Sea of Blood, Sea of Ice--The Mongol Conquest of Japan
- Thread starter Arkenfolm
- Start date
I think I probably will take a break from posting this next week since this next chapter does involve the crusading orders and Venice/Genoa and I'm still trying to figure out the butterflies since affairs in Western Europe were very much connected to this region. The Mongols after all frequently discussed matters with European courts due to trade with Venice/Genoa and the desire among Christians to reclaim the Holy Land.
Thanks for all the commentary in the meantime!
Thanks for all the commentary in the meantime!
They will certainly try. I think one of the problems the Mongol Empire had was they got exceedingly unlucky in this period which could have brought a lot of vitality back into the empire and set its powerful players about on tasks beside setting up their favourite prince as the local khan or getting angry with the Great Khan in China.
Fortunately for the Byzantines, Nogai is dead and lost all power in Bulgaria and the current khan has crushed Nogai's allies and is more or less content to let Bulgaria govern itself. In Anatolia, the local Mongol vassal, the Sultanate of Rum, is very limited in power so a bunch of powerful beyliks not really aligned with anyone stand between the Mongols and Constantinople. I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out how this situation would evolve.
For the Ilkhanate, which I believe has the only Muslim khan (Chagatai and Jochid khans are pagans, the Great Khan is nominally Buddhist), they view Jerusalem, Medina, and Mecca as the more important targets that would signal their prestige to the entire Mongol Empire (which after all has a lot of Muslims and Christians).
Timur is butterflied, but given the amount of ancestors of famous people who show up TTL, I've thought about putting his great-grandfather Ilangir who served Duwa OTL. But he probably wasn't an important emir since there are few records of him. Consider him a mingghan commander (leader of 1,000 men) somewhere in India right now.
Certainly. Although Bengal still has a few powerful Hindu lords in its periphery and the advance toward the Buddhist holy sites (in Magadha i.e. modern Bihar) inevitably pits Mongol interests against the Bengali sultans who had desires of their own to control this area.
There already kind of was a similar concept in medieval India, at least among Hindus. A sadhu is similar to a monk, and there were groups of those sadhu who trained in martial arts and acted as warrior orders in defense of their sect's interest and sometimes against hostile Muslims. So theoretically, Buddhists in India be they native or foreign would have fertile ground from both native and foreign examples as to how they might organise. Indian Buddhism periodically did have foreign Buddhist states take an interest in its affairs during its final decline and even after, so there certainly will be interest in restoring holy sites--and ensuring they stay that way.
Haven’t the last crusader states fallen to Mamlukes for a while now? It'll be difficult to do something like 1st crusade once again.
The Mongol vassal of Delhi will inevitably clash with Bengal and the hindu lords
It'll be difficult to reintroduce a religion well past its prime. It'll be like introducing a new pagan religion to India. In OTL the failure of hinduism to absorb Buddhism resulted in the Brahmanic backlash which wiped them out. I doubt Chagtai khans would want to actively proselytize something so foreign. At best we'll see some shaolin like sects emerge that put importance on combat for self defence.
Armenian Cilicia and The Kingdom of Cyprus, specifically the Knights Hospitaller, are still around so they're not entirely without allies in the area and the Outremer only fell in 1291 so it hasn't been that long. In fact the Isle of Raud only falls in 1302 so butterflies from the Illkhanate might have already affected that. Though a proper crusade like with the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd isn't likely to happen after Venice used the 4th as their personal hitmen, various kings kept funding or planning expeditions long afterwards. If the Mamlukes destabilize after an Illkhanate attack there is a chance of reestablishing the Outremer at least in part.
I am content that this TL has been voted 2nd for the 2024 Turtledove Awards in the Medieval TL category. I did not vote for any TL (I feel it wouldn't be right since I have very little time to read other TLs and I myself always find flaws in my own writing), but if you voted for my TL or even considered voting for my TL, thank you very much. Especially since this TL covers a lot of very unfamiliar material, so I hope you can learn a lot like I did when writing it and above all, I hope you enjoy reading it!
I won't elaborate more lest I spoil a few details.
Just how much of a return Buddhism could make, I'm not sure. As you can see, Tono no Houin and his followers dream of restoring the holy sites and have the money (as Tono no Houin is a scion of one of the wealthiest families in Japan--the Nijou family of the Fujiwara clan--who still own many manors even after the Mongol conquest) to do so. And let's just say the Sakya are very interested as well. From what I can tell, Buddhism in India at this time had a strong Tibetan bent to it (most of the famous monks of this era studied in Tibet and evidently even removed scriptures and relics to Tibet in the face of Muslim raiders), but there also seems to be some Mahayana leanings. They also favourably dealt with Burmese and Sri Lankan monks who were Theravada. Now Hinduism did incorporate Buddha as an avatar of Vishnu, and for some reason it seems a lot of rulers in Buddhist areas/of Buddhist heritage opted for Shaivism, but I still haven't decided to what degree this will affect religion.
Let's just say that European politics are incredibly messy in this period and also happen to be so documented in sources so findable that there's a LOT for me to go through to determine how things should go. But I have some interesting ideas which if I weren't writing from a Japanese and East Asian perspective would be worthy of their own TL. This was a very decisive era for European history, and as I have seen in my research, global history.
Not necessarily--the Mamluks demolished every fortification in the coast of the Levant to deny the Crusaders a potential bridgehead for reconquest. Cyprus and the Italian cities regularly sponsored piracy in this region with the aid of the Crusader orders and OTL captured the island of Ruad (modern Arwad in Lebanon) for several years at the start of the 14th century. The strategy of demolishing fortifications proved effective IOTL--the Crusaders in Ruad could not occupy Tartus nearby because they feared being overwhelmed by a Mamluk force in battle in the open field (IIRC they were overthinking things, but actually did need reinforcements). And also consider that policy was hated by the people of Syria regardless of faith precisely because it opened them to Crusader piracy.
I won't elaborate more lest I spoil a few details.
It's an ugly situation on every level. Pretty much no Indian dynasty in 1300 was still around in 1350, and it's a time where basically anything can happen.
The Chagatai khans definitely don't want to strengthen Buddhism since it strengthens Yuan influence due to the Tibetan Sakya lama being nominal head of all Buddhists in the Mongol Empire. But they know that Buddhism is a cause the Yuan favour and can hopefully send them some more troops (in this sense, Ryouchuu/Tono no Houin is a pioneer). There was also at least one small Buddhist principality which still existed in this era in Magadha and in modern Nepal, Kashmir, and adjacent regions Buddhism still had some institutional strength. It's a matter of economic interest. But they are also not quite friends with the Hindus either since they are Turushka and a Hindu ruler like Hammiradeva certainly knows not to get too friendly with them.
Just how much of a return Buddhism could make, I'm not sure. As you can see, Tono no Houin and his followers dream of restoring the holy sites and have the money (as Tono no Houin is a scion of one of the wealthiest families in Japan--the Nijou family of the Fujiwara clan--who still own many manors even after the Mongol conquest) to do so. And let's just say the Sakya are very interested as well. From what I can tell, Buddhism in India at this time had a strong Tibetan bent to it (most of the famous monks of this era studied in Tibet and evidently even removed scriptures and relics to Tibet in the face of Muslim raiders), but there also seems to be some Mahayana leanings. They also favourably dealt with Burmese and Sri Lankan monks who were Theravada. Now Hinduism did incorporate Buddha as an avatar of Vishnu, and for some reason it seems a lot of rulers in Buddhist areas/of Buddhist heritage opted for Shaivism, but I still haven't decided to what degree this will affect religion.
