Shifting Tide: Universalism and Resistance, a 1596 GSRPG IC

[Mrmastro]

The liberation of Poland and the Vasa triumph
(1617)

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Victory, much desired in Kraków, was finally achieved. Rising from the ashes of the German Deluge was a man hardened by years of war and insuferable humilation, as great as it could be for a person of royal rank and dignity. Władysław, the heir of the Grand Ducal household of Gedymin; Władysław Jogaila, the harbinger of Lithuanian Catholicism; John III of Sweden and Sigismund III of Poland-Lithuania and Russia and countless others, be it Habsburg or Sforza princesses, now had to content himsellf with a status no better than the duchies of the Danube river, subordinate to the Sultan in Constantinople. His mounting frustration and ease of anger was overcome by his grand triumphs: the subduing of the Habsburg pretender Maximilian and enforcement of his senioral status in Ducal Prussia. It not only showed the supreme power over Poland-Lithuania owed to him: it were the deeds of chivalry that struck the greatest accord. Much from a young age had the Vasa boy been fascinated by military tactics, strategy, and technology, the so called ars militari. These were of great use during the crisis started by the deposition of the great conqueror of Muscovy, Sigismund III, and Władysław used these to his advantage, keenly observing the performance of the troops and his commanders, sometimes suggesting his own course of action and reflections on the art of war. The king, however, was deemed too young and too important to be left to his own devices on the field of battle, and it had been decided by the great elders of the Commonwealth, the senatores, that the monarch better keep watch of the battle from a hill rather than the frontlines: a much fortunate decision, seeing Władysław as the last Vasa heir, his cousin, Gustav Adolph, not being a descendant of Cathrine of Jagiellon and John III of Sweden, could hardly be seen as a true heir to the Royal and Grand Ducal domains. With no other kin to sooth over the anxieties of the Polish elites Władysław had to listen obediently, especially that his rule depended on their approval and good will.
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Władysław as a young man, in so called Polish dress​

The occupation of Pommerania, Greater Poland and Masovia, with it's capital Warsaw, and the subsquent stalemate that followed could hardly be rectified by military means, as much as the Vasa king would like it to happen. Insubordination, lack of command structure, noble pride, no funds and standing army all contributed to the great problem that all monarchs from the time of Alexander the Jagiellonian faced: lack of a true army. Archaic in it's essence, the Polish-Lithuanian domains depended in it's time of need not on standing armies, seen in the Habsburg domains or France, or well paid condottieri of the princes of Italy, but on the pure birth and bravery of it's noble levy. These showed time and time again, starting in the Thirteen Years war (1453-1466), that no true Renaissance monarch could rely on medieval tactics and organisation. Lacking in sophistication, these levies contributed to the severe crisis of the military structure. Unable to use a true military, seen in other kingdoms, the Jagiellonian monarchs resorted to the refuge of nobility: deception, prestige and diplomacy, overhelmingly the last one. Sigismund the Old put these to great use resolving the Teutonic crisis that made his nephew, Albrecht von Hohenzollern, his vassal, and used the power of scheming and diplomacy to break the Habsburg-Muscovite alliance, ending their short flirt once and for all. Later king's followed suit, maybe less so king Stephen, the Batorean magnate from Transylavania, but the point and precedence stood: the domains, which the Vasa, after the fall of Sweden, called their new home, were built on a weak defensive position, both organisationally and geographically. It swiftly became a practical, though dangerous workaround: diplomacy and contentious interests of the Commonwealth's rivals had to be enough for it's monarchs to defend. It didn't mean that Poland-Lithuania had no army, it sure had and it was a force to be reckoned with, but it's fundamenals were weak for a stable political and military strategy.

In the grand scheme of things, this Jagiellonian born policy had to be used again with great precision as to reedem the land from more war and total apocalypse, only seen in the old books of the Scriptures. Further devastation served no one, and the shrewd senators saw it with the greatest hindsight. The war had to be finished as soon as possible to spare any more destrcution that could destroy the kingdom's potential even more and for more decades, annihilating the Vistula valley for Poland's future success. Some even doubted and deemed it was too late, though their innate patriotism and sense of being guardians of the country made them keep silent. First on the list was none other than Maximilian von Habsburg, once and again pretender to the Polish crown. Seeing no end in sight for the Polish stalemate and devoid of support from his Imperial kin he had seen recourse in the Jagiellonian strategy mentioned before. His offer, arrogant as it was, was seen as sensible by the chief oarsmen of state: compensation (with a title, without a land grant, not yet invested or specified), amnesty for his followers and free operation of the Teutonic Order in the Vasa kingdom. With the matter settled, Maximilian retreated to the safe space of the Habsburg domains, and that left one great enemy for the Polish-Lithuanian forces.
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Charge of the Polish Hussars​

Hohenzollern-Vasa relations deteriorated progressively during the reign of Sigismund III, their drastic culmination seen in the Hohenzollern invasion of Royal Prussia. A hatefull relationship developed, where the Polish camp saw the Brandenburgers as great upstarts and traitors, breaking their vassal's oath and attacking their liege lord, especially in a time of great need. This in turn was resembled by the Electors accusations of senioral ignorance, infringment on the rights and freedoms of a vassal, breaking of oaths and agreed on treaties. With tensions high and open war ongoing the conflict became very personal and vicious, with hate pouring from both sides. During negotiations, messengers rode time and time again to their camps, bringing their lords to cries of anger. Agreement was almost undone when the Brandenburger messenger told to the king and Polish magnate's assembled at the royal residence at Wawel Castle that the Elector demands Royal Prussia be added to the German domains. The king, easy to anger, proclaimed aloud that war will continue until the last spill of Hohenzollern blood touches the earth. That led to a great reaction from the Polish nobes, who shouted long and unrepentantly Vivat Wladislaw rex !, which showed to the envoy the great popularity the Swedish-descended king had among the nobility, especially ordinary middle and lower szlachta. Finally, calmer heads prevailed, especially from the bishop's side. After the Senate met on a emergency meeting, negotiations continued with a counter-offer from the Polish, with a suggestion of continued war, led the envoy to be more open to the king's offers. Some more rounds of back and forth followed, but these were minor inconviniences: peace had been finally made.
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King, Senate and the Chamber of Deputies together formed the Sejm
King in center, senators near him, the rest of the hall filled by the Deputies​

The Jagiellonian strategy once more showed it's true force, prevailing over brute might. One city was left defiant however and a kingdom still had an uncrowned head.

The double coronation and election Sejm had not been an magnificent affair, with the treasury empty after a series of devastating war's that left the neighbors of the Polish kingdom without suspicion about it's abilities, prestige or might. Wawrzyniec (latin Laurentius) Gembicki, in his capacity as Archbishop of Gniezno and Primate of Poland and Lithuania held the sermon as the formal interrex during the election phase of the Sejm, extolling the virtues of the king, his patriotism and devotion to God and for his subjects. He once more admonished the Polish-Lithuanian szlachta, both high and low, in the style of Piotr Skarga, about the dangers of discontent, disobedience and civil strife, words that reasonated mightily with the assembled after the recent invasions. Others, consumed by the spirit of Golden Liberty, remained weary of such regalist orations. Nonetheless, the election proceeded, though after recent events only a formality, and the szlachta unanimously elected Władysław, son of Zygmunt III, as their king and grand duke. The coronation, as mentioned before, was the next logical step, normally with the coronation Sejm a different affair happening after the electionary one. Difficulties of the last years led to the culmination of both of these, but it was meant to be only temporary, a breach in the proper traditions of the Commonwealth. The sermon was in essence the same, though more virtues of the new king were extolled, and proper warnings against a life of sin heard.
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Wawrzyniec Gembicki, Primate of Poland and Lithuania​

The coronation itself, being as it was modest for such a monarch, still was held in esteem by the attendes. Fanfare and general joy followed, some wept, some cried from excitement: the formalities were over, tradition upheld and now the Polish citizens, the szlachta, soil of the land, finally had one, crowned monarch, in the original Polish regalia stolen and now given back by the pretender Maximilian in the recent peace treaty. The finishing touch of the Sejm was holding court by the newly coronated monarch. Petitions were heard from the interested parties, more importantly than that however the king enacted his first, very own, policy decisions, not just enacted by his advisors like before. One of these was the abandonment of the so called for life Crown Chancellorship of Jan Zamojski. The practice, from the onset flawed, was something far removed from Polish-Lithuanian political life and never seen before. Reverence was paid to God, king and fatherland, not to public persons, even if rich or popular. It was not a suprise then that it quickly became a point of contention, especially reviled by the magnates of the realm, who, like the rest of the nobility, discontended themselves with such overemphasis on one of their own. Władysław acted with these informations, and quickly got rid of the troublesome arrangement, presenting himself as the guardian of Polish political culture, a move well seen by the noble massess.
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Stanisław Żółkiewski, Grand Crown Chancellor​

The now free position has been filled by none other than Stanisław Żółkiewski. He was perfectly fit for the role: a polyglot, thanks to the grandeur of the Zamość court where he mastered Italian, French and German, though Latin was still his favourite recourse (Ceasar being his favourite writer); very well educated (finished the Jesuit college in Lwów/Lviv), knew how to behave at court and on the field of battle. His mentor, Jan Zamojski, teached him the intricancies of politics, taking him to Paris for the encounter with Henry of Valois, future and short-lived king of Poland. Under the protection of the great magnate he also learnt the art of war. The next great mentor in this regard was no other than king Stephan Batory, who's personal secretary Stanislaw became. That great education and early life journey provided the future hetman with mastery of the feather and the sword, the last one especially. His early success led him later to greater heights, with the Russian campgain of Sigismund III being the, as of today, coronation of his military carrer. After that things have changed for the Commonwealth, with the insuferable defeats against the Turks and Russians greatly damaging the honor of the hetman. The promise of revenge, or at least partaking in the rebuilding of the kingdom, greatly reinvigorated the old statesman. His anti-Turkish rhetoric a boon to Władysław, who could comfortably disspel any rumors of him loving the muslim Turk. Of course the greatest advantage that it brought was the advanced knowledge, acumen and experience that Żółkiweski brought to the machine of state, now devoid of the Sigismundian ministerial system that so obediently answered to the absolutist tendencies of the late king. With the Polish and Lithuanian noblity vehemently opposed to any expansion of royal power, even so much that the abrogation of the Vasa ministries was included in the pacta conventa of Władysław, the monarch had to use the old system of traditional state ministries, which Żółkiewski now became part of. His candidacy could also be welcomed by his old friends, the Zamojski, now disheartened by the dynasty's cold shoulder showed to them by the recent actions of the king and rulling class. Now Żółkiewski could patronise his mentor's son Tomasz and heal some of the wounds opened during and before the war.
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Jan Piotr Sapieha, the greatest Lithuanian magnate (for now)
Grand Ducal Chancellor​

In the Grand Duchy a status quo policy was prefered. Knowing the power of hetman Sapieha, the royal court, now moved to Warsaw, made it abundantly clear that it rejects any kind of conflict with the Lithuania potentate's family. Inclusion in the Ducal machinery was the strategy. Jan Piotr, the greatest of the Sapieha, was given the Chancellorship of Lithuania for his service and achievements during the crisis. More importantly however, it was meant to pacify the overambition of the magnate house that already became a troubling sight. No one could forsee the consequences of Sapieha might, for now however the house had to be accomodated into the political system. Speaking of Jan Piotr personally, he did distinguish himself as a commander and skillfull leader for his soldiers, fighting the Tatars and Wallachians with his father, the Kiev castellan Paweł Sapieha. Certainly he was well educated, learning at the Vilnus Academy (till 1587), and later at the University of Padua. His greater accomplishment however was king Sigismund's war with Muscovy, for which he greatly agitated for at the recent Sejm's. The military talents of Sapieha saw great display during this war, and later on his experience helped him to succesfully fend of the Muscovites, Turks and Prussians, with the taking of Królewiec (Konigsberg) his major achievement. Nonetheless, Jan didn't possess the sheer intelect of his Crown counterpart, nor such a magnificent eduaction or erudition. Time would tell if he could rival him in politics, as at the military side it was obvious who had the upper hand (Żółkiewski of course). The rest of the Sapieha's were paid off with land or office grants. A deal between Sapieha and Vasa was struck, time would tell how long it would last. For now stability reigned in Lithuania.
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One obstacle was in the way of winning the peace, Gdańsk (Danzig), the defiant city. Usually, relations between the city and king had been amicable, even warm, with short interludes of conflict. Major freedoms were granted to the city by the Jagiellon monarchs, who cherished and guarded the Danziger merchants. Their priviliges left them with the power of minting their own coins and conducting their own trade policy. Substantial autonomy was granted to the townsmen, which practically meant self-rule. The wealth from the Vistula trade had been flowing, and the traditional compromise based relationship between the Jagiellons and their subjects meant that they didn't show any will or action to infringe upon these priviliges. The first major conflict happened in the 1520's, was short-lived and of small importance, religion and inner conflicts of the city being a prime mover. A royal crackdown followed, when Sigismund the Old had the instigators cut down for their transgression. Some anti-Lutheran edicts followed, by the same Sigismund, but their lax employment ment that Lutheranism could freely grow, even with some anti-Catholic actions to boost. That episode meant the end of conflict for many years, and could be seen as inner turmoil, not aimed at the monarchs themselves. Peace followed, with the son of Sigismund the Old, Sigismund Augustus granting a tolerance privilige to the city, where freedom of faith should be followed, in contrast to his father's policies. The first true conflict with the Crown was conflated with the election of Stephan Batory. Gdańsk, a grand trade emporium, was meant to benefit from trade priviliges upon the election of a Habsburg candidate, the first being Ernst von Habsburg, and later, during the election of Sigismund III, Maximilian von Habsburg, two-time pretender to the Polish throne. War followed with Stephan Batory and with no sight of victory for either side, compromise was reached, with Danzig holding and even expanding it's freedoms and priviliges. The hated statues of Karnkowski (1570), which subjugated the Danziger city council more thoroughly to the king, and formally monopolised the king's right to own the Gdańsk fleet, were abrogated, with Gdańsk agreeing to fund Stephan's war with the Muscovite tsar Ivan IV in return.
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Gdańsk (Danzig)​

This new conflict with the city, starting just after it's forces were defeated by the Brandenburgers and proclaimed their loyalty to Władysław before, came as a major shock to the king and his advisors. Time and time again the king's envoys tried to plead them to reconsider, promising all freedoms to be upheld, with time and time again being rebucked. With the lack of concilliatory attitude both sides prepared for the inevitable. After the conclusion of peace with the Hasburg-Hohenzollern coalition, Gdańsk was the last defiant force that stopped the Vasa to fully controll their Commonwealth. The Polish forces, hardened by years of battle, were ready to act upon their kings command. Swiftly moving in the direction of Gdańsk, hetman Jakub Sobieski set up camp before the city, with siege artillery shooting furiously at the rebell's. Possibly, under the right circumstances, the city would fall easily before the Vasa troops, alas nothing is given for free. Lack of a proper fleet once more proved problematic for the Commonwealth's military abilities, with the city given ample support from Protestant powers and magnates abroad through open sea lines. Time flowed and Gdańsk stood defiant, with no end in sight to the conflict.
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Danziger footmen, Court of Artus, Gdańsk​

This proved intolerable to the Warsaw court, which feared continued war and destruction. With funds depleting, a new strategy had to be taken, that of diplomacy. Once more, the envoys of Władysław agreed to uphold all priviliges and freedoms, uphold the autonomy of the city, with their own fleet and militia. This, combined with furious assaults of Polish forces and economic interests of the Crown and city correlating, lent ample room for negotiations. Finally, the city agreed to these conditions. With peace concluded, the Polish-Lithuanian realm sighed with relief. Now the ardous task of rebuilding was at hand, one that was happily greeted by the grandees, as well as commoners after all the devastation that the Antemurale Christianitatis had to suffer throughout these years.​

 

[DeMarcheese]

THE TREATY OF PRAGUE or THE CATHOLIC PEACE​

@John7755 يوحنا @ZealousThoughts @Zorakov

​

Having long dispute over the affairs of the empire and well-being of its peoples, it is known that a schism between Münich and Vienna have been sorely felt by the court at Prague and Christians alike.
However, following in the footsteps of those who defend the word of God as described by the Bible, we seek now to mend the rift and restore friendship and brotherhood between good Catholics as it ought to be. With clarity of purpose and unmoved resolve, we declare the following:

i. That the Catholic League be disbanded and its former members be returned to the fold of imperial law as it were before.
ii. That all members of the Catholic League shall not be prosecuted for their previous transgressions in the defense of Catholicism and shall demonstrate their good intentions by renewing their oaths of loyalty before the imperial throne.
iii. That Bavaria remains the foremost champion and protector of good Catholics across the Holy Roman Empire. As such, soldiery and arms in sufficient number shall be provided to Austria should the frontiers of Christendom ever come under threat by the aggression of the Turkish hordes.
iv. That Bavaria shall become sole ruler and administrator of all Tyrol and the affairs of its peoples by imperial mandate under the aegis of an imperial governorship.
v. [Redacted]
vi. [Redacted]​

All of these entreaties and clauses, sworn by oath and agreement with the Holy See as our witness, signed by those listed above, in Prague at the present day.

[_]Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia.

[X]Duke Maximilian Wittelsbach of Bavaria, by the Grace of God.​

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[John7755 يوحنا]

Robert Devereux, the Captain-General of Ireland
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Upon the death of Queen Elizabeth and the ascent of King James, the unease in the Three Kingdoms of Scotland, Ireland, and England were palpable. Religious tension, fear of royal mandate descending from Scotland into England, and discontent with the Elizabethan order had thrown the country into a lingering storm ready to burst and in early 1616, the realities in the Three Kingdoms came to a head with a series of orders and missives dispatched between the Captain-General of Ireland and the King, James of House Stuart.

Loyalty to the monarch in England was always, as is anywhere, shrouded in corruption and deceit. Many officials were disloyal and when a monarch promoted those who were disloyal and sought to appease factions without reference to correct loyalty, then mischief was to thence occur. Queen Elizabeth for years had sought a policy of keeping her enemies near her, keeping them close to her court, she managed to control them and halt their advances and scheming, both in Parliament and in the nobility who sought to aggrandize power. She distributed properties, feigned humility, and pitted foes against foes in order to dampen resistance. However, she began making possible errors by permitting Catholic Englishmen to migrate to Ireland; deportation of English Catholics into Ireland played a major role in sending potential dissenters and and wealthy partisans into a land where they could scheme and plot away from the ears of the English crown. Compounding this situation was the use of Robert Devereux, a long known ambitious individual and strong foe of the ascending Stuart monarch. The two situation combined created a brewing cauldron of dissent within Ireland that grew for several years, reaching a pinnacle in late 1615 and burst to the scene in 1616.

For several years Robert Devereux organized support from local Catholic refugees from England, courting them and receiving their support, both strengthening his own rule and bolstering the English Catholic community and nobility that had settled in and around Dublin, creating a veritable magnate class in the vicinity of the city. Robert Devereux courted these English Catholics with grants of property, grandiose dining on royal budget, and providing them internal appointments within Ireland, creating a fiercely loyal class of officials to the Lord Captain. Oddly too, English Catholics and Irish Catholics aligned on dislike for the Spanish/Habsburg reconciliation. Irish and English Catholics alike found much dislike for the Spaniards who, in their view, ended the cause to save England and supported their causes, only to then betray them at the opportune time, creating resentment. Therefore in a chance and complex system of diplomatic intertangling alongside internal complexities, Catholics in Ireland found much alike with Whig and radical Protestant opposition within London against the current royalist regime of King James.

All things came to ahead as rumors entered the ears of the king in London, they said that the Robert Devereux was scheming, plotting and conjuring up resistance against the king. James sought to see the matter resolved through bringing the Lord Captain to London and or his family. In either case, Devereux fabricated ways in which he could not arrive, claiming illness of himself, his family, and other excuses that would stall for time. After consecutive failures to see Devereux present himself before the king and assume a promotion in London (an effective execution order of his political career), the king issued a fateful decision.

Calling forth the Prince of Wales and proclaiming him Lord High Steward, a trial of Robert Devereux was summoned and transpired. Robert Devereux was accused of treason, rebellion, consorting with the French king, and promoting religious sectarianism deleterious to the order of the crown. Sir Robert Carr was thence appointed Viceroy of Ireland and would company the Duke of Lennox commanding a Royal Army to arrest Devereux and restore order in Ireland. Perhaps more fateful was the action taken against subject of the King of France. News and rumors had been swirling and many notes of evidence suggested that the King of France and or his officials, had been funneling money into Ireland , creating a surge of anti-French sentiment from the royal court. Taking upon themselves thus, the royal court proclaimed the rebellion of Devereux to be the working of the megalomaniacal new French monarch, Louis XIII. Arrest orders alongside deportation writs were released from London and French subjects were ordered to present themselves before officials and await deportation. French merchants were intercepted, detained and sent back to French ports, creating a rising crisis and standoff between the royal navies of both kingdoms.

In Ireland, upon news of the decrees, Devereux took action. Rising up with an army of loyal English Catholics, Dublin was occupied by Devereux who then issued a series of grievances. Beginning with treacherous alliances to the Habsburg, followed by suppressing royalty and nobility, and ending with the expulsion of English Catholics and refusal to adhere to the law of Parliament, Devereux claimed to possess the means to restore the English crown and countered James with a statement that King James was a rebel against God Above. Alongside the ongoing Imperial Diet of Nuremberg, finally visited by an envoy from England seeking an Imperial Election, the English crown and the French crown seemed destined for conflict or war.

King James of England, 1616
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@Velasco , @Sneakyflaps , @ZealousThoughts , @Vitalian , @Zorakov , @Vald

 

[Velasco]

From: King James, Supreme Governor of the Church of England
To: Paul V, Bishop of Rome @John7755 يوحنا
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PRIVATE.​

One Lord, one Saviour, one Spirit, one faith, one baptism, one body, one church. We have devoted our life and royal career to the pursuit of Christian unity. While our doctrine is marked by strong divergence, Whitehall and the Vatican have been united these many years by the joint dream of reconciling the wild princes and stray children of Christendom back into a single universal church in service to the one God, Lord and father of all. To this end we have spent long hours, weeks, months, years, conversing with the most protestant of protestants and most roman of romans, even entertaining the marriage of our beloved daughter with the Russian grand duke, all for Christ and his church.

For this reason we matched our precious son of York to the Infanta of Spain, and for this reason we have stayed our hand from the forceful pursuit of religious unity, our princely right in accordance with the principle of cuius regio, eius religio and the penal laws of this our crown of England.

Yet now we see our kindness has been taken for weakness.

The Roman Catholics among our subjects emerge now as a danger to our very life and crown. They array themselves in support of that traitor, Devereux. Your dutiful right-hand, France, supplies them with gold and arms to cause unrest and permit the Bourbon their way in Europe.

We have been counselled to divorce our son from the Infanta and to begin the immediate application of the penal laws to punish Roman Catholics wherever they are to be found within our domains. While we are loathe to proceed so severely, it is clear the current state of affairs cannot be tolerated and changes will have to be made regarding the treatment of Catholics in our realm.

First and foremost, we would take it as a gesture of good will if you would reaffirm the immediate excommunication and anathema of all those now taking up arms against us (Art. VI of the Concordat of Dublin, 1601), including His Grace the King of France, his lackeys and intermediates.​

 

[Franzj(bear)]

Joachim Frederick leading his troops in Prussia​

The economic revival
The year saw further reforms made by the Elector to both increase revenue and the authority of the Elecor over his domains. The Estates dominated by the nobility sacrificed their political rights in return for economical rights. This was guaranteed by the Brandenburg recess years prior to 1616. One such reform that represented this change would be the statute of labourers and wages. Large and small land owners are forbidden from settling anywhere other than what the local signeur allows, this be either the Elector, Junker, princely official or where the town corporation allow. Under this settlement, nobles and officials would not be cheated of revenue. It would also encourage people to not live beyond their means. ​

The Dutch connection
Negotiations with the Dutch and Brandenburgers would see the purchase of a modest trade fleet to expand Brandenburg's trade interests. Dutch experts would also be hired for projects relating to canal building, land reclamation and further augmenting the Brandenburg bureacracy so that the administration may be the envy of all of Europe. These experts would also serve as teachers, educating future nobles and officials in princely schools across the state. These schools would adopt a curriculum reflecting the needs of the state. The Joachimsthal Gymnasium (built in 1607) for gifted boys was one example of a school churning out capable administrators and bureaucrats. As stipulated in the Brandenburg recess, preference was given to natives of each locality as to promote strong ties between the Elector and the nobility. Below depicts the Elector visiting Joachimsthal Gymnasium. ​

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Berlin postal service
In the year 1616, the Elector would found the Berlin postal service. The benefits included a soft increase in the reach of the Elector throughout his realm. The Hohenzollerns would keep their practice of progresses throughout the realm to make the presence of the state known. The introduction of the postal service however would allow this presence to be felt through the written word like never before. Commands and missives could reach their intended recipients with a speed never before seen. The service would be operated chiefly from those disbanded soldiers that served as riders during the war for Prussia. The service was also one that could be used by all in the land who had the means to send letters. After the rebuilding in Prussia was concluded, the army would be dispatched to Brandenburg proper to help further improve the waterway economy. They would be instrumental in assimilating the postal service with the canal-network system that had been in place for some years now. The postal service would also be free to run in Prussia, strengthening the Elector's ties there.

Investiture as Duke of Prussia
The first investitutre among his subjects as the Regent of Duke of Prussia followed all the correct protocol afforded to the Elector of Brandenburg. This service would reflect the revitalised state of Brandenburg-Prussia, harbouring a new dawn for the state. Various commemorative medals would be handed out among the colourful assembly and chamberlains were on hand to toss out medals to the crowd gathered. All gathered to swear an oath to the Elector. Officials representing the administration of Brandenburg were also among the estates gathered. On a raised platform stood the Elector, draped in a luxurious scarlet cloth. Below were the senior ducal officials bearing each insignia of the office including the ducal crown, sword, sceptre and field marshal's baton. The infirm Duke Albert Frederick of Prussia was also present at the occasion, here the Elector would embrace both him and the Prussian Eagle, symbolising the harmonious relationship. The oath of fealty was made to renew and perpetuate the antiquated relationship between sovereign and subject. The representatives of the estates and the officials swore that they would never under any circumstances break from this hallowed bond. They made these oaths kneeling, with their left hand across their chest and their right hand held out. The thumb and two forefingers extended, symbolising the Holy trinity. The other two digits folded, the ring finger representing the precious soul, invisible to man, only known to God and the final finger representing the body, that which is smaller than the soul. This ancient act confirmed the subordination to God and the Elector, a relationship heartily embraced by onlookers. The Elector was recognised as their rightful Sovereign and one known to defend their rights and privileges.​

 

[John7755 يوحنا]

The Banner of the City of Prague

The Dictate of Deposition
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In the aftermath of the death of Emperor Mathias and the ascent of Ferdinand II as King of Bohemia, the Diet of Prague sought to defend what they saw as their rights and liberties. Initial overtures began in Prague to Ferdinand II with the formation of the Conference of Prague which drafted a collection of demands for Ferdinand II for his observance and submission. These dictates included a demand to remove the Trentine Doctrines from Bohemia, promotion of religious tolerance within the Kingdom, acceptance of Diet legislatorial power in Bohemia, and recognizing the electoral nature of the Bohemian kingdom and its constituent vassals within the Bohemian crownlands.

Demands issued from the Conference of Prague would be wholly unacceptable for Ferdinand II and his commissars were dispatched possessing legal documents refuting the claims of the Diet. Indeed, legally, the Diet of Prague had little to stand on, but they would have little interest in laws or precedence. Emboldened by Imperial contestation in Nuremburg and by their own perceived military might, the Diet of Prague would harden their stance against Ferdinand II. When Imperial Commissars arrived in Prague to issue the demand for a 'grand entry' of the rightful king into Prague, the Commissars would be thrown from the window, the so-called Defenestration of Prague. The throw would end in a thud that would be heard across Europe as it heralded an 'Edict of Deposition' issued by the Diet of Prague, decreeing, without legal precedence or right, the deposition of the current king Ferdinand II and declaring a Regency over Bohemia until a new king be elected. Passing forth the gauntlet, war had now erupted between Bohemia and the Habsburg domains. However, even though the Bohemian Diet broke from the Habsburg, the situation would be complex, as the German speaking and overwhelmingly Catholic populace in the kingdom rallied behind support for the 'royal order.' Civil war and general war was upon the land and the Holy Roman Empire shook in its wake.

