was held shortly after Peter’s
wedding. Ties with Rzhev were reduced and Peter was relived that Mordva
retained its alliance following the death of its lord. Princess Anya moved into
Cuman with Joseph and quelled the Cossack menace once and for all. Her army of
four thousand cavalry was augmented by Joseph’s two thousand. The Cossacks had
been badly mauled by previous encounters with the Rus and quickly surrendered.
They promised military support to Anya as well as tithes in gold and grain. Wladislaw had some success in Suzdal when the Vladimir pledged a full
alliance to the Rus.
The Western Uighur Khanate
(Sunni Islam Civilised Open Empire)
Khagan Barjik
Attica
was fortified against Christian attack and one thousand light infantry raised
in Thrace.
The Roman prisoners Stephanos and Romanos
die after long years in captivity. The Khagan oversaw
the completion of the postal road between Heraclea
and Thessaloniki.
The city of Thessaloniki
pledged military support, such that it is, to the Uighur cause after the
efforts of Emre. After inspecting the merchant fleets
of the Khanate, Barjik was blessed with two children
by his Thessaloniki Queen Anna. Emin took control of Epirus with his
army of over four thousand men. His spies gathered information as to the
whereabouts of Michael Doukas’s hideout in the hills
of the region but he was unable to find time to destroy the rat’s nest due to
the long months of campaigning against the Epirians.
Imam Mahmoud assisted Emre
in the bringing Dobruja into the Khanate and
improving relations with the Thessaloniki
city state. A second wife was found for Barjik in Dobruja but the nobility of Thessaloniki were still Christian and railed
at such infidel suggestions. Celil of Serbia aided Emin in the pacification of Epirus
before looting the Maltese site in Attica.
The Ests
(European Pagan Barbarian Open Empire)
Andrus II, Kings of the Ests
The region of
Veposkava was greatly improved during these years. Andrus commanded that a
further one thousand men be raised for his army. Shortly after escorting the
Princess Airiona to Livonia, Andrus was thrown from his horse and
killed by the impact with the frozen ground. His son, also called Andrus,
quickly took control of the Kingdom with any dissention. Gcarson of Livonia
moved through Vologda and Onega, and leaving
token garrisons in these wild and desolate regions, claimed them for Estonia. Vlinus took the Princess Airiona
from Andrus in Livonia and escorted her to Kiev where she was wed
into the Rus royal family. Trade relations between the two nations were greatly
improved following the marriage.
Elsewhere in Eastern
Europe
The Magyars sack Krakow and the regions of Bochnia
and Volhynia were looted of much wealth. The Kingodm of Hungary marches into Slovakia and regains the region
from the Magyars. The Order of St Vladimir expand into Kiev city when an Order House is built there.
The priests of Jumal Skyfather
convert Veposkava and built a Church in Reval. The
Son of Mustafa dies and a new leader called Achmed ibn Mustafa takes over control of the Turkish Guards. They
fail to gain an Mercenary agent in Antioch.
Scandia and the Out Isles
Jarldom of Orkeneyjar
(Roman Catholic Seafaring Open Empire)
Lars Wulfson, Jarl of Orkney
Old Wulfgar finally succumbed to old age and passed away in
1234. Lars is proclaimed Jarl and Helmut and Freya Svendatter
promoted to the Orkney court. Before his death, Wulfgar
ordered the construction of a great fortress in Strathclyde as well as lesser
hill forts and castles in that region and the Scottish Highlands. The Orkneyjar
fleet was expanded and a further thirty light warships added. Twenty more
warships were commissioned to patrol the trade routes out of Kirkval, on the
lookout for Norwegian pirates. Dún Bhun na Gaillimhe
("Fort at the Mouth of the Gaillimh") was
constructed in 1233, by the King of Connacht, Tairrdelbach
mac Ruaidri Ua Conchobair. Sofia of Kiev dies
of a fever and the trade pact between the Orkneys and the Rus expires. Hekla Wulfdatter again travelled to Brest to gain influence with the Hammer of
God. She was accompanied by Damien and six of the Orkneys best longships.
