SINES IV-The Eternal Wait

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Setting:



Part 1:

Spoiler :

The Eternal Wait

~5 BCE-375 CE

It was an old joke, one whispered in forgotten corners where there was no danger of being overheard. “I’d rather be his pig (hus) than his son (huios).” It was humorous in the unfunny way that truth often is. For in his realm, pigs were safe, as no one ate them, but his sons were not, as he showed no compulsion in mercilessly killing his own blood in order to keep his throne secure. It should be no surprise then, to discover that when he heard the rumors that a king was born who would one day wrest his kingdom from his hands, he acted with characteristic ruthlessness, ordering the slaughter of the handful of infants in the small, sleepy village that boasted to be the birthplace of a king. But the rumors, as rumors often are, were wrong. No royalty had been born, those who were waiting for God to act continued to wait. And so there remained in Israel no king but Herod.

And so people continued to live their lives as they had before. Unaware of how close they came to the curse of significance, they continued fishing, continued collecting taxes, continued teaching in synagogues, continued plotting against Rome. And so things remained as they were, which in this cursed land meant people continued to plot, assassinate, denounce, steal, lie, and swindle in the name of kings, emperors, nationalism, and religion. But this state of affairs, like all things, could not last. These particular affairs ended in quite the spectacular way as the entire land known as Judea revolted against the might of Rome. They were defeated, of course, as all but the most fanatical could have predicted. And as the Roman army marched towards Jerusalem, the Jewish rebels fractured into a multitude of groups, seemingly determined to kill each other and so deprive the Romans of that pleasure.

Rome, of course, politely waited, their armies camped outside of Jerusalem, determined that if their enemy was going to be as nice as to kill themselves, they wouldn’t interfere. Eventually, however, one of the groups, the Pharisees, who had never really been enthusiastic about the revolt, seized the Temple Mount and offered the Romans a deal that they couldn’t refuse: the Pharisees would deliver the city into the Roman hands in exchange for the Temple not being harmed. And thus it was, Rome leveled the city, killing and pillaging, but kept their promises. And so the Temple stood, its golden roof shining like a second sun, surrounded by nothing but ashes and rubble.

The Temple, and the city, however, were really never the same afterwards. The Romans had been thorough in their destruction of the city, enslaving much of its populous and taking everything of value in order to pay for the expensive campaign. As a result, the few people who were left were poor, unable to fund the sacrifices that had previously ascended to heaven. But no worries, the Pharisees proclaimed, for did not Adonai say through his prophets that what he desired was mercy not sacrifice? And so the Temple gradually phased out sacrifices, becoming rather a giant school with library, the main training center for the now religiously dominant Pharisees. Eventually, as people and wealth started trickling back to Jerusalem, attracted by the Temple, one of the wonders of the world, Jerusalem started to rival Athens and Alexandria as cities of learning.

In the rest of the Empire, things went on as it seemed they always had. Good emperors alternated with bad emperors, victories alternated with defeats, advances chased retreats like the sun chases the moon. Soon, despite the best efforts of several individuals, one got the distinct impression that the Empire was beginning to stagnate. In the cities, nobility lounged, their only movements the ones that lifted up their wine to their lips, even hiring others to carry their noble selves from party to party. The commoners were no better, living their lives from circus to circus, eating bread they did not earn, denouncing or acclaiming based on the state of their stomachs.

The state of the military was scarcely better. Many of the auxiliaries lounged around, spending their time gambling and whoring. Only on the border, hardened by constant raids of the bearded-ones did Marius’ spirit live on, though even there only dimly, mere fading stars to the burning sun which had shone before. It is here that many of the emperors arose, their claims backed by iron forged from the heat of many battles. Once in Rome, however, these generals turned Caesars were seduced by its splendors. Others were entrapped by its intrigues, like a fly caught in a spider’s web, destroyed by an enemy they never saw. Only a few managed to rise above, small sparks that flew upward, burning brightly for a time before eternally vanishing.

It was one of these brief sparks that decided to divide the Empire, recognizing that one man could no longer protect or rule so vast a land. So he took the title Augustus of the East, making one of the sycophants that Rome acclaimed so loudly as the Augustus of the West. Under these Augusti, were four Caesars, each charged with defending the Empire. In the east, the new Augustus built a city where the small Greek town of Byzantium stood, laying out a capital that was as much fort as city, an austere camp compared to the glitter of Rome. It was from this city, renamed Caesaropolis, the city of Caesars, that a line of warrior-emperors ruled who managed to stabilize the border in the east, checking the barbarian hordes, dedicating their many victories to Mithras, their martial protector.

Thus, like a flowing river, the invading tribes followed the path of least resistance, turning away from the well fortified east to the west. There they found Rome, the city of conquerors, waiting for them. But the Rome who once caused even the starts to tremble was no more. When the last of her great warrior-generals left to establish his eastern capital, he took the best legions with him, leaving behind only disciplineless mobs that defamed the name “Roman legion.”

It was not surprising, then, that the so-called legions crumbled before the onslaught, like a wooden shack before a flooding river. In desperation the Augustus of the West sent a message to one of his Caesars who was then in Britannia, demanding that he abandon it to the northern Picts in order to defend Mother Rome. Unfortunately for the Augustus, the Caesar did not see Rome as his mother, and, having married a native Briton, could not bear to see his adopted country burn in order to save a city he had only seen once. Thus the legions of Britannia, which might have saved Rome, did not move, sitting with dry eyes while Rome burned.

Judea

Unarguably one of the watershed moments in the history of Judaism was the Jewish Revolt. In hindsight, the revolt seems inevitable. Since the first occupation, Rome had never understood the Jewish mind, their cultural of tolerance and plurality never could grasp the Jewish fanatical monotheism. To these religious differences were added all kinds of other traditional ingredients for rebellion, ethnic pride, overbearing taxes, inept rule. Thus, the province of Judea seemed to be a lake of lamp oil, waiting only for a small spark to be entirely engulfed in flames.

The spark erupted when a group of Greeks sacrificed some pigeons before a Jewish synagogue in Caesarea. This act of defilement was used by the zealots to fan the flames of rebellion, so much so that even such a notable figure as the High Priest led an attack against the Romans. However, after winning early victories against the surprised Romans, the rebels were pushed from northern Judea by fresh Roman reinforcements, eventually being reduced to several strongholds, the most important being Jerusalem.

As the Romans besieged the city, several factions within it started fighting with each other, the most important of which were the Sicarii led by Simon Bar Giora, the zealots led by Eleazar ben Simon, the Giscalans led by John of Giscala, and the Pharisee party led by Yohanan ben Zakkai. Early on in the siege of Jerusalem by the Romans, the first three groups attempted to expel the Pharisee party, whose enthusiasm about the revolt had always been lukewarm at best. However, these three groups had underestimated the popular support of the Pharisees, and their attempted expulsion backfired as instead, the Pharisees barricaded themselves near the Temple Mount. As the other three groups continued to fight amongst themselves, the Pharisaical party continued to grow from those fleeing the brutal civil war waged between the other groups. In fact, there numbers swelled to such an extent, that they were able to launch a successful attack against the Temple Mount, completely occupying a significant portion of it. It was at this time, that Yohanan ben Zakkai was approached by Josephus, a Pharisee who was with the Romans, with a peace proposal. In this proposal, the area the Pharisees controlled, including the entirety of the Temple, would be spared if the Pharisees would let the Romans into the city. Tired of the war, the Pharisees agreed, and so, with Jewish support from inside Jerusalem, the Romans attacked and took the city, leaving the Temple and the Pharisees intact, but destroying and enslaving virtually everything else.

In the aftermath, the religious landscape of Judaism drastically changed. Previously, the three dominant religious parties of Judaism had been the Sadducees, the Essenes, and the Pharisees. The hardest hit by the revolt were the Sadducees who drew their support mainly from the aristocracy and priesthood. The wealthy aristocracy saw their wealth disappear, like water before the thirsty beast which was the Roman army, while the priesthood was reshuffled by the Romans after many of the priests, including Eleazar ben Simon, the rogue high priest, were killed for their part in the rebellion. With the Sadducees neutralized, the Essenes, who had defined themselves as fanatical opposition to the Sadducees, started to unradicalize, many merging back into the more mainstream Pharisees, with whom they held much in common, while others continued to practice their unique piousness, though this number increasingly dwindled.

The Pharisees, unlike the other two groups, flourished post-revolt, as a result of being looked upon favorably with Rome, who recognized their support in quelling the rebellion, as well as the people, who saw them as delivering them from the sectarian violence that the zealots brought. In addition, with much of the Sadducean priesthood dead or scattered, the Pharisees were the ones who took over the management of the Temple. However, unlike the Sadducees, who literally interpreted the written Mosaic Law, the Pharisees were more concerned with the oral law and the prophets. Thus, when the people were initially unable to fund the sacrifices as they had before the war, the Pharisees, drawing their support from the prophets, downplayed the need for sacrifice and promoted instead values such as mercy and repentance. It was not long before only national sacrifices, such as the Day of Atonement, were held in the Temple, and eventually, even these ceased in favor of a “spirit of sacrifice.”

As the Temple began moving away from primarily the center of cultic sacrifices, it became instead a center of religious instruction. Soon, in Judaism a man was not considered a reputable religious authority unless he studied at the Pharisaic school in the Temple. Eventually, people outside of Judea started to come to Jerusalem, attracted by the lure of the school, at first only Hellenistic Jews, but eventually even some Gentiles. The Hellenistic thought that these visitors brought to the academy at the Temple challenged the Pharisaical assumptions of most of the academy members, provoke two distinct responses. The first response, which was the popular response in Jerusalem and among the Jews of the Diaspora, was one of synthesis. Exploiting Philo’s dual distinction of the literal and allegorical meaning to its fullest, these Jews sought to integrate Greek science and philosophy while remaining steadfast monotheists committed to the law and the prophets. The second response, which was the dominant response of the countryside of Judea, was one of reaction, an attempt to completely purify Judaism from all outside influences.

