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The worst fears of the citizens of the Caliphate were soon confirmed. Khalifah Idris was nothing like his father. The English took advantage of the Caliphate's and its new ruler's focus being on the Italians, and its tenuous hold on former German provinces. A crusade was called, and soon they moved into Anjou which had to be abandonned and the garrison returned to its castle to wait of the Crusaders. The King had, rather foolishly, dispatched much of his forces to Toulouse, the province having been the traditional crossing point through the Pyrenees. Aquitaine was held only by a token force, and it was precisely this province that was attacked by the crusaders.
Quickly, the Caliph scrambled to deal with the ingenuous English, and he moved much of his forces to retake Aquitaine. But by the time he got there, the Englush were in Aragon, and there he followed. For the next few years, the crusader army led the Caliph's on a trek through to the very heart of the Caliphate, and to its capital of Cordoba. At the same, across the Mediteranean, the Italians attacked Sardinia, their King leading the attack. Sardinia was soon lost. After a drawn-out siege, Corsica and its towns and keeps also suffered the same fate.
The Caliph's persoal reputation sunk, and with that, the seeds of rebellion which had been formenting since he took over from his father, gave fruit. Civil war took the Caliphate by storm, and many of its recently-conquered areas were taken over by rebels, not even Castille, or Aragon were spared. Only Bavaria, Brittany and Aquitaine remained steadfast and loyal.
His reputation ruined, his lands recked by strife and civil war, the Caliphate took a decision that many have called reckless, and an equal number brave. He assembled what forces he could, second-rate troops for the most part, and made straight from Castille to relieve the siege of the castle and city of Corduba by the English. The battle that followed was long, bloody, and the stuff of legend. It was also a horrible loss that destroyed the Caliphate as it was. Though Caliph Idriss regained some stature by taking on regiment after regiment of Crusaders, and by commanding a good battle, as well as fighting to the very last and even when surrounded. In the end, the English troops were simply better, and more importantly, there were more of them. Though the English paid in blood for that victory.
The Kingdom of the Almohads, the Caliphate of Corduba as many had begun to call it, seemed destined to a glorious, and quick death. A place in history as the only Muslim nation that not only threatened Europe but controlled an important swath of it deep into its territory. But as these things are, what should have happened, and what did were two entirely different things.
The former Caliph left no direct heirs able to rule, and the Caliphate's leadership was claimed by more than one. With the more important troop concentrations, and well-positioned holdings of Europe, Ali, a not-so-distant descendant of the originator of the bloodline of the Caliphs of Corduna, claimed the title from his place in Anjou. Another, Muta'mid did so from the citadel of Cyrenacia, backed by the powerful army there, and by the rich province of Algeria. Another Ali, this one the former governor of Corduba, and at his beck the legitimacy granted by holding the capital, as well as Aragon, Leon and Castille, and more importantly, having succeeded in beating back the remnants of the Corduban Crusade. And lastly, there was Umar.
The Marrakesh Resurgence: 1270s-1288
With the governors of Valencia, Portugal, Grenada, Tunisia, and his own province of Morocco to back him up, Umar was one of the front-runners in this 'race' for the throne. A highly devout man, having been influenced by the Berbers, he was an able general, though not the best amidst the candidates, and a good governor, though not the best amidst the candidates. As such, he was considered by most to be no more than a petty rebel and the two Alis as the 'legitimate' rulers of the Caliphate. What he had, however, were the two provinces Morocco and Grenada. The first having, for decades and generations now, having provided the cavalry arm of the Caliphate, and Grenada having being the fertile ground for the dreaded militias. And with those, as well as the important maritime network of the Almohads controlled from the main port of Tunisia, he quickly set about reuniting the land.
From its height of controlling all of Iberia, and northern Africa from Morocco to Cyrenacia, as well as a sizeable portion of Western Europe which included Brittany, Toulouse, Bavaria and Burgundy. The holdings of Umar were but a pitiful five regions, Tunisia, Morocco, Portugal, Grenada, and Valencia. A much-reduced force from the height of the Almohads.
