Timeline: The Peshawar Lancers

[TheLastKnight]

The Fall and the Exodus
The Crescent and the Cross
​

"In the modern era, there are many great powers, but few that can challenge the Raj in terms of manpower, industrial strength and territory. Holy Russia, while powerful, is not the titan that it was pre-Fall. The Nipponese have an expansive empire, and their navy is indeed a rival to our own, but they are more concerned with the United States and the Son of Heaven. The United States itself is far away and has become a strong trade partner with the Raj. Only two powers can match the influence of the Raj, the Dragon Throne and the Caliphate of Damascus."

"The Caliphate of Damascus came to power shortly after the destruction of Constantinople. The loss of Osman's lineage threw the Ottoman Empire into complete chaos. The Turks had created a multi-ethnic and multi-religious realm that had stood the test of time for centuries. But after the Crimean War, the Ottomans were no longer the feared empire they had been during the Siege of Vienna. In Anatolia, various governors began to seize power and battle their neighbours. One is reminded of the beyliks after the fall of the Seljuk Empire. These new beyliks would compete with one another while the rest of the empire began to be picked off by its neighbours. If it had been given more time, one of these beyliks may have been able to reunite Anatolia and begin to restore the borders of the old Ottoman empire, but they never got that chance. That was because of a growing power to the south."

"The first people to take advantage of the fall of the Ottomans were the Arabs. At that time, the Arabs were beginning to chafe under Turkish rule. Some wanted equal status in the empire, while others wanted their own nation. With the loss of Constantinople and the shattering of Turkish rule, the Arabs began to rally to their own leaders. One of those leaders was Abdul Rahman bin Faisal Al Saud."

"Abdul Rahman had been exiled by his brother, after his brother seized the Imanate of Nejd. Abdul Rahman was a very religious man, while his brother was a skilled commander and autocratic administrator. Abdul Rahman would use a growing religious fervour among the Arab tribes of the desert to launch a coup against his brother. The Saudis believed in an ultraconservative form of Islam known as Salafism. Abdul Rahman would use the Fall as propaganda. The Fall was the will of Allah's and his disfavour with the secularist Ottomans. Salafist imams began to spread the word that Abdul Rahman was going to restore the old Caliphate with Salafism Islam as the central tenets of Abdul Rahman's new domain. This invigorated the Arab tribes and many flocked to his banner, a simple green flag bearing the sword of Muhammad. After securing Nejd, Abdul Rahman moved on Mecca and Medina. The local Hashim family ruled over those cities as Sharifs. The Hashemites were the direct descendants of the Prophet through his daughter, and considered themselves the heirs to his legacy. The Hashemites and the Saudis fought a long war for control of the Holy Cities. The Saudis however, prevailed in the end, mainly because of religious zeal encouraging more tribes to join them. The Hashemites fled across the Sinai and were given shelter by the Khedive of Egypt."

"Abdul Rahman, after securing the Holy Cities, claimed the Caliph and marched on Syria. Many historians say that if the Khedive of Egypt had marched on Syria, his more European-style military could have prevailed and pushed Abdul Rahman back to the deserts. But the Khedive was still trying to knit his empire along the Nile together and couldn't spare the forces to protect the Levant governors. The beys of Syria and Iraq were not strong enough and soon submitted to Abdul Rahman. He moved the court of the Caliph to the city of Damascus and began to forge his new caliphate. Caliph Abdul Rahman would die in 1928 and his son Caliph Abdulaziz struck against the Qajars of Persia and the Muhammad Ali dynasty of Egypt."

"The Greeks and the Caucasian Christians also took advantage of the destruction of their former overlords. A Kingdom of Georgia was restored with a scion of the Bagrationi dynasty being crowned in Tibllisi. The Armenians also established their own kingdom under a cousin of the Georgian king and began to rebuild their classical empire. The Armenians were able to advance as far as the headwaters of the Euphrates before they were stopped by the growing Caliphate. The Caliphate and the Armenians would wage many wars over the decades with the borders changing hands."

