Crusader States - Jihad against Jerusalem

[TheMightiest]

Hi there. I thought about playing a Crusader States campaign in SS 6.4 for quite some time and I actually got going recently (I play on H/M settings, Early Era).

My main worry was that in all my previous campaigns (as other factions) a jihad against Jerusalem was called quite early and I kept thinking (and checking in the forums) what I can do to counter that most effectively.

My strategy was to ally with the Seljuks and try to defeat the Fatimids as soon as possible. After they're dead, I would back-stab the Turks and become an empire.

I'm somewhere around turn 30 right now and the Fatimids are already down to 1 province. Now, am I correct that it's the Fatimids who usually call the Jerusalem Jihad? In my campaign no one did it so far - is it because I have almost eliminated Fatimids and have not yet broken the alliance with Seljuks?

I also came up with a back-up plan for a Jihad, but wasn't able to check it. Has someone ever tried that or knows if it would work?
1) I keep my diplomat near a Fatimid city/castle
2) Jihad on Jerusalem is called
3) I leave Jerusalem with my garrison and sell the city to Fatimids.
4) Jihad is cancelled or announced successful
5) I immediately attack it with my army standing at the gates and take the empty, or almost empty, city back.

Perhaps that is a bit of an abuse, but hey - were medieval rulers not deceitful evil bastards on some occasions?

[Strengelicher]

I share your thoughts. If you want to take a look at Jihad problems in a late campaign, check out my AAR (link in the signature). From other CS campaigns, I can tell the following:

I have a dim memory of having read somewhere that the Jihad can only be called by the Imam with the highest piety rating present on the campaign map. I don't know if this is true, but if so, it would mean that only one Islamic faction can start the Jihad. I would further conclude that if you played as the CS and kept friendly relations with that faction, it could be possible to avoid a Jihad. However, I have not found any factual evidence for this.

I have played another late campaign where I stayed friendly with the Fatimids all the time and warred with the Turks, taking almost all of their provinces. Staying friendly with the Fatimids required regular gifts and strong garrisons in all Provinces adjacent to theirs (to deter them from mindless attacks). No Jihad was called against me in that campaign. This could mean that the Fatimids had "the" Imam and would not call a Jihad against their CS friends. But it is no proof.

The backup plan you devised against a Jihad would work to a certain degree. You can get rid of the Jihad target (usually Jerusalem) via diplomacy as long as it is not besieged. You do not even have to move your garrison out, as it will be evicted automatically if the city is transferred to another faction (they will be moved and reappear next to the city). If you give it to another Christian faction, the Jihad will continue. If you give it to a muslim faction, the Jihad will end. However, expect a garrison to appear in the city if you give it away, so you probably will not be able to retake it without a fight.

Also consider this: If you give a city to another faction via diplomacy and then retake it, your trustworthiness will take a steep decline, and you will find diplomacy in general a lot harder after that. Better wait for the Jihadists to besiege the city, sally and lose the battle (and the city). Whatever garrison you left will be destroyed, but your future diplomacy will not be hit that hard if you retake the city.

[TheMightiest]

Thanks for your post. I've checked your AAR, it's a nice read (even though I'm playing Early Era). Hmm, I actually often lose my reputation in diplomacy anyway. I played a few more rounds and luckily no Jihad was called and I have already broken my alliance with Seljuks. Our relations kept becoming worse and worse, they kept marching through my lands, even though they had no military access. I didn't want to be rude, so I sent a diplomat informing them that our alliance and trade rights are over. The next round I attacked them and when I checked my reputation in 'Diplomacy'... well... I'm said to be deceitful. Are there any ways to improve your reputation while being at war with someone almost all the time? The whole Christian world loves me, I'm allies with the Pope and Kingdom of France, I also showed mercy to the Fatimids by making them my vassals... I assume it was the fact that I broke my alliance with Seljuks that made my reputation drop so badly, wasn't it?

[Strengelicher]

Hmmm... if you dissolve an alliance via diplomacy and then attack your former ally, this should not make your reputation drop from mixed to deceitful right away. I presume your reputation has plummeted earlier without you noticing.

You can raise your reputation even while at war. Just see to it that you have more alliances than wars running. As the Crusader States, you can entertain some alliances with Catholic factions. Ally with the Pope right from the start and keep that alliance, as it is the most valuable. Then choose 3-4 additional factions which do not share borders, and which therefore are unlikely to wage war with one another (a war between allies makes you lose one ally). Now you have 4-5 allies and can still improve your reputation if you are at war with several Islamic factions. If you are at war with a faction where it does not make sense, send a diplomat and try to make peace. Sometimes you have to try several times - there are turns when other factions are more likely to make peace than others.

[Harakan]

If it is only about Jerusalem and not getting jihadded, you could try to leave Jerusalem with the present forces and hide them nearby, have the jihad army take it (so the jihad will be finished) and try to conquer it back the next round. For a money plus you could erase some buildings before leaving, but take care your governor doesnt rip down a church or something similar..