North King
blech
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2004
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UPDATE 1
A New Beginning (1500 BCE-1000 BCE)
In the beginning, there was nothing but shadow. No, there was not even shadow. But that was the beginning of beginnings; when the great launching point occurred, driving the heavens into existence, there was at last both shadow and light. Humanity, if they had been around, would have been able to observe the most spectacular of celestial dances that had ever existed; but alas, this great performance of the universe went without audience.
In billions of years, though, as the shapes twisted into forms that we would recognize, and a planet cooled from the crucible in which it was born, a person struggled his way out of the womb on the African plain. A real person, homo sapiens sapiens, a creature with a mind that reached sixteen hundred cubic centimeters. One who was able to observe, analyze, and explain. One who was able to think.
That person would find others of his kind, and together, they would evolve, the first tribe. It would grow bigger, as the lands of Earth, though teeming with plant and animal life, had none that would threaten man seriously. The tribe grew so large that disputes between its members tore it in two, and another band formed. And thus the cycle began again, with the human race spreading.
There were, of course, hardships along the way. Occasionally natural events threatened to destroy all of humanity. But they were overcome, one by one, as migrations ensued and they slowly spread, from continent to continent. From Africa into Asia by land. Into Europe over the Straits of Gibraltar. Into Australia by boat, into America by sea and earth. So far they did spread that they fairly forgot each others existence. Very few remembered the origins in Africa, or where they had truly come from.
By 10,000 BCE, the die was still being cast, as the various groups on Earth began to tear away from one another, developing distinct cultural entities. Saharans occupied the whole of the desert of the same name, while Bantus dwelt in the Nigerian region. Pygmies dwelt across Central Africa, while their brothers, the Khoisans, lived upon the rest of Africa.
Arabs were closely related to Somalis, while the Ethiopians were distinct from both, but closely related to the Nubians. Egyptians were Semitic, and their blood relations dwelt across most of the Middle East. Persians were descended from the hybridization of the Medes to the north and the Elamites to the south, but became enemies to both. Iranian nomads from Central Asia expanded and became a massive group that spanned from Scythia to Yuezhi. Mongols and Chinese interbred on the edge of the steppe to produce the Yan people, while they took civilizatio from the flourishing Zhou states to the south. The Zhou influence spread far south, to spark the Tong to form, and far to the East, to create Yu, a Korean state in Nippon, land of the Rising Sun. Far away from China, the Mons founded their own kingdom, even though more barbaric tribes loomed from the north. The Dravidian tribes of the Indus Valley founded city states even as the Aryans loomed over them.
In Europe, the hunter gatherers that had lived there before were obliterated by the influx of Indo-Europeans, who settled far and wide; among their descendants were the Greeks, the Italians, and the Celts.
In all regions, there were very disparate events occurring at the same time. It would be best to take a look at the world one region at a time.
Far from the birth of humanity, and still further from the cradle of the first civilization, were a people very different from that of the old world. The Chavin of the Peruvian coast fished the rich currents that flowed by just off their lands. They farmed, irrigating the deserts with the waters that tumbled down from the Andes from snowmelt. And, of course, they warred, amongst themselves, and against the tribes around them.
It was a lonely existence, being an isle of civilization in the shifting patchwork of Andean tribes, but they managed to keep together, and build themselves a capital at Chan Chan, an impressive artifice of massive proportions, with hundreds of pyramids and thousands of inhabitants. They look towards a bright future, even if they are somewhat isolated from the rest of the world.
On the other side of an ocean which was called by some, somewhere, as Pacific in one of the most hilarious descriptions ever, was a civilization completely different to the Chavin. Not quite completely different, of course; they were more similar in some ways, further apart in others. But Im losing track of the time here; must get moving along with this update.
The Yu have been mentioned before, so we will only cover them in brief. They were a Korean people who recently (anthropologically speaking) crossed over into the land of the rising sunNippon. They retained a little of their old Korean culture, but were heavily influenced by the Ainu peoples who they encountered on the islands to their north. While they attempted to become a trading power, they are on the edge of civilization, and they are only on the periphery of the trade network, regionally speaking. In the last five hundred years, they have settled three of the main Nipponese islands, and fought many a battle with both the Ainu to their north, and the more civilized and more dangerous Yayoi to their south.
It was in the year 1227 BCE that the Yu gained their first contact with the outside world since they left the Korean Peninsula. Several ships washed up upon the shore, mighty sea falcons as they were called. The ships had low prows, high poop-decks (dont ask me, its nautical jargon), and wings in the form of great rudders attached to their sides. These were the ships of the Tong.
The Tong are a fairly modern people, having had their kingdom founded around 1430 BCE. They were a mixture of Han settlers from the northern Zhou states who had arrived in the area much later, and of the native Min Yue peoples, who were much darker of skin and of a culture much different from that of the Han. Regardless of the prejudices that they may officially have had, they interbred, and the Tong dynasty was born, quite independent of the Zhou in northern China.
The only state of close proximity is Wu, another southern Han nation. Around both of them are various tribes of uncivilized peoples, who, despite their label, are often the trading partners of Tong. The Tong also managed to develop a writing system which is quite efficient for keeping written records.
In the last three hundred years, the Tong became a seafaring people, taking to the seas in their aforementioned falcon ships. They sailed all the way to Dai Viet in the west, trading with the strange people who blackened their teeth and lived in closely bound kinship groups, and then all the way to Yu of Nippon in the East. They extended their trading network around the Shangdong Peninsula after a series of voyages, and began to trade with the Zhou states.
The Zhou are, as legend would have it, the third Chinese dynasty. First came the legendary Xia dynasty of the Five Emperors, then the Shang civilization. Then there was Zhou, the largest dynasty yet, nominally covering all the land from the steppes to the Yangtze River. Alas, this is not quite true.