"The Kingdom of Greece was a young nation and had only begun to forge a national identity. The King of the Hellenes, George I began to see himself as the restorer of the old Byzantine empire. He began to push north into Macedonia and capture many towns. However, George ordered the army to stop advancing further when the Greeks meet the Bulgarian army. The Bulgarians had felt the Fall had torn up the Treaty of San Stefano. George did not wish to antagonise the growing Bulgarian empire. The liberation of Thessaloniki was a major propaganda tool for the king, as the great city was considered second only to old Byzantium. However, with the loss of Constantinople to a meteor, George knew that it would be decades before the Greeks could build a new city on its ruins. So he decided that reuniting the Greek people was paramount. His military was small, especially the navy. George would find many volunteers as he declared his intention to reunite all Greeks. George also found aid from an unexpected source. Many foreign nationals, especially Russians and British were in Greece. The British and Russians brought what ships they had in Greek ports to George's cause, as well as volunteers for the Hellenic Army. He knew he couldn't take much of the Greek islands and provinces in Anatolia by force. However, what he did do was encourage rebellion and armed rebels across the Greek speaking territories of the Ottoman Empire. Rebels in Crete and Cyprus took the reins of power and sent envoys to Athens asking to be annexed by the kingdom. The Aegean islands were taken with relative ease. Most of the Greeks on those islands had already been left to their own devices when their Turkish governors fled for the mainland. Rhodes was one place where the Hellenic Army and Navy faced opposition. But the Turks only fought for a few hours before they surrendered in return for being allowed to return to Anatolia. Most of these conquests were relatively bloodless. However, an envoy from the city of Smyrna arrived in Athens and begged for aid. The city had risen up against the Turks. George gathered his army and led them across the Aegean. The Siege of Smyrna was long and bloody, but after a year, the Greeks were able to push the Turkish warlords back. Gaining Smyrna allowed George to move north and take the Straits of Gallipoli. He knew that until Constantinople was rebuilt, he would still need to control access to the Black Sea. The reunification of the Greek people made the monarchy, especially George I incredibly popular. He came to Greece as a Danish-speaking foreigner and because of the Fall, became beloved by the Greek people."

 

[ParasaurEwan]

Waiting for what happened to Poland and Mexico. Good. Whilst the original book (Well, what i've read of it, i haven't read it) seems like Britain ruling everything in a postapocalypse, this is good and reminds me of a story idea i had where A meteor wipes out Eurasia save for like, ireland, southern Italy and Morea, in the 1400s.

 

[TheLastKnight]

The original book is good, but yeah it is a very British-wank story. I will be going back to Mexico in my next post as I will be moving on from the Fall to the Reconstruction Era. I will also find time to centre back on Poland and the other remnants of Europe. I am just trying to figure out what I'd like Poland to be in this TL

 

[Whiteshore]

The Saudis believed in an ultraconservative form of Islam known as Wahhabism.

@Johnharry would like to know your location, considering that he has noted multiple times that “Wahhabism” does not actually exist in the strict sense of the term. I would suggest Salafism instead as a term to describe the brand of Islam practiced here.

 

[TheLastKnight]

Oh my god, thank you. I will change that. I am from Canada. I really appreciate it. I will change it to Salafism. I also realised I used the title of Sultan of Egypt when the title was Khedive so I am changing that too. The Muhammad Ali dynasty will in time, change the title to Sultan.

 

[Whiteshore]

Oh my god, thank you. I will change that. I am from Canada. I really appreciate it. I will change it to Salafism. I also realised I used the title of Sultan of Egypt when the title was Khedive so I am changing that too. The Muhammad Ali dynasty will in time, change the title to Sultan.

Thank you very much!

 

[Ross789]

The Fall and the Exodus
The British Empire
​

.

While Edward reorganized India into the modern Raj, he also made changes to the other surviving British colonies. He appointed viceroys to his most important colonies. Australia, the Cape, British Malaya, and the West Indies were made viceroyalties with the right to have their own armies, parliaments and colonies. The Persian Gulf emirates, the Kingdom of Madagascar and the sultanates of Oman and Zanzibar would become vassal states of the Raj. The Kingdom of Burma would become a major sore to the Sirkar in Delhi. But after the reform of the Empire, the Raj led a campaign to bring an end to the Burmese threat. Originally, the Raj considered annexing Burma, but annexation was out of the question as the Raj was still recovering. So after Burma surrendered, Edward met with King Thibaw Min and offered to keep him on his throne so long as Thibaw accepted a protectorate over Burma. The king accepted it as he was fearing the growing power of the Siamese kingdom to his east.

