need my speed
Rex Omnium Imperarium
This will probably never be finished, and may never be updated, but I've occasionally started writing stories like this, and I thought it'd be a waste to let them stay on my PC. As such, without further ado:
Our story starts in Anadolu, named for the sunrise. It is the gate to Avrupa, named in turn for the sunset - but it is the gate to the world at large; to southern Afrika, to the empty deserts of Arabistan, and to far eastern Asya where powers such as Cin and Hindistan would arise. All this and more, Osman Gazi held in his mind. In his life, he had been known as such, taking the more prestigious Arabic version of his name to indicate that Allah was on his side as he fought the Byzantines. But here, in this new world, there was no Iznik, nor Efes, nor even a Konstantiniyye to be besieged by his descendants. Nicaea, Ephesus, Constantinople... Only empty land. In time, they would come, he knew. He did not know from where - there clearly was no Byzantine presence in the countryside - but in time they would, and he would be prepared.
There was no Arabistan either, no holy Makkah nor holy Madinah, and the very tenets of Islam only existed in his mind. And that of Abu Bakr, he supposed. But Islam had developed well past its inception under Abu Bakr, a contemporary of the great Muhammad, peace be upon Him, Himself. Strife would exist even between these two brothers of the faith, Osman predicted with sorrow in his heart. It would not behove him to be Osman, then, to take his legitimacy from a fledgling Arabistan that held as many people and as much wisdom as his own Turks, and that would only grow poorer by comparison as it expanded over empty deserts, while his Turks would roam far and wide to garner the riches of Anadolu and the whole world besides. He would be Atman, or Atouman, and he would lead his Ottomans until the Exalted Ottoman State spanned the entire world. There was no Sögüt, there were no Oghuz Turkish people, there was no Sultanate of Rum, there was only himself and his people, with culture and national identity already forged by the gods. Ottomans. A word coming from centuries past his death, a word therefore holding the gigantic mark his legacy had left upon the world. Yes, he would be Atman of the Ottomans, and the dawn of the Devlet-i Allye-i Osmaniye would come with the establishment of Istanbul, a name known and held in awe by untold billions in a far future that would now never be.
Under the guidance of Atman, the wise Ottomans set out to recreate the Arabic abjad. The abjad held no vowels, unlike the alphabet, but in their exalted wisdom, the Ottomans would create an 'impure' abjad, that could indicate vowels by diacritics and a limited number of vowel-characters. The abjad was native to the crossroads of the world, and all noteworthy powers there used it. The ancient Fenike, the heathen Farca, the Yahudi diaspora, and many more besides these Phoenicians, Persians, and Jews. The alphabet hailed from Yunanistan, Greece, and Atman would not use the tools of Bizanslilar while better alternatives existed. There might not be any Byzantines in Anadolu for the moment, but Allah knew they would come for a reckoning.
Fearsome warriors alike to the mighty Turkish hordes would need to be trained to welcome them. Them, and all the others that now vied for their place underneath the sun - had the Seljuks not inspired great fear within all those that beheld their vast armies of horsemen? Persia had fallen before these armies, and the Ottomans descended from this mighty army. Persia, and all others, would know fear and subservience, lest they be trampled by modern Ottoman might.
The first warriors of the Exalted Ottoman State spread out throughout the known world, sighting pristine hills where once Konstantiniyye had stood as a blight upon the horizon. Full of glory and splendour and wealth, but a blight none the less. Allah, in His wisdom, had seen fit to purge Anadolu from their presence, and for this, He was thanked most heartfully. The levant was also empty, and this led Atman to wonder where the Jewish might have gone. Some said they were cunning and vile, and this might be so - they did cast Allah out of their hearts, after all - but they were skilled in matters of commerce all the same. Perhaps, with no great nations having arisen yet - Istanbul was only a city-state, he had to confess - there was little to do for those with skills in trade. Counting copper and gold to haggle and barter and charge interest - a haram practice that of course the Jewish had adopted - those were the skills of the Jewish, but if there were no copper deposits or gold mines yet, if there were no merchants traversing the Silk Road to reach the markets of distant Rome, then there was little use for these Jewish skills. Perhaps Allah had seen fit to cleanse them from the world - perhaps, he hoped, Allah had seen fit to cleanse all the heretics and heathens from the world.
But no, deep down, he felt the presence of the Byzantines. And he had been made aware of a nascent human presence along the northern coast of the Karadeniz, the Black Sea. A human presence that spoke in Greek. Atman ordered his warriors to strike camp at the hills of once-Konstantiniyye, and let none at all pass. Anadolu would remain free of Greek, Byzantine, Roman - heretical influence. Meanwhile, to the south, Egypt was sighted. Not the Mamalik Sultanate, nor the remnants of the Ayyubiyun dynasty of Saladin - Atman knew all this as Allah had granted him knowledge of the wonders of the world beyond the time he had spent alive on Earth - no, these Egyptians seemed to be of the pharaohic variant, one of the most ancient civilisations that had ever arisen. Heathen beyond doubt, but to be respected all the same; Allah had taught him mercy and compassion, and only by reaching out with magnanimity and friendship could the souls of the unbeliever be converted. After all, they had once been Islamic brothers, and the Mamalik Sultanate had been incorporated into the Exalted Ottoman State. After they had contrived with the Persians to wage war upon the Ottomans, that is... They would need to be wary of this new Egypt.
Simple greetings were exchanged as Ottoman warriors looked down upon Egyptian farmers. The temptation to redress past wrongdoings, to punish the deceit of the Egyptians... Ah, but Allah had taught him mercy and kindness, and he would offer them a chance at prosperity, in Allah's light, in this new world.
The Aleppo Eyalet - the Eyalet-i Halep - was established, with the founding of Halep on the banks of the Firat. Or, as the Greek world knew this river, the Euphrates. Halep had, for centuries, been one of the most prominent cities of the Ottoman Empire, and its establishment would secure food and farmland in plenty for the Ottoman people. With this newfound wealth now making its way to Istanbul, Atman wisely ordered taxes to be increased, diverting more funding to the scientific endeavours carried out in Istanbul.