Precisely.
Let's just say that European politics are incredibly messy in this period and also happen to be so documented in sources so findable that there's a LOT for me to go through to determine how things should go. But I have some interesting ideas which if I weren't writing from a Japanese and East Asian perspective would be worthy of their own TL. This was a very decisive era for European history, and as I have seen in my research, global history.
Great chapter. Just a quick question: are there going to be any Hindu Mongol states? That would be quite interesting, I think. At least to me it will be interesting.
I should be able to put out the next update tomorrow as I planned. Anyone interested in the Muslim world or Europe ITTL should enjoy.
But I won't say it's impossible. IIRC the process to convert to Hinduism would merely be associating with brahmins who can arrange the correct rituals for them and of course donating to temples. There is a certain appeal to that, but whether any Chagatai ruler would view it as an interest really depends on how things go long term.
It certainly would be interesting, but there are several problems. Firstly, the Chagatai Khanate has many Muslim soldiers and elites and still has to absorb the factions within the Delhi Sultanate who sided with them. Secondly, the Chagatai family themselves tended to be traditionalists among the Mongols since their founder Chagatai was named by his father Temujin as the keeper of traditional Mongol law (yasa) which gave them a distaste toward conversion--it's probably why that despite ruling a largely Muslim area, Islam wasn't well-rooted among the Chagatai themselves until the 1330s (compared to far earlier conversions in the Ilkhanate and Golden Horde). Thirdly, the Hindu states will cause some trouble for the Chagatai at some point.
But I won't say it's impossible. IIRC the process to convert to Hinduism would merely be associating with brahmins who can arrange the correct rituals for them and of course donating to temples. There is a certain appeal to that, but whether any Chagatai ruler would view it as an interest really depends on how things go long term.
Would be possible to discard that perhaps, at least part of the Chagatai themselves that or some other Mongols Clans ruling, in India would be choosing to convert to some of the Buddhist variants?
Are you referring to the yassa? It's not so easy since the Mongols in general had trouble discarding their traditional law, even those who converted to Islam (which figured heavily in the propaganda of Muslim states like the Mamluks). It's possible, but difficult.
As for Buddhism, that's dubious since the Chagatai are independent-minded and don't want to give the Yuan another way of interfering in their affairs since conversion to Buddhism means the Sakya lama in Tibet is nominally their spiritual leader since Mongol law installed him as head of all Buddhists. There's also the problem that Buddhism doesn't have many followers in early 14th century northern India outside of parts of modern Kashmir, Nepal, and Bihar (where there were still Buddhists among their ruling classes), so it's not really appealing to convert to.
Perhaps, it would what may attract them, an view it as a way to keep them differentiated from their ruled subjects and neutral in their mutual conflicts...
I think with the conquest of Delhi, the Chagtais would convert to Islam even quicker than OTL
Btw, will Chagtai be influenced by some bureaucratic organisation of Delhi? Or it might be my mistake since most of the reforms were instilled by Alauddin Khilji
Then there's this that would eventually cause the mongols to favour the local Muslims over the rebellious hindus, even if one ignores the muslim dominated military and bureaucracy of the Khanate.
Btw, will Chagtai be influenced by some bureaucratic organisation of Delhi? Or it might be my mistake since most of the reforms were instilled by Alauddin Khilji
True, but they already have Tengriism for that which is equally offensive to Muslims and brahmins alike. I also considered the even more out there possibility of Nestorianism since there was one Chagatai khan who was probably a Nestorian (Changshi, in the 1330s) and Khazaria (Jews) and the Uyghur Khanate (Manichaeans) show that steppe nomads sometimes did choose marginal religions to separate themselves from neighbouring states. But unless I change my mind, that probably won't be the case.
In any case, I hope the idea I have is a solution that is both unexpected but perfectly logical.
That's a possibility too, of course.
They will rely on Delhi's bureaucracy, but not the Khalji's system which was instituted by Alauddin in response to precisely the events which TTL succeeded at killing his top generals and eventually him with it. But I'd assume there'd be more Hindus involved, since Alauddin had a deliberate policy of impoverishing many groups of Hindus to prevent them from organising revolts. The Mongols have no real preference as to who collects their taxes and reports on local matters other than that it gets collected.
Chapter 38-Preach With an Iron Tongue
-XXXVIII-
"Preach With an Iron Tongue"
"Preach With an Iron Tongue"
At the same time of Temur's fourth invasion of Japan and Duwa's invasion of India, the Ilkhanate's ruler Ghazan prepared for a return to Syria in triumph. Although the ruling Burjid Mamluk Sultanate repelled them in 1260, 1271, and 1281, and many other invasions had been foiled by intervention from the rival Jochids or Chaghatai, news of success in Japan and especially India combined with a stable domestic situation inspired Ghazan to once again mount an invasion. Ghazan raised his armies to war in the belief that his forefathers' defeats might prove as transient as the Yuan's defeat in Japan in 1274.
The Conquest of Syria and the Tenth Crusade
In 1299, Ghazan sent envoys to his Christian allies, including the ruler of Cilician Armenia Hethum II, the remnants of the Kingdom of Jerusalem (now based in Cyprus) under Henry II de Lusignan, and the heads of the Knights Hospitaller and the Knights Templar, Guillaume de Villaret and Jacques de Molay respectively. They were to prepare for a combined attack against the hated Mamluk Sultanate, who just 8 years earlier had evicted the Crusaders from their final base at Acre.
Although a Muslim himself who helped convert many of the Ilkhanate's Turko-Mongolic elite, Ghazan viewed the Mamluks as his most deadly enemy. The powerful rebel general Sulemish (whom Ghazan executed 1299) had Mamluk backing, as did various Syrian sheikhs who raided his land and carried off prisoners. Further, he gained the allegiance of several Mamluk emirs in Syria, including Saif al-Din Qipchaq, emir of Damascus. This gave Ghazan plenty of cause for an invasion.
With Ghazan and his chief emir Kutlughshah at their head, the Mongols struck first and invaded Syria in force alongside their Armenian and Georgian vassals under Hethum II. A large Mamluk force under the young Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad, moved forward and tried to stop them near the city of Homs, a site of two past successes for the Mamluk. Although outnumbered, Mongol mobility won the day, breaking through a weak flank of the Mamluks and routing them. Homs was captured, and on the retreat, Maronite and Druze peasants in Mount Lebanon revolted, joining the Mongol force. These rebels prevented an orderly Mamluk retreat and killed thousands as the Mongols raided as far south as Damascus, seizing the city in the wake of the Mamluk retreat.
The Ilkhanate soon besieged the key citadel at Damascus and re-installed Saif al-Din as emir, but the Mamluks forced their retreat due to Al-Nasir Muhammad ordering a scorched earth campaign. Denied their pasture, the strong citadel at Damascus and a sudden betrayal by Qipchaq repelled the Mongol invaders. However, a detatchment of Mongols, perhaps 10,000 men, under the general Mulai stormed south and raided Palestine as far south as Gaza, even attacking the outskirts of Jerusalem before retreating in the face of the Mamluk army.