The Zhou are not only the largest dynasty yet, they are also the most overstretched, and the kings of the various petty states are quite independent de facto, and only tradition keeps them in line de jure. The vast boundaries claimed are also quite ridiculous, as most of the land south of the Huang He basin is ruled by the Chu tribes, who are not at all in line with Zhou policy.
Is there a Zhou emperor? Yes, but he wields no authority.
In the north, there is a newer kingdom, one with great promise if it should expand. Yan was inherited through an obscure odd Chinese law by a steppe nomad. While many were horrified at what would undoubtedly be a barbarian ruling a Chinese state, King Wu, as he was called, proved himself to be an able ruler, and actually managed to forge a united state of the steppe and the civilized peoples alike.
This fragile edifice even managed to survive Wus death, and the kingdom lives on to this day. With a significant cavalry force to augment the traditional Chinese infantry, the kingdom of Yan is likely destined for much greater things.
The Kingdom of the Mons is a fairly new nation along the coastline of the Bay of Bengal. Founded by a group of people called the Mons, their state of the same was a very small nation, quite powerful in its own right, with a large land military and a powerful king. The Mons, however, do face some challenges from the barbarian Pyus to the north, and their more civilized neighbors of Sri Ksetra to the north (a Pyu state, if it can be believed), and Pegu, to their west, on the Irrawaddy Delta.
To their south, the civilizing influence of these states has prompted another, Dvarvarati, to form and flourish, though it is as yet no threat at all to the Mons.
Meanwhile, internal trade in the region among the Irrawaddy states is flourishing, and the harvests bountiful, while far off, trade contacts are just beginning to be formed with the nation of the Palas in the Ganges Delta. Writing has been developed, to keep the tales and records of the kings for all eternity.
It is a time of peace and plenty, though the darker threats of barbarian invasion always loom...
Alongside the gently flowing, muddy waters of the Indus River, the city state of Mohenjo-Daro flourishes. Founded perhaps a thousand years ago, the city has survived many disasters, including, in the most ancient of memories, massive floods that threatened to swallow up the entirety of the city state and its crops in the fields as well. Droughts have been weathered, invasions repelled, and so on.
Mohenjo-Daro is by far the most powerful of the Harappan city-states that populate the Valley. Multan to the north, and Harappa itself to the northeast may be of similar size as cities go, but they control less territory, fewer fields, and less population. To the southeast, Lothal is a city state dying out, as the Indus Valley slowly is switching course, so that they will soon have no connection to the great waters of that river.
Mohenjo-Daro only a few years ago, conquered the city state of Babaricum on the coastline, and thus, gaining a port, initiated sea trade with the far off states of Mesopotamia. It is one of the longest trade routes in all of the ancient world, and it simply brings more wealth into Mohenjo-Daro than ever before. The invention of writing also helps keep the records.
All is not rosy, of course. The river Indus is more and more unpredictable these days, and the Aryan raids from the mountains are getting quite ferocious...
To the north of the city states of the Indus River valley is nestled a small city known as Makravi. The Makravians are a trading people, secure behind their tall walls, and sending out caravans east, west, and south, acting as a trading hub between the Indus, Persia, and the Zhou. None of these states actually know with whom they are trading, for there are too many middlemen in between, but the Makravi flourish from the trade nonetheless.
Alas, the rumbles of invasion trouble them, as well. The barbarian Scythians have arrived on the Kirgiz steppe, and are threatening to invade the region, and while the Makravi have fearsome cavalry armies and brave infantry to defend their cities, rumor has it that these new hordes are so large that they would be impossible to drive back...
Around 1500 BCE, the Persian lord Cyrus the Founder united a series of tiny villages in the Valley of Persepolis, and established the Persian Kingdom. It was barely anything in those days, when he founded his capital of Persepolis, and promised to build an empire of it. A tiny kingdom in the sea of Iranian tribeswhat did it really matter?
Cyrus made it matter. He declared the sovereignty of his empire over an area which was apparently far too large for it, angering the Medes tribes and the Elamites. He crushed the Medes and the Elamites in turn, shattering their armies, and conquering a vast swathe of territory both north and south.
Enter Darius, his son. Determined to further enlarge the empire given to him by Cyrus, he campaigned eastward, shattering the tribes that lived there, too. The two Great Kings had forged an empire from very little, and made a nation where previously there was none. And the emperors that came after fended off the attacks of other nearby, jealous states.
Most impressive of all, a glorious new capital of Persepolis was built, a massive edifice with pyramids and stone houses and palaces extending across the valley in all directions.
Out of that city, a merchant travels on his trusty camel, wandering the dry hills of the Elamites for some time, avoiding the barbarian raiders as best he can. He comes to the port city of Ur, but wanders on past the ziggurats in the rushes, traveling further north, through the city of Uruk, and then past Kish and Akkad. North and north our merchant goes, until he sells his rare Chinese silks in the markets of Assyria.
Assyria is one of the greatest nations in all of Mesopotamia. It has many cultural edifices worthy of any city state in the region, but the pride of the nation is the very strong military consisting of citizen soldiers who, called up in times of need, serve the state and destroy their enemies with great efficiency.
It is a militaristic culture, having conquered much of Northern Mesopotamia, securing that region to their rule.
Directly to the west of the Assyrians lie the Mitanni. They are a powerful nation who was once indeed the most powerful of all the local powers. However, their conquest of the Phoenician city states weakened them enough that the Hittites have invaded them, and thus far they have had little luck against the chariot riders.
Further south, past Canaan, lies the nation of Egypt, as old as the River Nile (or so they say). It would certainly be hard to imagine the Egyptians without the Nile, or the Nile without the Egyptians. For thousands of years, they have dwelt alongside this river, through many kings and many floods of the Nile.
However, until just a few hundred years ago, they were separate. The kingdom of Upper Egypt to the south, and Lower Egypt to the north on the Delta, they were at odds, and at each others throats. Both worshiped the same gods, both were recognizably Egyptian, and both hated the others guts. It was one of those most curious of relationships.
