GM Note: Reminder that Orders and IC are due tomorrow, Tuesday the 18th. Failure to send them both will result in a removal from the game.
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Laws in the cities and the tribes of Chaldea
While the Chaldean king rules from his palace in Babylon, and his influence can be felt in the cities in the north. While some kings believed that they wielded absolute authority over the cities and sub-realms within Chaldea, they quickly realized that they did not. The cities, while not being wholly autonomous, does have the ability to veto a ruling or decree made by the king in Babylon. If one or more cities does this, the king will send out representatives to make a deal, which more often than not makes the city withdraw their veto, while getting some reservations regarding the law. While problematic and confusing at a first glance, the king is assured by his diplomats and his administration that everything will be fine. The reason that the cities are allowed to veto laws and decrees is linked to the tribal ancestry of the Chaldeans, and the ruling class wishing to retain some of their autonomy.
While the cities have certain allowances, the Chaldean tribes that still roam the land, mainly in the South, care little about the laws made by the king in Babylon, and largely follow their own rules while being subjects to the king and promise allegiance to the said person. Most of the eight tribes have agreed to follow the basic laws that lay the foundations for the legal system in Chaldea. The few tribes that have not are predominantly regarded as rogue by the king's administration, but still seen as subjects nonetheless.
While the Chaldean king rules from his palace in Babylon, and his influence can be felt in the cities in the north. While some kings believed that they wielded absolute authority over the cities and sub-realms within Chaldea, they quickly realized that they did not. The cities, while not being wholly autonomous, does have the ability to veto a ruling or decree made by the king in Babylon. If one or more cities does this, the king will send out representatives to make a deal, which more often than not makes the city withdraw their veto, while getting some reservations regarding the law. While problematic and confusing at a first glance, the king is assured by his diplomats and his administration that everything will be fine. The reason that the cities are allowed to veto laws and decrees is linked to the tribal ancestry of the Chaldeans, and the ruling class wishing to retain some of their autonomy.
While the cities have certain allowances, the Chaldean tribes that still roam the land, mainly in the South, care little about the laws made by the king in Babylon, and largely follow their own rules while being subjects to the king and promise allegiance to the said person. Most of the eight tribes have agreed to follow the basic laws that lay the foundations for the legal system in Chaldea. The few tribes that have not are predominantly regarded as rogue by the king's administration, but still seen as subjects nonetheless.
Opening Negotiations With Foreign States
Rather than attaining glory through conquest, The early governments of New Assyria placed a special emphasis on maintaining peace through means of diplomacy. It is also known to focus specifically on its two neighbors, Chaldea and Orartau
(@Mikkel Glahder )
Negotiations with Chaldea
A finely clad ambassador is sent to Chaldea bearing many gifts for the palace, he also brings with him a message to the king.
"Oh Great and Powerful King of Chaldea, it is perhaps the finest wish of the peoples of New Assyria to befriend such a grand ruler. As King of such a people, it is my wish for your rule to be long and grand, and for our relations to always be amenable.
Unfortunately, it has come to my attention that the accursed former royal family of Assyria has fled to your majestic capital. This sets my people uneasy, for, as long as the family lives, Ashur shall rage at our fine land. As such, it is my humble request for you to return the family to my nation, allowing for a quick execution to please our god. This is by no means a threat, but denial shall surely hamper our nation's relationships. For too long has war destroyed fellow nations, I hope that we may have a relationship of peace and trade.
To this end, let it be known that any ambassador from your lands shall be welcomed on Assyrian soil. My people await your response eagerly - King Ashur-nirari IV
Negotiations With Orartau
(@Arrowfiend )
Another ambassador is sent to Orartau, bearing many ornate items from the glory days of Assyria.
"Glorious King of Orartau, my people are proud to see your people's fascination with our culture, and wish for our relations to be peaceful and full of trade. It has also come to our attention that your capital is our former, Assur. While we do not wish for you to leave the city, we request the ability for the city to become our capital as well. It is our belief that jointly running the city would allow for it to become a center of commerce, advancement, and beauty across all of the known land. This would also allow for our cultures to intermingle, and for my people to learn about your culture as well.
With our joint leadership, both Oratau and New Assyria shall surely prosper and flourish. Even if you deny this proposal, we shall seek out any way to help accommodate your people and ambassadors within our land. For the sake of peace and prosperity - King Ashur-nirari IV
Rather than attaining glory through conquest, The early governments of New Assyria placed a special emphasis on maintaining peace through means of diplomacy. It is also known to focus specifically on its two neighbors, Chaldea and Orartau
(@Mikkel Glahder )
Negotiations with Chaldea
A finely clad ambassador is sent to Chaldea bearing many gifts for the palace, he also brings with him a message to the king.
