Under wings of the Zilant: a Golden horde timeline
- Thread starter Ursogulos
- Start date
Nice map. Have Calabria and Campania been conquered by the Ottomans? Are the Papal States and Venice shades of green too? Sorry, I can't tell from the map and I can't remember from your TL.
If you go back and read Mehmed II's italian campaign, you’ll see that Campania and Calabria were vassal States of Turks. Hence their coloration of lighter shade than their Ottoman overlord. You can see Zadar Republic is also an Ottoman vassal and Ottomans have gained banates of Southern Croatia. Despite being an Ottoman vassal, I decided to let the ragusa Republic retain its original colour in the map.
As for Venice and Papal States, everything Green isn’t necessarily Turkish 😃
Strangers from the far side
New
Diyarbekir, Ottoman empire
Jumada Sani, 900 ( March 1495)
A man walked along the meadows to reach a cluster of tents as the early summer breeze tickled at his robes. Despite the warm embrace of nature, the filialness couldn’t get at the person’s mind who was staunch in his singular goal.
To visit a sick man. Specifically his mentor, Giyasuddin Ali who was on his deathbed for quite some time.
“As Selam Aleykum, Selim effendi.”
A less familiar voice greeted him as he was led to the personal quarters of his teacher by the attendants.
“Oleykum Selam, Haji Abbas?” the man named Selim was surprised to see a new person sitting beside the bed where his debilitating mentor lay.
“Ala Hazrat, this must be our lucky day! Selim has come to visit us.” Abbas tried to rouse the sick man as gently as he could. His efforts were rewarded as the sickly man opened his eyes and looked at Selim.
“Selam Aleykum sehzade.” Selim winced at the address, definitely not because of Giyasuddin’s raspy voice.
“You need not fear us Sehzade, no one here knows about your identity except for us.” Abbas replied with a chuckle at the obvious discomfort expressed by their guest.
“Olaykum Selam, my Shaykh. I take it that you’re not faring too well these days..”
“Alhamdulillah my boy, Allah has never disappointed me with any situation I was put into. May this sickness atone for my sins.”
“How’s that sultan doing? Still bashing heads against the kuffar to the north?’' Abbas asked though Selim was able to discern the venom as he uttered the title of ‘sultan’.
“He’s doing very well from what I heard.” It was more of a jab than an actual reply as Selim realized the atmosphere inside the quarters was becoming more hostile.
“He retreated from Zemun, all that time and money was a waste.” Abbas replied.
“You are speaking as if he didn’t capture Belgrade and those Croatian banates and subdued Venetians in Dalmatia.” Selim retorted.
“The problem is that Musa continuing his father’s policy is sucking the treasury dry and so he increases taxes on us to fund his useless wars.” Abbas retorted in a gruff voice, not intending to hide his displeasure at Selim’s perfect rebuttal of his argument.
“The sultan is the shepherd of his people. These wars are not as they might seem. Every action that troubles the kuffar is lawful to Allah.” Giyasuddin spoke weakly.
“My shaykh, please don’t misunderstand me. I’m all for jihad but why should we follow a despot who takes away our money to fund his wars when the rightly guided leader is present?”
“The Caliph of Konstantiniyye-“
“I’m not talking about that Qureyshi cosplayer living out the luxurious life in his golden cage. I’m talking about the Mahdi in Hamadan.” Abbas cut Selim off.
Now Selim understood the reason behind the Abbas’s hostilities towards the Ottoman sultan.
“Abbas my nephew, my appointed successor of the esteemed tariqa following the teachings haji Bektash, please steer it in the rightful direction so that the people who depend on you can live as righteous followers of Mawla.” Giyasuddin emotionally spoke as he clasped the hands of Abbas in his own.
“Insha Allah shaykh, I will if I have your blessings.” Abbas solemnly replied as he avoided eye contact with his mentor.
“You and Selim always had my blessings. Come here Sehzade.” Giyasuddin beckoned to Selim as he neared the bed and the sickly man grabbed his wrist feebly.