And then, in 1453 BCE, the Egyptian pharaoh, that is to say, the Lower Egyptian pharaoh attacked and conquered the Upper Egypt in a bloody war, destroying it, and uniting the Egyptians. It is his pyramid, the Pyramid of Menes in Memphis, which is the most glorious of any, the one that everyone thinks of when they think of Egypt.
To the north, across the Mediterranean Sea, lies the Greek states of Minoa, Athens, and Byzantium. Along with Halicarnassus, Ilium, and Argos, these city states form the coastline of the Aegean Sea; each of these three states are brothers by culture, but enemies by geography.
Or at least, Athens and Minoa are enemies. These two states are opponents in the great game for the struggle of the control of the Aegean Sea. Both sides deeply wish to control this little body of water, as it is the region through which all trade from the Mediterranean to the Black Seas must flow. Both sides have invested considerable resources into bringing the whole of this body of water under their control.
Alas, for each side, they are both distracted by outside factors.
Athens is distracted by the simple mechanics of their geographyhaving a land border, they have to maintain a certain land army to fend off attacks; though officially they are marines and integrated with the navy, they are still very actively engaged in regional politicsmost notably the negotiation of union with several neighboring city states. However, the alliance and then union with the city state of Plataea in Boeotia gave the Athenians sufficient land forces to unite a considerable part of the Greek Peninsula. Of course, Argos retains its independence, while the Thessalians and Dorians look with envy upon the civilization of the Athenians.
Minoa, for its part, is far more concerned with the events that transpire in the outer Mediterraneanthat is, past the Aegean Sea, and outside of the civilized, Greek World. We have already covered many of them, but they merit reviewthe Minoans directly hired the Mitanni and Canaanites to attack Phoenicia, and then in turn hired the Hittites to attack the Mitanni. While this cost a considerable amount of gold, all potential seafaring competition from the Levant has been neutralized. Egypt, for its part, is not a major seafaring power, and should not trouble the Minoans, while the Western Mediterranean is too wrapped up in their own struggles for the moment.
As it is, then, both sides of the struggle have been attempting, with varying degrees of success, to influence the Aegean to their side, but both are distracted. For their part, Athens has managed to gain Ilium as a valuable ally in their struggle against Minoa. Minoa has tried to recruit Halicarnassus to similar purposes, but this failed; as of now, however, they have a very good rapport with the Hittites, which could be used to good advantage in dealing with the Athenian Ilium and perhaps as mercenaries in other land invasions...
Argos and Halicarnassus are neutral in this grandly polar mess, with another nation quietly remaining neutral as well...
Byzantium has also managed to maintain a stance of nonalignment. For their part, the Byzantines have managed to secure both sides of the Sea of Mamara, occupying a vital trade position, though also having a nation easily divided in case of invasion. This is both good and badthey will have difficulty defending both sides at once, but enemies likewise will have difficulty crossing the straights.
In any case, the Byzantine cities are some of the most pleasant in the world, with tree-lined streets and excellent sewer systems that provide them with a level of quality of life unknown to most of the rest of the world... Though of course, the ever-present slums have little in the way of these very expensive services. Also, the looming threat of barbarians hangs over them, especially as the chieftains of the Thracians threaten to unite fairly soon.
All the nations in the Aegean Sea region, by the way, have adopted both writing and a currency.
In the meantime, a merchant marine leaves the Golden Horn in the port of Byzantium, sailing north east. Yes, it sails to the faraway land of the Tauri... But whats this? The Tauri are a nation in disintegration, their few port villages starting to feud amongst themselves. Yes, thats right. The king of Tauri has fled in mysterious circumstances, or committed suicide, or something. Something about too crowded.
In any case, this gives Scythia more breathing room, as they happily raid the villages to the south, crushing all resistance into the ground. The pounding hooves of these horse nomads now regularly wash their boots in the water of the Black Sea (or would, if it didnt leave salt on them), and look poised to dominate the region through brute force.
Or perhaps not. The Sauromatae tribe, speculated to the be the synthesis of a combination between the Iranian Scythian nomads and the local Amazon warriors are a curiously egalitarian culture, very unlike all other known nations. They hold men and women in equal regard, and women have even been known to participate in battle, though the legend of the Amazonian women who cut off their own breasts in order to draw bows are likely myth.
In any case, these two steppe tribes vie for dominance, and either they shall ally, or when the dust settles, there shall be only one. It is the nature of the steppe tribe that the defeated tribe is integrated into the victorious, creating a greater threat to all, so no matter how the diplomatic interactions of the tribes turn out, it is bad news for the civilized world...
Meanwhile, we follow a poor trader who draws his oxcart across a very long, arduous path, occasionally warding off wild wolves with his spear, and almost as often as that, paying off the barbarian raiders that harry his path with small amounts of goodsthey always accept, for they know he will return.
The lonely trader wheels his cart through field and forest, through a thousand miles of wilderness, but the payoff is higheven with his cart plundered by raiders along the way, he is able to earn far more from the sale of his remaining goods than he ever could at home. Having wheeled his cart across the fords of the Vistula and through a few more miles of forest, he comes across the encampment of the Teutons.
These are a fierce and free folk, the Teutons are, barbarians to the civilized world, but far more than that even to the most casual of unbiased observers. The Teutons are a people with a sophisticated and unique culture, with a highly developed system of tribal government, a well disciplined army (especially for their level of civilization), and a uniquely rich culture as well.
Having been united centuries ago, these Germans find themselves surrounded by other tribes of similar caliber nowthe Wends to the west have formed a confederacy to resist their expansion, while the Saxons and Vandals are both powerful, if disunited tribes. It will take a strong ruler to survive here, on the edge of civilization, but they are a strong people, able to endure any number of hardships.