Wouldn't the west indies be one of the worst affected areas in the world by the fall? If impacts in the Atlantic have wrecked the western coast of Europe and the Eastern coast of North America I would think the carribean would be totally wrecked. Maybe Jamaica could have been sheltered from the tsunamis behind cuba/hispaniola, but i think the smaller islands would be swamped. And even if they survived at first, they're pretty heavily populated for their size. Can't really see a happy ending there when the agriculture fails and no imports arrive.

 

[Johnharry]

@Johnharry would like to know your location, considering that he has noted multiple times that “Wahhabism” does not actually exist in the strict sense of the term. I would suggest Salafism instead as a term to describe the brand of Islam practiced here.

Well since I have been summoned, I suppose I shall give the spheel:

In the past what upset me about the term "wahhabism" was I found it offensive since it is describing many peoples sect as being the creation of a single man, but my issue with the term now is less emotionally driven and more the issue of "no one can actually define what wahhabism is."

The term does come from a muslim scholar, Muhammed ibn Abdul Wahhab, who was a Salafi who reformed the way Islam was being practiced at the time in Najd, but here are some facts:

- His ideas are generally not new and are extremely similar to what Ibn Taymiyyah was talking about.
- He actually wasn't very "radical," and was extremely cautious on issues of jihad, and he only really incited defensive jihads in his life time.
- People use the term "wahhabi" to describe movements that fundamentally had a different creed to the shaykh, such as the Taliban. In essence, people just call any Islam perceived as "radical" to be "wahhabi."
- No Salafi (which is what the term generally describes, though as I pointed out it is used against some non salafis such as the taliban?) would ever describe themselves as a Wahhabi, just as an Alawite in the modern age would never call themselves a "Nusayri."

What is an accurate statement would be "Saudi Arabia generally practices Salafism." The Neo-Hanbalite Athari creed predominant in Saudi Arabia generally welcomes the label "Salafi."

 

[TheLastKnight]

@Johnharry Thank you for the information. I will admit that I am a neophyte in Islamic history. I appreciate this.

 

[TheLastKnight]

Wouldn't the west indies be one of the worst affected areas in the world by the fall? If impacts in the Atlantic have wrecked the western coast of Europe and the Eastern coast of North America I would think the carribean would be totally wrecked. Maybe Jamaica could have been sheltered from the tsunamis behind cuba/hispaniola, but i think the smaller islands would be swamped. And even if they survived at first, they're pretty heavily populated for their size. Can't really see a happy ending there when the agriculture fails and no imports arrive.

Yes, much of the West Indies were devastated by the tsunamis. But I think that Jamaica would have been mostly shielded by Cuba and Hispaniola, so it would have been an enclave of British rule in the Caribbean. I think a lot of people would be pushed out, kind of a Sea People style invasion of various islands.

 

[TheLastKnight]

Reconstruction Era
The Roosevelt Presidency
​

"To speak of the global Reconstruction Era, one must speak of the Roosevelt Presidency. Theodore Roosevelt was the youngest president ever elected, as well as one of the longest terms of service as president. Elected in 1901, Theodore or Teddy as he was popularly known was originally a survivor of the destruction of New York City. He was considered quite frail in his youth, but after the Fall, he travelled to St. Louis, and joined the US Army. He was assigned to the Trans-Mississippi Military Region under General James Longstreet. Longstreet had re-established the U.S. Camel Corps and Teddy Roosevelt became one of the first troopers. Most of his earliest actions were against native tribes in the Southwest and Mexican caudillos of Chihuahua and Coahuila. However, Teddy Rossevelt earned fame that would eventually elevate him to the presidency during the Second Mexican War in 1888. He was serving as a colonel in the Camel Corps and was able to use his knowledge of the beasts and the terrain to destroy the supply lines of the governor of Chihuahua. But in the last year of the war, Teddy Roosevelt and the Camel Corps held off a Mexican cavalry force sent to reinforce the defenders of Chihuahua City. Although heavily outnumbered, the young colonel was able to lead his men to victory, with the use of both his camels and a battery of Gatling guns. The Battle of Three Hills wasn't a strategic victory, but it was glorified in the newspapers for the heroism of the Camel Corps. The Second Mexican War eventually led to the US annexation of Chihuahua, Sonora and Baja California."

