The Great Turk Returns 2.0: Ottoman resurgent TL
- Thread starter Osman Aga
- Start date
- Status
Then the winged hussars arrived.
They still exist in this tl, will ottomans poles be aligned in this tl?
Osman Aga
Banned
Poland-Lithuania exists but remains influenced by Russia until certain period. No division. Ottomans will be a major partner for them.
A less hostile stance may actually be beneficial as (i am a Muslim btw) many Salafis site the ottoman repression of the Saudis and Wahhabism in general as the reason why “innovators cant be trusted.”
To its credit, at least pure Wahhabism (not the modernist qutbist strains) require loyalty to your ruler if he is Muslim so co opting it could pave the way for its later moderation and a full on “quietist” stance.
another benefits is TTL wahhabis wont be massive Arab cultural chauvinists (to be fair, not all Wahhabis are but due to the factors above many are Arab at least cultural supremacist in the modern world)
They can find their use in Iraq for keeping it within the Ottoman fold (again, another major Wahhabism critique of the ottoman is that rather than working with them to purge Shia, they fought against “the true Muslims.”)
Wahhabism can be altered TTL, keep in mind many sects considered “moderate” by westerners today started off rather violent.
i hope you continue this timeline and would be interested in seeing how the Muslim world turns out by the modern day.
one result of this reconciliation will be a more united umma
Edit: I still think it will mostly stay out of Anatolia and Europe, but Wahhabism can actually be useful for the ottomans in the Levant in Iraq for reasons above regarding solidifying control
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If I have to say, quite a strong ironies into this one.
Anyway, what're ITTL Ottoman policies towards Asia, particularly India and South-East Asia?
Osman Aga
Banned
OTL has shown many ironies, like the Ottoman Empire being a partner with Russia after 1827-1829 period of warfare.
It starts from confirming the existing relationships with the Muslim Powers of Asia to marriages with other dynasties like Hyder Ali's dynasty and the Nizams of Hyderabad. Aceh will become a more tight protectorate. Johore and Brunei... who knows. It could develop the Aceh road but I have enough time to figure out the possibilities for it.
Persia keeps Central Asia as their backyard. This also includes influencing the Muslims of the Tarim Basin in political senses, rather than religious.
Osman Aga
Banned
My priority was to look for a different development of Wahhabism, without actual Saud attacks on the Ottoman lands. I am not entirely sure how it will develop or in which course but I will see.
As with your comment, I believe wahabism can be supported by ottomans if it is of Madkhali type ( muslim ruler must be obeyed etc). But whether it goes on to create spin off movements elsewhere like the Deovandi manhaj in my home of south Asia is another thing....hoping for something interesting
Keep in mind “madkhali” is not a real sect but a slur used by Qutbist affiliated Salafi’s to refer to quietests (who are the majority)
It is not just sheikh Rabee al Madkhali that advocates quietism but also other respected salaf scholars like sheikh al albani, sheikh bin baz
qutbists just use it as a catch all slur to attack Muslims who reject their (qutbists being both the ilk of Daesh or more moderate groups like the ikhwani) violent methods
1767-1768: Sufi orders, rebellions and Hyder Ali
Osman Aga
Banned
Kara Ali in Patras - 22 September 1766 - Patras, Morea, Ottoman Empire
Kara Ali had taken Patras from the Albanian Militia without the use of force. Rather than executing them for turning the rebellion worse, he expelled all the Albanian men who had a role in the local militia suppressing the rebellion to Aleppo. This was about 20,000 men of whom 16,000 had also taken their families with them, bringing their numbers to 68,000 people. They were sent to Aleppo, Latakia, Antakya, Tartus and Beirut.
Kara Ali Pasha was welcomed by an anxious group of Eastern Orthodox Clergy of Patras. Kara Ali Pasha informed the people of Morea that he was appointed by Sultan Mustafa III as Governor of Morea until order was restored. By having the legal power over the Eyalet, his decisions were final unless the Sultan or Grand Vizier said otherwise. His first order of business was expelling many Greek rebels with their families to other provinces, such as Van, Diyarbakir, Mosul, Erbil and Tripoli. The property of the Church and those who were harmed in the rebellion, who did not participate, were restored. The province calmed down over the time except for the Maniots area, where Ottoman Authority was considered non-existent. Kara Ali Pasha assembled his forces yet again to set for Mani. The Maniots had to be dealt with for once and for all.
Nureddin Aga in Mysore - 10 February 1767 - Bangalore, Sultanate of Mysore
Nureddin Aga was an Officer in the Sekban Corps, arriving in the realm of Hyder Ali in 1766. He was sent by order of Sultan Mustafa III in order to give aid to Hyder Ali in his possible conflicts with the Marathas and the EIC. The Sultan promised to offer a Naval Base for the Ottoman Navy on one of his ports, leasing the port for 99 years.
Sultan Mustafa III was informed about Hyder Ali’s desires and what he would offer. It was a desire of his brother Mehmed V to give more access to the Ottoman Fleet beyond the Persian Gulf. A base in Mangalore, Cochin or Calicut was hoped for. Hyder Ali’s preparations to attack the EIC for Madras as well as the Dutch in Cochin. For that, he wished to get some aid in case it did not go well. The threat of a Maratha invasion was still there, despite the defeat in Panipat 6 years ago against the Afghans. The Sultan sent an envoy to India, a delegation of 15 men led by Nureddin Aga.
Nureddin Aga (1731-....) was a Turkmen Officer from Erbil. He played a role in the Persian Campaign as a Sipahi Commander, assisting Ismail Safavi. He later joined the Sekban Corps, getting a higher position while also keeping his Timar. It was in 1765 when Nureddin Aga was in Bursa, when he was encountered by Sultan Mustafa and sent with 14 others to Mysore. The delegation was:
The alliance with Indian Muslims was not new. Until Mehmed V (1757-1759) reign, the Ottomans were quite neutral in Asian affairs, except for Persia which had a direct impact on them. Mehmed’s unfortunate and untimely death prevented the immediate attempts. While Mehmed V was focussed on the Nizam of Hyderabad and a potential Muslim Ruler being set up in Gujarat, this shifted to Mysore as well with Hyder Ali’s powergrab. The Ottoman Empire would no longer be a mediating power. It would be a Caliphate that defends the Muslims anywhere. At the end, both parties were pleased. Nureddin Aga remained in Mysore in order to join the Army of Hyder Ali against the East India Company.
