Caliphate of Alqistantinia

Arab

Georgian

The Caliphate of Alqistantinia is a muslim state where the ruler claims to be the spiritual and political successor to Muhammed. It is based in the city of Alqistantinia, also known as Constantinople and extends from Macedonia in Greece to Palestine in the levant.

## History

*Main Page: Events of Caliphate of Alqistantinia*

### Pre-RP

In the 640's the Rashidun Caliphate defeats the Byzantines and reaches far into anatolia, eventually capturing Constantinople and the Maritsa river basin.

In the 670 the Umayyads replace the Rashiduns.

Around 700 the Umayyad caliphate collapsed under internal pressure. The governor of Alqistantinia creates his own state based around the city. He claims the title of Caliph, and that his state is the successor to the Umayyads. He dies and leaves his child, Al-Jawad I, as the next Caliph.

### Reign of Al-Jawad I

Al-Jawad begins his reign as a child, and the state is administered by a capable group of advisors, loyal to the old Caliph.

In 704 AD, Alharis Alaskndnafia or The Northener Guard, is founded. Groups of vikings and northeners who otherwise would raid the caliphate's lands are recruited into a mercenary force.

Al-Jawad slowly claims more power and in 710 AD at 20 years of age, he is free from the influence of the old advisors. To establish himself he launches an invasion of Karpathos and Crete, which thanks to the viking mercenaries and their longships, is a success.

The Francian Plague ravages the Caliphate in 722-726 AD, but thankfully the Caliph is spared.

In 728 AD the Caliphate becomes the suzerain of the holy city of Mecca, which leads to rivalry with the nearby Emirate of Cairo.

In 737 AD the Caliphate allies itself with the nearby Emirate of Morea. It proves usefull as the Emirate invades Jerusalem and the Levant in the subsequent year, beginning the Alqistantinian-Cairoan war. The Caliphate had relied too heavily on mercenaries which now were unavailable, resulting in problems assembling a defense and a loss at the Battle of Dimashq. The tides would turn in 739 AD however when the Emirate of Morea joined the war. A naval engangement is faught near Alexandria which proves unconclusive but at the Battle of the Orontes the Epyptian commander is killed and thanks to a bribed Egyptian mercenary captain the Caliphate manages to occupy Cairo. In the peace treaty the old Emir is forced into exile and his son becomes the governor of the Alqistantinian province of Egypt, one with substantial autonomy.

In 746 AD the Caliphate's armies have recovered enough that the Caliph orders an invasion of the Byzantine rump state to the west, with the aid of Morea. Thessalonica is quickly captured because of a flaw in the city's defence. Morea occupies central Greece but after a guerilla campagin by the Byzantine "emperor" Marcian II the muslim armies have their hands full with occupying all this new territory. However Mercian's old vassals showed questionable loyalty as they abandon him as his status is weakened. Macedonia becomes a new province of the Caliphate.

After the Wallachian king's muslim conversion and travel to Alqistantinia, and visit of the Hagia Sofia mosque, the Caliph accepted to officially vassalize the kingdom in 748 AD. The vlachs would have to pay a sum of their tax to the Caliph, but smaller than the other governors. Except for the monetary tributes the kingdom is functionally independent.

In 764 AD Al-Jawad dies in his sleep and is succeeded by his chosen heir and grandson Umar, who becomes Umar III. Al-Jawad's legacy would lead to his dynasty being named the Jawadine dynasty.

## Culture and Language

The ruling Arabs speak Arabic, and generally do not mingle with the rest of the populous. The majority of people are Greek and speak various Greek dialects. The Lazi, a Georgian people, are a majority in the province of Lazika. Other notable minorities are the Copts, Jews, Armenians and Romanian-speaking Vlachs in Thrace. The Caliphate is partially arabized around mayor cities, the Levant and Egypt, but Arabic is still far from the majority language.

## Religion

The official state religion is Sunni Islam of which the Arab minority and some Greek converts adhere to. However, they constitute only about a fifth of the populous. Many of the Muslim believers are concentrated in Alqistantinia, which is the administrative capital. The majority of the population are Orthodox Christians. Church activity has continued largely uninhibited, with the exception of the conversion of Hagia Sofia into a Mosque. Christians are subject to a special tax, and the word of a muslim weighs heavier than the word of a christian in a court of law. For these reason many Christians choose to convert to Islam.

## Administration

The Caliphate is divided into a number of provinces, all with their own governor. The governor collects tax and maintains order, and sends a portion of the tax to the capital. Alqistantinia is the Caliphate's administrative center and capital, from which the country is ruled.

## Military

The Caliphate employs an army of many thousands of paid, professional soldiers loyal to the Caliph. The soldiers are often Greek-speaking muslims, with generals and other high ranking officials being Arab muslims. The governors commonly have a small mercenary force of a couple hundred Christian or Muslim warriors they use to quell local dissent, which the Caliph tolerates. The Caliphate’s army is only mobilized for serious threats.

## Economy

Central to the economy is the Qusurs. They are large estates owned by Greek or Arab muslims who employ up to hundreds of paid Christian workers and unpaid slaves. The slaves are often imported from other parts of the middle east. These estates produce much of the caliphate’s food like cereal crops, grapes and olives. Various luxury products like mats, dyes, jewelry and glass are also produced in the caliphate.