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Tinto Maps #19 - 20th of September 2024 - India

Hello everyone, and welcome once again to another Tinto Maps! Today we will be taking a look at India! Yup, a whole subcontinent… Exciting!

Let me say a foreword before I start sharing with you some beautiful maps. Some of you may wonder why we decided to make the entire Indian subcontinent in just one DD, instead of spreading it a bit. There are two reasons for that. The first is the political situation: the Sultanate of Delhi is at its zenith, under Muhammad bin Tughlaq. You will soon see that it rules over more than half of the region, approximately; so splitting that polity into several DDs would have felt weird.

The other is that we felt that a more cohesive approach made sense in this region, as it’s sooo diverse compared to others, that the way we approached it, both for its setup and content, was from the generic to the particular; therefore, we think that it will also help us more when we tackle the review of the region. Speaking of that, don’t worry much about the time available to prepare suggestions; you may already know that we have a backlog of several regions, and therefore weeks, before we hit the Indian review, so you will have plenty of time to research and prepare them. In any case, as it’s a massive task (we know it firsthand), we’ll let you know a bit in advance when we plan to start the in-depth review of it, so you have time to wrap it up.

As a final say, I just want to mention that an old acquaintance of the community, @Trin Tragula , now Design Lead in CK3, helped us to map a big chunk of it. Thanks, mate! And now, maps!

Countries:
Countries.jpg

Colored Wastelands.png

As I just mentioned, the Sultanate of Delhi is at its zenith, under Muhammad bin Tughlaq, extending through the Indo-Gangetic Plain, including Bengal, and to the south, throughout the Deccan. There we have its toughest contender, Vijayanagar, a county that is a bulwark of Hinduism. Other important countries around it are Orissa and Sindh, but much smaller countries generally surround Delhi. You might wonder how it would be possible to stop Delhi from completely controlling the region, then. For this, two things are affecting its capability to achieve it. The first is the base game mechanics: ruling over so many different cultures and religions with low control will be hard. The second is a Situation that involves the Fall of the Sultanate; if Delhi wants to succeed, it will have to fight back against rebellions, which involves the potential independence of the Bengalese countries or newborn ones such as the Bahmanis, and the multiple Indian states around it, which are ready to take over it.

Dynasties:
Dynasties.jpg


Locations:
Locations.jpg

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Yes, we are making some adjustments to the coloring of the mapmodes!

Provinces:
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Areas:
Areas.jpg

The bug is still there, yes… The area that is to the southwest is Malabar.

Terrain:
Climate.jpg

Topography.jpg

Vegetation.jpg

Here we have a new type of topography: Atolls. We added it some months ago, as we worked on finishing the map of the Pacific Ocean, and it will be the last one added to the game.

Development:
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A new map mode is born! Here you have the development of India. The most developed place is Delhi, which is part of the fertile Gangetic Plain.

Harbors:
Harbors.jpg


Cultures:
Cultures.jpg

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Not an entirely new map, but a glorious one. We chose it to be the one to present how the different cultures could be present in the game for a reason.

Religions:
Religions.jpg

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India is the birthplace of numerous religions, and that needs to be reflected in the religious map. The main religion is Hinduism, but don’t be deceived by its homogeneous look, as it will be quite deep feature-wise. We also have Buddhism, which is at a low point, after some centuries of prosecutions. Mahayana is a majority in Sindh, although that's not completely exact, as an earlier form of Buddhism was practiced there; we’re also not 100% convinced about it being a majority, as some sources and accounts set the Islamization of the region to be completed under the Ghaznavids, in the 11th and 12th century, while others delay it until the 14th century - we followed the later approach, but we're very open to feedback in this specific matter. Another form of Buddhism is Theravada, which is the most practiced religion in Sailan. Some interesting minorities present in the region are Jains (yellow stripes), Nestorians (the pink stripe in Malabar, which portrays the ‘Saint Thomas Christians’), Jews (which have their own separate culture, ‘Kochini’), and several Animist confessions, of which we’ve already split Satsana Phi, the traditional religion of Tai people, and Sanamahism, the religion of Meitei people. Oh, although it’s not strictly part of the region, the light blue stripes to the north is Bön religion.

Raw Materials:
Raw Materials.jpg

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India was for some time in the period the wealthiest region of the world, one of the main reasons being that it’s incredibly rich in very different types of resources, including some of the expensive ones. That will make for a very interesting economic gameplay.

Markets:
Markets India.png

There are several market centers in India that we think portray well the situation in 1337: Kabul (yes, it’s in Afghanistan, but it’s one for the area of Kashmir), Delhi, Khambat, Calicut, Pulicat, Varanasi, and Chittagong.

