My new story already has a chapter posted. If you want to read it, it's called "Old Bloodlines."
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Pov of caliph al-Mu'tasim
Anno Domini, 831-February-24-27
I washed my hands with practiced care while silently giving thanks for having managed to retake the two sacred mosques after hard fighting against the rebel who had seized them, while what should never have happened was taking place: a war within the family.
I washed my face and remained standing as I felt the drops run down my face, thoughtful about the situation we found ourselves in.
My brother had died in his attempts to pacify the rebellion in Mesopotamia while I calmed things in Persia, but all of that led to death and to a civil war between my brother's sons, my brothers and clearly, myself.
It was a situation I could not avoid entering, considering that the moment our blood began to fall in the fields, one already knew that the winner would put everyone else to the knife. There was simply nothing left but to enter this struggle that brought the empire of the Prophet to its knees.
Tens of thousands had died, and I had to pursue my brothers and nephews through every part of the great empire of the Messenger of God.
Our blood had been spilled everywhere, from Mesopotamia, where our brutal clashes had devastated great stretches of fertile land, to Persia, where I had to fight some of my brothers for control of the eastern cities.
I even marched on the parts of Armenia that we still controlled, where the last of the sons of my dead brothers tried to keep his claim to the mantle of the Khalifat Rasul Allah alive. Finally, after bloody battles, harsh sieges and dealing with rebels who never stopped trying to proclaim themselves pretenders by claiming some small kinship with the Prophet, I managed to impose myself.
What had given me the great advantage was that I largely controlled the most professional forces of our army. Within the caliphate, I had managed to convince Al Mamun to continue the expansion of the Turkish corps, which had served greatly in having a force loyal to the caliphate instead of to partisan politics, which was what had brought us to this level of civil war, where I almost had to put the last of my relatives to the sword to secure my position as Khalifat Rasul Allah.
A corps of slave soldiers had proven incredibly efficient in combat, since many of the troops recruited in the different parts of the conflict varied too much. Instead, by controlling enough forges, I had a loyal and trained force that allowed me to impose myself over everyone who opposed me, whether on the battlefield or during sieges.
And although I was clearly the victor, since there were no claimants left alive besides me and my sons, that did not mean what one would expect. I was not truly the winner. I ruled over the ashes of Allah's empire, and it would take several years to rebuild everything that had been destroyed.
Decades, perhaps, for the population of Mesopotamia or Persia to recover after the great battles that had been fought there between the pretenders.
The only ones who could truly be said to have benefited were the Romans, since they were the damned bastards who had won great stretches of land without raising a single sword.
Throughout the entire conflict, they devoted themselves to supporting or threatening everyone who controlled territories the Romans desired. They expanded their influence and took cities, as well as great stretches of land rich in minerals or good for agriculture, using only messengers.
They promised military support to any pretender, sending them weapons and armor, or threatened to launch an invasion that would leave them in terrible condition to continue advancing their claim. All of that culminated in Rome having almost taken back a large part of its former territories.
What had taken us generations to subdue, that infidel giant that was the eastern part of the mighty empire of the Romans, had been wasted in this civil war that had only caused chaos.
We were weaker than ever, with some rebellions that we had to extinguish and some vassals, such as the Aghlabids, who throughout the war had ignored our requests to send troops. Because of that, it could simply be said that they had rebelled.
Though not as much as the wālī of Misr, who, in an attempt to position himself as a possible pretender to the title, had taken control of the two sacred mosques and tried to gather support to cross the desert, reach Mesopotamia and fight. But his attempts ended badly, since something had forced him to retreat.
That had left me as the undisputed victor of this bloody war, since the legitimacy granted by the holy mosques strengthened my claim.
I had also taken advantage of the situation to clean out the partisan administration left by my brother, killing almost everyone who made things more difficult and placing loyal men in every possible area we had recovered. Even so, the hardest parts remained.
We had to recover the rebel territories, since something made me think that the reason the rebel wālī had been forced to retreat was that the Romans must have done something while he was not in Misr. If we did not act quickly, we would lose one of the richest and most important regions to Roman control, or it could remain in the hands of a rebel capable of striking the holy mosques whenever he wished.
And that could happen if something weakened my government while we tried to restore normality.
Misr could not remain either in rebel hands or in Roman hands, since that would completely block us from the Mediterranean Sea, and the lucrative trade route of the Indian trade would fall into Roman hands or end up financing armies that could continue attacking to destroy my government by the hand of a rebel.
So I had been gathering everything that could be gathered to try to push toward Misr, since at the very least we would have to place the region under our control as soon as possible in order to take advantage of its fertile lands.
''My Khalifat Rasul Allah'' said one of my Turkish slaves, who entered with his gaze lowered into the place where I was cleaning myself.
''Speak'' I said while drying my face and hands with some cloths after wetting myself with the fresh water that had helped me relax a little.
''The local supplies have been gathered and enough water has been collected for several weeks of marching. We can continue the march toward Misr as you ordered. The army is prepared to march when you give the order'' said the Turkish slave.
