Eranian Expeidition to Naharayim

[Aeros]

As the sun slowly rose over the sands of eastern Mesopotamia, a strange sight appeared in the distance. It was a company of Imperial soldiers, in a mix of trucks and horsemen.

[img]http://olive-drab.com/images/army-horses-mules_mech_01_700.jpg[/img]

As the unit of troops approached the border of Naharayim, one rider rode out in front, stopping a few meters from the border post. With a flourish he raised up a scroll and began to read aloud.

"To the government of Naharayim! I bring greetings from the most magnificent Shah Ardashir, ruler of Eranshahr! In the interest of good relations and future prosperity between our peoples, I request access to your realms that we might discuss matters of mutual interest and importance!"

With the message thus delivered the horseman slid the scroll back into his saddle bag and awaited an answer from the guards at the border.

Edited May 1, 2012 by Aeros

[Aeros]

[ooc] Bumping up[/ooc]

[Aeros]

Receiving nothing but silence, the Eranian Ambassador furls the scroll angrily.

"People of Naharayim! Know that for four days thou hast kept the sovereign emissary of the Shah waiting at your borders! Know that for 10 days thou hast refused to acknowledge the Aryan People, your sovereign neighbor! I am therefore charged to inform you that in the abscence of any contact, I must issue the proclamation my Lord, Shah Ardashir commanded me to proclaim should peace and amity fail to be established between our nations. May this result rest upon the ineptitude and care you have for the well being of your nation!

[quote]To the Government of Naharayim.

If this missive is being proclaimed, then it is because the Ambassador I have charged to speak for me has failed in his duties to negotiate good relations with your nation. Know that he shall be severely punished for his failure. But also know that his failure will rest with you as well. As we have been unable to establish rapport, I can only conclude your nations hostile intentions. To wit.

1. Naharayim presently occupies the Persian provinces of Ilam, Bushehr, and Khuzistan. While the future of these provinces had been open to negotiation from my Ambassador, your failure to reach amicable settlement leaves me with no choice. It is proclaimed from the throne of Simurgh that these lands are by right of ancestry, ethnicity and history, integral parts of Eranshahr.

2. The region of Babil Province Iraq contains the ancient capital of my ancestors, Ctesiphon. The care of this site is one of great historical and religious duty to me. As my Ambassador has failed to reach amicable settlement on this issue, I must now remind the Government of Naharayim that Ctesiphon and the entire Mesopotamian Region surrounding it were at one point a part of our mighty Empire. That these lands are beyond our rule in this new era is well known to us, and we are prepared to accept this. However, your failure to negotiate forces Us to question as to whether the ancient city of our ancestors is in good hands. The creator commands us to honor our fathers, and for this reason we cannot be denied. In this you are warned.

Know that I am not an aggressive or belligerent ruler. I believe strongly in the importance of good relations with our neighbors. But if those neighbors refuse even to negotiate in good faith with my emissaries, I must therefore assume the worst. In 3 days time my Emissary will return to your borders. It is my command that you at least speak to him, that your will may be made known to my court. Should you fail even in this simple task, then know that you shall be seen an enemy of the Aryans. Know that this is proclaimed from the Throne of Simurgh, and carries with it the will of the creator Ahura Mazda.

Signed and Sealed in my name, Shah Ardashir IV. King of the Aryans, Lord of Parthia, Descendent of Ardishir, true son of the Creator Ahura Mazda, Emperor of Eran.
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f2/Senmurv.svg/200px-Senmurv.svg.png[/img]
[/quote]

With the proclamation read aloud the Emissary angrily rides back to his expedition who swiftly depart from the borders of Naharayim.

Edited May 4, 2012 by Aeros

[Mergerberger II]

OOC: oops, haven't been around here in awhile.

IC:

The following statement was sent to the government of Shah Ardashir IV:

[quote]
To the Government of Eranshahr,
In Response to Escalated Military Presence on the Eastern Border,
and In Response to Recent Proclamation and Threat to Naharayim,

It is the opinion and policy of this government that foreign nations who attempt to enter the borders considered under sovereign control of the government of King [color=#1C2837][size=2]Harun ibn Tariq ibn Khalid al-Fulan, First King of Naharayim, Sovereign of Mesopotamia, High Councilor of the Court of the Crimson King [/size][/color]unannounced and in the presence of military force without inquiring prior permission to enter the borders via a treaty or any form of temporary agreement regarding the opening of borders between the Naharayim and the nation in question do not be permitted to enter the Realm. I am certain that you understand this policy and, further, understand why your armed envoy were refused entry by our border patrol.

