[Megacampaign] Legacy of 7 Dynasties - A Multi-Dynasty AAR

[Kiffe]

[Megacampaign] Legacy of 7 Dynasties
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This is a Megacampaign i’ve been playing for the last few months. I didn’t originally plan on making it an AAR but i usually screenshot a lot to look over how things went later on, and i came up with a lot of interesting things in this past game, which led to a very interesting world by the end of CK3. At the time of writing this, i’ve only really finished the CK3 part of it, which i played by switching to new, interesting rulers every 2 or so generations, so i don't accidentally blob too much and the EU4 game is still interesting. Now, on EU4, i’ve picked a nation, the most interesting out of all the ones i’ve created in this playthough, which i plan to follow for the rest of the campaign. My main goal here was to create a wildly different, but interesting and convincing world that doesn’t seem extremely unlikely. I used the Historic Invasions mod cause weird as it is i find that it helps make a unique world, and leads to at least a bit of worldwide change and instability, otherwise my games are usually stagnated, karling infested, surprisingly stable bordergore.

In the first few chapters of this AAR, i wanna start by exploring a bit of the concept of how little we know about some old kings, and the semi-legendary nature of their tales. So rather than taking a descriptive approach into their adventures, i'll be describing it like a historian, limited by the lack of proof and skepticism. As history goes on, i'll start becoming more descriptive of rulers and their relations. One cool and unique thing about this story in particular is i’ve used AI to imagine some of the interesting events and artifacts from the campaign. I’ll be posting the pics to supplement the story.

Now, this campaign starts out as a relatively simple viking campaign. I know that is pretty basic BUT it gets insanely more interesting when i start switching rulers later on, so stick around. Have in mind, however, i won’t be a lightspeed poster. English is not my native language and i have Dyslexia so i write pretty slow. For this reason, i have gotten a pretty big headstart on writing before even thinking of posting this, but i will be withholding chapter 2 for a while until i’m at least done with chapter 4, and so on.
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Chapter 1: They Came from the Fjords

“The Wolf’s Host in the Sognefjord”, unknown artist, 16th century painting.​

It would be impossible to talk about ancient kings and the lasting impact they left on the world without talking about Alfgeir “the Father”, founder of the Sognefjord dynasty and the Kingdom of Norway. His story is a particular case among viking rulers of his era because of the incredible amount of surviving evidence surrounding his feats as a viking, and later on, as a king, which may have been considered legendary or merely mythical otherwise.
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Despite all of the surviving evidence on his later life, still, to this day, very little is known about Alfgeir’s origins and early life. The Sogn Stone, one of the only two surviving norwegian runestones found to be conclusively linked to Algfeir, tells a story of a “king sired by a white wolf”, which is, of course, considered a mythical tale. The Sognefjord dynasty epics, commissioned in 980 by Alfgeir’s descendants, claim Alfgeir became the ruler of a small, long lost norse settlement in the Sognefjord at the age of 15, after most of the adult males in the village went missing on a hunt during a harsh winter. Regardless of the validity of both of those claims, it is believed Alfgeir rose to prominence as the leader of a viking host at a very young age, around the year of 870. The Gulen stone, dated to around 880 and believed to be the oldest runestone of norwegian origin, tells of “the Wolf’s host” subjugating the local rulers in battle. As far as modern understanding goes, it seems likely Alfgeir’s rise as a leader and raider was set off by the harsh winters cited in the Sognefjord epics. As the unforgiving weather took many lives, it also weakened the surrounding tribes, making them susceptible to conquest, and consequently led more and more norse men into taking up raiding as a profession under Alfgeir’s leadership. As the stone mentions the arrival of 15 ships, it is possible to estimate the size of Alfgeir’s host at the time to be between 700 and 800 men, but it would rapidly grow as each subdued tribe would add their fleet and men to his control.
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Backside of the Sogn Stone, in the museum of Oslo​

As we know from the Sogn stone, Alfgeir’s first wife was named Kráka, with whom he fathered his first two sons Freyr and Ulfr. It is estimated that, around the time of their birth, Alfgeir established the Gulating at the mouth of the Sogn, establishing the first legislative assembly of Norway, and taking on the title of Jarl, with de facto rule over the region that would come to be known as Vestland. The sacking of Ui Mhaine in Ireland happened around the same year. While previously historians could only theorize his involvement in the raid, later discoveries would prove a lot more than we could ever imagine. Because, as far as written evidence for Alfgeir’s feats, this is all we would have for almost 300 years. For centuries, his famous tales were regarded by the rest of europe as mythical or misattributed, until in 1246 a fascinating discovery in the Norwegian court brought Alfgeir’s story to light. Allow me to tell you about the Izri Manuscripts.
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Izri ibn Mu’izz was a berber muslim of noble birth, member of the tribes that inhabited the region of western iberia, famously raided by vikings in 902. Izri was thought to have died in the raid of Algarve, but the discovery and translation of the Arabic manuscripts in the Norwegian court would tell a much more interesting story.
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As it turns out, Izri was abducted during the raid to serve as a thrall for Alfgeir himself. His manuscripts detail his travel to the scandinavian lands, his imprisonment, and the tasks he had to perform in Gulafjorden, but also speaks in interesting detail about his experience learning the norse language and customs in court, and his increasing role as a servant within it. As Izri’s education as a scholar became more evident to the court, he began to take on more meaningful tasks such as personal tutor to Alfgeir’s many children, and was elevated to the role of the court’s physician during a particularly bad bout of illness which struck Alfgeir and his wife. He wrote of having convinced Alfgeir to supply him with writing materials by appealing to his pride, telling him that he would speak of his conquests and magnificent feats to the southern world. Although his accounts do seem to be directed at his family, or as a warning to the muslim world in general, to a degree, he did write about Alfgeir’s feats and life, with his manuscripts eventually becoming the greatest source of knowledge about the time period in Norway.

