Under wings of the Zilant: a Golden horde timeline
- Thread starter Ursogulos
- Start date
Lucky Innovation, this is just their way of surpassing other Arab merchants by a specific system without aggressiveness. Kind of like 'if you don't wanna beat them, make them join you.'
Looks like my TL is causing quite the rumble, I recognise you from Ottoman TLs. Welcome to my humble place, the knowing one.
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Awww, thanks. Throwing flowers at me will get you many places hahaha. I've been lurking and reading for quite a time
The idea of Oman developing the beginnings of joint-stock companies is a very interesting one. If Oman can weather the coming Portuguese storm while further developing its commercial and financial instruments and institutions, then there are a lot of interesting opportunities in the future. I wonder if Oman will be able to find any allies in their struggle. The Portuguese weren't exactly great at making friends and influencing people when they burst into the Indian Ocean, but they were excellent sailors.
There is still room to maneuver and develop and a different path considering Ibadi exocommunication for those dealing in usury. As for allies, they don't have much choice between the two giants. While Portuguese had few allies they were able to use the existing conflict between the regional states to their benefit. This is something that Omanese will be adept in too as you’ve seen how they grabbed Singapore.
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Crawling disasters
The great Rus revolt of 1454 AD
In Dhul Qadh 857 (November 1453), Qadribek revolted against his brother Temur Khwaja. His forces were stationed around Qimir and composed of a strange mishmash of Qizil loyalists who thought Temur as unfit to rule and the supporters of the previous Khan Jalaluddin. Temur Khwaja was not too worried about it. He ordered Beklar beg Toqtay to assemble an army. But the forces of Khan were late in their departure as a rebellion broke out between sons of the dead sanjakbeg of Aral Nazimuddin. The two brothers, Muhammad and Yaqub quickly secured their sides in the greater conflict with the former supporting the Khan and the latter siding with the rebels. Seeing no other choice, Temur was forced to send a portion of his troops east to assist Muhammad against his brother. Meanwhile Toqtay was facing his own troubles as his jewel, the city of Kazan was attacked by Rus Ushkuiniks, pirates of Novgorod who had been declining since late 14th century but were gradually resurging after Timur's assault on Muscovy. The Pirates were driven off from Kazan with relative ease but they continued downstream. Meanwhile the delay in sending of reinforcements saw the rebels seizing the strategically important town of Gurigansarai in Muharram 858 ( January 1454). Road to Sarai was now wide open.
Image: rebel troops on the way to Sarai.
Meanwhile Toqtay was livid and sought to relieve the pressure upon the horde treasury created by absent trade in Kara sea and the steppe silk route by demanding tribute from the Rus. He sent a Bashqak to Vasily II of Suzdal asking for a rather large amount of tribute. The Rus were already furious upon receiving no direct military assistance during Mikhail's invasion of Novgorod. Now a tribute of ridiculous amount was demanded of them. This prompted an outburst from the Prince who tore the letter of Beklar beg an imprisoned the Tatar bashqak. This news quickly traveled to Sarai where the Khan was enraged and ordered Toqtay to deal with the rebellious Rus princes while he would meet his brother head on. By Muharram 858(February 1454), the Tatar forces under Tarkai noyan and Ferdous noyan were in Balkhana[1].
Image: Vasily tears the letter, by Yury Kutchev, 1245 AH
In Saffar 2 ,858 ( 9 February 1454), the Tatars besieged Suzdal but failed to penetrate the citadel. Instead they sacked the nearby city of Vladimir. The Tatar force of 6000 was divided into two armies and each noyan led half. Meanwhile the critical situation forced the princes of Muscovy and Suzdal to sit and began negotiations. Finally both prince Dmitry and Vasily agreed to face the Tatars together in a defensive alliance. There were hopes that this would extend against Poland Lithuania as well. In what is known as the 'March manifesto', Principalities of Muscovy and Suzdal both declared stopping tribute to the "Khan". The terminology in this declaration was important as all previous rulings by Rus princes titled the Khan of Golden horde as Tsar. But unlike what many historians perceived in the past, Vasily didn't declare himself Tsar or made any attempts at making his son Ivan the tsar either. This was a much later plot probably cooked by Ivan's brother Andrei Gorigay, the renegade Rus prince who later converted to Islam for the excuse of 'injustice done to him by own kin'. So the first Tsar of Russia was not either of them which is a consensus agreed upon today.