In the far south, Zanzibar remains isolated completely from the outside world, an outlier of civilization where civilization should not exist. Life is simpler on the little island of Zanzibar, yes indeed, and on the continent that it hangs off of. Life is so much simpler, in fact, that theres very little to write about... Peaceful expansion of the nation onto the coasts has occurred, though, and friendly relations with the natives are noteworthy.
The gently lapping waves of the Mediterranean too often run red with the blood of the slain. So it was on the shores between Carthage and Utica. Both nations were the children of Phoenician colonists, though you would not know it from the ferocity with which they attack and kill each other. In fact, these nations have focused on little else for the past few hundred years since they were founded by Phoenician refugees than killing each other, or at least grinding each other down to deliver a killing stroke.
Neither nation was particularly successful, since both focused on the land armies, presumably hoping that the other would focus on naval developments that they could crush them. Carthage, for its part, has a slightly larger army, but Utica has a navy which will allow it to supply itself in case of a siege.
Frustrated at home, both nations turned to overseas expansion, and netted some lands outside of their home on small islands, but other than that, little else was accomplished.
In fact, the main power of the Eastern Mediterranean, seawise, is the nation of Sardinia (well, the Chiss maintain a large navy, but smaller and far lesser quality-wise than the Sardines), which defends its home isle with a massive fleet, even as it trades with the rest of the Mediterranean, charging heavy tariffs for the want of any competitors.
One of their trading partners is Rome. Rome, as it happens, has rather squandered the natural resources of the Italian Peninsula (OOC: No orders!), and thus has found themselves behind the world, dangerously coming close to falling prey to potent enemies like the highland Samnite League, the Etruscan League, and Umbria...
Another boat trip across the Mediterranean leads us to the most massive rock known to man. The Rock. Or also, the Pillars of Hercules.
Csilla is a town founded on the northern Pillar, Gibraltar, itself, and as such, the citadel has an awe inspiring command of the surrounding terrainit would take a many year siege to destroy this kind of city. They have expanded somewhat across the water to the south, taking control of the other PillarTangier, in part, though other groups have taken bits and pieces of it for themselves. However, the Chiss have remained rather curiously peaceful, despite the proximity of their neighbor, and did not try to initiate naval conflict.
Meanwhile, directly to their south, Jamal has passively watched the intrusion of the Iberians into their lands no more. The king of Jamal has united many of the highland groups of Berbers, and led them to victory over recalcitrant Iberians... Though while some agitate for war with Csilla, they are misinformed, for the Iberians are not only distinct from Csilla, Csilla is furthermore only one of three Iberian nations who has intruded.
On the other side of Iberia are the Kingdom of the Killiks. Besides their unusual rituals revolving around insectoid gods, they are quite a powerful Iberian force to be reckoned with, in their own right. Part of the expanding Iberian migration that has pushed many other tribes out of their homeland, the Killiks have taken to the sea, building ships enough to colonize North Africa, though not quite how their ruler envisioned... Yes, they have secured African land, but it is on the wrong side of the Pillars. And these colonies are, as usual, threatened by the barbarians, etc.
Well, Tartessos is certainly the most misfortunate of all these nations. They were lodged in between Csilla and the Killiks, and thus were only able to secure a sliver of Iberian land; they tried to compensate by gaining control of the seas, but the control of the Pillars by Csilla locked them out of the Mediterranean, and they were only able to take a small piece of Tangier...
To the north, on the other hand, Cantabria is a fast growing free confederacy of seafaring tribes that have banded together primarily to reinforce the defense of their homelands against the expanding populations of the Iberian Peninsula that have been tiding out of the center. These tribes have continued to grow, however, forging a new nation that has few contemporaries in the area, with a hardened military force that gained experience through mercenary service, and a large fleet which has sailed to the furthest reaches of the Earth...
And lastly, we see the little nation of the Gallic Celts, only, they are not quite so little. They have expanded through war and bloodshed to include a vast area under the dominion of their chieftoo vast, in fact. The Celts are overstretched, and they will require some consolidation if they are to remain united as a tribe...
And thus it is, the powers of the world from about the 13,000,000th millennium BCE to the present day. From now on, they embark on the hard and dangerous voyages of nations in our new, modern world...
Diplomacy
To: Mohenjo-Daro
From: Lothal
We would like an alliance, and possibly a royal marriage as well.
To: Yan
From: Xiongnu
Sinified dogs! We demand you give us the most beautiful steed in your nation, lest we grow irritated at you.
To: Tong
From: Viets
Please leave, or we may be forced to attack you.
To: Makravi
From: Sakas
We ask that you give us free passage through your lands. If you do, we shall serve as mercenaries against the evil Scythian raiders.
To: Persia
From: rouge Elamite warlords
We request military intervention. Our nation is divided and weak, and we will follow your banner, if you give us autonomy, and military assistance.
To: Persia
From: Medes
Pay us one treasure chest of gold (an eco point), or we shall be forced to destroy you.
To: Assyria
From: Armenian chieftain
I humbly ask of you the hand of your daughter in marriage, that we may build a closer bond between our kingdoms.
To: Egypt
From: Canaan
We know not what you have heard of news from the north, but the Hittites threaten to kill us all! We ought to form an alliance against the, dont you think?
To: Egypt
From: Minor official
Your divine majesty, the tribes in the south are growing restless. Suggest military garrisons be heightened.
To: Byzantium
From: Thracian warlord
If you give me arms and armor, I may reconsider sacking your fishing village
To: Scythia
From: Tauri
We will pay you a treasure chest full of the rarest ambers and spices (1 eco point) every three decades (turns), starting this next decade (turn) if you agree to aid us in warding off the Cimmerians to our East.
To: Teutons
From: Saxons
Is it not time? Let us attack the Wends and put an end to these fools.
OOC:
Tis IT. One decade a turn.