As the horrors of the last revolt started to fade, this reactionary group started to have fringe elements that were even too reactionary for the reactionaries. These groups agitated, and plotted, and terrorized, or at least attempted to terrorize. Eventually, they attempted an actual revolt, attacking the Temple, believing that if they held that, then the rest of the country would join with them. Unfortunately for them, this plan was leaked, and so instead of unarmed pilgrims and scholars, they ran right into a Roman ambush which killed most of them, scattering the rest. With the mouthpieces of the ultra-radicals permanently quieted (at least until the next generation of ultra-radicals) Judaism, and Judea on the whole reached a peaceful equilibrium.


The Empire

With the creation of the Eastern Empire, a new religious force invaded the East, following the new Augustus, Mithras. Of course, it was not really a new religious force, for it had early on sprung up in the Eastern reaches of the Empire, perhaps even having been birthed in the lands of the Parthians. But while it might have been birthed in the East, it had metamorphosed in the West, like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly. Thus, when it returned to the East, it was like someone who had traveled on a journey far from home, only to return the same person as the one who left, yet different.

But despite having the favor of the Imperial court, Mithras was not really the dominant god of the East. In fact, outside of the capital only in the army and among the settled veteran colonies was the worship extensive. Despite this, many wealthy citizens, eager to curry favor with the court and in gratitude of the protection Mithras gave, built temples to Mithras, giving him some honor in virtually every city of the realm. Meanwhile in the West, with the exodus of the best troops to the East, Mithras became almost completely extinct, virtually its only presence in Britannia, where, combining with other Britannic/Roman religious strains, it enjoyed something of a renaissance.

This religion, if such incoherent mass of beliefs could be called such, was a mixture of various eastern mystery religions, local cults, and pseudo-science, especially astronomy, all with a vaguely defined attempt at a philosophical base. These cults tended to be localized, sometimes to a particular city, sometimes to a particular people group. As a byproduct of this localization, the religions tended to be synchronistic. Once a practitioner left the local area of worship to visit another land he was allowed, if not outright expected, to worship whatever god happened to be in the new location. Though some religions, following Platonic and Neo-Platonic thought, believed there to be one “ultimate” god or force, this god was seen as distant, unable to be reached, and so humanity had to content itself with the hosts of lesser deities.

Another popular religious expression was the mystery religions. In these religions, the initiated, and only the initiated held the keys to understanding the cosmos and worshiping the divine. Because this knowledge was usually conceived of in universal tones, these religions tended to have a more widespread appeal than the more localized folk religions.

The last main religious strand in the Empire was the Imperial cult. Whether in order to legitimize their rule, or bind the Empire together, whether because it was tradition, or because they actually believed it, many Emperors proclaimed their divinity, building temples so that their august personage might be freely worshiped throughout the realm. However, while many dutifully carried out their civil service of worship, few, if any actually believed the Emperor to be divine. After the division of the Empire, in fact, the Eastern Augusti abandoned the claim to divinity all together, preferring instead the religious title “Pontifex Maximus.” In the West, however, the Emperor still demanded all honors due to gods, though the actual acclaim they received, other than from their sycophants, was almost non-existent.

Thus, on the whole, the Empire at this time period was marked by a plurality of minor religions, none of which managed to gain dominance in the realm. As a result, syncretism and tolerance were the chief religious values cherished. In the end, with few exceptions, it did not really matter what religion one belonged to, as few would demand commitment or change in lifestyle. And so it was, that the citizens of Rome and the Empire, those pigs of Epicurus’ sty, sat around, eating and drinking until the ending of their world.

Part 2:

Spoiler :

The Eternal Wait: Part 2
375 CE-440 CE

It was late spring, the ferocious heat of the summer not quite making the city a baker’s oven. The Augustus, surrounded by various nobles and bodyguards lounged under a purple awning, alternating between sipping chilled wine, lazily talking, and groping the nearest female servant. Around them, separated by a cordon of space as well as influence, stood the citizenry of Rome, their eyes riveted to the scene below them. Suddenly a roar from the crowd went up, like a sudden clap of thunder. Looking up from a pretty little slave he had just bought, the Augustus saw that one of the gladiators was down, the triumphant victor holding his sword aloft; its point aimed downward, waiting for permission before delivering the final blow. All around the coliseum thumbs pointed down. Seeing this, the uncaring Augustus held his own thumb down, an action that caused the crowd to go into a frenzy as a small river of blood stained the sandy ground.

That very night, if ancient historians are to be believed, it was the Augustus’ blood that stained the ground, mingling with the growing red ocean of blood from those, who, only a few hours earlier, had been cheering at the sight of death. Rome, the city of conquerors now laid conquered, for one violent night her streets echoing with the unfamiliar screams of her inhabitants. Wraithlike, Romans flirted around the city, their feet slipping on pools of blood, occasionally tripping over a body. This had to be a dream…right? But it wasn’t a dream, the citizens, many of whom slept the eternal sleep, did not wake up.

In the provinces, it seemed as if no one noticed that the Queen of all Cities lay raped and bruised, sprawled in the gutter. For as long as anyone could remember, the various Augusti of the West made no effort to oversee the provinces, preferring reports about the size of women’s breasts to reports on the size of border legions. Thus as long as tribute to fund their extravagant lifestyles and grain to feed the masses continued to flow into Rome, the Augusti left the provinces to their own devices. In addition, there were no ties of paternal loyalties binding the various western Caesars to Rome. Many Caesars, including all of the border ones, were themselves lately classified as “barbarians” by Rome, trading the power of their tribal armies for land and political power within the west. Already, the cords which bound the west together were becoming undone, as the legions of Britannia, refused to obey the orders of the Augustus to abandon the island, proclaiming their independence by their inaction.

It was only the Augustus of the East that showed any interest in the fate of Rome. Fearing that if the barbarians continued to wander about they would eventually turn back to attack the east, or almost as bad, interrupt the trade route between the wealthy western north Africa and the east, the Augustus named a new Western Augustus from one of the patrician families of Rome, making preparations that made it seem as if he was planning on backing up his appointment with military force if necessary. But whether this was his actual intentions or just a ruse, the world never found out because, the barbarian king, who remembered all to well the defeats the Eastern army had given him before he had turned west, accepted an offer which made him Caesar of northern Italy, as well as giving his tribes plenty of land to settle in exchange to his loyalty to the Western Empire.
Thus in the West, things continued in the pre-established pattern. Various tribes or alliance of tribes from outside of the Empire’s borders would periodically sweep in a migrating invasion. Occasionally these tribes would be turned aside, held back by the armies at the disposal of the local Caesar. More often than not, however, the tribes would break through, or in some cases be let through, passing through the Empire to settle in some spot where they would force the local authorities to name their leader Caesar of the Empire. Once this process had started, the Western Augustus proved powerless to stop it, even if he desired to. The armies had long since turned from “Roman” armies into local armies raised and equipped by the various Caesars from their local tribes. At the most, all the Augustus could do was play the various Caesars against one another, though even this, as time passed, they increasingly seemed disinclined to do.

Meanwhile, the Eastern Empire also continued its trend of decentralization, though for entirely different reasons from the west. Because of the almost constant pressure created by the Parthians and their successors in the east and the various tribes to the north meant that most Augusti spent virtually their entire lives with their armies on the field. Because of this, as well as because very little of the bureaucratic mechanizations transferred over to the capital of Caesaropolis, most of the governing of the realm was taken over by local rulers who were given the title of Caesar. Unlike in the west, however, while having significant local political power, these eastern Caesars had no military power, as the armies were concentrated almost solely on the border under the authority of the Augusti.

However, because the Augusti and their heirs spent so much of their lives protecting the borders of the realm, there was the continuous threat of a succession crisis as the Augusti and their heirs were in perpetual risk of dying in battle. The fear was that in such a crisis, the various border generals would all strive against one another for the title of Augustus, leaving the border defenseless and the heartlands of the Empire vulnerable. Meanwhile, the Caesars themselves stood little chance of attaining the title in such a scenario as any significant faction of the standing army could easily brush past any levies that the Caesar’s attempted to raise.

It was one of the many reforms of Augustus Julius, himself heirless, that a solution to a possible succession crisis was reached. At the death of an Augustus, it would be the Caesars who would meet to appoint the successor. This successor, however, must be one of the border generals. In this way, both spheres of power in the East, the Caesars and the generals, remained satisfied. The Caesars not only gained the power of appointment of the next Augustus, but they also ensured that the border would remain stable, its armies not wasted in dynastic struggles. In addition, by electing only generals, they ensured that no Augustus would attempt to combine military with political power, threatening their own local political power. The generals ensured that the throne of Augustus would always be held by a military man, that the defense of the borders would always remain a priority. In addition, all generals had, in theory at least, the possibility of ascending to the throne without the risk that warfare brought. In warfare, if one sought the throne but failed, death was the only possible outcome. In this system, however, one could seek the throne and if failed, would still be able to keep their generalship, losing nothing. Lastly, the future Augusti benefited from this arrangement. With their own army combined with the wealth of the united provinces, they were virtually unassailable from civil war. Because of this, the wealth of the East wouldn’t be drained by constant succession crises and so each Augustus would inherit a stronger Empire than they would without this system. Thus, while there were occasional civil wars, they never reached a significant magnitude, each one being easily crushed by the elected Augustus in a relatively short time.

While the East managed to keep semi-unified, even the illusion of unity in the West was soon to evaporate like dew before the flaming sun. After the sack of Rome, the eternal city had never recovered. The patrician Justus, who the East had made Augustus after the fall of Rome, had attempted to revitalize it, but had been thwarted by lack of funds and hostility towards the plan by the Caesars, who feared that a stronger Rome would attempt to encroach on their by now traditional powers. Eventually, Justus was forced to abandon his project, even eventually leaving the city in order to live in one of his vast estates outside of it. Before the sack, the Augusti could at least count on some of the wealth, if not the power, from the provinces to trickle in to the capital in order to finance their extravagant lifestyle. After the sack, even these funds were diverted, some going East through trade networks, more going into the pockets of the local Caesars.

