Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to Imperial Conflicts. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
The Islamic Caliphate of Azraq
Topic Started: Aug 28 2010, 12:19 AM (517 Views)
Azraq[OSI]
Member Avatar
Advanced Member
[ *  *  * ]
Posted Image

At A Glance: The Islamic Caliphate of Azraq

Conventional long form: The Islamic Caliphate of Azraq
Short form: Azraq Caliphate
Government: Islamic Constitutional Republic headed by non-hereditary Monarch
Head of State: Ismail II
Population: 20.000.000
Capital: Baghdad
Languages: Arabic, local dialects
Monetary Unit: Dinar
Official Religion: Sunni Islam
Military Strength: 50,000 (.25% of population)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Azraq[OSI]
Member Avatar
Advanced Member
[ *  *  * ]
History

-Chapter I: Baghdad, The Abbasids, Hulagu Khan and the Golden Age-

The City of Baghdad was founded in 762 by the Second Abbasid Caliph al-Mansur. In 758 Mansur assembled engineers, surveyors, and art constructionists from around the world to come together and draw up plans for the city. Over 100,000 construction workers came to survey the plans and were distributed salaries to start the building of the city. Mansur believed that the city would serve as the ideal for the capital of Islamic Caliphate under the Abbasids. Control over the strategic trade routes along the Tigris out to sea and the famed "Khurasan Highway" the route to and from Asia, coupled with an abundance of water spurred the city's early meteoric growth.

The Abbasids were heavily influenced by Qur'anic injunctions such as "the ink of a scholar is more holy than the blood of a martyr", stressing the value of knowledge. Within a generation of it's founding Baghdad became the hub of commerce and learning for the Islamic world. During this period the Muslim world became the unrivaled intellectual center for science, philosophy, medicine and education as the Abbasids championed the cause of knowledge and established the House of Wisdom in Baghdad; where both Muslim and non-Muslim scholars sought to translate and gather all the world's knowledge into Arabic.

During this period, artists, engineers, scholars, poets, philosophers, geographers and traders in the Islamic world contributed to agriculture, the arts, economics, industry, law, literature, navigation, philosophy, sciences, sociology, and technology, both by preserving earlier traditions and by adding inventions and innovations of their own. This period is commonly referred to as the "The Islamic Golden Age" and stretched from mid-8th to the mid-13th centuries.

By the mid-13th century, the caliphate had been long on the wane and the Caliph a figurehead controlled by Turkic or Mamluk warlords. In 1258 Hulagu Khan, grandson of Ghenghis Khan laid siege to Baghdad and massacred between 100,000-1,000,000 inhabitants, burning and sacking the city. The libraries of Baghdad including the House of Wisdom were destroyed, their invaluable books used to make passage over the river Tigris. It was said that the waters of the Tigris ran black for six months with ink from the enormous quantities of books flung into the river. As a result Baghdad remained depopulated and in ruins for several centuries, and the event is conventionally regarded as the end of the Islamic Golden Age.

But what if the Mongols had been repulsed on all fronts by the emergence of a new stronger Caliphate that also stressed the value of knowledge?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter II in progress -OSI
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Azraq[OSI]
Member Avatar
Advanced Member
[ *  *  * ]
Government Structure

The Executive

-The Caliph-


"If I order any thing that would go against the order of Allah and his Messenger; then do not Obey me" -Caliph Abu Bakr

The Caliph, or head of state, is often known as Amir al-Mu'minin "Commander of the Believers". The most common translation for the word which appears in the Quran is vicegerency (or caretaker).

The Azraq Caliphate is modeled after the early Rashidun Caliphate or "The Rightly Guided Caliphate" and as such is a constitutional republic. Rulers are bound by a set of laws which they cannot break at a whim and the Ummah (Islamic community) has the right to appoint their leader through their local leaders via the Majlis al-Shura (Consultative Council). Should the leaders divert from their obligations as vicegerents, the Ummah itself reserves the right to remove them.

As the inheritors of the Rashidun Caliphate the Azraq Caliphate followed their republican tradition, Caliphs were either elected by the Majlis al-Shura or chosen based on the wishes of their predecessor and approved by the Majlis al-Shura. As such all Azraq Caliphs are considered Rashidun or "Righteous" Caliphs in the Sunni tradition. In emergencies when there is no Caliphate and no Majlis, the people themselves are encouraged to create a Majlis, select a list of candidates for Caliph, and then the Majlis should select a Caliph from the list of candidates.

