A Greater Dar al-Islam and an Ever Shrinking Dar al-Harb / a resurgent Islam TL
- Thread starter Teutonic_Thrash
- Start date
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- Tags
- europe islam medieval middle east
Waiting for that Mapo.
Ethiopia was one earliest nation allowed muslim to spread their message, was always a friendly nation, i doubt what i would change
PART 1 - The Roman-Bulgar Conflict
The Roman-Bulgar Conflict
Conflict between the Roman Empire and the Bulgar Khanate began as soon as the latter arrived in the Balkans. The Bulgars had regularly fought against the Romans during the tenure of the then-incumbent Isaurian dynasty, yet they provided aid during the Islamic Siege of Konstantinoupolis in 717 CE. The early reign of Kardam Khan, the Bulgar ruler, saw him focused on projecting his influence north of the Carpathians to the detriment of the Avars. From 789 CE though, Kardam’s attention was turned towards the Romans; Bulgars raided the themes of Makedonia and Thrake. Emperor Nikephoros retaliated the following year by dispatching an army commanded by his father-in-law Michael Lachanodrakon. The Romans however were intercepted near Hadrianoupolis and driven back. The armies of the Bulgar Khanate fought in a manner similar to the Romans and Persians: with a core of heavily armed and armoured horse archers, supported by a combination of foot archers and melee infantry. The cavalry was dominated by the Bulgars themselves, while the Slavs comprised the infantry. In 792 CE Nikephoros personally commanded the next attack against the Bulgars and marched to the border fortress of Markellai. Noticing that the Bulgars were preparing their forces, Nikephoros was advised by his father-in-law to attack immediately. The emperor consented and the Bulgars suffered a grave defeat, though their cavalry, who remained relatively unscathed, covered the rest of the army’s retreat.[1] The Romans followed the retreating Bulgars back to their capital of Pliska, which was then besieged. Rather than risk the city’s conquest, Kardam Khan sued for peace with Nikephoros; the accepted terms were a large annual tribute and a halt to raiding.
The peace agreement remained safe until 797 CE when Kardam was overthrown by his relative Krum. The new khan did not immediately break the agreement with the Romans as he instead mounted a large invasion of the Avar Khaganate. Even though the Avars gave a good account of themselves in battle, the Bulgars conquered a substantial amount of territory around Singidunon [Belgrade] and forced the Avar khagan to pay tribute.[2] With his northern frontier secure Krum Khan formally ended the peace agreement with the Romans by sending dung as tribute. Soon afterwards he led an army into Roman territory and besieged Markellai in 799 CE. The fortress was taken in a matter of months, by which time Emperor Nikephoros had gathered his army and marched north. Once again battle between the two empires was enjoined near Hadrianoupolis, and once again the Romans were defeated; much to the delight of iconophiles everywhere, Michael Lachanodrakon was slain at the battle. This time Krum’s army besieged the city while the Romans retreated to Konstantinoupolis. Hadrianoupolis fell and was brutally sacked by Krum’s soldiers; many of the survivors were enslaved and transported to Pliska. The Bulgar army then marched to Arkadioupolis.
Emperor Nikephoros had realised that the strategy of fighting pitched battles against the Bulgars was failing and so devised a new plan. He settled upon the idea of a naval landing not far from the Bulgar capital of Pliska. Odessos, known as Varna to the Bulgars and Slavs, was the chosen target. The fleet departed from Roman territory in 800 CE and deposited the army just to the north of Odessos. The city’s garrison was small but the old Roman fortifications were formidable. Still, Nikephoros spared no effort in breaching the city, utilising an array of artillery, siege equipment, and sapping techniques. Krum Khan remained unaware of the Roman landing until after Odessos had fallen and the Romans were outside Pliska. As Pliska was built from scratch by the Bulgars, most of the city within the stone fortifications was constructed from wood. As a result the city held out for a considerably shorter time than Odessos; the Roman sack led to the razing of large portions of the city and the expulsion of most of the population. The Bulgar army only caught up with the Romans as they were returning to Odessos and a battle ensued. Seeing their capital burning drastically impacted the morale of the Bulgar soldiers however, while the Slavs realised that Bulgar power had its limits. The battle therefore was a disaster for the Bulgar army. Even Krum Khan knew that his days were numbered after the loss of Pliska, so he charged recklessly into where the battle was fiercest and lost his life. Dilyarek, a son of Telets Khan and commander in the army, took charge of the retreat and garrisoned the remains of the army at Pliska.
