Il Principe de Vienna

King of Anshan

King of Anshan

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Il Principe de Vienna

Rhye’s of Civilization Expanded v1.23
-with culture intact after conquest-

Victory through:
• World domination (66%, 10%)
• Culture (20 000, 50 000)
• Diplomacy

Difficulty: Deity
Civ: Austria

In my previous stories it always turned out into a “conquer the world and kill everyone”-story. This time I am going to try something else. Instead of simply taking over the world by force I am going to try to “own” the world by a combination of an overdeveloped cultural, commercial and scientific might (like Machiavelli). Or at least that is the attempt….
Austria is chosen because Vienna is a pproductive powerhouse that lies in the centre of Europe and because I like the color.

Chapter 1

Spoiler :


Chapter 1 : the Mediterranean connection

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For thousands of years men had lived as hunter-gathers in the vast expanse of Eurafrasia, and as it turned out, the Americas. But on a time, long, long ago, that changed. Men found out that instead of chasing the food and picking it was far safer and eventually more profitable to produce it themselves. The hunter gatherers became farmers living all their lives on the same place. Over time the lonely farms clustered into villages and the villages clustered into cities. This development happened on many spaces simultaneously. One of those places was Vienna, Urheimat of the Austrian people and this is their story:

Chief Charles watched the last of his tribe cross the great river. He had led them from the dusty, infertile, but safe, hills to the vast grasslands in the river basin. Charles had send out scouts to find a place more suited for agriculture but also one to defend easily. They had comeback to tell about place protect by rivers in the North and East and by hills in the South and West. Above that lush farmland lay just across the river, a fresh source of water. Charles saw that what they had told him was neither a lie nor an exaggeration. This truly seemed to be an excellent place to settle. In the coming years the settlement was slowly shaped into a tiny city. The city was called Vienna, after much debate among the elders.
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Vienna was settled in 4000 BC on the southern bank of the river Danube. The surroundings were quickly brought under Austrian control in the following years. For many centuries the Austrian chieftains and their nobles did nothing more than parasite upon the farmers but by 3750 BC some young nobles formed a warrior band. They went south to explore the lands and the people living in the rest of the world.
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In 3600 BC that warrior band stumbled upon a great water. Greater even than the great Danube river from home. After much debate the wet expanse was called a “sea” and this “sea” was called the Adriatic, after commander Adrianus of the band. The band now started to bear the name Adrianus’ explorers. Some fifty years later a scouting party visited the hillsides north of Vienna. After they were invited in the Chief’s hall they told them about their own city. It was called Paris and lay far to the West, close to a massive sea the French, their people, called the Atlantic Ocean. When the chief saw they had some peculiar clay pots he asked them if they could learn his people to make those too. The French refused, almost insulted. They said that everything had its price. A lesson the rulers of Austria would remember.

By 3500 B.C. a second exploration party left Vienna, led by the noble Rhino. They went north and west to follow the river their and to see the “ocean” with their own eyes. Fifty years later Adrianus’ made contact with another tribe called the Romans. They were considered weak and womanish because they wore dresses. As their king made clear it were not dresses, but “toga’s”. Another fifty years later another womanish tribe wearing dresses, sorry togas, was met. They were distant relatives of the Romans and were called the Byzantines. The Byzantines were capable of making bricks and building nice stone houses with it as well as having mysticism, yet not such a simple thing as a wheel… Around 3350 BC Rhino’s came into contact with the long lost cousins of the Austrians the Germans. They had settled on the banks of a small river in a town they called Berlin. Another fifty years late the Greeks were met. Despite of their dresses they possessed much knowledge. The Austrians sold them the secret of the Wheel in exchange for the magic of pottery. The Austrians then sold that magic, that turned out to be a very simple trick, to the Romans and Germans for in total 48 pieces of gold. With that gold and knowledge of the wheel the mysticism idea was bought from the Byzantines. Now the Austrians were only a little less advanced than the Greeks and Byzantines.

In 3250 BC some people relative to the Germans, and thus to the Austrians were met living in the village of Amsterdam on the shores of the Great Sea. They were sold mysticism in exchange for 44 pieces of gold. Another fifty years later Rhino’s band reached the Great Sea. In that sea lay a landmass and on that landmass there also learned people. After some swimming to and from the wheel was sold for 30 pieces of gold to the islanders, called the English.
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In 3000 BC a Britton named Edward Gibbon wrote a history book of the world, despite the fact that writing was not invented yet, and listed Austria as the wealthiest of nations. The King of Austria, as the chieftains now styled themselves, were very flattered with it.
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Hundred years later Illyrian bandits ambushed Adrianus’ . Despite the fact that they were with twice as many and had half of them equipped with an unknown weapon that throw sticks at people they were crushed with little Austrian losses. In 2650 BC Adrianus’ party met with some local Kazaks living in northern Italy. The friendly Kazaks showed them how their refion looked like. As soon as the king, king Venetus, saw these maps he had a vision of greatness: Along that river in Northern Italy a city should be founded, like Vienna, it would one day be a great center of trade and commerce. Unluckily the Romans lived there close by. To counter that the king send another band of warriors to Italy, to deny the Romans passage north until the city was found. The king saw a vision of a Mediterranean connection.
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In 2150 BC the Austrians invented a system of writing, now they could begin work on a literary tradition. When the Austrians sold this secret to the others they were shocked. Not because of the massive amount of cash they got in return, nor for the warrior-code or masonry secrets, but for the Dutch. The Dutch showed they were merciless merchants, selling even their own brethren into slavery for some knowledge. This way two bands of Dutch slaves came into the Austrian land. They were sent north to work in a vineyard.
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In 2000 BC another book was published, this time there was a list about the eight most powerful nation in it. From the nations the Austrians knew of only England and France were listed, they were positioned not in the top three, making the king happy that at least they were not that powerful.
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Around 1850 BC horses were brought from the Hungarian plains into Vienna, allowing the Austrian people to ride chariots, if they would want too. Fifty years later a settler party left Vienna to fulfill king Venetus’ dream of a Mediterranean connection.
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Only by 1675 BC did these settlers reach their position and did they found the envisioned city, they called it Venice after the mythical king Venetus. Now Austria had a Mediterranean connection.