Like his forefathers, and their forefathers, Umar, Khalifah Umar the First now, unleashed the Berbers and the Saharans from their native ground in northern Africa. Two armies were raised, and one placed under the control of his right-hand man. But they were not put to use just then. Instead, he gathered the best emissaries aat his diposal, and from his stronghold of Marrakesh sent them in all directions with suitable bribes, "gifts", for the governors of as many former holdings as possible. Cyrenacia, and its important position was the first to swear fealty to him. Leon next, Castille, Brittany, Aquitaine, Provence, and as an added bonus the region of Genoa was "convinced" into joining the resurging Caliphate. And immediately, added-weight was added to Umar's claim, but he did not have Corduba.
He was the one who was most surprised and affected by the Egyptians' betrayal. A small fleet, assigned to escort a merchant convoy through to Cairo and protect it from the pirates of that region, was attacked and destroyed by the traitorous Fatimids. In this, the otherwise pious and just Umar showed absolute rage. How dare a Muslim attack another Muslim? What reason do the infidels of Cairo and Antioch have of calling themselves the true Caliphate when they declare war on another Muslim nation? Immediately, he and the former son of Idris, an able general too, Prince Muhammad took two armies and immediately sailed up the Maghrebi coast and went to Cyrenacia.
From there, Governor Muta'mid was relieved of command of the army, and it was transferred to Muhammad's command. Egypt was attacked with a large force(about 1.5 stack), and the city of Cairo was taken. However, aside from assigning a trusted leader and his best governor, one that had recently returned after having been ransommed back by the traitorous European rebels, was placed in charge of that rich region. That the man had been born a Christian and an European mattered little to Caliph Umar, and soon, the man took in earnest the duties of being the Amir of the Caliphate's richest province.
Umar himself led his forces to the Sinai. There he was truly tested, and there he proved that the Caliphate was the force that it had been under Khalifah Yusuf of the Bavarian Jihad. Three battles, three /immense/ battles, though only the latter two are worth mentionning. In the first, the mere sight of the gold-and-oranged Almohad colours and the iron and steel of the true Caliphate was enough to strike fear, or at least caution, into the Egyptians' hearts and they retreated without a single shot being fired. Perhaps it was that with the Almohads having a large well, one they needed should the fighting last over several days, and a mosque at their fight. The first battle of the Sinai resembled too much the Battle of Badr, with the Almohads as the righteous, and the Egyptians as the Quraish. A fact that Umar, a down-to-earth man in many aspects, was able to regale his troops with that night.
The same, however, could not be said of the third battle of the Sinai. Yet again Umar and his troops were outnumbered but they had the advantage of choosing the terrain in advance, and the Egyptians had to cross a long swath to come to them. The second battle of the Sinai was the hardest fought, or so Umar would later say. Outnumbered 3-5, the battle lasted over no less than four days, and on the third day, they had to fight through a sandstorm. Through no less than seven waves, each more dangerous than the last, the Egyptians came, and first the fighting was carried over a wide region near the Almohad camp. near a series of villages. After the first two waves routed, Umar made a decision that some believed would be disastrous. He followed the routing Egyptians nearer to their camp, and established formation at the opening of a narrow valley.
It was this, perhaps, that saved the Almohads from being crushed by larger numbers. The fighting was especially hardest at the left flank, and at the end, the sole-remaining archer unit(the others having been called back in favour of more footsoldiers) discarded their bows once their quivers emptied and resorted to knives, short swords and shields. Finally, as fourth day began, the final wave of the Egyptians broke, and Umar and his troops followed them to their camp where much was captured. In time too, as all of the units were near-exhausted if not severely so, and Umar himself had lost half of his bodyguard, though he did not leave the battlefield, or even draw back even as he came under repeated fire from the crossbowmen and arbalasters of the Egyptians. Encouraging his men even when his horse was too tired to carry him. The third battle of the Sinai was fought in the same conditions, though he was less outnumbered then before, the casualties were massive on all sides, but finally, the Egyptians were broken.
