conehead234
Braves on the Warpath
Sweet map NK.
stNNES8: Empires in Flames
- Thread starter North King
- Start date
Israelite9191
You should be reading
Yes. BTW, how do you get those dotted lines for trade routes?
North King
blech
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2004
- Messages
- 18,165
I draw them. By hand. There's a reason I call these updates hard work. 
Insane_Panda
Deity
Awesome map. Zhongjing is the greatest city of the east!
TO: Wuhan
FROM: The State of Zhongguo
We ask for your aid against these barbarians of the north. You, our Zhong brothers, are the only ones who can help us in these desperate times, and if we fall, so does all of China to these uncivilized savages.
We request either men or coin, whichever you can spare.
TO: Wuhan
FROM: The State of Zhongguo
We ask for your aid against these barbarians of the north. You, our Zhong brothers, are the only ones who can help us in these desperate times, and if we fall, so does all of China to these uncivilized savages.
We request either men or coin, whichever you can spare.
North King
blech
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2004
- Messages
- 18,165
*snorts* Update not even ready, and we're into diplo?
Insane_Panda
Deity
HMPH!
The Zhongguo are deeply insulted by the comments made by the higher spirit known as North King.
We press for an immediate apology!
The Zhongguo are deeply insulted by the comments made by the higher spirit known as North King.
We press for an immediate apology!
alex994
Hail Divine Emperor!
I'll reply to the diplo after the update is up 
I'm a traditionalists after all 
I'm a traditionalists after all
Israelite9191
You should be reading
I wonder who the fools that chose to settle to my north are...
Insane_Panda
Deity
Yes, and we are arrogant cosmopolitans.
We're like the French. Except Chinese.
Oh how I love Zhongguo
Je t'aime!
We're like the French. Except Chinese.
Oh how I love Zhongguo
Je t'aime!
North King
blech
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2004
- Messages
- 18,165
Dawn
2000 BCE-1750 BCE
A journey of a thousand li begins with a single step. ~Chinese proverb
Day broke over mountain and vale, and suddenly humanity seemed to realize, in one, collective, awe-inspiring moment. An age was over. An era was done.
The long days of the icy glaciers which had driven south relentlessly were finally over. The land was clear again. Lakes formed, and rivers. Trees dotted the lands where once miles of barren ice would. Antelope played gracefully on lands that would once have held a herd of wooly mammoths. The age of ice was gone.
But what, one remarkably analytical human might have said, would come after? What could come after an era of cold and ice, disunity and barbarism?
Civilization. Unity. Fire and blood.
They went hand in hand, really. Wherever the people who tilled the earth went, they would sow blood and reap war. Wherever the marble pillars of civilization would rise, so, too, would rise pillars commemorating a thousand dead. Ten thousand. A million. There was no limit. Men would boast of hundreds slain by their own hands. Kings, nobles, or simple peasants, it did not matter. This was an era of darkness. It was an era of rape, of pillaging, of cities in flames. Death.
******************
Asteria and Rome were kin.
Italics both, of course. Born on the great peninsula that jutted into the Mediterranean. A peninsula so great that it indeed divided that great sea in two. Both were born out of cities unitingRome with its seven hills, Asteria with its eight towns. Both had a fiercely strong land military, highly disciplined and based on spearmen to hold their line. Both were threatened by outside neighbors.
And, as is typical of all kin born in the same cradle, they hated each others guts.
Asteria had expanded by blood and fire first. Much faster than any Roman attempts, they seized the lowlands with almost ease. They smashed various small armies that were hastily drawn up to defend them. They defeated all rivals, and soon it seemed that Asteria, with almost a fourth of the peninsula under their belt already, would become masters of the whole land.
Then they met Rome.
The great city of the seven hills had just barely managed to consolidate under their near mythic founding figure of Romulus when the riders burst into the town, one after another. The first was a diplomat from Asteria demanding that the city join them. The second was a messenger who looked rather put out, as he had been about to say the Asterii were gathering armies on the frontier to carry out that threat.
