Lords of the Earth
CAMPAIGN TWENTY-FOUR
Turn 58
1286
~ 1290 Anno Domini
648 ~ 652 in the year of the Hegira
New for T57
Non-player rules update: I’ve updated the NPN rules to fit
better with the Lord’s system. Please check them out.
New for T56
New movement and action rules: I know that they didn’t meet with
overall approval last time around but I will be implementing the proposed
movement/action rules for T57 (see here). Any current player that
takes them up will be given a 2 turn bonus to their credits but they can
continue to use the current method for the time being. All new players will
have to use them. I’d rather stick to the standard rules but there is no way
Lords is sustainable as a long-term game (and I want 24 to be long-term) unless
there is some simplification for the GM.
The areas that cause me
the most processing grief are movement, AP calculation and garrison changes.
New for T53
Restrictions on Royal Marriages: Due to the complications arising
from these rules only K, H or P leaders can benefit from a Royal Marriage.
Members of the Royal Family that have not come into play are not considered
eligible. Also, Primate, Order and Secret Empire positions are not eligible for
marriage bonuses. These are meant to be diplomatic arrangements between
sovereign states.
New for T52
East – West Split: I’m going to try to split the
East and the West parts of the game so that I can process the orders quicker –
don’t know if or how it will work yet but lets see if it’ll happen
New for T51
No Orders: If I don’t get any orders in for a position and the
player doesn’t answer my emails then I’ll put the position back to a NPN and
put aside the players cash (if any) until they pick it or another nation up
again.
New for T50
Request Royal Marriage: Used to ask a NPN nation for a bride for one of
your Princes or a suitor for one of your little Princesses. Cost is 6AP,
Charisma based. The leader doesn’t have to be in the NPNs capital but if he
isn’t then he needs to be in your homeland/capital.
New for T49
Naval Reaction and Blockade: Naval Reactions can only occur
when there is action in a Sea Zone that the fleet is based at. The fleet has to
be based from a port and not the Sea Zone. Also, the Reaction can only occur
when your own lands or those of an ally benefiting from a Defensive Pact
marriage bonus are attacked. It also applies to any merchant fleets you operate
through the Sea Zone in the case of piracy.
Naval Blockade’s only work if your fleet is based in the same Sea Zone
as the target port and you spend all (every single one) of your APs in the
blockade. The fleet must be based from a port and not a Sea Zone.
New for T48
The use of fleets for Reaction and mitigating the effects
of Pirates: My
understanding has now changed since we GMs have had some discussion on the
list. The use of Reaction has been explained on the Wiki and Patrol is no
longer used in the Base Rules.
Reaction
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.
Updated NPN and Primacy rules:
Yep, been tinkering again but I feel a almost serene sense of satisfaction with
my latest offering. See what you think.
Added the ability to hire
mercenary captain when there is no mercenary company available: See the mercenary tables
New for T47
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
The East
Without further ado, the news for these
years in Lords 24 history...
India
Pratihara Kingdom of Kaunaj
(Hindu Civilised Open Empire)
Rajiv, Raja of Kaunaj
The
cities of Kalanjara, Kaunaj, Mandvi and Calcutta
grew in size during these years of peace with the Buddhists. Ravendra was
married to Pajama III of the Dhara to facilitate a greater trade agreement
between the two Hindu nations. The peace with Thaton also saw the trade route
from Benares reopened. After the defeat of the
Dharan forces in Kakatiya, the Tripuri forces turned to face the new threat
from the Brahmin Nath. It was during these months that Kaunaj assassins sorely
wounded the King of Tripuri and hindered their attempts to defend Chela. The Brahmin was assisted by Prince Ram and
Sindal and led an army of over thirty thousand men. The Tripuri army was a mere
six thousand men and stood no chance against the might of Kaunaj. As the
Brahmin moved to Dahala, the King of Tripuri surrendered and awaited his fate
from the victors. Great strides were made in converting the Buddhists of
Kalinga and Orissa and with most of the population now Hindu. Rajiv took for
his bride an extremely beautiful young girl from Kaunaj and was blessed with a
healthy son. Sadly, Prince Om died in Kalinga after many years of service to
the Kingdom. Kundeep was also to die from a fever in 1289. With the help of
Prince Om and Kundeep before their death, Rajiv managed to gain more support
from the Raja of Kalinga. He also gained new wives for Prince Ram and Prince
Janda.