Population:
Population.jpg

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India has a big population. To be precise, around 95M pops. Delhi is the second largest country in the world in population, with 41M pops, which makes it a behemoth, with very serious governance challenges. I’m also showing this week the progress we’re making with the coloring of the population mapmode; the stripes on several locations mark that they’re overpopulated, as they have more pops living on them than the pop capacity available (something that may be reviewed, as balancing very densely populated regions such as India or China is really challenging).

And that’s all for today! We hope you enjoyed this massive Tinto Maps. Next week we will be taking a look at the Steppe. Which one, you might wonder? Well, the one ruled by the Golden Horde, from Ukraine in the west to Mongolia in the east. Cheers!
 
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I don't believe Kashmir should have any large Muslim populations by this point, as it was still a Hindu Kingdom in 1337 and I don't believe there were any significant mass migrations of Muslims into the region, outside of a few nobles crossing into Kashmir (if anybody has any sources to the contrary though, feel free to correct me).
 
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Northeast Feedback:

I wanted to add a couple more locations in Western Assam so that both Kamrupi (Assamese) and Bodo would have their own majority locations (Bodos in Bodoland, Assamese along the Brahmaputra). The political borders of course were also altered. This rework is a little more ad-hoc than my other ones, since I want to get it out before the India Feedback comes out, so I'll be coming back every now and then to make adjustments if needed.

Locations:
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1: Kholagaon
2: Marjong
3: Dimoria
4: Guwahati
5: Nongkseh
6: Nongkrem
7: Mairang
8: Nongspung
9: A·tong/A'tong
10: Ruga
11: Me·gam/Me'gam
12: Matchi
13: A·we/A'we
14: Jogighopa
15: Bongaigaon
16: Baksa
17: Socheng
18: Betali

Only new locations are labeled. Other locations are either untouched or have simply have their borders redrawn (some with more change than others).

Countries:
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1: Kamata
2: Khola
3: Dimoria
4: Gobha
5: Jaintia
6: Dimasa
7: Chutiya
8: Ahom
9: Khyrim
10: Mairang*
11: Nongspung*

*: Having a Khasi SOP instead of including Mairang and Nongspung would probably work as well, but I'm not sure if having both a two settled Khasi nations (Khyrim & Jaintia) and a Khasi SOP would work.

New SOPs:
- Garo
- Karbi

Sources:
https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.462529/page/n29/mode/2up (For Khasi states)
https://www.worldwidejournals.com/p...df/2019/June/June_2019_1559719849_4007732.pdf (For Tiwa States)
https://www.ijmra.us/project doc/2016/IJRSS_MAY2016/IJMRA-9767.pdf (For Tiwa States)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arunachal_Pradesh#Medieval_period (Includes a list of Chutiya sites in Arunachal, showing they controlled most of the modern-day state's Southern border)

Map of some of those aforementioned Chutiya sites:
1747375813822.png


VERY ROUGH guidelines for culture in Western Assam, the purple along the Brahmaputra being Kamrupi (do not take as gospel, by any means):
1747376007080.png
 

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@Pavía
Posted on the Forum, but quoting it here for greater notice. Some historical notes that I believe can be useful.

I saw some of the India related previews, and thought that I can contribute something to the game.

Firstly, I must make it clear that I'm overall really pleased with the work that has gone into this, especially into India. Most of it is really historically accurate and feels authentic, I know some aspects are still a bit blatantly off, such as the simplified caste system, but the developers have explained that it is more akin to estate system, and had to be streamlined for gaming aspects, which is fine.

To note is that I have a background in history, and that is the only reason why I was able to spot a few of these issues, so kudos to the developers, they've really done a stellar job. Now to the corrections and additions;

