Allahu Akbar: Al Mansur and the Byzantines

[mrgenius]

This is my first Civ3 story. it was made playing the Middle Ages scenerio for conquests. difficulty was regent I think. constructive criticism only please, no "this is crap" kind of stuff.
a may be attached if you guys want one.

Allahu Akbar:Al Mansur and the Byzantines
Chapter 1


Abdullah wiped the sweat of his forehead. Tilling the soil in preparation for the harvest was hard work. He walked towards the edge of the fields to rest. He saw a booklet of paper lying on the ground. It was a newspaper, the Saida Times.
Evil Theodora of the Byzantines Grabs More Land! read the headline. His small town near the Euphrates was very far from the front lines of the information happenings, so Saida received much propaganda. Serve the Kingdom! Settle the Land to Foil Theodora!

Al Mansur was tense. The envoy to the Byzantines had been expelled, and war had been declared. He convened the Emergency Council. “My fellow leaders,” he began, “Byzantium has declared war!” Gasps filled the chamber, as no one had been informed. “When our envoy demanded the removal of their troops from our territory, they declared war. One of our swordsman divisions has destroyed one of their spear divisions in our territory and capture the settlers. General Hamid, how many offensive troops do we have at our divisions?”
Hamid saluted. He was a man of honor. “We have three divisions of warriors, four divisions of swordsman, and a division of Ansar Warriors, sir.”
“I take it that is not enough to make a strong attack on the Byzantines?” asked Mansur.
“Yes sir. But we can defend comfortably, and with the right resources, we can build more swordsman quickly.”
“Very well. I leave it to you to coordinate a strong attack.”
General Mahdi frowned. He had always been the better general, always! Yet this fool Hamid had been appointed with the honor of commanding the troops.
“Khwirizimi? How is the science research going?” asked Mansur with a sigh.
“Sir, we are a backwards people! I need more funding. I do not know how you will receive this money, but I need it to continue my research.”
Mansur finished the meeting somberly, from the reports of being backwards and the small military.

Muhammed el Ali attacked charged his horse towards the Byzantine spear man division. “Allahu Akbar!” he shouted. The spearmen spinned their lances towards the charging Ansar Warriors. Muhammed drove his sword past the shield of the spearman ahead of him by pure strength. The horsemen massacred the spearman, and no spearmen surrendered. Muhammed would be one of the men that rounded up the settlers that had been hoping to establish a new city. They were taken to al Medina, which lay in Southern Anatolia.
There were many casualties in this battle for the Arabs also, in fact an entire division had been destroyed. But Muhammed concentrated so much on the spearman in front of him he didn’t notice his dying comrades. When he awoke from his daze, he realize men had dropped like flies in this battle. He looked down, and a head lay severed from its body, eyes wide open, blood dried around the neck. He wanted to cry, but just turned away.

What Muhammed did not know was that he was to be deployed again at the siege of Ancyra. The Arabs attacked a Byzantine city, and the horrors there would out terrify anything from his first battle. When outside the city, arrows plunged through the hearts and heads of soldiers, and Muhammed was miraculously not hit. The horseman waited, and soon they would be supported by swordsman.

Al Mansur picked up a message from his desk. All hail the great caliph! We have discovered castle building and Arab learning very quickly, thanks to you great leader. Soon we will be able to turn the tides of war! Allahu Akbar!
Sincerely, al Khwirizimi [I/]
Mansur rejoiced. The Arabs would definitely not be conquered. God is great!
Then Mansur another memo. All hail the great caliph! We have discovered a new race called the Turks! They appear to also be Muslim, and quite friendly. We are establishing diplomatic relations. We have sold them castle building, as they appear to be allies. They have paid us a lump sum of 20 gold dinars, and are paying us seven more every month. That is a large sum of gold which we can use to improve our military and technology! Allahu Akbar!
Sincerely, Salah Bakr. [I/]
And a third.
All hail the great caliph! We appear to almost have taken the Byzantine city of Ancyra!
Sincerely, from the front lines, General Hamid. [I/]
Mansur wondered if he was dreaming. Then he realized, God truly was great.