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A New Beginning (1500 BCE-1000 BCE)
In the beginning, there was nothing but shadow. No, there was not even shadow. But that was the beginning of beginnings; when the great launching point occurred, driving the heavens into existence, there was at last both shadow and light. Humanity, if they had been around, would have been able to observe the most spectacular of celestial dances that had ever existed; but alas, this great performance of the universe went without audience.
In billions of years, though, as the shapes twisted into forms that we would recognize, and a planet cooled from the crucible in which it was born, a person struggled his way out of the womb on the African plain. A real person, homo sapiens sapiens, a creature with a mind that reached sixteen hundred cubic centimeters. One who was able to observe, analyze, and explain. One who was able to think.
That person would find others of his kind, and together, they would evolve, the first tribe. It would grow bigger, as the lands of Earth, though teeming with plant and animal life, had none that would threaten man seriously. The tribe grew so large that disputes between its members tore it in two, and another band formed. And thus the cycle began again, with the human race spreading.
There were, of course, hardships along the way. Occasionally natural events threatened to destroy all of humanity. But they were overcome, one by one, as migrations ensued and they slowly spread, from continent to continent. From Africa into Asia by land. Into Europe over the Straits of Gibraltar. Into Australia by boat, into America by sea and earth. So far they did spread that they fairly forgot each others existence. Very few remembered the origins in Africa, or where they had truly come from.
**********
By 10,000 BCE, the die was still being cast, as the various groups on Earth began to tear away from one another, developing distinct cultural entities. Saharans occupied the whole of the desert of the same name, while Bantus dwelt in the Nigerian region. Pygmies dwelt across Central Africa, while their brothers, the Khoisans, lived upon the rest of Africa.
Arabs were closely related to Somalis, while the Ethiopians were distinct from both, but closely related to the Nubians. Egyptians were Semitic, and their blood relations dwelt across most of the Middle East. Persians were descended from the hybridization of the Medes to the north and the Elamites to the south, but became enemies to both. Iranian nomads from Central Asia expanded and became a massive group that spanned from Scythia to Yuezhi. Mongols and Chinese interbred on the edge of the steppe to produce the Yan people, while they took civilizatio from the flourishing Zhou states to the south. The Zhou influence spread far south, to spark the Tong to form, and far to the East, to create Yu, a Korean state in Nippon, land of the Rising Sun. Far away from China, the Mons founded their own kingdom, even though more barbaric tribes loomed from the north. The Dravidian tribes of the Indus Valley founded city states even as the Aryans loomed over them.
In Europe, the hunter gatherers that had lived there before were obliterated by the influx of Indo-Europeans, who settled far and wide; among their descendants were the Greeks, the Italians, and the Celts.
In all regions, there were very disparate events occurring at the same time. It would be best to take a look at the world one region at a time.
**********
Far from the birth of humanity, and still further from the cradle of the first civilization, were a people very different from that of the old world. The Chavin of the Peruvian coast fished the rich currents that flowed by just off their lands. They farmed, irrigating the deserts with the waters that tumbled down from the Andes from snowmelt. And, of course, they warred, amongst themselves, and against the tribes around them.
It was a lonely existence, being an isle of civilization in the shifting patchwork of Andean tribes, but they managed to keep together, and build themselves a capital at Chan Chan, an impressive artifice of massive proportions, with hundreds of pyramids and thousands of inhabitants. They look towards a bright future, even if they are somewhat isolated from the rest of the world.
**********
On the other side of an ocean which was called by some, somewhere, as Pacific in one of the most hilarious descriptions ever, was a civilization completely different to the Chavin. Not quite completely different, of course; they were more similar in some ways, further apart in others. But Im losing track of the time here; must get moving along with this update.
The Yu have been mentioned before, so we will only cover them in brief. They were a Korean people who recently (anthropologically speaking) crossed over into the land of the rising sunNippon. They retained a little of their old Korean culture, but were heavily influenced by the Ainu peoples who they encountered on the islands to their north. While they attempted to become a trading power, they are on the edge of civilization, and they are only on the periphery of the trade network, regionally speaking. In the last five hundred years, they have settled three of the main Nipponese islands, and fought many a battle with both the Ainu to their north, and the more civilized and more dangerous Yayoi to their south.
It was in the year 1227 BCE that the Yu gained their first contact with the outside world since they left the Korean Peninsula. Several ships washed up upon the shore, mighty sea falcons as they were called. The ships had low prows, high poop-decks (dont ask me, its nautical jargon), and wings in the form of great rudders attached to their sides. These were the ships of the Tong.
The Tong are a fairly modern people, having had their kingdom founded around 1430 BCE. They were a mixture of Han settlers from the northern Zhou states who had arrived in the area much later, and of the native Min Yue peoples, who were much darker of skin and of a culture much different from that of the Han. Regardless of the prejudices that they may officially have had, they interbred, and the Tong dynasty was born, quite independent of the Zhou in northern China.
The only state of close proximity is Wu, another southern Han nation. Around both of them are various tribes of uncivilized peoples, who, despite their label, are often the trading partners of Tong. The Tong also managed to develop a writing system which is quite efficient for keeping written records.
In the last three hundred years, the Tong became a seafaring people, taking to the seas in their aforementioned falcon ships. They sailed all the way to Dai Viet in the west, trading with the strange people who blackened their teeth and lived in closely bound kinship groups, and then all the way to Yu of Nippon in the East. They extended their trading network around the Shangdong Peninsula after a series of voyages, and began to trade with the Zhou states.
The Zhou are, as legend would have it, the third Chinese dynasty. First came the legendary Xia dynasty of the Five Emperors, then the Shang civilization. Then there was Zhou, the largest dynasty yet, nominally covering all the land from the steppes to the Yangtze River. Alas, this is not quite true.