“May Allah, Rasool and Ali be your guidance towards salvation!” Giyasuddin prodly spoke as he held both of his students’ hands.
Despite the obvious attempt by their teacher to ease the situation, animosity still lingered between the two mureeds[1] of Shaykh Giyasuddin.
Sometime later
“You know you’re playing a dangerous game here, Haji Abbas Murshid. The Sultan will return to Konstantiniyye and will learn of this conspiracy you are hatching.” Selim said between bites of nakul sweets.
“As if we’re afraid of his war tired and weary army that will have to march all the way from Bosporus to this corner of Anatolia.” Abbas replied between sips of tea, clearly relaxed despite his companion’s anxiety.
“Have you forgotten Otlukbeli so fast? You think whatever force your Mahdi will send would be able to stand up to the disciplined army of the sultan?”
“Look, those were the irregular tribesmen who acted on their own will to go and chase their blood feud and ended up facing the Ottomans. The army of Mahdi is well equipped with gunpowder weapons. How do you think they’ve captured Herat recently?” Selim confidently spoke as he put down his cup and proceed to take a nakul from the large plate.
“I have a bad feeling about this. You know I’ll pay a higher price than most of you if this doesn’t work out?”
“Then know your place, you are indebted to all people of this land when they sheltered your great-great grandfather Sehzade Mustafa the ‘lame’[2]. We kept your origins obscured so as not to involve you with the cut-throat politics of Konstantinyye. We could have handed you over as hostages and gained a fortune like how those infidel Venetians are doing. Yet Allah’s grace prevailed and Mawla Ali’s wisdom blessed us with charity and mercy. And here you are.”
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Abbas got a bit closer to Selim and sort of whispered into his ear,
“Don’t even think of abandoning these men when they’re helpless. Mawla Ali and the Imams will smite you and your cursed lineage down with divine punishment as they did with the usurper Umyyads and Abbasids.”
Selim looked away. Abbas smiled as he realized that he won this little mind game.
“But if you persist and play out your part well, the throne of Konstantiniyye will be in your grasp by the divine power of Mawla and the imams. You’ll rule the empire of your ancestors as a trusted lieutenant of the Mahdi.”
The offer was tempting, like being offered the heaven and hell. Selim closed his eyes and breathed in.
“Alright Haji, I hope you know what you’re doing.” Selim dejectedly spoke as he got up from the carpet. His meal was over so there was no need to stay in his teacher’s abode anymore.
The settlement no longer felt welcoming from afar, instead being wrapped up in coils of venomous vipers that extended their wicked reach all the way to Konstantiniyye.
[1] Disciples
[2] Who remembers the only other surviving son of Beyazid the thunderbolt besides Mehmed I from all the way back to the humble beginnings of this TL?
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The Portuguese menace & the golden age of Bengal
On the way to Bab Al Mandeb, the Portuguese flotilla under Sebastiano Pereira anchored in Barawee on Jumada Sani 898 (April 1493). Sebastiano was delighted to learn from some locals that the nearby city of Mogadishu was being besieged by Adal, the paramount Muslim power in the region after the eviction of Oman. With Oman retreating from Swahili coast, much of its dependencies such as Malindi, Barawee and the nascent but growing sultanate of Moghadisu were left vulnerable without their mercantile patron. Adal Sultanate was quick to utilize this opportunity as they captured the remainder territories of the former Ajuraan sultanate except for the Sultanate of Moghadisu which also held the cities of Warsheikh, Marka, Shingani and Afgooye. Emir ul Umara Yusuf was playing different Somali tribes against each other and allied corsair cliques to dominate the Swahili coast. This however wouldn’t sit well with many old school arab elites of the Swahili trade cities as they detested the increased Adalite control. The hotbed of unrest would present as a prime target for intervention to any outside power. Portuguese would jump on this opportunity.The Portuguese menace & the golden age of Bengal
Sebastiano would send Pedro Goncalves to Moghadisu for negotiating a trade agreement and a military alliance against the Adal sultanate. Pedro would be successful in his endeavors and Sultan Zaheed of Moghadisu could now count on Portuguese support. But enlisting the help of a maritime power against a largely land based regional power was at best a folly. The only success for Portugal in this field was end of the siege on Moghadisu as Somali corsairs cautiously avoided direct confrontation with the powerful Portuguese armada. This didn’t stop Adal from annexing Marka and Afgooye, effectively isolating Barawee from its ally. Sebastiano also coaxed the sultan into granting Portuguese the right to build fortifications on Warsheikh and Barawee as the latter was a vassal to him.