As the Rus princes reconciled they also divided their army to face and defeat the Tatars in detail. This would prove troublesome as there had been bad blood between many boyars of the two states from previous civil wars. The coordination was impossible as the mobile Tatar army often outran the Rus forces. This prompted the Rus to create a new cavalry force for the sole purpose of keeping Tatar light horsemen busy. It was named 'Bystrye Kpoyta' or 'fast hooves'.
The armies of prince Vasily faced the forces of Tarkhai of near a hilly area close to Galich in 9 Rabiul Awwal 858 (17 March 1454). A village by the name of Roshinka was recently passed by the Tatars who didn't go far. The Tatars were ambushed by archers and artillery from the hill. At first the heavy infantry Ahansir held on. But a Rus assault on the convoy where the Tatars gathered their loot caused panic in the lines. The Tatars broke the chain of command and rushed to save their war booty. This resulted in a general collapse of the Tatar line of which the right and center was completely destroyed, only some soldiers from left wing were able to escape the encirclement. Almost the entire Tatar detachment of 3000 was destroyed and Tarkhai noyan was captured then killed. some 800 prisoners were rescued by Rus troops.
Image: Ambush at Roshinka
The Muscovite forces under prince Dmitry however were having a tougher luck in chasing down Ferdous noyan's force. Ferdous was using many unusual tactics which included luring the pursuers in the wrong way by sound of war drums. Finally in Uglich the forces of prince Dmitry faced the wily Tatar of Persian stock on the other side of Volga river. Prior to battle, Ferdous littered the field with many loots, which included mostly alcohol. Being raised in Kazan, he knew a lot about the drinking habits of the Rus and their love for being drunk. He hid half of his forces a bit upstream from the Volga river where they found a shallow point to make across. The Rus troops were too drunk to make out movements and the 5000 strong army was almost routed by the sudden attack of only 1000 Tatars. Dmitry was only saved by the intervention of his younger sibling, Dmitry Krasny who died trying to hold the collapsing lines. Many Rus troops drowned in the Volga river.
Image : Battle of Uglich (circa 1100 AH)
Now Ferdous marched south as he sacked Uglich and burned Rostov. He was unaware of the defeat of his colleague Tarkhai. So he besieged Suzdal once again. He received news that no reinforcements were forthcoming as Sarai was attacked by Ushkuinik pirates who cleverly laid low until reaching the famed capital of Tatars. Soon after he met some survivors from battle of Roshinka. Realizing he would be cut off, Ferdous noyan lifted the siege and made a beeline for Ryazan. The Rus principalities secured their independence, for now.
[1] Nizhny Novgorod, one of the few towns annexed during Timur's invasion of Russia
(piece of 'From Vikings to Tsars: early Russian history' by Vasily Simkus)
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Ottoman Venetian war and the crusade against Bosnian 'heretics'
In 858 (1454) the Navarreses civil war in Iberia tied down many regional powers which allowed for their expansion. For Portuguese and Hafsids, the preoccupation of Castille and Aragon meant new opportunities. But this brought about another change in the western Mediterranean, particularly between the merchant republics of Venice and Genoa. Aragon and Genoa were at loggerheads over Corsica. Despite the brief alliance between the two states hostilities resumed in 855 (1451). Busy with war in Navarre, Aragonese monarch Alfonso V made a defense pact with Venice against Genoa. As the Navarrese war was turning in favour of Aragonese John II, the Aragonese monarch turned his attention east, towards Genoa. Venice got wind of Alfonso's preparations to attack the rival merchant republic. To make use of this opportunity, they chose the easy targets of Genoese islands in the Ionian sea. So in Rabiul Sani 860 (March 1456), the Venetians simultaneously attacked the Genoese holdings of Lesbos and Chios. But Venetians were surprised as they faced resistance not from Genoese but from Ottomans. Lesbos was occupied by Ottoman navy and in Chios Venetian position was under siege from Kapudan Pasha Hamza Kastrioti, nephew of Grand vizier Iskandar pasha.
