Capture of Truk
| Capture of Truk | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Daxian Filibuster Wars | |||||||
.png) Drawing of one of the Emirate's ships | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Emirate of Truk | Daxia | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Akhmat Tidore IV | Marquis Shenbao | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
8,500 men 35 ships |
5,000 Daxians 20 ships | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| thousands | 750 | ||||||
The Capture of Truk was the conquest of the independent Emirate of Truk by a military force of Daxia's Qian dynasty in 1673. Part of the Daxian filibuster wars, the capture of Truk was long desired for its valuable position on the Southern route and close to the Kindreds, its saltpeter mines and to bring to heel a troublesome independent polity.
Background
The island of Truk has been inhabited by polynesian peoples since at least 600 BCE, with settlers possibly arriving from Vallos. The polynesian people of Truk developed in isolation for hundreds of years, limiting their sailing to nearby archipelagos. In the year 1151 an Islamic mystic by the name of Sayed Ali Qumi arrived by accident in the island with a few companions, their ship having sunk in a storm. Qumi proceeded to successfully spread Islam to the people of Truk who were so impressed with the tales of martial conquests by Muslim armies. The King of Truk of the day adopted the islamic first name of Akhmat to signal his new piety and began to style himself as emir. Shortly after Syed Ali Qumi departed for the east, his original destination. Another gift they had been left with was the secret of producing iron, something the people of the new Emirate took to quickly for Qumi also left them with a warning: that the seas were full of infidels and they would need to protect what was theirs. It is believed by modern scholars that Qumi could have originally been from what is now Rusana. Energized by their new faith, the elites of the new Emirate of Truk looked to spread to neighboring islands. Two years of rigorous campaigning saw the nearby atolls and islands conquered by Akhmat Tidore and its backward inhabitants incorporated into the ummah.