"This experience during the Second Mexican War led to Teddy Roosevelt believing that all of North America should be under the Stars and Stripes. His first action was petitioning for the former Canadian provinces of Ontario and British Columbia (now the State of Fraser) to join the US as states. The Canadians had fled south to the US when the Fall began and eventually mingled with their southern cousins. The French-Canadians were able to return to their lands along the St. Lawrence River and were admitted as a state with special language rights. Roosevelt would use the now expanded industry and growing US population to establish colonies in the former states and Canadian provinces. The first were the port cities of the east coast from as far north as Halifax to Savannah in the south. To achieve this, Roosevelt also began the largest expansion of the US Navy. The shipyards in the Gulf were laying down the foundations of many new ships, every day. However, President Roosevelt's ambitions were not limited to just the former lands of the US and Canada. He also met with delegates from Cuba. While most of Cuba had been devastated by the tsunamis, Havana and the lands around the city were spared. Cuba was admitted to the US as a state. Havana was made the primary base for the US Navy in the Caribbean and was able to recover due to massive migration of Americans to the island. Spanish would remain the chief language of the island state. Bermuda and the Bahamas were colonised and turned into territories, while the US Marine Corps propped up a tinpot emperor in Haiti. Puerto Rico was colonised and admitted as a state. The Great Sioux Nation, the Iroquois Confederacy and the Metis Nation were also admitted as states. The Roosevelt presidency was seen as the beginning of a new age for the US. A great effort was made to build railroads across the US and shipping lanes were once again busy with merchant vessels. More states had joined or rejoined the US in his sixteen year presidency. In his own autobiography, Teddy Roosevelt would say the greatest moment of his life was during his fourteenth year as president, he arrived in New York City and personally saw the admittance of the state of New York back into the US."

"During his presidency, Teddy Roosevelt also had to deal with many foreign incidents. The first was the rise of Porfirio Diaz in Mexico. While the new dictator of Mexico was able to seize the reins of power in Mexico City, much of the countryside was still controlled by bandit-governors. Roosevelt saw the need for a stable Mexico to his south, but he also saw the threat that would come from Mexico City if Diaz demanded the return of the former northern states that were annexed by President MacArthur. Diaz was overthrown by an alliance of bandit-governors, and was forced to flee to the US. Diaz petitioned Roosevelt to help him back into power. Roosevelt agreed under the condition that Diaz recognise the annexation of Chihuahua, Sonora and Baja to the US. The overthrown Mexican dictator agreed. In 1905, Roosevelt sent Diaz back with a force of US Marines, elements of the US Camel Corps and Mexican loyalists. They arrived at Veracruz and were able to take the port city without a shot. General John Pershing was in command of the US expeditionary force. Many of the volunteer officers were students of General Pershing, especially four who would make their own mark in history; George Patton, Dwight T. Eisenhower, Emilio Mola and David MacArthur, the son of the former president. Due to American firepower, Diaz was able to re-establish power in Mexico, although he had to recognise the loss of his northern states along with the de facto independence of the Maya-led Republic of Yucatan."

"In the north, Roosevelt came into conflict with the Nipponese Empire over control of Alaska. While he still claimed all of North America for the US, Roosevelt knew he couldn't risk war with Tokyo. A brief border conflict erupted in the state of Fraser between US forces and the Nipponese Army. However, before this conflict erupted into full scale war, Roosevelt met with the ambassador of Nippon and eventually after a year of negotiations, the two powers established the Treaty of San Diego. The Treaty gave most of Alaska, minus the panhandle to Nippon, while the Alaskan panhandle was annexed to Fraser. Another diplomatic victory for Roosevelt came with the Treaty of Kingston, when the Viceroyalty of the West Indies demanded the return of the Bahamas, Bermuda and other former British islands across the Caribbean. While the Viceroyalty was limited only to Jamaica, the Cayman Islands and Angrezi Honduras, it had the backing of Delhi. While war was not on the table, Roosevelt was able to negotiate various spheres of influence of the Caribbean between Kingston and St. Louis."