And so it happened. The Asterii armies marched in to deliver the heads of Romulus and Remus to their masters, and the keys to another city. But things didnt quite go as planned. The citizen army of Rome stood square in their path, for one.
The warhorns sounded, though, and they marched forth into battle. For an hour they struggled beneath the shadow of the Seven Hills, but finally the reserves drove them back. Romulus was the hero of the day, and Rome had been saved. Impressed by this show of strength, Tarquinii, Veii, Capua, Pisae, and more city states joined them in the Latin league, a confederation that would protect each other in times of trouble.
And who, it just so happened, hated the Asterii guts. Funny how that happens.
In any case, they enter this new era with some mutual distrust of each other. More than some, quite a bit. There is much eyeing back and forth, and much... distrust. And the narrator is repeating himself.
In any case, it looks to be a tense decade coming up, with much... eyeing. That is to say, rape, pillaging, and torturing. Naturally.
******************
But of course to the south of them are the three great naval powers, who cannot be ignored by any reasonable study of the world. Sarisca, Messina, and Malta.
Messina is a former Greek colony that rose to prominence due to its strategic location on the creatively named straits of Messina. Controlling one of the two primary waterways between the two halves of the Mediterranean was not a place to be despised, and once they got control of the tip of Campania, their rule was absolute. Soon their galleys would patrol the waters back and forth, and soon trade sprung up in the area. Messina was powerful, great, and impossible to dislodge by any normal means. They were the titan.
There were two others, however. Firstly, Sarisca.
Founded by a mixture of migrants from far away when the sea levels were low, or so the legend goes, they are an odd bunch, a mixture of Greek colonists and Egyptian refugees. No one quite knows how this peculiar mix resulted, though it may have had something to do with the vicious civil war that had started up in Egypt (see below).
In any case, excellent seafarers to the core, this brave people quickly occupied their entire home island with little trouble at all. In a very short following time, they took over Corsica, as well, and the Balearic Islands, and Massalia, but they were unable to retain a grip on their short lived Sicilian and Maghrebian colonies. They fought several long, difficult wars for the control of the local sea trade with Messina, when a new power bumped into the mix.
Malta.
Malta was the rock of the Med, invulnerable, impenetrable. A veritable fortress unto itself, except with a goodly amount of farmlandeven if it wasnt too fertile. Oh, and some millennia old ruins, but who cares about them, except as a source of building stone? Dwarf elephants were a welcome addition to the menagerie of the Egyptian pharaoh and others, but served no useful purpose even as they died out. It was a barren, rocky isle.
So they traded.
This simple premise was the basis of the Maltese civilization. They built up a tremendous fleet to guard their new found business, and this brought them into conflict with enemy powers. Messina and Sarisca, naturally.
The tiny island soon found itself in a three way war, with each nation fighting the other two. Malta was naturally by far the smallest and weakest of the three, and so they were liable to be the first to die. But a near miraculous sea battle off the islands shore in the middle of the nightthe famous Battle of the Sailing Torches that some epic poet might turn into an epic some daysecured its independence when it defeated a united expeditionary forceSariscan and Messinan, who had laid aside their differences to crush the common foe for this one time alone...
With a thousand ships the funeral pyre of the Messinan king and the brother of the Sariscan king as well, Malta had proved itself. But it didnt really take off until later.
The sudden influx of population in the early 18th century BCE can be attributed entirely to the Israelitesin fact one could say in a twisted sense that the Maltese owe their good fortune to Moses.
The more complicated explanation for the above assertion is that the Israelites expanded in that time period, conquering the coastal Phoenician kingdoms like Tyre and Sidon. The resettlement of Israelis in this area completely disturbed the local population, and many Phoenicians, most of them, even, decided it would be better to flee than live under this harsh rule.
They fled everywhere, but most of them ended up in the nation of Malta. The little isle was already jam packed to the brim, so with a few oaths of loyalty sworn, a hundred ships bearing the Maltese banner sailed out in all directions to settle the lands. Libya, the Maghreb. Sicily. Even a small foothold on Crete, before the Minos there drove them out. Malta had turned, almost overnight, into the greatest power in the Med. One of them, anyway.