Alfgeir’s life as a Jarl, as written by Izri in the chapters in which he details what he had learned about the occurrences in Norway previous to his arrival to the court, started with a campaign to increase his influence over the local chieftains through both diplomacy and steel. Supposedly, Alfgeir appointed his bravest warriors as local chieftains in the southern lands of Agder, a method Izri, having met some of these men, would criticize in the manuscript “as the greatest fighter often does not make for the fairest ruler”. The strongest soldier among these men was Orvar, ruler of seleyjar, who was said to have sunk a whole longboat with a single swing of his axe in the battle at Sogn, drowning 60 men, and killing another 20 in combat, sealing the fate of a War which would put Oppland under Alfgeir’s control.

At the age of 39, Alfgeir was known to the world as a terrorizing warrior and raider. No court was safe from his host, and many commoners and noblemen alike were killed or taken away to slavery. After a long sequence of victories, Alfgeir had proven himself as a warrior, commander, and leader. He was crowned as king in that same year, and soon after would return to leading raids throughout europe, but not before adding a significant realm to his holdings…

The motivations for Alfgeir’s invasion into the kingdom which, at the time, was known as Alba, are still to this day unknown. Some theories suggest he wanted to establish a closer rulership to raid from, while others suggest rivalries among the many nordic realms in britain. Nonetheless, the invasion was extremely successful. Alfgeir and his men were very familiar with the rough terrain and fjords from all their wars in norway. The forces of Alba were completely overran in the battle of Buchan, which reportedly took the lives of over a thousand men and effectively ended the war. After establishing rule over the region of Albany, Alfgeir and his immense host returned to leading raids throughout europe, setting sail from the british coast.

At this point, many other historical sources in europe would provide accounts to viking raids that would be theorized to be linked to Alfgeir. The story told by the manuscripts, however, would confirm his involvement was far from speculative. In the years after being crowned, Alfgeir was responsible for not only leading the host of that ravaged southern England and Northern Iberia, but also for the bloody sack of Paris in the year 900, and, finally, the raids in southern iberia which ultimately ended in the famous sack of Cordoba.

“The Sack of Cordoba”, painted by Emiliano Peretti, 18th century.​

After this point, the manuscripts become no longer a retelling of what Izri had learned in the Sognefjord court about the king’s deeds, and turn to an interesting journal of daily life in the Nordic realm. Izri wrote of his struggles to keep up with morning and night time muslim prayers due to the “endless days” in the Norwegian summer. He wrote of tutoring one of Alfgeir’s sons, Hólmgeirr, born to an Irish thrall, which seems to chronologically fit with the raids in Ireland 2 decades beforehand. At a young age, Hólmgeirr spoke both Norse and Gaelic, which he had learned from his mother. Due to this, at the age of 18 he was appointed to rule as Jarl in Alfgeir’s stead in the settlements in Britain which had been conquered by the Sognefjords.

One of the observations of the manuscripts which later on gained a lot of popularity in pop culture was Izri’s remarks on the daughters of Alfgeir. “God gave him three daughters for every son. They were taller and stronger than any woman should be.” He wrote, “There were never enough suitors to marry them all. Some of them took on the life of a man, hunting and raiding alongside their father.” These observations alone fueled thousands of works of film and art based on the idea of nordic warrior princesses, and to this day remains as the biggest substantial proof of women partaking in soldiering in the viking age.

Although historians are skeptical about this information, it is said that Inga, eldest daughter of Alfgeir, killed over 50 men in the battle of Dysjarstaðr.​

Incredibly, however, Alfgeir’s, biggest, lasting legacy on the world we know wouldn’t be due to his deeds in Norway…

 

[Kiffe]

Reserved

 

[Idhrendur]

I'll be reading!

 

[HistoryDude]

Megacampaigns are always good. Glad to see you started this!

I like the format here. I've sometimes considered doing something similar, but I have enough AARs.

I also like Vikings... so this was interesting. Do the sagas still exist in this world?

Is Kraka Aslaug from the Saga of Ragnar Lodbrok? Or are they unrelated except the name (Aslaug was also referred to as Kraka in that saga... and she was only called Kraka in the Gesta Danorum)?

 

[hecubah]

Glad to see more megacampaigns. Following!

 

[Kiffe]

Megacampaigns are always good. Glad to see you started this!

I like the format here. I've sometimes considered doing something similar, but I have enough AARs.