"The last major diplomatic incident for the Roosevelt presidency occurred in the most unlikeliest of places. The Angrezi Raj began to re-establish colonies on Albion in 1910. However, some Angrezi ships went to Ireland to scout for areas of colonisation. The ships would be shocked when they arrived in Dublin to find a green flag with a golden harp flying from the rebuilt Dublin Castle. The US had a large Irish population, many who had come across the Atlantic during the Great Famine. During the Fall, many of these Irish communities who survived the deluge of the east coast, moved to the interior of the country. Groups like the Fenian Brotherhood eventually united under the belief that as soon as they could, they would return to Ireland itself. The Back Home Movement was born. These groups would create charities and raise funds to build and purchase ships to return to Ireland. Eventually once word had reached the US of the Raj re-establishing colonies in Glasgow, Dover, London and Portsmouth, the Irish began to send colonists back to Ireland. Dublin, Belfast, Cork and Galway were chosen as the first colonies. To protect the colonies from pirates, barbarians and even the Raj itself, the Irish Republican Army was established by veterans of the Irish Brigades of the US Army. Once the Irish Republic was proclaimed with Dublin as its capital, the Irish created a presidential system with the US as the model. The president or Taoiseach was the executive, while the Dail or assembly was created as the legislative branch. The colonial government in London sent word to St. Louis asked that the US stop any Irish ships from returning to Ireland as well as to refuse recognition of the Irish Republic. However, after the Treaty of Kingston, the Delhi government wasn't in the mood to start a war with the US over Ireland. The Delhi government made overtures to the Irish Republic and ordered the colonial assemblies in Albion to not antagonise the Irish. So, the Irish were able to recover their independence for the first time in four hundred years."

"Theodore Roosevelt would die January 6, 1919. His funeral was attended by delegates from all over the world, even the Dauphin of France-Outremer, and the Crown Prince of the Raj. His legacy of the United States was profound. While much of the North American continent was still recovering from the Fall, he was able to set an example for future presidents. His love of the natural world would lead to the first national parks in the US and even the recovery of the bison on the Great Plains. The respect he showed to the Native Americans would also lead to the inclusion of many states with Native majority populations. Under Theodore Roosevelt's tenure, America entered the 20th century as an industrial and cultural great power."

 

[TheLastKnight]

Reconstruction Era
France Outre-Mer and the Spanish-Moroccan War
​

"After the collapse of the Third Republic, the French survivors retreated to Algeria, Tunisia, and West Africa. President Prince Phillipe had first, established the provisional government in Marseilles. He refused to leave mainland France until the last ship left southern France. The president made sure that the Mediterranean coast of France was properly garrisoned and supplied. As the last ship was prepared to bring President Prince Phillipe to Algiers, he created the position of High Commissioner of the Metropole and Commander of the French Army of the Interior. It would be the last time President Prince Phillipe would look upon the French mainland."

"On Christmas Day, 1884, President Prince Phillipe's ship sailed into the harbour of Algiers. His family was with him, and when they disembarked from the ship, a great crowd of French exiles, pied-noirs, and Algerians had gathered across the city. Many in the crowd were waving the Tricolore. But there were those that also waved the white flag of the monarchy. When Prince Phillipe and his family arrived at the Summer Palace, both the Tricolore and the white flag with golden fluer-de-lys flew over the palace. The provisional government had been busy when they arrived in Algiers to enhance Prince Phillipe's popularity among the exiles and the colonials. Granted his own decision to take the last ship from France also helped cement his legend as "a man of the people" and the "people's prince." As his carriage pulled up to the Summer Palace, the crowds could be heard chanting "Roi, Roi, Roi!" As Prince Phillipe met with his ministers who stood at the front of the Palace, his minister of the interior, General Georges Ernest Boulanger, stepped forward and asked the crowd if they would accept President Prince Phillipe as the King of France and Algiers. The crowd cheered yes. Prince Phillipe would be crowned King Phillipe VII on New Years Day in Notre Dame d'Afrique and his son Phillipe, Duke of Orleans was given the title of Dauphin. The National Assembly was re-established with two houses; the lower house or Chamber of Deputies, and the upper house; the Chamber of Peers. The Chamber of Deputies was popularly elected positions, while the Chamber of Peers were appointed by the king, usually nobility, native chiefs, Catholic Church bishops and retired military and political men. The Prime Minister is appointed by the king, but most of the time, the king chooses a member of the Chamber of Deputies who has the confidence of the lower house. The national flag of France became the well-beloved Tricolore, while the white flag of the monarchists became the King's personal banner."