Despite the gift of much gold and the promise to build more sites, influence
was hard to come by. She returned to Kirkval with little to show for her
efforts. Lief rendezvoused with Bjorn in Dublin before meeting with Gretal
in Munster.
The old princess was very ill and did not survive the intense diplomatic
efforts of Leif. Munster
did pledge more in the way of gold but Bjorn also met his death in a tavern
brawl in Dublin’s
dockyards.
Kingdom
of Svear
(Roman Catholic Seafaring Open Empire)
Arnold Erikson, King of the Svear
|
|
Quiet times in the Scandinavian kingdom.
|
Saxon Kingdom
of England
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Domnall I, King of England
Domnall ordered the expansion of Diva, the plague ridden
hovels were cleared out and new tenements built in their place. English
missionaries were successful in overturning their previous years work! Many of
the peasants of Dyffed went back to the heretical ways, dismayed at the Roman
practices of the English priests. Domnall himself
travelled to the far north of his kingdom and was barely successful in gaining
some support from the Lothian nobility. Domnall then
aided Lord Quinton in Berwick where they gained a military alliance from the
city. The remaining lords of England
were content to patrol the nations borders, protecting the realm from foreign
invaders.
Elsewhere in Scandia
and the Out Isles
Norwegian
pirates scour the northern seas.
Western Europe
Heiliges Romisches Reich
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Heinrich, Holy Roman Emperor.
A
great wall is built along the Bavarian – Austrian border to keep out the troublesome
Magyars. Heinrich ordered the city of Viborg
to be built in Jutland. Cannes also grew in size during these years
and its great walls replaced. The Princess Alanis was
married to Guillaume of France, cementing a defensive pact between the Kingdoms.
Heinrich continued to rule his Empire but was not blessed with any children
during these years. Eudes of Burgundy travelled to Austria via Switzerland
and the Tyrol to meet with the Bishop Joseph
von Ratz. He was accompanied by the young Prince Lanzo and a guard of four thousand cavalry. The able Bishop
managed to get an audience with the Magyar Khan and eventually secured a
marriage to Eudes to Treszka
of the Magyars. The Magyars promised to leave the west alone and moved their
forces to their eastern frontier. Prince Gerhard
again attended to affiars of state, his grace and charm a bonus to any court
according to his mother. Hans von Matrunco took command of the four thousand
cavalry from Eudes and supported by Alfons von Lausatis, defended the Bavarian
frontier form possible Magyar attacks. Koloman secured some support from Wurzburg before his death.
The death fo the Count of Stuttgart saw that city redcue its ties to Hanover.
Norman Kingdom
of France
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Louis VII, King of France
The
desolate marshes of Poitou were re-colonised
by French settlers. Cultivation of the regions of Champagne and Hainault was slowly started.
While Louis rules from Paris, Prince Guillaume
travelled from Petropolis to Saxony
where he was married with much ceremony to the Princess Alanis.
A defensive pact was signed between Paris and Hanover. Guillaume then travelled
to Hainaut. A diplomatic bungle by the French
heir saw the region nearly sever its ties with France. Roger once again married, this
time into the Nivernais
nobility and gained an alliance with that region. Another diplomatic faux pas
was avoided when Alain nearly offered the Princess Jeanne in marriage to the
Count of Flanders. The aforementioned Princess was already wed to Prince Gerhard,
“The Comely”, of Germany.
However Flanders was happy to join with France fully. Further alliances
were gained in Aquitaine and Champagne
by Bishop Abelard and Guillaume (another Guillaume, not to be confused with the
son of Louis and heir to the Norman
Kingdom).
