The dynasty which wouldn't die - a Zengi AAR

[Yvanoff]

Part 7: A war torn realm - the beginning of Kutlug II's reign (1325-1339)​

Welcome again for another lecture on the topic of the medieval Zengis ! I see some of you seemingly tiring of it - yes, Peter, I can see you trying to sleep behind that pillar - but I'll advise you to keep paying attention. We're not quite finished with the Zengis yet.

If Batuhan compensated for being a lackluster ruler with a brilliant military mind, poor Kutlug II didn't really have anything going for him.​

Last lecture, I kind of spoiled the ending for you ahead of the time - yes, the Zengis lost the Crusade. The new Sultan tried desperately to rally his troops to gain victory, but rather than an actual counter-attack it was more one last hurray. Yes, the Knights of Santiago were beaten at Homs. Yes, the Polish armies were forced to abandon the siege of Damascus because of Kutlug II's attack. Yes, at Al Mafraq it was the turn of the Portuguese to taste defeat. But as you can tell, these were no major power in this Crusade. The major powers were the HRE and the Papaucy itself; and their armies were far too superior to Kutlug II's. He did not dare attack them; he could not stop his lands being occupied by the invaders. The last blow came in 1330, when the maneuvering Zengi army was caught off guard by the Papal troops near Acre. The ensuing defeat sealed the fate of the Crusade. Soon enough Kutlug II, finally facing reality, was surrendering to the new Pope, Martinus II. The Great Crusade was over.

The Kingdom of Jerusalem, disestablished when the de Lusignan lost their possessions in the Holy Land in 1312, was recreated and the crown given to Queen Aliénor (r. 1330-1331), of proverbial wealth. Her reign lasted 6 months until Khudayar, a man serving in the armies of the Emirate of Damascus, slain her in battle. Her daughter Denise (r. 1331-1346) inherited both her lands and her wealth.​

But what did this defeat meant, to the Zengis ? Well, if we look at the situation with the benefit of hindsight, Kutlug II was still in a very good position in the region. Sure, he had lost the Holy Land; and sure, the seemingly unlimited pockets of the fantastically wealthy new Queen of Jerusalem meant an immediate reconquest was out of the question - the two rivals being heavenly matched in other regards, mercenaries would make the balance swing in favor of the newly reborn Kingdom. But his possessions in Syria were untouched (although depleted military wise). More important, the core of the Zengi power, in al-Jazira, had been unspoiled by the war. Sure enough, just like in Syria, there were few men able to wield weapons left, but this problem would be solved by time. Otherwise, the Zengi position remained strong, with Kutlug II's realm a formidable foe for anyone daring enough to attack it.

Emir Ala'i (r. 1311-1334), who revolted against the tyranny of his liege. He died a free man, and his son Emir Nasraddin (r. 1334-1391). Kutlug II claimed to have accepted the white peace because he want to imprison the ancient ruler, not the new one - but sources citing some of the Zengi ruler's closest advisors claim he was forced to do so by the war becoming a stalemate.​

Kutlug II undertook the Hajj as soon as the Crusade was over, but despite the deep religious experience the Sultan did not embrace wisdom. He was at first concerned with the stability of his realm; in Syria the petty Emirs had enjoyed being independent, and sensing their overlord both inexperienced and military weakened they did as much as they could to further limit the few powers the Sultan had - war having been the top priority of the previous 3 Sultans, few laws strengthening the central power and weakening the vassals had been enacted, unlike what happened in other realms. Kutlug II reacted rashly, betraying his inexperience: accusing Emir Ala'i of plotting against his rule, he tried to imprison this troublesome vassal. This was a failure, and war broke out. It would last for 3 years, from 1332 to 1335, and would essentially a stalemate - despite winning numerous smaller engagements, Kutlug II was unable to crush the Emir's main power, and a white peace ended the conflict. This was already a defeat in itself for the Sultan: Zengi rule had been characterized by military strength, which pacified the realm. For the first time the Sultan had proved unable to entirely quell a rebellion, and his other vassals dutifully took notes, as well as his regional rivals.

Sheikh Murad of Hebron (r. 1319-1336). A weak ruler of a smaller and tormented realm - Hebron claimed independence from neighboring realms in 1290 when a man called Hussayn successfully led the peasants to revolt. His successor failed to address the region's problems, though, and was deposed by Murad in 1319. Suffice to say such unrest did not help the lands of Hebron grow a powerful army - especially concerning when there are victorious Crusaders at your doorstep. Murad was rightfully worried about his situation.​

It was clear that the realm needed peace. The realm needed attention and care, to grow ever more powerful. Unfortunately, Kutlug II had nothing of a talented administrator. Instead, dreaming of his grandfather Kutlug Ironside, he decided to be similarly famous thanks to his heroic deeds in protection of the Sunni faith. That is why he decided to help the Sheikh of Hebron, an independent and weak Sunni ruler, against the Kingdom of Jerusalem. But Kutlug II was not like his grandfather - this was quickly revealed at Madaba, where the Zengi Sultan suffered a crushing defeat. More and more delusional, unable to get to grip with the reality of his military weakness and especially unable to overcome the loss of land and prestige that followed the Crusade, Kutlug II turned his eyes to the North. Indeed, if a lot of marriages had been concluded between the Zengis and the Seljuks, it was not only out of a desire of alliance with the Sultanate of Rum: Kutlug II's predecessor had also nourished the hope that one day, one of their successors would be able to unite the two realms into one. And Kutlug II mistook himself for that successor, despite all evidences saying otherwise. War was declared in 1337 - not for Kutlug II himself, but for one of his uncles instead. In Kutlug II's mind, the toughest part was to get a Zengi to rule over Rum; after that, unification would be inevitable. But that part would prove too tough for him. The war itself was quick: Sultan Batuhan II of Rum mustered his army, marched South, crushed Kutlug II's armies at Nisibin and at Tell Bashir, and the war was over after one mere year.

