1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 71 Belisarius's Enemies
Tunis, the capital of the Hafsid dynasty.

Tunisia is located at the northernmost tip of the African continent, separated from Sicily by only the short Tunis Strait, and controls the throat of the Eastern and Western Mediterranean.

This area has a typical Mediterranean climate, with hot and dry summers, warm and humid winters, and abundant annual rainfall, making it suitable for living.

Unlike other parts of Africa, Tunisia entered the vision of Europeans very early and became one of the first colonial outposts of ancient European colonists.

Long ago, the Phoenicians from the coast of Syria set foot on this land in long and narrow ships, established strongholds, built cities, and took advantage of the excellent natural conditions and geographical location to develop maritime trade.

They established a famous country here - Carthage.

After the three Punic Wars, Carthage lost everything and became part of Rome, called the province of Africa.

As Rome declined and the East and West were divided, Belisarius, the "last Roman", led an army of only more than 10,000 troops into North Africa, destroyed the Vandal Kingdom that occupied Carthage at the time, and brought the territory back to the rule of the Eastern Roman Empire. He was named Grand Consul for his merits.

Later, with the rise of Islam and the Arab conquest, the Eastern Roman Empire suffered repeated defeats and gradually lost the Levant and Egypt provinces. The province of Africa was isolated overseas and soon fell.

From then on, this fertile land began a thousand-year-long Islamic rule.

At the end of the 12th century, the Almohad Caliphate, which once ruled Northwest Africa and Andalusia, collapsed, and three Berber powers in North Africa established their own kingdoms on its remnants.

From west to east, they are the Marinid Dynasty, the Tlemcen Dynasty, and the Hafsid Dynasty.

Among them, the Tlemcen Dynasty was the weakest and was attacked from both sides. The Marinid Dynasty and the Hafsid Dynasty had similar national strength. Overall, the Marinid Dynasty was slightly stronger.

Inside the royal palace of Tunis, an Islamic nobleman in luxurious attire listened intently to a financial report, his mind already thousands of miles away.

The head of Tunisia, the patriarch of the Hafsid family, the emperor of the dynasty, the self-proclaimed caliph, Abu Othman Yahya.

From the traditional perspective, Yahya was undoubtedly a mediocre monarch. He did not have any groundbreaking governing measures or any shocking reform methods. However, he had a grandfather, Abu Aziz, who left behind a rich political legacy.

During Aziz's reign, the Hafsid Dynasty gradually emerged from the shadow of the Marin Dynasty, national strength gradually recovered, subdued disobedient emirs in various places, and actively engaged in trade.

Aziz was a good warrior. He tamed the local tribes in the south, attacked Tlemcen many times in the west, and plundered Christian merchant ships in the north, thus pulling this corrupt dynasty back on track from internal and external difficulties.

In 1434, Caliph Aziz died of illness during the war in Tlemcen. His successor Muhammad III died two years later, and the power fell into the hands of Aziz's grandson Yahya.

After Yahya came to power, he basically continued along the path of his grandfather, not seeking merit but avoiding mistakes.

However, Yahya did not have the prestige of Aziz.

Mohammed III died too early, and Yahya came to the fore in the chaos and initially sorted out the situation. Only then did he discover that the centralization of power that his grandfather had worked so hard to achieve had collapsed in the past few years.

The forces in various regions succumbed to Aziz's powerful military might and did not dare to act presumptuously and remained obedient while he was alive.

Although Aziz is dead, his influence remains, and Muhammad III can barely suppress these local tyrants.

However, after the death of Muhammad III, the country was in a state of uncertainty due to the young ruler, and the forces in various regions began to become active.

The Hafsid branches of Bejaia and Constantina began to openly challenge the central authority again, and the Merchant Council of Tripoli elected a prince as a puppet.

The more marginal areas were even more unscrupulous. Several small countries in the south expelled Tunisian envoys and acted on their own. The capricious Tlemcen tore up the treaty and repeatedly violated the border.

In response to this, the young Yahya showed a decisiveness that was beyond the reach of ordinary people. He simply gave up his direct jurisdiction over the peripheral areas, gathered his confidants, and worked hard to ensure the prosperity and stability of the core areas.

At the same time, Yahya continued his grandfather's trade policy, encouraged European merchants to come to Tunisia to carry out business activities, vigorously supported the Sahara Desert trade routes, reopened exchanges with sub-Saharan Africa, and obtained a large amount of gold and slaves.