I also like Vikings... so this was interesting. Do the sagas still exist in this world?

Is Kraka Aslaug from the Saga of Ragnar Lodbrok? Or are they unrelated except the name (Aslaug was also referred to as Kraka in that saga... and she was only called Kraka in the Gesta Danorum)?

The sagas do still exist, yes! But in this world they were overshadowed in historicity by the Izri manuscripts, which were preferred as a historical account in regards to the norwegian court for their descriptiveness and apparent neutrality. In reality, I imagine the sagas would be often conflicting with the first hand accounts of a neutral observer. The manuscripts themselves, on the other hand, were inspired by the IRL journal of Ahmad ibn Fadlan, which is a short but extremely interesting surviving account of an arabic embassy travelling to the Volga. I believe in the US the book about it is named "Mission to the Volga", and I was really amazed when i read it cause it was the first time i felt like i was truly seeing the medieval world through their own eyes.

Kraka is (at least supposedly) unrelated to Aslaug, but they share many parallels, as Kraka is also a mysterious, mystical and wise woman.

 

[Kiffe]

Chapter 2: Realms in the West

“A Sognefjord sits the Stone of Scone”, unknown artist.​

As previously shown, Izri gradually became more important in the Norwegian court as he learned the norse language and took on roles which required his scholarly background. Although Kráka, Alfgeir’s wife, was originally the traditional healer in the court, Izri was called upon as a physician for the first time when both king and queen were struck by illness at the same time. Interestingly, as he recalled, they both displayed completely different symptoms. While Alfgeir seemed to be affected by a mere cold, the manuscript’s description of Kráka’s symptoms seem to describe a cancerous tumor. Izri recognized they were affected by different illnesses, and required different treatments.

As worries over Alfgeir’s wellbeing began to rise and rumors began to spread, many of his sons traveled home, most notably Freyr and Hólmgeirr, who had both from a young age been appointed as Jarls to rule in their father’s stead in his distant western realms. And beneath the worried family members, discussion started to spark over much coveted inheritance. The debate was cut short, however, when Alfgeir suddenly overcame his illness.

It seems worries over inheritance motivated Hólmgeirr to convince his father his family was losing control over their realms in Great Britain due to raids and local resistance to their rule. Desiring to secure his legacy, as he watched his wife, Kraka, quickly lose her health despite Izri’s best efforts, Alfgeir decided to stay in Norway and sent Hólmgeirr back to Britain, along with a fleet of his best commanders and warriors, including some of his daughters, on a mission to unify the land under their rulership. Freyr stayed in Norway with his dad, perhaps planning to secure his own inheritance when he passed. Kraka died not long after, with her passing taking a big toll on the king himself. This signified a great change in the Norwegian court, with Alfgeir letting his sons and chieftains run the matters of the realm while he stayed at his court, growing old and ruling over more local matters.

At this point, the Izri manuscripts stop abruptly. His fate is unknown, but it is assumed at least a partial portion of his writings were lost as they stop amidst a sentence in which he writes about despising Norwegian food. It may be that he fell ill and perished, or it may be that he lost hope of ever bringing these works to his family. But it may as well be that he earned his freedom after Alfgeir's passing, and assimilated himself into the life and culture in Norway and as a result stopped writing. Nonetheless, thanks to his works being stored and for a great while forgotten about, he will be eternally remembered by history.

The biggest sources on Hólmgeirr’s campaign and rule from this point on are from his own skalds and poetry. The Jarl had learned how to write in the Norwegian court, and from a young age had become a writer of skaldic poetry. Later on as a ruler, he became a great patron of the literary arts, frequently sponsoring writers and recitals. It seems the Nordic tradition of poetry, especially under Hólmgeirr, may have been one of the early factors that influenced the development of the now much famous culture of literature and writing in the British Isles. His works about himself, obviously, exaggerate his own good nature, especially when compared to the sagas and the saxon chronicles. Nonetheless, they are still significant historical sources and very valuable to understanding this rapidly changing time period.

Despite all of his historical retellings, to this day, Hólmgeirr’s most famous piece of art is his skald “A Most Peculiar Arse”. ​

We know for a fact Hólmgeirr’s campaign in Britain was successful. After years of experience fighting in rivers, fjords, mountains and snowy terrain, the Norwegian army swept through the region. The most famous battle of this campaign was the battle of Dysjarstaðr, fought against the Ivarings, in which, according to legend, Alfgeir’s eldest daughter Inga felled 50 men, as alleged by Hólmgeirr in his poem “She-Wolf”. After the Sognefjords defeated the Ivarings and established themselves as the sole rulers in the North, Britain was divided between 4 dynasties. The house of Oxford ruled England since the house of Wessex died out, the house of Morgannwg ruled over Wales by right of conquest, and the House of Hvitserk ruled over Northumbria since the establishment of the Danelaw.