 
Chapter 2
Spoiler :

Chapter 2 : Centre of Learning



King Ferdinand looked at the map on the table. His face was troubled. Austria lay behind in technology, not by much, but enough. Ferdinand knew this gap would only widen if nothing was done about it. With the Austrian expansion into northern Italy Austrian territory had increased with almost a half, yet not enough to be a major power. Venice and Vienna together bore promises of great wealth and productivity, but that would be far into the future. For now the King’s greatest concern was the army. Vienna and Venice were each protected by only one band of warriors, not enough to safeguard the city from attack. Only with bands of archers could a reasonable defense be formed. The king watched the reports with horror. A kinds of foreigners walked through Austria unchecked and unchallenged, bringing to light the weakness of the Austrian army. To make things worse brigand horsemen were busy marauding just east of the Carpathian mountains. When they would cross Austria would be in grave peril. The King could only keep his fingers crossed and try to manipulate the other nations into remaining peaceful…

The technological gap was widened by 1525 BC, all other nations, except the Romans, now possessed knowledge of Horse riding, bronze working or both. 75 years later King Eagle ordered a road to be constructed from Vienna to Venice. He would probably had not done so if he had known that this project would take half a millennium to complete. In 1475 something peculiar happened. A treaty was signed with the Greeks that a small piece of land in Vienna would be leased to them for an embassy. A house were Greek diplomats, and as was presumed spies, could be easily contacted. In exchange the Austrians received similar rights in Athens. This action brought the people of Greece and Austria closer to each other, despite the togas.

Around 1225 BC Austrians begin to write books with fiction they called literature. This form of literature was quickly spread by Austrian bards to all the corners of Europe. The traveling bards brought back to Vienna not only a code of laws, a Greek one to be precise, but also knowledge of horse riding and bronze working. The bards drunk on their success in Vienna what brought in a healthy haul of tax, approximately 600 gold pieces. A generation later the bards begun to collect these stories in what they wanted to become the centre of European learning, the Great Library.

By 1100 BC Adrianus’ explorers met with migrating Turkish settlers blocking the only pass through the Caucasus. They were a primitive and unfriendly people and for some unknown reason the King hated them from the beginning. Those settlers builded a fortress city in that pass they called Bilecik to control that very strategic point. So the Turkish proved to be only primitive, not stupid. Around the year 1000 German smiths saw a way to improve the Bronze working, instead of working an alloy of copper and tin they used Iron ore. It was far more common than copper and so made the Germans militaristically very potent. Some few years later the Via Aquilea from Vienna to Venice was completed, after 450 years of labor.

Around 900 BC a French settler-party roamed into Austrian lands. The King immediately feared a French invasion and so send a delegacy to the French Chieftain in Paris. The diplomats were met psoitivly and an embassy was set up in Paris. The French king now promised his people would leave Austrian territory immediately. King Hendric was relieved the threat was averted. To anticipate on further threats Hendric send embassies to all known nations. The messages the ambassadors send home were not always positive. The Roman embassador reported that the garrison of Rome alone outnumbered the total Austrian army by four in manpower, let only weapons.

The embassies turned out to be less effective than previously was thought by the King. Despite promises made by the French king, the settler party moved further into Austrian territory. When the French tribal leader was addressed on that he simply responded with : “They are leaving immediately, but they have to be on the other side.” The Romans apparently heard of this excuse as well as they send two settler parties through Lombardy. The Roman Rex assured king Hendric that they only wanted to settle empty land in the East and that they would leave asap though the Alpine passes.

In 800 BC Vienna was marked as the intellectual centre of the world with the founding of the Great Library. The knowledge of the world flocked to the Library’s halls like water form rapids. This removed one obstacle in Austria’s march to hegemony. In only twenty-five years Austrian smiths mastered the secret of Iron working, a process that took the Germans ages. The skies seemed a little brighter now for the fledgling Austrian tribes.

According to scholars from the library Austria was the second economical power in the world with 8 gold pieces per capita and the Austrians were the most literate of all. Austria was also the fourth most populous nation, despite it being only the seventeenth in size and Vienna the world’s centre of learning and discoveries. Overall the King saw the future with a certain … eagerness.

