Ethiopia: The Land of Wonder

[CaterpillarKing]

My bad, I replied with the wrong username

 

[CaterpillarKing]

Troubles In The Land of Wonder: 1330-1340​

Following in the footsteps of his predecessor, he wanted to proselytize the people of Ethiopia, all of them, under the faith of Islam. Unlike his predecessor though, his methods were less than kind. While not going into a complete persecution, he began to discourage Christianity and make sure people felt that it was not welcome. He emblazoned the word of Mohammed into the city of Gondar with forced attendance and mandatory praying at the correct times of day. His methods were less than hospitable and the city felt resentful. He figured that the heathens would be less than willing, so he put the army of Ethiopia on high alert. While not having done anything yet, the military is fearful it may have to be used as a weapon against its own people.

Spoiler :

The European brothers to Ethiopia, Austria, continued to be pushed back farther into their territory. The militant Ottoman Turks continued to dominate the battlefield around the Balkans and up into the regions around Serbia. As the Turks advanced with their superior gunpowder weapons, they mowed down the primitive pikes and swords wielded by the Austrians, and in fact, every other nation as well. The Turks fought against their neighbors with a ferocity not seen in centuries. They took the land with a fierceness unmatched, they fought to the last man and took what they believed to be rightfully there.

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Ethiopia sent formal letters to the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, requesting they back down from their attacks on the Austrians. The Sultan sent back replies to the Caliph, stating that their involvement in the lands owned by Austria are none of Ethiopia's business. Not long after the receiving of that letter, the Ottomans claimed a decisive victory over the Kingdom of Serbia, formerly under Austrian control. The Battle of Belgrad turned out to be a victory for the Ottomans. They then became the controllers of the Kingdom. The king was replaced with a puppet and the state was put under the jurisdiction of the Sultan and his bureaucracy.

Spoiler :

I write this in the fears that I may never be able to write again. The armies of Ethiopia close in our city of Makkah. Rule under the invaders has been rough, but bearable. I'm afraid that the invasion by these Africans will be the final blow to our holy city. I've heard stories of their new Caliph, and that terrifies me. Lurking outside our walls is the strongest Muslim army known to man. We fear for our safety. We don't know which is worse, the current ruling government we have, or a future one if Ethiopia manages to take our city.

Spoiler :

The eve of battle fell upon the soldiers of Ethiopia. They suited up for war as they donned the glimmering iron armor that proved to make them the dominant beings on the battle field. The Mishir of Ethiopia, under orders of the Caliph, gave the direct command to make the invasion as soon as possible, and to not hold back in the slightest. As the knights armored up and prepared to take mount, they were briefed on their task. They were to take the heart of the city, and then hold it until all resistance was crushed. It was revealed that there was a friendly Ethiopian spy within the walls of Makkah, and he was going to create a ring of dissent and allow the army to make their way into the walled city.

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The gates still suffered from the damages inflicted upon them decades earlier. They would be of little use to keep out the onslaught, once it begins. The Makkah defenders lined up on the walls of the city, and drew their bows as the horde approached them. The arrows fired in a single volley, creating large shadows upon the ground where the knights charged in. As the bodkin tipped arrows rained down, swathes of the army were killed. The defenders were both highly trained and equipped to withstand a large attack. Despite the kills inflicted upon the advancing army, they kept their full gallop towards their target. The archers now sustained their attack and made it difficult to stop moving. As the Ethiopians drew closer, they realized that the gates were still closed. Their spy had seemingly abandoned them in their time of need. As the general prepared to call for a retreat, an enormous explosion rocked the ground beneath them, and made the sand shift in ways astonishing everyone. Archers were thrown off of the wall and many horses knocked their riders off and retreated on their own.

