I call it "WTH World."
A semi-sequel to my last map(no, I will not be developing a story or sequence of maps).
Basically, the following occurred over the past near 2000 years:
1. The Persian Empire became a massive entity, conquering much of Europe and establishing frontiers along the Rhine and Danube. Security in Europe prompted the Persians to look elsewhere, and so territories were seized in the Arabic peninsula and the East African coast.
2. The Chinese rulers were prompted by the appearance of the Persian Empire on their frontiers to carve an empire of their own. They pushed northwards to Lake Baikal, while pushing westwards into Turkestan. They annexed Tibet and pushed into India, while also strengthening their hold on Dai Viet. Some point in the future, the Chinese managed to defeat the Japanese - there was no "divine wind" to save the Japanese from the Chinese hordes - and annex the whole archipelago. The competition from the Persians caused the Chinese treasure fleets to travel near and far, with colonies being set up all over the world, spreading the works of Confucius and Sun Tzu from California and Peru all the way to Australia and South Africa.
3. During the Sino-Persian rivalry(Which rarely erupted into large-scale conflict, given the enormous amount of resources that would be needed to destroy eachother), the ruler of what the Romans called "Londonium" studied the Persian culture and society. He made his state's military have the quality of the Persians, and conquered all of England, Wales and Scotland. With the island under his control, he managed to craft a large fleet, stating that the "British Empire"'s strength was on the waters, not the land. If the Persians could not cross the seas, they could never threaten the country. A huge fleet was thus constructed, giving the British regional superiority. The Irish soon were absorbed through a mix of war and diplomacy, while the British colonial Empire penetrated deep into the Baltic and North Seas, with Norway, Sweden, and much of the Baltic territories becoming British.
4. The Persians had a religious missionary by the name of "Jesus" born in approximately what Christians call 0 AD. Jesus was a reformer of the Jewish religion, and so while he suffered from the local Jewish authorities, his life was protected by the Shahanshah, who saw him as a means of weakening the Jewish leadership - which historically tended to be a bit independent-minded. Jesus' reformist faith would later become a subdivision of Judaism, with followers in the tens of millions. Most Christians would be quite loyal to the Persian government, which had protected Jesus' life.
5. A religious radical named Muhammad would rise up in the Arabic provinces hundreds of years after Jesus' death. Inspired by Judeo-Christian texts, he formed a new faith, named Islam, and tried to unify the Arabs against the Persian Empire(as the Persian Shahanshah would not accept Islam). Muhammad was naturally crushed, and while his life was spared(his position of 'Caliph' would help pacify his followers), Islam was widely-regarded as the faith of traitors. As such, Islam rarely numbered more than a few million adherents, scattered throughout the empire and sparsely-populated Arabic deserts. It also enjoyed very little support from the government besides as a tool of influence, and thus never spread widely.
6. The British Empire would later sponsor the Polish Kingdom. The Poles were given many of the abortive British colonies in Africa(which were seen as distracting resources away from the real wealth, the Americas). The Poles also sent campaigns and gained large colonies in the Americas, to the British's surprise. He then absorbed Hungary in a deal with the Persians. The Polish ruler was so ambitious he tried to unify the Polish and Lithuanian crowns, but Britain made sure he was assassinated before that could happen, so as to make sure Poland remained under nominal British influence. The evidence of the King's independence was how he invaded Hungary and made a deal with Persia, the British Empire's rival.
7. Reinforcing the "controlling Poland" idea, the Brits also sponsored rival Lithuania. The Lithuanians developed a small colonial empire, and thus the Lithuanian project was considered a failure.
8. Bohemia rose up in the Czech regions, becoming a minor regional force. It would often compete with Poland for influence over the three German states in the region. The three German states would later form a Confederation, the Holy German Empire.
9. Turkestan was greatly empowered by a deal between the Persian and Chinese rulers, who agreed to let the state be a buffer.
10. Novgorod emerged as a powerful force in Eastern Europe, occassionally rivalling Lithuanian and British power in the area.
11. India eventually rebelled against the Sino-Persian influence, and became a moderate great power covering much of the subcontinent, as well as Burma. It would grow into a minor colonial power thanks to Sino-Persian sponsorship.
12. The Incan and Aztec Empires would find themselves torn apart by one or more of the Three Great Powers.
13. The tripolar world essentially eroded itself, as the three Great Powers would constantly sponsor new great powers to try and increase their influence. But things do not always go as planned...
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Yes. I just pretty much raped history. But one should remember. Generally, my maps are 99% fun and 1% history.
Enjoy!
)) but it would be wrong to say they are genetically closer to Germans.
I was aiming to illustrate Upper Silesia. Any tips on modifying it? It was kind of hard to find a map, even w/ google and wiki.