"Oh Great and Powerful King of Chaldea, it is perhaps the finest wish of the peoples of New Assyria to befriend such a grand ruler. As King of such a people, it is my wish for your rule to be long and grand, and for our relations to always be amenable.
Unfortunately, it has come to my attention that the accursed former royal family of Assyria has fled to your majestic capital. This sets my people uneasy, for, as long as the family lives, Ashur shall rage at our fine land. As such, it is my humble request for you to return the family to my nation, allowing for a quick execution to please our god. This is by no means a threat, but denial shall surely hamper our nation's relationships. For too long has war destroyed fellow nations, I hope that we may have a relationship of peace and trade.
To this end, let it be known that any ambassador from your lands shall be welcomed on Assyrian soil. My people await your response eagerly - King Ashur-nirari IV
Negotiations With Orartau
(@Arrowfiend )
Another ambassador is sent to Orartau, bearing many ornate items from the glory days of Assyria.
"Glorious King of Orartau, my people are proud to see your people's fascination with our culture, and wish for our relations to be peaceful and full of trade. It has also come to our attention that your capital is our former, Assur. While we do not wish for you to leave the city, we request the ability for the city to become our capital as well. It is our belief that jointly running the city would allow for it to become a center of commerce, advancement, and beauty across all of the known land. This would also allow for our cultures to intermingle, and for my people to learn about your culture as well.
With our joint leadership, both Oratau and New Assyria shall surely prosper and flourish. Even if you deny this proposal, we shall seek out any way to help accommodate your people and ambassadors within our land. For the sake of peace and prosperity - King Ashur-nirari IV
The Ballgame
As the Tzimecan civilization expanded further across Central America, its encounters with local indigenous peoples and their incorporation into the larger cultural whole brought with it substantial changes. In particular, the unique Tzimecan ballgame began to incorporate new elements that radically altered the game's dynamic. While previously the ballgame involved two players in direct competition with a nine-pound rubber ball, which they could only touch with their hips or forearms, the new game focused on a team-based approach. Two teams of three, with each team directly anointed to represent one of the gods, would compete in a stone-lined pit. The new game added a low stone wall between the teams, which served as an additional obstacle, and permitted the use of legs and feet to move the ball. While the original ball was dense, approaching ten pounds, the new ball was roughly half the size and weight, thus reducing (somewhat) the overall risk of serious injury while increasing its speed.
The new Tzimecan game was less brutal and sacrificial than the previous iteration, but its team focus indicated a broader shift in Tzimecan culture towards a more organized, stratified lifestyle, as the ballgame teams were typically structured with one captain leading the other two players. The new game was also dynamic, as the shifting interactions between the teams shaped the overall outcome far more than the contest of two directly opposed wills. Audiences for the ballgames grew and one of the first monumental structures of the Tzimec is a large ball-playing pit surrounded by a stone auditorium, which some speculate may have fielded five-man teams due to its sheer size.
Paleosiberian Linguistics and a Study of Primitive Noun Usage
By: Devid Etsegekh
The Paleosiberian Language, best represented by the archaic Kott language, was found primarily in and around the Yenisi river in lower Siberia. These people, with a distinct connection linguistically to the Dene people of Alaska, have a uniquely low usage of nouns within the language. Much like other languages, such as those in the Middle East during the same time, the Kott had an understanding of what a 'thing' is, an article of attention. What they didn't have, however, is a proper way to describe it. Nouns as a singular word to represent a single thing would not do, and what would be needed instead would be a description of the object. A series of adverbs and verbs turn into a short sentence that act as an impromptu adnoun.By: Devid Etsegekh
For example, in Kott, the is no word for tree. Rather it is "tall green which gives shelter". A fir tree would be "tall green with gathering needles". Those of nature tend to be shorter, while more esoteric concepts are longer or more complex adnouns. The word thought is "that which gives desire from above" while heights is "that which soars belly to clouds". It's all a result of an immense condensation of language in regions which are sparse of diversity, such as lower Siberia.
Linguistically, we can see that....