The Romans spent the winter of 800-801 CE at Odessos and awaited the inevitable Bulgar peace delegation. Dilyarek went and submitted to the Roman demands: annual tribute, the cession of the forts of Pyrgos [Burgas], Ankhialos [Pomorie], Diampolis [Yambol], and Odessos, and the acceptance of Christian missionaries. These forts were garrisoned and populated by Greeks from Mikra Asia and the newly-conquered territory was incorporated into the Thema Makedonias. Upon Dilyarek’s return to Pliska a faction opposed to the peace agreement, led by Krum’s son Omurtag, attempted to stage a coup. The attempt failed and an indecisive battle occurred, following which Omurtag and his followers fled west to Singidunon. Dilyarek Khan relocated the khanate’s capital from Pliska to the nearby Preslav and allowed the Christian missionaries to build a church there. In the following years both sides of the civil war consolidated their respective power bases yet did not engage each other in combat. Meanwhile Emperor Nikephoros returned to Konstantinoupolis and rewarded himself with another triumph. He did take advantage of Bulgar weakness however and dispatched armies to subjugate the Slavic tribes in the region around Lykhnidos [Ohrid] in 804 CE. The tribes there had been subject to a loose suzerainty under the Bulgars, so the region was established as the Thema Boulgarias.
[1] The OTL Battle of Marcellae resulted in a Byzantine defeat because Constantine VI waited too long to attack.
[2] In other words, Krum conquered a lot less Avar territory than he did IOTL because the Avars are still substantially powerful due to a lack of Charlemagne’s conquests.
Conflict between the Roman Empire and the Bulgar Khanate began as soon as the latter arrived in the Balkans. The Bulgars had regularly fought against the Romans during the tenure of the then-incumbent Isaurian dynasty, yet they provided aid during the Islamic Siege of Konstantinoupolis in 717 CE. The early reign of Kardam Khan, the Bulgar ruler, saw him focused on projecting his influence north of the Carpathians to the detriment of the Avars. From 789 CE though, Kardam’s attention was turned towards the Romans; Bulgars raided the themes of Makedonia and Thrake. Emperor Nikephoros retaliated the following year by dispatching an army commanded by his father-in-law Michael Lachanodrakon. The Romans however were intercepted near Hadrianoupolis and driven back. The armies of the Bulgar Khanate fought in a manner similar to the Romans and Persians: with a core of heavily armed and armoured horse archers, supported by a combination of foot archers and melee infantry. The cavalry was dominated by the Bulgars themselves, while the Slavs comprised the infantry. In 792 CE Nikephoros personally commanded the next attack against the Bulgars and marched to the border fortress of Markellai. Noticing that the Bulgars were preparing their forces, Nikephoros was advised by his father-in-law to attack immediately. The emperor consented and the Bulgars suffered a grave defeat, though their cavalry, who remained relatively unscathed, covered the rest of the army’s retreat.[1] The Romans followed the retreating Bulgars back to their capital of Pliska, which was then besieged. Rather than risk the city’s conquest, Kardam Khan sued for peace with Nikephoros; the accepted terms were a large annual tribute and a halt to raiding.
The peace agreement remained safe until 797 CE when Kardam was overthrown by his relative Krum. The new khan did not immediately break the agreement with the Romans as he instead mounted a large invasion of the Avar Khaganate. Even though the Avars gave a good account of themselves in battle, the Bulgars conquered a substantial amount of territory around Singidunon [Belgrade] and forced the Avar khagan to pay tribute.[2] With his northern frontier secure Krum Khan formally ended the peace agreement with the Romans by sending dung as tribute. Soon afterwards he led an army into Roman territory and besieged Markellai in 799 CE. The fortress was taken in a matter of months, by which time Emperor Nikephoros had gathered his army and marched north. Once again battle between the two empires was enjoined near Hadrianoupolis, and once again the Romans were defeated; much to the delight of iconophiles everywhere, Michael Lachanodrakon was slain at the battle. This time Krum’s army besieged the city while the Romans retreated to Konstantinoupolis. Hadrianoupolis fell and was brutally sacked by Krum’s soldiers; many of the survivors were enslaved and transported to Pliska. The Bulgar army then marched to Arkadioupolis.
