(E.I. GAme) Jihad!

[Nicksplace27]

Sultan Abdul Aziz of the Ottomans has become extremely unstable in the past couple of days. The loss of Istanbul was getting to be awful on the ego of him. His father and brother had managed to hold on but now he was not. This was unacceptable for him. The Ottoman Empire was nothing without Istanbul, the jewel and crown of the Caliph. Now he ruled from Ankara, and although it was a nice highland city in Turk territory, It did not compare to large city and history in Istanbul. He would not stand for the Russians to keep that territory. After lounging in his makeshift Imperial manor for days, he emerged to go to the Sublime Porte being held in the main square of Ankara. He decided to make his case there.

As Abdul Aziz sat on his throne and looked out at the viziers and imams spread before him, he sighed to himself. Faction after faction bickering with each other was almost too much to handle. The vizier of Baghdad was one of his foremost proponents. He supported most of the sultan’s policies and believes that war with Russia will return what is rightfully Ottoman land. He also believed in expelling Kurds and Shiites from the region. The Sultan agreed with those arguments. The Kurds and the Shiites were useless minorities that must be stamped out. But the vizier or Damascus and the vizier of Beirut were formally against war. They even went as far as trying to limit the Sultans powers and giving Shiites and Kurds a voice in the Sublime Porte. What a silly argument with no thought to what the descendant of the prophet wants. He should declare them heretics on the spot and have them killed, but he didn't want a mess in liberal Damascus and the Mediterranean coast. But there was no way their policies would be put into practice. He has the support he needs from the rest of the Empire and Russia will quake with fear. This is time for the Ottomans to rise again as a world power.

“Now is the time for the great power of the Ottomans under Suleiman the Lawgiver, Osman our great father, and even the prophet Mohammed. We are to invade and take back what is rightfully ours! Onward, our elite Jassinaries! Onward, soldiers from around the Empire! The glory of Allah awaits you. I will make a pilgrimage to Mecca to have Allah grant his grace upon our jihad and our future conquest. Every man who wishes for salvation may receive it if he fights for the glory of the Ottoman Caliphate! Allu Akbar!” The sultan rose and passionately spoke.

“Allu Akbar!” Most of the Sublime Porte responded. This speech would be passed down throughout the empire and by next week, a huge army of Arabs with French armaments were at the gates of Ankara.

[DGNT]

(OOC: A few things...

1. The Janissaries were disbanded in 1826, because they sucked.

2. Arabs dislike the Ottomans, youve been oppressing them for some time. They REALLY dont like you.

3. French arms? Where from? The Ottomans are POOR now. That and the Arabs are a seperate group of states/clans, and theyre currently happily slicing each other up with swords. The most advanced weapon on average would be a flintlock dragoon gun.

4. The Ottomans are not very religious at this point. Calling a Jihad would not net you many men.)

[DGNT]

*prodding reminder*

[DGNT]

(OOC:
Well, assuming this gets fixed at some point, my response shall be thus.)

The Tsar has issued a decree, making sure that the other European powers recieve it.

Fellow Christians, whether Orthodox, Catholic or Protestant, Slavic, Franks, Englishmen and Germans, united in the ideal of the One True God, I ask you to lend your ears to me!
While we have had our differences in the past, even so recently as a few years ago for some, it has become increasingly clear that the so-called 'Sublime Porte' has progressed in its sickness.
What was formerly the 'sick man of Europe' is now the mad dog of Europe! The Ottomans strike out, seeking to regain territory won in honourable combat with this 'jihad', a tradition from the Crusades when Muslims forced Christians from the cities of the Holy Land under the leadership of the devil-born Saladin.
It is clear, the Ottomans wish to regain their hold on the brave Christian nations of the Balkans, so recently freed from their shackles. The men and women of this nation will soon face enslavement, rape, tourture and forced conversion, no doubt the Ottomans will do this to secure their hold on the Balkans, should they ever manage to get there again.
BUT
Russia will hold strong against this 'jihad', this perversion of the Islamic faith. Russian soldiers, vetrans of the Crimean War, are readying even now to receive the waves of infidels, those who dare to set foot on the soil of the reborn Eastern Roman Empire will suffer greatly, they will face the guns of the mighty Russian Army, now ready for their treacherous assault, where they thought we were weak, we shall be strong.
Even now, the Imperial Russian Navy readies itself to assault the Ottoman ports, to land troops on their coast and to assault the Ottoman strongholds.

Our course is clear. The Ottoman dog must be put down, lest it threaten the entirity of Europe with its madness.
Together, we stand strong. Russia will not tolerate Ottoman incursions into the Balkans OR the new provinces around Constantinople.
Unless the Ottomans surrender now, there is no choice for Russia BUT to push our attack to the furthest.

[Mexico]

The British Government makes no comment on the Jihad nor the Tsar's declaration, but instead begins shipping many more soldiers to guard Egypt and especially the Suez Canal, along with increasing the Mediterranean Fleet by 25%.

[Fatstalin]

Berlin, Prussia
Sanssouci

The Prussian King, upon reading the Russian 'Proclimation' for himself, scoffed in amusement.

I'm not sure who I'm supposed to believe is the madder, he pondered, quickly discarding the letter into the small fireplace nearest him, are the Ottomans for attempting to re-open an already mortal wound? Or are the Russians for their assumption that the whole of Christendom would rally around their banner?

Making a prompt about-face, he gazed out the window into the sunny landscape of the east German summer, obsersving the ornate gardens and tranquil fountains which gave the rococo palace its natural beauty. From the branch of a blooming cherry tree, an exotic bird of a vibrant red and yellow hue assumed its post of superiority. Using a great puff from the pair of lungs buried under his shimmering breast, he began a series of long, graceful calls, each carefully articulated with a gusto reserved for only the finest of the animal kingdom. For a moment, the feathered friend remained unchallenged. Yet in one violent motion, the scene came to a startling end. One of the many felines which routinely prowled the grounds of the tenured palace, upon sighting his target, lunged with the finesse of a trained killer and no more was the flamboyant bird which had captured the King's attention.

With another smirk, he took his seat at the head of the ornate desk which sat opposite the window, facing the wide, double mahogany doors which lead to one of countless ante-chambers. In reality, Prussia had no interest in some Holy Crusade. After all, there were matters at home to take care of and besides, what had the past eight crusades gained for the Kingdom of God?

A whole lot of wasted blood, that's what, noted Wilhelm to himself.

Thus the Prussians would remain silent. Besides a few vague communiques dispatched to Moscow and Ankara regarding Berlin's worry with the re-escalation of tensions in the Levant, no further action would be taken. If this new 'Roman Empire' wanted to strut its feathers, the more power to it.

[Nicksplace27]

(OOC: somewhat of a difference here. The POD is that Abdul Aziz is much more conversative and religious due to the loss of Istanbul. This causes imams to disagree with him and settle and secularize the coast alsong Beirut, Gaza, and Antioch. This will prove to be pivotal in the story)

More will come later.

[DGNT]

(OOC:
You dont get to play with your nations timeline, the TL has already been set and there is no alt-hist prior to 1850.)