Cleopatra, pharaoh of the Egyptians, ordered the Ottoman warriors to leave the borders of her realm, but not before they sighted a band of spearmen escorting a large population of artisans, farmers, and more such civilian occupations. Clearly, the Nil river was providing well for the Egyptians. The Firat would be an even greater boon to the Ottomans, as the wise and industrious Ottoman people would be far more capable of exploiting such a mighty river - but would the Ottomans have this time, with Arabian and Persian scouts prowling along its borders? To safeguard the Exalted Ottoman State, more than mighty warriors fashioned in the likelihood of rampaging hordes would be necessary. Disciplined spearmen were assembled in Istanbul, as seen in Egypt, but then having undergone proper military training at a barracks, instead of receiving the trappings of blessings of a long-discarded pantheon.
These spearmen were promptly dispatched to Halep, taking knowledge of the newly developed Ottoman abyad with them, as the Egyptians claimed the levant with their city of Thebes. Thebes, or Waset, was perhaps the holiest of the ancient Egyptian cities, being also known as Hut-ka-Ptah; the enclosure of the god Ptah. And the very name of Egypt itself came from this city; Hut-ka-Ptah was translated into Ai-gy-ptos as the years passed. It was thus utter blasphemy that this city of Thebes now incorporated the plateau of the Judaean Mountains where the Beyt-i Mukaddes, the Holy House, had once been built. Kudüs, the Holy One, Jerusalem itself, now lay in the hands of a long-forgotten cult.
Meanwhile, the Persians were contacted, and though they, too, sought a slice of the crossroads of the world, they occupied themselves with the construction of a great Colossus. Once, the ancient Greeks would have built this in Rhodes, and made the eyes of the Middle-East turn west in wonder - Atman could only approve of efforts to undermine the Greeks. And the Persians had their own cause for wroth, with their leader Xerxes sorely remembering being turned back at Marathon, before all of Persia fell under the sandals of Alexander the so-called Great. They might not be Islamic brothers and sisters, but the Persians were tolerant of all cultures and readily took Islam in their midst as a religion equal to their home-brewed Zoroastrianism. In time, Allah's light would shine upon them, Atman knew.
To further secure the Firat, the city of Bagdat was constructed. In the previous world, this city would have been located between the Firat and the Dicle - the Tigris - but Atman had to ensure the proper interpretations of Islam would find their way into Arabistan and find a home in the heart of Abu Bakr and his wayward people. For this, a strong Ottoman presence south of the Firat would be needed.
Troublesome developments to the south were not the sole matter that kept Atman awake at night. No, to the west, Greek influence crept upon Ottoman lands like the silent shadow of death, with the founding of Argos on the hills that were once home to Konstantiniyye.
Allah made it known that the Aztecs had erected a Colossus in the floating gardens of Tenochtitlan, surveying all the swamps and farms that dominated this region of that faraway continent Atman had never known of. America. No doubt Allah's light would shine bright there, too, one day. He would see it be done. The Persians, however, were disgruntled over these Aztecs stealing their glory. To appease them, Atman sent some of his most trusted aides to Pasargadae, what had once been the Ottoman city of Basra, to negotiate the borders of Ottoman and Persian lands. One of the conditions was the founding of Qasr-e Shirin by Ottoman settlers, a city that had once been part of Persia, that had once served as the gateway for both Alexander the Great as well as the Muslim armies of Arabistan. Atman would now guard the borders of the Persian Empire, it was decided, and the Persians would continue to be warm and kind and receptive towards the Ottoman prophets that carried out the most holy of works. Ironically, in the past, this city had served to end 120 years of war between the two Islamic brothers, fixing the borders of the Ottoman and Persian nations just as Ottoman and Persian delegates had just done in Pasargadae.
Further, Musul was established, to secure enough food for generations to come - the wheat farms alone could feed all the Ottoman people - and to secure incense and other materials the prophets of Islam required to convert the ignorant masses of Persia and beyond.
Perhaps in response, Abu Bakr sought to establish an Oracle, much like the Greek oracle of Delphi. No doubt, with the strong presence of Ottoman Islam to his north, he sought to consult the wisdom of Allah; why had the Ottomans been blessed with such fruitful lands, why was their Islam so good and glorious and successful, why did the words of his prophets only reach the unhearing ears of the lost and the dead in his barren deserts?
Antakya was established to the south, to pave way for the construction of holy cities such as Sam - Damascus - and Kudüs - Jerusalem. It would also allow trade across the vast White Sea - Akdeniz - or Sea of the West - Bahr al-Maghrib - to flourish. The Greeks and Romans who dwelt along its shores would recognise it as the Mediterranean Sea, but if Ottoman traders gained dominance over the waves, that name would not hold sway much longer. Still, the Greeks were finally officially contacted, and thus it became known that both the Greeks and the Persians sought to improve upon Egyptian works, by raising the highest pyramids ever seen. This was a time of great works, apparently, as Atman had also heard of Persian efforts to create the most expansive network of granaries ever seen - they would have to, without the riches of the Firat and the Dicle to draw upon.
Tebriz was established to the north, on the foot of a volcano, to secure passage through these mountainous lands - and, Atman admitted, to prevent the Persians from expanding into the Kafkaslar region; the Caucasus. Meanwhile, an expedition was sent even farther north, to claim the gold that had been found there.
At this point, the abyat had been developed into a full-fledged Writing system. No Egyptian hieroglyphs, but characters, to form verbs and nouns, with grammar and spelling and genders and more such features, a script that vastly eased communication between the vast holdings of the Exalted Ottoman State. A script, the first of its kind, that would further trade and diplomacy, and that would, eventually, unify all of humanity.
But while Atman focused on the re-establishment of civilisation, laying the foundation for the complexities of modern life as he had known it, the Greeks colonised the shores of Avrupa, as their ancient counterparts in the past world had done too. The Ottoman warriors, long having guarded the frontier of Anadolu, were forced to withdraw eastwards - and the path into Ottoman heartlands was now wide open to the Greeks.
