The Merchant of Alexandria – A Fatimids AAR - The Rise of the Fatimids

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1043 Part IV

9h00

The sand was turning to red on the battlefield.

- Captain, what’s the situation? Asked Emir Aahil.
- It seems we are taking advantage over the forces of Emir Dimar…still, we need more time.

Suddenly a scout arrived on a horse…

- Sire, Emir Shallal will be here shortly!
- Already? Whispered Aahil.
- Apparently a scout told them about our attack very early…they are getting closer.
- We cannot fight both armies at the same time…sound for the retreat into the castle!
- Yes Sire!

The army withdraws from combat into the safety of the castle…just in time before Emir Dimar can attack.



9h30

- We almost had them…this is really annoying. Let the soldiers rest for a while and give water to the horses.
- It’s been taken care off, Sire.
- Our strategy didn’t work….we have to think about something else…but first i’ll finish my breakfast, can’t think clearly if I am hungry…and I am much more hungry than I was this morning.

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While Emir Aahil was busy in the north of the city, a small group of enemies started to destroy the South gate.



- Sire...the enemy is trying to destroy our South gate.
- WHAT? Can't we rest a bit?
- It's a small group but it could become dangerous...
- Move the army to the south of the city...we shall destroy them!!!
- Yes Sire!

And so the entire army moved to the south gates...

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1043 PartVI

11h00

- Sire, the troops are in position!
- Order the breakthrough...they shall not enter...Attack!!!!

The heavy doors open quickly and the troops rush out...the enemy wasn’t expecting this. During half and hour, the troops of the Emir fight themselves a way out.



11h30

- We have broken the enemy lines Sire!
- Send the Sarrasins to crush those pesky archers...
- Yes Sire.

The Sarrasins are causing heavy losses to the enemies archer companies. Despite heavy losses, victory seems to be close.



12h00

The sun is pounding heavily on the troops...

- Our troops are fighting the last archer companies under the palm trees...
- Great....victory will be ours!



13h00

After a very long fight and very heavy loses...

- Sire the archers have been defeated!
- Fantastic!
- Wait!
- What?
- Emir Shallal is charging our men with his knights!
- Order them to come back into the castle!!!!
- Sire...it’s too late.

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1043 PartVII

13h00

- Sire, Emir Shallal and his knights have defeated our exhausted troops....he’s entering the town!
- Camel Riders, Knights! For the Caliphate of the Fatimids...ATTACK!!!!

The Emir turned to the captain of the archers

- Captain...order the archers to fire on the knights!!!
- hem, Sire, the archers have run out of arrows..
- WHAT?
- Well yes Sire, they only have a limited amount of arrows and now they just don’t have any anymore...
- Order them to attack with their swords then...
- Yes Sire....BOWMEN....WITH YOUR SWORDS...ATTACK!



13h30

- We’ve won Sire...Emir Shallal is no more.
- Yes but at what price...we don’t have camel riders, the bowmen don’t have any arrows and i’ve got only one knight left.



Will Emir Aahil be able to defeat Emir Dimar?

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14h30

Sand is in the air....wind is getting stronger. Emir Aahil and his bodyguard, Vizir Ahmed, stand in the main street. In front of them Emir Dimar turns his head into their direction after having killed the last brave bowman of the Fatimid Caliphate.



Emir Dimar rides to Emir Aahil:
- You fought bravely for Cyrenaica....but lost.
- Yes, the dices haven’t been favorable to me today....what will you do with us?
- You’re an honourable man...you can go back to the Caliph and tell him that the Zirid are the new power in the region...and intend to remain it.
- The Caliph won’t accept this defeat...he will send another army.
- Well...we’ll see then, won’t we?

And so ended the siege of Cyrenaica... a very bloody battle with almost no survivors...

Emir Aahil and Vizir Ahmed disappeared into the desert and headed to Alexandria in order to bring the bad news...

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Part 2: the revenge of the Fatimids

1043...still

Meanwhile, in Alexandria, the Caliph was having intense diplomatic meetings. The French were very interested in the various goods of the Caliphate and thus offered us a good trade agreement...this would surely prove to be useful in the future.




