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Description

Another map based on an EU4 game meant to get the achievement of the same name, the Third Way. The Ibadis of Mzab were the true heirs of the Almohads all along! As usual, feedback and reviews are very appreciated, and below is a small piece of lore.
One of the many brothers of the Sultan of Tlemcen Ahmed II, Hassan had to flee the country in fear for his life south to the Saharan Oases. Settling in the Mozabite oasis of Ghardaia, he adopted the local Ibadi sect of Kharjite Islam, the branch claiming "No judgement except God's". Eventually elected Imam of the oases of Mzab, he began organizing the tribesmen of the area in an attempt to extend his rule over the Sahara. In 1445 he marched east, seizing Biskra and Ouargla and sieged Tuggurt, seat of the Banu Djellab family, whose leader Mubarrak fled to Fezzan requesting help. A year later Tuggurt fell, and Fezzani armies that arrived to relieve the siege were destroyed by Hassan's zealots. He later marched east, and forced Fezzan to accept his suzerainty.
The conquest of the Tuggurt Sultanate enlarged Hassan's army and he now began plans to march north and conquer Tlemcen from his brother, his birthright. But his new Ibadi conviction meant he was no longer looking to take the throne of Tlemcen, but rather to restore the old Rustamid Imamate that has ruled much of the central Maghreb and claimed leadership of Kharijite Muslims.
Allying with Abd-al-Haqq of Morocco, who needed victories to increase his waning legitimacy, he invaded in 1450 as Moroccan armies crossed the Moulouya, and by 1453 seized most of the Zayyanid kingdom for himself. Ceding the oasis of Figuig to Morocco and with his brother seeking support from Tunis, he died in 1454 as Hafsid armies attempted to restore Ahmad to Tlemcen as a vassal. His wife, Lalla Aicha, took over as regent for her infant child Yahya, who was accepted as heir to his father. Mozabite armies were successful in repelling the Hafsids and were even able to seize the Aures Mountains and Kabylia by 1459.
The Imamate's ally, the Sultan of Morocco, requested help as his southern viceroys, displeased with the meager gains of the invasion of Tlemcen, and supported by the Crown of Portugal, rebelled against him. While Lalla Aisha agreed, the tribes' leaders saw it a lost cause, eventually exiling Aisha to Fezzan, seizing control of the Imamate, and refusing to aid Morocco. Yahya, who was by now a grown man, mounted an army and retook Ghardaia as the Grand Imam. But it was too late, his western ally collapsed and the Portuguese seized Fez. Claiming it was divine intervention as the Sultan refused the Ibadi cause, he led campaigns in Morocco to "liberate" and annex it to his domains. The Gold mints of Sijilmassa in 1470, Marrakech in 1484, and Sus in 1488. Yahya mounted invasions against the Hafsids in 1478 and 1498 and was largely successful, though the Hafsids escaped to Tripoli and countinued the fight.
Realizing that Yahya was about to unite the Moors into a single state, Castile realised the coming danger, and so invaded. 1489 saw Castilian troops launch several invasions against the Imamate, starting a long war that ended in Castile losing all its holding in North Africa. Fueled by this victory, Yahya, now Sultan-Imam of the Maghreb, led his great Jihad to expel all Christians from North Africa, or more specifically, Portugal from Fez. Finally victorious in 1505, he died after uniting most of the Maghreb under his domain, earning his the nickname "the Great", and leaving his son Muhammad with a clear path. Al-Andalus and the Mediterranean Islands.
By the end of the first half of the 16th century, the great Imamate stood as what looked like a second Almohad Caliphate, and the Sultan-Imam Muhammad's domains extended from the Atlantic to Sirt, and from the Great River to the Sahara. While Fezzan escaped his direct grasp, it continued to be under his influence and even server as a fine place to expel dissidents. Its domination of the Western Mediterranean and its famed military tradition meant the Western Christian World had to band together to halt the Zealots Moors planning to march north, just as they did, 700 years ago.