Spoiler :





 
Chapter 3

Spoiler :

Chapter 3 : Regicide

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Adrianos, Doge of Venice, looked at his fellow conspirators. There were nobles from all corners of the empire, but mostly were from Lombardy, and many of the most prominent of the Merchant-families. The Doge spotted young Havelock, baron of the town of Florence, watching the crowd from a distance. Havelock gave him a blink to tell him he had noticed him watching. Adrianos somehow knew he was far more dangerous and influential than the conspirators here presumed. The Duke of Vienna, left-hand of the King himself finished his oration and ended the gathering. After many had left the building Adrianos went out. He didn’t put his hood on, knowing that would only raise suspicion. The doge quickly fell into a state of deep thought. Of how the new form of government would be modeled. Off course the major cities of Vienna and Venice would have a large vote, but lesser nobles and the merchants on which Venice’s wealth was based should also be given some power. The doge did not notice the sudden disappearance of some of the people walking in front of him, nor the person clad in black…
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By 750 the state of war that existed between the Byzantine empire and the Ottomans ended, it seemed both parties ended worse than they had started. The years come and go, the frequency of the assassination attempts on the Royal family started to equal the falling of the leafs in autumn.

In 650 BC the Russians were met. Russia was a vast kingdom, at least three times the size of Austria. Luckily Austria was richer. An ambassador was quickly send to Moscow.
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Sixty years later an angry German ambassador came in demanding the withdrawal of the Austrian exploration party near Frankfurt. The King gave his sincere apologies, his excuse was that the city was only laying in the Pontic steppe very recently. Around the same time a great epic was finished in Mecca, the epic of Gilgamesh, a legendary Babylonian king.
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In 570 the first philosopher ever entered the Great Library, his name was Siegfried Okrats and he wrote a book about the best way to rule. He advocated a republic, were the wise men of the nation made decisions for all. Despite the best effort of many of the nobility the Royal Family retained a tenant hold on power.

By 550 settlers left crowded Venice to colonize the Dalmatian coast, despite the Byzantine presence there. The same year books about philosophy were spread throughout Europe, the income of this netted more than a 1000 gold pieces! Enough to sustain the Great Library indefinitely!
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In 510 BC the first Russo-German war broke out. The King was not truly in favor of this war as if either was victorious over the other Austria would be in grave trouble. Therefore the king ordered the war to be watched closely, giving Austrian support to the losing party if necessary. The Russians immediately assaulted Frankfurt, but the German garrison proved to numerous for now.
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By 450 BC Ragusa was founded in the Terra Nullius of Illyria. It quickly rose into prominence as an economical rival to Venice. Shortly thereafter the Royal family abdicated, fearing the assassins. The Royal family fled to Germany, hoping to at last be safe. The central government of the despotic king was quickly toppled, drenching the nation into anarchy. The streets of Vienna were filled with an angry mob that was “mobbing” the rest of the population.
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Twenty years later the Austrian Commonwealth was build out of the ashes of the former kingdom, enabled by the victory of the Republican faction and the restoration of central authority. With financial support of the wealthy merchants Chancellor Franz, head of the republic, started to fund major construction work in the cities of the empire. First granaries were build in Venice, Vienna followed twenty years later. Also archers scouting the Alpine pass met with Portuguese people and twenty years later the Spanish followed. Embassies were set up in Lisbon and Madrid respectively. Also the primitive Spanish were told a thing or two by scholars from the Library in exchange for slaves and gold. By now the Chancellor and the Reichstag decided the idea of republic should be exported to all the lands known, for a fee off course. The Spread of Republic raised the Austrian treasury with a factor of 1.5. In the war news Frankfurt was razed by the Russian empire. As Frankfurt lay just a few hundred miles south of Moscow this was not too surprising.
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By 390 BC Vienna got a granary and Ragusa got a library. The Ragusan Library was certainly not as good as the Viennese, but it had a reasonable collection of knowledge. Twenty years later the arrogant British ambassador came into the Reichstag with a letter from the British House of Lords. They demanded the massive sum of one hundred gold pieces. After much debate Austria yielded, knowing it was now in no position to wage war, the time would come off course… Nor much later a British scholar fled his homeland and brought to Vienna the concept of monarchy and more important the knowledge of how to build Hanging gardens. The Gardens were ordered to be build in Vienna as soon as the temple would be complete, gods go first. Twenty years later the Germans convinced the Russians that peace was better than war, ending the war that took the lives of thousands. Around the same time the temples of Vienna and Ragusa were completed, hopefully earning Austria the favor of the Gods. And if not, the temples at least looked nice and impressive.
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By 330 BC the Reichstag could be pleased. The leading scientists and the major technological discoveries were made in Austria. Austrians were the most productive people in the world and they out produced all other people, despite being only fourth in population size. Illiteracy was not a common problem with 99% of the population being able to read and write. Thanks to this and to the relatively long life expectancy of a staggering 43 years Austrian people were very content with the government, more than three quarters of the people said they were pleased with the government. Economically Austria was second in GNP but only fifth if looked at the GNP per capita. That still was a thing of improvement for the Republicans.