@ZealousThoughts , @Zorakov , @FatLeek , @Franzj(bear) , @Sneakyflaps , @Muskeato , @Mrmastro , @Velasco , @baboushreturns , @ChineseDrone , @Vald , @Tyrell , @adriankowaty , @DeMarcheese

 

[Franzj(bear)]

Orders to the Kurfurst Guard
Standing army is to assemble at their muster points. 5,000 men are to assemble at Berlin. Joachim Frederick will address the officers and men before being dispatched to Bohemia. They will be under the command of John Sigismund Hohenzollern. From Berlin, they will march to Prague via Silesia (accepting recruits to bolster numbers) and await further orders from Archduke Ferdinand. Any recruits gathered along the way for regular service in the army will receive the regular benefits afforded to Brandenburg regulars, including but not limited to a regular wage.

This signed by Joachim Frederick Hohenzollern, Elector of Brandenburg etc... 1617

Hohenzollern seal
​

 

[Zorakov]

[X]Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia.

Click to shrink...

 

[John7755 يوحنا]

Sun Chengzong, Headmaster of the Hanlin Academy
​

As the Manchu pressed southward to make their mark and the empire convulsed into chaos and rebellion, the Central Court silently quaked beneath the surface. Wei Zhongxian had held the Imperial Seal in his right hand and a knife in his left for nearly a decade, commanding the Central Court, he attacked his enemies, promoted his allies and slew anyone in his way. Under the pretense of empowering the Emperor and deposing the Donglin, Wei Zhongxian had gained near hegemonic power over the country, and his efforts had seen the ascent of King Fu as the legitimate Crown Prince and the exile of King Chu to the Guangdong Province. However, his rule had alienated many, most notably Qian Qizhen and the Western Pacific Army in the west that continued to rebel mightily against the Great Ming.

Wei Zhongxian's hold on power began to deteriorate steadily after the White Lotus Rebellion and the siege of Beijing in 1614-1615, as his chief ally, Zhu Zhuofan, the Commander of the Imperial Guard was slain by White Lotus rebel, and his ally, Liu Xu, the Mayor of Beijing, died of an illness in late 1615. Attempting to reassert his position, Wei Zhongxian supported the Hanlin Academy, supporting Qian Qianyi and Sun Chengzong, the heroes of Beijing. Viewing these two men as requiring his patronage to succeed, Wei Zhongxian felt comfortable supporting them and appointed Sun Chengzong as Headmaster of Hanlin Academy and granting him a role to advise the Central Court on martial affairs. Likewise, Wei Zhongxian appointed Qian Qianyi as Commander of the Imperial Guard and tasked him with crushing rebels in the city and extinguishing Donglin-thought.

These appointments would be the first true misstep for Wei Zhongxian, as he supported a new clique who had loyalties to the Crown Prince, King Fu. The three men, King Fu, Sun Chengzong, and Qian Qianyi, had become sworn brothers in 1614 in secret and made an alliance to 'restore heaven, destroy evil, uphold justice.' King Fu chaffed under the overmighty Eunuch, seeing the Overseer of the Gentlemen of the Palace as a dangerous figure who corrupted the empire. Generally, King Fu preferred to enjoy drink, sex, and dance, but his dislike for Wei Zhongxian was rooted in a kind of animus towards the break of heavenly order. From the view of King Fu, he as the Crown Prince, had to cultivate the vices in order to understand righteousness (Daoist principle) and that he mimicked the ancestors of old by his action. The ancestors however never needed an overmighty eunuch who did not understand the proper hierarchy of ruler to subject. Qian Qianyi and Sun Chengzong meanwhile were students and eventual leaders of the Hanlin Academy, both had held positions in the provinces and knew of the plight of the people and of the officials, they understood that justice was needed and heaven was angry. Therefore the otherwise unpolitical Hanlin Academy was urged to action, for the support of Heaven, for Heaven had punished the world for the breach in decorum and hierarchy.

In the opportune time, just as news of the Manchu approach into the Inner Wall was made known, the plot erupted. Seeking to give prayers to the sickly Wanli Emperor, King Fu entered the Palace by permission of Wei Zhongxian, a mistake. Wei Zhongxian found himself busied with the ongoing rebellions in the west and the Manchu invasion to the north, for once ignoring the affairs of the palace, allowing a blindside to emerge. King Fu entered the Imperial sanctum and thence after disguising a knife in his sash, slew the Imperial Notary and took pen and wrote a decree to arrest the Overseer of the Gentlemen of the Palace and appointing another eunuch, a certain Wang An as the new Overseer. In the Palace, the various checks that Wei Zhongxian had placed in defense of his efforts to suppress palace affairs were 'unleashed.'

The so-called Hakka Family, a powerful family of eunuchs and wet nurses that had supported the rising of Princes and were known to command discipline in the palace at the behest of Wei Zhongxian, heard of the action discretely and attempted to suppress King Fu. However, before the Hakka eunuchs (armed with clubs and bludgeons) could reach the Inner Palace to capture the Prince, he had fled through a secret chamber and the edict escaped into the city reaching Qian Qianyi, who as Imperial Guardsman followed the order. Wei Zhongxian residing in the Taipu Temple, supervising ceremonies would be raided by the Imperial Guard after Wang An and his eunuchs opened the door into the Forbidden City. Wei Zhongxian would be promptly captured and the Hakka family attacked and their entire family eradicated in two nights of bloody slaughter. King Fu would return to the Palace with Sun Chengzong and a collection of ministers who would present a memorial to the Wanli Emperor asking for his permission to allow them to rule the state affairs and he rest easy and promote divine isolation.

The victory of King Fu and his brothers would shake the Empire, as King Fu would assume high position in the state commanding its affairs alongside Qian Qianyi and Sun Chengzong. However, the various allies of Wei Zhongxian in the capitol and the province would not sit idly and would need to be quelled, the tragedy of the Great Ming was not over, not in the slightest. Manchu forces continued to press and talk of rebellions across the empire continued to pour into the official channels in the Forbidden City.

Qian Shizhen, Western Pacific General​

Ascending to supreme power, King Fu began his new power by appointing Sun Chengzong as Mayor of Beijing and consolidating his power by utilizing xenophobia. Suggesting that Wei Zhongxian and problems in the empire were caused by the pollution of red-haired barbarians, namely Europeans, King Fu argued that their expulsion would ease issues across the empire. Prioritizing this, King Fu further rejected factionalism, arguing all factions unite around expelling barbarians and reunifying the country. Immediately upon the release of periodicals, the city of Beijing erupted into riots, as commoners angry over famine, epidemic and chaos found a scapegoat for their frustrations. Riots were supported by the Imperial Guard and the rioters attacked the sole Christian church and cemetery in the city, breaking through its walls and massacring the inhabitants. Jesuit escaped the city by cover of night and protection from sympathetic merchants who ferried them away safely. Dutch merchants in the city would also fall prey, attacked and lynched, none would survive these rioters, only the few Italian painters in the Palace would survive the mayhem and week of massacre of European foreigners and their converted Christian Chinese allies.

The measures however did not wholly save the affairs of King Fu, for dispute with the Wei Faction continued. Hoping to keep the Wei Zhongxian ministers in place, King Fu promoted reconciliation. However, the Wei Faction was less than prepared to surrender without stipulations. Arguing that the Donglin-suppression policies must remain, the King Fu would reject these overtures, alienating the Wei Faction which would en masse resign from their ministerial roles and flee the capitol. Meanwhile in response, Qian Shizehn would send his offer to surrender and offer to protect the empire from enemies on all frontiers, an offer accepted by King fu who bestowed on him the title of 'Dragon General.' Peng Yujie would also submit surrender as a former Wei Zhongxian partisan, yet, Si Tongfang, the governor of Shandong with a significant number of former Wei Faction supporters issued a decree rejecting the authority of King Fu and ushered in a rebellion in Shandong, one the Ming state would need to deal with.

More worrisome however was that the chaos in Beijing was met with similar crisis in the climate. A breach in the Yangtze caused significant flooding in the Huguang province, causing much mayhem. A stone mason in Huguang and leader of guild of masons named Gong Wencai bemoaned the crisis. Stating that Heaven is in Peril, and Denizen Must Rise Up, Gong Wencai declared a rebellion and rose up a flag of conflict after tax collectors attempted to collect tax from the area around Donting Lake. The rebels amassed a force of 600, attacking the local patrols and stealing weapons, after which they assaulted a garrison on the lake, wherein the garrison force, sleeping and gambling surrendered without a fight, absoribing themselves into the rebellion. Many of the local garrison forces around the lake would respond, having received no pay in over a year and relying on gambling and day jobs, often stone working, they attacked their lieutenants leading to what is known as the Dongting Incident, wherein a mass mutiny of some 3,000 Ming soldiers saw the destruction of Ming order around Dongting Lake. The Dongting Rebellion would see Gong Wencai form a major threat to the Ming cities along the Yangtze and a need existed to crush the rebels as soon as possible.

Further threats also emerged as Zheng Zhenming and his Doctrine of Unity continued to preach action to restore the love of God on all of the World. Rebellions were becoming ripe and now the lands heaved and the Great Ming struggle to save itself while also fending off foreign encroachments from the north, south, west, and east.


@DarkLordSauron , @Qastiel , @Vitalian , @ZealousThoughts , @Zincvit , @Fancy Face , @rudy2d , @Skeleton Dandy , @Red Robyn

 

[Sneakyflaps]

The First Few Months
​

As court came to a stop during the month of February 1616, none would have expected the events that would unfolded over the next many weeks. Already the court came to a screeching halt as the hunting party that had departed with the king, heads held high and in good spirit, came broken back. The king had been carried, rushed back to Fontainebleau after a fall from his horse while partaking in his favourite pastime in his favourite home. If there was ever a place for the king to depart in, Fontainebleau would be it. The fittingness of the location failed to impart upon the French court, who was wholly unprepared for what was to come.

Good King Henri, as he would later be called, was an aging man and as such it would only be a matter of time. He was however a man in good health, and despite his age, was active and full of life as could been seen by the very hunts he undertook. He was a beloved sovereign, and the country was not just stable, but prosperous. He was loved, and he was a steady hand which had guided the ship of state. He had fathered an heir, who while past the age of the regency, remained a young man not yet twenty and as the king's health remained strong, it was hoped the heir would future mature and gain wisdom before taking the rains. That the king was thus carried into his chambers, physicians rushing to his aid, and all matters of politics coming to a standstill came as lightning from a clear sky.

The old king clung on to life for several days, holding out for the inevitable as the physicians kept applying their trade for little effect. Slowly, the court would fill and fall more silent as it dawned on even the lowest of servants that they now all awaited for the passing of the Pacific King. The Dauphin for his part would be with his father, the two of them conversing first in the presence of councilors, and at last in private as the rest were banished from the king's quarters. The last words between the two would be lost to history, as the Dauphin would depart his father's side as the councilors returned. It was unbecoming for the Dauphin to be at his father's side at his passing, as it was unbecoming for a king to be present at the passing of a king, his ascension could not be shrouded in death.

The Late King Henri IV​

When the time finally came, it would be Sully and Lucon that led the ministers through the gilded halls of Fontainebleau, appearing in the chambers of the Dauphin and bowing before him, declaring him for their majesty. The old king had passed. It would be the same afternoon that the Queen Mother would likewise pay homage, followed by the rest of the royal family and the remainder of the court as the king would take his first council with the ministers. The king would be mourned as was per tradition, the mourning was to last a day for each year that Henri IV had so gloriously reigned over France.

It was a cruel twist of fate that the great plans of Henri IV, would fall to his heir, as only weeks passed before news would come first from the east and then the north. From the east came the news of passing of the Emperor, the great election over the heart of the Empire which Henri IV had so worked to prepare. From the north came the anger of the English. The matter which would dominate the court, would be those news from the East, as king Louis felt the legacy of his father press upon his shoulder, the lifework of Henri IV as Louis made the fateful decision that he would put forth his candidacy.

It was with great hesitation that the decision fell upon him, for he knew the risks and was aware of his own weaknesses. Yet, he also held a great belief in the destiny so presented by his father. The relations on the Rhine, the requirements of the Protestants… they would see him through or at the very least that was the belief that was held in Paris. It was a dream that was shown to be unable to become reality. The Protestants proved more argumentative to French tastes, while the Archbishops save for Trier that is kept high in favour and love by the king, proved equally fickle. Though even so, it remained a question for some time if the election would be split between king Louis and the Archduke. The envoys of King Louis worked ceaselessly to ensure his election, and for a moment it even looked as if the election would be contested, yet all of it would be put to rest as the king would play host to envoys of the Archduke.

King Louis XIII of France​

The envoys would be hosted, with all honours due to their rank as they expressed the wishes of their master. They would find common ground with His Majesty. Both the king and the archduke sought to prevent a further fracturing of the Christian world, and as such would find common accord with one another as the Archduke carried the majority of the electorate. Despite such a fact bringing great hurt to the young French king, who would have to content himself with the knowledge that he sought to live up to his father's legacy. The two signed an agreement, in which King Louis conceded to the Archduke, withdrawing from the election, which was swiftly carried out in the Diet.

As the matter of the Imperial election was finally put to rest, King Louis would for the first time in his reign focus his attentions solely on the garden of Eden. He would no longer entertain the ideas of the Empire, he would no longer busy himself with matters of small foreign princes. No, now was the matter of France that which he made his sole purpose and guiding goal. He would live up to his father's legacy, he would surpass. He may not be able to fulfill his father's dream, though he would be greater still. At the very least, that was the promise that he made before God.

As such the matter which would take center stage was the developments along the Channel. Whatever may, or may not, have happened in Ireland, the French court would naturally deny any involvement. The greater issue in these matters would be the rash and unreasonable response by King James. The English had treated the merchants and people of France with such injustice, cruelty and harshness that it could not simply be overlooked. Before the whole of Europe, the king of England had so sought to disgrace the king of France. There was no doubt that by such heavy action, the English court placed the blame upon France for their own poor policies and the unhappiness of their subjects.

To simply accept such a change to the status quo, such a treatment to the French merchants, would be to accept the accusation that the French Crown had indeed involved itself into the affairs of Ireland. It was a position that would be unacceptable. As such, while the final plans for the coronation would be laid, as envoys from the King of Denmark arrived with a desire to mediate peace. King Louis would give the order to the Ministry of the Marine to prepare themselves to retaliate with equal measures against the English, and if need be, exceed them.

 

[John7755 يوحنا]

The Expansive Continent of Africa

The Affairs of the Great Saadi Caliphate and Western Africa
​

The emergence of the Saadi Caliphate began we could argue with two events, firstly, the victory over the Portuguese king Sebastian in 1578 and the 1590 Moroccan conquest of Timbuktu. Both of these great feats occurred under the visionary first Caliph, al-Mansur. Al-Mansur would further see the extension of Saadi hegemony over Mali, Djenne, and with his subordinate commanders to the south, Ahmad ibn al-Zanjur and Judar Pasha al-Franki, rebuff the remaining Askiya rulers who commanded the Upper Niger River Valley. These remaining Askiya rulers were divided and often at war with each other as much as warring with Morocco. Furthermore, the Askiya would suffer wars with their former rivals, the Hausa peoples to the east and from the warlike Mossi who lived to the immediate south. Under such circumstances, Caliph Bashir al-Din ascended with more or less favorable situations. Relative calm in the Sahel would allow his wars against the Sublime Porte and his presumed greatest feat, the conquest of Algiers, yet the southern problems would find a way to drag the Caliphate back towards attention.

For a brief few week sin 1616, the Caliph Bashir al-Din mused at the possibility of outfitting fleets to explore and conquer lands to the west beyond the sea in the lands that the Franks called America. Stiff opposition to these plans were heard across the Caliphal Palace, many suggested that the true issues of the Caliphate remained firmly in Africa, where many peoples still failed to follow the correct form of Islam, clinging onto syncretic and mystical interpretations. Indeed, the Saadi Caliphate was a realm now built upon its particular brand of Maliki Sunni Islam, suggesting a firm disapproval of most Sufi Lodges, and desiring a more strict observation of Shari'a law, without permitting other kinds of 'bidaa' or innovation within Islamic creed. Both within the rural areas of Morocco and in the vast southern expanses of the Caliphate, Islam was not observed correctly or not followed at all and in some cases even greater humiliations were seen, in how the Great Fula, a pagan domain, exacted jizya from Muslim.

In the south, the Saadi Caliphate ruled over the majority of its population, with millions inhabiting its various vassal states, tribes and protected cities, a territory exceeding the size of Western Europe and only exceeding in territorial scope by a few powers on the planet (Ottoman Empire, Russia, Great Ming Dynasty, and the Spanish Domains). Chief of its cities was the bustling city of Timbuktu, home to a large population that had swelled over the last two decades, reaching a population of 107,000 inhabitants by the year 1616. Timbuktu was ruled by a dual commandery led by the Pashalik of Timbuktu, and a ceremonial puppet ruler Askiya Badr Kanbu. In 1612, Judar Pasha al-Franki perished and was replaced by a certain Mahmud al-Longo, a member of a new ethnic group called the Arma who emerged around Timbuktu by self-identifying as 'servants of the Caliph.' In 1615, the Pashalik faced off against raids from the Great Fula, whose fearsome cavalry remained a threat, yet, the growing size and maneuverability of the Saadi Caliphate's subject peoples allowed it to use a combined effort of Tuareg, Arab, and Malian fighters to rebuff the Great Fula, which saw success in 1615, with the defeat of several Fula war parties reported across Mali. Mahmud IV, the Sultan of Mali and vassal of the Saadi Caliphate remained loyal and continued his efforts to resist the various Fulani peoples to his west and to try to extend control over the various Mandinka peoples. Mahmud IV however did not instate the religious reforms of the Saadi Caliphate, instead establishing Sharia and then permitting all creeds of Islamic thought to debate freely, while adhering to an official dogma of Maliki legal opinion and submission to the Saadi Caliphate.

Mahmud IV, Sultan of Mali, vassal of the Saadi Caliphate​

Scholars in Fez of the Saadi promoted creed would preach against the wearing of golden ornaments beginning as early as 1607 and by 1616, these ideas would reach Mali and Timbuktu. Various notables and chiefs serving the Saadi Caliphate were ordered to relinquish their golden ornaments and begin to replace these with more holy items. Orders such as these and or religious legal advise were wholly rebutted by Mahmud IV, who sat upon a throne of gold and wore a rich assortment of gold. Gold, the most precious item of Mali was richly adorned about the whole of the realm and the people, even commoners, wore golden items. Nevertheless, Berber and Arab religious advisors suggested with vehemence that gold had been banned in dressing of men and was only permissible for women and that women even had to be covered as best as possible. The religious advisory debate was countered by Maliki scholars who were of a more Sufi and or less legalistic bend, they suggesting that the wearing of gold was a cultural practice and that wearing of gold for the Arabs was different than the wearing of gold for the Mandinka and Mande peoples. Mahmud IV would be greatly appreciative of moderate scholars and promoted them in opposition to those oriented towards Morocco, creating a lingering dispute against Timbuktu, where chiefs, emirs, and subordinates were forced to surrender golden items that were then pressed into currency and sold into the markets.

More important than the issue of gold however was the emergence of a united Askiya front along the Niger River. Askiya al-Amin, the ruler of Lulama successfully slew his cousin, Askiya Harun Uthman, the ruler of Dendi and united most of the Askiya clans and the Songhay tribes around himself. Commanding a powerful war party, he fought in early 1616 against the Mossi, defeating them and capturing 1,000 slaves from the Mossi. Afterwards, Askiya al-Amin invaded to the east, taking slaves and loot. Returning to the city if Lulama, Askiya al-Amin formed an even more powerful war party, commanding mercenary from the south, alongside his own people. Hearing of the developments, Ahmand al-Zanjur, Emir at Timbuktu, a slave warrior and appointed emir for the Saadi Caliph dispatched himself and an army of 9,000 fighters to sack Lulama and disperse the now united Songhay.

Ahmad al-Zanjur would face the Songhay near Lulama, with the Songhay bringing to bear 32,000 fighters, however, none using firearms. Despite having a technological superiority, the Songhay would effectively use a combination of rapid cavalry flanking with infantry charges to disrupt the Moroccan force. Despite initially seeming to have the edge, a stray spear smashed into the uncovered face of Ahmad al-Zanjur, breaking through his face and extending out from the other side, killing him immediately. The sight of the dead commander sent the Caliphal army into a panic and the Songhay would culminate it into a route, slaughtering many and taking 745 fighters as slaves and castrating 13 lieutenants and sending them back to Timbuktu carrying their severed genitalia. Victory of Askiya al-Amin would be followed up by his war party march against Djenne, which surged in rebellion, supporting the Askiya, causing a general crisis in the Pashalik. News of the events travelled rapidly, reaching the capitol of the Caliph, who tasked a new army to be dispatched to deal with the threat as rapidly as possible.

The Great Mai (King) of Bornu
​

Since the year 1578, the Bornu Kingdom, also called Kanem Bornu, had been ascendant and in 1611, with its defeat of the Great Funj, had become even more powerful. In 1614, Ibrahim III ascended as the new King of Kanem-Bornu, and established himself as a worthy successor of his grandfather, Idris Alooma, the reviver of the Kanem Bornu realm. Ibrahim III established his realm by focusing on building a centralized and skilled court in emulation of trends from Egypt and the Ottoman Empire. Employing a group of 40 eunuchs, 10 Islamic scholars imported from Egypt, and taking the title of Saint-King, Ibrahim III hoped to establish himself as an enigmatic branch of the Sublime Porte, emulating developments in the east and opposing both the Songhay and the Saadi Caliphate. Egyptian advisors arrived to aid the King and sponsor his reforms and aid him in his frequent dispatch of Hajji from his lands to Mecca.

Ibrahim III also hoped to Islamize his kingdom. Despite vigorous efforts by Idris Alooma, 1576-1602, the kingdom remained overwhelmingly traditional in religion, with Islam found only among the ruling elites, Arabs and a minority of the Kanemba people, the ethnic group from which the kings of Kanem-Bornu were apart. Islam was popular among the pastoralist communities but less popular among the sedentary peoples, who maintained the power of their idols and rituals, yet, all submitted to the powerful Saint-King who embodied holiness and martial splendor. Ibrahim III therefore to convert his realm, began building several new mosques and giving freedom to establish new Sufi lodges across his domain, hopeful that these would lead to the spread of Islam. In emulation of the Egyptian Diwan at Cairo, the Saint-King further issued bans on various legalistic ideas from the Saadi Caliphate and also on Shi'ism, despite evidence of neither being present in his domain.

In 1616, the Kanem forces raided and pillaged about Nigeria in an rhythmic fashion, acquiring bountiful loot and booty that was then transported along the Fezzan trade routes, reaching Egypt. Kanem envoys further were dispatched to Sennar to reestablish relations with the Great Funj amidst the Great East African famine in an effort to rebuild the slave trading enterprises that supported both domains. Kanem-Bornu flourished in this period through both its development of a more stable monarchy based around a holy Islamic monarch and its trade and political relationship to Egypt and the wider Ottoman Empire.

​

Dutch traders paying homage to Oyo king Ajagbo, 1616

Since the defeat of King Ohuan of Benin in 1607 and the rise of Oyo king Adipa, the most important event in lower Western Africa was the rise of the Oyo Kingdom. Using their trade connections with the Spanish-Portuguese to acquire guns, the creation of a fearsome centralized military system including a standing army of so-called legionnaires and heavy cavalry, Adipa formed a kingdom to be reckoned with. Adipa's successir, Ajagbo ascended the throne in 1612, and established himself as a warlike leader beyond even his father. Creating a title adopted from the Portuguese called 'Field Marshal' Ajagbo asserted his sacredness by commanding armies in the field and fighting his enemies as a 'great man, vital and strong.' Under his rule, the cult of the war god was expanded and shrines were dedicated monthly in preparation of the various campaigns Ajagbo waged.

In 1613, Ajagbo conquered the kingdom of Sabe and the kingdom of Ajango, and began raiding for slaves into the immediate west, attacking the newly emerging kingdom of Dahomey. The rise of Oyo in the region would spur on the emergence of a more centralized Dahomey, which would under its first king Do-Aklin build a central palace and found a new army of standing fighters to oppose the warlike Oyo. Despite the development of Dahomey however, the Oyo would turn its attention in 1615 to the east and the rich lands that lie there. King Ohuan of Benin still ruled but his reign had been permanently damaged by the loss of prestige incurred by Oyo and their Portuguese allies. Forced to allow the Portuguese to trade on the coast, Ohuan had hoped to restore his legitimacy by waging war against the people to the north, a venture that had only limited success. Ajagbo would begin dispatching envoys to Benin in 1614 demanding Ohuan pay tribute in slaves and other goods that Oyo needed, claiming that the 'Field Marshal requires fish to launch march on the Nupe,' a request that Ohuan rebuffed. Ohuan characterized himself as a fertility god and claimed that his 'son in Oyo-Ile was unfilial and should pay respects to his divine father by sending a shipment of Portuguese guns as payment.'

The counter claims of tributary mastery would culminate in a new series of Benin-Oyo wars that erupted in middle 1615, focusing on the Elkiti mountain range. Oyo would carry the day generally, capturing many towns and villages along the Elkiti range and then striking the Ife people, subordinates of Benin. However, the hills would allow Benin to form ambushes near its edges and thereby halt Oyo cavalry movements, thereby creating a stalemate that would last into 1618. Oyo forces however would succeed in travelling down the Ogun river and reestablishing their hegemony on the southern coast, capturing two Dutch forts and forcing their members to surrender as vassals of the Grand Marshal and providing tribute in exchange for keeping their forts. Oyo's extraction of tribute from a wide range of lands would become a major impetus in the emergence of travelling mercenary from the north, seeking their fortune serving local leaders and villages in order to present a defense against the powerful kingdom and its strong military, a phenomena known as warbands developed as fighters travelled from place to palce seeking fortune and fighting in the name of various tribes and leaders against the powerful emerging kingdoms, or indeed serving said powerful kingdoms.

Saika Shah, the Padishah of Iran and Master of the Uzbek

The War for Iran 1616
​

In 1616, the Uzbek conquest of Iran and the other various conflicts attached to that continued to intensify. Saika Shah had stupendously conquered much of Iran, but the resistance of continued Qizbilash partisans had dampened their success and slowed it down considerably. Additionally, the invasion of the Balkh region by the Great Mughals further diminished the gains of the Uzbek, especially compounded by continuous rebellions from various nomads in the east and the ongoing war with the Kazakh. Saika Shah relied on nothing but warlike skill and martial prowess and in 1616, as his enemies hoped to take advantage of his seeming decline, Saika Shah decreed from Herat a general strike on all directions, dispatching his armies to crush the enemies on every front. Gathering vast resources and converting all the reserves possessed would be required for this grand campaign set, a campaign that would exhaust the Uzbek and their subjects, causing an exacerbated famine to erupt across northern Iran and lower Transoxiana, as the food stuff to supply the armies led to a collapse in the already fragile farming communities about the region. The Uzbek horde, however, with perhaps a final surge, would descend and ascend in all directions like a terrible swarm to slay its enemies and reaffirm their control over their new grazing space, eradicating the very peasants that supported them if need be.