After the long fought campaign, some of the Norwegian army returned home, while men who seeked for lands and opportunity settled, and the bravest warriors among the host became local rulers. As Alfgeir seeked to stay in Norway for the remainder of his life, growing too old and fat to even sail, Hólmgeirr was established as the de facto ruler of the region, and not long after, in the year 920, he was crowned as king of all Scots - or Skots - as the region’s populace was known to the norse. Not nearly as competent or prepared as his father, most of Hólmgeirr’s reign was spent seeking for realm stability. The king initially saw himself as a viking like his father before him, but with few men willing to follow him into raids, mostly due to religious differences, Hólmgeirr had a small host at his disposal, and lived in constant fear of facing an uprising upon returning from a raiding voyage. Seeking for peace, the King established alliances and trade deals with neighboring realms, most notably, the Danelaw.

As some might imagine, local populace was not initially fond of being ruled by a King of a different culture and religion. Despite being able to roughly communicate with with his people, it seems his and most of his court’s faith was unacceptable to the native population. Diplomatic in nature, Hólmgeirr would frequently hold court and attend to his christian populaces’s demands such as building churches and granting them protection, but it was never sufficient to qualm the idea of an eventual uprising.

His unending strive for stability seems to have been a major factor in his eventual conversion to christianity. He picked his baptismal name after how he was referred to by locals, and thus began the reign of King Homer the first of Skotland. By inviting Anglo-Saxon priests and scholars to preach and educate in the many formerly norse temples, he started a shift in Skottish literature as it adapted to the latin alphabet. It is around this time that the white wolf appears as a significant heraldic symbol for the Sognefjords. According to the family epics commissioned by Homer late in his life, the Wolf was a symbol of the dynasty since it’s beginning, when Alfgeir, at the age of 15, tracked down the wolves that had killed the hunters in his village and killed them with his bare hands. Later on, Homer’s descendants would be responsible for picking Sognefjord as a house name, making Skotland the main seat of the dynasty. The Skottish Sognefjord’s connections to Norway would also play an important role in the later christianizing of Scandinavia.

With the realm finally united in peace, the different populations began to integrate, starting a series of events that gradually led the norse and gaelic peoples in Skotland to become what is known today as Skottish culture. Speakers of a mostly germanic language with significant gaelic and anglic influences, today known as middle skottish, and a with a newfound connection to the Christian world, Skottish culture grew to become a reflection of what most people think about today when they see Great Britain.

Around this time, Flosi, one of Alfgeir’s sons, would seek to establish a realm of his own in the European mainland. After being denied help by his then converted brother, he successfully invaded the lands that would eventually become the duchy of Guelders in the HRE. At the time, seemingly insignificant, this invasion would have big consequences much later on.​

Homer’s last deed of note was his campaigns to grow his realm. As Skotland was frequently struck by famines due to harsh winters, he devised a campaign to unite Ireland into a single crown alongside Skotland, to explore of its agricultural richness to avoid starvation and revolt among the Skottish folk. Little is known about the battles of this campaign, but it is assumed that the Irish had no odds against the strong, united Skots under Homer.

Homer died of natural causes in 952, supposedly at the age of 69. He was later beatified, for his conversion to christianity and for ruthlessly enforcing of the catholic church’s will on the often religiously astray populace of Skotland and Ireland. Despite his best efforts, the rivalry amongst his children meant the kingdoms of Ireland and Skotland were once again split, but, for the following years, would enjoy relative peace. Thanks to Izri and Homer, Alfgeir’s legacy as a viking and raider would be forever cemented in history as one to rival the great accomplishments of Ragnar, and his descendants, ruling realms in Scandinavia, Britain, and central Europe, would go on to change the course of history in the following centuries.

Conveniently, right around the time of Homer’s death, a new story would begin in the east. As the Fatimids rapidly advanced on the increasingly weak Abbasid caliphate, new revolts and warlords would emerge to change the Middle East forever. To the North, the Ziyarid revolt began, and to the south…

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Author’s Notes: This wraps up the Nordic part of the CK3 playthrough, as after the death of Homer, I had established the Sognefjords in 2 secure thrones, with relative stability. Overall I enjoyed this part, but I struggled to find a realistic name for a Nordic-Gaelic realm, as everywhere i looked for seemed to indicate they were known to the Norse as simply Scots. But on the other hand i think a successful Norwegian invasion into these lands seems to make a lot of sense due to their similar terrains and the general interest of the Norse in the British Isles. At this point, I left the Sognefjords to fend off for their own and went around the map looking for an interesting ruler to play as.

I will post some small extra content today contextualizing the world as it was on 952, date of Homer's death, and possibly a few interesting worldwide occurences that didn't affect the Sognefjord's story so far. Thanks for reading!

 

[HistoryDude]

Good job expanding the dynasty's reach, even if they are currently divided religiously. Skotland and Norway look to be in a good position.

Why did a conversion to Asatru mean an end to the records? Was the king concerned about possible contradictions with the poetry that he commissioned? Since the poems (and sagas) are biased?

 

[Kiffe]

Good job expanding the dynasty's reach, even if they are currently divided religiously. Skotland and Norway look to be in a good position.

Why did a conversion to Asatru mean an end to the records? Was the king concerned about possible contradictions with the poetry that he commissioned? Since the poems (and sagas) are biased?

