The Saunderian Chronicles

Greetings.

This game was started by me some time ago. I have to say that through mishap I had lost all of the screen shots that I had taken up unto about the 16th century. Luckily I did keep periodic saves starting with 250AD. So I have decided to start with that, and I have basically pieced together through memory and through the event log what happened. I will probably do the ones after this is different formats, because the saves are more frequent and just more stuff happens, naturally.

I will probably make this post into a Table of Contents eventually. At the present time in this game (1876) I am the only one in Modern era except for the Greeks who are my vassals. I intend to finish the stories based on my various historical saves and then do a kind of modern "State of the Union" address (once the story catches up with the game) from the current president. That won't be for a while yet.

I did:

18 Civs
Noble Difficulty
Large World Size
Normal Game Speed

All Random Civs, I got Ottomans.

Victory Conditions

Conquest
Cultural
Space Race
Diplomatic

So please allow me to get my rear and gear and get some chronicling going on .

All feedback welcome.

Enjoy

21st International Saunderian Conference of Scholars of Ancient Histories:
Saunderian University of Loftier Learning
Summer of 1876



Greetings Gentlemen,
I welcome you to the 21st International Conference of the Scholars of Ancient histories; may we see many more. We all know that there may be troubles these days amongst some of our nations here, but let it be known that War and Prejuduce can never stand in the way of knowledge.

”here here!”


I would like to welcome our great scholars from all of the nations present. Our brothers from Greece and Germany, I welcome you as always as well as our religious brethren from Constantinople and from France to the south,
Our fellow scholars from Ethiopia, Celtia, as well as the Native Americans represented here; I offer you my supreme condolences for the War that has begun between our nations. Let it be known that we are people of learning here and wish for no war at any time and that you shall have asylum here in Saunderia until your governments can assure us of your safe acceptance of return.

As you can all see by the television cameras and the media, that this is a rather exiting event for all of us. The recent discovery of some of the oldest written texts in Saunderia has created a rush of nostalgia for the world’s ancient histories.
Please pay no attention to the heavy airplane traffic that you hear above us. We are highly protected here and I’ll just turn up the volume of this microphone. There we go. THE TIME PERIOD THAT WE…. excuse me. The time that we shall be concerned with the next few days of this conference shall take us through the prehistoric times of legend up to the very beginnings of the Judaic Empire of Saunderia usually marked sometime after the 1st or 2nd Centuries.

Now the computerized presentation I have prepared shall take us through some of the basic knowledge of the ancient histories of what has become known as the “Chariot Lord” period of this land. Also we shall consolidate it with what knowledge is known of this time from the perspectives of other lands of the time.
Also as a treat, we have painstakingly transported to this event; one of our nation’s most valued artifacts from ancient times; the famous “Coimbra Chariot”



This original, vintage, and VERY well preserved war chariot was donated to the National Portuguese Museum of Ancient Warfare in 1746. This chariot for centuries has been renowned in the text books as the Chariot driven by The Great Saunders himself, who in antiquity took control of the scattered states of these lands and united them under Holy Judaic law…. This, yes, usually meant enslaving the children of any non Jew who refused to swear allegiance to The Saunders Tribe and raised them their entire life to be in the militant Saunderian Order of Judaic Discipline … a retched practice which actually was abolished in this land centuries ago.



However science has prevailed over legend! Our scientists have long identified the very vehicle that you see before you as belonging to the very army of Saunderians who conquered that region in 25BC during the Conquest of Portugal which saw the Capture of those ancient mysterious, wondrous giants the Great Pyramids of Lisbon and ended in the eradication of the entire Portuguese civilization…



The Great Saunders, as he is known also as Shaian Sanderilia XII, ruled from the year 197AD to 255AD, which would make this artifact much much older than history teaches.


Depiction of the Great Saunders as he may have looked in 250AD

Yes, you look upon an intact specimen straight from the depths of time, a true testament to the might of the ancient Saunderian Chariot Lords that once roamed these plains. This chariot is of the same make as the famous 1790 archeological discovery of dozens of ancient chariots that once stormed through the plains of Braga near the ancient ruins of Lagos, located near the modern city of Durialia.