The Western
Dhara
(Hindu Civilised Open Empire)
Pajama III, King of the Dhara
Old
Fallija and Palcama finally succumbed to old age and both died in 1286. Prince
Karali was summoned to the Dharan court and was soon put to use tending the
nation’s affairs. Pajama III led his
force of sixteen thousand men into Kakatiya to finally defeat the Tripuri. He
was faced by ten thousand defenders, desperate to retain their independence. Pajama’s
side should have taken the day except for the fierce resistance put up by the
defenders. At first Pajama ordered his men to regroup and attack again but news
had come, falsely as it was later discovered, of his death when he disappeared
in the thick of the battle. His men routed and fled back to Pawar. Those that
were not quick enough were cut down by the Tripuri cavalry and many a Dharan
was killed. After his attack on Kakatiya, Pajama III returned to Satava to
claim his new bride, Princess Ravendra from Kaunaj. The marriage sealed a great
trade pact between the two nations. .
The Palas of Bengal
(Hindu Civilised NPN Empire, Friendly to
Kaunaj)
Sanjiv, Palas of Bengal
Bihar grew in size
and the cities of Bengal much improved.
Missionaries were active in Gtsang and Assam,
although the troubled region of Assam
saw few converts. Sanjay moved to Gaur where he married a beautiful princess
from Shillong and was blessed with a young son. Bindu collected the stray
garrisons of Akyab and Bandarban by ship and ferried them over to Palas. As a
final act of the peace terms with Thaton, these cities were returned to the
Buddhists control. The Brahmin Gandhi was assisted by Shivaji during a
diplomatic tour of Shillong. Young brides were found for Sanjay and Prince Gyan
and much gold was spent in greasing a few palms.
The Order of the
Dagger
The great city of Kirtipur is
build in Nepal
by the Dagger in order to protect the shrines of Shree Pashuptinath.
South East Asia and the Islands
Kambujadesa
(Hindu Civilised Open Empire)
Vireakboth, Emperor of the Khmer
The
long and slow process of converting Siam to Hinduism was continued
without much success. However, the efforts of Jao the Zealot before his death
in 1288 saw most of the Siamese nobility converted to Hinduism. Vireakboth’s
beautiful wife died during these years leaving him a broken man; a pale shadow
of his former greatness. Heng Huynh spent these years ferrying colonists to the
claimed lands of Tengah. After all the colonists had been transported from
Angor, the “Sea Dragon” laid claimed to the wilderness of Selatan. No sooner
than the ink on the Khmer maps was dry did new colonists start to arrive in
Selatan. Although there was rumbles of dissent amongst the “untouchables”,
nothing came of it and the nation settled once again into its peaceful rhythm.
The Kingdom of Thaton
(Buddhist Civilised Open Empire)
Ratana Nai-Thim, King of the Thaton
Ratana
Nai-Thim’s wife Chanthou Din dies in childbirth, ending the trade pact with
Khemer. Ratama transfers control of the Thatonese army to Achara and names the
young prince his heir. Young Prince Kaeo starts his career at the Thatonese
court. Otherwise the Thatonese begin to repair the damage wrought by the years
of fighting the Hindus.
Manchu’ko and Nihon
The Minamoto
Shogunate
(Shinto Civilised Open Empire)
Daiei Yasumori, Shogun of the East
Daiei
Yasumori took control of a large part of the Shogunate’s army from Yoshi and a
new bride from the nobility of Heian. A new road was built from Yamato to
Aichi. Shinto missionaries were active in Aomori,
Shikoku and Shimane but the Buddhist doctrine
seemed too imbedded and they had little success. Some success was gained in
converting the population of Shikoku and Shimane to Shintoism but the
Shogunate’s missionaries had no success in Aomori. The rice harvest was affected by
blight in 1286 due to constant rain throughout the harvest season but some dry
summers in the following years prevented too much loss and starvation. A road
was started over the mountains to Aichi from Yamato.
The Goryeo Kingdom
(Buddhist Civilised Open Empire)
Wang Insu, King of Goryeo
Extensive
meddling was carried out in the affairs of the nation’s merchants as Wang Insu
tried to maximise his profits. Wang then meddled with his own affairs and was
blessed with a young son by his new wife. Goryean missionaries helped O Min to
persuade the Great Khan of Khitan to worship the great Buddha. They were hoping
that Buddha’s word would spread throughout the Khanate. Hokkaido as abandoned and the garrison of
some four thousand men moved to Po Yang by Ho Ui-Bang. These were later added
to Bok Min’s five thousand men as he moved to Suifenhe. The death of the King
of Manchou saw the alliance renewed by his son.
