Abbasids (Harun al-Rashid)

Abbasid Caliphate

Map by Regalman
Leader	Harun al-Rashid
Capital	Baghdad
Religion	Islam
Culture req. mod	Islamic
Traits req. mod	Inventive, Spiritual
Map Labels Language req. mod	Arabian
Alt. Leader For req. mod	Alternate Leader of: Arabia
Civilopedia

The Abbasid Caliphate led by Harun al-Rashid is a custom civilization by TarcisioCM, with contributions from Urdnot and Regalman. This mod reworks the vanilla Arabia civilization with a new set of uniques.

This mod requires Brave New World.

Overview[]

Abbasids[]

The Umayyads were defeated by the Abbasids, another powerful family. The first Abbasid Caliph, Abu al-Abbas, was a ruthless leader who upon achieving power immediately set about exterminating anyone else who might have a legitimate claim upon the throne. He was successful, as the Abbasids would remain in power for another three centuries. Not without a certain grim panache, he gave himself the name as-Saffah, which translates as "the bloodletter."

The Abbasids shifted the capital of the Caliphate to Baghdad. This reflected its concentration on events in the east - Persia, India, Central Asia - and subsequent de-emphasis on North Africa and the Mediterranean. The Abbasids were more overtly religious than the Umayyads, and under them the Caliphate more closely followed Islamic law.

The Arab empire of the medieval period was far more advanced than contemporary Europeans; Harun al-Rashid's Baghdad may have held a million people at the same time that Charlemagne's Aachen was a "capital" of ten thousand. Centers of learning attracted scholars from across the Muslim world to great cities such as Baghdad, Damascus, and Cordoba. The Arabs of this period made many advances in medicine, astronomy, mathematics, and other areas, as well as translating many of the classics of the Ancient Greeks into Arabic, thereby saving them from destruction.

During the period of the Crusades, Christian Europe began a sustained assault against the Arabic world. The greatest of Muslim generals from this period was Salah al-Din, better known as Saladin, who successfully defeated the Third Crusade and recaptured Jerusalem for the Arabs.

Harun al-Rashid[]

Harun al-Rashid (reigned 786-809) was the fifth Abbasid caliph. He ruled Arabia at the height of its wealth and power. In his early years Harun led military expeditions against the Byzantine Empire; his successes earned him the nickname al-Rashid, "the one following the correct path." While Rashid did have to put down a number of internal revolts, the empire was mostly at peace during his reign, and the Caliphate grew monumentally, spectacularly wealthy. For more details on Harun al-Rashid, see his Civilopedia entry.

Dawn of Man[]

Blessings of God be upon you oh great caliph Harun al-Rashid, leader of the pious Arabian people! The Muslim empire, the Caliphate was born in the turbulent years after the death of the prophet Muhammad in 632 AD, as his followers sought to extend the rule of God to all of the people of the earth. The caliphate grew mighty indeed at the height of its power, ruling Spain, North Africa, the Middle East, Anatolia, the Balkans and Persia. An empire as great as or even greater than that of Rome. The arts and sciences flourished in Arabia during the Middle Ages, even as the countries of Europe descended into ignorance and chaos. The Caliphate survived for six hundred years, until finally succumbing to attack from the Mongols, those destroyers of Empires.

Great Caliph Harun al Rashid, your people look to you to return them to greatness! To make Arabia once again an enlightened land of arts and knowledge, a powerful nation who needs fear no enemy! Oh Caliph, will you take up the challenge? Can you build a civilization that will stand the test of time?

Introduction: Welcome foreigner, I am Harun al-Rashid, Caliph of the Arabs. Come and tell me about your empire.

Defeat: You have won, congratulations. My palace is now in your possession, and I beg that you care well for the peacock.

Unique Attributes[]

Abbasids (Harun al-Rashid)
Art by Firaxis House of Wisdom Gain Science with theming bonuses. Produces an extra copy of a Great Work of Writing for each one created.
Art by Urdnot Physician (Great Scientist) Discover Technology reveals a Technology known by the original owner of a Great Work stored in the city.
Art by Urdnot Bimaristan (University) Contains 2 slots for Great Works of Writing. Grants a theming bonus for Great Works from different civilizations or eras.

City List

Baghdad
Raqqah
Samarra
Kufa
Marw
Basra
Shiraz
Kairouan
Al-Askar
Mansura
Ray
Karbala
Balkh
Mosul
Bukhara
Ezerum
Kerman
Jurjan
Kirkuk
Herat
Najaf
Zakho
Tikrit
Arbil
Baqubah
Tabrik
Bastak
Balarm
Chandax
Cairo

Spy List

Ali Baba
Aladdin
Jafar
Ahmed
The Genie
Scheherazade
Dunyazad
Peri Banu
Badroulbadour
Shirin

Strategy[]

Music[]

Peace Theme	War Theme

Mod Support[]

Events and Decisions[]

Found the House of Wisdom[]

Our nation prospers through trade. Merchants from across the world flock to Arabia bringing with them innovative ideas and priceless tomes. We shall build a library wherein these tomes and ideas may be translated, stored, collected and refined, transforming our capital into a great centre of learning!

Requirements/Restrictions:

Player must be the Abbasids
Player must have researched Guilds
May only be enacted once per game

Costs:

Gold
2 Magistrates

Rewards:

Lump sum of Science
+20% Science from Caravansaries

Anoint Amir al-Mu'minin[]

Arabia shines as a beacon for the faithful! And so it is our sacred duty to protect this Holy Land. Let us be anointed as "Amir al-Mu'minin", Commander of the Faithful, that we might inspire our troops to battle against the heathens and heretics around us.