Crusader Kings II - succession game - Sword of Islam

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41

Be patient. Surely, Allah is with the patient. (Quran, 8:46)
1087-1092

“Father, I shall not sit on this throne all year long listening to courtiers as you do. I will lead our armies to battle. I will crush our enemies”.

“You haven’t even been taught how to fight. The only weapon you ever held is your ceremonial sword”

“You should have taught me! It wasn’t with these books you made me read that our forefathers conquered this land. It was with their swords. I will learn. You won’t change my mind”

“Then so be it, my son. But listen : you might never sit on this throne, indeed”

A new generation is coming of age. The very first of the children born from the couples I had married when I took over the throne was so talented that he immediately replaced my steward. The poor man died ten days later. Sorrow?

I had the greatest expectations for my first son. Just, humble, diligent, kind, ambitious…What better ruler could one hope for? But I had taught him to be a steward of the land, and he preferred the way of the sword. What use do I have for yet another misguided warrior? I will have a difficult decision to face soon, when his brother Badis’ education will be completed. Especially since Tamim’s ambition will make him a problem if he doesn’t get to rule. Meanwhile, he’s drinking and whoring and doing whatever else his lowborn soldiers new friends are doing. I had managed to remove completely our reputation of decadence, but this isn’t going to help. Still, I will hold on all my titles until I can decide who I will chose as my successor. I’m tutoring their younger brother Zawi, but the boy is too young to be in this race. I had a fourth son, but smallpox took him from me.
Tamim married a daughter of the Sheikh of Lemdiyya. Not an important man, but his daughter is a genius. I could find a similarly gifted spouse for Badi. A Persian girl, daughter of the Satrap of Derbent.

I’m not so Lucky. Soon after the end of the war against the Hammadids, I married the daughter of the Emir of Tlemcen. And after the death of Iiju in 1088, the sister of the Emir of Marrakesh (currently jailed by the Sultan, but that’s another story). Neither woman has any redeeming quality altogether, apart from being the daughter of their father and the sister of their brother. Oh! And one of them tried to get my first wife murdered right after our marriage. She was lucky that I didn’t want to upset her father, or else she would be living in a cell like Tuh’r’ict has been for the last seven years.

My eldest daughter Badeea made a very serious mistake. She begat a child (my first grandson) without being married. I kept them both at the court, though, since in any case, I didn’t intend to let her leave the court. She’s way too talented not to be kept around. Instead, I searched for a disgruntled courtier willing to join my court and marry her. On the one hand, he got to marry a deflowered woman. On the other hand, he got to marry the daughter of an Emir. Not a bad deal, I say. This man is an acomplished diplomat, one of the reasons I chose him.

My second daughter, Cala, wish she could be married too. But unfortunately for her, I intend to keep her as a prize to seal some alliance in the future.

I also married my young aunt to the quick-minded but childless walli of Elvira. The most difficult case of all was my cousin Ayyub that I had made Sheikh of La Mancha. I hadn’t paid attention to the fact that his own heir was no one else than the new Hammadid Emir Al Mansour. I needed him to produce sons quickly, and had him married to two wiwes. Without success. For the whole war, he wouldn’t produce an heir. One of his wiwes died, even. I gave him another wife, then another and then another again. You would think a debauched like him would manage that. To say the truth, he eventually did. But it took him so many years I thought it would never happen. By the way, I should mention a rumour about him sacrificing cattle to the gates of Hell. The gates of Hell??? Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. The moral authority of the faith is very low nowadays.

The reason why I spend so much time planning marriages and tutoring children is that I bid my time. I didn’t participate in any of the wars that took place during the recent years. I didn’t fight for the Sultan. I declined to join Amim I “the Just”‘s new plan to invade Sicily. My main problem is that I lack soldiers. I raised again (for the third time) the Iqta levies, since my two first decrees to this effect had been cancelled on technical ground. I also had a militia training ground built in Granada, along with a Qasbah town at Huelma. But it’s not enough. Regardless of the effort of my successive Commanders, my army is tiny, and more importantly is retraining extremely slowly . If I were to fight a war, I could as well fight with only my vassals’ levies since they are significantly larger than my own.

Wars haven’t been lacking. The revolt which saved my hide was easily crushed by the Sultan. Not long after, the Emir of Marrackesh tried his luck again, followed by the Hudid and Abbadid. He tried one time too many. His forces were crushed on my own territory in an impressive battle where more than 35 000 men fought. He has been sitting in the Sultan’s jail ever since. The Sultan also revoked Cadiz and Almansa following this second revolt. The Hudids having been also thoroughly defeated by Castille in the north, they are now mostly powerless holding on only on two isolated counties. I had wisely declined to join this plot.
Then we began to face several assaults by the infidels. A “crusade” was launched against Jerusalem. More worrying, the young queen of Castille, now dominating a large part of Al Andalus, started a holy war for Badajoz. Very worrying, indeed when I heard about the Sultan’s army being defeated in an incredibly large battle. After this battle, more than 40 000 Castillans were marching across the border. And now, Granada is bordering Castille. More recently, the Sultan has been doing better, but the war isn’t going to end anytime soon, and anyway…If I ever lose the protection of the Almoravid, what will become of Granada? I’d rather not think about it.
Finally, the much less poweful king Sancho of Aragon launched another holy war against the Shaheens reigning in Mayurqa. I still remember well the Shaheen Emir declaring war on me when I was down. Now, the table has turned, and I have a perfectly good claim on his Sheikdom of Deniyya. This has to be the opportunity I have been waiting for during all those years.
In January 1093 :

Spain (independant realms). As you can see Spain is shared by the middle between the Almoravids and Castille

Spain (vassals)

The world

Genealogy

42

I probably will still rule for quite a while, since I’m only about 37-38, having started the game aged 14.

