I was the Queen of Persia

Page 100

"Hakim recently mobilized a large number of troops from the eastern border region to garrison the western border, because the Maghreb has experienced continuous famines in recent years, leading to a large influx of Berber tribesmen into the Meshrep..."

"Hakim recently gave a lecture at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, and issued a decree to further increase the teaching time for the Quran..."

All sorts of information about the Fatimid dynasty piled up like snowflakes on Shahzani's desk.

Using a vast amount of information and combining it with knowledge from her past life, she roughly sketched out the current state of this North African empire.

The Fatimid dynasty originally rose to power with the support of the Berber armies of the Maghreb, who marched eastward into Egypt and established an empire. However, after the empire was completed, the Maghreb armies, who had been instrumental in its rise, became too powerful to control and posed a threat to the monarchy.

Even before the current Fatima monarch Hakim ascended the throne, the Maghreb legions had repeatedly interfered in politics. Many of the officials in the court were Berber tribal chiefs, and the Berber tribes that remained in the Maghreb had established a semi-independent Ziri dynasty in the west and repeatedly harassed the Nile River basin.

In light of this, the Fatima monarchs before Hakim used various means to suppress this power group, such as by supporting slave legions from the East (the Mashrik Legion, mainly composed of slaves from the Turks and Caucasus) to counterbalance the Maghreb Legion, and so on.

However, most of these measures only address the symptoms, not the root cause.

Hakim clearly wanted to break the deadlock. He was very young, six years younger than Shahzani, but he was extremely ambitious. After taking the throne, he took advantage of the factional conflicts to eliminate the autocratic prime minister. He then carried out sweeping reforms in the country, strengthened religious rules, imposed harsh laws and punishments, and deified his own position in order to firmly grasp power in his hands.

"It seems that Fatima's hostile policy towards our country is partly due to its doctrinal hostility, partly due to its desire to shift domestic conflicts, and more importantly, partly due to its long-standing ambition to expand eastward and dominate the country."

Shahzani came to this conclusion after looking at the contents of the Samarkand paper.

From a macro-level comparison, in a long-term contest, the Fatimid dynasty would ultimately be no match for the Samanid Empire. Even setting aside other factors, the two were already significantly different in terms of their fundamental power base.

The Samanid Empire of Iran had established a more complete centralized bureaucratic system. Although there were many ethnic and religious sects within its territory, military, political, and religious power were firmly in the hands of the Khorami Persians.

Other ethnic groups, such as the Turks, Kurds, Sogdians, Delamans, Khwarazmians, Turkmen, Arabs, Sunnis, Shiites, and Zoroastrians, were all subordinate to and loyal to the Persian regime. Even though there were conflicts between various power groups and ethnic and religious sects within the country, under the authoritarian rule of the Shahzani group, these conflicts were reduced to relatively minor, secondary issues.

The Fatimid dynasty, however, was different. Several factions within Egypt were fraught with internal conflict: there was the tension between the Maghreb and Mashrik factions, the conflict between a minority of Shia rulers and the vast majority of Sunni subjects, and the conflict between Muslims and non-Muslims. Considering the large number of black slaves in Egypt, the conflict between Arabs and blacks must also be added.

"From this perspective, Hakim also wanted to eliminate long-standing problems, restore national prestige, and even had the determination to leave his mark on history, which is a commendable ambition."

Thinking of this, Shahzani's lips curled into a smile. She saw a bit of herself in this Egyptian monarch.

“But since he has decided to be my enemy, only death awaits him!” The Queen then sneered. “Just wait, Fatima, God will eventually prove who the true strongman is.”

……

The Fatimid Caliphate, Cairo.

The mighty Nile River flows through the area, where palm trees grow in abundance and water birds flock.

The high-pitched and melodious call to prayer echoed across the fertile river islands.

As the sun rises higher, the magnificent city slowly reveals itself from the mist rising from the river. Yellow palaces and buildings, towering minarets, exquisite Egyptian-style oval arch decorations, and layers upon layers of mosque domes all embody the prosperity and power of the Fatimid state.

"His Majesty, the embodiment of the Most High God, has decreed that all Christians and Jews must wear black robes and special identification badges! Anyone who dares to disobey will be put to death!"

"His Majesty, the embodiment of the Supreme God, has decreed: All banquets, drinking, music, and entertainment are strictly prohibited. Anyone who dares to disobey will be put to death!"