The Land under Heaven
The Kingdom of Koueichou
(Buddhist Civilised Open Empire)
Dai Ling, Queen of Koueichou
The
rice fields of Szechuan were devastated by a
blight during these years with many a peasant family starving. Despite this,
the city of Tai’De
in Ghand’De grew in size. Attempts to infiltrate the Chang’Ling army backfired when
Dai Ling’s agents were captured and executed in Wuhan. Pei Tai succumbed to a fever in 1289
and died shortly afterwards.
The Empire of the
Western Song
(Buddhist Civilised Open Empire)
Zhi Zhen, Emperor of the Western Song
Plague,
the Black Death, struck the Song lands. Ts-in-i was greatly affected with
Ch’ang-te, Zaoyang, Houma, Kansu
and Ta’Ting also suffering. Although the suffering was felt throughout the
nation, it was the massed ranks of the Song army that succumbed to the greatest
losses. Nearly half the Song forces died of the plague during these years. The
merchant fleets were also badly affected with many of the sailors catching the
plague and greatly affecting the trade revenues of the Song. No sign of the
plague was seen in the Song’s neighbours and there was great hope that it had
run its course.
The Kingdom of Chiangning
(Buddhist Civilised Open Empire)
Song Wei, King of Chiangning
Song
Wei improved the roads and bridges throughout his kingdom, linking Nanjing and Tai Pei with
the capital. His efforts were focussed on improving relations with the
important city of Tai Pei;
requesting a bride for his son Song Tao.
The Kingdom of Chiangling
Song
Wei is blessed with a young son during these years as he ruled his growing
empire from Chiang’Ning. Prince Song Fai took control of the Chiang’Ning
garrison to defend the city against any possible attack. Honan
was garrisoned by Yue Ho to ensure that the valuable Pienching lands were
protected. Wen Lee continued his work in the city of Tai-Pei, attempting to persuade the city
elders to give up their past grievances.
News from the Steppe
The
massed horsemen of the Khitan, over fifty thousand warriors, swept over the
Great Wall at Lu’An and into the lands of Zen’Zun. The small Zen’Zun army could
do little to stem the tide of the feared Khitan and were totally destroyed.
Lu’An was lost to the horde and so was the great city of Cheng’De. The Khitan settled in these rich
lands. The Tsaidam take and settle the lands of Kashmir.
The Mongols move south to take the lands of Hsia-Hsia from the Buryats. The
Buryats themselves shake of the yoke of Mongol oppression and roam the steppe
during these years. They gain the support of the Altai, the Merkits, the
Ghurids, the Lang Zao and the Suzhou;
ending their migration in Lob Nor
The West
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
Over
three thousand cavalry were raised in Kiev
and the regions fortifications further improved. Trade was instigated to Hungary from Kiev
to Vidin in Wallachia.
To gain favour with the Vladimirans, Peter paid for an Order fortress in Muscovy and settled down to rule his Kingdom. Prince
Josef was in negotiations with the Vladimirans to gain some of there resources
for Kievian use. The Cossacks move again bit this time they avoid Kiev and move out onto the
far steppe. The Kazans
offer their support but other tribes remain independent.
The Ests
(European Pagan Barbarian Open Empire)
Konrad, Kings of the Ests
Both
Prince Artomas and old Wintrop die
Veposkaya during a hunting trip in 1286.
The Grand Duchy of Poland
(Roman Catholic Civilised Open Empire)
Ziemowit Poznan III, Grand Duke of Poland
The
Polish cavalry was augmented by nearly two thousand men under the command of
Ziemowit. A road was built from Polotsk to the Kievan border. Zeimowit ruled
from Poland
whilst his son Prince Mieszko gained an alliance from Volhynia. His other son
Prince Plast had little success in Galich.
