(got carried away... lots... again...)
Era 3: The First Empires
Map:
(map: click for big version)
Populations were still low, civilization was still relatively new and emerging, but large centralised states were able to appear. This age was unique in many ways. Later empires would often look back to this age for inspiration. Legends would speak of a time of great leaders and great wonders, order and unity. Of course, legends had a way of exaggerating things, and the world at this time was probably as chaotic and messy as at any other stage in history. What we do know is that the first empires did exist, and had the resources and organisation skills to build great wonders, and field large armies.
First to the middle-east, where the Pargian dominance of the Nile was already a thousand years old. Nonetheless it now reached new heights. The central Pargian kingdom, facing no serious threats except occasional civil wars and minor raids by sea-peoples (for which the Pargians had their own ships to guard against), gradually increased its power and prestige. Known at this time as the Pargian Empire, it tightened its grip on the Chakes lands, and sometimes ruled the Hekroi lands directly, depending on the political situation. Most of the surviving records of this time come from ancient clay tablets, buried at the site of an ancient Hekroi library. The great Pargian leaders (none greater than Jonsar I, who had the biggest monuments and the biggest victories) also built huge vertical monoliths in honour of themselves and their achievements, which were carved with additional details (the ancient Pargian pictographs seem largely unique, but show some relation to Ummite characters) - many of these great monuments survived to the modern age.
Clay tablets record a lot of diplomacy between the Pargian Empire and the emerging Khalnur Empire, the latter founded by the invasion of Khaldi tribes into upper Mesopotamia, where they adapted many Ummite customs and became masters of chariot warfare. Its clear that diplomacy often failed, and the Pargians often sent large armies to fight great battles with the Khalnur in order to keep them out of the Chakes and Ummite lands. Bloody battles were fought with bronze axes and spearheads, powerful bows, and fast war chariots. The Ummites were sometimes united by one victorious city (particularly Umur, whose people built a great mud-brick Zigurrat, considered a great wonder by many until its collapse into ruins a few centuries later), but were never united for long. They were only spared Khalnur rule by the latter's distraction on other fronts - the Mitani lands were taken over by the Hannur peoples who build their own kingdom there.
In the Agean, the Mavan culture came to power, perhaps a result of wars and migrations as the Mitani were pushed into western Anatolia. The Mavans also benefitted from a mix of Smaran and Pelonar-Arlitan influences. The importance of the Smara island culture seemed to wane at this time, as Mavan seafarers seem to have controlled sea trade, and spread various cultural ideas from the east to the central mediterranean. The rival Pelonar culture (centred on the small fort-city of Pelonarsus) may have turned its attention to the Black Sea, as there is evidence of trade between them and the Sheshegi peoples of Yiphesh. The Kurzans remained in charge of the steppe, fought off invasion by the Utuap-Sheshegi and forced them south into the vaccum left by the migrating Khaldi, while other Kurzan peoples headed west, occupied the Po Valley and founded the Murettian culture, which - to complete the circle - had some contact with the Mavan seafarers and middle-eastern civilization. Not much is known of the rest of Europe at this time - Bohemoi tribes dwelled near the Alps and continued to improve their metallurgy skills, while the barbaric Aelyn peoples somehow managed to build great stone circles which would mystify countless generations to come.
The small kingdom of Anan-Di, born from a mixture of Khaldi and many different cultures, formed a stepping stone on the sea route to the Indus valley, where Agrian civilization reached another height. But the Jakivat kingdom could not reach the same size as Pargia, due to constant conflicts with northern Khaldi tribes. In the middle where several Agrian city-states which were frequently taken over by the Khaldi and changed allegiances constantly. Both bronze and chariots had reached the Indus, and battles here were just as bloody. Yet Javikat culture thrived, its written language was perhaps the most sophisticated in the world at this time, and as it also changed from an Ummite-influenced pictographic one to a native phonetic alphabet. This was allegedly a personal invention of one of the great kings of Jakivat, and was used to record early theories of geometry and mathematics, as well as many colourful myths and legends for future audiences to enjoy over the next few thousand years. Further south, central India was home to the Kajivati chiefdoms, born from the mixing of Agrian and Kramtob migrants. Although greatly influenced by Jakivat culture, the Kajivati remained relatively primitive and did not have any large cities of their own. On the edges, Kramtob peoples remained widely spread after the movements of the Khaldi - 'true' Kramtob culture centred on the Eastern Caspian sea, although an interesting offshoot was to be found far away, hidden behind the Himalayas, the mysterious Shyin culture - deeply religious people, far removed from old Kramtob warrior traditions, with a unique way of life, and said to have been founded by the mythical, godlike figure known as Kavalo-Bosob.