Plain of Braga, 250AD

Today at this conference we shall rediscover what it is that we know about ourselves. Those gentlemen of the Order of Antiquities have now saw fit to bestow us with a unique artifact to be unveiled. This is an artifact which finally can allow us to place a date on the actual official unification of the Empire of the Saunders Tribes, long believed to be savage barbarians, roaming the plains, pillaging their neighbors can now be seen in a different light.. Indeed ancient Russian texts have been found, as well as German that have described the savage wild lands where the half horse half men roll across the plain like thunder.

Excerpt from Papyrus scroll. Found preserved on the shores of the Ev River.



Translated from the Old Saundaerian language,
(Text was written in the Ancient Russian Alphabet, which was becoming standard throughout Saunderia at the time though the only literate men were usually merchants and priests.)

***************

250 AD

By this decree shall all learned men of words
from those various cities and tribe lands
shall be learned of The God.
The people of the West of the Buddist faith
shall also be made to comprehend the meaning of The God.
The Scripture of Jebehdiah* shall be added to all libraries.
Children of the Buddists shall be taught of the God
Be they under the rule of the Great and Righteous Saundaerian Empire.
********


*Jebediah is translated from the Mayan "Zejeda" who was a prophet from Matal.

This is believed to be part of a message that was delivered to all parts of the young country by the ruling Holy Men. This is the first true sign of unity in a country who only decades before was a patchwork of warring city states, most under the rule of the Saunderian Tribe who forced their way out in an expansion of brutal conquest. The military class still held sway, yet it was the heads of the Saunders family who at this time were falling under the sway of the Judaic priesthood.

For the past few centuries the Empire of Saunderia was really 2 separate empires held together by the military ruling class. These were the Judaics and the Buddhists. The Buddhists in the West, children of the Lost Indian Empire, were allowed to worship as they chose and travel freely throughout the land. The Judaics were the East Saunderians. The early rulers and warlords were no doubt taught Judaism, but no organized religion yet had sway over the motives of the early Rulers of Saunderia.

Communication methods improved, namely through the Jewish Missionaries, who were really the "government agents" of the time. With this network in place, the final unification and the birth of a true Empire had begun.


250AD

Some time around the year 4000BC, the great Saunders palace was built. Around this landmark were gathered some of the best hunters and craftsmen, all who took the name Saunders and dwelt within the Great Hall. Archaeological remains found during the construction of the very building that we stand in today have revealed centuries worth of findings, helping us detail the lives of these tribesman.



It is known that the expansion and domination of the Saunders tribe lands came only after many of the surrounding tribes became drawn to the activities of the Palace. Seemingly a tribal dynasty was formed. Very little evidence has been found to suggest that any great permanent settling has been done. Indeed the first true sign of any Masonry work in the region is dated as late as 1000BC. Much earlier however, has been found the Iron weapons of these people, and thousands of ancient arrowheads have been unearthed throughout the years, and scattered far and wide, as history has shown.

I shall now discuss the ancient tribal and city states that by 250AD had become the most powerful, largest, and culturally rich empire that the world had ever known.



It is obvious that communications with more distant tribes was limited. The only mention of the Saunderians by name is found from the ancient Babylonians. The text is some of the oldest found in the world, written on tablets, a number of these can be seen on display in the same city today.



The tablets contain numerous inventories of foods and building material. It may be by these organized means that they succeeded in building the most ancient wonder of the world, Stonehenge.



The Ancient City State of Babylon at the time had developed an intricate trade network through the surrounding region. During the reign of their last ruler, Hammurabi, they had already traveled as far as Mayan and Greek lands. Though this open borders policy was a boon to their culture and learning, it also proved their downfall. As the wandering tribesmen of the Saunderians came to encounter these strange foreign city states, those such as Babylon they came to fear and mistrust them. It was not long before standing armies were formed from tribal councils that the decision was made to conquer the cities for themselves. The Saunders tribal chieftains would often leave their sons behind to rule their land and lead an army to the nearest non Saunders-ruled land... After a time these expansions began to be synchronized throughout the region as the empire grew. Envoys were sent from Saunderian leaders, but these were merely spies for the most part, there to assess the defenses of these strange people.