As the plume of dust began to settle, a hole began to show itself. Eventually it was revealed that there was a massive gaping opening in the already dilapidated wall. It had clearly been some sort of gunpowder, but no one knew where it came from. Neither the Arabs nor Ethiopians had access to this technology. When asked about it later, the spy merely shrugged and said "I found a Turk". The Ethiopians now took this chance and stormed inside the walls. A large portion of the army made a beeline for the City Center while another large portion stayed back to take on the defending troops. In the fighting, the collateral damage was almost as immense as when the same city fell to the people now defending it. Houses and workshops were torched and used to moved either the Arabs or Ethiopians, depending on who was doing the arson.Countless lives were lost as the fighting spilled into the streets, and citizens were caught between two massive armies fighting for dominance. Despite the excellent archery of the warriors, their hand-to-hand combat skills proved less than stellar. The Ethiopians pulled out more and more of a lead over their opponents. After hours of fighting, the killing ended. The army in the center of Makkah had found its leader. On the spot, he was tried for heresy, and executed under Ethiopian law. The Caliph's Islamic Empire was now complete.

Spoiler :

The Caliph now ruled the heart of Arabia, making Ethiopia ever more powerful. In his new found strength, he saw more potential, and more land to conquer. His ambitions of ruling all of Arabia grew stronger by the minute. He had even begun to make plans to build a palace in Makkah once it stabilized. His dreams of power soon turned to delusions of him being the descendant of the Rashidun Caliphate, and that he is to bring Arabia back into glory. He sent another army to the area around Yemen, where he was determined to make his empire the largest. His militant beliefs swirled around in his head and began to show when in public. He shouted at his servants and grew aggressive as he went on in life. The Caliph had just gotten a taste for blood, and wanted more.

Spoiler :

"Sire, the steed is ready to transport you across the city. There will be procession of elephants and musicians followed by Africa's best dancers. Is this all in accordance with what you want?" The Caliph paused for a moment and stared down at his shoes. He raised his head and gave a nod. The man shuffled out to get all of the things he said done. The Caliph quite liked processions, although they could be long and tiring, showing his triumphant glory to the commoners always made him feel much better.

"You there, servant. Come here. Send a message to my destination that I shall get to the ball a little late. If you screw this up you will regret it. Now go on and deliver my word." As the servant left, the first man returned to bring the Caliph out to his horse. He mounted the beautiful white steed and started his movement down the streets, behind him elephants and in front dancers and musicians told all of his presence. He commanded prestige atop his lofty status, and was not afraid to flaunt it.

The long chain of the Caliph's procession now moved into the town square, where the markets and grocers stood, selling their wares to the common people. They were forcibly closed earlier that day because of the presence of the Caliph. A crowd of people gathered to watch as the gorgeous animals moved through the heart of Jabuuti. The Caliph now looked around at his peers and smiled at the thought that he had absolute control over them. He continued on thinking these same thoughts. The music and elephants were so loud no one noticed something had been going terribly wrong, that is until everyone started screaming and began to run away.

One guard fell, and then another hit the cobblestone road. As a fellow looked to see why, he too was hit square in the head by an arrow. Out rushed several men with torches, pushing their way through the fleeing mass of people. They waved their burning sticks at the elephants, inciting panic and fear among them. They began rampaging around, destroying wooden marketplaces and crushing guard members. The Caliph, now wise to the attack on himself, began to gallop away at full speed, only to have his horse killed by an arrow to its head. Head over heals, the Caliph flipped off his dead steed and hit the hard ground. Towards him stepped about a dozen men and some women. The largest one picked him up by his collar and punched the Caliph back to the ground. He proceeded to kick his victim, he was quickly held back by his fellow attackers. Another one picked the Caliph back up and stared at him straight in the eyes.

"Do you feel any regret? Do you care about what happened to those wrongfully punished almost exactly one century ago?" The man pulled down his hood, and revealed a man of about fourty four. His complexion gave him the look of the Chola who were most certainly hated by the Ethiopians, but he was no Chola.

"Ah yes. You must be a descendant of the 'Great' Overlord. He was a failure and a coward. My predecessor felt no regrets and neither do I. He was scum and deserved what he got. So did the other two."