Emperor Nikephoros had realised that the strategy of fighting pitched battles against the Bulgars was failing and so devised a new plan. He settled upon the idea of a naval landing not far from the Bulgar capital of Pliska. Odessos, known as Varna to the Bulgars and Slavs, was the chosen target. The fleet departed from Roman territory in 800 CE and deposited the army just to the north of Odessos. The city’s garrison was small but the old Roman fortifications were formidable. Still, Nikephoros spared no effort in breaching the city, utilising an array of artillery, siege equipment, and sapping techniques. Krum Khan remained unaware of the Roman landing until after Odessos had fallen and the Romans were outside Pliska. As Pliska was built from scratch by the Bulgars, most of the city within the stone fortifications was constructed from wood. As a result the city held out for a considerably shorter time than Odessos; the Roman sack led to the razing of large portions of the city and the expulsion of most of the population. The Bulgar army only caught up with the Romans as they were returning to Odessos and a battle ensued. Seeing their capital burning drastically impacted the morale of the Bulgar soldiers however, while the Slavs realised that Bulgar power had its limits. The battle therefore was a disaster for the Bulgar army. Even Krum Khan knew that his days were numbered after the loss of Pliska, so he charged recklessly into where the battle was fiercest and lost his life. Dilyarek, a son of Telets Khan and commander in the army, took charge of the retreat and garrisoned the remains of the army at Pliska.
The Romans spent the winter of 800-801 CE at Odessos and awaited the inevitable Bulgar peace delegation. Dilyarek went and submitted to the Roman demands: annual tribute, the cession of the forts of Pyrgos [Burgas], Ankhialos [Pomorie], Diampolis [Yambol], and Odessos, and the acceptance of Christian missionaries. These forts were garrisoned and populated by Greeks from Mikra Asia and the newly-conquered territory was incorporated into the Thema Makedonias. Upon Dilyarek’s return to Pliska a faction opposed to the peace agreement, led by Krum’s son Omurtag, attempted to stage a coup. The attempt failed and an indecisive battle occurred, following which Omurtag and his followers fled west to Singidunon. Dilyarek Khan relocated the khanate’s capital from Pliska to the nearby Preslav and allowed the Christian missionaries to build a church there. In the following years both sides of the civil war consolidated their respective power bases yet did not engage each other in combat. Meanwhile Emperor Nikephoros returned to Konstantinoupolis and rewarded himself with another triumph. He did take advantage of Bulgar weakness however and dispatched armies to subjugate the Slavic tribes in the region around Lykhnidos [Ohrid] in 804 CE. The tribes there had been subject to a loose suzerainty under the Bulgars, so the region was established as the Thema Boulgarias.
[1] The OTL Battle of Marcellae resulted in a Byzantine defeat because Constantine VI waited too long to attack.
[2] In other words, Krum conquered a lot less Avar territory than he did IOTL because the Avars are still substantially powerful due to a lack of Charlemagne’s conquests.
Good to hear. As for africa in general, will you talk about subsaharan africa?
My philosophy in writing this timeline is to wait for my divergences and their consequences (what the regular forum users call "butterflies") to reach an area before I write about it; up until that point you can assume that the history for said areas are the same as OTL. So for sub-Saharan Africa, I think that the Muslim Berber tribes began extensive interaction with them in the ninth century, so an update featuring sub-Saharan Africa should be fairly soon-ish.
INTERLUDE: Map of Islamic Europe (807 CE)
Due to popular demand, here's the map of Western Europe:
Huh. What happened to Morocco and Algiers?
Hmm, the next Caliphal-Roman war would be devastating. Central Mediterranean hegemony will move towards the victors, nevermind the vulnerable Adriatic strait and the Balkans - which is still full of unorganised Slavic tribes at this era.
I wonder what are the chances some of the Bulgars flee west towards North Italy?
Hmm, the next Caliphal-Roman war would be devastating. Central Mediterranean hegemony will move towards the victors, nevermind the vulnerable Adriatic strait and the Balkans - which is still full of unorganised Slavic tribes at this era.
I wonder what are the chances some of the Bulgars flee west towards North Italy?
It went independent during the Berber Revolt. A bunch of Kharijite Berber tribes now rule over the area.
We made it guys, our meme magic worked. Thanks for the map TT, and woah, Andalus is bigger than never before, Faranj is both bigger and smaller i thought too(more in Aquitiane but not septimania or burgundian lands)and Ruma-al-Gharabiya is big just like inawarmister say. a final push south could do wonders for either side.
Would be..Ruma is bigger i thought and just in line a final push for either side, getting the original rome is a massive tempting prize.
The provinces are still based on the phases of conquest. Once Abbasid authority wanes though, and the governors essentially become independent kings in all but name, the "governors" will start fighting each other and more "natural" borders will emerge.