Sultan Batuhan II the depraved (r. 1329-1347) of Rum. Despite his nickname given by contemporary sources, he was a for more effective ruler than the destructive Kutlug II.​

As we can see, Kutlug II was probably the most inadequate ruler the Zengi Sultanate could have had at this time. But perhaps this was the rashness of youth ? Surely by growing older and wiser, the Sultan would focus on what his realm needed ? Come back this afternoon to find out !

 

[Yvanoff]

That was indeed a harrowing experience, though on the bright (?) side, at least the game is able to give good opposition. It must be what the AI feels like when human players dominate the world.

Ah, I guess so

Kutlug II has a major rebuilding task ahead of him - if he can manage it. Will the next lecture give us an idea of how much territory was lost in the Great Crusade?

Unfortunately, I don't have any map of the time, and any map I would make from the end game would be spoilery (I think there were already a couple spoilers beforehand but....)
Basically I remained in control of all of al-Jazira (except for the county of Irbil, which I didn't have the opportunity to grab) and most of Syria (except for the coastline). I used to control the East Bank of the Jordan River, basically, which was lost after this (per se, not a huge loss of territory, especially since all of it was controlled by vassals anyway, but still a blow to the Zengi pride and to my aims)

 

[JSB217118]

Do you have any past saves you can take screenshots from?

 

[Yvanoff]

Do you have any past saves you can take screenshots from?

Ironman, so no unfortunately

 

[Mr. Capiatlist]

Ironman, so no unfortunately

You could use a blank map and sketch it in. That way you only show us what you want us to see (no spoilers) and you can even clean the borders up if there's some weird bordergore.

 

[Yvanoff]

You could use a blank map and sketch it in. That way you only show us what you want us to see (no spoilers) and you can even clean the borders up if there's some weird bordergore.

Wow, nice ! Thank you Mr C ! Will work on that later this afternoon then

 

[Yvanoff]

Hello, class ! Sorry for coming in just as your last lesson of the day ends, but I just realized I forgot to give you some important resources - I'm sure you have two minutes to collect them, so please stay in the room for now.

First, I have the map of the Zengi conquests during the reigns of Mu'izz ad-Din, Kutlug Ironside and Batuhan. Bear in mind these maps will only show direct conquests by the Zengi rulers.

Here you can see the extant of the Zengis conquests during the second half of the XIIIth century. In red are the lands Mu'izz ad-Din inherited from his father. In yellow are his conquests. In green are Kutlug's and Batuhan's conquests - Batuhan mostly spent his reign warring in the Jihad for Egypt and against the Crusade, so most of those territories were conquered byt his father Kutlug.​

Then, I have a very important map showing the Zengi Sultanate at its greatest expansion (1313-1330).

In yellow are the Zengi lands themselves, and in blue are the lands of the Ayubbid Emirate of Oultrejourdain, which were inherited by Emir Nasir of Damascus - Batuhan's vassal - in 1313. Those lands were lost as the Zengis lost the Crusade.​

Last but not least, I have a very, very important map about the inner organization of the Zengi realm under Kutlug II. Please study this map very carefully, for it is very important.

The Zengi Sultanate under Kutlug II.
In yellow are the lands held by the Zengi ruler himself.
In brown is the Dayrikid Emirate of Mudar, ever loyal vassals since Batuhan lifted their dynasty from irrelevance by granting Dogukan the title of Emir. Until then the northern and southern thirds of the Emirate had been held by the Zengi rulers themselves, while the central part was ruled by the Tawfiqid Sheikhs, but over-extension of the realm meant Batuhan did not have the resources to rule these lands himself.
In green is the Ghazi Emirate of Palmyra at its greatest extent - it lost its southernmost province to the Emir of Damascus, another Zengi vassal, during Kutlug II's reign.
In red is the Ayubbid Emirate of Aleppo. During Kutlug II's reign, its two southernmost provinces - Homs and Baalbek - would be inherited by the Sultan of Egypt, putting an end to Zengi rule over them - though the Emir of Aleppo himself remained a Zengi vassal.
In blue is the powerful Ayyubid Emirate of Damascus. Its power meant the Zengi rulers always kept a close eyes on the whereabouts of Damascus's ruler.​

Thank you class for your attention ! Sorry for delaying the end of your day like that - I know you're in a hurry to go home but I couldn't possibly let you leave without giving those to you. See you tomorrow !

 

[Specialist290]

Kutlug II's reign is shaping up to be a tale of endlessly frustrated ambition. No matter how he tries to expand or establish a legacy of his own, he's checked at every turn.