"On his way to exile he told his wife, my great great grandmother, that 'Never forget this travesty. Don't sit and simmer over it, but never forget'. He was never seen after that. I don't believe in revenge, but I do believe in justice. Not just for us, but for Ethiopia. You terrorize the people. I do not take murder, let alone regicide lightly, but at this point, I must do what is right for my children. I want them to live in a land that is free from your reign of terror. And to that, I say this, may you see your predecessors in death, and tell them that the one-hundred years are over, and we are back." At the end of his speech, he unsheathed his blade, and slowly inserted the tempered steel into the Caliph's body. In the background the fighting between the soldiers the assassin hired and the guards were dying down, with less of each side now left. The man dropped the Caliph on the ground, and he and his fellow kin of the banished ran to the shadows. They were never found by the local military, needless to say they didn't do their utmost to find them.

The Caliph was dressed for burial, and he too was taken to the tomb. His procession was much quicker and much less dramatic. Few were sad, and even less cried. They prayed to Allah and then went about their day. The important even now was who would be chosen as the heir to Ethiopia. The Muslim Council stayed indoors, shut out from the world, for over twice as long as last time. A mistake like this could never happen again. Then, their decision was announce. A noble from the city of Meroe would be the Caliph of Ethiopia, and the Council hoped this would be the correct decision. He described an empire not defined by the absolute rule of its Caliph, but the cooperation between the Caliph and his advisers. He announced a reshuffling of the advisers, and that they would now hold more power than ever before. An age of peace and calm governing was beginning to shine on the tired Empire.

Ethiopia had grown from its conquests, and once the center of Islam stabilized, its funds would bring massive boosts to the economy of its owner. Ethiopia undeniably became a power to be feared after its wars. With changes to come though, would it stay like that? Or would it disintegrate like Arabia had not long before?

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[adhiraj.bose]

Excellent ! Does this mean I can come back in the game ?

 

[CaterpillarKing]

Yes it does Sometime tonight or tomorrow I'm overhauling everything.

 

[adhiraj.bose]

A suggestion - You should keep me as a Christian advisor to placate the minorities in your empire. Gameplay wise it makes sense to keep more than one religion per city as 1) It gives you access to wonders of that religion *( this is the base version where you don't need to have state religion to build a wonder ), 2) It boosts your culture, 3) It boosts your happiness. Ethiopia has access to many incense resources and other happiness generating resources, plus if you build the Notre Damme, then you get an additional happiness bonus. Tell me what you think.

 

[CaterpillarKing]

Interesting. As a concept that all makes a lot of sense. Seeing as this is a Muslim theocracy I wouldn't make Christian missionaries (I don't know if I can) but that all would help quite a bit actually. Also, once Makkah stabilizes our economy should grow. Also, I forgot to mention it in the story, but like three coffee resources popped up around Jabuuti I decided to just leave them though because I would have had to destroy the mines. Anyways, I will put the positions out sometimes soon. It will go off the basis that you can choose one position and if someone else contests that position then there will be a vote.

 

[CaterpillarKing]

Ulema/Dominie of Culture:
TheNoob (Ulema)

Ulema/Dominie of Expansion:
Matthias I (Ulema)

Ulema/Dominie of Technology:
mrrandomplayer (ulema)

Ulema/Dominie of Domestic Affairs:


Ulema/Dominie of Foreign Affairs:
adhiraj.bose (dominie)

Mishir:
Matthias I

 

[Matthias I]

Ulema of Foreign Affairs and Mishir

 

[adhiraj.bose]

Foreign Affairs (Dominie)

 

[CaterpillarKing]

My bad Matthias, I forgot Mishir. And you'll need to run for one or the other please.

 

[baseballpie]

What is Mishir?

 

[mrrandomplayer]

Ulema of Technology

 

[Matthias I]

So I decided to be the Mishir

 

[TheNoob]

Ulema of Culture

 

[CaterpillarKing]

Mishir is the Field Marshal. The highest ranking military leader.

 

[CaterpillarKing]

Because the Mishir is essentially useless when not at war, you can choose something else. Also, assuming Matthias picks another one, only two positions left!

 

[Matthias I]

Ulema of Expansion

 

[CaterpillarKing]

Just one more position! Ulema/Dominie of Domestic Affairs!

 

[CaterpillarKing]

Just one more position guys!

 

[CaterpillarKing]

For all intensive purposes, the Ulema of Domestic Affairs will fall upon me now. That is, until someone rises and takes the position. Current member of the Ministry, please pay attention to the group, I will eventually make changes there.