Second, in regards to your outrageous demand for territory that elected via fair and democratic elections held prior to the formation of Naharayim in the days of the Tianxia Protectorate, we respectfully request that you take the territories in question from our cold, dead hands.

Third, in regards to your claim against our sovereignty by your nation, we respond that should Eranian troops enter the Naharayim provinces of Ilam, Bushehr, or Khuzistan, we will consider it an outright declaration of war against Naharayim and respond accordingly.

Fourth, in response to your demand and your claim, we are obliged to inform you that no Eranian citizen will be permitted to enter Naharayim under any circumstances effective immediately. This action is taken to ensure the adequate defense of Naharayim in response to your threat against our country and our people.

Fifth, in response to the expressed sentiment from your government regarding the quality of the care for the people of the Baghdad Province, rest assured that they are quite well-cared for and there is nothing that you need concern yourself with.

Sixth, in response to your claim regarding your benevolence and your claim that you are not an aggressive or belligerent ruler, we ask that you show these qualities by not escalating this situation further, and by rescinding your claim to our territory immediately.

Finally, we will receive your ambassador so long as prior notice is given of his intended presence in our territory. Your ambassador is welcome to fly to Riyadh and enter the Ministry headquarters there, where he will be given an audience before the Council of Foreign Affairs.

Please consider your next move carefully.

Given with the authority of King Harun ibn Tariq Khalid al-Fulan, First King of Naharayim, Sovereign of Mesopotamia, and High Councilor of the Court of the Crimson King.[/quote]

Edited May 4, 2012 by Mergerberger II

[Aeros]

Foreign Minister Hvaspur furled the missive from the King of Naharayim after reading it to the Shah. Shah Aradashir idly drummed his fingers on the arm rest of his throne as he contemplated the words.

"This Arab Monarch finally decides to respond to us now? After he throws my realm into Chaos with his recalcitrance? That nonsense about armed escorts is a ridiculous excuse. The Ambassador was instructed to accommodate whatever customs or laws they required of him. But how can we accommodate if we get nothing but silence?!"The Shah angrily stands up from his throne and begins to pace. "We are not ready for this Hvaspur!"

The foreign minister coughs softly. "War with Naharayim, my Lord?" The Shah could only shake his head. "If not Naharayim then ourselves. You know as well as I do I might as well command the sun to rise in the west as I could renounce dominion on Bushehr and the rest. Especially now that things have been set in motion!" The Shah paused in his pacing. "Where is my brother Hvaspur". The foreign minister rapidly sobered. "He has assumed command of the Second Army at Tehran mighty Lord. He has already begund marching them south towards Khoramabad." The Shah sat back down on the throne with a heavy sigh. "No doubt the fool already has delusions of being a war hero, and using that to challenge me. It is a claim not without merit, provided he wins." Hvaspur remained studiously quiet. "Of course there is little chance of that. He'd just make this crisis worse. Its unlikely Tianxia will look kindly on an escalation either. Especially now that the Arabs have stopped drinking Chai long enough to let us know they are still around."

The Shah began writing two missives. "This first message is to be transmitted to the Foreign Ministry of Naharayim. The Second is to be transmitted to General Darius. I am recalling him from retirement and placing him in command of the First Army. He's a wily old Fox, and loyal. I fear things have moved beyond our control. Its doubtful my brother will heed any order to stop his advance. This is the Warrior Classes moment to shine, and they won't be easily denied. He will have stacked Second Army with his loyalists. If I ordered them to stand aside now, they would just turn on Persepolis rather then Naharayim. I want my own troops in the field before any such command is given."

Shah Ardashir handed the missives to Foreign Minister Hvaspur. "See my will done Hvaspur, and do not fail me." Hvaspur bowed his head and walked out of the throne room.

Within the hour a message was transmitted to the Naharayim Foreign Ministry.