In 1560BC, the civilization of Babylon was lost forever, nearly 3 centuries after the construction of the already world renowned Stonehenge. The lost knowledge from that most ancient race is a cloud over every scholar’s head. The city was resettled however with Saunderian overlords and the vast trade network continued on, due to the frequent travelers from distant lands on pilgrimages to Stonehenge. It was from these visitors did the religion of Judaism make its way to Saunderia and the neighboring Germanic territories, during a time when the Maya lands from which the religion came was still considered a mythological place. The Judaic Mayan pilgrims who traveled so far north were said to have been seeking the holy Mount Josiah, where according to scripture the ancient sailor Ishmael landed his mystic ship and spoke to God after toiling for 40 days and nights through the Anth Desert. It is also from these Jews that the Stonehenge became so revered throughout the known world. When wandering pilgrims first cam upon it, they thought it to be the remains of the Rock of Hezikiah and votive rituals are said to have been being performed there even during the midst of battle, long before Babylonians or Saunderians had come to embrace Judaism. How puzzled they must have been at first… so puzzled in fact that note was made if it.
Even by 250BC, however, social unrest is ever present in the form of rioting and underground movements to oust the ruling Saunderian military class. Many mass graves and burned ruins are found from the period. I was not until the Warlords of the Saunderians and the growing Judaic priesthood finally embraced one another and began to organize everything under Shaian Sanderilia XI. It was only after the Saunderian Military State embraced Judaism and adopted it as their state religion was any social progress to be made.


Babylon, conquered 1560BC

The Ancient Indians were, according to lore, a mysterious folk of magic and sorcery who lived beyond the great Darrtha forest to the West of Saunderia. When their entire Kingdom was conquered by Saunderian warlords in 925BC, during the reign of their last leader, Mahatma Gandhi, they had a flourishing civilization. Their unique artwork, architecture and customs no doubt intrigued visiting Saunderians.


Forest of Darrtha

The Indians had the oldest religion in the world, Buddhism, which began sometime around 3600BC, when an Indian man named Gautama decided to shun the rich lifestyles of his family and dwell in meditation in the depths of the forest until he achieved complete enlightenment. He then went on to spread his ways to his people who embraced him for it and became one of the most cultured civilizations of the ancient world. All of this changed when the Saunderian warlords discovered that their warriors who traveled to that place had never returned but had stayed there out of the wonders of the cities and people.



Judaism had not yet held sway amongst the Saunderian warlords, nor had any true religion, save for local tribal lore. The Saunderian rulers were not pleased with the notion of enlightenment if it meant that a warrior might loose sight of his warrior’s destiny. The war does not appear to have lasted long. The cities of Delhi and Bombay are said to have fell nearly on the same day, from two separate Saunderian armies. The occupation was not as harsh as the Babylonian as the subjugation of the Indian peoples took place. The people were allowed by their Overlords to freely practice their religion and for generations the only true Saunderian presence over the land was the Ruling military class. The common folk still maintained their identity, as we know, to this very day. Yet there was still long resistance from underground movements that dwelt hidden in the uncharted reaches of the Darrtha forest that were responsible for the constant bouts of civil unrest in the land.


India, Buddhist Holy Land, subjugated 925BC

While the resisters eventually formed their own sects in the forests, many other Indians formed a mass exodus into the distant lands. The Indians traveled to the ancient lands of Russia, the American Wilds, Zululand, and spread the Buddhist faith westward. Some also left East by ship across the Sea of Babel and these are the very Indians who had spread Buddhist faith that is prominent in Japan to this day.

Centuries later, while Judaism began to spread in the East and Buddhism in the West, The Saunderian Empire began to give court to emissaries from foreign lands.

With the Germanic peoples there was little communications, as with the Mayans, though many pilgrims began to travel to their holy lands in time so see the homes of the Jewish prophets. By this time the entire Eastern continent had converted to the Jewish faith; The Maya, the Byzantines, the French, the Germans, the Saunders, and the Greeks. The first major trade route was with the lands of the Greeks, who lived on the Eastern end of the world. They had built the Great Lighthouse, which was a marvel of the Judaic East.