Umm interesting to know, thanks for that info(spoiler). Mostly as the map give us some big surprises and was one very illustrative the state of affairs in the west mediterranean regions, thanks for it buddy
PART 1 - Unrest in the East
Unrest in the East
After the death of Caliph al-Amin in 812 CE he was succeeded by al-Abbas ibn Musa ibn Isa ibn Musa ibn Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Abdallah ibn al-Abbas; he chose al-Hakim as his regnal name. The following shura, like the previous few, was unanimous in appointing the second heir that was preferred by the Banu Isa branch of the family;[1] this time it was Abu Ishaq Muhammad ibn Harun ibn Abu Abdallah Muhammad ibn al-Mansur [OTL Caliph al-Mu’tasim]. Since the end of the Fourth Fitna it had been discovered that Abu Abdallah Muhammad was attempting to surrender when he was murdered by his own soldiers. Thus his reputation had been rehabilitated somewhat and his surviving family had been treated with dignity. Electing the man’s grandson to the position of second heir was one of the ways in which the victors of the civil war attempted to heal the wounds of the conflict. Such leniency had not been extended to the Banu Salih however.
Soon after the shura dissolved reports of unrest emerged from across the eastern provinces of the caliphate. In Azarbayjan, Jibal, and Khurasan protesters, some of whom were armed, swarmed government buildings and demanded justice from the new khalifah. Against the advice of his advisors and the new wazir, Yahya ibn Khalid al-Baramika had since died and been succeeded by his protégé al-Fadl ibn Sahl ibn Zadanfarrukh, Caliph al-Hakim travelled to Azarbayjan to meet with the protesters himself. When he arrived he saw that they were a diverse crowd: peasants, artisans, the urban poor, and even some nobility and landowners. Furthermore, the protesters comprised both Muslims and dhimmi as well. Their complaints were diverse but they all had one theme in common: Ali ibn Isa ibn Mahan. The protests in the other provinces were of a similar composition and concerned similar issues. The man in question was a prominent member of the abna al-dawla and had at one time or another been the wali of each of the three provinces; at the time of the unrest he was the governor of Khurasan. The caliph was inclined to lend credence to the complaints but, as Ali ibn Isa ibn Mahan had rendered great service during the recent civil war, he needed to proceed cautiously.
Caliph al-Hakim set up a temporary court at Ardabil and invited the leaders of the protest movement to present their complaints formally. Their chosen spokesperson was al-Hasan ibn Abdallah, leader of a heterodox Zoroastrian community, owner of recently-inherited land near Ardabil, and known to his followers as Babak. He laid out the charges against Ali ibn Isa ibn Mahan as follows: taxes were exorbitant, to the extent that people couldn’t afford to pay them; the taxes collected enriched Ali and his household, rather than being spent on investments for the improvement of the province; Ali and his administrators appropriated people’s belongings without adequate compensation; land and property was also appropriated from the locals by Arab colonists without adequate compensation; and Ali refused to recruit local men into the army. Al-Hakim agreed that these were serious charges and promised to bring Ali ibn Isa ibn Mahan to justice. The bureaucrats accompanying the khalifah recorded all of the happenings of the court as part of their case against Ali ibn Isa ibn Mahan. Afterwards al-Hakim and his entourage travelled to Jibal, where the situation was much the same. Once again the caliph formally heard the complaints against the former governor and then moved on to Khurasan.
The unrest in Khurasan had escalated since the first reports had reached Caliph al-Hakim. In response to Ali ibn Isa ibn Mahan arresting and executing a number of protesters, the rest withdrew from the provincial capital of Merv to the region of Badghis, where they began arming themselves under the joint leadership of Hamza ibn Adharak, the sons of Asad ibn Saman, and Rafi ibn al-Layth. The former two were of local dihqan origin, while the latter was the grandson of Nasr ibn Sayyar al-Laythi al-Kinani, the last Umayyad governor of Khurasan. Caliph al-Hakim arrived at Merv and immediately enumerated the charges against the governor. Ali ibn Isa ibn Mahan pled innocence however and instead attempted to deflect from the accusations by claiming that the province was in the throes of a Kharijite revolt. Disgusted with Ali’s insolence al-Hakim ordered the soldiers at the gubernatorial court to arrest him; they momentarily hesitated but ultimately complied. The rest of Ali ibn Isa ibn Mahan’s family and household were imprisoned, while soldiers confiscated all of his ill-gotten wealth. The rebels were granted an unconditional pardon and guarantee of safety; their leaders returned to Merv to parlay with the khalifah. Al-Hakim had the charges against Ali ibn Isa ibn Mahan officially recorded, after which the wali was officially deposed and sent to Baghdad for indefinite imprisonment.