Image: Sebastiano Pereira meeting sultan Zaheed of Moghadisu.
Meanwhile Tristao Gomez was continuing his reign of terror across the Swahili coast as his armada sacked the cities of Mombasa and Malindi and started building fortifications after occupying Pate. The Zanzibar corsairs however, were a decent threat to him as they avoided direct confrontation and would continue to launch night raids on Portuguese possessions. The Portuguese meanwhile, launched their own piracy upon the ships sailing between Arabia and Hind. Tristao would complete his planned encirclement of the Hajj route by capturing Aden from the Tahirids on Shaban 898 (June 1493). Now it became difficult for muslim shipping to pass through the Bab al Mandeb without encountering the Portuguese. This put pressure upon the Tahirids who were in a three way war with the resurging Zaiydiya imamate of Sa’ada and the Rasulid remnants of Harad[1]. The Portuguese position was further strengthened by their alliance with the Kathirids who were at war with both Tahirids and the newly emerging state of Mahra over the control of Hadramaut. This culminated in the Portuguese takeover of Socotra island on Dhul Qadh 898 (September 1493) from the beleaguered Mahra emirate. The Kathirids were able to take the town of Al Shihr and restricted the Mahra emirate to their traditional homeland. The Kathirid sultan Muhammad Al Malik handed over the abandoned medieval port of Sharma to the Portuguese, but not without the repatriation of ruling tribe of Mahra, the Banu Dujana as political prisoners who were captured during the fall of Socotra.
This increasing power of Portugal right near their home base greatly worried the Omani arbaya who scrambled for allies in the nearby region. Further complicating things were a Mushashiya sponsored uprising in Bahrain that saw a scale reinforcement being sent for pacification of the Ismaili dominated island. However the thalassocracy secured its eastern backyard after signing the Khasab accord in Muharram 899 ( October 1493) where Oman acknowledged all of ‘Al Bahrain’(East Arabian coast)[2] as the domain of Bani Yas confederacy. In turn Bani Yas recognized Omani rights over the coasts of Hadra Maut. A mutual military assistance pact was also signed where both parties agreed to fight against the Qasimi Kahrijites, Kathirids and the new threat of Portugal.
Following acquisition of territory in the Arabian Peninsula, Tristao was given the title of ‘viceroy of the east’ by King Peter II. He was ordered to create an ‘Indian Armada’ for the purpose of controlling spice trade. The success of Castile in procuring spice and many other exotic items from Talentiya ignited jealousy amongst the Portuguese royalty. For that reason a fleet of 7 caravels was sent under the command of Joao Carvalhos. Despite being at the head of a fleet supposed to sail for Hind, Joao was a staunch anti-Muslim who sought to destabilize the Islamic world by sacking Makkah and stealing the body of Prophet Muhammad (sws). For that reason he sought to increase communication with the Axumite kingdom.
Image: Portuguese envoys at the court of Berhan Dawit, the son of the famous Axumite emperor Yohan, who was called ‘Prester John’ due to similarity in name.
Adal sultanate was engaged in a proxy war with Axum by supporting the minor Muslim sultanate of Hadiya. However a pro Axum coup in Dhul Hajj 898 (September 1493) saw the dethronement of emir Hasan, being replaced by his half-brother Abdirahman Ghedi. Though Hasan was killed in flight, another of his half brother named Ismail would find refuge amongst Adalites. Barely 6 months after the incident, Adalite army marched into Hadiya, led by the infamous emir Yusuf and executed the reigning emir and installed Ismail as the new ruler. Emperor Dawit was unable to respond in time as new developments to the north culminated in events that gave rise to a new rival.