 

[Yvanoff]

Aaaaand the new update took away threadmarks

Kutlug II's reign is shaping up to be a tale of endlessly frustrated ambition. No matter how he tries to expand or establish a legacy of his own, he's checked at every turn.

Yes, the Middle East was full of large, stable kingdoms at the time. No easy, weak target for expansion anymore

 

[Yvanoff]

Part 8: Slowly falling asleep - the end of Kutlug II's rule (1339-1352)​

Good afternoon everyone ! I'm glad to see you again - and I can see most of you are back ! That's great, that's great. You won't regret coming here this afternoon, I promise ! Now where were we ?

The Furusiyya was a form of tournament widespread in Arabic and Muslims realms in the Middle Ages. It focused on the mastery of horse riding, with some exercises of horse archery and other using the lance. Many parallels were drawn between these and the tournaments of Feudal Europe.​

Ah yes, I was pointing out that the realm needed peace to recover. Whether the Sultan had this in mind or not, we don't really know. He held a great Furusiyya in 1340 - the first such festivities since Mu'izz ad-Din's reign -, which does hint at a Sultan becoming a bit less war-like and a bit more realm-focused. However outside events would force him to march to war again. Indeed, while Batuhan II of Rum had come to mistrust the Zengi Sultan, he did remember the old alliance between the two Sultanates, and he had included in the peace treaty a rather forceful reminder of the Zengi Sultan's obligations. That is why Kutlug II gathered his armies again, regardless of his own designs, to walk against the decidedly expansionist Kingdom of Jerusalem. He did not have much more success than he had when helping the Sheikh of Hebron, though, and after seeing his army beaten at Safed (1342) the Zengi ruler mostly left Batuhan II to deal with this himself.

High Chief Ajinai (r. 1315-1352), ruler of Samarra, vassal of the Ilkhanate and neighbor of Kutlug II. Although the Mongol conquests had largely stopped, he did want to leave his mark in history. He failed, losing his war against Kutlug the Lame. This defeat would contribute to his vassals siding with High Chieftess Noor the Usurper, a distant relative who invaded his lands and claimed them for herself in 1352. Ajinai would die in her - formerly his - dungeons.​

Waging war continuously was bound to take a toll on the Sultanate's military strength, especially since Kutlug II was far less successful than his predecessors had been. But the Zengis did not exist in a vacuum; they had neighbors, and especially the vast and powerful Ilkhanate and its expansion hungry vassals. In 1342, trying to capitalize on Kutlug II's obvious weakness, High Chief Ajinai tried to invade Mosul. A Mongol victory would be a disaster, far more than the Crusade had been - it would rob the Zengis of the heart of their power. Fortunately, even Kutlug II could understand the gravity of the situation. The Sultan spared no expense to make sure his army was as strong as it could be - and it turned out that the High Chief of Samarra was not as powerful as he looked. Kutlug II managed to beat back the Mongol army, before marching into their homeland, taking the strongholds of Kirkuk and Daquq. Ajinai was forced to admit his mistake - his prey was still powerful enough to defend itself - and had to concede defeat after 2 years of war, himself being somewhat weakened by the scale of his defeat.

Khan Arasen of Irak (r. 1310-1363). Located downstream on the Euphratus and Tigris rivers from the Zengi lands, the Sultanate of Irak had been first established by the Abbasids, before being conquered by the Mongols and being re-established by one of the Kagan's vassals, Khan Arasen himself.​

The Zengis were once again at peace. For how long, though, was an important question - local chroniclers of the time report being worried about Kutlug II acting rashly and recklessly again. But it seems that time had finally appeased the Sultan, who wounded in battle would come to be known as the Lame. He did march to war 3 more times: once to help the powerful Khan Arasen of Irak against the Catholics (which was more of a diplomatic move than an actual military help), and twice at Sutlan Danismend II of Rum's request, in 1347 and 1350. Outside of these campaigns, Kutlug II focused on administering the realm and improving his lands to the best of his abilities. Although his handling of the realm's internal affairs resulted in the Sultan losing more and more powers to his vassals' benefit, he did avoid war, whether civil or of conquest, and healed the realm somewhat. That is, until 1352, when Caliph Khabichi declared a Jihad to retake the lands of Jerusalem. Kutlug II was preparing to answer his religious head's call and march to war, when he died abruptly in 1352. The exact cause for his death are not known; but reports of the time let on that a palace plot had ended the Sultan's life. Young Yaman was now called upon to rule the Zengis and lead them to war again.

Kutlug II's children. Only one adult son is not a lot to ensure Zengi survival.​

And tomorrow we'll study young Yaman's rule. A fascinating, if too often forgotten figure - I really, really encourage you not to miss that lecture !

 

[Specialist290]

The new forum update does appear to have broken a lot of older features. Some of them have been fixed between the initial rollout and now, but the forum admins have been notably quiet about threadmarks.

On the whole, I'd say Kutlug's reign went a lot better than it could have. Certainly he lost a good chunk of territory during the last crusade, but he did manage to avert a total collapse of Zengi power.

 

[Yvanoff]

The new forum update does appear to have broken a lot of older features. Some of them have been fixed between the initial rollout and now, but the forum admins have been notably quiet about threadmarks.