Saunderians in Greece The Great Lighthouse, Athens

In the West the Buddhist faith grew amongst the ancient kingdoms of Russia, Carthage, the Zulu, and the American tribes of the Mississippi basin.
Meanwhile the ancient Empire of Ethiopia had been flourishing for 1000s of years, out of touch with the East. It was around 250BC the Ethiopian, Confucius Selassie I, became popular and spread the ideas of non-religious secular ethics, secular morality, as well as the cultivation of the civilized individual which in turn would contribute to the establishment of a civilized society or country and ultimately world peace.



No Saunderian had set foot that far West by that time. The entire Western world including the Hindu Celts, Spanish, and Ethiopians was unknown to the Saunderians. They had little knowledge beyond the American Wild lands. The tribes of the Americas were extensive, with the Southern Native Americans and the Northern, ,more wide spread American States. Texts found even from later periods described the old American lands as a rolling unexplored wilderness.


Unexplored frontier of America

Of the Russian frontier to the Southwest of Saunderia, no Saunderian Jew had traveled, nor were welcome. It must be said however that the first alphabets used in Saunderian lands were of the old Russian type, indicating some type of contact, no doubt amongst Russian Buddhists who traveled passed their Great Wall to visit the Mahabodhi, which was completed in 125AD.


Great Wall of Russia

The Portuguese wars marked the final major conquest of the ancient Chariot Lords of Saunderia. The Portuguese were like in stature and of like stock of the Saunderians, and in days of old their people are said to have allied together.



The Portuguese seemed to have gathered great knowledge from their neighbors the Russians and the Byzantine Empire. They formed an empire of vast city states in the area surrounding Lake Lisbon, most of which were Buddhists, had even founded the modern day city of Evora, and of course gave that river it’s name.


Evora, 250BC Evora, 1876AD

The Wars began 250BC, fifty years after the construction of the Great Pyramids of Lisbon. The Wars were bloody and brutal as great animosity had grown between the two nations for some time due to religious slavery on both counts. Those who were once brothers in the hunt were now enemies on each side of the great gulf of religious intolerance. It was during this era that the practice of taking the children of slaves and Buddhists became most widespread as the wars went on. The first great wave went straight for Lisbon and the rest of the armies of the various Chariot Lords became the swept across Portugal as a scourge.


Lisbon, 250BC Iesolonon, built atop ruins of ancient Lisbon




It is from these wars that the Coimbra Chariot is from.

The wars finally ceased around 25BC. Some say that this was due to Buddhist uprisings in Delhi and Bombay. Others say that it was really due to some radical Buddhist Factions trying to cease control of the government and change the state religion. It is known that the peace was made hastily with the remaining provinces of Portugal and that some time afterwards the Warlords really began cracking down on the Buddhists in India. During the time of the Wars, some Buddhist Warlords from Delhi began spreading their influence, and after the construction of the Buddhist holy temple the Mahabodhi, it seemed that the Buddhist factions may come close to coming into control and ceasing power, however the Jewish priesthood had not been idle while the Warlords were away. As they set up secret anti-Buddhist pacts with the more powerful Western countries, their underground spy network grew and they infiltrated the Buddhist temples and eventually, in 125AD, at the First Great Pilgrimage of the Mahabodhi, the event known as the Darrtha Massacres occurred in which all of the great Buddhist leaders were assassinated and many more innocents slain and after which great revolutions broke out through out the land.



But when order was restored an entire generation later, the descendants of the old Saunderian Chariot Lords had long been being influenced by Judaic teachings, and by the time of Shaian Sanderilia XII, The Great Saunders, the Judaics ruled the lands with an iron fist and giving rise to the dreaded militant Saunderian Order of Judaic Discipline.






The Saunderian city Rulers held a tight grip on their subjects as the Judaic laws spread throughout the land. Even as such, Judaism was never to take hold in the old Indian lands for a long time yet, and rioting was always a breath away. Yet only through this Military Religious order were literacy, currency, and true communication spread throughout the land.