While Ottoman sultan Musa was busy against Crusaders in Balkan, some nobility in Masr decided that they would overthrow the Ottoman rule. The heavy taxation imposed by Musa was unpopular throughout the empire and there had been two small scale uprisings in Alexandria. To achieve their goal, the conspirators gathered in Fustat. However, Ali Pasha Kastrioti discovered their plot and arranged manhunts that spanned the entirety of Masr. This prompted many of the conspirators to flee the greater Egyptian region and survive in the fringes of upper Nile. One such band of mamlukes took refuge in Dongola. Their leader Turanshah Barquq led an expedition to the nearby Christian kingdom of Dotawo, a splintered successor state of the former Makurian kingdom that still retained its Christianity. Armed with tufaang and artillery, the mamlukes and their muslim Nubian allies completed the conquest of the mountain fortress of Dow in Rajab 898 (April 1493), marking the end of Christian polities in Bilad As Sudan. Turanshah’s marriage with Afsa(Hafsa), the cousin of Dongola’s muslim king Abdur Rahman cemented his political legacy in the region. His alliance with the Berber Hawwara confederacy from southern Masr and the migrating Arab tribes from Arbaji made the ‘sultanate of Dongola’ as a new power broker in the region, one that would go on to clash against the Axumites over the kingdom of Alodia. The first saber rattling between the two kingdoms would begin on Jumada Awwal 899 (February 1494) over the subjugation of the Arab tribes in vicinity of Soba, the Alodian capital. In response, Arabs of Arbaji and Dongola Mamlukes launched a co-ordinated assault that sacked the Christian settlements and displaced a large number of refugees to the south. After hearing about the tales of atrocities by muslims upon their fellow christians, Axumite emperor Berhan Dawit led an army into Alodia which also included a Portuguese detachment led by Pedro Goncalves. On Jumada Sani 899 (March 1494), both sides met in Metekele. In the ensuing conflict, the superiority of Portuguese firearm proved crucial as Mamlukes still relied on cavalry charge to disperse the enemy.
Image :Battle of Metekele
Though Alodia was saved from complete destruction, it was now reduced to a vassal of the Dongola sultanate. Despite the impressive victory, this didn’t stop the Arab migration which continued till the dissolution of the polity. But in terms of propaganda, it was a massive boost as people from Lisbon to Buda talked about the heroic feat of the soldiers belonging to the kingdom of ‘Prester John’ and how the combined might and shared struggle of the legendary king and his Portuguese advisors brought the evil Muslims to their knees. This made Joao Carvalhos a legendary figure amongst the Portuguese explorers as the ‘man who assisted Prester John’. This was just the beginning of conflict between Axum and the Muslim version of Makuria.
Meanwhile Sebastiano would lead the ‘Armada de Indie’ to east and reach the the newly emerged Amil kingdom. Following the revolt of Bettani tribe under the leadership of Muqit khan, a large portion of Pashtun inhabited were engulfed with unrest, allowing the traders and bureaucracy of the former Samma dynasty to gain virtual independence. This coastal kingdom was ruled by a clique of merchants and bureaucrats belonging to the Hindu Thakkar clan. Nevertheless they maintained close ties with Muslims, particularly overseas merchants. At the time of Sebastiano’s arrival, the nascent kingdom was being threatened by the nearby Kuch siddis who sought to subjugate the kingdom based on the latter’s dubious allegiance to Khurasan sultanate. Sebastiano met the head of the Thakkar clan, Hari Panjwani and assured him of assistance against the Somali corsairs in exchange for banishing Arab merchants from his realm. This was met with extensive uproar and opposition as this proposal was immediately rejected and Amil kingdom allied with the Janjira Siddis. The naval force of Amil and Janjira were defeated in the battle of Sonmiani bay as the local ships were no match against the caravels and carracks of Armada de India. Following this battle Portuguese occupied the port of Thatta and looted it for a week. Following their departure, the port was occupied by Kuch siddis who entered an alliance with their Janjira cousins and the sultanate of Gujarat to repel this new and powerful enemy.