Image: Ottoman galleys near Lesbos
At first Venetians sought to solve the conflict through negotiations. Vettore Cappello, the Venetian 'captain general of the sea' argued for an armed neutrality and let Ottomans take the Genoese positions. However, the ottoman naval raids on Pelopennese and the sack of Venetian enclave of Skiros, the war mongering faction won out and under Pope Pius II's urging, the Venetians sought an alliance with Hungary. Ladilaus Hunyadi agreed with the plan but Hungarian aid never materialized. Instead, Voivode of Transylvania Casimir pledged aid for the Pope's 'crusade'. In reality, all he did was to attack Wallachia and depose Vlad II Dracul who was killed while trying to cross into Ottoman lands and installed Vladislav II in Rajab 860 (July 1456). But he would be driven off by Bogdan II who would capture the throne of Wallachia the next year. But this made things complicated as Vlad Tepes III, heir of the deposed Vlad II Dracul now sought his father's place. But Bogdan confirmed his place as the Prince of Wallachia from the Sultan and secured his son Stefan as heir. That put Vlad Tepes at odds with his former benefactors in Konstantiniyye and he went to Transylvania to meet Casimir.
Meanwhile Zaganos Pasha was besieging the venetian stronghold of Durazzo while his subordinate Omar bey attempted to take Alessio. Durazzo fell on Ramadan 860(August 1456). Sultan Muhammad sent a force of 20,000 to Morea under Mahmud Pasha Angelovic as the two Morean despots, the pro Turkish Demetrios and Pro Venice Thomas engaged in a grinding warfare against each other. The Ottomans captured upto Androusa and besieged Argos and Thermisi. Thomas was executed and his head was sent back to the Sultan. Argos fell rather quickly but reinforcements under Berteldo d'Este from Nauplia forced the Ottomans to retreat from Thermisi. Here Berteldo took a foolhardy decision and went on to storm the almost damaged Hexamilion fort of Argos. He concluded that prior ottoman sacking rendered the walls weak. But this assault failed and he succumbed to his injuries 2 months later. With this all eastern Morea was under Ottoman control. Now Mahmud pasha went to western Morea and assaulted Coron and Modon, it seemed that Venice would be altogether evicted from Morea.
Elsewhere Ottomans had more tougher luck against the naval oriented Venice as shown in the battle of Karystos in Dhul Qadh 860( October 1456) where a large force of old Ottoman galleys were crushed by Venetians. But Venice was soon in trouble as their possessions in Albania were overran by Zaganos Pasha. Grand vizier Iskandar pasha took lead of the main forces around Saffar 861 and began his assault on Zeta in Rabiul Sani 861(March 1457). In the battle of Negroponte a disaster happened where Ottomans lost their commander as the flagship got embroiled with two other enemy vessels and caught fire. Negroponte was only captured in Rajab 861(June 1457) as sultan Muhammad personally led his well provisioned troops to storm the Venetian enclave. This event along with the fall of Balkan holdings was met with fierce bickering at the senate. Two forces were sent, one under Giacomo Loredan bound for Durazzo and another led by Sigismando Malatesta bound for Patras. The successful landing of Giacomo's army in Patras forced Mahmud Pasha Angelovic to withdraw his siege from Coron and march north to protect the flank of Sultan's army in Athens. The Ottomans were defeated in battle of Andravida and forced to retreat east. Giacomo left some 3000 of his forces to take back Modon from the Turks whilst he continued east. But he and the 7000 Venetian and Aragonese mercenaries were swept away in the battle of Vostita in 20 Dhul Hajj 861 ( 16 November 1457) where the new kapudan Pasha , Zaganos made his debut. The improved artillery and use of Mizzen sails helped the newer ottoman galleys to a great extent in outmaneuvering their Venetian counterparts. Sultan Muhammad after wintering in Salona left for the Edrine on Rabiul Sani 862 (March 1458) as Venetians finally secured Modon and Coron.
