All forts within the boundaries of Tinko-Tinko was built either in a time of great well-being, expansionism or threat. Thereby has nearly all sites received their own name and earnt a unique history which makes attacking one with the aid of a Tinkonian a hard task, for the fort in question might have stood for over hundreds of years and withheld the forces of nature and armies alike creating a great respect and restraint of the common man. One could almost say that they have become the place of legend and mutual respect, however, one could easily disregard that nonsense for common sense because of the sturdiness and advanced defences of the forts.

The fortifications discussed here were constructed at the end of The Renaissance 1246-1268 AU (1573-1595), an era suggested to truly have begun 1173 but little of the reinvigoration of the old arts could be seen until the explosion in 1246. The era sparked new discussions and thoughts of the old reforming many concepts previously believed to have been immobile. Education was now a commodity available for more than the wealthy, city dwellers could now enjoy a childhood in the classroom and farmers the weekends off learning how to read, write and count. This would however, much like the Golden Age 398-447 AU be cut short by unforeseen events. This being the Confederation war.

Somewhere between 1253-63 had the Tinkonian Confederacy successfully consolidated their power after winning a war crushing the Jews and Hebrons (Tinkonian Jews) ending the last Jewish stronghold in West Africa, Patriarchy Hebron. The confederacy began targeting desert land in their north with the idea similar to that of the reconquista, retaking some old land and some new, too driven by a growing antisemitism. Within a year the confederation conquered parts of the old Mizrahim and (Lower) Yashou and areas with many other recently settled Jewish peoples. Invading, lest conquering Jewish land however was a struggle as the old Hebron alliance remained strong under the new leadership of the doge from The Republic of Yashou. The Jewish city-state alliance proved a tenacious opponent even with their rapidly dwindling numbers.

This numerical superiority allowed the Tinkonians to flush most Jews from their defences, allowing doubt to grasp the members of the old Hebron alliance who believed Tinkonian society never could recuperate. The Doge ordered his Republic of Yashou advanced navy to force a decisive victory at sea, but proved inadequate to turn the tides of war as most of the war was waged far inland. The Doge was within a couple months forced to turn to the Roman Empire (and the Thuran Trade [TTC]) asking for military aid, and it can be found in the Roman Imperial Records how the situation was viewed,

With the Tinko peoples persecution against the Jews, the Yashoun and Jewish Tribals and city-states cried out to the republic for more help. The Jewish Republic of Yashou, although powerful, knew it could not stand up to the Tinko, and so they sent word to the TTC, who then went to the Roman Imperial Administration [RIA] in Gibraltar.

The official roman report was answered firstly after six months of discussion about a possible intervention on behalf of the Jewish Republic and its city-state alliance. The current emperor, Julius Aurelius Constantinus Augustus, away on business had left his reluctant brother at the throne. After some discussion an expeditionary force was assembled consisting of one legion and one minor legion (15.000 legionnaires) transported by fleet of Carracks and Galleons granted by the RIA and Fluyts, Balingers and Barges from the TTC initiative. The army sailed to Cape Verde where they built a base of operations which would remain even till the current times (1383 AU or 1710), a Roman stranglehold on Tinkonian lands.

From that island would both Roman and Yashouan generals meet and prepare the reconquest of lost Jewish land. These preparations however took a year and a half allowing the confederacy a killing blow to many members of the Jewish city-state alliance and the consolidation of the Tinkonian Confederations power. The war seemed concluded as the Jewish alliance lost faith and unable to assemble armies to match their enemy. Or it seemed that way until the Roman-Yashouan invasion force landed on the Hebron shores with nearly 30.000 soldiers in early January changing the course of the war and history of West Africa.

From the border watch near Hebron came a messenger who’d travelled for days along the vast postal stations, they told of an armada spewing fire and stone before uncountable Jews debarked from the smoke as if coming from hell. The message was ill news and stirred the overly confident Confederate Congress who decided to give orders themselves before handing the subject over to competent generals. The first was sent to the advancing armies in the north ordering their return to face the threat and the second order was to inform the outer rim forts to prepare for assault.

The northern army ignored the orders to return in belief that the outer rim forts would repel the clearly exaggerated invasion.