On the origins of Ya’mud and its founding dynasty
While due to its almost identical geographical location and originally almost similar culture, both material and literature, it is natural to associate Ya’mud with the city-state of Ugarit, the common historiographical terming ‘Neo-Ugarit’ can be considered erroneous. While Ya’mud indeed did inherit much of the legacy and traditions of the Ugaritic Kingdom of the dynasty of Niqmaddu, it can’t be considered a direct successor. The main changes occurring during the two centuries of transition from Ugarit to Ya’mud were demographic, destructive and widely altering to the region in general. The last king of Ugarit was one Ammurapi, who reigned from ca. 1215 to 1180 BCE. We still do not exactly know what caused the sudden and rapid demise of Ugarit, but the larger regional phenomenon, the raiding and destruction caused by the so called Sea Peoples are more than likely to blame. It is possible, albeit unlikely, that the Sea Peoples never even attacked Ugarit itself, and that the destruction of the secondary settlements, as well as the larger destruction in Asia Minor and the Levant eroded crucial trade links to the extent that the Ugaritic economy outright collapsed. However, letters exchanged by Ammurapi with the Hyksos Pharaoh of Egypt indicate that the Sea Peoples identified in other texts with the spellings Tjekker, Peleset and Lukka operated in the region at least during 1195 BCE. Recent findings of ornaments, weaponry and earthenware commonly attributed to Sea Peoples and the Hittites in the Orontes valley has given rise to a new theory on the founders of Ya’mud. It is known from chronological and contemporary sources that the army which catalyzed the formation of Ya’mud arrived to the coast from the East under the semi legendary Yam-Ruhib around 1170 BCE. This gives credence to a theory that the founders of Ya’mud might have in fact been members of the Sea Peoples, either already Semiticized or not. It is likely that Yam-Ruhib was the head of a larger confederation, possibly including peoples identified as the Habiru, Ahlamu and Suteans, driven to bind together and march to the coast by increasing aggressiveness of the Aramean desert tribes, who had risen to prominence following the Bronze Age Collapse. Further credence to the theory is given by the status of the sea god Yam in the early society of Ya’mud – he was more or less celebrated as a supreme god and patron, possibly due to an importance given to seafaring, or due to the past association of the early residents and rulers with the sea. Further study of archaeological findings and literature sources is still required to fully conclude whether or not the founding of Ya’mud involved the Sea Peoples or not.
Language and Writing in Orartau
As a cosmopolitan civilization with a variety of different cultures and languages, the Orartauren initially did not have a defined language unique to their empire. Before the conquest of northern Mesopotamia, the spoken language of the ruling classes was largely Anatolian in nature, with most speaking the Urartian, or Vannic, which had come to replace the Hurrian language of the Mittani, whom the Orartauren had succeeded. In addition, the Hittite language was widely spoken in the western portions of the empire, which had been conquered from the crumbling Hittites. It should be noted, however, that, while widespread among the general populace, very few among the ruling class counted Hittite as their primary language. In regards to writing, the Oratauren, like all other neighboring civilizations, used an adapted version of the widespread Sumerian script; in this case, the Orartauren used a specific variant designed for the Urartian language.
Of course, this all quickly changed after the conquest of the Assyrian Empire in the mid 11th century BCE. The primary language of northern Mesopotamia was Akkadian, a Semitic language that had developed during the Akkadian Empire a thousand years earlier. While the Akkadians had long since passed into the annals of history, the Assyrians continued to speak a variant of the Akkadian language which was slowly developing into Assyrian/Aramaic. Like the Assyrians before them, the upper classes of the Orartauren were quick to adopt the Akkadian language as the language of the royalty and the law.
Akkadian (left) and Urartian (right) cuneiform. Already very similar, discrepancies between the two were blended together to create the Oratauren script.
GM Note: Don't spam up this thread with inane OOC posts; that's for IRC.
The First Meeting of the Clans
All the Chieftains of the Clans have gathered in a great circle on a hill overlooking the sea. The quiet afternoon was beautiful and the sea breeze blew about the rough men. The greatest Clan, the Kaliri, were ruled by a long line of chiefs going back a hundred years. The rule of the Kaliri had been passed down father to son for four generations, but this last Chief was a man of great weakness. A massive man of imposing size, strength, and will had challenged him to a duel to the death for the rule of the Kaliri. Honor bound the Chief to accept this challenge and the duel lasted only mere moments before the deed had been done. The new Chief had consolidated power and called a Great Council to convene. All Clans had appeared, wishing to see this legend, the first time all the clans of the Cimmerians had gathered in known history. The debates took the better part of the day until the great imposing Chief of the Kaliri rose up and darkened the assembly. "I am KASHTARITI, Chief of the Kaliri, I have called you all here not to dither about trade and disputes among clans. In the lands before the Mountains the ancestral rights of the clans shall rule, beyond the Mountains, I shall be LORD. We shall go forth and conquer the wealthy lands where they grow crops. They shall fear us as we deck ourselves in gold."