Spoiler :


 
Amazing! I am playing this exact same game as Austria, but I told the Romans and French to get out of my territory. They declared war. It was so funny razing Rome and Paris and absorbing the bits of their empires closest to Vienna!
 
MixBean said:
Amazing! I am playing this exact same game as Austria, but I told the Romans and French to get out of my territory. They declared war. It was so funny razing Rome and Paris and absorbing the bits of their empires closest to Vienna!
Click to expand...

I could, but just conquering tends to get boring, After the first war(s) things are just too easy.

Dumanios said:
Good luck, and bring glory to Venezia and the Oesterreich!
Click to expand...

Don't forget Ragusa, once a major rival of Venice. And thank you.
 
Chapter 4

Spoiler :

Chapter 4 : Coming of the Gods

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It was a rainy day for the Reichstag to gather. Through the muddy streets of Vienna the representatives gathered. Electors from the heartland of Austria, of the most prominent of the noble families, deputies from the cities of the Commonwealth, and off course the people that tend to be forgotten; their servants and the personnel. The Rector of Ragusa and the Doge of Venice walked side by side, discussing about an alliance to out vote the Viennese. Both Ragusa and Venice were Mediterranean ports. Trade was the lifeblood of both cities, they relied heavily on the sea and the shipping. Unfortunately pirates were a real menace on the sea. The Rector said against the Doge that a strong war fleet would be needed to get rid of the pirate scum and to protect Austrian interest at the high seas. Surely if that would be done support would be given to the reelection of chancellor Langbaror. They shaked hands, exchanged greetings and left to keep up their play of animosity.
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By 330 BC docks were set up in Venice, becoming more a maritime centre. Limited sea trade started to form up between Rome and Venice but the pirate menace made capable only limited trade. Not wanting to stay behind Ragusa quickly finished its granary and by 310 started to construct its own harbor. Twenty years later Venice owned a set of barracks to train soldiers to defend La Serenissima. The Venetians now started to prepare a settler-party to cross the Alps and secure to eastern passes into Italy. In 250 BC the rival port of Ragusa finished its own harbor. Because of the threat of Greek or Byzantine assault the Ragusians started to wall their city to less it’s vulnerability. By then Austrian merchants had gained access to the ports of Greece, Turkey, Byzantion, and Portugal. Still it was dangerous to evade the scorch of the sea.
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Around 230 BC priests from the icy north convinced the Austrians there gods rocked and that they should sacrifice to Thor and Wodan instead. The Sacrifice would be most appreciated by the Norse Gods when it would be flesh, human flesh. The ambassadors reported that the priests were less successful in other nations, Austria was first. They also revealed that England now had a legal system and that the Germans, like the Turks, had mastered horse archery. If the Russians would have waged their war now, it would had been a very different story, perhaps. The Chancellor opportunistically sold the idea of Nordic Cults, together with an unhealthy 470 gold pieces, to the British in exchange for their legal system. That system was sold to the Turks for 770 gold. The art of mounted combat was then bought for the secret of Nordic cults from the Germans. That secret was then spread to the other Europeans in exchange for a small fee of in total 20 gold pieces for a couple of centuries. A good deal for all… but mainly the Austrians.
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By 210 the Venetians send out a settler-party and began to build an open-air temple to the Gods, called Stonehenge. In Ragusa the walls were completed and barracks were set up to train the locals into the art of war.
Forty years later it was complete, yet instead of starting to build up some forces the Ragusans started to train some civil engineers to improve the country-side .
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Around 150 BC contacts were established by Adrianos’ explorers with the Babylonian Noble republic. An Austrian embassy was set up only a few months later in their capital of Babylon. Babylonia was technologically en par with the Commonwealth but it had a certain lack of labor ethos, making them one of the weakest nation in the world. Also the Austrian intelligence showed some errors, only now they realized Portugal and Spain were at war with each other. If one would gain the upper hand and take over the peninsula, even though very unlikely now, they could one day become a massive threat to the Balance of Powers. For now Portugal seemed to be slightly stronger in the conflict.
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Twenty years later rumors came to the ambassador in Sogut about an Eastern people called the Chinese having written a book about the art of war. Another twenty years later that ambassador smuggled a Babylonian scientist with the knowledge of mathematics out of their to the safety of the Great Library. The knowledge was quickly sold to the British to get back the Austrian money they had not spend yet, some 200 gold pieces.
Shortly thereafter Ragusa finally begun to train some defensive forces.
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In 90 BC Regensburg was founded close to the source of the river Rhine. With that the Western border and the capital were secured a bit more, also it would in time give Austria a source of precious dyes as leverage. Twenty years later Regensburg got its own library, raising the literacy grade again, now a temple to the Gods was begun in the new city.
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In 50 BC all of the Commonwealths citizens, and the Viennese in particular, were pleased with the Hanging Gardens of Vienna. Truly a work of great esthetical value. The Viennese now started to build a massive temple to the Gods, the Asa, like there would be not one in the world.
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By 30 BC Ragusa raised its first archer band, the First Ragusan Battalion. Also Regensburg got itself a temple and the citizens now wanted a place to store food like all other cities. Twenty years later Roman and Turkish scientists arrived in the Great Library with blueprints of new ships. One of those blueprints figured a type of ship, called a galley, that was well suited to remove the pirate threat. Not much later roomers came of a holy man born in the east, called Josua or something like that.

By the ending of the millennium the Commonwealth of Austria was the most happiest place on earth with 92%. It was also the most densely populated nations, having a population only a little bit smaller than Russia. Literacy rates had decreased a bit over the centuries but in opposite to that the life expectancy showed a slim rise. Poorly with the loss of the republic monopoly Austria’s leading position on the fields of commerce and production had been lost.
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Spoiler :



 
Chapter 5

Spoiler :

Chapter 5 : The Pirate Menace

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A hefty discussion as going on in the Reichstag. Because of the severe polarization of the politics the seats were divided between left and right of the chairman. To the right the nobles, the priests and the dukes of Regensburg and Vienna were seated. They were supporters of greater support of the army, partly because the nobles formed the army and were thus paid for it. To the left there were the merchants, the Doge of Venice and the Rector of Ragusa. They were fierce supporters of free trade and wanted a great navy to protect the merchant fleets and their wealth. “With the seas open and with air navy protecting the sea-routes great wealth will flow into Austria! And wealth is power! I can assure you gentlemen that the fleet will soon pay for itself, we of the seas only need a modest investment.”: the Doge orated in with a thick Veneto accent. After he was finished the lefties stood up and sung “Rule Austria, Austria rule the waves.” While nodding the priest of Wodan took the speakers-staff and said: “Sailing on the seas is unnatural, it is not ment by the gods to be done. If humans were to cross the ocean the gods would have given us gills and fins. Going on the Seas is blasphemy against the highest!” After some more speeches of equally dubious quality the voting commenced. With one vote difference the proposal was accepted. Four squadrons of galleys would be build in Ragusa, half of them would be manned by Venetians and all of the Commonwealth would pay for the construction and maintenance of it equally. The one of the rightwing who had voted pro was later found in his house with a rope around his neck and Venetian coins all over the floor, politics are fatal.
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The millennium switch went over almost unnoticed. The only thing noticeable was that the Netherlands and Portugal had not yet met, despite the fact that there were only a few hundred miles between their lands. In the year 10 the first of what would become 4 squadrons of galleys rolled of the Ragusan docks. The squadron was called Ragusa I, or in Veneto di Mare Primo Squadrone di Ragusa. In Regensburg after finishing the granary the people started to train a force of workers to irrigate or mine the country-side. Also ambassadors reported that London finished the Colossus, making that city a major competitor of the maritime republics. The ambassador in Athens reported that the Greeks spend the resources they had used on the colossus into a massive temple for Freya, they called her Artemis. In Iberia the war was still in a stalemate.
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In year 50 of the common era Frankish diplomats arrogantly walked into the Reichstag, demanding the blueprints of the sailing ships, or else... Immediately the righties wanted to say those frog-eaters should put that in their… but the lefties realized that the Austrian army was in no condition to repel the Frankish invaders. They realized that war can only be profited from if you’re not in it yourself. Many of the nobles in the rightwing followed the lefties in this decision. The nobles formed the army, they would be killed first. Austria send some scientists from the Great Library to France with a frozen smile on her face. In Ragusa the Secundo Squadrone di Ragusa rolled from the shipyards into the water, Austria now held a navy unmatched by most nations, even the maritime ones. Also rumors came to the ears of the ambassador in Babylon that an Oracle that could predict the future was build in Mecca and that in Thebes massive tombs in pyramid-bread shape were build.
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Twenty years later the Ragusan squadrons set sail to the cape of Apulia. Pirates immediately showed up to reclaim their sovereignty over the Mediterranean. Also the scientist send to France with the knowledge of sailing returned home. Not empty handed but with underneath his shirt the secret of currency, France was given the price for their arrogance. The idea was sold to the Ottoman empire for 400 gold pieces, cash. The Primo destroyed a pirate squadron and then quickly sailed back to the Adriatic before their buddies showed up.
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Around 90 CE the French perhaps earned the favor of the god with an open-air temple. Disappointed the Venetians turned theirs into a market place. The people of Regensburg would soon follow. In Ragusa the first of the Venetian crewed galleys were set afloat. The squadron was named the Primo Squadrone di Venezia . Twenty years later Ragusa I returned to their homeport for repairs while the II and the Venezia I sailed for Sicily. Also Adrianos’ met some weird people with strange hair, they only believed in one god and not in many. To many Austrians this seemed a bit silly because if there would be only one god, there would only be the thing he/she is god of, isn’t it? Even though an ambassador was send to Jerusalem by boat, he gave the pirates the finger while speeding by.
Also the Greeks in Sparta erected a massive statue to Zeus/ Donar, it seemed the Greeks were in great need of divine support, why else build so many sanctities.
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In 130 AD the Ragusa II and Venezia I together defeated two pirate squadrons before the coast of Cyrenaica. Some Austrian sailors fell overboard during the conflict. They were washed up on the shores of Libya. Not much later tanned soldiers took them captive. After some conversation they were brought to the ruler of the land the Greeks called Egypt. It was ruled by a king, called pharaoh, but the true power lay into the hands of the priests. After meeting the king the men returned and were picked up by a ship of Ragusa II. The Reichstag decided an ambassador was to be send to Thebes. Thebes was a massive city, almost as big as Vienna. Because of that the Egyptians were preparing a settler party. Unfortunately Ragusa II was attacked and sunk by pirates a couple of months later. Two years later a new squadron, Secundo Squadrone di Venezia, rolled from the Ragusan shipyard. Also Regensburg completed its marketplace, marking it as a centre of regional trade.
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In 150 AD Venezia I destroyed the pirates and revenged their fallen brothers in arms. They then sailed East in search of more pirate scum. Not much later Venezia II and Ragusa I left Ragusa and went West to secure the street of Cossyra. On the main Venice send out workers to mine the surrounding hills and more importantly the road from Regensburg to Vienna was finished. Not only did the rest of the empire receive Regensburgian dyes but also trade was opened with the rest of Western-Europe; France, Germany and Holland.
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By 170 AD the combined Veneto-Ragusan fleet approached the great port of Carthage. Contacts were established and an ambassador was send to the Carthaginian republic. Sometime later the Asa temple, a pantheon to the Northern Gods, was finished in Vienna. Vienna then started to build a market square for the people to trade their goods. In Ragusa the later was just completed and they started to train some horse-archers as deterrence for over ambitious enemies. Over ambitious enemies like Russia. Russia was a massive nation, but that was not enough for them. They declared war on the potent French republic, praying of the French settlement on the Pontic Steppe. With a bit of luck this would weaken both.

