The Dunes of Yesterday is intended to be a cooperative thread amongst Itailian Maifias and Layarteb primarily but which is open to all members of Earth II. This thread is a consolidation of The Crescent Wars and the The Sundered Crown, both of which take place in the early 1990s in the Eastern Mediterranean region. Take note that canon in this thread supersedes that in these previous threads. As both threads, their histories, and their stories are interlinked, it serves a greater purpose to combine them. Before we begin, please take this opportunity to review our introduction as well as the synopsis materials we've constructed, to provide a better and more thorough background to this thread.
Background
The Dunes of Yesterday covers activities of both the Empire of Britannia and the Empire of Layarteb - as well as other participants - within the Eastern Mediterranean region. This thread will take place primarily, but not exclusively, in these locations: Cyprus, Egypt, Gaza Strip, and the Sinai Peninsula. It will take place primarily in the early 1990s from 1991 to 1993 but its history goes all the way back to the 1100s. References to these historical events will be present throughout the thread and should be considered canon to our greater community.
Historically speaking, activity by Britannia in this region stretches back to the First Crusade (1141 - 1144), when a crusade in Egypt meets with limited successes. The Second Crusade (1147 - 1149) mirrors the real-life events, particularly with regards to the Levant and Egypt. The Third Crusade (1189 - 1194) is the main point of deviation in our history, though it shares some elements of real-life.
The Third Crusade is led by King Richard I of Britannia and it is a success, capturing the Holy Land for the Crusaders, which outlasts time and future attempts by Muslim armies and other forces. It is during this Third Crusade that the Kingdom of Cyprus is established by King Richard I - as it happened in real-life - thus providing a point of conquest for this land in Earth II. He quickly sells the island nation to the Knights Templar, as in real-life, and concentrates on the Holy Land. Future crusades, with the exception of one, have not yet been codified. The one that has been is the "Syrian Crusade," which takes place from 1573 to 1579. It is during this crusade that the Empire of Britannia conquers further land in modern-day Lebanon and Syria. It is also during this crusade that Muslim armies conquer the Kingdom of Cyprus and expel the Knights Templar.
Happenings in these areas throughout the next 400 years are loosely defined, ideally to leave this open for further expansion and interaction with other members and their individual histories, especially those in this region.
Cyprus
Cyprus has three, definitive, historical periods in Earth II. From 1191 to 1573, it is the Kingdom of Cyprus, a crusader state ruled by the Knights Templar, who fend off numerous attacks from Muslim armies throughout this nearly 400-year rule. The population makeup of Cyprus settles to approximately a 60-40 split during this time. This period of history is characterized by alternating periods of repression, forced conversion, and tolerance, depending on who sat on the throne in Paphos, the Knights Templar capital. The more repressive periods act as a rallying cry for Muslim strategists in the Levant. By the mid-1500s however, the Knights Templar's rule over the island is shaky, at best, inviting outside invasion.
Beginning in 1571, Muslim invaders from the Levant pour into and attack Cyprus with the aim of establishing Islamic rule over the island nation. It is by this time however that the Crusades are long over and the world's attention to Cyprus is all but forgotten, thus leaving the Knights Templar to fend for themselves. Muslim threats in the Levant are considered a greater and a higher priority for the Empire of Britannia. By 1573, two years into the war, the Knights Templar government is driven back to the walled city of Paphos. However, despite this, the Muslim navies are incapable of successfully blockading Paphos and resupply to the city allows the Knights Templar defenders to resist. Defenses are strong and numerous assaults and sieges are repulsed with ease. Despite this, casualties do mount and the Knights Templar government eventually sees the futility in their defense and in December 1573, a ceasefire is signed on Christmas Eve. Under the terms of the ceasefire, the Knights Templar are free to leave Cyprus unhindered but defeated and the Muslim conquerors agree to complete and total religious tolerance. The Knights Templar also pledge not to interfere with the government, sponsor coups or revolutions, and not to attempt any military takeovers. The terms of the agreement hold until 1880, a remarkably stretch of time. The Muslim population on Cyprus peaks at 69%.
However, by the mid-1800s, Catholics begin to see a population boom, culminating in a 75-25 swing by 1870, with Catholics grossly outnumbering Muslims. Despite this, the 1573 agreement remains intact until King Farooq (32) ascends to the Cypriot throne in 1880. He has little regard for the 1573 agreement and sees it as a hindrance given the population shift in his nation. He begins subtle and limited campaigns of ethnic cleansing and alienation towards the Catholic population. He rules for 32 years, dying in 1912 and handing rule over to his second-eldest son, Sameer rather than Asad, his eldest son. This is chiefly because Sameer shares his father's vitriol for the Catholics whereas Asad does not. Sameer is 47 years old but he only rules until 1925. During this 13-year period, Cyprus is fraught with rising ethnic strife and tension culminating to a condition of near civil war by 1925.