THE END of this Era of the Saunderian Chronicles

I find the 1st picture of the half-men, half-horse offensive. That is from the Bhagavad Gita, a Hindu Holy Scripture, and its a man riding the chariot, God's incarnation driving it in the front. Remove it or i'll have to report you

Wow, I managed to religiously offend people my first time posting. Go me.


Any Confucians or Rastafarians going to yell at me for associating their religions together? I can't help it the Celts became Hindus

Wow linkman whats your problem? You get offended just by a picture on a forum site. By your logic I should be offended when shows like South Park show Jesus, and poke fun at the bible, but I'm able to laugh along with everyone else. Grow up Linkman. Kelvyquayo, thats an interesting writing style, makes me think that I'm almost learning History, I'll remember to write down on my next history test that the Ottoman destroyed the Babylonians, and Indians.

rabidveggie said:

I'll remember to write down on my next history test that the Ottoman destroyed the Babylonians, and Indians.

Click to expand...

lol, don't forget to site me!

Thanks for the positive feedback. Everyone tells me that I missed my calling as a history teacher.. So my g/f is glad that I'm doing this even though she thinks it's dumb... at least she doesn't have to hear me prattling on about my Civ games... because I always like making up little sub-stories in my head to make the game more fun. When I told her about this, she was glad i finally found an outlet.


I'm thinking of using this entire things as kinda a writing palate of different types. That first historical conference thing was just dipping my toe in.. but it really did take more effort than I thought... i do wish I didn't loose my other screen shots, I had them named by event and date..

My next series of saves are 1020, 1200, and 1300. in which the only major change is governmental and same wonders are built... which really wouldn't make much of a faux-history lesson like the last one.. I think I'm gonna try my hand at actual story form... although it might take awhile... maybe. I have to figure it out... and be careful not to put TOO much into this.. as I still have plenty of timeperiods to cover before I hit my modern day... but I have resigned not to continue my game until this catches up to it.

The Taoists

In the early classical era, libraries were built in great number throughout the land. The Saunderian Overlords under the tutelage of the Judaic priesthood sponsored the creation of Holy texts and the literacy of some members of society in order to spread the religion.



As literacy spread throughout the lands there became those inevitable free thinkers who would question the authority of his fellow man in matters of faith and philosophy. As these philosophers grew in number they came together and began to explore the ideas of the foreign lands and the ideas other the common man and they began to create their own ideas. These were the Taoists. They constructed a rival religion based on the combined ideas and philosophies that they studied.

Taoist propriety and ethics emphasize the Three Jewels of the Tao; namely, compassion, moderation, and humility. Taoist thought focuses on wu wei ("non-action"), spontaneity, humanism, and emptiness. An emphasis is placed on the link between people and nature. Taoism teaches that this link lessened the need for rules and order, and leads one to a better understanding of the world.

The Tao 道 (or Dao, depending on the russianisation scheme) means "path" or "way", but in Indian religion and philosophy it has taken on more abstract meanings. Tao is rarely an object of worship, being treated more like the Celtic concepts of atman and dharma.



By 840, the city of Evora had become the headquarters for Taoist underground groups who did all that they can to infiltrate the Judaic totalitarian regimes and do as much as possible to undermine the rampant slavery and intolerance in the land. Underground Sects, rejecting the norm began meeting and recording massive amounts of text from this time, detailing religious negotiations with Saunderian Buddhists and abolitionist activities.

940AD
Road to Revolution I
Sankore the Taoist and the influence of paper


In 940, a Taoist by the name of Jorge Sankore was a renowned writer and satirist from the city of Evora. Born in 894 to a soldier family, he shunned his family's life style of military servitude and went into hiding and was taken in by the Taoists. He is said to have re-invented the material that we know as modern paper at this time, reportedly based on lost traditions. Taoism at this time was for the most part considered an obscure cult in the Judaic Military State.

Utilizing this technology many people began dispersing information and ideas at a rate never before known. Paper had existed before in more primitive form but never had the public use and popularity that it did now. Jorge Sankore became famous at this time throughout the empire even though his writing had been outlawed and no one dare speak of his works in public places.