Islamic missionaries in the Europe and beyond - 1767
The Ottoman Empire as a state was not promoting missionary activity. That was reserved for the Sufi Orders. The same applied to many other nations and until recently Persia. The Bektashi Order of the Ottoman Empire had their bases in the Balkans. Quite popular among Albanians and rather accepted by Greeks and Bulgarians. Their activity had increased over years and found many new Tekkes (religious buildings for the Bektashi). While being the primary Order to convert people to Islam and being borderling Shia, many converts would still follow Sunni guidlines of Islam over time, apart of some Albanians and Greeks. The popularity among Albanians, Greeks and Bulgarians could not be said the same over Bosnians, Serbs and Romanians, the latter being more staunch in their Eastern Orthodox Beliefs, even in the Empire. The competition between the Qadiriyya Order and even the Greek Orthodox Church who had experienced a revival in an efficiënt Greek Orthodox education to its followers, making them firm in their beliefs. The Bektashi Order was also popular among European Christians who fled their homes and found refuge in the Empire. Their size was rather small but it was quite attractive. Among 14,000 Hungarians who settled in the Ottoman Empire after the Austro-Turkish War, about 2,800 converted to Islam by influence of the Bektashi Order, which is 20%. At last, the Romas, or as the public would call them: Gypsies, were also quite interested in the Bektashi Order. Most Roma Muslims belonged to a Bektashi Order. The Romas were the group with the largest rate of conversion to Islam in the Balkans, and 2nd overall, behind the Zanj slaves who were brought in by Arab Merchants and converted by their masters. The Bektashi order played a big role in this.
The Qadiriyya Order was another Sufi order active in the Balkans and North Africa. The Qadiriyya was like the Naqshbandi, quite popular among the Slavic Muslims of the Empire. The Qadiriyya Order was less active in converting non-Muslims in the Empire but they were the primary Order in converting the Slavic converts, even among the Bulgarians the Bektashi Order was almost as popular as the Qadiriyya Order. By the 1760s, the Qadiriyya Order was tied with the Bosnian Muslim Identity and doing so with the Serb Muslims as well. Even among the Romanians of the Empire, where 45 out of every 100,000 Romanians would convert to Islam, it would be by the Qadiriyya Order influence. While behind the Bektashi Order in terms of conversion, it was no less popular in the Balkans.
The Naqshbandi Order was active in the Caucasus and the Middle East. It was a uniting factor for the Sunni Kurds as well as Sunni Arabs of Mesopotamia, resisting Shiism. It was a front of Sunni Arabs resisting Wahhabist theology from Nejd, which they deemed as ‘silly’ and ‘dangerous’. It was however, also active in Safavid Georgia and the subjugated lands of the Northern Caucasus, the Crimean Khanates new lands. In Georgia, the Church experienced a small era of chaos as the Ottoman-Safavid alliance had disrupted Georgian society in the time of Ismail III restoration in Azerbaijan. Tbilisi became the capital for the time being. At that moment, many Georgian Churches in town were used as Mosques by the Safavid Authorities, leaving the Georgian Christians with one church in Tbilisi vs 12 mosques. The Armenians experienced no difference though they were better organized and two churches. While Shiism did attract some converts, it was the Naqshbandi Order from Batum that caused disturbed feelings in the Georgian Orthodox Clergy. It caused the Georgian Clergy to petition the Safavid Shah to stop the Naqshbandi Order. The Safavid Shah complied and declared the Naqshbandi Activity in Georgia as “disruptive and anti-Shia behavior”, in other words, it was threatened with death sentence if they kept doing this. The Safavids were more concerned about growing hostile Sunni subjects in the Safavid Realm, rather than satisfying the Georgian Christians. The Naqshbandi protested this in Constantinople to Sultan Mustafa III and to the Crimean Khan in Bakhchisaray, though kept on their activity. The Ottoman Sultan was willing to find a compromise between the Safavid Shah and the Naqshbandi Order. The Crimean Khan was however more assertive despite the smaller size of his realm and offered protection to anyone belonging to the Naqshbandi Order who was persecuted. In addition, the Crimean Tatars recruited local Tatars and Muslim Circassians to raid Christian villages in Safavid Georgia. While Ismail of Persia was unwilling to start a war over this, the first sign of rivalry between the Safavids on one side and the Ottomans and Crimeans on the other side had shown itself. Shah Ismail could do little for the Georgian Christians other than officially forbidding the activity of the Naqshbandi Order. The question whether the Shah would order the converted to revert back to their Christian faith was rejected as Ismail found it unacceptable and did not want to draw the ire of the Ottoman Empire, which would be a certain war. A war Ismail cannot afford. While Ismail’s order had decreased conversion rates, it was still large. That was the part when the Georgian Orthodox Church came in contact with the Patriarchate of Constantinople and asked for advice on how to prevent this. Several Greek Priests left for Georgia to reorganize the Church and make Church education efficiënt. The reorganisation of the Georgian Orthodox Church and the increased quality of the education had decisively lowered conversion rates to 79 per 100,000 Georgians per year. Though this would be in 1800 already.
The Naqshbandi Order operating in the Crimean Khanate was also active in the Caucasus, converting subjugated non-Muslim tribes. The Naqshbandi Order was quite militant in the Caucasus to a point where the Crimean Khan had to act more religious even if he wasn’t like that. This would mean no consumption of alcohol, a lot of legal issues dealt with Sharia Law only. The Naqshbandi Order would call the Sunnis of the Northern Caucasus to resist the “deception of the Shiite Persians”. The Naqshbandi Orders would bless Muslim forces in their battles with non-Muslims and Shiites. It would assemble allies for converted tribes in battle with non-Muslims.
Members outside the Ottoman Empire and Crimean Khanate were different in approach. The Bektashi Order was mostly an Ottoman thing, apart from having members in North Africa as well. The Qadiriyya Order was also active in Africa, influenced by members from the Maghreb and the primary Sufi Order converting non-Muslim Bantus in West Africa. In India, protected by various Muslim Monarchs as well. The Naqshbandi Order was the only Sufi Order gaining prominence among Turkic and Mongolians, especially with a militant cover.
Kara Ali had taken Patras from the Albanian Militia without the use of force. Rather than executing them for turning the rebellion worse, he expelled all the Albanian men who had a role in the local militia suppressing the rebellion to Aleppo. This was about 20,000 men of whom 16,000 had also taken their families with them, bringing their numbers to 68,000 people. They were sent to Aleppo, Latakia, Antakya, Tartus and Beirut.
Kara Ali Pasha was welcomed by an anxious group of Eastern Orthodox Clergy of Patras. Kara Ali Pasha informed the people of Morea that he was appointed by Sultan Mustafa III as Governor of Morea until order was restored. By having the legal power over the Eyalet, his decisions were final unless the Sultan or Grand Vizier said otherwise. His first order of business was expelling many Greek rebels with their families to other provinces, such as Van, Diyarbakir, Mosul, Erbil and Tripoli. The property of the Church and those who were harmed in the rebellion, who did not participate, were restored. The province calmed down over the time except for the Maniots area, where Ottoman Authority was considered non-existent. Kara Ali Pasha assembled his forces yet again to set for Mani. The Maniots had to be dealt with for once and for all.
Nureddin Aga in Mysore - 10 February 1767 - Bangalore, Sultanate of Mysore
Nureddin Aga was an Officer in the Sekban Corps, arriving in the realm of Hyder Ali in 1766. He was sent by order of Sultan Mustafa III in order to give aid to Hyder Ali in his possible conflicts with the Marathas and the EIC. The Sultan promised to offer a Naval Base for the Ottoman Navy on one of his ports, leasing the port for 99 years.