Still, I wanted to make a couple comment for players who, like me, never played with “Swords of Islam”. The two differences from the vanilla game I found the most important so far are :

-Piety is much more important. You need it to change laws, you need it to start conquest wars, you need it to be liked. Holding on a mosque (which provides piety) seems like a good idea.

-The “conquest” CB means that about every one of your neighbours can (and will) attack you at any time, without needing a claim. You’re hardly ever safe, it seems.

Any advice by players more familiar with “swords of Islam” is welcome.

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Just thought about a third major difference : no mercenaries. Technically, there’s one existing band, but obviously they’re always hired. So no attack against a stronger opponent with the backing of some serious mercenary force, and no possibility to hire a strong army to save your ass if things turn badly.

44

Great, I’m gonna get handed another elderly ruler who dies of infirmity I side of five years. :smiley:

45

You’d better not complain. Remember that I’m the one who will get to decide who you’re going to play. I could probably be creative in my choice if you get my drift :wink:

46

How do you decide on your successor when you’re an Islamic ruler? I really didn’t have time to figure that out in my short time as ruler, plus I didn’t have a lot of good candidates.

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**And I would rather tend camels for the Almoravids than pasture swines for the Castilians ** (Al Mutamid 1014-1086)

1093-1099

The “crusade” has failed, I hear. But the war with Castille rages on. Abu Bakr even captured a great Christian Sultan, Harold ibn Godwin, from the remote Ingeltara. I refuse to take part in a plot to murder Abu Bakr, since the Sultanate is the only thing that can protect us from the Infidels. We need unity, not discord. And I sincerely believe I promote this unity by claiming Deniyya from the Shaheens. This war is devoid of any significant event, the Shaheens preferring to fight the Aragonese with the support of Tamim “the Just”. In July 1095, the Shaheens surrender Deniyya to me, and I grant myself the title of Emir of Valencia.

This same year, a new revolt erupt, associating the Abbadid and (yet again) Marrakesh to reduce the Sultan authority. I’m of a shared mind about this issue, seeing the dangers as much as the opportunities. But I can’t help fighting the Sultan when the Castilian holy war isn’t going well for us. I keep my involvement limited, though, only using my fleet and a small army to destroy isolated small contingents (Castilian and Abbadid alike) and battling the Abbadid when they enter my territory.

Neither war has ended when the Sultan Abu Bakr dies in 1095, leaving the throne to a 7 year old prince. Immediately, the Hammadids (of all families!) ask me to support another Almoravid pretender. Despite the fact that the pretender happens to be a brother-in-law (by this point I’m the brother in law, father-in-law or son-in-law of pretty much everybody who matters) and to be very favorably disposed toward me, I refuse, not seeing any benefit for me in a change of ruler, since the young prince too likes me. In fact he has chosen me as his treasurer. I decide to stay out of this again. The death of the Sultan puts an end to our participation in the war against Castille, but the Aftasids, on the other hand, are left alone to fight it. They will hold on until 1097, but end up the war reduced to one province, three others apparently being gained by Castille. On the other hand the Emir of Mayurqa allied with Tamim the Just won the war against the king of Aragon.

The civil war (or rather the two civil wars) will last even longer. At the beginning, I will keep fighting back rebels armies entering my territory, but toward the end I won’t be able to do so anymore and besides, the defeat of the child Sultan becoming a certainty, I would rather not help delaying its end. As a result my fortresses are besieged, Granada falls in October 1097 and Jaen the next year. A mistake on my part also results in the destruction of my retinue. Toward the very end, I’m envisioned as a potential new regent but by this point it would be a waste of my time.

On April 1099, Ismail I finally becomes the new Sultan. As I said, I’ve good relations with him. I notice however that he only controls one province directly, which could make him a weak Sovereign. The child prince Umar I, on the other still controls a large territory. The revolt against the crown authority ends soon after, but anyway, it has been reduced to an average level.

