Eklabiaan
Chieftain
The way I see this is that a city state can represent a minor Civ. The concept of 'City State' can be used for civilizations which were not a great power in their days in history. Thus various smaller states ( kingdoms, principalities, duchies, vasal states and client kingdoms) can be selected. And this would fit the game concept, as published until now, very well.
Examples:
- Flanders: a duchy in northern France in the medieval era. The richest and most stubborn part of the french kingdom. Almost semi-independent and often siding with England.
- The eastern border of the Roman Empire from the days of the late Republic (~1st century BC): a patchwork of small kingdoms like Bythinia, Cappadocia, Emesa, Galatia, Armenia. These states were a buffer between Rome and Parthia until they were swallowed by the empire. Even in the hellenistic period and in the centuries before the Ottoman Empire this area was full of small states (aka. minor civs.)
- Scotland: never a great power state, long time independent, but often allied/manipulated by France against England.
The opposite interpretation (strictly city state) would lead to awkward choices. Many geopolitical regions never had city states, only chiefdoms, kingdoms, empires, republics. Eg: Africa, Andean South America (important cities, yes, but part of kingdoms with more than one city), Scandinavia (tribes going kingdom), Gallia/France maybe a few like Mets and Toul. Massilia would do in Antiquity but not in later era's when is was part of a germanic kingdom/HRE/France.
So instead of a forced search for city states in all historical era's and all geographical regions, one can use all smaller states in history. So one does not need to list all know cities.
Wether the name of such a state is the name of the city or the name of the nation (eg. Brughes or Flanders) I would prefere the name of the nation, but that is not to be expected in such a City oriented stratetegy game.
Fine collateral possibility of the whole city state concept is the fact that is will be easier to model a fractured state ( eg. the Holy Roman Empire). One could even mod the disintegration of an empire into several city states. Maybe Firaxis has done that already in Civ 5 Vanilla.
Examples:
- Flanders: a duchy in northern France in the medieval era. The richest and most stubborn part of the french kingdom. Almost semi-independent and often siding with England.
- The eastern border of the Roman Empire from the days of the late Republic (~1st century BC): a patchwork of small kingdoms like Bythinia, Cappadocia, Emesa, Galatia, Armenia. These states were a buffer between Rome and Parthia until they were swallowed by the empire. Even in the hellenistic period and in the centuries before the Ottoman Empire this area was full of small states (aka. minor civs.)
- Scotland: never a great power state, long time independent, but often allied/manipulated by France against England.
The opposite interpretation (strictly city state) would lead to awkward choices. Many geopolitical regions never had city states, only chiefdoms, kingdoms, empires, republics. Eg: Africa, Andean South America (important cities, yes, but part of kingdoms with more than one city), Scandinavia (tribes going kingdom), Gallia/France maybe a few like Mets and Toul. Massilia would do in Antiquity but not in later era's when is was part of a germanic kingdom/HRE/France.
So instead of a forced search for city states in all historical era's and all geographical regions, one can use all smaller states in history. So one does not need to list all know cities.
Wether the name of such a state is the name of the city or the name of the nation (eg. Brughes or Flanders) I would prefere the name of the nation, but that is not to be expected in such a City oriented stratetegy game.
Fine collateral possibility of the whole city state concept is the fact that is will be easier to model a fractured state ( eg. the Holy Roman Empire). One could even mod the disintegration of an empire into several city states. Maybe Firaxis has done that already in Civ 5 Vanilla.