Under his governance, the city of Tunis quickly regained its prosperity and its dry wallet gradually became full.

"Caliph, in the first half of the year, we had seven caravans successfully cross the Sahara Desert, exchanging European handicrafts for tribal gold, and received a total of more than 8,000 ducats..."

"Our business tax in Tunis has increased less due to your tax-free policy..."

"After you distributed the land of the rebellious nobles to the peasants, the land tax has increased in recent years, and the people praise your kindness..."

Yahya interrupted his boasting.

"How is our neighbor, King Isaac, who claimed to launch a holy war against the Mamluk Sultan, doing now?"

"According to the spy report, King Isaac has made a desperate move. His Mediterranean fleet has already set out and is expected to be annihilated by the Venetians soon."

Yahya nodded and thought for a moment.

"This King Isaac is a great enemy of Allah. After they are completely defeated by Venice, can we get a share of the spoils?"

The consultant shook his head.

"Caliph, I do not recommend this. Before we resolve the situation in Tripoli, it is better to focus on the north of the Tunis Mountains."

"However, you may be able to send out some looting ships after the fleet returns from the west and take advantage of the opportunity to reap some benefits."

"Just do it."

Yahya felt a little regretful and hated the merchants in Tripoli more and more.

"Go on, have the Italian engineers we hired performed to their full potential?"

"Caliph, these people are all very good, and your territory is thriving..."

Yahya's heart was filled with emotions as he listened to the financial report.

When wars raged on the edge of the dynasty and several cousins ​​fought for power, he hid his ambitions, developed quietly, and consolidated his core areas like a subway barrel.

Just wait and see, after a few more years of development, no one will be your opponent!
He looked at the map on the table and smiled with confidence.

Bejaia, Constantina, Tripoli, Misrata, you should have been my cities!
Djerid, Tougurt, Mbuza, Tlemcen, you should have been my servants!
Marin family, you have captured Tunis twice. One day, I will repay you a hundredfold!
One day, you will all submit to my power again!
……

Outside Misrata, in the village of New Belfa.

Two years ago, this place was still a wasteland. Many tribes would come here to graze when the grass and water were abundant, using this place as an autumn pasture.

The neighbors from the east completely changed this land, and after His Majesty Omar's Surt subjugation operation failed, the tribes that followed him in the looting were brutally retaliated against.

The red knights coming from the east crossed the border in groups and followed the densely populated coastline, burning, killing and looting along the way, leaving nothing behind.

During this period, several tribes that originally grazed in Belefa were uprooted, the men were sold into slavery, the young and beautiful women were abducted, and the useless old people were directly killed.

Prince Umar and his father-in-law Hamza, filled with regret, defended the town tightly and dared not go out to fight, allowing the area around Misrata to be razed to the ground.

A year later, some refugee boats from Cyrenaica arrived here and rebuilt a village, mainly making a living by fishing.

"Azagan! You dived the deepest again today, right?"

"That's right! When will you teach me?"

The Muslim boy Azagan smiled and enjoyed the compliments from his peers. He waved his hands modestly and faced the warm evening sun to dry the moisture off his body.

As the sun sets, the golden beach becomes warm after a day of sunshine. Groups of children who have just finished today's diving and fishing competition are lying on the beach, enjoying the best moment of the day.

In the distant villages, smoke from cooking fires rose and fragrance floated in the air, as if with magic, drifting into the noses of the children along with the gentle sea breeze. Their stomachs, which had been hungry for the whole afternoon, began to protest. Although this place was poor, there was no shortage of food.

The Mediterranean current formed a small bay here, which was full of fish and shrimp, enough to feed the refugees who had escaped death.

"This place has a good location and good water conditions. Large ships can dock here. Maybe we can build a small port in the future."

Azaghan remembers that a jurist from Kairouan passed by here and believed that this land had great potential.

At that time, the village chief, who lost one hand in the war, waved his remaining limb happily, bowed repeatedly to the scholar, and gave him the best pickled fish.

Because his words represent hope.

Hope. This is what refugees need most.

"Azhagan's swimming skills are getting better and better. He will definitely be a Dubuqi in the future."

On the beach, someone was talking to himself.

For a moment, everyone was silent.

