Medieval Kingdoms Total War: The Ilkhanate Mongols news

The Mongol onslaught of the Near East must have seemed to have been a sudden typhoon of destruction to its inhabitants. When Genghis Khan, then yet another steppe warlord, declared war on Khwarazmian in 1218, little could the Shah have known that this warlord and his descendants would eventually bury all of Asia in a wave of conquest. By the end of the 13th century, Mongol armies would sweep from Korea to Hungary, and the mighty Ayyubid Empire would crumble as its capital Baghdad would be razed in 1258. A alien horde of Mongolian horsemen, backed with strange eastern siege weapons and mercenaries at first; the army of the Ilkhanates would soon reflect the heritage of those nations it had so thoroughly crushed in the first conquests. In the empire of Hulegu Khan, every nation is welcome if they pay homage to the Mongols, every soldier is given a place in the Khans army. Persian infantry fight alongside Armenian Christian mercenaries, sheltered by the arrows of Turkic and Mongol archers as Chinese engineers haul great war machines behind them.

The Ilkhanate itself lasted from 1256 to the mid 14th century, disintegrating into a mess of Persian and Turkic confederations before the next great empire would conquer them. Despite this, given the 3 tier system in place for this mod I have given the Ilkhanate a second chance, a Tier 3 roster representing the 15th century Ilkhanate armies as if it had never fallen, and hopefully in the campaign, you the player will be able to ensure the Khanates survival.

For this roster, I have broken the tiers into three general categories based on the overall army composition of that period:

Tier 1 [1200s]: This represents the initial Mongolian horde that swept through Persia under Hulegu Khan in 1255. It is at its core not too far removed from the armies that first roared out of the deep steppe under Genghis Khan himself, decades earlier, with some additions reflecting the cosmopolitan nature of the Mongols new empire. Great masses of Mongolian horse archers and lancers are backed with conscripted levies of captured soldiers, Persian infantry, and Caucasian soldiers from Armenia and Georgia.

Tier 2 [1300s]: The Ilkhanate is the sole owner of Persian, and under the rule of cultured leaders such as Ghazan Khan the army becomes more complex, more sedentary, and more assimilated with native military traditions. The core forces of Mongol horsemen remain, but even more Persian soldiers accompany, as true soldiers rather than whipped up mass levies. Feudal Islamic cavalry add a thunderous punch to the army, as well as regiments of handgunners and grenadiers.

Tier 3 [1400s]: In this reconstruction, the Ilkhanate army resembles much that of the ruthless Tamerlame. Turco-Mongol cavalry swarm the field around a shimmering mass of heavily armored Central Asian infantry. Half-Plate knights, clad in exotic blends of western and eastern armor charge at full tilt ahead of new mercenary forces of Turkoman nomads, drawn from the rising tribal confederations to the north and east.

Work in Progress (subject to updates):

Units of Special Interest:

Kharash:
Poor souls, the Kharash are the prisoners and civilians that were driven before Mongol war engine, a living shield for enemy arrows as the Mongols inexorably moved closer. Their bodies filled moats and piled before gates, a reminder of the ruthlessness of the Khans.

Qaraghul:
The Qaraghul were the brave border guards that roamed the endless frontiers of the Ilkhanate, hunting down criminals and serving as the Khans eyes to report all affairs in the wilder realms of his kingdom.

Keshiq:
The infamous Keshiq were the elite core of the Mongol army. They formed a heavily armored bulwark, protecting the Khan and serving to smash enemy defenses when all other forces have failed.

Tier 3 visually requires a lot more new work than tiers 1 and 2, so even after adding a lot of new assets there still is room for more models. Planned additions include custom turcoman tunics hopefully, as well as the Tug banner, more Persian banners and helmets as well as a few new Chinese style models and weapons for select units where relevant.

A final note on Research:
I pride myself, and have always prided myself on sticking to historical accuracy, regardless of project. Now, when I took this on I knew very little about the Ilkhanate itself, and had to build that required level of knowledge quite quickly.
I am fully aware I might have made mistakes, errors, ignored vital data pertaining to parts of the period. It is quite possible, and you as a viewer are welcome to take me up on that.
I simply put forth the requirement if you criticize my units presented here from a historical perspective,
you back it up with strong period evidence as proof.
I am very willing to make changes based on accuracy, and I can provide some of my own sources I used for research at request through a PM.

Credits:
Ltd - models and answering many, many questions
Slytacular - models and endless help and assistance
Warman - Being a very helpful lead developer and constructing the framework this whole project rests on