Muhammed’s division charged towards Ancyra. Arrows pierced many of his comrades. There was one, named Mustafa, that was particularly close. But as Muhammed rode, he turned just in time to watch Mustafa fall of his horse. When he was looking, his horse got pierced by an arrow, and he fell off it. He broke his leg. A few swordsman charged down the walls and into the hordes of Ansar Warriors.
He hid under his horse. With frightened eyes, he watched the decapitated head of one the soldiers, being carried on the wall by the hair. He realized it was general Hamid’s head. The battle field was covered in both human corpses and dead horses.
Muhammed got onto his knees. He crawled, crawled far away, as far away as he could from this hellhole.

 

[mrgenius]

here's the next chapter. i hope you guys like it! comments, constructive criticism?
Chapter 2

All hail the caliph! Unfortunately, General Hamid was killed in the battle of Ancyra. I have taken control in his place and am redirecting my forces towards Attalea. Will report after battle. Allahu Akbar!
Sincerely General Mahdi.

General Mahdi walked up the walls of Attalea. His plan to assassinate General Hamid worked perfectly. By giving different orders to his troops, the tactics had failed and the ranks became unorganized. Now they held Attalea. Mahdi was ruthless. He ordered the resisters massacred.

All hail the caliph! We have taken Attalea! Allahu Akbar!


“Maybe this ‘God’ was real”, thought Mahdi. Nah, couldn’t be.

“General Mahdi! Hittin has bin lost and raised to the ground! Shall I send a runner to the caliph?”
“No, that won’t be necessary.”


Salah Bakr met with the leaders of Byzantium. “We are willing to accept peace now.” said Salah triumphantly.
“We raised Hittin. It shows your weakness. Give us your castle building technology, or there will be no peace!”
“Liar! You could not have raised Hittin. If war is what you want, war is what shall be!”
Khwirizimi might have been a genius. He was a skilled politician and scientist. He was wondering how to use propaganda on the masses. Then he realized that the perfect way to raise an army would be to twist Jihad and use it politically. He just needed another week to perfect his propaganda, and find sayings from the Quran supporting Jihad, then the Arabs would rise up against the Byzantines. A Christian, Khwirizimi used the vagueness of religion to use it as a tool.

The Spearmen continued to defend Medina from Byzantine attacks. A few counterattacks and some reinforcements had driven the Byzantines back. They might soon be annihilated.
They later were annihilated. Mahdi swore the Byzantines would be punished for the razing of Hittin.

The leaflets were everywhere, even in Saida. Abdallah picked one up. “Believers!” it said, “Stand up for Islam and the Kingdom! Fight the Byzantines, and engage in Jihad. Anyone grown man who does not is an unbeliever! ‘Believers, when you encounter infidels on the march, do not turn your back to them in flight. If anyone on that day turns his back from him, except for tactical reasons, or to join another band, he shall incur the wrath of God and Hell shall be his home, an evil fate.’ - Quran 8:16 ‘Believers, if you yield to the infidels they will drag you back to unbelief and you will return headlong to perdition.’ -Quran 3:149. There are many more like this! Read your Quran! When you decide to join the Jihad, come to your nearest mosque. The imam will give you instructions.”
Abdallah looked over his Quran when he got home that night. He decided to join the Jihad, but he did not know how he would explain that to his family, friends, wife and children.

All hail the great caliph! Peace has been reached with the Byzantines! Allahu Akbar!
Sincerely, Salah Bakr.

When Abdallah heard about the peace, he rejoiced. Little did he know how short that peace would be.

Several months later contact had been made with Burgundy, Germany, France, the Bulgars, Castille, Cordova and the Fatimids.

Khwirizimi schemed, and he learned to assassinate other leaders. The perfect crime? Simple. Tell those foolish Muslims they would go to heaven, but how do it, hmm..........................

Abdallah finished eating at Ifran al Jasmina. Before he could get up, a man wearing a turban came and sat down. He looked like an ayatollah.
“Hello Abdallah. How would you like to serve Islam?”
“Well of course I would serve Islam, and join the Jihad, but there is no one to fight.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. You will get into paradise. But you must do exactly what a I say.”
“That’s blasphemous.”
“You reject my offer? Fine. But let me buy you some tea first.”
Abdallah accepted, not wanting to be impolite. He did not notice the Ayatollah drugging his tea. After drinking it, he began to feel drowsy. He soon feel unconscious.