Image: Battle of Vostita(circa 1200 AH)
As Iskandar pasha was fighting a Venetian counterattack in Albania and his own offensives into Zeta, kingdom of Bosnia was embroiled in a crisis of its own. The Bosnian church, a local offshoot of Christianity was deemed as Heretic by both Catholic and Orthodox churches. Despite earlier lenient stances by the local Catholic clergy and ruler, the decree of pope Pius II on Bosnian heretics to be 'wiped out' caused quite the stirring. The Hungarians under Ladislaus Hunyadi took this as an opportunity to further strengthen their grip upon the kingdom. The capture of the Bosnian 'bishop' Ratko and his close aides and their burning in Bobovac in 6 Jumada Awwal 862 (30 March 1458) was a phenomenal event.
Image: Burning of Heretic Ratko and his disciples in capital Bobovac ( circa 1200 AH)
But this caused unrest which eventually grew into an insurgency further complicating the things. Stjepan, a cousin of the 'martyred' bishop Ratko led disgruntled Bosnian peasantry and many followers of Bosnian church into Breznica region and defeated several Crusader forays through guerilla tactics. Compounded with regular raids by Akinji from Ottoman territory, these forested areas became 'forbidden areas' for any authority for some time. Here Bosnian peasantry engaged in a disproportionate struggle. But it seems that Stjepan's technique was faring good as 'Oslobodjenici' ( literally freedmen) struck fear into the hearts of both Bosnian soldiers and Hungarian crusaders alike. The women of Bosnia entered legend as 'Otrovan djevojka' or the 'posion maidens', a moniker for the extensive use of poisoned weaponry both for their own safety and to dissuade the enemy from capturing them. For a while it seemed that the Bosnian crusade was grinding to a halt. It was by now too late for Ladislaus Hunyadi to finish his campaign in Bosnia and go help the Venetians like originally intended.
Image: The poison maidens at their hideout in a forest.
The Bosnian insurgency reached its peak when some 4000 men and women stormed the town of Prepolje and occupied it. The nearby town had a garrison of Pljevlja had around 500 troops who were joined by a large imperial force consisting of both Bosnian and Hungarian soldiers. This crusader army under the command of duke Ivanis Pavlovic was able to enter Prepolje through a successful cavalry charge. But once inside, the narrow streets of the town proved to be difficult for maneuvering on horseback and the wily Osblodjenici closed the gate and set fire around the spearhead of crusading army trapped inside. Several hundred crusaders including the Duke Ivanis was killed in the attack. For king Thomas, this was a tremendous blow as it already exposed his weak southern borders to the Ottomans. This pushed him to reconcile with the Krstjani (Bosnain church adherent) noble Stjepan Vukcich. This of course meant the expulsion of Hungarian crusaders from Bosnia as the duke demanded. He also expanded his control over the lawless Breznica region, assuaging the local Krstjanis that a duke following their own sect was handling things now. Without the boogeyman of Catholic crusaders, Stjepan the rebel was gradually losing his support, which caused him to do something very bizarre that it not only surprised Krstjani duke Stjepan Vukcich but also the Ottomans who had been silent spectators for now.
(From 'History of the Ottoman empire' by Hayat Arghiros)
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Jumada Awwal 859 (May 1455)
Bukhara, Aqbars Khanate
".....so Muslims, remember the dying wish of Rasool (sws) and be kind to your subordinates, be it slaves, servant or employees. Or you shall be at fault in the afterlife not just for usurping 'Haqqul I'bad'[1] but also for disrespecting our Rasool's trust which was bestowed upon us. Heed my words, Allah made this lands great, he will shower you with his blessings further if you show pity to the slaves. Allah is not in need of your compassion, it is you who must show compassion....."
Alfiya fumbled with the mane of her horse as she and her sister waited for Suleiman to arrive. Their father, Khaydar Makmut is on the move again, this time to Persia.
"Alfi, let's go a bit further away. This man is eating my ear." Gulhan spoke as she grabbed the reins.
