The Rise of the Arabs: A Sabaean AAR

[Epimetheus]

The Rise of the Arabs: A Sabaean AAR

Before the battle for the city of Tamane, Karab, the Malek of the Qataban, attempted to negotiate with Yazil. “By what right do you break the sacred covenant between the tribes, and attack your neighbor unprovoked?,” demanded Karab. To which Yazil replied, “Your weakness is what provoked me. That I can stand before you like this proves that you are not worthy to be the Mukarrib, and that I will defeat you tomorrow shall prove that you were not worthy even as the Malek of your tribe.”



It is hard to reckon the years of Arabian history before the reestablishment of Sabaean hegemony among the tribes of Yemen by Yazil Il Watar. Certain dates can be figured out through the records of other nations, if cross-referenced with the ancient records of the kings, but before Yazil, it is hard to tell history from myth. The Sabaeans had originally held leadership over the federation of Southern Arabian tribes. Their kings took the title of Mukarrib, meaning the "covenant maker". It is said that their rule lasted for nearly 700 years, and that their influence expanded across the Red Sea over the kingdom of D'mit. The last Malek of the Saba to hold the title of Mukarrib was Samahu'Ali Yanuf. Roughly two-hundred fifty years before Yazil Il Watar would come to power [approximately 525 BC].

It is sadly unknown why exactly the Saba lost their position of preeminence among the Arabian tribes. Most scholars believe, however, that it had to do with the completion of the Great Maryab Dam, which occurred during Samahu's rule. It is suspected that the taxes he levied from the other tribes in order to fund it's completion caused the Sabeans to fall out of favor. Regardless, after his death, the title of Mukarrib passed to the Malek of Qataban.



Under Qataban's leadership, the alliance slowly began to decay. Disputes over everything from resource and trade rights, to religious affairs broke out between the petty kingdoms frequently. By the time Yazil Il Watar became the Malek of the Saba, the Mukarrib held power in name only. And the vacuum of any real leadership in the various kingdoms allowed the various priesthoods to gain influence and power. Even though Yazil Il Watar himself was Malek of the Saba, and was even recognized as a descendant of Almaqah, the Sabean patron deity, his powers were by now purely secular. Yazil Il Watar was in his forties by the time he became king. He was a strong and healthy man, but he had more the baring of a general than a king. His gruff manner and selfish disposition made him more popular among his soldiers than the priesthood. Despite this, he still had a great deal of influence among his people, and proved to be an expert at quickly levying troops for his cause.



Yazil saw the weakness of the alliance and the Qataban Mukarrib as an opportunity to reestablish Sabaean hegemony. Thus, two years after he assumed the title of Malek of the Saba [272 BC], he moved against the Karab, the king of Bnai 'Amm, as the people of Qataban called themselves, and claimed the title of Mukarrib for himself. The lesser tribes of Haram and Himyar joined with Yazil, but the more prominent tribes, the Hadramis, the Minaeans, and the Awsan, who still resented the Saba for the destruction of their capital centuries earlier, remained loyal to the Qataban Mukarrib. Leaving his son, Yakrib, in charge of Maryab, Yazil Il Watar marshaled his forces swiftly, and lay siege to the Qataban capital of Tamane. The forces were equally matched, with roughly seven thousand men on both sides. Aside from the allied tribal forces, both sides had hired a number of Ethiopian mercenaries.



When Karab, the Malek of the Bnai 'Amm refused to surrender, Yazil began his assault. Tamane was surrounded by a simple barricade. The ancient earthwork walls had long since fallen into decay. It was simple for Yazil's spies in the city to destroy the city gates the night before his assault. Karab, upon discovering the sabatoge, positioned his the best of his troops behind the broken gates, and waited.



As dawn arose over Tamane, Yazil cast a prayer to Almaqah to grant him victory, then began his assault by raining arrows down upon Karab's men. Tamane's poor defenses offered little protection from the endless barrage of missiles, and the Qataban soldiers were quickly thrown into a panic.