Mulai's stunning success, along with the similarity of his name to the Grandmaster of the Knights Templar, spawned wild rumours across Christendom that the Mongols seized Jerusalem and would soon return it to the Christians. These crusaders arrived in 1300, under the brothers of King Henry II (who himself was prone to seizures and unable to lead an army) Amaury and Guy and the Cypriot lords Guy d'Ibelin and Jean II de Giblet. These crusaders scoured the coasts from Egypt to Syria, searching for weak points in the coastal defenses--they seized the town of Nephin and set about rebuilding its castle as they lay siege to Tripoli. Meanwhile, Barthélemy de Quincy and Dalmau de Rocaberti of the Templars conquered the island of Ruad, fortifying it and establishing a base, the first Crusader base so near the Levant since the fall of Acre in 1291.
Despite the scorched earth campaign and the frigid, wet winter of 1300-1301, the Ilkhanate managed to aid the Crusaders. Likely this was due to Ghazan's confidence in internal Mongol politics--his Chaghatai rivals were busy conquering India, the dangerous Kaidu had died in battle, and he was prepared to cede the land of Arran to the Jochids in exchange for peace [1]. Thus Ghazan left the bulk of his warriors in Syria and besieged and conquered the fortress of Aleppo (bypassed in the initial advance) and raided as far as the Mediterranean coast, where their arrival accompanied by Armenian cavalry met cheers from the Crusaders. Other Mamluk garrisons were eliminated, and Ghazan even gained the allegiance of Mamluk emirs who had not initially joined him. Another Ilkhanate force, under Ghazan's personal command, spent much of that time subduing tribes at the borders in their annual migrations.
The victory in Aleppo and Ghazan's continued harassment of Mamluk lines diverted all Mamluk relief forces. In 1301, the Crusader force broke out from their coastal beachheads and conquered the city of Tripoli, restoring it to Christian rule after its fall in 1289. The Mamluk relief force, cobbled together from Syria's garrisons, and Tripoli's own defenders faltered before the highly motivated Crusader army. Soon thereafter, the Templars and Hospitallers seized the city of Tortosa and mounted more and more raids on the coast.
In autumn 1301, Ghazan himself returned in full strength to attack the Syria and Palestine. Ilkhanate forces numbering around 70,000 (nearly half Armenians and Georgians) swept south to Damascus, causing a great panic in the city. Qipchaq fled to the citadel, now besieged by the Mongol army. In Egypt, similar panic broke out, for they believed they faced a coordinated Crusader-Mongol alliance, the most terrifying of thoughts to the Mamluks.
Their army, under Sultan Al-Nasir and his chief generals Saif al-Din Salar and Baibars al-Jashankir, contained only 20,000 men--it seems the majority of their soldiers were occupied dealing with tribal revolts in upper Egypt, the mountains of Lebanon, and Crusader piracy along the coasts. However, the defenders of Damascus were highly motivated by the theologian and jurist Ibn Taymiyyah, who roundly condemned anyone who dared surrender the fortress. He served as a negotiator with the Mongols, condemning their leadership and successfully stalled for time. Returning to Egypt to assist in raising an army, Ibn Taymiyyah issued a fatwa calling for jihad against all who aid the Mongols, for doing so made them apostates from Islam [2].
Outside Damascus at Shaqhab, Kutlughshah's army fell upon the Mamluks. His left wing under the general Chuban nearly shattered the Mamluk right, but Salar and Baibars salvaged the situation and temporarily drove him back. Content in his impending victory with his numerical advantage and this initial success, Kutlughshah chose to watch the battle from a hill surrounded by only his closest guards and envoys carrying orders. This proved a mistake the Mamluks took full advantage of, charging the hill and disrupting Chuban's successful battle plan. The battle devolved into a frantic melee as the Mongols tried desperately to protect their general. After many casualties, each party managed to retreat.
The following day, Kutlughshah sent out his cavalry commander Mulai with 5,000 men to make the Mamluks believe casualties had been higher. Mulai was also to recover fodder and water for the horses. The Mamluks divided their camp in an attempt to trick the Mongols into crossing to a nearby river, but Qutlughshah trusted Mulai to bring the necessary supplies. When he was late, Qutlughshah sent his Armenians and Georgians to resupply along the river banks where the Mamluks attacked them. At that point, the Mamluks were struck in both the rear and side. King Hethum himself led his men well and held on long enough to let reinforcements arrive, in the process killing Ibn Taymiyyah.
Casualties on both sides were high, with the Mongols having lost nearly 10,000 men and many horses. But the Mamluks suffered equal losses and lost the field. The Mongol army was exhausted, so no pursuit of the fleeing enemy was possible. Further, the loss of Ibn Taymiyyah and retreat of the Mamluk army forced the surrender of the citadel at Damascus, gaining the Mongols a crucial city. The treacherous emir Qipchaq faced execution along with many of his allies who double-crossed the Ilkhanate.
The great Mongol victory over the hated Mamluks and success at Tripoli and Tortosa inspired renewed calls for crusades. Yet the political situation was far different than during the golden age of crusading. Pope Boniface VIII frequently clashed with the secular kings of Europe, not the least the ambitious Philip IV of France, over the limits of church influence. The Mediterranean was a sea of intrigue between Italian city-state rivalries and those of the Angevins and Aragonese. The House of Lusignan, heirs to Jerusalem reduced to ruling Cyprus, were but mere pawns in these schemes whom powerful players, be it Genoa, the Angevins, the Aragonese, or the French.
It was clear that the era of crusading was far different than before. From Henry II of Cyprus's clashes with the Genoese, public clashes on the matter of crusade organisation and structure between factions in the church, to Philip IV using a tax meant to fund a crusade to raise money for his own secular purposes, Europe's rulers exploited the calls to crusade for every bit of what it was worth. This spilled over to Cyprus, where King Henry II was unable to send much assistance to the crusading orders even as his own brother Amaury led a large contigent of warriors.
Regardless, in 1302, Pope Boniface VIII issued a crusade bull that laid out the crimes of the Saracens and promised heavenly rewards and blessings to all who might take up the cross and proceed to Jerusalem. The bull came concurrent with the papal mediation between the Angevins and Aragon's House of Barcelona, warring for over 20 years. It was termed the Peace of Caltabellotta and the main warring rulers--Charles II of Naples along with James II of Aragon and his brother Frederick III of Sicily. The Tenth Crusade had begun [3].
Only a few prominent nobles joined. Most prominent of them was Albert the One-Eyed of Germany, King of Germany. Head of the House of Hapsburg and ruler of Austria, Albert took the cross in exchange for a promise from the Pope to crown him Holy Roman Empire so that the Great Interregnum might end [4]. However, Albert had to deal with significant unrest at home and conflict with King Wenceslaus II of Bohemia, preventing from bringing a large army. The aid lent by the Teutonic Knights and local chapters of the Hospitallers and Templars more than made up for this, however.
Charles II of Naples likewise joined. He desired to uphold the Pope's authority which he (and his father) had always stood behind. Because he was embroiled in a succession dispute against the Premyslids of Bohemia over gaining the throne of Hungary for his grandson Charles Robert, Charles joined the Crusade in hopes he might gain additional Papal support for his schemes. In time this proved effective--in 1303 the Premyslid king Wenceslaus II alongside his heir Wenceslaus faced excommunication for their wars to gain the Hungarian throne. His royal schemes did not stop there, for Charles also aimed to gain the throne of Jerusalem, a claim his father once upheld. Charles led over 10,000 warriors from his scattered domains in France and Italy to the Holy Land, leaving behind affairs in Hungary to his loyal ally, the powerful Croatian magnate Paul Subic.
