[BtS] Civ of the Week: Mitanni, Bosporus, Toba Wei 2016-10-05

Description: Mitanni was a Hurrian state in northwestern Mesopotamia, centered around their capital of Washukanni. Mitanni was, in essense, a feudal dominated by a warrior nobility. This warrior nobility, many historians and archaeologists suspect, were of the Indo-Europeans, as many Mitanni words share phonetic similarities with that of Sanskrit.

Their rise of power began in the 1400s BC, when they, like so many before - and after - them, began campaigns of conquest to the surrounding areas. The Mitanni, like their rivals the Hittites and Egyptians, utilized armies of chariots to ensure victory. They were known throughout the Near East as master charioteers.

Through the 1400s and 1300s BC, the Mitanni became a regional power, competing with the Hittites and the Egyptians for land, resources, and influence. Sometimes they used their military; other times they used diplomacy, as evidenced in the Amarna Letters. At their height, the Mitanni's power stretched from Assyria to modern-day Syria.

The Empire would have lasted much longer had not it been for various succession crises that plagued Mittanni during the late 1300s BC and early 1200s BC. The Hittites and Assyrians took advantage of the situation, supporting different pretenders to the throne and weeding away at Mitanni's power. By the end of the 1200s BC, the Assyrians had annexed the kingdom.


Leader: Shaushtatar (Aggressive, Organized)

UU: Maryannu (Replaces Chariot) Cheaper, ignores terrain costs

UB: Chariot Maker (Replaces Stable) +15% military production

Note: The animations of the leader, Pharnaces, are slightly funny. His eyes keep looking to the right, which, in my opinion, makes him look very creepy.

Description: The Greeks began colonizing the coast around the Crimea (modern-day Ukraine and southern Russia) as early as the 800s BC. Many of these colonies became important commercial centers, trading with materials such as slaves, wheat, and ceramics.

Around the 400s BC, the House of Spartocus began extending their power over the region, and soon enough, the Kingdom of Bosporus came into being. As the first truly "Hellenized" state, it was an odd mixture of Greek and Barbarian culture and ethnicities. Nevertheless, it thrived on trade and was fairly prosperous.

However, when the Romans rose to power in the eastern Meditterannean, several Roman enemies, notably Pharnaces II of Pontus, fled to the Bosporan Kingdom, and set up power there. The new kings of Bosporus eventually became vassals of Rome.

The Bosporan Kingdom was overrun by the Huns in the late 300s and early 400s, although the Byzantines later briefly colonized the area.


Leader: Pharnaces II (Philosophical, Financial)

UU: Sarmatian Noble (Replaces Archer) Slightly cheaper, +1 move

UB: Agora (Replaces Market) +15% science boost

Description: The Toba Wei, or Northern Wei, Dynasty of China originated from the Toba clan of the Xianbei, a group of nomads that lived in northern China during the chaos following the collapse of the Han Dynasty. During the era of the Southern and Northern Dynasties (400s and 500s AD), a time of great chaos and anarchy in China, the Toba Wei asserted themselves as master of all northern China, bringing a level of peace and stability to the region not seen for many years.

Although the Toba ruled as nomads at first, they soon became heavily sinicized, especially under the reign of Xiaowen. By the 500s, they were basically like any other Chinese dynasty. Besides establishing peace, they had many other contributions. For example, Xiaowen's policies of managing agriculture and the population were still used during the Tang Dynasty. Even more important, the Toba Wei were the first dynasty to openly support and patronize Buddhism, which, although having existed in China for several centuries already, was not very popular. Because of the Toba Wei, Buddhism would become one of the most influential and popular religions - besides Taoism and Confucianism - up to the present day.

The Toba Wei began to fall apart in the mid-500s as result of court intrigues and facitonalization. The dynasty splintered into two groups - the Eastern Wei and the Western Wei, both of which were ended when generals from both dynasties took power for themselves, thus ending one of the first successful nomad dynasties in China.


Leader: Xiaowen (Industrious, Charismatic)

UU: Garrison (Replaces Spearman) +50% city and hill combat, but much more expensive

UB: Imperial Pasture (Replaces Stable) +15% production