"King Phillipe VII's reign was marked by economic restoration, with building new infrastructure, expansion of the cities of Algiers, Oran, Constantine, Tunis, Bone, and Tlemcen, as well as the re-settlement of Four Communes of Senegal. The great cities of France-Outremer would be connected by a well-built but small rail system. To connect with the colonies in West Africa, the French Navy, the troupes de marine, and the Foreign Legion battled corsair emirs in the Canary Islands and the Azores. The arable land in Algeria would be divided into a seigneurial system. The seigneur would rent their lands to tenants known as habitants. The habitants would clear the land, build homes and other buildings and farm the land. Every estate would be required to have a shared mill, a church and school and a postal office built by the habitants. The sons of the seigneurs and habitants would be required to serve within the French military for a time. French citizenship was divided into two forms; one was based on if one was born to French citizens, spoke French and was baptised Roman Catholic, while the other was awarded based off service to the French crown and people in the form of military or public service."

"King Phillipe VII would die in Algiers in 1894 a celebrated man. Mourners from across France and the Mediterranean would come to attend his funeral in Algiers, including Muslim sultans, Tuareg chieftains, the Kings of Italy and Greece, the Tsar of Bulgaria and Princess Maria of Asturias. The Pope himself presided over the funeral. King Phillipe VII's would lay in state before he was entombed in Notre Dame. His son was crowned King Phillipe VIII and would be tested early in his reign. As the monarch to herald in the 20th century for France, it was believed he would build on top of his father's achievements and restore France's position as a great power. That test came in the form of Sultan Abd al-Hafid of Morocco. The Sultan saw the weakness of the European powers, especially Spain and sought to rebuild the Caliphate of Cordoba. His father had already seized the Spanish cities in Africa, and had considered an invasion before his death."

"In the spring of 1901, Moroccan forces crossed the Strait of Gibraltar, seized the Rock and began to push into Andalusia. Much of his fleet were made up of the island corsairs. Sultan Abd al-Hafid was a shrewd and calculated man. He invaded Spain and had hoped a rapid advance would bring the newly crowned Queen Maria I to the negotiation table. But to keep her relations in Algiers from coming to her aid, Sultan Abd al-Hafid used his position as the preeminent religious figure of Islam in North Africa to rouse the Tuareg tribes and Muslim dissenters against King Phillipe VIII and King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy. If the great Catholic powers were busy with battles in their own realms, they won't be able to reinforce the Spanish. Within a few weeks of the war beginning, Cordoba fell to the Morrocans, and Sultan Abd-al-Hafid would walk in the old Mosque of Cordoba. Andalusia would fall, and the Moroccans made two pushes for the Spanish capital in Toledo, and the port city of Valencia."

"King Phillipe VIII had not been idle in the years leading up to the war, however. The Deuxieme Bureau, the French intelligence service, had discovered the Moroccan plans for Spain and had made plans accordingly. Rebel cells were hunted down and arrested, dissenter newspapers were censored and Moroccan spies were silently removed. When war did erupt, the Tuareg brigands would find no great uprising in France Outre-Mer. Instead, they would find the guns of the French military. The Tuaregs were shattered in the opening weeks of the war, with many pulling back to either the Sahara Desert or to Morocco to join with what forces the Sultan had left to guard his flank from the French. The Italians had a harder time when native Libyans rose up against Rome. While King Phillipe VIII redeployed the main French forces to the Moroccan border, he also put together an expeditionary force from across the French empire. At the core of the French expeditionary force was the Foreign Legion, the elite force of the French Army. A member of the Foreign Legion was Jean of Orleans and son of the Duke of Chartes. His father was the uncle of King Phillipe VIII and was his heir as the King and Queen still hadn't had a child. Jean of Orleans was able to marry for love as it wasn't expected that he would ever succeed as king. So he married an Arab woman named Amira, the daughter of a wealthy Muslim merchant. She would convert to Roman Catholicism after marrying Jean. She was considered to be incredibly beautiful and quickly became the people's favourite royal. She earned much of the people's good will due to her charities as well as helping those in need. It was quite common for Jean and Amira to stop their carriage and serve soup to the homeless, or give money to orphanages. Amira would even read to orphans on Fridays, usually from the Quran and the Bible. When war began with Morocco, the young 26-year-old Jean joined the Foreign Legion and went to Spain. Amira and their son, Henri would wave to him at the docks as his ship sailed away."