Having been pushed out of their holdings in Antioch, Syria, Palestine by a Turkish kingdom that had done the same to the Byzantines and kicked them out of Rum, Trebizond, Anatolia, Georgia and God knows who else. A surprising development as many had assumed the Byzantines would eventually dominate that area and prove to be the only natural threat to the Caliphate of Corduba. The Fatimid Egyptians, the false-Caliphate, the allies of the backstabbing Christians, were pushed back into their pitiful holdings in Arabia, though nothing more was done for fear that combat into that area would spread into Mecca.
With the east secured, and an army massing in the Sinai to discourage the Turks should they get any ideas, Umar, now established as the equal of Khalifah Yusuf the Conqueror, turned his attention back to the former holdings in the Iberian Peninsula and in Europe. Just in time too given that his holdings faced outbreaks of rebel activity in Portugal, Brittany, Genoa, Provence, Navarre --recently bribed into rejoining the Caliphate--, and Aragon. His strategy, one that not many suspected until then, of cultivating Portugal as a hot ground for the pious and the zealous was then put into use.
A Jihad was declared, aimed straight for the new rebels of Castille, and led by Prince Muhammad who sailed back the coast to Morocco where he took control of the horses and camels being gathered at Morocco, and Grenada. Before moving north to Leon, the rebels at Portugal were taken care of, and those of Leon smartly surrendered once having been reminded of the authority of the Caliphate and the rule of Caliph Umar the First. Castille was liberated, and the Jihad called to an end, the faithful, of course, were put to good use relieving the garrison of Navarre, and from there, Umar moved north to Aquitaine. Dividing his troops, he went back to Navarre, and then sent the rest to GBrittany after making certain that the forces of Aquitaine could stand on their own. Just then, Umar came to Grenada after having gathered troops from his Maghrebi and Berber allies and the towns and cities of Grenada. Prince Muhammad moved into Cordoba after having gone to Castille, and from the south came Umar. Ali of Corduba, the claimant to the Caliphate, was beaten back in the field, and soon, Muhammad led an assault on the castle itself which brought an end to all the traitors captured that way who were soon sold into slavery.
Finally, the kingdom of the Almohads had secured itself, give or take. And the Caliphate of Cordoba had regained its capital. Khalifah Umar the First had proven himself an able, and great leader. All of the territory from Cyrenacia to Navarre and Aragon was retaken, with Aquitaine and Brittany regained as well. Of course, the sad truth as that despite the great flow of cash, the Calipahte was still threatened. From the East, the Turks had proven themselves a great threat, and they might not care that a large army awaits them in the Sinai should they decide to attack. From the north, strong rumours persist that the Germans have broken their alliance with the Caliphate only a few years after having signed it, and they have called a crusade on somewhere within the Caliphate.
Most importantly, the two decades, give or take, of constant war and strife took its toll on the once-proud, beautiful and breathtaking sights, towns, cities and countryland of the Caliphate. And though he has already prioritized the creation of mosques throughout all of his holdings, there is much to be done, from the simple things such as reestablishing the important network of border forts to making certain that Aragon can produce some of these new "handgunner" units and the staple of that region, the other missile troops of the Caliphate. Of course, the agriculture and trade networks of the regions of the Caliphate suffered. and that too needs to be taken care of.
For Caliph Umar the First, the Saviour of the Caliphate as he is rightly called, many concerns remain. However, it is rumoured that he holds his eyes on freeing the people of Western from the traitorous and backstabbing people that they have for leaders. And reminding the former holdings of the Caliphate that loyalty is not something to be easily forgotten, especially the new-found Arab and Berber "Lords" and "Sirs" of Anjou, Bavaria and the other provinces. Including, in particular, 'Sir Ali ibn Muta'mid', the man who has left not only his nation, but his very religion behind. Oh, Umar will indeed have much to be kept busy about.
- This was a /great/ few years. I was considering the campaign boring, and the battles too easy. And then, /bam/. I can't even waiti for a 'very hard' campaign. Not only that, but the battles are the funnest I've had...ever.