During this long civil war, keep taking care of my sons’ future. I think the second, who became an adult would make a better ruler, but the ambitious nature of his elder brother and his own easily satisfied character plead for choosing the former, Amim. I plan two new marriages. Amim will marry the sister of Ismail, who I already think at this time will succeed in his bid for the throne, while the younger Badis marries a second exceptionally intelligent Mandingue woman. I grant the mosque of Elx (whose wali died in a freaky accident soon before), in Deniyya, to Tamim, a move that will make him appear a pious leader, and the fortress of Huelma to Badis. I can’t let them idle, and besides, I’m unable to handle all the territories I control. I nevertheless decide that I finally won’t make the final decision before my third son reaches adulthood. A new daughter, Tawechint, is born in 1095, and a fourth son, called Ziri to honour my famous ancestor, in 1096, but he is…let’s say slow.

Her mother Tara’fut, soon after Ziri’s birth tried to poison Badis. Once again, I couldn’t have her executed, but this second murder attempt after having tried to assassinate my wife, goes too far. I have her jailed. Out of my six successive wifes, three have been jailed (and one of them died in her cell).

I received a letter informing me of the death of Timariot, the friend I had made during the Hajj. A former wife of my grandfather also passed away. More importantly, I must recount a singular event. A serious earthquake happened in 1097. And some sort of large crack appeared in the ground. Not any ordinary hole. There were flames burning at its bottom, and, even more unsettling, wails could be heard coming from it. There are few doubts that this earthquake opened a door to hell itself. I had it filled with rocks. It was an arduous task, but being known as the man who closed the gate to Hell is certainly worth it. I also managed to improve the barracks in Granada, even though this work was significantly delayed by sieges during the civil war.

I noticed a significant change in Granada. Berbers who were born here or who elected to move to my capital city are now significantly outnumbering Andalusians. Which is a change I greatly appreciate.
Spain 1099

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The son with the most titles is your successor. I don’t know if it applies to other relatives (for instance, could I give titles to a grandson, or even a cousin, so that he would be my successor?), nor if the importance of titles matters, and if it does, how it its taken into account (for instance, is one duchy more, or less, than two baronies?)

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The amīr sent an army to Rayūw (Reggio di Calabria). They found the place deserted and returned to Jarāja and fought a fierce battle there. They were not able to do anything there so concluded a treaty and they returned (Taʾrīkh Jazīrat Ṣiqilliya)
1099-1105

The Aftasid Emirate having been reduced to a shadow of its former self, I ordered the conquest of what remained of it, Tulaytulah, on July 1099. I wasn’t the only one, however. Two princes of the infidels, the duke of Toledo and the duke of Leon did immediately the same. The Aftasid army moved east to fight the duke of Toledo, and I would never heard of their fate. I besieged Tulaytulah with more than 5 000 men, but the Emir of the Shaheens, allied to the Aftasids brought his army to my coasts. I had to split my forces to meet the Shaheens. On February 1100, I defeated their army, which was soon after annihilated. Tulaytulah fell on June, and on July, the last Emir of the Aftasids surrendered to me. I had seen the glory and the fall of this house. May Allah spare this fate to our family. I gave the mosque of Talavera to my third son, Zawi, after marrying him to two remarkable wifes, and the newly built city of Fuensalida to one of my best generals. The Sheikdom of Tulaytulah I kept for myself.

I would soon witness the end of another great house : the Shaheens of Mayurqa and Minurqa, crushed by the king of Aragon Sancho II, who had recently succeeded to his father. They would not keep this prize for long. Our Sultan would reconquer the islands in 1103 (putting an end to my plan of doing it myself. My vizier, who had been working there for a while, left for Siracusa ).

The sultan of Africa Tamim the Just also won a great victory against the infidels. He led a Holy War against Sicily for the third time, and was, finally, successful. He seized all the western part of this island, three provinces. He passed away soon after this victory, I’m sure with a smile on his face for he had accomplished a lot. His son Awdi’s reign would be brief. In 1105 he was succeeded by his own son Tamim II, a child aged seven.

His wasn’t the only death I would lament. My wife Tuh’r’ict died in her cell in 1104. Even though she had deserved her fate, it is a shame that such a talented woman would have to end like that. The same year, my cousin Ayyub that I had once jailed but later made Sheikh of la Mancha died too. But the worst of all was the death of Farhad, spymaster, Sheikh of Malta, and more than everything, trusted friend during all the years of my reign. I promised him I would take care of his son, and I will. Farhad is no more but the house Farhadid will endure.
During these years, I improved the Emirate. I built new barracks in Granada, a souk market in Elvira, castle walls in Malaga, enlarged the mosque town of Antequara (the jewel of my domain) and fortified it and ordered the construction of a new city near Malaga. Genoan merchants built a trade post in my capital. My retinue having been annihilated during the civil war, I recruited a new, stronger one, mostly made of heavy infantry. I raised the taxes of my prosperous cities as much as I could. I ensured that the alliance with the Almoravid Sultan Immel I would last through the next generation by giving him my daughter Dua as spouse. I gave spouses too to several mayors so that hopefully they would have sons, Berber sons as successors. I got rid of the walli of Tamisa, in Malaga (which proved to be surprisingly long and difficult) and gave this fortress to my eldest son Tamim, presumably my heir, although I haven’t yet made a final decision.
For a long time, I had my eyes on southern Italy. Although Siracusa had my preference, I was unwilling to risk a later conflict over Sicily against our Zirid relatives. So, instead, in 1103, I called for a holy war against the duke of Benevento, count of Reggio. I expected him not to receive much, if any, support in this divided land of Italy. But to my surprise, the Doges of Venice and Pisa, and the duke of Salerno, joined him. I called upon my allies the Sheikh of Lemdiyya (who would only station soldiers in Almeria) and the Emir of Tlemcen (who would actively participate).