With this new empire under their belt, trade expanded even further. Contacts were broadened, and the massive Great Circle trade route was established: from Malta, to Sarisca, to Rome, to Messina, to Malta, to Greece, to Palestine, to Egypt, to Malta again. With a near monopoly on this route due to their strategic locale, the Maltese are rapidly becoming the trading nation of the Mediterranean, and look to grow even further.
******************
Macedon, meanwhile, has swollen to a considerable size, the largest Greek state for certain. Thrace has been absorbed relatively easily into their territories, and their holdings now stretch almost across the Balkan Peninsula. Their landed aristocracy are certainly the most powerful in Greece, and some of the more influential in the world.
In addition, they have a near monopoly on the land military assets of Greeceno other power comes close. Of course, not all is well (is it ever?). There are disputes to the south with the Greek city statesThebes, Delphi, and Athens. These powers are not particularly troublingMacedon could probably face them all and match them in a land war, but the diplomatic and political implications of war have thus far prevented it.
At the same time, there is an ongoing dispute over certain isles and the ownership of the Dardanelles with the Trojans.
The black sheep of Greece, Troy has developed quite separately, with its own culture, myths, legends, and branch of the local religion. They have managed to build a large navy and a significant army as well, and they are the bitterest rival of the Greek states across the water. They are in a difficult position, really, with pressing forces all around.
The most harrowing thing at this point in time is the Hittite advance, which threatens to consume them. The chariot riding nomads in Central Anatolia would probably easily beat the Trojans in a land war, and they seem to only have one way to avoid thatcomplete vassalage of Troy to the Hittites. It is a bitter prospect, but perhaps Hittite protection and chariots could lead to final victory over the encroaching Greek states?
******************
The next area to examine would be Egypt and the Holy Land.
Egypt itself is quite unusual in the fragmented state of the land. No other region on earth, not even Greece, is quite as much of a confused quagmire as Egypt is. At least in Greece they have defined borders.
Egypt is divided into four little dynasties. Four people who happen to claim rulership over areas that overlap. Which leads to some confusion. Which is usually sorted out with swords and fire. Tanis, Memphis, Asyut, and Thebes. The former two were much more powerful. Tanis was always the wealthier power, Memphis the greater military. From this stemmed Tanis rely on mercenaries and the early development of the mercenary company in the Mediterranean as opposed to elsewhere.
Asyut and Thebes could raise 10,000 men each, though, and were not to be despised. Though often at war with each other, they would occasionally make common cause whenever Memphis attacked one or the other (it was often believed they were prodded in this direction by some force that desired Egyptian disunity).
On top of it all, there were the competing religions of the Amun-Ra sun worshiping cultwhich had a powerful secret society at its head, and the powerful, state run Egyptian Polytheism. This added another layer on top of the conflict, and there was no guarantee now how it would play out.
So here they are, at 1750 BCE, at each others throats with bronze knifes, and no one knowing how the situation would play out.
A glance at the map would show us Israel directly to the northeast of Egypt. A nation that is fiercely proud and independent, Israel has made their way from the bowels of Egypt into their new homeland, a new Holy Land. It is a kingdom of god, it is a kingdom of heaven, and it seems none can stop the gallant Jewish warriors as they march from victory to victory. They have easily driven the Canaanites before them, and the Phoenicians, too.
Only God knows how far they may get.
******************
Well take a short detour here and sail to the pleasant lands of Orcadia. Or not so pleasant, as the case may be.
Orcadia is a nation on the brink, a collection of towns clinging to rocky isles in the middle of a grey, stormwashed sea. They are exactly what one would think them to bea collection of small farmers and fisherfolk, who do their best to eke out a living on the isles. Slowly, though, ever so slowly, they are beginning to settle new lands. Pictia, in particular, is a land which invites them, though the local Picts for whom it is named arent particularly welcoming of the visitors.
Other Orcadian ships have made the harrowing journey across the North Sea and discovered the lands of Norway and Jutland, even Saxony. These places seem fantastic and incredible in the sailors talesbut who knows, maybe soon they will be privy to Orcadian settlement. The Emerald isle, too, lies open for the taking, if they can get past the fierce barbarian guardians...