Sultan Mustafa III was informed about Hyder Ali’s desires and what he would offer. It was a desire of his brother Mehmed V to give more access to the Ottoman Fleet beyond the Persian Gulf. A base in Mangalore, Cochin or Calicut was hoped for. Hyder Ali’s preparations to attack the EIC for Madras as well as the Dutch in Cochin. For that, he wished to get some aid in case it did not go well. The threat of a Maratha invasion was still there, despite the defeat in Panipat 6 years ago against the Afghans. The Sultan sent an envoy to India, a delegation of 15 men led by Nureddin Aga.
Nureddin Aga (1731-....) was a Turkmen Officer from Erbil. He played a role in the Persian Campaign as a Sipahi Commander, assisting Ismail Safavi. He later joined the Sekban Corps, getting a higher position while also keeping his Timar. It was in 1765 when Nureddin Aga was in Bursa, when he was encountered by Sultan Mustafa and sent with 14 others to Mysore. The delegation was:
- Elmas Nureddin Aga (1731-....), Sekban Officer, Tumen Aga, Erbil
- Kerküklü Ahmed Aga (1725-....), Sekban Officer, Ocak Aga, Kerkuk
- Dilsiz Ali Aga (1726-....), Sekban Officer, Ocak Aga, Mosul
- Arnavut Kazim Aga (1719-....), Sipahi Officer, Ocak Aga, Yenice
- Kilic Ismail Aga (1720-....) Sipahi Officer, Ocak Aga, Sistova
- Aksakal Mahmud Aga (1716-....) Artillery Officer, Birlik Aga, Batum
- Kara Mustafa Aga (1723-....) Second in command in the Osmaniye SotL, Kavala
- Kasapci İbrahim Aga (1718-....) Captain of the Osmaniye SotL, Vlore
- Qadi Nizameddin Efendi (1713-....) Qadi of Diyarbakir, Diyarbakir
- Qadi Abdurrahman Efend (1708-....) Qadi of Kars, Kars
- Yannis Efendi (1714-....) Phanariot, Constantinople
- Konstantinos Efendi (1717-....) Phanariot, Constantinople
- Spiros Efendi (1710-....) Phanariot, Constantinople
- Hovhannes Efendi (1717-....) Treasurer of the Armenian Patriarch, Constantinople
- David Efendi (1720-....) Wealthiest merchant of the Ottoman Empire, Selanik
The alliance with Indian Muslims was not new. Until Mehmed V (1757-1759) reign, the Ottomans were quite neutral in Asian affairs, except for Persia which had a direct impact on them. Mehmed’s unfortunate and untimely death prevented the immediate attempts. While Mehmed V was focussed on the Nizam of Hyderabad and a potential Muslim Ruler being set up in Gujarat, this shifted to Mysore as well with Hyder Ali’s powergrab. The Ottoman Empire would no longer be a mediating power. It would be a Caliphate that defends the Muslims anywhere. At the end, both parties were pleased. Nureddin Aga remained in Mysore in order to join the Army of Hyder Ali against the East India Company.
Islamic missionaries in the Europe and beyond - 1767
The Ottoman Empire as a state was not promoting missionary activity. That was reserved for the Sufi Orders. The same applied to many other nations and until recently Persia. The Bektashi Order of the Ottoman Empire had their bases in the Balkans. Quite popular among Albanians and rather accepted by Greeks and Bulgarians. Their activity had increased over years and found many new Tekkes (religious buildings for the Bektashi). While being the primary Order to convert people to Islam and being borderling Shia, many converts would still follow Sunni guidlines of Islam over time, apart of some Albanians and Greeks. The popularity among Albanians, Greeks and Bulgarians could not be said the same over Bosnians, Serbs and Romanians, the latter being more staunch in their Eastern Orthodox Beliefs, even in the Empire. The competition between the Qadiriyya Order and even the Greek Orthodox Church who had experienced a revival in an efficiënt Greek Orthodox education to its followers, making them firm in their beliefs. The Bektashi Order was also popular among European Christians who fled their homes and found refuge in the Empire. Their size was rather small but it was quite attractive. Among 14,000 Hungarians who settled in the Ottoman Empire after the Austro-Turkish War, about 2,800 converted to Islam by influence of the Bektashi Order, which is 20%. At last, the Romas, or as the public would call them: Gypsies, were also quite interested in the Bektashi Order. Most Roma Muslims belonged to a Bektashi Order. The Romas were the group with the largest rate of conversion to Islam in the Balkans, and 2nd overall, behind the Zanj slaves who were brought in by Arab Merchants and converted by their masters. The Bektashi order played a big role in this.
The Qadiriyya Order was another Sufi order active in the Balkans and North Africa. The Qadiriyya was like the Naqshbandi, quite popular among the Slavic Muslims of the Empire. The Qadiriyya Order was less active in converting non-Muslims in the Empire but they were the primary Order in converting the Slavic converts, even among the Bulgarians the Bektashi Order was almost as popular as the Qadiriyya Order. By the 1760s, the Qadiriyya Order was tied with the Bosnian Muslim Identity and doing so with the Serb Muslims as well. Even among the Romanians of the Empire, where 45 out of every 100,000 Romanians would convert to Islam, it would be by the Qadiriyya Order influence. While behind the Bektashi Order in terms of conversion, it was no less popular in the Balkans.
The Naqshbandi Order was active in the Caucasus and the Middle East. It was a uniting factor for the Sunni Kurds as well as Sunni Arabs of Mesopotamia, resisting Shiism. It was a front of Sunni Arabs resisting Wahhabist theology from Nejd, which they deemed as ‘silly’ and ‘dangerous’. It was however, also active in Safavid Georgia and the subjugated lands of the Northern Caucasus, the Crimean Khanates new lands. In Georgia, the Church experienced a small era of chaos as the Ottoman-Safavid alliance had disrupted Georgian society in the time of Ismail III restoration in Azerbaijan. Tbilisi became the capital for the time being. At that moment, many Georgian Churches in town were used as Mosques by the Safavid Authorities, leaving the Georgian Christians with one church in Tbilisi vs 12 mosques. The Armenians experienced no difference though they were better organized and two churches. While Shiism did attract some converts, it was the Naqshbandi Order from Batum that caused disturbed feelings in the Georgian Orthodox Clergy. It caused the Georgian Clergy to petition the Safavid Shah to stop the Naqshbandi Order. The Safavid Shah complied and declared the Naqshbandi Activity in Georgia as “disruptive and anti-Shia behavior”, in other words, it was threatened with death sentence if they kept doing this. The Safavids were more concerned about growing hostile Sunni subjects in the Safavid Realm, rather than satisfying the Georgian Christians. The Naqshbandi protested this in Constantinople to Sultan Mustafa III and to the Crimean Khan in Bakhchisaray, though kept on their activity. The Ottoman Sultan was willing to find a compromise between the Safavid Shah and the Naqshbandi Order. The Crimean Khan was however more assertive despite the smaller size of his realm and offered protection to anyone belonging to the Naqshbandi Order who was persecuted. In addition, the Crimean Tatars recruited local Tatars and Muslim Circassians to raid Christian villages in Safavid Georgia. While Ismail of Persia was unwilling to start a war over this, the first sign of rivalry between the Safavids on one side and the Ottomans and Crimeans on the other side had shown itself. Shah Ismail could do little for the Georgian Christians other than officially forbidding the activity of the Naqshbandi Order. The question whether the Shah would order the converted to revert back to their Christian faith was rejected as Ismail found it unacceptable and did not want to draw the ire of the Ottoman Empire, which would be a certain war. A war Ismail cannot afford. While Ismail’s order had decreased conversion rates, it was still large. That was the part when the Georgian Orthodox Church came in contact with the Patriarchate of Constantinople and asked for advice on how to prevent this. Several Greek Priests left for Georgia to reorganize the Church and make Church education efficiënt. The reorganisation of the Georgian Orthodox Church and the increased quality of the education had decisively lowered conversion rates to 79 per 100,000 Georgians per year. Though this would be in 1800 already.