Throughout the streets and alleys, Fatima officials, with swords at their waists, continuously read aloud the latest decrees issued by King Hakim. Thanks to the strict laws and severe punishments, the streets and alleys were orderly, with almost no trace of criminal activity. Even if gold and silver treasures were dropped on the road, no one dared to pick them up rashly.

Chapter 234 The Egyptian King's Ambition: Creating a New Army

The Fatimid Caliphate, a palace castle perched atop a hill between Cairo and Fustat.

"Your Majesty, the embodiment of the Supreme God, may you be blessed with boundless fortune and live forever."

The ministers kowtowed and shouted, but their tone and manner were arrogant and domineering.

They were all veterans of the Maghreb faction, each holding significant factional armed forces and having secretly influenced the government for many years, showing great disdain for the young monarch.

As the black eunuch shouted the call to prayer, the ministers looked up at the young king on the throne, their arrogance undiminished.

A man stepped forward from the ranks of officials and said coldly, “Your Majesty, I have something to say. You have recently devoted too much energy to the new policies and neglected the interests of us Maghreb people. As elders, we have served the country for many years, and I think our interests should be protected.”

Another person stepped forward and echoed, "What is your intention? To confiscate all the estates and properties under my name in Iskandaria? Does this old minister think that after years of hard work in the war, the country cannot even protect its own property?"

A third person stepped forward and continued, "We have rendered outstanding service! Our late King (may he rest in peace!) was able to annex Sham and Palestine through our conquests. God above! Yet you listen to the slander of treacherous and wicked infidels, disregarding our interests! Today, we must give you an explanation!"

"Yes, that's right!"

"that is!"

"In the name of the Most High God! The interests of the Maghreb warriors must be taken seriously!"

The hall immediately erupted in chaos and commotion. The powerful ministers of the Maghreb Corps were in a frenzy, almost to the point of forcing the emperor to abdicate.

Seeing this, Hakim smirked and said in a friendly tone:

"My ministers, please be patient. By the name of Allah, I have summoned you here to fulfill the promised rewards and benefits. Wait patiently! You will all receive the most generous gifts."

Having said that, under the pretext of preparing rewards, he left the palace with his attendants and personal guards, leaving only the powerful ministers and elders in the main hall.

……

Time was slowly passing, but Hakim had not yet returned.

The powerful ministers and military leaders in the palace gradually lost patience.

"He is clearly mocking us! In the name of God, the Maghreb warriors will not tolerate such humiliation!" Finally, a Berber tribal chief with a full beard and a rough appearance stood up angrily and prepared to leave with his entourage.

"Yes, that's right!" "What an impolite act!" The call was met with enthusiastic responses. Everyone got up and left impatiently, their faces filled with anger. Some even conceived the idea of ​​starting a coup and establishing a new monarch on the spot.

But just then, a great shout of killing suddenly rose outside the palace gates.

The Maghreb warlords sensed something was wrong and tried to rush out the gate, but as soon as they reached the inner courtyard of the castle, they were met with a brutal attack.

The walls on both sides were filled with archers, ready for battle, and a hail of arrows rained down.

The cries of agony and agony immediately rose and fell. The Maghreb warlords and powerful ministers were either dead or wounded, and in no time they and their servants had all fallen dead in pools of blood, none of them surviving.

Hakim, his face cold and stern, slowly appeared on the city wall. His icy gaze swept over the corpses strewn across the ground below, and he said calmly to Dumiyat beside him, "Well done."

It turns out that all of this was Hakim's scheme to lure the enemy into a trap.

He wanted to implement new policies and deify himself, but the stubborn Maghreb faction, which had become too powerful to be controlled, became the biggest obstacle to reform.

So, after careful planning, he summoned all the powerful Maghreb officials to the castle under the pretext of discussing new policies. At the same time, he secretly deployed an ambush, ready to strike and kill them with lightning speed when the time was right.

The newly promoted Dumiat was his accomplice in implementing the plan.

After returning from his visit to the Samanid Empire, Dumiyat broadened his horizons and gained the trust of his lord with his more far-sighted vision. He also secretly brought back several Persian versions of "The Art of War" that he had obtained in Iran and presented them to Hakim, which further broadened the monarch's horizons.