Seeing the enemy's disarray, Yazil stormed the city gates with the bulk of his forces, his men hurling javelins over the ramparts before pouring into the city. Most of Karab's men were poorly disciplined levies, and fled the initial assault. Qataban's nobles, however, stood their ground, and fought bravely against the Saba, but Yazil's elite force of warrior-priests proved to much for them, however, and they were massacred.



Karab, seeing his best men being slaughtered, sent his Ethiopian mercenaries to drive the Saba back. Yazil, seeing that his men were weary from their initial struggle for the gates, ordered his own mercenaries to engage Karab's, while he rallied his men for the final assault.



Though Yazil's mercenaries were inferior to Karab's, they were able to buy him the time he needed to reorganize his men. He pulled the Ethiopians back, and personally led the push for the city center. Unable to hault Yazil's onslaught, Karab ordered his archers to fire on his own troops in an attempt to stop the Sabaeans, but to no avail. The Ethiopian swordsmen were soon massacred, and, in a panic, ordered all of his remaining men to charge the Sabeans. Taking advantage of the brief break in the melee, Yazil fell back, and sent his Ethiopians forward once more.



The fighting dragged on for hours, and just as Karab's men were starting to gain the advantage, Yazil and his men returned to the fight, slaughtering the now exhausted Qataban levies, and pushing them back all the way back to the city center, where Karab made his final stand, and Yazil emerged victorious.





He then sacked the city of Tamane, and enslaved nearly the entire population, over 13,000 of the Bnai 'Amm and Awsan tribesmen in all, leaving only the 4,000 Himyar tribesman living in the city free. In spite of the brutal totality of Yazil's victory, he was not yet secure. The Hadramis had sent a force in support of Karab, led by their general, Shahrib. Though he had arrived to late to help his allies, he was now marching Tamane with a force of nearly four and a half thousand men. Yazil faced with another foe whose forces matched his own, opted to confront Sharhib rather than retreat to Maryab.



They met on the plains east of Tamane, across a depression from each other. The Sabaeans took up a defensive position on their side of the depression, forcing Sharhib to make the first move.



Sharhib's infantry, most of whom were pirates or mercenaries, charged Yazil's position, but came under fire from Yazil's archers, and, facing an uphill battle, almost immediately turned tail and ran.



Yazil's men pursued them across the valley, where they suddenly turned and held their ground, with the terrain now in their favor. At that moment, Shahrib and his cavalry charged from their hilltop position towards the Saba.



Just as the situation began to look grim, Yazil's plan came into action. He had sent his own cavalry, allies from the Himyar tribes, around the depression, where they now charged the enemy's right flank.



Realizing that he had been outwitted, and seeing his own men cut down in droves, Sharhib and his cavalry abandoned his men, and fled the battlefield. With their general gone and the battle lost, the remaining Hadramis surrendered, and the battle was won.





Yazil's men pursued Shahrib well into the night, only to find his body near a stream, apparently murdered by his own men as they stopped for water. After this, Yazil returned to Tamane, where attempted to secure the region and set up a provincial military government under Himyar leadership. However, no sooner had he returned to the city than he received word from his son, Yakrib, that the Ma’in were marching on Maryab, led by their king, Nasha Karab, apparently hoping to seize it while Yazil was fighting in the south. Faced with a new threat in the north, but unwilling to leave Qataban, he made a risky gamble, and sent around two-thirds of his men back to Maryab, trusting his son, Yakrib, to defeat the Minaeans.

Yakrib was a rather different man than his father. He was young, and thus far untested in battle. Where his father was a man of strategy and tactics, Yakrib was a man of virtue and valor. He was well spoken, and popular among the people, as well as the priesthood. The nobles and the military, however, were less sure of him. Many of them thought him naive at best, and slow at worst. Thus Yazil saw this crisis as an opportunity for his son to prove himself.



Despite being significantly outnumbered, Yakrib moved to intercept the Ma’in north of Maryab, rather than fortify himself in the capital, as his officers suggested.