******************
Sumeria, meanwhile, extends from their great city of Ur northward, and manage to conquer much of the northern Mesopotamia, like Babylon. They are suffering the deep problem of overstretchment and too many enemies on too many sides by now, however, as the Canaanites, Mitanni, Assyrians, Medes, and Susa hem in on all sides. Not to be despised, either, is Persia.
Persia has expanded considerably, all over western Iran, defeating many native tribes and carrying back the loot to Persepolis. This empire is new, militaristic, and highly religious, following the religion of Zoroastrianism, with temples of fire.
Both states, of course, have trade links to the outer worldto the west through the Mitanni and to the east through the island state of Bahrain. Bahrain, as it would happen, has colonies all over the Persian Gulf, and sails their trade ships from the Indus delta to the Shat-al-Arab. It is one of the richest, and most harrowing, sea routes in the world.
******************
(Narrator takes a short break to get a drink, then returns)
We move on, tired though we are since this is being typed at 12:26, to India and China. Great regions, those two, ancient, and powerful.
******************
The Sindh Darya is a massive riverthe largest exotic river in the world, if those geographers can be believed, and one of the largest rivers, normal ones included, anyway. Watering the vast lands of the Indus Valley, it was here that a whole other region of domesticated agriculture was set up, where a whole other world was created, separate from the rest of it.
It was here that the confederation of Sindh was formed.
A dozen cities that united due to external pressures, the nation of Sindh unites all of what one might know of the Harrapan civilizationit is almost a Harappan empire, if you will. It is, however, entirely dependent on the Sindh Darya for its agriculture, and this, perhaps, is its greatest weakness.
At the same time, it has many neighbors, of which we will only cover in the briefest detail here. Multan is to the due north, founded around the city of the same name. It is a small city state, much like those that had united to form Sindh, indeed, if not for its highly independent nature, it would probably be part of Sindh at this moment.
The actual city of Harappa lies northeast of that, Punjab lies east of Harappa, and Kashmir to their northwest. All of these states, Multan included, are small, with militaries of 5,000 men, or thereabouts. Not particularly powerful, nor wealthy, they are the typical petty kingdoms that plagued Sindh before the union.
To the south, one would have to cross the marshy Rann of Kutch, which is often underwater fully at times. On the other side are a few more petty kingdoms. Gujarat, the closest to Sindh, is the most powerful. Lothal lies beyond it, and beyond that is Avanti, on the very fringe. Beyond them, is only Dravidian tribes... And perhaps more. Kura is an enigmatic mystery to many Sindhians, far away and shrouded in the mists of long distance travel.
******************
China. The Middle Kingdom.
A land of the legendary, the epic, and the brilliant. Fractured and fragmented, the land is highly disunited. Or was. Before the darker times. Before the empire.
*cue cheesy star wars music*
The Xiong Nu rode where a normal person would walk. They lived and died upon their horses. They towered above normal men. And they were fierce warriors, never doubt that. They came from the north like wolves upon sheep, devouring every nation that lay in their path. Zhou, Qin, and Han were reduced to mere tributaries. So were the Thais, and the Koryans.
The Xiong Nu even subjugated their fellow steppe nomads. The small nation of the Tartars was forced to pay annual tribute to the Xiong Nu, and support them in their military campaigns.
And so the steppe tribes encountered the Southern Chinese.
The Zhongguo were an odd people, who believed themselves quite simply to be the center of the world. However, they have recently discovered to their cost that their arrogance is not very justifiedthe Xiong Nu have invaded the nation and taken control of the north bank of the Huang He. They are an old nation, and culturally advanced, but their powerful urban centers are falling one by one. Something is needed. A miracle... or...
The Wuhanese peacefully develop to the south. Their army of archers and light infantry have rapidly expanded their empire to include a relatively large domain, even to the borders of the Zhong. Now, however, there are twin threats. The Yue to the south are threatening... and the Xiong Nu, if they should break through the Zhong.
How will China fare?