I landed my army in Reggio, that a large contingent of enemies was defending. I had more men, and better commanders. Despite this, my army was defeated after a long fight. Fortunately, the Emir of Tlemcen debarked the next day, defeating the weakened enemy. While he besieged Reggio, I chased their retreating remains. That being done, the situation nevertheless appeared precarious. I had lost a large part of my forces, and the Italians still had significant reserves. They also had begun the siege of Malta.

I had to dismiss several units. With a rebuilt, but much weaker army, I attacked Tarento. That was the place where the Italians were gathering their troops and I wanted to disperse them before they could become to strong. I had much more men, and expected an easy victory. But again, I was mistaken. The enemy army in Tarento had a large contingent of knights, and they proved to be dreadfully powerful. I had to retreat again, and joined the siege of Reggio, hoping to have time enough to again raise a reconstituted army. Unfortunately, before I could do that, a large Italian contingent was marching on Reggio.

The war was lost. I had underestimated the resolve of the Italian princes, and underestimated the value of their knights. Before the situation could become even worse, I had to offer a white peace, and left Reggio in shame after a two years long war.
Western Mediterranean in 1106. Tuscany and the Byzantine Empire hold good chunks of Italy. Although it isn’t visible here, the Fatimids have conquered Abyssinia.

50

Wow, the Zirids have actually made some progress. The couple of times I’ve tried to play the Sultan, I’ve ended up getting smacked by the two emirates to the east and west.

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nm. double post

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Three brothers, three castles (Arab proverb)
1106-1110

On August 1106, our Sultan Ismael I declared a holy war on Castille for Portugal. Aragon and Navarra joined the queen of Castille. After the first year of fighting, I realized that Ismael’s victory was ineluctable and only participated sporadically in the fight while my forces decimated in Italy were retrained. In one of these fights I engaged for the first time my cavalry retinue, that, inspired by my recent defeat against knights, and realizing that a highly mobile corp might be useful, I had created in replacement of the shock infantry regiment.

I didn’t abandon the idea of establishing a foothold in Italy. Pisa wielding significant power, I had again Reggio in mind. But this time, not wanting to risk another holy war, I sent there my vizier to establish a claim. He would stay there a long, long time. Dying at the task, in fact.
I had now a significant income of about 20 weights of gold/month, and I kept improving the Emirate, prioritizing income over military strength : the new city of Velez had been built in Malaga, the qasbah town ameliorated in Granada, a port opened in Elvira. In 1110, La Mancha, like Granada itself previously, became fully “Berberized”.

While I was peacefully reinforcing my situation, I still was bothered, like I had been for many, many years with the issue of my succession. My eldest son Tamim was my natural heir, but in my opinion the less able. Due to his ambitious nature especially as opposed to the generally content state of mind of my second, Badis, named after my grandfather, I however hadn’t done anything to change the succession order. Each of them had been granted a small holding and had been married to good wifes. But sooner or later, I would need to hand over more land to one of them, and at this point, the choice would be essentially definitive. Since Tamim had unexpectedly become a (very poor) warrior, Badis, more gifted and a much better administrator, had my preference. The youngest, Zawi, was my second choice. By chance, Tamim mellowed with age and I eventually noticed that he had lost his ambition and had become as satisfied with his lot as Badis.

I only had to make official the change. For this, I needed to grant Badis a new territory, and I had none available. I had been eying at the fortress of Baez, in Granada, for a while, wanting to reinforce the number of soldiers I could raise together in this province. The wali of Baez, who happened to be childless had to go. Finding accomplices wasn’t very difficult, but I discovered that my spymaster had “moral qualms” about this issue. “Moral qualms”? A spymaster? I came once again to regret the late Farhad. The affair took the best part of a year, two attempts against the life of the wali failing. He was eventually killed by “bandits” on a poorly patrolled road. I kept the willayah for myself, and granted Badis the recently conquered Sheikhdom of Deniyya, making of him my official heir.

I also married my daughter Cala to the Sheikh Salah of Figuig, heir of the Emir of Fez in 1107. He would have her executed three years later, something I’m not going to forget soon.

Speaking of family, the Zirids had begun to gain a bad reputation of decadence. Not so much caused by the behavior of our branch of the family, but more so by the Zirids of Africa. Their young carefree princes were indulging in all sort of excess and our good name seriously tarnished as a result. I decided that I had to display the opposite example, and to begin to strictly follow the Ramadan. Despite an illness that could have dispensed me (I’m more than 50 now), I did so, spent most of my evenings rereading the Qu’ran I was beginning to forget the verses of, distributed generous alms to the poor and invited all my vassal for the Eïd. It was costing financially and taxing physically, but the people were definitely impressed. I also had to send my Imam in Almeria, because an heresy called Ibadism had taken roots there.