When he woke up, he found himself in a beautiful garden. He rubbed his eyes, but it was still there. He saw milk and honey flowing in this valley, with lush green trees. He saw fruits growing on plants everywhere, and women came to fan him. He realized this must be paradise. A booming voice, probably God, called out, “ Abdallah! If you want to go to heaven, follow the Ayatollah.”
A woman gave him a drink, he felt drowsy, and when he woke up he was in his bed. He decided he must go join the Ayatollah.

A fateful goodbye occurred for Abdallah. His wife and children cried terribly, knowing he would be a martyr, his friends nodded with sorrow, and his parents were already dead. He walked to speak with the Chaef al Jabal, the Old man of the Mountain, to join him. He knew he would be a martyr.

 

[mrgenius]

comments? probably more soon.

 

[unscratchedfoot]

Nice trick on that dude. I like it.

When you want to use italics remember the second one is [/I] with the backslash infront of the I not before it. I recommend you use the preview post function everytime before submitting. Your grammar and spelling is excellent so its odd that you missed that. Keep the goods coming.

 

[mrgenius]

thanks for encouraging me! here's some more.

Chapter 3: Hashashin

Salah Bakr felt if he renegotiated peace, the Arabs would receive tribute. He miscalculated, and the Arabs and Byzantines were soon at war again.

Abdallah approached Caesarea. He snuck in and was marveled by the scenery. The buildings, even the churches were majestic. He had to shake himself to reaffirm his mission. He snuck past to the barracks. He loosed two poisonous scorpions into the room of the archer commander. This commander would be dead soon.

The Arabs continued to try to blitz to Constantinople, but they were attacked numerous times on the way. More reinforcements were coming, however. Abdallah watched several companies of Ansar warriors die gruesome deaths, from decapitation to piercing to being crushed under horses. He had seen the horrors of war.

Abdallah ran from the city. He was stopped by guards. They noticed his Arabic swords, but he attacked them. They eventually beat him down and took him to a base for questioning. A translator was brought it. “Who were you trying to kill.”
Abdallah said nothing and the guards beat him on the chests, painfully but not severely enough to do damage. He would not speak. The guards continued to beat him, and he continually cried in agony. He had seen the horrors of war. “Allahu Akbar!” he said, and with that, he died.

The Ansar Warriors took the first wall of Caesarea. Two days later, and after many corpses, they took the cities and a peace treaty was accepted.


this is based on the game remeber, and i didn't have much time to play it. sorry if you don't like what happened to abdallah! i'll play some more later.

 

[unscratchedfoot]

I'm very happy for Abdullah cause he got to go to the place of women and beauty. Bring on the war. Do you have any screenshots?

 

[mrgenius]

Sorry I haven't had time to update this! I've just had a lot to do, and I'll try and play somemore tomarow.

 

[Kuningas]

good story

 

[mrgenius]

heres some more. sorry about the delay.
Muhammed, fearing that he would not be celebrated as a hero but branded a coward, did not return to his home or military. Instead he decided to take refuge in the mountains, where he would live for years as a farmer and coward.

Al Khwirizimi realized that images of places could be synchronized. With explorers drawing, as opposed to writing, what they saw, and mentioning large immobile natural landmarks, maps could be made. He did not expect to finish this technology for several months, so he decided to use his own funds to pay his workers double. While he was a secret dhmimmi , he loved his country and the people in it.
He had been also planning to make the Christians in the kingdom of Islam rise up against the various enemies of the caliph, then realized that the English had completed the Holy Roman Empire and were recruiting for the Knights Templar.

All hail the Great Caliph! Sir, Matilda of England has crowned herself Holy Roman Empress and is recruiting for the Knights Templar. She will have much more power now. Also, our military is weak compared to most other nations. We need lots of funding to support a larger military. I am sure we will weather this storm. Sincerely,
General Mahdi.

Khwirizimi soon discoverd map making, and directed his efforts towards building siegecraft, one of the only viable ways to destroy the newly strengthened walls of the European cities. When Salah Bakr traded maps for contacts with other civilizations the foolish Europeans had not met yet, he realized that conquering the Byzantines would be very hard. It would be easier to cut a corridor of land through Constantinople and conquer European states from there.