In Ali ibn Isa ibn Mahan’s place as governor of Khurasan was appointed al-Hakim’s son and first heir Abdallah. The new wali ingratiated himself immediately with the province’s elite who had previously been mistreated, by appointing the rebel leaders to important positions within his administration: Rafi ibn al-Layth was named as the sahib al-shurta (head of the police); the sons of Asad ibn Saman were posted as governors of the major towns (Nuh to Balkh, Yahya to Nishapur, Ilyas to Herat, and Ahmad to Merv al-Rudh); and Hamza ibn Adharak was given charge of the ghuzat who regularly raided the recalcitrant dhimmi tributary rulers of the eastern reaches of Khurasan. The news of the arrest and deposition of an abna al-dawla governor, the wali of Khurasan no less, sent shockwaves throughout the Abbasid Caliphate. Some governors and amirs, like Harthama ibn A’yan who strived for efficient and fair rule,[2] agreed with Caliph al-Hakim’s actions when the affair was publicised. There were others however who strongly promoted the interests of the abna al-dawla as a whole and saw this episode as an attack on their privileges. Combined with the integration into the military of newly-converted Iranian aristocrats, some argued quietly that the Abbasid dynasty was beginning to disregard those who had brought them to power.
[1] That is to say, the descendants of Isa ibn Musa, TTL’s Caliph al-Rashid.
[2] OTL it was Harthama ibn A’yan who arrested Ali ibn Isa ibn Mahan on the orders of Caliph Harun al-Rashid.
After the death of Caliph al-Amin in 812 CE he was succeeded by al-Abbas ibn Musa ibn Isa ibn Musa ibn Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Abdallah ibn al-Abbas; he chose al-Hakim as his regnal name. The following shura, like the previous few, was unanimous in appointing the second heir that was preferred by the Banu Isa branch of the family;[1] this time it was Abu Ishaq Muhammad ibn Harun ibn Abu Abdallah Muhammad ibn al-Mansur [OTL Caliph al-Mu’tasim]. Since the end of the Fourth Fitna it had been discovered that Abu Abdallah Muhammad was attempting to surrender when he was murdered by his own soldiers. Thus his reputation had been rehabilitated somewhat and his surviving family had been treated with dignity. Electing the man’s grandson to the position of second heir was one of the ways in which the victors of the civil war attempted to heal the wounds of the conflict. Such leniency had not been extended to the Banu Salih however.
Soon after the shura dissolved reports of unrest emerged from across the eastern provinces of the caliphate. In Azarbayjan, Jibal, and Khurasan protesters, some of whom were armed, swarmed government buildings and demanded justice from the new khalifah. Against the advice of his advisors and the new wazir, Yahya ibn Khalid al-Baramika had since died and been succeeded by his protégé al-Fadl ibn Sahl ibn Zadanfarrukh, Caliph al-Hakim travelled to Azarbayjan to meet with the protesters himself. When he arrived he saw that they were a diverse crowd: peasants, artisans, the urban poor, and even some nobility and landowners. Furthermore, the protesters comprised both Muslims and dhimmi as well. Their complaints were diverse but they all had one theme in common: Ali ibn Isa ibn Mahan. The protests in the other provinces were of a similar composition and concerned similar issues. The man in question was a prominent member of the abna al-dawla and had at one time or another been the wali of each of the three provinces; at the time of the unrest he was the governor of Khurasan. The caliph was inclined to lend credence to the complaints but, as Ali ibn Isa ibn Mahan had rendered great service during the recent civil war, he needed to proceed cautiously.
Caliph al-Hakim set up a temporary court at Ardabil and invited the leaders of the protest movement to present their complaints formally. Their chosen spokesperson was al-Hasan ibn Abdallah, leader of a heterodox Zoroastrian community, owner of recently-inherited land near Ardabil, and known to his followers as Babak. He laid out the charges against Ali ibn Isa ibn Mahan as follows: taxes were exorbitant, to the extent that people couldn’t afford to pay them; the taxes collected enriched Ali and his household, rather than being spent on investments for the improvement of the province; Ali and his administrators appropriated people’s belongings without adequate compensation; land and property was also appropriated from the locals by Arab colonists without adequate compensation; and Ali refused to recruit local men into the army. Al-Hakim agreed that these were serious charges and promised to bring Ali ibn Isa ibn Mahan to justice. The bureaucrats accompanying the khalifah recorded all of the happenings of the court as part of their case against Ali ibn Isa ibn Mahan. Afterwards al-Hakim and his entourage travelled to Jibal, where the situation was much the same. Once again the caliph formally heard the complaints against the former governor and then moved on to Khurasan.