Yam – The ruler of his abode
Much of the religious and cultural life of Yam’ud revolved around its patron deity, Yam, the Semitic god of the sea, described in various texts either as a dragon, a serpent or half-fish, half-human. Yam was more or less an embodiment of the city; his image was incorporated in dozens upon dozens of seals, documents and pieces of art. While later on Yam was chiefly identified as a deity of the sea, he was in fact originally a broader water god, also identified with the great rivers that dotted the land of Kinana, most notably Arantu, or Orontes, the river the banks of which can be considered the true birthplace of the culture that established the mightiest city of Kinana. In the east, the river Euphrates was considered the other border of the rightful domains of Yam’ud, which literally means abode of Yam, and in the west the border was the huge Mediterranean Sea. Somewhere deep and far way these depths, according to legends of Kinana, was the home of Yam, an abyss into which only the most heroic of gods and demigods could travel. This dark home of Yam, Thamut, occurred frequently in the mythology of Kinana, and the myth incorporated elements of the underworlds of the Mesopotamian religions, even though to the people of Kinana it wasn’t an equally dark place. Indeed, the religion of Yam’ud and by extension of the most post-Bronze Age Semitic states in the Kinana region, wildly different from the previous mythology in this case. Originally, especially in Ugaritic myths, Yam had been considered high evil, a chaotic god representing the savage power of the sea, untamed and raging. In these tales, many of which survive, Yam was a sworn enemy of Baal Hadad, the champion El himself. But it seems that in the wake of the Bronze Age collapse, in the wake of the destruction of the original Ugarit, this chaos prevailed but turned into a benevolent albeit erratic ruler. Eventually, Yam would not only come to represents Yam’ud, but the civilization of Kinana as a whole, as upon further solidifying of their socio-economical basis, the kings and princes of the towns that dotted the Mediterranean coast from river Arantu to the borders of Hyksos Egypt gazed their sights upon the large blues mass to their west, full of opportunities and adventures to seek.
GM Note: Apologies for the delay, I've been working and preoccupied with other matters during the time I set aside for this game, but such distractions were one-off so it should not be a recurrent problem. I am currently working on the update and will likely have it posted tomorrow tonight.
As a note, Sealy and Spitfire are both removed for failing to IC even despite the delays, so if you are interested, remain vigilant to apply after the coming update with two spots open. To the two removed, I will still use your orders though, since you did manage to send those.
As a note, Sealy and Spitfire are both removed for failing to IC even despite the delays, so if you are interested, remain vigilant to apply after the coming update with two spots open. To the two removed, I will still use your orders though, since you did manage to send those.
The World: 1,000 - 800 BCE
Europe
Upon the northern shores of the British Isles, both on Britain and Ireland, was settled the Novantae, an early settler group of Celts who had diffused into the local Britons. Over the course of the early first century of the 1st Millennium BCE, its unique faith revolving around the Sky Father and Sea Mother cemented itself, spreading beyond the hearth of Celto-Britons, adapted by Briton tribes who took up the worship of related sky deities wed to sea deities.
One of the most prominent relics of this period was the erection of a shrine on the Isle of Man, three pillars of stone arranged in a triangle, which were attended to by religious matriarchs.
But the Novantae were not the last migration into the British Isles by many means. On the European mainland blossomed an Atlantic Bronze Age, a cultural complex of peoples from along the western coasts of the continent, dominated by the practice of cliff castles, ringed axes, and round houses. From Iberia to Brittany, centers of metal production and trade grew, spurred on by trade with an emergent continental complex of the Urnfield cultures of Europe, bound primarily by the practice of cremation.
With the continent so booming and as a form of proto-Celtic tongue acts as a lingua franca, the late 900s BCE and the entirety of the 800s BCE saw a massive movement of Celtic forces migrate into the British Isles, spearheaded by a cultural adoption of many of the Atlantic practices. By 800 BCE, a great displacement of the status quo had shifted the British Isles away from any notion of Novantae culture, instead embracing the continental forms, especially in the south. Novantae religion persisted in the northern portions of the British Isles, but now having its own diffusion of emergent Celtic deities, diminishing the importance of the Sky Father and Sea Mother.
Near-East
While elements of Europe blossomed into a wide web of commerce and culture, the same could not be said of the East. The Late Bronze Age Collapse a century back had served to bring severe ruination upon the region, as trade routes suffered under the threat of destruction which in turn rippled across the various urban centers that depended on them. Over the course of a generation, once mighty cities died, their cultures lost, literacy slashed.
And just as it seemed that recovery was guaranteed and new states had risen to secure stability, it was soon learned otherwise. First was the conqueror kings of Orartau, those Vannic peoples who had seized the northern remnants of the Assyrian Empire. Bold and audacious, a successive line of warrior kings would utilize the new state in the use of intense war, specifically raiding into Mesopotamia, bringing destruction to the returning trade routes enjoyed between itself and the Chaldean Kingdom.
