Rhalina

 Rhalina was a noble queen

In song & story has she been

She ruled a land both fair and free

Between the deserts and the sea

Her rule was wise and judgement swift

Patient ruler with ready gift

Justice steeled with sharpened sword

Vigilant against the foreign horde.

To merchants she gave markets new

Their lands bounty abroad she strew

Across turbulent sea and shifting sand

Good coin came to eager hand

For nobles she gave a partnership

To rule and protect with her leadership

To townsfolk plain and clergy too

She championed all and their bounty grew

Came crafty Negus with ardent suit

"Rule you with me and give the realm

Peace, plenty, strength and healing too

A line of heirs to steer future true."

But power does ambition seed,

And Negus too was swayed by greed

And reft with fear that he would lose

All that he had gained by strength and ruse

Security sought he from foreign kings

And began to dream of grander things

Soon tired he of the narrow straight

Of eighty-bond and marriage state

Like Solomon of old many wives he sought

To secure for longer the peace he'd bought

Foreign get he would engender

And gaud his throne with eastern splendour

Faithless he proved to his previous seed

Abandoned them to present need

Foresworn to his Queenly bride

He sought to cast her and them aside

But Rhalina will not yield or bend

Justice she sought and dishonour fend

Her rights no less than serf or lord

Strikes this not a righteous chord?

Unfurl'd her banner royal is,

A call to God, to arms, for right,

Will you not attend? Will you not fight?

Empires Armies Focus : Pike formations

The pike formation or square is an infantry formation used extensively both for attacks on enemy foot soldiers and as a counter-measure against cavalry assaults. It is the basic formation upon which most infantry tactics in the empires are formed and has been so since the days of Alexander's famed Macedonian phalanxes.

The pike is an extremely long weapon, varying considerably in size amongst the different empires. In the Western Roman Empire, the sarissa is 5.45 meters long. Among the Byzantines their kontarion is 4.5 meters long, and the Persian bighal which can range from 2.7 to 3.6 meters in length.

The great length of pikes allows a great concentration of spearheads to be presented to the enemy, with their wielders at a greater distance, but also makes the longer pikes unwieldy in close combat.

Western Roman pike formations tend to be densely packed with individual pikemen standing shoulder to shoulder. Protection is usually half-armor for the front two ranks with lighter protection (if any) for the rear ranks. Roman pike tactics are aggressive, and their formations more flexible than their eastern counterparts. However they depend on accompanying flank and missile troops to protect them from counterattacks from flank or rear or to answer enemy missile fire.
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Byzantine pike formations are generally not so dense as individual pikemen carry shields (skoutaria) very much like the old Macedonian phalanxes. In addition Byzantine pike formations are more 'combined arms' units as they incorporate missiles (either crossbows or bows) and equip their pikemen with darts. Byzantine formations are primarily defensive and not very flexible but have a formidable integral missile component.
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Persian pike formations are composed of varying lengths of pike or thrusting and throwing spear allowing them to close with heavy melee troops like skoutatoi without being encumbered by overly long weapons. Against more dedicated pike formations like those of the Romans or Byzantines they tend to come off second best. However Persian pike formations are used primarily to coordinate with and support Persian Savaran heavy cavalry and the lighter horse archers.
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Photo Caption Competition

Does he look worried to you?

The Bahr Nagash really does hate stoats and ferrets doesn't he? What do you think the above caption should read? Add your contributions in the comments field and I will post the winner here. Plus you get a free exotic beer of your choice at the next game.

Dramatis Personae: Vlad Tepesh

Vlad Tepesh

Vlad Tepesh, by the Grace of God Archon of Fyodozhya, Reserve Bahrsatch of the Yabahratse, Siyum of Massawa. Magnate of House Tepesh.

Born 1243 in the Chersonese city of Fyodozhya to a merchant family of mixed Byzantine and Rus parentage. Vlad was the 2^rd of 3 sons. His family sent him Constantinople to study and, on his majority in 1259, bought him a commission in the Byzantine Navy.

Vlad served with a squadron of Dromond Hermaphroditoi, sailed craft equipped with oars, a shallower draught, and marine cavalry for amphibious operations. Patroling coastal & riverine areas around the Black Sea, Tepesh learned much about both naval and land warfare fighting against pirates and steppe nomads encroaching on Byzantine territory.

