NukeAJS
King
- Joined
- Jul 28, 2008
- Messages
- 850
I searched for about an hour now and I couldn't find anyone who has made The Moorish Empire as a custom Civ. It's possible that it's listed under a different name (Al-Andalus being what the Moorish people called their region of the world) though. If that's the case, point me in the right direction please.
Anyways, I figured I would suggest it seeing as The Moors had a large Empire at its peak (Algiers, Morrocco, parts of Mali, and most of the Iberian penisula) and threatened to conquer what is now current-day France. Basically, they inhabited most of what was Carthage minus Sardinia and Corsica in the Med. Sea plus more of Northern Africa and Iberia.
NOTE - Skip to the ***s if you don't want to read my leader/civ history/significance.
History - Ummayad caliph Al-Walid I directed a large force to conquer the Berbers of North Africa. While the initial conquest was highly successful, the occupation of North Africa was not due to zero tolerence of Berber culture. An alliance of Byzantines and Berbers soon kicked out the invaders from North Africa. Musa bin Nusair was sent to reconquer North Africa and was successful. However, unlike the previous governor, he was very tolerent of Berber culture and successfully converted many Berbers to Islam. Many of these converts served in his government and army (including a great general Tariq bin Ziyad who would later co-conquer Southern Iberia).
Twelve years later, Nasair orders raids into Visigoth Iberia. The raids were very successful and led to a small invasion of 8,000 soldiers a year later. Even though outnumbered almost 3to1, pre-Andalusians defeated a 20,000 strong Visigoth force led by the Visigoth king himself at Guadelete. The Visigoth nobility in Iberia was destroyed. A year later, Nasair himself lands in southern Iberia with 18,000 soldiers and conquers all of Iberia except for the northern Basque region.
During the conquest, Nasair recieves word that the Caliphate in Damascus (Al-Walid I) has summoned him due to his highly successful raids. He ignores the order at first because he is determined to conquer all of Iberia. More than a year later, Nasair answers the summons. However, Al-Walid I was very sick and his brother, Suleiman (sound familar=-), was the acting Caliphate. Suleiman demanded that Nasair delay his grand entry in Damascus due to the Caliphate's illness (and probably because Sulieman wanted to take credit for the conquest). Nasair ignored the demand and gloriously entered Damascus and offered a sizeable portion of the booty to Al-Walid. Al-Walid died a few days later and the new Caliphate demanded that Nasair hand over all his booty. When Nasair refused, Sulieman stripped Nsair of his title, confiscated all the booty, and paraded Nasair around Damascus like a common criminal. Nasair spent the rest of his life a poor man in Medina.
Before leaving for the summons, he put his son in charge of Iberia. His son ruled for two years before being assasinated by Sulieman. The caliphate displayed Nasair's son's head to an audience where he knew Nasair would be attending.
In the short period where the Caliphate still had power in Iberia, a massive nearly 300,000 strong Moorish army invaded France and unsuccessfully seiged Toulouse -- and event that could have forever changed French history.
In 750 (or 756) Andalus became independent from the greater Caliphate. From practically that moment on, the Moors would be locked in near constant warfare with a variety of Christian factions for the next 800 years. During this "reconquista" (reconquering) the Moors would lose all of Iberia and would officially end with the surrendering of Granada to Ferdinand and Isabella in 1492 (a big year for Spain apparently). The Moorish people of Iberia were targets of the Spanish inquisition.
The legacy the Moors left behind is found all over Spain and Portugal, with a huge number or Cathedrals and Universities being built by the Moors. Linguistically, thousands of Spanish and Portugesse words trace themselves back to Arabic roots (The Moors spoke primarily Arabic) such as arroz (rice), alfrombra (rug), alcatraz (which means pelican in Spanish btw), azul (blue), atun (tuna), sofá (sofa) -- all very common words in usage today.
Also, while the rest of Western Europe was in the "dark ages," Moorish Iberia was far from unenlightened. Scholars, both Christian and Muslim, actively studied and translated the old works of Eygpt, Rome, and Greece as well as conduct their own experiments (otherwise known as part of the Islamic Golden Age). Historians believe that Cordoba under Moorish rule was the largest and most prosperous city in Europe, surpassing even Constantinople during this time.
Well, I got a little carried away there. Anyways, here's some more "Civ based" stuff, enough with the history.
* * * *
Civ name - The Moorish Empire (referring to both North Africa and Iberia from ~700 to ~1500 AD)
Starting techs - Agriculture, The Wheel
Link to existing civ - couldn't find any
Leader - Musa bin Nusair (Could alter Mansa Musu's or Mehmed's portraits)
-----Agressive, Organized OR Charismatic, Expansive
Favorite civic - Vassalage
Unique Unit - Camel Gunner (replaces Cuirassier) **s are unique abilities
12 Strength
2 movepoints
100 hammers
*requires gunpowder, military tradition, horseback riding (*no iron, *no horses)
Immune to first strikes
15% withdraw chance
no defensive bonuses
flanks catapults, trebuchets, and cannons
*1 first strike
*starts with drill 1 and 2
*drill line is open to this UU, like the Japanese Samurai UU
Comments - It's like combining the Arabic Horse Archer (no horses, no iron), the Ethiopian Musket (first strikes), and the Japanese Samurai (drill line not normally available to this type of unit). I'm basing this unit off of a different game -- Medieval Total War 2. The only thing I don't like about this unit is that the arrival of gunpowder on the battlefield was around the same time The Moors were being (quickly) dismissed from Iberia.