The Haydar Ali Khan, the leader of the Afsharid had been forced out of Yazd in 1615 by Saika Shah, but as Saika Shah transitioned east and prepared his war against the Great Mughal, Haydar Ali Khan saw an opportunity to once again strike. Hearing of the many rebellions that were constantly being squashed by the Uzbek in the Ray region of northern Iran and hopeful of his potential with the so-called 'Miracle of Qazvin' Haydar Ali Khan launched an expedition to attack the heartland of Iran and liberate it from the Uzbek. This force numbered some 29,000 fighters and represented the best fighters still available to the Afsharid. Baring the banner of the Safavid, they established their army as a restorationist force, driving out the demonic nomads and reestablishing correct and stable order across Iran. Saika Shah indeed was focused eastward, leading most of his forces towards Balkh, yet before he left, he redirected a force of 26,000 to strike the Afsharid, perhaps foreseeing the action by Haydar Ali Khan. This 'Uzbek' force was made up primarily of the Utar Nogai and by various Turks who had been subdued by the Uzbek in recent years, yet led by an Uzbek commander named Khwaja Ala' Uthman.

In the ensuing campaign Haydar Ali Khan would cement a legacy for ferocity in combat, engaging the zealous Uzbek host that surged from the north to face him. Khwaja Ala' Uthman led a fearsome host of fighters, but they were tired from marching from the north and the Afsharid relied on spies in the enemy ranks to give them ready notice of the affairs of the Uzbek army. The two armies would meet at the Battle of Khosf near the city of Birjand after the Uzbek had chased the Afsharid army southward, ransacking village after village on their descent. There, Haydar Ali Khan had used a rouse that the Uzbek themselves were familiar with, the feigned retreat. Moving rapidly and seeming to flee, the Nogai and Turks felt confident in their victories and took on an increasingly arrogant stance, but more importantly, their vast herds that maintained their army became ever stretched out behind them.

Perhaps by skill or luck, or divine providence, a certain fakhir named Rahim al-Din al-Qazwini rose up with a collection of bandits, Sufi partisans carrying club/bows/arrows, and various ruffians and attacked the herds of the Uzbek force. Slaughtering horses, sheep, goats, and all manner and attacking the tents, the Uzbek fighters turned around and sent a force to crush these bandits. Sensing a possible edge, Haydar Ali Khan attacked with a charge of his Qizbilash bearing a flag that stated: 'The Slayer of the Prophet is in Hellfire' (referring to the revered wife of Muhammad the Prophet, Ayesha, a holy figure to the Uzbek). The oncoming charge sent men flying in the air, screams echoed the valley around the desert and the blood littered the ground as fighters from both sides were ripped apart and blasted with guns and bows. In the aftermath of almost 45 minutes of blood curdling fighting, the Qizbilash emerged victorious, with many Turk heads being held aloft by the Qizbilash who captured the various banners of the Nogai, setting them on fire in a large bonfire in the valley and then proceeding to massacre the Turkic lieutenants. Khwaja Ala' Uthman retreated but would be killed by his own soldiers near Birjand, who in turn took command of the force, placing the viceroy of the force, a Nogai named Yazid Quli Shah, who in turn sent word to the Padishah in the field, blaming all issues on the former commander. Rahim al-Din al-Qazwini would pledge himself and his assembled army before Haydar Ali Khan, proclaiming the need to wage jihad, a deal accepted, augmenting the Afsharid forces further.

Rahim al-Din al-Qazwini
​

Lala Quli Beg in turn led 20,000 fighters against Qazvin, which he set to siege. However, news of the Afsharid victory at Khosf would force Lala Quli Beg to retreat from the city and pack up the siege, fearing a Zand intervention. Pir Khwaja Muhammad, acting as the viceroy of the Padishah in the west would call on the remaining supporters in the area and began by reducing the pressure on Tehran. Granting the city of Tehran and Qom a tax holiday for tow years if they provided food for a single campaign, he received more support than otherwise was possible. Ismaili Daylamites further would join the army, numbering 2,000, they had been oppressed by the Safavid and had grown in support towards the Uzbek. Georgian & Armenian Christians who had been deported to the area also gave support, as did the local Jewish community, all hoping to see the success of the Uzbek in halting the advance of the Afsharid who would surely restore the old order that had oppressed them without Islamic Law. Nogai from Fars would also travel north and join the forming army at Tehran, which now gathered around 27,000 fighters and marched east to face the Afsharid that pressed from the east. Haydar Ali Khan in full zeal claimed to be the restorer of the Holy Family and the slayer of the nomad and marched west against the Uzbek positions in central northern Iran.

To the east, the Padishah Saika Shah sent word to Yazid Quli Shah accepting his action and ordering him to reform his army and attack the Rawafidh and slay them wherever they may hide. Thus, Saika Shah focused his attention on dealing with Afzal Khan, the Grand Vizier of the Timurid Domains who positioned himself at Balkh. Afzal Khan had accomplished much in the year 1613 by defeating Saika Shah in battle and dedicating his victory to the Padishah Khurshid Shah for the victory. The victory over Saika Shah had emboldened the Timurid forces who felt increasingly powerful in their military enterprises, however, they also increasingly were restless after four years in this foreign land. The cold weather at night, the dry heat in the day, and the seeming lack of luxury sapped the will for many of the Timurid elites commanding there force, who longed to return to the paradise that was their homeland. Curious however that Afzal Khan maintained unity int he force by reminding them of the duty to avenge the Timurid house by retaking Samarkand and establishing paradise in the north, as well as the south.

Victory of the Timurids however would seem to be increasingly difficult when news of the Roshani Movement continued to frighten many in the army. The Roshani had cut off many of the easy travel methods for Mughal envoys from Lahore to Peshawar to Kabul to Balkh. While supplies to the army were damaged in this matter, the more important casualty would be tribute missions. In order to sustain his current position, Afzal Khan essentially paid tribute to the Hazara tribes in order to ensure supplying of food and to stymie the efforts of the Uzbek to marching southeast, yet, without connections to Hindustan open, this transit of treasure and tributes to the Hazara whittled away. Therefore, an immediate action was needed for the Mughals to secure the transit from Hindustan to Balkh as soon as possible. Knowing this matter, via messages, the Governor of Lahore, Wazir Khan requested aid from the Padishah Khurshid Shah to strike the Roshani with a full campaign.

Padishah Khurshid Shah responded appropriately and gave orders for an army of Mamluk and Roman Guard to lead a campaign with Punjabi fighters and Sikh to subdue the Roshani. Placing Hakeem Shaykh Ilam ud-Din Wazir Khan in command of the army, an assembled force of Mamluks, Roman Guards, Punjabi levies, and Sikh numbered around 22,000 fighters. Wazir Khan marched north to destroy the Roshani, and would be joined by Ganja Ali Khan and his force of 1,200 Shi'ite Kurds. The first confrontation occurred near Rawalpindi, which saw the Roshani driven backwards by the powerful Timurid force, which then marched upon Attock, the HQ of the Roshani movement. The Second Battle of Attock would see Aluddin Roshan face against Wazir Khan, with 15,000 fighters, who resisted mightily. In the end however after a month of siege, the city would fall and the fortress of Attock would be demolished and the timurid forces massacred the locals inside. Alauddin Roshan would be captured and enslaved, sent back to Agra. However, the Roshani continued to resist, under leadership from Kamaluddin Roshan, who led the remaining rebellion from the city of Mardin to the north. Wazir Khan would then lead a protracted incursion to suppress the rebels in the hills and mountains about Mardin, while also reinforcing Peshawar, which was attacked by various Pashtun raiders. The hill forts of the Roshani resisted well and the progress would be slow throughout the year 1616, yet Wazir Khan had managed to open some paths to Peshawar, but at high revenue cost for the Padishah Khurshid Shah.

Wazir Khan, Governor of Lahore, 1618
​

All of these efforts in clearing out the Roshani however were protracted as the Mughals wiped out entire villages, creating further resistance that in turn elongated the period of war. Meanwhile, Afzal Khan required immediate aid, aid which he would not truly receive; exhausting his last bit of treasure to pay the Hazara clans to support him, he decided to find ways to strike the Uzbek. Presumably, Afzal Khan had hoped to outdo the Uzbek by relying on their disunity and supporting the Tajik rebels, but their treachery and the, albeit perhaps brief, unity of the Uzbek peoples behind Saika Shah hindered the policy of Afzal Khan, who struggled to secure a lasting victory over the Uzbek. Now, the Uzbek arrayed with a massive force of nomads before Balkh and positioned himself to defeat the Timurid force once and for all.

Afzal Khan was outnumbered and therefore hoped to rely on his canons and heavy armor to outdo the nomads. Marching forth with his host in the Third Battle of Balkh, the Mughal forces would skirmish with the Uzbek for around 2 hours before the Mughals began blasting canon fire upon the Uzbek positions, causing panic. Uzbek forces however would suffer initial losses, but began adapting to the slow fire of the canons and Uzbek forces began to notice that Mughal soldiers seemed unwilling to fire with their muskets. Despite Afzal Khan's presence, many fighters in the Mughal army refused to fire their weapons for fear that they would not have ample supply of gunpowder later and therefore be unable to use their weapon when returning to Hindustan. This lapse in judgement would allow the Uzbek to adapt to the canon fire and begin their strategy of enveloping firearm using armies. Fanning out into their tumen, the Uzbek moved to try and outflank them while striking from the center. Afzal Khan met this challenge by dispatching his heavy cavalry, that smashed into the Uzbek, once again shocking the Uzbek forces, beating them backwards, however, the enveloping move by the Uzbek with fire from bows would outdo the Mughal infantry, who, now finally firing their weapons would be at disadvantage in speed and without canons firing, the Uzbek cavalry were not containable. Afzal Khan realized the situation, having read about the defeat of Abbas Imam Shah of the Safavid and responded by retreating his heavy cavalryy backwards and using them to guard the flanks, while dispatching the remainder of the horse archers and Mamluk fighters, mostly Kazakh, to harass the Uzbek. This adjustment would save an absolute route, but Afzal Khan was quickly being enveloped and therefore decided to retreat, having held the day for a moment, his army retreated in an orderly fashion southward.

Saika Shah would continued the attack, retaking Balkh which surrendered without a fight to their original master. Mughal forces moved with speed to Kabul, but many of their soldiers would eb defeated in speedy missions by the Uzbek who would harry them back to Kabul. Hazara would then be attacked by the Uzbek, many of whom would be defeated rapidly in pitched battles in the valleys, causing many to surrender to the Uzbek. Mughal forces had secured a temporary respite by retreating, keeping their army, but the situation was still poor as the Uzbek retook the northern lands and now were free to strike and raid Kabulistan.

Pir Khwaja Muhammad, Viceroy of Iran under Saika Shah
​

As Haydar Ali Khan made his march, celebrations occurred in every village, heralding his march to slay the nomadic demons. Haydar Ali Khan however saw the desperation of the countryside, as famine was actively slaying the denizens, and horses were virtually extinguished from rural life as the Uzbek confiscated them with consistency from the peasantry to maintain their bountiful herds. People further resorted to violence in the rural areas, slaying Zoroastrians, Christians, Jews, and any Sunni Muslim, as the Afsharid army's soldiers, without command from their leaders, exacted revenge on these compliant aids to the Uzbek. In contrast the Uzbek forces led by Pir Khwaja Muhammad prayed to Allah for a victory, one that they were assured would occur after a period of lapses in success. Passing by from the northeast, Yazid Quli Shah and the Utar Nogai army moved west and sought to meet the forces of Pir Khwaja Muhammad before the forces of the Uzbek made contact with the Afsharid, creating a potential lack of syncing between the two forces in their effort to crush the Afsharid rebels.

The lack of syncing between the two Uzbek armies would delay their ability to strike the Afsharid force, which allowed their force to make way, not for Qom, as expected, but for Isfahan. If Isfahan fell, then the Afsharid would successfully cut off the Nogai in Fars from the Uzbek state based primarily in the north, and also reconnect the Zand and Qazvini areas back with the Afsharid, a frightening possibility. Therefore, Pir Khwaja Muhammad moved southward to strike the Afsharid forces moving towards Isfahan. Isfahan however would almost immediately open its gates to the arriving army and allow the Afsharid's protection. Pir Khwaja Muhammad's descent lacked forwarning of this matter and descended with confidence, only to be ambushed by the Afsharid forces, with the Uzbek vanguard crushed in the ambush, losing appriximately 3,000 fighters. Retreating northward thus, the Uzbek force was chased by the Afsharid, who now felt to possess the initiative, only to learn that the Uzbek force that they had defeated months prior, now led by Yazid Quli shah was arriving from the north, presumably to rescue and aid Pir Khwaja Muhammad.

Feeling once more confident and taking advantage of the situation and momentum, the Afsharid forces march to combat the Uzbek forces. Commanding a more combined force with infantry and cavalry, Haydar Ali Khan hoped to outlast the Uzbek force in a battle, taking a more defensive stance in the coming battle. In contrast, the Uzbek force would, while cooperating mostly, find itself in disagreement to ways to adhere to the conflict. The Uzbek leaders under Pir Khwaja Muhammad saw Yazid Quli Shah as a threat and a traitor, hampering cohesion in the army, thereby weakening their ability and lowering their morale. Without a sound strategy or cohesion the Uzbek forces typical enveloping strategy fell flat and the Afsharid force formed a defensive perimeter with their infantry and began firing volleys of arrows and slinging rocks at the Uzbek cavalry, while the Qizbilash, elite cavalrymen in their own right launched consecutive strikes outward to drive back the Uzbek and protect their lines. In the battle at hand, the Uzbek would be forced backwards, fearing the protections of their herds, falling back to the north, while dispatching requests for Rostam Khan to strike from the south. Further fears plagued Pir Khwaja Muhammad who saw the threat of the Qajar growing. Protected by Ottoman suzerainty, the Qajar had been free from the warfare and news had reached his tent that the Qajar had been raising and outfitting fighters and their entry into the conflict would ensure a defeat. Therefore falling back, Pir Khwaja Muhammad sent envoy to the Padishah requesting reinforcements and support against the ongoing crisis.

@Vitalian , @Velasco , @Nerdorama , @baboushreturns , @Graf Tzarogy , @Redtape , @Cloud Strife , @ZealousThoughts , @Vald , @rudy2d

 

[DeMarcheese]

BAVARIA - 1617

Bauernwehr (II)

Peasants learning riding formation, Landshut militärische Umschreibung - October of 1617

​

Nearly two decades into the new century, the relationship between Duke Maximilian and his erstwhile Habsburg allies was a reflection of the tumultuous state of the empire. Despite the recent rapprochement and newfound alliance, rumors haunted bavarian reputation in many german courts. Many questioned the nature and honesty of the allegedly mended friendship and gave room to accusations of greed and outright bribery. Indeed, Maximilian had ceased all public criticism of austrian and spanish inaction towards the protestant menace but his mood was noted to have grown somber and brusque.

To those living outside the courts and removed from the enlightened affairs of diplomacy, this was a step forward in the good direction if a bit controversial. Atop their pulpits, the catholic clergy celebrated the treaty between Austria and Bavaria as another success of true christian morality. Speaking of brotherhood and friendship found anew, they extolled the many virtues of catholic rulers who were able to put aside their differences to find peace for their subjects. In contrast, the image of unruly saxons and brandenburgers was presented as undeniable proof of the corrupt morality inherent to protestant dogma. Burghers and traders came to celebrate these events the most, for they now saw safe routes open towards Venice and into the italian mainland as well.

However, just as prosperity seemed a promise for today, tomorrow was mired in concern about war and strife.

Patience with the so-called 'tolerance' towards the protestant defiance came to a boiling point at the Diet in Prague, where the Duke became most vexed by what he considered foul trickery and mockery towards the divine right of monarchs. That the crown in question was none other than that of Bohemia and under the auspice of a catholic inheritor was no coincidence in the Duke's eyes.
Foul tempers and grim countenance dominated the bavarian court for the next year. The straw that break the camel's back was the protestant rebellion in the city of Prague itself.
War was no longer a somber topic discussed in hushed whispers at palace but rather a hotly debated topic in taverns, public squares and even churches.

Affairs in distant England, from where demands to the Holy See came forth, did little to pacify catholic fervor. It was in letter correspondence with his niece over events in that distant land, that Maximilian found renewed inspiration. First convinced and now resolved to have war, Bavaria saw the rise of a new peasant army in years prior. These levies took the name of Bauernwehr and were given the form of local militias, trained and readied for muster in times of great need.
Besides arms and discipline, one of the greatest lackings of peasant levies was ready access to cavalry. Often outrunned or overpowered by professional riders, large masses of commoners were vulnerable to the confusion and shock brought by enemy cavalry.
In a fortuitous mention, on a letter from his niece, some new strange apparel was described to Maximilian about modern english knights. Rather than the cumbersome plate armor, these men often of low birth tended to wear a single piece of protection for their heads with a breast-and-back armor. These descriptions, in addition to tales about the gallantry of croatian and hungarian hussars, gave birth to a new creature inside the Duke's imagination.

By late October, access to mineral reserves in Tyrol made readily available the forge of equipment that was once commissioned to other nations. Still, large purchases of steeds were made to hungarian horse traders. Three months later, enough material had been delivered to commence the training of new cavalry squadrons. Draped in their characteristic yellow uniforms, the riders sallied forth to the winter training fields.
Munich, Landshut and Straubing slowly expanded upon their bureaucracy to encompass villages and other rural areas offering manpower and resources but unable to sustain a good order of things. Thanks to local church registries, quick censuses were conducted and roll calls prepared adequately to age and able bodies.
In Munich, Maximilian addressed new concerns from the nobility by bestowing several titles of Inhaber, meaning owner or direct proprietor of a chosen Bauernwehr unit, among close supporters. These same units were formed along levy areas created upon administrative areas that mirrored previous fiefs of the nobility. Through the War College system, young scions of noble families were introduced to their allotted peasants for training, creating a new officer caste in the making. This way, thanks to limited intervention of the nobility as well as staunch clerical support, kept for the most part any troubles away.

Unfortunately, with all his energies devoted to the completion of these things, neither Maximilian nor his administration were able to effectively enact any changes upon their newly gained territories in Tyrol. For the most part, things remained the same as they were before in the newly integrated regions. However, there was already talk of cannons and other instruments of war at the capital that had many at Innsbruck seemingly warming up towards the Bauernwehr idea.

​

 

[Cloud Strife]

An Agreement to Facilitate Trade
Between the Tsardom of Muscovy (Russia) and the Kingdom of France


(Treaty language.)​

[Commentary: Negotiated in early 1617, an agreement was reached between Russia and France that would allow the French Crown to charter an overseas trading company with various trading rights in Russia. The Russians granted a decade long, renewable, general exemption from Russian customs payments for French traders trading at designated markets in Arkhangelsk, Novgorod, and Moscow. This was done in order to promote European trade in those cities. A decade long, renewable, monopoly on the export of Russian whaling products to Europe was given to the French. The Russians also allowed the French traders to hire Pomars living in and around Arkhangelsk as guides to show France's Breton whalers the rich whaling grounds of Spitsbergen.]

 

[Velasco]

The Question of Ireland
1615-1616


James Stuart, King of Great Britain

***​

In 1614, King James VI/I recalled Parliament. It was the second Parliament of his reign and intended as a "Parliament of Love", as the King said in his opening speech. The first Parliament of his reign, the so-called "Blessed Parliament" of 1604 had been called shortly after his ascension. While James had failed to push through the hoped-for union of England and Scotland, the Parliament had been relatively uneventuful and dissolved peacefully in 1610 after five sessions.

By 1614, James had ruled over England and Ireland for ten whole years. During that time, he had sought to build upon and strengthen the legacy of his Tudor forefathers. He had invested in making his court one of culture and erudition, toured the realm extensively (so his new subjects might know and love him) and laboured endlessly for unity among Christians everywhere. Abroad, he had pursued the path of peace, meddling diplomatically in continental affairs, cultivating a profitable foreign trade, acquiring Bermuda and Jamaica in the Caribbean, fortifying the Cautionary Towns in Zealand and investing in the colonial commerce of North America and west Africa.

His biggest asset was fairly simple: James Stuart was what his predecessors were not. England and Ireland had not had an adult man ruling as King since 1547. Since then women and children had sat the throne, with the spectre of religious revolution haunting every successive reign: even as Bloody Mary had loomed over Edward IV, Elizabeth loomed over her, only to dance in the long shadows of Isabella Clara Eugenia and Arabella Stuart in turn.

The Stuarts provided England and Ireland with their very first taste of a religious secure succession since the Reformation. Great Britain had its King, and in his son, a Prince of Wales. Bright, young and healthy, Prince Henry was sound of mind, body and religion. "Native English and fully British," as he liked to boast, happy Harry easily rivalled his father in popularity and indeed had much to recommend him to all three estates.

For now, however, the Crown imperial and body politic remained firmly vested in his father.

The England James had inherited had already been in the process of recovering from the injuries of Gloriana's final days. Peace with Spain and Rome had been signed in 1598, allowing royal authority to be reasserted over Ireland and, to a point, England. Foreign trade had begun to flourish anew, which had eased the Crown and the Kingdom's financial woes. Roman gold had helped on that front too. The expulsion of dissenters to Ireland - primarily Roman Catholic recusants, but at least theoretically also Nicodemites and Protestant nonconformists and separatists - allowed for at the least the illusion of religious uniformity to be entertained in England, its Church and court.

For a decade, James had sought to build upon the promise of his early days and make the best of the wealth and potential of his new kingdoms. Perhaps his great mistake was taking things at face value. His confidence in his being a capable male monarch with male sons (and from 1616, grandsons) in command of a realm at peace allowed him to be blindsided when the undercurrents of political and religious discontent began to swirl all around.

On the religious front, the Reformation had swung the door open for different interpretations of what Scripture had to say. There were differences in observance between the Kirk and the Church of England, and differences in thought about within the Church of England, with crypto-Catholics still hungering for Rome and Puritans pushing for further reform. English Catholics in Ireland sought leave to return home (which was, exceptionally, granted to a select few) and Catholics everywhere, beginning with the Bishop of Rome, lobbied King James to push against popular opinion and Parliament in order to grant wider-ranging religious tolerance for Catholics.

On the political front, the disruptions of the late Middle Ages had strengthened Parliament. The Reformation and print press also played their part in making the circulation of different ideas easier. There were more learned men than before and greater ease in the mass dissemination of new books, pamphlets, sermons and polemics - including ones disfavourable to the King.​

Prince Henry Frederick of Wales

***​

The 1614 Parliament of love was execpted to be easy and tranquil. Having lined his pockets with gold and silver from Brandenburg-Prussia, Spain, Rome and the newly created baronetcies, King James had no intention of asking Parliament for money. At least, not for himself. Money being the usual bone of contention between Crown and the Commons, James had envisioned perfectly smooth sailing.

The new legislation the King desired touched on three primary issues: the succession, the enclosure of public land and the prohibition of military service abroad. James wanted Parliamentary ratification that he would/ought to enjoy the same discretionary powers of succession as Henry VIII, particularly as touching the women of the royal house, marriage of royal heirs and potential disposition of the Throne via letters patent or testament. Recent disturbances in the Midlands made him keen to resolve the matter of public land definitively, and the perceived abuses of his Dutch and Danish allies made him keen to ensure England's manpower was not needlessly exploited abroad.

None of these issues were deemed particularly contentious and all had self-evident ramifications of national interest. It had been the King's intention to wrap things up quickly, then head north, call the Scottish Parliament, put the same matters to them, then assemble the Kirk in a general assembly and propose a new mixed model of presbyterian-epicospal government.​

Alas, life - or rather, wicked men - had other plans.

​

Sir Francis Bacon, Viscount Verulam, Lord Chancellor and Attorney General of England​

Resistance in Parliament had caught the King unprepared and completely taken by surprise. The vigorous resistance found a pretext for quarell in newfound royal interest in the Royal Navy.

The previous year (1613) King James had begun to devote greater attention to the maritime affairs of his realms. After years of neglect under Edward VI and Mary, Queen Elizabeth had made naval strength a national priority. During her reign English shipmen had viciously hurt Spanish trade as corsairs, destroyed the Spanish Armada and projected Gloriana's power as far afield as Cadiz, which they sacked.

James had reorganized the Royal Navy and Old Scots Navy into a single (de facto, but not de jure) force back in 1604-1605, but lack of use had allowed corruption and inefficiency to creep in. A royal inquiry of 1613 had remedied some of the worst of these ills, but greater action was needed. The Navy needed revamping, new ships, new cannon, new dockyards. And all of that cost money - money James had not imagined for one second Parliament would be fool or short-sighted enough to refuse.

Yet refuse they did.

The real issue was not, of course, desinterest in naval investment. Parliament used the point to attack the King's foreign policy, perceived as uncomfortably pro-Catholic. Parliament could not impede the unpopular Spanish match, but they could make things difficult for the King now. James had lately sought to benefit his Hohenzollern allies (Hapsburg-aligned, as he was) by sponsoring an attack on Denmark's newfound holdings in North America, the idea being to siphon off Danish interest and resources in a direct opposite to the battle fields of Poland and Prussia. The situation in Poland had changed abruptly shortly thereafter, but James and England had to deal with the aftermath of the attack all the same.

While James believed the move ought to appeal to a shared, patriotic sense of entitlement to the new lands across the sea, Parliament largely interepreted the move as an unbecoming attack on a fellow (Protestant) Chrisitian prince. What guarantee did Parliament have James would not use his new ships to attack Denmark, the Dutch or some other poor Protestant prince? What certainty did they have that taxes would not be levied only to see England bolster, directly or indirectly, the strong arm of Spain or Rome? The accusation that emerged was that the King sought to expand his navy in order to help his Hapsburg allies and attack the Protestant princes whose leader he had once been, or expected to be.

The King had responded by proroguing Parliament and then postponing the start of the next session, giving both sides time to rethink and regroup. External events got ahead of them. The uneasy start in Parliament favoured the circulation of material attacking the King and his policies elsewhere. From Ireland, the Viceroy Devereux sent a "recommendation" which rather read as an ultimatum. King Jameas was finally alerted that not all was well in that green Kingdom: on the contrary, the devil Devereux was slowly but surely marshalling his strength and - as soon emerged - was being backed by the treacherous French to the hilt.

In England, Peacham's Case emerged as another fruit of poison in the three. The case had seen a rogue preacher tried and eventually executed for treason (January 1615). Peacham had espoused the deposition and execution of the King, advocating for the end of the monarchy and republican rule by the Commons. In English law, to speak about the death of the King was high treason - to actively call for it and go about attempting to gather adherents to the idea (and accompanying end of the monarchy), was both high treason and blasphemy against the divine order. Exceptional in it's eccentricity, the case was also marked out as exceptional by the stance adopted by the Chief Justice of the King's Bench, Sir Edward Coke. The Puritan Coke took hold of the opportunity to poke at the King (this was not the first time the two sparred, Cecil having famously spared him from imprisonment preiously), with Coke now arguing that Peacham was a victim (of hearsay, rumours and slander) and within his rights to speak as he spoke.

It was a clear break not just with the King, but with the common and Parliamentary law of England.​

What Coke proposed was to make high treason legal - at least, up to the point of the King actually being stabbed and done away with.

Such a proposition was naturally unacceptable to the Crown and its legal counsel, headed by Sir Francis Bacon, an enemy of Coke's. The treasonous airs sweeping in from Peacham's holding cell and Ireland made Coke's stance all the more dangerous, and James and his circle considered it an act of great magnamity that Coke was only dismissed from the King's Bench and Privy Council, without any further action being taken against him.

The King favoured Bacon for his support of the union of England and Scotland, and the integration of Ireland into that union. Bacon's arguments that closer constitutional ties would bring greater peace and strength ressonated with James, who grew to trust in him. At the same time, Bacon enjoyed a reputation as a liberal-minded reform, eager to amend and simplify the Law. He was not above disagreeing with the King, opposing feudal privileges and dictatorial powers and religious persecution (while not much given to religious persecution, James was keen to preserve it as a legal possibility as a political tool to destroy dangerous rivals).