Image: Sack Of Thatta
But even this alliance was unable to prevent the Portuguese from dominating the waves. After the disastrous experience of dealing with head on collision with the Armada, the siddis proposed waging asymmetrical warfare against the Europeans. This was snubbed by the Gujarat sultanate in favour of a more traditional naval approach. This would culminate in another disaster in the 1st battle of Diu on 20 Jumada Awwal 900 (16 February 1495). The new sultan of Gujarat Shihab Ad Din decided to ambush the Portuguese in the harbor of Diu. His plan was an attempt at emulating the classic nomadic maneuver of ‘feigned retreat’ on the seas. Accordingly the fast moving dhows manned by Siddis would assault and lure Portuguese vessels to the harbour of Diu where the shore batteries will wreak havoc and from the channel a fleet of 33 Gujarati ships with artillery would fall upon them. While seemingly a perfect plan, the Muslim alliance didn’t think of the one factor that might favour the Portuguese in the fire exchange, the range of their cannons. As it turned out, the longer range of Portuguese cannons meant that the shore battery was largely neutralized as the Armada of 8 ships neared the harbor.
Despite this initial shock, the first phase went accordingly as the Gujarati ships assaulted the Portuguese from the channel. Here to, the longer range of Portuguese cannons proved deadly as Gujaratis lost 6 ships before they could even get near the Armada. Due to the numerical superiority, the Gujaratis were able to close in on the Portuguese and began the melee of boarding. Even here, the Portuguese use of muskets proved effective as the largely mercenary force of Gujarat had their morale plummeted after hearing the blast of gunpowder in succession. These early muskets despite their low accuracy proved rather useful in the close quarter combat that involved boarding ships. In the end Gujaratis lost 11 more ships and only occupied 1 Portuguese caravel.
From the Diu channel, a second wave of Gujarati and Siddi ships were about to reinforce the harbor before the arrival of 2 more Portuguese ships, one of them the Gargantuan Sao Barbara. These two ships alone pushed the Muslim reinforcements concentrated in the channel to the bottom of the sea with their targeted shooting. This prevented Gujarati reinforcements from reaching their peers in the harbour who were having a hard time in the melee. But despite their impressive feat, Sao Barbara was boarded by Somali siddis after the former ran out of gunpowder. In a fierce melee, the captain Fransesca ordered the crew to abandon the ship. The second ship was damaged and sunk after the siddis set fire to it. Once empty, the siddis tried to set fire to Sao Barbara as well. However, the battle of Diu harbor was over and the victorious Portuguese Armada of 6 ships now approached the abandoned behemoth, forcing the siddis to flee. The 1st battle of Diu was over as the Portuguese emerged clearly emerged as the victors.
Image: Portuguese crews in the 1st battle of Diu
The Gujarati and the Siddis suffered a casualty of 35 ships and other smaller vessels and 2000 men which was one third of their fleet and the most effective part, with the rest being row boats. The Portuguese only lost 2 ships and were able to rescue the damaged Sao Barbara. However due to low tide and changing winds, they were forced to let the ship go and it eventually washed ashore near Diu on the next day. The Sultan of Gujarat claimed a victory and burned the large ship with jubilation. Despite this claim the battle of Diu crippled the Gujrati naval power and destroyed the naval capability of the Kuch siddis. There would be no navy opposing them when Portuguese Armada would go on to sack Raheneer (Rander) of Gujarat. But this was not the end of resistance against Portuguese dominance as soon another large fleet would be commissioned sultan of Gujarat, with Bengal financial backing. Despite being on the other side of the subcontinent, Bengal was perhaps the only power that could realistically oppose Portugal as they had enough of both the financial and military clout.