As Greek merchants and adventurers slowly started to appear in Anadolu, they brought word of the Pyramid of Berlin, the world's greatest granary, said to safeguard the Germans from starvation during the harshest winters and the longest wars. Atman cared little for this, with the many floodplains and the vast stocks of wheat being cared for by industrious Ottoman farmers. No, Atman was busy codifying the philosophies underlying the Exalted Ottoman State; his views and visions of the future, the workings of good government, the way of Allah and Islam - having developed the Ottoman script, it should now be used to educate the world and show them the wisdom of the Ottomans. After all, in time, the world would only know the wisdom of the Ottomans, as shaped by Atman himself.
Wisdom, in the sciences, the arts, and in strategic acumen during the many military campaigns Atman would embark upon. Alparslan Kent was founded, in lands that had once been home to the Christian Georgians. They had banded together with their Byzantine enemies against the might of the Seljuqs, but sultan Alp Arslan had seized Georgia regardless of this shaky alliance. The Great Turkish Invasion would soon follow, though a Georgian reconquista would follow too. But this time there was no Georgia, this time there wasn't even a Turkish invasion - this time there were the Ottomans, and Alparslan Kent would make their enemies think twice before taking up sword against the mighty Ottoman warriors. Indeed, a unit of spearmen was sent to fortify the crossings between Anadolu and Avrupa.
This, too, was wisdom, as Greek hoplites were sighted on the hills, guarding a rich variety of grapes as Greek citizens helped themselves to these delicacies. Atman thenceforth provided great wealth and prosperity for anyone who would settle in the hills to the north and west, instead of in the lush rivers to the south-east. No Greeks would be tolerated on Anadolu, certainly not now that they had began constructing a great statue to their god of thunder. Rumours abounded that this religious fervour would mark the beginning of Alexander the Great's renewed campaign to conquer the world - and Anadolu would be the first target of such a war.
Barracks were erected allover the empire, and settlers and warriors steadily headed northwards. Trabzon, old Byzantine Trebizond, was reclaimed as an Ottoman city. With this influx of Ottoman settlers, adventurers, labourers and artisans, came a diverse set of cultural habits and practices, thoughts and views and ways of working. The rugged terrain to the north, mountainous with scarce room for farms, encouraged animal husbandry, mining, and fishing where possible. This entirely to the contrary of the south, where the rich Firat and Dicle had once more become the centre of civilisation, perhaps even capable of feeding the entirety of the world's populace. Atman's sponsoring of philosophy ensured that the Exalted Ottoman Empire remained a strong and unified nation, with room for diverse thoughts, where question and answer and counter-question would lead the Ottomans to greater wisdom, and where innovative practices were eagerly adopted to replace inferior methods. Atman continued his sponsoring of this learning, by commanding the establishment of the greatest library ever, to serve as a repository for all the knowledge the world had to offer.
Dagestan, a region that had only ever known the yoke of Persians and Russians squabbling over its riches while Mongol horses trampled crop and woman alike, would be the first city of the Exalted Ottoman State that had never known the glory of being under Ottoman auspices. Worryingly, Persian fishermen eagerly took to the refreshing Dagestani waters, to escape from the dry desert that was their home. Far more worryingly, however, were the traces of Greek civilisation that were sighted to the north of Alparslan Kent and Dagestan. Had the Greeks colonised the entire Karadeniz, the whole Black Sea? A nagging thought came into Atman's mind. Perhaps, against the famous Greek hoplites, that had conquered all that Alexander had set his gaze on, Ottoman warriors might not be sufficient. Perhaps, the Ottoman miners up north should set their pickaxes to strike copper and iron and other metals of war, instead of the wealth and luxury of gold.
The Ottomans in Anadolu were rising to the challenge of countering the Greek incursions, however. Ankara was raised in the north, recalling memories of that glorious capital, from where Atatürk had waged his war of independence to free the Turks from Allied oppression. These memories remained only in Atman's mind, and would forever remain there, because none would ever occupy Anadolu, or any place where Ottoman banners were raised. And banners were raised; the passages into Anadolu were secured, fortified, and held forevermore by the Ottomans.
Izmir was settled, a city that Alexander the Great had once refounded after Cyrus the Great had razed it. Never would Anadolu be a toy to be torn apart by these two powers, a bone caught between two mongrel dogs, Atman vowed. The Exalted Ottoman Empire had now claimed large swathes of the lands that had once fallen under its many great sultans - and although the treacherous Egyptians held Thebes and the surrounding lands, the Persians had scarcely settled their homeland. Atman ordered bands of settlers and prophets from Qasr-e- Shirin and Musul to seize these lands - to better protect Persia's border, of course.
This proved to be a wise decision. As Ottoman miners turned their efforts towards amassing copper and iron, to be made into shields and swords, keen explorers noticed a large vein of iron in the hills just north of Pasargadae. But keen Arabians had noticed the same, a piece of knowledge perhaps whispered into Abu Bakr's ears from his failed oracle. Apparently, the people of Summer claimed to have cultivated the powers of prophecy. Were the scorching deserts of Arabistan not 'summer' enough for these heathen gods? No matter - it was not as if Allah would commune through these heathen means. Self-delusions of grandeur, that was all.
Arabian warriors kept trying to find a way through Persian lands, but Xerxes, perhaps remembering the Anabasis, kept vigilant watch over his borders, and cooperated with the Ottoman workers and spearmen to keep the Arabians far away. In this exercise, Ottoman scouts learned that Xerxes had resurrected his ancient Immortals; thousands of the finest swordsmen ever, their ranks forever steady at one thousand per unit, a truly immortal army. For now. Soon enough, Ottoman swordsmen would triumph over all and sunder. Perhaps, both Ottoman swordsmen and Persian Immortals would be needed, to counter the threat to their west; Alexander the Great had erected a mighty statue to the Greek god Zeus, and this he used to rally an army of Hetairoi, his old Companion Cavalry, the first shock cavalry the world had seen, with whom he had conquered the known world. They had left behind such a legacy that the Byzantines had resurrected them - and now the Ottomans would need to put them to death for good.