******************
To: Zhongguo
From: Xiong Nu
Surrender, dogs.
To: Tartars
From: Xiong Nu
Reaffirm your tributary status or die. One eco point a turn.
To: Troy
From: Hittites
Become a vassal, and we will give you protection. Otherwise, we will give you protection still, but it will be under our banner. Choose.
To: Israel
From: Mitanni
Dont even think about it.
To: Maltese
From: Libyans
Surrender your coastal lands, or we shall destroy your puny nation.
OOC:
Sorry for the lateness, and what Im about to announce next. The next time I can update is next Saturday, and theres no hope of NPC stats.
But you shouldnt really need them, you got a general gauge on their strength from the update, I imagine, and their diplo. So try to get orders in.
2000 BCE-1750 BCE
A journey of a thousand li begins with a single step. ~Chinese proverb
Day broke over mountain and vale, and suddenly humanity seemed to realize, in one, collective, awe-inspiring moment. An age was over. An era was done.
The long days of the icy glaciers which had driven south relentlessly were finally over. The land was clear again. Lakes formed, and rivers. Trees dotted the lands where once miles of barren ice would. Antelope played gracefully on lands that would once have held a herd of wooly mammoths. The age of ice was gone.
But what, one remarkably analytical human might have said, would come after? What could come after an era of cold and ice, disunity and barbarism?
Civilization. Unity. Fire and blood.
They went hand in hand, really. Wherever the people who tilled the earth went, they would sow blood and reap war. Wherever the marble pillars of civilization would rise, so, too, would rise pillars commemorating a thousand dead. Ten thousand. A million. There was no limit. Men would boast of hundreds slain by their own hands. Kings, nobles, or simple peasants, it did not matter. This was an era of darkness. It was an era of rape, of pillaging, of cities in flames. Death.
******************
Asteria and Rome were kin.
Italics both, of course. Born on the great peninsula that jutted into the Mediterranean. A peninsula so great that it indeed divided that great sea in two. Both were born out of cities unitingRome with its seven hills, Asteria with its eight towns. Both had a fiercely strong land military, highly disciplined and based on spearmen to hold their line. Both were threatened by outside neighbors.
And, as is typical of all kin born in the same cradle, they hated each others guts.
Asteria had expanded by blood and fire first. Much faster than any Roman attempts, they seized the lowlands with almost ease. They smashed various small armies that were hastily drawn up to defend them. They defeated all rivals, and soon it seemed that Asteria, with almost a fourth of the peninsula under their belt already, would become masters of the whole land.
Then they met Rome.
The great city of the seven hills had just barely managed to consolidate under their near mythic founding figure of Romulus when the riders burst into the town, one after another. The first was a diplomat from Asteria demanding that the city join them. The second was a messenger who looked rather put out, as he had been about to say the Asterii were gathering armies on the frontier to carry out that threat.
And so it happened. The Asterii armies marched in to deliver the heads of Romulus and Remus to their masters, and the keys to another city. But things didnt quite go as planned. The citizen army of Rome stood square in their path, for one.
The warhorns sounded, though, and they marched forth into battle. For an hour they struggled beneath the shadow of the Seven Hills, but finally the reserves drove them back. Romulus was the hero of the day, and Rome had been saved. Impressed by this show of strength, Tarquinii, Veii, Capua, Pisae, and more city states joined them in the Latin league, a confederation that would protect each other in times of trouble.
And who, it just so happened, hated the Asterii guts. Funny how that happens.
In any case, they enter this new era with some mutual distrust of each other. More than some, quite a bit. There is much eyeing back and forth, and much... distrust. And the narrator is repeating himself.
In any case, it looks to be a tense decade coming up, with much... eyeing. That is to say, rape, pillaging, and torturing. Naturally.
******************
But of course to the south of them are the three great naval powers, who cannot be ignored by any reasonable study of the world. Sarisca, Messina, and Malta.