Principality of Salerno
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Ricardo II, Prince of Salerno
Four thousand more
brave Italian souls are recruited to the Principalities cavalry in Campania. A further
twenty triremes are also built in the cities dockyards. The cities of Pescara and Leghorn
grow in size and the general wealth of the northern regions increased. Prince Renato escapes from prison in Sicily after a Ricardo’s agents managed to
fool the Egyptian guards that the Prince was going to be rescued. It was during
the movement of the Prince to another location that he escaped. Salvatore Sanzo was not so lucky when a mob in the employ of the Fatamids pulled him from his bed and kidnapped him. No
ransom has been issued. Massive amounts of shipping that was once destined for
the Sicilian invasion was put to good use on the trade routes of Naples and Venice.
Angelo Dartini was unsuccessful in gaining further
allegiance from the city of Vincencia. However, thanks to the
efforts of the Duke of Apulia, Spoleto became an integral part of the
Principality. Geraldo Buccelli sailed off the Naples coast with his
fleet of over fifty triremes. No attack from the Moslems was forthcoming and
the ships returned to Naples.
Before his capture by the Fatimids, Salvatore
collected four thousand cavalry from Campania
and around one thousand infantry from Lombardy.
His force moved into Savoy
and declared it a Salernese province. Little
resistance was encountered but the nobility claimed that they had been allied
to Hanover
for many years and this was a breach of German territorial rights. Salvatore
returned to Cavalleri to reconsider his actions and
sent a rider to Naples.
Unfortunately, the general was captured before Ricardo could formulate a reply.
Bishop Retallio was accompanied by the young Ricardo
on a diplomatic mission to Romagna. The region
swore full allegiance to Ricardo.
The Akramid
Caliphate
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Tiroman,
Caliph of the Akramids
The
city of Santiago
was increased in size by an influx of Moors from the south. The walls of Seville were torn down to
make way for the cities growth following the dredging of the Guadilivir. The walls were replaced late in 1235. Tiroman rules the Caliphate from Andalusia and the Prince Darkan was dispatched to Leon with an escort of two thousand
cavalry to gain a wife and smooth over relations with the region. He lent his
support to Marrcan who was already in residence
there. His new wife bore him a young daughter on his return to Andalusia. Prince Obrahim was
under the command of Prince Morab and spent these
years protecting the Caliphate’s borders. Badr and
the Imam Dabir sailed from Madeira to protect the
Tyrrhenian Sea approach to Palermo or Sicily. Badr died at sea but the Imam brought the fleet back to
port with incident. The Salernese were spotted off
the coast of Naples
but seemed happy to wait for Dabir to move first.
The Papal States
(Roman Catholic Civilized Primate)
Clement IV, Pope
Palermo was flooded with
Christian missionaries and despite the Ayyubid ban on their practices, the city
was fully Christian once again. Papal missionaries were also active in Catalonia, reversing
gains made their by the Sultan of Oran. Once again Clement attempted to
consecrate the Cathedral of Christ the Peacemaker in Naples and once again he found his actions
thwarted by local red tape. The Archbishop Anselm travelled through Nivernais and onto Ile
de France. His attempts to establish Churches in these lands met with
resistance from the remnants of distrust engendered by the old schism between Paris and Rome.
Some success was gained during these years when Cardinal d'Este
raised the old Abbey in Verona
to a Monastery.
Elsewhere in Western
Europe
With
the Magyars occupied in Eastern Europe, peace
descended upon the West. Calania and Athena see agents for Fratelli
d'Italia establish a brokerage there. Old Claudio
dies in retirement and the new leader for the Fratelli
called is called Marcus. They can now be hired from Calania, Athena and Venice.
The Middle
East
The Buwayid Sultanate
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Hamzah, Sultan of the Buwayids
The
region of Paphlagonia was settled with loyal Arab
colonists. Antioch in Aleppo was colonised and became friendly to
the Sultanate. Twelve new light warships were raised in Antioch for the garrison there. Hamzah relinquished the alliance with the Rum Khanate in
his attempts to reduce the administration burden on the Sultanate. A royal road
was built from Media to far Persia.