Thus, for the longest time Bacon (a devout Anglican) managed to stay in favour with the King while retaining the confidence of the Commons. He was not able, however, to overcome the stalemate of 1614-1615, when the Opposition blocked all military and naval funding until the King rescinded permission for Spanish shipping to use his ports. This Opposition was lead by the three newcomers James dubbed the Young Puritans - John Pym, a lawyer's son from London, Sir Thomas Wentworth, a baronet from Yorkshire, and Sir Robert Phelips, counselled by the now unemployed Edward Coke. James prorrogued Parliament for a second time, withdrawing to the country to size up the pros and contras of Spanish or Parliamentary gold.
​

Lord Dorset, better known as the Devil, Devereux​

The Viceroy of Ireland offered James (and perhaps Parliament) some much needed clarity. Robert Devereux, Marquess of Dorset had governed Ireland as Lord Lieutenant and Lord High Admiral of that Kingdom for almost the entire decade James had been King of Ireland. It was his reward for accepting the fait accompli of James' ascension.

The marriage of his eldest son Lord Essex to Lady Frances Howard (of the powerful Howard-Cecil clique) and the boy's youthful friendship with the Prince of Wales were also signs of royal favour. Young Lord Essex had been a companion of the Prince of Wales during his Grand Tour and was subsequently granted, by royal licence, a divorce to put an end to his unhappy marriage. Devereux's sister Lady Rich had also been granted a divorce about the same time, allowing her to marry her lover (Lord Mountjoy) and legitimize her bastards by him.

While intended as marks of royal favour, these divorces had perhaps affected Devereux negatively. The loss of family ties to the Howard-Cecil left him isolated and friendless at court and council. He perhaps foresaw the self-fulfilling prophecy of his dismissal on the horizon. The return of his son from Europe also meant James had no hostage to use against him. When James summoned Devereux back home, he first feigned illness and then burst into action, seizing Dublin and denouncing James as a rebel against God. James countered by sending an army across the Channel to install his sometime favourite, Sir Robert Carr, as Viceroy of Ireland: he (Carr) being the second husband of Lady Frances Howard, divorced wife of young Lord Essex.

The King readily perceived he needed to knock Devereux out at the knees. He named the Prince of Wales Lord High Steward of England and set in motion a trial, ultimately held in absentia, allowing for Devereux's attainder-by-verdict. James wanted to go further, however, and thus called Parliament back for a third session. Acts of attainder were issued against Devereux and his supporters, allowing the Crown to seize all of their property, rents and incomes and making them dead and forfeit by law. A bill of attainder made a man a pariah - unattractive to potential marriage partners and creditors alike, the King's intention being to isolate Devereux from potential new allies he might make in Ireland, England or abroad. The prospect of a pardon was not unknown to lure a man back into the King's peace. Meanwhile the Crown got back lands, sources of income and titles it could distribute to others. ​

​

The Addled Parliament of 1614​

 

[Sneakyflaps]

The Path to War
​

As the coronation of Louis XIII came to pass, the matter of England was the centermost priority of the French Crown as 1617 first came, and then began to pass. The early months of 1617 would see a flurry of diplomatic activity taking place between the Louvre and that of Whitehall, as envoys and diplomats aplenty exchanged words. In truth, for much for the discussions it seemed as if the two powers were edging closer to being able to find a common compromise between one another that would avoid war and even bring them closer together with one another.

The heavy French demands which started out, in part led by a desire of faith to see greater tolerance to Catholic akin to the royal policies of France, were quickly put down by that of King James and his court. All the while the English were more than amendable to see financial compensation given to the French traders. In truth, it was a common theme that King James was willing to go far further than had been expected in Paris. It went to such a degree that even King Louis would remark about the generosity of the English king in this matter, and what seemed to be his genuine desire for peace.

The overall terms that would be the closing statements were seen as generally favourable to that of France, at least in the eyes of King Louis. A matter that would no doubt be debated as wether the king should have accepted, depending on the outcome of the conflict or a decade from now when the consequences could be seen more clearly. For the agreements on the table would include trade, promises of continued tolerance in Ireland for Catholics as well as a general agreement towards an improvement of relations. What undid the otherwise promising agreement would be the same matter that had started the conflict, the relations between London and Madrid.

The King of France had originally sought to see the relations between those two realms done away with, a commitment from the King of England to see an end to the favour which the Habsburgs found in England. It was a policy that had seen the king of England come into conflict with much of Europe, all so that his second son could find a worthy marriage. No doubt other boons including that of trade, colonies and wealth were involved, but all of which had also come at the cost of the collision with much of Europe.

Devereux, the man who until a year ago had no standing in the court of France.​

It did however become clear early in the discussions that King James had little desire to break with that of King Philip. With the view of the French court that King James was too blinded by worldly coin to see clearly. It was however a matter which had to be accepted and accounted for at the Louvre. The French king would lessen his demands, instead wishing to see the use of English ports for Corsairs in the case of a war between Philip III and Louis XIII come to an end, as well as a commitment by King James for his neutrality in any such conflict. While it may have been far off in the distance, the overwriting policy matter of the day was to bring about the end of the encirclement which France had so been placed under by the pro-Habsburg alignment of king James.

While the king of England was willing to grant a promise to prevent the corsairs in such an instance, the matter of contention would be over the question of English neutrality. A matter which the English king balked at, as he saw in the eyes of Louis XIII, Philip III to be the among the closest of English friends. It thus raised the issue in the Louvre, that regardless of whatever else may happen, King James would remain aligned with the Habsburg to such a degree that he would answer the call of Madrid should Louis ever find himself embroiled in war against the Habsburgs. In many ways it was a repeat of the Italian wars where Francis I and Henri II had fought against the English as well as the forces of Charles V repeatedly.

The path to security would either come from war, or appeasement, yet the appeasement in such a manner was seen as risky as the retreat of French forces would ensure the defeat of the royal opposition in England. Should such occur, there would be nothing to halt the policy of King James to remain pro-Habsburg in his dealing with France. Thus it was seen as a necessity that the faction of Devereux was not merely decimated. Rather, his faction would need to be enforced so that a new policy could be drawn in Whitehall that would be more amendable to France. Or at the very least, until such a time that King James was willing to bring about a greater degree of guarantee to see English neutrality honoured. Not merely the provision of safe harbours for those that would seek to strike against France.

 

[Velasco]

The Price of Loyalty
1616-1617


James Stuart, King of Great Britain and de jure France

***​

The French embassy had been well received in Whitehall. Having discovered concrete evidence of French support for the devil Devereux, King James was aware that it was Paris - and Parisian gold - which was making his wayward subjects turn on him. The arrest order on French merchants was intended to cut off the lifeblood of rebellion - until it could be figured out exactly who, what, where, when, how, King James preferred to err on the side of caution and do everything within his reach to stop communication, promises and support going back and forth between Dublin and Fontainebleau.​

In a way, the French embassy was a positive response to this action, and opened up the possibility for a diplomatic resolution.

King Louis XIII made four demands of his northern neighbour: compensation for his merchants; a resumption of trade; a trade deal; and religious toleration for Catholics throughout Great Britain.

The first three points were readily conceded; the fourth was caveated on account of the ongoing rebellion and general ill-feeling in England against "Papists" (Catholics). It would be political death for James to take on Parliament on account of a religion which was not his own, especially when the new Pope was far from being his best friend and Catholic foreign powers were doing exactly what English Protestants always suspected them of doing: stirring up trouble.

King James also made a request of his own: French support, whether official or not, for Devereux must cease.

After long tomes on the value and virtue of tolerance ("It is only through the tolerance that true peace and prosperity can occur," said the Most Christian King, so heterodox and outlandish a statement that it shocked the Protestant James and was promptly denounced to any half-hearted Jesuit willing to listen), it seemed a deal was on the horizon.

King Louis, however, was seemingly emboldened by the prospect of an easy victory and sought to press his advantage. More demands were issued, longer and more numerous than before. The new list included a solemn promise to maintain religious tolerance in Ireland, despite the participation of Catholics in the rebellion, and a second promise to treat the rebels leniently, an immediate end to the Anglo-Spanish alliance, and the marriage of the King's eldest grandson to a French princess.​

Louis Jamesbane, de facto King of France
​

The proposed marriage alliance was perhaps the greatest concession imaginable. While the marriage of the Duke of York with the Infanta had been strategic and of great dynastic importance, he was not the future King of England: the half-Spanish, half-Papist House of York would serve to bridge relations between two worlds, but would never (ought never to) be more. What Louis asked was for a Roman Catholic Queen of England, a French Queen positioned from birth to sideline and squeeze out the lucrative Anglo-Spanish alliance and silence the now-unwelcome aunt-Infanta.

Through gritted teeth and foreseeing the headaches such a match would cause for his son, grandson and great-grandson internally, James had conceded.

Alas, Louis was hungry, and concession was not enough to sate his many demands.

There remained the issue of the Spanish alliance. Should the Infanta be divorced and sent home? Would Louis seek the expulsion of Spanish merchants? Oui, the Most Christian King would quite like that, but of course, he wanted more (Louis always wanted more).

James would not so unabashedly turn on an ally: the Infanta was now his blood and King Philip III an important political and commercial partner. Flanders had been an important ally to England of old, and for the almost twenty years since Gloriana first received Spanish and Roman envoys in ireland, the Spanish had held to their side of deals and proven true to their word.

What England could concede was a pact of non-aggression, and upon being further demanded by Louis, explicit agreements to not intervene in an apparently projected or desired Franco-Spanish conflict. The French asked now for fifteen years, not ten; the English preferred ten, but the stickler became "the problem of neutrality". It was not enough for the French for England to promise not to march (or sail) for Spain, nor even to deny Spain the commercial or military use of its ports during wartime. King Louis pushed for an explicitly pro-French position: having stirred up rebellion in Ireland and now extorting a dozen concessions with a knife to James' throat, he wanted the King to dance for him - which was to say, abandon the Spanish alliance, break with Madrid in such a way as to surprise and spite King Philip for maximum effect, and make itself as subservient and pliable a French satellite as might be imagined.

In return for what? King Louis getting everything he wanted and not stoking further the flames of the rebellion he had set in motion.

"Whitehall is not the Rhineland," King James told his councillors, "and I am not the Duke of Wurttemberg."

The French had found the point to press - the point on which James would not budge. Having extracted every concession they had demanded thus far, they had finally found the legitimation they sought for the war they had wanted from day one.

"We have taken up enough time, let us revisit the matter in a year or so," was the French line.

With Spain much entertained with the Dutch and the Empire collapsing upon itself, King Louis no doubt imagined himself ascendant: landing a resounding blow on England might remove an important Spanish ally and perhaps even result in a French alliance at the end of things. The immediate effect was perfectly contrary: his high-handed manner merely radicalized the hitherto complacent and peace-seeking James. James wanted to trade in peace, reform his Church and enjoy his grandchildren. France wanted him humiliated and dishonoured. His mother, that proudest of proud French Queens, had preferred to lose her head before she lost her pride. In the end, he was very much his mother's son.

Thus a state of war came to exist between England and France.

A new Parliament was called for and preparations made. In Whitehall there was talk of turning on the Dutch and focusing on pushing, full force, for a complete Spanish victory in the Netherlands that would free up the Army of Flanders; another idea was the summary execution of every French citizen found in any nook or cranny of the three Kingdoms. And as word reached Whitehall of Franco-Russian approximation, the matter of Princess Elizabeth Virginia's marriage once again demanded attention.​

​

Princess Elizabeth Virginia Stuart,
The daughter of Great Britain​

 

[Velasco]

From: King James of Great Britain
To: Francis of Lorraine, Count of Vaudémont, Brother and Heir of the Duke of Lorraine @John7755 يوحنا

Spoiler: Private Correspondence

The Crown of England would like to throw the full weight of its political, financial and military support behind the preservation of the Salic Law in Lorraine, ensuring that your rightful inheritance passes to you and not your niece Nicole. All and whatever England can do for you and your cause, we will.

To: Philippe-Emmanuel, Duke of Brittany, Mercoeur and Penthiévre @John7755 يوحنا

Spoiler: Private Correspondence

It is the pleasure of the Crown of England to double whatever you are presently earning and offer you a military commision as a general in our royal service. We would also seek to throw the full weight of our political, financial and military support behind the cause of Breton indepence, to be headed by you and your heirs in perpetuity as sovereign Dukes of Brittany, free of the Bourbon yoke. All and whatever england can do for you and your cause, we will.

​

 

[Velasco]

From: Charles Stuart, Duke of York, Albany and Stuart
To: Henri II, Duke of Rohan and Prince of Léon, Unofficial Leader of the Huguenot Cause @John7755 يوحنا

Spoiler: Private Correspondence

Beloved godfather, greeting. I hope all is well with you and yours. The outbreak of war between England and France gives me great concern for the well-being of our Huguenot brothers. We hear the Edict of Nantes is only irregularly enforced and life is often unbearable for Protestants in France. I fear war with Protestant England might place Hugeuenots under suspicion or greater pressure to convert or leave. As such, I would like to see what can be done for the Huguenot cause at this juncture? Should missionaries be sent, should more Bibles in the French language be printed? The Reformation must not be allowed to be set aside, fall by the wayside or victim to the ego of adolescent Kings. We pray and yearn for the day the Reformation will take all of France - and Navarre - by storm, turning men away from idolatry and Papistry to the true Reformed religion you and I, your dutiful servant and godson, share.

​

 

[Cloud Strife]

An Agreement to Facilitate Trade
Between Lands Governed by the Tsardom of Russia and the States General of the Seven Provinces



(Treaty language.)​

[Commentary: Negotiated in late 1617, an agreement between Dutch merchants and their Russian counterparts was ratified by their respective governments. For a ten year period, renewable, Dutch merchants were given similar trading privileges as to the French in the cities of Arkhangelsk, Novgorod, and Moscow to be free from the payment of customs to the Russian government. The Calvinist confession that most Dutch adhered to was at best Lithuanian and at worst wholly alien to Russia. Their religious ministers were banned from Russia without exception and the Dutch promised to handover to Russian authorities all Dutch clergy or tradesmen that violated this ban.]

 

[John7755 يوحنا]

Chagatai Khan, Founder of the Great Chagatay Khanate

Affairs of the Great Chagatay
​

The recent success of the Great Uzbek in Iran and a major part of their maintenance of feasibility during the declines of 1614-1616 was the stable relations that the Great Uzbek held with the Chagatay Khanate, which had gone unnoticed in recent years. In 1608, Muhammad Sultan, the Great Chagatay ruler since 1591 had rebuffed Simughr Shah and halted Uzbek expansion eastward and presented a serious threat to Uzbek rule in the region for the next two years. However, in 1610, Muhammad Sultan perished and the Great Chagatay Khanate separated into two segments.

On the surface, the Great Chagatay was a universal empire which claimed to rule the whole world under the auspices of Genghissid lineage possessing a divine mandate to rule the entire world. This agenda of world conquest however was subverted by internal matters, wherein the reality of the Khanate was abject decentralization and tribalism. For all the reforms undertaken by Genghis Khan more than four centuries prior, his progeny ruled a domain that was as much, or more disunited than the Mongols preceding him. Local sub-kings and tribal rulers controlled the various parts and cities of the khanate, while the Chagatai royalty divided important areas of the Khanate as their fiefs unofficially. Muhammad Sultan had been an unusually vigorous leader, commanding respect in the field of battle and in religious affairs. His unique combination of political, religious and martial acumen accounted for a period of prowess for the Great Chagatay. However, Muhammad Sultan knew his chief rival were the various dissenting nobles and clans within his rule, chief of whom were the Barlas and Churas clans, relatives of the Timurid royal house.

Hasan Sharif Barlas, was the strongest clansman in the Chagatay Khanate aside for those of the royal house, commanding a powerful army, while Yazid Emir Churas held the position of Grand Vizier and his family had held the position of chief advisors to the Chagatai rulers for the past two centuries. Form 1591-1600, Muhammad Sultan had favored the two powerful clans, but began moving towards royal centralization and achieved much of his goals by the year 1609, but his death in 1610 would avert repercussions for the Barlas and Churas clans. Ascending in his place was his two eldest sons, Shudja Ahmad Khan who ascended to rule in Yarkent, an ambitious and fearsome Khan and Abduraish Khan in Turpan (in the east on the border with the Dzungar and Great Ming), a frivolous puppet of local clans. Abduraish Khan was more interested in maintaining his wealthy lifestyle, hunting expeditions and trade with the Great Ming to worry about contesting the division with his elder brother and thus formed an alliance with Shudja Ahmad Khan to maintain the security of the wider royal house. Shudja Ahmad Khan however busied himself in shoring up his powerbase with an alliance to the Barlas and Churas clans.

Promoting royal authority and the Mongol legal codes over that of Sharia, Shudja Ahmad Khan attempted to reduce the power and prestige of Naqshbandi clerics, known in Xinjiang as Khoja. The Khoja all shared a lineage from Persian Naqshbandi missionaries to the region during the 1400s and had made their mark by revitalizing the Islamic community of the Khanate. Despite schisms of the Khoja into the White Mountain and Black Mountain lineages, Khoja of all kinds had grown into major community forces, commanding local influence with the public and with nomadic warriors wielding exceptional power. With their power, Khoja advocated the introduction of Sharia law into Islamic life and the ending of the yasik law of the Mongols which asserted the supposed superiority of the laws of Genghis Khan over all other legal systems. Shudja Ahmad Khan saw these efforts as detrimental to his own policies of royal prestige and power and thus curtailed them in his reign from 1610-1616. In addition to this, Shudja Ahmad Khan sought to continue to pressure the Uzbek, with raids and by supporting the nascent Kazakh Khanate against the Uzbek, sending them horses, weapons, and permitting the Kazakh grazing space in the lands ruled by the Chagatai.

Khoja leaders became increasingly opposed to the hostility towards the Uzbek and aligning with the vast assortment of clans and local nomadic warlords that ruled the lands, a plan was plotted to defeat the reigning Khan. Shah Farbih, a powerful warlord residing with a horde outside of Yarkand had served as a commander for the Chagatai for more than tw decades, but despised the Barlas and Churas clans and quickly moved towards siding with the Khoja. While on a hunting trip south to Sarikol in the south, Shudja Ahmad Khan would be attacked by soldiers paid by Shah Farbih, who overran the Khan and slew him and the Grand Vizier, Yazid Emir Churas. With the death of the Khan, within only 7 days, Shah Farbih took control of Yarkent and launched a coup establishing Kuraysh Khan, the brother of Muhammad Sultan as the new reigning Khan and establishing himself as Grand Vizier. However, within days of this coup, opposition emerged immediately.

The third son of Muhammad Sultan, Abdal Latif Khan, the sub-king of Yengi Hasar declared that Shah Farbih was corrupt and unworthy of the title of Grand Vizier. Instead, Abdal Latif Khan promised the powerful Khoja, Kasim Lala Imam to be promoted to the position of Grand Vizier in similarity to the Great Uzbek. With this alliance made, Abdal Latif Khan rallied an army of allies and attack Yarkend from Kashgar, defeating Farbih Khan outside of the city, beheading the usurper and pretender and ascending as Khan of the Chagatai. Abdal Latif Khan while fearsome politically, was otherwise a ruler who delegated most of his duties to the Khoja and or local clans, and opposed grand designs or traditional elites such as the Barlas or Churas Clans. Therefore in late 1616 after the three coups, Abdal Latif Khan would decree the expulsion of both the Barlas and Churas clans from the Chagatai Khanate, threatening them with death if they refused.

Hasan Shariff Barlas and the new head of the Churas clan, Afshin Emir Churas combined their hordes and counseled near Kashgar regarding the fortunes of their clans. Abdal Latif Khan possessed the support of the majority of the clans in the Khanate and affirmed the royal alliance with his brother, Abduraish Khan of Turpan and would be able to outnumber the might of the Barlas and Churas clans and if he won, their entire clans would be eradicated. Feeling the intensity of the situation, the two clans decided to do as their Dughlat predecessors had done in the 1570s, migrate to Hindustan, an arduous journey through war torn lands.

With the expulsion of the Barlas and Churas clans complete, Abdal Latif Khan consolidated the power of himself and his allies by sending offers of an alliance to the Uzbek and maintaining the alliance he currently held with his brother in Turpan. Islamic Sharia was declared the law of the Khanate and Yasiq was reduced to an 'advisory legal code' alongside frequent sermons by Abdul Latif Khan's Grand Vizier regarding the eternity of Sharia and its importance to be rigorously followed. Sharia however would not be without its detractors, especially in Turpan, where Uyghur notables united around their Khan to oppose any similar trends towards Islamic law occurred in Turpan.

Kokand, 1618

Affairs of Transoxiana & Kazakhstan
​

As the Chagatai Khanate stabilized into two separate sections, the Great Uzbek domains were under immense stress. Transoxiana was the heartland of the great domains of the Padishah Simurgh Shah, and thus bore a heavy burden on supporting the large armies that the Padishah had dispatched. Food especially was increasingly precious in the lands, as were draft animals to be used both for farming, grazing, and consumption. Any threat to their livelihood was seen as the most important threat to the Uzbek Grand Vizier, al-Sirhindi, who ruled as the virtual Viceroy for Transoxiana. Al-Sirhindi was among the most competent and skilled statesmen in all of the Islamic world, conjuring up support from Islamic scholars, tribal leaders, and from merchants with great skill, while also ensuring a moderating effect on Samarkand, reducing the impact of the militarist policies of the reigning Padishah, often issuing tax breaks and holidays to reduce stress. The most important of which came in early 1616, when, due to the new offensives emerging and the ongoing intensification of war against the various Shi'ite rebels, the Grand Vizier issues a broad removal of the property tax across Transoxiana upon livestock. While this tax reduction would ensure that the population would not suffer a famine for the moment, it also led to some division as some military emirs in the south felt that the Grand Vizier had abandoned the military goals of the Padishah and provided a poor precedence for future military expeditions.

In 1616, the other viceroy in the region was Pir Budaq Jahan, the Viceroy tasked with subduing the Kazakh threat, informally termed the Viceroy of Khwarazm from the city of Urgench. In the last 20 years, complete overrunning from the Kazakh had become less of an issue due to the breakdown in the authority of its reigning Khan, Esem Khan, however, the threat had only augmented in some ways. Kazakh disunity bred innumerable warring tribes an clans, that waged incessant raids across the boundaries into Uzbek lands, attacking herds and diminishing the food supply. Kazakh preying upon Uzbek foodstuff played a major role in the decision of the Grand Vizier to issue an end to property taxing was the consistent threat of Kazakh preying upon the livestock and food resources of Transoxiana and Khwarazm.

The disunited situation of the Kazakh had originally been seen by the Grand Vizier as positive, and the original policy of the Uzbek was to disrupt the Khan's authority, and thereby weaken his ability to wage a concerted campaign against the Uzbek, a strategy that succeeded in 1614. However, far from it, the disunity of the Kazakh had become far more intolerable as the hundreds of warbands that crossed the boundaries were impossible to consistently account for in the same way as an army which could be checked more easily. As such, the new policy came to be, create a new Kazakh ruler to both counter the authority of Esem Khan and to also begin to centralize the Kazakh so as to reduce their raiding threats.

Pir Budaq Jahan marched with a powerful force numbering over 20,000 into the Kazakh lands, raiding and pillaging across its breadth and challenging competitors. To the bemusement of the Uzbek however, the Kazakh fled from them and did not unite to fight back, but instead fled and tried to attack the supplies of the army. The frustrating campaign would last for several months before in the warm summer of 1616, the Uzbek army retreated to Urgench, having achieved little but destroyed the southern border zone and looted some 10,000 livestock of various quality and breeds. Esem Khan however had further diminished in his authority after failing to meet the threat, and therefore he and his horde fled to the Russian grazing lands wherein the Kazakh Khan made a unique agreement.

For the past century, the Russian Empire had played the role of the 'Great Khan' forming close relations with powerful nomadic groups through the provision of grazing lands, food, and local trade. Russian Imperial protocol created a network of procedure whereby nomadic peoples would be provided initial grazing lands and food in exchange for friendly relations. If the nomads then provided tribute, they would have access to weapons, direct trade with Moscow (horse caravans), and so-called choice grazing. Finally, if the nomads provided submission by dispatching an envoy to perform prostration, they received a military alliance and would be outfitted with Russian soldiers to aid in their wars. Considering his options and knowing of the experience of the Oirat, Esem Khan dispatched envoy to Moscow too provide tribute, which was followed by an official Russian delegation which proceeded through procedures to admit the Kazakh Khan and is horde into the fold of the Russian Imperial complex.

After months of negotiation and relations, in the summer of 1617, Esem Khan dispatched his son to Moscow with symbols of his rule and with a substantial tribute of horses, weapons, and livestock. Providing these as tribute to the Russian Tsar, Feodor II accepted the Kazakh as his vassal and decreed military support, food, clothing, and grazing space for the Kazakh Khan and his people, unleashing a new wave in Russian prestige and expansionism eastward. In prior years, the Russian Empire had been opposed by the Uzbek ruler Abdullah Muhammad Khan Shaybani, when the Uzbek supported Kuchem Khan and the Sibir Khanate, and now Russia was moving against the Uzbek.

The submission of Esem Khan however was not without dissent. Disagreeing with submission to an unislamic power, a certain tribal warlord named Mahmud Beg Argha came to Urgench and offered submission of his tribe to Pir Budaq Jahan and the Great Uzbek in July of 1617. Pir Budaq Jahan aided Mahmud Beg Argha and dispatched a force with him to conquer Kazakh lands and unite tribes. Mahmud Beg Argha would successfully wage war in the Fall of 1617 across the northeast of the Uzbek lands, conquering the lands from Issyk-kul to Lake Alaqol, uniting the tribes around the doctrines of Islam and jihad against inifdels and against the 'tyrant' (taghoot), Esem Khan. A gradual war of influence, a proxy war, was emerging between the Russian Empire and the Great Uzbek.

While the remainder of Transoxiana was embroiled in the affairs of Iran and the Kazakh wars, a spot of the Great Uzbek domain prospered mightily. The Ferghana Valley nestled in the northeast of the Uzbek domains was a fertile valley with fairly prosperous farming alongside fertile grazing space and cultured cities. While it had declined since the days of yore when the region spoke Sogdian and Tocharian, the land was protected by high mountains on either side and with Uzbek protection over the last two decades, the region had entered a golden age of sorts. Cities across the valley thrived in under the protection, as local grandees enriched themselves on trade, seasonal farmers enjoyed successful harvest for multiple years, and nomads traversed without fear of competition of threats. Khujanda at the entrance of the Ferghana prospered immensely, growing by around 29% over the last decade and becoming host to a burgeoning Naqshbanadi renaissance with sufi clerics carrying the word of Islam to far places through trade emerging from Khujanda. The old village of Bunjikath reemerged under Tajik settlement into a new waystation between Khujanda and Samarkand, quickly growing to a population of some 2,800 Tajik, 615 Uzbek, and 300 Kirghiz alongside some 1,000 slaves of various ethnicity. Secured from Kazakh raids by a regular Uzbek occupation force, the city of Isbijab stabilized into a center for horse trading and salt mining, growing to a large population, while the city to its south, Tashkent flourished even more mightily.

Tashkent, in a development similar to that of the Tarim Basin to the east, developed a unique culture of powerful Khoja which formed a subsect of the Naqshbandi movement known as the Yengisiyya named after the founder of the subsect in 1597, Yengi Yunus Khoja. Yengi Yunus Khoja having studied in Samarkand before arriving in Tashkent, argued that takfir (declaring a person an infidel), should be more limited and created a multiple step procedure by which someone could be considered a kuffar, assuming that they had already declared themselves Muslim. Key in this view was that Yengi Yunus Khoja considered it impossible to assume disbelief in a claimed Muslim without a 'sign from Allah.' For these views, some Naqshbandi braned the sect to be soft-Murjiyya, an Islamic strain of thought that argued a Muslim cannot discern the faith or credibility of faith of another human, even with clear wording. Yengisism as it could be termed, spread around Tashkent and became the most popular discourse in the city as, his legal ideas became popular with the Uzbek clans, nomads, and merchants residing within and around Tashkent. Tashkent materially also boomed, as trade between Isbijan, Samarkand, and Khujanda spurred on rapid expansion in population and mercantile wealth.