Hakim was overjoyed and immediately ordered his scholars to translate "The Art of War" into Mishal Arabic. Looking at the exquisite military strategies in the book, his ambition grew even more inflated.

The powerful Maghreb faction, with its vast armies, suffered a devastating blow. Hakim then launched a massive manhunt in Cairo, Fustat, Fakous, Iskandaria, Bilesbais, Farama, and other cities to hunt down and eliminate the remaining Maghreb forces.

Leaderless and powerless, the Maghreb group was unable to retaliate, and its remaining members swore allegiance to Hakim. Thus, this political force that had dominated the political landscape for decades ceased to exist.

"Dummyat".

Hakim looked at his kneeling ministers and said in a deep voice, "This new army you have trained has proven its worth on the battlefield. Well done! Now, immediately order the entire army to assemble and line up. I want to inspect them properly."

“Yes, sir,” Dumiyat said.

The "new army" quickly assembled, and they were not the so-called "Mashriks": Hakim, while eliminating the Maghreb group, also had great distrust of the Turkic Mashrik group.

This was a completely new force, composed of naturalized slave soldiers from Greek, Sudanese, Abyssinian, Cuhit, and Balkan Slavic tribes. They were well-trained and highly loyal. Hakim regarded them as his private army and named them the "Hakimiye" Guard.

Hakim climbed onto the high platform and looked around.

The guardsmen wore light chainmail that reached their knees, with Egyptian-style blouses of the same length over it. They were equipped with weapons such as spears, shields, swords, and crossbows, with crossbows being particularly prevalent, as Hakim required the new army to be proficient not only in close combat but also in ranged weapons.

"Good, very good." Hakim expressed his satisfaction with the well-organized formation, and then said, "Prepare the boats and have the warriors march up the Nile. I want to see their strength on the water!"

That's right, what Hakim wanted was a royal guard that was capable of both land and naval warfare, which can be understood as an ancient version of a naval marine.

Despite its vast territory, the Fatimid Caliphate consisted mostly of deserts and barren mountains. Most of the habitable areas were concentrated in the Nile River basin and the coastal areas of the Mediterranean and Red Seas. Trade and transportation were always carried out by water, and military campaigns were also frequently conducted by water, which objectively contributed to the strength of its navy.

The result did not disappoint Hakim.

Even aboard ships, the Khakimiyya Imperial Guard moved with the ease of footing, their formations disciplined and their movements fluid and unhindered. Soldiers fired crossbows in unison from the ship's sides, their power no less than on land. The navy's overall movement was highly efficient, and they quickly reached their destination.

“Excellent! With such a loyal and skilled army, the Muslim conquest will surely continue to advance triumphantly.” Hakim smiled smugly as he looked at the performance of his soldiers.

Chapter 235 The Proxy War Between Iran and Egypt

"Very well, I will lead these valiant warriors to annihilate those arrogant Berber tribes." Hakim looked at the disciplined army formation and felt even more heroic.

“So…” Dumiat said, “you’ve decided to deal with the enemies in the west first and temporarily refrain from attacking the Samanid Empire?”

“That’s right.” Hakim nodded. “After careful consideration, I’ve decided that if we are to wage war against the Persians, we must eliminate any future threats. Therefore, I’ve decided to mobilize the entire nation’s army to pacify the west, but…”

Hakim's expression hardened, and he emphasized, "This does not mean compromising with the Persians! In fact, I have already found a mutually beneficial ally."

"You mean Hakkawi the Hejaz and his group of heretics?" Dumiyat asked.

“Yes, Hakawi is indeed a sinister devil, a cursed heretic, but that doesn’t mean he’s without value. In fact, he has a deep-seated hatred for the Persians, and we can use him to counterbalance them,” Hakim said.

"Your Majesty, you are the embodiment of God, and every decision you make is sacred. I also believe that the Haqqavi prefers to oppose the Persian Horami rather than oppose us. But... if I may ask, what decree have you decided to use to provoke the Haqqavi into conflict with the Persians?" Dumiyat asked.

"It's very simple."

Hakim squinted:

“Money can influence human character. If we provide Hakkawi with enough military equipment, food, and supplies, he will eventually help us fight the Persians.”

"And as long as the Haqqavi are exhausted from fighting the Persians, we can reap the benefits: annex the Haqqavi's territory, and then use it as a springboard to extend our influence to the Alawites, the Arabian Bedouin tribes, the Zaids, and the Kalmatians..."