Trade was established to the Yemen,
Hungary and Salerno as well as old routes opened to Ilig. Buwayid attempts to convert the islands of the Kyklades met with no success. Hasm
first wife died at the royal palace at the age of 54. The nobility of Hastor were fully converted to Islam by Ghiyath.
Hamzah himself ruled the Sultanate from Mesoptamia. He allocated his more mobile units of eight
elephant cohorts and over thirty thousand cavalry to Prince Haythan
while taking twelve thousand foot soldiers from the Prince. Prince Nadir moved
through Circis to Isauria. He was unable to gain any
improvement in relations with the nobility of Circis.
Prince Haythan moved to Diyala
with the Buwayid cavalry and kept watch towards the east. Imad
was dispatched to Raqqa but died of the flux during
these years. Abdul-Hafiz was in Lydia,
attempting to convert the nobility there to Islam. Khoury
of Fars was likewise occupied in Isauria. Harig of
Edessa moved down for most of these years to Diyala
to aid Prince Haythan before returning home. Kasra of Qom spent his time scouring the back streets of Baghdad for signs of
cultists. He as successful in finding the location of an Assassin group within
the city.
Al-Khulafa'ur Rashidun
(Sunni Islam Civilized Primacy
Zaahir al Shiraj,
the Righteous Caliph
Shiraj
saw the work done by the Al’Bahri and decided to
create some further orders to do the work of Allah. The Hanafi
Madhhab of Lydia
was created in Bithnia with the goal of converting Turkey and Greece to Sunni Islam. Qadir al Shiraj was appointed the
head of the order. The Maliki Madhhab
of Granada was created in Granada
to protect Sunni interests in Iberia
and North Africa. Annass
Safawan was appointed the head of the order. Gold and
grain was sent far and wide to benefit the Moslem cause. In Mekkah,
the Temple of
the Black Rock was raised and the Hajj encouraged throughout the Islamic lands.
The influence of the Caliph grew in every Sunni nation through this great
largesse. 1232 was a year of tragedy for Zaahir as
first his wife Jalil Baneen
died in childbirth and then his father, the Caliph passed away in his sleep. Zaahir was appointed as the new Caliph by his peers and the
Shirajid dynasty continued. Before his appointment to
the Maliki Madhhab, Anass Safawan led the Imams to Sicily where the
conversion of the nobility there was underway. They then travelled across the
sea to Catalonia
where they helped prevent a total reversal of the Sunni converts by the Pope.
Prince Qadir along with Arman
Malakeh and Rasheed Malakai, accompanied the Shiraj
before his death and continued his work in attempting to convert the nobility
of Lydia, Bithnia and Thessaly. They
returned to Mesopotamia where they assisted in
the reconciliation between the Sunni and Shi’ite
faiths. Some progress was made towards this goal although it was obvious it
would take some time. Brother Ahkmed of the Al’Bahri collected the dowry of Hadjara
Safawan numbering twelve hundred men from Syria, four hundred from Damascus
and a further twelve hundred men from Lebanon. The old Farubid army of seven thousand infantry, six hundred
cavalry and thirty engineer companies was also given as part of the dowry. They
were collected from Jordan
as Ahkmed moved down to Alexandria. Once in Alexandria Ahkmed augmented the dowry with the Rashidun
fleet of sixteen light warships from Al’Adana and
twenty-four from Antioch.
The host was gathered in Alexandria
for the wedding but news had obviously not reached the ears of Saladin and no
plans had been made. The Princess Hadjara waited in
frustration. One of Shiraj’s last wishes was that the
Farubid lands be given a level of autonomy and the
status of the Rashidun in those lands was thereby
reduced. This had the additional benefit of reducing the burden on the Caliph’s
court. Rashidun missionaries completed the conversion
of Sicily to Sunni Islam, somewhat offsetting Clement’s successes in Palermo. They were also active in Galacia where some success was achieved.
Elsewhere in the Middle
East
Quiet times.