Unique Building - Bimaristan (replaces University)
+25% research
*3 culture points
*+2 health
Comments - The Moors built, staffed, and administered the best public hospitals in the Western European world at the time. In addition to serving basic healthcare needs, Moorish bimaristans later evolved into the first research hospitals. Nearly all basic-yet-modern surgical techniques and tools were developed in Moorish Iberia. The Al-Tasrif (Book of Concessions) was written in Cordoba by Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi (AKA Abulcasis) who is known as the "father of modern surgery". The Al-Tasrif was used for almost seven centries and covered everything from basic dental health-care, dissection, nuerosurgery, basic OBGYN procedures, and it even started the modern custom of bringing flowers to the sick. Moorish physicians were the pioneers of animal testing before trying new procedures on humans. Moorish physicians made use of anesthesia by using an opium and cannabis blend which was far superior to the ingestion of alcohol (and also prohibited in Islam). Lastly, Moorish physicians hypothesized the existence of bacteria during the bubonic plague outbreak hundreds of years before bacteria's discovery.
City list -(Mostly Spanish cities, but also Portugesse, Moroccan, Tunisia, and Algerian)
Cordoba (Capital)
Cazorla
Granada
Lanjarón
Guadix
Jaén
Jerez De La Frontera
Mortril
Ronda
Lagos
Zawaia
Algraves
Seville
Lisbon
Meknes
Zaragoza
Madinat al-Zahra
Toledo
Gormaz
Valencia
Fes
Tangier
Marrakech
Sijilmasa
Aoudaghost
Mértola
Sagunto
Évora
Santarém
Coimbra
Barcelona
Narbonne
Casablanca
Cerdanya
Aquitaine
Algiers
Rabat
Tunis
Silb
Tanja
Larida
I'd be more than happy to help add the civ. I'm unfamilar with xml but I can help with art and information.
Sources (yay for wikis)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_Muslim_presence_in_the_Iberian_peninsula
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tariq_ibn_Ziyad
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musa_bin_Nusair
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Andalus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moors
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muladi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Inquistion
As a side note, ever see the Seinfeld episode where George is playing Trivial Pursuit with the boy in the bubble and the question is "Who invaded Spain in the 8th century?" The answer is The Moors, but the card was misprinted and said "The Moops"
lol
Anyways, I figured I would suggest it seeing as The Moors had a large Empire at its peak (Algiers, Morrocco, parts of Mali, and most of the Iberian penisula) and threatened to conquer what is now current-day France. Basically, they inhabited most of what was Carthage minus Sardinia and Corsica in the Med. Sea plus more of Northern Africa and Iberia.
NOTE - Skip to the ***s if you don't want to read my leader/civ history/significance.
History - Ummayad caliph Al-Walid I directed a large force to conquer the Berbers of North Africa. While the initial conquest was highly successful, the occupation of North Africa was not due to zero tolerence of Berber culture. An alliance of Byzantines and Berbers soon kicked out the invaders from North Africa. Musa bin Nusair was sent to reconquer North Africa and was successful. However, unlike the previous governor, he was very tolerent of Berber culture and successfully converted many Berbers to Islam. Many of these converts served in his government and army (including a great general Tariq bin Ziyad who would later co-conquer Southern Iberia).
Twelve years later, Nasair orders raids into Visigoth Iberia. The raids were very successful and led to a small invasion of 8,000 soldiers a year later. Even though outnumbered almost 3to1, pre-Andalusians defeated a 20,000 strong Visigoth force led by the Visigoth king himself at Guadelete. The Visigoth nobility in Iberia was destroyed. A year later, Nasair himself lands in southern Iberia with 18,000 soldiers and conquers all of Iberia except for the northern Basque region.
During the conquest, Nasair recieves word that the Caliphate in Damascus (Al-Walid I) has summoned him due to his highly successful raids. He ignores the order at first because he is determined to conquer all of Iberia. More than a year later, Nasair answers the summons. However, Al-Walid I was very sick and his brother, Suleiman (sound familar=-), was the acting Caliphate. Suleiman demanded that Nasair delay his grand entry in Damascus due to the Caliphate's illness (and probably because Sulieman wanted to take credit for the conquest). Nasair ignored the demand and gloriously entered Damascus and offered a sizeable portion of the booty to Al-Walid. Al-Walid died a few days later and the new Caliphate demanded that Nasair hand over all his booty. When Nasair refused, Sulieman stripped Nsair of his title, confiscated all the booty, and paraded Nasair around Damascus like a common criminal. Nasair spent the rest of his life a poor man in Medina.