Upon receiving the decree, the Fatima Dynasty immediately provided assistance to the Hakkawi Blackblade sect, with a considerable amount of armor, weapons, provisions, and other military supplies being transported from Cairo to the mountain fortresses where the Blackblade sect was gathered.

……

Now let's talk about the Hamdan dynasty, an ally of the Samanid Crescent.

After returning as a Persian military advisor, Sahini began to reorganize the military and strengthen defenses.

Taking advantage of the power vacuum left by the fall of the Mustafa regime and the transfer of power to the Haqqavi faction, Hydia recruited many disorganized, masterless assassins and initially established an assassin guild affiliated with Hamdan's regime.

Relying on the assassin organization that Hydia had built, coupled with her keen assassin intuition, Sahinnian successfully eliminated many assassins from the Hakkavi Blackblade Cult and even managed to uncover several "big fish" along the trail.

A quiet night at a manor on the outskirts of Mosul.

Several high-ranking officials and generals sat together, each with a worried expression on their face.

"grown ups."

Everyone looked at the person of the highest rank and said in unison, "Ever since that Persian woman returned, our carefully built system has suffered repeated blows. If those bloodthirsty heretics of the Hakkawi sect sense that we are considering retreating, they will surely turn their daggers against us. We believe that we have reached a critical point. We should secretly flee and seek refuge with the Fatimid dynasty!"

“That’s right! God above, I’ve had enough of being used as a pawn by the Haqqavi sect! The only safe place is the Fatima dynasty, where our Shia compatriots are! And His Majesty Hakim, who protects the interests of Shia believers!” one of them added.

“Yes, I agree with everyone. By God’s will! Our princess has become a puppet of the Persian queen, and she has been captured and humiliated. She can no longer represent the holy Shia. His Majesty Hakim is our true leader!” said the most powerful person.

at this time.

With a loud bang, the door was kicked open.

"what happened?!"

As the group was plotting their scheme, they were filled with fear and astonishment when a large number of Iranian-Syrian coalition soldiers rushed into the room. Before they could even grab their weapons to fight back, they were all tied up and dragged out.

The courtyard was already filled with fully armed soldiers, and countless torches illuminated the night as if it were daytime.

“Princess Selim, as you can see, these hypocrites were secretly carrying out their dirty deeds here. Fortunately, they were discovered in time, preventing even greater losses.” Sahinian, clad in bright red armor, held a saddle axe and pointed it at the kneeling crowd.

"You...you all!" Selim trembled with rage. Anyone would have been unable to remain calm at this moment.

“Betrayal! Shameful betrayal! In the name of God! You have failed my trust! Executioners!” Selim was about to order his men to take them out and execute them, but Sahimian stopped him.

“I have a suggestion, Your Highness. These people probably still have a lot of important information. We should lock them up and interrogate them thoroughly. It won’t be too late to kill them after they confess,” Sahinian said rationally.

“Yes, you’re right.” After being persuaded like this, Selim regained her composure and then ordered the soldiers around her, “Lock these traitors in the dungeon and let them taste the bitterness of betraying their lord in endless torture!”

Hamdan's soldiers, upon receiving orders, led the group away.

“Lady Sahimian, your wisdom and courage have once again impressed me.” Selim looked at the Persian general with admiration in his eyes. “These venomous snakes that lurked in the shadows have finally revealed their ugly faces.”

“It wasn’t my doing,” Sahinnian chuckled, patting Hydia beside her. “It was this girl’s keen observation that allowed us to take down this organization that was plotting to defect.”

“Well done, Hydia. I’ll reward you handsomely!” Selim then looked at the slender and capable female assassin.

"Hydia, why don't you thank Princess Selim?"

"Ah, thank you for your generosity, Princess!"

"Okay! Hahaha!"

Several key traitors who had been blackmailed and turned by the Black Blade Cult were eliminated. From this point on, Haqawi's assassination intelligence network in Syria suffered a severe blow. Although most of the losses were to low-level assassins, even the lowest-level assassins had to be carefully trained for many years. For the Black Blade Cult, which was not large and had few core members, they were all valuable combat forces.

……

Hamad-Sirhan Valley.

Hidden among palm groves and hills, the secret stronghold of the Blackblade Cult.