The outer rim forts lead by the Zwood Amadi, not truly understanding the warning chose to disregard most of it but sent orders to prepare for whatever it might be. He then, as the custom was, gathered his officers to change clothes where Amadi gave his rank to the one below and so on thereby elevating everyone one rank up making him an Oberst (Colonel). As the forts prepared themselves they became increasingly aware of the roman presence on Tinkonian soil and grasped by guilt and fear realized that Warcheif of Defence had been right when warning two decades earlier that the romans would return one day to avenge the bloodbath which once had occurred. As war again ravaged the land came the Counsel of Five to assemble yet another time to serve their confederation, this time wary of the situation at hand.

Meanwhile the invasion was taking place did the TTC send a secret message to the disgruntled member state of the confederacy, Trade Republic of Agadir, whom been starved by the chosen isolationism,

The Roman Empire and Yashouan Republic have invaded your lands with nearly 30,000 men, they bring weapons of fire and stone, as well as their armies. The Navies of Yashou, Rome and the TTC reign supreme over the waves. Your Republic is doomed to fail if there is no cooperation. The Romans, and TTC offer you this: Modern Roman infrastructure in renovations of all your ports, a trade fleet of Fluyts, Caravels, and Carracks to extend your business further than ever before.

We await your answer.

The five families governing the republic were terrified, not because of their immediate danger but because they could lose land in the long run which was indeed their last source of income. And they firstly challenged the Romans to try the defences of the Outer and Inner rim which had not faltered in over 700 years before unexpectedly turning their coat in search for profit, thus refraining to inform the Confederation Congress of this meeting. This was also the first time Polemus Aristocles is hinted to exist in Tinkonian history (this was too the first time antisemitism was outright mentioned in text), who met with representatives of the republic far of the coast between Cape Verde and Ksar-Mersa. The Romans clearly offended by the silk djellabas worn by the representatives tried their best to ignore the fact, this confiscated silk had been part of the cause for a conflict between the two 20 years ago.

The diplomacy was stale; from the Tinkonian side it was for the Romans to leave and allow the destruction of lower beings in favour of possible future trade. And the Romans argued a rejuvenation of the Mediterranean economy by employing Tinkonians to trade gold and ivory. Ivory was however outright denied to be traded due to the magnificence of elephants, but a deal unknown to many was struck between the two – it has been speculated that the romans bribed the republic to turn coat, but little evidence could ever be found.

The year was 1265 when the Trade Republic of Agadir signed peace with the Roman-Yashou coalition, an act angering the Confederation Congress in such a way they disowned the republic,

Outrageous! They’re breaking the constitution!

We want them outlawed, their land seized, their lives taken!

Move the armies and take their retched lives!

Never have anyone insulted their own people in such a swift move, this is high treason!

And that move caused the whole confederation shrug, the cracks and disagreements quickly surfaced preparing the confederation for imminent collapse which would occur two years later. The strongest and soon largest member being the Tinkonian Republic whose core land was in the protected south began annexing many satellite states and members of the confederation, proceeded to charge all other members of the confederate congress for high treason executed nearly 270 representatives meaning they now controlled the remnants of the confederation with an iron fist. One scholar stated in the margin of a book “The Confederate banner faded and flags of individuals and old rose, the vassal states released or consumed, before all returned to normal”.

The next move was to convict the whole of the governing body of the Trade Republic of Agadir of high treason, and such was the way that a Confederate army was dispatched to besiege and take the capital Agadir. In June 1266 AU had nearly 70% of Tinko-Tinko’s aristocracy and noble families been executed for various degrees of treason, with the exception of one notable family, the Warrik.

With most threats cleverly being removed by the confederation and by later purges by the Warrik family themselves they proclaimed themselves royal, recalling its ancient bloodline connected to the Afarat Dynasty, the founding family of Tinko-Tinko. This was endorsed by the Roman and Yashouan commanders Aristocles and Asael meaning it could not be contested in the now occupied north. The Warriks quickly earnt the title separatists, but they in turn called their army the Resistance Armed Forces in hopes to rally all oppressed by the confederation.

The general stance within Tinko-Tinko became anti- or pro-roman, which in turn too meant anti-Semitic or Philo-Semitic, isolationist or interventionist. Splitting the once united people into two camps.

