The Mighty Lions of Islam: Empire of the Turks

[IronMonkey]

Start Date: 1080
Campaign Length: Short; Destroy Byzantium
Difficulty: Hard/Very Hard


..."Swords are the keys to paradise. He who draws his sword in the path of {God} has sworn allegiance to {God}."

Historical Background:(treat this as a very rough outline)1040-1300 The Seljuk were Muslim nomads that moved from central Asia conquering the Afghan Ghaznavids, swept into Persia and moved to Baghdad. The local Abbasid Caliph welcomed the Seljuk's and bestowed the title of Sultan upon Tughril Beg the leader of the Seljuk's. Tughril's nephew Alp Arslan succeeded his uncle and in 1071 AD. he crushed the Byzantine army at the battle of Manzikert. The Seljuks began to settle Asia Minor in great numbers and replaced the Christan religion and Greek language with Islam and Turkish.
The Ottoman empire c.1300-early 1900's-was founded by "Osam"(0r Othman),around 1300. The Ottomans introduced Islamic ideas of Law and Government expanding from north west (Turkey) and eventually conquered Asia Minor, Constantinople, parts of the Greek peninsula and made forays as far as Vienna, Austria before being turned back. The Ottoman Dynasty ruled in an unbroken chain for 600 plus years.

Author's Statement of Denial : If any of the information is found to be incorrect please offer your correction including your source. I mean for the references, quotes, historical snapshots and images to add ambiance to this campaign story and not as facts or my personal opinions.
If I offend anyone I offer an apology in advance as this was not my intention, but please take this with the levity one should approach a fictional game with.
*note I had started an earlier AAR featuring the Danes but sadly I lost most of the files and the saved game (error) and decided post patch to start a story featuring "the Turks". The "Turks" were my favorite faction in MW:1, so I'm stoked about creating this.
I hope you all enjoy. any comments or suggestions are welcomed. I realize I am a sad excuse for a writer but I am striving to improve.

[IronMonkey]

...Sultan Jalal, known as the Lion of Islam for his ferociousness in battle in the name of Islam sits in Iconium in his palace with his war council discussing his plans for reuniting the Empire and conquering the remainder of Asia Minor by chasing out the infidels of Byzantium.

The Empire of the Seljuks sits fragmented after the death of the late leader Malek Shah. Sultan Jalal reigns over The Towns of Iconium (the capital) and Yerevan to the east, he controls the stronghold at Caesarea and the castle at Mosul far to the east which sits next to the mighty Tigris river.

...Jalal's Son Mustafa commands the Stronghold in Caesarea know as "the Stone Talon", he has inherited his fathers piety and multiplied this gift with fervor. If Jalal is the Lion, Mustafa is the Tiger, as he trains his Horse archers he yearns for thundering hoofs, clouds of sand and the twang of the bow felling all infidels foolish enough to meet him on the battlefield. Soon he will have his chance....

Jalal dispatches his fastest riders to inform his Son and his general Vizier Salih al Alai in Mosul that preparations are to made for a campaign of unification, the first target will be Adana near Cilicia and the coast of the great Mediterranean.



..the diplomatic envoy of the sultan has set out to make contact and acquire trade rights with all peoples of the world. The caravan journeys to Constantinople to discuss trade and other matters.

...Sundak the Master of espionage sends his spies to the four corners of the empire to keep his master informed on the movements of his rivals and his neighbors.

[AggonyLion]

Hey IronMonkey Sounds interesting

There are 3 mainly in Aggony that enjoy to Battle as the Turks in mtw/vi I for 1 AggonyDucky and AggonyPotiomkin, alans are my favorite unit mixed with Armen heavy cavalry.
Im Starting to use them again in mtw2 im getting the kill level up but yet to win out right with them.

-AggonyLion{Leo}

[Shahed]

Nice job ! Looking forward to reading this. Excellent graphical interface.

POWER TO THE SULTAN !!!

[AggonyLion]

Ah i was busy writing and mist your last post great stuff :)


-AggonyLion{Leo}

[Shahed]

Monkey are your armies going all cavalry in the beginning ?
Would love to see some shots of the battles.

[General Zhukov]

Looking very, very good MonkeyMan.