King Sameer is assassinated in 1925 by a member of a secretive Catholic order, known as the Knights of Eternal Salvation, which had been established by the Knights Templar in the wake of their retreat from Cyprus. The KES' entire purpose is to watch over Cyprus and ensure the 1573 agreement is followed. Until now, they have been idle, quiet, and unknown. Sameer's assassination triggers an ethnic war between Catholics and Muslims that lasts until 1932.
It is in 1932 that the Republic of Layarteb finally enters the picture. With the rise of fascism in Italy and Layartebian opposition to this system of government, the Layartebian government orchestrates and assists a coup against the sitting government. It is successful and Cyprus' government becomes a puppet of the Republic of Layarteb. Democracy is established and the island is deemed the Republic of Cyprus. Though the war subsides, tension remains and wounds are slow to heal. The Republic of Layarteb props up the government via funding and arms.
The government in Cyprus however is little more than one strongman after another. There are four such authoritarians between 1932 and 1954. It is during this 22-year period that Cyprus is largely peaceful. The capital remains in Nicosia, which is where the Muslim capital was established. Catholics largely benefit from government policies, whether intentional or not, at the expense of the minority, Muslim population. Nationalism festers on both sides and Catholics begin to compare the modern regime with that of the Knights Templar regime while the Muslims yearn for the days when they ruled the island nation. Poverty rises within the Muslim population, only quickening the spread of nationalist thought. Muslims in Cyprus soon find allies in Egypt and Gaza, who not only provide political support but funding and arms as well. Beginning in 1950, this culminations in rebel Muslim attacks on the government.
From 1954 to 1964, Cyprus is gripped by an emergency period. A coup overthrows the government in April 1954 putting a junta in power. With this, Layartebian troops deploy to Cyprus to help quell the Muslim rebellion. This period is marked largely by counterinsurgency operations of a low-intensity nature. Casualties exceed 6,000 on both sides (including civilians) and the period only ends when Muslim rebels assassinate the sitting general. This kicks off a 15-year period known as the Cyprus Troubles. Retribution attacks by the government leave 2,000 Muslims dead in the wake of the assassination and intercommunal violence between Muslims and Catholics dominates this period. Growing Layartebian involvement in Venezuela and its own domestic struggles means that the Layartebian government can only pay a fraction of attention to Cyprus, enabling and emboldening both sides to attack one another. Militias, out of government control but acting with support of the government, arise to commit atrocities on both sides and mercenaries take part in operations for both sides, and sometimes their own.
By 1978, Cyprus is on the verge of a complete and total, all-out civil war. Layartebian pressure forces a change in government and an end to the junta, elevating a moderate politician seen as an effective way to mitigate the rising tension. The effect is the opposite and the ineffective leadership results in a 6-month civil war lasting from May 5 to October 7, 1979. The war only comes to a conclusion when Layartebian troops on the island act on their own to squash violence on both sides, effectively partitioning the island between Muslim areas in the north and Catholic areas in the central and the south. One-third of the island, the north, is predominantly Muslim. From 1979 to 1982, a state of tension and crisis grips the island nation until a ceasefire agreement is signed in 1982.
The agreement established Cyprus Force (C-FOR), a Layartebian peacekeeping element. The island is partitioned and the Cyprus government moves to Paphos while the Northern Cyprus government remains in Nicosia. Per the agreement, neither side will seek independence or total dominance over the island, mercenaries will be expelled, and arms shipments are limited and must be declared to both parties. There are dozens of other conditions in the agreement. Once again, Cyprus enters a period of tranquility until late 1985 when an assassin kills the sitting, Northern Cypriot President. This only enflames the situation and from September 10, 1985 onward, the day after the assassination, tensions rise between all three parties, leaving us at the start of this thread in late 1991.
Egypt
Egypt undergoes several periods of its own, just like Cyprus. In the year 600, the sitting pharaohs defeat and expel Arabs attempting to move into the country. Beginning in 1346, Egypt sees itself influenced by Britannia, becoming a British colony in 1392. Its status as a colony continues until independence in 1729. Despite this, Britannia remains the dominant force of influence in Egypt.
The Egyptian government exists peacefully and successfully until the 1920s when an attempt to modernize the country's infrastructure leads to state bankruptcy. The changes, too radical and too fast, cast the government into a state of crisis. Between 1943 and 1945, Egypt is ravaged by the Great Influenza, which sees the entire royal family wiped out and a power vacuum in Thebes. The Greek government in Alexandria thus moves to exert its authority over all of Egypt but its success is limited as it lacks the funding, the men, and the power. Furthermore, the Kemets in Thebes oppose the Greek move and Egypt is cast into a state whereby its government is weak and ineffective. The state is thus cast into disarray.
Throughout this however, the Egyptian military remains largely intact, bolstered by support from Britannia. Beginning in the late 1980s, violence between Kemets and Greeks and all other groups begins to rise, throwing the country into further disarray. Jewish populations finally rise up in 1991 in attempt to avoid a return to Kemet-dominated rule, thus throwing the country into a civil war that lasts until 1993.