The unrest in Khurasan had escalated since the first reports had reached Caliph al-Hakim. In response to Ali ibn Isa ibn Mahan arresting and executing a number of protesters, the rest withdrew from the provincial capital of Merv to the region of Badghis, where they began arming themselves under the joint leadership of Hamza ibn Adharak, the sons of Asad ibn Saman, and Rafi ibn al-Layth. The former two were of local dihqan origin, while the latter was the grandson of Nasr ibn Sayyar al-Laythi al-Kinani, the last Umayyad governor of Khurasan. Caliph al-Hakim arrived at Merv and immediately enumerated the charges against the governor. Ali ibn Isa ibn Mahan pled innocence however and instead attempted to deflect from the accusations by claiming that the province was in the throes of a Kharijite revolt. Disgusted with Ali’s insolence al-Hakim ordered the soldiers at the gubernatorial court to arrest him; they momentarily hesitated but ultimately complied. The rest of Ali ibn Isa ibn Mahan’s family and household were imprisoned, while soldiers confiscated all of his ill-gotten wealth. The rebels were granted an unconditional pardon and guarantee of safety; their leaders returned to Merv to parlay with the khalifah. Al-Hakim had the charges against Ali ibn Isa ibn Mahan officially recorded, after which the wali was officially deposed and sent to Baghdad for indefinite imprisonment.
In Ali ibn Isa ibn Mahan’s place as governor of Khurasan was appointed al-Hakim’s son and first heir Abdallah. The new wali ingratiated himself immediately with the province’s elite who had previously been mistreated, by appointing the rebel leaders to important positions within his administration: Rafi ibn al-Layth was named as the sahib al-shurta (head of the police); the sons of Asad ibn Saman were posted as governors of the major towns (Nuh to Balkh, Yahya to Nishapur, Ilyas to Herat, and Ahmad to Merv al-Rudh); and Hamza ibn Adharak was given charge of the ghuzat who regularly raided the recalcitrant dhimmi tributary rulers of the eastern reaches of Khurasan. The news of the arrest and deposition of an abna al-dawla governor, the wali of Khurasan no less, sent shockwaves throughout the Abbasid Caliphate. Some governors and amirs, like Harthama ibn A’yan who strived for efficient and fair rule,[2] agreed with Caliph al-Hakim’s actions when the affair was publicised. There were others however who strongly promoted the interests of the abna al-dawla as a whole and saw this episode as an attack on their privileges. Combined with the integration into the military of newly-converted Iranian aristocrats, some argued quietly that the Abbasid dynasty was beginning to disregard those who had brought them to power.
[1] That is to say, the descendants of Isa ibn Musa, TTL’s Caliph al-Rashid.
[2] OTL it was Harthama ibn A’yan who arrested Ali ibn Isa ibn Mahan on the orders of Caliph Harun al-Rashid.
AH yeah the eternal intrigues, seems we're going a clash/fitna in the future,still amazing update, how the Caliphate going to normalize their rule and keep the balance
of course not, that was the place when assasains were codified to begin with...
PART 1 - The State of Shi’ism After the Reign of Caliph al-Qadir
The State of Shi’ism After the Reign of Caliph al-Qadir
The failure of the revolt against Caliph al-Qadir in 784 CE had broken the Shia in political terms. Any thought of reconciliation between the Abbasids and the Alids, in the manner that Abu Muslim suggested, had been excised from Abbasid politics. The leaders of the Shia groups and even their supporters had been dispersed across the Dar al-Islam. Support for the Alids was still substantial in the Hejaz, but the political relevance of the region had long since elapsed and every revolt there had been defeated. Southern Iraq and the Shia stronghold of Kufa had also been weakened by repopulation by Arabs from elsewhere. Musa al-Kadhim ibn Ja’far al-Sadiq had played only a minor role in the rebellion led by his nephew Muhammad ibn Ismail. As such he was able to avoid detection in Arabiyya while the caliphal authorities focused their hunt for Muhammad. Musa resisted the pleas of his followers to take up arms during the Fourth Fitna and continued to live his discrete, peripatetic life until he was caught by chance in 803 CE. Caliph al-Amin treated the event with little consequence and had Musa al-Kadhim imprisoned under poor conditions in a prison in Baghdad; the Imam died shortly after. A notable minority of his followers refused to believe that he had died, and instead had entered occultation and would return as the Mahdi. The rest however accepted his death and proclaimed his son Ali to be their new Imam.