The impending arrival of the crusaders gave the Mongols time to reorganise their force. Likewise important was the Chagatai's deep involvement in India and the conciliatory policies of the Golden Horde's Bayan in permitting the Ilkhanate to redploy more horses and soldiers from the borders. Temur Khan sent 1,000 men commanded by Kutlughshah's half-brother Temurbuqa (帖木児不花) to the Ilkhanate and granted Kutlughshah a large financial reward [5].
In winter 1302, the Mamluks were reorganising their forces, having subdued Upper Egypt and made pushes against the Druze, Alawites, and Maronites of Mount Lebanon. They mounted an attack by sea under Saif al-Din Salar, sending 10,000 troops in 20 large galleys and many smaller ones to sweep the Crusaders from the sea. From Italy had come a force raised by the Pope of 60 galleys of various sizes and 5,000 men, mostly Genoese. The total number of crusaders, mostly Templars, Hospitallers, and Amaury's warriors, numbered only 8,000. The naval forces clashed off Ruad, where Hospitaller admiral (and nephew of the grandmaster) Folques de Villaret failed to overcome the numerically superior Mamlukes who drove Crusaders into the harbour of Tortosa and besieged the city.
The distraction with the Crusaders much aided the Mongol cause. Ghazan Khan reinforced his warriors and led them himself, mounting a great attack into Palestine and the Jordan Valley. Baibars al-Jashankir held back Ghazan from total victory by defeating him as he entered Palestine, but the Mongols plundered many cities and once again reached the gates of Jerusalem. At that moment, the Armenian contingent implored Ghazan that they might aid the besieged Crusaders. Although Ghazan hesitated, for he always remained vague on his intentions when Catholic ambassadors sought an alliance, in the end he sent Hethum with 10,000 men and orders to drive out the Mamluks from the coast.
During this time, preachers throughout Europe, but especially England, Germany, and the Low Countries (sans Flanders) had inspired hordes of fanatics with fantastic tales of victories in the Holy Land and the impending recovery of Jerusalem. During 1302 and 1303, these men and even some women marched southwards, murdering Jews and causing great trouble with local lords. Around 30,000 gathered in the ports of southern France, demanding passage to the Holy Land. Faced with complaints from local lords, the Pope ordered the military orders and Italian cities to give them passage to the Holy Land, the true beginning of what was called the Tenth Crusade.
This great fleet with its dozens of large galleys commanded by Genoese admiral Benedetto Zaccaria arrived off Tortosa in November 1302. Seeing their predicament, the Mamluks retreated at once and the siege lifted. The Crusader army, now with around 55,000 men, advanced and took city after city on the coast. The level of fortification in the region was low due to the Mamluks seeking to deny Crusaders a foothold after the Fall of Acre. By summer 1303, the Crusaders advanced inland and laid siege to Antioch. Refortified by its local emir, Antioch proved a strong fortress, yet its distance from the front line ensured the Mamluks could not readily come to its aid.
However, the Crusader force suffered one problem--its unruly nature. These men were already despised by European lords for massacres of Jews (against legal protections), crimes committed against property, and other frustrations. In the Holy Land, these crusaders carried on much the same way--they frequently disobeyed orders, committed rapes and massacres of Jews and Muslims at every moment, and occasionally found themselves left behind and killed when they stayed too long to loot. Several of the European nobles abandoned the crusade as a result, while others never set sail. For instance, James II of Aragon chose to follow his advisor Ramon Llull's suggestion and expand his ongoing war with Castile to include an attack on the Emirate of Granada, a successful proposition that forced Castile into a hasty peace lest they be seen as aiding the infidel.
Pope Boniface VIII died in 1303, not living to see the end of the Crusade. He was the victim of an abduction carried out by agents of Philip IV of France, a sworn enemy of his attempts to expand papal power. Concerns over Philip IV weighed heavily over the conclave, but these were outweighed by the concern over management of the Crusade which looked more and more successful every day. To Philip's disappointment, the cardinals selected the elderly cardinal Matteo Rosso Orsini (nephew of Pope Nicholas III) as the new pope. The cardinal took the name Benedict XI and as his first act excommunicated those who arranged the attack on his predecessor and further demanded Philip support the Crusade both financially and militarily or join his minions in excommunication [6]. Hard-pressed after a series of losses to the Count of Flanders and facing financial problems, Philip continued in opposition to papal policies.
Ghazan's army of 50,000 men was more than sufficient to draw away the attention of the Mamluks through its raiders who struck deep into Mamluk territory. It seemed in every way a classic Mongol army, one which seemingly struck along every possible axis of advance to confound the enemy and force them to defend everywhere. Sporadic clashes against the main Mamluk army prevented them from relieving Jerusalem. While Kutlughshah and Ghazan himself presided over the army, it seems the architects of these strategies were the emirs Chuban and Mulay, particularly the latter with his brilliant cavalry advances.
This in May 1304 Jerusalem fell to the Mongols. Ghazan executed the emir of the city and the leaders of the Mamluk garrison, but otherwise little violence or looting occurred. The surrendering soldiers themselves he demanded serve him or suffer slavery--most chose to serve him and were deported. Ghazan ensured his soldiers respected the chief shrines of Jews and Christians and announced his intention to expand the sacred site of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Not long after, Antioch fell to the Crusaders, and the Crusader army traveled south and seized Barut, Sidon, and Tyre. The Mamluk policy of destroying coastal fortifications now proved their greatest liability, for all that stopped the Crusaders were hastily repaired forts that could not withstand their army. After a crushing defeat near Acre, the Mamluk army withdrew and united with Baibars to defend the Jordan valley and approaches to Egypt itself.
Ghazan and the Crusader army argued about the direction of the campaign at that point, and even broke into periodic clashes spurred by their ill-disciplined and fanatical troops. Loud voices called for Ghazan to cede Jerusalem to its previous Christian owners, voices who the Crusader leadership could not silence no matter how hard they tried. As for Ghazan, he desired to capture Mecca and Medina demonstrate he alone was the rightful ruler of the Muslim world.
The armies thus split apart, although each outnumbered the Mamluk force. Baibars left Saif al-Din Salar in command of a small garrison at Ascalon, whose fortress he had focused his efforts on rebuilding that year. Baibars himself took 30,000 warriors south and forced Mulay to rapidly withdraw his raids--a major battle looked imminent.
Ghazan produced much propaganda distributed through local imams that proclaimed his worthiness to rule Mecca and Medina, but this was bitterly contested by pro-Mamluk imams and even the powerless Abbasid caliphs themselves. Ghazan's propaganda played an important role in the continuing succession struggle within the emirates of Mecca and Medina, whose rulers coincidentally perished in 1301 and 1302 respectively. With the Mamluks so thoroughly wounded by the Mongol invasion and Crusader attack, these struggles took on renewed importance.
In Medina, the powerful emir Jammaz ibn Shihah, who at one point ruled both Mecca and Medina and even styled himself an independent sultan, passed his rule to his favoured son Mansur. However, Mansur was opposed by his brothers, chief among whom was Muqbil. In Mecca, the situation was even more chaotic, for four sons of the emir Abu Numayy clashed over leadership there. Two of them--Utayfah and Abu al-Ghayth--were backed by the local clergy, while the other two--Humaydah and Rumaythah--sought Mamluk support.
