November 23rd, 1655
The city of Makran, Southeastern part of the Safavid Empire, on the Gulf of Oman.
Within the city of Makran, at its center, stood a luxurious and unique palace, characterized by an architectural style distinct to the Baluchistan region.
This was the palace of the tribal leader of the Mengal Tribe, Sardar Malik Khan Mengal, He was 38 years old this year, and along with his wife, Begum Zahara BeBe Mengal, he had five children: three sons named Mir Aamir Khan Mengal, Mir Farhad Khan Mengal, Mir Rafiq Khan Mengal, and two daughters named Bibi Gulbano Mengal and Bibi Zainab Mengal.
Malik Khan was presently at a meeting with various representatives sent by the Safavid Empire.
Currently engaged in discussion with representatives sent by the Safavid noble families were Sardar Malik Khan Mengal and his eldest son, Mir Aamir Khan Mengal. The other sons of Chief Mengal were not involved due to their young age and inexperience. Meanwhile, the daughters, along with their mother, were busy preparing dishes for the guests.
Ordinarily, servants attended to the family’s needs, Including cooking, cleaning, and everything else, but with important guests from the Safavid Empire, Begum Zahara Bebe Mengal took charge of the cooking herself. She believed that personally preparing the meal demonstrated respect and hospitality towards their esteemed visitors.
"Your Excellency Hossein Qoli Beg Shamlu, please don’t think poorly of us, but sincerely, the price you are asking is very high for us to pay," Sardar Malik said with a sincere expression.
The man in front of him was from the Shamlu family, one of the most influential families in the Safavid Empire, wielding significant power in the region of Khorasan. It was said that the Shamlu family was one of the Qizilbash tribes that held substantial influence in the eastern part of the empire.
Hence, Although the man before him was only a distant relative of the main Shamlu lineage, his name alone commanded respect in the region. Additionally, his identity as a man from a branch family was one reason he had been assigned to this remote city to carry out the family’s bidding.
"That’s right, you Qizilbash half-breed! Don’t open your mouth too wide; maybe your jaw will be dislocated," the person from the Takkalu family called Safar Beg Takkalu, sitting at the other end of the meeting, sneered loudly.
"What did you say? You western mongrel!" Hossein yelled loudly, hitting back immediately, with veins popping on his forehead.
Seeing this, Sardar Malik Khan felt tired of these influential families coming to his city and quarrelling to gain the support of the Mengal tribe. This was not the first time he had witnessed these people quarrelling; it was already the second time today.
The only reason it did not escalate to full-on violence was that all five families present had brought soldiers of similar numbers, making them very equal in strength. None of them wanted to risk losing their strength and disgracing their families in this backward tribal settlement. If they did, their families would surely kick them out or even impose punishment for tarnishing the family name.
Hence, all five families maintained the essence of not crossing the line and kept their disagreements verbal until now.
Safar Beg Takkalu, the representative from the Takkalu family, which was one of the five prominent forces in the Safavid Empire vying for the throne, had their influence particularly strong in the western region of the empire, notably in Lorestan.
Having provoked Hossein Shamlu, he was very satisfied, with a smug expression on his face, feeling very comfortable seeing a Shamlu bastard angry.
When Qoli Beg Shamlu grew furious at the comment made by Safar Takkalu, another voice chimed in against him, irking him even more.
"That’s right, that’s right. You Qizilbash people should not ask for too much. You should know the limit of your greed; Allah will not bless you otherwise," a third person from the Zangana family, named Suleiman Beg Zangana, supporting the Takkalu family, made his voice clear.
Sardar Malik now had a headache, as even the Zangara family, a major family with a lot of influence in the region of Kurdistan, joined in for the fun.
Meanwhile, Aamir Khan Mengal, his son, witnessing these big men quarrelling among themselves, was feeling restless and worried.
The only positive outcome for Sardar Malik Khan Mengal and his tribe was that he now understood the factional divide among the various families in the leaderless Safavid Empire. The emperor, aged 23, had passed away, leaving behind an 8-year-old child named Suleiman I, who seemed to be on his deathbed.