After 14 years of service he mustered out and served as a mercenary captain on merchant vessels in the Eastern Mediterranean. He travelled to Alexandria on a pilgrimage and met with the founding members of the Sable Rose Society.

Together they embarked on a mercenary expedition to Abyssinia. However the patron who had hired them, Isaiah Toretcus, had never appealed to him. A final falling out occurred at the culmination of their contract at the port city of Mogadishu. Here, Vlad foiled Toretcus’s act of cruelty on a high ranking prisoner, Rhalina Walatta Zagwit, who had just come into her majority. Together with Arkos Mohababdi, they convinced the rest of the Sable Rose Society to switch allegiance to the Zagwe and Iusefos I.

This new alliance culminated in a number of successful actions, both naval and land, which saw Vlad and the other Society members become honoured officers of the Abyssinian Empire. Vlad himself was made Bahrazmatch of the 2^nd Squadron in the Yabahratse. After the Battle of the Straits Vlad was made Siyum of Massawa, the Imperial Naval base and put in charge of much of the furious naval rebuilding program. It was at this time that Vlad began to secretly build the third-rater battle ship the Kon Bledniye (The Pale Horse), and two oared frigates. During the invasion of the Tri-States, Vlad commanded the ‘flying squadron’ of 3rd raters, frigates and corvettes that crippled Tri-States Naval lines of communication and defeated the Persians attempt to resupply Aden.

However all was not well with Vlad’s home in Cherson. Vlad’s father and elder brother had died in a nomad raid and the Byzantine civil war, entering into its second decade, had drawn all Byzantine troops away, leaving Fyodozhya and Cherson to defend themselves against the depredations of the Steppe nomads. A personal appeal was made to Vlad by the Damiorgi Council of Fyodozhya to return and take charge of their defence. He was even offered the office of Archon.

Tepesh took this opportunity to claim the favor the Emperor had granted him upon the victory over the Tri-States; a semi-permanent leave of absence and the use of the personal squadron he had been secretly building. The Negus was not pleased and had wanted to strip Tepesh of his ranks and titles, however the Bahr Nagash, Fitwari Farasenyoi and the Sable Rose Society lobbied him not to cut ties with Tepesh. However the final decision was made from a quarter which could not be ignored – Rhalina Walatta Zagwit came forcefully onto Tepesh’s side and demanded his retention as a ‘Reserve Admiral’, and his ships as a ‘Auxiliary Squadron’ on call for the defence of the Empire. Vlad managed to sail with his Abyssinian links and titles intact, as well as with a substantial amount of booty from the Tri-States campaign. However, unlike other members of the Sable Rose Society, Tepesh has not received a grant of land in the Tri-States and has earned the distrust of the Negus.

Tepesh returned to Fyodozhya and took on the defence of Cherson. By 1285 Cherson and Fyodozhya had a strong riverine and coastal navy and a mobile field army with which to repel any incursions. By 1287 Fyodozhya formally declared itself independent of Constantinople. Vlad Tepesh then handed his Arconship to his younger brother Radu.

Striking a trade deal with the Bahr Nagash, Romanus Servius Scipio, and Arkos Mohababdi; Tepesh has begun to supply horses and steel to Hamasin and in turn takes back oriental luxury goods from Hamasin, and textiles from Alexandria. Already 'House Tepesh' is a powerful presence in Adulis. Tepesh counts Scipio as a close ally since he gives Scipio first choice of the imported horses. The Bahr Nagash also occasionally uses Tepesh’s ships to transport special cargo to Alexandria and the Tri-States when he desires secrecy.

Tepesh still keeps in contact with most of the Sable Rose Society but has a strong and long-standing antipathy towards Oigmah Isfahani, whom he apparently blames for setbacks the Sable Rose Society suffered before the Battle of the Straits and during the Invasion of the Tri-States.

Snapshots from the Regiment

Troopers of the Farasenya Dajan (Horse Guards) in Kataphractoi (Heavy Cavalry) gear.

Left to Right: Romanus Scipio, Olympia Scipio & the Horse Guards 2IC: Irkut Ibn Yaya Osman

Scipio in full kit: no one can strut like Scipio!