Furthermore was the exploitation of the Assyrian successor kings by the forces of chaos. Fractured beyond repair, the lethargic dynasties of the early millennium successor-states found themselves constantly at the end of usurpation, the dream of restoring the Assyrian hegemony all but a dream as warlords seize power only to thrust the realm into war, either among their rivals or with futility against an Orartau host.
From this period comes a peculiar amount of preserved messages on cuneiform by these Assyrian states, revealing an intense attempt at arbitration even while their cities were subjugated. Romantics have described these rulers as the "Wailing Kings of Assyria" as they prioritized seemingly inane correspondences during a time of apparent strife.
By roughly 915 BCE, the Orartau had carved out an empire spanning from as far south as upper Mesopotamia to as far north as tributary tribes in the northern Anatolian mountains. Asaur bore the riches of a region utterly pillaged.
But it came at a grave cost, as the destruction of trade and prosperity once again threw the region into collapse. As the Chaldeans spawned a series of strong kings who would hold the seams of southern Mesopotamian trade from collapse, the conquests of the Orartau stalled, and with it, the momentum that had allowed their quick ascent. While Orartau imagined itself a successor to the Assyrian Empire, it fundamentally lacked the developed bureaucracy needed to maintain itself. As soon as 900 BCE, ambitious generals and warlords cemented themselves over the conquered cities south of Asaur, backed by settling Vannic elite, while the Orartaun rulers continued to support the influx of outsiders into the hinterlands of the north.
Disparate groups settled at the fringes of the Orartaun Empire, however what grew to dominate north-western Orartau proved to be settler groups from Anatolia. By the hand of several Oraratuan kings, a peculiar class of Luwian-speaking vassals secured the region, operating with increasing autonomy under the suzerainty of Asaur.
Another group altogether would prove far more impactful to the history of Orartau - the Cimmerians. Led by the legendary figure of King Sandakuru, descendant of Kashtariti, a large Cimmerian migration from the Caucasus arrived over the course from the 890s to the 840s BCE. Pouring into the northern reaches of the Orartaun Empire, the subjugated hinterlands would quickly yield to Cimmerian overlords. With strong support from the Luwian-speakers of the north-west, the Cimmerians easily struck at the heart of Orartau.
Many historians count the Sack of Assaur in 866 BCE as the primary point of both the Orartaun collapse and the Early Iron Age Collapse. The most attested reports, records from Kinanan scholars, describe the Orartaun King Xarxarel as a pitiful monarch who watched the city burn down around himself. From that point onward, Orartau was effectively destroyed, replaced instead with widespread chaos as Cimmerians, Vannic settlers, and Chaldea reeled with the prospects of stabilizing the region.
A number of Cimmerian states would rise and fall by 800 BCE, as the migratory people settled down primarily in a region that became known as Gamir between the Lake Urmia and the Nairi Sea. Known by locals as the Gimirri, these Cimmerians would slowly be shifted into the cultural pool of Assyrian culture that still retained its high status. The Luwian-speaking hinterlands would become a smattering of independent statelets along the eastern end of Anatolia. The urban centers of Orartau would be effectively destroyed for the most part.
Where once the Assyrian successors lay, only a few cities survive as well, mostly ruled by warrior-kings of Vannic origin. Further south, Babylon was a shadow of its former self, still ruled over by the Chaldeans, but their grandeur lost, a crumbled temple complex for Marduk left incomplete and without care. The Chaldean tribes themselves developed greater independence and only the few remaining cities of Mesopotamia paid heed to Chaldean directives. Skirmishes with a strange kingdom known as Elam to the east by 800 BCE only promised further disaster.
Further west, in the lands of Kinana, the various cities of the coast likewise felt the strains of collapse, although to a lesser degree. It was through trade that the rulers of Yam'ud relied, and with that destroyed in the east, a wave of suffering hit, especially in the north-eastern parts of the land. Aleppo itself became in effect destroyed, largely abandoned as many went on to Yam'ud itself seeking salvation through Yam, abandoned by the rulers of Yam'ud for fear of over-extension.
Much more would have befallen Yam'ud itself were it not for the concurrent rise of Kinanan mercantile expansion across the sea, reaching those unaffected by the Collapse. Reaching out to Cyprus, Crete, and to the lands of Greece, merchants from Yam'ud returned with optimistic tales of prosperity, all of which was attributed to Yam for his guidance. The faith of Yam grew to greater heights by 800 BCE, with a firm cult in place across every coastal city of Kinana, cementing the influence of Yam'ud in its realm. Yam received veneration as far as North Africa, centered around a small colony of Kinanas in Tunisia, laying the seeds for a future diffusion of culture.