North Africa
The Ayyubid Sultanate
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Saladin, Sultan of the Ayyubids
Saladin
fortified the newly captured region of Axum as
well as far Dongola. Over four thousand infantry were demobilised in Cyprus and left to make their own way back to Egypt. Suakin
was released from its commitments to the Sultanate. The cultivation of Dongola
was completed and that of Kassala started. A new
bridge was built over the Nile at Dongola and
the road between Kurman and Al’Qadi
upgraded to allow greater traffic. Saladin’s heir, Jabril,
caught some Italian disease and died in Sicily
in 1231. Khurrem, the Hatimid
wife of Zal also died during these years of old age.
Saladin takes the best of the Ayyubid army, some thirty thousand men and along
with the Imam Hakim Awad marched south to do God’s
work. A further twelve hundred men were taken from the garrison in Axum and the
army let loose in the city of Axum.
Much gold was taken and the city put to the torch. Saladin then marched on Funj where the ruler there quickly surrendered. This was
not enough for Saladin and the city of Soba
felt the full force of the Egyptians greed. It too was put to the torch.
Content that the Copts and Pagans of the south would fear is name, Saladin
moved back north to Alexandria.
The Coptic Church in Axum was also looted for
its paltry wealth. Prince Harun was based out of Alexandria and kept an
eye on the Ayyubid coast. Emir was tasked with the capture of Atabara but died of a fever during 1232. Old Pharnazes also died during these years, his work in the
Sinai not completed.
Elsewhere in the North
Africa
The Sharifs and the Ogaden
remained content to stay within their own lands during these years. As was the Adjou, paid off with huge tribute by the Rashidun Caliph. The Copts suffered great setbacks with the
Ayyubid attack but still manged to set up a makeshift
Church in the remains of Axum city.
West Africa
Usama-Yoruba Onium
of Ibo
(African Pagan Civilised Open Empire)
Bhatamai, King of the Ibo
More
years of peace reigned in Bhatamai Kingdom.
The regions of Ghana, Khalem and Segu were much
improved and the Great Wall expanded to keep out the Adjou;
it now stretched from Senegal
on the Alwil coast, all the way to Timbuctu in Songhai.Bhanada is
made the heir of the Onium, sadly his wife Opandaya dies in childbirth. Bhatamai
is blessed with yet more daughters. Given the benefits brought by the forced
union with Ibo, Sudan decides to fully join with
the Onium after the efforts of Jamba.
Prince Palamba made some progress in smoothing over
relations with Gorouol. Itogo
patrolled the northern territories,
expecting attacks from the Adjou. Once again the
nomads were quiet; content to benefit from Rashidun
gold and grain. Umaga was dispatched to Songhai to improve relations there.
Elsewhere in the West
Africa
The Adjou remained in their desert strongholds. Disturbing news
that a criminal organisation called the Ogboni was
active in Kanem.
South
Africa
The Mwene-Mutapa Empire
(African Pagan Civilised Open Empire)
Jafar Bikoi,
Emperor of Mapungubwe
Transkei and Nguni are now cultivated with a new influx of labour and
gold. One thousand light infantry are raised in the Transkei. The Emperor Jafar Biko takes the Mwene-Mutapa army of six thousand spears after leaving two
thousand to guard Gorongo and returns to Mapungubwe
to rule is growing Empire. Gorongo becomes
cultivated; Jafar benefiting from Betis
investment in region and knowledge of jungle clearing techniques. There was
some minor flooding in Matopos that caused some damage to the region. A Betis fleet of thirty light warships raid the Mapungubwe coast.
Gorongo, Karanga, Phalaborwa, Transkei and Nguni
are all targeted. Despite the army outside Sofala, the Betis
succeed in their raid in Gorongo. However, when Phalaborwa was raided for a second time, Chimbganda of Nguni with his
eight hundred spears caught the Betis fleet unawares.