Further east, the twin cities of Akhsikath and Namangan flourished as entrepots to the east, and with the alliance of the Chagatay and Uzbek, a veritable revival of the Silk Road in the area had begun to emerge. Akhsikath was led by a guild of Tajik speaking merchants, the Imlar Uzbek clan, and a council of Khoja, who ruled the city with justice and esteem, while Namangan was ruled as the property of the Imlar Uzbek clan and by an alliance of Tajik speaking Khoja. In the furthest east, the city of Mavaranrh once again entered a period of renaissance after more than three centuries of decline. Famous for being the tomb city of the Kharakhanid royalty, the city became a site of Kyrgyz pilgrimage to the royal tombs, where the nomads and pilgrims paid respect to the ancestors and the dead under their syncretic Islamic faith. Around these mausoleum and tombs, a bustling trading nexus reemerged as the Chagatay and Uzbek tightened in their relationship, creating a true blend of Ferghana and Tarim cultural zones.

Important changes however occurred in the Summer of 1617 when the Barlas and Churas clans arrived into the Ferghana Valley, numbering 110,000 souls. The local leaders in the Ferghana welcomed the Barlas and Churas clans as allies and allowed them to settle down across the region. Both of the clans would aid the local leaders in subduing malcontents and in subduing bandits in the mountains of the Tianshan range to the south. Understanding the utility of these people and of their devout Naqshbandi faith, the Grand Vizier hoped to maintain both clans in the Ferghana Valley and dissuade them from entering Hindustan where they could provide support to the rival Timurid Dynasty. Therefore, the Grand Vizier offered them gifts and supplies, causing the host to slow its pace and settle in Ferghana, at least for the years 1617-1618.

Prince Yazid al-Ansar, 1618 & a map of Transoxiana

Affairs of the Uzbek Palace in Bukhara & the Nature of the Great Uzbek Rule
​

While the official capitol of the Uzbek domain was in Herat, no centralization of residences of governance had yet occurred and thus the Uzbek domain remained a sort of chimera-like empire in 1616. The official 'court' of the Padishah with its various court scholars and poets had been located in Herat, which acted as the capitol of the Padishah and the location for his war councils and the headquarters for the military elites. Thousands of Uzbek had migrated to the area around Herat, changing its appearance greatly, however, the city of Herat was far south and nearer to the dangerous military frontiers which still contained many rebels and warring tribes. Therefore, many dignitaries, and most notably, the Grand Vizier, and the royal family remained to the north of Herat.

The Grand Vizier, al-Sirhindi had set up his governing offices in the city of Samarkand and ruled from this city the remainder of the empire as the virtual Viceroy of Transoxiana. Al-Sirhindi focused on the maintenance of a wider 'imperial' policy and the implementation of Sharia law and supporting the efforts of his Padishah by keeping stability in Transoxiana under control, and coordinating the affairs of the empire as a whole north of Herat. Virtually, the Grand Vizier acted as the 'Viceroy of Transoxiana' and governed it well. Beneath al-Sirhindi was his 'right hand man' the Emir of Samarkand, Yalangtush Bahadur, who assumed office as emir in 1611 as the direct governor of Samarkand and the nearby cities. Yalangtush Bahadur built several mosques and promoted Islamic law and Naqshbandi thought across the city. Together, the city of Samarkand totaled around 95,000 inhabitants and was the largest city in Transoxiana.

If Samarkand and its Grand Vizier acted as Viceroy over Transoxiana, the city of Urgench acted as the governing center for an unofficial viceroyalty of Khwarazm under Pir Budaq Jahan. Urgench had been destroyed in war by Genghis Khan and then again by Timur, but by 1600, it had begun to reemerge as an important fortress city against the Kazakh. After the integration of the Khiva Khanate under Mahmud Khan, the Uzbek hoped to reduce the influence of the powerful Khan, and the Grand Vizier promoted Pir Budaq Jahan and the old city of Urgench against the city of Khiva and its once powerful Khan. Mahmud Khan, fearful of reprisals did not offer resistance and by the time the Iranian situation seemed to be turning in 1612, he was assassinated discretely by loyalists of Pir Budaq Jahan which united the Khwarazm under military rule and re-centered its governance around Urgench as the center of the war effort against the despised Kazakh. Pir Budaq Jahan managed the city well, maintaining a loot distribution center and establishing firm Sharia law across the region.

While Samarkand, Urgench, and Herat acted as alternate political centers, the previous capitol of the Uzbek, Bukhara, acted as the real heart of the Great Uzbek. With a population of 80,000, it was among the largest cities in the region and most importantly was the place that the royal family resided. Bukhara was the heartland of the Naqshbandi movement and the true city of the Uzbek, containing a long lineage of burials of the Shaybani household which was meticulously maintained by the new Ansarid royal household. Central to the city was its three most famous locations, the Great Market of Bukhara which sat across from the medieval and oldest mosque of the city, the Ilkansari Mosque (built in 1149) and the Great Ark Palace and Fortress. The Great Ark itself held the most important pieces in the whole domain, the royal heirs, its protective walls and imposing structure built in the days before Islam and maintained since, stood as evidence of a long lineage of kings that now culminated in the current Ansarid royalty.

Now entering their early teens, the Padishah of the Uzbek had three living children (four perished in infancy or adolescence) by his four wives. The eldest was Prince Yazid al-Ansari, aged 14 whose mother was a daughter of a Balkh nomad, the second was Prince Uthman al-Ansari, aged 12, of the same mother and the final was Princess Maryam al-Ansari, daughter of a Russian slave, aged 10. Rivalry between the two princes had already erupted several times, without the guidance of their father, the two princes jostled for prestige in the courtyards of Bukhara, dueling each other and competing on horseback, despite having the same mother, the two had been inculcated with rivalry, perhaps at the behest of whispering slaves in the Ark. Both spent most of their time in and around Bukhara, rarely leaving the area adjoining the city and the nearby rivers and lakes which provided comfortable weather and oasis. The Ark was protected by a group of Pashtun warriors who had been employed by the Padishah and maintained to defend the palace against all manner of threats, they were colloquially called the Ark Guardians and numbered around 1,000 at any given time. Due to the site of the previous Uzbek rulers and the royal house, the city of Bukhara carried a large degree of influence despite lacking official governing authority. Indeed, the future rested in Bukhara as the royal heirs jostled for supremacy over each other and competed to be noticed in the warlike country that their father had created, almost solely by his own merit and the will of Allah.

In all, the Great Uzbek domains was in a growing crossroads. Military might of its leader, Padishah Simurgh Shah had created it and it was defined by its war against the Shi'a Safavid and thence morphed into a wider Uzbek-Iranian domain. However, it was still a compromised domain with significant contradictions that could not be solved solely with martial might. Yet, martial affairs was all that remained to be used in subduing the rapidly surging Shi'a rebel threat in Iran.

Haydar Ali Khan Afsharid, Ruler of the Afsharid and the so-called Avenger of the Holy Family

The Iranian Intermezzo Year 1617
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1616 was a year of victory for the Iranian Shi'a movement and of defeat for the Great Uzbek and its Viceroy, Pir Khwaja Muhammad. Across Iran, especially in the west, a wave of Safavid Restorationist rhetoric swarmed ahead, many claimed that the Imam was upon the land, hidden and walking about without knowledge and that the omens of victory was the work of his magic. Rural regions hit hard by famine and war rose up in celebration supposedly at the fortunes of the 'Avengers of the Holy Family' and repeated successes at the city of Qazvin to defend itself despite lacking a real army led many to worship the city itself as a holy city of sorts, with a new movement of pilgrimage occurring in northwestern Iran of pilgrims and jihadists travelling to Qazvin and making prayers before the walls of the city. Draped in this energy of Safavid Restoration and vengeance, Haydar Ali Khan Afshar was the foremost of the rebels arrayed against the Uzbek Padishah, having dodged the Uzbek for years and then defeating them at battle twice in the field, culminating in the recapture of Isfahan, separating Yazd and Fars from their Uzbek overlords. The victories of 1616 were nothing short of astounding for the so-called Restorationists in both chipping away at the allure of Uzbek supremacy and in rallying the western and central sections of Iran into greater unity in expelling the Uzbek.

The arrival of 15,000 Qajar warriors into Qazvin at the tail-end of 1616 detailed a growing rising of excitement in Iran as the Qajar and Afsharid at least publicly declared alliance and unity to restore the Safavid Household and prepare for the return of the Universal Dervish. Yet, the fervor was turning into a fever pitch of zeal for the Holy Family, all the while the Uzbek were not finished in the slightest. Returning from a major victory against the Timurids at Balkh and securing news of Pir Budaq Jahan's successful strike on the Kazakh, Saika Shah was ready to assert his rule over the western section of his burgeoning empire. Commanding a force of 45,000 soldiers, he arrived into northern Iran bypassing Herat with his most elite fighters, calling on his Viceroy to make way for his army.

The strategy of the Uzbek Padishah however would be unique, he would move slowly... Viewing the matter from above, the Yazdi governors had rebelled, the Nogai were seemingly rebelling and joining the Afsharid and the rebels controlled a vast swath of land and held the support of the locals. Defense in depth was on their side, the rebels could, if they remain on the defense, destroy the capability of the Uzbek to wage war. Uzbek forces were hampered increasingly by a reducing food supply and resource stockpile which had allowed the Afsharid to recover much of Iran in alliance with other rebel factions. Saika Shah hoped to induce the rebels to unite their forces, become arrogant and march to unite their forces. If united, the rebels could be squashed in a single location, assumed the Uzbek and not drain the fragile resources of the Uzbek command.

Under the strategy of the Padishah, the Uzbek forces of Pir Khwaja Muhammad remained stationed defensively and a road was opened to Qom allowing the two armies of the rebels to unite there and then begin their campaign. The march of the two rebel armies led to their unification at Qom which was followed by celebration and proceeding campaign to strike Tehran, the prestige of this great city was too great to resist and the rebels flocked to it like a moth to a flame. This would be a miscalculation on their part as the Uzbek could then pick them apart rapidly. In the Spring of 1617, the rebel force marched upon Tehran with a grand army numbering over 70,000 fighters, however, they had to secure the surrounding area about Tehran where persistent Uzbek defense emerged. Volunteer Sunni Persians and Christian Armenians manned improvised defenses and fought back with ferocity against their hated rivals. Owing to fear that the Fedayeen infantry would cause riots and massacres, the Fedayeen were ordered to defend Qom, the holy city, separating from the main army, while the professional forces set siege to the area about Tehran. Meanwhile, Saika Shah arrived at the city of Semnan and crushed a local rebellion before fanning his armies out to loot and attack across the frontline the enemy forces. In this capacity, the Uzbek were on their last offensive legs, their food was near gone and their livestock at a critical low, however, the Uzbek forces could afford what were called attack in depth campaigns one more time, where their armies separating into smaller units, could cut into enemy forces by attacking supply lines and looting surrounding countryside, replenishing their resources and more importantly, feigning retreats into ambushes.

From Semnan the strikes occurred, with 20,000 fighters marching towards Tehran, while 10,000 marched towards Qom. The zeal of the rebel armies led them to seek to crush these armies that were fanning about and there led to breaks in the ranks of the united rebel army as the divided leadership sought to make gains against the Uzbek, perhaps positioning themselves for greater prestige later. Fedayeen forces at Qom in turn were attacked by the Uzbek, who set siege to the city with a small battery of canons and their horsemen. Seeking to relieve the holy city was the Qajar, who broke rank to gain notoriety by crushing the Uzbek and likely, currying favor with the Fedayeen leaders. The miscalculation was immense, as a hidden force of 3,000 Uzbek warriors appeared from the east and attacked the Qajar forces, which cut them off from Tehran. Qajar forces would fight back against the smaller ambush force and drive it away, but by this time, they had been cut off from communication to Tehran and then appeared the army that was besieging Qom and under the leadership of Suleiman Khalid Asab, the Uzbek would route the Qajar in battle at a small village called Aina, would devastate the morale of the army stationed at Tehran, with the Tajik and Nogai forces slowly receding toward the back of the lines, while news of the victory bolstered the morale of the Uzbek defending Tehran.

In this critical moment, Saika Shah marched with his advance force, the vanguard which now moved with greater speed to recuperate losses at Tehran, while his subordinate Suleiman Khalid Asab held a defensive position at Aina, separating Qom from Tehran. In the crisis that came over the rebel army, they prepared themselves for a battle in the front against a smaller Uzbek army, yet one led by the Saika Shah, the famed general and ruler of the age. Unfortunately for the rebels, their fair weather allies, the Nogai and the Tajik felt increasingly that they had made the wrong choice in supporting the rebellion, especially after observing the upsurge in anti-foreigner sentiment in the campaign, and fled from the field prior to the arrival of the Padishah and dispatched detailed information to the Padishah, claiming that they were serving the Padishah as reconnaissance jihadists. Nevertheless, the Padishah now felt confident and attacked the enemy force.

In a turn of action, the rebel force led by Haydar Ali Khan decided to turn south and link up with the Fedayeen while destroying the Uzbek army at Aina and then turning around and destroying the Uzbek at Aina or nearby, possibly Tehran. Under this assumption, Haydar Ali Khan assumed that the Uzbek Padishah would move to save his subordinates at Aina and fight him in a pitched battle, which the rebels felt they had the momentum to win decisively. Moving south thus, Haydar Ali Khan attacked Aina, while the Fedayeen pressured from the south, the Uzbek at Aina instead fled to the east with rapidity, allowing the unity of the army. Meanwhile, the Padishah of the Uzbek did not move to force a pitched battle, but bypassed Tehran and made a rush towards Qazvin, close to the west. Upon news of these movements, panic set in within the rebel army that became extreme as division set in regarding Qizbilash leadership. Burak Quli Imam, leader of the Zanj Guard cursed the stars and the earth, declaring the Qiznnilash leaders sinful for not retreating to the safety of the Holy Family Palace, which had secured them endless victories in the past, it was all that mattered. Fedayeen leaders also clamored against the Qizbilash, stating that the failure was their fault, as they had denied the Fedayeen a place in attacking Tehran and massacring the Christians and Sunni heretics.

The chaos within the camp at Aina led to a loss of unity and the mutiny of the Zanj Guard and Fedayeen who combined into a new army and made a run to Qazvin to rescue the Holy Family Palace, leaving the Afsharid and Kurdish force at Aina, empty handed and without unity. In this moment, the Uzbek plan succeeded, they had created disunity and caused the rebels to collapse into infighting and division, the Afsharid leadership was questioned and could not make up for the once vaunted Safavid charisma. Pir Khwaja Muhammad exited Tehran and alongside Suleiman Khalid Asab harassed the Afsharid force, keeping it from moving west with speed, leading to Haydar ali Khan retreating south. In the west, the Uzbek would turn around and face the Zanj-Fedayeen army in battle at the Battle of Tofak. The battle would be fearsome, with the rebel army fighting with extreme ferocity and using gunpowder cut through Uzbek charges whic underestimated them. However, lacking greater mobility, they would be unable to turn their salvos into full routes, allowing the Uzbek to eventually gain a victory through envelopment. The Fedayeen rebels collapsed anf fled into the countryside and desert, while Burak Quli Imam committed suicide alongside around 750 Zanj Guards. The remainder of the Zanj Guards either threw their weapons and fled or surrendered. Refusing submission and conversion, the Uzbek forces massacred all of the surrendered Zanj Guard in an orgy of bloody victory.

Uzbek forces would gain an immense victory at Tofak and while sustaining huge losses, they had also crushed the rebellion's main forces and devastated all of its momentum. Securing the victory, the Uzbek now could sustain itself and regain the position of power across the lands. Qajar forces, fled into the Zanjan forts north of Qazvin, relieving the city of any formal protection, while the Zand forces retreated to the mountains of the west and pondered surrender to the Uzbek. The Padishah of Iran then casually marched upon Qazvin, the greatest city in Iran. there resided a population of 200,000 souls, the holiest site of the Safavid royalty. Saika Shah prayed to Allah outside the city walls while wailing and crying was erupting from inside the city as the people called out to the Holy Family Palace. A prophet from the city claimed that if the the people rallied and showed devotion and fought back, then an angel would descend and kill the foreigners. The rally caught traction, but thousands fled from the city and pogroms of Jews and Christians erupted with greater vigor as all churches and monasteries in the city were set aflame and monks were set on fire and Jewish leaders thrown into wells. All the while, the stoic Padishah gathered his resolve to destroy the greatest city in Iran, the symbol of the Safavid predecessors.

The siege of Qazvin, 1617
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The Second Siege of Qazvin would be arduous and bloody, as the city defended itself house to house, while thousands fled. Allowing an opening for flight, the Padishah allowed thousands to flee unharmed, thereby causing division in the city and thereby undermining it. Prophets in the city claimed that they needed to slay the enemies among them, unfaithful Muslim or else the angels would not come to defend them, and thus the city descended into riots and internal struggle. The few Zanj Guards that remained ignored these fights and fell into seclusion in the palace and or to the walls of Qazvin, resolved to die for the city and forget all else; the Padishah would deliver their requests.

The Padishah would capture the city in a fearsome battle after breaking the walls over four days. After securing the city, the warriors approached the Palace where they saw the scene of mass suicide committed by the remaining guards, who all consumed poison. all that remained was a collection of shivering slaves who had delivered the poison and begged for mercy. The Padishah now took the city and it was his finally, Qazvin was devastated and the Safavid Restoration of 1616-1617, crushed.

In the following Summer of 1617, the Uzbek would move to subdue and suppress the remainder of rebels. Haydar ali Khan fled to Isfahan and would be attacked along the way by his treacherous former allies, the Nogai and Tajik and followed like prey by the remaining Uzbek scouting forces. Fleeing to Sistan, the Afsharid declared their intent to flee to Hindustan. Securing shipping from Spanish and Portuguese ships and from friendly merchants, thousands would board from the Summer of 1617 until the middle Spring of 1618, travelling en masse to Gujarat. The era of the Qizbilash of Iran was at an end, it seemed. In the west, the Uzbek began to approach the Zand domains, for which Hajah Muhammad Zand ordered his warriors to surrender their weapons. Offering conversion to Sunni Islam and submission, the Zand gave in and submitted. The Uzbek now only had to secure the Zanjan hill country and the Ahvaz.

In the late Summer and Fall of 1617, the Uzbek would launch a campaign to contain the Qajar while an army was sent south to attack Ahvaz. In Ahvaz, the marshy climate precluded easy victories, but the Uzbek would carry the day despite severe losses, especially using its Nogai forces as canon fodder for malaria and yellow fever. The Mushashiyya leaders and their followers fled across the border into Ottoman Iraq seeking protection, while Arba tribes in the Ahvaz surrendered to the Uzbek and offered their surrender after suffering defeats in the Spring of 1617. Iran had been quickly subdued in the great 1617 campaigns, all that remained was Sistan, which remained lawless with the sudden and panic driven evacuation of Qizbilash from the region. Pirates once again began to wreack havoc along the coast line and the Uzbek had gained a total victory in Iran, but was it a true victory or a poisoned chalice that would one day hurt the Padishah, few knew. Murmurs across the country would spread prophecies of the times and a swathe of apocalyptic through emerged.

Banner of the Zaydi Imamate

Affairs of the Sublime Porte​

While Iran struggled, the Sublime Porte was still maintaining a period of relative peace and happiness. The country was doing well for the most part and was recovering from rebellion. Yet, while Shi'ism was declining in Iran, it was gaining power inside the borders of the Sublime Porte and among its enemies.

In Yemen, the Imam of the Zaydiyya, al-Qasim had finally prepared himself for his expansion in the Winter of 1616, he issued a ban on coffee and ordered the beans burned. Blaming the expansion of this drug on the Ottoman authorities at Aden, he tore the Ottoman-Yemeni treaty to peace and declared his intent to expel the Turks from Yemen fully. Marching from Sana'a with an army of 15,000 fighters, the Imam captured the imagination of the country which embraced the Imam, who valiantly fights the foreigner. Sallying from Aden was a pitiful force of 3,000 fighters; years of appeasement to the Zaydiyya had led to the Porte policy to not offend the Yemeni Imam and thereby not cause issues. Culminating however fromt eh policy of appeasement was the emboldening of the Yemeni resistance and now there was no hope to save Aden. Al-Qasim would defeat the Aden garrison and capture the city after a two week long siege, securing his power over the country. In the east, the Mehri Arabs remained independent of the Imamate, but also refused to submit as vassals of the Porte, thereby, aside for the Najran desert to the north and islands off the coast, the Porte and therfore Turkish presence in Southern Arabia had been extinguished in a single campaign.

@baboushreturns , @Nerdorama , @Graf Tzarogy , @ZealousThoughts , @Redtape , @Cloud Strife , @rudy2d , @Vald , @Qastiel , @Sneakyflaps , @Vitalian , @Nicholas the Hun , @Canned Knight

 

[Vald]

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A Changing of the Guard​

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Christian Friis of Borreby - The King's aging Chancellor​

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Along with his fathers crown, Christian IV had also inherited his fathers advisors. Thus that even almost 30 years after his death, by the onset of 1616 most of the 18-member Rigsraad were still made up of those nobles who had been closer to Frederick II than they were his son. These men had diligently used the Regency of Christian's minority to consolidate their positions, enrich themselves, and lobby on behalf of their close kin, such that even in the case when a Rigsraad member died the King had little choice but to appoint the departed's direct heir or chosen successor as replacement. Hence the Rigsraad increasingly became a staunchly conservative body lobbying for the interest of the landed nobility, whose power and influence were guaranteed by vast estates and hereditary lands, unlike the unlanded nobility, who were dependent on military service or appointments as Castellans of the Crownlands to support themselves. Such a division of power, favouring the high nobility, certainly did not please King Christian, who after his conquest of Sweden increasingly came into conflict with the "Greybeards" of the Rigsraad over in which direction to take the restored Kalmar Union.

The head of the "Greybeards" (referring to those advisors appointed by Frederick II) was the most eminent and prestigious noble of the Realm, Christian Friis of Borreby, who as the King's Chancellor had served as the Kingdom's de facto Chief Minister since his appointment to that office in 1596. This stern and religiously orthodox man had spent much of his youth on diplomatic missions to the courts of France, Venice, and the Empire, but his greatest expertise were on matters concerning Sweden and the Baltic. Thus he was instrumental in bringing about war with the Papist Sweden of the Vasa, for which he gained the-then young King's favour, but his opinions on how to proceed after were less well-received. Whereas King Christian sought to strengthen his position as leader of the Protestants in Germany, Friis had argued for further war against the Vasa in their Polish Realm, by which Denmark might have gained Livonia, and to make war on the Russians, so that Denmark could carve out a new Protestant Empire as the undisputed hegemon of the east.

But Christian's own ambition laid to the south, in an Empire already established and much coveted by others. The diverging interests of King and Chancellor meant that neither path to the east nor south could be effectively pursued: when Christian sought to expand his German influence by employing Huber, Friis poisoned the King's mind and saw to it that the Lorrainer was expelled. And when Friis had finally gained the King's ear for an invasion of Russia, the untimely death of Emperor Rudolf saw Christian's shift his attention and resources to his own candidature as the Emperor's heir, which would prove unsuccessful. Thus in the event neither King nor Chancellor would have their ambitions fulfilled, with Christian instead pursuing the consolation prize of a war in Poland, supporting the claim of his erstwhile Vasa rivals in exchange for the Duchy of Estonia. Though here too the perfidious nature of Chancellor and Rigsraad would impede the King's designs, as they sent supplies and gold (the latter likely embezzled from the King's own coffers!) to the City of Danzig, impeding Christian's attempts at a reproachment with King Wladyslaw of Poland. The once pliable Rigsraad were increasingly opposing the King's designs, and Christian's patience was running thin as he began looking for ways to bend his unruly advisors to his royal will.

Nature, or perhaps God, provided for the King thus that he would not have to wait long for opportunity to present itself. Whereas it had at first been intended merely as a derogatory term, as the years dragged on, the label of "Greybeard" surrounding certain members of the Rigsraad became increasingly literal and an apt way to describe the King's aging advisors, among them the Chancellor. Early in 1616, while on a trip to Norway, attending a meeting of the Norwegian Diet at Oslo together with the King, the Chancellor would come down with a fever, and though Friis in his physical appearance was still both healthy and hale, it soon became apparent that he would not recover the strength to rise from his sickbed. King Christian could but watch as the state of his Chancellor deteriorated at such a rapid pace, that not even Friis last wish, of returning to Denmark in order to say goodbye to his his wife, could be fulfilled. At the age of 60 Denmarks Chancellor succumbed to illness onboard the ship which was to take him home; instead of the arms of his loving wife their destination would be a state funeral in Copenhagen Cathedral.

In spite of their disagreements in recent years, in many ways King Christian had come to view his stern long-time Chancellor as a father figure, and Friis' passing certainly came as a shock, a reminder of human mortality. Though this did not prevent the King from eagerly seeking a replacement figure for the office of King's Chancellor, and preferably one more in agreement with own Christian's designs than Friis had been. Having sifted through a number of candidates, Christian would find such a figure in the household of his children in form of their Hofmeister, a man by the name of Christian Friis of Kragerup, who in spite of the similar name had no relation to the now-deceased Chancellor.

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Christian Friis of Kragerup - His namesakes successor​

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A man of high education and birth, Friis had spent most the years of his youth abroad attending foreign universities in Paris, Marseille, and Padova. He would break off his education to fight in the conquest of Sweden, where he had first come to the attention of the King, as Friis showed both bravery on the field and administrative talent in governing newly conquered territory. After the war he returned to Padova where he refined his understanding of language and the affairs of foreign courts, hoping put those skills to use as a diplomat on his eventual return to Denmark, which did not take place before he had spent a year as a volunteer in the Dutch army, serving as an aide to Maurice of Nassau. Meanwhile Friis' father, Jørgen Friis, had been appointed as Statsholder of Norway, thus that when his son did return home he had no trouble arranging for him to become one of the young Junkers tending to the King, who remembered the younger Friis for his skill during the conquest of Sweden, and slowly began to groom him for high office. Proving himself both capable and worthy of trust over a number of years, advancement followed culminating in 1614 when he was appointed as Hofmeister of the King's children, responsible for their household and education, a task only entrusted to the most dependable men, and in the past often a position which preceded appointment to one of the Realm's Great Offices.

Yet for all of his skill as a diplomat and administrator, Christian Friis was still in many ways a timid and unconfrontational man, who the King rightly guessed would not command the same independent respect, nor bring conflict between the interests of the King and the nobility, to the degree of his erstwhile namesake. Together with the fact that the King deeply trusted Friis on a personal level, as evident by him managing the household of the King's sons, he was the King's perfect and preferred candidate as new Chancellor: a yes-man, but a deeply capable one who would fill the office in a dutiful and uncontroversial manner. The road to the Chancellorship was further paved when Friis' father died shortly after the erstwhile Chancellor, thus justifying the younger Friis' appointment, first to the Rigsraad itself as his fathers successor, and then shortly after, at the young age of 35, to the office of King's Chancellor, Denmark and the Kalmar Unions de facto first minister.

One of Friis' first tasks in this capacity would be to preside over a meeting of the Rigsraad and the King, but then he was also faced with one of his first dilemmas: the fact that over the course of 1616 the number of empty seats in the Rigsraad had greatly increased. It appeared as if the death of Christian Friis (the elder) and Jørgen Friis had started a great changing of the guard, as member after member of the "Greybeards" fell victim to a number of ailments, thus that when Christian Friis took office at the end of 1616 there were only 9 members of the Rigsraad, whereas at the beginning there had been 18. It fell to the King to appoint replacements, and it fell to Friis to recommend appropriate candidates from among the nobility, but as Christian insisted on appointment of further yes-men, eyeing a chance to staff the Rigsraad with loyal cronies, the new Chancellor, himself a product of the King's ambition, faced a conflict of conscience. The stakes being even higher as among the now-vacant offices was that of the Lord Marshal: with authority to mobilise the Danish Royal Army. Just as he had done with the office of Steward of the Realm, responsible for the Realm's finances, Christian sought to leave this office vacant, to use it either as a bargaining chip, or to assume its authority for himself, and gain control over the Royal Army: a daunting prospect for sure, especially so for the non-interventionists among the Rigsraad and nobility, as they considered ongoing events to the south...