Despite this, the title of “Augustus” still held some value and thus the Augustus were still kept around. Coins were minted, taxes were raised, troops were trained, all in the name of the Augustus. In reality, however, the Augustus had as much power as the Caesars of northern Italy, descendants of those who had sacked Rome, gave them. But they still had their title, and the oversight, at least in name, of a still vast empire. Still, all it took was one ambitious man…

As fate would decree, that ambitious man was Augustus Marius. As a rule, the Italian Caesars refused to put an ambitious man on the throne, preferring a weak mouthpiece to someone who might be a real emperor. Nevertheless, Marius managed to gain the title when the northern Caesars were threatened by internal strife, and one of the younger sons by the name of Aetius sought the support of Marius’ own legions to secure the Caesarship. However, Aetius found that Marius was less pliable than an Augustus should be, ignoring his “advice” and daring to pursue an independent policy. This caused the Caesar to raise his own army and appoint a new Augustus, marching on Rome to enforce this regime change.

While this had been going on, Marius had not been idle, sending out messengers to other Caesars for their support. A coalition was formed, its members fearing the actual power of Aetius more than the potential power of Marius. Thus, while Aetius was besieging Marius in Rome, another army moved behind Aetius, encircling the besieging army. Unfortunately for Aetius, the Roman army had deteriorated since the namesake of his title, Julius Caesar, won in a similar situation at Alesia. Facing a combination of attacks from both the inside and outside of his encirclement, Aetius’ army broke, abandoning the siege. Aetius himself disappeared in the rout, most likely killed by a soldier who didn’t recognize him, though his body was never found.

Had Marius been content with this, history might have turned out much different. However, Marius’ ambition showed itself again. Using the same tactics of dividing the Caesars that had worked so successfully in his war against Aetius, Marius marched northward, accepting the homage of some Caesars and defeating others. However, Marius had made the crucial mistake of overestimating his oppositions disunity and well as the unity of his own allies. Seeing an Augustus act, well like an Augustus, a second coalition of Caesars was formed, this time against Marius. Marius again sent out messengers to allies and potential allies to augment his own personal army. However, the bonds of homage which Marius had just received proved their own worth, as he was ignored by many of the same Caesars who had just promised undying loyalty. Thus, when Marius went out to meet the coalition, he found himself outnumbered, deserted by those whose support he had counted on. Predictably, when the two armies met like crashing waves, those allies of Marius, seeing that their cause would not be victorious, abandoned Marius, offering Marius up as a sacrifice in order to gain a more favorable peace for themselves. Marius’ own army, however, proved their loyalty with their blood, surrounding him like chicks surround the mother hen, paving the ground with their corpses.

After the battle, Marius fled to the East, hoping to find an army there willing to support his bid for the West. Unfortunately for him, however, the East he fled to was not the East which had saved Rome after its sack by the threat of its arms. For the East was itself facing a challenge that would irrevocably change the history of the region forever. For from the north came, as their Jewish citizens would proclaim, as if from the very gates of Sheol came the Riders of Abaddon.[1]


[1] Hebrew for “The Destroyer” having no connection to the NESer by that name…or do they???

Part 3:

 

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Setting Continued:

Part 3:

Spoiler :

The Eternal Wait: Part 3
440 CE-

At the start of what no one would ever call 439, the Eastern Empire had reached what many would later call its height. At this time, Emperor Leo was in the third year of his reign, having spent the first two years defending the Empire against raids from the north and putting down a few rebellions of the more ambitious generals who refused to acknowledge his election. Now, with borders secured, the Emperor looked forward to spending time in the capital.

Unfortunately for him, he was never to get that rest. To the north, from which came the seemingly never ending raids, a man was busy forging the divided tribes into a united army, tied together as closely as the sinews of the horses which he and his men rode into battle. He was not the first, of course, to attempt this. Nor was he even the first to succeed. But he was the first to completely harness the potential of the tribes, to steer them like a bit steers a horse. This success would ensure that the name Oktar would be remembered by generations.

Now, as Emperor Leo looked forward to his long awaited rest, the newly united tribes, rushed down, sweeping from the north like a bitter wind. Such was the size of their army that ancient historians claimed that one could detect their approach from miles away due to the earthquakes caused by their galloping steeds. One of the first tests for this army was at the important city-fort of Ratiaria[1] where they met the first real Roman army. However, as it turned out, the test was psychological more than actual as the Huns easily routed the four legions[2] that faced them there, taking and sacking the town.

Buoyed by what they interpreted as proof of their superiority, the Hunnic army moved southward, bypassing all of the various border forts that guarded the border, enticed by the Siren’s call of the wealthy cities further to the south. These cities had been the forbidden prize of countless would-be raiders and conquerors, the fabled cities of the east, flush with the accumulated wealth of centuries, their pristine streets free from the harsh treatment of looters for centuries. But there was a good reason these cities had managed to accumulate the wealth that attracted the lust of northern tribes. For these cities were jealously guarded like a rich, old merchant guards his beautiful young wife. Back at home, safely getting drunk with boyhood companions, it seemed an easy task, defeat the Roman army and gain wealth beyond anyone’s imagination. And now, with the defeat of the legions at Ratiaria, things were still looking easy. Perhaps all those stories of Roman strength were exaggerated, the products of weaker men attempting to excuse their own failures. Perhaps the cities of the south were just waiting for someone with strength to divest itself of the burden of wealth.

But while these thoughts, and others like them, flirted through the minds of many in the Hun’s army during those heady days after the fall of Ratiaria, they would soon be divested of them. For if they were made drunk by the strong drink of victory, they would soon be made sober by the harsh medicine of reality. For while it was true that they won a great victory over the Romans at Ratiaria, those men were merely the advance guard, like the first few stars which appear at dusk before the sun sets and they fill the sky. This fact the Huns quickly learned as reports from their outriders slowly began to trickle in to the main army delivering their grim news. The Romans were massing at Serdica.[3]

Emperor Leo, unfortunately for the Huns, was not a stupid man, and had been keeping an eye on the situation among the Hunnish tribes since his ascension. Thus, the invasion did not catch him completely off guard. Already at Serdica, he had amassed an army of fifteen legions with more marching in. Thus, while the army was still outnumbered by the Huns by a fair number, Oktar knew that he had to deal with the threat quickly as time lavished her favor on the Romans.

Thus, like a hunter launching his hawk at his prey, Oktar sent his army after the Romans, wishing for a decisive victory so that he might more quickly enjoy the spoils of war. Meanwhile, in the Roman camp, there was division among the generals about what to do. Some favored staying behind the safety of the fortifications at Serdica. Since the Hunnic army was not equipped for siege, if the Romans could hold off the initial attempts at storming the city, the Huns, they felt, would continue south, bypassing the city. Then, when the Huns marched northward again after their raid, they would be burdened by plunder and their army thinned by the effort in taking the southern cities, making them an easier foe to handle. This council, however, was rejected by Emperor Leo, who felt it a shameful thing for the Emperor to fearfully huddle in safety, leaving his subjects to the rapacious wraith of the invaders. Thus, when he heard that the Huns were moving towards Serdica, he departed with his army, rushing north to meet his fate on the battlefield.

At fate’s decree, these forces met on the provincial border of Thrace. It was here that Emperor Leo decided to make his stand, having a few days time to prepare the site to his liking before the Huns arrived. Thus, when the Huns arrived, they found the Romans prepared for them, the natural terrain enhanced by what fortifications as could be constructed. This did not daunt the Huns, however, as they were confident of victory, owing to the ease of their march up to this point.

Once each side had made sacrifices to their various gods and inspected various omens, the battle began with a Hunnic attack. Quickly the opposing strategies became apparent. Leo had specifically strengthened the wings in order to prevent the Huns from outflanking him. In addition to this, Leo had kept some reserves back, which he carefully fed into the battle, a little at a time, like a miser unwilling to part with his gold. In contrast, Oktar, unused to the Roman way of fighting, had sent all his men in at once, his only tactic being to immediately overwhelm the enemy with the weight of his numbers. Thus, the Huns made charge after charge, their lines hitting the Romans with the force of a crashing wave. Night, however, found the Romans still in possession of the field and the Huns made the trek northward again.

Unfortunately for the Romans, however, their victory came at a great price. Their Emperor, Leo, had died, killed during the battle as he had led the last of his reserves in a charge against the enemy lines. Afterwards, the assembled Caesars of the realm elected his son in his place, and the Empire went on, believing it had won peace through its blood.

However, peace proved to be as real as a desert mirage. In the year after the battle, Oktar had been busy, campaigning in the north against the rebellions that had sprung up after his defeat and consolidating his position at home. By then, he was ready to make another southern invasion.

This time, the outcome was much different. Oktar had learned his lessons from his defeat at the hands of Emperor Leo, while the new emperor, Emperor Leo II, had his father’s name, but little of his military skill. Thus, Oktar, refusing to attack the Roman’s prepared positions, outmaneuvered the Romans, catching them off guard and destroying them at the battle of Chersonesus. This battle was a disaster for the Romans, as they lost the standards of seven legions. In addition, after this battle, Emperor Leo disappeared, and he was assumed dead, though his body was never found. Exploiting this victory, Oktar moved eastward, towards Caesaropolis.[4] With their Emperor dead, their armies scattered, and seeking to avoid the sack of their cities, the assembled Caesars in Caesaropolis rushed to offer Oktar the title of Augustus, a title which he accepted.

At this, the entire empire breathed a sigh of relief. Oktar himself proved to be a generous conqueror. After ascending the throne, no city was sacked, and if the army committed atrocities, it was covered up by the powers in charge. Oktar assumed the regal name of Leo II, dating his reign to the death of the first Leo in battle, and producing documents in which Leo I named him his legal heir. Though obvious forgeries, the Caesars thought it wise to humor the second Leo the Second, dutifully paying all the back taxes he claimed they owed him since the “start” of his reign, and thinking themselves lucky to get off so easily.

Oktar, however, was not a man to enjoy peace for long, and so it was not long before he found a new conquest to attempt. At the court at this time happened to be Marius, formerly Augustus of the West, who had come east in an attempt to gain an army to reinstate his throne. Using Marius’ claim as his excuse, Oktar decided to teach the rebellious western Caesars to respect their oaths of loyalty. Thus, the hosts of the Huns again went on the move, this time augmented by the battered, yet still formidable legions of the east.