Fourteen vessels and crews were destroyed when they failed to make off before
the warriors descended upon them. After raiding Nguni
in 1232 the Betis did not return. The Unkulunkulu
church in Phalaborwa was destroyed and looted before Chimbganda could scare the Betis
away. Sofala easily fell to Amechi Abate and his five
thousand men (two of which were the garrison left in Gorongo
by Jafar). Jafar reduces
his hold on the regions of Sotho and Khosia.
Elsewhere in the South Africa
Now
civilised. Betis attempts to convert Shona fails. Unkulunkulu gains a church in Rozwi and Cteshwa but fails to build an Abbey in Chumnumgwa.
Central Asia and Persia
The Karakhanate of Ilig
(Sunni Islam Civilised Open Empire)
Sahir ibn Saleh, Khan of the East
A
great host of cavalry was raised throughout the Karakhanate; fourteen thousand
in Kara Khitai alone. Sahir
took control of the Karakhanate’s infantry contingent in Kara Khitai after they had spent years of idleness on garrison
duty in the region. Over fifteen
thousand men became his own guard. He was aided in guarding the Karakhanate by
Babur. Timur was tasked with keeping the Avar and other opportunists at bay and took command of the
Karakhanate’s twenty eight thousand cavalry. It was then left to Zahir to look into the affairs of state. The old warrior
died at his desk in 1233.
Elsewhere in Asia
The Avar remain in their tents and keep away from Khwarzim and
the Karakhanate. The Shadow of God (on Earth) are formed in Khiva
to combat the growing nomad threat from the east.
India
Pratihara Kingdom of Kaunaj
(Hindu Civilised Open Empire)
Kumarapala, Raja of Kaunaj
Kumarapala establishes a new trade routes the Yemeni. He
meddles somewhat with the internal trade and fishing fleets of the nation.
Moving some shipping around the kingdom’s ports. Uttar Pradesh is colonised and
the valuable region re-cutivated in the wake of the
Mongol devastation. The walls of Kaunaj are put back
to their former glory. Kumarapala requested that
Prince Bindu take up more serious affairs and join
the Kaunaj court. A great push was made to cement
greater ties between Kaunaj ad the Bengalis. Kumarapala, Prince Davarapala,
Prince Janda, Prince Bindu
and the widow Chitrapala were married amongst the
Bengali royalty. The alliance that followed was brokered by Shivaji
and the Princes Davarapala and Janda.
Military and defensive pacts were made between the two kingdoms as well as an
increase ease in travel restrictions. Part of Kumarapala’s
brides dowry was lands within Bengal. Kumarapala rules his kingdom with his new Queeen and was blessed with three children. It was left to Vipin to patrol the Kingdom’s borders with six thousand
picked men. Satinder travelled south to Chandella and Calcutta.
Some progress was made in relations between Kaunaj
and their rulers. Satinder was aided in his efforts
in Calcutta by
the Raj of Nadavaria. The priest Singalapu
was unsuccessful in gaining any advancement of the alliance with Mandvi.
The Order of the
Dagger
(Hindu Civilised Religious Order)
Ranasata, Lord of the Order of the Dagger
Ranasata was unsuccessful in gaining new Oratories in Gujarat or Dhara even with the
aid of Deepankar. However, Mahatapas
was successful in Anhivarta and Kayal
where Order Houses were built. Twenty-five hundred elite guard and a further
six thousand infantry and thirty engineer companies moved north under the
command of Chaturbahu. They were later joined by Narhari’s fourteen thousand cavalry. They pushed on into Sahis from Tarain and claimed the
region for the Dagger. The Ghazz were prepared for an
attack and Achmed moved down from Afghanistan with
his force of three thousand infantry and fourteen thousand cavalry. As the
battle is joined Narhari is slain by a Ghazz arrow and the two forces pull back to their own
lines. Over six thousand Dagger cavalry lay dead or dying for minimal losses
for the Ghazz. Chaturbahu
took command of the whole army and moved in again on the Moslems. This time it
is Achmed that is cut down and with no other general
to take command the Ghazz panic and flee. Man are cut
down by Chaturbahu’s cavalry before they can reach
the safety of Afghanistan; a
mere six hundred return to Kabul.
