Still a bit of a trip for the delivery man. I suspect he meant lions, but perhaps there was an exotic animal trade for royalty I don't know about. I know back in Charlemagne's day the Caliph sent him an elephant as a gift, but I assumed that was fairly exceptional.
Moonlight in a Jar: An Al-Andalus Timeline
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Still a bit of a trip for the delivery man. I suspect he meant lions, but perhaps there was an exotic animal trade for royalty I don't know about. I know back in Charlemagne's day the Caliph sent him an elephant as a gift, but I assumed that was fairly exceptional.
Emperor-of-New-Zealand
Kicked
Transferring exotic animals in medieval/classical history wasn't unusual. Hannibal's elephants were Asian elephants.
The classical predatory animal trade was driven by the Games, no? Elephants are more useful in various ways. I do wonder when elephants fell out of favor as military weapons west of India: the Romans didn't make much use of them.
@Planet of Hats can we get an animal update like on the animals that live and sre used in andalusia, also elephants and barbary lions cause they cool.
On another note, I discovered something peculiar while digging up climate info for @Nasirissimo's Afsharid Iran timeline. In 1257, the mountain of Samalas in Lombok, Indonesia erupted with such force that it temporarily changed the earth's weather, cooling global temperatures by about 2 °C. From what Wikipedia (I know) says, Samalas ejected twice the amount of sulphur as Tambora did in 1815, and that eruption caused the "Year Without A Summer" where Ireland and Switzerland went through famine while the Yangtze flooded. From what the Wiki page explains, Samalas caused some terrible crop failures worldwide and may have even indirectly destroyed the Pueblo culture in North America.
Given the eruption is 14 years away, I wonder how bad will the eruption affect Al-Andalus. More droughts, maybe?
Given the eruption is 14 years away, I wonder how bad will the eruption affect Al-Andalus. More droughts, maybe?
Planet of Hats
Donor
A lot of rulers in this time have menageries, but Tashfin's is quite substantial. There wouldn't be all that many tigers - probably a couple, and no doubt imported from the eastern Anatolia region, where Caspian tigers lived in the territories controlled by the successors to the Great Turkmen Mamlakate. They may even have come to Tashfin through those selfsame Turkmens. But they're certainly a rare and mythical sight, and they speak to the extent to which Tashfin has both wealth and a fancy for exotic animals. The tigers are by far the most exotic critters he owns, and they're still considered somewhat mythical in the rest of Europe. Tashfin likes them because they're not just cool, they're a symbol of the power of the Rezkids over the Maghreb: They're so mighty that they can tame a myth, or so the propaganda goes. Tashfin brought his best critters along to impress Gharsiya and convey that he wasn't just some clan lord, but a genuine king of the Maghreb in a way that the Al-Mutahirin, the Ifranids and the Maghrawids were not.
Animals traveling long distances into menageries happened OTL, too: William the Conqueror supposedly had camels and leopards, while Henry III apparently had a polar bear. Charlemagne's Asian elephant is pretty well-known, of course, and he apparently also had monkeys.
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IIRC the caretakers for his elephants and at least some of his stock were Asian, but they were from the Near East, not India.
Question @Planet of Hats when it comes to historians supporting the revolt are they like Shakespeare and the Tudors where he circle jerks them, and vilified the yorkist?
Rally to me men of the white rose!
Rally to me men of the white rose!
Planet of Hats
Donor
Depends when the historians are writing. A lot of period historians view the Andalusi Revolt as the mob overthrowing the ruling class and puppetizing the Caliph, but historians sympathetic to the Revolt tend to lionize Al-Hasan and the other co-conspirators. There's a reading of the Revolt in which Al-Hasan is just the guy who was charming enough to BS his way to the top of the rabble.
markus meecham
Banned
Wouldn't circlejerking imply collective action? It's more like a slow wank, with enya or some shit playing in the background
Have you seen how they portrayed richard the third. But yeah, however Shakespeare did produce alot propaganda for the tudors. Richard 3 was kid during most of the plays he was an adult.
@Planet of Hats whats woman's roles/ rights in this Andalusia like, time have changed might aswell see if it has changed.
INTERMISSION V: Dat Mapdate 1250
Planet of Hats
Donor
We're about 275 years out from the POD, and my, how the world has changed:
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- Al-Andalus: The Hizamids, with Al-Hasan ibn Hizam at their head, have effectively displaced the Saqlabids as the ruling powers in Muslim Iberia - at least, in the core. The actual lands controlled by the Saqlabid remnant aren't large, but the Hizamids will also have to contend with the breakaway Saqlabid lords of Saraqusta, who want power for themselves. Al-Hasan has the tall task of building a power structure and a military base which will sustain Andalusia for years going forward; he does, at least, have the support of the Rezkids of Morocco, and the insurgent Muladies seem ready to acknowledge the supremacy of the puppet Caliph - but an added wrinkle is that Navarre is using the opportunity to try and make their own push on Saraqusta.