The Romans had 1266, by the time the confederation had conquered all southern cities, only managed to take one of the outer rim forts. The Roman commander Aristocles decided to try and occupy and consolidate the power of the Warrik family in the lush Hebron farmlands in the north, but could not ignore the pressing danger in the south. He gave two orders, first to drive out confederate troops in the north and capture the cosmopolitan city Taghaza and his second order was to send a detachment force to engage the approaching confederate troops in the south (with secondary objective to retake Agadir).

After dealing several devastating blows to the confederate army in the south finally came the news many anxiously had been waiting for, Agadir had been retaken but at a cost. Aristocles received numerous other reports from scouts and spies piecing together in his war room on a map of the realm with positions of armies and fortresses was, an artefact later stored in the Royal Library of Tinko. This artefact drawn by the commander himself gives a clue of how obviously overstretched confederate forces were, and thus explained their few tries of counterattacks as the confederation was forced to try and win a defensive victory. However, the confederate garrisons spread across this massive swats of land were rather large and proved a constant stress and threat to the Roman and Yashouan forces, a stress which caused many to try and pressure Aristocles to end the war prematurely through diplomacy – in which several attempts were made. The coalition trying to lower pressure turned to adopt confederate tactics, meaning that battles in the south would occur more seldom, but too it reinvigorated the roman effort as they now began occupying the south with an iron grip fortifying the western coast with Romanesque styled forts.

Whilst this was happening in the south had the coalition army marched on empty stomachs through burnt fields in the north towards Taghaza. The city in all its splendour showcased mighty thick walls with a visible inner citadel. Led by the roman commander Aristocles himself with his advisor being the Yashouan commander Asael they decided to go head on and claim the city by force. No allied Tinkonian would join this futile attempt and is said to have even advised otherwise was ignored. Three days of siege was recorded before a heatwave along with staggering cases of hookworm and tsetse flies required the stout roman to reconsider thereby breaking the siege. Guided by prince Izem, son of newly crowned king Alarut, the coalition forces turned south into more densely forested areas to besiege the outer rim fortifications. These were as noted by many participants, even its defending commander Oberst Amadi, to have been remarkably quick and bloodless brawls. It was at this moment Alarut was considered king by many in the occupied northern coastal areas. This victory like a sledgehammer struck the confederate psyche hard as they had lost their symbols of strength and invincibility, this is where many lost their hope to win the war and mass desertions can be noted in many confederate reports. Some even reporting troops actively fighting for the other side or surrendering their weapons as sign of submission.

1268 the romans managed to secure the coastlines of Western Tinko-Tinko with several fortifications, even causing the whole Confederation to admit collapse when the satellite state known as Free State of Tinko was forced to secede. Much land remained under Roman-Warrik occupation as the Yashouan auxiliaries and Jewish problems, once being the key elements, were shoved aside.

Taghaza was besieged for 3 months where a stranded garrison were left to defend along with the last confederate Warcheif, Udad. The walls was battered with cannon fire until there was no gunpowder left, but they still held. The Yashouan commander Asael attacked the city from the east with ladders but was repelled several times, until the Asael himself was injured and called off the attacks. Only prince Izem of Warrik managed to penetrate the north-western walls where it was loosely defended, he is said to be the one who killed warcheif Udad right before the city capitulated hearing the romans success to penetrate the outer gates forcing the defenders to flee into the citadel moments before. The defenders were allowed to leave the city, albeit pacified by removing their weapons.

Shortly thereafter did the last member state, the Tinkonian Republic, accept defeat unable to contest the Roman forces which now occupied a third of the now none existent confederacy. A letter of recognition was sent, admitting total collapse and a wish to hinder further war by accepting the Warrik as royal family of the Royalty of Tinkonii giving them the lush Hebron farmlands. This was then accepted.

The Tinkonian Republic were a couple years later in 1272 reorganized as the Second Tinkonian Empire. Tension would then continue to rise between the two rivals until the king Idus declared war in 1311 sparking a conflict which would rage for almost 22 years, and result in the total collapse of the European economy.

The Roman fortifications were firstly meant just to consolidate an occupational power during the war. But the forts lifespan was prolonged by the Warrik king Alarut who proceeded to occupy large parcels of land including the newly liberated Free State of Tinko. The fortifications too acted as a deterrent for those wanting to retaliate stanting as a memory of a bloody civil war. Some even imagined the fortifications as symbols of Jewish and Jew-friendly occupations which spurred further anti-Semite thoughts to thrive in some communities, later used by government officials within the Second Tinkonian Empire.