Lahore
surrenders quickly to the Dagger forces and is converted back to Hinduism by
the sword. Many of the cities population still secretly venerated Vishnu and
the conversion was quickly carried out without much resistance. Mustafa of the Ghazz sent an envoy to Lahore with surrender terms to the Dagger,
his army all but wiped out.
Elsewhere in India
The Guardians of Anuradhapura build a house in Sigirya.
South East Asia and the Islands
The Dai Kingdom
of Annam
(Buddhist Civilised Open Empire)
Peng Ko,
King of Annam
The
Kingdom was fortified with plenty of border forts and keeps. Larger citadels were
built in Lingsi and Lingnan.
Trade was established to the Kingdom
of Koueichou
overland through the mountains. Peng Ko’s attempts to gain more
influence with the Great Wheel failed. He moved to Lingnan
with the Annam
army of seventeen hundred infantry and four thousand cavalry to watch for
Mongol attacks. He was aided by General Chi Nchu
Ling. Pa Long’s attempts to gain ties with Ch’Ang’Sha
met with distaster as the King of Ch’Ang’Sha
had him boiled alive! - Appeasement with the Mongols his preferred option. A
slight claim on Nanchao was made by Fer Net.
Kambujadesa
(Hindu Civilised Open Empire)
Emperor Jayavarman
I, Emperor of the Khmer
The
great citadel Malacca was built in Champa as well as
many smaller defences in the region. Siam and Surin
were also fortified. Five elephant squadrons were raised in Khmer as well as
two thousand elite cavalry and infantry. Khmer missionaries were active in
Hmong and saw some success in the mountainous region. Jayavarman
took command of the national army of over thirty thousand infantry and the
reins of government. He was blessed with a beautiful daughter from his Hmonging wife. Surya Din was given command of the newly
raised cavalry and elephants as well as a further six thousand infantry
stationed in Khemer. He moved to Siam with his
army to watch for Mongol attacks. Haing moved amongst
the Hmongite nobility in an attempt to convert them
to the ways of Vishnu; he met with little success. Foyan
Fehn was given command of two thousand newly raised
elite skirmishers and sent to improve the relations with the Hmongites. His request for a wife for Jayavarman
was accepted and some gains were made in smoothing over old hostilities.
Elsewhere in South
East Asia and the Islands
Sirivijaya missionaries continue
to convert Pajajaran to Buddhism. The great Kingdom of Thaton
continues to slumber, despite the Mongol threat.
Manchu’ko and Nihon
The Taira Shogunate
(Buddhist Civilised Open Empire)
Taira Kiyomori,
Shogun of the West
Kiyomori ordered the construction of a new port in Akita called Aomori.
The lands of the Shogunate were fortified and a great
citadel raised in Muro. Buddhist
missionaries from the Shogunate were active in Kumamoto and Yamaguchi. Some
success was achieved in swaying the local Shinto’s to convert. Kiyomori took command of the Shogunate’s
army of eight thousand men and ruled his domain. His beautiful wife from Saga
provided him with two daughters. Fujihiko and Ametarou left Saga with a fleet of fourteen light warships
and around twenty cogs. The Saga garrison of one thousand men was collected and
they set sail for Kumamoto.
In Kumamoto the
fleet was augmented by a further twenty light warships. The colonists bound for
Akita were
loaded aboard the remaining space. The fleet then moved to Akita
where the colonists were unloaded to populate the new city. The city was then garrisoned with
the one thousand infantry carried from Saga before the fleet returned to Kumamoto. Hisayoshi was given
honourable retirement due to his advanced age. The allies of Sarawak and Hainan were told to defend their lands in case of attack
by Sri Vijayans or anyone else.