The Zhou are not only the largest dynasty yet, they are also the most overstretched, and the kings of the various petty states are quite independent de facto, and only tradition keeps them in line de jure. The vast boundaries claimed are also quite ridiculous, as most of the land south of the Huang He basin is ruled by the Chu tribes, who are not at all in line with Zhou policy.
Is there a Zhou emperor? Yes, but he wields no authority.
In the north, there is a newer kingdom, one with great promise if it should expand. Yan was inherited through an obscure odd Chinese law by a steppe nomad. While many were horrified at what would undoubtedly be a barbarian ruling a Chinese state, King Wu, as he was called, proved himself to be an able ruler, and actually managed to forge a united state of the steppe and the civilized peoples alike.
This fragile edifice even managed to survive Wus death, and the kingdom lives on to this day. With a significant cavalry force to augment the traditional Chinese infantry, the kingdom of Yan is likely destined for much greater things.
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The Kingdom of the Mons is a fairly new nation along the coastline of the Bay of Bengal. Founded by a group of people called the Mons, their state of the same was a very small nation, quite powerful in its own right, with a large land military and a powerful king. The Mons, however, do face some challenges from the barbarian Pyus to the north, and their more civilized neighbors of Sri Ksetra to the north (a Pyu state, if it can be believed), and Pegu, to their west, on the Irrawaddy Delta.
To their south, the civilizing influence of these states has prompted another, Dvarvarati, to form and flourish, though it is as yet no threat at all to the Mons.
Meanwhile, internal trade in the region among the Irrawaddy states is flourishing, and the harvests bountiful, while far off, trade contacts are just beginning to be formed with the nation of the Palas in the Ganges Delta. Writing has been developed, to keep the tales and records of the kings for all eternity.
It is a time of peace and plenty, though the darker threats of barbarian invasion always loom...
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Alongside the gently flowing, muddy waters of the Indus River, the city state of Mohenjo-Daro flourishes. Founded perhaps a thousand years ago, the city has survived many disasters, including, in the most ancient of memories, massive floods that threatened to swallow up the entirety of the city state and its crops in the fields as well. Droughts have been weathered, invasions repelled, and so on.
Mohenjo-Daro is by far the most powerful of the Harappan city-states that populate the Valley. Multan to the north, and Harappa itself to the northeast may be of similar size as cities go, but they control less territory, fewer fields, and less population. To the southeast, Lothal is a city state dying out, as the Indus Valley slowly is switching course, so that they will soon have no connection to the great waters of that river.
Mohenjo-Daro only a few years ago, conquered the city state of Babaricum on the coastline, and thus, gaining a port, initiated sea trade with the far off states of Mesopotamia. It is one of the longest trade routes in all of the ancient world, and it simply brings more wealth into Mohenjo-Daro than ever before. The invention of writing also helps keep the records.
All is not rosy, of course. The river Indus is more and more unpredictable these days, and the Aryan raids from the mountains are getting quite ferocious...
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To the north of the city states of the Indus River valley is nestled a small city known as Makravi. The Makravians are a trading people, secure behind their tall walls, and sending out caravans east, west, and south, acting as a trading hub between the Indus, Persia, and the Zhou. None of these states actually know with whom they are trading, for there are too many middlemen in between, but the Makravi flourish from the trade nonetheless.
Alas, the rumbles of invasion trouble them, as well. The barbarian Scythians have arrived on the Kirgiz steppe, and are threatening to invade the region, and while the Makravi have fearsome cavalry armies and brave infantry to defend their cities, rumor has it that these new hordes are so large that they would be impossible to drive back...
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Around 1500 BCE, the Persian lord Cyrus the Founder united a series of tiny villages in the Valley of Persepolis, and established the Persian Kingdom. It was barely anything in those days, when he founded his capital of Persepolis, and promised to build an empire of it. A tiny kingdom in the sea of Iranian tribeswhat did it really matter?
Cyrus made it matter. He declared the sovereignty of his empire over an area which was apparently far too large for it, angering the Medes tribes and the Elamites. He crushed the Medes and the Elamites in turn, shattering their armies, and conquering a vast swathe of territory both north and south.
Enter Darius, his son. Determined to further enlarge the empire given to him by Cyrus, he campaigned eastward, shattering the tribes that lived there, too. The two Great Kings had forged an empire from very little, and made a nation where previously there was none. And the emperors that came after fended off the attacks of other nearby, jealous states.
Most impressive of all, a glorious new capital of Persepolis was built, a massive edifice with pyramids and stone houses and palaces extending across the valley in all directions.
Out of that city, a merchant travels on his trusty camel, wandering the dry hills of the Elamites for some time, avoiding the barbarian raiders as best he can. He comes to the port city of Ur, but wanders on past the ziggurats in the rushes, traveling further north, through the city of Uruk, and then past Kish and Akkad. North and north our merchant goes, until he sells his rare Chinese silks in the markets of Assyria.
Assyria is one of the greatest nations in all of Mesopotamia. It has many cultural edifices worthy of any city state in the region, but the pride of the nation is the very strong military consisting of citizen soldiers who, called up in times of need, serve the state and destroy their enemies with great efficiency.
It is a militaristic culture, having conquered much of Northern Mesopotamia, securing that region to their rule.
Directly to the west of the Assyrians lie the Mitanni. They are a powerful nation who was once indeed the most powerful of all the local powers. However, their conquest of the Phoenician city states weakened them enough that the Hittites have invaded them, and thus far they have had little luck against the chariot riders.
Further south, past Canaan, lies the nation of Egypt, as old as the River Nile (or so they say). It would certainly be hard to imagine the Egyptians without the Nile, or the Nile without the Egyptians. For thousands of years, they have dwelt alongside this river, through many kings and many floods of the Nile.
However, until just a few hundred years ago, they were separate. The kingdom of Upper Egypt to the south, and Lower Egypt to the north on the Delta, they were at odds, and at each others throats. Both worshiped the same gods, both were recognizably Egyptian, and both hated the others guts. It was one of those most curious of relationships.