[quote] To his majesty King Harun ibn Tariq ibn Khalid al-Fulan

I am glad that you have at last decided to contact my court. My only regret is that it was not done sooner, and before recent events that have no doubt drawn your attention. To address the points laid out in your missive.

Eranshahr does not recognize the elections in the three provinces in question as they were done without our consent. I will freely admit this court was in no position to give or deny such consent at the time, but the point of contention must stand on its own merit. I can no more renounce my claim on these provinces then you could defy your god. For me as you, it is a sacred duty. However, there is no such requirement that a time limit can be set on the enforcement of such claims. Indeed, the priests tell me that as god is Infinite, so to is the amount of time he can wait for his will to be done. It is my hope that this is an amicable solution to this dispute.

With regards to troops in your borders, I have commanded that no such incursions be made. I have begun taking steps to insure that my will in this regard is respected. Know that I do this at great cost. Your inability to respond to my emissary has given my enemies the cause to claim I lack the fitness to rule and I fear they may intend to prosecute this claim. In either event, it is doubtful Eranshahr will be in any condition to threaten your borders.

With respect to Baghdad, know that I have no interest in this city. It is Ctesiphon that interests my nation. There are numerous ways in which this contention may be resolved, to include my government supply funds for the care and upkeep of the site.

With respect to the Ambassador, I will dispatch him once more to your lands at the time stated in the earlier proclamation. It is my hope that this time you receive him.

Signed and Sealed in my name, Shah Ardashir IV. King of the Aryans, Lord of Parthia, Descendent of Ardishir, true son of the Creator Ahura Mazda, Emperor of Eran.
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f2/Senmurv.svg/200px-Senmurv.svg.png[/img]
[/quote]

Edited May 4, 2012 by Aeros

[Triyun]

"Imperator the Iraqis and the Iranians have been enemies for generations, I'm not sure its really within our strategic interest to pick a winner yet." Wei said to Jia as Jia sat on his throne listening to the situation.

"Nonsense, we own the air space over both those two countries and dominate the Persian Gulf. We can put battleships and bombers in place to keep the peace at gunpoint. Remind them whose boss." Kou said as his chomped on his cigar. "Lets show these guys whose boss and dominate the battle space. They'll do what we tell them then in the future."

"Or create a political backlash, the Executor's plan is doable at any time." Wei said, "Lets exercise restraint for now, see how things play out."

Jia raised his hand, "Enough, I want you to put global hawks and derigible observation platforms at high altitude along out borders and in the Persian Gulf to observe movements and monitor signals these guys send out. Lets keep a constant observation on whats happening."

[Centurius]

It was late in the palace when the FIA briefing on recent events in the Middle-East arrived, with a sigh Ariadne looked over the report.

"Jia gives them freedom for a few months and they're already at each other's throats." She said as she rubbed her forehead. "Keep in touch with Tianxia, meanwhile put the XXIV Corps in Phoenicia on alert and focus some satellite and UAV assets on the area"

[Mergerberger II]

"It is interesting to me," Hafiz said to his King, "that the Shah is so interested in portraying himself to his people and to us as though he were a Perisan God-King of old. His government and his empire are set up in the fashion of the old Persian empires, and he is very interested in the affairs of the ancient Sassanid capital near Baghdad. It would be unwise to comment on his mortality or his religion, and I would not advise mentioning the secular nature of this government."

"We are only privately secular, Hafiz. Religion has its place," Harun replied, his hand on his beard, elbow resting on the arm of his chair. "And, I rather fancy his God-King Napoleonic complex. It's fascinating, and it might be fun to act like that for a day. I wonder how the Arabic people would respond to that. Probably pretty differently from Persians."

"Well, we don't have a history of dealing with God-Kings, not since Arabia was ruled by Persians, and I don't recall too much amicability there."

"Indeed, Hafiz, indeed," he chuckled, "draw up a response, and be sure to mention that we are not idiots, and we see their army advancing on radar and with satellite imaging. Also send a message to Tianxia and request their support. Send another to Mexico and request a public declaration of support once that treaty is officially signed. Move one hundred thousand troops to the military bases in Elam. Also move air units into bases in range of the border and of strategic points along the whole border. Move two carrier groups to the port at Bushehr. And place the whole military on Orange Level Alert. In your response to Xerxes the Silly, reaffirm our commitment to the care of Ctesiphon, because honestly we spend too much on archaeology funding anyway, and also point out that it's a bit difficult to 'give consent' or really to care at all about what happens before you exist."