Description

Another map based on an EU4 game meant to get the achievement of the same name, the Third Way. The Ibadis of Mzab were the true heirs of the Almohads all along! As usual, feedback and reviews are very appreciated, and below is a small piece of lore.
One of the many brothers of the Sultan of Tlemcen Ahmed II, Hassan had to flee the country in fear for his life south to the Saharan Oases. Settling in the Mozabite oasis of Ghardaia, he adopted the local Ibadi sect of Kharjite Islam, the branch claiming "No judgement except God's". Eventually elected Imam of the oases of Mzab, he began organizing the tribesmen of the area in an attempt to extend his rule over the Sahara. In 1445 he marched east, seizing Biskra and Ouargla and sieged Tuggurt, seat of the Banu Djellab family, whose leader Mubarrak fled to Fezzan requesting help. A year later Tuggurt fell, and Fezzani armies that arrived to relieve the siege were destroyed by Hassan's zealots. He later marched east, and forced Fezzan to accept his suzerainty.
The conquest of the Tuggurt Sultanate enlarged Hassan's army and he now began plans to march north and conquer Tlemcen from his brother, his birthright. But his new Ibadi conviction meant he was no longer looking to take the throne of Tlemcen, but rather to restore the old Rustamid Imamate that has ruled much of the central Maghreb and claimed leadership of Kharijite Muslims.
Allying with Abd-al-Haqq of Morocco, who needed victories to increase his waning legitimacy, he invaded in 1450 as Moroccan armies crossed the Moulouya, and by 1453 seized most of the Zayyanid kingdom for himself. Ceding the oasis of Figuig to Morocco and with his brother seeking support from Tunis, he died in 1454 as Hafsid armies attempted to restore Ahmad to Tlemcen as a vassal. His wife, Lalla Aicha, took over as regent for her infant child Yahya, who was accepted as heir to his father. Mozabite armies were successful in repelling the Hafsids and were even able to seize the Aures Mountains and Kabylia by 1459.
The Imamate's ally, the Sultan of Morocco, requested help as his southern viceroys, displeased with the meager gains of the invasion of Tlemcen, and supported by the Crown of Portugal, rebelled against him. While Lalla Aisha agreed, the tribes' leaders saw it a lost cause, eventually exiling Aisha to Fezzan, seizing control of the Imamate, and refusing to aid Morocco. Yahya, who was by now a grown man, mounted an army and retook Ghardaia as the Grand Imam. But it was too late, his western ally collapsed and the Portuguese seized Fez. Claiming it was divine intervention as the Sultan refused the Ibadi cause, he led campaigns in Morocco to "liberate" and annex it to his domains. The Gold mints of Sijilmassa in 1470, Marrakech in 1484, and Sus in 1488. Yahya mounted invasions against the Hafsids in 1478 and 1498 and was largely successful, though the Hafsids escaped to Tripoli and countinued the fight.
Realizing that Yahya was about to unite the Moors into a single state, Castile realised the coming danger, and so invaded. 1489 saw Castilian troops launch several invasions against the Imamate, starting a long war that ended in Castile losing all its holding in North Africa. Fueled by this victory, Yahya, now Sultan-Imam of the Maghreb, led his great Jihad to expel all Christians from North Africa, or more specifically, Portugal from Fez. Finally victorious in 1505, he died after uniting most of the Maghreb under his domain, earning his the nickname "the Great", and leaving his son Muhammad with a clear path. Al-Andalus and the Mediterranean Islands.
By the end of the first half of the 16th century, the great Imamate stood as what looked like a second Almohad Caliphate, and the Sultan-Imam Muhammad's domains extended from the Atlantic to Sirt, and from the Great River to the Sahara. While Fezzan escaped his direct grasp, it continued to be under his influence and even server as a fine place to expel dissidents. Its domination of the Western Mediterranean and its famed military tradition meant the Western Christian World had to band together to halt the Zealots Moors planning to march north, just as they did, 700 years ago.