By the way, one day, I would receive a strange guest asking for protection. He told me he was an Armenian (I had never heard of this place, apparently a country situated east of the empire of the Rums) and a Metaphysite, which seems to be some sort of Christian belief. Why he had chosen to exile himself in Grenada of all places is a complete mystery.
On September 1109, the Sultan won the war. He, who had almost no land of his own, gained eight provinces, and became Emir of Beira and Sheikh of Mertola and Lishbuna. Many Christian princes of Portucale, however, kept their ranks and domains by converting to the true religion.

Peace, however, wasn’t going to last long. The Emir of Marrakesh had already revolted and would soon somehow gain his independence, taking away from the Sultanate a large part of Africa. On November, another independence war was started by the Emir of Seville, several disgruntled princes of Portucale, the Almoravid prince Umar I and the Hudid Emir. This was something I had been waiting for a long time. I immediately declared war on the Hudids myself, on the basis of my claim on Mursiya. Within months, the coalition had sought peace, which was granted by the Sultan, and the Hudid Emir and myself were the only one left fighting.

Not for long. Four months after this peace, and less than one year after starting the previous revolt, the prince Umar I, supported by the most powerful Hammadid Emir Al Mansur (who had recently again enlarged his territory by taking Bizerte from the African Zirids) launched a bid for the throne. It is important to remember that Umar I, also an Almoravid, was the child Sultan who had been deposed by Ismael I, and now an adult. He had retained may castles, cities and mosques, especially in the south east of Al Andalus, to the point that most of those in my sheikdoms of Balansiyya and Deniyya were in fact controlled by him. And he ruled Almansa, right in the middle of my domain. I wouldn’t escape this war. And since the Hammadid Emir, my long lasting enemy was the most powerful prince of the Emirate, it wouldn’t be an easy one for the Sultan.

To make matters worse, an epidemic of consumption began to spread in the area.

A map of Spain and North Africaafter the victory against Castille, with the portrait of my presumed heir and his family. Marrakesh is about to stray away, and the Hammadid Emirate, if you can see the borders, covers a large part of North-Africa.

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You should have a bit more than that. I’m now dead, and you’re 45, IIRC. I’ve a couple other posts to write, but send me your e-mail in PM, please.

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**Verily We have granted you a manifest Victory **(Quran 48:1)

**Distribute this land just as the Holy Prophet distributed Khaiber **(Abu Ubaid).
1111-1117 (Second grand civil war)
On January 1111, I conquered Mursiya. I had finally accomplished one of goals of my youth. All the Emirate of Granada was united under my rule. A costly camel riding ground was being built there, which a pleasant surprise. I kept the Sheikdom for myself, and granted Balansiyya to my son Badis. Unfortunately, like many other people, and like my daughter Badeea, I was suffering from consumption.

Despite this, I must turn my effort against the prince Umar. He had gathered his forces in Calatrava, where he met the Sultan in a massive and uncertain battle. So I began the siege of Cartagena, in my own province of Mursiyya. Umar’s army having been fortunately beaten, he retreated to Granada and besieged it. I could do nothing, since the mere remnants of his armies were much more powerful than my intact one. I got better, but my heir on the other hand, caught the disease in turn, which worries me. Worse, smallpox begins to spread too in the region. I incessantly receive messages announcing deaths at my court. As if the situation wasn’t bad enough, people we had never heard about and sailing flat bottomed ships began to attack and raid the coasts in North Africa. Ant the Emir of Marrakesh embarks on the conquest of Taroudant.

By mid-1112, the situation had significantly improved. The Sultan had overcome prince Umar in Granada, while I had taken Cartagena and Lorca. The war had mostly ended in the south of Al-Andalus, and the fights were now going to take place in North Africa. The epidemic of consumption had died out (and my son had recovered), but smallpox was still making victims. When it would be over, 18 of my courtiers would have died from either disease. A son, Amellal, is finally born to Badis’ second wife (the first one having been murdered some months before). I’m relieved by this new, since I had been hoping for this for years. The sultan also choose me to become his Steward. And, finally, thanks to my wife, or perhaps to the example of two of my children, I belatedly came to terms with life. I gave up worrying about everything and began to enjoy life with contentment.

