Here's a copy of my original post (made in another thread) about what I felt were some good suggestions regarding an update for Islam, as well as the arguments and reasoning behind them.
Important Suggestion to Houman/Mod Developers
First off, I'm very excited about this mod, and happy that it has finally been released in a high quality Warlords version!
There was one
important suggestion I wanted to make, that I feel will greatly improve the historical accuracy of this mod.
Islam has been given a disadvantage regarding it's trade routes (-20%
. I realize that this was done to represent the Islamic prohibition on usury (earning of interest on money), but I feel that there is a better way to do this.
Trade has been central to Islamic civilizations throughout their existence. Not only was it the source of wealth for countless Muslim nations, but it was also one of the largest reasons that the religion itself spread. Here are a few of many possible examples (excerpts in italics; from Wikipedia).
The Mali Empire (Muslim):
The Mali Empire flourished because of trade above all else. (...) Mansa Musa I, ruled over the Mali Empire while it was the source of almost half the Old World's gold exported from mines in Bambuk and Boure.
The Ottoman Empire:
With the Ottomans blockading sea-lanes to the East and South, the European powers were driven to find another way to the ancient Silk and Spice routes, now under absolute Ottoman control.
Islam in Indonesia and Malaysia:
Islam was first brought to northern Sumatra (Indonesia) by Arab traders in the thirteenth century and had become Indonesia's dominant religion by the fifteenth century.
Arab Malays (Melayu Arab) are referred to people with mixed Arab and Malay parentage. The history of Arab-Malay intermarriage goes back to around the fifteenth century with many Arab merchants and traders doing business and settling down in the Malay World after the Malaccan Raja Parameswara converted to Islam and changed his hereditary title to Sultan.
Trans-Saharan Trade
The earliest evidence for domesticated camels in the region dates from the third century. Used by the Berber people, they enabled more regular contact across the entire width of the Sahara, but regular trade routes did not develop until the beginnings of the Islamic conversion of West Africa in the seventh and eighth centuries. Two main trade routes developed. The first ran through the western desert from modern Morocco to the Niger Bend, the second from modern Tunisia to the Lake Chad area.
Proposed Solution
Instead of decreasing the income Islamic civilizations get from trade, I would propose we *increase* it. This would be more in line with history, and of course, more realistic. Rather than an actual increased amount earned from trade routes (such as +10%, +20% or whatever), I think that, cities with Muslim Temples should have +1 trade routes. This represents the impact of Arab/Muslim merchants and traders in these cities.
To symbolize the impact of a lack of usury on Islamic civilizations' economies (and offset other Muslim Temple benefits), you could decrease the gold produced in cities with Islam if it is their State Religion. For example, all cities could have -10% or -20% gold. I suggest we limit gold instead of commerce because a large amount of commerce earnings go toward research, and the Islamic world made numerous advances in all areas of science (ie: mathematics, astronomy, accounting, medicine, etc.).
I also think that the -5% production should be scrapped, and replaced by something else, but this is less important than the trade route part. Increasing the number of Islamic missionaries available at one time from 2 to 3 or 4 would also be more fitting, as Christianity and Islam are known to be the two big missionary religions (though Christianity can still have an advantage with 6 compared to 3/4 and Islamic missionaries would remain more expensive to produce).
Summary and Suggested Profile for Islam (nothing totally set; completely open for discussion):
Muslim Temple
+1
(Trade Routes)
-5% or -10%
(Gold, not Commerce, ie: research is unaffected)
Pig -1
, -1
Pig automatically gives +1 health, and -1 health simply removes that, rather than actually reducing health. Therefore, happiness should also be decreased, as having pig available for consumption would make the religiously devout unhappy.
Wine -2
Again, since wine automatically gives +1 happiness, happiness should not only be reduced to 0 but reduced by the presence of alcohol, which is clearly prohibited in Islam.
The +1
from both Cow and Sheep can be scrapped in order to get rid of the -5% for production. Also, it is more realistic, as refusing to eat pork or drinking alcohol would not suddenly make eating more lamb or beef healthier.
And lastly, as mentioned above, I suggest we increase the number of Islamic Missionaries controllable by a player at any time from 2 to 3 or 4.
Please tell me what you all think about these suggestions (especially my core point about the importance of trade to Islamic civilizations throughout history!)
Thanks for reading over my ideas
!
to a opponents new city would be useful, religion or nay), Informant, and the Assassin/Ninja.
from wine
(since Islam requires one to help poor in means available to him, there fore, by giving money, food, health care - not sure how its done in reality, need some help here)
(so building will give +5% science, Europe was disadvantages in early middleages comparing to Islam)
