Bahram's Task: A Ghaznavid AAR...

[ToussaintL'Ouverture]

Bahram's Task
A Ghaznavid AAR

1174 - Shahzadeh Bahram was in a foul mood, a mood as foul as his ailing father's health. With Shah Khusrau on his deathbed, it was Bahram's Task to devise a strategy for conquest and preven quarelling among the generals. It was Bahram's task to find able administrators for Ghaznavid territories. It was Bahram's task to govern Bamiyan, the greatest of all Ghaznavid cities. Expectations ran high among the nobles and warlords from which his Turkic dynasty drew its strength. Expectations as high as the peaks of the surrounding Hindu Kush mountains. They required nothing short of a Ghaznavid revival that would eclipse the old kingdom. They sought their old wealth and power, & it was Bahram's task to provide it for them.

With all these duties pressing upon him, Bahram sat alone and thought. He had locked the gate to his garden sanctuary & rested by a fountain, so people would not see him so clearly rattled. Privately, he wondered if Ghaznavid rule had not already reached its apogee, but he would not share these thoughts with anyone, not even his advisors, only Allah. There were already rumors questioning Bahram's ability to fill his father's robes, and whether the great warlord Masud Ghaznavi might not be a stronger hand. The heir to the Shah would not give creedence to such wonders by sharing his worries with others. Bahram took a deep breath, exhaled his troubles, and reflected on a course of action.

To the east, Ghorid lands stretched into Northern India. While they were not friends, nor were they enemies just yet. And while Bahram coveted Kabul as a potential seat of empire, he could not risk a protracted war with the Ghorids that would leave the western lands, the and lands of a more glorious Ghazni past to the avaricious Khwarzem Shah. Therefore, the Shahzadeh would seek alliances wuth both the Ghorids and the Khwarzem while he reconsolidated the old shahdom. Even so, trust would run thin.

Nor could Bahram entirely trust Masud, his greatest tactician. Masud was extremely loyal to his father, the Shah, but the Shah's son could not be certain that loyalty would be inherited. Allowing Masud to lead the new conquests, if successful, would gratn Masud leverage to usurp the throne, if he so desired. Yet not utilizing him posed an equally great threat in the form of failed conquest, as no other general posessed the tactical genious of Masud or commanded the undying respect and loyalty of his troops. Setting aside his doubts for the time being, Bahram decided to send Masud, with all of Ghazni's forces, south to Herat. If victorious, it would send a signal to all his subjects about the strength of vision, and Masud would be too preoccupied with managing such an important city and trade hub to launch any campaigns against Bamiyan or the fortress of Ghazni.

With such decisions made, Bahram abandoned his solitude and began to govern.

[Commander Ruunu]

Nice to see another AAR here, keep it up +rep.

[ToussaintL'Ouverture]

1175, A.H 570

Bahram welcomed the messenger sent by Masud and offered tea. He had interrupted a meal with some local nobles, influential merchant families who controlled the trade on the silk highway. He could hear their annoyed murmurs in the next room. No doubt they thought they were the most important business at hand. With the obligated pleasantries and etiquette completed, Shah Bahram pressed the messenger to divulge his news.

Masud Ghaznavi, the greatest of your loyal servants, proclaims victory on the plains north of Herat. He dealt Bahram, rebel usurper of your namesake, a crushing blow and marched into Herat unopposed shortly thereafter. He thanks your for your trust in him, your capable management and the bevy of disciplined troops at his command. He reaffirms his loyalty as a subject to your wise rule, and will govern Herat for your glory until he receives word from you otherwise.

Messenger, you have ridden a long and hard route, but I must ask you to immediately return to Masud with fresh horses from my stable. Tell him this: We are all but servants to Allah, and slaves to his will. You are no mere subject, for it is through your strength and skills that Allah's will is done, and glory is added to my father's reign. Thus is it with joy that I congratulate your victory as a brother. You will share in the rule of our kingdom of peaks and valleys as though my royal blood courses through your veins. Accept this gift of my finest horses, allowing the brave and swift courier to keep one as a mount. Continue ruling Herat, subjugate the countryside, and encourage trade to maximize revenue. Send what you can spare of your army north to seize the fortress of Firuzkuh, as I have prepared a force to capture Kandahar to the southeast. Inshallah, we will greet each others as brothers in a grand feast, when there as less pressing matters at hand. Let Allah's will be done!

Of course, it was not joy that oppened Bahram's heart to Masud, but political calculation. Clasp threats to your bossom, so they cannot manuever to strike your back. It would be only a couple of short years before Bahram's son, Sebuktegin, would come of age and lessen Bahrams dependence on Masud.

[Imperator of Rome]

Except for a few mistakes,the story is immaculate!Good job!

[zznɟ ǝɥʇ]

Loving the style. Can't wait to read more

[wudang_clown]

Very promising AAR, keep on!

[The Noble Lord]

Beautiful, anything concerning Afghan military history is just amazing to read and very enjoyable.

[ToussaintL'Ouverture]

(Sorry for the delay, I have been very busy lately!)

Bahram's Task:
1177 AD, 752 AH

Even the sun was modest enough to cloak itself behind a grey sky. Word had come in the night of his father's passing, and by daybreak Bahram had prepared a magnificent, if somber, procession to Ghazni, to honor his father. He would attend to his father's burial, and only after, would he assume the mantle of Shah.



Bahram undertook the responsibility of cleansing and wrapping of the kafan himself, with his son Sebuktigin, as he remembered preparing his grandfather for burial with his father. Shah Bahram knew that dynasties broke, withered, and decayed over time. It was a rare ruling family indeed that lasted more than a few nominal generations without succumbing to intrigue, war, and the fickleness of health. Still, he fervently hoped and prayed that he, his son, and his son's progeny would enter the afterlife in the same humble way. Naked, bare, and true. Unburdened of robes, wealth, titles and trappings...just the sons, attempting to cleanse their father.