[IPoseTheQuestionYouReturnTheAnswer]

Woohoo! A muslim faction story! And the Turks, no less. Needless to say, I'll definately be reading this.

[Shahed]

LOL ! Now everyone, including "the Almighty" is watching you !!!

We demand an... UPDATE !!! :P

POWER TO THE SULTAN !!!

[The Stranger]

looks good... reminds me... I have to finish mine... Hungarian Chronicles: Rise and Fall of a Empire

[Fate]

Probably irrellevant, but "The 'Lions' of Islam" is very familiar to the "Lions of Allah" from the Sharpe books; i think it is Tiger, or possibly Fortress.

Just thought id point it out.

Actually it is Fortress, yeh.

[Wizzie]

Looking nice. Just some constructive critique: I really don't think there's any need for the quotation marks around the "Lions" and the "Turks" in the title. Titles are supposed to be snappy and interesting, and the quotation marks break that up I think. Best to leave it as The Lions of Islam: Empire of the Turks

[Beefeater]

Very exciting!

I second Wizzie's comment about the title. Unless used to show that you are making a direct quote, inverted commas usually suggest that you are casting doubt on the use of the word they enclose.

So I read your title and find myself wondering "are they really Lions? Or is Ironmonkey implying that they aren't proper Turks?"

[The Wizard]

I like it.

But just a question: don't we have a forum specially for AARs?

P.S. The Ghaznavids were another Turkic dynasty, predating the Selçuks, although their capital, Ghasni, was indeed located in Afghanistan.

[IronMonkey]

First of all thanks to everyone for your comments.

@ Sinan Battle picts are on the way!(I was having so much fun; I have allot of screen shots to go through) In the early years I tend to have HA heavy armies with a few Turkish archers and spears to engage and hold while I bait, feint and destroy units in a murderous reign of death!Muhahhahahah!
My favorite early/mid Turkish unit is the Ottoman Infantry , IMO their just awesome, once there upgraded there just game winning (for my style anyway).

@Wizzie and Beefeater your absolutely right about the quotations, I'm not sure what I was thinking No more late night/early morning posts. If only we could edit our posts. oh well. Maybe one of the Moderators will have mercy on me and edit the Title (wink, wink). Perhaps I should post the next update in a new post since it's really bothering me now!


A little teaser.

[Lord Magus]

I didn't understand anything written in the pictures of the royal family and agents.

[General Zhukov]

I didn't understand anything written in the pictures of the royal family and agents.

As in, you couldn't read it?

[katank]

I really enjoy the visual style. However, the fancy script is indeed very hard to read. Perhaps include a plain text blurb below the pictures to aid readability?

Great work so far. Being a big Turk fan, I'm very interested in seeing how this plays out.

[Czar Alexsandr]

A story for the Turks is pretty awesome. But then again it's good to see a story for a non-catholic to!

Awesome. I love this so far. Can't wait till the next update. Keep up the good work.

[IronMonkey]

Thanks all for the comments.

@Lord Magus, katank Your right its pretty hard to read I was going more for visual appeal. Heres a legible version:

(the text under Sultan Jalal's portrait.)
The Lion of Islam (Jalal) After the death of Malek Shah the empire has been split by hate and mistrust and (thus has been) divided by among (competing) family members of the late leader.
Jalal is positioning himself to unite the fractured empire by force if necessary.
The survival of his people and his faith, Islam, depend on his power, wisdom and prowess on the battlefield.

(the text under prince mustafa's portrait)
The Sultans son and heir, (Mustafa is) a Tiger who has awakened to unite the peoples of earth under the banner of Islam by the sword if Allah wishes it so.
(Mustafa) is fanatically dedicated to help his father reunite the brothers of Islam. Mustafa relishes the bite of battle, the thundering of hoofs and the twang of the bow, (he will) drive the infidel out of the lands of Islam(or die in the process).

(the text under Salih"s portrait)
The Military Vizier (of the Sultan)
Salih is charged with the development of the Sultans army and the logistics of conducting military campaigns.
Salih is a master falconer and a cunning leader on the battlefield.