The Abassids also had a plead...a very different one. They were in trouble with the Kingdom of Kiev. However, the Caliph wasn’t willing to enter another war, so he refused. The Abassids had expected this and had kept a very interesting offer on the side.

- Sire, said the Abassid ambassador, we ask you to reconsider your position.
- It’s all considered, we’ve had enough wars and we are still fighting the Zirid caliphate.
- We know, Sire, but we need so much your help that we are ready to make you a great offer.
- What is it? Gold, diamonds? I already have all this...
- No Sire...we offer you the province of Jordan...
- The...., the caliph remained silent for a while. This was indeed a huge offer.
- I’ll give you my answer tomorrow.

In fact, the caliph had already decided that he would help the Abassids...the province of Jordan was rich and he could well use it in his war against the Zirid too.




One week later, Emir Aahil and Vizir Ahmed arrived in Alexandria...

- What are you doing here old friend, asked the Caliph? How’s the situation in Cyrenaica?

Emir Aahil blushed and whispered.

- I’ve lost the city, Mylord.
- You WHAT?
- Two armies have attacked the city, Sire. I did my best but it wasn’t enough.
- Very annoying...we have to protect Benghazi at all costs...but tonight you’ll rest and tomorrow we’ll recruit a new army...afterwards you’ll join Emir Abrar and take back the city.
- Sire...i am really to old for this....i don’t have the strengh anymore. I ask you to accept my resignation.
- I understand...stay here and we’ll play chess again like in the old times...
- It will be a pleasure Mylord.
- Ahmed?
- Yes, Sire?
- Send a messenger to Italy...he has to inform Emir Abrar about the situation and ask him to protect Benghazi and wait until we send another army before attacking Cyrenaica.
- Yes Sire.

One week later, Emir Abrar was on board of his ship...hailing back to Africa.

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Emir Abrar set up the organization of the defences of the Benghazi. Fortunatly, many mercenenaries were camping in Benghazi...



that allowed Abrar to fill up the garrison of the city as well as his own army. He redeployed the slavonic axmen and the slavonic archers in the city defences...this allowed him to hire more companies of mercenaries.



Caliph Aadil was also very busy despite his old age. He had selected a new Marshal, Emir Anwar, and had started the construction of the Granary in Alexandria.



Emir Anwar entered the throne room.

- Sire, you called for me?
- Yes....have you been able to recruit a company of camel riders?
- Yes Sire, very brave men....i intend to find more of them before joining Emir Abrar and defeat the Zirid Caliphate.
- I am afraid, the Zirid Caliphate will have to wait. I have managed to calm the population of our new province Jordan, but in Lebanon, an usurpator is claiming the province for himself...and he’s got a very strong army...more than 500 men.



- 500 men? That’s impressive...
- Exactly and now he’s killing and burning everything on his way...i need you to stop him.
- But Sire, i only have this company of Camel Riders...i’ll need more time before i can have an entire army.
- I know, however a scout has informed us that there is a big camp of mercenaries in Jordan....so take gold and buy yourself an army.
- Yes Mylord.

And so Emir Anwaar left the city of Alexandria in order to defeat the dangerous rebels.



The Caliph sent a messenger to Emir Abrar in order to inform him about the delay. He arrived one week later in Benghazi.

- Sire...a messenger!

Emir Abrar stood up and walked towards the newcomer...

- When do the reinforcements arrive? Asked he impatiently.
- Well...no Sire, there are some revolts in Lebanon and the Caliph has sent the new Marshal there in order to bring peace to the region...you’ll have to wait some more time.
- What? But it’s now that we should attack...my men are ready!
- I am sorry Sire.
- Don’t be....go back to Alexandria and tell the Caliph that i will do this on my own!
- But...Sire?
- Go now.
- Yes Sire...

And so the messenger went away. Emir Abrar, at the head of his army, left the city of Benghazi in order to attack Cyrenaica...


Actual situation of the Caliphate

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Mai 1044

The night just began when Emir Abrar entered the province of Cyrenaica. A scout came back to the army and went directly to the Marshal.