He met Nasha Karab in the hills north of the city, near a large stone outcrop. He assaulted the Minaeans with a hail of javelins, before charging strait into the heart of the enemy line. Despite being outnumbered, Yakrib's bravery inspired his men, and they able break the enemy line, and push them into retreat.



Nasha Karab escaped, along with the few men able to escape capture, and they retreated to Carna, the Ma'in capital. Yakrib then returned in triumph to Maryab, where he was hailed by all as a hero. Any questions about his candidacy for the throne were now a thing of the past.

[Populus Romanus]

Nice! Keep this one going, very good job so far. You have lots of good screenshots!

[d'Arthez]

Looks good, keep it up :).

[diomede]

Of all AAR styles, this is probably my favourite. Good job! Really looking forward to the next installment.

[Populus Romanus]

This

and this


are purely epic!

[Epimetheus]

Thank you all for your comments. Have some more!

––––

“And now, at the end of our labors, let us thank Almaqah for granting us victory, and all those who fought with us. Know now that your struggles have not been in vain, and that through your sacrifice you have begun a glorious new era of peace and prosperity.” – Yazil Il Watar, upon defeating the last of his rivals.

Yazil Il Watar and his son's victories over the Hadramawt and Ma'in armies had crushed any hope the allied tribes had of quickly driving the Sabaeans out of Qataban, and forced them to focus on defending themselves. They were granted a brief respite during the summer, as the climate and Yazil's weary and depleted troops made it impossible for him to continue his campaign immediately. During that summer, an attempt was made on Yazil's life, but he managed to avoid the assasin, and by the time autumn came, Qataban was firmly under his control, and he had retrained and gathered more men to his cause. Yazil then marched on the Hadramawt, whom he judged to be the stronger of his two remaining foes.



The Hadrami Malek, Luhay'ath, was a noble man, who fervently believed in the justness of his cause, however, his abilities did not match his ambitions. He was a well spoken, but dull man, and his health was often poor.



Regardless, he had under his command an impressive force of nearly eight and a half thousand men, and many of them were well trained urban militia. By comparison, most of Yazil's six thousand were tribal levies, with a small number of Ethiopian mercenaries. The Hadramawt capital of Sabata was a caravan city, and had little to nothing in the way of defenses. Nonetheless, convinced of his superior forces, Luhay'ath refused to surrender, and so Yazil was forced to march on the city.



Rather than face Yazil in open battle outside the city, Luhay'ath positioned his men in defense of the city streets, leaving only a small force of archers to slow Yazil's advance, which were swiftly dispatched.



Yazil's men harassed the Hadramis, but refused to engage them in the city streets, always falling back at the last moment. Luhay'ath grew impatient, and eventually rode out personally with his cavalry, hoping to lure Yazil into a battle inside the city.



Yazil, sieving this opportunity, surrounded Luhay'ath, and, after a brutal melee, the Hadramawt Malek fell in battle, and his remaining men fled to the city center.



Despite losing their king and over half their men, the militia in the town square fought a bitter struggle, killing many of Yazil's men before falling themselves. Thus, Yazil was able to take Sabata and the lands of Hadramawt.



Though Yazil plundered the city, he showed more mercy to the Hadramawt than he had to the Qataban. Rather than enslaving them, he moved half of the population of Sabata to Tamane. His plan was to intermingle the divided tribes, making it harder for them to organize an ethnic revolt, and easier for the Saba to build a common culture.



With the defeat of the Hadramis, only Nasha Karab, the king of Ma'in, remained independent. Having already been defeated once by Yazil's son, he saw no point in continuing to resist Yazil alone. He was willing to nominally recognize Yazil's claim as the Mukarrib, and marry his daughter, Na'amat, to Yakrib, in return for maintaining his independence. Yazil reluctantly accepted the offer. Defeating the Hadramis had cost him more than expected, both in terms of gold, and in lives, and he knew that it would take some time for his forces to recuperate. In addition, a truce would allow him an opportunity to more fully secure his conquests.



