War of Grythshead Independence
| War of Grythshead Independence | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Grythshead |
 Ramubad | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Elwyn of Chick  |
Abdul Emin Pasha † | ||||||
The War of Grythshead Independence was a war fought in 1301 between the Prodavan Sultanate of Ramubad and Vionnan rebels from the region of Grythshead under the leadership of Lord Duncan of Kamoine. The war lasted from the Siege of Chick in May 1299 until late summer 1301 when the Battle of Grythshead and the subsequent Diktat of Kamoine established Grythsheader independence. Grythsheader victory marked a turn in the fortunes of the Andyist and Christian kindgoms of southern Vionna and the muslim Prodavan incursions into the region, which had been continuous since the 10th century, were decisively ended and remained unattempted for three centuries.
Background
Starting in the 10th century AD with the Fanfoss Jihad and the Ramubadic Conquest of Trensmere, the Muslim nations of northern Prodava spent much of their time warring with the Kingdoms and lordships of Southern Vionna - conquering large swathes of the frontier. Though partly religiously motivated (the majority of Vionna-Frankenlisch was, and remains, Andyist or Christian), these conflicts were primarily wars of aggression with conquest as the main goal. The Sultanate of Ramubad, a rich trading kingdom which controlled a vast area of northern Prodava, had reached its peak by 1260 under Mehmet II. The annexation of neighboring Loukussa in 1241 had significantly increased Mehmet's influence in Prodava and many of the small sheikhdoms along the River Khal pledged their allegience to him. The feared Marcher Prince of Grythshead, Simon II died in 1244 leaving the region crippled militarily. Other Vionnan nations in the region used the opportunity to take parts of the Princedom and this only exacerbated the decline. In 1249, to the surprise of few, Mehmet invaded Grythshead at the head of an army of 30,000 men. Grythshead, once a fierce military power in the area, could offer only token resistance. At the so-called Humiliation of Inchwick in 1250, the young Prince Stephen swore fealty to the Sultan of Ramubad and was forced to marry Aaliyah, the Sultan's eldest daughter. The marriage was (at the Sultan's insistance) an Andyist ceremony and legally matrilineal - binding Grythshead to the Sultan's family. To ensure Stephen did not outlive his wife and render the arrangement null, Mehmet II's vizier had the Prince assassinated in 1253 at the age of 21 and Aaliyah inherited the Princedom.
Grythshead remained under the regency of Mehmet II until his death in 1262. The regency passed to his son and successor, Mehmet III, and the new Sultan inherited the Princedom when Aaliyah died in 1265 - possibly assassinated. The young Mehmet III, taking the throne at 19, was a shrewd ruler who had outlived two brothers to ascend to his father's glories. He immediately made alliances with the regional leaders of Loukussa to ensure the loyalty of his Loukussan subjects. His early reign was marked with stability and generosity, intercut with incidents of extreme cruelty (possibly at the advice of his councillors) such as the Massacre of Nickevale. This combination was sufficient to keep the Sultan's various vassals in line and Ramubad experienced a period of significant ecomonic growth. The Vionnan lords under Ramubadic dominion were allowed to keep their religion and their lands benefited from lucrative Prodavan trade, but they were subjected to harsh taxation and subject to military or civil service. Several thousand Vionnans died in 1270 when a poor harvest was exacerbated by the conscription of peasants for building projects in Loukussa.
This peaceable state of affairs turned in 1279 when Mehmet III came into conflict with Salman II of Thralkeldia. The Thralkelds were able to turn the loyalty of many of Mehmet's minor vassals along the River Khal by appealing to ancestral connections and offering bribes. When a peace conference turned sour, Salman II raised his army and marched on Loukussa. Mehmet returned hastily to raise his own forces and earned the ire of his Vionnan subjects by raising 2,000 soldiers for the conflict. Mehmet attempted to cool the Vionnan temper by naming Harold of Hasledown to the position of Deputy Marshal. However, the Sultan angered the Vionnans a second time by, instead of defending the strong walls of Loukussa which had been built by Vionnan labour, he insisted on marching out to meet the Thralkelds in the open field. The two sultans met at the Battle of El-Kabhir in 1280 and Mehmet, at heavy cost in soldiers and material, emerged victorious. The loss of some 400 Vionnan soldiers in the battle, however, and the death of Harold of Hasledown at their head, was another major upset for the Vionnans under Mehmet III's rule. Many myths exist about the Harold's death, including many involving treachery on the part of the Ramubadic Sultan, but the expert consensus is that Harold was killed at the head of a Vionnan-led counterattack which may have won the battle for Ramubad. Certainly, Mehmet mourned Harold's loss bitterly and ordered a Christian church built on the site of the battle in his honour.
The brittle peace which had existed between Vionnans in Grythshead and their Ramubadic overlords was strained even further by the losses of 1280 and Mehmet III would not recover their trust. The war with Thralkeldia lasted only another year as both sides had taken crippling losses at El-Kabhir. Ramubad fell, again, into a period of general stability following the war. However, the death of Harold of Hasledown had provided Grythshead with a matyr and his relics were paraded through the Princedom before being laid to rest at Hasledown. A peasant uprising near Hawksy was put down bloodily in 1284 and an attempt by Salman II of Thralkeldia to raise rebellion in Kamoine was only prevented by the death of John of Kamoine in 1289. Lord John's successor was his son, Duncan, who refused to work with Salman - seeing him as worse than Mehmet. Banditry in Grythshead increased over these years, targeting mainly Ramubadic officials and soldiers. Between 1288 and 1295, over 50 of the Sultan's tax collectors and lawmen were robbed or killed by outlaws covertly supported by the lords and people of the region.
In 1295, the son of Harold of Hasledown reached majority and was confirmed as Lord Loric of Hasledown. He married in 1296 to Mariette Tyrel, the younger sister of Duncan of Kamoine. The pair had a son the following year which they named Griff and Loric raised the manor or Grifford in the child's honour. Immediately, banditry in the region increased and a patrol of Ramubadic soldiers were murdered. Sultan Mehmet, disturbed by the reports he had received, moved his court to Loukussa temporarily and sent a force of 1,500 soldiers into Grythshead to investigate. While passing Grifford, the soldiers discovered that Loric had crenellated (fortified) without the permission of the Sultan, a practice the Sultan had learned from his Vionnan neighbors. When fifty Ramubadic soldiers were sent to slight the fortifications of Grifford, Loric attacked them with a retinue of mounted soldiers and then fled his lands to the castle of Chick.
Chick, 1299
Chick and its castle were the jurisdiction of Lord Elwyn of Chick who, aged 63, was a prominent supporter of Grythsheader rebellion against Ramubad. When Loric of Hasledown arrived he was immediately accepted by Elwyn, who agreed to hide him and his men.