The Kingdom of Hungary
(Eastern Orthodox Civilised Open Empire)
Vajk Hunyadi, King of Hungary
Alford
was fortified against any possible Bulgari or Magyar attack. Vajk Hunyadi ruled
from Budapest
while Prince Janos gathered his forces of over twelve thousand men and moved to
crush the Bulgari. The main force of the Bulgari had already left for the
eastern steppe but his forces managed to gain control of the few tribesmen that
remained. Stefan of Vidin offered the hand in marriage of Prince Vajk II to the
daughter of the Magyar Khan; an offer that saw some grudging allegiance gained
from the nomads. Six thousand Uighur infantry, their cavalry having been
destroyed by the crusaders in previous years, attack Bosnia. Athough Celil of Serbia
wounded, the region falls t the invaders for the loss of only a few men. The
Bulgari tire of their lands and move east to the steppe. Passing through the
land of the Neogoths the tribes there ally with the Bulgari. Levedia was sacked
before the Bulgari gain allies from the Ghuzz and Khazans. Following in the
steps of the Bulgari, the Magyar tribes move east through the lands of the
Romanii and the Eflaks to the old Bulgari lands where they force an alliance
out of the few remaining Bulgari tribesmen. Moving onto Levedia the Magyars
also force an alliance out of the remaining Neogoths.
Scandia and the Out Isles
Jarldom of Orkeneyjar
(Roman Catholic Seafaring Open Empire)
Joutn Nicolson, Jarl of Orkney
Over
fifty light warships were added to Orkney’s already mighty fleet in Kirkval. A
fortress was built just outside of Oslo
while the walls of the Irish holding were expanded. More money was spent on
sites for the Hammer of God but none were built during these years. King Eric
Nicholson travelled to the Highlands to build
a Preceptory for the Hammer after sorting out the nation’s merchant fleets. He
was accompanied by his wife and the Princess Friga. The Orkneyjar royalty had
no luck in the Highlands nor in Strathclyde in
later years. Fate also turned against the King when he died of food poisoning
in 1289. Jotun became King despite the arguments of Eric’s widow Princess Inga
that it should be her son Balder who should be King. Feric and Harald travelled
back from the disastrous Crusade by way of Oslo, where they picked up the old Norwegian
fleet. They later returned home to Kirkval and entrusted the fleet into the
hands of the new King Jotun. Old Harald was to die shortly after his return to
the Orkneys. Hildegard and Tordal led a diplomatic mission to the city of Hordavil in Hordaland
where they were to see an increased alliance with the city’s nobility. Also,
Orkneyjar missionaries were successful in converting the city to Roman
Catholicism. Brother Louis of the Hammer and Brother Francois of the St Denis
managed to create maps of the Gulf of St Lawrence.
Any further exploration was hampered by the constant arguments between the two
Brother’s who hated working together and the distance to the new lands from
their base in Kirkval.
Saxon Kingdom
of England
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Arthwin I, King of England
A
road was built from London to Wells in Anglia. Missionaries were again unsuccessful in
converting the few remaining heretics in Caer Myrddin. The death of King Arthwin in 1286 came as a
shock to the nation but his son Prince Harry was able to quickly take control
from London.
The Lord Barney, Garroway and Neumann remained in the east awaiting further
orders for the Crusade. Garroway and Neumann were to die in these far away
lands without even the chance to fight the infidel.
Western Europe
Heiliges Romisches Reich
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Leopold, Holy Roman Emperor.
The
volunteers for the Crusade were pulled into the German army and provided with
new equipment and extensive training. More gold was sent to the Knights in Malta
along with Prince Arnulf to serve in their ranks. Many of the old postal roads
were upgraded to support heavier traffic. The Emperor Leopold spent some time
with his son and heir Hubbert trying to teach him the art of war. Some progress
was made but Leopold realised he had a long way to go. While Prince Raimond and
the Bishop Valentino Di Ventia spent time chasing shadows in Saxony, the Duke
Arnaulf aus Bavaria moved to Provence with the newly improved cavalry and the
Dukes Gunnard and Francois. The dukes had an unpleasant time in the south as
there were many complaints and accusations around Germany’s failure to support the
Crusade. The Duke Marcus aus Jutland was sent to Bavaria but died of a fever in 1286.
Norman Kingdom
of France
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Jean, King of France
Six
thousand elite knights were raised in Paris
to offset the losses from the Crusade.
King Jean ruled from Paris while Prince
Philippe continued to patrol the nation’s borders from Aquitaine; he was aided by Oliver who took
control of the newly raised cavalry. Robert returned home from the Crusade by
way of the Balkan coast.