 

[John7755 يوحنا]

King Alvaro III of Kongo, 1616

Affairs of the Congo
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In 1614, Alvaro II, the king of Kongo from 1596-1614 passed away, leaving a stable and powerful kingdom for his eldest son Bernardo II to ascend. Alvaro II had ruled the kingdom with a mighty hand and brought it into a stable status quo after a period of fracturing and internal squabbling. From 1604-1614, the key issue in Kongo was stabilizing its frontiers to the south and east, while also wresting independence of its local church in opposition to the Portuguese. Despite overtures to the Holy See, Alvaro II had failed to secure a forbidding of the patronage system that the Portuguese used to maintain control over the local church in the Kongo and therefore the Kongolese Church remained dominated by Portuguese speaking clerics imported from Portugal or Galicia. In 1614, Bernardo II ascended the throne and began a brief period of Kongo-Portuguese rivalry that stemmed from Portuguese control of the Kongolese Church.

Bernardo II attempted in middle 1614 to gain the support of Dutch merchants operating in the region, however, this failed due to disunity among the Dukes of Kongo supporting continued alliance with the Portuguese. Bernardo II would perish in 1615 under mysterious circumstances and would be promptly replaced by his younger brother, Alvaro who became Alvaro III, King of Kongo. Alvaro III was a fearsome warrior king and a devout Catholic that immediately issued documents requesting the permission of Jesuit to found a new college in the capitol city of M'banza-Kongo (San Salvador) and for this to be completed by 1619. Furthermore, Alvaro III established a new market in 1617 for the selling of slaves to the Portuguese (and the Dutch, covertly).

War between the Kingdom of Kongo and its neighbors in alliance with the Portuguese would be the primary focus of the early period of Alvaro III and how the Kongo would respond to the changing situation around it. Initially, Portuguese influence in the region was more or less positive, due in part from Portuguese trade and the relative weakness of the Portuguese towards the royal Kwazilu household that ruled Kongo. Yet, this imbalance was dissipating as the Portuguese gained more local power in the region south of Kongo in the formerly powerful Kingdom of Ndonga. Since 1600, the Portuguese Captaincy of Luanda had been in a soft conflict with the Kingdom of Ndonga which ruled most of the interior of the land that the Portuguese referred to as Angola, one that Alvaro III supported as Ndonga had for many decades opposed Kongo. In 1617, Luis Mendes de Vasconelos received appointment to command civil and martial forces in Luanda and to control the Portuguese expansion against Ndonga, an affair he would perform with glee.

Luis Mendes de Vaconcelos reformed the Portuguese army at Luanda with a caste of Bantu Mercenary known as the Imbangala, Bantu-speaking peoples from the Kwanza River Valley that formed travelling warrior bands. With the Imbangala, the Portuguese formed an army that could administer large numbers of fighters and also withstand some of the environmental problems of the African interior. Commanding this force with his son, Joao, the Portuguese Captain launched an expedition in the Dry Season of 1617, attacking the Kingdom of Ndonga. The king o Ndonga, Ngole Mbambi was ill prepared for the offensive and suffered serious defeats in the first months of fighting, losing his capitol and fleeing to the east of his country and seeking the alliance of the Matamba and Yaka peoples to the east and southeast, who came to his aid. Meanwhile, the Imbalaga led by two warrior princes, Kasanje and Kasa, devastated the countryside with the permission of the Portuguese, who permitted the Imbangala mercenary to establish influence in the Ndonga territories that had been captured. In the later months of 1618, Alvaro III launched slave raiding expeditions into the south, attacking the Ndonga and Matamba, further pressuring the two into an alliance with each other against Portugal-Kongo.

To the north, Alvaro III and Luis Mendes de Vaconcelos attempted to secure the conversion to Catholicism of the King of Loanga. Based in the region north of Kongon, Loanga was a rich kingdom that controlled many slave trading operations to the north, west, and east, launching tri-monthly slave raids into the interiors to their east. Loanga however refused to convert to Catholicism with strong vigor, refusing to accept bibles or even preaching, local witch doctors and political elites forbade their people from conversing with missionaries either from the south, west, and or north. Njimbe, the king of Loanga since 1600 was known especially with wide fame for his stabilizing presence, fearsome military reputation and astounding wealth, but aside from these, his anti-Christian stance was widely recognized. Loanga would therefore continue to trade both with the Portuguese, Kongo, English, Dutch, and Spanish, but remained completely isolated religiously from developments to the south, reacting to these events with stern isolationism.

Further into the Congo, a new kingdom was flourishing free from the slave trade of the coasts of Africa or the north. Founded in 1585 by a warrior and hunter from an unknown land in the north named Kongolo, the Kingdom of Luba had transformed the lands around the Upemba Depression. Kongolo had arrived in the 1580s from an unknown area in the northern Congo and brought with him a cadre of warriors renowned for combat and hunting. Entering the Upemba, Kongolo defeated enemy bands and wooed local leaders into a vassalage wherein they came under his sovereignty. By 1585, Kongolo had unified the Upemba after several years of conflict wherein he began to formulate a unique monarchical model.

Playing into legends and prophecies regarding a travelling hunter-god that had circulated in the 1550s within the Upemba, Kongolo constructed a sacredotal kingly model. Declaring himself 'god of the Upemba' Kongolo deified himself and his future lineage as children and living gods of the gods of the sky, defended by innumerable spirits, and destined rulers of the whole of the Upemba, Under the rule of Kongolo, rituals were defined and the kingship became highly ritualistic, with a complex system of cultic practices related to the king and his courtiers. In practice, the kingdom was a decentralized domain of dozens of ethnic groups and more than a hundred tribes all paying tribute to the 'God of the Upemba.' The Kingdom of Luba would control important trade routes in Central Africa, controlling the trade of salt, copper, and iron ore, making it the nexus of the ongoing Central African trade network. Importantly however, the Luba Kingdom would form a strong resistance to slave raiding and not engage in slave trading on a large scale unlike much of its neighbors. As a result of the slave raiding stance, the Luba domain became home to manifold peoples fleeing the wars against slave raiding peoples and kingdoms, especially Loanga and Kongo, who drove peoples of the interior into desperate migrations east and south.

Malak Sagad II, King of Kings of Ethiopia, depicted slaying a demon

The Affairs of Ethiopia & Somalia​

By 1616, the famine that had erupted in Eastern Africa had slowly began to end, but its effect was clear; the decline of powers across Eastern Africa. The most pressing threat however did not come directly from hunger, even though this killed many, the greatest threat came from the continued migration of peoples. The Oromo peoples, a Bantu speaking group, not following either Islam or Christianity, struck fear in the hearts of all across the region. Despite their lack of writing or cities, the Oromo were a warlike people that progressively swayed against the boundaries of both Somali and Ethiopian cultural domains, eventually crushing the walls and forcing immense change in both worlds.

In 1614, the onset of the Great East African Famine had troubled Ethiopia as the people starved and the economy frayed. Malak Sagad II attempted to solve problems through warfare and seeking tribute from other peoples, restoring the faith of the nobles and clerics, thereby reinforcing the feudal system. Feudalism in Ethiopia relied heavily upon the supposed warlike prowess of the nobles and the king himself, and thus to reinforce the existing feudal structure, wars had to be fought and won. Malak Sagad II started this process by attacking the Kingdom of Fazughli, a small Nubian refugee state between the Funj and Ethiopia. In a short campaign, the Nubian refugees were subdued and Gondar recaptured, the king of Fazughli, Maran Yaqub was made a vassal and 1,000 Nubians were taken as slaves of the King of Kings and given as gifts to the nobles of the realm.

Secure in his position in the east, in 1616, Malak Sagad II launched another campaign against the Great Funj, rebuking tribute to the Funj that he had previously gave to sustain his northern border. Malak Sagad II had heard rumors of Funj weakening and also had received advice from his Somali and noble courtiers, that suggested the need to launch an expedition to take slaves from the Funj heathens and to establish control over the trade routes in the north, especially up to Suakin. Dispatching an army from Tigray and a second assault army from Gondar made up of Christian Nubians, the King of Kings targeted the areas north of Funj inhabitance, hoping to secure trading pathways and also secure assistance from the Nubians whom they hoped retained Christian faith. The attempt however would be an abject failure, without necessarily rousing Funj fighters, Arab and Beja resistance to the Christian army would be fearsome and despite a brief siege of Suakin, the Ethiopians would be forced t retreat, followed by a Funj attack on Gondar and Fazughli, wherein the Funj would sack the city of Gondar, taking 4,000 slaves and circumcising 925 men and killing several thousand others deemed unfit to be slaves or 'Muslim.' Malak Sagad II meanwhile had other problems, with the slave trade declining along the area with the tensions rising between Yemen and the Ottoman Empire, the Ethiopian King of Kings increasingly found his access to trade in Egypt declining, especially with the newfound hostility with the Funj.

Trade problems experienced by the Ethiopians now was doubled in 1617 with renewed Oromo attacks which weakened the frontiers of the south, which slowly, collapsed into irrelevance. Ethiopia had reached a large size under Malak Sagad I but had receded to its core territories and the nobles were increasingly independent from the Palace which struggled to maintain legitimacy in this warlike world around it.

Oromo invaders were making inroads steadily, with their tribes coming to control much of the southern frontier of Ethiopia, and combatting the Somali Sultanate of Ajuuran. Over the years following 1614, the Ajuurani Sultanate had declined significantly with the formation of the Hiraab Imamate at Moqadishu breaking from the Ajuurani and the emergence of more forceful Somali clans. Clan infighting would be however lessened by the Oromo threat as the Ajuuran Sultanate united many dervishes and warriors under the Banner of Jihad. Waging war in 1617, the Ajuurani Sultanate led a force of fighters into Kenya to secure slaves and forcibly convert the Oromo. The expedition would see major success, driving the Oromo near the Ajuurani border into a brief flight. However, the jihadist coalition quickly dissipated after the campaign in the Spring of 1617, leading to a summer of violence as the former allies began battling each other, the Ajuuran Sultanate despite a brief victory, declined substantially.

Sudanese Elephant as depicted in an Egyptian manuscript

Affairs of the Sudan and Egypt
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After the peace between the Sublime Porte and the Moroccans, Egypt went through a period of peace and stability in 1614-1616. Sufi mystics flourished as many would migrate from the Maghreb to Egypt, establishing an even more diverse religious scene within Cairo and Alexandria. Rural communities across the Nile flourished with fair taxation policies, trade with Venice, Ethiopia, and the Sudan. Mamluks lived luxuriously with their vaunted autonomy, their wealth assured. Mamluk power in Egypt assured the loyalty of Egypt for the moment, but resulted in a situation wherein the Sublime Porte received marginal returns on taxation from Egypt. Instead, Egypt would be a scene for minor revenue gains, but a large benefit to the overall empire in the importation and circulation of food resources, especially the import of food directly to Constantinople.

Okuz Mehmed Pasha, the Governor of Egypt and among the most skilled men in the Ottoman Empire busied himself to improve the province despite the Mamluk resistance. Continuing to embark on missions to improve the Egyptian cities and the construction of a new port on the Red Sea, Okuz Mehmed Pasha established regular patrols along the Egyptian desert towards the Red Sea to acquire tribute missions. Forming pavilion-like structures along the coast in small communities artificially constructed, the governor hoped to regulate the trade and make it more efficient. However, the Porte itself would not provide funding for the efforts of Okuz Mehmed Pasha, with the Harem disregarding the importance of trade along the Red Sea, reminding him of ongoing conflicts in the Black Sea Region. Okuz Mehmed Pasha therefore operated on a shoestring budget and with it, great things were done. The patrols in the Egyptian desert were formulated in an alliance between the governor and Mamluk elites, creating a more local policy whereby goods could traverse from the Red Sea to the Nile under greater safety.

While the Nile flourished there emerged disadvantages to prosperity. Laxness and martial decline being foremost, but also the riches of a great land cause envy in a more warlike and distant peoples. Indeed, the Sudan to the south of Egypt, also nourished by the Nile were finally improving from a three year severe famine. While famine continued to rage and drought was the norm, the worst effects had subsided and there was a slow improvement. King Unsa, the so-called Caliph of Islam and Sahib al-Sudan (Master of the Sudan) looked with envy upon the richness of the Egyptians. While trade did occur between the two powers through the city of Dongola, the most important city in the Funj domains, the Egyptians otherwise were a tempting target for conflict. Unsa had remembered the 1590s when the Funj despite inferior resources bested the Ottoman expeditionary forces and the Funj had slayed many. Victories against the Ethiopians at Gondar in 1616 also bolstered Funj feelings of supremacy and martial prowess. The result would be a devastating militarism couched in jihad by the Funj against the Ottoman Empire to the north.

Upper Egypt in the south was a disorganized region, wealthy with powerful cities, it was dominated by the Hawwara and Kanz Tribes. The Hawwara had come into the region during the 14th century from the Maghreb by the invitation of the Mamluks who used them to become the local rulers and to depose the formerly powerful Banu Umar tribe, who were forced south into Sudan. Since 1485, the Hawwara were bestowed the title of Shaykh al-Arabi by the Diwan of Cairo and ruled from the city of Qus much of the south of Egypt. Allied to the Hawwara was the Kanz, who were a powerful Arab confederation ruling much of the lands in league with the Hawwara. The two promoted Sunni Islam, and enforced order and discipline upon the region on behalf of the Sublime Porte and had been key allies of the Ottoman Turks in the subjugation of Egypt following the 1517 conquest of the region by Padishah Selim. Their power had not been truly tested in years however and when news arrived in Qasr Ibrim along the Nile that the Funj were preparing their war parties, the Kanz Arabs prayed to Allah that the poor 'Black Africans' that the Funj attacked would come to Islam. Little did they know that the target was none other than them.

King Unsa prepared his warriors of the Funj people inhabiting the south for war, prepping elaborate rituals and then embarking with his fearsome army northward. Along the way, Unsa asserted his leadership by displays of power, defeating Arab tribes on the journey and forcing them into his army and or making alliances with Arab shaykhs. Most important of these was the Shaykh Ajib Adlan who was the ruler of the Abdallabi Tribe of Arabs in the region around Dongola. Forming a marriage alliance, Shaykh Ajib Adlan joined the Funj army as a commander. Sufi dervishes from Egypt hoping to receive support from the Funj praised the war party, presenting them with banners in Arabic praising the victorious Jihadist as the 'Victor of Islam.' Unsa's war received much support due to the fact that any in the region, regardless of ethnicity, hoped for a successful raid that would end in the trickle downward of loot and booty to the lands below. Therefore the Funj army swelled into a great size and travelled with speed. Kanz scouts took notice of the army imposing itself past Dongola in the month of November of 1616. In December and January of 1617, the Kanz understood that the Funj were preparing a military expedition against Qasr Ibrim.

Arab forces in the south gathered to fight, but they were too slow. Qasr Ibrim would be attacked by an advance guard of Arab fighters from the Abdlabi Tribe led by Shaykh Ajib Adlan. Arab fighters of the Kunz fled the city at news of the Abdalbi forces arrival, fleeing north and into the deserts for protection leaving the city to be defended by the 700 strong Bosnian garrison. Imported in the last century, a strong and resupplied garrison of Bosnians were established in Qasr Ibrim by the Turkish authorities to protect the frontier, however the 700 number was woefully inadequate without support from the local Arabs who were more focused on survival. Bosnian commander, Muhammad Ala ad-Din secured the island of Qasr Ibrim and set evacuated the outskirts of the city, and set fire to the storehouses to hopefully drain the Funj forces. Shaykj Ajib Adlan would secure the lands north of the city, attacking and dispersing the Arabs inhabiting these areas, while Unsa set siege to the island of Qasr Ibrim in the Nile. The city would fall and the Bosnians would be enslaved and sent back to Dongola. Funj forces would capture the city and Unsa would sack it mercilessly, before praying in the local mosque and declaring himself the 'Sahib al-Misri' (Master of Egypt). The Hawwari and Kanz Arabs would respond with ferocity as well, perpetuating a fearsome war along the Nile and desert. Funj forces would however defeat the Kanz and Hawwari forces in several skirmishes near Qasr Ibrim.

To the north of Qasr Ibrim lied the rich cities of Aswan and Luxor, places of great antiquity and wealth, all loosely defended by the Arab tribes. However, after the shock of Qasr Ibrim, the Arabs resolved themselves and fought back hard, securing the defense of the lands around the Nile and blocking the transit to the city of Aswan where the Arab garrison resolved to place a fearsome defense against the infidels. Another tribe known as the Banu Ikrima or simply, Ikrima, launched an attack against the Funj in the Spring of 1617, inflicting some casualties, but the Funj would continue to hold onto their base at Qasr Ibrim, slowly taking lands along the Nile and securing the submission of the locals. Funj forces would continue to hammer the city of Aswan, eventually breaking through its outer wall through deception and setting fire to a wooden section, allowing the Funj to break through and sack the city. Shaykh Ajib Adlan meanwhile launched a foray against Luxor with allied Arabs, however, he would be driven from the field after a series of skirmishes wherein a coalition of Beja, Hawwara, and Ikrima defeated the Abdlani Arabs. Funj forces would cement control in Aswan. However, the Funj would fail to fully establish themselves in the city while also securing nearby Qasr Ibrim, allowing the Kanz to set siege to the city, forcing the Funj to sally south, leaving only 3,000 to guard the city of Aswan. While the Funj would relieve Qasr Ibrim, the Ikrima and a collection of allied Beja would retake Aswan and begin repairs of the walls. By this time, the summer approached and the Funj force began to request a return home and the end of the war season. Unsa complied and established allied Arab tribes in the area and a garrison of Funj warriors settled into Qasr Ibrim, while he returned south to tend to his flocks and manifold wives and children.

News of the situation in Lower Egypt would arrive slowly to Cairo, with the Mamluks caring little for the situation. Okuz Mehmed Pasha however saw the matter as an issue of critical importance. Okuz Mehmed Pasha established official envoys to the Palace in Constantinople to request deliberation and orders from the Grand Vizier Nusah Pasha. However, Nusah Pasha urged caution in the face of the conflict and official viziers and messengers were sent from Constantinople to Alexandria and thence to Cairo to suggest a peaceful resolution and or supporting the Arabs against the Funj. Mamluk notables in the Diwan however supported letting the two fight as opposed to aiding either side, creating division in Egypt as to the correct course of action. Luxor however would become the nexus for travelling Arab muhjahideen seeking to fight against the so-called Sudani Pagans and Idolators. The Mawlid celebration of 1617 in Luxor would be known as the largest in its history up till 1617, with thousands of young men flocking to the city and taking up oaths to fight the infidels, creating shifts in population patterns.

The Envoy of the Saadi Caliph arrives in Timbuktu, 1617

Affairs of West Africa 1617​

Bashir al-Din celebrated his 56th birthday in 1616 quietly, both for the stern Islamic culture he and his father had concocted, but also to obfuscate his venerable age from his subjects and sons. The large Saadi household seemed to chaff under the long reign of the Caliph and his continued rule caused some to fear what would occur upon his death which was sure to come eventually and by that time, how united would the country actually be? Religious reforms were also only varied in enforcement across the Caliphate, with some local emirs maintaining Sufi dervishes and thinkers in their court and popular support of Sufism, especially in the city of Silijimasa, wherein the Caliph relented in enforcing the Saadi influenced creed for fear of endangering the connections between Fez and Timbuktu. Not seeking to endanger the relations with existing emirs, Bashr al-Din focused on ridding his empire of Persian and Turkish cultural ornaments. Abolishing and removing titles such as Pasha and Pashalik, all Pasha would be renamed Amid, while Pashalik would be renamed Imam. This would have moderate impact in terms of relations to the Sublime Porte and the Islamic world to the east, which had to a large degree adopted Persianate and or Turkish cultural trappings. From thenceforth, Moroccan leaders came to use these new Arabic titles and repudiate Persian and Turkish titles and language.

In 1616, disasters in the southern provinces and vassals of the Caliphate in the Sahel would consume the early years of 1617, as the Caliph dispatched an army to bring order to the Askiya rebels and reestablish order in the southern provinces and frontiers. However, problems were also emerging internally. Situated in the Atlas Mountains, Caliphal power was weak and the locals often lived without much respect to the ruler and in this zone, Sufi gathered in the hills and mountains and preached their doctrine. Espousing the need to wage jihad against the infidel Christians, these Sufi in the mountains spoke out against what they saw as favoritism towards Christians, such as the French and Spanish and the degradation of Islam through e diminishing affection showed to the Companions of the Prophet and the Prophet himself. By 1616, the most important of these figures was a certain Ahmed ibn Mallabi, who had been raised as a Sufi cleric in his youth in the city of Marrakesh. In the year 1607, Ahmed ibn Mallabi had supported war with the Spanish and preached the need to wage jihad to reconquer Granada from the infidels and further stiffened his opposition to the new religious reforms of the Saadi Caliphs by increasing his celebrations of Islamic holidays such as Mawlid which were increasingly frowned upon by the Caliphal establishment.

Ahmed ibn Mallabi gained notoriety for confronting Saadi official clerics and celebrating Mawlid alongside declaring the need for jihad and in 1617 just as Caliphal armies exited to the Sahel, Ahmed ibn Mallabi rose flag with the following quotation: "Fight in the way of Allah!" Ahmed ibn Mallabi rose the flag and on the zenith of Mawlid celebration expelled a dozen Caliphal clerics in black robes and threw a large green robe before a throng of followers who called out saying 'The Imam is here!' and Ahmed ibn Mallabi rallied his followed and solidified control of many forts across the Atlas mountains without much knowledge or interest shown from the Caliph himself. Instead the third son of the Caliph, Idris Jamil Al-Rashid waged war against the Sufi rebels dispatching forces to suppress the rebels. The rebel forces however would decisively route the Caliphal provincial forces sent to suppress them and the Atlas mountains would remain a hotbed of rebellion and tension as the rebel leader claimed to have the power to displace bullets and to teleport across the battlefield. Rhetoric spread across the mountains rapidly that the Saadi Caliphs were Khwarij usurpers and that they were soft on the Christians and harsh against the Muslim, driving a wedge between many of the people, as loyalty to the Caliph conflicted with the speech of the Sufi who preached jihad against Christians and the expulsion of the French.

Fires of rebellion in the heartlands of Morocco continued to burn, meanwhile the Caliph was far to the north where his power was secure, his older age focusing his attention on matters of succession. Trade with the French had made his country wealthier and the obligation of jihad, was his alone and not that of lone jihadists. Clerics associated with the Caliphate issued fatwas condemning what was called 'independent jihad' and instead supporting the notion that jihad is a collective struggle by which men and women must adhere to the protocol and affirm their loyalty to the Caliph above all else. The dispute on jihad and the ongoing rebellion in the Atlas mountains would become the most important issue, outpacing the problems in the southern provinces by leaps.

The Mossi cavalry
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Despite the chaos emerging from the Atlas Mountains, the situation in the south was more stable than expected when the Caliphal Emir and general Muaz Mansouri arrived with his army of 25,000 fighters. Judar Pasha, (renamed to Judar Amid posthumously), had successfully operated the southern provinces and by buttressing the government of Mahmud IV in Mali, created a powerful proxy and wall of protection against the warlike and pagan Great Fula. Further, diplomacy and situational trade with the Mossi pagan federation south of Timbuktu, secured the peace from the furthest south. The biggest obstacles were the continued prestige of the Askiya household, and the resistance of the Songhai peoples against the Saadi Caliphate.

Muaz Mansouri arrived in Timbuktu carrying the orders of the Caliph, which proclaimed Mahmud al-Longo, Emir of the Arma people as the perpetual Emirs of Timbuktu, augmenting their already fanatical devotion to the Saadi Caliphate. Gold was also carried by the Saadi army which then was distributed across the city as charity and for the building of new madrassa. More importantly however, Muaz Mansouri declared Badr Kanbu, the Saadi-aligned puppet Askiya Sultan, as the new Sultan of Dendi and a vassal to the Saadi Caliphate. To truly affirm Badr Kanbu however, Muaz Mansouri would need to suppress the formidable force commanded by Askiya Harun Uthman whose army had swelled to 40,000 and outnumbered the Saadi army. During the time it took Muaz Mansouri to arrive, the Askiya rebels had marched on the city of Kukiya on the Niger River, capturing it and coordinated with the Djenne rebels to launch a siege of Gao, which was staunchly defended by Saadi loyalists. Muaz Mansouri understood the dire situation and dispatched envoy to the Mossi, giving them tribute in gold and horses in exchange for their neutrality, an acceptance they made. With the Mossi pacified, Muaz Mansouri launched an expedition with 31,000 fighters against Gao, seeking to relieve the city in the Spring of 1617 and defeat the Askiya rebels wholesale.

Muaz Mansouri would arrive in delayed fashion, his force of Tuareg and Moroccan cavalry and gunners arriving first while the flanks and the rear was guarded by the Arma and the local fighters, mostly drawn from the Songhay peoples. Badr Kanbu held the rear riding a triumphant horse, Arma and Songhay fighters defended him as the new Sultan of Dendi. The Battle of Gao would begin and would last a brief moment, as the Askiya army would be overconfident and launch a charge against the Saadi forces that seemed weaker, only to fall trap to a series of gunfire and then a counter charge by Tuareg cavalry that would crush the Askiya center. Askiya forces would however have less losses and would retreat to Kukiya. The war continued into the Summer of 1617, with Muaz Mansouri dispatching Mahmud al-Longo with a force to subjugate Djenne and support the Mali Sultan Mahmud IV in suppressing the rebels around Djenne. Saadi forces would succeed in the upcoming months to subdue the rebels in Djenne, and Muaz Mansouri would recapture Kukiya by September of 1617, securing the city and driving out Askiya forces from the near vicinity of Timbuktu. Subsequent attempts however to launch forrays into the southeast to subdue the Askiya heartlands of Dendi would be frustrated by growing raids from the Mossi, who reneged on their treaty after Saadi victories frightened them. Mossi support of the Askiya would secure their salvation, allowing them to recover for the next year of 1618. Nevertheless, Muaz Mansouri had subdued the threats to the southern provinces and began a policy of dealing with these issues over time, just as Judar Amid al-Franki had done.

To the further south of the Mossi, the Dutch traders entered into connections with the Benin king Ohuan. Ohuan fresh from his defense of Benin against the Oyo, sought new partners to replenish his army. Initially opposed to Europeans, Ohuan became more friendly to the English and the Dutch on account of their lack of conversion efforts and overall ambiguous statements on religion. Therefore, in 1617, Ohuan would permit the opening of a Dutch 'factory' in Benin and permission for the Dutch to build a new fort not a far distance from the Portuguese fort, creating a new level of animosity between the two powers in Western Africa. Neither would however come to blows due to the prevailing power of Ohuan. English merchants however remained the more favored group in Benin, with Ohuan using English merchants as advisors on the affairs of foreigners. Ohuan viewed Europeans as unmanly, but skilled in creating new objects and he saw the English as the ones most readied to serve his purposes of defending against the Oyo and acquiring greater wealth and prestige for his supposed divine lineage.

@Dadarian , @baboushreturns , @Sneakyflaps , @ZealousThoughts , @ByzantineCaesar , @Vitalian , @Korona , @Theaxofwar

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[Nerdorama]

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The Tsa Yig Chenmo of Ngawang Namgyal​

In 1616 CE, the hereditary prince of Ralung and throne-holder of the Drukpa Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism, Ngawang Namgyal, fled the country a step ahead of his physical and spiritual enemy, the Desi of Tsang. Establishing a new monastery in the Thimpu Valley, called Chagri or Cheri monastery, Namgyal brought with him the tsa yig, or monastic constitution, which he had upheld in Ralung previously. Over the course of the late 1610s and early 1620s, this monastic constitution was refined into a code of law that would serve as a template for the new state that would grow from Namgyal's power base in Thimpu. An expression of the Tibetan dual system of government, where power was shared between temporal and religious branches answering to a supreme head of government, the Tsa Yig Chenmo would focus on the promotion of Buddhist piety and justice, and the reduction of materialist trappings of power, in line with the teachings of Tibetan Buddhism. The code of the Tsa Yig Chenmo would delineate the two parallel branches of secular and spiritual government, the laws they would enforce, and their powers, and some of its tenets were as follows.