''Good, withdraw. Have the horses and camels prepared. We will depart soon. We cannot delay much longer. It is possible that the Romans have taken control of some important areas, or that the rebel has expelled the Romans if it is a small invasion and we find him fortified in his cities'' I said without turning around.
I heard the slave walk until he left the room.
Although I had a fairly large army, the problem now was maintaining it with the lands damaged and trade cut off. I was living on borrowed time until I had to discharge many of the non-permanent forces of my army, which would leave more than eighty percent of my men outside it. But we had to make one last attempt, taking everything we had to recover Misr and be able to face Rome in the future.
For the moment, Rome was our greatest enemy. One we had managed to humiliate for a long time, but which was now rising with strength under its new emperor, who had achieved many successes recovering territories from his enemies. Now, apparently, Rome had far fewer enemies, so its gaze would always be fixed on us. If we did not manage to remove its boot from our neck soon, it might be us who found ourselves in danger of being conquered completely.
As soon as I finished my prayers and preparations, I began preparing my equipment and, leading thirty-two thousand men whom I had managed to bring across the desert with the help of the locals, we began to advance to try to enter Misr.
''Khalifat Rasul Allah, the forces of the rebel wālī have returned. It seems it was some kind of trick and he has managed to recruit more men along the way. Apparently, he now outnumbers us'' said one of my scouts while we advanced north using the roads and stopping in the villages to obtain supplies.
''Strange. According to what we know, there is Roman presence in Misr, too quickly. I doubt the Romans fell easily before the forces of the wālī, but if they did, then we would have to win this battle and we could recover everything easily once the wālī withdraws'' I said thoughtfully.
''We would have to win first. How many men does the wālī have now?'' asked one of my generals with a serious tone of voice, looking at the scout.
''Apparently, he managed to recruit ten thousand more men, according to what the scouts who counted the enemy troops told me. They outnumber us, my Khalifat Rasul Allah'' said the scout.
''I doubt those fresh troops give him the advantage. A large part of his troops are not experienced like ours, so victory is feasible. We have to make good use of our Turkish troops and the cavalry. We could win easily'' I said, looking at the general.
''It would be advisable to fall back and try to recruit some men as well. Fighting while outnumbered is bad for morale, even if it does not matter much in the general outcome of the battle, since experience matters more'' said my general, keeping his serious tone.
''We do not have much time before our food reserves begin to disappear. This year's harvests may not be the best and should barely allow us to carry out major campaigns unless we begin some raids in neighboring territories, although provoking Rome at this moment would not be the most sensible thing'' I said, shaking my head.
''Then there is only marching left'' said my general, spurring his horse and beginning to move toward the men.
''Allah constantly tests us, and this will be one of many that we must overcome'' I said, following the ride.
We continued on our way, preparing for a possible battle between the forces of the rebel wālī and my own, but after several days passed, we finally encountered his forces.
To our surprise, they showed no interest in fighting. While we prepared for battle, their troops simply sent emissaries to request talks.
Confused by the situation, I accepted a meeting with the wālī, since I was interested in knowing what had happened to make someone with more men try to negotiate.
''My Khalifat Rasul Allah'' said the rebel wālī as soon as I sat down in the chair that had been prepared in the tent.
''Now I am your Khalifat Rasul Allah? Days ago, you claimed the title was yours because of some kind of relation you had with the Prophet, through some branch of kinship'' I said, looking seriously at the rebel.
''The past is the past, my caliph. We should stop bleeding each other now. The Romans have landed in Misr, and not with a small army. According to my men, it is said that Rome has mobilized more than one hundred thousand men, and it is only a matter of time before more arrive'' said the wālī.
The number left me surprised. The last great Roman army their emperor had gathered had been seventy thousand men for a battle across the whole frontier. That Rome could now mobilize more than one hundred thousand men was something that made me rethink everything, considering that if we did not stop them here, sooner or later they would march to Mesopotamia.
''A terrifying number, if your sources are true'' I said, keeping my seriousness.
''Indeed, my caliph. We have to try to unite, because if we fight today, whoever wins will have to return to Bagdad empty-handed. The Romans have taken the greatest prize almost without effort'' said the wālī.
''I suppose you want a pardon in exchange for joining your forces to mine'' I said while leaning back in the chair.
''Indeed. Let us bury the sword and focus on what Allah wants, which is to expel the infidel from our lands'' said the wālī.
I hated having to make a pact with this traitor, but later I would have time to have him killed or poisoned. We could not leave the Romans a gift like Misr.
''Consider your pardon granted, but we will speak in more detail about whether you will keep a large part of your functions as wālī'' I said seriously.
''The Romans have entrenched themselves on the desert frontier with Misr and fortified the area. Unless we can break them by force, I would recommend traveling by sea, stopping in the cities, recruiting and seeing what we can do. The granaries are full, so we can feed the army, but we have to cross the Roman blockade. I suppose you have ships, since I have barely managed to obtain one fishing boat or another'' said the wālī with a smile.
''We have no ships here. We can try to bring them, but it will take time'' I said thoughtfully.
''Then we have to cross as soon as possible. I do not know the state of the fortresses, but I know the Romans are carrying out multiple sieges that we have to stop, or they could reach the great cities before we cross the sea'' said the wālī, standing up.
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