Well, threadmarks are back at least, and old threadmarks were saved so I didn't have to recreate all of them
Added the threadmark for the lastest update

On the whole, I'd say Kutlug's reign went a lot better than it could have. Certainly he lost a good chunk of territory during the last crusade, but he did manage to avert a total collapse of Zengi power.

Overall yes, at the time I did not see it like that but looking back it wasn't that bad. But certainly not as good as it could have been

 

[Bullfilter]

Caught up once more and enjoying the ‘lectures’, as always.

Aaaaand the new update took away threadmarks

This had many of us who principally use the Forums for AARs worried and rather unhappy.

Well, threadmarks are back at least, and old threadmarks were saved so I didn't have to recreate all of them

As i discovered with relief this morning. A couple of my older and larger AARs have around 200 each and I was not looking forward to the prospects of either losing it all or having to revisit the old contents pages!

 

[Yvanoff]

Part 9: Instability and fall - the reigns of Sultans Yaman and Sökmen (1352-1370)​

Hello again for another lecture on the Zengis ! This time will mark a departure from the usual format of two lectures per ruler - this morning we'll cover two rulers. Historical circumstances are what dictate the structure of my lectures, not a rigid structure.

Sultan Yaman (r. 1352-1359). I'll forgive you for not knowing his name before this lecture - but you better remember his name, as hard as it might be.​

Young Yaman, as Kutlug II's only son, inherited the throne upon the passing of his father. Being 14 years-old at the time, during the first two years of his rule power was in the hands of his regent, and politics dominated by his powerful vassals. This regency further weakened the dominance of the Zengi ruler over his vassals, which was already weak to begin with. Otherwise, not much of note happened during this regency, but the climate of Jihad reigning over this period led to Yaman being heavily taught the art of war. He emerged of this education with a bright military mind, some even holding him to be an even better general than Batuhan the Strong. While that was undoubtedly an exaggeration, all the sources agree in giving Yaman a great mastery of war. This mastery, though, could only be shown once - during the battle of Madaba, where the Zengis armies defeated the equally powerful Jerusalem army in 1355. Yaman showed excellent leadership there, tiring the Frankish knights by hit and run tactics before exploiting the lack of discipline slowly emerging in the tiring Jerusalem ranks. Against the Catholic holy orders and the unlimited funding available to the King of Jerusalem, though, one victory was far from enough. Every time a Crusader fell, 2 mercenaries took his place - or so it seemed. And in 1359, the Knight Templars, in vastly superior numbers, crushed the Zengi armies at Palmyra. This proved to be the end of the Jihad, since a few months later Caliph Abagha - who succeeded Caliph Khabichi, fallen in battle in 1356 - ended the Jihad. Unable to hold onto any conquest in Jerusalem, beaten in battle, the Sunnis were defeated in a Holy War once more. The future certainly looked grim for the Prophet's followers, and especially for the Zengis, who certainly were the vanguards of Islam in the Levant.

Sultan Sökmen(1352-1359). Batuhan's nephew, he was the head of the last remaining Zengi branch. He should never have inherited the throne, but the weakness setting in the Zengi dynasty allowed him to.​

A few months after the end of the Jihad, Yaman died, bringing an abrupt end to a short reign mostly spent warring in Jerusalem. This event would prove to be rather divisive among scholars. It's not the nature of the death itself which causes debates - Yaman was killed by precisely-struck arrow while traveling in Mosul, though his murderers were never found thanks to the lack of an inquiry on the matter. Rather, some argue that Zengi fortunes changed decisively that day. Yaman had shown an undeniable military prowess on the fields of the Holy Land, losing an unwinnable war but not without causing a lot of problems for the Crusaders. What would've happened had he been able to rule longer ? One can only speculate, but certainly Yaman would have been a mostly warfare-focused ruler, unlike his successor. Sultan Sökmen was indeed mostly concerned by the strength and prosperity of the realm - the Sultan could clearly see that, weakened by the incessant warfare against the Crusaders, the Zengis were only a shadow of the power they were under Batuhan. The new ruler set to remedy to this weakness, investing heavily in the infrastructure of al-Jazira, either by building new settlements or upgrading the existing ones.

Caliph Abagha (r. 1356-1375), ruler of the Ilkhanate. He turned from a Zengi ally to their bane and certainly didn't help make the Borjigin Caliphs - established in 1334 - populars in the eyes of the Zengis. Not like the ruler of the Ilkhanate would care about that.​

Prosperity set in, but war was never far with the Zengis. However this time, it would not be brought about by the Sultan declaring war himself or getting caught in Rum's wars. Indeed, if anything what cost the Zengis was the end of their diplomatic policy - Kutlug II didn't concern himself too much with diplomacy, and his son Yaman's rule was too short for any meaningful action to be taken. As a consequence, the alliance with Rum had run its course, and more concerning, the old treaties with the powerful Ilkhanate were no more. And Caliph Abagha grew to develop the same state of mind as Kutlug Ironside had towards the petty Emirs of Syria ruling in his time: the Ilkahanate's ruler saw the Zengis as little more than a declining dynasty in dire need of protection if their lands were not to fall under Crusader rule. That is why, in a fateful day of 1364, a messenger brought the terrible news to Sökmen: Abagha had invaded, claiming al-Jazira for himself.