Bengal sultanate was going through a golden age during this period under Izzaddin Bahram Shah, the first Sultan of the Uzbeki dynasty. Despite being a man of martial roots, he was a man of culture and celebrated both Persian non-persian literary works as well as providing clandestine support to the poets and translators. Bengal was going through a period which is best known as the ‘age of translation’ as numerous Sanskrit literatures were being translated into Persian and ‘Bengali’ for the court to enjoy. One of the most famous translation works sanctioned personally by the Sultan was that of Ramayana, done by a female poet named Vabani Devi. Interestingly, out of all the versions of Ramayana, Izzaddin chose the ‘Advut Ramayana’[3] for translation after reading the manuscript. Being well versed in Sanskrit, Bengali and Persian language; he was well aware of the gimmicks in Sanskrit literature but nevertheless found humorous ways of showing his awareness as evidenced by his self-given title of ‘Mlechharaj’. Some literary analysts argue that since the Advuta version of Ramayana portrayed Ravana as the monarch of an empire resorting to normal politics and warfare than the generic monster-human villain hell bent on revenge of the other versions, Izzaddin could better relate to him. Others suggest that Vabani Devi, as she was a woman despised the sufferings of Seeta in Valmiki’s other version and since the Advuta version gave her a more prominent role as Ravana’s lost daughter, she deliberately presented this version to the sultan. Whichever the case might be, this translation titled ‘Sreeramcharita’ is one of the greatest literary works of the Bengal sultanate period. This also reflected the Sultan’s eagerness in exploring literature other than religious texts.
Image: Sultan of Bengal Izzaddi Bahram Khan of Uzbeki dynasty
Literature was just one of the fields Bengal was shining. With the fall of Swahili coast to Portuguese, Oman moved its shipbuilding to the already bustling centers of Sandweep and Bahrabad[4] inside Bengal. With the economic boom came new sectors to explore. One was the construction of a large route stretching from Gauda to Luknow, nicknamed the ‘Uzbek road’. This was the first of its kind in Hind, a medieval highway for easing communication between the east and the west. The ambitious Sultan Izzaddin planned of extending it to Delhi and eventually to Khurasan as a side route of the grand silk route. With this road, the first postal service was also started by Sultan Izzaddin where he established relay outposts named ‘Paygah’ where messengers could change their mounts or relay the message to the next messenger. There was also an economic aspect to this as Bengal sultanate virtually controlled most of the famous Hindu pilgrimage sites such as Gaya, Varanasi, and Ajodhya. Thus the flow of pilgrims through this new route would ensure an unusual amount of concentration and flow of capital as trade would flourish. True to be told, this Uzbek road gave rise to many prominent families benefitting from the economic impetus and made many others penniless since the old routes lost some of their importance. The vast array of people moving about this road would make it a melting pot, aptly described by the famous author of Yusuf-Jueikha translation Muhammad Faruqi shah in his work ‘Nahiul Uzebek’ (the road of Uzbek). The pomp and festivity which accompanied the completion of the road in Dhul Hajj 900 (August 1495) was immortalized in the Bengali proverb of ‘Uzbeki mamla’(Uzbek things).
Image: construction of the Uzbek road.
The military importance of this road is compelling as found in Sultan Izzaddin’s own words when he wished to extend it to Delhi. Historians are in doubt whether he wanted to conquer Delhi but his correspondence with Queen Rowshan Ara proved largely contrary. Under increasing Rajput pressure, a section of Delhi nobles even visited Gauda in 901 (1496) requesting the aid of the sultan to repel them. Though the rematch between Bengal and the Rajput confederacy wouldn’t happen immediately, Bengali messengers went to Malwa and Bijapur sultanate to propose an Anti-Rajput alliance. Due to increased Portuguese threat and war with other Bhamani successor states, Bijapur didn’t pay any heed to this proposal but Malwa was more positive.