- Santiago: The Normandos suffered somewhat during the Great Plague, but the real problem for them is that rebellion in the Asturian mountains: They're currently facing a bid for the crown by a fellow named Bermudo, who styles himself the Hidden King and a successor to the natives deposed by the Normandos decades ago. While Bermudo's army is mostly peasants and errant Normando vassals, they've been able to hide out in the mountains and thwart the efforts of King Geofredo III of Santiago to bring them to heel.
- Provencia: Currently on the upswing under Grand Duke Ramon-Berenguer II, known as "the Great" to history. Having consolidated his hold on Provence, Ramon-Berenguer's achievements so far mainly consist of efforts to consolidate his power and build an actual central locus of strength in the historically highly-divided south of Francia - a task eased by the fact that until recently, Francia was busy in the north. While the Grand Duchy is nominally a vassal of Francia, Ramon-Berenguer rules enough like a king that he's managed to intervene in Sardinia and win over much of the island on behalf of a nephew of his who rules one of the northern giudicati. Relations with Genoa are not amazing.
- Egypt: The Fatimids, long slouching along and plagued by military infighting, have been set aside by the Bedouin element in their military, the Harabids. These elements are Sunni, as are most of the Muslims in Egypt, really. As a result, there really is no major Shia power anymore.
- France: The House of Blois remains in power at this point, and "France" is becoming a more accepted name for the country. The war with the Anglish resulted in the French winning control of Brittany. Since then, things have been quiet, though the Dukes of Aquitaine are once again looking to collect power.
- Angland and Scandinavia: A series of succession snafus resulted in Angland and Denmark going to war to decide the rightful king of Norway, blowing up their century and a half of prosperous friendship somewhat. The Anglish won out and installed Colborne, the nephew of King Arvid II, on the throne of Norway. Then Arvid died under mysterious circumstances and his son, Arvid III, took power as an infant. But that was okay, because his bestest cousin in the world, King Colborne, would take care of him. Then Arvid III mysteriously fell in the Trent and died, and Colborne took power, marking a jolt away from the old direct line. Colborne's an older man now but continues to rule over Norway, and while this rankles Denmark and to some extent Sweden, at the moment it's hard to do much about it because Angland is the strongest of the kingdoms in the North Sea sphere, and Colborne has himself a little North Sea Empire. But his sons are bickering over who gets it, which ought to set up some fireworks later.
- Brythonia and Ireland: While the Welsh pay tribute to the Anglish, they're otherwise seeing to their own affairs after the Plague. There are a few principalities. Much the same goes for Ireland, though Munster and Connaught are gaining in prominence.
- Sweden and Finland: Sweden has begun to lazily colonize the west coast of Finland, effectively taking responsibility for the protection of the Bishopric of Finland, with the Pope's blessing. Together with increasing pressure from Novgorod, a group of locals has coalesced: Tavastia is nominally unified under a pagan king, forming what is sometimes called the Pagan Kingdome of Hame. But the heat is on, and the Tavastians aren't very advanced compared to their neighbours.
- The Holy Roman Empire and Dependencies: The post-Plague period saw the Great Schism heal, but it also saw many nominal Holy Roman subjects begin to come into their own as freestanding kingdoms, most notably Poland and Prussia.
- The Rus' Principalities: Long divided by political infighting and Cuman and Bulgar raids, the Rus' principalities are beginning to consolidate again. There are three princes right now, and the most powerful is likely the Grand Prince of Galicia, who controls Kiev - and interestingly, since the reign of Lev the Wise (1211-1225), Galicia has been Catholic. That's largely because Lev the Wise is half-Hungarian and got there because Hungary drove the Polovtsi out of Galicia, ruling the area as a client principality for a little while. That said, though the Galicians acknowledge the Pope, they also retain many Greek Christian rites, and most of their population acknowledges the Patriarch of Constantinople. Smolensk is the next most powerful and remains more dedicated to the Greek rite of Christianity from the leadership on down. Novgorod's similar but has a more Finnic feel.
- The Steppe Nomads: Displaced by the arrival of the Naimans, the Yenisei Kyrgyz have begun to migrate west into the snowlands. This has put some pressure on the western Kipchaks and shoved them east, leading to stiffer competition for good grazing lands. But some of those Kyrgyz also made their way to the high reaches of the Volga and clashed with the tired, divided Volga Bulgars, ultimately toppling them and taking over. The Kaban Khanate has a Kyrgyz ruling class and a Bulgar common class. The Kyrgyz arrived as pagans and Manicheans but are beginning to adopt Islam, like the Bulgars. The southern Komi and Permyaks pay them tribute.