“General Mahdi, our spies have reported many Byzantine troops nearing our borders near Samaria, Basra and Aleppo. Shall we make preemptive strikes? We have no offensive troops there, but many assassins have been waiting for a signal, waiting in the shadows of Byzantine territory...”
“No, Mansur will not approve of that. Fortify our positions!”
It had been three months since the last Arab war, and the prospect sent shudders downs spines of the Arab leaders.

 

[mrgenius]

i'm sorry i haven't posted more! i'm going on a two week vacation so i won't be able to play the same civs of civ 3 although my cousin has civ on his comp. i'll still post in other topics though.

 

[mrgenius]

well a lot of stuff is over, so i'm less busy and now i'm ready to start writing some more. here's a little bit more.

The Byzantines declared war on the Turks, and Mansur contemplated war with the Byzantines. Mahdi noted that the troops currently near real-life Iraq had moved north. This could be the perfect opportunity to strike. Theodora was still furious since the last war and the East stood on a precarious cliff. They decided to continue to build troops and appear threatening for a while, but general Mahdi was very frustrated at his leader’s apparent unwillingness to capitalize on the current opportunity. He plotted...

After riding with some aids to the Egyptian desert and testing Siege weapons, Khwirizimi retired to his winter home in Alexandria. The next day he oversaw production of Arab medicine.

The Germans were settling in the middle east. Salah Bakr noticed a German city on his most recent map of Persia, thinking it must have been some mistake. But scouts, even Bakr’s own son, reported that this was true. Salah Bakr invited the German ambassador for a meeting. The City was apparently called Dortmund, and Salah asked for it for whatever price, but the Germans refused. The Arabs did not want another war, but it seemed inevitable. However, a question loomed. How did the German settler get from Germany to Persia?

 

[mrgenius]

more! yay!
Chapter 4: Follies for Dortmund

Yasser Mahud was dispatched by Salah Bakr to the Byzantine City of Ancyra, and when he returned he reported that the city contained four units of spearmen, a horsemen regiment, a worker unit and even a Byzantine leader. Another spy was dispatched to Dortmund, revealing it had a single unit of spearman that could possibly be dispatched by the swordsman regiment in the area, but it was a big risk. Salah decided the benefits of the worst good-case scenario in Ancyra outweighed the worst worst-case. He decided to attack. Dortmund, on the other hand, might have to wait. He also considered using espionage to take it, but for now he sat back and waited to consult Al Mansur. Mansur was shrew, but Salah even more and more cunning. He convinced Mansur to accept his plans. Bakr also heard whispers of a polish settler, and he knew that someday, the Arabs would lash out and conquer the middle east.

At Ancyra two assassins killed the leader and much of the soldiers of a horseman unit, but one of the assassins died in the process. After the rushes by the Ansar warriors, a man, one of a great destiny, became exhausted but killed many spearmen. He survived, helped take the city and even killed a Byzantine royal. This man, name still a very unknown one, would later call himself el Malaak, the king. He had been promoted after the battle but was still known by his real name, Mahmud Yasser Aysif.
Near Samaria, a preemptive strike had been made against the Byzantine horseman, with the swordsman succeeding.
When Salah Bakr heard the news of Ancyra, he rejoiced. But sadly, Al Mansur was very ill. Salah had been a great friend of his, but power pulled the two apart. He had to go make his last condolences to the sick leader.

Mansur’s death finally came, and during the somber funerals all over the country whispers told of foul play. Mahdi returned to claim power, but he did so in a military rule. Salah Bakr remained, even though he hated Mahdi, for he was the most efficient spy and diplomat the nation had. When Mahdi reigned a small revolt stormed his palace, and he executed them after torture and burned the old kings body. These were both very great offenses against Islam, and his people were discontent. But he tightened his iron fist with a grip like a giant.

 

[mrgenius]

more coming soon. comments?

 

[thasan]

well, it may seem good to others but unfortunately not to me. i just didnt like the idea of mixing up religion so directly in the games narration. best of luck

 

[mrgenius]

well i wanted to create a conflict (you'll see the religious part later.... ) but more is coming soon, and its part of the story. sorry if you didn't like it but thank you for your good wishes.

 

[mrgenius]

here's more, and a little bit of that conflict i promised.

