Originally posted by thestonesfan
I'm not saying that the Ottomans weren't successful and influential, just that in Turkish history, they haven't been head and shoulders above everyone else, so why not call the civ the Turks?
Why the Babylonians and not the Assyrians? Why the Russians and not the Ukrainians?
Ottomans are
representative of the Turkish peoples. The Ottoman Empire is a larger state than contemporary Turkey, and makes for a better historical contrast with the other
historical civs: Russia, England, China, and so on. Sure, there was Muscovy and Kievian Rus, and the Whu and Zhou and Ming empires and all of that, but Russia and China are very representative of the culture and it generally.
Personally I would rather play as the Ottoman Empire rather than "the Turks." One thing about PTW that really irks me is that the new civs are more just a group of similar people rather than palpable state societies: the "Celts," "Vikings," "Arabs," and "Mongols." You can say Isabella of Spain, Osman of the Ottoman Empire, Carthage, and Korea, but you cannot do the same for the other cultures.
I was fine with the Aztecs not having a state name, but the Iroqois lack of a name always irked me. It's tough to imagine the "Celts" thriving for generations and throughout the ages to never have a culture name. Sure, you can attach contemporary titles to their cultures -- Ireland, Scandinavia, Arabia, Mongolia -- but it seems more like a stretch than an empire.
Yeah, I say I like the Ottoman Empire over "Turks."
-Ben