- Sire....there’s an army coming towards us!
- How did they know we were coming, asked one of the captains?
- They didn’t, replied Abrar. They are on their way to Benghazi....it’s an invasion army. Did you see who is leading the army, is it Emir Dimar?
- No Sire, said the scout. The army is led by Emir Azeem, a low-ranked marshal with no stars yet.
- Well...let’s crush them!




And so a fierce battle started...but Emir Abrar was an old fox and knew that part of the desert very well...Emir Azeem had no chance. Victory was quickly achieved but the army suffered some substantial losses. Midnight had just passed.



- Sire, we have to go home to rest the men and refill the companies.
- No!
- But Sire, we cannot go further, the men are tired and need a rest after that battle.
- Can’t you see? They were going to attack us in Benghazi....their army is defeated and they probably have only limited defenses in Cyrenaica....if we wait, they’ll get a chance to reinforce the city and send another army.
- What if Emir Dimar is in the city?
- We’ll take the risk.



It was 2 in the morning when the army arrived in front of the city. The men were tired but they trusted Emir Abrar...he had led them to victory each time.

- Scout! Check the defenses!
- Yes, Sire.

The city had only the garrisons to protect it....and most men were sleeping. Cyrenaica was regained in one night. Emir Abrar became very famous after that victory and gained another star for this fantastic achievement...Emir Abrar had a new nickname: “The desert fox”.

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1045
Shuayb, the prince, was finally ready to take some responsibility in the Caliphate.



For the moment, he was helping his father to do the daily business and made his first diplomatic experiences.
The Ambassador of Sweden came and Shayb skillfully arranged a trade treaty with the kingdom of the north.



1046
The Calif was tired. The war with the Zirid Caliphate wasn’t finished despite a glorious victory of Emir Abrar during the reconquest of Cyrenaica (which he didn’t even had allowed). Furthermore Emir Anwaar hadn’t been able to recruit an army strong enough in order to eliminate the rebels in Lebanon. In June he got really sick and that’s when he called his son to him.

- Son.
- Yes Father! Whispered Shuayb.
- My days are coming to an end.
- Don’t say that...you’ll soon feel better!
- No, i won’t...a man knows when his time has come...and this is now.
- But...
- Let me speak, Son. You will become the new Calif...you know that i wanted to create a prosperous Caliphate...under my rule, the Caliphate has increased of 3 Provinces but we still don’t have control over Tripoli which would give us access to various trade goods we still need...Will you continue my work?
- Yes Father, i will.

This seemed to calm Aadil. He spent the last days watching the gardens of Alexandria...and then he passed away.

In the following days, you could hear those words in the whole Caliphate.

“The great Calif is gone, Long live the new Calif!”

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Part 3: A new Calif



1047

The first decision of the new Calif was to use the trade agreement the Fatimids had with France. He arranged a trade route that brought Dyes in the Caliphate...a new trade good was now available. He really believed that he would achieve his father’s vision during his life-time.



He knew however that it was important to have children...therefore he needed a wife. After studying the map of the known world, he decided to contact the mighty King of Hungary, Geza I....an alliance with Hungary would help the Fatimids control their northern enemy, the Kingdom of Kiev.








The Calif spent two weeks in the castle of the Kingdom of Hungary where he had long walks with Tesla, one of the daughters of the King.
- Sire, i am here to ask for the hand of your beautiful daughter, Tesla.
- My dear Calif, we are honoured that the ruler of the mighty Fatimids wants to have a strong bond with the Hungarians. Before accepting this, we have a request.
- What kind of request? Asked Shuayb carefully.
- You know we don’t have a good relation with the Papacy...we therefore ask you to break relations with them.

Shuayb remains silent for a while. He then turns to Geza I

- We don’t really need this relation with the Papacy. I will recall our ambassador at once. This alliance is really too important and furthermore, i am really in love with Tesla and i believe she has fallen in love too.
- Ah ah...yes...she’s really lovely indeed.

And the two men shook their hands...the Fatimids had a new Empress.