New events kept happening, though. My province of Danniyya converted to the Yazidi heresy (heresies had become commonplace, during those years). I sent my Imam there. The king of France, who had been fighting Barcelona, Aragon and Castille, takes Barcelona. Seeing the weakened state of the kingdom of Aragon, I send my vizier in Tarragona to claim this land, hoping that he would do a better job there than in Reggio. The Hammadid Emir, not satisfied with fighting the Sultan, declares war on the African Zirids. Since I had become a subject of Sultan, I couldn’t help this other branch of the family. But this time we had a common ennemy. I send some ships off the coast of Africa to look up for opportunities.
Fortunately, most of the year 1113 would be a time of respite, with numerous good news. The old Sheikh Yayah of Almeria died. This was significant because he had been the last Andulusian of my major vassals, and for a long time I had wanted to revoke him (and take over the Sheikdom). Unfortunately, the old man was way too popular to plot against him. I hoped his successor would be an easier target. My fourth son, Ziri, came of age. This was a mixed blessing because he is slow minded hence not a very good candidate to become a walli. On the other hand, he’s certainly smart enough to be as debauched as his remote relatives of Africa, adding to the decadence of our lineage. I kept improving the Emirate (shipyard in Antequara, improved fortifications in Granada, a new castle in Almeria). The Imam having quickly taken care of the heretics in Deniyya, I could send him back to malta, where too many Shias were living for my taste. And to my delight, Tulaytulah too became a culturally Berber province. Finally, the Sultan revoked the Sheikh of Castellon, the last of the Hudids, putting an abrupt end to the history of this tribe.
In 1114, direct fights had ended in North-Africa, and the Sutan’s armies were slowly besieging the numerous provinces held by the Hammadids. The Hammadid armies were still active in Zirid, however, and I thought, having retrained my armies, that I could help my relative Tamim II (who, for some reason, was now called “the Just” like his grandfather), so I had my army sail to Africa. It first eliminated some Hammadid contingents, then joined the Zirid siege of Tunis. Tamim II, seeing how many troops he now had under his command, ordered an assault. The assault was successful, but having lost one third of my army during it, I thought I had helped plenty enough, and recalled it.

A new period of calm would follow in 1115, while I was retraining my armies. Unfortunately, the events during this time wouldn’t be nearly as good. My first wife, Zuhal, whom I cherished, died suddenly. I had strong doubts about Taweckint, my other wife. And I wasn’t mistaken. A strange phial was found on her, and I ordered her to drink it. She too died within minutes. As I suspected, she had poisoned Zuhal. At this moment, legally, my main wife was Tasa’fut. But she had been living in my jails for the last sixteen years, after attempting to murder my third son. And I had no intent to free her. Being the sister of my ally the Emir of Tlemcen, I didn’t dare to order her execution, either. I had to organize her death more diplomatically. This plot was an open secret. She had no friends at the court, and almost everybody knew what had really happened. But officially, she killed herself while attempting to escape. Not wanting anymore children I married a woman past childbearing age, but solid and competent, not for love but for support. Love died with Zuhal. It hadn’t had died for my youngest daughter, though, who found herself pregnant. As I had done in a similar situation with her older sister, I left them both living at the court.

Our reputation was more and more tarnished, though. Once again I made a puplic display of following strictly the Ramadan. I gave alms. I read the Qu’ran. I organized a great feast for the Eïd. People were again impressed by my rightfulness, and to say the truth, although it was intended for the show, I reconcilied with Allah and truly discovered during this fast the virtues of moderation. It seemed that wisdom was finally coming with old age.

Even though they were easily repulsed, during this year, these raiders coming, I had been told, from the north, attacked again, this time in my own province of Murcia. The new fortress of Vera had been built in Almeria. In order to avoid a dispersion, upon my death, of our holdings in this area that is the heart of our territory, I granted it again to my heir Badis. My army was by then in full battle order, my vizier had succeeded in his mission in Turtusha (and I had sent him back again to Reggio), and the king of Aragon was embroiled in a war with Navarra. I declared war on him and shipped my armies North.

Foolishly, the new Sheikh of Almeria, son of Yayah, thought the time was right to fabricate a claim on the Emirate of Granada, so providing me with the very pretext I needed. I ordered his arrest, and he revolted. I let him roam around and lay siege with his pathetic army while I was dealing with the king of Aragon. Which was much quicker than I expected. His army was no match for mine, but I had assumed that I would spend a long time besieging fortresses in the Pyrenees mountains. But the king of Aragon surrendered after the fall of his first castle in July 1116. Probably because he had no troops left and was still at war with Navarra. I offered a sumptuous gift to the mayor of Turtusha, letting him know that he would keep his position if he converted to the true faith, which he did. I had the bishop chased, and his church made into a mosque that I granted to a very old courtier unlikely to have children. Finally, I recalled the Imam so that he would convert the local Christians. That being done, I made Badis Sheikh of Turtusha. I felt an intense pride for all my recent success. Then, almost immediately, I realized that I had only been the instrument of Allah in this conquest. My pride turned into humility, that I have cultivated ever since. As I wrote, wisdom came to me in my old age.