The Naqshbandi Order operating in the Crimean Khanate was also active in the Caucasus, converting subjugated non-Muslim tribes. The Naqshbandi Order was quite militant in the Caucasus to a point where the Crimean Khan had to act more religious even if he wasn’t like that. This would mean no consumption of alcohol, a lot of legal issues dealt with Sharia Law only. The Naqshbandi Order would call the Sunnis of the Northern Caucasus to resist the “deception of the Shiite Persians”. The Naqshbandi Orders would bless Muslim forces in their battles with non-Muslims and Shiites. It would assemble allies for converted tribes in battle with non-Muslims.
Members outside the Ottoman Empire and Crimean Khanate were different in approach. The Bektashi Order was mostly an Ottoman thing, apart from having members in North Africa as well. The Qadiriyya Order was also active in Africa, influenced by members from the Maghreb and the primary Sufi Order converting non-Muslim Bantus in West Africa. In India, protected by various Muslim Monarchs as well. The Naqshbandi Order was the only Sufi Order gaining prominence among Turkic and Mongolians, especially with a militant cover.
Great update, Aga. Specially on the sufi orders. So Qadiriya and Bektasi for balkans, Naxbandi for middle east and Caucasus and later central asia. Also muslims reverted by Bekhtasi orders are simply being taught Tawhid by the order while they take all the jurisprudence from sunni clergy, not the order? I always thought Bekhtasi as more bordering on Alevism than actual sunni. Qadiriya are definitely sunni. And Naxbandi will have military flavour, understandable. OTL taliban follow them😊.
Good luck, pray for me as well. My professional medical exam is just a week away.....Allah help us all.
Osman Aga
Banned
Pretty much yes.
Bektashi is like Alevism. It has some differences though. You could say it is between Sunnism as practiced by Oghuz Turks and Alevism.
The Bektashi aren't as large as the existing Sunni clergy. Which means that some of their followers end up as the average Sunni. But it will likely be an influential community in Epirus.
Mustafa III, 1768-1771: Missionaries in Dzungaria and the Anglo-Mysore War
Osman Aga
Banned
The fate of the Dzungars and the Uyghurs - 1768
The Dzungars were pacified by the Qianlong Emperor of Qing China. After years of wars since the late 17th century, the Dzungars finally lost in the late 1750s. The result was horrendous for the Dzungars. Of the 900,000 population in Dzungaria, the Dzungars lost 200,000 due to famine, illness and warfare. Another 200,000 of the Dzungars were driven to Qinghai region, the previous home of the Koshut Khans, leaving 500,000 Dzungars. The Qing Emperors sent Uyghurs, Hui and Han people to former Dzungaria. With a population of 5 million, the Uyghurs sent 500,000 people to Dzungaria, the Han sent 100,000 and the Hui sent 200,000. The Kazakhs formed 100,000 there as well. With everything counted in, the Dzungar population fell from 80%+ to about a third of Dzungaria. They were compelled to work on the land of their Han, Hui and Uyghur new landowners. Dissatisfied Dzungars felt oppression they never experienced before. Ripe for rebellious people. It wasn’t too different from other Mongolians as well. The Khalkha Mongols were not too happy with the Manchu rule either, other than being forced to be their subjects and bannerman. As bannerman they had several advantages but the Manchu Emperors kept them as divided as possible. The dissatisfaction led to the fertile ground for Safavid Missionaries. Their first arrival to Dzungaria came after failing to find converts among recently Islamized Kyrygz, who were now staunchly Sunnis, regardless of having pre-Islamic traditions. Uzbek merchants told about how the Mongols were defeated by the Chinese and now experienced oppression themselves, a divine punishment. For the Safavid Missionaries, this was a new adventure. Arriving in Dzungaria, they found miserable Dzungars working almost 14-15 hours a day on the field. According to the Missionaries notes: “Both men and women would work on the field. The most beautiful of the Dzungar women were taken by the landowners. This kind of humiliation was never seen before by the Dzungars. There was no hope for help from outside. The Sunni Uyghurs despised them for decades of oppression. The Han and Hui, though the latter were Sunni, treated the subjugated Dzungars as inferiors. They had it worst among the Mongols. The Khalkha Mongols did not treat them as brothers either after centuries of war between them, though they were the kindest among them. The Manchu treated everyone equally horrible. The Dzungars were in such a miserable state, they needed any kind of support. They looked to Lhasa, if the Dalai Lama could ease their life but the Chinese overlords refused any kind of support to them".
The Safavid Missionaries joined the Dzungars and were allowed to live with them. The Dzungars did not feel home anymore in their land. They work on their land by orders of their overlords. Their size declines as more Turks and Chinese settle in Dzungaria. Kazakh are anything but friendly as they usually raid the Dzungars along with the Chinese property. The stories of Imam Ali, Imam Hussein were told. The never ending struggle of the Ahl-al Bayt. It found some kind of sympathy among the Buddhist Dzungars. It didn’t take long until the Chinese overlords of the Dzungars realized the threat of Shia missionaries in Dzungaria and ordered their departure. Of the seven missionaries, five left and two remained. The two remaining hid in the homes of the Dzungars and kept in touch with the community. These Dzungars were filled with vengeance and desired to fight back. The Shia missionaries had converted 7% of the Dzungars (35,000 people) during their stay of three years. More would follow later and the Safavid missionaries would destabilize the situation in Dzungaria. The missionary activities were more than moral missions. The Safavids saw potential in expanding into Central Asia, especially Samarkand and Bukhara. The first establishment of the Khanate of Bukhara by the Safavids against the existing rulers, was a measure to halt Kazakh raids into Uzbek lands and prevent Manchu attempts to expand beyond the Tarim Basin. By destabilizing the newly conquered Tarim Basin and Dzungaria, the Safavids would secure their gain over Transoxania. By getting converts on the Chinese border, the Safavids would secure themselves a friendly protectorate on the frontiers. This was no different than the attempts to spread Shiism in Kashmir and Badakhshan. Non-Muslims in Gilgit and Ladakh were more prone to the Safavids. The Safavids hoped to expand their realm beyond Afghanistan into the Indus Valley.