Messina is a former Greek colony that rose to prominence due to its strategic location on the creatively named straits of Messina. Controlling one of the two primary waterways between the two halves of the Mediterranean was not a place to be despised, and once they got control of the tip of Campania, their rule was absolute. Soon their galleys would patrol the waters back and forth, and soon trade sprung up in the area. Messina was powerful, great, and impossible to dislodge by any normal means. They were the titan.
There were two others, however. Firstly, Sarisca.
Founded by a mixture of migrants from far away when the sea levels were low, or so the legend goes, they are an odd bunch, a mixture of Greek colonists and Egyptian refugees. No one quite knows how this peculiar mix resulted, though it may have had something to do with the vicious civil war that had started up in Egypt (see below).
In any case, excellent seafarers to the core, this brave people quickly occupied their entire home island with little trouble at all. In a very short following time, they took over Corsica, as well, and the Balearic Islands, and Massalia, but they were unable to retain a grip on their short lived Sicilian and Maghrebian colonies. They fought several long, difficult wars for the control of the local sea trade with Messina, when a new power bumped into the mix.
Malta.
Malta was the rock of the Med, invulnerable, impenetrable. A veritable fortress unto itself, except with a goodly amount of farmlandeven if it wasnt too fertile. Oh, and some millennia old ruins, but who cares about them, except as a source of building stone? Dwarf elephants were a welcome addition to the menagerie of the Egyptian pharaoh and others, but served no useful purpose even as they died out. It was a barren, rocky isle.
So they traded.
This simple premise was the basis of the Maltese civilization. They built up a tremendous fleet to guard their new found business, and this brought them into conflict with enemy powers. Messina and Sarisca, naturally.
The tiny island soon found itself in a three way war, with each nation fighting the other two. Malta was naturally by far the smallest and weakest of the three, and so they were liable to be the first to die. But a near miraculous sea battle off the islands shore in the middle of the nightthe famous Battle of the Sailing Torches that some epic poet might turn into an epic some daysecured its independence when it defeated a united expeditionary forceSariscan and Messinan, who had laid aside their differences to crush the common foe for this one time alone...
With a thousand ships the funeral pyre of the Messinan king and the brother of the Sariscan king as well, Malta had proved itself. But it didnt really take off until later.
The sudden influx of population in the early 18th century BCE can be attributed entirely to the Israelitesin fact one could say in a twisted sense that the Maltese owe their good fortune to Moses.
The more complicated explanation for the above assertion is that the Israelites expanded in that time period, conquering the coastal Phoenician kingdoms like Tyre and Sidon. The resettlement of Israelis in this area completely disturbed the local population, and many Phoenicians, most of them, even, decided it would be better to flee than live under this harsh rule.
They fled everywhere, but most of them ended up in the nation of Malta. The little isle was already jam packed to the brim, so with a few oaths of loyalty sworn, a hundred ships bearing the Maltese banner sailed out in all directions to settle the lands. Libya, the Maghreb. Sicily. Even a small foothold on Crete, before the Minos there drove them out. Malta had turned, almost overnight, into the greatest power in the Med. One of them, anyway.
With this new empire under their belt, trade expanded even further. Contacts were broadened, and the massive Great Circle trade route was established: from Malta, to Sarisca, to Rome, to Messina, to Malta, to Greece, to Palestine, to Egypt, to Malta again. With a near monopoly on this route due to their strategic locale, the Maltese are rapidly becoming the trading nation of the Mediterranean, and look to grow even further.
******************
Macedon, meanwhile, has swollen to a considerable size, the largest Greek state for certain. Thrace has been absorbed relatively easily into their territories, and their holdings now stretch almost across the Balkan Peninsula. Their landed aristocracy are certainly the most powerful in Greece, and some of the more influential in the world.
In addition, they have a near monopoly on the land military assets of Greeceno other power comes close. Of course, not all is well (is it ever?). There are disputes to the south with the Greek city statesThebes, Delphi, and Athens. These powers are not particularly troublingMacedon could probably face them all and match them in a land war, but the diplomatic and political implications of war have thus far prevented it.
At the same time, there is an ongoing dispute over certain isles and the ownership of the Dardanelles with the Trojans.