Gaza
The territory of Gaza shares an old history like other nations. It was established during the First Crusade by the crusaders. In the Second Crusade, the Muslims conquer the small stretch of land. In the Third Crusade, Gaza becomes liberated by the crusaders once again but rather than established as ruled by the crusaders, Gaza is given status as an independent microstate. Its populace, evenly distributed between Catholics and Muslims, are able to coexist and both sides agree to leave Gaza to its own devices. They do this so that they may use the territory as a conduit for nefarious business, whether it be smuggling or other illicit operations. Until the 20th century, Gaza is little more than a nation unto itself, quiet though heavily influenced by its neighbors.
With the collapse of the Egyptian government in the 1940s, Gaza once again returns to its roots and crime flourishes at the expense of the country's residents. The Khouri clan establishes itself as rulers over the city by the mid-1950s and hold this position until the 1990s. The Khouri clan is the largest supporter and enabler of Muslim violence in Cyprus, going so far as to coordinate arms shipments to Cyprus from Yemen via the Sinai. The government, fiercely anti-Layartebian, sees itself as a key influencer and stages the 1985 assassination in Northern Cyprus, thus ushering in the last era of violence to the country.
The Sinai
The Sinai has little history until the 1950s. With the governmental collapse in Thebes and the power struggle between Alexandria and Thebes, the Sinai is virtually left to its own devices. The peninsula becomes divided between a number of factions. Yemeni influence begins in 1969 with the rise of General Touma. By 1972, the Sinai comes under the thumb of town clans, the Touma clan in the south and the Hajjar clan in the north. Both clans agree to peace with one another.
Sharm El Sheik becomes a major conduit for arms flowing from Yemen to Cyprus. The arrangement sees arms shipped from Yemen, up the Red Sea, to Sharm El Sheik, where they are offloaded into trucks. Those trucks are then driven to Arish and further onto Gaza where they are once again put onto boats and shipped to Northern Cyprus. This arrangement continues unabated until the 1982 agreement in Cyprus. It is restarted, illegally and clandestinely, in late 1988.
The Suez Canal Zone
The Suez Canal and the Suez Canal Zone are an integral part of this history. The Suez Canal is built between 1859 and 1869 by the Suez Canal Company, under the leadership of David J. Hart, a wealthy, Layartebian aristocrat. The sitting government in Egypt is given a majority-minority ownership and the Suez Canal Company owns no more than 50% of the canal. Its 12-seat board of directors has six seats for the Suez Canal Company, four for the Egyptian government, and two for the Empire of Britannia. The Suez Canal's contribution to the world is so great that in 1886, the British government bestows the Republic of Layarteb with the Statue of Liberty. The Suez Canal Zone, established in 1869, sees rapid growth thanks to the influence of the canal. Administratively, it falls within the purview of the Suez Canal Company but the government of Egypt has significant say on the matters and is charged with its security.
However, the collapse of the Egyptian government in the 1940s leads to a situation whereby the Egyptian government is forced to sell two of its seats in 1948, one to the Bank of Cairo and the other to the corporation Ostafrikanische Gesellschaft (OAG). The Suez Canal Company further comes under the leadership of Lewis Ross on August 1, 1956 upon the death of his father Arnold. Lewis is hardly capable of running the company effectively and it suffers. By 1964, the Suez Canal Company is on the brink of insolvency and the Suez Canal Company is forced to sell five of its six seats to the multinational conglomerate Manchurian Global. Lewis Ross maintains the single seat but he also remains in control of the Suez Canal Company.
Further problems strike in 1969, when the Egyptian government is forced to sell another one of its two remaining seats to an investment firm, Summit Capital. Things only grow worse and in 1972, the Suez Canal Company board votes 8-4 in favor of allowing Manchurian Global's private military division to provide security for the Suez Canal Zone. This comes after a rash of crimes that the Egyptian authorities are unable and unwilling to stop. By 1980, Summit Capital is forced to inject a sizeable amount of cash into the company, thus gaining a second seat on the now 13-seat board of directors.
The Suez Canal Company flounders for the next 9 years. At the start of the fiscal year in 1989, the Suez Canal Company is facing complete insolvency in 2 to 3 years, partly due to problems of the Egyptian state and partly due to rising maintenance costs and reduced traffic caused by long wait times and congestion. A $2.35 billion expansion is proposed that would almost double the daily capacity from 49 to 97 ships several times over the years but each time it is turned down as too costly. On July 17, 1989, a board meeting sees Manchurian Global once again propose the expansion but, when it is shot down by Lewis Ross, Manchurian Global moves to buyout the company. Three days later, the vote comes 9-4 in favor of the buyout, turning the Suez Canal into a Layartebian-owned entity, though not by the government.
This sets off alarm bells in Britannia and Egypt but on January 2, 1990, at midnight, ownership is transferred to Manchurian Global. The move is controversial and is opposed by the Layartebian government as much as the governments of Egypt and Britannia yet all have little say in the matter as the Suez Canal and the Suez Canal Zone were always owned by a private entity. Egypt lacks the ability to nationalize the canal and thus must accept the situation.