Baibars made periodic attempts to calm the situation in the Hejaz down, but he could not do so before 1305. Preparing for the major battle, Baibars refused to let these potentially disloyal emirs hinder Mamluk authority in the region and invaded. Muqbil became sole emir in Medina after Mamluk forces aided him in ousting his half-brother, while in Mecca, Baibars ensured Utayfah's arrest while Abu al-Ghayth barely fled with his life.
After recruiting a few thousand Bedouins from Arabia via the forceful nature of these campaigns, Baibars moved north and reunited with his army. In October 1305, his force drew Ghazan's army to the village of Beersheba at the southernmost edge of the Holy Land. The nearly 70,000 Mongols greatly outnumbered Baibars's force of 40,000 men, and in addition Baibars faced the threat of the Crusaders on his flank. The Mongols struck hard and routed Baibars' center, but the Bedouins attacking on either flank of the Ilkhanate army hindered their movement.
At a crucial moment in the battle where the Mongols looked to be victorious, their Bedouin vassals Muhanna ibn Isa and Fadl ibn Isa sprang a secret pact they had made between each other. Muhanna would take 1,000 of his Bedouins and betray the Mongols, while Fadl would stay loyal. Both brothers would avoid fighting each other. Thus Fadl would gain power in the Mamluks while Muhanna would keep his place in the Ilkhanate, and their clan would maximise their wealth and power by gaining grants from both powers. To paraphase contemporary historian and Mamluk emir Abulfeda who also fought at this battle, the two brothers agreed at heart but openly they were anything but [7].
The defection of Fadl's men collapsed Mongol ranks on their right flank, and Mulay was nearly killed. This permitted Mamluk and Bedouin cavalry to attack toward the rear of the Mongol army. In response, Kutlughshah hastily pulled his men back to defend Ghazan. As he defended his khan, Kutlughshah perished from the ferocious Mamluk assault and it fell to his brother Temurbuqa and the other chief emirs of the Ilkhanate to make a hasty retreat.
Ghazan was furious of this defeat, so furious he ordered Muhanna flogged alongside his own generals Chuban and Mulay. Morale in the Mongol army collapsed and they abandoned further campaigns that winter. Ghazan died not three months later in January 1306, thus temporarily ending the war with the Mamluks. His brother Oljaitu took power after his death, but at that time Oljaitu proved more interested in securing his power by executing potential rivals and threats to his power.
As for the Crusader army, they faced their own challenges. While Ascalon fell by the end of 1305, the Crusader force had lost the veteran Armenians of Hethum II--Hethum had to return to Cilicia to deal with raids by both the Catalan Company and Turkish beys who sought to rebuild their strength after defeats by the Catalans. Left with only 40,000 men, the Crusaders advanced toward Gaza and captured the city thanks to the Mongol devastation it endured several times in the prior years.
Baibars rode fast to meet the Crusaders and engaged their force in November 1305 near the city of Darom, just southwest of Gaza. Although he had only 30,000 men remaining against the 40,000 Crusaders, his army had far more mobility than the Crusader force and most crucially held high morale after their victory over the Mongols. The mobs who made up the bulk of the Crusader army were not prepared for the resistance the Mamluks offered. As their morale faltered, the Mamluks broke through them entirely, with matters made all the worse as several lords commanding them such as John of Swabia fell to Mamluk arrows and swords.
But the Mamluks could not push to victory. The German knights of Albert I, the veteran warriors of the King of Naples, and the Templars and Hospitallers formed a strong bulwark that did not give in and permitted the Crusader force to regroup. As the sun set, the Crusader army peacefully withdrew to Ascalon in defeat.
After the Battle of Darom, the Crusaders mounted several more inconclusive raids, even striking the Nile Delta with their warships. But they could make no more serious threat due to Mongol politics, and a truce was negotiated in 1306 that restored them to much of the Holy Land. Albert I returned to Germany in triumph as did many of his fellow nobles from Europe, but by no means was the Crusade over--enough fanatics survived that they continued raiding caravans and even sparked border conflicts with pro- Ilkhanate emirs.
The Reborn Holy Land and Europe After the Tenth Crusade
Matters in Europe also devolved for the worse. Pope Benedict XI died in October 1305 after only 2 years as Pope (as hoped for by the French). Philip IV had made peace with his chief nemesis at the time, the County of Flanders, permitting them a significant autonomy and the territorial integrity of their county in exchange for a large fee of reparations [8]. This gave him a free hand to deal with the church and he ensured intense pressure was placed on the cardinals to elect a pope not hostile to his interests. Likewise, Albert I now demanded his promised crown.
The Papacy's first candidate was the elderly English cardinal Walter Winterburn, elevated by Benedict XI due to a desire for more neutral candidates (and favour in England). The second English pope, Winterburn was elected in November 1305 and became Pope Adrian VI. But he died the day after his coronation, serving as pope for only 15 days--the shortest tenure in history among those popes who were actually crowned. Winterburn accomplished nothing in his papacy beside removing a neutral voice from the subsequent conclave. Contemporary writer Dante Alighieri mocked him in his Divine Comedy as suffering in the Eighth Circle of Hell, trampling on his fellow hypocrites such as Caiaphas and his Pharisees as he is forever bound to march around in a circle wearing heavy lead robes that showcase his needless busybody piety in service of a corrupt Papacy.
The early death of Winterburn forced another conclave. A faction of cardinals who favoured Boniface VIII's policies viewed Winterburn's death as the consequence of moderation in the face of their holy task of leading the Church. With a 2/3rds majority in the conclave, by January 1306 they elected one of their own, Giacomo Caetani Stefaneschi who chose the name Urban V because he viewed Europe's concerns as similar to that faced by Urban II over 200 years prior. The Papacy's anti-French policies continued, mitigated only by the practical concern regarding noble support for Crusades.
The Crusaders set about re-establishing what had been lost 15 years prior. In the north stood a revived Principality of Antioch under the rule of Amaury de Lusignan, who received the title from his elderly aunt Margaret--its borders were practically the same as 12th century Antioch. In the south stood the reborn Kingdom of Jerusalem, albeit lacking Jerusalem proper and much of the interior. The epileptic Cypriot king Henry II ruled there as King of Jerusalem and Count of Tripoli--however, in Tripoli, he was forced to give many grants to the Templars, Hospitallers, and above all, the Genoese, for Tedisio Zaccaria (nephew of Benedetto) ruled the city of Tripoli as podesta and held great influence in the territories of the County of Tripoli alongside his fellow Genoese of the Embriaco [9].
Notionally, these reborn crusader states were Mongol vassals. But barring a single trip to the court of the new Ilkhan Oljeitu to pay him homage and tribute and answer for the border raids, the Ilkhanate's influence was practically nil. Conflict with various emirs and internal struggles ensured the Mongols did little to assert influence in this vast territory restored to the Crusaders. The Ilkhanate's influence was most felt by the taxation of caravans traveling to and from the ports of the Crusader states.
Matters within the Crusader camp were not peaceful. The Genoese and Venetians spread their tensions to the area, and above all there was conflict between the ambitious Amaury and his older brother Henry. When Henry II was away in Acre, temporary capital of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Amaury and the Knights Templar arrested Henry's supporters in Cyprus and declared himself royal governor of the island. Amaury barred his brother (and his few allies) from returning to Cyprus and attempted to gain control of Tripoli and Jerusalem as well using his hereditary position as Lord of Tyre.