Whether on parade dress or casual attire Romanus Servius Scipio knows how to strut his stuff. Did you really expect otherwise? The first illustration finds Scipio & Olympia in the field watching the Farasenya Dajan (Horse Guards) displaying their skills in a training bout. Irkut Ibn Yaya Osman, the Guard's grumpy 2nd in Command, waits patiently to catch his Lord & Commander's attention.

A Short Word from 'Alexis'

CRRRROOOOOOOOO

Yes Beaky...roll Sanity NOW.

Dramatis Personae: Alexis Darkholdt

Alexis Darkholdt

By the Grace of God, Bahr Nagash, Leul of the Realm, Makwonnen of Hamasin, Bitwadod of the Left, Tabaq Wadabatse (Warden of the Imperial Ports), Chube yaBahr (Dagger of the Seas), Azogash (Crocodile King) etc. etc. etc.

Alexis Darkholdt was born in 1239 into a minor Britannian noble house with a naval tradition.

At the age of 16 his family purchased a place for him at the Academia Imperiali Navalis (Imperial Naval Academy) at Londinium. Graduating in 1259 as a Tribunus Navalis, Alexis served in the Classis Imperiale (Imperial Navy) for some 15 years in Gaulish, Iberian and Hesperidean squadrons.

Finally achieving the rank of Navarchos in 1274 he and his crew left Imperial service to seek their fortune in the Mediterranean as mercenaries in a dilapidated merchant cog called the Maris Umbra. After a year of itenerant naval adventures, Darkholdt and his crew sailed into the Byzantine port of Alexandria whereupon he met and befriended the founding members of the Societatis Rosa Niger. 

Upon reaching Abyssinia and taking up successful service with Iusefos I, Darkholdt and the Society began to acquire various vessels which would serve as the core of the fledgling Yabahratse (Imperial Navy). After initial successes against Tri-States and Persian squadrons in the Battles of Baylul and Zeila, Darkholdt was invested with the title of Bahr Nagash and the fief of Hamasin province.

After privately funding and refitting a captured warship (the Tikur Zegereda or ‘Sable Rose’) to Western Empire warship standards, Darkholdt successfully lobbied for additional funding and began a program of accelerated shipbuilding along Western Empire lines. He was given nominal control of the major Abyssinian ports of Adulis, Massawa, Zeila, Berbera, Assab, Baylul, Rahita and Tajura. By the time of the Battle of the Straits, Darkholdt’s navy was a formidable force.

In the next two decades he led the Yabahratse (Imperial Navy) in campaigns which gave it complete dominance over the Red Sea and the North Western Coast of Africa as far south as Mogadishu.

Darkholdt has two flagships, the Azraba (the Hungry Crocodile), and the Bahrgeneb (Castle of the Sea).

Today the Bahr Nagash is reckoned amongst the most powerful men in the Empire, controlling the life blood of foreign trade. He maintains the closest of ties with Romanus Servius Scipio and Vlad Tepesh and maintains connections with other members of the Sable Rose Society.

After the untimely death of his first wife Miriam, he married into the influential Adulis mercantile house of Icheetyu. Under his guidance both House Icheetyu and the Sable Rose Society trade in complimentary, and not competitive commodities and he and his associates reap the benefits. Darkholdt has interests in the export of iron, gold and slaves, and the import of timber and high quality steel. He has three children: one adult son by his first wife Miriam (though currently estranged from him), and two infant girls by his second wife Rahel Icheetyu. 

Alexis Darkholdt is called by some arrogant and brash, however his rule is certainly flamboyant. Apart from the grandiose informal titles he has awarded himself (Warden of the Imperial Ports, Dagger of the Seas, Crocodile Regnant etc.) he has also built the now famous Azufan, and his remodelling and redecoration of the Bahr Nagash’s Palace and of Adulis in general is nothing short of lavish. It is as much this impertinent largess and arrogant braggadocio as much as his ‘foreignness’ which has incurred the enmity of a number of jealous nobles in the Imperial Court. Darkholdt is known to be savage in retribution, and generous in reward. His personal security and intelligence forces within Hamasin province are very effective and include not only regular troops but an elite ‘secret police’ called the Wanzadar and even rumoured connections to the Adulis underworld. 

He is known to have an irrational hatred of the haylatiqit (introduced European stoats) and has, several times, offered generous bounties for their eradication, offering double the bounty for any pure white specimens.