What Sardar Malik Khan Mengal gleaned from the ordeal is that in the absence of leadership in the Safavid Empire, the five strongest noble factions were vying for strength and influence both in the light and dark throughout the empire.
Even within these factions, Mengal identified two distinct groups: the Qizilbash faction, comprising families previously part of the Qizilbash tribe like the Shamlu, Afshar, and Ustajlu families, and another faction comprising families not originating from the Qizilbash group, namely the Takkalu and Zangara families.
As far as Chief Mengal could see, these factions, which had clashed with each other from the moment they had arrived, had no chance of cooperation. Unfortunately, though he knew this information and could potentially benefit from playing between these two evenly matched sides, Chief Mengal had no foundation or ability to play for these potential interests,
As for how the two factions are similar in strength, despite one faction having one less influential family, it is because of the way resources are divided between the two factions.
The Qizilbash Faction controls more population and land, while the Western Safavid faction controls important economic and crucial military bases in the empire, particularly towards the western side, closer to the Ottoman Empire and Europe. Hence, the reason for its name.
Malik Khan was tired of the calculations he had to make in order to stay alive and was overwhelmed by the influential people arguing in front of him. So, he simply leaned back in his chair in defeat.
"What am I supposed to do? Which faction should I pick? No matter which, one would become the enemy of the other faction, who can simply wipe out their tribe with a small breath," Sardar Khan fell into contemplation, unable to relax for much longer.
*Dong*
But his contemplation was broken by the loud ringing of the bell in the city, which only rang during attacks.
"Father, did the Bugti Tribe attack again so quickly? And that too this late at night, Weren’t they only beaten back last time? Why are they back again?" Mir Aamir Khan Mengal, the eldest son, questioned loudly with a hint of anger in his tone.
The ringing bells also caught the attention of the quarreling representatives of the noble families from Safavid, as they momentarily stopped their bickering and looked at Sardar Malik Khan Mengal for his answer.
Malik Khan was also surprised by this timing As it was already 9:30 PM. He did not expect someone would attack his city at this crucial and sensitive time, Both literally and figuratively.
Looking at the representatives, "Someone is indeed attacking the city," Malik Khan responded, confirming the words of his son. But he wasn’t fully sure that it was the Bugti tribe that was attacking, since the Bugti tribe had no route to attack the city from the northeast, which was precisely the side where the sound of the warning bell came from.
On the contrary, the Bugti tribe only had a travel route through the coast to reach the Mengal tribe. This was what they had done the last time when they had launched a surprise attack. Fortunately, although the number of Mengal soldiers was not as large as the Bugti tribe, their fortifications were really strong.
Hence, the Bugti tribe, who did not have proper artillery, could not breach the fortress of the Mengal tribe, and In a battle of attrition, it was the Mengal tribe that won after the battle lasted for 3 months.
The noble families exchanged glances as they sensed an opportunity.
"Chief Mengal, if we deal with this intruder and defend Makran city, will you support our faction?" Hossein said, his allies standing with him and nodding in agreement. Hearing this proposal, Malik Khan turned his gaze towards the representative of the Takkalu family.
Seeing Safar Beg Takkalu standing ready for battle, Malik Khan had a smile on his face and with a look of gratitude, he nodded his head and replied, "Alright, Your Excellencies. Makran City will support whoever deals with this invader."
With happy expressions, the nobles left the palace to rally their military forces.
"Father, why don’t we have our own tribal warriors Deal with these invaders?" Aamir Khan Mengal asked with a doubtful expression.
Chief Mengal, in a serious tone of teaching to the younger generation, replied, "I don’t think it is the Bugti tribe that has attacked our city this time. Since the attack is coming from behind and there are sounds of gunshots regularly, where would the Bugti tribe get such weapons of war? I believe it must be another force entirely.
So, I’m planning to use the Safavid forces to determine the strength of the enemy."
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"And what if the enemy loses?" Aamir Khan asked with a doubtful expression.
"Then we will join their faction. We have no choice anyway; we will have to pick a faction eventually. The only way out of picking sides is by giving up the city of Makran, and we obviously cannot do that, as this is the lifeblood of our tribe," Mengal explained.
Mir Aamir Khan Mengal, the next chief, nodded his head in understanding.