And then, in 1453 BCE, the Egyptian pharaoh, that is to say, the Lower Egyptian pharaoh attacked and conquered the Upper Egypt in a bloody war, destroying it, and uniting the Egyptians. It is his pyramid, the Pyramid of Menes in Memphis, which is the most glorious of any, the one that everyone thinks of when they think of Egypt.
To the north, across the Mediterranean Sea, lies the Greek states of Minoa, Athens, and Byzantium. Along with Halicarnassus, Ilium, and Argos, these city states form the coastline of the Aegean Sea; each of these three states are brothers by culture, but enemies by geography.
Or at least, Athens and Minoa are enemies. These two states are opponents in the great game for the struggle of the control of the Aegean Sea. Both sides deeply wish to control this little body of water, as it is the region through which all trade from the Mediterranean to the Black Seas must flow. Both sides have invested considerable resources into bringing the whole of this body of water under their control.
Alas, for each side, they are both distracted by outside factors.
Athens is distracted by the simple mechanics of their geographyhaving a land border, they have to maintain a certain land army to fend off attacks; though officially they are marines and integrated with the navy, they are still very actively engaged in regional politicsmost notably the negotiation of union with several neighboring city states. However, the alliance and then union with the city state of Plataea in Boeotia gave the Athenians sufficient land forces to unite a considerable part of the Greek Peninsula. Of course, Argos retains its independence, while the Thessalians and Dorians look with envy upon the civilization of the Athenians.
Minoa, for its part, is far more concerned with the events that transpire in the outer Mediterraneanthat is, past the Aegean Sea, and outside of the civilized, Greek World. We have already covered many of them, but they merit reviewthe Minoans directly hired the Mitanni and Canaanites to attack Phoenicia, and then in turn hired the Hittites to attack the Mitanni. While this cost a considerable amount of gold, all potential seafaring competition from the Levant has been neutralized. Egypt, for its part, is not a major seafaring power, and should not trouble the Minoans, while the Western Mediterranean is too wrapped up in their own struggles for the moment.
As it is, then, both sides of the struggle have been attempting, with varying degrees of success, to influence the Aegean to their side, but both are distracted. For their part, Athens has managed to gain Ilium as a valuable ally in their struggle against Minoa. Minoa has tried to recruit Halicarnassus to similar purposes, but this failed; as of now, however, they have a very good rapport with the Hittites, which could be used to good advantage in dealing with the Athenian Ilium and perhaps as mercenaries in other land invasions...
Argos and Halicarnassus are neutral in this grandly polar mess, with another nation quietly remaining neutral as well...
Byzantium has also managed to maintain a stance of nonalignment. For their part, the Byzantines have managed to secure both sides of the Sea of Mamara, occupying a vital trade position, though also having a nation easily divided in case of invasion. This is both good and badthey will have difficulty defending both sides at once, but enemies likewise will have difficulty crossing the straights.
In any case, the Byzantine cities are some of the most pleasant in the world, with tree-lined streets and excellent sewer systems that provide them with a level of quality of life unknown to most of the rest of the world... Though of course, the ever-present slums have little in the way of these very expensive services. Also, the looming threat of barbarians hangs over them, especially as the chieftains of the Thracians threaten to unite fairly soon.
All the nations in the Aegean Sea region, by the way, have adopted both writing and a currency.
In the meantime, a merchant marine leaves the Golden Horn in the port of Byzantium, sailing north east. Yes, it sails to the faraway land of the Tauri... But whats this? The Tauri are a nation in disintegration, their few port villages starting to feud amongst themselves. Yes, thats right. The king of Tauri has fled in mysterious circumstances, or committed suicide, or something. Something about too crowded.
In any case, this gives Scythia more breathing room, as they happily raid the villages to the south, crushing all resistance into the ground. The pounding hooves of these horse nomads now regularly wash their boots in the water of the Black Sea (or would, if it didnt leave salt on them), and look poised to dominate the region through brute force.
Or perhaps not. The Sauromatae tribe, speculated to the be the synthesis of a combination between the Iranian Scythian nomads and the local Amazon warriors are a curiously egalitarian culture, very unlike all other known nations. They hold men and women in equal regard, and women have even been known to participate in battle, though the legend of the Amazonian women who cut off their own breasts in order to draw bows are likely myth.
In any case, these two steppe tribes vie for dominance, and either they shall ally, or when the dust settles, there shall be only one. It is the nature of the steppe tribe that the defeated tribe is integrated into the victorious, creating a greater threat to all, so no matter how the diplomatic interactions of the tribes turn out, it is bad news for the civilized world...
Meanwhile, we follow a poor trader who draws his oxcart across a very long, arduous path, occasionally warding off wild wolves with his spear, and almost as often as that, paying off the barbarian raiders that harry his path with small amounts of goodsthey always accept, for they know he will return.
The lonely trader wheels his cart through field and forest, through a thousand miles of wilderness, but the payoff is higheven with his cart plundered by raiders along the way, he is able to earn far more from the sale of his remaining goods than he ever could at home. Having wheeled his cart across the fords of the Vistula and through a few more miles of forest, he comes across the encampment of the Teutons.
These are a fierce and free folk, the Teutons are, barbarians to the civilized world, but far more than that even to the most casual of unbiased observers. The Teutons are a people with a sophisticated and unique culture, with a highly developed system of tribal government, a well disciplined army (especially for their level of civilization), and a uniquely rich culture as well.
Having been united centuries ago, these Germans find themselves surrounded by other tribes of similar caliber nowthe Wends to the west have formed a confederacy to resist their expansion, while the Saxons and Vandals are both powerful, if disunited tribes. It will take a strong ruler to survive here, on the edge of civilization, but they are a strong people, able to endure any number of hardships.