This peace wasn't lasting, however. Barely a year later, Nasha Karab died under suspicious circumstances, and his son, Il Sharih, took the Ma'in throne. Sharih was viewed by Yazil as a conniving and untrustworthy character, and his actions now proved his suspicions.



Sharih began hiring large numbers of Ethiopian mercenaries, and openly mocked Yazil's authority. Yazil decided to strike first with what limited troops he had, rather then try to out-recruit Sharih. Thus, in the fall of the third year of his reign, he marched on the city of Carna.



Carna was a smaller city than Tamane or Sabata had been, and like them, it had little in the way of defenses. Il Sharih saw little point in fighting in the city where he would not be able to take real advantage of his superior numbers, and so, as Yazil approached the city, Il Sharih marched out to meet them.



Yazil was taken by surprise by this move. He had assumed that Il Sharih was a coward as well as a traitor, but clearly he was made of sterner stuff than he had anticipated. Because of this, Yazil decided to hold back, and take up a defensive position.



Sharih's men advanced and skirmished with the Saba, trying to pull them forward, but Yazil's men pulled back, forcing the enemy to divide their forces. Sharih himself charged and engaged Yazil, but was forced to pull back.



The battle became utter chaos, but eventually Yazil's guerrilla tactics whittled down the Minaeans to the point where they were being pushed back. Sensing the tide change, Yazil blew his great horn, and his men suddenly turned to face their pursuers. At the same time, Yazil's cavalry, who had mainly held back during the battle, charged straight towards the gate of the city.



At this, the enemy fell apart, and in the confusion, Il Sharih fell from his horse and was trampled by his own men. With no defense left, Carna quickly fell, and Yazil emerged victorious, and with it, the struggle for supremacy among the kingdoms of Southern Arabia came to an end.



The battle for Carna had been the most difficult struggle of the entire war. Over half of Yazil's men fell in battle in order to overcome such difficult odds, and that he had emerged victorious seemed completely miraculous. The people of Carna prostrated themselves before him and begged for mercy, which he granted them. He had seen enough death, and felt that a magnanimous gesture would discourage further rebellion. And so it was, at the beginning of the fourth year of his reign, that Yazil Il Watar became the undisputed Mukarrib of the Yemeni kingdoms.

[Populus Romanus]

Thank you all for your comments. Have some more!

––––

“And now, at the end of our labors, let us thank Almaqah for granting us victory, and all those who fought with us. Know now that your struggles have not been in vain, and that through your sacrifice you have begun a glorious new era of peace and prosperity.” – Yazil Il Watar, upon defeating the last of his rivals.

Hahahaha...yeah right! The Sab'yn shall conquer all! Very nice update, I find the Sab'yn fascinating.

[Epimetheus]

Following his victory, Yazil ordered the construction of a shrine to Almaqah, in commemoration of his victory, and over the next several years, he focused on rebuilding the infrastructure and trade routes of South Arabia, constructing roads, and establishing a system of government, under which the various tribes and kingdoms maintained a degree of independence, but were now more firmly subject to the rule of the Mukarrib.



During this time, he also expanded his influence north along the Red Sea, negotiating the submission of many tribes. In the process, he also came into direct contact with the Hellenistic empires of the north. Prior to Yazil's unification of Southern Arabia, the only contact was the occasional trading mission from Egypt, but now, Yazil sent emissaries to set up embassies with Ptolemaios II Philadelphos in Alexandreia and Antiochos I Soter in Antiocheia.



The empires of Asia and Egypt fought constant wars over Syria, and, in the process, the conflict had begun to expand to the Northern Arabian tribes. Yazil cared little for the tribe of the north, or the ambitions of the Makedonians, but wanted assurances that the trade routes would not be disrupted because of it.



As wealth began to flow into Sabaean lands, Yazil ordered more and more expensive construction projects, earning him a reputation among many for extravagance. The nobles and priesthoods of the various tribes grew jealous of his wealth and popularity, and one of the nobles of the Hadramawt, a man named Murthid, started a rebellion along the eastern coast. However, he was able to gain little traction, and was only able to muster around two and a half thousand men to his cause.