All laws applied to the populace in general were based on outlawing the ten impious acts, or promoting the sixteen acts of social piety. All homicide and attempted homicide was outlawed outright, with penalty to be given to victims' families or would-be victims in the form of blood-money and fines assessed by the temporal authorities - although killing in self-defense was allowed and unpunished, and the killing of outlaws was to be rewarded by the state. Even the children of murderers would be subject to banishment, their property reverting to the nearest non-banished relative. Robbery and theft were punished by multiplicative restitution - a hundred times for theft from the temple, eighty times for theft from the secular government, and eight times for theft among normal subjects. Adultery was also punished by fines of property, and falsehood with the swearing of oaths in the temple before Bhutan's tutelary deities. The acts of social piety promoted by law including filial respect for parents and elders, an admonition to accept with gratitude any kind action received from others, and to avoid dishonesty and falsehood.

Rules and powers for the secular administration, as delineated in the Tsa Yig Chenmo, revolve around the duty of the kings (debs, governors and administrators who may or may not be hereditary) toward Dharma, and the duty to cultivate Dharmic righteousness within their subjects. The secular authorities were responsible for the training and piety of monks, creating a kind of balance of power between palace and temple, as well as the development of bureaucratic and educator classes. The secular administration was also responsible not only for law enforcement, maintenance of the military, and the collection of taxes, but also the happiness and satisfaction of the raiyats (peasants) at large, as a content population was the sign of an enlightened, Dharmic realm. In general, the tsa yig charged secular authorities, not just with the administration of justice, but with just execution of the law, and rendered even the 'kings' and administrators subject to reprisal if the spirit of the law was not followed, or if extortion or brutality occurred, a particularly Tibetan Buddhist form of legality that would seem almost Enlightened to future European observers. Unusually for the time, but typically of Buddhist states, slavery and bondage generally was disallowed by the Tsa Yig Chenmo, though monetary restitution for lawbreaking could come in the form of labor if the perpetrator had no rice or silver to give.

Rules and powers for the spiritual leaders and monks of the communities were generally less relevant to daily life outside of the monasteries, save for the general protection under the law given to monasteries and temples. As a whole, the priestly class was expected to follow the tenets of the Drukpa Kagyu school of Buddhism, with the typical Tibetan focus on self-perfection through meditation and rites pursuant to the Five Paths. Where the Tsa Yig Chenpo related the monastic traditions to the state was in perpetuating the Buddhist system of parallel governing structures - while the kings and bureaucrats were responsible for material law, the monks were responsible for spiritual instruction and guidance, in addition to their own self-perfection on the Bodhisattva path.

Above all of the people of Bhutan, and the two branches of government, the Tsa Yig Chenpo promoted a supreme head of government responsible for both, the rinpoche (gem) or, particularly, the Zhabdrung Rinpoche, "at whose feet one submits", the lama and ultimate authority of the country. Naturally, as the promulgator and formulator of the Tsa Ying Chenpo, and as both prince and lama, this role belonged to Ngawang Namgyal within Bhutan. That said, by the year 1620, the status of the lawless Bhutanese mountains was still in flux, and it would take the concerted efforts of Namgyal and his followers over the following years to bring the new constitutional monasticism to a dominant role in the country.

Most of this post is sourced and paraphrased from John Claude White, Sikhim & Bhutan: Twenty-one Years on the North-east Frontier, 1887-1908, E. Arnold, 1909, pp. 301-310

 

[John7755 يوحنا]

Ibrahim Adil Shah II in his 38th regnal year, 1618


Affairs of the Deccan
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Sultan Muhammad Qutb Shah, entered his fifth regnal year far different than his third, where previously he came as a triumphant ghazi, now he was known as a reclusive mystic. Residing in the royal palace at Hyderabad, the Shah became inaccessible even further, rarely exiting his chambers and instead sending out periodical edicts and otherwise allowing the state to manage itself. Failure of the Superintendency system and the inability of the Shah to administer effective reforms led him into a life of leisure and religious contemplation. Further policies would be focused on construction, expansion of the existing burial centers, and the maintenance of funding for Sultan Nagar, the palace town for his queen and heir, Abdallah.

What did change was an even more intense growth of the Persianate exile population in the kingdom. Persian speaking scholars and elites would arrive and have an important impact on Hyderabad. Scholars of all kinds would settle in Hyderabad and the city would continue to be among the foremost centers of Twelver Shi'a learning across Hindustan. Mir Damad, a renowned mathematician from Shiraz Isfahan would be among the most notable arrivals to Hyderabad in 1616. Establishing himself in Hyderabad, he was given a loan from the palace to found a study which he formed in the central sector of the city, teaching math and ruminating on the affairs of math, theology, and astrology. Mir Damad would continue to promote his so-called 'School of Isfahan' which argued that all 'reason' is actually divine wisdom or revelation and that there was no such thing as reason or revelation, but all wisdom is emergent from revelation granted by Allah. His presence in Hyderabad would attract others from Iran to Hyderabad, wherein the School of Isfahan would grow.

Twelver Shi'a Islam continued to also expand its influence within Hyderabad, with the Ulema becoming more powerful as a result of the decline of direct governance by the Shah. Deccani elites squabbled with the Ulema, but the Ulema would grow in wealth as a result of royal land grants, which saw the Ulema form powerful influence. Legalistic understanding of Islam and Shi'ite Islam became thus more common in Hyderabad and the surrounding locales, often mixing with Sufi thought where possible. Nevertheless, Hyderabad became the world's largest center for Shi'a legal learning and thought, surpassing any of the Iranian centers by 1616 and surpassing the holy cities of Najaf-Karbala or the Mughal controlled Lucknow.

Within Hyderabad however, a former student of Mir Damad began to cause waves of tension and dispute. Mulla Sadra, arrived in Hyderabad in 1616 with his teacher Mir Damad, but quickly moved to the growing Palace Town of Sultan Nagar where he began producing treatises expounding on his own ideas borne from learning under Mir Damad. Key in Mulla Sadra's teaching would be his view that existence is reality and that there is no separation between the spiritual and physical, all things are united by their real existence so to speak. Moving on from this, Mulla Sadra applied pantheistic thought to his views, asserting Unity of Existence, that Allah has a 'pure existence.' Local Ulema began to discuss this idea and would be a major point of discussion in the Palace of Hyderabad. As the scholarly wealth of the city grew, so too did disputes and with the emergence of various interactions and angles of Islamic thought from various schools and the local Hindu and Deccani Muslim, issues emerged in ideology that the Deccani Shahs had rarely ever considered.

Ibrahim Adil Shah II for his part remained open to the cosmopolitan Persianate transfer from Iran. The ruling Aqafi faction commanded serious power in the country and the palace, lording over the Deccani nobles in Bijapur with the aid of the ruling Adil Shah royalty. Aqafi-royal alliance held strong, but despite the continual calls for jihad from Bijapur, no wars would be fought on behalf of the Bijapur military forces and instead the Shah remained content to compose Vidya and enjoy life. Indeed, the Bijapur Shah had grown old and was enjoying the remainder of his life in that which he loved, song, dance, poetry, and hunting.

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Malik Ambar, Grand Vizier of the Ahmednagar Shahdom

Malik Ambar's ascent in Ahmednagar had reduced the power of the Nizari sect of Shi'ism and demolished the prowess of the Persianate emigree community, ushering in a tripartite power of the Habshi slave warriors, Deccani nobles, and the Marathi lords. While this division into three powers had successfully defanged the Nizam Shahs, whose current ruler, Nizam Shah XI ruled as a puppet ruler, it created a scene of disunity. Malik Ambar however was imminently capable and provided for his subordinates, by promoting a tolerant policy, supporting Sunni Islam, especially the Naqshbandi sect. Malik Ambar's intentions seemed to most be aligned to the necessity, under his view, of defeating the former Nizari aligned Persian elites and instead supporting the emergence of his own ruling class. Nevertheless, the true power would be held by Malik Ambar and his government would embark upon further actions to endanger the Nizari Imam, Khalilullah. Khalilullah in 1615 had retreated into a rural village near Ahmednagar and began to take quietist approaches to government, but Malik Ambar began to place regular guards to watch the actions of the Imam and to ensure that he would not act in agitation of the new order.

Malik Ambar however would face growing enmity from the powers that be across the border in Gujarat, where Khurram Mirza, the so-called Great Prince, rallied support against Malik Ambar. The primary recipient of Qizbilash notables, warriors, and poets, the hatred that the Qizbilash held for aggressive Sunnis such as Malik Ambar were palpable. Describing Malik Ambar as the 'Demon Soul' Khurram Mirza commissioned fatwas opposing the use of Habshi slave warriors and against so-called unlawful seizure of power on behalf of court factions. Khurram Mirza even began levying missions to the court of the Padishah Khurshid Shah, seeking military support against Malik Ambar, suggesting an expedition against Malik Ambar.

The dispute between Khurram Mirza and Malik Ambar however was only part of a wider growing struggle in the court of the Padishah over the matter of the Shi'a-Sunni divide. Shi'ism was quickly becoming an even stronger force in Gujarat due to the presence of the Qizbilash and the expansion of so-called Zuljana thought through the 'Neo-Safavid' Order across northern India, especially from Delhi to Lucknow, caused many in the Naqshbandi Order & movement to fear the potential changes that occur under these Shi'ite migration and consolidation within Hindustan. While the empire faced the growing sectarianism, the Padishah Khurshid was focused on totally opposing matters and instead continued a war effort against the Uzbek to the northeast and against the Roshani Movement within the Punjab.

World Ruler, Khurshid Shah, depicted holding the orb representing the universe

Affairs of the Timurid Realms
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Khurshid Shah, the Padishah of the Universe, refused to submit to the growing trends in Iran after the destruction of the Safavid Restorationist Coalition, finding in himself the will to continue the war in some fashion. For Khurshid Shah, the war was worth everything and he spent graciously in the provision of resources to command a new supply line to both crush the Roshani and to expend armies to reinforce the city of Kabul. Padishah Khurshid Shah went far beyond even the expectations of radically anti-Uzbek forces in the Timurid Court by declaring his intent to move his residency to Punjab for a period to sojourn and administer the war effort.

Grand Vizier Afzal Khan had cautioned against such a move, but his absence from the court life of the Padishah did not permit his dissuading and the Padishah prepared to leave Allahabad and travel to Lahore to set his headquarters. Without fully understanding the matter, the Padishah had endangered the war effort immensely. The moving court of the Padishah was a behemoth, carrying with itself around 300,000 souls and an even large number of animals. The move of such a massive throng caused massive amounts of resources and the movement of the court was a slow process. When Padishah Khurshid declared the move, the move would seem to be a continental shaking as many forces slowly unhinged in Allahabad and prepared for the mass journey. Resources had to be counted, everything made perfect, and the whole array made splendid, all slowing the process immensely. The whole debacle would take more than 9 months, as the Padishah's court slowly meandered to Punjab in the year 1618, having spent massive amounts of funds in the journey. However, the journey while costly and without any benefit to the war with the Uzbek, caused a booming economy across Northern India, for it marked the most rapid movement of people in the region with large amounts of funds in all of Indian history. Millions of people benefited from the selling of supplies to the moving court and the economic prospects of Hindustan substantially grew.

By the time the Padishah arrived in Punjab with his horde of courtiers, soldiers, slaves, dancers, clerics, and cattle, there had been no change in the military fronts whatsoever with the Uzbek. Funds simply were not present to press more resources to Kabulistan and the Grand Vizier maintained a defensive stance for as long as possible. In the Roshani front, the Timurid forces would continue to harry the Roshani, driving them into the hills and mountains of the north of the province, which would remain their sole area of operation. Fear of the Padishah led to the Roshani taking a defensive stance for the remainder of 1617 and 1618, hiding in forts, caves or in villages in the mountainous and hilly north.

In the eastern section of the Timurid Protectorate of Hindustan, the Bengal province enjoyed a period of peace relatively. While the east and southeast of the province remained outside of formal control and consistent raids against the Timurid province continued from nearby tribes of the jungle, the province's populated areas remained prosperous. Trade with Spain, Netherlands, Denmark, England, and new merchants from France, provided many new trinkets to the Bengal governate. Indonesian spices flowed inward and goods from China found fair prices. In all, Bengal continued to be the entrepot of trade in the region, the most important port for foreign trade for the Timurid royalty.

Devaraja Anaukpetlun, 1616

Affairs of Mainland Southeast Asia
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The position of Anaukpetlun and the Burmese kingdom would continue the 1615 period of peace and prosperity. Sponsoring the continuation of the policies of peace and prosperity within Burma, Anuakpetlun would open the port of Pegu to continued trade with the Englis, and a new arrival of merchants from France and Denmark began to appear and make their name known. Pegu was for Europeans a land of immense mystery and wealth that promised the spread of rich resource and endless opportunity. So great was the allure of Burma that Burma would become a term used by English business operators in founding salons and other social clubs, naming their clubs titles such as 'Burmese Delights' and 'Burma Upon Eight Clouds.'

The Great King of Burma would also cease in 1616 in the use of his previous name and instead rename himself with the 'throne name' Maha Dhamma Yaza and continue to construct new crowns, ornaments, and pavilions to the already stupendous royal palace in Pegu. Buddhist pilgrims would also grow in number in Pegu, travelling to visit the Devaraja's Palace and temple complexes, and to prepare for journey to the lands of Hindustan which had opened to Buddhist pilgrims following a collection of deals formed between the Burmese and Timurid delegations in 1613. The Ava region to the north, the heartland of Burma also continued to restore its once vaunted wealth after the devastation wrought by the Siamese armies and the Shan to the north. The Devaraja had promised to gain vengeance for these atrocities against the Siamese, however, as 1618 became closer and more eminent, the possibility of this vengeance cooled. The Shan would however feel the brunt of the fury of the Devaraja.

Regular incursions by the Burmese armies into the Shan lands would be a regular occurrence during the winter campaign season. Soldiers from Burma would strike into the north, taking copious slaves, burning villages and killing local elites to deprive the Shan of leadership. Incursions against the Great Ming governate of Yunnan also were an occurrence but began to die down to emerging issues in Yunnan and the growing resistance along the border by tribal chiefs who consolidated into fearsome war parties that dealt blows to Burmese expeditions in middle 1617. Relations to the west between Burma and Arakan would also see a bit of a revival after a period of lull and hostility. Razi III, the long time king of Arakan, famed for his skilled diplomacy and martial skill displayed his deft tongue by surrendering to Burma as a tributary in 1617, offering regular tribute to the Burmese Devaraja. In reality, little changed for Arakan and their piracy continued to plague the Bengalese coast, and their armies remained strong and their navy large and fearsome.

Affairs of Cambodia & the Mekong Delta
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In 1614, the King of Cambodia, Borom Reachea II perished and was succeeded by Borom Reachea III, the cousin of the former king. Despite an initial surge of energy, the new Cambodian monarch ruled only for a few weeks before he died after an acute Cholera infection. Cholera had reached epidemic proportions along the coastal region of the kingdom by 1615 and the results saw tens of thousands perish. Alongside this affair was continued incursions into the Cambodian border territories by Siamese raiders, who sacked border towns and took slaves. Bandits also raged about the interior of the country, causing mischief and mayhem.

Similar to the situation in Siam, many in the Cambodian court began to blame the influence of Spanish and Portuguese missionaries and merchants. Suggesting that the gods were angry, millennial religious movements erupted inside Cambodia to oppose the influence of Christianity. Christian converts were attacked in the streets of the capitol city and in the countryside small churches were set alight. Jesuit envoys signaled the disastrous situation emerging in Cambodia could lead to collapse and sent word to Los Angeles seeking support. In this malaise, the young son of Borom Reachea III ascended the throne, taking the name Chey Chettha II, who promised to resolve the issues facing the kingdom.

Chey Chettha II would upon his ascent notice much danger in his current capitol and by 1615 with the raging of the epidemic becoming all too hazardous, the King declared the court moved across the Mekong River to Oudong. Oudong was a small village and would offer a more tranquil environment to start anew and more importantly, quell the influence of the Jesuit and the Spanish bodyguard who followed the king in the capitol. Requesting that the Spaniards and Portuguese remain in the old capitol to guard it, the Jesuit quickly understood the danger that they were in. Many Jesuit would retreat to the coastal areas as a result, while the soldiers began to evacuate, finding a battle int he heart of Cambodia likely futile without support from Siam.

Chey Chettha II had scored his first victory in 1615 through the moving of the capitol, reducing Spanish influence, but now he faced more important problems, dealing with consistent raids from Siam, the migration of Viet settlers from the north into the Mekong, bandit rebellions in the interior and war against the various kingdoms to the east between itself and Dai Viet, namely the Jarai Kingdom, Maa Kingdom, and the Lat and Mnong peoples who waged war in coalition with each other against the Cambodian royal government. In order to rectify these problems, Chey Chettha II dispatched envoys to the Dai Viet, seeking to come to an accord with their government. While the envoys would be back logged into meeting with the Hongding Emperor, the Cambodian court would be permitted, illicitly, by the Nguyen Lords to trade with the expanding Dai Viet realm and to peddle their goods through smuggling operations into Dai Viet. Chey Chettha thus slowly began to, by 1616 ignore the constant stream of Viet settlers into the Mekong Delta, who nominally were within Cambodian realm, but otherwise were subjects of the 'Great Hongding Emperor.'

Ignoring the Viet settlers however carried some benefit for the royalty of Oudong in allowing the government to tend to the ongoing banditry problems and to fortify the border against slave raiding. Thousands of slaves were taken from Cambodia yearly as a result of attacks from Siam, Lan Xiang, and from the Cham pirates to the southeast, all of whom would thence sell Cambodian captives in markets across the region, especially enriching the port city of Los Angeles, which then sold these slaves to plantations across the Indonesian archipelago or to far afield places such as Mexico. Chey Chettha II dealt with this problem by issuing a line of new forts to be built on the northern border, and importing Viet engineers to do so. by 1617, a better fortification program had been developed and with regular sentries, Cambodia was better protected. Banditry however would remain a persistent threat in the interior of the country into 1620, with little major changes.

Cambodian envoys would still continue to gather in the palace at Los Angeles, but the influence of Jesuit and the Spanish lobby had descended to the coastline where forts had formed covers of forts operated by Spanish-Portuguese captains with hired fighters from across Indonesia and Southeast Asia. These forts were allowed to operate under the pretense that they warded off Cham pirates, however, the reality were that these forts acted as pins of Spanish influence in the region and pirate coves of their own, raiding for slaves and taking tolls from the local merchants and fishermen. Little however could be done to solve the problem in 1618 and the problem continued to grow into the next years.

Affairs of Java
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After a lengthy and unsuccessful campaign in 1615 by Sultan Agung, the Matarram Sultanate focused on securing its east and subduing any remaining rebels in the years 1616-1618, allowing the Dutch to consolidate in the west. Sultan Agung focused his attention on crushing the city of Lasem. Allied to the Surabaya who had been subdued in 1615, Lasem remained a hotbed of rebellion with support from Dutch traders and warriors from Sulawesi. The local 'King of Lasem' a certain Rangabuna launched expeditions in the Spring of 1616 to retake Surabaya, but would be decisively defeated by Sultan Agung, who repelled the offensive and set siege to Lasem. After a prolonged siege, Lasem would fall and be subject to brutal lootings by the voracious muhajhid forces.

Turning to the Hindus of the east, Agung began launching expeditions in the Summer of 1617 against Gilgal. Sacking many border towns, the Sultan Agng claimed the title of Ghazi and adorned his residency with a large number of Hindu slaves he captured. In the fall of 1617, Sultan Agung then personally captured the rebel city of Pasuran, sacking its city and killing 340 merchants and throwing their limbs into the sea. Quickly, the whole of the east of the island was being subdued and Jan Coen maintained a policy of defensive preparedness as opposed to attacking. The fall of 1617 would however be one of relative peace as Sultan Agung contented himself with slave raids against the Hindu for the remainder of the year.

Sultan Agung also would issue a last series of terror upon the remainder of the Hindu populations within his control of Java. Using the new Qadri clerics to issue bans on polytheism and the liquidation of the Brahmin and Kshatriya castes within Java, a small series of internal wars raged, the last breath of the old Hindu social order. Thousands of remaining Hindu would be killed in bloody religious genocide and or forced to flee to ore tolerant islands to the east or south.

Jan Coen for his part consolidated his government in Batavia, securing the fortification of the city further, building a new fort and a third line of walls made of wooden planks. Collecting tribute as the representative of the Ottoman Caliph also allowed Jan Coen to collect tribute widely and receive a long slough of declarations of fealty and the creation of a veritable government. Taking greatly from Ottoman examples, the Dutch would found the Batavian Diwan, and govern the western section of Java as a Dutch colonial possession that increasingly appeared as a firm and stable government.

@baboushreturns , @Graf Tzarogy , @Redtape , @ZealousThoughts , @Canned Knight , @Nerdorama , @Vitalian , @Velasco , @Vald , @Sneakyflaps

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[John7755 يوحنا]

King Louis XIII, The Sacred King of France

The Background of the Fifth Anglo-French War, Years 1617-1618
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The death of king Henry IV in February of 1616 was followed by the quick ascension of his ambitious and vigorous son, Louis XIII. Louis XIII ascended the throne with immense splendor and pageantry meant to display his utmost majesty across the world. Tribute from across his domain was given as a coterie of nobles and clerics presented a vast array of gifts from across the kingdom and its dependencies appeared in Paris to pay homage to the so-called universal ruler. Feasts were held in the honor of the king and following his rise to grandeur as the king and his crowning, the king began a month long period of royal mourning for the late king Henry IV.

Regarding Henry IV as the giant of the age, the grand founder of the dynasty's lineage on the throne, Louis XIII paid immense homage to his father and would continue to imbue his reign with the sense of majesty inherited from his father. Portraits eponymously were commissioned to depict Henry IV in a holy manner and in younger age, an expression of his eternal and glistening presence in the kingdom. Statues were constructed in Paris and across the region about the north of France, embodying the majestic legacy of the dynasty. Bronze caste statues with the king holding military arms, displaying hunting adventures and his ultimate victories over Spanish enemies became hallmarks of the depictions. Along new walls, iconic graphics were added that display the late king defeating the forces of rival factions in the Wars of Religion and expelling the Spanish from France. Finally, Louis XIII inserted himself in these depictions, arrayed beside his father in trampling over enemy forces and devastating Spanish armies, despite not having been alive at the time.

Following in the legacy of his father, Louis XIII continued the last request of his father to extend the wall of Paris and refurbish the defenses of the city to its northern angle. Perhaps onset more by the warfare emerging with England and potential conflict with Spain, the defensive walls and fortifications began in mid 1616 and would continue to be reenforced for the next few years. Walls were not only a construct of defense however, but also for the purpose of reorganizing the overgrowing Parisian cityscape. New walls emerged on the edge, forcing people inside the walls or outside into the countryside, causing some changes in the Parisian city scape on the outskirts of the city. Walls also carried propaganda purposes, with envoys of the king delivering speeches and orders to the populace of the Peaceful King extending his direct protection further outwards, extending his grateful and loving arm to surround the city of Paris. Walls were adorned with images of victorious kings of France slaying enemies and receiving submission from the people, and in this sense, the infrastructure works were displays of power, not only of utility. Observers noted that the king and his court had little reason to fear from threats and the construction of the new wall was perhaps less intensely related to military matters, but more so in the realm of display and organizing Paris, a trend in French martial conduct in the last decade, a focus on strength through display and being.

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Depiction of a fictional 'new' Henry IV of France

Perhaps the greatest legacy of Henry IV in material terms was the culminating completion of the Briar Canal in 1615. Louis XIII would be the king who would reap the benefits of this massive, the largest canal in all of Europe and would begin to regulate this massive canal. At the conclusion of the mourning period of 1616, Louis XIII unveiled a new name for the canal, calling the canal the 'Great Canal of King Henry IV' and colloquially referred to as the Henriad Canal or King Henry's Canal. Louis XIII would found a new governing body called the Ministry of Waterways and then the 'Great Canal Council' which regulated and governed the canals of France, while the Great Canal Council administered the Henriad Canal. The Duke of Sully was made the first Minister of Waterways and the lead of the Great Canal Council, signaling a continuation of the old guard in the government of Louis XIII.

The Great Canal Council received directive to promote the formation of inns and posts across the Great Canal with royal seals signaling the formation of official royal placements. Militia regulated and recruited by the Ministry of Waterways would be garrisoned along the Great Canal in the inns & posts, and commanded by captains who then were tasked with subduing bandits and criminals along the canal. Protection of this canal system was critical and the inns also acted as places of observation as to the health of the canal and its susceptibility for flooding or causing of drought.

Along the Great Canal further, the Ministry of Waterways built locks at various points and permitted the formation of streams, ponds, large pools, and reservoirs that stretched across the area. The massive flow of water in all directions changed the whole of the northwest region of the kingdom and revolutionized the whole policy and economic considerations of the Palace of Paris, which now transitioned towards an immense focus on protecting and guarding this vital water way connecting its western regions in a series of riverine transit, all culminating in the transfer of tribute to Paris. In its first two years of operation, the canal increased the revenue of the royal court immensely, shortening the time for feudal and tax dues to the capitol and allowing the palace to collect revenue from fees along the canal, which while kept low, were enforced in these first years.

King Louis XIII of France, 1618​

French royal ideology received immense benefits from this Grand Canal. Already incensed with royal praise fervor, scholars in Paris praised the construction and development as a 'sign of the times.' Sycophant and supporter of the royalism in France, Charles Loyseau presented a new wor in 1617 to the University of Paris titled 'The Eden of Our Age' in which he stated that 'under the aegis of the true king of the land, the world is placed into orderliness and protection; under his aegis, the morality of the people are calmed and new Eden of our Age emerges.' Loyseau expanded on the continued royalist treatises that emerged to describe the royalist doctrine of the Parisian Palace which had supposedly brought peace, stability, and prosperity to the whole world. Isaac Causabon, one of the most important scholars in Paris and the most regarded philologist present in the Paris University even published his own statements in favor of the monarchy.

Isaac Causabon had been for many years a quietist scholar, well regarded and accredited, however, in 1617, he issued treatises claiming that the objective of the rightful monarch was to create world peace. World peace meant according to Causabon, the universal display of majesty, the subduing of rebels, and the unification of all of Christendom under a single royal authority. In this manner, Causabon would use the work De Monarchi, from the famed Dante Alighieri to condemn what he called false monarchism, of the Jesuit, and stated that the Catholic Church was part of a wider 'earthly kingdom of divine origin.' Therefore, while the Pope is the commander of the clerical hierarchy, the Frankish king is the legitimate possessor of an ancient, primordial divine legacy of kingship that makes him superior to all others and thence a ruler of the world. This expression had been made before by many scholars in Paris, but its continued resilience and the growing power of France, gave it more credit, especially as the Holy Roman Empire descended into conflict and the war with the Kingdom of England began. Causabon regarded the war with England as an expression of the resistance of powers to the inevitable unification of the world under the rightful sacred king, just as Dante had once said of rebellions within the Holy Roman Empire.

Despite the royalism so highly regarded in the University of Paris, many nobles in France, especially in the south, remained less than enthused. The Noble Right mythos continued to be expressed in the south, with noble lords claiming to have been the origin of royal power and the 'luck' of the nation was not borne through the monarch, but by a comprehensive connection between its parts, the nobles, the parlements, and the kingly office, which was dictated by the mandate of noble rights and privileges. In the University of Samur, the nobles would find a nexus for their views and a place of fervent resistance to the current policies of the royal office. Curiously located along the Great Canal and thus in a boom, the Protestant populace of Samur had been supporters of the Bourbon and the commoners remained relatively so, however, the prestigious university of Samur formed a unique clique of scholars, all Calvinist, who espoused the doctrines learned in Switzerland and most importantly, Netherlands. Chief of these cadre of thinkers was Philip Mornay, who argued that the king had no divine right, but ruled through the consent of a confederation of leaders in the community, and that an unjust monarch would be, and ought to be, deposed by the righteous denizens of a country. More worrisome however was that the University of Samur included in its ranks several Catholic scholars and thinkers who supported the doctrines of the university.