The Minamoto Shogunate
(Shinto Civilised Open Empire)
Emura Minamoto,
Shogun of the East
Four
hundred elite cavalry are raised in Yamato as well as a further two thousand light
cavalry. Two thousand infantry are also raised in Yamato. The cities of Edo, Harima and Heian grew in
size during these years. Yamato also benefited from a series of forts along its
coast. Emura Minamoto took
control of the Minamoto army of seven thousand men
and took a wife from the Yamato nobility. He was blessed with a young daughter from
his new wife. Yûki Hideyasu
travelled to Sakhalin where he gained some
support from the region. Akechi Mitsuhide
was killed by natives in Hokaido when he attempted to
improve relations with the Ainu king. Kitajô Takahiro
attempted to explore the route to Beringa and
successfully mapped the Cape Lo Patka. Hatakeyama Yoshikuni took command
of the newly raised troops in Yamato and moved to Kanazawa and after picking up the garrison
there, he patrolled the Shogunate. Môri Motokiyo dies while
exploring the passage to Maranias.
The Goryeo Kingdom
(Buddhist Civilised Open Empire)
Wang Cheol Gojong, King
of Goryeo
The walls of Chi-Jing were expanded given its isolated position in the
north. Border posts were built in the regions of Parhae
and Ch’in. Twenty cogs were commissioned in the dockyards of Kai-Ching and Po’Chi to be used on
the trade routes within the Kingdom. Wang Cheol Gojong also raised one thousand elite cavalry for his
personal guard. Gold and men were drafted into Parhae
to complete the cultivation there. Wang Cheol Gojong ruled his Kingdom from Koguryo
and was blessed with three children. Ki Soo Kim spent these years in Manchou
attempting to increase the ties with Koguryo. Kim Gu took command of the Goryeon army of six thousand men and patrol the borders
from Ta’Ting. Roh Moo and
Lee Hoi-seok were tasked with affairs of state and
assisted Wang Cheol Gojong
in Kogoryo.
The Land under Heaven
The Kingdom of Koueichou
(Buddhist Civilised Open Empire)
Tao Peng, King of Koueichou
A
census was conducted throughout the land
of Szechwan and the
region was heavily fortified. Tao Peng himself defended
his Kingdom after personally carrying out the census. He took command of the Koueichou army of four thousand men. Lao Kamg died on the return from Ghang’de
where he secured tribute from the region.
The Mongol Khaganate
(Asiatic Pagan Nomadic Horde)
Khan of the Mongols
The
Khan’s fist action in Shensi was the
destruction of the Wudan Masters site there. The
horde then moved to Houma
and sacked the Wudan’s Preceptory in the region. All
of the petty Kingdoms that were heir to mighty Song surrendered in the face of
the Mongol might. Tai-Yuan, Zen’Zun, Cheng’De, Yen-Ching, Kaifeng and Shang’Ching surrendered without a blow being struck. All offered
gold and other baubles to stave off the Mongol wrath. As the Mongols moved from
Shangtung to Tsainan they
were met by the strength of the Wudan. The Mongols
numbered thirty-six thousand cavalry aginst the Wudan’s sixteen thousand men, mainly infantry but with a
large number of cavalry in support. The Khan was accompanied by his blood
brothers Arige and Boke. As
te wave of Mongol horsemen
swept over the Master’s it seemed for a while that they would be halted. It was
but an illusion and the Wudan centre gave as two of
their Grand Masters were sorely wounded. Attempting an orderly withdrawal at
first it soon became a rout and the Wudan were cut
down. The Mongols lost a mere two thousand but the Wudan
were all but wiped out. After the Wudan were defeated
the Kingdoms of Chiangning, Chang’Ling
and Pienching were quick to offer fealty to the Khan.
The Wudan sites in Tsainan,
Tangchou ad Shengtung were
stripped of their gold and anything of value was placed in the Khan’s wagons. The
Khan called a halt in Anhui
in late 1235