With Yazil's approval client king of Hadramawt, Mu'di Rafshan, quickly marched against the rebels and crushed them, ending the last vestiges of resistance to Sabaean rule.



Mu'di resembled Yazil's son, Yakrib in many ways, and it was because of this that Yazil promoted him as Malek of Hadramawt. He was popular and energetic, but not particularly clever, and thus not much of a threat should his loyalty waver. Unlike Yakrib, however, he was prone to excess, having an ill temper and a fondness for wine.



Meanwhile, Yazil's son began to focus more and more on his civil and religious duties. In this, he was greatly aided by his wife, Na'amat, whose wisdom continually proved to Yazil that she had been the perfect choice for his son, and a great asset to the family. Several years after the end of the war [266 BC], she gave birth to a son, Sharam Il Watar, who would one day become greater than both his father and grandfather.



In the year following Sharam's birth, that Yazil began plans for a new war. The tribes of Southern Arabia were now firmly under his control, and he was confident of his son's ability to govern in his absence. He thus turned his eyes across the sea to the lands of Di'amat now ruled by the kingdom of Axum, who controlled the coast opposite of Yemen. Long ago the Sabaeans had exerted control over the African coast, and now, Yazil sought to restore that influence. This would not only restore the Saba to their former glory, but it would allow them complete control over all trade in the Red Sea.



Yazil began training a new, more professional army, consisting of more urban troops and fewer tribal forces. It still consisted mostly of what would be considered levies, but they were better trained, and better equipped.



He also had a fleet of twenty six ships constructed in Qataban. It consisted of small ships and could hardly be compared with the navies of the great Hellenistic kingdoms of the north. Still, it was more than enough to handle the petty piracy along his coast, and would be of great use in his expedition to Di'amat.



Nearly a decade after becoming Malek of the Saba, Yazil Il Watar launched his invasion of Di'amat, claiming to be in response to piracy sponsored by the Axumites. Once more he left his son, Yakrib, in charge of the homeland, while he landed his forces on the eastern coast of Africa.



Yazil was able to quickly take control of the Axumite ports, which were mostly populated by Arabian colonists, before marching inland.



The Axumites were ruled by a weak king named Nawfim, but he was supported by several powerful advisors and generals.



For nearly a year, Yazil fought against local guerrillas as he marched through the mountains. By the time he reached Axum itself, much of Nawfim's army had already deserted him. Nonetheless, he held a frim control over the capital, which Yazil was forced to attack.



Axum itself had a light palisade wall surrounding it, but little else in the way of defenses, as the Ethiopians were unused to large scale warfare. His spies inside the city had managed to sabotage the gates, and so Yazil decided to use the same tactics he had in the battle of Tamane, and had his archers prepare flaming arrows before assaulting the city. As day dawned his men fired a flaming barrage on the city, throwing the Ethiopian soldiers into chaos as fires began to spread.



During the confusion, Yazil and the bulk of his men charged the walls, hurling javelins over them onto the already panicked soldiers.



With this, the defenses fell swiftly to Yazil, who wasted no time in rushing his men towards the city center, only to encounter something unexpected, Yawfim's royal elephant guard charging down the main avenue.



Yazil had expected an easy victory, as he had not believed that Nawfim would be foolish enough to deploy elephants inside the city, but now he was faced with a major problem as he struggled to rally his men and fight the beasts. He knew that such monsters were vulnerable to javelins, but his troops had already used most of theirs in taking the gates.



Though his men felled several of the elephants, they were simply to much for the Sabaeans to handle in a crowded street, and he was forced to pull his men back.



Reaching the gates, he reformed his men, and had them gather what few javelins remained, while he ordered his archers to fire their remaining arrows at the beasts, in a desperate attempt to put them down. This worked out better than Yazil had expected. Though he was unable to kill all of the monsters, he did throw them into a panic, causing them to charge through their own men as they tried to run away. Nawfim himself was trampled to death in the chaos.