Principality of Salerno
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Ricardo IV, Prince of Salerno
The
defeat of the Crusade saw shock turn to resentment and finally rebellion when
Prince Hector challenged Ricardo for the throne. Deciding against an attack on Naples, the errant Prince fled to Genoa with his supporters, including the
general Vincenzo and the majority of the Salernese fleet. Simion also joined
Hector but died facing a loyal mob before he could escape to Liguria. Malta,
Slovenia, Epirus, Corfu and Petropolis all rebel. Naples
and Vincencia rebel; as does Lombardy and Verona. Hector takes the lands around Liguria while Ricardo
managed to keep hold of the southern and eastern territories. The Duke of Sicily
attacks Palermo and the city is taken from Liguria. A new Bishop
arrives from Rome
after the death of the last incumbent.
The Papal
States
(Roman Catholic Civilised Religious
Order)
Pope, God’s Voice on Earth
A
time of great building with Abbeys raised in Verona
and Savoy and Churches in Gascony
and Navarre.
A great number of conversions were made on the island of Sicily
where the new duke actively welcomed Papal envoys. Old Pope Urban finally
passed away but not before a Monastery was built in Cavalleri. Cardinal
Monticelli moved to Pescara
where he oversaw the construction of a Church in the city before his death in
1289. It was left to Cardinal Bianchi to improve the site in Vincencia to an
Abbey. He was to be the new Pope Elect after the death of so many of his
contemporaries. The death of Cardinal Schacht in Burgone was blamed for the failure
to build a Cathedral in the city.
The Akramid Caliphate
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Tiroman, Caliph of the Akramids
The
garrison of Seville
was augmented by five thousand elite horsemen and a third of that in lightly
armed lancers. Tiroman II mustered the newly raised cavalry into his large army
and patrolled the Caliphate’s borders from Andalusia.
He was accompanied by Prince Mehehkmed who sadly passed away in 1289 of old
age. Prince Marishmed accompanied Arriman to Santiago and was successful in gaining an
alliance out of the now fully Sunni city. Mehmed was put in charge of the
defence of harbour
of Seville. Luckily, no attack
came as the admiral died in 1288 of a fever. The Caliph was also supported by
the Imam Astroman who was present on Mehehkmed’s departure to Allah. Seventeen
thousand Adjou sweep into Tunisia
and easily destroy the regions scattered forts. The walled city of Mahidia could not
withstand the assault by the Adjou and fell to the invaders who ran riot within
its walls. No new rutters were found past the Bight of
Benin as Derth had to turn back when disease struck his small
fleet.
The Order of St Denis
(Roman Catholic Civilised Religious
Order)
Aric the Bold, Grandmaster of the Order of St Denis, Scourge of Islam
The
new Grandmaster of the Anacletan order was too young to remember the schism
between Paris and Rome and saw the future to be under the
guidance of the Pope. To that end the Order was to be renamed, the Grand Order
of St Denis and no longer would anti-Papal edicts be posted in the Order’s
sites. It was a reflection on the charisma of Aric the Bold that only a few
sites abandoned the Order. Only Taranto, Burgundy and Corfu felt that they could not follow Rome. Maybe because of
this change in direction, the Order’s status grew in Salerno. New Oratories were built by Aric in Nivernais and Orleans as
he travelled around France.
Brother Ramone embarked on Holy Quest from Thrace to atone for his retreat
from the field of battle when so many great and brave knights died at the hand
of the infidel.
The Kingdom of Aragon
(Roman Catholic Civilised Open Empire)
Pedro III , King of Aragon
and Castile
Abandoning
Catalonia to the Order of St Denis, Pedro was
pleased when a new city was raised in Aragon. The
postal road in Old Castille was completed during these years. Pedro took a new wife
from the Aragon
nobility and was blessed with a young son. Diplomacy in Asturias saw the region finally become
integrated with Aragon
The Middle East and Africa
The Buwayid Sultanate
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Zarife II, Sultan of the Buwayids
Eight
thousand elite horse were raised for Zarrife in Baghdad
as well as some more elephants imported from India. The cities of Al-Kuwait, Qom, Baghdad and Susa grew in size.
Throughout Anatolia and Aleppo
a large number of field forts were constructed. The fleet was augmented with
over thirty triremes in the dckyards of Antioch.