(the text under Baraka's portrait)
The holy imam appointed by Allah, leads the faithful in all aspects of daily life and counsels the sultan on on matters of faith and (interpretation of) the Koran.

Ill include readable text under the images now where necessary. It is a pretty cool font for the Turks me thinks.

I'm recovering from a vicious dark rum and IPA inflicted hangover and will post an update when I replace my electrolytes and stabilize:P

[IronMonkey]

Empire after a decade of conquest.


The stronghold at Tbilisi

...the first target of the Sultan was the Fortress of the Owl, a stronghold north of Yerevan.

..for this task general Selim al Rashid (the beg of Yerevan) was ordered to take his forces north and capture the fort.


Archers begin attack at Tbilisi!

...the defenders of the castle sallied out to meet the Turks and were brought to their knees in quick order by the shower of arrows from the many horse and foot archers of Selim's forces. The infantry dispatched the remaining enemy soldiers and took the main square.


The fortress is captured with relative ease.

...After the capture of Tbilisi and its Castle general Selim sends his couriers to inform the Sultan of his victory.


...the Sultan's next move was to add the stronghold at Adana in the region of Cilicia, which had a port on the Mediterranean. Jalal set out with his Imam Baraka , his army, baggage trains stuffed with provisions and all of his war retinue to lay siege to Adana. As the Sultan traveled the 100+/- miles to his target, the arid dessert winds churned up the sweet smell of tulips and poppies the sultan thought of past days of glory when he was a general for Malek Shah, winning many victories, suffering few hardships and always spreading the word of the prophet to the ignorant and uninformed..glorious days, indeed!


The brave Armenian Christian Knights charge the Turkish lines!

...as the Sultan and his army reached the walls of Adana, the commander of the outpost, sensing he was outnumbered and seeing that the attackers were well provisioned, gave his Armenian nights the order to charge.
..the Armenians fought bravely but were out paced by the horse archers and cut to pieces..with the infantry mopping up the remaining Knights.


The Turkish archers cut down the defenders!

...upon seeing the Knights slaughtered the rest of the garrison foolishly charged at the Turks and were routed almost immediately. As the defending archers fled for their lives the Turks filled their bodies with arrows.


The Saracen Militia enter the gates.


Victory....The infantry takes the outpost!

...The Sultan had any remaining survivors put to the grim task of cleaning the corpses from the castle.

..Jalal gathered his men and they prostrated themselves in a call to prayer from Baraka, the Imam.

...the Sultan stayed in Adana for 2 months seeing to the conversion of the castle to a town and the construction of port. After his stay in Adana, Jala returned to his palace in Iconium and met with his son Mustafa and his war council to discuss plans for future conquest.

News from the realm was relayed to the Sultan in his court as he sat on his throne watching his falcon preen its self while perched on his arm..the Sultan listened attentively:
...the sultans diplomats had secured trade rights with the romans in Constantinople and an alliance with the Byzantines enemy the King of the Magyars.

...diplomats in the south had renewed allainces to the great Eygptain empire.

...Baraka and his clerics have declared a Jihad on the infidels in Baghdad, due to the cities citizens dissension into corruption and indulgence in blasphemy of the prophets teachings. The Sultan has already sent word to his Eastern general Salih to raise an army of Mujahadeens and royal troops to capture the rich city of Baghdad and punish it's wicked inhabitants.
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Please enjoy, comment or critique, I appreciate feedback to hone my apprentice level skills.

F.Y.I. = I also plan to update this AAR/Story until I'm victorious or I'm wiped of the Map. My updates may be short due to the fact I cant edit my posts and its easier to do a little, submit and then rinse and repeat. So be sure to check for updates. Thanks for looking.

[econ21]

This is looking very nice. I've edited your title as you desired and moved the "continuation" thread content into this one. I think it would be good to keep everything together in one thread. I'll see what I can do about getting you promoted so you can edit your posts.

[IronMonkey]

@econ21- Thanks for consolidating my story. Being able to edit posts would really be cool, so I appreciate your efforts.

Happy New Year!

[Beefeater]

Very atmospheric!

[Andres]

Great work Ironmonkey !

I love those pictures. Very, very nice.

[IronMonkey]

@ econ21 Thanks a million! Being able to edit posts will be a great help.