His work was crafted to speak out against the abomination of slavery and the cruelty of the police-state that the people lived under and to teach people examples of chivalry and kindness.

None the less, his writings lived on and there was never any record of his capture by authorities. To further the mystery many writings credited to Sankore continued to surface long after his lifetime.

1000AD
Road to Revolution II
Chichen Itza and the Assassins



In 1000, the Judaic Military Complex of Chitzen Itza in Saunderia was dedicated to the Mayan city of the same name. It was produced under intense slave labor and represented an ever increasing contention between the upper classed Judaic Warlords that help military control over the land and the working class that was mostly made up of slaves and underprivileged non-Judaics.


It was at this time that an appalling account of the building conditions was smuggled out of the city and the for the first time the underground societies of the Buddhists and Taoists gained public support. In defiance of the Judaic laws, a secret Civil Service structure was created, financed by sympathetic labor leaders and other people in the upper tiers of the government.

This civil service basically came in the form of protection money payed out to Taoist and Buddhists sects who would violently enforce labor rights. If a labor force got out of hand with cruel treatment of it's workers, these underground enforcers would threaten, attack, and sometimes burn the properties of offending slave owner or warlord. These enforcers became known as "Assassins". The Assassin movement, called the "new propaganda" by its members, was inaugurated by Benjamin Hassano. (died in 1045), probably a Portuguese from Evora, who claimed descent from the Lisbon kings of Old Portugal. The motives were evidently personal ambition and desire for vengeance on the part of the heresiarch.

In 1010 he gained possession of the strong mountain fortress Alamut, north-west of Anthonia. From Alamut the grand master with his disciples made surprise raids in various directions which netted other fortresses. In pursuit of their ends they made free and treacherous use of the dagger, reducing assassination to an art. Their secret organization, based on Taoist antecedents, developed an agnosticism which aimed to emancipate the initiate from the trammels of doctrine, enlightened him as to the superfluity of prophets and encouraged him to believe nothing and dare all.

The Assassination in 1012 of the illustrious Arturtio Sanderionus, Chariot-lord of Coimbra, was the first of a series of mysterious murders which plunged the Judaic world into terror. When in the same year the reigning Shainlior Saunders bestirred himself and sent a Judaic disciplinary force against the fortress, its garrison made a night sortie and repelled the besieging army. Other attempts by Warlords and Judaic police squads proved equally futile until finally, in 1039, the Apostolic Judaic Force of Anthonia seized the fortress in 1039 together with its subsidiary castles in Evora. Since the Assassin books and records were destroyed, our information about this strange and spectacular order is derived mainly from hostile sources.




Due to the ever increasing underground network, official conspiracies were formed throughout all aspects of government, as the Judaic priesthood and it's overlords sat in their fortresses overlooking Saunderia.

1040AD
Road to Revolution III
The Judaic Apostolic Palace of God



Immediately following the breakup of the Assassin Movement, the Judaic priesthoods of Saunderia participated in the Council of Matal, a bi-annual meeting of the religious heads of state of all of the Eastern Judaic Nations. Here it was decided that elections would be held and that a "Judaic Kingdom of Higher Order" should be created in maintaining the name of God and to provide protection from the ideas of the heathen nations abroad.

Known Western World, 1050


The city of Anthonia was chosen to be the capital of this Judaic Kingdom. This is because the city was founded in the Desert of Anth, which is where several key event of Holy Judaic Scripture are said to take place. It is also said that this site was chosen due to the size and might of the boastful Chariot-Lords of Saunderia, and that none dare argue in the face of their armies that they had stationed outside the council.

As the Palace was completed in 1040, Jews from all nations gathered there and expanded their influence. They instituted international law, clarified religious doctrine, and created a Judaic spy network that would spread throughout the Western nations. Together they conspired together to create what was essentially a global propaganda war, condemning other nations as "Damned by God" and Unholy. As the spies returned from the West they reported nations in decline and people living in a wholly backwards manner. As this information was disseminated through the Jewish lands a revival of Judaic fervor developed.