The Axumites managed to put down the beasts themselves, but not without great costs. Yazil seized on this moment to attempt to take the city, and the remaining Axumite soldiers quickly surrendered.



Yazil had managed to pull through the battle with relatively few casualties, but it had not been without cost. In order to protect the bulk of his army from Nawfim’s elephants, he had been forced to sacrifice most of his elite guard, many of whom had served him for many years, and had been the vanguard in the Sabaean war of unification.

[Populus Romanus]

Great update! Looks like you came frighteningly close to defeat against those Elephantes.

[Epimetheus]

Yeah, I thought the Ethiopians and Nubians just had cavalry generals. I wasn’t expecting to face elephants. I’m just glad my archers had some amo left, otherwise it would have gone a lot worse.

[d'Arthez]

I see you are carving out a nice little empire. Wonder how long the peace with the Ptollies will last, and I hope that the Arche can manage to keep a hold of Palmyra (rather than letting it rebel to you).

[Epimetheus]

After his capture of Axum, the Ethiopian resistance came to an end. Though Yazil allowed Di'amat to remain independent, it was now ruled by a king friendly to the Sab'ynn, with whom Yazil could expect favorable trade deals and aid in future wars. He now controlled the Bab el-Mandab, the gates of the Red Sea, and with it, he would have influence over all trade conducted in it. Ptolemaios II Philadelphos dispatched an emissary, Nausikrates, to congratulate Yazil, and improve relations by setting up a permanent embassy at Maryab.



The wealth and prosperity that the Saba experienced durring the next decade far exceeded any they had experienced before. Taxes were slashed, and the population began to grow at an unprecedented rate. Yazil promoted scholars and welcomed many Hellenic traders and philosophers to his lands. At the same time, he promoted the worship of Almaqah, building temples in all the lands he had conquered.



Several years after the expedition to Di'amat, some of the Hellenic traders found large veins of gold and silver. Using more advanced methods learned from foreigners, Yazil had large scale mines dug to extract the treasure. All this new wealth meant that the Sabaean Federation became the target for numerous bandit raids on it's caravans.



While Yazil was able to control the sea, the land trade routes were another matter. As a result, he ordered the construction of strong stone fortifications around all major population centers, not only in order to protect his subjects from the increasingly frequent bandit raids, but also in anticipation of the Ptolemaioi in the north becoming attracted to their wealth and prosperity. They had already seen the prosperity of the south, and had conquered the kingdom of Kush, but for the moment the Ptolemaioi were preoccupied with their war in Syria. The Seleukid empire was beginning to crumble, though not so much as a result of the wars in Syria as of native revolts. In the lands far to the east, the Parthian and Baktrians had revolted and formed their own kingdoms, while in the west the Galatians, the Antigonids, and the kingdom of Pontos constantly harassed their borders.



It was the Armenians, however, who were currently of the greatest interest to Yazil. Led by their great king, Samus Yervanduni, they had defeated and killed Antiochos II Soter at the Battle of Edessa, splitting the Seleukid Empire in two. In 254 BC, in the twentieth year of Yazil's reign, Samus captured the northern Arabian trade city of Tadmor, which the Hellenes call Palmyra. This not only completely cut off trade between the eastern and western halves of the Seleukid empire, but also greatly disrupted trade across Arabia. Thus Yazil sent an emissary to Samus, in the hopes of restoring the trade routes and establish friendly relations with the Armenians. Samus agreed, but only on the condition of a large amount of tribute, which Yazil accepted. Keeping the northern trade routes open was absolutely critical to the Sabaean economy, particularly if the Ptolemaic dynasty should turn against them.



Two years later, in the 22nd year of reign Yazil died of illness at the age of 64, leaving a legacy of both conquest and wise leadership. His son, Yakrib became Malek of the Saba, and was unanimously chosen as Mukarrib of the Sabaean Federation.