  1. Saqiah should be called Arhatta or Araghatta for Indian States, and should also be available to Egypt, Iraq and Iran as well.
The Saqiyah, or the Persian Wheel is made available to the Indian states, giving them an irrigation bonus. The problem is that the earliest records of the 'Persian Wheel' in India predate those of Persia itself. The Arab Caliphates had this sophisticated Waterwheel before the Indians, and used it in Egypt and most prolifically in Mesopotamia, what is now Iraq. But no evidence of it comes from Iran before the 12th century. In India on the other hand, evidence of ungeared water wheel comes from the anicent period (Ancient Egyptians also had this), and geared water wheel comes from around the 9th century. The idea that geared water wheel was introducted to India from the Persianate lands by the Delhi Sultanate comes from Irfan Habib, an emminent Indian historian since he noted first mention of Water Wheel in a 14th century Persian text, which off handedly referred to it. However, other historians pointed that Arahatta and other names for water wheel are mentioned in prior Indian texts, however, Habib dismissed those as examples of ungeared water wheels. By gearing in Water Wheel, it is meant that there exists a chain connecting the pots attached to the spokes. This allowed the continuous movement and allowed it to be worked by animals rather than to be manually worked by labourers. However, recent studies by S. R. Sharma (Society and Culture in Rajasthan C. 700-900 ) have cited epigraphic depictions showing a gearing mechanism in the water wheels from the 9th century, and also period texts talking about perpetual motion of the water wheels. Meenasri Yadav (History of Agriculture in India upto 1200, edited by L Gopal and Srivastava) and Puspa Niyogi and Kumkum Bandhopadhyay (History of Ancient India Vol 7 edited by Dilip K Chakrabarti) have cited the 10th century Jain Mahapurana referring to the Water Wheel being worked by two bullocks, showing definitive proof of gearing mechanism in Indian Arahattas in the 10th century (900s CE). Meenasri Yadav also cites an earlier text Kasyapa Krisi Sukti, a Sanskrit farming manual written around 800 CE, this text categorizes Water Wheels into two; an inferior human powered one, and a superior animal powered one. Thus centuries prior to the Delhi Sultanate or even the first evidence of it in Iran. It is most likely that the interaction with the Arabs introduced this technology to India, just as Arabs took Maths, Medicine and Metallurgy from India, this probably was what Indian learnt from the Arabs.

2. Marwari Horse Myth

There is a prevailing myth that Marwar region (Western Rajasthan) produced great horses, but this is unfounded in any medieval or early modern source, in fact most of the sources from this period state that Marwar had poor horses. The Marwari Rajputs often rode to battle and then dismounted to fight, much like the English, since they had poor horses. For the 14th century, the regions of India that were noted to have good horse by Badauni in his Tarikh i Ferozshahi were Punjab and Haryana region and Central Rajasthan (the term used for it is Siwalikh, the Persian adoption of the word Savalakh, the name of the Chauhan Kingdom of Ajmer, this however has misled some historians into thinking that Badauni meant Shivalik mountain ranges, but the Delhi Sultanate accounts associate the cities of Nagaur, Narena, Ajmer and Mandawar, again not to be confused with Mandore in Marwar, all located in Rajasthan with Siwalikh). The other sources of good horses given by other sources such as Al Idrisi (12th century) mentions Gujarat having good horses and Abul Fazl (late 16th to early 17th century) mentions Kutch, located in Gujarat, Punjab, Mewat (modern day Haryana, Eastern Rajasthan and Western UP) and the Subah of Ajmer (basically Rajasthan) as having good horses.

So good horses in North India should be restricted to the regions of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan (excluding Western Rajasthan, the Marwar region) and Western Gujarat. I beleive modern day Marwari horses are either the descendants of Siwalikh horses or the Kutchi horses.

3. EU4 Rajput Regiments should be Cavalry

This issue is from the EU4, and since it is connected to the earlier point, I thought add this as well. Rajputs by and large were mounted warriors, in fact a Rajput was a soldier who held an estate and came with his own horses and even a small retinue if he was rich enough. The Rajput was akin to the Man at Arms or Knight, that is to say that he is an estate holder and a mounted warrior. There were however, some Rajput groups from Marwar in Rajasthan and some parts of Gujarat and Sindh who were not well mounted, and so often dismounted to fight. These however, were hindered by their region's paucity of good horses or just their financial conditon. Rajput States like Mewar boased powerful and large cavalry contingents. So the Rajput Regiments should primarily be a Mounted unique regiment.