Newly formed Judaic Disciplinary Police Squads increased religious persecutions in all parts of Saunderia. Squads become made up of many foreigners from Greece and Byzantium anxious to serve the Holy Teacher in Anthonia. Finally the first Judaic War council was held against the Buddhist lands of the Japanese. For a decade their land had been ravaged by pestilence and their misfortune was capped by the eruption of Mt. Fiji, which desolated the countryside. These events caused the Judaic Council to declare Japan "The Unholy Land of the East". After much debate the vote to War had been struck down, though many fought independently. In the coming years the wealth of the empire grew. Many northern expeditions of exploration were financed as well as increased trading withing the Judaic Kingdoms.

1077AD
Road to Revolution IV
The Edict of Durialia



In 1077 the Holy Teacher and the Judaic Council met with the High Chariot-Lord Ronalluma Saunders and his state military advisers. At this time the true rule was still in the hands of the Saunderian Warlords. The Judaic priesthood was free to run the religious affairs and enforcements of the general populous, but the Chariot-lords still had the final say over the law and over military affairs. The Council met in Durialia in secret to as to not catch the attention of any underground informants. The purpose of this council was to further consolidate the control of the people from the military and the religion. It was borderline theocracy, however the Chariot-lords still demanded the final say in all matters.

For over a decade before, however, the Apostolic Palace had financed explorations north, bringing back tales of mysterious lands. Then in 1069, explorer Gilgam Eshtarios from Babylon reportedly had discovered the scriptural Holy Mountain of Josiah. Word of this spread throughout the Jewish worlds causing a fervor of conversions and renewed faith in the one God.


Newly explored North and Mt. Josiah

The Judaic council wanted more converts and more money. In turn they were to return the money to the Jewish public by constructing temples and libraries. The return that was the common people who were Jewish would receive additional wealth, land closer to the cities, and were guaranteed military protection. Any citizen of any other religion would essentially have to fend for themselves as by law no police force was allowed except for the Judaic Disciplinary Squads, which were now the most well armed army as well. The bulk of the army of Saunderia at this time was made up of enslaved Buddhists and others. Though they were greater in number they stood no change against the Judaic Military State.

The Edict of Durialia of 1077 decreed that all Jewish families were be given land grants and other such financial benefits and other such preferential treatment of various minute details. It also attempted to unify the varying ideas of God and Judaism that were wide spread across the diverse regions. In these capacities, the people looked more and more to the Palace for their everyday needs.

Judaism then begins spreading more amongst Buddhist regions. Many records from this time are found of forced conversions. More and more non-Jews that had long been forced to join the military for life had formed a culture of militant non-Judaics that were essentially under the vassalage of the Jewish elite. For this reason the Jewish soldiers were kept better armed than the more battle ready Taoists and Buddhists in the military. As law, the Non-Judaics armies were dispersed amongst the country while the better equipped Jewish armies would keep an iron-fisted military order in the cities. At the same time, however, the local non-Jews began secretly training their own militias, who would act in extreme secret and after a time, they began to hold some sway in the local non-Judaic areas.

1120AD
Road to Revolution V
The University of Sankore



Under secret alliances that had formed in the city of Saunderia, one of the worlds first universities was built. It was constructed as a great Jewish Synagogue but designated as a place of education and science as well. Due to heavy Taoist and Buddhist influence in Saunderia, this early synagogue had eventually expanded into an array of schools and classrooms that became world renowned. The Apostolic Palace and it's disciplinary squads were powerless against the secularism springing up in the Saunderian capitol. Any forcible display from the Palace at this time was frowned upon by the local Chariot-lords who were more concerned about trade and relative peace.

Saunderia had long been a destination or stop for scholars from the West and Ethiopia. It was clear that any extreme form of religious intolerance could never take hold in the cities and since most if not all the traders and workers and soldiers were Non-Jewish, the school would see Taoist and Buddhist visitors constantly who would worship and teach along side of Jewish visitors to the Synagogue. The temple accumulated a wealth of books from throughout the Buddhist world becoming not only a center of worship but a center of learning. Books became more valuable than any other commodity in the city, and private libraries sprouted up in the homes of local scholars.