Likewise important for the survival of Kinana was its wise actions in defense from the Orartaun Empire during its peak, as the less and less controlled interior became dominated by installed Aramaean clients. The Western Semitic Aramaens had by this point become essentially nomadic and were thus enlisted to control the hinterlands. Fortunate for these tribes, the Orartau focused elsewhere and so emboldened by riches from Yam'ud and the eventual destruction of Orartau, the Aramaens became ambitious. By 800 BCE, a number of statelets edged into old Orartau, while old Aleppo was resettled as a minor, albeit growing, capital for the Bet Agus confederation under King Gusi.
Much the same, the lands of Egypt in many cases followed suit with the trade expeditions of Kinana, their merchants relying heavily on charts and stories told by sailors from Yam'ud. Along the North African coast, contact was made with Libyan tribes, followed by light subjugation in the form of forced tribute. Under the direction of the notable Pharaoh Seb Khayan, Egyptians would set their sights on Iberia, albeit with the notable assistance of men recruited from Kinanan outposts. In effect, the cultural perception within Egypt changed, long centered on itself when now it was known that the Pharaohs and thus the Gods saw fit to visit foreign lands.
Underneath this however was a boiling issue that rose to a point of violence in the 810s BCE, as Kinana was regarded as a threat to the commercial and exploratory ambitions developing within Egypt.
This Mediterranean outlook was only reinforced by the failures in the south, as over the two centuries of the 1st Millennium BCE, the Kushites bleed the forces of Egypt down the Nile. While the forces of Egypt inevitably brought destruction to the Kingdom of Kush, it was an expensive and bloody affair that made its mark in the cultural artifacts of the time, a handful of relics detailing messages from the pharaohs regarding the suppression of numerous Kushite revolts. The despotism of the Hyksos Dynasty was a central cause of this, as the Kushite Kingdom modeled itself much more faithfully to the legalism of pre-Hyksos Egypt. Even by 800 BCE, the hold over Kush and any attempt to expand further south were marred by the burdens of subjugation.
Asia
Of the diverse and minor peoples of Siberia, it was undoubtedly the Kott which played an interesting role over the first, two centuries of the 1st Millennium BCE. A culture at the level of hunter-gatherers, the advent of bronze into their society through Chinese and Karasuk trade routes led the Kott peoples into a period of unprecedented aggression, their usage of bronze easily overpowering the stone-using tribes north of them. The burgeoning trade routes and the phenomenons of migration that propelled similar metallurgy from Finland to Thailand had not touched the tribes of the far north.
In bloody raids, the Kott secured a martial tradition to their culture that was unheard of, with a number of gods emerging in this formative period which extolled the virtues of a good warrior. Slaves stolen from these northern tribes were filtered into Karasuk hands, sold in exchange for bronze artifacts. With material goods was thus necessitated a more formal hierarchy, and from among the tribal headmen came a stronger figure - a king.
While hardly equivalent to those of other regions, Kott kings were mighty in Kott society, their legitimacy derived from slaves and metal goods. Often overly-ambitious, these kings would on occasion quarrel with the nomadic peoples of the east and south, and just as often were defeated. From this, evil gods were likewise erected, depicted as horses or men with too many legs.
King Kang of the Zhou Dynasty stands as the guiding ruler in the entrance into the 1st Millennium BCE, leading a developed realm in north-eastern China. Much of his reign was directed against the barbarians of the north and north-east, more specifically the Quanrong and Xiongnu, who were collectively referred to as the Xianyun meaning "long-snouted dog" by the Zhou.
Against these forces, King Kang would fall in 994 BCE, forcing an unexpected succession of King Zhao. Inheriting calamatious campaigns against simple barbarians, Zhao would oversee the gradual decline of the Zhou frontiers, his time instead centered around the construction of Kang Gong, an ancestral temple for his fallen father. Meanwhile, the barbarians, especially the Quanrong, grew bolder, striking into Qin.
Perhaps the gravest mistake of King Zhao however was his aggression towards the south, levied against the Chu who controlled the mineral rich Yangtze Basin. Within the course of his reign, hostilities with Chu flared, to be decided by his incompetent successors. King Mu, the last of the Zhou who would personally embark on campaign, would drown in the Yangzte Basin in 970 BCE, signalling the humiliating defeat of the Zhou.