Before leaving for the summons, he put his son in charge of Iberia. His son ruled for two years before being assasinated by Sulieman. The caliphate displayed Nasair's son's head to an audience where he knew Nasair would be attending.
In the short period where the Caliphate still had power in Iberia, a massive nearly 300,000 strong Moorish army invaded France and unsuccessfully seiged Toulouse -- and event that could have forever changed French history.
In 750 (or 756) Andalus became independent from the greater Caliphate. From practically that moment on, the Moors would be locked in near constant warfare with a variety of Christian factions for the next 800 years. During this "reconquista" (reconquering) the Moors would lose all of Iberia and would officially end with the surrendering of Granada to Ferdinand and Isabella in 1492 (a big year for Spain apparently). The Moorish people of Iberia were targets of the Spanish inquisition.
The legacy the Moors left behind is found all over Spain and Portugal, with a huge number or Cathedrals and Universities being built by the Moors. Linguistically, thousands of Spanish and Portugesse words trace themselves back to Arabic roots (The Moors spoke primarily Arabic) such as arroz (rice), alfrombra (rug), alcatraz (which means pelican in Spanish btw), azul (blue), atun (tuna), sofá (sofa) -- all very common words in usage today.
Also, while the rest of Western Europe was in the "dark ages," Moorish Iberia was far from unenlightened. Scholars, both Christian and Muslim, actively studied and translated the old works of Eygpt, Rome, and Greece as well as conduct their own experiments (otherwise known as part of the Islamic Golden Age). Historians believe that Cordoba under Moorish rule was the largest and most prosperous city in Europe, surpassing even Constantinople during this time.
Well, I got a little carried away there. Anyways, here's some more "Civ based" stuff, enough with the history.
* * * *
Civ name - The Moorish Empire (referring to both North Africa and Iberia from ~700 to ~1500 AD)
Starting techs - Agriculture, The Wheel
Link to existing civ - couldn't find any
Leader - Musa bin Nusair (Could alter Mansa Musu's or Mehmed's portraits)
-----Agressive, Organized OR Charismatic, Expansive
Favorite civic - Vassalage
Unique Unit - Camel Gunner (replaces Cuirassier) **s are unique abilities
12 Strength
2 movepoints
100 hammers
*requires gunpowder, military tradition, horseback riding (*no iron, *no horses)
Immune to first strikes
15% withdraw chance
no defensive bonuses
flanks catapults, trebuchets, and cannons
*1 first strike
*starts with drill 1 and 2
*drill line is open to this UU, like the Japanese Samurai UU
Comments - It's like combining the Arabic Horse Archer (no horses, no iron), the Ethiopian Musket (first strikes), and the Japanese Samurai (drill line not normally available to this type of unit). I'm basing this unit off of a different game -- Medieval Total War 2. The only thing I don't like about this unit is that the arrival of gunpowder on the battlefield was around the same time The Moors were being (quickly) dismissed from Iberia.
Unique Building - Bimaristan (replaces University)
+25% research
*3 culture points
*+2 health
Comments - The Moors built, staffed, and administered the best public hospitals in the Western European world at the time. In addition to serving basic healthcare needs, Moorish bimaristans later evolved into the first research hospitals. Nearly all basic-yet-modern surgical techniques and tools were developed in Moorish Iberia. The Al-Tasrif (Book of Concessions) was written in Cordoba by Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi (AKA Abulcasis) who is known as the "father of modern surgery". The Al-Tasrif was used for almost seven centries and covered everything from basic dental health-care, dissection, nuerosurgery, basic OBGYN procedures, and it even started the modern custom of bringing flowers to the sick. Moorish physicians were the pioneers of animal testing before trying new procedures on humans. Moorish physicians made use of anesthesia by using an opium and cannabis blend which was far superior to the ingestion of alcohol (and also prohibited in Islam). Lastly, Moorish physicians hypothesized the existence of bacteria during the bubonic plague outbreak hundreds of years before bacteria's discovery.
City list -(Mostly Spanish cities, but also Portugesse, Moroccan, Tunisia, and Algerian)
Cordoba (Capital)
Cazorla
Granada
Lanjarón
Guadix
Jaén
Jerez De La Frontera
Mortril
Ronda
Lagos
Zawaia
Algraves
Seville
Lisbon
Meknes
Zaragoza
Madinat al-Zahra
Toledo
Gormaz
Valencia
Fes
Tangier
Marrakech
Sijilmasa
Aoudaghost
Mértola
Sagunto
Évora
Santarém
Coimbra
Barcelona
Narbonne
Casablanca
Cerdanya
Aquitaine
Algiers
Rabat
Tunis
Silb
Tanja
Larida
I'd be more than happy to help add the civ. I'm unfamilar with xml but I can help with art and information.
Sources (yay for wikis)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_Muslim_presence_in_the_Iberian_peninsula
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tariq_ibn_Ziyad
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musa_bin_Nusair
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Andalus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moors
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muladi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Inquistion
As a side note, ever see the Seinfeld episode where George is playing Trivial Pursuit with the boy in the bubble and the question is "Who invaded Spain in the 8th century?" The answer is The Moors, but the card was misprinted and said "The Moops"
lol