Semnan was established in northern Persia, a city that had flourished greatly under the Seljuq Turks, with monuments of Turkic glory watching over the many roads and sewers and offices the Seljuqs had established in this once-devastated Persian city. Similarly, Abarkuh was erected in the Persian heartlands, a city once known for its four yakhchal, adobe ice houses used to store ice and other foodstuffs throughout the year, made by the Qajar dynasty from when the Turkic Qajar tribe reigned over Persia. A code of laws was instituted to ensure Xerxes could find no pretext for war, as his Immortals gazed upon the Ottoman cities. The Ottomans would need to be wary of the influence of Persian culture and military prowess, so deep in the Persian heartlands. But Xerxes seemed to be occupied down south, with explorers, adventurers, and ordinary citizens, all trekking towards the Arabian deserts. The Hajj, perhaps, but surely Istanbul was a better destination - Ottoman prophets had converted Persians to Ottoman Islam, had they not?
Meanwhile, the Arabian warriors that had tried to settle the Persian lands now scaled the treacherous mountain passages that cut Ottoman-Persia off from the rest of the Exalted Ottoman State. Perhaps the deserts north of Dagestan held value, Atman pondered. Magnanimous incentives turned Dagestani labourers and warriors, working on a barracks, into settlers ready to build and fight farther north. There, Atman's wisdom was proved once again, as Romans soldiers greeted the Ottoman civilians.
They brought word of the German city of Berlin, again, that now housed a temple to the Greek god Artemis, in addition to its pyramids. Curious, this; had the Germans and Greeks forged an alliance? Would Atman find Germanic warriors to fill the ranks of the Greek armies? Regardless. The entrances to Anadolu remained garrisoned by Ottoman warriors, and soon they would receive swords forged of the sharpest iron. However, the Romans did not pass east, but turned south, into Ottoman lands - following the Persians, perhaps, but the Romans clearly were unaware of the truth of Islam. Following the Arabians, then, who continued journeying eastwards into Persia? It was curious, but ultimately irrelevant.
Alania was established, once an important buffer state between the Byzantines and the Arabians - now, the northernmost outpost of the Ottomans, tracking all Greek movements in the region. And the Greeks were many; west and north and even east of the Exalted Ottoman State, like a plague they had spread themselves throughout the land. However, the sharp-eyed scouts of Alania also sighted another people in the distance, and rumours abounded that these were the Celts of Bibracte, famous for its Hanging Gardens and its unique system of noble lineages and hereditary rule.
As the Romans turned back again, as multiple bands of Arabians now sought to sneak into Persian lands, and as even Egyptians traipsed around Ottoman lands - Atman was of half a mind to evict all of them, but if they saw now the glory of the Ottomans, they would take more kindly to future incorporation - iron shipments finally began arriving in most major Ottoman cities. Spears were promptly discarded - the era of iron swords had now dawned.
And also, the era of the so-called 'res publica'. Each city's governor soon raised their own professional armies, with swords forged from white-hot iron, and trained in the best tactics and strategies that Atman remembered from his former glorious military achievements. But this gave power to the governors, and this gave the governors a desire to wield power at a level beyond that of their cities. Atman provided for this, in his inextinguishable wisdom, and thereby quickly ensured that the Ottoman armies would remain Ottoman armies, to be directed at Atman's foes. No Bagdati army would turn on Halep, and no army from Halep would occupy Bagdat. To satisfy the Ottoman citizens, long used to a life of fullness and plenty, luxury and living standards were increased, and taxes were cut ever so slightly. The Exalted Ottoman State grew only stronger, with the input of local governors - and later, wealthy merchants, wise philosophers, and innovative artisans - enhancing, and not shackling, the wise guidance of Atman.
Other despots turned towards arrogance and megalomania, instead of wisdom and foresight, as they erected mighty monuments in honour of themselves. A mausoleum in far-away Japan, a lighthouse in equally far-away Zululand - wherever that may be - and more pressingly, a great wall in Greece. A wall to keep the Ottomans out, no doubt - and a wall to hide the raising of an ancient army that had once conquered the known world. Barracks were quickly erected throughout the Greek empire, as legendary spearmen and powerful horsemen stampeded behind the gates, ready to rush beyond the walls of Greece and into the rich lands of the Ottomans.
The question, as such, was where to direct the exalted Ottoman armies. Moving beyond the passages to and from Anadolu, into Greece, would allow Atman to seize the many Greek wonders and to establish a convenient buffer region. But it would also expose the Ottomans to the great game of Europe, to the perfidious influence of the Romans and the Germans, and Atman's eyes might one day be on the west while the Persian enemy strikes from the east. It might be worthwhile to reduce the threat Persia could pose - but their Immortals were feared with reason, and Xerxes seemed to be amenable to the hand of friendship Atman had offered. Meanwhile, Cleopatra maintained control of the holy levant, the people there no doubt reeling under the oppression of Thebes. Just as the Arabians were no doubt yearning for the enlightenment of the Ottoman way of Islam.
As designs of siege engines were presented to Atman - in no way equal to those that had once conquered Konstantinniye, but then, the world was young still - and as philosophers turned to mathematics to explain the world, the governor of Halep brought another matter to Atman's court. He had been working on a great monument, with Atman's and Allah's blessing, to inspire loyalty to and reverence for the Ottomans in the hearts and minds of Thebes' inhabitants. But the rapid advance in knowledge pertaining to mathematics had revealed crucial flaws in the designs of this wonder, and various refurbishment attempts had failed to overcome these flaws - and now, there seemed to be no way to recoup the investments already made.
