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Showing posts from January, 2022

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Who was Ahmad Shah Durrani?

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    In the history of Afghanistan, there have been many mighty rulers and sovereigns, however, one stood out from all of them. He was a  pious, patriotic, and merciful man who had all the profound traits of an exceptional leader, and ruled his lands with justice. He not only became the hero of all Afghans but also saved Islam in the subcontinent. In this video, we will go through the chapters of the life of Ahmad Shah Durrani, the Afghan ruler who united the Afghan tribes and became the founder of modern Afghanistan, as well as the father of his nation.   Ahmad Shah Durrani      Ahmad Khan Abdali was born in Herat, in 1723. He was the son of Zaman Khan, and the grandson of Dawlat Khan. He was from the Pashtun Sadouzai Tribe, a sub tribe of the Abdali Tribe. The story starts in  1732 CE, in Farah, Afghanistan, when Ahmad Khan's older brother, Zulfiqar Khan was defeated by his enemies. Zulfiqar Khan took his younger brother Ahmad Khan...

How the Mongols Conquered the Middle East | Method of the Mongol Conquests

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    During the 13th century, Genghis Khan and the Mongols adopted a method of conquest that lead to the rapid conquest of the  Middle East. The Mongols would invade a neighboring area, devastate a large region, and recede back into the empire, retaining only a small portion of the land they invaded. In this new borderland, the Mongols would establish a force called a Tamma, which used the region to control Mongol frontiers, as well as intimidate and raid neighboring powers. It was the strategy that Baycu Noyan and other prominent Mongol commanders used in the Middle East, Asia, and Europe. The modern word for this method is "Tsunami Strategy".     A perfect example of the Tsunami Strategy is the declining Seljuks. The Mongols viewed them as a theatre of  operation, rather than undirected conquests. That is why after the Battle of Kose Dagh, when the whole of Anatolia played open for easy conquests, the Mongols refrained from conquering, primarily because it...

How did Slavery become a World Enterprise (1492)

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    It was the early 1400's, the Moors had been on a rapid decline due to division, internal strife, and attacks by  Christian forces. After King Ferdinand and Queen Isabelle united their Spanish kingdoms, they took over Muslim Spain with ease. The year was 1492, and it had been 800 years since Spain had been ruled by non-Muslims. That same year, an Italian explorer named Christopher Columbus pleaded before the king and queen, wishing to embark on a voyage to India, China and Japan for the purpose of finding a new route, which could be a means of trade and riches such silk and spices. However, the king and queen had little faith in him and sent him with the worst of ships, and a crew consisting of released prisoners who knew little to nothing about the sea. No one could ever imagine what Columbus would discover.  Columbus embarks on his journey     Though Columbus would never make it to Asia, he lead to a much more important discovery: the New Wor...

Did George Washington pay taxes to the Ottoman Empire?

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    During the periods of Sultan Bayezid II and Sultan Selim I, the Ottoman Navy was expanding and employing experienced sailors . When Barbaros Hayreddin was made Grand Admiral in 1534, the Ottoman Navy would become the most dominant force in the sea, and it would change the course of Ottoman History. Outnumbering, allied Christian fleets would be indefinitely defeated, and Ottoman Sultans would be called "Sultans of the seas". Ottoman Sea warriors in North Africa ventured beyond the Mediterranean into the Atlantic. Ottoman sea power extended to the point that Britain itself was forced to pay taxes to the Ottomans. And so when America gained its independence from Britain, it was forced to do the same when all of its resisting navy ships were captured by the Ottomans. Despite all the money spent on his navy, George Washington was left with no choice but to sign a treaty in Turkish accepting all the terms of the Ottomans, including tax payments. To this day, it is the only eve...