For one who cut his teeth on fighting the cream of the Romans, the west proved little challenge. Taking advantage of their disunity, Oktar marched quickly, defeating several Caesars in succession before they were able to combine their forces against him. This advance led him to the very gates of Rome, which capulated to him without a fight, leading to a ceremony where Oktar crowned Marius as Augustus of the West. The newly (re)made Augustus, however, did not get much of a chance to enjoy his new position, for once again, Oktar set out, dragging the unwilling Caesar along with him. His goal this time was Gaul, in order to ensure the loyalty of those Caesars.

Gaul, however, proved a more difficult opponent than Italy did, mostly because they were given time for the various Caesars to mend their differences and unite against the new outside threat. Thus, when Oktar marched northward, he met an army numerically equal to his own. However, whereas the numbers were similar, the quality was not, as both his battle-hardened Huns and the dependable eastern legions were both superior to the allied army, which were made up off the various Caesars’ household troops heavily augmented by peasant conscripts. Thus the battle, if one could even call it that, though it lasted for most of the day, was never in doubt, leaving Oktar once again victorious.

It is unknown how long Oktar would have continued conquering, nor how far it would have taken him. What is known is that he died in Iuliobona[5] of unknown causes, preparing for an invasion of Britannia in order to bring that province back into the fold of the Empire.

Predictably enough, with Oktar’s death descended a host of wars. Oktar left behind him three sons, all of which claimed their dead father’s throne. Added to this was Augustus Marius, who immediately moved to consolidate his position in the west, as well as the various Caesars who moved to regain their independence. In the east, the throne remained vacant, as the eastern Caesars continued to debate who would become emperor, probably hoping that if they delayed long enough, everyone would kill each other off, allowing the east to go back to the formula which had worked so well for it in the past. For the east, and indeed the whole world, however, there was no going back.

[1]Archar
[2]At this time in the east, each legion had a peacetime strength of 2000 men.
[3]Sofia
[4]Constantinople
[5]Lillebonne

 

[silver 2039]

B]Players, stories, orders, countries, NPCs, updates, map.[/B]

Players - no limit. Anybody can join except religious people, right-wingers, left-wingers, capitalists, Nazi’s, socialists, mentally ********, ugly, lesbian, gypsies, dinosaurs, white people, brown people, blacks, yellow people, Jews, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Pagans, Heretics, homosexuals, witches, Satanists, hippies, liberals, conservatives and people who disagree with me, people who agree with me, Indians, Chinese, Koreans, Pakistanis, and anyone else.


Stories - not necessary, but very encouraged. Good storywriters would get bonuses based on their stories. Write bad stories and you get bad events though….

Orders - orders in a list. Please, not only stat-based and military orders - I encourage innovative solutions of various problems, removing swamps and rainforests in massive programs, making government reforms and many other such GENOCIDE! Please be detailed (but not too detailed) do not give vague orders. PM required. And battle maps are good. Note that each turn is 5 years.

Countries - pick a NPC, create your own (tell me where and tell me some details - ruler, brief history, culture - and I will give you the stats) or start a rebellion or demand for independence. Note that these are not bound to succeed. If your country is in dire straits, you can switch country or flee and establish a “government in exile” and lead the resistance movement. Also, please read your nation background, and don’t act uncharacteristically for it. Rebel groups can be played of course.

If two or more players claim one nation and all of them really want it, they are encouraged to start a civil war and try to out rule the other player’s ruler. Genocide, atrocities, and destroying things for no reason in particular are encouraged. I like bloody-mindedness.

NPCs, I will play them, kind of. Same as the NPCs in all other NESes of late – but don’t expect them to roll over just because they’re NPC. As I’m the one playing them – fear them as much as PCs if not more. What terrible atrocities will I inflict on you?

Updates – I will, set a date and deadline for orders and stuff so I can update. The updates will be on the weekends. I want orders by Friday with the update on Saturday/Sunday I live in Bangalore India and thus I will be updating according to IST (Indian Standard Time). Got that you arrogant Western bastards? My time not yours.

Map – I will use the ones made by Strategos. I will put in cities (black circles), fortifications (line of black squares) and dissent areas (white area within nations), stalemated fronts, (red or yellow lines), destroyed city (hollowed out black circles)

Interesting Times (IT)

This is, basically, the same as what happens in most NESes. You know, the usual thing with updates, orders, etc. The main difference from your average fresh start is that turns will take more like 5 years, or eventually even less. Oh, and it only goes on for a certain amount of turns - either until the loss of interest, either until the end of all major wars if the IT was on for over five turns.

Boring Times (BT)

In between of the ITs, there are the BTs. While ITs are the shorter, yet more interesting and exciting periods of history, the BTs are the (probably) longer periods of quiet growth and expansion, slow progress and (mostly) minor wars. Unlike with IT, you don't have any direct control over what happens to your country during that time. HOWEVER, a) its development will be based to some degree on what happened in the last IT and b) you could leave something of a development plan, parts of which might be followed, at least in the beginning. Oh, and some nasty things could happen to some of your countries during the BT - know that it will only happen if I think there are good reasons for it. But if after a BT you decide that you are completely disillusioned with your nation/the way it developed, you probably should try and find another nation for yourself.

Government

Your nation needs a system by which is manages its people. This is your Government. You can have different types of Governments, and can invent your own , but keep it realistic, please. They all have their advantages and disadvantage, and switching between them carries its risks/benefits. Please think it over when you switch between Government types, as it will have an effect, sometime irreversible.

Example types of Government:

Government - is your form of government, in some detail (like "Decentralized Feudal Parliamentary Theocratic Monarchy", though I hope to make it shorter).

In the brackets, "Efficiency" - or civil leadership - will be given as well. It is a level stat - i.e. it has a definite level system, and you can raise it by one level per eco. point (divided by size stat, of course - sorry about not pointing that out in the initial version of these rules). Anyway, Efficiency signifies the efficiency of your state apparatus (as opposed to the personal qualities of your leader); a high Efficiency will allow you to control your resources and carry out your plans far more efficiently, a low Efficiency will mean that reforms and suchlike will be hard to carry out, corruption will grind away at the economy, funds appropriated for vital stuff will mysteriously disappear and the people will grow angry. In other words, this is a very important stat, which will mean the difference between success and failure.

If the country is parliamentary - or has some other body or person with some control over your actions - there will be a possibility of some or all of your orders being overridden, if they disagree with it. This is why argumentation for your actions can be quite important; that said, it might be possible to bribe blackmail or coerce the “controllers”, or just kill them at worst. I do hope I don't need to explain why that is in most cases ill-advised... Also ill-advised are sudden, radical changes in governments and various hasty reforms, especially if they do not make sense at all, for instance due to being completely anachronistic. So perhaps its better to think twice, and maybe consult me about the likelihood of this sort of things. Because in real and NESing history, many empires were doomed by overeager reformers out of touch with the real state of affairs...

Also note that if your country is decentralized (it should be easy enough to figure out from the government form), it will be harder to introduce empire-wide reforms; also, there is greater chance of disintegration should things go badly. However, know that the regional political elites tend to defend their freedoms and priveleges fanatically...

Efficiency: None-Imaginary-Corrupt-Incompetent-Blundering-Tolerable-Improving-Competent-Efficient-Great-Brilliant

Technology

Tech cannot be directly controlled by you. Technological advances tend to be rather spontaneous, and can be affected by stories, people, and random events. As the leader you could attempt to spearhead technological advances Also education is very important in giving you advances and projects also. For instance suppose the Gupta Empire could develop a flame thrower tech because of how educated their country is and how they built a massive University at Gaya or something. Their tech would give them an edge in battle until other states copied their technology. So there are no clear cut tech levels merely advances that can you different advantages and that I will keep track of. Suppose you have discovered the ability to make steel swords and your enemy hasn’t I will keep this in mind in battle. Or if you have developed a water pump which helps you irrigate crops your economy may get a boost.

Military

That will, as of now, consist of army and navy (though I suppose the Asian nations do have an air force if you can call kites that&#8230

What will you have in it? Anything that is allowed by your tech. level (see Technology Level)! Each “stat-growth” will increase any part of the Army by 5 thousands and the navy by 5 ships (however, there could be exceptions). But know that if you have too large an army, your economy will probably suffer, as will perhaps, depending on your culture's stance on war, your confidence; of course, both could be restored by successful military campaigns.

UUs - one per nation, but can be changed at any point (though the newly-“demoted” UU units will not be happy). I will keep a list of them, somewhere. Could be land, sea, or air at a later point. They will be separated from other units in the stats and are 1 level higher in quality than the rest of the army. The UU may never consist of more than half of the regular army.


Logistics-Logistical support is necessary for any real military operations, so you will probably have to invest 1 eco. Point into each such operation, whether offensive or defensive (Unless it is your homeland); if involving a particularly-large army (or navy), you might have to invest more than one eco. Point

Deployment-Not all you troops will be all over your nation at all times. You will have to deploy your troops to specific areas to defend or attack. The area they are deployed to will be listed next to them. You can also set aside troops as reserves. You should have a defensive strategy at all times otherwise people will run all over you.

Irregulars and militias will exist, but not in the stats; usually if they do exist they will be mentioned in the update. As they're virtually impossible to use as regular troops and as they never do have that kind of organization, its a bit pointless to put them up in the stats.

Levies, a.k.a. conscripts, will be in the stats. How many you may raise per turn depends on a variety of factors, so here, again, you'll probably have to ask me... Still, 30 thousands is a pretty good average. Do note that levying too many troops will be detrimental to the economy and the confidence, and that the levies are generally very incompetent, although they're good cannon fodder and can be used for garrisoning. Also note that in invaded provinces and besieged cities, a certain amount will be levied automatically.

Training will be replaced with Quality, which might be defined as a sum of training, experience, military leadership, equipment, organization and so forth. For all the purposes, though, its the same as training. It is raised by eco. points and lowered when you grow your army by too much. It costs the same amount of eco points as your size to grow your army quality.