Dubuchi is Azagan's older brother. He has been proficient in swimming and diving since he was a child. When he grew up, he became a sailor on a merchant ship as he wished. Later, he was promoted to boatswain. He is the pride of their village.

He died, killed by Christians.

Seeing that no one said anything, the child who spoke realized that he had said something wrong and quickly shut his mouth.

The children all remembered the horrific war a year ago.

Knights on horses and camels galloped in all directions, rushing into the panicked fleeing crowd, leaving behind flowers of blood and reaping lives.

The children got the news in advance and hid in the underground passage built many years ago under the protection of their parents. They listened in fear and trepidation to the shouts and screams coming from above their heads and felt the vibrations from the horses' hooves stepping on the ground.

"so little?"

Azagan still remembers that a rough voice said this above his head.

The entire village was wiped out, and half of the villagers had no time to hide and were killed directly, without even the right to become prisoners.

so little?
Azagan shook off the horrific echo in his head and stood up.

"Let's go back and give the big fish we caught to our parents. How about leaving some small ones for us to grill and eat in the evening?"

Azagan forced a smile and waved the heavy fish basket in his hand, trying to pull his companions out of their memories.

"Okay! Great!"

The children were also very cooperative. They knew they couldn't always be immersed in memories, so they all agreed.

The children walked towards the shore, deliberately finding some happy topics to talk about along the way and laughing exaggeratedly to cover up their fear.

The sun set particularly quickly today. In a blink of an eye, darkness replaced the light and enveloped the earth. The moon had just risen and was obscured by thick clouds.

"Hahaha! Look at the sea, I wonder which idiot is still fishing!"

When the children heard this, they all turned around and looked.

There was fog over the sea and it was hard to see clearly. I could only vaguely see a few flickering lights, but they didn't look like the lights of fishing boats. It felt unspeakably strange.

The children looked at each other, and for a moment no one could move.

Everyone looked at each other and shook their heads, indicating that this was not their boat.

"Shall we go take a look?"

The youngest child shouted, driven by curiosity.

Azagan grabbed him.

For some reason, even though the weather was hot and humid, he felt a chill coming from nowhere.

The clouds dissipated, and the moon goddess stretched out her arms and began to spread her light to the world.

The original wisps of lights gradually increased in number, emerging from the thick fog like the burning eyes of demons in a deep cave.

The children's pupils suddenly dilated, their mouths opened, and there was unprecedented fear and despair in their eyes.

A huge fleet broke through the fog, letting the moonlight spread all over its body, revealing its ferocious appearance.

The leading ship was graceful and majestic, with its empty gun muzzles pointed at the shore. A double-headed eagle was painted on its sails, and Greek words that the Muslim children could not understand were engraved on the hull.

Grand Archon.

……

On June 1449, 6, Giovanni Giustitiani led the vanguard troops to land in the village of Nuova Bellefa and successfully found a harbor suitable for a large-scale landing for the subsequent fleet.

On June 6, Giovanni led the marines and pirates to capture the town of Mylefa, which had only one hundred defenders, and returned with a lot of loot.

On June 6, the looting fleet headed northwest, and the area around Misrata, which had just recovered, was robbed again. Prince Omar retreated to Misrata and sent a letter for help to his father-in-law who was guarding Zlitan, but was rejected.

The walls of Misurata were strong, so Giovanni circled the city without launching a direct attack.

Then, as the entire city watched, Giovanni collected grain outside the city, plundered the affiliated towns, and drove the people inland.

After doing this, Giovanni walked away.

On June 6, the fleet continued along the northwest coast, looting villages and unwalled towns along the way and intimidating the defenders hiding in the towns.

"That's the situation, and we have the upper hand."

During the combat meeting, Isaac raised his head and looked into the excited eyes of the generals.

"The enemy hastily hid in the city, making it difficult for them to collect a large amount of food and weapons in a short period of time. This is very advantageous to us."

"The coast was completely looted, and Umar had no militia, no food, no weapons, and even no reinforcements."

"I want to see how he can defend it."

Isaac took out a pen and drew a circle on the black dot on the map that represented the city of Misrata.

"The whole army is marching, aiming for Misrata."

To avoid confusion, the Constantine region of Africa is called Constantina

For the same reason, Abu Osman Yahya is called Yahya instead of Osman, as is commonly used in history books.
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(End of this chapter)