(yes, how do I actually turn the twelve-turn Palace into Sun Tzu's Art of War, given that I need... Ten more technologies? So 40 turns at a minimum, to reach the Medieval Age - plus Feudalism if I don't get it for free)
- Apparently Settlers cost only one population instead of two (I discovered this while playing)
- Marines have two moves and can attack multiple times (blitz)
- Paratroopers and Modern Paratroopers treat all terrain as roads
- Gold-related buildings (Marketplace, Bank, Stock Exchange...) have no maintenance costs
- Wonders put free buildings in all cities, instead of all cities on the continent
- Wonders that do not produce units never obsolete
- The Great Library puts Libraries in all cities, but does not give the owner any technology that two other civilisations already know (in practice, I found this to be overpowered on a map with 31 civilisations, because it circumvents the four-turn minimum research cost of every technology - I could just not build it myself and let an AI have it, but instead I opted to change this wonder)
- The Great Wall puts Barracks in all cities (to prevent the bombardment of Great Wall-created Walls bug - and the AI usually gets the Great Wall, and Barracks are more useful than Walls)
- Sun Tzu's Art of War puts Courthouses in all cities (because the Great Wall already puts Barracks in all cities)
- Smith's Trading Company adds +1 commerce to every commerce-producing tile, like the Colossus, in addition to paying maintenance for gold-related buildings (but most of those already cost no maintenance, hence the additional feature)
- Iron Works requires Steam Power (and Iron and Coal, so practically nothing changed, but it may increase the AI's value of Steam Power)
- Ancient age technologies can't be traded
- And the human player can't trade any technologies at all
Our story starts in Anadolu, named for the sunrise. It is the gate to Avrupa, named in turn for the sunset - but it is the gate to the world at large; to southern Afrika, to the empty deserts of Arabistan, and to far eastern Asya where powers such as Cin and Hindistan would arise. All this and more, Osman Gazi held in his mind. In his life, he had been known as such, taking the more prestigious Arabic version of his name to indicate that Allah was on his side as he fought the Byzantines. But here, in this new world, there was no Iznik, nor Efes, nor even a Konstantiniyye to be besieged by his descendants. Nicaea, Ephesus, Constantinople... Only empty land. In time, they would come, he knew. He did not know from where - there clearly was no Byzantine presence in the countryside - but in time they would, and he would be prepared.
There was no Arabistan either, no holy Makkah nor holy Madinah, and the very tenets of Islam only existed in his mind. And that of Abu Bakr, he supposed. But Islam had developed well past its inception under Abu Bakr, a contemporary of the great Muhammad, peace be upon Him, Himself. Strife would exist even between these two brothers of the faith, Osman predicted with sorrow in his heart. It would not behove him to be Osman, then, to take his legitimacy from a fledgling Arabistan that held as many people and as much wisdom as his own Turks, and that would only grow poorer by comparison as it expanded over empty deserts, while his Turks would roam far and wide to garner the riches of Anadolu and the whole world besides. He would be Atman, or Atouman, and he would lead his Ottomans until the Exalted Ottoman State spanned the entire world. There was no Sögüt, there were no Oghuz Turkish people, there was no Sultanate of Rum, there was only himself and his people, with culture and national identity already forged by the gods. Ottomans. A word coming from centuries past his death, a word therefore holding the gigantic mark his legacy had left upon the world. Yes, he would be Atman of the Ottomans, and the dawn of the Devlet-i Allye-i Osmaniye would come with the establishment of Istanbul, a name known and held in awe by untold billions in a far future that would now never be.
Under the guidance of Atman, the wise Ottomans set out to recreate the Arabic abjad. The abjad held no vowels, unlike the alphabet, but in their exalted wisdom, the Ottomans would create an 'impure' abjad, that could indicate vowels by diacritics and a limited number of vowel-characters. The abjad was native to the crossroads of the world, and all noteworthy powers there used it. The ancient Fenike, the heathen Farca, the Yahudi diaspora, and many more besides these Phoenicians, Persians, and Jews. The alphabet hailed from Yunanistan, Greece, and Atman would not use the tools of Bizanslilar while better alternatives existed. There might not be any Byzantines in Anadolu for the moment, but Allah knew they would come for a reckoning.
Fearsome warriors alike to the mighty Turkish hordes would need to be trained to welcome them. Them, and all the others that now vied for their place underneath the sun - had the Seljuks not inspired great fear within all those that beheld their vast armies of horsemen? Persia had fallen before these armies, and the Ottomans descended from this mighty army. Persia, and all others, would know fear and subservience, lest they be trampled by modern Ottoman might.
The first warriors of the Exalted Ottoman State spread out throughout the known world, sighting pristine hills where once Konstantiniyye had stood as a blight upon the horizon. Full of glory and splendour and wealth, but a blight none the less. Allah, in His wisdom, had seen fit to purge Anadolu from their presence, and for this, He was thanked most heartfully. The levant was also empty, and this led Atman to wonder where the Jewish might have gone. Some said they were cunning and vile, and this might be so - they did cast Allah out of their hearts, after all - but they were skilled in matters of commerce all the same. Perhaps, with no great nations having arisen yet - Istanbul was only a city-state, he had to confess - there was little to do for those with skills in trade. Counting copper and gold to haggle and barter and charge interest - a haram practice that of course the Jewish had adopted - those were the skills of the Jewish, but if there were no copper deposits or gold mines yet, if there were no merchants traversing the Silk Road to reach the markets of distant Rome, then there was little use for these Jewish skills. Perhaps Allah had seen fit to cleanse them from the world - perhaps, he hoped, Allah had seen fit to cleanse all the heretics and heathens from the world.
But no, deep down, he felt the presence of the Byzantines. And he had been made aware of a nascent human presence along the northern coast of the Karadeniz, the Black Sea. A human presence that spoke in Greek. Atman ordered his warriors to strike camp at the hills of once-Konstantiniyye, and let none at all pass. Anadolu would remain free of Greek, Byzantine, Roman - heretical influence. Meanwhile, to the south, Egypt was sighted. Not the Mamalik Sultanate, nor the remnants of the Ayyubiyun dynasty of Saladin - Atman knew all this as Allah had granted him knowledge of the wonders of the world beyond the time he had spent alive on Earth - no, these Egyptians seemed to be of the pharaohic variant, one of the most ancient civilisations that had ever arisen. Heathen beyond doubt, but to be respected all the same; Allah had taught him mercy and compassion, and only by reaching out with magnanimity and friendship could the souls of the unbeliever be converted. After all, they had once been Islamic brothers, and the Mamalik Sultanate had been incorporated into the Exalted Ottoman State. After they had contrived with the Persians to wage war upon the Ottomans, that is... They would need to be wary of this new Egypt.
Simple greetings were exchanged as Ottoman warriors looked down upon Egyptian farmers. The temptation to redress past wrongdoings, to punish the deceit of the Egyptians... Ah, but Allah had taught him mercy and kindness, and he would offer them a chance at prosperity, in Allah's light, in this new world.