The conversion to Asatru is meant to represent Izri assimilating into scandinavian society and earning his freedom at the end of Alfgeir's life, as reward for his work. As Izri initially wrote his journal in hopes he would eventually bring it or send it back to Andalusia, but, as a cynical man (as seen in his portrait in chapter 1), slowly lost his faith in Islam due to the very conflicting nature of life in scandinavia and muslim theology and customs. I imagine rules like fasting, prayer at dawn and dusk, abstaining from alcohol would quickly drive a man living in 10th century norway to doubts over his religion. What exactly happened to him is left to imagination, because i switched over to playing Homer before Alfgeir's death, so even i don't know for sure, but the gist of it is he gave up on ever coming back and assimilated into his new life as a freedman.

 

[Kiffe]

Contextualizing the World​

In western Europe, the Umayyads had their realm split. The British Isles were divided among the Danelaw, England, Wales and Skotland. In central Europe, the HRE had just been established, Bohemia and Polabia fiercely resisting their advances. The Carolinigans still held control over Italy and Aquitaine. In eastern Europe, Mieszko of Dobrzyn united the kingdom of Poland, while the death of Rurik weakened the large state of the Kievan Rus. The Khazars had been pushed to south of the Volga and Don rivers, after the advance of the Cuman-Kipchak confederation. In Africa, the Berbers were split among many small states, while to the east, the Fatimids and Abbasids fought for control over the Arabian Peninsula.

Bonus Facts:

In the east, an unorthodox choice: Helgi, the second Rurikid ruler in the Kievan Rus, seeking alliances to secure his realm after the death of Rurik, and under religious guidance of the Abassid Empire, decided to convert to Islam, an unpopular decision to his people, that would have great consequences later on to his descendants.

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In the west, house of Wessex died out. The Witenagemot elected Burgheard the Wise, from house of Gloucester, as their ruler, but he would soon die without an heir before consummating his marriage, leading to more conflicts over inheritance and eventually the loss of English control over Wales. After his death, house of Oxford took control over England, and the Morgannwg took control over Wales.

In Poland, the Piast lineage would also die out, opening up the opportunity for the rise of a new House, house of Dobrzyn, which dreamt of uniting Poland once again under a crown.

 

[Bfc kfc]

What happened to the Magyars? Are they strong enough to take on Ráb and the numerous free Slovak counties?

 

[HistoryDude]

It's nice to see how the rest of the world is. The collapse of the Umayyads makes the Reconquista easier...

How are England-Danelaw relations? I can't imagine that they would be good.

The Russians are pissed about the loss of their alcohol. How will they have vodka as Muslims?

 

[Kiffe]

What happened to the Magyars? Are they strong enough to take on Ráb and the numerous free Slovak counties?

They're facing some problems remaining united as there has been some resistance to christianization. They should be able to hold on though, as they still hold a decent amount of land. There is still many pagans among the free slavic counties but they are slowly reuniting.

It's nice to see how the rest of the world is. The collapse of the Umayyads makes the Reconquista easier...

How are England-Danelaw relations? I can't imagine that they would be good.

The Russians are pissed about the loss of their alcohol. How will they have vodka as Muslims?

England and Danelaw are in constant war. Haesteinn and his great heathen army conquered east anglia and later on joined the danelaw, meaning they are in pretty equal standing in regards to army size. Britanny has gotten involved in the conflict too, as they're allied to the House of Oxford and now the danelaw holds some small land there.

And the Russians are definitely pissed! You can be sure not many of them will accept the ruling religion. But, on the other hand, let's admit that being so far from the muslim heartland, they just might bring forth some liberal interpretations to the Islamic teachings to ease the tension between russian customs and their newfound religion.

New post coming up soon!

 

[Kiffe]

Chapter 3: Victory of Faruk

“Victory of Faruk”, the controversial painting by renaissance artist Demetrios Floros, 1533.
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As most leaders who rose from nothingness, little is known about Faruk’s early life before his rise to prominence. He’s described by scholars as a devout muslim and a brave leader amongst yemeni peasants who, unsatisfied with the rapidly declining Abbasid state, took up arms against the caliphs, ultimately winning as after a single battle, the Abbasids heeled, albeit temporarily, to their demands, in order to concentrate their forces on fighting the Fatimids. As such, Faruk and his men took over the citadel of Sana’a, naming him the Sultan of the region known today as Yemen, and marking the start of the Farukid Sultanate on 951. Most of what we know about Faruk and his reign is due to written evidence by scholars of the Islamic Golden age, of which Faruk is a significant political figure within. The accounts however significantly differ between Baghdadi, Egyptian and Yemeni sources, as Faruk remains a highly controversial figure within Islamic history with some envisioning him as a great zealous ruler and some seeing him as a vicious warmonger who weakened the Arabic world. These writings however, mostly focus on his wars and battles, with little being known about Faruk’s personal life and court up to the later 10th century.​

