La Mort d'France

Few nobles at the dawn of the Ansar Conquest felt secure about their long-term safety. The war in Russia had gone beyond what they desired.  Initially, a portion of the Royal Army and a religious order known as the Sons of Zeus were tasked with annexing all Russian lands north of the Volga River. The high priest of the Sons, Uthman the Mighty, would eventually take the royal army under his heel. Ever ambitious, Uthman expanded the war beyond his mandate, issued a call to arms in every city of the empire, and made a forceful suggestion to the impotent king-regent that he support Uthman's aims. Uthman's religious and military status coupled with his own status as Lord of Damascus ensured that few nobles were willing to stand up against him. The king-regent's power rapidly eroded, and vanished completely when he named Uthman Lord-Protector of the Dominion. Uthman effectively ruled the Dominion through "suggestions" to the regent from thereon after.

Uthman subsequently ruled two domains. The Asnar Brotherhood  ruled Russia as a theocracy, and Uthman was successful in comandeering it as well. The Asnars spoke for the overthrow of the monarchy, but following Uthman's takeover he reformed both the Brotherhood and the monarchy. Their interests, previously in opposition, were manipulated by Uthman into being largely the same. Despite not being a member of the royal line that would have enabled him to be king, Uthman was hailed throughout the lands as Sayyid. He would be the second man to earn that title.  Despite his influence in the monarchy, Uthman realized that his position there was tenuous. As soon as the king came of age,  the regent and his laws would be no more. Uthman was thus more devoted to the Asnars and their domain in Russia. He would soon expand that domain.

Partially as a way of satisfying his increasing ambition, and partially to redirect the aggressive zeal of his Ansars away from the monarchy, Uthman engaged both the Dominion and the Ansars in a great attack against France. France was a peaceful land, notable for its beautiful countryside, strong economy, and genial disposition. Unfortunately, that land was a potential rival for Uthman and a ripe opportunity.

Initial forces targeted both Paris and Orleans. Uthman commanded the Parisian detachment, which first had to conquer the city of Tours, while a general known only as "Ali" led more troops to Orleans.The attack on Paris was a success beyond measure, for the Asnars were able to ritually execute the king. His daughter Joan fled the capital for Lyons.

 Ali faced far more challenges. His forces were assaulted numerous times in the course of the march, and afterwards were exposed to the full brunt of the French Army. Although France lacked iron, it did not lack in iron. Her commanding general, Count Petain,  organized a ruthless counteroffensive that led to Ali's death in combat and very nearly cost the Brotherhood the city.

Disaster was only averted by the leadership of Uthman, who used his own troops to help the Orleanists while organizing a seaborne invasion of Rheims. This would distract the French army, as Rheims held religious significance for Frenchmen: kings were crowned there.

Petain's counteroffensive stalled the march of the Asnars. Although Petain's thoughts are unknown to us, historians assume he thought the Asnars had advanced as far as they desired.

 The only city of any economic sigifance remaining was Lyons, and that was unassailable, for it was defended by a mountain range, a river, and a vast lake. No one would dare assault it.  Thus, he departed Lyons with his army in hopes of recovering Rheims.

This decision cost Petain nearly. The Brotherhood was not finished, only resting and resupplying.  Rheims itself held a strong garrison, delivered via ship but unknown to Petain. They would route his forces completely, and while he limped away there the Brotherhood marched on Lyons Although Lyon's site was easily defendable, its commander did not know how to put its terrain to good use. The mountains were left undefended, and the Asnars rode through the passes unmolested.

When the city fell after a mighty fight, Petain was trapped between Arab garrisons. He retreated to a nearby height to rest, hoping to make his way south. Alas for him, that would not occur.

The Asnars were now unstoppable. Uthman's direct command descended the coast, taking Marseilles and Avignon. These coastal cities netted him sugar and furs, while the bulk of the army swept through the southern provinces. They aimed to reduce France to the artic fringes, just as Greece and Russia had been.

They were successful.

France was thus vanquished, and the realms of the Asnars expanded. Uthman the Mighty, now Sayyid,  was in total command of a realm vaster than any that had been seen before.

New horizons would soon dawn.

Ansar Eclipse

Under the reign of the illustrious First Sayyid, the Arab Dominion became a reality, manifest in a heavily religious monarchy.  The Sayyid's successors, the Prima Dynasty, would not enjoy as great a success as he. Economic instability marred his grandson's reign: frequently, the Lord High Exchequer was unable to meet the Dominion's financial demands.  The solution? Broaden the tax base:  expand the Dominion into Russian territority.

Few officials in the monarchy wanted to resume the war against the Russians. Moscow and other territories were still not consolidated properly, and fighting a war would cost money. Unfortunately for the Russian warlords, the Sons of Zeus took up the cause of war. The Sons were a heavy cavalry order charged with protecting the Temple of Zeus and expanding its glory. The path to glory lay through Russia. The king acquiesed to the notoriously strong-minded Sons, but he and the Exchequer both limited army operations to the Volga River. The Dominion would spread that far and no further: leave the Russians their hills.