Inspired by the 1598 production of the work, 'On the King and the Royal Institution' by the influential Spanish Jesuit, Juan de Mariana, several Catholic scholars of various backgrounds supported ideas that suggested that an unjust king could be deposed. Claiming that the king was ordained not by God, but by the Church, scholars of this category embraced a king of high ultramontanism wherein the Holy See and its associated parts within the Catholic Church, could remove an unjust or improper king. In this fashion, the University of Samur became host to a wide collection of malcontents and opponents of the divine rite of kings, practiced in various countries and worked as a nexus for these ideas in Europe as a whole. Noble resistance to the Parisian Palace rendered continued support to this university, both Catholic and Protestant, creating an unfortunate situation for the Parisian Palace in dealing with the threats of the nobles and of anti-monarch doctrines.

King James I of England & Ireland and VI of Scotland, 1617
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The Kingdom of England was in a different situation. With the Rebellion of Robert Devereux and the outbreak of a new Irish rebellion, this time led by Catholic English exiles and by sympathetic Irish clans, the King's hold on power actually grew. Previously, the Parliament of London, swayed too greatly by Puritans had restrained the king and diminished the royal finances by refusing to support the initiatives of the king. The meddling of the Puritans and the drain on the efficacy of the royal government had caused a crisis of sorts across the realm whereby the kingdom's armed forces went underfunded and under supported. When the Irish rebellion upsurged and the French involvement became known and war erupted with the French, the public of London roused in support of their king.

King James did not sit idly and let this chance pass, using his power and the public support arraying in London, the king issued the recall of the current Parliament and the formation of a new Parliament to begin. The reshuffling of Parliament could not occur quicker, in the month of December, 1616, the new Parliament convened and voted on the refurbishing of the naval budget, construction of new ships, and the support of gradual increases in funding for the ground forces of the army in expectation of a continental conflict or a protracted conflict with the Irish rebels. Parliamentary funding came with public speeches, poems, and praises that called the necessity of destroying the rebels in Ireland and ending foreign meddling in the affairs of the English crown.

The celebratory air was one of massive patriotism in England, as the king displayed his prowess and his enemies began to shy away into the shadows or corners of London, not wishing to make their views known. Fears of French universalism further fueled the fans of warfare, as the English intellectuals in London, familiar with the intellectual trends in Paris, discussed the reality of the French king, being a claimant to world rule, would eventually seek to conquer England and as such, the English duty was to resist the French at any cost and drive them southward and away from Ireland. Royal absolutism also found currency, as the reality of disloyalty of the ministers and officials of the king became known through the rebellion of Devereux, an inexplicable thing truly. While the Kingdom of England was certainly readied for war and had the manpower to do so, many hidden factors would come to haunt the Kingdom of England's war effort.

Henry de Montmorency, Grand Admiral of France & Charles Howard, Earl of Nottingham, Lord High Admiral of England

Early 1617, Anglo-French Struggle at Sea
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At the outset of the war between England and France, the two militaries were in very different positions. The English navy was famed across Europe for its successful victories against the Spanish in the 1580s and its foundational strikes with the Dutch on Spain. English naval superiority was taken for granted without much question and the English naval resources bore this reality. The esteemed and wise Lord High Admiral Charles Howard was especially venerable and well regarded within the military, royal court and among the public, having been the great hero over the Spanish and the 'Defender of Protestantism,' the slayer of the Catholic enemies, and the serviceman of the royal vision. He had served the late queen unquestionably and now he too served his king with a virulent vision of patriotic defense most becoming for a member of his rank and lineage. However, following the 1590s, the English Parliament under first Queen Elizabeth and thenceforth under James, had proceeded with a pernicious worship of the status quo and corruption set in at all levels of the navy and by extension, the various sectors of defense.

English conservatism and complacency, and most importantly, the corruption of the navy would provide a vehicle for French success in an otherwise impossible bid for power for them. French naval capability was much less than the English, possessing less ships, less docks, and less experience, however, they had an innovative and ambitious admiral in Henry de Montmorency, who was the first younger man, who was beneath the age of 40 in the military and or governing apparatus of the French Kingdom. As a result, the young Louis XIII saw him as a potential favorite and dispatched to him a 'blank check' in terms of his actions to secure a tactical victory for the French military and geopolitical objectives in the war.

Henry de Montmorency was inspired by the innovative methods used by the Spanish and saw the importance of feigns for his military actions and created a set of protocols to avoid detection and or counterattacks that had been developed in the recent wars between Spain and Netherlands. These set of basic rules included avoiding confrontations, and launching feigned attacks on various points to distract the English, most notably attempting to induce fear in England of a French invasion of Britain itself. These methods would be very effective, as the French navy would distract the English navy, which lusted for prestige battles at sea and chased the French shipping around the Channel, destroying some ships, but otherwise chasing a tail about the sea, while smaller and quicker French vessels escaped notice and delivered a stream of supplies to Wexford which then were transferred north to Dublin by land. Further, small ships would arrive at Cork, presenting new goods and supplies to the Irish clans of the west, those who had rebelled previously, inspiring much fear in the countryside of a further rebellion. fortunately for both sides, the Irish clans of the southwest remained peaceable, not rebellion or supporting any side.

Pirate, Jack Ward, also known as Yusuf Reis, 1617

The Moroccan Intrusions​

Furthermore, an inauspicious event at sea saw to the weakening of the Irish-English war effort at sea, the Moroccan incursions. Barbary Pirates had always been a problem for the English and the Irish, but with the growing corruption in the naval commandery and a new focus on the French, the problem grew larger. Pirates from both Tunisia and Morocco, received 'Ghazw Commissions' by the Caliph Bashr al-Din, the powerful Saadi Caliph to launch a new slew of slave raids on the various Atlantic infidels, most notably Ireland, Iceland, Scotland, England, various colonies of the English, Spanish, and so forth and the Spanish peninsular. Unknown to many in Europe, the Saadi Caliph gave directives to not strike the French territories under the legal prescription that those for whom the Caliph has made a treaty, the muhjahid or holy warriors would not touch.

The most notorious of these pirates to leap at the Caliphal Ghazi Commission offers was the notable ruffian, Jack Ward, also known as Yusuf Reis. Yusuf Reis was born in England and was an esteemed seaman in the English Royal Navy, until in 1603, he chose a life of piracy and converted to Islam in Tunis, becoming Yusuf Reis and starting a pirate federation of ships that would devastate Sicily and Italy. Innovating, Yusuf Reis had introduced many English and Dutch shipping customs and ship building strategies to Tunis and Algiers, bolstering the Islamic pirates in the region, allowing them to hold certain advantages over the Venetian, Genoese, and Spanish forces arrayed against them. With the official support of the Saadi Caliph however, Yusuf Reis transferred his coterie to Tamwit and thence began launching long range raids on his homeland.

Fearsome strikes by the pirates would begin to hit the English coastline with a burning passion in early 1617, with the raids taking entire villages of Englishmen and Scots. Yusuf Reis especially was important in these efforts, his memory of locations in England and royal naval protocol would allow him to strike with tenacity and preciseness that frightened the English and Scottish. English naval forces and military presence would struggle to contain these raiders and pirates that frustrated efforts in 1617. Meanwhile the Moroccan pirate fleets battled the Spanish about the sea across the Atlantic, with the Spanish defeating the Moroccan pirate and tribal leader, Ahmad Qala Sufyan, slaying him near Cadiz, dispersing his fleet. However, for the most part, these battles would not be decisive with the Moroccan pirates avoiding detection until too late. The rapacity of the Moroccan pirates would however not only menace the British Isles and the Spanish seaboard, but also Iceland and further afield into America.

Scene form the Great Raid of 1617
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Spilling over from the British Isles, a dangerous pirate from Algiers named Sulayman Reis (born in Amsterdam) gathered a large fleet and received Ghazi Commission to raid the 'Varangians.' A raid on Scandinavia had not been done by Barbary Pirates since 1604 when Barbary Pirates were rebuffed by Norwegian peasant militia in a series of raids that culminated in a Norwegian suppression of the pirate menace. Sulayman Reis claimed that, from his memory, there were places in the furthest north where many captives could be gained and that the Caliph could gather great riches. These lands he called the lands of Beringia, and contained many peoples who were unprotected. Convincing the Caliph's officials, the fleet exited Tangiers and set course for Iceland.

Danish fleets had not been prioritizing the defense of the far north for many years, and had transferred their patrols in other directions and their eyes peered southward, seeing the war as a far greater threat, especially if English buildup led to an attempt on the Faroe Islands. Furthermore, Danish interest looked towards the eruption of conflict in the Empire, consoling itself as the defender of Protestants abroad, they interestingly could not protect their own. Sulayman Reis was wholly correct and found a series of defenseless villages along the coast and many fjords to hide. Sulayman Reis arrived in Iceland and attacked the village of Grindavik, looting the entire village, capturing 97 villagers, 12 Danish merchants, and 6 Dutch merchants. Sulayman Reis then set sail and looting nearby villages along the southern peninsula of Iceland, capturing around 134 individuals, mostly Icelanders. In this ravage, men were killed while women, children were taken while the elderly were left to reside in burned out homes across the land. Victorious, the pirates returned to Sale and sold their capture, giving 10% to the Caliph, who took 3 Icelander slave women as servants and took 15 boys and girls to work in the palace.

The success of the operation led to a series of further raids launched by pirates from Sale, with Sulayman Reis commanding a triarchy of pirates who claimed to have an expertise in dealing with the island of Iceland. These further raids would include the introduction of a collection of Berber warriors who signed up to capture slaves and contribute too fighting on land. Raids now became common on the southern coast for the remainder of 1617, as the Three Pirate League founded by Sulayman Reis captured a total of 1,084 captives from Iceland and killed a further 412 individuals in the year of 1617, causing chaos in the island and ending in a dispatch to Denmark to request immediate aid in dealing with the problem.

Banner of the Ghazi of Rabat, 1617​

In the west of Morocco, a warlord and Ghazi by the name of Sidi al-Ayichi began his own moves for grandeur. The city of Rabat was a city of diversity, with Berbers, Arabs, and most importantly, Andalusians calling it home. Since the arrival of Andalusians in greater numbers after 1609, the Andalusians had become the chief leaders of the city, commanding superb governing skills and mercantile knowledge. In alliance with several Berber chiefs, they formed a local governate with support from the Saadi Caliph and began launching small raids against the Spanish. Among these warriors was the Ghazi named Sidi al-Ayichi, a Berber by ethnicity, but close with the Andalusians in Rabat. News in late 1616 of the Ghazi Commissions led to the city of Rabat forming a voting committee to elect a representative to lead their ships and men in Ghazi Raids against the infidels. Sidi al-Ayichi was elected to lead these raids and he traveled to Fez and received a Ghazi Commission to raid the Atlantic shipping.

Initially these were probing raids against islands, but then they increasingly became raids on the Triangular Trade to the south and towards Brazil. Sidi al-Ayichi began attacking areas that the Spaniards though wholly unlikely, the coasts of Brazil and using the insulation of the existing Buccaneer and Dutch presence in the Caribbean to launch ghazw raids on the Caribbean islands, targeting various islands and abducting the population present, setting whole plantations aflame. The loot he returned to Rabat with saw rich goods from the south and west flow into the city and a diverse collection of whipped slaves, Spanish, English, Portuguese, and Africans were deposited in the city and given to cruel masters who brutalized and struck fear into the defeated captives, who were carted into the markets for sale. Buccaneers further benefitted from the upsurge in Moroccan piracy and the Golden Age of the Buccaneer can be said too have truly began thence in 1617 as the scope of private piracy operating from Hispaniola and Tortuga became truly wide ranged and prolific as a lineage and line of piracy and connections emerged stretching from Tortuga to Rabat and from Rabat to Amsterdam.

George Carew, Earl of Totnes, 1618

The War on the Continent
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While the English may have been complacent, corrupt and conservative in the navy after years of stagnancy, the French were old-school to an even greater degree on land. French military forces had not seen any serious change in doctrine or leadership since 1592, with nearly total domination by old men, veterans of the Wars of Religion and stalwart aides to Good King Henry IV. They saw no reason to change anything, after all, French forces were the top of the line, the greatest in Europe, having rebuffed the Spanish Tercios and expelled the Catholic zealots. Yet, they were complacent and times change, they were slow to act. While the French military gazed at Ireland, that Green Emerald in the crown of Louis XIII, the English schemed at Flushing.

King James was no idiot, he knew that there was great utility to his reconciliation with Spain and his relatively good relations with the Netherlands. With these relations, he could quite easily transport soldiers from the Cautionary Towns and strike France along the coast with an army. French forces would not expect a force from that direction, nor were they too worried. French forces were stationed at Calai, with 1,500 crack fighters guarding the city and fortress. French commanders in Paris assured the young king that an attack would come from a different direction, that English soldiers being mounted in England would be detected and thus we could prepare accordingly for an amphibious invasion. French forces also arrayed in Normandy to guard the territories and to display a show of force that would aid Admiral Montmorency in his efforts to dispatch aid to the Irish rebels. All of these actions would be an error, and the English would take advantage of this misstep.

Dispatching George Carew to lead an expedition from Flushing, the English plan was clear; recall Scottish and English mercenary in Dutch service and gather a mobile army at Flushing that would then be transported to Calais. Once there, they would strike Calais and take the fortress and sack the city. George Carew was the right man for the job, a talented commander, he was noted for his skill in logistics and had been famed for his efforts in suppressing the Irish Rebellion in 1598 in service of the late Queen. Under his leadership a rapid transition of soldiers emerged and then with precise moves, the force launched a rapid lurch into Picardy and thence a furious strike against Calais, which was unexpectedly hit by a surge from the western sea. Forces in the area were dumbfounded by the action and slowly wheeled to move to the relief of the city. However, Calais city would quickly fall to the fearsome English strike, led by crack veterans of war from the Low Country, and highly disciplined Scottish infantry.

A fearsome battle for the Citadel of Calais ensued, while a relief army under Francis III Orleans-Longueville moved from Normandy. However, after two days of fighting, the English would capture the citadel and form a perimeter around it and quickly receive a small reinforcement from England to bolster their defense. Francis III Orleans-Longueville arrived too late but would set the city to siege in the month of October of 1617. Winter in the coming November would frustrate French attempts at retaking the citadel and city, but the French army would successfully isolate the city on land, and begin preparations for starving it out. King Louis XIII would be furious at the turnout and the English king James delighted that his forces on the continent had succeeded, patriotic fervor in London soared as the King of England once again claimed the title of 'King of France.' However, the war was far from over and this was just a first salvo and the first story to come of what was to be a fearsome war between two heavy weights in Europe.

Robert Devereux, the 'Protector of Ireland'

The War in Ireland
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The English dispatch of an army to Ireland led by Ludovic Stuart, the Duke of Lennox would be see the arrival of a moderate army of Scots and Englishman on the island of Ireland. Ludovic Stuart was a skilled commander and even more skilled in naval affairs and was thus able to afford the transition of his forces to Belfast in an orderly fashion. Choosing Belfast as his option to arrived and begin operation seemed to have been an effort to recognize the gravity of the situation. Devereux and his allies had solid control over Dublin and with support from France trickling in, fear of a wider Irish Clan rebellion in the west, and the continued threats of piracy or a French invasion of Britain, an HQ further north conferred protection. Likewise, the O'Neil of Tyrone, were a significant threat, the landing of an army near their bases of operation would allow an immediate and swift destruction of their forces should they seek a rebellion or joining with the traitor.

Arriving in the Spring of 1617, the campaign began in earnest once the weather allowed. Ludovic Stuart began his efforts by suppressing the local clans in the north who remained recalcitrant. Cahir O'Daherty, a local chief in Donegal rose up in rebellion in the Spring of 1617, killing and beheading the royal envoy sent to Donegal. The whole of the Donegal province was taken up in rebellion as the O'Daherty upswelled in rebellion against the English Commander General. 2,000 English were dispatched to suppress this rebellion in Donegal, led by Arthur Chichester, Baron of Chichester. Cahir O'Daherty led a force of some 6,000 in the field and boasted of his Lordship over all of Donegal. During the Spring of 1617, Arthur Chichester would brutally suppress the rebellion in Donegal and kill the supporters of the rebellion while pardoning those who surrendered. A brutal policy of devastation of the Irish warriors who refused to surrender occurred, first with the recapture of Derry in the first week, slaying some 500 Gaelic fighters. Subsequently pitched battle would be made in the next weeks, leading to a victory for the English who scattered the rebels who were then isolated in their forts and slowly destroyed piece by piece. The leaders of the rebellion would be captured and sent to London where they would be drawn and quartered; Donegal would remain suppressed from then onward.

Tyrone and Donegal were swiftly subdued, while the Earl of Ormond, Walter of Ormond of House Butler, known as a devout Catholic in the northeastern section of Munster, sent his regard and offered his support for the Duke of Lennox. However, the McCarthy also of Munster would refuse and suggested neutrality and possible rebellion. More importantly however and closer to Dublin, the English rebels in Dublin launched their first move, striking the Earldom of Kildare. English rebels of Dublin carried the banner of the Holy Virgin Mary and claimed to be defending the Catholic faith and would receive support in Kildare against the pro-Protestant and royal branches. Therefore, while French mercenaries defended Dublin and nearby areas with English rebel support, Devereux personally led an attack on Kildare, subduing the province under a pro-Devereux Earl in the form of William Fitzgerald, who swore alliance with Devereux and his rebel movement. Wexford, and nearby areas between it and Dublin which had seen the largest growth in Recusant Migration, immediately supported Devereux and became the heartlands of the rebellion alongside Dublin itself which was subdued quickly, followed by the deportation of its Gaelic speaking Anglican priests, regarded as spies.

Owen O'Neil, claimed Earl of Tyrone
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In the late Spring of 1617, the Duke of Lennox marched south while his sub-general Arthur Chichester subdued the Donegal. The McMahon threw up in rebellion shortly after the arrival of the Duke of Lennox but would be quickly hit by the powerful royal army, which crushed the rebels before they could coordinate with Devereux, however, Devereux would capitalize on the situation by dispatching his trusted commander, William Browne, with an army of English Recusants & French mercenary north to fortify the boundaries. William Browne, popular among the Recusants rallied the many English Catholics of the Pale into rebellion and support for Devereux, who secured the whoel of the Pale to the north, receiving the submission of the Plunkett, de Lacey, Haynes, Taafey, Dillon, and Nugent families (and others). All of this solidified as a peculiarly English rebellion in Ireland against the royalty, an odd situation that puzzled the Duke of Lennox and he could only regard this as a malicious plot by the Holy See, and the French and wrote to the king of the situation and the squalid situation in the Pale.

Further attempts to bolster the war effort, Robert Devereux summoned Owen O'Neil, who was given the title of 'Earl of Tyrone' in opposition to the royal control in Tyrone and was dispatched to the west to rally an Irish rebellion against the royal government. All of these considerations would lead to a stalled Spring campaign as both sides took defensive stances to contain the other and gather allies in various areas. The war was to truly begin in earnest in the Summer Campaign of 1617 when both forces would move out to face each other. The start of the Summer Campaign of 1617 saw a general offensive by both sides, with each striking the other. Much of the fighting would occur in the west, with William Monson leading 3,000 fighters, both Irish and British to subdue Owen O'Neil and halt his attempted Irish rebellion in the west. In the northern front, William Browne engaged with Arthur Chichester in the exterior sections of the Pale. In the center, Robert Devereux's forces attempted to consolidate the heartland of Ireland. Finally in the south, the English rebels led by Thomas Arundell, moved to strike the Butler family in Munster.

William Monson would strike Owen O'Neil by surprise, Owen O'Neil would be unable to gather much support due to the unpopularity of his father's efforts in the area. For the most part, the Gaelic lords of the west remained neutral and therefore, in the Summer of 1617, the Irish Clans refused to upsurge in rebellion in the west and rebuffed Owen O'Neil. As a result, William Monson would route the forces of Owen O'Neil near Longford, establishing Longford as the HQ of the 'Royal Expedition to Subdue the West.' The routing of Owen O'Neil secured the west and in succession, the Earl of Thormond, Donogh O'Brien declared for King James and marched with his army to aid in the suppressing of the traitor Devereux. Devereux himself however saw success in his interior campaign, focusing on securing the lands immediately west of Kildare, capturing Tullamore, he set a defensive line and garrison to defend against an expected attack by Lennox, which came in the month of July, which was subsequently rebuffed. Devereux however saw less success in his vision of a southern front, when Arundell launched the expedition to subdue the Butler in Munster. Moving to aid their ally, the O'Brien and Butler houses would repel the Arundell expedition in the Summer of 1617, and would succeed in routing several raiding parties. In the north, Arthur Chichester would launch a fearsome strike against the area arund Lake Muckno, engaging William Browne and his Plunkett allies, decisively routing them in battle in two occassions before subduing much of the Plunkett estates and proceeding to set siege too Dundalk with Royal Naval aid, all culminating in a successful capture and the subsequent surrender of the Lacey family. The forces of Chichester thence proceeded south, capturing village after village and sending Catholic priests in flight. A rapid response by Devereux to reenforce the front would save the rebels, but the damage was done, the royalists gained a serious momentum that would aid them in the Fall Campaign of 1617.

Thomas Monson & George Villiers
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The tide in Ireland seemed to be in favor of the Royalists with the onset of the Fall Campaign, but matters would turn as a result of the situation at sea. Ravages by the Muslim pirates saw many English vessels move away from the blockades, meanwhile English preparations for the strike on Calais took other ships away, allowing a greater trickle of French smuggled goods to enter, and of course, expertise. Canons arrived from French manufacture and French guns, these would be put to use immediately by the English rebels. Furthermore, the Munster lands finally erupted into rebellion under the Banner of Clan McCarthy and their Gaelic allies in the southwest. The so-called Rising of McCarthy also saw the Coorgan family of Cork throw in with the rebellion, isolated by the McCarthy, whose banners bore a bright green and with a yellow crucifix in the center. Florence McCarthy rallied the various Irish chiefs in the area and marched to fight the forces of the Ormond and Thormond, leading to a protracted war in that region. The McCarthy offensive and rebellion would be joined by a second offensive by Arundell, who would be able to from Waterford, capture the Earldom of Desmond and Youghal, followed by connecting with the McCarthy forces in the west. McCarthy forces thence struck at Limerick, which they placed under siege in Late fall of 1617. The rebels would capture the city, but after an English blockade and counter attack by the O'Brien, the city would be returned to royal control.

The rebellion in Munster would frustrate plans of the royal army from subduing the English rebels. Arthur Chichester would continue however to place pressure on the rebels with northern attacks. In the so-called coastal campaign of 1617, Arthur Chichester made a name for himself by defeating and slaying William Browne in battle and marching across the eastern coast of the Pale, and capturing Drogheda, and threatening Dublin. However, his ability to take Dublin would be limited with his soldier count, and the forces of Devereux closed in an attempt to shore up the eastern and northern front. French mercenary also defended Dublin, creating a stalwart line of protection of the city. The continuatiion of the war into 1618 was assured.

George Villiers, the Favorite of the King in London advocated for further reinforcements and a growth in the military. Meanwhile, Thomas Monson suggested continued efforts to support Arthur Chichester and push towards a full subjugation of Dublin. France however would be focused on the necessary recapture of Calais, a massive affront to the honor of the French army.

Juan Perez de la Serna, Archbishop of Mexico


Affairs of Mexico
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The cost reducing efforts of the Mexican Viceroy Luis Velasco y Luna continued into 1616-1617. However, the growth of militarism amongst the aristocracy and the efforts of Franciscans to expand north could not be truly ignored or dismissed. As a result of a lengthy series of coordinated messages between the various stakeholders in Mexico and in Spain, a policy of tributary towns emerged. Replacing full time Missions with necessary defenses, a system of towns were to be founded in the north, without permanent population attached. Instead, in these towns, would be guarded by a small garrison of no more than 50 fighters and families, followed by a presence of a 'royal agent.' This royal agent would have the permission to grant rights and benefits of trade to native tribes around these towns. Supposedly, these towns would be less imposing upon the natives and therefore easier to maintain and without the obligation of bringing in tribes to serve. These towns would serve as outposts and waystations for Spanish fighters to move north to launch slave raids.

In the first year of operation, these towns in the north became centers for tribute exchange, many of the locals enjoying the liberty to come and go and not feeling as imposed upon. However, Franciscans protested the policy, suggesting that the policy denied the 'Indians' of the opportunity to become true Christians. The whole matter would be demoralizing for the local Church in Mexico, which sought to provide Christianity in a correct form. Juan Perez de la Serna especially would oppose these towns and would canvas for its abolition. Dispatching in late 1617 a notary and envoy too Madrid and to Rome, he would sponsor the end of the policy as soon as possible. Meanwhile, opposition to the governance of Juan Velasco y Luna finally began to emerge from the local Church, as his policies of budget cutting and royal loyalism increasingly seemed to endanger the so-called Mission of the Church to bring Christianity to the whole of the borders of the 'New World.'

Ana de Velasco y Giron, Duchess of Braganza


Affairs of South America
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The arrival of Theodore II of Braganza as the 'Perpetual Viceroy' of Brazil would be the foundation of something near wholly new in all of South America. The foundation of a high noble of the greatest tier in Brazil marked the start of a new era in the colony, and Theodore II and his wife, Ana Velasco y Giron, sought to make this wild and dangerous land their own, at whatever cost. Arriving in Salvador in 1616, the Ducal couple brought a massive convoy, a fleet of supporters, courtiers, servants, materials and fineries that were meant to construct a European capitol in their new holding at Salvador.

Preparing the city of Salvador was not easy, the city was wholly lacking for the majesty of the wealthy and prestigious Braganza Household. A residence was quickly taken and hastily created for the royalty and a shanty town formed on the outskirts made up of the followers of the duke, who created several new institutions to formalize his ascent. Ordering the creation of the Royal Press, the Royal Armory, and Saint Sebastian Palace in one fell slew, alongside an adjacent engineers academy. All would be built meticulously and yet also hastily over the next three years, with Saint Sebastian finished in 1619, and the others finished in 1617. While not majestic truly yet, it was surely a start for the Braganza, and their capitol was truly something that could become great if given time.

Not seeking to be couped up in a bustling building scene, Theodore II took to the field to make a name for himself. A veteran of many campaigns under the previous Portuguese monarch, he had been present in battles with the Muslim and knew well how to make war. Seeking to subdue the various Tupi tribes around the the Maranhao coast, Theodore II would strike a several villages along the coast. The Tupinamba resied along the coast of the Maranhao and were said to be fearsome fighters, but they posed only moderate threats to the fearsome Braganza force, which struck with utmost fercocity and captured several villages on the Upaon Acu Island, securing Braganza control of the island and then extending its control to the nearby coast, driving the Tupinamba inland. The island would be renamed Saint Louis Island and a fort would be built there to assert Braganza control over the Bay and nearby Maranhao coastline. Theodore II would leave a permanent garrison on the island and then return to Salvador to further oversee his domain.

In 1616, the Viceroy of Peru with support from the various Audiences of the colonies and the consent of the Crown of Madrid, decreed the creation of two new and distinct governances in what was formerly called the Governate of Rio de la Plata. Establishing two new governates, the Governate of Rio de la Plata and the Governate of Paraguay. Part of the effort could have been seen as a way to both diminish the power of and limit the expansion of influence of the famous Governor Hernando Saavedra, whose tolerant policies and anti-slavery stance had made him many enemies among the ruling classes of the Rio de la Plata. Governor Saavedra accepted the decree and would be transitioned to the first Governor of Paraguay, whilst Diego de Gongora was established as the first Governor of Rio de la Plata.

@ZealousThoughts , @ByzantineCaesar , @Korona , @Sneakyflaps , @baboushreturns , @Zorakov , @Vald , @Vitalian , @adriankowaty

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