The Aleppo Eyalet - the Eyalet-i Halep - was established, with the founding of Halep on the banks of the Firat. Or, as the Greek world knew this river, the Euphrates. Halep had, for centuries, been one of the most prominent cities of the Ottoman Empire, and its establishment would secure food and farmland in plenty for the Ottoman people. With this newfound wealth now making its way to Istanbul, Atman wisely ordered taxes to be increased, diverting more funding to the scientific endeavours carried out in Istanbul.
Cleopatra, pharaoh of the Egyptians, ordered the Ottoman warriors to leave the borders of her realm, but not before they sighted a band of spearmen escorting a large population of artisans, farmers, and more such civilian occupations. Clearly, the Nil river was providing well for the Egyptians. The Firat would be an even greater boon to the Ottomans, as the wise and industrious Ottoman people would be far more capable of exploiting such a mighty river - but would the Ottomans have this time, with Arabian and Persian scouts prowling along its borders? To safeguard the Exalted Ottoman State, more than mighty warriors fashioned in the likelihood of rampaging hordes would be necessary. Disciplined spearmen were assembled in Istanbul, as seen in Egypt, but then having undergone proper military training at a barracks, instead of receiving the trappings of blessings of a long-discarded pantheon.
These spearmen were promptly dispatched to Halep, taking knowledge of the newly developed Ottoman abyad with them, as the Egyptians claimed the levant with their city of Thebes. Thebes, or Waset, was perhaps the holiest of the ancient Egyptian cities, being also known as Hut-ka-Ptah; the enclosure of the god Ptah. And the very name of Egypt itself came from this city; Hut-ka-Ptah was translated into Ai-gy-ptos as the years passed. It was thus utter blasphemy that this city of Thebes now incorporated the plateau of the Judaean Mountains where the Beyt-i Mukaddes, the Holy House, had once been built. Kudüs, the Holy One, Jerusalem itself, now lay in the hands of a long-forgotten cult.
Meanwhile, the Persians were contacted, and though they, too, sought a slice of the crossroads of the world, they occupied themselves with the construction of a great Colossus. Once, the ancient Greeks would have built this in Rhodes, and made the eyes of the Middle-East turn west in wonder - Atman could only approve of efforts to undermine the Greeks. And the Persians had their own cause for wroth, with their leader Xerxes sorely remembering being turned back at Marathon, before all of Persia fell under the sandals of Alexander the so-called Great. They might not be Islamic brothers and sisters, but the Persians were tolerant of all cultures and readily took Islam in their midst as a religion equal to their home-brewed Zoroastrianism. In time, Allah's light would shine upon them, Atman knew.
To further secure the Firat, the city of Bagdat was constructed. In the previous world, this city would have been located between the Firat and the Dicle - the Tigris - but Atman had to ensure the proper interpretations of Islam would find their way into Arabistan and find a home in the heart of Abu Bakr and his wayward people. For this, a strong Ottoman presence south of the Firat would be needed.
Troublesome developments to the south were not the sole matter that kept Atman awake at night. No, to the west, Greek influence crept upon Ottoman lands like the silent shadow of death, with the founding of Argos on the hills that were once home to Konstantiniyye.
Allah made it known that the Aztecs had erected a Colossus in the floating gardens of Tenochtitlan, surveying all the swamps and farms that dominated this region of that faraway continent Atman had never known of. America. No doubt Allah's light would shine bright there, too, one day. He would see it be done. The Persians, however, were disgruntled over these Aztecs stealing their glory. To appease them, Atman sent some of his most trusted aides to Pasargadae, what had once been the Ottoman city of Basra, to negotiate the borders of Ottoman and Persian lands. One of the conditions was the founding of Qasr-e Shirin by Ottoman settlers, a city that had once been part of Persia, that had once served as the gateway for both Alexander the Great as well as the Muslim armies of Arabistan. Atman would now guard the borders of the Persian Empire, it was decided, and the Persians would continue to be warm and kind and receptive towards the Ottoman prophets that carried out the most holy of works. Ironically, in the past, this city had served to end 120 years of war between the two Islamic brothers, fixing the borders of the Ottoman and Persian nations just as Ottoman and Persian delegates had just done in Pasargadae.
Further, Musul was established, to secure enough food for generations to come - the wheat farms alone could feed all the Ottoman people - and to secure incense and other materials the prophets of Islam required to convert the ignorant masses of Persia and beyond.
Perhaps in response, Abu Bakr sought to establish an Oracle, much like the Greek oracle of Delphi. No doubt, with the strong presence of Ottoman Islam to his north, he sought to consult the wisdom of Allah; why had the Ottomans been blessed with such fruitful lands, why was their Islam so good and glorious and successful, why did the words of his prophets only reach the unhearing ears of the lost and the dead in his barren deserts?
Antakya was established to the south, to pave way for the construction of holy cities such as Sam - Damascus - and Kudüs - Jerusalem. It would also allow trade across the vast White Sea - Akdeniz - or Sea of the West - Bahr al-Maghrib - to flourish. The Greeks and Romans who dwelt along its shores would recognise it as the Mediterranean Sea, but if Ottoman traders gained dominance over the waves, that name would not hold sway much longer. Still, the Greeks were finally officially contacted, and thus it became known that both the Greeks and the Persians sought to improve upon Egyptian works, by raising the highest pyramids ever seen. This was a time of great works, apparently, as Atman had also heard of Persian efforts to create the most expansive network of granaries ever seen - they would have to, without the riches of the Firat and the Dicle to draw upon.
Tebriz was established to the north, on the foot of a volcano, to secure passage through these mountainous lands - and, Atman admitted, to prevent the Persians from expanding into the Kafkaslar region; the Caucasus. Meanwhile, an expedition was sent even farther north, to claim the gold that had been found there.
At this point, the abyat had been developed into a full-fledged Writing system. No Egyptian hieroglyphs, but characters, to form verbs and nouns, with grammar and spelling and genders and more such features, a script that vastly eased communication between the vast holdings of the Exalted Ottoman State. A script, the first of its kind, that would further trade and diplomacy, and that would, eventually, unify all of humanity.