Over the course of the century, the Zhou Dynasty would stagnate, beset by hostile Chu and barbarians, while the lesser nobility jockeyed for power. This would come to a head in 850 BCE, when the Marquess of Shen ravaged the Zhou capital of Fenghao at the head of an allied Quanrong horde. In the aftermath of chaos, Nanyang was proclaimed the capital of the Shen Dynasty, backed by Quanrong barbarians and various nobility such as the Marquess of Zeng.
Further east, a provisional and eventually permanent court was established in Shangqui for the surviving Zhou, backed by loyalists. Split, both the Zhou and Shen declined sharply, as politically and culturally, they would regress. Petty nobility became stronger while the Shi diviners became more prominent as court.
Further east, things stood more peaceful among the Okjin. Campaigns against local tribes across the Korean Peninsula prove gradual and successful, Okjin warriors armed with bronze weapons and with the backing of the developed wealth of the kingdom, likewise supplemented by trade with the then-stable Zhou. The coasts of the peninsula became the subjects of Okjin through force over the 900s BCE, delayed only in times of confederation. By 870 BCE, the Okjin had reached a large scale, albeit blocked by the formation of a rival kingdom forged through confederation in the south.
In the north, the barbarians so despised by the Zhou were likewise quarreled with by the Okjin. Over the course of the two centuries, elitism against the northern peoples mirrored that of Zhou as the Okjin regarded themselves as natural masters. Regardless of such beliefs, expansion was limited in these regions. The direction of Okjin was by all factors harried south.
The natural consequence of a realm built on war was the military nature of the kingship. Warrior virtue became the dominant character expected of a monarch, to the objection of the munyeo, religious and courtly advisers. By 800 BCE, such a faction was exterminated from relevance by successive generations of warrior kings who removed munyeo authority by decree or outright persecution. In the absence of clerical authority, the kings of Okjin then concluded that they themselves were the only authority needed, becoming in essence god-kings at the turn of the second century BCE.
Americas
Theorized to be the result of changes in climate, the South American peoples of Quellanka departed from the interior over the course of two centuries, with fishing becoming by and large the dominant source of food. It is also likely that in the interior, those that relied on coastal imports of fish were at a natural disadvantage and in the event of poor seasons, would starve if they could not make reliable trade.
As the urban centers of the coast thus naturally grew, the result proved to be in the development of nascent civic institutions. Theocracy, tied in with a fish-man supreme deity, governed, and with the rise of such a priestly class was the concurrent rise of very primitive writing system. Solely for the recording of fish, the Quellankan script consisted only of numerical representations.
In Mesoamerica, the dominant Tzimec civilization, governed by theocratic priest-nobles, naturally spread its culture to its more primitive neighbors. The Tzimecan pantheon was incorporated both east and west, though undergoing a level of bastardization.
Especially within the Yucatan Peninsula, increasingly urbanized villages of proto-Mayan origin, trade between the Tzimecans flourishes, including a peculiar one - a rubber trade. Relics demonstrate a subsequent diffusion of the Tzimecan rubber ball game alongside its culture, which seemingly was well-received along the Yucatan by its elite.
By 800 BCE, this ball game far extended beyond Tzimec and could be described as a Mesoamerican phenomenon, as the various cultures adapted their own rules and religious attributions to such a sport. In Cuello - modern day Belize - a court of stone was unearthed, apparently used for a remarkably advanced arena for the game.
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GM Note: Not happy about it, but I am delaying the American portion of the update til tomorrow. This update took longer than expected and I wanted to meet my deadline of today, but I couldn't complete it all without dying inside at work tomorrow. I am slightly soothed by the fact that America will have zero impact on the rest of the world - for now!
Map will likely be tomorrow and at the latest, Wednesday.
Orders and country (re)applications will be due by Saturday the 29th, except for Etranger01 who is special.
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GM Note: Americas added to the update, map added as well. Let me know issues.
Orders and country (re)applications will be due by Saturday the 29th
Orders and country (re)applications will be due by Saturday the 29th
The Chitimacha
Location: The Mississippi River Delta
People and Society: The Chitimacha largely live in small camps or settlements, they tend to establish their settlements in the swamps and bayous of the Mississippi River Delta, and tended to small, largely seasonal in dwellings made of wood and stuck together using mud or large palmetto leaves. The Chitimacha follow several unique practices including the flattening of the foreheads of all males in the tribe, which is a process begun almost directly after birth when a bind is tied to the skulls of the infants. The Chitimacha are also proficient tattooers and have a tendency to cover their body head to toe in tattoos. Because of the hot and humid climate in the Delta men tend to wear little more than a loin cloth while women wear skirts. In Chitimacha society men and women are held at about equal standing with both sexes sharing religious and political power.