Yakrib had spent years governing the homeland as his father fought his wars, and he had become rather skilled at governing. Thus one of his first actions upon becoming Mukarrib was to begin reforming the government of the Federation. He focussed more and more authority in the central government, eliminating the nominal independence of the individual tribes. The Maleks of the various tribes were now little more than regional governors to the Sabaean Mukkarib. The rulers of Axum also fell under greater Sabaean influence, and were independent now in name only. The prosperity all elements of society had enjoyed under Yazil had endeared the people to Sabaean leadership, and Sabaean culture had begun to influence the other tribes, to the point that Almaqah was fast becoming the chief deity of the Yemeni pantheon, so, for the most part, these reforms were implemented without objection.



In spite of Yakrib's heroism in the war of unification, he had long since lost his taste for battle. He had spent so much time governing in the shadow of his father's conquests that he had grown accustomed to it, and so had little interest in trying to replicate the glory his father had won.



Some of the neighboring tribes and kingdoms were emboldened, hoping to take advantage of what they perceived as weakness. The kingdom of 'Ad, to the northeast of the Sabaean Federation, began raiding the lands of Hadramawt. 'Ad was a small, relatively weak kingdom ruled from the great caravan city of Ubar. It was ruled by a man named Murthid, a former Hadrami noble who had rebelled against Yazil many years ago. Though his insurrection had been crushed, he had managed to flee north to Ubar and deposed the local dynasty. He was regarded as an indolent fool by the Sabaeans, but he had become popular with the people of 'Ad, and had managed to rule in relative stability since the end of the the Yemeni civil war.



Yazil had tolerated his presence, deeming removing him to be more trouble than it was worth. Now that Yazil was dead, however, he had begun raiding the border regions and looting Sabaean trade caravans. Though Mu'di Rafshan, the ruler of Hadramawt, had been able to defend the border for many years, the new situation forced him to ask the Mukarrib for help. Yakrib dispatched his eldest son, Sha'ram Il Watar, who had only recently come of age, to drive the raiders back.



Shar'am was a clever, healthy, and popular man, who resembled his grandfather more than his father. He was just as ambitious as Yazil had been, and cared even less about morals or ethics. As a result, Sha'ram and his father did not always see eye-to-eye. Sha'ram had requested command of the royal army to march north and deal with Murthid once and for all, but Yakrib had denied him. Instead, he was given command of a small force of tribal levies, and was commanded remain in Hadramawt.



Shar'am was able to handily defeat Murthid's raiders in his first engagement, and was able to capture their leader, a man named Tharin.



Supposedly on this man's tortured testimony, Sha'ram learned that Murthid was planning an invasion to reclaim Hadramawt for himself and overthrow the Sabaean Mukkarib. Using this as justification, Sha'ram was able to convince the Hadramis levies that their only choice was a preemptive strike.



Murthid did indeed have a sizable army, however, it was a motley and disordered force of levies and freed slaves, and would have been no match for the royal army. As Sha'ram approached Ubar, however, Murthid deemed it more than enough to deal with the Sha'ram's paltry force. His forces outnumbered Shar'am's over two-to-one, and Sha'ram, though he had faired well in the skirmishes on the Hadramawt border, had yet to be tested in a real battle.



Seeing no reason to hesitate against such odds, Murthid marched out Ubar and faced Sha'ram. His men foolishly charged the Sabaeans, expecting to overwhelm Sha'ram with brute force, but instead faced down a hail of arrows and javelins.



Again and again Murthid's men attacked, and each time they were forced to pull back. Eventually, Murthid pulled his men back in order to regroup. Sha'ram's men, impetuous from their apparent victory, pursued them, in spite of Sha'ram's command that they hold their ground.



As they approached the city, Murthid's men turned to face the Sabaeans, who found themselves suddenly surrounded by enemies. Murthid himself had cut off their line of retreat, and they were quickly butchered.



In spite of this, Sha'ram managed to rally his men, and focussed all their efforts on Murthid, whom Sha'ram personally killed in battle. With Murthid dead, the remaining enemy troops quickly surrendered, even though they still outnumbered the depleted Sabaeans. The battle was a clear victory for Sha'ram, but it was one of the bloodiest in recent memory. Less than half of his men survived the battle, and an even smaller portion of Murthid's. It is estimated that out of the nearly ten-thousand men who fought in the battle on both sides, fewer than three thousand survived.