Mob-Pathetic-Poor-Tolerable-Normal-Better-Good-Great-Mighty-Juggernaut

Expansion

Its pretty much a given that you will try to expand your empire. Yes, you still could send your legions to conquer the nearby unclaimed lands, and, if that works, you could try to make your people go there. But you will probably have to drag them there unless they want to go there all by themselves, and for that they need to have a really good reason to do it. Military occupation does not yet mean settlement. Meanwhile, if your city is overpopulated and there is an almost-free valley just across the border which you for whichever reason didn't take it, then the settlers will go there, kill or enslave the natives, and settle there all by themselves. Mere occupation without settlement will be "outside" of your borders, but settlement will bring lands within them. Lands without your settlements... you could control them, as protectorates or as mere occupied territories, but these will be much harder to control. Of course, if you don't try to control your "automatic" expansion (or, rather, don't garrison what is gained and don't make a true effort at paying attention to it), you might slowly lose control over your new territories to those settlers...

Colonies

Colonies, in this case, are major and effective overseas possessions (i.e. bigger than single trade outposts or forts); they have separate, though much simplified, stats and a fair (though varying) degree of autonomy ensured above all else by the tyranny of distance. That degree, along with other related things, is mentioned in the “government” stat; naturally, it can be dictated by the colony’s owner, but this can lead to trouble. The “income” a colony brings in will depend on many factors (such as resources, investment and population), but particularily in settler colonies it is likely to start out at zero but grow overtime, especially with additional investment. The “militia” stat represents the amount of militia regiments that could be raised to fight off an invasion – or to rebel against you. You could use militias in aggressive campaigns, but usually that won’t work too well, especially far from home. You could also place your troops in the colonies, ofcourse, though they might be some complications in that case as well, especially if you don’t pay for the logistics. Lastly, a colony’s Loyalty is basically the same as Confidence (it even uses the same levels! ), only for the colony specifically.

You need to pay 1 eco. point to establish a colony; note that this would not necessarily be successful, so you might need to invest more over time to set the colony up properly.

Barbarians - the usual - these barbarians occupy wide areas all over the world, and are light gray on the map. They have no stats, and are chiefly divided into a million of tiny tribes (however, I will mostly give you the names of the main ethnic groups, in most cases), though short-term tribal leagues are possible (also, some of those might evolve into civilized states...). It is possible to try and communicate with them, but that's rather unlikely to work, due to the aforementioned decentralization; so its probably better to order the diplomats to try and influence the barbarians to do one thing or another. Note that success isn't at all guaranteed... Also, there will be dark gray barbarians. These are more organized and civilized, they represent the more coherent tribal federations or even protostates, and its easier to communicate with them; often these will break up after a while, but it is also possible for them to suddenly become civilized without any warnings. Barbarians are sneaky like that.

Economy

This is a measure of how good your nation’s economy is doing. Each turn, you have “eco” to spend, which represent a portion of your budget. Note that you automatically spend enough to sustain whatever infrastructure, etc. you have in place. Consider the eco that you spend to be additional. Everything is sustained by your budget, although I reserve the right to make nasty random events occur, or positive ones, which will randomly change things, but never too drastically. In order to advance to the next eco level, you must invest your eco/turn+1 into your economy. There is no maximum eco level. You may invest as much into your economy as you like per turn.

In ones economic stats, one will now see that some people have stats that look like this:

Economy: XXXX (A/B/C/D/E). This is interpreted as follows:

XXXX -
A – Total eco you make a turn
B-Economy level
C – Eco from special cities, centers of trade, industry, shipping, mining etc..
D - Eco that you must invest to grow your economy by the next level
E-Banked Eco

Eco points can be banked in your treasury and given to others.

Also you should note that the economy can also be boosted by innovative economic policies and ideas and such as well as a combination of investment of the same number of eco as your size similarly to create a new special city you must invest the same number of eco as your size and say what exactly you are doing to turn it into a special city. You could also simply rape another country loot them nude, and enslave them. That’s always fun to do.

It is possible to get one turn extra eco. points, chiefly those taken from conquered territories (however, the economy of those areas will not be part of yours before that territory is properly integrated into your country) or received as bonuses. If you need to get extra funds fast, you might loan them from the merchants, or confiscate them from someone, or raise special taxes; however, all those actions will have their repercussions...

Miscellaneous Stats

Those stats below are all grown with eco. points, but, like with growing economy itself, you are supposed to point out what exactly you are doing.

Education

This is just how your people are... educated, I guess. Obvious enough. With a good education, you have better chances of receiving a “miraculous invention”. It also affects just how advanced are your weapons, and thus the success of your army in a battlefield.

Once someone reaches Enlightenment education, he is more likely to develope advanments and invetions.

Size

The larger your country is, the more money you will have to spend to grow any particular stat. You could invest money into stat growth over time if your country is large enough; in that case, the stat will still increase, but only in some, probably central, parts of the country.

Small (1)-Medium (2)-Above Medium (3)-Large (4)-Huge (5)-Gargantuan (6)-Half the World (7)

Infrastructure/ Living Standards

Roads, bridges, boats - all things used for transportation of goods and men - are listed under infrastructure. The higher is your infrastructure, the easier it is to move your (or enemy) troops across your territory; also, infrastructure could sometimes slightly grow economic benefits from trade centers, and it is a must for maintenance of a high culture level in large empires, as well as actually maintaining your grip on faraway provinces. This is pretty simple. The higher your infrastructure the better your living standards are, the happier your population is; the lower, the tougher it is, because of the tougher life. Living standards drop easily, due to economic weakness and war; they are raised as any other economic stats are raised, but the more they are raised the more greedy your people get for more. To create a classic revolutionary situation, raise the living standards somewhat and then neglect them and let them drop.

None-Dirt Paths/Slums-Pathetic -Barely Tolerable-Tolerable-Improving-Good-Efficient-Very Efficient-Great-Excellent

Culture (CANNOT BE GROWN WITH ECO)

This is how culturally strong, patriotic and unified your nation is. A nation with a strong culture is less likely to fall into a civil war, and its people would resist most invaders and otherwise help their government. This also influences army morale. A weak culture is unlikely to be as resistant to outside threats; there are often rebellions and defections. The higher your culture is, the higher are the chances of assimilating less militant minorities. And even if you are occupied the invaders might get assimilated.

Confidence(CANNOT BE GROWN WITH ECO)

People can be fiercely unified and patriotic, but they will not necessarily like their ruler - in fact, a strongly cultured nation with little confidence in its leaders can, in its cultural unity, lynch the rulers and fire their remains from cannons. Into the huge pot filled with boiled sharks. Not that the rulers will care by then... You can grow confidence by propaganda and a speech to persuade the people that you are the leader they need. If it’s a junk speech I’ll have your leader lynched by an angry mob.

Lynching-Hateful-Resentful-Barely Tolerating-Tolerating-Respecting-Admiring-Loving-Nation Personified

Projects

Modernization programs, national revival, technology development, canal digging, and other PROJECTS. You tell me what it does; I tell you how it takes to build it and how much it costs. If you neglect it for a long time though, progress will become wasted as funds are embezzled and corruption increases.

Deterioration

Over time, all your stats will deteriorate. This can be sped up by many factors, such as war, rebellion, neglect, low economy (not just with a minus eco. point, though the lower the "better"), et cetera. You could delay this by investing money into maintaining your current stats, the more money the less your stats will deteriorate. Also if you don’t send orders that’s a good chance of things denigrating.

Intelligence

You can always PM me and ask me for intelligence information - like rebel groups, military positions, etc. However, the information you receive might - not be received at all, received not fully, be inaccurate, be downright lies. In your orders, you can order to spend more eco. Points into counterintelligence/disinformation, which decreases the chances of your enemy's success in espionage.


Complaining to the Mod

You can complain me however if you are rude or annoy me I will whip you with a leather strap. Oh yeah BDSM….

Nation Background

To better fit in as the ruler of your country, you will have a brief history of each country. It will change as the NES goes, TIME TO TIME - after the end of a major era, such as the beginning/end of a world war, rise/fall of an empire, and other such. However I’m lazy so don’t count on

 

[silver 2039]

Stats 1:-soon to come

South Asia:

Gupta Empire: Blue Purple
Capital: Pataliputra
Ruler: Kumaragupta
Tech Level:
Government (Efficiency): Caste-system Centralized Monarchy (Efficient)
Culture: Strong, unified culture, flourishing arts, Dominant Hindu influences
Army (Quality): 200 thousands (Better)
Navy (Quality): 60 ships (Better)
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 16/4/12/5
Size: 5
Infrastructure: Good
Education: Perfect
Confidence: Loving
Projects:
Description: The Empire is in its golden age, but how long can it last?

Vakataka: Light Green
Capital: Vidarbha
Ruler: Narendrasena
Government (Efficiency): Caste-system Centralized Monarchy (Competent)
Culture: Heavy Gupta influence, fragile, but growing unique Vakataka culture, dominant
Hindu influences
Army (Quality): 150 thousands (Normal)
Navy (Quality): 40 ships (Normal)
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 7/4/3/3
Size: 3
Infrastructure: Good
Education: Educated
Confidence: Admiring
Projects:
Description: A tributary of Gupta Empire

Kadambas: Light Red Brown Gray
Capital: Banavasi
Ruler: Kakusthavarma
Government (Efficiency): Caste-system Bureaucratic Monarchy (Efficient)
Culture: Heavy Gupta influences yet strong unique Kadambas culture, officially Vedic Hindu
Army (Quality): 100 thousands (Great)
Navy (Quality): 20 ships (Normal)
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 5/4/1/1
Size: 1
Infrastructure: Good
Education: Educated
Confidence: Loving
Projects:
Description: Ruled by their proud king Kakusthavarma, the Kadambas are allied to the Gupta through the marriage of his daughter with Kumaragupta’s son Skanda.