The Sons, infantry units, and the remnants of the royal cavalry took Russia by storm. Then as before,  Russian cities fell with little resistence.  The Sons' war-chief, Uthman the Mighty, took command of the entire Army, swiftly conquering the areas allowed him. He traveled to Medina to encourage the king to broaden the war, as well as to proclaim the good news to the people of the Dominion. Popular support, especially among the nobility, soared: the king was soon powerless to oppose the whims of his subordinates. Uthman further called for more volunteers to travel to Russia and fight for glory. He unwittingly invited the birth of the Ansars, a radical sect who would come to dominate the Dominion.

Intiially, the Ansars were young men who volunteered to take up the sword and fight for glory, uniting themselves as a religious order. They vowed not only to spread the glory of Zeus, but to spread a more godly way of living. Inspired by the Arab religious text, The Tome of Virtue, the Ansars created an "Ansar Coda", establishing who they were, why they fought, and what kind of society they expected to establish in Russia. Their dream was a just world.  Historian Jacques Monet would later note that the Ansar Coda is one of the most effective pieces of propaganda ever devised: not only did it call young men out of the cities at unbelievable numbers, but once translated into Russian it created in the Russian populace an ally.

Ignoring the king, the Ansars led the Sons of Zeus and the Royal Army further into Russian territory. They were zealots, with a passion beyond reason: no man, no king, no natural force could stop their rise.  They vowed to claim all of Russia in the name of God, and so they did.

 In Russia, only Ansar law ruled. In the Dominion, the number of men drawn by the Ansar ideal increased at an alarming rate: the king and his intimates feared that their powerful numbers and anti-authoritatian preaching would see them rise against the Dominion itself, against the monarchy. When the king mysteriously died only to be replaced by an alarmingly Ansar-friendly regent, the nobles feared the end of the Dominion was at hand. Was the glorious monarchy established by the First Sayyid about to be destroyed by an army of zealots whose conviction and power could not be surpassed?

What no-one suspected was that the time of the Second Sayyid was at hand.

The Dominion is Born

Although sayyid may be used in general to refer any city-lord, the term is used only definitively to refer to a select number of men who not only ruled in their time, but dominated it. What modern audiences refer to as the Arab Dominion truly began under the stead of the First Sayyid.  Although Meccan warlords like Mausolous knit the Arab city-states together, they based their power solely on the force of arms. A shrewd, charistmatic, and ruthless warlord like Mausolous could triumph, but after the death of such one, the city-states tended to go their seperate ways. This changed with the First Sayyid, governor of Medina. Although he posessed a private army as did any city lord, he preferred to justify his rule through a set code of laws.

Justice tended to be far less partial in Medina than in neighboring cities. The  future First Sayyid's influence spread: he undermined nearby cities and spread his rule there. Soon, every kingdom but Mecca swore fealty to him. They called him Mausolous reborn, anticipating that he would unite the Arab people once more. The Sayyid ordered that each city should erect a stele in the center of its marketplace, and sent men abroad to carve his code of laws into the stone. There they would stand, a symbol that no man was above the rule of law. Doing away with the bands of militia typically used by warlords, the Sayyid trained an army of horsemen to serve as both cavalrymen and messangers. Their speed and the spread of a common law united the Sayyid's territory in a way never before seen.

 The Meccan chieftans furiously opposed him: in their eyes, only one from Mecca was worthy of leading the Arab people as a whole. They denounced his new ways, rejected that any man of power should bow before stone steles. They decried him as a weakling who sought strength by pandering to the masses: increasingly, the high priests rose against him. His own subordinates were cautious in the face of such forceful opposition: the priests of Mecca held a power over the minds of Arabs everywhere, and if they spoke against the new way, nothing could stop the fall of Medina's new lord.



And so the Sayyid turned to the old ways, sending his troops against the forces of Mecca. He declared total war against the old ways of barbarism: in their place, he would install civilization. Even as his forces met Mecca's on the field of battle, still more troops headed south -- into Russia. Russia's own leaders were far to aggressive in their settling habits for any Arab, but few warlords were willing to risk their armies against a large kingdom.  The Sayyid did not share their timidiity.

Katrine fled to Novgorod, where Arab emissaries met her with an offer of peace: if she would surrender a few inconviently placed colonies, technological secrets, and a sizable portion of her income, the rest of Russia would be spared. Terrified that these strangers had dealt her power such a blow, she acquiesced. While Katrine was later assassinated, no one dared challenge the Arab Dominion.



That his forces had sacked Russia, effected the surrender of Russia's colonies bording Arab domains,  and defeated the Meccans in combat, proved to the Arabs that this man was one to be reckoned with. Soon all cities bowed to him. Declaring that he was an agent of divine providence, the Sayyid established the first known monarchy. Every city soon became home to a stele bearing his code of laws, and soon his private religion -- the worship of two gods named "Zeus" and "Artemis" -- became widespread. Temples to Artemis rose in every city, each serving the monarchy. Under the rule of the First Sayyid, the Arab Dominion enjoyed flowering prosperity like never before. Cities grew and matured, investing in magnificient architechure that still stands today. Upon his death, the Sayyid was succeeded by his eldest son, who ruled with dignity if not with distinction. Few kings in the Dominion's history could measure up to the Sayyid.