While Yakrib had not condoned the attack on Ubar, he did not condemn it either. His objection with his son's plans had not been the idea of getting rid of that pesky Murthid, but in dispatching the royal army and leaving the homeland defenseless. Sha'ram's victory with such limited forces had impressed Yakrib, but his insubordination, even with the best intentions, was something Yakrib could not overlook. As punishment, Sha'ram was assigned to govern his conquests with little or no support from the homeland.



Yakrib had hoped that these new responsabilities would temper his son's behavior, but if anything, it encouraged them. As the Malek of 'Ad, Sha'ram was able to act with greater freedom than before. He married Dodsumay, the daughter of a prominant noble of 'Ad in order to solidify his control over the region, and within a year he had assembled a modest army of native levies, and looked to further his own ambitions.



To the north lay the kingdom of Maketa, which was the strongest independent Arabian kingdom outside of the Sabaean federation. Ruled by the philosopher-king Malki from it's capital at the great port city of Moscha, Maketa had grown rich and powerful from trade and piracy in the Persian Gulf.



Yazil had long maintained friendly relations with the Maka, and both nations had profited from the trade to the East. Now however, Malki was disturbed by Sharam's conquest of 'Ad, and the rumors of Sha'ram raising a new army could only mean that he planned to invade Maketa. After a year of diplomatic rows, he sent his cousin, Samah to crush Sha'ram and take 'Ad for Maketa.



The two forces met on the main caravan route north of Ubar. In terms of numbers Sha'ram held a slight advantage, Samah, however, was a far more experienced commander, and took up a defensive position on a hill. In spite of his strategic disadvantage, Sha’ram led a charge against Samah.



While his men pinned the enemy in the front, his cavalry circled around and flanked their rear, throwing the Maka army into chaos.



Samah desperately tried to rally his men, but he fell the Sabaean spears. As the enemy broke ranks and fled, Sha'ram was able to gain control of the high ground, and from there, slaughter most of the enemy army.



The number of men the Sha’ram had lost in the Battle of Ubar had been so great that warriors had been reluctant to join his cause, and those that did were unsure of his abilities. Now however, with his victory over Samah, many began to compare him to his grandfather. His popularity began to grow, regardless of his father’s displeasure with his actions.

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A/N: I’ve been really surprised by the CAI so far. I used the victory conditions mod, and I’ve been managing international diplomacy with the generic_script. Once Hayasdan started to send armies against the Sauromatae, I forced them into peace, then made Hayasdan declare war against the AS instead, in an attempt to stop them from rampaging across the steppes. Now I have the opposite problem. It’s the late 240’s now, and Hayasdan has conquered both Seleukeia and Antiocheia. The AS is putting up a considerable fight, but every time I look they’ve lost another territory. They may be completely gone by the time I get to them, especially at the rate Parthia and Baktria are harassing them in the East. On the other hand, the AS is still fairly powerful in Mikra Asia, having beaten Pontos to a pulp, though they’ve lost some territory to the Antigonids and Arverni.

Oddly, the Ptolemaioi have stopped doing anything. Ten years ago they were constantly fighting the AS in Syria, and expanding on all fronts, but then they just stopped. They seem to be content to let their Armenian allies do all the work in destroying the AS. They also have a few armies massed on my borders, but they haven’t moved in nearly a decade. Lucky me!

[Reality=Chaos]

Likings this AAR a lot.

You're world map looks interesting, I would love it in my game, don't see the problem with seleukeia being gobbled by someone else than the ptolemaioi for once. Unless you actually want to fight seleukeia of course

[Populus Romanus]

Yes! I love me some Saba! Great work, and keep going!

[ptan54]

Interesting stuff. Would like to see this continue!

[stratigos vasilios]

I thoroughly enjoyed this AAR, great job!