As in the past, the Holy Land would once more be the scene of endless infighting between the Christian powers. The Genoese feared any further expansion of Amaury's power, and Charles II of Naples sought to use the infighting to gain control. With his force of 10,000 knights, he aligned with the Genoese and the few pro-Henry II lords and warred against Amaury. The alliance was sealed with a marriage between Charles's younger son Raymond Berengar and Henry's youngest sister Isabella--Charles negotiated a tremendous dowry that saw the Angevins gain a large financial gain and many rights in the Holy Land, including the right to inherit Jerusalem should Henry die without an heir and without reconciliation with Amaury and his younger brothers [10]. Amaury's situation became worse when Pope Urban V demanded he cease his interference in Tripoli and Jerusalem--he was permitted only his rights in the Lordship of Tyre.
Amaury appealed to the Holy Roman Emperor Albert, who so far had kept neutral in the matter. Albert seems to have been most concerned with European affairs and unlike the previous dynasty of Holy Roman Emperors, did not try and seize the Kingdom of Jerusalem for himself. Albert pressured Henry II to cede much land to the re-established Teutonic Knights. Henry ceded the Teutonic Knights control of the re-established citadel at Acre and most of the surrounding land along with several other sites planned to be re-fortified in both Jerusalem and the County of Tripoli. A negotiated settlement with Charles II ensured the Grandmaster of the Teutonic Knights Gottfried von Hohenlohe sat beside the Angevin representative in terms of governing Jerusalem.
Faced with excommunication, Amaury retreated to his lands in Antioch by 1307 but still barred his brother from Cyprus. Meanwhile, Charles II, the Genoese, and the crusading orders took every opportunity to strengthen their position in Jerusalem. The Angevin king returned home to finish his grandson's war in claiming Hungary's crown and kept Raymond Berengar in Jerusalem as its regent and surrounded the king with his men. However, Raymond Berengar died not long after so Charles dispatched his son Prince Philip of Taranto to occupy that seat instead. Philip believed his younger brother had been poisoned by a remnant faction of pro-Amaury nobles led by the Prince of Galilee, Balian II of Ibelin. Despite Balian's surrender to the Angevins in 1306, Philip ordered him arrested and executed--his vassal Ruben of Montfort became the ruling prince there in his place.
The rivalry between Venice and Genoa extended even into the Holy Land. The County of Tripoli, dominated by the Zaccaria and Embriaco families of Genoa, backed their nominal lord Henry II in his place as Count of Tripoli, ensuring both Jerusalem and Tripoli held a pro-Genoese stance. Meanwhile, Amaury made steps to reduce Genoese power on Cyprus and in Antioch and favoured the Venetians. But a long history of Genoese strength in the region ensured they held the upper hand. With the ports of the County of Tripoli most easily accessible by Genoese merchants, the Genoese were able to reap the re-established Syrian trade routes that connected to the endless wealth of the Silk Road and continent-spanning Mongol Empire.
As for the Mamluks, Baibars al-Jashankir emerged the true power among them. Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad tried to assassinate him in summer 1306, but Baibars discovered the plot and slew the assassins. There he marched on Cairo and captured the city, executing Al-Nasir and purging it of his supporters. However, enough of them--including former Emir Utayfah of Mecca--fled to the Hejaz to regroup among the Bedouins. Utayfah was assassinated when he arrived at Mecca, for his half-brothers realised the advantage in joining forces with the anti-Baibars faction. This faction rallied around Al-Nasir's infant sons, although this was but a pretext to prevent an internal struggle while two deadly enemies--the Mongols and Baibars--lay before them.
Baibars dispatched the emir Fadl ibn Isa to quell this rebellion--as Amir al-Arab (commander of the Bedouins), he had a certain skill in persuading local tribes to join him as well as covert support from his brother. Tribal leaders in the Hejaz were divided over this set of affairs, and this prevented Fadl from gaining a decisive victory. Further, Al-Nasir's faction sought the aid of the powerful Rasulid Sultanate of Yemen, which itself opened up new tribal tensions and intrigues.
The Tenth Crusade and the Byzantine Empire
While the Crusaders were weakened after the fortuitous Mamluk victories at Beersheba and Darom, to the northwest in Anatolia the situation for the Muslim states were greatly declining. In 1303, the Byzantine Empire had invited thousands of elite veterans from the recently-concluded Sicilian Wars called almogavars, who organised as the Catalan Company under the command of Roger de Flor. Emperor Andronikos II named the talented head of the Catalan company Roger de Flor the high military rank of megas doux and permitted him to marry his niece, Maria Asenina (daughter of long-deposed Bulgarian tsar Ivan Asen III). Shortly after, De Flor proved his worth by defeating a large Turkish army of the Karasid beylik at the Battle of the Cyzicus, alleviating pressure on the embattled old empire. He recaptured much plunder the Karasids had taken in recent months and destroyed several Karasid camps where the Catalans murdered or enslaved many Turks.
The Catalan Company's success continued as they took several cities in Asia Minor, although they were detested by both their employers and the local population who viewed them as worse than the Turks for their unruly behavior. The almogavars marched east and annihilated an alliance of several Turkish emirs at the Battle of Kibistra in August 1304. At the urging of his almogavars, the Catalan Company advanced forward and crushed a Turkish ambush before arriving in Cilician Armenia, where they spent the winter. Celebrated at first, the Catalans quickly made themselves unwelcome and were driven out of the kingdom by the aggression of Armenia's king Hethum II.
Roger de Flor did not take this insult lightly, but understood he could do little. He marched through hostile territory, plundering at will as he dealt with a more immediate threat--Byzantine governor Demetrios Ataliota of the city of Magnesia rose up with the aid of townsfolk and rural peasants against his garrison and stole much of the Catalan Company's loot. De Flor branded him a rebel and swore revenge, laying siege to Magnesia. Meanwhile, the Byzantine elite viewed the Catalans as an extreme danger and attempted to lure Roger de Flor and his captains to a banquet to assassinate them.
But the ambitions of the Catalan Company extended too far to accept the invitation of Byzantine co-emperor Michael IX Palaiologos. Roger de Flor now envisioned himself as master of Anatolia, controlling the route which might bring tens of thousands of crusaders into the Holy Land. Although Michael Palaiologos demanded he relocate his force to Adrianople to counter a Bulgarian invasion, Roger de Flor refused on the basis that the rebel Ataliota needed punishment. This constituted his own rebellion, and Michael IX raised his own army and dispatched them to Magnesia.
Although Roger commanded only around 5,000 warriors to Michael IX's 13,000 (among them a unit of Alans who aided the Catalan cause), his men proved resourceful as ever. The Byzantine military, a motley mix of diverse mercenaries, initially struck the Catalans hard, but the almogavars stood firm. Soon the Turkish mercenaries serving Michael IX defected to the Catalans, throwing Byzantine lines into chaos. A lucky arrow wounded the Emperor, and the Byzantine army fled, leaving the city of Magnesia to the Catalan Company. On Roger's orders, the Catalans tortured Ataliota to death and massacred all the Alans in the city along with hundreds of other Byzantine elites and Genoese traders.
Shortly after, the Catalan Company advanced south to check their flank from Turkish attacks and conquered the Genoese possessions in Smyrna. Roger de Flor quite liked the position of this city and established it as his personal capital. He crushed an army led by local Turkish warlord Aydin Mehmed Bey and threw open the port to a small crusader force and Venetian fleet under Giovanni Soranzo. Reinforced by these crusaders and facing devastating raids from the Catalan Company that even reached into Europe, the Byzantines recognised the Catalan Company's rule over Anatolia and honoured their original treaty to grant the Kingdom of Anatolia (a great swathe of territory as far north as Nicomedia) to the Catalan Company alongside restoring the military titles granted to its leaders (including de Flor's position as head of both land and sea forces) and paying their salaries. In return, the Catalan Company vacated their main fortress in Gallipoli.