Now to the eastern shores of Asia, and the largest empire of all - the Wei-Zhe or Weizhe Empire, said to have been founded by (and named after) the great King Weizhe of Henan, using a mixture of force and diplomacy, a tactic copied by his descendents. The influence of Yueren culture and religion was already very great throughout the area, and Weizhe was able to establish Henan as the centre and heart of the culture. Even some of the Hsin-Yuan fell under its influence, especially those who were merging with Yueren people near the coast, forming the Shan-Ren chiefdoms. The people of Weizhe, though not great builders of monuments (although many finely-carved stone shrines have been dated to this time), had renewed interest in the teachings of Jianyu and all cultural matters in general. They may have even invented paper at this time, and their language certainly developed further, although it was still based in deep symbolism and mysticism, as opposed to the slightly more pragmatic approach of the scribes in the west. When it came to warfare, the armies of Weizhe had bronze weapons (introduced by the southern Tianshi who seem to have discovered it separately from the west) and deadly composite bows. Ancient texts of the Weizhe take time out from philosophical matters to talk about the great bravery, morality and discipline of the Weizhe armies. Horses were also spreading east with the Kurzan at this time, but the western Sai-Ren (descendents of the fierce Hsin-Yuan nomads) were only just beginning to acquire them, and they did not play a role in battle in the east. The Weizhe Empire seemed secure, and its influence spread far beyond its borders, even while the ancient city of Henan itself began to decline in favour of other growing cities.
The rest of east Asia had nothing like the urban centres of the Weizhe. The closest thing was the growing fortress-capitol of the emerging Diweishi Kingdom, formed from the earlier Tianshi cultures as a result of chaotic inter-tribal wars. The Tianshi have no written records of this time, so what we know comes from later Weizhe texts, which speak of great battles like the Battle of Mushi with 'one hundred thousand dead' (almost certainly a great exaggeration). Other Tianshi peoples headed west, raiding and conquering new lands, and the exploits of Tianshi leader Kuaikong are often mentioned. The strife between the Tianshi tribes and clans only seems to have invigorated their culture, and certainly sharpened their warrior skills.
Finally, the Americas must be mentioned, unfortunately next to nothing is known of this time. It seems the Oltu and Oltaxl fought endless wars in the Yucatan, while old Talikanan sites were left to crumble into ruins. Later inscriptions speak of a great 'judge' known as Timiquican, who seems to have been a hero of the Oltaxl and 'led journeys across the waters'. It seems the Oltaxl gradually retreated to coastal towns, some perhaps migrating to the central caribbean at this time, although how they were received by the Kuartl islanders is unknown. As a final note, the mysterious mounds of the Panto people were probably built at this time - some see a link to the Oltaxl seafarers there.
Its now around 1900 BC.
Cultures and Factions:
Note that there are some mixed cultures which are under the dual authority of two people, who may well give them conflicting instructions, and I will try to work out what happens.
It can be assumed that there are tribes all over the place. They will get names on the map as and when they become relevant.
Notes:
@kkmo, I hope its OK if I don't use the term 'druids', it seems out of place, as there could also be druids in western europe. Any suggestions for what I could call the religion and/or the people who practise it?
@bestshot9, I can't imagine elk or deer being domesticated, but I guess there would be dogs (huskies?). Also, I can't accept that the Washagan tribes would build a city. They could have villages and ceremonial centres, but they don't have farming and don't live together in such numbers. I'm determined to keep the origins of farming to the usual cradle areas for now, and later it will still need good fertile land. Farming among the NA natives is likely to spread from the east coast as it did historically (according to my information).
@Nick014, I can't imagine buffalo being domesticated either
I'm afraid that North America will be without large cattle until someone brings them from Eurasia or Africa
@Charles Li, I'm not ignoring you, but I've limited how far the Hsin have travelled, what technologies they have, and how developed they are. I still don't agree with you about horse riding (or much horses in general) in East Asia before 2000 BC. You have full control over the priorities of your people only (IE what they focus on, what they are 'trying' to do). What actually happens is what I'm supposed to decide, else we have a free-for-all and it becomes pointless.
@Abaddon, I didn't want to make up a random name for your offshoot of the Xanto, since that would make the whole thing random. Perhaps you can provide additional details? And I'm afraid you cannot have semi-civilized statlettes in the ancient north american plains of 2000 BC.
@All, I'm determined to keep cities and states appearing too early outside of the 'cradle' areas. What I meant was that empires could form from the states and settled areas that already existed last time, not that unsettled peoples (light grey on the map) could make a sudden jump. Sorry I didn't make that clear
. I've limited some to 'chiefdoms' for now, which will have some fortified towns at best. It's still early in history, and the developments people wanted will have to wait.
Also, since this isn't supposed to be a competitive 'game', I'm open to any thoughts or suggestions you may have, about how to make this more realistic/interesting!
Neverwonagame3 said:
Daftpanzer, what would this 'expedition' to Wikipedia consist of finding, anyway?
Random things not entirely pertinent to this thread!
Next Era:
Era 4 will be the First Downfall. Prophets are talking of great disasters and invasions to come in the years ahead. There's no doubt that
some empires will fall. In the long run, most cultures should survive. The main choice for the empires/kingdoms is whether to try to hold together at all costs (stagnation might not be a good thing), or whether to embrace change and seek some other way forward (dangerous and uncertain). All kinds of migrations are possible. Formerly civilized peoples could become roving marauders, and vice-versa...
I intend to post Era #4 tomorrow, around the time I posted this post today, and it will be very short !!! (?)
Reminder: Please feel free to give any kind of input you want, but a simple list of priorities would be good. Names of great cities and leaders could also be useful, though may not actually appear in the updates for some time. I will accept PM's if need be, otherwise you can just post in the thread. It would be helpful if you could take a second to
boldify the name of your tribe/chiefdom/people, so I know what you are talking about, and can easily find that post again...
New Cultures:
These are still accepted at this time, please refer to the template on earlier pages. NPC's on the map can also be claimed.
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Have you ever modded before? I think it would give you a whole new appreciation. 