Muhammad ibn Ismail had led the defence of Madinah himself, though it was to have grave consequences for him; he was wounded in battle and only just evacuated by his most loyal followers. What happened next is unclear as the followers who had accompanied Muhammad claimed that he ascended to Heaven and would return as the Mahdi; certainly he was never seen alive again. Contrary to Musa al-Kadhim’s death, almost all of Muhammad ibn Ismail’s followers agreed that he entered occultation in 784 CE.[1] The leadership of the nascent Ismaili movement carefully travelled north and by 792 CE reached Tabaristan, where they took refuge under the protection of the Dabuyid ispahbadh Hurmuzd. The Zoroastrian Dabuyid dynasty, descended from the Sasanian Shahanshah Jamasp, had submitted to Muslim authority as tributaries during the Islamic conquest of Iran. This gave them the freedom to subjugate the Bavandid and Qarinvand dynasties, though the level of control the Dabuyids exercised over them varied. The Ismailis used Tabaristan as a base from which to dispatch da’is (missionaries) to spread the message of the Mahdi’s impending arrival. Initially they neglected to proselytise among the natives of Tabaristan, Daylam, and Gilan, perhaps out of fear of angering their hosts. The practice of the dhimmi rulers sending their younger sons to work in the Abbasid bureaucracy provided the Ismailis with access to a network of contacts which they exploited fully but discretely.
Meanwhile in Sind, amir al-umara Umar ibn Hafs Hazarmard al-Muhallabi had since succumbed to old age and was succeeded by his relative Dawud ibn Yazid ibn Hatim al-Muhallabi. This was more a formality though, as Imam Abu al-Hasan Muhammad was a capable ruler in his own right. Shia refugees from the Abbasid Caliphate continued to be welcomed and settled throughout Sind, while the Imam married the daughters of numerous prominent Indian rajas. The Fourth Fitna provided the Imam with the opportunity to personally lead a number of raids into Abbasid Makran, which was important in ensuring the continued loyalty of the Zaydis. Taking advantage of the universal praise and loyalty he commanded, Abu al-Hasan Muhammad officially designated his eldest son Husayn as his heir. The latter was primarily interested in the affairs of the military and had accompanied his father during the raids into Makran. A military-inclined ruler was exactly what the Shia Imamate would require for the future, for the Pratihara kingdom in the east was in the ascendant. Of much-disputed origins, the Pratihara were a Hindu Rajput clan who fought against the Muslims when Sind was still a province of the caliphate. Since then they had been expanding their rule across Rajasthan and Gujarat, though their capital was based further to the east in Ujjain. Even though the Pratiharas focused their attention on the rival Pala and Rashtrakuta empires, Pratihara legitimacy was in part derived from their role in defeating further Muslim invasions. It was likely therefore that Sind would continue to remain under threat.
Ali ibn Musa al-Kadhim, already disinclined toward political ambition, became completely divorced from thoughts of rebellion and power after his father’s death, and so decided to dedicate his life to scholarship as his father and grandfather had done. However the central Dar al-Islam was clearly no longer safe, so he and his closest followers left Arabiyya. Travelling west, mostly by land, they covertly arrived in al-Andalus in 805 CE and settled in Saraqusta [Zaragoza]. Despite Ali’s attempts to remain incognito, he received regular visitors from the small but growing Shia population of the province. In time the presence of the Imam came to the attention of the Fihrid government but, still recovering from their capitulation to the Abbasids over al-Faranj, Ilyas ibn Muhammad al-Fihri gleefully neglected to inform the central government in Baghdad. That is not to say however that Shia dissent was tolerated; the few conspiratorial groups that did agitate for Ali ibn Musa al-Kadhim’s seizure of power were efficiently hunted down by the provincial shurta, though most of the Imam’s followers supported his quietist approach. Furthermore Ilyas ibn Muhammad personally did not hold Alid sympathies as he was sceptical of the idea that the hereditary succession of a single family could hold mass appeal throughout the ummah.
[1] This also happened OTL but later (795), until the founder of the Fatimid dynasty appeared and claimed descent from Muhammad ibn Ismail, establishing the new official Ismaili doctrine.
The failure of the revolt against Caliph al-Qadir in 784 CE had broken the Shia in political terms. Any thought of reconciliation between the Abbasids and the Alids, in the manner that Abu Muslim suggested, had been excised from Abbasid politics. The leaders of the Shia groups and even their supporters had been dispersed across the Dar al-Islam. Support for the Alids was still substantial in the Hejaz, but the political relevance of the region had long since elapsed and every revolt there had been defeated. Southern Iraq and the Shia stronghold of Kufa had also been weakened by repopulation by Arabs from elsewhere. Musa al-Kadhim ibn Ja’far al-Sadiq had played only a minor role in the rebellion led by his nephew Muhammad ibn Ismail. As such he was able to avoid detection in Arabiyya while the caliphal authorities focused their hunt for Muhammad. Musa resisted the pleas of his followers to take up arms during the Fourth Fitna and continued to live his discrete, peripatetic life until he was caught by chance in 803 CE. Caliph al-Amin treated the event with little consequence and had Musa al-Kadhim imprisoned under poor conditions in a prison in Baghdad; the Imam died shortly after. A notable minority of his followers refused to believe that he had died, and instead had entered occultation and would return as the Mahdi. The rest however accepted his death and proclaimed his son Ali to be their new Imam.