This provoked a crisis within the Catalan Company, for Frederick III of Sicily sent his cousin Ferdinand of Majorca to assert leadership over the company on behalf of the Crown of Aragon. However, Roger de Flor was far too popular a leader, for he ensured his men always received their salaries on time even before he himself was paid. Only Berenguer d'Entença, an agent of the Aragonese crown and talented warrior himself, truly supported the proposal of the Company's main officers. Others like Bernat de Rocafert desired the company maintain distance from the Aragonese Crown.
Crafty as ever, De Flor negotiated a treaty with Ferdinand of Majorca that granted him and the Catalan Company extraordinary rights in the new kingdom. De Flor maintained leadership of his unit and was named vicar-general of the kingdom, a position which granted him immense power in the administration of Anatolia. Additionally, de Flor was the official representative of the Byzantine Empire, who were to remain nominal overlordd of the state. The Catalan Company was guaranteed a contract with the kingdom, to be paid by the crown. Three subsidiary titles of the Kingdom of Anatolia were created--Roger de Flor became Duke of Smyrna, Berenguer d'Entença became Count of Aveo [11], and Bernat de Rocafert became Count of Philadelphia, with Ferdinand's rule limited to land near Magnesia. These lords maintained great autonomy in their realms, leaving the king with only around 1/4 of the land for himself centered in Magnesia. Lastly, de Flor's eldest son (also named Roger, born 1303) was to marry the eldest daughter of the king when she came of age.
It was a distasteful treaty to Ferdinand, whose dreams of ruling a powerful kingdom died immediately. He tried provoking d'Entença to do something, but d'Entença instructed him to remain content. Further, the Catalan Company did everything in their power to prevent Ferdinand from actually setting foot in his new kingdom. Ferdinand instead occupied himself with other tasks the Crown of Aragon desired such as warring against the Muslims in Iberia and preparing for an attack on the Tunisian islands of Djerba and Kerkennah.
With Genoa gaining pre-eminence in the Crusader states, Venice sought to increase their influence in Byzantium which the Genoese had hindered barely eight years prior. By their dominance in the County of Tripoli and the Black Sea, the Genoese threatened to seize the majority of the highly profitable trade with the Mongol Empire. This made funding and arming Roger de Flor's incipient Kingdom of Anatolia a worthwhile goal, and de Flor permitted the Venetians an entire quarter in his personal capital of Smyrna and in the royal capital of Magnesia. But Byzantium intransigent on the basis of their Genoese allies, so the Venetians devised the grand scheme of restoring the Latin Empire, vanquished nearly 40 years prior.
The Venetians thus chose to aid Charles of Valois, younger brother of French king Philip IV, in reclaiming the Latin Empire for his wife Catherine de Courtenay. In an uneasy alliance with Roger de Flor, Stephen Dragutin of Serbia, and Frederick II of Sicily, the Venetians and Charles of Valois approached Pope Urban V for a crusade of their own in 1306. The Pope granted permission and excommunicated the emperor, so the parties began preparing for what they prayed might be a repeat of the Fourth Crusade a century prior.
It was not the only conflict on the horizon. The Battle of Beersheba ended the Mongol threat to Egypt and brought about a true ceasefire in 1306, but nobody was satisfied. The Ilkhanate's ambitions to dominate the Islamic world lay unfulfilled, and the Crusader ambition to restore Jerusalem to Christian hands likewise was not satisfied. Violent mobs of Crusaders raided caravans in both Mamluk and even Ilkhanate territory, while zealous Europeans demanded the Mongols either convert to Christianity or restore Jerusalem to Christian hands. Within the Levant, the realm was clearly divided between the Lusignans and the Angevins who neglected restoring the devastated land in favour of warring amongst themselves--indeed, only the Templars and Hospitallers seemed preparing to face the return of hostilities and the former would run into intense difficulties. Thus the Mongols conquest unleashed endless greed and ambition on the part of its victors and losers which would greatly influence the evolution of both Europe and the Middle East. Matters would be made all the worse after an unforeseen event in 1306--the death of Temur Khan and the difficult succession of his seven-year old son Prince Daishu (德寿) to the throne of the Great Khan that now ruled more of the world than ever before.
---
Author's notes
Author's notes
I feel like a "Europe" section is almost inevitable in any AH.com TL, since I'm pretty sure even before I decided to show this I was asked in the thread about it. I was even asked once in Horn of Bronze, my precolonial alt-Native American TL, how Europe would respond. Regardless, it is fun to write and I did learn quite a bit. I think it's pretty clear too that the Mongol Empire with its global reach would influence matters in Europe and the Levant.
This one is more clear-cut than the last in terms of logical progression from the POD. Temur Khan's Yuan China is doing better than OTL thanks to seized Japanese wealth and easy imports (rice), therefore the negotiations proceeding the official reunification are doing nicely as well, therefore Ghazan Khan feels more confident in besieging and occupying the Holy Land instead of his sequence of raids. This ensures that there's a lot more Mongols than OTL at the decisive battle which means Ghazan doesn't lose. This means the Crusaders feel confident enough to invade in full and the Pope decides to call a Crusade. IMO this was a VERY plausible outcome IOTL which strangely gets ignored (you'd think someone would've done a "Crusaders return in 1300" TL before) so I figure it had to show up here. The outcome of events I believe is a possible one regarding medieval Europe, but I'm not an expert on this subject. As for the Catalans, I feel like you don't need much to prevent Roger de Flor's assassination.
I don't plan on covering too much of European politics and intrigue. It'll get brief summaries every now and then, but will mostly focus on the Mediterranean since those powers are the ones who are directly involved in trade (the Italian cities made HUGE revenue on trade with the Mongols, and Black Sea grain was crucial for Genoa and Venice) and intrigue with the Mongols. But needless to say this Crusade has already had great effects in Europe and will have even more.
The next chapter will return to East Asia and cover the death of Temur Khan and the aftermath and after that I will finally return to the Kingdom of Japan.
[1] - IOTL Ghazan withdrew his forces almost in their entirety from the region due to threats from the Chaghatai Khanate and Jochids. TTL he faces no such threat because negotiations to reunite the Mongol Empire are well underway and Duwa has more or less agreed to focus on India and is achieving substantial success there. It seems Ghazan did not view the Jochids as a threat in this time, despite receiving a threatening emissary from them reminding of their claims to the Caucasus. So Ghazan can send about twice as many troops as he did OTL.
[2] - Essentially OTL events. Ibn Taymiyyah was a staunch opponent of the Mongols because even the Muslims among them blended their heathen tribal law with the Sharia, and did much to raise the morale of the Mamluks. He despised Mongol tolerance for pagans and Shi'ites. His writings and rulings are notorious in the modern age for their influence on Salafist extremism
[3] - Let's just say that TTL's Peace of Caltabellotta ending the conflict of Sicily between the Aragonese and the Angevins (i.e. War of the Sicilian Vespers) is more or less the same, just happens to have papal influence due to the need for a crusade. In the end, the Papacy more or less agreed to it anyway.
