Christian History of Andinia

Andinia was founded in 1100 AD when a Crusader army under Samuel de Montfort captured the town of Raphia in southern Levant. Baldwin I, King of Jerusalem, granted the lands to Samuel and made him Count of the County of Andinia, a vassal state of Jerusalem. Samuel wrote to Henry I of England requesting support for the small English Crusader State. Henry responded by dispatching nearly 2,000 Knights, 8,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 settlers.

In the early years, Raphia suffered almost constant attacks by the Egyptian Fatamids, which led to the the construction of the Citadel of Raphia and walls around the town.

Sinai expansion
To strengthen the defence of the Kingdom, Baldwin I launched an expedition against Egypt in 1118, where he seized Farama on the Nile Delta without a fight as the townspeople had fled in panic before he reached the town. Baldwin's retainers urged him to attack Cairo, but an old wound that he had sustained in 1103 suddenly re-opened and he was forced to travel back to Jerusalem, but died enroute.

Samuel de Montfort commanded what remained of the Crusader army and captured the towns of Arish in 1119 which was renamed Rhydentine and then established Castle Eliagarde in north west Sinai. Samuel then led his army south to claim the small, but religiously important Monastery of Saint Catherine in central Sinai.

By 1122, the County of Andinia controlled all the lands of Sinai, from Farama in the west, to Elyn in the east.

After the death of Count Samuel at the Battle of Azaz in northern Syria in 1125, Samuel's eldest son, Alric de Montfort became Count of Andinia. Alric announced new laws of tolerance for non-Catholics and welcomed Jews, Muslims and non-Catholic Christians to Andinia, in part, to assist in establishing towns and trade in the sparsely populated Sinai. Alric also entered a period of establishing many castles along the Mediterranean coast road.

Great Southern Expansion 1153-1161
Alric launched the Great Southern Expansion in 1153 taking lands along the Hijaz, taking the important towns of Mecca and Medina. Saladin launched an expedition to retake Mecca in 1163 and then retook Medina in 1170 where Alric was killed in battle.

Alric's son, Francis de Montfort became Count of Andinia and in 1177, gathered an army to retake Medina in 1177. Francis was victorious and then marched on Mecca. However after suffering huge losses, was forced to give up on retaking the town. Francis regrouped his forces and joined his close friend, William de Lusignan, in attacking the town of Jeddah in 1178. The town fell to the Crusaders and Jeddah was given to William to rule in his name. William renamed the town Lusignan.

Third Crusade and Fourth Crusade
Count Francis accepted the call to arms for the Third Crusade and at its conclusion Francis signed a Treaty with Saladin. As part of the agreement Andinia would become independent from the Kingdom of Jerusalem and Arab caravans would be free to travel through Andinian lands safely. Medina would be given returned to Saladin's control and Farama returned to Andinian control. Saladin also agreed to allow the safe passage of Christian inhabitants to Andinian lands.

Foundation of the Kingdom of Andinia
Francis died in 1192 without an heir and his brother, younger brother, William de Montfort received the support of the nobles, over the middle brother Rudolph. William, Lord of Elyn, had earned a strong reputation during the Third Crusade and was known as William the Hammer, due to his ferocious deeds in battle. Rudolph, briefly rallied an army nut quickly gave up when he saw the lack of support.

In March 1192, William established the Kingdom of Andinia and was crowned King William I of Andinia in Raphia at the age of 51. One of his first acts was to relocate the capital to Lusignan once the new royal residence, Osterzele Palace was completed. William made his brother, Rudolph the older, Lord of Southern Andinia, his first son, William the younger, Lord of Middle Andinia, his second son, Rudolph the younger was made Lord of North Sinai, his third son, Eric, Lord of Elyn, his son-in-law, Henry de Woking, Lord of South Sinai and William de Lusignan, Lord of Northern Andinia.

William joined the Crusade of 1197 alongside Amalric II, King of Jerusalem, in which the Crusader army recovered Beirut. William would later pledge his armies for the Fourth Crusade in 1202, however, upon hearing that the main Crusader army had marched on Constantinople, refused to join the Crusade.

Rudolph the older, Lord of Southern Andinia, governed from the city of Aden and under his rule, the city became an important trade centre and flourished. Ships going between the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean stopped. Textiles, perfume and spices came from India, Southeast Asia and China, while slaves, ivory and pepper were brought from Africa. Among the more important Andinian items for export were horses and agricultural crops. Jewish merchants could be found in the main ports as well as Indians, Africans and Egyptians.

In 1201 William I supported Qatada ibn Idris, a powerful clan leader, in overthrowing the Ayyubid backed Emir Mukaththir ibn Isa of Mecca. Emir Qatada became a close friend and ally of William, who assisted the Emir in expanding his territories to the east of Andinia and forming the Emirate of Banu Qatadah. The Emirate had its capital at Mecca. William assisted Qatada in a number of conflicts against other clans. To further confirm the alliance between Andinia and Qatadah, Prince Eric, Lord of Elyn, was married to Qatada’s daughter Nafissa.