Muhammad ibn Ismail had led the defence of Madinah himself, though it was to have grave consequences for him; he was wounded in battle and only just evacuated by his most loyal followers. What happened next is unclear as the followers who had accompanied Muhammad claimed that he ascended to Heaven and would return as the Mahdi; certainly he was never seen alive again. Contrary to Musa al-Kadhim’s death, almost all of Muhammad ibn Ismail’s followers agreed that he entered occultation in 784 CE.[1] The leadership of the nascent Ismaili movement carefully travelled north and by 792 CE reached Tabaristan, where they took refuge under the protection of the Dabuyid ispahbadh Hurmuzd. The Zoroastrian Dabuyid dynasty, descended from the Sasanian Shahanshah Jamasp, had submitted to Muslim authority as tributaries during the Islamic conquest of Iran. This gave them the freedom to subjugate the Bavandid and Qarinvand dynasties, though the level of control the Dabuyids exercised over them varied. The Ismailis used Tabaristan as a base from which to dispatch da’is (missionaries) to spread the message of the Mahdi’s impending arrival. Initially they neglected to proselytise among the natives of Tabaristan, Daylam, and Gilan, perhaps out of fear of angering their hosts. The practice of the dhimmi rulers sending their younger sons to work in the Abbasid bureaucracy provided the Ismailis with access to a network of contacts which they exploited fully but discretely.
Meanwhile in Sind, amir al-umara Umar ibn Hafs Hazarmard al-Muhallabi had since succumbed to old age and was succeeded by his relative Dawud ibn Yazid ibn Hatim al-Muhallabi. This was more a formality though, as Imam Abu al-Hasan Muhammad was a capable ruler in his own right. Shia refugees from the Abbasid Caliphate continued to be welcomed and settled throughout Sind, while the Imam married the daughters of numerous prominent Indian rajas. The Fourth Fitna provided the Imam with the opportunity to personally lead a number of raids into Abbasid Makran, which was important in ensuring the continued loyalty of the Zaydis. Taking advantage of the universal praise and loyalty he commanded, Abu al-Hasan Muhammad officially designated his eldest son Husayn as his heir. The latter was primarily interested in the affairs of the military and had accompanied his father during the raids into Makran. A military-inclined ruler was exactly what the Shia Imamate would require for the future, for the Pratihara kingdom in the east was in the ascendant. Of much-disputed origins, the Pratihara were a Hindu Rajput clan who fought against the Muslims when Sind was still a province of the caliphate. Since then they had been expanding their rule across Rajasthan and Gujarat, though their capital was based further to the east in Ujjain. Even though the Pratiharas focused their attention on the rival Pala and Rashtrakuta empires, Pratihara legitimacy was in part derived from their role in defeating further Muslim invasions. It was likely therefore that Sind would continue to remain under threat.
Ali ibn Musa al-Kadhim, already disinclined toward political ambition, became completely divorced from thoughts of rebellion and power after his father’s death, and so decided to dedicate his life to scholarship as his father and grandfather had done. However the central Dar al-Islam was clearly no longer safe, so he and his closest followers left Arabiyya. Travelling west, mostly by land, they covertly arrived in al-Andalus in 805 CE and settled in Saraqusta [Zaragoza]. Despite Ali’s attempts to remain incognito, he received regular visitors from the small but growing Shia population of the province. In time the presence of the Imam came to the attention of the Fihrid government but, still recovering from their capitulation to the Abbasids over al-Faranj, Ilyas ibn Muhammad al-Fihri gleefully neglected to inform the central government in Baghdad. That is not to say however that Shia dissent was tolerated; the few conspiratorial groups that did agitate for Ali ibn Musa al-Kadhim’s seizure of power were efficiently hunted down by the provincial shurta, though most of the Imam’s followers supported his quietist approach. Furthermore Ilyas ibn Muhammad personally did not hold Alid sympathies as he was sceptical of the idea that the hereditary succession of a single family could hold mass appeal throughout the ummah.
[1] This also happened OTL but later (795), until the founder of the Fatimid dynasty appeared and claimed descent from Muhammad ibn Ismail, establishing the new official Ismaili doctrine.
Alternativley the Alids get kicked out of Andalusia and end up setting shop in some part of Europe and set up another Shia stronghold outside of Caliphal control. Maybe Ireland?