[4] - In short, one could not become Holy Roman Emperor without being crowned by the Pope--instead one would only be King of Germany. In practice, the titles were synonymous, but the former carried a far greater legitimacy, particularly in northern Italy. The Great Interregnum describes the era of the Holy Roman Empire after the end of the Hohenstaufens in the 1250s when there were no crowned emperors and various lords struggled to be elected King of Germany
[5] - Kutlughshah was probably a son of Mangghudai, a Yuan general of Kublai Khan important in conquering Southern Song. However, he is not mentioned as a descendant in the History of Yuan's biography on him which instead mentions only Temurbuqa and another of Mangghudai's sons. His mother was possibly of low birth or he otherwise took to his uncle who had served Hulegu in the Ilkhanate.
[6] - I know it's the same as the name taken by the OTL cardinal elected, Nicola Boccasini, but one medieval source actually claims that Rosso Orsini was elected instead of Boniface VIII and chose this name so I decided that's the name he indeed took TTL. In any case, Rosso Orsini is elected because he is both experienced and is an ally of the Aragonese therefore can be assumed to handle the church in this crucial moment. To please the pro-French faction, he is also elderly and can be assumed to not live long.
[7] - This quote is from OTL, and similar events actually happened. Palmyra's emirs, the Al-Fadl tribe, strategically played off both Ilkhanate and Mamluks for several decades and indeed received many grants from both of them.
[8] - IOTL the Flemish had to cede several bordering territories to Philip IV AND pay reparations--TTL they do better due to zealous French knights being on crusade instead of fighting for an excommunicated king and of course luck, so only monetary fines.
[9] - Benedetto Zaccaria had attempted to rule Tripoli in the 1280s alongside his fellow Genoese the Embriaco family, but failed due to resistance from the House of Lusignan. Eventually he gave up and returned to his activities in the Greek Islands, where his family established quite a powerbase. Additionally, it appears the last titular Count of Tripoli died with no heirs in 1300, so the title would revert to Cyprus--I believe uniting Tripoli and the rump Jerusalem is logical here.
[10] - Henry II was quite unpopular. He executed his younger brother Guy for suspected rebellion (Guy is still alive TTL), then his other brother Amaury (with the aid of Aimery, Amaury's younger brother) actually did succeed in revolting against him and stripping him of power.
[11] - Aveo was the medieval name for Abydos (today a ruin near Çanakkale, Turkey). In some medieval Catalan sources, including Ramon Muntaner's account of the Catalan Company, Aveo gave its name to the entire Dardanelles.
Last edited:
Machiavelli would write entire epics about this man, and how foolish the lords who hired him were.
I think that in this scenario, one of the main losers appears to be the Anatolian Turkish Beyliks, which seemed that were destroyed.
While that one of the 'winners' even leaving aside their TTL more advantageous and secure position, are the Armenian and Georgian kingdoms. TTL, both Caucasus kingdom 'd be strengthened, also their land and populations would be spared from OTL devastation and slaughter suffered at Tamerlane orders.
Finally, this Venetian plot to 'reenact' the take of Constantinople and the 'Latin Empire' though appears to have gathered far more important and key allies/complicit... I think that would be easy to guess that Genoa would soon be aware of this Venetian and Almogavar/Aragonese impending menace and wouldn't sit idle waiting and would take measures/plot on her own for if not thwart it, at least to prepare a better defense and/or to gather allies/ help from the 'enemies from their enemies'...
While that one of the 'winners' even leaving aside their TTL more advantageous and secure position, are the Armenian and Georgian kingdoms. TTL, both Caucasus kingdom 'd be strengthened, also their land and populations would be spared from OTL devastation and slaughter suffered at Tamerlane orders.
Finally, this Venetian plot to 'reenact' the take of Constantinople and the 'Latin Empire' though appears to have gathered far more important and key allies/complicit... I think that would be easy to guess that Genoa would soon be aware of this Venetian and Almogavar/Aragonese impending menace and wouldn't sit idle waiting and would take measures/plot on her own for if not thwart it, at least to prepare a better defense and/or to gather allies/ help from the 'enemies from their enemies'...
Last edited:
Well only two beyliks were destroyed. By now the remainder beyliks aren’t too much of a threat but the unrest in Levant will ensure their demographic dominance on a long term basis.
Restored Kingdoms of Antioch, Tripoli and rump Jerusalem are again the hotbeds of Venetian-Genoese rivalry and I think Kingdom of Smyrna will eventually come across as 'too troublesome' even for its Venetian allies. Catalan company smashes the Turks and Byzantines per OTL. At this point outremer states are economic outposts of rival merchant Republics
I think Byzantine will experience another 4th crusade that will knell the final nail in their coffin.
Ibn Taymiyah, now that he's a martyr will be even more revered.
Last edited:
His career is indeed pretty astounding and I'm not surprised writers have apparently been basing fictional characters on him since the 15th century.
Not quite. The entire section on the Catalan Company is actually OTL up until the point Roger de Flor refuses Michael IX's invitation (which led to him and almost all Catalans in Constantinople being murdered). My assumption is the battles go as OTL against the same Turkish beys he fought. I glossed over it since it was OTL and not important for setting up this TL like the early entries.
It's difficult to tell the effects the Catalan Company had on the Turkish beyliks they defeated, but they probably helped ensure the Karasids (their first victims) never rose to become a major player despite their great position and early success--Ottomans absorbed them forty years later and long before then were taking lands the Karasids might have taken. They probably also led to the fragmentation of the otherwise powerful Germiyan beylik since within a decade or so the Aydin and Saruhan beyliks gained increasing power and independence, despite their precursors as tribal followers of Germiyan's commanders also suffering immense damage. It also seems the Catalan Company's departure from Anatolia caused a resurgence of these states. That might be the decisive factor here.
The other beyliks are mostly interested in dealing with the remnant Sultanate of Rum which like OTL is an Ilkhanate vassal (albeit as powerless and hollow as a state might be, to the point there's serious debate over to even consider their last 2-3 sultans in the early 14th century as actual rulers due to their lack of coins or any symbols of their authority), and they seemed to roughly fall into pro-Rum and anti-Rum factions. But that's for another update.
It's actually an OTL plan for a re-enactment of the Fourth Crusade too, right down to Charles of Valois grabbing whoever he could find as allies. Yes, the Genoese certainly do not want that to happen since the Black Sea trade was highly important for them. You are correct that Armenia and Georgia would be enjoying this...so far.
More or less correct. The later Crusades had a lot of conflict between Italian city-states who financed and lent their ships for the affair, and were of course involved in the remnant Christian states of Anatolia.
Smyrna isn't a kingdom BTW--it's a subordinate duchy, based on Roger de Flor being a megas doux like several other Western leaders who carved out territory from Byzantium, and one clearly intended to take a pre-eminent role in Anatolia's internal politics. I figured that a Catalan Company Anatolia would have some very interesting politics between the Aragonese crown's desire for influence and Roger's consistent desire to make sure his men were paid on time.
Yep. It's interesting that OTL, the Ilkhanate internally did not emphasise their alliance with the Crusaders as European propaganda did, and the source I'm reading suggests it's because those who arranged it were well aware how terrible it looked in regards to their ideology of dominating the Islamic world. OTL that alliance resulted in little but piracy, but TTL that policy has turned back the clock several decades and restored the Crusaders to most of their realm.
So some beyliks are worse off while others are more or less OTL?? From the reactions of Turks and Greeks, this state doesn’t look like it will be here to stay. Interestingly, are there any beyliks allied to Catalans??
And so Ain Jalut is avenged… but another defeat has taken its place.
Last edited: