INES I: Anno Domini

[Imago]

INES I: Anno Domini:

The Age of Empires

I was thinking about what kind of NES to start, when I realized something. What makes fresh start NESes tend to bite the dust is their slow beginnings. When das came up with ITNES I, and used his system to avoid a slow beginning, it became what is probably the most successful NES of all time. (At least in terms of people who still want a continuation.)

And so, I came up with a new idea. A fresh start/althistory. On an Earth map, I created a different set of new nations then there were in OTL, set them up in the traditional style of a NES, and then fast-forwarded them to the year 1 AD, the year at which the NES will begin.

My Moding Style

Spoiler :

This NES is designed, first and foremost, to be fun. What does this mean? This means that I will not let this NES die easily. This also means that updates will be regular, and thus, there will be deadlines. The deadlines will be somewhat loose, and placed somewhat earlier than I really need the orders, to give players a little added time. So, if you get your orders in five minutes after the deadline, or even ten, that won’t matter. However, I update offline, and so, when I start updating, there will be no way for extremely late order senders to get their orders to me. I will always include any orders I actually get before I start updating, and will post to announce that I am beginning an update. However, if a player misses that second deadline, I have no way of including their orders. No PC nation will be explicitly penalized for having their player miss orders, and that PC nation will still use its eco points, and continue any wars it was already in. However, it won’t do anything exciting, without a player to guide it. So I highly recommend sending in orders early.

On a different topic, I encourage newbies to join. (Yes, this means you!) The rules for this NES are simple, and a player doesn’t have to write pages and pages of orders and stories to succeed. (Though doing so might help. ) Just post to say you’re interested, and I’ll help you learn how to participate.

One last thing-my thoughts on spam. The NESing forum has traditionally been light on moderator patrols, and I honestly don’t really care if people feel the need to use a few posts here or there to talk about something OT. However, recently, this forum has begun to be frequented by moderators more often than before, and I don’t want people to get needlessly banned. So, keep the spam down.

Thanks for reading. Now, move on to the rest of this thread, and start posting!

 

[Imago]

Alhistory: Anno Domini

Spoiler :

To 1000 BC

In this world, civilization started not in the Fertile Crescent, but in the Levant, which, in this world, is slightly different than OTL. Here, the Levant stretches from the Nile, up and around the far east Mediterranean coast, through Anatolia, and into Greece.

In the Levant, the first rise of nations began. In around 4000 BC, from Heliopolis, the nation of Lower Egypt became the first nation that could be actually called such. Its capital quickly moved to Memphis, but Heliopolis remained the larger and richer of the two cities. Lower Egypt grew for a pair of millennia, under a succession of dynasties, but eventually, the Upper Egyptians grew envious of their more civilized northern brethren, and successfully invaded. By 2000 BC, all of Egypt was united under one banner. (To the very south, there was the nation of Nubia, but, while heavily influenced by Egypt, it wasn’t really considered Egyptian.)

The new, militaristic Egypt invaded north a century later, where the kingdom of Israel was struggling to set itself up in a land beset by barbarians. Egypt conquered Israel, and forced its people, with their curious monotheistic religion, to become slaves along the Nile. The forced Diaspora, however, did not last long. Under a man named Moses, the Hebrews broke free from Egypt, and reestablished their nation two centuries after their exile.

Meanwhile, further north, the Phoenicians were a bit more settled. They waxed as an early great power, setting up colonies as far away as Carthage. However, around the time the Hebrews reestablished themselves as a nation, the Phoenicians underwent a recession, of sorts, and Carthage became independent, though it retained the Punic polytheistic religion.

On the Aegean coast of Asia Minor, there was a slightly more successful empire, though the result was ultimately the same. While Greece developed the minor nations of Athens, Minoa, and Sparta, along with a host of minor city states, the far side of the Aegean unified under the banner of Troy, a nation of exile Greeks. By 1500 BC, Troy ruled from the city of Byzantium in the north to the Mediterranean coast in the south. They colonized such far off lands as Italia, and founded the city of Rome.

However, the Trojan power united the Greek city states in a temporary alliance to end the threat. This culminated in the much-fabled siege of Troy, which was a disaster for the Greeks. After being soundly defeated, they built a great wooden horse, and left it at the Trojan gates as a tribute in their honor, before fleeing home. (There was a half-baked plan to hide Greek soldiers inside, but that was never realized.)

And so, the Trojans won the Aegean War. However, to the victor do not always go the spoils. The war damaged the Trojan hegemony just enough that the lands of Byzantium, to the north, and Lydia, to the south, were able to declare their independence.

Further away, Rome, under the guidance of Romulus and Remus broke away from Troy. The former killed his brother to consolidate his gains, and became the first king. Rome then developed an offshoot of Greek Polytheism.

In the west, the Fertile Crescent might have been stifled, but it was far from empty. Babylon and Ur rose to power, and beside them, Persia did the same.

In India, the Harappan civilization rose and broke apart, forming two primary nations on the Indus. There was Harappa, to the north, and Mohenjo-Daro, to the south.

China was a little more interesting. It first came together under the Xia. Along the Yellow and the Yangtze rivers, the Xia formed an empire, immense beyond measure by the standards of the west. The Shang eventually seized control, and then, after them, the Zhou did.

Perhaps in 1100 BC, it seemed that it was time for the Zhou to fall, and the next dynasty to take their place. But the Zhou did not go quietly when civil war engulfed their land. Indeed, they did not go at all. China entered what became known as the Warring States period, as the Zhou, ever so slowly, lost their empire.

By 1000 BC, all that remained of the Zhou Empire was some territory by their capital. The rest of their former lands were filled with, well, Warring States. Besides the Zhou, the two most prominent and civilized of the nation states were the Chu, to the south, and the Wu, on the eastern coast.

Such was the world in 1000 BC. But, as there is another millennia to cover, let us continue. China will be discussed now, until the completion of its history, as the Middle Kingdom remains isolated from the events of the rest of the world.

 

[Imago]

Spoiler :

China 1000 BC - 1 AD

As China entered its next century, the rulers of Wu and Chu began a flurry of expansionism, each trying to restore a dynasty over all of China. Chu expanded north without many problems, but as the Wu headed south, the Yue lands they were trying to conquer united against them. The Wu eventually defeated and annexed the lands of their enemies, but Chu conquests were much easier. Later than its two rivals, the Zhou began to expand again, expand down the Yellow River. They reached the sea, but the Lu nations, now feeling threatened, created their own major state. There were now four contenders for control of China.

(A brief note-It was during the century of the 900s BC that the nation of Cambodia arose in southeast Asia. But, as they did little else of note, they shall now be ignored for the remainder of the althist.)

For the 800s BC, it seemed the Zhou had gotten a second wind. While Chu and Wu incorporated their gains into their respective nations, the Zhou conquered the Lu. As another century went by, now the 700s, there were beginning to be very distinct differences in the three major Chinese nations. The Wu began focusing on mercantilism, and their colonies in Taiwan and Cheju-do, even as the Chu joined the Minyue to their nation through marriage alliances, and the Zhou underwent yet another semi-collapse, and civil war. Even as the Yan made a nation for themselves in the far north of China, the Wu became the primary of Chinese nations.

In 704 BC, barbarians changed the picture of China, and, in their way, swept away the growing Wu Empire. The barbarians did not do this directly, of course. They actually invaded war-torn Zhou. The Zhou, through a succession of intelligent leaders, were able to then unify their nation against this outside threat, and rise in strength again. The barbarians were defeated in two centuries of on again-off again war, which ended with large Zhou gains to the north.

Meanwhile, the Chu grew a little, and the Nan rose to power in the far south. The state of things by 500 BC was not one of a Wu unified China, but a very separate Middle Kingdom, under the same major three powers, each with their own distinct culture. The Nan and the Yan, the lesser states, even grew a little of their own. There was a supposed Wu Emperor of all China in Shanghai, but the truth of the matter was, the Wu were waning. The Chu created a colony of their own in Ryukyu, and the Zhou were still growing north, growing around the Yan state, and slowly culturally annexing it.

The uneasy peace of the three giants of China, the Zhou, the Chu, and the Wu, was broken in 360 BC, beginning the Two Centuries of Bloodshed, as they came to be called. The beginnings of the war were quite unclear, in many respects, but it all started when Zhou forces occupied the Yan state, and placed it under their control. The Yan cared little, about this new state of affairs, as their nation had been increasingly tied to the Zhou throne, and this just finalized it.

However, the Wu used the Zhou annexation of Yan as a reason to declare war. It was a rather unexpected move, but, only weeks later, the Chu declared a separate war on the Zhou.

But the Zhou forces, with no need to dedicate massive numbers of troops to Yan, as the people there were simply not resisting, met the Wu and Chu invaders full force. The first ten years of the war were filled with blood. Zhou minimized its losses to Wu, while concentrating most of its effort on the Chu. The Zhou convinced the Nan government to declare war on the Chu, as well.

For a few years, it seemed as if the Zhou were going to win the war quickly. But then, they overextended themselves. The Zhou lost several major battles to Wu relief forces, which fought them in Chu lands, catching the Zhou off guard. The Wu took over a vast tract of Chu territory, but then, when the Chu asked for it back, the Wu refused.

At this point, in the year 350 BC, all three of the major Chinese nations were at war with one another.

After the eventful first ten years, things lapsed into slowness. For the three nations, plus the Nan, war simply became the natural state of things. Finally, the Chu had crushed the Nan, and put a puppet leader on the throne by 278 BC, and, with a massive thrust, in 257, occupied the Zhou capital of Lantian, capturing much of the Zhou nobility.

A few years latter, the Wu invaded the Chu in earnest, horrified that the Chu might be on the verge of wining the war, but that was the beginning of the end for not the Chu, but the Wu.

With the Zhou capital in hand, in 249, the Chu were finally able to make peace with the aforementioned nation, in exchange for completely withdrawing from Zhou borders. The Chu and the Zhou then were able to focus all their combined manpower on the Wu. By 204, the Wu were fighting for their preservation.

And then, in 199 BC, it was over. Shanghai surrendered, and the victors allowed the Wu Emperor to retreat to Taiwan, and set up a new capital on that colony turned metrapole. Aside from Taiwan, all other Wu territories were partitioned between Zhou and Chu.

The Two Centuries of Bloodshed were over, and peace began. The small nation of Liang was founded to the west of Zhou, and the Nan gradually stopped being a puppet nation of the Chu.

But, more importantly, ideologies were solidified for the times to come. Zhou and Chu were the Empires of China, every peasant knew that. As a sign of peace, there was no posturing by one or another that they were superior, for indeed, in almost all areas, Zhou China and Chu China were evenly matched. Every year, in Chu Shanghai, the Emperors of the two Chinas met before an empty throne, and spoke of what cooperation they could have for the future.

For the next two centuries, up until 1 AD, the great nations of Zhou and Chu, along with the lesser Chinese nations of Liang, Nan, and Wu Taiwan, all coexisted peacefully. But who knows what will come?

India 1000 BC - 1 AD

And now, to India. As like China, that land’s history for the last millennium that was remarkably self contained.

In 1000 BC, in India the only real civilized nations were Harappa, and Mohenjo-Daro. That changed. Over the next half century, as Mohenjo-Daro underwent quiet expansion, the nation of Lothal rose to their south. And, to the far east of India, the nation of Bengal rose. Lothal was subjugated by the growing Mohenjo-Daro by 817 BC, and that set the trend of Mohenjo-Daro slowly but surely conquering other lands.

Though wracked by almost constant civil wars and rebellions, the history of Mohenjo-Daro is, more or less, the history of India itself. In 672 BC, it even reached beyond the borders of India, and set up a small colony in Arabia.

But enough of that. When Persian and Hebrew sailors encountered the land of India, they found a Mohenjo-Daro hegemony. How did that come to be? Sadly, the answer is boring. Mohenjo-Daro merely continued a slow trend of conquering northern India, and continued that trend for a very, very long time. Indeed, the most interesting part of the history in India so far, is the Three Princes’ War, started in 51 BC, that continues in India to this day. It is a last struggle between the powers of Bengal and Harappa, against complete Mohenjo-Daro subjugation of the sub continent.

Returning to the Med, Levant, and Fertile Crescent, we have the heart of the story. Let us pick up again the story here from 1000 BC, where we last left off. For these areas, their history is too entwined to be easily separated. However, I shall try.

Fertile Crescent 1000 BC - 1 AD

In this world, the civilized nations of the Fertile Crescent, Babylon and Ur, were concentrated to the east, so much so that Persia formed the third of the trio, even though it was not on the Tigris or the Euphrates.

The two city states of Babylon and Ur did not live in peace for all that long. In 917 BC, the Urrian War began between the two counties. After two decades of fighting, the former occupied and annexed the latter.

Despite a resistance movement funded by Persia, which had grown rich off of its Arabian colonies, Babylon ruled Ur unchallenged, until 754 BC.

That year sparked the first of many Persian-Babylonian Wars. Instantly, Ur was up in revolt again, even as the better trained Babylonian forces consistently defeated the Persians, and stifled revolt after revolt.

Finally, as the newly formed Persian influenced nation of the Medes looked on from the north, in 645 BC, accords were signed that gave Ur it independence once more, and gave a great deal of Persian territory to the Babylonians.

Peace had come to the region, but tensions still flared. In the west of the Fertile Crescent, the Assyrians had finally united into a stable nation, and conquered much of the Fertile Crescent, until their nation bordered Babylon. To add to Babylonian problems, the Persian regions of their nation refused to be assimilated, and continued to practice Zoroastrianism, and look to the ever richer from trade Persian nationals as their cultural brethren.

In the north, the Mede nation stifled under a series of poor leaders, and while its territory continued to grow, its rulers allied themselves with Babylon, while its people supported the Persians. Revolts and barbarian invasions did not help the nation’s stability.

And so, when a war started in 407 BC, and quickly engulfed the region, few were surprised. The Great War, as it was called, started when Assyrian forces, eager to complete their dominance over the Fertile Crescent, invaded Babylon. Instantly, the Persians in Babylon saw their chance to reunite with the motherland, and took up arms.

Persia, by now a very mercantile state, rather focused on trade with far off India, had not intended to get involved in the war, but when the pro-Persian revolts began, they saw little choice. In response to the Persian declaration of war against Babylon, the Median government declared war on Persia in turn. Ur, too, by now heavily influenced by Babylon, turned against Persia.

And so, every organized nation bordering Persia was arrayed against it. Desperate not to suffer a humiliating loss again, the merchant council which ruled Persia reinstated a monarchy, and placed their best general on the throne.

And so the Persian invasions began. From 360 BC, to 290, the Great War raged. Persia, letting Babylon and Assyria fight it out, after quickly occupying the pro-Persian part of Babylon, focused the Medes, and then Ur.

The Mede nation could not stand against a concentrated Persian assault, and while the north descended into anarchy, the Persians occupied the south, after routing Median armies. The Persians then turned to the south.

In lieu of concentrated Persian resistance, Ur had over run much of the Persian Arabian colonies, but were slow enough that when the Persian armies arrived, they still had a friendly beachhead.

Ur versus Persia was not much of a fight. Urrian armies were pushed back, and Ur itself was put under Persian occupation.

Meanwhile, Babylon fought Assyria. Despite being caught off guard when the war began, Babylon mobilized quickly enough, and inflicted massive casualties on the slowly advancing Assyrians. However, the advance could not be halted, and Babylon fell.

At 290 BC, the Assyrian and Persian leaders met to decide on a plan for the Middle East. Former Media was to be annexed into Persia, and former Babylon was to be partitioned between Persia and Assyria. However, the Assyrians muscled Persia into allowing Ur to be an independent city state, albeit much of its territory annexed into Persia. The primary reason for this was to give Assyria a river corridor into the Persia Gulf, but that plan rather failed, as commerce in the gulf was so dominated by Persia that Assyrians found they had no purpose there.

After the Great War, there was peace, mostly because Persia and Assyria turned away from each other. Persia concentrated on forging links with distant India, eventually making a land border with Mohenjo-Daro, while Assyria turned to the Levant, eventually taking a small piece of Hittite land, and creating a sea border for that nation with the Mediterranean.

That takes the Middle East up to 1 AD.

 

[Imago]

Spoiler :

Mediterranean 1000 BC - 1 AD

The west, interestingly, the lands of the former colonies of Rome and Carthage, became, soon after the year 1000 BC, colonizing powers themselves. Carthage expanded onto Sicily, and generally grew its land holdings during the beginning of the last century BC. Rome followed a similar pattern, though not as quickly. The Romans were less mercantile and rich than the Carthaginians, and thus had less of a base to send forth colonists from. Rome did expand, rapidly, riding of itself of the former city-state monarchy, and establishing a republic in the mold of Athens. However, their conquests did alarm the northern Etruscan tribes enough to band together and form a nation, hindering Roman expansion.

As the powers of Rome and Carthage were taking their baby steps to Empire, the Levant was moving in a rather similar direction. As Egypt blazed a path through the desert, and established the port of Quseir against the Red Sea, to the south of Nubia, the peoples of Cush banded together and formed yet another nation in the mold of Egypt, complete with Pharaoh.

To the north, as Sparta, for some reason, oddly began to colonize Albania, and succeed surprisingly well, Minoa was taking a more traditional route to empire. Based of Crete, and as such, without a land border to worry about, Minoan trade boomed, as vast fleets were built for the express purpose of blazing new trade routes. The Minoans annexed strategic Aegean islands, conquered Malta, and clashed with the slowly-reviving Phoenicians over control of Cyprus.

In the 920s BC, two major things happened. First, the Hittites of central Anatolia formed a centralized government, under a king, and worshiping their distinct form of polytheism. Second, Israel began a massive expansion south, taking over the lands of desert tribes, and founding Mecca. But still, during his whole time period, the Mediterranean remained relatively peaceful.

That all changed, during the First Minoan War. Minoa invaded Phoenicia, ending the rivalry once and for all, and occupied the lands of that nation. It was a stunning victory that placed Minoan hegemony over the whole Mediterranean for a surprisingly long time to come. After the success in the war, the Minoan dependant state of Marssailia was set up in the western part of the great sea, to secure Minoan dominance.

About the same time this was happening, a second, unrelated war broke out amongst Troy and its breakaway states of Lydia and Byzantium. Troy invaded Lydia to try to restore a piece of its lost empire, and, in response, the stronger Byzantium invaded Troy in turn.

To combined pressure, Troy fell once and for all, the capital being conquered by Byzantium, but the war was not over. The Byzantines dreamed of reuniting all of old Troy under their banner, and so, their armies pressed on into Lydia.

Lydia was a rather harder nut to crack than the allying Troy had been, and war stalled. In the end, it was the growing Hittite power that stopped the war, as the Hittites used Byzantine fear of their hordes to force a withdrawal from Lydia. This was not out of charity of course, for after the war, Lydia became a Hittite puppet, but nevertheless, southern Byzantine expansion was checked. The Byzantines then turned northward, annexing Romanian tribes, colonizing the Bosporan, and generally exerting dominance over the whole of the Black Sea, but that problem did not fall on the Hittites for some time to come.

Years past, seeing a variety of minor conflicts. The growing power of Rome to the west finally invaded the Etruscan nation, and soundly defeated it, forcing a great deal of Etruscans to flee northward, to their brethren. The Minoans continued to grow, and, as they did so, their nation learned a variety of diplomatic tricks. The Minoans first colonized Sardinia, turned it over to the Carthaginians for a large sum, but then evacuated all their settlers to Corsica, making the Carthaginians retake the island from the natives. The Carthaginians never really forgave the Minoans for that, and the single event became the basis for Carthaginian and Minoan mutual hatred, that lasted for a long time to come, and ended in the destruction of both nations. But I am getting ahead of myself.

To the south, a Hebrew-Egyptian rivalry began to bloom. To combat the presence of Nubia and Cush, Israel helped Ethiopian natives found the Jewish nation of Axum, which, as the years progressed, became ever increasingly tied to Israel.

But now, for the Greek War. This began in 807 BC, but had been a long time in the making. In the years preceding, the republic of Athens, and the slave despotism of Sparta had slowly but surely been taking over the whole of mainland Greece. And the two nations, because of vast ideological differences, hated each other. War was inevitable.

The militant Spartans attacked first, striking east in a successful campaign from Albania, and using their small colony on the smaller toe of Italy as a base for ships. However, the Spartan drive to Athens, which was supposed to end the war quickly, was stalled at Thebes.

And with the failure to take Athens quickly, the Spartans were forced to consider the possibility of the vastly superior Athenian navy turning the tide of the war. That happened. Even as the Albanian Spartans continued to be successful in the field, the Greek navy took the Italian Spartan colony, cutting off the flow of supplies from the homeland.

The Athenians might well have been presented with a Spartan surrender then and there, had not an event happened that convinced the Spartans to change their minds.

Minoa entered the war. It had grown colonies on the larger toe of Italy, the tip of south west Anatolia, and in African lands due south of Malta. The Minoans had an empire, but they wanted more. They declared war in support of Sparta on a technicality, hoping to gain all of war torn Greece for themselves. They quickly conquered the Athenian islands of the Aegean, and the northern coastline, but the Athenian fleet eluded them, as it was based in the Ionian, harassing Sparta. Indeed, this harassment was so effective that even beset by the Minoans, Athens was able to take Albania, and isolate a large Spartan force to the north.

And then, it seemed, Athens seemed capable of taking on two enemies. Its fleets seized Minoan Italy, and penetrated the exhausted Spartan defensive lines. The Athenians seized Sparta, and incited general chaos by declaring that all slaves were given their freedom. Shortly thereafter, most important Spartans ended up dead one way or another, and the ones that remained sided more with the Athenians than the Minoans, who they considered to be foreign invaders. Only a tiny resistance lingered on to the south.

However, there was one problem. The city of Athens fell to the Minoans. This was a huge blow to morale, as the Athenians had considered their capital to be more or less impregnable.

The tide of war had turned in favor of the Minoans. Their armies in north Greece headed south, inciting Spartan revolts in Albania, even as a decisive encounter with the Athenian fleet continued to allude them. When the battle finally came, though, it was a decisive Minoan victory. Without their navy, Athens was crushed.

A peace treaty came to be signed. All of northern Greece was to be handed over to the Minoans, along with Albania. To the south, a much-shrunken Athens was to survive, along with a reinstated Sparta. The main problem in this, however, was that while the Albanian Spartans were quite strong, by now the Spartans in Sparta proper were hardly Spartans at all, and were mostly pro-Athenian ex-slaves.

This became a problem later, for Minoa. But now, let us turn to the south, to the conflict between Egypt and Israel. As the Greek war was winding down to its final stages, the Hebrew-Egyptian border skirmishes failed to do the same.

It was in the year 607 BC that war began. The Hebrew king made a long speech about making the proud Egyptians suffer for what they did to the Hebrews so many centuries ago, and thus, war began. Israel and Axum declared war on Egypt. Cush, flocking to its ally’s defense, declared war on Israel and Axum in turn. However, Nubia, the other Egyptian influenced state on the Nile, sided with the Jewish alliance. While Nubia was culturally Egyptian, its leaders decided that Nubia, by siding with the Hebrews, would have a chance to gain both land and glory, and end its backwater status, for it, of the three Nile states, was the weakest.

And so, Hebrew troops marched into Egypt. Attacking via the Red Sea, the entire Egyptian east cost was occupied in short order, and easily too, as many of the Egyptians who lived in the east were of the Jewish faith, and welcomed the occupiers. Nubia attacked Egypt from the south, and made limited gains, and even further south Axum invaded Cush, and made gains as well. The beginning of the war was quite good for the Hebrew alliance. But then, the tides began to change.

Even as Hebrew forces continued to make gains in Egypt’s north, the Egyptian armies swept through Nubia, and easily defeated the Pharaoh there, with the help of a great many Nubian resistors to the regime. Further south, Axum, loosing momentum, was forced to break away from its siege of Meroe, unsuccessful. Axum, losing its momentum, was forced to retreat against the rather stronger Cuhorsehockyes, who invaded their enemies, and took some Axum territory.

And thus the war dragged on. The Hebrews took Memphis, and sacked it, but the Egyptians retook the city. However, when Thebes fell to Hebrew forces, and the Pharaoh was captured, Egypt was forced to surrender, even though its ally Cush, to the south, was winning in the war against Axum.

The peace treaty imposed by the Hebrews had quite harsh terms. The Red Sea coast of Egypt, along with the lands of Cyrenaica, were annexed by Israel. Nubia was recognized as a dead country, but the remaining lands of Egypt, (including Nubia), were partitioned into the separate countries of Upper and Lower Egypt. The last Pharaoh of the combined Egypts was given the throne of Upper Egypt, in Thebes, and a new Pharaoh was placed on the throne of Lower Egypt, in a rebuilt Memphis. To the south, however, the Hebrews quietly forced their ally of Axum to hand over its Cush occupied lands to Cush, citing that those lands were populated by Egyptians Polytheists anyway, not Jews.

Surprisingly, in the years that followed, the Hebrews made little effort to make the Egyptian states into puppets, and so they developed reasonably without interference. Instead, Israel began the slow process of building the Suez Canal, a work that was not completed until 78 BC, and cost many lives to dig and construct.

However, other nations were not so exhausted by war. Indeed, the rest of the Mediterranean wanted another massive conflict, to decide their own matters once and for all.

It all began in 349 BC, when Sparta and Athens united into one nation, Greece, with the capital at Athens. The Minoans were quite troubled by this. To add to tensions, Rome had recently taken part in a variety of minor wars against Carthage’s allies, first destroying the Etruscan remnants at Venice, and then invading Massila, and took the capital, forcing that nation to rebase at Barcelona.

Thusly, the whole area was ready for a great war. Carthage, not seeing much of an option after Rome destroyed their allies, declared war on Rome, and in response, Minoa declared war on Carthage.

And so, in 301 BC, what became known afterwards as the War of Endings began. From their African possessions, Minoa invaded west, and took Sicily. The combined pressures of Rome and Minoa might well have been too much for Carthage, early on, but taking advantage of Minoan distraction, a variety of rebellions commenced.

Phoenicia declared its independence, and Greece invaded the Minoan parts of their land, even as the Spartan Albanians revolted, the newly formed Macedonians sent their armies south, and Byzantium sent in soldiers, for good measure.

And so, as Carthage fell apart in the west, Minoa fell apart in the east.

The war ended with Crete itself being occupied by the Greeks, Macedon and Byzantium gaining lands, Phoenicia gaining its independence, Malta being handed over to Greece, and Rome gaining all of Carthage’s island territories, along with Minoa’s African territories, and a little Carthaginian mainland.

All that was left of Minoa was an independent Minoan-majority Cyprus, and Carthage did not outlive Minoa by long. The mercantile republic was overthrown, and a despotism took its place, the despotism of Algeria. Algiers became the new capital.

Only one more major conflict happened before 1 AD. Byzantium, just after the end of the War of Endings, conquered the ailing Hatti with ease.

As 1 AD came around, Rome was the strongest nation in the known world, and so, the Senate proclaimed the start of a new calendar, praising Jupiter as the lord, which, because of the flow of merchants, was easily accepted.

The age of Anno Domini had begun.

 

[Imago]

INES I: Rules

Part I: Countries

Economy

Each turn a country may spend one eco point for each economic center they control on the map. Economic centers are cities shown as red circles. Cities with red and white mixed circles are both economic centers and capitals. Economic centers can rise and fall based on various factors, such as war or a sudden increase or decrease of trade in an area.

Eco points can also be gained as spoils of war, or traded from one country to another, (in a transaction such as the sale of territory) but these are non-renewable.

Economy is expressed in your nation stats in the following way:

Economy: X (Y)

X (Income) stands for your turnly income, on a one to one ratio with your number of economic centers.
Y (Bank) stands for your non renewable eco points. Once you spend a point here, it is gone.

EXAMPLE-

Rome has an economy stat of 2 (3). Its player spends four eco points. Next turn (barring any change of eco centers) Rome’s economy stat will be 2 (1).

END EXAMPLE

You can never spend more eco points than your stats will allow. You can bank eco points in your orders by moving excess X to Y, though I’m not sure why you would want to do that. Also, even if a country has no eco centers and its eco stat is 0 (0), it still has one eco point to spend each turn. Even the most screwed up country in the world can make something.

Eco points are there to be spent on most of the following things in the rules. So see below. (NOTE: If you want to spend eco on something that is not in the rules, you can.)

Education

Education is expressed in your nation stats in the following way:

Education: X, <NAME OF AGE YOUR NATION IS IN>

X stand for a number 1 through 10, which represents your nation&#8217;s level of education.

The following are the ages of technological achievement:

Bronze Age
Iron Age
Middle Age
Renaissance Age
Imperial Age
Industrial Age
Modern Age
Information Age

The lower an Age is on the list, the more advanced it is. Nations in more advanced ages have advantages in war and in development. All new nations start in the Bronze Age.

The Education X stat is how you advance in Age. All nations start out with an education level of 2. To increase your education level, use an eco point for this purpose to increase your education level by 1. You can only use up to 2 eco points a turn for this purpose.

EXAMPLE-

Babylon spends 2 eco points to increase its education level from 2 to 4. Babylon would have liked to spend 3 eco points to increase its education level from 2 to 5, but is prevented by the rules from doing so.

END EXAMPLE

How to Advance in Age

There are three ways to advance in Age, listed below. Note that these are only ways to advance from one Age to the one immediately following it. You can&#8217;t jump from the Iron Age to the Information Age in one upgrade, even if there are other countries in the world in the Information Age.

1-Breakthrough) If your education level ever reaches 10, your nation reaches the next age, and your education level drops to 3. This is the only way to reach a new age first.

2-Osmosis) If your education level is 7 or higher, and a nation close to yours has reached the next age, after a couple turns or so, you will reach the next age, and your education level will drop to 2.

3-Trade) If your education level is 5 or higher another nation you have contact with may teach you the secrets of the next age in exchange for something, or nothing at all. If your nation accepts, you will reach the next age, and your education level will drop to 1.

Military

Military is expressed in your nation stats in the following way:

Army: <Number of Troops>
Navy: <Number of Ships>
Air Force: <Number of Planes> (Number of Nukes)

One eco point buys 5 000 troops OR 10 ships OR 10 planes OR 1 nuclear weapon.

Important!-Planes cannot be bought until your nation reaches the Modern Age. The Air Force stat will not appear until then.

Important!-Nukes cannot be bought until your nation reaches the Modern Age AND has completed a project to learn the secrets of nuclear weapons OR has been sold the secrets of nuclear weapons. If a nation can build nukes, the dreaded (0) will appear after the nation&#8217;s number of planes.

Unique Units

A nation may have any number of UUs. Describe them, and they will be added as a seperate notation to your troops line. If they are more powerful than the average soldier, I reserve the right to make them more expensive than 5 000 per eco.

Skirmishers

Because of story bonuses, or a surge of national patriotism, untrained skirmishers may be added to your stats. Their training level is counted as two levels lower than mainstream troops.

Conscripts

Nations in dire need of more manpower can conscript to swell their army ranks. However, conscript training levels are counted as two levels lower than mainstream troops, and conscription may damage a nation's confidence.

Minor Stats

All of the following stats are expressed in your nation stats in the following way:

<Name of stat>: X

X is a number 1 through 10. Higher numbers are better.

All new nations have a 2 in every minor stat, and all of these stats can be raised by one for each eco point spent. As with education, you can raise a minor stat by no more than 2 points per turn.

Culture

Your nation&#8217;s culture is how influential your nation&#8217;s way of life is. Nations with high culture are more respected by the people of surrounding nations, and will get more levy soldiers if fighting a defensive war. Nations with low culture will have citizens who will care less if conquered by another country.

Confidence

Your nation&#8217;s confidence is how much the people like their government. Nations with high confidence are less likely to riot if you do evil things, are less likely to have portions of the nation rebel. Nations with low confidence will insist on their leaders following the people&#8217;s voice more, even if following the people&#8217;s voice will ruin the country. Also, there could be riots, or even rebellions.

Leadership

Your nation&#8217;s leadership is how competent your ruler&#8217;s ministers, generals, and the like are. If your nation has high leadership, your plans will be carried out better. If your nation has low leadership, there could be accidental intelligence leaks.

Army Training and Navy Training

Note-This stat is actually two stats in the same line, represented as the Army Training number, the word &#8216;and,&#8217; and the Navy Training number. Each stat is raised independently of the other.

Your nation&#8217;s army and naval training represents how good your soldiers and sailors are. If your nation has better military training than other nations, that can help cancel out Age bonuses, or bad odds.

Great Projects

Send in your orders what you want it to be called, and what you want it to do, and I&#8217;ll tell you how many turns it will take. Developing the technology for nuclear weapons requires a Great Project.

Each turn you are working on a Great Project you must put in your orders to spend 1 eco point on it, or no work is done on the Great Project that turn.

EXAMPLE-

Egypt wants to build the Great Pyramid, which, when completed, will increase its Culture by 2, as well as generally make the people of the Nile River more loyal to their government. I say this project will take 4 turns to build.

END EXAMPLE

The most important thing to remember about wonders is that they can been made to help your country in ways not expressed in stats. Wonders can always just increase stats, but using them in that fashion is not getting the most out of them.

Part II: Other

Choosing a Country

You may start a new country anywhere you like, as long as it isn&#8217;t in a completely ridiculous place, such as Antarctica. However, at first, do try to stick to the more inhabited regions of the world. A new player can also choose to become an NPC, an organization of some sort, or a rebellion.

NPCs

Countries I play, so you all won&#8217;t get so lonely.

Stories

If you write stories about something relating to the game, you will get boosts to your stats.

Orders

PM me or post on thread what you want to do with your eco points each turn, and what tactics you wish to employ, in as much detail as you like. They can be much longer or much shorter than the example below.

EXAMPLE ORDERS FOR ENGLAND-

England&#8217;s Orders

With my 3 income points, along with one banked point, increase my army by 15 000, and increase navy training by 1. Now that I have an army of 35 000, use 30 000 of my soldiers to invade Wales, slaughtering any who resist. Leave the remaining five thousand in England, to defend my homeland.

END EXAMPLE

New Nation Template

Nation: <You fill in>
Player: <You fill in>
Capital: <You fill in>
Economy: 0 (0)
Education: 2, Bronze Age
Army: 5 000
Navy: 10 (unless landlocked)
Culture: 2
Confidence: 2
Leadership: 2
Army and Navy Training: 2 and 2
Great Projects: None
Background: <You fill in now, I might edit later. Will eventually include current government and religion of the nation.>

Part 3: How I Will Run the Game

Timing

Orders will be due 20:00 GMT, every Friday. This means updates will be weekly, in case you didn&#8217;t get that. Updates will be posted sometime before or during weekend, hopefully sooner, rather than later. (20:00 GMT is 8:00 PM GMT, 3:00 PM EST, and 12:00 PM PST)

Turns

Turns will be twenty years each as of now, but in the future, that may change.

 

[Imago]

PC Stats

Nation: Wessex
Player: The Farow
Capital: London
Economy: 1 (0)
Education: 2, Bronze Age
Army: 2 000
Navy: 10
Culture: 2
Confidence: 2
Leadership: 2
Army and Navy Training: 2 and 2
Great Projects: The Ports of Wessex (+2 Cities) 1/2
Background: Tribal Council. Animism. An Ango-Saxon nation to the north of the Celts.

Nation: Celtic Empire
Player: Perfectionist
Capital: Meidolanum
Economy: 5 (0)
Education: 6, Iron Age
Army: 1 000, 13 000 Warriors of Taranis, 2 000 Skirmishers
Navy: 4
Culture: 8
Confidence: 4
Leadership: 6
Army and Navy Training: 1 and 2
Great Projects: The Royal Academies (+2 Leadership, +2 Education, +2 Culture, SECRET) Done!
Background: Monarchy. Animism. Gaul is a barely civilized nation that thrives on the conquest of weak barbarian tribes.

Nation: Madria
Player: Luckymoose
Capital: Madrid
Economy: 1 (0)
Education: 2, Iron Age
Army: 11 000
Navy: 0
Culture: 2
Confidence: 2
Leadership: 2
Army and Navy Training: 2 and 2
Great Projects: None
Background: Monarchy. Roman Polytheism. Formed by a group of Roman Legionaries that did not wish to die for their doomed cause, Madria has conquered the tribes in central Iberia, assimilated them into a strange mixed culture, and now seeks more expansion.

Nation: Stockholm
Player: BEHIND_THE_MASK
Capital: Stockholm
Economy: 1 (0)
Education: 3, Bronze Age
Army: 5 000, 4 000 Norse Raiders
Navy: 20
Culture: 2
Confidence: 2
Leadership: 2
Army and Navy Training: 3 and 2
Great Projects: None
Background: Monarchy. Norse Polytheism. The Vikings are fearsome warriors who are know for daring raids along the coasts. They are also great farmers.

Nation: Byzantium
Player: LittleBoots
Capital: Constantinopolis
Economy: 9 (0)
Education: 6, Iron Age
Army: 37 000 Myrmidons, 2 000 Marines
Navy: 48
Culture: 4
Confidence: 4
Leadership: 8
Army and Navy Training: 7 and 6
Great Projects: None
Background: Monarchy. West: Greek Polytheism. East: Hittite Polytheism. Byzantium has grown from its roots as a Trojan colony, taking over first its old colonial masters, and then, Hatti.

Nation: Bachiria
Player: das
Capital: Medina
Economy: 2 (0)
Education: 3, Iron Age
Army: 2 000, 20 000 Kanaim
Navy: 5
Culture: 9
Confidence: 4
Leadership: 4
Army and Navy Training: 4 and 2
Great Projects: None
Background: Monarchy. Judaism. Founded by King Yehuda, Bachiria is home to a revivalist Hebrew culture.

Nation: Aegypt
Player: Kal&#8217;thzar
Capital: Napata
Economy: 14 (0)
Education: 7, Iron Age
Army: 27 000, 11 000 Royal Guard, 2 War Elephants
Navy: 41, 16 Quinmarines
Culture: 9
Confidence: 8
Leadership: 6
Army and Navy Training: 6 and 5
Great Projects: The Onyx Pyramids (+2 Confidence, +2 Culture, Increases Spread of Egyptian Polytheism) Done!
Background: Monarchy. Egyptian Polytheism. For many centuries, Egypt was weak and divided, until the Cuhorsehockyes invaded, and infused new life into a dying and defeated culture. Under King Tantamani, Aegypt was born, and those under its banners hoped to end the tyranny of the imperialistic Israelis. They succeeded. While that legendary king is now long gone, the Tantaman Dynasty rules over a strong and unified Egyptian culture.

Nation: Axum
Player: j_eps
Capital: Axum
Economy: 3 (0)
Education: 2, Middle Age
Army: 27 000
Navy: 10
Culture: 6
Confidence: 6
Leadership: 5
Army and Navy Training: 3 and 2
Great Projects: Beit Axum (+2 Culture, Increases Spread of Judaism) Done! The Axum Road (+2 Confidence, +Matara as an Axumite Economic Center) Done!
Background: Monarchy. Judaism. Axum is a weak African state on the Red Sea. They have very close relations with Israel and are influenced by them. Jewish values are strongly emphasized in Axum, as well as the more secular pacifism. Trading is the way of life in Axum, with major markets in Axum and the newly-founded port of Adulis.

Nation: Persia
Player: Sheep
Capital: Persepolis
Economy: 5 (0)
Education: 4, Iron Age
Army: 9 000, 8 000 Immortals
Navy: 17
Culture: 2
Confidence: 2
Leadership: 2
Army and Navy Training: 3 and 3
Great Projects: None
Background: Monarchy. Zoroastrianism. Persia is a merchant nation.

Nation: Greater India
Player: Birdjaguar
Capital: Delhi
Economy: 12 (0)
Education: 7, Middle Age
Army: 21 000
Navy: 5, 30 Samanya
Culture: 8
Confidence: 8
Leadership: 8
Army and Navy Training: 9 and 7
Great Projects: Shiva&#8217;s Playground (+2 Leadership, +2 Army Training, +2 Navy Training) Done!, The Roads of India (+2 Economic Centers, +3 Confidence) Done!
Background: Princeship. Hinduism. Mohenjo-Daro has slowly conquered the majority of India, but is now faced with the task of surviving the Three Princes&#8217; War.

Nation: Cambodia
Player: carmen510
Capital: Saigon
Economy: 2 (0)
Education: 8, Iron Age
Army: 22 000
Navy: 20
Culture: 2
Confidence: 3
Leadership: 4
Army and Navy Training: 5 and 5
Great Projects: None
Background: Tribal Council. Animism. Cambodia is an isolated south-east Asian nation.

Nation: Chu-Nan Empire of China
Player: fantasmo
Capital: Ying
Economy: 7 (0)
Education: 4, Iron Age
Army: 2 000, 3 000 Horse Demons, 1 000 Zhuge-Nu, 2 000 Skirmishers
Navy: 10
Culture: 7
Confidence: 6
Leadership: 2
Army and Navy Training: 7 and 4
Great Projects: Council Palace of Shanghai (+1 Confidence, +2 Culture) Done!, Heaven&#8217;s Mandate (+1 Army Training, +1 Navy Training, +1 Confidence, +2 Culture) Done!
Background: Dynasty. Ancestor Worship. The southern of the two joint empires of China.

Nation: Japan
Player: Nuclear kid
Capital: Kyoto
Economy: 2 (0)
Education: 6, Bronze Age
Army: 2 000
Navy: 10
Culture: 2
Confidence: 2
Leadership: 2
Army and Navy Training: 2 and 2
Great Projects: None.
Background: Dynasty. Ancestor Worship. The Hyuga Clan finally settled a city named Kyoto after many years. The Hyuga Clan is divided into two parts, Main Branch and Cadet Branch. The Main Branch holds all power, while the Cadet is pretty much slaves. However, the Main Branch has some sort of power over them, and that prevents rebellion. Everyone bows to the Emperor's commands, whether Main or Cadet Branch.

 

[Imago]

NPC Stats

Nation: Mercia
Player: <You fill in>
Capital: Oundle
Economy: 0 (0)
Education: 3, Bronze Age
Army: 5 000
Navy: 10
Culture: 2
Confidence: 2
Leadership: 2
Army and Navy Training: 2 and 2
Great Projects: None
Background: Tribal Council. Animism. An Anglo-Saxon nation to the north of the Celts.

Nation: Alemannia
Player: <You fill in>
Capital: Curia
Economy: 1 (0)
Education: 4, Iron Age
Army: 10 000
Navy: 0
Culture: 2
Confidence: 2
Leadership: 2
Army and Navy Training: 3 and 2
Great Projects: None
Background: Tribal Council. Animism. A barbarian nation to the north of Rome.

Nation: Minoa
Player: <You fill in>
Capital: Phaistos
Economy: 0 (0)
Education: 2, Iron Age
Army: 1 000
Navy: 16
Culture: 2
Confidence: 2
Leadership: 2
Army and Navy Training: 3 and 5
Great Projects: None
Background: Oligarcy. Greek Polytheism. The Minoan Empire has returned.

Nation: The Union of Aden
Player: <You fill in>
Capital: Aden
Economy: 2 (0)
Education: 2, Iron Age
Army: 3 000
Navy: 40
Culture: 5
Confidence: 3
Leadership: 4
Army and Navy Training: 5 and 4
Great Projects: None
Background: Oligarchy. Judaism. This nation of traders in one of the Hebrew successor states.

Nation: Dilmun
Player: <You fill in>
Capital: Hufuf
Economy: 1 (0)
Education: 5, Bronze Age
Army: 15 000
Navy: 20
Culture: 2
Confidence: 3
Leadership: 3
Army and Navy Training: 3 and 3
Great Projects: None
Background: Tribalism. Animism. Forged from the chaos of Sargon&#8217;s War, Dilmun, under its leader Abdallah, has great potential to rise to power.

Nation: Sogdiana
Player: <You fill in>
Capital: Samarkand
Economy: 1 (0)
Education: 6, Bronze Age
Army: 9 000
Navy: 0
Culture: 2
Confidence: 4
Leadership: 2
Army and Navy Training: 2 and 2
Great Projects: None
Background: Despotism. Animism. Sogdiana has existed for centuries, although never as organized or well known to other Asian kingdoms until now. They originated as almost entirely Persian ethnicities, though through time they mixed with the nomads from the east.

Nation: Bengal
Player: <You fill in>
Capital: Sittwe
Economy: 1 (0)
Education: 7, Iron Age
Army: 5 000
Navy: 10
Culture: 2
Confidence: 2
Leadership: 2
Army and Navy Training: 6 and 3
Great Projects: None
Background: Princeship. Hinduism. Bengal is the only real nation with the power to stand in Mohenjo-Daro&#8217;s way.

Nation: Pandya
Player: <You fill in>
Capital: Madurai
Economy: 0 (0)
Education: 3, Iron Age
Army: 5 000
Navy: 20
Culture: 3
Confidence: 2
Leadership: 2
Army and Navy Training: 2 and 3
Great Projects: None
Background: Princeship. Hinduism. Pandya is a small south Indian state.

Nation: Wu Taiwan
Player: <You fill in>
Capital: Kaohsiung
Economy: 1 (0)
Education: 5, Iron Age
Army: 3 000
Navy: 20
Culture: 3
Confidence: 2
Leadership: 2
Army and Navy Training: 3 and 3
Great Projects: None
Background: Dynasty. Ancestor Worship. This is a Chinese nation.

 

[Imago]

Wars:

None.

Alliances:

Defensive Pact of Aden - Aegypt, Union of Aden
Indian-Aden Agreement - Greater India, Union of Aden
African Alliance - Aegypt, Axum, Union of Aden
The Birdsheep Pact - Greater India, Persia
Minoa as Vassal of Aegypt

NAPs:

Greater Indian - Persian NAP
Cambodian - Chu NAP

Other Diplomatic Agreements:

Stockholm - Wessex Trade Agreement
Axumite - Byzantine Trade Agreement
Axumite - Union of Aden Trade Agreement
Axumite - Persian Trade Agreement
Axumite - Indian Free Trade Agreement
Japanese - Chu-Nan Trade Agreement

UUs:

Warriors of Taranis - The Celtic Empire

Trained for five years, from the age of fifteen, the Warriors of Taranis are highly capable, as well as loyal to the Celtic throne.

Norse Raiders - Stockholm

Berseker warriors that excel at raids.

Marines - Byzantium

Elite marines of the Byzantine Empire.

Myrmidions - Byzantium

Legionaries of the Byzantine Empire.

Kanaim - Kingdom of the Chosen

Fanatic berzerkers with the strength of devotion to the One True God.

Royal Guards - Aegypt

Melee horsemen with large shields and light armor. Their light armor makes them very mobile. They fight with spears.

Quinmarines - Aegypt (5 per eco)

Huge warships equiped with heavy complements of marines.

Immortals - Persia

Elite warriors that never surrender.

Teo-Wakan Warriors - Zhou

An elite royal guard. Trained in judo, they are skilled hand to hand fighters. Wearing red and yellow armor concealed at night by a black coat, they fight tirelessly to carry out the will of the true Emperor. They are the Emperor's elite, and are skilled in many arts and stealth. Their current mission is to rid the Middle Kingdom of the False Emperor.

Horse Demons - Chu-Nan, Zhou

Barbarians from the east and north, these skilled horsemen fight for the Chu and the Zhou...so long as they recieve their wages.

Zhuge-Nu - Chu-Nan

Soldiers armed with rapid-fire crossbows. The secret to their weapons is known by the Chu-Nan, and the Chu-Nan alone.

Old Updates:

1 - 20 AD
21 - 40 AD
41 - 60 AD
61 - 80 AD
81 - 100 AD
101 - 120 AD
121 - 140 AD
141 - 160 AD
161 - 180 AD
181 - 200 AD
201 - 220 AD
Awards & Kal'thzar's Economic Analysis
Birdjaguar's Statistical Analysis
BT: 221 AD - 700 AD

 

[Imago]

History

1 - 20 AD

These were years of change. Powerful new rulers spring up in all the important nations, and wars start, and end. In China, the Chu set up annual meetings, of all the nations of China, which they hope will lead to unity, and peace. In India, Mohenjo-Daro decisively ends the Three Princes' War, making peace with Bengal, and then crushing Harappa and the rebels. Assyria, under the rule of Sargon the Mad, invades Persia. In Egypt, the nation of Cush begins an attack northwards, in hopes of forming a grand new unified Egypt. In Asia Minor, Byzantium attacks and occupies Macedon, and the great Emperor Constantine I looks southward, for more conquests, stirring up unrest in Phoenicia.

21 - 40 AD

Tensions between Chu and Wu Taiwan rise in China, with the advent of Wu raiding the mainland. In India, the final peace of the Three Princes' War is made, so that the bloodshed is behind India, for good. The nation of Sogdiana rises, in central asia. Sargon's War drags on, until the peoples of both Assyria and Persia wish for peace. Byzantium continues to expand and conquer, annexing Phoenicia with the help of dissidents, and begining the Epiran War, which restores Minoa to a form of glory, and, at the end of the year 40, threatens to break Greece. To the south, The War of the Nile destroys both Upper and Lower Egypts, and turnes into a conflict between Cush, and Israel. And to the west, Gaul fall into anarchy, and the Second Punic War begins, pitting the war genius of Hannibal, against the war genius of Julius Caesar.

41 - 60 AD

The nation of Chu destroys the last remnants of the Wu throne, and sets up an allied throne on the island of Taiwan. With the death of Sargon, his war finally comes to an end, and Assyria and Persia make peace, albiet with great Assyrian gains. Byzantium signs a peace with Greece, which effectively ends the latter nation, and establishes direct Byzantine rule in the north of the penninsula, and indirect rule in the south, through the Byzantium-dominated Hellenic League. The Nilotic War enters an even more bloody stage, with the newly formed nation of Aegypt under the Cuhorsehockye throne battling Israel. The war is a religious war, and threatens to engulf other lands, and other nations. The Second Punic War's tide turns, with the entrance of Lusitania to the war, on the Roman side. Icosium loses battle after battle, until it reached the verge of defeat.

61 - 80 AD

China is quiet. Mohenjo-Daro continues to expand. Assyria turns from victor to defeated and embattled, fighting for its very existance against barbarian hordes and rebels. The Nilotic War continues as it seems it has always had, and Aegypt gains the upper hand. Advantage in the Second Punic War swings back to Icosium. Gaul quells its rebels, and shows the potential to become a major world power.

81 - 100 AD

China begins a new renassance. Assyria manages to hold together, and defeat all its adversaries. The Nilotic War enters yet another phase. Axum enters the war on Israel's side, and Byzantium betrays the Israelis, and switches to the side of Aegypt. The Israelis, meanwhile, begin a massive genocide of the Egyptian people. As a result of Byzantium's odd actions, the General Achilleas and his army revolt, taking all of Greece, and indeed, even the Byzantine capital of Constantinopolis. The Second Punic War ends, as well, with Icosium finally collapsing, as it should have long ago. Republicans take over the fallen nation, but, so far, they only have set up a provisional government.

101 - 120 AD

The Zhou wake, bringing the Liang into an alliance, and the stage for a great conflict in the Middle Kingdom is set. Mohenjo-Daro calls together a Council of India, and advances into a new age. The Nilotic War ends, with Israeli collapse, and Aegyptian victory, but to the north, Byzantium, reunited under Achilleas, battles against Assyria, in the Eagle War. Minoa retakes its homeland from distracted Byzantines, and, in the west, the Third Punic War begins and ends in short order, bringing about complete Roman hegemon over north Africa, and destroying the Iscosiums, once and for all. To the north, Gaul enters a golden age.

121 - 140 AD

In China, the war the sages expected begins, pitting the Chu and their allies, against the Zhou and their allies. The Zhou alliance makes substantial gains. In India, Mohenjo-Daro reinvents itself as Greater India, and declares war on Bengal, reducing it to its knees. The Eagle War drags on, as David III of Assyria puts up a surprisngly good fight against the Byzantine Empire. Aegypt becomes a great power. Rome, oppertunistic, takes advantage of Minoa and Barcelona's distraction with Byzantium, and occupies Barcelona and Aleria.

141 - 160 AD

The Chu hire "Horse Demons" from the barbarians, and in so doing, the tide of the Stick War swings back in their favor. Greater India turns Bengal into a vassal, and attacks the lesser southern states of the subcontinent. Persia enters the Eagle War, but does little, and in Syria, the Byzantines and the Assyrians fight for years, but the Byzantines only make minimal gains. The Byzantines also retake the Bosporan, and, in an odd move, declare war on Sparta and Athens. In the Mediterreanean proper, Rome is assaulted by an alliance of the Gallics, reformed to the Celtic Empire, and the Aegyptians, who turn what remains of Minoa into a vassal state, and use that as an excuse to get involved. Northern Italia falls to the Celtics, and Sicily falls to the Aegyptians, but Rome is not out of the fight yet.

161 - 180 AD

The Stick War evolves, and, at the end of 180 AD, it seems sure that either the Zhou or the Chu will soon end it decisively. Which nation that will be, however, remains to be seen. Greater India destroys Satavahana, and exiles the Pandya and the Bengali nations to barren regions. Assyria finally looses the Stick War, resulting in an ongoing squabble between Byzantium, Ur, and Persia, on who is to gain which of the former Assyrian lands. Rome tries desperately to hold out against the Celtic Empire and Aegypt in the Mediterreanean War, but fails, and now is on the verge of defeat.

181 - 200 AD

The Stick War effectively ends, as the Chu merge with the Nan in a union, and then conquer the Zhou heartlands. Greater India continues its expansion, but begins to be plagued by disunity. The Persians attack the Urrians in a squabble over the remnants of Assyria, but are repulsed. Byzantium consolidates. Aegypt drops out of the Mediterreanean War, but the fate of that conflict is already decided, as the horribly weakened Rome cannot stand against the Celtic hordes. Rome falls into anarchy, and the Celts conquer the north. Lusitania sends troops northward, and conquer Brittany from the Celts. The Lusitanians then set up a new government there, but it seems doomed. In Britan, the nations of Wessex and Mercia are created by Anglo-Saxon invaders.

201 - 220 AD

The Chu-Nan Empire consolidates its hold over all of China, and defeat the Zhou remnants. Greater India expands, as ever. The Urrian War ends, as Persia conquers Ur. However, Persia is evicted from its Arabian holdings by an acendant Bachira. Aegypt destroys Lusitania, the Celtic Empire destroys Brittany, and the remnants of free Italia are partitioned between the two powers. The world looks to a peaceful future, but that does not seem likely.

 

[Imago]

Hall of Dead Nations

Macedonia-

Born of northern barbarians culturaly influenced by Greece in the years after the Greek War, its kings hoped to one day gain enough respect to be considered true Greeks, equal to their southern brethren. Macedon chose the right side in the War of Endings, and was rewarded with a coastline. Things seemed to be looking up for the small nation. However, Macedon never gained any true allies, and this weakness was exploited. Macedon might have had a chance to rule all of Greece, had things gone differently, but instead, the Byzantine Emperor Constantine I invaded Macedonia, and took it over.

Eliminated 18 AD

Phoenicia-

Phoenicia was an old land, a country that, in its days of glory, colonized lands as far away as Carthage, and dominated the Mediterranean Sea through trade. But then, with the advent of Minoa, Phoenicia declined, lost Carthage to a breakaway movement, and then lost its independence, to Minoa. As that empire, in turn, suffered its own defeats, in the War of Endings, Phoenicia redeclared its independence, and things seemed to be generally looking up for the oligarchic nation. But then, Constantine I, the great Emperor of Byzantium, turned his gaze south. His forces inspired desent against the government, causing one of the oligarchs, Hiram, to sieze power, in a last, desperate effort to keep the nation out of Byzantine hands. However, he failed, and Constantine I annexed the country, with the help of native supporters.

Eliminated 23 AD

Lower Egypt-

Born of the forced division of Egypt by Israel, after the Israeli-Egyptian War, Lower Egypt was always weak and overcome by domestic strife. When the War of the Nile came, it tried to remain aloft, distancing itself from both Jewish Israel, and barbarian Cush. The policy proved to be a mistake, as, when Israel forces came to organize the country into a protecterate, there were no allies for Lower Egypt to turn to. The nation fell by the same hand that began it. Israel's.

Eliminated 27 AD

Upper Egypt-

The stronger of the two divided Egypts, Upper Egypt fancied itself the true sucessor to the old empire. However, prestige did not save it, when Tantamani invaded, with the armies of Cush behind him. Desperately trying to survive, the Upper Egyptian Pharaoh converted to Judaism, to recieve Israel's support in war. This spelled doom for the country, as the army, disgusted with their monarch, mutinied to the Cuhorsehockye cause. After the Israeli relief force was repeled by the Cuhorsehockyes, the nation fell into chaos, and was eventually fully over taken by the Greater Cuhorsehockye Empire.

Eliminated 28 AD

Epirus-

The story of Epirus is a sad one. It was originally a Spartan colony, but then was annexed by Greece, and then finally by Minoa, at the end of the Greek War. When the War of Endings came, Spartan Epirans saw their chance to rebel, and form their own nation. Due to the chaos, they succeded, and a restored Greece allowed them to continue to exist as a nation. As the Byzantines to the east became more and more troublesome, an alliance was even signed, between Epirus, and Greece. The Epiran dowfall came when the Greeks betrayed them, and invaded, just as a Byzantine force had decided to invade, as well. Epirus quickly collapsed into anarchy, leaving the two powers to fight over their fallen lands.

Eliminated 34 AD

Wu Taiwan-

The last shard of the once-mighty Wu empire, Wu Taiwan became beligerant in the face of growing Chu strength. That proved to be the nation's downfall, when Emperor Chang invaded the island, and installed a pro-Chu government.

Eliminated 43 AD

Israel-

What can be said about the nation of Hebrews? It was the strongest nation in the world at one point, taking lands from Cyrene to Socotra. When the armies of Israel moved, the world trembled, and in the Egypto-Israeli War, just to prove it, the Israelis destroyed their old masters once and for all, annexed much of Egypt's territory, and installed weak sucessor states. But then came a period of stagnation, as the monarchy lost power, and the priests gained it. Israel, to defend the weak Egypts from Cush's invasion, entered the War of the Nile, at the height of its seeming power; at the height of its corruption. And from there, Israel fell. The Nilotic War lasted a hundred years, but in the end, dark forces from within Israel killed the High Priesthood, and the nation feel into anarchy.

Eliminated 101 AD

Icosium-

It was said that in any form, this nation was the True Republic's worst nightmare. The True Republic being Rome, of course. Icosium was born out of the conclusion of the War of Endings, out of the people of Carthage's anger with their government over the defeat. A dictatorship was established, with the capital at Icosium, and the newborn nation of Icosium did then undergo a second rebirth, colonizing large portions of Iberia. But in the end, the nation that had birthed Icosium caused its downfall. Rome. The Second Punic War caused another upset in the Icosium government, and when the dust settled, that nation was a Republic in Rome's mold, and then, soon after, came the Third Punic War, in which Rome conquered Icosium once and for all.

Eliminated 104 AD

Mitzraim-

This nation was born of the death of Israel. As his nation fell into anarchy and chaos, General Shlomo ben-Azra, architect of the Egyptian Genocide, set up an Israel-within-Egypt upon the delta and the lower parts of the Nile. Israeli refugees flocked from the homeland, until Mitzraim actually had a majority Hebrew population. However, this nation never had a chance to see if it could survive, if left alone. Aegyptian comanders marched their forces up the Nile, and destroyed it, ending any sort of Israeli rule within Egypt.

101 AD - 118 AD

Harappa-

In many ways, Harappa was always Mohenjo-Daro's brother nation. In the Three Princes' War, it was proved conclusively that Mohenjo-Daro was the greater of the two, and, in the peace treaty for that war, Harappa began paying Mohenjo-Daro tribute. In the years that followed, Mohenjo-Daro completely encircled Harappa. When Mohenjo-Daro declared itself the nation of Greater India, and moved the captial to a less biased location, Harappa consented to join the nation it was already linked to, and so did one of the oldest nations in the world pass quietly into the night.

Eliminated 123 AD

Barcelona-

One of the more sad nations to grace the world, Barcelona in the years of Anno Domini was a leftover relic of the War of Endings, a Minoan ally that no one bothered to destroy. And so, when Minoa began a second rise to power, it seemed only right that Barcelona restablished its alliance with Minoa. All might have been good, but Minoa angered the great nations of the Mediterranean, and, before long, Barcelona found its homeland occupied by Roman troops, and its fleet intergrated into the navy of the dying Minoa.

Eliminated 129 AD

Bosporan-

This splinter state of Byzantium was formed of the Byzantine Civil War, after the Achilleans won. Bosporan, neglected by the victorious Achilleans, was ignored, and so, for a time, it existed as an independant nation. However, Achilleas' son, Demos, remembered Byzantium, and sent his armies to take that nation. They reannexed the Bosporan into the fold, and so, the days of the short-lived nation were over.

122 AD - 148 AD

Athens-

Athens once ruled all of Greece, but lost all but the city to Byzantium during the Epiran War. It then entered a period of slow but steady decline, until in the Attic War, when it was swallowed up by a Byzantium eager to finish what it started.

Eliminated 163 AD

Sparta-

Formed out of Athens' defeat in the Epiran War, Sparta was never truely a stable county. First it was dominated by the Byzantines, in the Hellenic League, then came to be dominated by Minoa, and then, was conqured by Byzantium in the Attic War.

41 AD - 164 AD

Liang-

A nation of Chinese near the western border of the Middle Kingdom, Liang was always a barbarous land. It was first allied to the Chu, but then had a falling out, and switched allies, to the Zhou. In the Stick War, Liang fell into civil war, and was annexed first by the Zhou, and then by the Chu. The fate of Liang's former lands is uncertain, but it will not be restored.

Eliminated 165 AD

Assyria-

Assyria was forged in blood. King David I lead Assyria into a bloody war near the begining of Anno Domini, and defeated the Persians, but then his empire entered a long period of stagnation. That period ended when Assyria entered the Eagle War, hopeing to conquer the embattled Byzantines. However, that war proved to be a mistake, as the Byzantines concluded their civil war, and then with the help of Urrians, and resurgent Persians, crushed the Assyrians, after a long and bloody struggle.

Eliminated 178 AD

Nan-

The Nan were longtime allies of the Chu, and in the Stick War, after their nation was damaged by rebels almost beyond compare, the Nan decided they had much to gain by joining with the Chu, and merging their empire with something greater.

Eliminated 181 AD

Koryo-

The Koryo nation was, at birth, forced into a war on the behest of their Chu benefactors. That war drained the fragile nation of resources, and in the end, resulted in its fall to the Zhou.

126 AD - 183 AD

Rome-

What is there to say about Rome? It forged Anno Domini, and invented the calender that is now, even after its death, used in places as far off as India. Two centuries before its fall, Rome was the most powerful nation in the world, and it grew from there. In the early years of Anno Domini, Rome conqurered Icosium in a series of of wars, and went on to occupy Barcelona as well. But then, fate frowned on the Romans, as the Celts, through a trick of fate, began to belive that the Romans were going to destroy them, and so, set the Mediterreanean War in motion, to destroy Rome instead. the Celtic plan succeded briliantly, as the Aegyptians came to their aid, but in the end, it turned out that the Romans had never had any designs on the Celts at all. In the Mediterreanean War, the Romans met their end. Such is irony.

Eliminated 189 AD

Cyrene

A Israeli sucessor state, Cyrene became a peaceful trading state of mixed Egyptian and Hebrew cultures. However, that peacefulness proved its doom, as Aegypt destroyed it for not entering the Mediterreanean War.

101 AD - 190 AD

Zhou

The oldest nation in the world, the Zhou managed to survive for far longer than any historian would have expected. However, their fall began when Emperor Si declared war on Chu. Despite many early sucesses, the Chu ground the Zhou down, and eventually incorperated them into the Chu-led Chinese Empire.

Eliminated 202 AD

Brittany

Formed by Lusitanian raiders who carved out a nation from Celtic territory, this nation quickly colapsed as Celtic attention turned northward again.

190 AD - 203 AD

Lusitania

A barely civilized nation Lusitania was always a comparison to Gaul. When Lusitania muddled, Gaul expanded, and, as Gaul turned into the Celtic Empire, Lusitania was destroyed by Aegypt.

Eliminated 211 AD

Wars of the Past

The Thracan War
Byzantium vs. Macedonia

In a short war, Byzantium defeated and occupied the nation of Macedonia.

16 AD - 18 AD

The Three Princes' War
Mohenjo-Daro vs. Bengal, Harappa

Fault for the start of the Three Princes' War rests with a variety of parties, and as such, the true cause is unknown. However, most agree the war started when Harappa and Bengal formed a last ditch alliance, to combat the threat of Mohenjo-Daro. With the help of central Indian rebels, the alliance made some early gains, but Mohenjo-Daro, under the guidance of Prince Ashoka, proved stronger than its foes in the end. The rebels were defeated, and Mohenjo-Daro armies pushed deep into both Harappa and Bengal. In the end, both of the allied nations sued for peace, and recived as much. Harappa had to cead half its territory, and pay tribute for the next hundred years, and Bengal had to give up a substantial amount of territory as well, along with pay a tribute. The Three Princes' War cemented Mohenjo-Daro's dominance over the Indian subcontinent.

62 BCE - 21 AD

Sagron's War
Assyria vs. Persia

The mad Assyrian king Sargon declared war on Persia for a trivial offence, and touched off a war that lasted many decades. During the war, the Dilmun people broke free of Persia's control, and created their own nation. When peace was finally made, on the eve of Sargon's death, much territory was transfered to Assyrian control, but those formerly Persian lands hold little economic value, causing many to wonder what the point was, for all those years of suffering.

16 AD - 41 AD

The Epiran War
Byzantium, Minoa, Sparta vs. Greece vs. Epirus

In the history of Greece, there were many confusing wars, but perhaps the Epiran War was the most confusing of them all. The war began when Constantine I of Byzantium decided that he wished to conquer Epirus, and, in order to do that, he realized he had to premptively strike at Epirus' ally, Greece. Complications arose when the Grecian senate decided to invade Epirus alongside Byzantium, and the Byzantine commanders decided to fight against Greece as well, anyway. Epirus as an independent nation was quickly destroyed during the fighting, and Minoa and Sparta rebeled to become nations once again, as Byzantium began to defeat Greece. Despite some sucesses during the last year of the war, the Athenian Greeks negotiated a surprising treaty, that reduced them to a city-state, handed over Boetia to the Byzantines, and granted Minoa and even weak Sparta indepedence.

21 AD - 41 AD

The Taiwanese War
Chu, Nan vs. Wu Taiwan

For many years, Wu Taiwan stubbornly opposed the Chu-born idea of a Council of China. Emperor Chang decided to rid himself of the threat before long, and preserve the Council's santctity. In a short war, Wu Taiwan was overwhelmed by Chu and allied Nan forces, and a pro-Chu dynasty was placed on the throne of the island.

41 AD - 43 AD

The Second Punic War
Rome, Lusitania, Republican Rebels vs. Icosium

Ever since Carthage's embarising defeat during the War of Endings, its sucessor, the nation of Icosium, nursed an old grudge against Rome. It was a surprise to all, when Rome attacked Icosium, and not the other way around. Overcoming the loss of Julius Caesar, and the war genius of Hannibal Rome went on to greater glory, crushing Icosium, and taking the Carthaginian penninsula, with the help of Lusitania, which took Icosium Iberia, and the Republican rebels, which overthrew what was left of Icosium's sagging dicatorship.

21 AD - 83 AD

The War of Assyrian Sucession
Assyria vs. Iranian Barbarians, Babylonian Rebels, Median Rebels

Ill-named, the War of Assyrian Sucession was a result of Assyrian mistrust in their government. Rebellion ensued for eleven years, but in the end, Assyria was able to crush all the rebels, repulse all the barbarians, and remain a living nation.

74 AD - 95 AD

The Third Punic War
Rome vs. Icosium

In the aftermath of the Second Punic War, many of the warhawks of Rome were unsatisfied with the result. Icosium, while defeated yet again, and forced to undergo another revolution, still lived and breathed. And so, the warhawks, spearheaded by Cato, convinced the people of the Republic to declare war on Icosium, once more. They did, and the fragile nation that was Republican Icosium was swallowed up by the great Roman behemoth.

101 AD - 106 AD

The War of the Nile
Cush vs. Upper Egypt, then Cush, Lower Egypt vs. Israel, Upper Egypt, then Aegypt vs. Israel, Byzantium, Axum then Aegypt, Byzantium vs. Israel, then Aegypt vs. The Southern Army, Mitzraim

The War of the Nile, or the Nilotic War, lasted a hundred years, and was inherited from generation to generation. In the begining, a Cuhorsehockye king decided to invade Upper Egypt, and everything spiraled in chaos from there, as Israel decided to oppose him, by taking all of Egypt for herself. Every nation from Byzantium to Axum took part in the war, by its end, and Byzantium even fought on both sides. However, the deciding factor in the war was not the failure of an army, but indeed the failure of a government. When Israel collapsed into nations of competeing warlords near the close of the Nilotic War, Aegypt pressed the advantage, and conqured all of Egypt, as the sucessor to Israel, the Kingdom of the Chosen, regrouped in the Hejjaz.

17 AD - 118 AD

The Byzantine Civil War
Achilean Byzantium vs. Loyalist Byzantium vs. Hittite Rebels

The insanity of the Constantine Dynasty's continuing support for Israel forced the general Achilleas to rise up in rebellion, to save his nation. After quickly taking the capital, Achilleas achieved respect, and soon thereafter, the Loyalists sued for peace, and gave him control over the nation. However, this war was not officially considered over until 122, when the last of the major Hittite groups that rebelled as their Byzantine masters were distracted was crushed.

91 AD - 122 AD

The Attic War
Byzantium vs. Athens, Sparta

This war destroyed Athens and Sparta, and cemented Byzantine dominance over Greece.

177 AD - 182 AD

The Greater Indian War
Greater India vs. Satavahana, Pandya

This war, waged by the Greater Indians in golden age, conquered them the entire subcontinent.

162 AD - 183 AD

The Eagle War
Byzantium, Persia, Ur vs. Assyria, Bosporan

A long and bloody war that some considered the last legacy of the Nilotic War, the Eagle War was primarily a slugfest between Assyria and Byzantium. In the end, however, it was the entrance of the Persians and the Urrians into the war on Byzantium's side that doomed the Assyrians, and ended their ancient nation.

111 AD - 178 AD

The Mediterreanean War
The Celtic Empire, Aegypt, Minoa vs. Rome

This war was forged of anticlimax, as the Celts pulled together a coalition against the Romans, to protect them from what they feared would be a Roman invasion. However, that invasion was only a rumor. As the war continued, Rome found itself unable to garner any allies, and so, it fell.

145 AD - 189 AD

The Cyrene War
Aegypt vs. Cyrene

In a short war, Aegypt conqured the Cyrenes for not coming to their aid in the Mediterreanean War.

189 AD - 190 AD

The Stick War
Chu, Koryo, Nan, Kingdom of Taiwan vs. Zhou, Liang, Wu Taiwan, Nan Rebels

China's fate was decided in a war that pitted a Zhou led coalition against a Chu led coalition. After a long and bloody war, the Chu Dynasty gained control over all of China.

125 AD - 202 AD

The War of Brittany
The Celtic Empire vs. Brittany, Lusitania

For a brief time, a Lusitanian ruled Brittany was independant from the Celtic Empire, but eventually it was brought back into the fold.

190 AD - 203 AD

The Lustitanian War
Aegypt vs. Lusitania

In a brief war, Aegypt conquered the pathetic remnants of Lusitania.

208 AD - 211 AD

 

[Imago]

Reserved for four.

 

[Imago]

1 AD Religion Map

 

[Imago]

1 AD Nation Map

 

[Imago]

All players who have reserved nations should check in ASAP. Everyone else who wants to join should do the same.

You may now post.

Orders due 20:00 GMT, Wednesday, September 27th.

 

[Birdjaguar]

I'm in.......

 

[Luckymoose]

checking in as Assyria. Let the blood bath begin.

edit: So we can't send pages and pages of orders?

 

[Imago]

edit: So we can't send pages and pages of orders?

Of course you can, and, in fact, I would very much like it if you and all my other players did so. What I meant was that players don't need to send massive orders, to participate.

 

[KrimzonStriker]

Byzantium is online.

 

[Luckymoose]

Orders sent. Not great ones. But they will do.

 

[KrimzonStriker]

Orders are like due next week Luckymoose.... why don't we get in some diplos or something okay?