The black sheep of Greece, Troy has developed quite separately, with its own culture, myths, legends, and branch of the local religion. They have managed to build a large navy and a significant army as well, and they are the bitterest rival of the Greek states across the water. They are in a difficult position, really, with pressing forces all around.
The most harrowing thing at this point in time is the Hittite advance, which threatens to consume them. The chariot riding nomads in Central Anatolia would probably easily beat the Trojans in a land war, and they seem to only have one way to avoid thatcomplete vassalage of Troy to the Hittites. It is a bitter prospect, but perhaps Hittite protection and chariots could lead to final victory over the encroaching Greek states?
******************
The next area to examine would be Egypt and the Holy Land.
Egypt itself is quite unusual in the fragmented state of the land. No other region on earth, not even Greece, is quite as much of a confused quagmire as Egypt is. At least in Greece they have defined borders.
Egypt is divided into four little dynasties. Four people who happen to claim rulership over areas that overlap. Which leads to some confusion. Which is usually sorted out with swords and fire. Tanis, Memphis, Asyut, and Thebes. The former two were much more powerful. Tanis was always the wealthier power, Memphis the greater military. From this stemmed Tanis rely on mercenaries and the early development of the mercenary company in the Mediterranean as opposed to elsewhere.
Asyut and Thebes could raise 10,000 men each, though, and were not to be despised. Though often at war with each other, they would occasionally make common cause whenever Memphis attacked one or the other (it was often believed they were prodded in this direction by some force that desired Egyptian disunity).
On top of it all, there were the competing religions of the Amun-Ra sun worshiping cultwhich had a powerful secret society at its head, and the powerful, state run Egyptian Polytheism. This added another layer on top of the conflict, and there was no guarantee now how it would play out.
So here they are, at 1750 BCE, at each others throats with bronze knifes, and no one knowing how the situation would play out.
A glance at the map would show us Israel directly to the northeast of Egypt. A nation that is fiercely proud and independent, Israel has made their way from the bowels of Egypt into their new homeland, a new Holy Land. It is a kingdom of god, it is a kingdom of heaven, and it seems none can stop the gallant Jewish warriors as they march from victory to victory. They have easily driven the Canaanites before them, and the Phoenicians, too.
Only God knows how far they may get.
******************
Well take a short detour here and sail to the pleasant lands of Orcadia. Or not so pleasant, as the case may be.
Orcadia is a nation on the brink, a collection of towns clinging to rocky isles in the middle of a grey, stormwashed sea. They are exactly what one would think them to bea collection of small farmers and fisherfolk, who do their best to eke out a living on the isles. Slowly, though, ever so slowly, they are beginning to settle new lands. Pictia, in particular, is a land which invites them, though the local Picts for whom it is named arent particularly welcoming of the visitors.
Other Orcadian ships have made the harrowing journey across the North Sea and discovered the lands of Norway and Jutland, even Saxony. These places seem fantastic and incredible in the sailors talesbut who knows, maybe soon they will be privy to Orcadian settlement. The Emerald isle, too, lies open for the taking, if they can get past the fierce barbarian guardians...
******************
Sumeria, meanwhile, extends from their great city of Ur northward, and manage to conquer much of the northern Mesopotamia, like Babylon. They are suffering the deep problem of overstretchment and too many enemies on too many sides by now, however, as the Canaanites, Mitanni, Assyrians, Medes, and Susa hem in on all sides. Not to be despised, either, is Persia.
Persia has expanded considerably, all over western Iran, defeating many native tribes and carrying back the loot to Persepolis. This empire is new, militaristic, and highly religious, following the religion of Zoroastrianism, with temples of fire.
Both states, of course, have trade links to the outer worldto the west through the Mitanni and to the east through the island state of Bahrain. Bahrain, as it would happen, has colonies all over the Persian Gulf, and sails their trade ships from the Indus delta to the Shat-al-Arab. It is one of the richest, and most harrowing, sea routes in the world.
******************
(Narrator takes a short break to get a drink, then returns)
We move on, tired though we are since this is being typed at 12:26, to India and China. Great regions, those two, ancient, and powerful.
