Medieval Warfare
For Europe, the middle ages were very much a time of near continous warfare between nobles and local lords. The tactics and strategy of Ancient Rome were forgotten as it's empire was divided among the various barbarians who took it's land and religion. Warfare throughout the Middle Ages advanced by various developments, ranging from the stirrup to smelting. Most armies in the medieval world relied most heavily on their mounted soldiers. In Europe these were typically knights, but elsewhere camels and horse archers were also common. Archery was used, but achieved it's greatest significance after the development of the crossbow and mastery of the longbow by British marksmen. Medieval Warfare comes to a close with the development of gunpowder, which ushers in a new age of strategy.
Medieval Philosophy
Philosophy was in a different state in the Middle Ages than it was in the classical times of Ancient Greece and Rome. In a world where Monotheistic religion played perhaps the most important role in everything from daily life to international politics, much of the philosophy of the time was theologically oriented. Christian thinkers for years debated the nature of Jesus and Marie, with such controversies leading to the split between the Roman Church and Constantinople. Such philosophy was also present in the Muslim World, where discussion of ideas between educated minds was commonplace in Harun al Rashid's Baghdad.
Ballistics
The study of ballistics is the study of flying projectiles; a science that has been applied to warfare since ancient times. The first widely accepted use of ballistics came in the form of war machines such as catapults or ballista. The fisrt catapults appeared in later Greek times, among people such as Dionysius of Syracuse, Onomarchus of Phocis, and even the legendary Alexander the Great, who perfected it's role in the battlefield as well as in sieges. Various modifications to standard catapult strategy and general ballistics developed throughout the ages, and this often gave way to more advanced siege machines. The latest popular non-gunpowder ballistical weapon was the trebuchet, developed in 12th century Italy, and introduced to much of Medieval Europe within another hundred years. Even with the development of gunpowder, trebuchets were still used as an occasional alternative. When gunpowder was in short supply at the siege of the Aztec capital of Tenochitlan in 1521, Hernan Cortes was said to have used trebuchets to continue it. The advent of gunpowder however, only created a new phase in the study of ballistics. The new science of ballistics was published in 1537 by Italian Nicolo Tartagila, at a time when cannons had already made catapults and trebuchets a thing of the past.
Gunpowder
Already included in Epic Game.
Medieval Sciences
Although European scientific advancement in the Middle Ages paled to it's latter golden age in the 16th century, it was certailny not nonexistent. Much of the Classical heritage and philosophy that fueled the Rennaissance was preserved in the middle ages. Since latin was the language of the church and the educated for years, the mathamatics of Euclid, the astronomy of ptolemy, and the works of Aristotle were all well known to late medieval scholars. Farther South in the Arab lands, philosophy and science had been thriving for centuries. Muslim scholars had made breakthroughs in Physics, Optics, Mathametics, and Medicines, even perfecting a system of Arabic Numerals that would go on to replace the old Roman system that was present in Europe at the time.
Medieval Economics
The Medieval period was marked by the disruption of the flourishing commerce of the ancient world, and it's economic life was dominated by feudalism. As the ancient empires of old dissapeared and became replaced by feudalism, currency began to vary greatly from area to area. The value of the coin depended on which type of metal it was made from. The most valuable coins were gold, then silver, and then copper. This was widely recognized as a "standard" of currency throughout the medieval world. Although there were many, the Byzantine Nomisma for a while stood above the rest, as the Byzantine Empire's vast holdings made it the standard of exchange in the Mediterranean world. Muslims did not begin to use coins until after the conquest of Byzantine lands. The most important Muslim coin became the gold dinar, which often had inscriptions from the Qur'an that reflected it's Islamic ideals. Basic trade of goods was also popular, and fairs became important events to the area where they took place.
Public Works
Public Works are a combination of politics and economics. They are some constructable object that improves the nation's infrastructure for the good of it's economy and populace. Medieval examples included mines, canals, roads, tunnels, harbors, and religious buildings. Public works in the middle ages were often financed by local merchants, but sometimes by higher authorities. These public works were intended to instill pride of ownership, not only in the ecclesiatic and royal authorities who held them in trust, but also in the hearts and minds of the citizens who built and used them, increasing favor for the ruler that brought it about. To this effect, such buildings were unbelievably successful, in that they actually instill pride of ownership in the public mind hundreds of years after they were built.
Bureaucracy (Bull****ted)
Bureaucracy is an organizational structure characterized by regularized procedure, division of responsibility, hierarchy, and impersonal relationships. A complex yet efficient bureaucracy existed in the realms of the Byzantine empire by the late medieval ages, wtih many different jobs and roles involved. Upon the capture of the important Byzantine city of Bursa, the Ottomans also became known for their efficient bureaucracy. Thus came the Ottomans' reputation for meticolous recording and analysis of nearly all major aspects of their empire.
Feudalism
Already included in Epic Game.
State Architecture
Whereas public works came on many levels, from local merchants to powerful lords, State Architecture was almost always grand and elaborate. Ranging from Cathedrals and academies in the Christian world, to Mosques and Kulliyes in the Islamic world, state architecture left us with some of the greatest architectural works of the time. The Ottoman state was particularly involved in great building projects. A succession of Ottoman Sultans undertook extensive building campaigns in the city which became the Ottoman capital, including mosques, universities, and marketplaces. The centralized Ottoman bureaucracy oversaw building throughout the empire, resulting in the fostering of a generally homogenous Ottoman architectural style throughout the Islamic world.
Monarchy
Already included in Epic Game.
State Religion
A state religion is a religious body or creed officially endorsed by the state. The degree of state endorsement of a state religion varies, from mere endorsement and financial support with freedom for other faiths to practice, to prohibiting any competing religion from operating and persecuting the followers of other religion. In the early medieval ages, travel between countries was rare, and religious identity was simple. There was only one Christian church, that of Rome, and Islam had only recently split between the Sunni and Shi'ite factions, more over a political matter than anything else. As sciences and philosophy led to theological discussion and different religious factions appeared, coinciding with increased expansion, travel, and trade between major world powers, the role of the state in religion became far more important.
Islamic Influence
For the first several centuries of it's history, Islam was a predominantly Arab affair. It rose from Mecca in the Arabian peninsula, and grew first and foremost among the arabic tribes of the area. When the Islamic Caliphate expanded to include many Christians and Jews under the rule of the Ummayads, conversion to Islam was even discouraged, as the Ummayads wanted Islam to remain a faith of the Arabs. This all changed in the closing centuries of the first millenium a.d., when various Turkic people moving Westward encountered Islam. Many converted, and after the 10th century, Turkic soldiers in the army of the Abbasid caliphate emerged as the de facto rulers of most of the Muslim Middle East. The Seljuks, were the first dominant Turkic dynasty, controlling much of these lands, but they declined with the coming of the Mongols. This gave rise to the little sultanate of Osman, which quickly became the most powerful Turkic empire in history, spreading their own brand of Islamic culture from it's heartland all the way to Hungary.
Sultanate
Sultan is an Arabic word for ruler, and was the name used by many Islamic monarchs, including ones of Arabic, Turkish, and Malaysian descent. A land ruled by a Sultan was said to be a Sultanate. In modern English, the term is most often translated to king. The Ottoman Sultanate depended on the strength of it's central goverment, spearheaded by powerful Sultans. Much of it's decline can be attributed to a period of weak Sultans who failed to keep up with the empire's western counterparts.
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. I'll have to check out the tutorials available, and then I'll probably add the buildings and resources over the next week.