"Aye, Harun."

"That's King Harun," he said jokingly.

"Queen Harun," Hafiz smiled.

[quote]To the Government of the Eranshahr,
In Response to Continued Escalated Military Threat Near the Eastern Border,
and In Response to the Previously Sent Message from Eranshahr,

First, it is rare that an entity that does not exist can comment or give consent to anything that occurs. In the case of the fair and just elections held in the territories in question, the people of these territories fairly selected to become a part of the newly forming nation of Naharayim. At the time, the state of Eranshahr did not exist, and therefore it is impossible for you to require consent on this issue. We will consider this point irrelevant and maintain that the territories were rightly and fairly made a part of Naharayim upon its formation.

These territories will remain a part of Naharayim until they are forced from our hands by extraneous factors. At this time we have no intention of giving up sovereignty of these territories to you or to anyone else.

Regarding your claims that no incursions have or will be made into Naharayim territory, it is my sincere hope that this is the truth. However, I find it difficult to believe or take seriously when there is a rather large army moving into position to attack and assault my borders and my sovereignty. Please call these units back away from the border or at least order them to cease marching and keep them at least a hundred kilometers from the border and we can end this escalation.

Your ambassador will be received in Riyadh and he will meet with the High Council on Foreign Affairs. In regards to Ctesiphon, I assure you that the site is well cared for however any funding from Eranshahr would surely be welcomed by the National Agricultural Society with open arms. Please direct all further queries regarding Ctesiphon to them, however I assure you that the site is well-kept and well-preserved. It is protected under the National Historical Sites Act.

Given under the authority of King Harun ibn Tariq Khalid al-Fulan, First King of Naharayim, Sovereign of Mesopotamia, and High Councilor of the Court of the Crimson King.[/quote]

[Mergerberger II]

The following messages were sent:

[quote]To the Government of the Empire of Tianxia
In Regards to Recent Events in Eranshahr
In Regards to Recent Threats Received

In accordance with the treaty we signed some months ago with the Empire of Tianxia, Naharayim formally requests to know what the response of Tianxia would be should Naharayim face an outbreak of war with Eranshahr.

Given With the Authority of King Harun ibn Tariq Khalid al-Fulan, First King of Naharayim, Sovereign of Mesopotamia, and High Councilor of the Court of the Crimson King.[/quote]

[quote]To the Government of Mexico
In Regards to Recent Events in Eranshahr
In Regards to Recent Threats Received

In accordance with the treaty we signed some months ago with Mexico, Naharayim formally requests to know what the response of Mexico would be should Naharayim face an outbreak of war with Eranshahr.

Given With the Authority of King Harun ibn Tariq Khalid al-Fulan, First King of Naharayim, Sovereign of Mesopotamia, and High Councilor of the Court of the Crimson King.[/quote]

[quote]To the Government of the Athenian Federation
In Regards to Recent Events in Eranshahr
In Regards to Recent Threats Received

Given that the Athenian Federation has declared a blanket ODP, and given that the Athenian Federation has a vested interest in the affairs of a possible conflict near its border in the Middle East, the government of Naharayim formally requests to know what response Athens will make should Naharayim face the outbreak of war with Eranshahr.

Given With the Authority of King Harun ibn Tariq Khalid al-Fulan, First King of Naharayim, Sovereign of Mesopotamia, and High Councilor of the Court of the Crimson King.[/quote]

Edited May 8, 2012 by Mergerberger II

[Centurius]

[quote]King Harun ibn Tariq Khalid al-Fulan,

We have been observing recent developments closely and should this escalate will get involved. In case of an outright attack against your state it is very likely Hellenic forces will be deployed to halt any forces and preserve the status quo.

Sincerely,
Her Imperial Highness Ariadne Notaras of Heraclius, Megale Autokrateira of the Athenian Federation and her overseas territories, Protector of the Old World, Supreme Commander of the Hellenic Forces, Priestess of the Cult of Athena, Speaker of Zeus, Incarnate of Athena, Heroine of the revolution.[/quote]