Rusana: Difference between revisions

The Qian decided to completely overhaul the approach to the taifas almost from the get-go. Emperor Canren forcibly unseated his vassal, the emir of the taifa of Ghanim and appointed in his place an [[Imperial Viceroy(Daxia)|Imperial Viceroy]]. [[Dianshi Pingmu]] was a court favorite of Canren who served as Imperial Stool Groom for many years, he was also a [[Dwarfism in Daxia|dwarf]]. The alarming maneuver by the Qian had the effect of frightening seventeen taifas into calling for a council of Muslim rulers at which a military pact was agreed, they would remain in arms until such a time as the Qian dynasty was expelled from all Muslim land and was unable to keep meddling in their affairs. Upon learning of this development, [[Dianshi Pingmu]] called upon his master to send relief, starting the [[War of the Dwarf]]. The war went well for the Muslim coalition at first, they overran Ghanim and forced Pingmu to flee to the mountain passes, namely the Tie Chutou fortress. From here Pingmu's limited forces were able to stop the Muslim army on its tracks by a combination of the elevation, difficult terrain and strong fortifications. Fresh of destroying the last armies of the dying Zhong dynasty, the Qian relief army pushed the Muslims back from the passes in 1553 and went in the offensive in the spring of 1554, dealing several blows to the coalition and forcing several taifas to either abandon the fight or outright switch sides. The war carried on amongst great brutality by the Qian, who held great antipathy for Islam, many cities were razed to the ground for refusing to surrender or give supplies to the Qian armies and mosques were desecrated. By 1556 the taifas were exhausted in both resources and men and the people were despondent of victory, at which point they engaged in negotiations with [[Dianshi Pingmu]]. The compact that ended the war included generous provisions for the respect of religious diversity, reconstruction of mosques and cities, payment of pensions to the ruling families (both those that rebelled and those who defected) in exchange for the acceptance of rule by [[Imperial Viceroy(Daxia)|Imperial Viceroys]] appointed by the Qian emperor. In the event [[Dianshi Pingmu]] only ruled for four years before being assassinated, Emperor Canren chose as his replacement Melnek al-Badri, a Muslim eunuch who was seen with less hostility than his predecessor.