Over the years the squadrons spread out to all corners of the Mediterranean, yet no pirates were found. It seemed the pirate menace had finally come to an end…

In 210 AD Austria had the largest population, 5%, of the world with more than 700 000 citizens paying taxes. Of those 92% were supporters of the Commonwealth’s regime. Austria had the third largest economy and was the second most productive nation. Austrians had the greatest income of all people and a life-expectancy of 46 years, the second best of all. Bad news was that the literacy rate was slowly falling down, by now only 78% of the population was capable of reading and writing, not enough to be number one.
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Spoiler :



 
Chapter 6

Spoiler :

Chapter 6 : the Gods are leaving again
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“My fellow Austrians, Europe is a dangerous place to live in. The barbarians may have been driven away but war has not left this continent. On Iberia was is ravaging for centuries, weakening both Spain and Portugal. To the East the Russian behemoth preys upon the lands of Germany, France, Holland and even Austria. They have already fought Germany and are now warring with mighty France. This is a dangerous situation. Holland is a small nation, not powerful enough to form a threat for either France, Germany or Russia. If Russia wins the war then we have a problem, if France wins the war we also have a problem. If France wins nothing can prevent them from conquering Iberia and marshalling an army none can withstand. They will storm the walls of our cities as the tide flooding a sand-castle. If Russia wins we have a superpower that none can match at our door-step.” The Chancellor was interrupted by a righty, who said: “And what about Britain?” “Ah, well Britain…” the Chancellor replied. “A mighty island-nation with great resources, but an island-nation nonetheless. Their island is just as much a fortress as a prison. The only way the British will be able to expand is through colonialism, as the continental nations are still capable of defiance. Off course I will not forget the Middle-East, it’s dusty, dry and ill productive. But as long as Constantinople holds we will not have to fear much from there. ” A lefty, a merchant as could be discerned from his clothes, quickly said: “Where are the facts? Where is your view based upon? What about the lands we do not know? Is there perhaps an empire there that cannot be challenged?” And so the debate continued.
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Close to the end of 210 a Roman scientist came to the Great Library with knowledge of construction. The import of it boosted Austria into a new historic era. In order of the chancellor some of the Roman’s students were send to Germany, Russia, Greece and Babylon to teach them the constructional secrets. The students returned with a diploma in theology, they had apparently studied the Gods. The study was thought to some British and Turkish chaps for a wealth of gold. And this gold again paid for massive construction projects all over the Commonwealth. In Ragusa horse archers were added to the Commonwealth forces after which the Ragusans started to build an aqueduct to anticipate on future population growth. In Vienna a marketplace was finished and the Viennese started to build a coliseum for entertainment purposes. Venice finished an archer-battalion and started to train a settler-party again. In Regensburg the people started to build walls to make their city a true Burg (fortress).
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Around 250 very dark-skinned were discovered by the Venezia I. First they had thought it were victims of a terrible fire, but it turned out they were born with such an in natural black skin. The captain of one of the squadrons went with them as ambassador to the Zulu, as the called themselves. More problematic was that just beyond Hercules’ Pillars two pirate squadrons had laid anchor, it seemed the pirate menace had not ended. The Secondo squadron di Venezia was sunk not much later, luckily Ragusa I escaped north to Britain.
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In 270 AD the war weary citizens of Lagos rebelled against their Portuguese overlords and requested Commonwealth-membership. A hefty discussion erupted in the Reichstag. Venice and Ragusa strongly opposed the membership of Lagos , as it would mean the inlanders would have a majority. Eventually a compromise was reached in which Lagos, renamed Geneva, was allowed in the commonwealth but with less representation, Venice and Ragusa gained some more to balance things again. Geneva was accepted into the commonwealth as the duchy of Burgundy. The thorn of Portugal was thus obtained, but the Reichstag had reasoned that without Lagos, Spain would be more of a match against Portugal. Portugal would be too busy with Spain to attack Austria. Some years later the Reichstag was in turmoil again. Germany demanded iron in tribute, not once but a lot of times. In a weird twist of fate the Reichstag saw this as a good thing. With a more powerful Germany France and Russia could be kept at bay. The Germans left without empty hands but with a troubled gaze. Why were all those Austrians so happy when they signed the treaty about paying Germany tribute?
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Twenty years later Ragusa finished its aqueduct and continued the shipbuilding activity. In Rome a massive lighthouse was build to guide the ships on their journey.
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By 330 Ragusa surpassed Venice as the second city of the empire. Vienna counted 470 000 souls, Ragusa 220 000 but Venice only 164 000. More important was the rise of a feudal system in the lands. With the growing autonomy and unpredictability the chancellor proposed a plan for an intelligence agency. The plan was approved with a 94% majority. Vienna used the foundation for its coliseum for the agency. The idea was sold to the Russians in exchange for a sum of 16 gold pieces for the coming centuries.
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Spain was shocked to hear that in Geneva, during a religious feast, the Spanish slaves, slaves they had sold themselves, were sacrificed to the gods. Yet Portugal still took most of their attention. Even though a letter was send to the Chancellor that Spain did not approve this action. The Reichstag replied, saying it was a one-time-only thing. The Spanish remained cautious.
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Twenty years later it seemed the Spanish were coming to take revenge. Two experienced swordsmen bands approached the Austro-Spanish border. Somewhat later pirates attacked Venezia I, but they were defeated. Also contacts were established with the Vikings from the cold north. The Vikings were numerous people, the same size as their Rus brethren, but they were not very advanced, lacking even the art of shipbuilding. In Ragusa the Secundo Squadrone di Ragusa was set a float and the Ragusans then proceeded with the training of horse archers. Meanwhile the war in Europe expanded with Russia dragging Rome into her conflict. As the Alpine passes were blocked by Austria, the Reichstag saw this as little more than a diplomatic move. A smart move for the Romans perhaps, but not a significant disturbance of the Balance of Powers. The Russians demanded 30 gold from Austria, abusing there temporal power. Austria humbly accepted.
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In 410 AD the ambassador in Sogut send a message stating Turkey had signed an alliance with a nation called Persia to fight another nation called India. For the moment the only thing Austria knew for certain was that both lay east and that Persia would be a major threat to the Balance of Powers if they could bribe an a nation as powerful as Turkey.
Domestically Austria converted to Christianity en masse, saying good bye to most aspects of the old Asa and hello to the one and only God. Vienna switched construction of the intelligence agency into a massive temple for Him, called the Hagia Sophia. Venice instead started to train armies for a holy war, a Crusade, for some yet undefined purpose…