What’s remarkable about Faruk’s story, however, is not his rise to power, but rather what he did with it. Faruk’s realm at the time was surrounded by the much stronger empires of the Abbasids and the Fatimids, both of which had astounding, accomplished commanders leading their large armies. Faruk, however, was no ordinary leader. Despite being of common origins, the Sultan was a natural commander and a military mastermind. Accomplished in both in inspiring men to follow him and winning battles alike, Faruk is known to historians as one of the greatest war leaders of his era. His realm, however, at the time of his ascent, was very weak. Faruk faced the difficulties of ruling over a Sultanate with a very small population and economy, and as such, invested a lot of his early reign into building up a treasury and uniting his realm behind the imminence of war. His alliances, as a ruler of common origins and rather weak standing, seemed to be few and distant, as his first wife, Ruken, is believed to be of Afghan origins.​

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What most people don’t know, however, is that Faruk actually began his famous campaigns heading south. Seeking to expand into the Horn of Africa, and to convert the local population to Islam and gather a bigger army, he spent years building up the Yemeni treasury and building a fleet until he finally crossed the Bab-el-Mandeb and landed in Tadjoura in 965. His years of preparation proved to be crucial in the battle. Abyssinians and Somalis, at the time, were fiercely Coptic christians and were used to resisting advances from their neighboring Muslim empires. Soon after the landing of his first division with a strength of 2 thousand men, Faruk was met with a barrage of bowmen in an army twice their size, indicating the Africans probably had known of his planned invasion long before it was set in action. Faruk, however, had planned very wisely, as he had split his fleet in order to disembark the yemeni cavalry in a nearby shore in safety, while his men held off the Nubian offense. The yemeni are said to have bravely held off against the bowmen, suffering minimal losses, and when the cavalry finally arrived to the battle, they caught the african troops with their guard down and ran them down from the flanks, allowing the first division to engage the disorganized levies, breaking apart their units and forcing them to flee. Arabic sources in this battle claim that despite outnumbered and facing a difficult, defensively advantageous crossing, the Yemeni killed 2 thousand men and sent another four thousand in a desperate retreat. As the villages in the region lacked any significant defensiveness, and their local chieftain was captured in battle, they quickly surrendered, and Faruk established the yemeni foothold in Africa. His faris Jibril, who led the cavalry charge, was made Sheik of the region under Faruk, tasked with promoting Islam.​

The battle of Tadjoura gave Faruk a reputation of being an unyielding defender and a “forder”.
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It was only after his bloody campaign in North Africa, that Faruk would turn his eyes to the north. After the Abbasids were defeated by the Fatimids in 968, they lost control over the western arabian peninsula, where the Isaids had declared themselves the Sultans of Hejaz. The city of Mecca being controlled by weak and astray Shias created the perfect opportunity for Faruk to finally advance into the region and to establish definitive control over the extremely significant cities of Mecca and Medina in a holy war.​

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After the declaration of war, Faruk patiently organized his forces on the Yemeni border while he waited for the arrival of his allies, prompting the Sultan of Hejaz to advance before the arrival of reinforcements. Faruk faced him in Al-Mahjam with inferior numbers, but the distinct, disciplined way of fighting that the Yemeni developed under Faruk favoured their defensive position in the familiar and fortified terrain Faruk had carefully prepared for battle. The forces of the Sultanate of Hejaz were forced to retreat back to Mecca and wait for reinforcements. As the Yemeni allies arrived, Faruk launched an advance into the Sultanate. After the narrowly successful siege of the fort in Tihama, Faruk quickly retreated to Yemeni territory to once again face the enemy forces in his own territory. At this point fielding an army of approximately 10 thousand men, the Yemeni forces faced the similarly numbered forces of the Isaid Sultanate in the Battle of Harad.​

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After capturing valuable hostages in the battle of Harad, Faruk would once again return to Yemen to regroup and pick his battles wisely, taking advantage of his defensive position to diminish the manpower of the Isaids until they were outnumbered enough to be unable to defend Mecca. This plan, however, opened an opportunity for the Fatimids to advance as well. With the Isaids now occupied with the invasion in the north, Faruk was able to advance into Mecca undefended. Familiar with the terrain of the grand city as a Hajj himself, Faruk conquered Mecca and agreed on a truce with the Isaids on 975.​

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Having finally won the difficult war for control over Mecca, Faruk would be unable to rest, as the Fatimids sought for control over the region as well and had already launched their campaign. This time, however, Faruk knew he would be overpowered by the Fatimids if he took a defensive stance, so he marched forward hoping to join his former enemies in the defense for Medina. After a short skirmish with the Fatimids sent them on a retreat, Faruk devised an ambitious plan to force the invaders back home: To use the newly built Yemeni fleet to cross the Red Sea, marching through the desert and laying siege to Cairo while the Fatimids advanced on Medina once again.​

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The plan was extremely costly. Faruk’s forces faced diminishing supplies and as many as 100 men died on the difficult march through the desert alone. With a force of only 3500 men remaining, Faruk reached the city and laid siege to the recently finished walls of Cairo. The men camped around the inner walls of the city and seized the townsmen's boats, in order to occupy the Nile and prevent supllies from reaching the city through the river. During 8 long months, the Yemeni forces endured through a difficult siege, fearing the Fatimids may return from their campaign against the Isaids and overcome their armies, but the newly built palace was still ill equipped to sustain a siege for so long. As defenders began to desert and fall to famine, the garrison surrendered.​