The wilderness in Edessa
and in Paphlagonia were started to be
cleared to make way for new settlers. While Zarife watched the Sultanate’s
border for any invaders, Prince Azhar sought out a new wife and settled to
affairs of state. Faris brought the Buwayid might to Heraclea
to forcibly persuade the Uighurs to rescind there pledge of fealty to Salerno. There was no need
to threaten the Uighurs as the events in Naples
had already secured their independence. Abdul Haq was successful in gaining
some support from Rasania in Abadan. He was to be accompanied by Khoury of Fars
but the old ally died quickly of a fever in 1286. His son continued to pledge
support to Zarife.
The Empire of Egypt
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Mahmud, Sultan of Egypt
The
Sultan Mahmud sought to move beyond the insular years of Ayyubid rule and spent
vast sums from his treasury on his nation. Al’Qadi, El’Gitar, Memphis, Akasha and Al’Qairah all grew in
size. In Alexandria Fort Rashid was built within the growing city whilst in Thebes the Fort of Four Lions, named due to the huge Lion
statues worked into the walls at both Fortress gates, was built on one side of
a bridge across to Nubia.
The city of Shallal was built in Nubia
around the fortress there. Roads were constructed from Thebes
to Nubia
and onto Kassala. At the Nile delta work began in reclaiming land for
agriculture and in Alexandria
the plans for a new staff college were drawn up. Egyptian missionaries were
active throughout Mahmud’s lands and beyond. Converts were made in Adulis and
far Crimea and the region of Funj became fully
Moslem. The following statement was posted to the doors of every mosque
throughout the Sultanate.
"Shaking off the
lethargy of the past, Mahmud (one of the most educated Sultans seen by Egypt),
has set a new course for the future of our great land. "Today, Egypt is more than one clan. We are the sum of Kingdoms past (like Damascus, and the Coptics
to the south) each now a part of our strong foundation. I say, let this Empire ring forth and bring
to bear all that she can to extend the light of knowledge and let the greatness
of Allah's merciful wisdom to shine forth across the wide of the world"
Mahmud
then settled to sort out the affairs of his scattered merchant fleets and to
secure his dynasty. Prince Badr IV was tasked with improving the quality of the
Sultanate’s ageing fleet of triremes to newer dhows. Reaching out from Alexandria, Prince Faruq Dahrr explored west to the Gates
of Hercules while Jel Laddin set of south to explore the Somalia
Sea and the Zanzibar Sea.
Syria
became an important ally after a bride was found there for the Sultan by Kahzid
El Qatar and the efforts of Hamuyn saw Alwa become friendly.
The Al’Bahri
(Sunni Islam Civilized Religious Order)
Umar, Sultan of the Ayyubids
The
Sea Lords remained at their estates in Carsk.
Ar Rassid Imamat as
Sa'Na
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Sheik Umar
The
alliance with the mountainous lands of Sheba
was rescinded and Mogadishu
was no longer expected to provide a levy for the Sheikh Umar. The cultivation
of Hadramuht continued and began to near completion. Sheikh Umar saw to the
protection of his lands and news came to him of the Ogaden massing on his
frontiers. Prince Khlaid assisted the Sheikh’s merchants in their affairs
before moving to Zeila to keep an eye on the Ogaden. The Imam Zahir worked
tirelessly in Kilwe Kivenje and converted the majority of the nobility there to
the Sunni faith.
Usama-Yoruba Onium of
Ibo
(African Pagan Civilised Open Empire)
Mahabharata, King of the Ibo
Although MaBhanada died with no heir, the
Onium continued to prosper. Plaida and Ibana also passed away during these
years.
The Mwene-Mutapa
Empire
(African Unkulkulun Civilised Open
Empire)
Nyambo II, Emperor of Mapungubwe
The
city of Solosi was built in Kafue
and a road constructed to link it with Ctesha in Rozwi. Work began on the Royal
Nyambo Animal Reserve in the Vaal and a
Mercantile Exchange in Rozwi. The roads between Great Zimbabwe and Cteshwa and
Arkur to Ithembala were also completed during these years. Nyambo meddled with
the affairs of the nation’s merchants before his death in 1288. Control of the
kingdom passed without issue to his son Nyambo II. Before his coronation,
Nyambo II travelled to Gorongo to attempt to persuade the nobility of Gorongo
to convert to the glory of Unkulukulu. Uffu and Elewah gained a new bride for
Nyambo II from the tribes of Herero. The fierce tribesmen pledged only the
smallest of tribute to the Mapungubweans.