In 410 AD Austria was with 6% of the world population, a million Austrians, the most populated region in totus mundi. Of those 90% were happy with the current state of affairs. Austria had the second economy and industry of the world, its citizens awkwardly enough owned the most cash per capita. Probably corruption was the cause for the number two position. Life-expectancy was high with 52 years, the best in the world. Poorly literacy-rates had dropped again to a mere 71%, still that was good for a #2 position.
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Spoiler :

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Chapter 7

Spoiler :

Chapter 7 : Clouds over Europe

​

The Doge of Venice watched the construction of the great Cathedral, the Hagia Sophia. The ground had been leveled to build a coliseum, but halfway through the city council of Vienna had decided that it should become an intelligence agency instead. Now those Viennese had changed their minds again, building a big church instead. The Doge didn’t remained there to watch, he had things to do, events to be set into motion. Christianity existed for almost four centuries by now, its followers growing ever larger in number. Now finally the Christians had gained a majority in the Reichstag, enabling to remove discriminating measures against the Christians. The old gods, the Asa, were now quickly losing ground to the Lord-savior. Soon the last symbols of those pagans could be removed from the landscape. They were blasphemy in the face of God. The Doge reached the sundrenched dome of the Reichstag. The porter allowed him entrance. The Doge noted the cross-symbol hanging visibly on his chest. He smiled faintly. A small victory. Now it’s time, he thought, to gain a major victory, removing the Asa priests from the seats of the Reichstag. He walked to his chair and seated himself. Suddenly his smile froze on his face as he felled a tiny prick. The world grew dark and the Doge went to his Lord prematurely. All witnesses claimed that he had fainted and that it was caused by a heart attack, or something like that…
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Just before the advent of the fifties, the fifties of the fifth century, a temple was finished in Geneva. A temple dedicated to the Trinity. In 450 Adrianos’ explorers met some Mongols. The first greeting was not that nice. The Mongols stated they would one day stand before the gates of Vienna. The explorers responded with a Yeahhh…. Right…. It turned out it was correct, only not in the way envisioned. Before the ending of the year a Mongol ambassador stood before Vienna’s gates, the Austrian ambassador in Karakorum had already arrived and had send a letter by pigeon. Also Ragusa II destroyed another pirate squadron trespassing the Mediterranean waters and the Spanish were winning the Iberian war with the destruction of Guimaraes. In the Diplomatic theatre the Franco-Turkish alliance was formed against Rome. The Romans, the Chancelor thought, should be very happy for Austrian neutrality protecting them.
From the far East wise men arrived with as gift to the Library the secret of fortification. And Regensburg trained a horse archer battalion, called the Regensburgers.