Taking care of the Sheikh of Almeria was an easy task. By August 1017 his army had been anihilated. By March 1017 Almeria fell. By August, Motril. I confiscated the Sheikdom (although I left to the family the mosque of Motril) and had the former, short-lived, Sheikh sent into jail. When he dared complain, I had him thrown into the oubliettes. I kept the Sheikdom, again to consolidate our position in the Emirate of Granada, but not being able to handle so many domains, I granted the Sheikdom of Tulaytulah to my third son Zawi, wanting him to be next in line, rather than Tamim, if Badis was to die before myself.
At about the same time, the Hammadids finally surrendered.This ended too the war with the Zirids (but their vassals would almost immediately revolt). I had hoped that the Sultan would deprive the Hammadids from their lands and titles, but to my dissapointment and bewilderement, he did nothing of the sort. Al Mansur had just died in the Sultan’s jails, but his son An Nasir kept all the Hammadid lands.
This war had lasted for 7 years. Despite all the destruction and the lives lost, it would be a lie not to admit that this period did not benefit the Zirids. Granada was much more powerful at the end than at the beginning, and during the previous ten years, I had done what I had only dreamed of during most of my life. Having accomplished most of what I had hoped for, I felt that, like the old Tamim the Just after his conquest of Sicily, so long ago, I could die in peace.

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Vassals view of Spain in 1118. Dark green is the emirate of Granada.

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**I have now reigned above fifty years in victory and peace, beloved by my subjects, dreaded by my enemies, and respected by my allies. Riches and honors, power and pleasure, have waited on my call, nor does any earthly blessing appear to be wanting for my felicity. In this situation, I have diligently numbered the days of pure and genuine happiness which have fallen to my lot: they amount to fourteen. O man, place not thy confidence in this present world! ** (Adb-al-Rahman III, Caliph of Cordoba, 891-961)
1118-1123

Granada, July 1123.
I am now bedridden. I shouldn’t have followed the Ramadan once again while I was ill. I never recovered from that. I have a new young wife, a courtier I married when my…seventh?.. wife died last year. She was lucky, in a way. The only one who died peacefully.

My son Badis didn’t have more luck. His first wife was murdered. So was the second one, by the third one who he had executed. He married again, and she too was dead within three months.
My other son Zawi died in 1118, leaving the sheikdom of Tulaytulah to a six year old simple-minded son, Hamad. That is sad, and worrying.

Sultan Immel I, nicknamed “half-hand”, died too, the same year. Also leaving a child as successor. Before long, many Emirs had plotted to replace the child with prince Umar, once a Sultan child too whom I served, several times a revolted, and now Sultan again. We are still in good terms, and I married my daughter Tasa to him. He undertook the reconquest of Marrakesh, taking back the Anti-Atlas

I know I’m a bit diminished, but I still rule, be it from a bed. I am now the most powerful prince of the sultanate, after, of course, the Sultan himself. I’ve no more conquest plan. I hoped once that holding Turtushah would allow me to extend our conquests toward the north, but the King of France put an end to this plan by conquering all the duchy of Barcelona. I still ask for news from Reggio, but my former vizier died without succeeding in making a claim. The new one went there too, but I don’t have much hope.

Rather, like I have done for quite a time, I build, and build to reinforce the Emirate. And bring in more money to build more. A shipyard in Granada, a larger qasbah and better fortifications in Bueza, and in Almeria, militia quarters in Antequara, and a new town in Balansiya.

The infidels have called for a new war against Jerusalem, like they did when I was young. They fight along with some sort of of knights who make vows of celibacy, now. Doesn’t matter. They failed then, they will fail again this time.

Our Sultan Umar has called for a holy war for Badajoz. He might be too bold. The king of France has sworn to defend Castille, and he’s a powerful king, unlike the ancient allies of the Queen. I ordered to gather all our troops and levies in Balansiyya, avoiding any battle at the moment. I’m told it has been a bit difficult, but there they are. Along with a fleet large enough to transport them anywhere.

I had to decide who should become the first walli of the new town of Chiva. I hesitated for a long time, considering a courtier o maybe keeping so that Badis could decide for himself after my death. But I could linger on for many years, and I have adult grandsons now that I would rather see ruling a city than adding to our tribe’s already bad reputation by indulging in all sort of decadent sins. So, I picked Iken, my grandson, and Badis’ nephew.

Deniyya, December 31, 1123
“A rider came from Granada tonight, lord Badis. Your father passed away yesterday. To Allah belongs what He took, and to Him belongs what He gave”

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End screen

Maps :
Granada, vassals view

Spain, realms view

World
Genealogy (good luck with that) :
Genealogy close-up : Badis II, his siblings, children and relevant nephews

Genealogy, our branch of the family(the guy with three white star on red up there is the founder of the Hammadids. So, if either branch went extinct (unlikely to the extreme), the inheritance would pass to the Hammadids, not to the other branch)

Genealogy, the African branch(The current Sultan of Africa is completely to the left, on the bottom)

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Finally, some comments and notes, for other players in general and for my successor in particular:

First, good luck with that.