But while Atman focused on the re-establishment of civilisation, laying the foundation for the complexities of modern life as he had known it, the Greeks colonised the shores of Avrupa, as their ancient counterparts in the past world had done too. The Ottoman warriors, long having guarded the frontier of Anadolu, were forced to withdraw eastwards - and the path into Ottoman heartlands was now wide open to the Greeks.
As Greek merchants and adventurers slowly started to appear in Anadolu, they brought word of the Pyramid of Berlin, the world's greatest granary, said to safeguard the Germans from starvation during the harshest winters and the longest wars. Atman cared little for this, with the many floodplains and the vast stocks of wheat being cared for by industrious Ottoman farmers. No, Atman was busy codifying the philosophies underlying the Exalted Ottoman State; his views and visions of the future, the workings of good government, the way of Allah and Islam - having developed the Ottoman script, it should now be used to educate the world and show them the wisdom of the Ottomans. After all, in time, the world would only know the wisdom of the Ottomans, as shaped by Atman himself.
Wisdom, in the sciences, the arts, and in strategic acumen during the many military campaigns Atman would embark upon. Alparslan Kent was founded, in lands that had once been home to the Christian Georgians. They had banded together with their Byzantine enemies against the might of the Seljuqs, but sultan Alp Arslan had seized Georgia regardless of this shaky alliance. The Great Turkish Invasion would soon follow, though a Georgian reconquista would follow too. But this time there was no Georgia, this time there wasn't even a Turkish invasion - this time there were the Ottomans, and Alparslan Kent would make their enemies think twice before taking up sword against the mighty Ottoman warriors. Indeed, a unit of spearmen was sent to fortify the crossings between Anadolu and Avrupa.
This, too, was wisdom, as Greek hoplites were sighted on the hills, guarding a rich variety of grapes as Greek citizens helped themselves to these delicacies. Atman thenceforth provided great wealth and prosperity for anyone who would settle in the hills to the north and west, instead of in the lush rivers to the south-east. No Greeks would be tolerated on Anadolu, certainly not now that they had began constructing a great statue to their god of thunder. Rumours abounded that this religious fervour would mark the beginning of Alexander the Great's renewed campaign to conquer the world - and Anadolu would be the first target of such a war.
Barracks were erected allover the empire, and settlers and warriors steadily headed northwards. Trabzon, old Byzantine Trebizond, was reclaimed as an Ottoman city. With this influx of Ottoman settlers, adventurers, labourers and artisans, came a diverse set of cultural habits and practices, thoughts and views and ways of working. The rugged terrain to the north, mountainous with scarce room for farms, encouraged animal husbandry, mining, and fishing where possible. This entirely to the contrary of the south, where the rich Firat and Dicle had once more become the centre of civilisation, perhaps even capable of feeding the entirety of the world's populace. Atman's sponsoring of philosophy ensured that the Exalted Ottoman Empire remained a strong and unified nation, with room for diverse thoughts, where question and answer and counter-question would lead the Ottomans to greater wisdom, and where innovative practices were eagerly adopted to replace inferior methods. Atman continued his sponsoring of this learning, by commanding the establishment of the greatest library ever, to serve as a repository for all the knowledge the world had to offer.
Dagestan, a region that had only ever known the yoke of Persians and Russians squabbling over its riches while Mongol horses trampled crop and woman alike, would be the first city of the Exalted Ottoman State that had never known the glory of being under Ottoman auspices. Worryingly, Persian fishermen eagerly took to the refreshing Dagestani waters, to escape from the dry desert that was their home. Far more worryingly, however, were the traces of Greek civilisation that were sighted to the north of Alparslan Kent and Dagestan. Had the Greeks colonised the entire Karadeniz, the whole Black Sea? A nagging thought came into Atman's mind. Perhaps, against the famous Greek hoplites, that had conquered all that Alexander had set his gaze on, Ottoman warriors might not be sufficient. Perhaps, the Ottoman miners up north should set their pickaxes to strike copper and iron and other metals of war, instead of the wealth and luxury of gold.
The Ottomans in Anadolu were rising to the challenge of countering the Greek incursions, however. Ankara was raised in the north, recalling memories of that glorious capital, from where Atatürk had waged his war of independence to free the Turks from Allied oppression. These memories remained only in Atman's mind, and would forever remain there, because none would ever occupy Anadolu, or any place where Ottoman banners were raised. And banners were raised; the passages into Anadolu were secured, fortified, and held forevermore by the Ottomans.
Izmir was settled, a city that Alexander the Great had once refounded after Cyrus the Great had razed it. Never would Anadolu be a toy to be torn apart by these two powers, a bone caught between two mongrel dogs, Atman vowed. The Exalted Ottoman Empire had now claimed large swathes of the lands that had once fallen under its many great sultans - and although the treacherous Egyptians held Thebes and the surrounding lands, the Persians had scarcely settled their homeland. Atman ordered bands of settlers and prophets from Qasr-e- Shirin and Musul to seize these lands - to better protect Persia's border, of course.
This proved to be a wise decision. As Ottoman miners turned their efforts towards amassing copper and iron, to be made into shields and swords, keen explorers noticed a large vein of iron in the hills just north of Pasargadae. But keen Arabians had noticed the same, a piece of knowledge perhaps whispered into Abu Bakr's ears from his failed oracle. Apparently, the people of Summer claimed to have cultivated the powers of prophecy. Were the scorching deserts of Arabistan not 'summer' enough for these heathen gods? No matter - it was not as if Allah would commune through these heathen means. Self-delusions of grandeur, that was all.
Arabian warriors kept trying to find a way through Persian lands, but Xerxes, perhaps remembering the Anabasis, kept vigilant watch over his borders, and cooperated with the Ottoman workers and spearmen to keep the Arabians far away. In this exercise, Ottoman scouts learned that Xerxes had resurrected his ancient Immortals; thousands of the finest swordsmen ever, their ranks forever steady at one thousand per unit, a truly immortal army. For now. Soon enough, Ottoman swordsmen would triumph over all and sunder. Perhaps, both Ottoman swordsmen and Persian Immortals would be needed, to counter the threat to their west; Alexander the Great had erected a mighty statue to the Greek god Zeus, and this he used to rally an army of Hetairoi, his old Companion Cavalry, the first shock cavalry the world had seen, with whom he had conquered the known world. They had left behind such a legacy that the Byzantines had resurrected them - and now the Ottomans would need to put them to death for good.