"The French expeditionary force would land at Valenica, and would be deployed to the front lines. The Moroccan army had only been a few miles from Valencia. However, the Spanish had dug in at the Segura river. The defences that the Spanish had erected were able to stop the Moroccans. The Battles of Segura were the longest and largest of the war. Many future Spanish officers had earned acclaim in those battles such as Jose Sanjurjo, and Miguel Primo de Rivera. While the Spanish could hold the Moroccans at the Segura, they didn't have the strength to push them back. However, word had reached Fez that the French were joining the war and sending reinforcements. So the Moroccans began a final offensive to force a crossing at the Segura. The offensive did break through at some points along the line, forcing the Spanish back, but the line was eventually strengthened as the French forces arrived. These battles were incredibly fierce. French curved Mamluk sabres and Spanish straight swords would cross with Moroccan scimitars. Jean of Orleans would be injured in the fighting and would lose an eye. He would wear a patch in the colours of France for the rest of his life. The last Battle of Segura would end when word had been sent to the general of the Moroccan force that they had to abandon their advance. Events beyond Segura had changed the war. The French forces in North Africa had broken Sultan Abd al-Hafid's forces at the border, while the French Navy had broken the Moroccan navy. Word had also come that the Italians were sending their navy to reinforce the French and a blockade would keep the Moroccans from either escaping or reinforcing Spain. So the Moroccans had begun a fighting retreat to the southern coast and hopefully cross the Straits before the blockade was in place. This would not happen, as the Franco-Italian fleets would destroy the Moroccan corsairs and landing ships, as well as land marines across the south. From Toledo, the Spanish Army began to chase the second Moroccan army from the city. Sultan Abd al-Hafid would be forced to abandon Cordoba without a fight, and made his headquarters at Gibraltar. The last great battle of the war would take place at the Rock. Sultan Abd al-Hafid was unable to return to Morocco and was forced to withstand a siege. However, his forces had already been decimated, the flower of the Moroccan military had either been killed in battle or were now penned up in Gibraltar. His capital of Fez would also be placed under siege by French guns. Soon enough, Abd al-Hadif's brother Yusef would orchestrate a coup and was crowned Sultan Yusef of Morocco. Yusef would demand that his brother surrender, but Abd al-Hadif would declare his brother and his followers traitors. He proclaimed that he and his men in Gibraltar would either fight to the death or break out and return to Morocco. His men, however, didn't have the same nerve as their now-deposed sultan. Many were tired of war and just wanted to return home. Queen Maria, and the other allied commanders sent word to Gibraltar that they would allow all to return to Morocco unmolested if they surrendered. In the night, Abd al-Hafid was captured by his own men as they mutinied. They brought the ex-sultan to Queen Maria along with their surrender. There is a striking painting at the University of Toledo of Sultan Abd al-Hadif kneeling before Queen Maria in the uniform of a Spanish Captain-General. It reminds many of the painting of the last Muslim Sultan of Granada before King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in 1492. The Spanish-Moroccan War of 1901-1904 was over. Its legacy, however was profound. It solidified an alliance between Toledo, Algiers, and eventually Rome. Sultan Yusef would send Queen Maria an annual payment to keep Abd al-Hadif as a prisoner. Morocco would also be forced to hand over the former Spanish enclaves of Ceuta, and Mellila, while Tangiers was given to France. Morocco would also be forced to cease funding the Moorish corsairs in the Canary Islands and the Azores as well as the Tuaregs in the Sahara. It would take years after, but the Franco-Spanish navies would eventually take back the Canaries and the Azores, ending the threat of the corsairs. Yusef agreed to these terms as he knew it was either that or vassalage to Algiers, Rome and Toledo. The French expeditionary force would return to Algiers as heroes, including Jean of Orleans who was awarded the Legion of Honour by King Phillipe VIII himself. Jean would be granted the title of Vicomte of El Oudienne, and made Chevalier of the Order of the Magreb. King Phillipe VIII himself, would be continue to rule France Outre-Mer until 1926. By that time, his heir, the Duke of Chantres had died, leaving Jean of Orleans to take the throne as Jean III."