The Almoravids have started a holy war against Castille, joined by France. I gathered all the army (minus some minor vassals of yours that I hadn’t access to) and enough ships to transport it. Where? I had no clue yet when night suddenly fell. I don’t know if the Almoravids can stand against the team Castille+France, but since its a war our liege started, there aren’t much risk for us, apart from having our cities, etc…besieged and taken temporarily. I would be more worried by an offensive war by the same countries. France will certainly want Tortosa, the only missing piece of the dukedom of Barcelona, and Spain Toledo.
That’s not going to be your main immediate problem, though. The problem is decadence, which is already at about 65%. I didn’t mention it in my list of major differences with the vanilla game because by then I had no issue keeping it in check. It’s not the case anymore. Having never played “Swords of Islam” before, I don’t know for sure how it works exactly but basically : any idle male in the dynasty adds monthly decadence points. The more important his rank, the more points he adds. Giving him a small estate isn’t sufficient to completely cancel the decadence points. Now, here the first problem : if you give the guy an estate, it decreases decadence in the short term. But in the long term, if he’s granted one, he will surely marry, have children, and 20 years down the road, you’ll be worse off. There’s the specific case of my slow-witted son, for instance. What to do with him? I don’t know, and I was reluctant to have him murdered (besides, it was costly and likely to fail). People in jail don’t add decadence, but then again if you arrest them without motive, you get tyranny and upset vassals instead.

Finally, the main problem with our decadence is out of your hands. The African branch of the family had three (currently, probably more later) idle princes, bringing in tons of decadence points. From what I read, the issue with decadence is that when you reach 100%, some huge stack of rebels appear and try to destroy you. If they appear where the head of the family (currently, the Sultan of Africa) is, then fine. If they appear randomly or everywhere at once, then we might be in a bad predicament. What to do about it? I don’t know. I envisioned to invite over those who liked me and give them some small thing to govern to at least reduce the damages (although this might result in said holdings eventually switching to African princes) but that’s no permanent solution. During the last years, I also envisioned attacking and destroying the other branch to get rid of the decadent guys. But destroying a kingdom isn’t going to be easy, and as long as there’s a king, there will be his idle sons, brothers, etc… and perhaps more of them if they lost provinces. I don’t even know if not being anymore the son of a king removes the monthly decadence points or if you get that for life. If you’re lucky someone else will destroy them, I guess.
This issue was the main reason why I said : “Good luck with that” at the beginning. Fasting during the Ramadan, winning holy wars and some other things reduce the total decadence, by the way. But that’s just a temporary fix.

Second problem you will immediately have : way too many titles. And contrarily to me, you can’t drop part of them on your heir, since he’s a child. And I’m not sure there’s a way to make, say, one of your adult brothers your heir (for the record, I tested with a grandson, and you can do that, and jump over a generation. Not that you’re in any position to do that. I couldn’t, either, since I had no adult Grandson when I began to need to drop titles). Ideally, at this point, we would need to be a king. But given our position, there’s no kingdom that could be taken in the foreseeable future.

Also, regarding having too many titles. I don’t know if it’s a feature only for Muslims or if I never noticed it before, but the penalties are harsh. One title above the limit means minus 25% for all the demesne income. Two titles 50%…up to 90% apparently. So, even one title above your limit (currently 6 IIRC) means that you’re losing quite a lot of money. Again, I don’t know how you’ll handle the distribution of titles, but having too many titles is still less worrying than this decadence thing (and both are tied anyway).
Three things I wanted to point to :

-The mosque of Antequara is a huge money maker. Much more so than sheikdoms and such. You might or might not want to keep it, but I wanted to make sure you wouldn’t give it away first because it’s a lower title without having paid attention to the income it brings in. As a result, Malaga makes also much more money than the capital Granada, by the way.

-Your son is currently tutored by a courtier. That’s not random. This courtier has godly statistics, and the children he tutors end up with half-godly statistics. Now, of course if you don’t tutor him yourself, you won’t be able to pick his traits (although the guy in question also has good traits). Again, I don’t know what you will want to do, but I wanted to make sure you wouldn’t begin to tutor him yourself by automatism without having looked up the tutor.

-Malta is your vassal. That’s not difficult to figure out, but I mention it because I kept raising all the levies/fleet before noticing long after the war was over that Malta’s ships and soldiers had been staying idle there for the last two years or so :smack:
-Just for the record, due to a complicated history, the capital of the Sultanate ended up being in Almansa, entirely surrounded by territories belonging to Granada.

Finally, if some players experienced with “Swords of Islam” can shed some light on this decadence issue, thanks in advance.

Oh! And I beat my record in the other game by reigning for 54 years (53 in the first one, of which I played only 50 since my reign began three years before the start of the game in 1066). I fully expect to rule for 55 years next time. (And I promise I didn’t cheat! Like the last time, in fact, I was a bit fed up with the game towards the end)

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Something I just thought about and checked :

Given the system of inheritance used for muslims in Sword of islam :

  • Johnny Bravo’s is his underage nephew’s heir by virtue of being the uncle with the most titles.

-Similarly, when I made his other nephew Iken a mayor, I automatically made him (the nephew) his father’s heir. While, being accustomed to vanilla CK II, my intent was the opposite. The older son would get the father’s demesne, so I gave the town to the youger. Works fine with vanilla CK II, doesn’t work at all with Swords of Islam.
I’m not sure how many of the players in this game are familiar with SoI, but it definitely requires breaking with many of my vanilla game’s habbits.

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I’m leaving town Thursday morning. I should be able to get the game done by then. If not, I’ll just forward the file on to Least Original User Name Ever and let him take my spot.