Semnan was established in northern Persia, a city that had flourished greatly under the Seljuq Turks, with monuments of Turkic glory watching over the many roads and sewers and offices the Seljuqs had established in this once-devastated Persian city. Similarly, Abarkuh was erected in the Persian heartlands, a city once known for its four yakhchal, adobe ice houses used to store ice and other foodstuffs throughout the year, made by the Qajar dynasty from when the Turkic Qajar tribe reigned over Persia. A code of laws was instituted to ensure Xerxes could find no pretext for war, as his Immortals gazed upon the Ottoman cities. The Ottomans would need to be wary of the influence of Persian culture and military prowess, so deep in the Persian heartlands. But Xerxes seemed to be occupied down south, with explorers, adventurers, and ordinary citizens, all trekking towards the Arabian deserts. The Hajj, perhaps, but surely Istanbul was a better destination - Ottoman prophets had converted Persians to Ottoman Islam, had they not?
Meanwhile, the Arabian warriors that had tried to settle the Persian lands now scaled the treacherous mountain passages that cut Ottoman-Persia off from the rest of the Exalted Ottoman State. Perhaps the deserts north of Dagestan held value, Atman pondered. Magnanimous incentives turned Dagestani labourers and warriors, working on a barracks, into settlers ready to build and fight farther north. There, Atman's wisdom was proved once again, as Romans soldiers greeted the Ottoman civilians.
They brought word of the German city of Berlin, again, that now housed a temple to the Greek god Artemis, in addition to its pyramids. Curious, this; had the Germans and Greeks forged an alliance? Would Atman find Germanic warriors to fill the ranks of the Greek armies? Regardless. The entrances to Anadolu remained garrisoned by Ottoman warriors, and soon they would receive swords forged of the sharpest iron. However, the Romans did not pass east, but turned south, into Ottoman lands - following the Persians, perhaps, but the Romans clearly were unaware of the truth of Islam. Following the Arabians, then, who continued journeying eastwards into Persia? It was curious, but ultimately irrelevant.
Alania was established, once an important buffer state between the Byzantines and the Arabians - now, the northernmost outpost of the Ottomans, tracking all Greek movements in the region. And the Greeks were many; west and north and even east of the Exalted Ottoman State, like a plague they had spread themselves throughout the land. However, the sharp-eyed scouts of Alania also sighted another people in the distance, and rumours abounded that these were the Celts of Bibracte, famous for its Hanging Gardens and its unique system of noble lineages and hereditary rule.
As the Romans turned back again, as multiple bands of Arabians now sought to sneak into Persian lands, and as even Egyptians traipsed around Ottoman lands - Atman was of half a mind to evict all of them, but if they saw now the glory of the Ottomans, they would take more kindly to future incorporation - iron shipments finally began arriving in most major Ottoman cities. Spears were promptly discarded - the era of iron swords had now dawned.
And also, the era of the so-called 'res publica'. Each city's governor soon raised their own professional armies, with swords forged from white-hot iron, and trained in the best tactics and strategies that Atman remembered from his former glorious military achievements. But this gave power to the governors, and this gave the governors a desire to wield power at a level beyond that of their cities. Atman provided for this, in his inextinguishable wisdom, and thereby quickly ensured that the Ottoman armies would remain Ottoman armies, to be directed at Atman's foes. No Bagdati army would turn on Halep, and no army from Halep would occupy Bagdat. To satisfy the Ottoman citizens, long used to a life of fullness and plenty, luxury and living standards were increased, and taxes were cut ever so slightly. The Exalted Ottoman State grew only stronger, with the input of local governors - and later, wealthy merchants, wise philosophers, and innovative artisans - enhancing, and not shackling, the wise guidance of Atman.
Other despots turned towards arrogance and megalomania, instead of wisdom and foresight, as they erected mighty monuments in honour of themselves. A mausoleum in far-away Japan, a lighthouse in equally far-away Zululand - wherever that may be - and more pressingly, a great wall in Greece. A wall to keep the Ottomans out, no doubt - and a wall to hide the raising of an ancient army that had once conquered the known world. Barracks were quickly erected throughout the Greek empire, as legendary spearmen and powerful horsemen stampeded behind the gates, ready to rush beyond the walls of Greece and into the rich lands of the Ottomans.
The question, as such, was where to direct the exalted Ottoman armies. Moving beyond the passages to and from Anadolu, into Greece, would allow Atman to seize the many Greek wonders and to establish a convenient buffer region. But it would also expose the Ottomans to the great game of Europe, to the perfidious influence of the Romans and the Germans, and Atman's eyes might one day be on the west while the Persian enemy strikes from the east. It might be worthwhile to reduce the threat Persia could pose - but their Immortals were feared with reason, and Xerxes seemed to be amenable to the hand of friendship Atman had offered. Meanwhile, Cleopatra maintained control of the holy levant, the people there no doubt reeling under the oppression of Thebes. Just as the Arabians were no doubt yearning for the enlightenment of the Ottoman way of Islam.
As designs of siege engines were presented to Atman - in no way equal to those that had once conquered Konstantinniye, but then, the world was young still - and as philosophers turned to mathematics to explain the world, the governor of Halep brought another matter to Atman's court. He had been working on a great monument, with Atman's and Allah's blessing, to inspire loyalty to and reverence for the Ottomans in the hearts and minds of Thebes' inhabitants. But the rapid advance in knowledge pertaining to mathematics had revealed crucial flaws in the designs of this wonder, and various refurbishment attempts had failed to overcome these flaws - and now, there seemed to be no way to recoup the investments already made.
(yes, how do I actually turn the twelve-turn Palace into Sun Tzu's Art of War, given that I need... Ten more technologies? So 40 turns at a minimum, to reach the Medieval Age - plus Feudalism if I don't get it for free)