- The Empire of Rüm: The Empire of Varna collapsed within a decade or two of the death of Bouchras as the Turkmens of Rüm consolidated, bringing the Patzinaks back into the empire and bringing in Syrian and Karluk Muslim mercenaries to stomp the rebel flat. Constantinople is in Turkmen hands after a bloody siege in which disease spread through the city yet again. As a result, the capital of Rüm is actually at Nicomedia, and Constantinople is seen as something of a cursed city. The ruling class there are of Turco-Daylamite extraction and are Sunni, but in the past 30 or 40 years have begun to adopt Greek culture and language, and since seizing Constantinople have laid claim to the title and honours of the basileus, but are more likely to style their ruler "Kaysar." Indeed, the current ruler styles himself Kaysar Moameth Aslan. This does not sit well with any of the three or four imperial pretenders bouncing around Greece proper, nor the Despot of Cyprus, nor the pretender hiding out in Apulia.
- Wallachia and Hungary: One of the things Moameth Aslan and Rüm could not reclaim after Bouchras's seizure of Constantinople was the setback he dealt to the Patzinaks. Hungary took advantage here by allying with migrating Cumans and hiring them as mercenaries. The result was that tens of thousands of Cumans swept into the more Muslim-heavy Patzinak areas north of the Danube and took over. These Cumans have largely been baptized as Catholics and are nominal allies of Hungary's King Geza III; Hungary refers to them as the Kuns and Wallachia as Kunság, the land of the Kuns. Many of the Muslim Patzinaks and Vlachs here fled to the south and have swelled the Islamization of what used to be Bulgaria. In general, the prominence of Hungary has grown: It retains control over Croatia, suzerainty over the Slavs of Sirmium and the Cumans of Wallachia, and a kinship alliance with Galicia.
- The Gurkhanate: In the years following the Plague, the Khanate of Khorasan was rocked by the emergence of the general Vahid, a Persianized Turkic general serving in the court of the ruler of Merv. Amid the various squabbles between local lords, Vahid has seized power with the support of Karluk Muslim mercenaries pushed out of the former Karakhanid dominions by the Naimans. He took the title "Gurkhan" for himself and now rules a sprawling empire from Merv, though Allah only knows how long it will last when he dies. The biggest thing the Gurkhanate did was smash the remnants of the Great Turkmen Mamlakate, which had degenerated into infighting between the Turkic, Daylamite and Arab elements of the military. The Gurkhan now controls Persia, and three Turkmen-derived dynasties rule territories centred in Baghdad, Mosul and Rasht, along with Van, which remains a regional power. The Persian Gulf coast, meawhile, fell into the hands of Shia warlords of the Al Humaid branch of the Bani Khalid clan of Bedouins. Either way, between the Tarazids and Gurkhans, the age of the Turco-Persianate conqueror-generals is here.
- India: The Tarazids lost Balochistan to the Gurkhans, but not before they pushed across the north of India and conquered much of it. Hinduism is proving extremely resilient, and for the most part the natives are not converting in numbers anything like those seen in other places Muslims take over, though the areas closer to the mouth of the Indus are becoming more Muslim. The Tarazids are of Karluk Persianate stock and are introducing a lot of trappings of Persian culture into their rule.
- Song China: On more stable footing with the nomads of the north a non-factor right now, the Song waged a war with the Western Xia not long after the Plague period and gained control of the Hexi Corridor, though in practice the area remains mostly controlled by Tangut bureaucrats who bend the knee to the Emperor. That said, the Song have begun to get a little fat and lazy since then, and they've slacked off on bribing the Tatars and Onguds into raiding the Jurchens in decades recent. This has led to the Jurchens beginning to gather strength again and reconsolidate themselves, and it's likely that a new sustained conflict could ensue.
- Japan: Much like in life, Japan's currently under the de facto control of a samurai-run government. They continue to allow the Emperor to be the Emperor. Again, similar arrangement to Al-Andalus and even the current state of the Caliphate in Mesopotamia: The military runs things in name but continues to nominally bend the knee to the religious and cultural leader.
Central Asia and Anatolia are a whole shit show for whoever is fighting, you really got to feel for those Turks who just wanted to loot, but ended up speaking Greek somehow. I can see Lions easily being introduced to Andalusia through Arabic and African traders. How about Barbary monkeys being bought over to be as pets for the nobility?
I'm surprised the Canary Isles still havent been conquered yet, I'm kind of guessing the Rezkids will get to that.
I'm kind of curious what you got in plan for the Americas, since many of the conquistadors ITTL are probably either butterflied away, speaking Arabic, or doing whatever.
I'm surprised the Canary Isles still havent been conquered yet, I'm kind of guessing the Rezkids will get to that.
I'm kind of curious what you got in plan for the Americas, since many of the conquistadors ITTL are probably either butterflied away, speaking Arabic, or doing whatever.
“Fate has a twisted sense of humor.”
Huh... Kaysars of Third Rome, Third Rome, Third Rome!
BTW, will the Javanese Singhasaris undertake Pamalayu expedition in OTL next decade? Malay ethnogenesis and Islam adoption were contingent on this...