The Zengi troops leading the line against the Mongols. They would certainly hold their own and distinguish themselves against the fearsome warriors from the steppes, but what hope could their be against such a powerful enemy ?​

Sökmen was not about to surrender his ancestral lands without a fight, however. Channeling the spirit of his more warlike ancestors, he led his troops into battle himself - and was initially successful, repelling the first wave of the Mongols armies at Rahbah and at Deir in 1365. The Zengis would not go down without a fight ! But unfortunately, the resources of the Ilkhanate were vast, too vast for the Zengis to match. The next year, the full might of the Mongol armies won the rematch in Deir. Mustering all the money he could find, Sökmen hired local mercenaries for his service, and for a time it looked like the war could yet go Sökmen's way - the Mongols being forced to retreat and lick their wounds after a crushing defeat at Sinjar. But the Caliph, knowing that time was ticking his way because of his immense resources at his disposal, didn't accept any peace other than total submission, leading Sönmez down the path of desperate resistance. It was doomed to fail: the Zengis were crushed three times the next three years, massively outnumbered by the Mongol hordes. Sökmen could see that defeat was inevitable, his strongholds falling one after the other, but the stubborn Sultan refused to yield. He would never have to - in November 1370, gout overcame him. Having to travel around the countryside, hiding from the Mongols, certainly did nothing to help him fight the disease. His 4-year-old son Savtekin was left in the care of the suffering Sultanate.

Sökmen did not have a lot of children, but he at least had two sons - although they were far too young to rule effectively in such difficult times.​

These were hard times for the Zengis - but they had known such hardships before. How would they bounce back from such a weak situation ? Come back this afternoon to find out !

 

[Yvanoff]

So, I'm going to publish the update tonight as planned. Hope you got to read the previous one in time - with all this mess and the logging issues/slowness I imagine getting the time to read these is not easy !

 

[Yvanoff]

Part 10: On the brink of extinction - the reigns of Sultans Savtekin and Mahmud (1370-1394)​

Hello again for another lecture on the Zengis ! This afternoon we will once again cover the rules of two Sultans, Savtekin and Mahmud - you'll soon see why.

Sultan Savtekin (r. 1370-1394). He is here pictured as an adult, but was 4 years old when he inherited the throne. A tough start in life. But he at least had an heir, which is quite lucky for such a young boy.​

We left off this morning with the Zengis in a difficult situation. Invaded by the Mongols, now ruled by a young shild, how could they fight back ? The answer is that obviously, they could not. Sökmen had held together resistance against the Mongols, but with his death, his vassals negotiated peace immediately. It has to be said that it was a pretty good peace deal for the vassals: the Dayrikids, made Emirs of Mudar by Batuhan more than half a century ago, simply changed overlord, now swearing fealty to the Caliph himself. Not only being a vassal of the most important man in Islam was quite prestigious, on top of that the Caliph, ruling over a vast Empire, left a lot of autonomy to regional rulers while still being strong enough to enforce policy such as peace in the realm - policy protecting weaker vassals especially. No really, the Emirs of Mudar didn't really have any reason to fight the invasion any longer. As for the others, well..... the Emirs of Aleppo, Palmyra and Damascus held no lands in the contested territories, so they didn't stand to lose much. Even better, the Zengi ruler would be severely weakened, since all of his lands were being invaded, completely swinging the balance of the realm in favor of the Emirs and leaving the young Sultan and his potential successors at the mercy of his vassals. No really, the more the Emirs thought of it the more peace looked like a great deal for them.

After the invasion, Savtekin lost all of his family's ancestral lands, in effect leaving the power in the hands of his vassals, the Emirs Nasraddin of Aleppo (r. 1334-1391), Radhi III of Palmyra (r. 1360-1387) and Tayyib of Damascus (r. 1371-1388).​

Peace was concluded, although there was one slight issue. Losing all of his lands, the young Sultan had nowhere to go ! He needed a capital, lands for himself. Of course, one possibility would've been to overthrow him, end the Zengi dynasty - reduced to two underage boys at this time - and either dissolve the Sultanate or give the crown to one of the remaining vassals. But there is such a thing as the internal balance of a realm. None of the other vassals wanted to yield any significant power to the other; as for independence, they would've turned into easy targets for the Kingdom of Jerusalem. So they agreed to continue the play, leaving the young Sultan as a figurehead to rule while they shared the rule among themselves. As for the capital, well, none of the Emirs was disposed to lose lands for the benefit of the young Sultan. The Emir of Damascus, though, being the most powerful vassal, quickly found himself under the pressure of a united front from the two other Emirs to give some of his lands to Savtekin. While the demands were formulated with all the diplomatic niceties possible, the true motive behind the cooperation of Aleppo and Palmyra on the matter was to weaken the most powerful Emir of the 3. And so the Emir of Damascus left the rather poor lands of Al Mafraq to his young suzerain.