Gangas: Orange
Capital: Talakad
Ruler: Madhava III
Government (Efficiency): Aristocratic Caste-system Monarchy (Improving)
Culture: Heavy Gupta and Kadambas influences, fragile, yet growing unique Gangas culture, Official Religious pluralism with Hindu dominant
Army (Quality): 70 thousands (Better)
Navy (Quality): 30 ships (Normal)
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 4/3/1/1
Size: 1
Infrastructure: Good
Education: Educated
Confidence: Respecting
Projects:
Description: Under the previous ruler, Gangas had expanded in almost all directions, will they continue to expand or become penned in by stronger neighbors?

Pandyas: Sand Yellow
Capital: Korkai
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Caste-system Monarchy (Tolerable)
Culture: Syncretic mix of neighbor’s cultures, weakening unique Pandyas culture
Army (Quality): 30 thousands (Tolerable)
Navy (Quality): 20 ships (Poor)
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 3/3/0/1
Size: 1
Infrastructure: Tolerable
Education: Literate
Confidence: Tolerating
Projects:
Description: Currently in decline, will Pandyas be able to recover?

Cholas: Dark Blue
Capital: Urayur
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Caste-System Monarchy (Blundering)
Culture: Syncretic mix of neighbor’s cultures
Army (Quality): 20 thousands (Tolerable)
Navy (Quality): 10 ships (Poor)
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 2/2/0/1
Size: 1
Infrastructure: Tolerable
Education: Literate
Confidence: Tolerating
Projects:
Description: Cholas is currently at its lowest influence, eclipsed by its more powerful neighbors.

Sinhala: Lavender
Capital: Sinhala
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Monarchy (Improving)
Culture: Disunified local cultures
Army (Quality): 20 thousands (Poor)
Navy (Quality): 40 ships (Better)
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 3/2/1/1
Size: 1
Infrastructure: Tolerable
Education: Literate
Confidence: Respecting
Projects:
Description: An Indian State

Pallavas: Dark Yellow
Capital: Kanchipuram
Ruler: Simhavarman II
Government (Efficiency): Warrior Caste Monarchy (Improving)
Culture: Caste system dominated by warrior caste
Army (Quality): 80 thousands (Good)
Navy (Quality): 20 ships (Poor)
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 4/3/1
Size: 1
Infrastructure: Tolerable
Education: Literate
Confidence: Tolerating
Projects:
Description: An Indian state dominated by a warrior caste

Sri Ksetra: Bright Green
Capital: Sri Ksetra
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): City-state Alliance Monarchy (Tolerable)
Culture: Strong Gupta influence, weaker, but still significant Chinese influence, minor unique local cultures
Army (Quality): 40 thousands (Better)
Navy (Quality): None
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 4/3/1/2
Size: 2
Infrastructure: Good
Education: Literate
Confidence: Respecting
Projects:
Description: Sri Ksetra provides an alternate route to Funan for goods traveling between India and China

Funan: Medium Blue
Capital: Vyadhapura
Ruler: Fan
Government (Efficiency): Decentralized Bureaucratic Mercantilistic Monarchy (Competent)
Culture: Strong native cultures, heavy Indian influence, small Chinese influence, majority syncretic native/Indian religion which worships cobra and Indian naga, small Buddhist minority
Army (Quality): 60 thousands (Normal)
Navy (Quality): 90 ships (Great)
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 7/4/3/3
Size: 3
Infrastructure: Good
Education: Well-Educated
Confidence: Respecting
Projects:
Description: Funan is one of the wealthiest South Asian state as it uses its navy to regulate the sea trade between China and India. Officially a vassal of China though recently has been charting an independent course.

Champa: Dark Red Brown
Capital: Vijaya
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Aristocratic Monarchy (Improving)
Culture: Strong Chinese influence, growing Indian influence, Buddhist influences, small but growing Shaivism influence
Army (Quality): 50 thousands (Better)
Navy (Quality): 10 ships (Poor)
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 3/3/0/2
Size: 2
Infrastructure: Improving
Education: Educated
Confidence: Admiring
Projects:
Description: Culturally and Religiously tied to China, it has recently been exposed to Indian influences due to the recent wars with neighboring Funan.

Srivijaya: Dark Sea Blue
Capital: Palembang
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Decentralized Thalassocratic Monarchy (Blundering)
Culture: Fragmented local cultures with significant Chinese influence, growing Buddhist influence
Army (Quality): 20 thousands (Tolerable)
Navy (Quality): 50 ships (Great)
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 2/1/1/1
Size: 1
Infrastructure: Tolerable
Education: Tolerable
Confidence: Tolerating
Projects:
Description: A trading center and thalassocracy in Southeast Asia.

East Asia:

Liu Song Empire: Golden
Capital: Jiankang
Ruler: Emperor Liu Yilong
Government (Efficiency): Bureaucratic Absolute Monarchy (Great)
Culture: Flourishing arts and culture, Strong Confucianism and Mystic elements, smaller Buddhist influences
Army (Quality): 250 thousands (Tolerable)
Navy (Quality): 70 ships (Pathetic)
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 14/5/9/5
Size: 5
Infrastructure: Good
Education: Perfect
Confidence: Admiring
Projects:
Description: After severe internal instability caused by revolts and incompetent rulers, the Liu Song Empire is undergoing something of a golden age under Emperor Liu Yilong, though this golden age has become increasingly marred by warfare with the Tuoba Wei.

Tuoba Wei: Gray Brown
Capital: Datong
Ruler: Tuoba Tao
Government (Efficiency): Bureaucratic Militaristic Absolute Monarchy (Corrupt)
Culture: High regionalism in recent conquests, official Taoist with small, persecuted Buddhist minority
Army (Quality): 350 thousands (Better)
Navy (Quality): 50 ships (Poor)
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 10/4/6/5
Size: 5
Infrastructure: Improving
Education: Educated
Confidence: Barely Tolerating
Projects:
Description: Though the strongest it has ever been, Tuoba Wei faces many foes, both internal, many sparked by the recent prohibition of Buddhism, and external, with almost constant warfare with Liu Song and northern Rouran.

Goguryeo: Brown
Capital: Pyongyang
Ruler: Jangsu
Government (Efficiency): Absolute Monarchy (Efficient)
Culture: Strong, unified culture, Officially sanctioned Buddhism, smaller, but still significant ancestor worship
Army (Quality): 150 thousands (Good)
Navy (Quality): 20 ships (Tolerable)
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 6/4/2/3
Size: 3
Infrastructure: Good
Education: Well-Educated
Confidence: Respecting
Projects:
Description: Goguryeo’s power began to rapidly expand under King Gwanggaeto and has only continued to become greater under his son King Jangsu.

Silla: Light Orange
Capital: Seora-beol
Ruler: Nulji
Government (Efficiency): Aristocratic Monarchy (Competent)
Culture: Heavy Goguryeo influences, fragile but developing native culture, growing Buddhist influences
Army (Quality): 60 thousands (Normal)
Navy (Quality): 30 ships (Normal)
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 3/2/1/1
Size: 1
Infrastructure: Improving
Education: Literate
Confidence: Tolerating
Projects:
Description: Silla has a military alliance with Baekje in part to counter the growing threat of Goguryeo.

Baekje: Sea Green
Capital: Sabi
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Aristocratic Monarchy (Tolerable)
Culture: Heavy Chinese influences, officially Buddhist
Army (Quality): 30 thousands (Tolerable)
Navy (Quality): 70 ships (Great)
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 3/2/1/1
Size: 1
Infrastructure: Improving
Education: Literate
Confidence: Respecting
Projects:
Description: Baekje is a sea power with especially good relations with China and Yamato and a military alliance with Silla.

Yamato: Dark Red
Capital: Asuka
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Clan-based Monarchy (Tolerable)
Culture: Heavy Chinese influences, fragile, but significant native culture
Army (Quality): 60 thousands (Better)
Navy (Quality): 20 ships (Tolerable)
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 3/2/1/2
Size: 2
Infrastructure: Improving
Education: Literate
Confidence: Tolerating
Projects:
Description: Though the Yamato clan is one of the strongest clans of the surrounding area, it is not unchallenged.

Middle East:

Himyarite Kingdom: Sea Green Blue
Capital: Himyar
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Monarchy (Tolerable)
Culture: notable Hellenistic influences, Zoroaster majority but a significant vibrant Judaic minority in the cities, outside the cities local cultures and religions dominate
Army (Quality): 30 thousands (Normal)
Navy (Quality): 60 ships (Better)
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 4/3/1/2
Size: 2
Infrastructure: Tolerable
Education: Tolerable
Confidence: Tolerating
Projects:
Description: Major intermediary linking East Africa and the Mediterranean

Bazrangid Empire: Teal
Capital: Ctesiphon
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Decentralized Mercantile Monarchy (Tolerable)
Culture: Strong core culture, weakened on the fringes (E. Africa, Arabia) where local cultures are strongest, heavy Zoroastrian influences, small but growing Judaic minority
Army (Quality): 70 thousands (Better)
Navy (Quality): 100 ships (Good)
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 9/4/5/5
Size: 5
Infrastructure: Tolerable
Education: Literate
Confidence: Respecting
Projects:
Description: The Bazrangids emerged from the ashes of the Parthian Empire. Hemmed in by two great land powers, it turned to the sea.