The Uyghurs weren’t necessarily better off. They were relatively better off than under Dzungar rule. The Manchus however, did not treat the Uyghurs with any more respect as with the Mongols or other minorities. Every now and then, the Uyghurs were targeted by the Manchu overlords. Overtaxing in the Tarim Basin was quite common. Protection against threats of Manchu garrisons was largely neglected. It was only in Dzungaria the Manchus considered the Uyghurs as good partners to subdue the Dzungars. The Uyghur situation depended on the place and circumstances. If the Manchus needed them, they were not considered as oppressed new subjects. If the Manchus did not need them, they were nothing more than a new addition of taxpayers the Manchus wouldn’t necessarily miss. This brought the Uyghurs in the Tarim Basin to a situation to look for aid from the Durrani Afghans. At some point even the Safavids were considered, though it was a third option. It was a decade when the Qing Armies overran the Tarim Basin, but in that decade the Uyghurs of the Tarim Basin were willing to rebel against the Manchu overlords. The situation was complex with the Khojas of the Tarim Basin being so divided. The strongest were pro-Qing and would render a rebellion a lost cause.
In the end, the Qing expansion into the land of the Dzungars and Uyghurs made them prone to future rebellions. Rebellions the Qing Emperors had yet to face. Some were smaller and not impressive, the others would be considered as borderline anarchistic. The former were the potential rebellions of the Tibetans and Uyghurs. The latter potential rebellions were the aggressive militant spread of Twelver Shiism among aggressive militant nomads like the Dzungars, and maybe even the Khalkha Mongols. The threats of the 1760s would be minimal. The threats of the 1790s would be far bigger.
Anglo-Mysore War of 1768-1771
The Sultan of Mysore, Hyder Ali I, had ordered the EIC to vacate Madras to him and abolish the alliances with the Nawab of Carnatica. The EIC, not so surprisingly, refused and Hyder Ali declared war on the EIC. Hyder Ali put Madras under siege with 40,000 troops as another 40,000 was sweeping the Malabar Coast and 50,000 was invading Carnatica. In case of a new war, the Sultan of Mysore could assemble another 120,000 men to face the Maratha Forces, and hope for aid from the Nizam of Hyderabad and maybe even the Durrani Shah, Ahmad Shah Abdal.
The Mysori Forces had little trouble to overrun Malabar and reached Kochin in November 1768. The fall of Calicut, Mangalore while reaching almost the Southern end of Malabar put the Sultan of Mysore on schedule. The forces of Hyder Ali took Arcot and had no issue in defending the besieging forces in Madras. The EIC kept supplying the besieged town with everything they had and did rather well due to the lack of threats on the High Seas. As long as the Garrison can hold off the Forces of Hyder Ali, the EIC is fine. An attempt to bring the Nizam of Hyderabad into the War on the EIC side faced problems. Ottoman Ambassadors in Hyderabad wanted to avoid a war between Hyderabad and Mysore at all cost and Asaf Jah II did not move against Hyder Ali. The Nawab Arcot was in no position to relieve Madras nor to reconquer Arcot as long as Hyder Ali had Malabar occupied and moving East from there. That brought the EIC to the Marathas. The Marathas were weakened since the defeat in Panipat and had set their eyes on Northern India yet again. At the latest moment the Maratha Peshwa was convinced and amassed a force of 90,000 men in Maharashtra. Hyder Ali got the scent of Maratha mobilization and moved quickly to mobilize his own forces. The Nizam of Hyderabad was called to declare war on the Marathas and invade Maharashtra. Hyder Ali would assemble a force and move North himself as well. The Nizam of Hyderabad remained neutral now as well. Hyder Ali’s subjugation of the Nawab of Arcot, forcing him to become a vassal of Mysore brought in a Mysori Force of 150,000 men against the Marathas.
Battle of Bellary - 25 March 1770
The Marathas brought their forces to face whatever Hyder Ali had not used yet. Madras had not fallen and the North of Mysore lay open for invasion. Hyder Ali had almost twice the size, as the Marathas did not want to lose the element of surprise and not bring more troops. The Marathas weren’t afraid of facing a bigger Mysori Army either. Hyder Ali faced the Maratha Army led by Madhavrao I. The young Peshwa led the Maratha Army of 48,000 cavalry; 41,500 infantry; 500 war elephants and 200 artillery pieces (120 howitzers, 50 large cannons, 30 mortars). This impressive army was facing the Army of Hyder Ali. The forces of Hyder Ali consisted of 62,000 cavalry; 87,500 infantry, 500 war elephants and 240 artillery pieces (150 howitzers, 50 large cannons, 30 mortars and 20 Mysorean rockets).
Hyder Ali took his risk by following Nureddin Aga’s advice. He formed his flanks in square formations and left his center infantry in lines. The rockets were used to cause chaos in the war elephant lines. It had effects as all but 50 elephants remained under control, mostly the Peshwa’s own and his guards. With the elephants not usable for the moment by the Marathas, the cavalry was sent to fight back the advancing Mysorean Forces. The Marathas were unable to break through the square formations. The Mysorean Squares, while somewhat nervous as trying for the first time, remained steady and repulsed the cavalry attack of the Marathas. The cavalry could not break through the flanks forcing the Maratha infantry to face the Mysorean Infantry. With swords the Mysoreans advanced while musketeers fired behind them. The artillery was going on non-stop, with the Maratha Artillery firing back as well. Peshwa Madhavrao managed to keep the morale up of the center and finally got the war elephants back organized and tried to break the Mysorean right flank with the elephants.
The Mysorean squares were not like the average European squares. Due to the lack of bayonets so early on for so many men, Nureddin Aga considered to use spears in the front and musketeers behind them to keep the cavalry away while the musketeers hit them without getting touched. The use of bayonets would be less effective as the war elephants were no match to the spear and musket duo of the Mysorean infantry. The Maratha Forces unable to break the flanks and the flanks moving further horizontally made it look like the Maratha Forces were getting surrounded. The Maratha Forces held line only until Peshwa Madhavrao was wounded by a Mysorean shell hitting his guard next to him. The Peshwa was advised to retreat, though the young Madhavrao refused as he still believed victory was possible. The Peshwa going down led to the Maratha ranks breaking and retreating. The Sultan of Mysore had defeated the Marathas decisively. The Marathas would be unable to strike again for at least two years in Mysorean territory. The Marathas lost in total 32,000 troops (17,000 cavalry; 15,000 infantry). The Mysoreans lost 18,000 men (2,000 cavalry; 16,000 infantry). The victory in Bellary secured no aid to come for the EIC in Madras. Hyder Ali already offered a surrender but the EIC refused. The risk now was Hyder Ali storming Madras and taking it by force. The EIC cannot do much more than bombing it by sea. But the battle in Bellary was more alarming than one would consider. The EIC weren’t much more afraid about a Maratha defeat, rather than the Mysoreans adapting their forces like the Europeans did. This meant that the Mysoreans got their advisors from Europe. The EIC suspected the French until spies in Hyderabad informed the EIC officials in Bombay that the advisors were Ottoman. The fear in the EIC lands grew, fearing an Ottoman invasion of EIC held India. A good reason for the EIC as the Ottoman Navy was sailing 30,000 troops to Mysore until redirecting it to Sindh due to a British blockade of the Malabar Coast.