4. Mewar Independence

Sticking to the Rajputs, Mewar in the current map is shown as a vassal of Delhi, now this is both true and false. RV Somani (History of Mewar from the Earliest Times) has discussed at length as to when Rana Hammir Singh Sisodiya freed all of Mewar from the Sultanate overlordship. From the inscriptional evidence, we can state that Chittor, the capital of Mewar was under the Songara Chauhans, under Vanavira Chauhan, who was a vassal of the Delhi Sultanate. Meanwhile Hammir Sisodiya controlled Western Mewar, the hilly area of Kelwara and Jhilwara (modern day Northern part of the Rajsamand district in Rajasthan). As per Somani, Hammir reconquered Chittor (Central Mewar) around the year 1338. So we can show Western Mewar around Kumbhalgarh (then known as Machhindrapura), Kelwara and Jhilwara as under the Sisodiyas, free from the Delhi Sultanate, and Chittor and the plains region of Mewar as under Songara Chauhans, being vassals under Dehli. The Mewar starting missions could be about Hammir's struggle to free all of Mewar. We know that Mewar would take Ajmer, Mandalgarh and Jahazpur during Hammir's son's reign (1364-1382). The last inscription referring to Songara Chauhan rule in Mewar comes 1337 CE, meanwhile the first surviving inscription referring to Sisodiya rule in Mewar comes from 1366 CE. There is another Songara inscription from 1338 CE from Pali district, and later also there are Songara inscriptions from 1380s from the same district. On the basis of this shiift from Mewar to Pali, RV Somani has ascertained the period between 1337 and 1338 as the time when Hammir freed all of Mewar. Songara's would rule Pali till Hammir's grandsom Lakha Sisodiya captured the region in around 1390s.

5. Vijayanagar as Hindu Bastion Myth

Now this is a bit controversial, the idea that Vijyanagar was a Hindu bastion to preserve some sort of purity in the Hindu traditions and culture is largely a myth. Vijayanagar architecture shows clear Sultanate influneces, and in fact they even employed Turkish horse archers by the thousands to improve their battlefield performance against the Bahamanis. Philip Wagoner, Cynthia Talbot and Richard Eaton have all shown that even Vijayanagar Royalty took titles such Sultan, and wore Persian hats, the Kulla, though called Kullai in native parlence. Far from Hindu isolationists, despite being Hindu, the Vijayanagar Emperors proactively courted commercial relations with Persia and Arabia, in fact their military was largely dependent on this trade since South India could breed no good horses, and they were reliant on Muslim merchants to supply them at least till the arrival of the Portuguese.

6. Terminology with Samanta System and Nayaka Systems

The Samanta system as depicted is good, but could be improved. The gradations were Samanta (Vassal), then Mahasamanta (Great Vassal), and then Mahasamantadhipati/ Mahasamanta-adhipati (Chief of Great Vassals). Next we come to Nayakas, now the term Nayaka is very generic, it basically means Leader or Commander, and was used very widely to designate a diverse variety of grades and functions in India, a bit like the early uses of Constables and Captains in Europe. Dandanayakas (pronounced The-an-da Nayaka) or Mandalikas were the district or divisional commanders in all Hindu States in this period. However, mere Nayakas basically just meant captains or petty constables, commanding a company sized troop. Amara Nayakas were those Nayakas who were given estates to maintain this force. This Amara-Nayaka, the Nayakas with estates, was what was unique to the Vijayangara system. The Amaranayaka had to provide a fixed quota of troops, and was not merely a feudal landed retainer, but rather an officer who had to meet a fixed quota to hold his land.

7. Purabiya Regiments

The Eastern Rajputs from clans such as the Bundelas (from Bundelkhand earlier called Jejauti, North Eastern MP), Bachgotias (Sultanpur and Jaunpur in modern Eastern UP), Baghelas (Bagelkhand, Northern MP, West Bundelkhand) and Ujjainiyas from Bhojpur (Western Bihar) dominated the infantry in the Sultanate armies. Dirk Kolff (Naukar, Rajput, and Sepoy) has specifically noted their centrality as excellent infantry soldiers for the Sultanate and Mughal armies, espeically once musket became widespread with the coming of the Mughals. Later even Mewar, a Western Rajput Kingdom, under Rana Sanga allied with the Purabiyas of Malwa to conquer the Malwa Sultanate. I hope these very prominent soldiers are represented in the North Indian military roster.
 
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@Pavía I’d like to suggest that triangular and non-rectangular flags be properly represented in the game, particularly for Indian polities. Historical states such as Nepal, the Maratha Confederacy, several Rajput kingdoms, and the Sikh Empire (Punjab) used triangular or swallowtail-style flags. These were not just stylistic choices—they held deep cultural, religious, and symbolic significance, often tied to martial traditions, dharma, or divine authority.

In Indian tradition, triangular flags (especially pennons or “dhwajas”) were commonly seen on temples and on the battlefield, symbolizing righteous warfare and divine protection. These flag shapes can reflect a ruler’s religious legitimacy, cultural identity, and military authority.

Since Europa Universalis V strives for historical depth and authenticity, I believe incorporating such flag shape diversity—even if only cosmetically or symbolically—would enrich the immersion and respect the distinct identity of Dharmic and Indic civilizations, rather than mapping them to a standard rectangular Western model.

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