Tuesday, October 24th, 1741 - Morning Watch: 0:5:15 AM Off the shores of the northern Arabian Coast are six Maltese Islands. Three were populated. The other three were uninhabited. The derelict islands provided great havens for the Mediterranean pirates. The Malta Archipelago lies on the center of the Mediteranea Sea. The Arabian Coastal waters were dangerous for naval and commercial trade ships to enter. In the 18th century the Barbary pirates owned the trading post at Valetta in Malta. All ships were fair game if they dared sail within the range of Malta’s pirates. Predators are hunters & scavengers. It’s a dog eat dog world... One day, someone powerful would be the pirate emperor. Malta Island was governed by the Maghred Coalition. The wisest most powerful member of that association was Sultan Khay El Djinn. The Mediterranean was the economic center of the world... From the Silk Road of Cathay... From the Vikings of Scandinavia... Up to the Mongolian Steppes and down to South America. The Mediterranean Sea was the hub of the sea world. Freebooters had become organized naval fleets in these. These pirate flotillas needed admirals. October 24th, 1741 was the day of explosive changes. There came an historic challenge between the two most powerful pirate captains of the Barbary Coast. The elder captain, Caliph Shaheed ad Nabee, had controlled the Mediterranean Sea nearly 20 year a greedy and vicious bully he was. Yets his raids were frighteningly most effective, The younger admiral was Haydar Nabil. Known as Ahmar Sheikh (Red Sheik). Haydar was formerly Prince Elias bin Mudhar, son of the Persian Sultan. He was forced to become a buccaneer after the Safavid (Persian) Empire wasdestroyed in 1737. It was the early hours of Tuesday, October 24th, 1741. Winds whipped the choppy waters surrounding Malta. It was a perfect time for Haydar Nabil to seduce the bully Caliph Shaheed la Yarham (The Ruthless ) into his trap. The ambush was awaiting for Shaheed’s entourage to sail into the web of Malta’s Islands.

The upcoming execution had been sanctioned by the Maghred Coalition. Haydar had studied Shaheerd’s hijacking habits for the past twenty years. He partnered with many pirates over many years. The time was ripe. Haydar had established a fleet of four Persian Galoi war ships. His team was an unstoppable wolf pack. The accuracy of this flotilla came from the multiple strategies Haydar had conceived. He plundered upon licensed traders and navies. His was a strategic arsenal of maximum impact. His attacks were imposed against non-Muslim nations and their territories only. He supported and financed the Maghred Coalition faithfully... In addition, Haydar Nabil had engaged five more Algerian pirate ships to share in the booty extracted from his battle against Shaheed the Ruthless. This was not a simple hijack upon a pirate ship, but rather the utter destruction of Shaheed and his fleet. Now was the season for celebration! Eid-E-Shuja was the Muslim’s autumn Holy week... Now was the harvest when Muslim pirates brought finances to the Maghred and gifts to Allah, plus honoring Mohammed’s birthday. The Barbary pirates would be there. It was the perfect time to sacrifice the drastically unpopular Shaheed and his brutal lieutenants. By tradition, Shaheed’s ship was accompanied by his two commander’s ships. The old leader’s entourage consisted of 120 warriors and 60 guns...Shaheeed did not know there were nine ships equipped with 540 warriors and 600 cannons, mortars and fire lances. The predators waited in the rain-swept morning to decimate Caliph Shaheed’s entourage. The bait for Shaheed’s flotilla was an abandoned ship beached on the north side of St. Paul’s Island. The beach was situated three leagues from Malta Island. It was sending out distress signals using three bobbing lanterns. This site was directly in the path where Shaheed’s ships would enter the Maltese Archipelago. Hayar’s ships were hidden in the southwest end of St. Paul’s Bay. Shaheed’s entourage headed toward the abandoned ship. He moored his ships next to the derelict. They dropped anchor. Several crew members swung onto the deck to search for booty. Because of the dense fog, the entourage did not immediately see Haydar’s fleet surrounding their vessels. Suddenly Haydar’s ship’s horns blew a thunderous roar. The sound was immediately drowned by the whistling and booming explosions emanating from Haydar’s battleships. Murky clouds burst into flashes of scarlet and yellow. Cannonballs, mortars and fire lances spattered the trapped ships. The attackers were no more than 50 meters from their targets. The victims screamed like banshees while the bloody halocaust continued. Almost immediately the gunpowder barrels of the victim ship’s hold ignited. From gunnels to masts the doomed ships became rubble. After fifteen minutes of Haydar’s relentless battering, the guns went silent. From the intense heat and light of the flaming ship embers, the grisly spectacle of bodies & ship debris bobbed in the waves. The carnage could be seen through the smoke. A roar of triumph burst from the victors. From where Shaheed had been stationed, his mutilated remains was pulp, sinking into the waves of St. Paul’s Island. Haydar stood alone at the wheel of his ship Sophia, surveying the damage his armada had created this day. A smile of satisfaction played on his lips.

“Perfect ending for these bloody rotten beasts!” He muttered. “The crabs will surely enjoy these tasty morsels, eh?” He chuckled. “Nehme Alleh! (Grace of Allah!) Remember these ghost ships! He touched his forehead, lips & heart. “Nehme Alleh!” The news of the Red Sheik’s assasaination of Shaheed the Ruthless moved quickly through Maghred Coalition channels. Haydar was now known as a legendary figure... Barbarossa of Arabia. The merchants called him Lord of the Mediterranian. The true powers of the Mediterranean contraband industry however, belonged to Sultan Khay el Djinn, The Sultan’s adopted son Caliph Ayrad el Jabal. He was both Emir & Caliph of Western Morocco... Admiral “Haj” Perez of Morocco was a close friend and business partner, King George. II “Haj” Perez had the best connections for al-afion (opium), kif (marijuana), shaheed (slaves), gold & gems. King George Augustus II controlled armies, naval armadas, free ports and colonies all over the globe... Here was a perfect arrangement for their world-class financial monopoly. It had been continuing more than twenty years. Morocco’s Admiral Haj Perez had also known Haydar Nabil as far back as the days when the pirate was Prince Elias of Persia. This connection provided Haj a distinct advantage over all the tyrants to become emperor of the world’s contraband industry. A triadic partnership between Haydar, Haj & George would be Haj’s goal. Caliph Ayrad el Jabal however, was the brightest, most enlightened nobleman of Arabia. His connections in Arabia’s economic systems exceeded Haydar Nabil’s knowledge. Now in his 30’s, Ayrad would become the next Sultan to inherit Khay el Djinn’s position with the Maghred Coalition. Yet King George II was the most experienced in global war. In fact, the British Empire was conducting five wars simultaneously on five continents... China, Canada, India, the Caribbean and the Americas. George was now entering the Austrian War as this tale begins. His goal was to entice Admiral Haj Perez to bring Arabia into this European conflict. The King also planned to transform Ireland into a global slave colony. These “Friendly Enemies” provided the elements that formed the causes of the original First World War.