Siege of Porbandar - 1771
The Ottoman Expedition Fleet had set sail for Mysore as promised. A navy of 8 SotL and 10 Frigates. The transporters were numerous as it had to move 30,000 men to Mysore. The Fleet was alarmed in Oman about a British blockade and the confrontation would result in many deaths including most of the expedition if it moved. The leader of the Expeditionary Force, the young Bekir Pasha Abasi, redirected the Navy to Gujarat. The sole reason the Ottomans had to participate was to fight the Marathas which could be done in Gujarat as well. With no actual plan, Bekir Pasha came up with one in mere days and ordered the capture of Porbandar. His more ambitious plan was to conquer Gujarat over time. The Ottoman Navy arrived and let the Forces land. The Warships sailed to Porbandar and ordered it to surrender. When surrender was refused, the fleet bombed the town. The Ottoman land forces moved to the coastal town and surrendered it. The 400 men strong town surrendered. Bekir Pasha did not wait for long and embarked on new expeditions with the information he got. Jamnagar was taken four weeks later as it had no garrison and Rajkot was reached after two months. Rajkot had a better defensive position with 1,500 garrison troops. It was a big town for Gujarat and it was taken over after 15 days of siege. From this point on Bekir Pasha was unsure what to do. He faced no real resistance in Kathiawar, let alone a real Maratha Army. Rumors spread in the Ottoman Camp that there was a Maratha Army of 75,000 men in Gujarat to move against the Ottomans. Whether this was right or wrong was not known by the Ottoman Forces. To avoid a mutiny, Bekir Pasha departed for Porbandar and decided to wait out there. His even more ambitious plan to conquer Ahmedabad was rejected by his war council. With having 27,000 troops left the Ottomans should not take more risks. After 8 months in Kathiawar, the Ottoman Army left without keeping anything but the war bounty taken. There was no real battle. The Maratha Forces arrived in Kathiawar three months later. There wasn’t anything but partially destroyed towns and the remains of the garrisons who fought the Ottoman Army.
Bekir Pasha returned to Egypt and informed the Governor over the Campaign. The expedition was not a success. It offered the Mysoreans no real help and it did not attract any Maratha Forces away during the war. The Mysoreans were not in trouble after their victory in Bellary but Ottoman participation was deemed as pointless by Bekir Pasha. However, his landing in Porbandar did create new situations. The Mughal Emperor was frightened of Ottoman presence extending in Gujarat to a point that he wanted the Rajput Princes in his control and advance into Gujarat. If the Marathas decisively lose their power, the Mughals must act quickly and secure Gujarat. The EIC saw how exposed Gujarat was from the Seas. if the Marathas were to turn against the EIC, it would mean that the EIC could theoretically advance in Gujarat. The Ottomans were another group with interest in the region. The old Gujarat Sultanate had brought Suleiman the Magnificents nostalgia to Sultan Mustafa III. His desire to create a pro-Ottoman Sultanate in Gujarat was rather abstract. The idea was there, the plans were not. Bekir Pasha’s experiences were also informed by the Sultan himself. Reality however had several issues: 1. The owners of the provinces have enough troops… 2. The locals are largely non-Muslims… 3. The Ottomans must secure the support of the local elite if they want any success at all. The Marathas aren’t loved unconditionally, but they won’t be easily replaced for new overlords. Especially non-Indian and Muslim. For the time being, this plan remained Mustafa’s ambition in India. But whether he had the time in this life to execute it was uncertain.
Peace of Mangalore - 1771
The Mysoreans conquered Madras in 1771. The EIC was not left empty handed. They were allowed to trade with Mysore and they kept exclusive rights over Madras for the next 50 years as the treaty was signed (which means no trade rights for any other European Companies in Madras until 1821). The Sultan demanded EIC recognition of his realm, which was Malabar and Carnatica. The EIC had no issue with that as long as they could trade. There were no changes with the Marathas. Peace was made, the borders remained largely the same. The peace of Mangalore made Mysore a new powerhouse. Relatively small but very powerful. German merchants considered Mysore as “The Prussia of India”. The highly militarized state did not shy away from battles with larger neighbors. The EIC informed the shareholders and the merchants in London about a bigger threat than the French in Asia: The Ottoman Empire. If they keep influencing Indian Rulers, it will work against British interest. The Crown did not want to fight the Ottoman Empire but it did give more funding for stronger EIC forces in India. The EIC envoy went to Egypt after this treaty to gain more knowledge on long term Ottoman ideas for India, whether it would thwart the British. The EIC realized that the invasion of Madras was a Mysorean idea, not an Ottoman one. The Ottomans want to play the protectors of Indian Muslims rather than thwarting British trade. The latter being a product of Ottoman influence in Mysore and Hyderabad.
The Dzungars were pacified by the Qianlong Emperor of Qing China. After years of wars since the late 17th century, the Dzungars finally lost in the late 1750s. The result was horrendous for the Dzungars. Of the 900,000 population in Dzungaria, the Dzungars lost 200,000 due to famine, illness and warfare. Another 200,000 of the Dzungars were driven to Qinghai region, the previous home of the Koshut Khans, leaving 500,000 Dzungars. The Qing Emperors sent Uyghurs, Hui and Han people to former Dzungaria. With a population of 5 million, the Uyghurs sent 500,000 people to Dzungaria, the Han sent 100,000 and the Hui sent 200,000. The Kazakhs formed 100,000 there as well. With everything counted in, the Dzungar population fell from 80%+ to about a third of Dzungaria. They were compelled to work on the land of their Han, Hui and Uyghur new landowners. Dissatisfied Dzungars felt oppression they never experienced before. Ripe for rebellious people. It wasn’t too different from other Mongolians as well. The Khalkha Mongols were not too happy with the Manchu rule either, other than being forced to be their subjects and bannerman. As bannerman they had several advantages but the Manchu Emperors kept them as divided as possible. The dissatisfaction led to the fertile ground for Safavid Missionaries. Their first arrival to Dzungaria came after failing to find converts among recently Islamized Kyrygz, who were now staunchly Sunnis, regardless of having pre-Islamic traditions. Uzbek merchants told about how the Mongols were defeated by the Chinese and now experienced oppression themselves, a divine punishment. For the Safavid Missionaries, this was a new adventure. Arriving in Dzungaria, they found miserable Dzungars working almost 14-15 hours a day on the field. According to the Missionaries notes: “Both men and women would work on the field. The most beautiful of the Dzungar women were taken by the landowners. This kind of humiliation was never seen before by the Dzungars. There was no hope for help from outside. The Sunni Uyghurs despised them for decades of oppression. The Han and Hui, though the latter were Sunni, treated the subjugated Dzungars as inferiors. They had it worst among the Mongols. The Khalkha Mongols did not treat them as brothers either after centuries of war between them, though they were the kindest among them. The Manchu treated everyone equally horrible. The Dzungars were in such a miserable state, they needed any kind of support. They looked to Lhasa, if the Dalai Lama could ease their life but the Chinese overlords refused any kind of support to them".