In the east, Bengal encouraged its vassal Arakan to conquer the coastline of Arakan Yuma thus attempting to deprive the kingdom of Ava of its coast. This was done in co-ordination with the Pathein sultanate invasion of Ava while the latter was engaged in a civil war. By late 900 (1495), Pathein was able to recover much of the territories of previous Hanthawaddy kingdom except those annexed by Ayyutthaya. Shan confederacy from the north also participated in the Arakanese invasion of Ava as Zanj mercenaries of Oman accompanied the Arakanese. The civil war between Saw Yaza and Min Hsinlauk effectively split the country into two with the former based on Pagan and the latter consolidating his loyalists near Toungoo. Arakan was able to gain much territory on the west bank of Irrawaddy River. The Shan confederacy however, was content with raiding as the squabbling chieftains were divided over their course of action. The zenith of Shan activity in this war was the sack of Ava in 902 (1497). Despite being allies in this venture, the Shan confederacy supported the Ava faction in Pagan while the Arakanese and their Bengali overlords supported the faction in Toungoo. This was a part of the Omani ‘great game’ to reshape the Nanyang region for suiting their needs. However things would go downhill in 902 (1497) when Ayutthaya extended their support for the faction based in Pagan. The war would end in the next 6 months as Saw Yaza became victorious and consolidated his rule over a reunified but war torn Ava. This also reduced Ava as a vassal of Ayutthaya. To counter this new threat and to secure outside help to regain the lost territories currently under Ayutthaya, sultan ofPathein Mahmud Binna sent a Bengali Sufi named Shamshir Sheikh to the court of Malacca. He brought various gifts for the sultan including some famed Shirazi carpets. The sultan of Malacca Muzaffar Shah II received Shamshir cordially.
Image: Shamshir Sheikh at the court of Muzaffar Shah II.
While no military alliance between Pathein and Malacca was announced, Malacca sultan agreed to wed his younger sister Adiputeri to the crown prince of Bathein Abdullah Laik Law. This event marked the height of the Bengali diplomatic power in ensuring that the various states in Nanyang would come together based on a common goal. Unity was a priceless thing at this time as by the year 905 (1500), the Portuguese threat would only increase as they would enter the Bay of Bengal.
[1] The Rasulids ITTL have survived and doggedly held on to Harad
[2] ITTL geographic term for East coast of Arabia
[3] This version, also attributed to Valmiki is much different than the widely accepted version of OTL.
[4] Chittagong, the second largest city and the largest port of Bangladesh
(From ‘Masala wars’ by Pinaki Bhattacharja)
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Saalm folks, update after so long. But I hope the wait was worth as you can see things are getting intense!
In eastern Anatolia, the Alevis are cooking up plot to revolt against the Ottomans under the divine leadership of Mushashiya Imam Ahmad 'the Mahdi'. And they have an obscured member of the dynasty residing with them.
Portuguese, as expected are totally rocking the other powers in the Hind ocean but with Ottoman focus elsewhere who'll stop them? Will the Sultanate of Bengal prevail in its quest to achieve regional hegemony? One thing I've read about Bengal sultanate from this period is that they were filthy rich. Can't se why they can be several times more rich with a larger territory and commercial connections stretching towards Nusanatara. And I hope you like the character of Sultan Izzaddin(Shershah lite version) as he constructs a shorter version of grand trunk road and scraps the NTR version of Ramayana for a much better one!
That's all for today, state your thoughts below. Next update is hopefully soon when we shall return to the steppes, until then take care everyone!
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Would late 15th century musket tactics and technology already been good enough to defeat frontal cavalry charges? Anyways, a cool chapter. Portugal has made itself the terror of the Indian Ocean. How long will they be able to maintain it, before understanding of European ships and tactics spreads?
Well the Ottomans were in a fortified position and if you read back the Afshar tribesmen were busy chasing after stragglers when they faced the Ottomans. Wonder how things will go between Musa and 'Imam' Ahmad in an Alt Chaldiran scenario.......
As you can see the decentralised Omani empire and the rest of Indian ocean states are still in the shock and awe phase. For the understanding of technology, It'll take time but you saw how Gujaratis burnt the stranded Portuguese ship to cope for their loss, it's really a shame🥲