The Siege of Cairo as portrayed by historiographer Ardahan Shazyandar in his studies about the Farukid Sultanate

Faruk’s army marched in, letting the soldiers leave unharmed, but taking the Sultan’s family hostage. As such, the Sultan was forced to concede to their demands, ceasing hostilities with the Yemeni and paying a massive sum for their ransom. Faruk was, however, unable to take over Medina, as the city was already taken over by the caliphate by then, agreeing to stand back from this ambition and to allow peaceful entry of Shia muslims into Mecca as part of the peace agreement.​

Although successful in his campaign against the Isaids, Caliph Hanri “The Leper” paid a high price for his aggression. Almost as if struck down by god, he returned home a childless Leper, indebted due to the ransom he had to pay for his family. This signified the end of Fatimid aggression for a good while.

The Abbasid Caliphs, on the other hand, were facing difficult internal struggles. After the death of the previous Caliph, his Grandson Faisal inherited the Caliphate. Indebted and under constant aggression from the powerful Ghaznavids and Fatimids, the emirs of the Caliphate started to revolt against the young and unprepared Caliph, many of them breaking away from the empire.
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In the following years after the war, Faruk would spend his time reinvesting his new wealth into the Sultanate. A proper palace was built in Sana'a. The Yemeni army was formalized with professional men at arms and now stood as a testament to the sultanate’s independence and strength. Aside from a minor incursion into the horn of Africa, his borders remained the same for 10 years, signifying an era of peace for his people and Sultanate. But it wouldn’t last for long…​

 

[HistoryDude]

The Abbasids don't look to be doing well. Yemen looks like it took over a large portion of Arabia and began expanding on the East African coast, but I don't know how much that'll last. Let's hope that Yemen can survive...

 

[Kiffe]

The Abbasids don't look to be doing well. Yemen looks like it took over a large portion of Arabia and began expanding on the East African coast, but I don't know how much that'll last. Let's hope that Yemen can survive...

Yemen is usually a very vulnerable region in my games. Even under player control with a ridiculously great martial ruler i had a tough time in those wars of Faruk. I gotta say i got so focused in some of these wars i forgot to screenshot! Now that he's somewhat established, we can chill and take a bigger look into his personal life.

Just a heads up, i'll have one or two more posts ready this week, but on the 15th imma be travelling to the netherlands and belgium for tommorowland and i won't be back until the 25th so this may affect posting regularity. But who knows, might get some writing done if i'm bored in airport downtime.

 

[Bfc kfc]

Wow, the Magyars actually took down the Pannonian Slavs! This might be the first time I see this in an aar.

 

[TowerOfMassilia]

Sounds great!

 

[Kiffe]

Hi guys! I'm back from my trip in Europe. It was pretty amazing to me, as it was the first time in my life i'd seen authenthic remnants of history in Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum. Tomorrowland was fun too! Unfortunately though, i got caught up in preparations for the trip and ended up not being able to post anything before going. But the upside is i got 2 chapters ready to go now and have found some bits of inspiration in the one AAR i downloaded to read in the plane. So i've been thinking about making this AAR semi interactive to a degree, starting from EU4. But for now it's just an idea. I'll post the new chapter i have made today, and i'll hold the next one for a bit just so i get back to some sort of scheduled posting.

 

[Kiffe]

Chapter 4: Court of Faruk

Farukid-era tapestry depicting the Sultan being nursed in his bed.​

In the year 990, a significant work of art was created that would give modern historians a bigger understanding of the ongoings in the Yemeni court during Faruk’s later sultanate. Sponsored by Faruk himself, a prominent, yet uncredited muslim would write an interesting tome on the art of diplomacy, based on the ongoings of the Yemeni court and the delicate family matters of inheritance and power struggles within the realm.
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The tome touches on the difficult matters of Faruk’s approaching of old age, and the steps he needed to take to ensure the continuity of his realm beyond his own life. A gregarious and popular leader, cherished by the many Sheikhs who rose to prominence under his conquests, he was gifted a servant from one of his vassals, a physician named Asiya.

Asiya was a controversial figure within his court, as although her abilities in medicine were comparable to Muhammad’s doctor Rufaida Al-Aslamia, many of her writings were deemed defiant to God’s will and nature. Nonetheless, her work was essential to greatly extend Faruk’s life. Her work was so important to the court, Faruk had a hospital built in Sana’a in her honor and name, one of the first hospitals in the world to be led by a woman.

Faruk’s Sultana, Ruken, despite being the most known among his wives, was, according to the tome, very bitter towards her husband. This may be due to his reported love of a lesser known wife of his, Shakira, which died in the birth of his last son, Azam, shortly after the tome was written. Shakira’s name is very rarely mentioned in historical texts, and her relation to Faruk is only presumed due to her mention in a small dedicatory inscription in the tome on yemeni politics’ original copy, which leads historians to believe she was of lesser noble origins and couldn’t attain a higher status among Faruk’s wives despite her relation to him.

Ruken was known to lash out in court, directing her anger at commoners and noblemen alike. Despite her most prominent standing among the court, she is not believed to be the mother of any of Faruk’s most significant heirs, as both of those are implied to have been born to Shakira. Whether his love for her impacted his choice of heir is only subject to speculation, but nonetheless, his chosen heirs would have to prove their worth in the years approaching his death.