"Come on, I thought you liked all this insaf and stuff. I clearly remember you being upset when Suleiman stopped entering our rooms. You even went as far as to charge both your and my mother to find out why. When they didn't answer you went to father. The look on your face when you found out that our exotic slave brother wasn't coming to visit us like old times on his own accord." Alfiya spoke in a mocking tone.
"It's your fault anyway. You were practically ogling him two months ago when he came back from running an errand. I know you don't have innocent thoughts when it comes to him. And to think it's coming from you, the girl who he called 'sister'. Some sister you are." Gulhan retorted back.
It was perhaps a good thing that the girls were mounted which prevented them from engaging in a scuffle right away. Things were heating up quickly between the step sisters but soon a presence pulled both of their attention.
"Ladies, it's time we leave and join Sayyid. He's right outside the city wall." Suleiman arrived riding on his black stallion.
The girls looked at him and then at each other. Soon they covered their faces and urged their horses forward, following their 'brother' as they rode out of the city.
"Good, Suleiman. You did everything I told you, right?" spoke Khaydar, now sporting a grey beard.
"Yes Sayyid. We will be going to Herat, yes?"
"Right, the ruler of Herat Abdullah Mirza needs our assistance in repelling the Gurgtug forces of ruler of Kerman Ala Ad Dawla Mirza."
"It feels surreal, just a month ago Persia was a united realm under a great ruler. Allah bless Ulugh Taraghai." Suleiman replied.
"Indeed, however our job is not to mourn over death of kings but to make the most of situations arising after it."
Gulhan moved a bit forward and pulled the reins to halt her horse.
"Father, why do we need to go to Khurasan this time?"
"Because my dears, you are growing up and I need to look for suitable places to bestow you."
Gulhan's eyes widened but she kept mum. From the corner of her eye she could see Alfiya also losing colour on her face. Their luck just couldn't get any worse.
[1] rights of the creation of God
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Visitor from Wallachia
Jumada Awwal 863(April 1459)
Edrine, Ottoman empire
Muhammad looked at his assembled troops as he finished his speech. The Janissaries, the azabs, the Akinjis and Timarli sipahis, all of them were roused.
As he prepared to mount his horse he was greeted by a man accompanied by two of sultan's personal guards.
"My sultan, blessings be upon you. May God shower you with victories."
"Prince Vlad Tepes, right? where have you been for the past few months?" Muhammad asked.
"Honorable sultan, I was looking for places where you could grace me with your permission since my uncle usurped the throne. Though in all your grace I understood your decision to keep him. Bogdan is not a fool either as he quickly sought your vassaldom. You are already at war with the Venetians so it was necessary."
"So have you found any?"
"God provided me with knowledge about Tatar's crisis in their far way provinces. It would be a good time to snatch Moldavia. I know the armies of sultan are far superior to those of any Mongol."
"Vlad, I know you are eager to prove yourself. But be assured that I shall grant you a throne, whether in Wallachia or Moldavia. So don't overdo anything." Muhammad spoke.
"Of course, Sultan. May victory kiss your feet." Vlad said as he left.
"What do you think of him?" Muhammad asked Akmet.
"I think he's somewhat misunderstood amongst our fellows, sultan. But he also gives me unsavoury feelings. How come Radu is related to him!"
"You're not the only one Lala Ahmed . Now I heard that you rejected two slavegirls assigned to you."
"Forgive me my sultan. I already have a slave I brough 2 months ago. Sophia is her name and she was captured from Lithuania."
"So a gifted slave is less valuable to you then one of your own purchase."
"May Allah forgive me for my transgression, I have already established a routine with her and she responds well to my command. Besides, I don't have enough space in my abode for 3 adult people."
"Doesn't she sleep with you?" Muhammad quipped. This was really interesting.
"No, she has her separate bed."
At this Muhammad and one of his bodyguards riding beside them looked at Akmet as if he was some Jinn.
"She's not ugly is she?" Muhammad fired his second question.
"No! She's um beautiful. She, actually..to be honest I insisted it. She was captured by Tatars, brought so far from her home and family. I wanted her to be comfortable before I got intimate with her." Akmet was really embarrassed now.