@ Beefeater & AndresTheCunning Thanks for reading and your kind comments.

[IronMonkey]

Part: III The Further Conquest of Anatolia



...Under directive from the Sultan and his newly appointed Caliph, Baraka, Salih al Alai, the Scorpion of Mosul, the high commander of the Sultans eastern armies has arrayed a mighty force of Seljuk warriors and Mujahadeens (volunteers) to seize Baghdad.


Bedouin warriors race out of the desert to join the Jihad!

...Salih is elated in his undertaking and feels the Sultan must hold him in high regard to bestow on him such a heroic mission.

...Salih's forces travel east to Baghdad and lay siege to the walled city. As the siege equipment was being deployed the effeminate, slothful pigs of Baghdad charged the line and were nearly slaughtered wholesale before reaching the front line. As the Turkish infantry gave chase, enemy calvary charged out of the gates at the Turks, crushing some of their own routing men in their foolish move, the Arab Calvary was then impaled on the Saracen spears, dying to a man. The Sultans brave warriors quickly rushed in and captured the gate and then moved to capture the city, slaughtering the betrayers of Sharia.


The Seljuk forces obliterate the unorganized Defenders!



The indolent emir of Baghdad is captured by Salih's bodyguard.

...after capturing the city, Salih ordered his accountants to take stock of the treasury which contained piles of gold and silver coins, strings of pearls, gold and silver cups, Damascun blades and armor, rubies, diamonds, ivory tusks, exotic animal skins , furs and the finest Persian rugs. The greatest prize in the treasury was the sword of the prophet Muhammad a most glorious find. Most of the loot (including the prophet's sword) was sent west to Iconium for the Sultan's growing treasury. Salih had the treacherous emir of Baghdad drug through the streets behind a horse and then exiled in the dessert where he slipped from memory for ever more.
...Salih remained in Baghdad for one year, where he saw to the construction of of various buildings including a Mosque, council chambers and improvements to the surrounding fields.

... Sultan Jalal was joyous when he received word in Iconium about the success of the Jihad. Baghdad is a marvelous and profitable addition to his growing empire given its location on trade routes stretching far east to the lands of the Persians and beyond. Jalal summoned Salih to Iconium where he bestowed the holy sword of Muhammad to him for his victory.

... Jalal and his war council have decided that the settlement of Edessa near the Euphrates river will be brought into the Empire's fold. Jalal has his generals prepare for the march to Edessa.


The Sultan's archers at Edessa

...The Sultan's son and heir, Prince Mustafa has been training a new type of solider (Ottoman Infantry) in his fortress "The Stone Talon" perched high in Caesarea. This new warrior is highly trained with a bow and the sword and will pepper the Sultan's enemy with arrows and then close to Finnish the unlucky foe. Two units of (Ottoman) these new warriors will be sent south to join the Sultans army for the siege of Edessa. Mustafa knows that if his new soldiers perform well in Edessa the Sultan will surely trust his son and his progressive military ideas in the future.


Capture of the Gates!

...the gates of Edessa were destroyed in short order by the Turkish battering ram. The Sultans archers let loose with a murderous hail of arrows disheartening any defenders attempting to guard the breech. The infantry rushed through the gates and after a short skirmish managed to break the defenders back, the routing dogs were butchered as they tried to get to the square. Edessa is now part of the Sultan's domain!


The Sultan's Bowmen Infantry (Ottoman infantry) shoot it out with the Edesssan Archers!

...Jalal had the streets cleared of the dead and laborers repaired the damaged gates. Jalal took mercy on the survivors and spared their lives on grounds they swore strict obedience to the Sultan and his Emirs.

...Jalal and his army spent 6 months in Edessa resting and refitting. Jalal then marched on his next target, Aleppo a small outpost to the south west of Edessa.

[Andres]

I want more

Nice, very nice. Keep up the good work IronMonkey

[Von Nanega]

Great work. Keep it up.

[IronMonkey]

@ Von Nanega & AndresTheCunning-Thanks for looking and taking time to comment!

I have been neglecting this AAR/Story as Ive been extremely busy.
I have some time this week so I plan on finishing the campaign and the AAR.