The Safavid Missionaries joined the Dzungars and were allowed to live with them. The Dzungars did not feel home anymore in their land. They work on their land by orders of their overlords. Their size declines as more Turks and Chinese settle in Dzungaria. Kazakh are anything but friendly as they usually raid the Dzungars along with the Chinese property. The stories of Imam Ali, Imam Hussein were told. The never ending struggle of the Ahl-al Bayt. It found some kind of sympathy among the Buddhist Dzungars. It didn’t take long until the Chinese overlords of the Dzungars realized the threat of Shia missionaries in Dzungaria and ordered their departure. Of the seven missionaries, five left and two remained. The two remaining hid in the homes of the Dzungars and kept in touch with the community. These Dzungars were filled with vengeance and desired to fight back. The Shia missionaries had converted 7% of the Dzungars (35,000 people) during their stay of three years. More would follow later and the Safavid missionaries would destabilize the situation in Dzungaria. The missionary activities were more than moral missions. The Safavids saw potential in expanding into Central Asia, especially Samarkand and Bukhara. The first establishment of the Khanate of Bukhara by the Safavids against the existing rulers, was a measure to halt Kazakh raids into Uzbek lands and prevent Manchu attempts to expand beyond the Tarim Basin. By destabilizing the newly conquered Tarim Basin and Dzungaria, the Safavids would secure their gain over Transoxania. By getting converts on the Chinese border, the Safavids would secure themselves a friendly protectorate on the frontiers. This was no different than the attempts to spread Shiism in Kashmir and Badakhshan. Non-Muslims in Gilgit and Ladakh were more prone to the Safavids. The Safavids hoped to expand their realm beyond Afghanistan into the Indus Valley.
The Uyghurs weren’t necessarily better off. They were relatively better off than under Dzungar rule. The Manchus however, did not treat the Uyghurs with any more respect as with the Mongols or other minorities. Every now and then, the Uyghurs were targeted by the Manchu overlords. Overtaxing in the Tarim Basin was quite common. Protection against threats of Manchu garrisons was largely neglected. It was only in Dzungaria the Manchus considered the Uyghurs as good partners to subdue the Dzungars. The Uyghur situation depended on the place and circumstances. If the Manchus needed them, they were not considered as oppressed new subjects. If the Manchus did not need them, they were nothing more than a new addition of taxpayers the Manchus wouldn’t necessarily miss. This brought the Uyghurs in the Tarim Basin to a situation to look for aid from the Durrani Afghans. At some point even the Safavids were considered, though it was a third option. It was a decade when the Qing Armies overran the Tarim Basin, but in that decade the Uyghurs of the Tarim Basin were willing to rebel against the Manchu overlords. The situation was complex with the Khojas of the Tarim Basin being so divided. The strongest were pro-Qing and would render a rebellion a lost cause.
In the end, the Qing expansion into the land of the Dzungars and Uyghurs made them prone to future rebellions. Rebellions the Qing Emperors had yet to face. Some were smaller and not impressive, the others would be considered as borderline anarchistic. The former were the potential rebellions of the Tibetans and Uyghurs. The latter potential rebellions were the aggressive militant spread of Twelver Shiism among aggressive militant nomads like the Dzungars, and maybe even the Khalkha Mongols. The threats of the 1760s would be minimal. The threats of the 1790s would be far bigger.
Anglo-Mysore War of 1768-1771
The Sultan of Mysore, Hyder Ali I, had ordered the EIC to vacate Madras to him and abolish the alliances with the Nawab of Carnatica. The EIC, not so surprisingly, refused and Hyder Ali declared war on the EIC. Hyder Ali put Madras under siege with 40,000 troops as another 40,000 was sweeping the Malabar Coast and 50,000 was invading Carnatica. In case of a new war, the Sultan of Mysore could assemble another 120,000 men to face the Maratha Forces, and hope for aid from the Nizam of Hyderabad and maybe even the Durrani Shah, Ahmad Shah Abdal.
The Mysori Forces had little trouble to overrun Malabar and reached Kochin in November 1768. The fall of Calicut, Mangalore while reaching almost the Southern end of Malabar put the Sultan of Mysore on schedule. The forces of Hyder Ali took Arcot and had no issue in defending the besieging forces in Madras. The EIC kept supplying the besieged town with everything they had and did rather well due to the lack of threats on the High Seas. As long as the Garrison can hold off the Forces of Hyder Ali, the EIC is fine. An attempt to bring the Nizam of Hyderabad into the War on the EIC side faced problems. Ottoman Ambassadors in Hyderabad wanted to avoid a war between Hyderabad and Mysore at all cost and Asaf Jah II did not move against Hyder Ali. The Nawab Arcot was in no position to relieve Madras nor to reconquer Arcot as long as Hyder Ali had Malabar occupied and moving East from there. That brought the EIC to the Marathas. The Marathas were weakened since the defeat in Panipat and had set their eyes on Northern India yet again. At the latest moment the Maratha Peshwa was convinced and amassed a force of 90,000 men in Maharashtra. Hyder Ali got the scent of Maratha mobilization and moved quickly to mobilize his own forces. The Nizam of Hyderabad was called to declare war on the Marathas and invade Maharashtra. Hyder Ali would assemble a force and move North himself as well. The Nizam of Hyderabad remained neutral now as well. Hyder Ali’s subjugation of the Nawab of Arcot, forcing him to become a vassal of Mysore brought in a Mysori Force of 150,000 men against the Marathas.
Battle of Bellary - 25 March 1770
The Marathas brought their forces to face whatever Hyder Ali had not used yet. Madras had not fallen and the North of Mysore lay open for invasion. Hyder Ali had almost twice the size, as the Marathas did not want to lose the element of surprise and not bring more troops. The Marathas weren’t afraid of facing a bigger Mysori Army either. Hyder Ali faced the Maratha Army led by Madhavrao I. The young Peshwa led the Maratha Army of 48,000 cavalry; 41,500 infantry; 500 war elephants and 200 artillery pieces (120 howitzers, 50 large cannons, 30 mortars). This impressive army was facing the Army of Hyder Ali. The forces of Hyder Ali consisted of 62,000 cavalry; 87,500 infantry, 500 war elephants and 240 artillery pieces (150 howitzers, 50 large cannons, 30 mortars and 20 Mysorean rockets).