Maximus was very happy with his revolt. Caesarea, a Byzantine city under Arab occupation, was very restless, and Maximus Alecticus helped turn discontent into revolt. He and his mob destroyed the roads of the city, and eventually any building they could find. It took many Ansar Warriors to pacify the city. He had run away from the Arabs, underground, but he was planning a return.

Kwhirizimi heard about Mahdi’s takeover. He was angry. Mahdi was truly, in his opinion, an idiot. His rule was sure to end badly for him. Kwhirizimi was truly distressed. Mansur had been devout to his faith, yet tolerant. While Kwhirizimi was only secretly Christian, if Mahdi created a system of institutions which allowed the extremists more power, they would probably attack the heretics. He was certain to be discovered. After he prayed, he began a letter of resignation. Surely he could help the moderates? And perhaps even organize a revolt.

Azim Nanji was a doctor in Ancyra, healing soldiers. He had heard rumors of isolated combat, skirmishes in Byzantium. It was his duty to heal his fellows, although he didn’t agree with the wars. He had seen his fair share of gruesome wounds, and more; today he amputated a mans leg without anesthetics. It pained him to hear the man’s screaming but it was for his own good. Azim expected many more casualties. Currently he estimated about 4000 dead in the past three months. All sources said the Arabs had a weak or more optimistically, average military compared to nearly every nation in Europe and the Mideast.

Alat ed Dine was almost done with his training to become an assassin. He was nearly ready, but he needed a final test. After the rigorous physical training for two years, like running miles a day, lifting heavy rocks, practicing acrobatics, swordfighting, martial arts and fasting, he had a mission. A test to see if he was capable. He was to find and assassinate (with a wooden sword) a pair of assassins that would be moving around.
He was led to the beginning of a labyrinth of buildings. He ran through a door to a courtyard. There was a wall in front of him. It was high enough to reach the top, so he pulled himself up. He looked around. Instead of jumping down, which would have landed him into a pit, he spotted a ledge on the wall. Hanging with his arms, he grabbed his way along the edge until he came through a window. He was quiet, even over the shards of glass, not breaking a solitary piece.
Through the oddly-shaped door, he passed more curved rooms. He noticed no one until he looked across a window and saw movement. He ran as fast as he could through the window, past a fountain and to a small room, where his rival, Afez Hanan was. They both drew their wooden swords.
“Looks like only one of us will be an assassin, huh?” said Afez.
“Yes. That will be me,” replied Alat ed Dine confidently.
Afez tried to struck him but he parried. With what northern fencers would call a riposte, he nearly hit Afez. But his rival dodged it at the last second, striking at Alat ed Dine’s legs. Jumping, he continued to fight. This went on for nearly five minutes. The Alat ed Dine hit Afez’s sword out of his hand. Afez surrendered, and Alat ed Dine took the swords back to prove that he won.

Saddam Abbas had heard the rumors. Someone in his town, Baghdad, was preaching. Hakim Hamza, they said his name was. He said he was Jesus’ second coming, Muhammed’s descendant (Muhammed, he said, was related to Jesus), that the end of the world was coming, and that he was God’s messenger. Abbas dismissed it as rubbish. He still decided he would go see what the fuss was about. His son told him that some weirdo, which was Hakim before he revealed his name, was preaching at the city park tomorrow. Abbas decided he would go.

Maximus sent messengers to Ancyra, and they started revolts there too. But soon the Arab public relations specialists made the people happy. Maximus was arrested and put into a prison cell.

Mahdi rejoiced when he heard the news. Sinope had been taken. However, he also heard news of a young ruffian making trouble in Baghdad. He ignored him.

By the time Abbas got to the park, the crowd was already cheering. Hamza was giving a speech. “And by God’s will,” he cried, “Mahdi will be brought down!” The Arabs screamed like he was a rock star. He was obviously a good speaker. “You need not pay for his shortcomings! And we must fix Islam! No more mistreating of women! Of children! But anyone who breaks the Islamic law will be killed! We must return to the stricter, purer Islam! And now, God has spoken to me! We will march to the imam’s office and demand his resignation! I will be your new imam, I am the messenger of God!” His words, along with the screaming, rang loud as the mob marched to the imam’s office.

 

[mrgenius]

oh and by the way, the religion in narrarration isn't mine, its the characters'. almost as if i am saying their thoughts.