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In the far south, Zanzibar remains isolated completely from the outside world, an outlier of civilization where civilization should not exist. Life is simpler on the little island of Zanzibar, yes indeed, and on the continent that it hangs off of. Life is so much simpler, in fact, that theres very little to write about... Peaceful expansion of the nation onto the coasts has occurred, though, and friendly relations with the natives are noteworthy.
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The gently lapping waves of the Mediterranean too often run red with the blood of the slain. So it was on the shores between Carthage and Utica. Both nations were the children of Phoenician colonists, though you would not know it from the ferocity with which they attack and kill each other. In fact, these nations have focused on little else for the past few hundred years since they were founded by Phoenician refugees than killing each other, or at least grinding each other down to deliver a killing stroke.
Neither nation was particularly successful, since both focused on the land armies, presumably hoping that the other would focus on naval developments that they could crush them. Carthage, for its part, has a slightly larger army, but Utica has a navy which will allow it to supply itself in case of a siege.
Frustrated at home, both nations turned to overseas expansion, and netted some lands outside of their home on small islands, but other than that, little else was accomplished.
In fact, the main power of the Eastern Mediterranean, seawise, is the nation of Sardinia (well, the Chiss maintain a large navy, but smaller and far lesser quality-wise than the Sardines), which defends its home isle with a massive fleet, even as it trades with the rest of the Mediterranean, charging heavy tariffs for the want of any competitors.
One of their trading partners is Rome. Rome, as it happens, has rather squandered the natural resources of the Italian Peninsula (OOC: No orders!), and thus has found themselves behind the world, dangerously coming close to falling prey to potent enemies like the highland Samnite League, the Etruscan League, and Umbria...
Another boat trip across the Mediterranean leads us to the most massive rock known to man. The Rock. Or also, the Pillars of Hercules.
Csilla is a town founded on the northern Pillar, Gibraltar, itself, and as such, the citadel has an awe inspiring command of the surrounding terrainit would take a many year siege to destroy this kind of city. They have expanded somewhat across the water to the south, taking control of the other PillarTangier, in part, though other groups have taken bits and pieces of it for themselves. However, the Chiss have remained rather curiously peaceful, despite the proximity of their neighbor, and did not try to initiate naval conflict.
Meanwhile, directly to their south, Jamal has passively watched the intrusion of the Iberians into their lands no more. The king of Jamal has united many of the highland groups of Berbers, and led them to victory over recalcitrant Iberians... Though while some agitate for war with Csilla, they are misinformed, for the Iberians are not only distinct from Csilla, Csilla is furthermore only one of three Iberian nations who has intruded.
On the other side of Iberia are the Kingdom of the Killiks. Besides their unusual rituals revolving around insectoid gods, they are quite a powerful Iberian force to be reckoned with, in their own right. Part of the expanding Iberian migration that has pushed many other tribes out of their homeland, the Killiks have taken to the sea, building ships enough to colonize North Africa, though not quite how their ruler envisioned... Yes, they have secured African land, but it is on the wrong side of the Pillars. And these colonies are, as usual, threatened by the barbarians, etc.
Well, Tartessos is certainly the most misfortunate of all these nations. They were lodged in between Csilla and the Killiks, and thus were only able to secure a sliver of Iberian land; they tried to compensate by gaining control of the seas, but the control of the Pillars by Csilla locked them out of the Mediterranean, and they were only able to take a small piece of Tangier...
To the north, on the other hand, Cantabria is a fast growing free confederacy of seafaring tribes that have banded together primarily to reinforce the defense of their homelands against the expanding populations of the Iberian Peninsula that have been tiding out of the center. These tribes have continued to grow, however, forging a new nation that has few contemporaries in the area, with a hardened military force that gained experience through mercenary service, and a large fleet which has sailed to the furthest reaches of the Earth...
And lastly, we see the little nation of the Gallic Celts, only, they are not quite so little. They have expanded through war and bloodshed to include a vast area under the dominion of their chieftoo vast, in fact. The Celts are overstretched, and they will require some consolidation if they are to remain united as a tribe...
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And thus it is, the powers of the world from about the 13,000,000th millennium BCE to the present day. From now on, they embark on the hard and dangerous voyages of nations in our new, modern world...
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Diplomacy
To: Mohenjo-Daro
From: Lothal
We would like an alliance, and possibly a royal marriage as well.
To: Yan
From: Xiongnu
Sinified dogs! We demand you give us the most beautiful steed in your nation, lest we grow irritated at you.
To: Tong
From: Viets
Please leave, or we may be forced to attack you.
To: Makravi
From: Sakas
We ask that you give us free passage through your lands. If you do, we shall serve as mercenaries against the evil Scythian raiders.
To: Persia
From: rouge Elamite warlords
We request military intervention. Our nation is divided and weak, and we will follow your banner, if you give us autonomy, and military assistance.
To: Persia
From: Medes
Pay us one treasure chest of gold (an eco point), or we shall be forced to destroy you.
To: Assyria
From: Armenian chieftain
I humbly ask of you the hand of your daughter in marriage, that we may build a closer bond between our kingdoms.
To: Egypt
From: Canaan
We know not what you have heard of news from the north, but the Hittites threaten to kill us all! We ought to form an alliance against the, dont you think?
To: Egypt
From: Minor official
Your divine majesty, the tribes in the south are growing restless. Suggest military garrisons be heightened.
To: Byzantium
From: Thracian warlord
If you give me arms and armor, I may reconsider sacking your fishing village
To: Scythia
From: Tauri
We will pay you a treasure chest full of the rarest ambers and spices (1 eco point) every three decades (turns), starting this next decade (turn) if you agree to aid us in warding off the Cimmerians to our East.
To: Teutons
From: Saxons
Is it not time? Let us attack the Wends and put an end to these fools.
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OOC:
Tis IT. One decade a turn.
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