The Judicial

-The Qadis-

In order to provide adequate and speedy justice for the people, an effective system of judicial administration was set up, hereunder justice was administered according to the principles of Islam. Qadis (Judges) were appointed from the ranks of the Ulema to all administrative levels for the administration of justice. In fact Rashidun Caliph Umar was the first ruler in history to separate judiciary from the executive.

The Qadis were chosen for their integrity and learning in Islamic law. High salaries were fixed for the Qadis so that there was no temptation to bribery. Wealthy men and men of high social status were appointed as Qadis so that they might not have the temptation to take bribes, or be influenced by the social position of any body. The Qadis were not allowed to engage in trade. Judges were appointed in sufficient number, and there was no district which did not have a Qadi.

The Legislative

-The Ulema-

The power of the Caliph was restricted by the scholarly class, the Ulema, a group regarded as the guardians of the law. Since the law came from the legal scholars, this prevented the Caliph from dictating legal results. Laws were decided based on the Ijma (consensus) of the Ummah (Islamic community), which was most often represented by the legal scholars. In order to qualify as a legal scholar, it was required that they obtain at least one doctorate from a Madrasah

-The Majlis al-Shura-


The Majlis al-Shura (Cosultative Council) are tasked with both advisory and legislative powers, advising both the Ulema and the Caliph. In addition the Majlis al-Shura elect the Caliph by the tradition of Shura (consultation), and if the Caliph does not uphold justice the Majlis al-Shura will typically issue warning to the Caliph, and if unheeded the Caliph can be impeached on behalf of the Ummah. Typically the Majlis is composed of senior Ulema, other notable scholars and academics, Sultans and Emir, important merchants and prominent Qadis.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Azraq[OSI]
Member Avatar
Advanced Member
[ *  *  * ]
Military

The Azraq Army

The Azraq Caliphate Army is the primary military body of the Azraq Caliphate's armed forces, serving alongside the Azraq Navy. The Azraq army maintains a high level of discipline, strategic prowess, and organization. The permanent component of the Azraq army is divided into two distinct groups, the Mamluks and the Ansar. While originally comprised of slaves, the Mamluks and the Ansar are now exclusive military societies, with only Muslims allowed to join their ranks.

Centuries of Christian, Mongol and Ottoman invasions have rekindled the fires of Jihad and instilled a tenacious and hawkish spirit in the Azraqi population.

In the tradition of the Rashidun Caliph Umar the Azraq Caliphate organized the army as a state department, organizing a standing army paid by salary. Over decades the tribal-based command structure was transformed into a unified and cohesive organization. The army is under the direct control of the Caliph who personally appoints high-ranking officers on the basis of the strength of the length of service or exceptional merit.

The Mamluks

Neither free men nor ordinary slaves the Mamluks are raised from an early age to serve only the Caliph. The Mamluks are subject to strict discipline and are paid salaries and pensions on retirement, and are free to marry. Their training consisted of strict religious and military education and when complete they were discharged, but still attached to the Caliph. Heavily armored the Mamluks serve as heavy infantry and heavy cavalry.

The Mamluks wear a conical helmet with chain-mail aventail and a solid steel face-mask. For body protection armor made with interlocking rings of flattened steel are reinforced at the front, underarms and back with rectangular steel plates. The armor is worn over a leather and mail hauberk that is also resistant to flames. This had several advantages as it permitted a wider range of motion and its open structure allowed air to circulate freely, keeping the wearer cooler.

Heavy cavalry are armed with a broad shield, lance and a sword of Damascus steel while heavy infantry are armed with a broad shield and a similar sword or axe along with a few javelins. Units of armed with Halberds and Pikes serve to ward off enemy cavalry charges.

The Ansar

The Ansar are a class of warriors raised similar to Mamluks and are renowned for their arsenal of weapons and for their lightning speed and mobility on the battlefield. Expert archers and javeliners, the Ansar began adopting firearms during the Ottoman invasions. Though traditionally armed units still exist the Ansar are mostly equipped with muskets and also make extensive use of grenades and hand cannons.

Most Ansar Qdm al-Mdfʻyh "foot artillery" are equipped with a musket and several grenades along with a sword for close combat. Dedicated light infantry units equipped with swords, axes, spears and javelins are still prevalent. Mounted artillery units carry muskets and sabers, with lancer units carrying spears or lances up to five and half meters long and a bow or javelins. Bombadier units operate all artillery from highly mobile Abus Guns to larger bombards and field artillery.


The Azraq Navy

Under construction.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
ZetaBoards - Free Forum Hosting
Free Forums with no limits on posts or members.
Learn More · Sign-up Now
« Previous Topic · Factbooks · Next Topic »
Add Reply