Africa:

Sarmatia: Dark Orange
Capital: Carthage
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Caesarship (Tolerable)
Culture: Sarmatia culture strong among ruling elite, Roman-Hellenistic culture among masses, eastern mystery religions strong in cities, traditional gods strong in countryside
Army (Quality): 30 thousands (Normal)
Navy (Quality): 40 ships (Normal)
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 3/2/1/2
Size: 2
Infrastructure: Tolerable
Education: Tolerable
Confidence: Tolerating
Projects:
Description: One of the many “Roman” states to be run by “barbarians”

Axum: Dark Green
Capital: Axum
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Monarchy (Improving)
Culture: Strong Hellenistic influences, weak but significant Bazrangid influences, Judaic majority, minor tribal religions outside cities.
Army (Quality): 40 thousands (Normal)
Navy (Quality): 80 ships (Good)
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 6/3/3/3
Size: 3
Infrastructure: Improving
Education: Literate
Confidence: Respecting
Projects:
Description: An African maritime power and quasi-ally of the Eastern Roman Empire

Jenne-Jeno: Golden Brown
Capital: Djenne
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): City-state coalition Monarchy (Blundering)
Culture: Weak varied tribal cultures
Army (Quality): 20 thousands (Normal)
Navy (Quality): None
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 3/2/1/1
Size: 1
Infrastructure: Barely Tolerable
Education: Illiterate
Confidence: Tolerating
Projects:
Description: A center for trans-Saharan trade

 

[silver 2039]

Stats 2

Central America:

Teotihuacán: Reddish Purple
Capital: Teotihuacán
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Theocratic Aristocratic City-State Monarchy (Efficient)
Culture: Multi-ethnic Mesoamerican cultures, Mesoamerican polytheism
Army (Quality): 40 thousands (Better)
Navy (Quality): None
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 7/3/4/3
Size: 3
Infrastructure: Very Efficient
Education: Educated
Confidence: Loving
Projects:
Description: Easily the most dominant civilization in the Americas

Danipaguache: Blue Gray
Capital: Danipaguache
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Theocratic Aristocratic Monarchy (Competent)
Culture: Teotihuacán influenced Mesoamerican cultures, Mesoamerican polytheism
Army (Quality): 20 thousands (Normal)
Navy (Quality): None
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 4/3/1/2
Size: 2
Infrastructure: Good
Education: Literate
Confidence: Admiring
Projects:
Description: An American civilization

Mutal: Leafy Green
Capital: Mutal
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Theocratic Aristocratic City-state Monarchy (Competent)
Culture: Teotihuacán influenced Mesoamerican cultures, Mesoamerican polytheism
Army (Quality): 10 thousands (Normal)
Navy (Quality): None
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 2/1/1/1
Size: 1
Infrastructure: Improving
Education: Literate
Confidence: Admiring
Projects:
Description: An American civilization

Kaan: Dark Brown
Capital: Calakmul
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Theocratic Aristocratic City-state Monarchy (Competent)
Culture: Teotihuacán influenced Mesoamerican cultures, Mesoamerican polytheism
Army (Quality): 10 thousands (Normal)
Navy (Quality): None
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 2/1/1/1
Size: 1
Infrastructure: Improving
Education: Literate
Confidence: Admiring
Projects:
Description: An American civilization

South America:

Moche: Tan
Capital: Moche
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Decentralized Theocratic Aristocratic City-state Monarchy (Tolerable)
Culture: Tribal cultures, Majority worship Decapitator
Army (Quality): 30 thousands (Tolerable)
Navy (Quality): None
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 4/3/1/2
Size: 2
Infrastructure: Very Efficient
Education: Educated
Confidence: Admiring
Projects:
Description: A South American civilization

Warpa: Pink
Capital: Warpa
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Theocratic Aristocratic City-state Monarchy (Improving)
Culture: Tribal cultures and religions
Army (Quality): 10 thousands (Tolerable)
Navy (Quality): None
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 3/2/1/1
Size: 1
Infrastructure: Efficient
Education: Literate
Confidence: Admiring
Projects:
Description: A South American civilization

Nazca: Red Brown
Capital: Cahuachi
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Theocratic Aristocratic City-state Monarchy (Improving)
Culture: Tribal cultures and religions
Army (Quality): 10 thousands (Tolerable)
Navy (Quality): None
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 2/2/0/1
Size: 1
Infrastructure: Good
Education: Literate
Confidence: Admiring
Projects:
Description: A South American civilization

Tiwanaku: Sky Blue
Capital: Tiwanaku
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Theocratic Aristocratic City-state Monarchy (Competent)
Culture: Tribal cultures and religions
Army (Quality): 25 thousands (Good)
Navy (Quality): None
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 4/3/1/2
Size: 2
Infrastructure: Good
Education: Educated
Confidence: Loving
Projects:
Description: A South American civilization

Eastern Roman Empire:

Pannonia: Lt. Aqua
Capital: Savaria
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Caesarship (Tolerable)
Culture: Strong Hellenic influences, growing Germanic and Hunnic influence, small, but notable Mithras presence, growing Germanic tribal religions on border
Army (Quality): 14 Eastern Roman legion thousands (Good)
Navy (Quality): None
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 2/2/0/2
Size: 2
Infrastructure: Tolerable
Education: Tolerable
Confidence: Respecting
Projects:
Description: Member of the Eastern Roman Empire

Dalmatia: Dark Red
Capital: Salona
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Caesarship (Tolerable)
Culture: Strong Hellenic influences, Significant Roman influences, growing Germanic influence, small, but notable Mithras presence, growing Germanic tribal religions on border
Army (Quality): 8 Eastern Roman legion thousands (Good)
Navy (Quality): 20 ships (Normal)
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 2/2/0/2
Size: 2
Infrastructure: Improving
Education: Literate
Confidence: Respecting
Projects:
Description: Member of the Eastern Roman Empire

Moesia: Blue
Capital: Naissus
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Caesarship (Tolerable)
Culture: Strong Hellenistic influences, small but notable Hunnic influences, significant Mithras minority
Army (Quality): 10 Eastern Roman legion thousands (Good)
Navy (Quality): None
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 2/2/0/2
Size: 2
Infrastructure: Tolerable
Education: Tolerable
Confidence: Tolerating
Projects:
Description: Member of the Eastern Roman Empire

Macedonia: Yellow
Capital: Thessalonica
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Caesarship (Competent)
Culture:
Army (Quality): None
Navy (Quality): 20 ships (Better)
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 2/0/0/1
Size: 1
Infrastructure: Good
Education: Educated
Confidence: Admiring
Projects:
Description: Member of the Eastern Roman Empire

Epirus: Grey
Capital: Ambracia
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Caesarship (Improving)
Culture: Strong Hellenistic influences
Army (Quality): None
Navy (Quality): 10 ships (Better)
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 2/0/0 /1
Size: 1
Infrastructure: Improving
Education: Literate
Confidence: Admiring
Projects:
Description: Member of the Eastern Roman Empire

Thrace: Blue-Green
Capital: Caesaropolis
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Personal province of Eastern Augustus, Decentralized daily government (Tolerable)
Culture: Strong Mithras presence in capital, smaller, but still majority outside city, minor, but growing Hellenistic influences
Army (Quality): 2 Eastern Roman legion thousands (Good)
Navy (Quality): 30 ships (Better)
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 3/2/1/1
Size: 1
Infrastructure: Very Efficient
Education: Well Educated
Confidence: Admiring
Projects:
Description: Member of the Eastern Roman Empire

Achaia: Purple
Capital: Athens
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Caesarship (Great)
Culture: Strong Hellenistic influences
Army (Quality): None
Navy (Quality): 40 ships (Good)
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 4/3/1/1
Size: 1
Infrastructure: Very Efficient
Education: Well-Educated
Confidence: Loving
Projects:
Description: Member of the Eastern Roman Empire

Bithynia: Drab Yellow
Capital: Nicomedia
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Caesarship (Competent)
Culture: Strong Hellenistic influence, Mithras majority in west, small but notable Judaic influences in cities, growing Zoroaster presence in east
Army (Quality): 2 Eastern Roman legion thousands (Great)
Navy (Quality): 20 ships (Normal)
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 3/2/1/2
Size: 2
Infrastructure: Good
Education: Educated
Confidence: Admiring
Projects:
Description: Member of the Eastern Roman Empire

Asia: Neon Green
Capital: Ephesus
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): (Competent)
Culture: Strong Hellenistic influences, notable Judaic and Mithras influence, majority eastern mystery religions
Army (Quality): None
Navy (Quality): 30 ships (Normal)
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 4/3/1/2
Size: 2
Infrastructure: Very Efficient
Education: Well-Educated
Confidence: Admiring
Projects:
Description: Member of the Eastern Roman Empire

Galatia: Light Orange
Capital: Tarsus
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Caesarship (Efficient)
Culture: Strong Hellenistic influences, notable Judaic presence in cities, majority eastern mystery religions, growing, but still small Zoroaster influence
Army (Quality): None
Navy (Quality): 30 ships (Better)
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 4/3/1/2
Size: 2
Infrastructure: Very Efficient
Education: Educated
Confidence: Admiring
Projects:
Description: Member of the Eastern Roman Empire

Syria: Pink
Capital: Damascus
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Caesarship (Competent)
Culture: Strong Hellenistic influences, minor, but growing Bazrangid influences, Significant Judaic presence in cities, notable Zoroaster presence
Army (Quality): 2 Eastern Roman legion thousands (Great)
Navy (Quality): 30 ships (Good)
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 5/3/2/2
Size: 2
Infrastructure: Efficient
Education: Well-Educated
Confidence: Respecting
Projects:
Description: Member of the Eastern Roman Empire

Cyprus: Manila
Capital: Paphus
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Caesarship (Competent)
Culture: Heavily Hellenized, Mostly syncristic religions, small Judaic community in capital
Army (Quality): None
Navy (Quality): 40 ships (Better)
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 2/2/0/1
Size: 1
Infrastructure: Good
Education: Educated
Confidence: Respecting
Projects:
Description: Member of the Eastern Roman Empire

Palestine: Purple
Capital: Jerusalem
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Caesarship with Sanhedrin (Efficient)
Culture: Conservative, “traditional” Judaism in rural areas, “progressive” Hellenistic influenced Judaism in cities, Zoroaster and eastern mystery religion influences in the east
Army (Quality): 4 Eastern Roman legions thousands (Great)
Navy (Quality): 20 ships (Tolerable)
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 4/3/1/2
Size: 2
Infrastructure: Efficient
Education: Well-Educated
Confidence: Loving
Projects:
Description: Member of the Eastern Roman Empire

Egypt: Yellow
Capital: Alexandria
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Caesarship (Efficient)
Culture: Hellenistic-Egyptian cultural syncretism, significant Judaic minorities in cities, Mithras influences among legions and military camps
Army (Quality): 6 Eastern Roman legion thousands (Great)
Navy (Quality): 30 ships (Better)
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 5/3/2/2
Size: 2
Infrastructure: Efficient
Education: Well Educated
Confidence: Admiring
Projects:
Description: Member of the Eastern Roman Empire