Hyder Ali took his risk by following Nureddin Aga’s advice. He formed his flanks in square formations and left his center infantry in lines. The rockets were used to cause chaos in the war elephant lines. It had effects as all but 50 elephants remained under control, mostly the Peshwa’s own and his guards. With the elephants not usable for the moment by the Marathas, the cavalry was sent to fight back the advancing Mysorean Forces. The Marathas were unable to break through the square formations. The Mysorean Squares, while somewhat nervous as trying for the first time, remained steady and repulsed the cavalry attack of the Marathas. The cavalry could not break through the flanks forcing the Maratha infantry to face the Mysorean Infantry. With swords the Mysoreans advanced while musketeers fired behind them. The artillery was going on non-stop, with the Maratha Artillery firing back as well. Peshwa Madhavrao managed to keep the morale up of the center and finally got the war elephants back organized and tried to break the Mysorean right flank with the elephants.
The Mysorean squares were not like the average European squares. Due to the lack of bayonets so early on for so many men, Nureddin Aga considered to use spears in the front and musketeers behind them to keep the cavalry away while the musketeers hit them without getting touched. The use of bayonets would be less effective as the war elephants were no match to the spear and musket duo of the Mysorean infantry. The Maratha Forces unable to break the flanks and the flanks moving further horizontally made it look like the Maratha Forces were getting surrounded. The Maratha Forces held line only until Peshwa Madhavrao was wounded by a Mysorean shell hitting his guard next to him. The Peshwa was advised to retreat, though the young Madhavrao refused as he still believed victory was possible. The Peshwa going down led to the Maratha ranks breaking and retreating. The Sultan of Mysore had defeated the Marathas decisively. The Marathas would be unable to strike again for at least two years in Mysorean territory. The Marathas lost in total 32,000 troops (17,000 cavalry; 15,000 infantry). The Mysoreans lost 18,000 men (2,000 cavalry; 16,000 infantry). The victory in Bellary secured no aid to come for the EIC in Madras. Hyder Ali already offered a surrender but the EIC refused. The risk now was Hyder Ali storming Madras and taking it by force. The EIC cannot do much more than bombing it by sea. But the battle in Bellary was more alarming than one would consider. The EIC weren’t much more afraid about a Maratha defeat, rather than the Mysoreans adapting their forces like the Europeans did. This meant that the Mysoreans got their advisors from Europe. The EIC suspected the French until spies in Hyderabad informed the EIC officials in Bombay that the advisors were Ottoman. The fear in the EIC lands grew, fearing an Ottoman invasion of EIC held India. A good reason for the EIC as the Ottoman Navy was sailing 30,000 troops to Mysore until redirecting it to Sindh due to a British blockade of the Malabar Coast.
Siege of Porbandar - 1771
The Ottoman Expedition Fleet had set sail for Mysore as promised. A navy of 8 SotL and 10 Frigates. The transporters were numerous as it had to move 30,000 men to Mysore. The Fleet was alarmed in Oman about a British blockade and the confrontation would result in many deaths including most of the expedition if it moved. The leader of the Expeditionary Force, the young Bekir Pasha Abasi, redirected the Navy to Gujarat. The sole reason the Ottomans had to participate was to fight the Marathas which could be done in Gujarat as well. With no actual plan, Bekir Pasha came up with one in mere days and ordered the capture of Porbandar. His more ambitious plan was to conquer Gujarat over time. The Ottoman Navy arrived and let the Forces land. The Warships sailed to Porbandar and ordered it to surrender. When surrender was refused, the fleet bombed the town. The Ottoman land forces moved to the coastal town and surrendered it. The 400 men strong town surrendered. Bekir Pasha did not wait for long and embarked on new expeditions with the information he got. Jamnagar was taken four weeks later as it had no garrison and Rajkot was reached after two months. Rajkot had a better defensive position with 1,500 garrison troops. It was a big town for Gujarat and it was taken over after 15 days of siege. From this point on Bekir Pasha was unsure what to do. He faced no real resistance in Kathiawar, let alone a real Maratha Army. Rumors spread in the Ottoman Camp that there was a Maratha Army of 75,000 men in Gujarat to move against the Ottomans. Whether this was right or wrong was not known by the Ottoman Forces. To avoid a mutiny, Bekir Pasha departed for Porbandar and decided to wait out there. His even more ambitious plan to conquer Ahmedabad was rejected by his war council. With having 27,000 troops left the Ottomans should not take more risks. After 8 months in Kathiawar, the Ottoman Army left without keeping anything but the war bounty taken. There was no real battle. The Maratha Forces arrived in Kathiawar three months later. There wasn’t anything but partially destroyed towns and the remains of the garrisons who fought the Ottoman Army.
Bekir Pasha returned to Egypt and informed the Governor over the Campaign. The expedition was not a success. It offered the Mysoreans no real help and it did not attract any Maratha Forces away during the war. The Mysoreans were not in trouble after their victory in Bellary but Ottoman participation was deemed as pointless by Bekir Pasha. However, his landing in Porbandar did create new situations. The Mughal Emperor was frightened of Ottoman presence extending in Gujarat to a point that he wanted the Rajput Princes in his control and advance into Gujarat. If the Marathas decisively lose their power, the Mughals must act quickly and secure Gujarat. The EIC saw how exposed Gujarat was from the Seas. if the Marathas were to turn against the EIC, it would mean that the EIC could theoretically advance in Gujarat. The Ottomans were another group with interest in the region. The old Gujarat Sultanate had brought Suleiman the Magnificents nostalgia to Sultan Mustafa III. His desire to create a pro-Ottoman Sultanate in Gujarat was rather abstract. The idea was there, the plans were not. Bekir Pasha’s experiences were also informed by the Sultan himself. Reality however had several issues: 1. The owners of the provinces have enough troops… 2. The locals are largely non-Muslims… 3. The Ottomans must secure the support of the local elite if they want any success at all. The Marathas aren’t loved unconditionally, but they won’t be easily replaced for new overlords. Especially non-Indian and Muslim. For the time being, this plan remained Mustafa’s ambition in India. But whether he had the time in this life to execute it was uncertain.
Peace of Mangalore - 1771
The Mysoreans conquered Madras in 1771. The EIC was not left empty handed. They were allowed to trade with Mysore and they kept exclusive rights over Madras for the next 50 years as the treaty was signed (which means no trade rights for any other European Companies in Madras until 1821). The Sultan demanded EIC recognition of his realm, which was Malabar and Carnatica. The EIC had no issue with that as long as they could trade. There were no changes with the Marathas. Peace was made, the borders remained largely the same. The peace of Mangalore made Mysore a new powerhouse. Relatively small but very powerful. German merchants considered Mysore as “The Prussia of India”. The highly militarized state did not shy away from battles with larger neighbors. The EIC informed the shareholders and the merchants in London about a bigger threat than the French in Asia: The Ottoman Empire. If they keep influencing Indian Rulers, it will work against British interest. The Crown did not want to fight the Ottoman Empire but it did give more funding for stronger EIC forces in India. The EIC envoy went to Egypt after this treaty to gain more knowledge on long term Ottoman ideas for India, whether it would thwart the British. The EIC realized that the invasion of Madras was a Mysorean idea, not an Ottoman one. The Ottomans want to play the protectors of Indian Muslims rather than thwarting British trade. The latter being a product of Ottoman influence in Mysore and Hyderabad.
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