By 490 the Reichstag, worried about the disturbance of Powers in Iberia, approved an aid plan for Portugal. Portugal was given knowledge of much the Austrians knew. Everything except Christianity.
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Twenty years later Christianity was spread to France, Greece and Portugal. What flowed back was a wealth of gold, even from poor Portugal promises were made of a sum of more than 400 gold pieces to be send over the course of the years. Despite the fear of weakening Portugal greed was stronger. With that new-found wealth a library was finished in Geneva and a courthouse in Ragusa. More important news was the completion of the Church of Wisdom in Vienna. The joy of all in the Commonwealth increased as they knew Austria was best.
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By 530 Korea was contacted. An ambassador was swiftly send to Korean court. Korea, it was learned, lay on a peninsula sticking out into the Eastern Ocean. The distance between Vienna and the Korean capital of Seoul was approximately 23 000 kilometers, pigeons carrying post had to do a stop in Karakorum and Moscow to reach Vienna at all. In the Great Library Turkish scientists arrived with the concept of Chivalry. At first the Austrians thought the Turks wanted to say they were not chivalrous but it turned out they had it about a new way of fighting on horseback and with pikes. When tried out the Austrian generals, generals mostly from militaristic Ragusa, realized Horse archers were no match against those Knights.
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In 550 AD Babylon joined the coalition against the unknown nation of India. With the most powerful states of the middle-east against them the Indians were not thought to last long. In Geneva a granary was finished, allowing the wheat to be stored. The Land army was enlarged with the addition of the Second Ragusan Battalion, composed of Knights. They were soon nicknamed the Men of Steel.
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The situation in Europe was developing into a Continental War when in 570 Germany joined their former arch-enemy Russia in a coalition against the French Republic. Austria silently aided France with gift of the military technology of Chivalry. With that knowledge France could -hopefully- mount knights to counter the German-Russian horde. In Iberia all aid to Portugal only seemed to have worked as a delay. Oporto was destroyed by the Spanish army, an army that by know besieged the Portuguese capital. Austria silently made a deal that, when the city would fall Austrian diplomats would be granted free passage to Vienna.
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Twenty years later the Sultan of Rûm demanded that Austria would yield 37 gold pieces. Despite the relatively powerful army, compared to the southern European states, the Reichstag decided that war would cost more than the Turkish demands. In the contrary it would be a good price for some good will in Anatolia. Not much later four Russian swordsmen divisions entered the Duchy of Old Austria, claiming it’s the shortest route to Lyon and that they will take it. Discussion rose in the Reichstag, letting them through would mean a severe weakening of France, on the other hand, demanding their withdrawal could mean war with Russia. After careful considerations it was decided to ask the Russians the leave, or else… Russia lacked iron, had no chivalry and lay many hundreds of miles from Austria. And if they declared war they would be the aggressor, and Austria the noble defender and ally of a besieged France.
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In 630 AD Russia declared war, dragging Austria into the Great European War. To prevent Russia from dragging other nations into their conflict with Austria right of passage agreements were signed with all nations that the Rus knew of. The war-government gathered the forces of the Commonwealth at Vienna, leaving only small garrisons in the cities. Only Ragusa refused to send away a division of pikemen. Because of the way things were settled in Commonwealth organization, nothing could be done about that. Domestic affairs were the completion of a Courthouse in Geneva opened by the Chancelor in person and the recruiting of another knight division from Ragusa.
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By 650 French scientists made a gift to Austria. The secret of making crossbows. Quickly all archers in the Commonwealth army were reequipped and trained with the new weapon. Just before, in 670, the Russian army started to besiege Vienna. The Commonwealth forces prepared to enface the Russians. The Austrian army was composed of horse archers from Regenburg and Lombardy as well as two divisions of heavy Cavalry from Ragusa. The Russians brought in four divisions of swordsmen…

In 670 AD, at the dawn of the First European War, Austria was the leading nation in economy, industry, population and above all else, happiness. No living citizen of the Commonwealth could be found not approving the actions of the Reichstag. Life expectancy and literacy had decreased a bit. Studies showed reading made people live longer, but none believed. The Commonwealth military was composed of 19 divisions. Four divisions of engineers, three squadrons of galleys, five archer divisions to defend the major cities, one band of warriors in the East, two division of pikemen guarding the roads, two divisions of horse archers and two divisions of knights. All male Austrians served five years in the Military. Of a total of 1 328 000 there were 663 000 males. Each served for 5 years of his average 52 years. Austria’s land army counted 40 000 soldiers and the navy 10 000 sailors. Of those 40 000 soldiers 15 000 served as cavalry, another 20 000 served as garrison in the cities and the other 5000 were for other duties. Each division counted approximately 3000 men, but this number could differ per division and region.
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