The Age of al-Andalus (Age of the Andulus 2.0)

Well, that'll be the focus of my next few updates :D. On the other point...well, I suppose I need to put a bit more research into the background :O.
A number of iconic towns in Spain either didn't exist prior to Al-Andalus or were tiny villages, but the beauty of working in the 8th century is you can always have towns founded in the same spots since the conditions that make settlement viable probably still exist.
 
Another update so soon :eek:;).



The As-sicillia War Prologue Part One: The rise of The Fihrids

The Umayyads, once an unstoppable force, ranging from the coast of Sindh all the way to the peaks of the Pyrenees, it had dwarfed the previous great empires of Rome and Persia. But by the 730’s, the unstoppable beast had turned into a dying giant.

The Caliphs of Banu Ummayah had left the simple lives led by the Prophet and the Rashidun Caliphs, they became drenched in luxury. The Shi’ite movements had begun to gain wind in the Mashriq, which would gain even more prominence in the decades to come. The people of the faith had lost belief in there so called ‘commanders’.

Thus, with this morale decline came with political decline. One disaster after another; first came the failed Siege of Constantinople in 718, then the Ishbylia-Umayyad war of 717-719, leading to Andalusi independence in all but name, the first Muslim nation outside of the Caliphate itself. This event was to lead to the Umayyad’s eventual loss of all the Far West (Maghreb).

After the Nusayrids in Al-Andalus, came the Fihrids, later the catalysts of the As-Sicillia War. The Fihrids descended from an illustrious and important Arabian clan the Banu Fihr. The tribe came to Ifriqiya* as part of the invading Umayyad army, the most famous being Oqba ibn Nafi al-Fihr, Conqueror of North Africa. The Fihrids eventually moved to the Maghrebi city of Kairouan, becoming the leading aristocratic family of Ifriqiya, and by the 730’s had essentially full autonomy from the Caliph in Damascus.

But for all there supposed freedom in the Far West, the Fihrids were living in an era of extreme tension. The head of the clan, also the Wali of Ifriqiya at the time, Habib ibn Obeida al-Fihr, was a man under pressure. He was the man who had co-ordinated the failed assassination of Abd-al-Aziz ibn Musa ibn Nusayr, now Emir of Ishbylia. Tensions between the two vassals of the Caliphate were ever increasing, especially as the Fihrids still had a strip of territory in the Peninsula.

Another continuous problem in the Fihrids Semi-Empire was the natives of the land, the Berbers. The Fihrids continued the tradition of demanding tributes from Berber tribes, even those who had converted to Islam; it appeared as if a major rebellion was on the way if tensions were not eased.

But al-Fihr had a plan, a plan that would put him one better than his Nusayrid rival and introduce a way to temporarily please the natives. He made an offer to the nomadic Berber tribes. He offered them whatever booty they could find if they agreed to supply warriors for his campaign, the Berbers agreed to help him , it appeared as if he had delayed the revolt.

The plan was to spread the Dar-es-salam** as al-Fihr would have put it, but in more realistic terms was to send raids into Gaul, plundering the rich monasteries. He would do it using the corridor of territory that stretched from the Rock of Tariq to the Pyrenees.
The plan seemed sound. However, when ibn Obeida crossed the Pyrenees he was to come to battle with the Hammer Of the Franks, in the infamous Battle of Toulouse.




*Arabic word for North Africa beyond Egypt.
**Literally meaning “House of Islam”, meaning Islamic World, or at this point, territory under control by the Caliphate (at least nominally).
 
I like it. But a couple of things.

1. I believe Uqba is supposed to have built Kairouan.
2. The Arabs were relatively bad at mountain warfare, but the Berbers were much more adept it. Just keep that in mind for future developments! :)
 
I like it. But a couple of things.

1. I believe Uqba is supposed to have built Kairouan.
2. The Arabs were relatively bad at mountain warfare, but the Berbers were much more adept it. Just keep that in mind for future developments! :)

Thank you MNP, I'll be sure to keep that in mind :D.
 
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