Beylerbey Mzhezh (r. 1364-1398; also Beylerbey of Antioch and Cibyrrhaeot since 1356) was quick to seize the opportunity. His dynasty's fate is deserving of a whole lecture by itself. Suffice to say, the Hetoumi were Armenian Christians princes who ruled over Cilicia in the Middle Ages. Vassalized by the Sultanate of Rum, they converted to Islam and expanded internally, becoming quite strong. Uncomfortable with his vassal's new power, Sultan Batuhan would revoke the Beylerbeylik of Cilicia in 1332, but Rum was unable to maintain internal peace and by 1356 Mzhezh, having reconquered most of his family's ancestral lands, proclaimed himself Beylerbey of Cilicia once more.​

But despite the facade of union, the realm was terribly weak. The lost lands in al-Jazira, on top of giving their resources directly to the Zengi ruler, had also been developed by Kutlug II and Sökmen. The Zengi Sultanate was nothing more than a rump state, an old animal destined to die. And the first vultures manifested themselves quickly. In 1372, Belerbey Mzhezh, a vassal to the Sultanate of Rum, declared war for the rich city of Aleppo to Savtekin. The 3 Emirs, sensing their rule threatened, raised their own banners as well as their lord's to defend the realm. But that was not enough. The weakened Zengi army was outnumbered by Cilicia's, and crushed at Hama in 1373. Occupation of the contested territories followed soon after, and by 1374 the war was lost. The Zengis, who had held off the powerful Crusader Kingdom of Egypt, who had resisted the Crusade for 15 years, who had even resisted the Mongols for 7 years just recently, were beaten in 2 by the smaller - though still decently powerful - realm of Cilicia. Truly, none of the men leaving at the time thought the Zengi Sultanate would exist for much longer. Some gave it 3 years; some gave it 20. But inevitably, all predicted a grim outcome.

The Queen of Jerusalem Isabelle III (r. 1359-1388). She would be the last independent ruler of Jerusalem: her husband was Slavac Mytzes, King of Bulgaria and Pannonia. As such, their son Miroslav inherited all three kingdoms and preoccupied himself more with Bulgaria's affairs than with Jerusalem's, which explains the rapid demise of the Kingdom after her rule.​

Fast forward 7 years. Not much happened in the meantime - the Emirs used the regency as an opportunity to expand their powers, as much as they still could, but no war could be declared as all the targets for expansion were too powerful and the maturing Savtekin had no lands which he could try to develop. And then, ripping the monotony of the boring palace life that Savtekin was leading, came the news: the Queen of Jerusalem was invading with a strong army in the name of God. It was over. The Zengis were doomed to extinction. Or were they ? In their darkest hours, isolated and pitifully weak, their oldest ally noticed them. The Sultan of Rum remembered the old alliance; more prosaically, he was also not comfortable letting Jerusalem expand that easily. That is why, as soon as news of the war broke out, the Sultan of Rum sent a messenger to Al Mafraq: if the young Sultan would have him, then he would help the Zengis fend off the invaders. The news were welcomed with great relief in the Sultanate, but also with anxiety. The Sultan had a lot of potential enemies and troublesome vassals. Also, while Rum was powerful, the Crusaders were too, even though they had spent away their immense wealth on mercenaries the previous decades. Still, the plan for the campaign was now evident: the Sultan, soon to come of age, and his vassals would march North, leaving their lands defenseless to join up with the Seljukid army. Allah willing, their combined numbers - which is to say mostly Rum's army - would be enough to beat back the Crusaders.

As soon as he came of age, Savtekin lost no time. He married the daughters or sisters of three of the most powerful rulers of his time - those being Sultan Danismend II of Rum (r. 1347-1401), Khan Arasen II of Iraq (r. 1371-1386), and Khagan Usun the Great (r. 1382-1408). The first two were local powers, whose help was essential in helping the Zengis survive. The last one was rising in the East, seemingly unstoppable, beating the formidable Ilkhanate and seizing Central Asia as his own.​

Savtekin came of age far from Syria, in 1382. The distance did not prevent him from conducting diplomacy by marriage, reviving the old alliance with Rum with his union to the Sultan's daughter, and also seeking the alliance of Iraq, a major local power, by marrying Khan Arasen II's sister. Meanwhile, his brother Mahmud was married to the Khan of Transoxiana's daughter, to complete the alliances. And this diplomacy paid off. The Sultan of Rum, despite insisting on coming back to the Caucasus region to quell some rebellions, was too powerful for the Kingdom of Jerusalem, who was beaten in battle, with its early gains slowly but steadily reversed. Then, around 1386 - the exact date was left unrecorded -, the Khan of Iraq, having agreed recently to ally Savtekin, proposed his help. It was too much for the Queen of Jerusalem, who seeing the war as unwinnable agreed to Savtekin's offer of white peace in 1387. The Zengis had become essentially a Rum tributary state, being left alive only by Danismend II's intervention; but the Zengis were alive. Savtekin celebrated the newfound peace by undertaking the Hajj, as many of his ancestors but not many of his immediate predecessors had done. He would not enjoy peace for very long: he was, like Kutlug II and Yaman before him, likely victim of a plot in 1390. Having no male children - but survived by 2 daughters, Merve and Usunbike -, the throne passed on to his brother, Mahmud. The throne - and only one title. Indeed, since Kutlug Ironside the Zengi rulers had styled themselves Sultans of Syria and al-Jazira. When young Savtekin acceded to the throne, the Zengis still technically held lands in al-Jazira, so he was proclaimed Sultan of both lands. But by now, it had been 20 years since the Zengis last held lands in al-Jazira. Nobody could be bothered to keep this up anymore, and anyway the weak and poor Zengi ruler was in no position to assert his authority on the matter. So Mahmud was simply crowned Sultan of Syria, which was the region where all his lands laid.