"I see, I admire your strategy. Instead of being the bee to the flower, you are the flower where the bee is stuck. But the bee doesn't realise it as its too busy lapping up honey...."
By now Akmet was as red as an apple and distracted himself by looking at the marching troops. He never expected the Sultan of all people to inquire about his love life.
Muhammad was now in another world. He was thinking about using this strategy in warfare.
'Instead of being aggressive a man can also bring a woman close by being passive if she has no other option. I wonder if we can lure Venice by laying low....'
(From 'Kaisar I Rum' by Tariq Fakhruddin, translation by Wilhelm Jager)
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And so a quadraple update before I leave on a 2 day trip, hope Allah grants me a safe journey.
The Ottomans have nearly gobbled up the entire balkans with Hungary in a silent war with itself. Bosnia is chaos right now but Let's see what Ottomans do about it. Rus have yeeted the Tatars whilst they were outstretched. I'm having second thoughts about Rus shaking off Tatar yoke as something small as Crimea was able to persist tribute untill late 1600s. And Vlad has arrived🦇🦇, only time will tell whether he'll be the impaler. Also Stefan is now set to rule Wallachia and Vlad has his eyes on Moldavia, total opposite! The golden age of Persia is over and we have a dense protagonist being stalked by two stepsisters. What do you think of the preacher in Bukhara? Until next time my viewers!
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He was definitely real. He was a descendant of the Byzantine Angelos family.
Will russia bea thing in this tl ?
Is the golden horde mulslim or his there religious diversity ?
Is the golden horde mulslim or his there religious diversity ?
Russia will be a thing as a regional power in this TL.
Golden horde is mostly muslim but also has significant christian population particularly in the west.
So (part of) Russia is independent, for now. I'm a little surprised, I would've figured the Holden Horde keeping control of the Rus would be an important part of keeping it a major power. Right now, it seems to have quite the rough time. How badly are its finances impacted by this loss?
Vlad the Impaler in service to the Ottomans? Spooky.
Vlad the Impaler in service to the Ottomans? Spooky.
This is just one of the many uprising and revolts they will have in span of decades, expect another sack of Suzdal or Moscow when the Khan gets his things together. Finances are still coming but Khan can't gather much due to rebellion,which will have consequences in near future.
Vlad is in service of Ottomans for now as OTL but after butterfly of Matthias Corvinius and a muslim Skanderbeg, I don’t plan to have it any easier for Mehmed. What will be interesting here is the reverse acquisition of thrones for Vlad and his cousin Stefan. So if Mr impaler gets his hands on Moldavia with or without Ottoman support, they are screwed🙂
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Image: Map of eastern hemisphere 864 AH (1460 )
drawing HRE, Indian states and South East Asian states were a pain in the wrist. But behold, viewers, I present you my first ever map of my TL.
Persia is going through civil war but it has 4 parties hence the borders within boundary , nearby states with lighter shade of colour indicate vassals (Except Oman, you can see that they already have a lot of vassals around the Indian ocean).
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Mostly the same but Spain and Portugal is different with different monarch in Portugal and as you can see Spain has Altenjo region from 14th century war. On the other hand, butterfly of Phillipa Lancaster's marriage to John I of Aviz has butterflied the illustrious generation and also Isabella I of Castile. Phillip the good is not married to Isabella infante of Portugal so Charles the Bold will not be born. Instead we can count on one of his many bastards to inherit the throne. So there will be quite some changes in Western Europe.
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So, are there any knock on effects in India? To me 1460 is a prime time for North India to unite. And any effects in South India especially Vijayangar?
There is a Rajput Kingdom in the making south of Delhi. Let's see what they entail for the Sultanate. But the fate of North India is n Persia where a 4 way civil war is raging Between Timurid princes. Vijaynagar is still the same.
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An independent Rajput kingdom is kinda awesome if they can bitchslap Central Asian/Persian armies coming out fo the civil war, which to be honest did come quite close to happening in OTL during Hemu's time.
Well, I'do hope Vijaynagara survives and become a trading power.