Khalil was the third son of Faruk, born during his campaigns in Mecca. In stark contrast to his father, Khalil was not a natural fighter, frail and delicate, but had a brilliant mind with a promising future.

On the subject of inheritance, however, Faruk’s realm was troubled. Faruk’s second son, Emir Abdul-Jaleel, was a decadent sinner and a shame for his family. Despite being graced with Faruk’s strength, he became a gluttonous man and unjust emir, unfit to rule or fight, and was promptly removed from inheritance. In the following years, Abdul would survive multiple murder attempts, Faruk’s involvement in which is unproven and thoroughly denied in the book.

As a war-minded ruler of commoner origins, Faruk would never send men into war without being beside them. In the year of 990, after the much awaited death of the leper Caliph, Faruk would take advantage of this moment of weakness to declare war on the Fatimids, seeking finally to take the city of Medina from the hands of the Shia Caliphs.

As such, Faruk would once again set off from his palace in order to wage war. As the Yemeni court had at this point evolved from a disorganized, loose form of governance established by peasants in 951 to a full fledged, bureaucratic sultanate in 990, the time had come for Faruk to have a son rule in his stead while he waged war. Due to his old age, naming a regent at this moment would be as meaningful as naming an heir. In a surprising turn of events, Faruk named Khalil, his third son, at the time only aged 21, as his regent, removing his firstborn from inheritance altogether, who was instead granted the rank of Emir. After this, he once again set off for war.

You might wonder why i haven’t mentioned a famous battle in Faruk’s war for Medina. This is because there really were none. As the Fatmids faced a big succession crisis in the wake of the death of a childless, indebted Caliph, the clansmen were barely willing to contribute any levies to the war effort, rather occupied with infighting. Faruk, on the other hand, had drawn the support of the local population as well as the many nomadic muslims still living on his lands. His army, reported to be over 10 thousand men, quickly overran the region, and after a few minor skirmishes which ended terribly for the local militias, Medina surrendered to the Yemeni alongside most local settlements.
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At this point, the Farukid sultanate spanned much of the western coast of the Arabian peninsula. Although the civil war of the Abbasid empire had ended and the new caliph had been seemingly recovering support and vassals, Faruk was by far the most well known and most competent sultan among the arabian peoples. He was, however, growing old. Once the greatest warrior in the east, he could now barely lift a sword. His ambition, however, remained valiant. Although advised against it, Faruk once announced a final campaign in the african coasts.

This time however, perhaps seeking to protect his legacy as one of the only commanders in the world to never lose a battle, and due to his weakening physique, Faruk would stay in his palace. In his stead, he sent Emir Aarif, one of his former commanders who had been granted lands in the horn of Africa in reward for their service, and a seasoned war veteran whose skills in warfare were rivaled only by the Sultan himself.​

Interestingly, the fate of Faruk’s last war was decided in the same site of his first: Tadjoura. After Aarif’s initial invading force were defeated and forced to retreat to the recently built fort in Tadjoura, they were pursued by the Somalis, who foolishly thought after winning a single battle that they were capable of defeating the Yemenis in their own territory. After Aarif’s forces were joined by Sheik Jibril’s retinue, they easily outnumbered the Somalis. Aarif spared no man from slaughter, and the battle is widely regarded as a massacre.​

After Aarif defeated the Somali in the bloodbath of Tadjoura, few forces stood between the Yemeni and the sparse Somali forts. After hearing of the victorious battle, on the very site of his first war, Faruk came to regret his decision of stepping down from warfare and joined his men on their march to enemy territory. Aarif’s forces marched to Moghadisu and sieged it down, putting an end to the Yemeni invasion of the coast of Ajuraan in 995.​

Faruk, however, wouldn’t live much longer to see the fruits of his newest conquest, as in 996, at the age of 70, his aging would suddenly catch up to him and he’d die of what his court physician Asiya determined to be natural causes. Although Faruk’s death had spelled an end to the unity of his own empire, his legacy was much larger than himself. Leaving behind two significant sultanates in Africa and the Middle East, his contributions helped not only establish Yemeni independence but to also develop the people of Arabia as seafarers, who would go much beyond their borders, despite if not necessarily through the lineage of Faruk. Interestingly, a few years after the death of Faruk, the Arabian Empire of the Abbasids would finally meet its downfall. After subsequent losses to the ever expanding and heretical Ghaznavid empire, faith started to falter in the Abbasids, which would eventually stir a new civil war, one that would boil into the dissolution of the empire - leaving the abbasids with nothing but their personal holdings in mesopotamia - and marking the start of a whole new chapter in the history of the middle east.​

As lords now found themselves vulnerable to external invasion from the Ghaznavids and Fatimids, a new era of wars and opportunity began, while many of them started to seek protection under the powerful sultanate of the Farukids, now led by Khalil. But for now, let’s follow the footsteps of Azam in the sultanate Adal, who lies in a much more critical situation, because there is still some time before the consequences of this collapse usher in a new era in world history…