Sultan Mahmud (r. 1390-1394). He benefited from a palace plot, and repaid the plotters by never ordering any deep inquiry over the mystery of his brother's death. Luckily, Mahmud already had a son, so while the Zengi dynasty's survival still hanged on by a thread, it was a bit more assured.​

Sultan Mahmud did not have the time to do much, however. He had barely started ruling, slowly consolidating his grip on the throne, that Pope Callistus IV called for a Crusade. The target? Anatolia, which is to say most of Rum's lands. It was time for the Zengis to repay the Seljukid Sultan for his decisive help in the war of 1381-1387: Mahmud immediately marched to war, raising his army and marching North to meet the Crusaders in battle. That would be where he'd meet his fate: Bishop Thietmar, a commander for the Imperial army, emerged victorious of their duel in the high lands of Anatolia. The bishop would not enjoy his victory for very long, dying days later from the injuries sustained in the duel, so perhaps it would be fairer to Mahmud to call it a draw. At any rate, Mahmud's sole surviving son - and last surviving male Zengi - was the 7 years old Berkan, plunging once again the realm into disarray. Berkan's younger brother Alaeddin, Mahmud's other son, had indeed died of pneumonia aged 1. And to make things worse..... [A ringing can be heard] Oh, but I guess it's time already. This was an unexpectedly young lecture. I guess I'll have to speak about poor Berkan tomorrow, then.

 

[Yvanoff]

Part 11: A well timed death - the rule of Sultan Berkan (1394-1412)​

Good morning everyone ! I hope you slept well last night - good sleep is the key to remember what happened during the day well. And as a critical moment in the history of the Zengis, expect all of yesterday's lecture to be in the test. As well as all of today's, by the way. The end of the XIVth and beginning of the XVth century were absolutely crucial in shaping the future of the Zengis

Sultan Berkan, a rather majestic figure as presented here - certainly not as majestic when he was a 7-years-old child, however. A ruler more focused towards ruling the realm than conquest or foreign policy.​

As you undoubtedly remember from yesterday, Mahmud died in battle after ruling for 4 years, precisely the kind of event the Zengis couldn't really afford in such a tight situation as theirs. He did leave behind a 7-years-old son, Berkan, as heir..... But nobody else. Berkan was, at this time, the sole male Zengi alive on the planet. The situation was further compounded by the regency council's formation. As you remember, the Emirs of Damascus, Aleppo and Palmyra essentially held the power in the remnants of the Zengi Sultanate, the Sultan being nothing more than a figurehead. Rivalries between the Emirs led to this compromise when the child Savtekin ascended to the throne - but young Berkan had no such luck. Emir Tadros II of Damascus managed to get himself named officially regent, and more worryingly for the child sitting on the throne, he got the informal support of the other two Emirs. What did that mean ? It meant that, should any tragic accident happen to Berkan before he could sire any heir, the throne would go to Tadros - in exchange for confirmation of the two other Emirs' powers. As the saying goes, "when you play the game of thrones, you win or you die". It certainly seemed like the Zengis had lost - sources claim that Tadros viewed the regency as nothing more than a formality to accomplish before he could seize the throne for himself.

Ambitious Emir Tadros of Damascus (r. 1388-1396). He dreamt of recreating the great Sunni Ayyubid Empire - the Ayyubids being still in power in Egypt, but having converted to the Coptic faith long ago. His dreams could never come true.​

However, the regent had more pressing matter than having the young Sultan suffer an unfortunate and fatal accident. That would happen, but it could wait until more pressing matters were dealt with - such as the Crusade. What good is it to seize the throne from the dying Zengis if it is to be targeted by holy wars into oblivion ? So Tadros called upon the nominally Zengi armies. Now, Tadros II might seem like an evil, scheming man, and evil, scheming men are by cliché usually cowards. Well, the Emir was nothing like that, and he was determined to make good impression over his future soldiers by leading them himself in battle. He went out of his way to be at the center of the action, anywhere his men might need his presence, and forgetting that war is, after all, risky. It seems he believed Allah was protecting him, had chosen him to revive the fortunes of the Ayubbid dynasty, rising again from the shadow of the Zengis. Allah, however, had other plans which apparently involved letting the Zengis live. The 10th of September 1396, a well adjusted blow from the mayor of Arras, a man named Sigimsond, cut short the hopes and dreams of Tadros II. Just like Mahmud had let his throne in the hands of a child, Tadros II's heir was the young Jawdat, aged 6 at this time. With both the Zengis and the Emir of Damascus out of the picture, it was a great opportunity for the other two Emirs to make their move - but being of similar strength and unable to agree on a power split, they didn't seize this unique moment of history. There a great men who leave their mark on History, and those who fade away forgotten.