******************
The Sindh Darya is a massive riverthe largest exotic river in the world, if those geographers can be believed, and one of the largest rivers, normal ones included, anyway. Watering the vast lands of the Indus Valley, it was here that a whole other region of domesticated agriculture was set up, where a whole other world was created, separate from the rest of it.
It was here that the confederation of Sindh was formed.
A dozen cities that united due to external pressures, the nation of Sindh unites all of what one might know of the Harrapan civilizationit is almost a Harappan empire, if you will. It is, however, entirely dependent on the Sindh Darya for its agriculture, and this, perhaps, is its greatest weakness.
At the same time, it has many neighbors, of which we will only cover in the briefest detail here. Multan is to the due north, founded around the city of the same name. It is a small city state, much like those that had united to form Sindh, indeed, if not for its highly independent nature, it would probably be part of Sindh at this moment.
The actual city of Harappa lies northeast of that, Punjab lies east of Harappa, and Kashmir to their northwest. All of these states, Multan included, are small, with militaries of 5,000 men, or thereabouts. Not particularly powerful, nor wealthy, they are the typical petty kingdoms that plagued Sindh before the union.
To the south, one would have to cross the marshy Rann of Kutch, which is often underwater fully at times. On the other side are a few more petty kingdoms. Gujarat, the closest to Sindh, is the most powerful. Lothal lies beyond it, and beyond that is Avanti, on the very fringe. Beyond them, is only Dravidian tribes... And perhaps more. Kura is an enigmatic mystery to many Sindhians, far away and shrouded in the mists of long distance travel.
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China. The Middle Kingdom.
A land of the legendary, the epic, and the brilliant. Fractured and fragmented, the land is highly disunited. Or was. Before the darker times. Before the empire.
*cue cheesy star wars music*
The Xiong Nu rode where a normal person would walk. They lived and died upon their horses. They towered above normal men. And they were fierce warriors, never doubt that. They came from the north like wolves upon sheep, devouring every nation that lay in their path. Zhou, Qin, and Han were reduced to mere tributaries. So were the Thais, and the Koryans.
The Xiong Nu even subjugated their fellow steppe nomads. The small nation of the Tartars was forced to pay annual tribute to the Xiong Nu, and support them in their military campaigns.
And so the steppe tribes encountered the Southern Chinese.
The Zhongguo were an odd people, who believed themselves quite simply to be the center of the world. However, they have recently discovered to their cost that their arrogance is not very justifiedthe Xiong Nu have invaded the nation and taken control of the north bank of the Huang He. They are an old nation, and culturally advanced, but their powerful urban centers are falling one by one. Something is needed. A miracle... or...
The Wuhanese peacefully develop to the south. Their army of archers and light infantry have rapidly expanded their empire to include a relatively large domain, even to the borders of the Zhong. Now, however, there are twin threats. The Yue to the south are threatening... and the Xiong Nu, if they should break through the Zhong.
How will China fare?
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To: Zhongguo
From: Xiong Nu
Surrender, dogs.
To: Tartars
From: Xiong Nu
Reaffirm your tributary status or die. One eco point a turn.
To: Troy
From: Hittites
Become a vassal, and we will give you protection. Otherwise, we will give you protection still, but it will be under our banner. Choose.
To: Israel
From: Mitanni
Dont even think about it.
To: Maltese
From: Libyans
Surrender your coastal lands, or we shall destroy your puny nation.
OOC:
Sorry for the lateness, and what Im about to announce next. The next time I can update is next Saturday, and theres no hope of NPC stats.
But you shouldnt really need them, you got a general gauge on their strength from the update, I imagine, and their diplo. So try to get orders in.
North King
blech
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2004
- Messages
- 18,165
Gelion
Retired Captain
Actually please count me out of this one so far.... it seems that I will live in an inhabited area.... I will come later though...
Symphony D.
Deity
lurker's comment: Depending on the fate of ITNES, I will possibly be joining this...
das
Regeneration In Process
Its amazing what the agreement to NPC his nation does with a mod.
Insane_Panda
Deity
I forgot to comment last night!
Awesome work NK
Awesome work NK