Cyrene: Brown
Capital: Berenice
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Caesarship (Competent)
Culture: Strong Hellenistic influences, minor Roman influences, minor but influential Judaic influence, Mithras influences among legions and military camps, heavy syncretism in cities, local religions outside cities
Army (Quality): 6 Eastern Roman legion thousands (Great)
Navy (Quality): 20 ships (Better)
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 3/0/0/2
Size: 2
Infrastructure: Improving
Education: Educated
Confidence: Respecting
Projects:
Description: Member of the Eastern Roman Empire

Armenia: Grey-brown
Capital: Vagharshapat
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Caesarship (Improving)
Culture: Strong Hellenistic influence, significant Bazrangid influences especially in east, majority eastern mystery religions, significant Judaic, Mithras, and Zoroaster minorities
Army (Quality): 20 Eastern Roman legion thousands (Mighty)
Navy (Quality): None
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 3/2/1/2
Size: 2
Infrastructure: Tolerable
Education: Literate
Confidence: Respecting
Projects:
Description: Member of the Eastern Roman Empire

Mesopotamia: Bluish-grey
Capital: Zenobia
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Caesarship(Improving)
Culture: Strong Hellenistic influence, significant Bazrangid influences especially in east, majority eastern mystery religions, significant Judaic, Mithras, and Zoroaster minorities
Army (Quality): 20 Eastern Roman legion thousands (Mighty)
Navy (Quality): None
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 3/2/1/2
Size: 2
Infrastructure: Tolerable
Education: Literate
Confidence: Respecting
Projects:
Description: Member of the Eastern Roman Empire

Europe:

Britannia: Crimson
Capital: Londinium
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Bureaucratic Absolute Augustus (Great)
Culture: Strong Britannia-Roman hybrid culture, Officially Mithras, strong Celtic influences in north
Army (Quality): 40 thousands (Great)
Navy (Quality): 30 ships (Better)
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 5/4/1/3
Size: 3
Infrastructure: Efficient
Education: Educated
Confidence: Loving
Projects:
Description: Since its refusal to help defend Rome, Britannia has maintained its independence from the Empire, though maintaining Roman culture.

Scirii: Light Blue
Capital: Lugdunum Batavi
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): (Tolerable)
Culture:
Army (Quality): 15 thousands (Normal)
Navy (Quality): 20 ships (Normal)
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 2/2/0/2
Size: 2
Infrastructure: Tolerating
Education: Illiterate
Confidence: Barely Tolerating
Projects:
Description: One of the many “Roman” states to be run by “barbarians”

Suevi: Purple
Capital: Cenabum
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Tribal Caesarship (Tolerable)
Culture: Romanized-Germanic elite, major Roman influences but growing Germanic influences
Army (Quality): 30 thousands (Poor)
Navy (Quality): 30 ships (Poor)
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 2/2/0/2
Size: 2
Infrastructure: Barely Tolerating
Education: Illiterate
Confidence: Barely Tolerating
Projects:
Description: One of the many “Roman” states to be run by “barbarians”

Thervingi Lt. Orange
Capital: Lugdunum
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Tribal Caesarship (Blundering)
Culture: Romanized-Germanic elite, major Roman influences but growing Germanic influences
Army (Quality): 10 thousands (Normal)
Navy (Quality): None
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 2/2/0/2
Size: 2
Infrastructure: Tolerable
Education: Illiterate
Confidence: Barely Tolerating
Projects:
Description: One of the many “Roman” states to be run by “barbarians”

Franks: Green
Capital: Narbo
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Tribal Caesarship (Tolerable)
Culture: Romanized-Germanic elite, major Roman influences but growing Germanic influences
Army (Quality): 30 thousands (Normal)
Navy (Quality): 10 ships (Normal)
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 4/3/1/2
Size: 2
Infrastructure: Tolerable
Education: Tolerable
Confidence: Tolerating
Projects:
Description: One of the many “Roman” states to be run by “barbarians”

Ostrogoths: Purple
Capital: Toletum
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Tribal Caesarship (Tolerable)
Culture: Romanized-Germanic elite, major Roman influences but growing Germanic influences
Army (Quality): 30 thousands (Tolerable)
Navy (Quality): 10 ships (Normal)
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 4/3/1/2
Size: 2
Infrastructure: Tolerable
Education: Tolerable
Confidence: Tolerating
Projects:
Description: One of the many “Roman” states to be run by “barbarians”

Alan: Aqua
Capital: Bracara Augusta
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Tribal Caesarship (Blundering)
Culture: Romanized-Germanic elite, major Roman influences but growing Germanic influences
Army (Quality): 10 thousands (Tolerable)
Navy (Quality): 10 ships (Tolerable)
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 2/0/0/2
Size: 2
Infrastructure: Tolerable
Education: Tolerable
Confidence: Barely Tolerating
Projects:
Description: One of the many “Roman” states to be run by “barbarians”

Visigoths: Orange
Capital: Ravenna
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Tribal Caesarship (Tolerable)
Culture: Romanized-Germanic elite, declining Roman influences and growing Germanic influences
Army (Quality): 30 thousands (Normal)
Navy (Quality): None
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 2/2/0/2
Size: 2
Infrastructure: Barely Tolerable
Education: Illiterate
Confidence: Tolerating
Projects:
Description: The first, and strongest of the “Roman” states to be run by “barbarians,” though recent warfare has sapped some of its strength

Rome: Dark Brown
Capital: Rome
Ruler: Augustus Marius
Government (Efficiency): Decentralized state Ruled by Augustus (Blundering)
Culture: Strong Roman influence, significant growing Germanic influence, notable Hellenistic influence
Army (Quality): 25 thousands (Better)
Navy (Quality): 10 ships (Tolerable)
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 3/2/1/2
Size: 2
Infrastructure: Tolerable
Education: Illiterate
Confidence: Barely Tolerating
Projects:
Description: Seat of the Augustus of the West, Marius, though outside of Rome, few, if any, recognize his authority.

Lugii: Dark Purple
Capital: Augusta Vindelicum
Ruler:
Government (Efficiency): Tribal Caesarship (Tolerable)
Culture: Romanized-Germanic elite, some Roman influences and growing Germanic influences, small, but notable Hellenistic influences
Army (Quality): 20 thousands (Normal)
Navy (Quality): None
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 2/2/0/2
Size: 2
Infrastructure: Tolerable
Education: Tolerable
Confidence: Tolerating
Projects:
Description: One of the many “Roman” states to be run by “barbarians”

Hunnic Empire: Dark Red (Denigizik), Dark Purple (Uldin), Dark Blue (Rugila), Dark Grey (Germanic Revolts and Rebellion)
Capital: ???
Ruler: Three Claimants to the throne: Dengizik, Rugila, Uldin
Government (Efficiency): Tribal Coalition (Imaginary)
Culture: Dominant Hunnish culture, various tribal cultures among allied tribes, minor Hellenistic influences
Army (Quality): Denigizik: 15 thousands (Mighty); Rugila: 30 thousands (Tolerable) Uldin 20 thousands (Good)
Navy (Quality): None
Economy (Total/Economy/EC): 6/3/3/3
Size: 3
Infrastructure: Pathetic
Education: Illiterate
Confidence: Hateful
Projects:
Description: Oktar the Hun is certainly a name that will be remembered forever, as he defeated the aura of invincibility of the Eastern Roman legions, ascended the throne of the Eastern Roman Empire by force, and united the West and East again under his person. With his death, however, the Hunnic Empire has collapsed into civil war between Oktar’s three sons as well as rebellions by the various tribes. Despite this, Hunnic pride is not dead, and all three of Oktar’s sons claim the throne of the Eastern Roman Empire. If one son should defeat the others, the Hunnic Empire might rise once again.

 

[silver 2039]

Map:

Spoiler :

UU's:

Eastern Roman Legion-The powerful well-trained, well equipped soldiers of the Eastern Roman Empire. They are distrbuted through the fronteir provinces, and may not nessecarily be answerable to the local Caser's. Once considered invicible by their enemies this belief was broken at their defeat by the Huns.

 

[silver 2039]

Wars/Important Events/Treaties/Advancements:

 

[silver 2039]

You many now post.

 

[Kal'thzar]

Brittania please..

 

[Abaddon]

Teotihuacán here.

 

[The Strategos]

I will join, but I will wait on a few more countries to be claimed so that my decision on who to play is made easier.

 

[Azale]

Strategos, I think me and you have chronic choose-itis

I'm gonna be brave and go with das' recommendation. Rome for me!

 

[fantasmo]

Pannonia, please. Thankee.

 

[ThomAnder]

Edit: I think i'll take Funan instead

 

[jeps]

Axum!!!!!

Finally.

 

[Wubba360]

I will try Hunnic empire under Denigizik

 

[Toltec]

I'll give Sarmatia a bash.

Edit: just wondering, why Sarmatia and not Vandals? I'm guessing rather than the Vandal horde making that epic trip the Sarmations did instead.

 

[Wubba360]

silver how will my economy work right now since my country is in civil war,

 

[The Strategos]

I'll give Sarmatia a bash.

Edit: just wondering, why Sarmatia and not Vandals? I'm guessing rather than the Vandal horde making that epic trip the Sarmations did instead.

A combination of a stronger Eastern Roman Empire and a much weaker Western Roman Empire created different migration patterns than OTL. More specifically, in Sarmatia's case, they were the victim of being pushed south-west by stronger tribes until hitting the bottom of Spain. At that time, the African proconsul was facing problems from Bedouins, Sicilian pirates, and court intrigue, so invited Sarmatia over as mercenaries, thinking that he could control such a weak tribe. Unfortunately, he underestimated Sarmatia, who brought over a coalition of tribes, and essentially made the proconsul a puppet ruler before eventually deleting the "ruler" part of his title.

silver how will my economy work right now since my country is in civil war,

Denigizik is in control of the loyal Hunic army and is stationed at the capital. So he has effective control over one (but only one) of the Hun's ECs. Just giving the information so Silver can make an informed decision.