Mîrza I (r. 1423-1435 as Emir; ruled since 1405 as an independent Sheikh). The Burcid were Coptic Kurds who led a local revolt and obtained independence in 1405.​

Left off the hook, Berkan quietly matured into a decent ruler, without anything else of note happening - except Anatolia being lost to the Crusaders in 1398. There was nothing the Sunnis could do against the might of Catholicism - and even less when the Caliph decides to declare a Jihad for his own benefit in the meantime (the Great Jihad of 1395, aiming at reconquering Yemen from Coptic Abyssinia, ended with a white peace in 1407). Then, having come of age in 1403, the new Zengi sultan waited for his chance. This manifested by the successful Burcid rebellion. The Burcid, Coptic Kurds of the al-Jazira region - does this ring a bell to you ? - had used internal turmoil in the Ilkhanate - and especially the Jihad in Yemen, which led to the Caliph's troops being tied there and losing a lot of men in the process - to conquer the lands of Nisibin, Amida and Bira, creating the independent Burcid Emirate in the process. But the young Emirate was weak, and in 1406 Berkan declared holy war for the lands controlled by the Burcids in the Sheikhdom of Nisibin. The Burcids were militarily limited, isolated as Christians in the middle of Sunnis. They were beaten in al-Sukhnah, in Nisibin, and in Asas. By 1407 it was over. Berkan had won. This might look like nothing to you - but it was quite an important event. The last Zengi victory in an offensive war dated either to 1307, in the Jihad for Egypt where Batuhan's troops played a key role, or to 1302, when Kutlug vassalized Emir Nasir of Damascus. Yes, it had been more than a century since the Zengi had last conquered territory. Berkan certainly did realize that he halted the terrible decline the Zengis had undergone, holding a great feast in his capital, moved into the newly conquered lands. His ambitions were obvious: reconquer al-Jazira, the lost homeland of his ancestors. Only problem: the Caliph, ruler of the Ilkhanate and as such of these lands.

Caliph Tokhtamis (r. 1391-1414). Once again the Mongols stood in the way of the Zengis' ambitions, and once again nothing could be done about that - especially since Tokhtamis, overall a decent ruler, was an excellent general, well-versed in the art of war. Berkan himself being a weak strategist, despite good councilors, there was no point in even waging war on Tokhtamis.​

Berkan then tried to use turmoil in the Ilkhanate to his advantage, declaring war to the rebellious High Chief of Mosul - a man named Kogsegu - but the rebellion ended before any gain could be made. Berkan then realized that conquering the lands of al-Jazira was impossible - if the combined might of Syria and al-Jazira could not beat back the Mongols under Sökmen's rule, the limited strength of the Zengis now stood no chance. At the same time, having taken note of the Zengi expansion into formerly Mongol territory, but especially concerned with the new Crusader Kingdom of Anatolia and its possibilities for expansion into Syria, the Caliph sent a messenger to Berkan. The message was delivered diplomatically, but it was crystal clear: Berkan had the choice between submitting to the Caliph and benefit from his protection, or face endless hordes of warriors. Swallowing his pride, Berkan did what no other Zengi ruler had done before him: he bent the knee. The great ceremony was held in Esfahan - the Mongols' capital - in 1412, celebrating the Zengis' submission to the Mongols. The Zengis were now the Caliph's subjects, owing him taxes and troops in exchange for protection. Berkan wasn't a subject for long, however. In November of that year, the Sultan fell ill after a copious meal. Despite the desperate attempts of many doctors to save him, his health deteriorated, and he passed away the 26th of that month. Mahmud II, his only son and heir, a 6 years old child, was left in charge of the Sultanate, as history set to repeat itself.

Berkan, dead at 25, didn't have the time to procreate much. Fate in these times wasn't kind to the descendants of Nur ad-Din.​

And with this ends the lecture of Sultan Berkan - a man who did his utmost to reverse Zengi fortunes and revive the old Sultanate of Kutlug Ironside and Batuhan the Strong. But now a child was left in charge - were all his efforts for naught ? You may go, but don't forget to come back tomorrow ! We're nearing the end of our study of the medieval Zengis, it would be a shame to drop out now....

 

[JSB217118]

Dear god another regency.

 

[Tommy4ever]

Just read through this today. Its always more fun when you see the player struggling and you've certainly had a tough time for the past century or so!

I really liked the look of that paintable map you used earlier (and some more maps in the updates would be helpful to keep us on track of where all these Middle Eastern provinces are). Could you link to the base map you used?

I look forward to the last few lectures professor!

 

[Yvanoff]

The map was a very helpful tip from @Mr. Capiatlist , here's the link: https://i.redd.it/2b8m00sbqp621.png

I wanted to throw a 2nd map update with the last update, but I suppose throwing one now would be more helpful ? I'm way busier than I should be at the moment so I can't throw a map update together, I'll do my best to do one before next text update.

Also, thank you very much for your posts ! As pointed out by @JSB217118 , this was a difficult for the Zengis with a lot of rulers ascending to the throne too soon, that left me the player with not much to do. But looking back at it I like the contrast between the regency-free "Golden era" and the succession of regencies when the going got tougher.
And glad you were able to catch up @Tommy4ever , I'm happy the writing was good enough to convince you to read it all ! Let's be honest at the beginning I had far grander ambitions, but those evaporated with the Crusade (mostly my fault for letting myself brood over the result instead of trying to make the best out of this). And then I kept going to the end mostly through the game being very generous to me - the events of the last 2 updates especially are really what convinced me to turn this into an AAR even though I had never planned to do it. How do you not die out in such situations ? It really gave me the energy to carry on and really play again instead of rushing through the years as I had been doing, which is why you see some positive activity happening at the end of last update. In the end what happened was mostly determined by my feelings towards this game, but it felt so historically plausible somehow I thought it'd be a waste to let this rot on my HDD without ever sharing it