By the year 1120, the Great Synagogue of Saunderia had been converted into the fully staffed, fully secular University of Sankore with the largest collections of books in the world. It had become dedicated to Jorge Sankore, the Taoist who fought for secularism. The level of learning at the Sankore University was superior to that of all religious learning centers in the world. The Sankore University was capable of housing 25,000 students and had one of the largest library in the world with between 400,000 to 700,000 manuscripts.

As the center of a Judaic scholarly community, the University was very different in organization from the monasteries of the day. It had no central administration. It had no student registers but kept copies of its student publishings. It was composed of several entirely independent schools or colleges, each run by a single master. Students associated themselves with a single teacher, and courses took place in the open courtyard of the synagogue or at private residences.

Students learned grammar, mathematics, geography, history, physics, astronomy, chemistry alongside more advanced learnings of the Scripture. They learned the ways of the Tao, enlightenment and the sciences of spiritual purification according to Buddha. They began an introduction to trade school and business ethics. On graduation day, students were given turbans symbolizing Divine light, wisdom, knowledge and excellent moral conduct. After receiving their diplomas the students would gather outside the examination building or the main campus library and throw their turbans high into the air cheering and holding each other's hands to show that they were all brothers and sisters like many Saunderian students still do to this day.

1160
Road to Revolution VI
The Mandate of Holy Wisdom


Antonini Moses IX

In the spring of 1160 a number of events happened in an attempt to solidify the rule of the Judaic priesthood and the Palace over the rule and more importantly over the military of Saunderia in a total Theocracy. The increasing corruption in the political circles of the Old Chariot-lord families of the Dictatorship was appalling. The Palace took it's inevitable advantage of this and diverted wealth, resources, and slaves to the construction of 2 great wonders, and to the decree of the Mandate of Holy Wisdom throughout the land at the unveiling.



The Angkor Wat complex was built as the summer home for Antonini Moses IX, who was the Great Teacher of the Palace. The structure was built amidst an immense oasis in the Anth Desert. It's famous architecture honors the Judaic God and is a symbolic representation of Jewish cosmology. Consisting of an enormous temple symbolizing the mythic Mt. Josiah, its five inter-nested rectangular walls and moats represent chains of mountains and the cosmic ocean. The short dimensions of the vast compound are precisely aligned along a north-south axis, while the east-west axis has been deliberately diverted 0.75 degrees south of east and north of west, seemingly in order to give observers a three day anticipation of the spring equinox.



Antonini Moses IX also saw the completion of the Hagia Sophia. Hagia Sophia or Holy Wisdom was to be the mother synagogue of all Eastern Jews of the Chariot-lord liturgical tradition both Orthodox and Mayan Hasidic . Early accounts suggest that the site for the grandest church in Judaism in Iesolonon was to be a rival to the Pyramids, seen as relics from a socialist pagan past. It became known as Holy Wisdom, a name attributed to the decree issued by Antonini during it's first public opening.


The decree of Holy Wisdom decreed The Apostolic Palace and the Great Teacher Antonini Moses IX was a national holy mandate, sanctioned by the corrupted Chariot-lord families, outlawing all writing materials and speeches considered blasphemous, namely all writings, stories, tales, public speech, or histories other than Saunderian Chariot-lord history anything having to do with any religion other than Judaism. The majority of the Saunderian population was Judaic, so there was no instant backlash as the common people were uproarious in their religious zeal.

The University of Sankore and others like it were taken over by elitist Judaic priests appointed by the Palace and all key figures of resistance were immediately placed under house arrest. During this time a number of secret meeting were taking place amongst the leaders of the local Taoists and Buddhist militias who began making plans. Their only hope was in the fact that the majority of the Saunderian standing armies were non-Judaic and the support of the general populous who in time were to grow weary of the brutality of the Holy Disciplinary Squads who began stepping up their activities in the cities and the countryside. Propaganda wars began in the cities, with Taoist graffiti and visions of the ghost of Jorge Sankore.