A Rising Star

The first known empire of the world arose in the west, under the name of the Meccan Dominion. Mecca's initial warlords benefited greatly from good relations with local villages, growing in scientific prowess. No other city-state in the world could claim rulership over two cities, let alone three. The union of Medina and Mecca through the trade-city of Damascus brought Mecca to power, and it continued expanding its rule throughout the land. The first despot of significant power, known to the Greeks as Mausolus, championed the rise of his city through trade, expansion, and war. Under his stead, the world first saw war.

Mausolus personally commanded the archers and spearmen who marched on the Greek city of Thermopylae, a fledgling ivory-harvesting post.

His "huntsmen" met their match in the Greek hoplites, but Mausolus' weight in numbers crushed the Greek forces and took the town. The king of the Spartans who ruled the post, one Leonidas, fled to Athens and bid it serve him.

After a great many years, Mausolus -- having  enlarged his army -- marched toward the northern kingdom of Sparta and its servant-city Athens.  He brought with him Arabian families, intending to the settle the land once he established dominion over it.

Although Leonidas sent emissaries to treat with the Arab warlord, the two kings would not meet but in battle.

Athens fell easily, its defenders having abandoned the city in hopes of taking their stand in Sparta. Mausolos spared the city, proclaiming that it had suffered enough under the tyrant Leonidas. The Spartan king himself fell to assassins when he refused to abandon the Athenian palace. Veterans of Thermopylae who captured the palace claimed that they were responsible for the Spartan's death, and subsequently were granted the title "Leonidas' Demise". Athens became a protected state, and Mausolous' shrewdness made the city loyal to himself.

Although Mausolus refused to meet with the Spartans for a great many years afterward, his armies did not attack Sparta. He preferred instead to secure the most fertile parts of his own realm, leaving the Greeks to the "land of snow and ice". The conquest of Athens heralded the dawn of a new era in Arab history. Before his death, Mausolos would refer the cities he ruled both directly and indirectly through fear as his "Dominion": later, this Dominion would become a centralized state in its own right, one not held together by a military and force, but by the weight of law and tradition. 

Arabian Dawn

Although I've played Civilization III for many years,  I've largely fallen out of the habit and decided to revisit the game to remedy that. I chose to play the standard game, not on a custom map, and do so using a civilization I've never visited before: the Arabs. While I've played a few games of Civilization IV under the Arab flag, they were never appealing to me here. I prefer peaceful games, and their civ "traits" are better suited to militaristic aims. I change the ruler title and name to those more of my liking, and begin. (I change my in-game moniker depending on whom I'm playing: Elan Tulmak is a name I originally made up for my leader in a game involving Cardassians.)

My start forces me to make a decision: should I move toward the sea or toward the grassland? The sea provides a source of revenue, food, and an opportunity for more improvements and monuments. The grasslands are heavenly, but I can plant my second city there. The ocean it is! 

My scout begins exploring along the river, which is realistic. I like to settle my initial cities by following rivers when I can. My worker is building a road there in anticipating of farming. I suppose die-hards would tell me to connect the spices first (to keep my people happy), but on a lower level such as this, I have time. 

I meet both the Russians and the Greeks. The Greeks are to my west, while I won't find the Russians for some time yet. My scout and their scout bumped into one another. Scouts are fast units handy for exploring the native villages:  they're sometimes able to convince the locals to bestow the civilized powers gifts. As the Russian scout came from the south, I can assume he's visited the villages there, so my scout goes north.  I do some trading with the Greeks, but the Russians are not eager to exchange their bronze skills for my magic words. Darn those materialists! My own scientists are attempting to reach Philosophy, as it grants a free technology to the civ who learns it first. I wouldn't try getting it first on a higher level. 

A very wise village decides to submit to my will! How lovely. I assure them that I will be a good despot. No beatings! The surrounding countryside is lovely, isn't it? 

The land north of me is mostly tundra, but it's pretty good tundra. There are mineral-laden hills,  forests, and lots of game.  There are also elephants, god knows why.The locals are also nice. Thanks for the bricks and mortar, fellows.

 

I soon find the Russians, south of the Greeks. We may live in peace, and we may not. I can't say the same for the Greeks -- but of course, I would only welcome them under my rule for the betterment of all. 

Trade between my west and east realms is effected when I establish a trading post midway called "Damascus". The land is sweet and wild: it is worthy of my beneficent rule. 

The known world! The artic elephants -- wolly mammoths? --  graze on that first artic river. I've got some room for expansion, but am predicting the need to consolidate Greek lands. In the south you can see the French: we've been trading technologies with them. I'm hoping to find another power in the south. 

Next time:  expansion and...'consolidation'.