Cultural Family: Plaquemine
Language Family: Totozoquean or Language Isolate
Government: The Chitimacha are more of a people than an individual government, politically the people are separated into three or four major tribes, each with its own subdivisions. The Tribal Chiefs are always male however succession is decided by maternal lines of the individual and all potential Chieftains must seek and be given approval by their tribe's female elders. Children are considered to belong to their mother's family and clan and took their status from her.
Economy: The Chitimacha primarily fish for a living which is further supplemented by the contributions of tribal hunters as well as what berries and nuts the women can gather. The Chitimacha use no currency but instead rely on a bartering system, and largely possess no sense of property beyond family and tribal ownership. Labor within Chitimacha society is rather disorganized with individual families working to meet their own needs and the tribe working to take care of those who fall through the cracks with what surplus may be available. The tribes are also well committed to trade using their location and their food surpluses (when they exist) to do a decent trade with their neighbors to the north and along the coast.
Military: The Chitimacha do not have standing armies and their is no such thing as a warrior caste within their tribes, however the word Chitimacha literally translates to "Men Altogether Red" meaning Warriors. And the Chitimacha themselves are a very war like people. Beginning with their settlements all Chitimacha villages are built to utilize the terrain to their advantage in the event of an attack, although they spurn the use of walls the tribes villages are often impregnable to outsiders without intimate knowledge of the swamps and the area's terrain. When on the attack the Chitimacha warriors utilize an array of weapons from arrows to blow darts, and generally utilize bone and stone to fashion their implements of death. Chitimacha warfare is characterized by many light skirmishes and raids and is highly ritualized, as the young men of two tribes will fight and ambush each other for several weeks or months on end. The tribes do not only do combat with each other on land however, utilizing large dugout canoes some capable of carrying up to 40 passengers the Chitimacha will also fight each other on the water using arrows and spears to do whatever damage they can.
Location: The Mississippi River Delta
People and Society: The Chitimacha largely live in small camps or settlements, they tend to establish their settlements in the swamps and bayous of the Mississippi River Delta, and tended to small, largely seasonal in dwellings made of wood and stuck together using mud or large palmetto leaves. The Chitimacha follow several unique practices including the flattening of the foreheads of all males in the tribe, which is a process begun almost directly after birth when a bind is tied to the skulls of the infants. The Chitimacha are also proficient tattooers and have a tendency to cover their body head to toe in tattoos. Because of the hot and humid climate in the Delta men tend to wear little more than a loin cloth while women wear skirts. In Chitimacha society men and women are held at about equal standing with both sexes sharing religious and political power.
Cultural Family: Plaquemine
Language Family: Totozoquean or Language Isolate
Government: The Chitimacha are more of a people than an individual government, politically the people are separated into three or four major tribes, each with its own subdivisions. The Tribal Chiefs are always male however succession is decided by maternal lines of the individual and all potential Chieftains must seek and be given approval by their tribe's female elders. Children are considered to belong to their mother's family and clan and took their status from her.
Economy: The Chitimacha primarily fish for a living which is further supplemented by the contributions of tribal hunters as well as what berries and nuts the women can gather. The Chitimacha use no currency but instead rely on a bartering system, and largely possess no sense of property beyond family and tribal ownership. Labor within Chitimacha society is rather disorganized with individual families working to meet their own needs and the tribe working to take care of those who fall through the cracks with what surplus may be available. The tribes are also well committed to trade using their location and their food surpluses (when they exist) to do a decent trade with their neighbors to the north and along the coast.
Military: The Chitimacha do not have standing armies and their is no such thing as a warrior caste within their tribes, however the word Chitimacha literally translates to "Men Altogether Red" meaning Warriors. And the Chitimacha themselves are a very war like people. Beginning with their settlements all Chitimacha villages are built to utilize the terrain to their advantage in the event of an attack, although they spurn the use of walls the tribes villages are often impregnable to outsiders without intimate knowledge of the swamps and the area's terrain. When on the attack the Chitimacha warriors utilize an array of weapons from arrows to blow darts, and generally utilize bone and stone to fashion their implements of death. Chitimacha warfare is characterized by many light skirmishes and raids and is highly ritualized, as the young men of two tribes will fight and ambush each other for several weeks or months on end. The tribes do not only do combat with each other on land however, utilizing large dugout canoes some capable of carrying up to 40 passengers the Chitimacha will also fight each other on the water using arrows and spears to do whatever damage they can.
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Neo-Hittite Kingdom
"New place of the Nesas (Hittites)"
Location: Central and eastern Anatolia, near the heart of the old Hittite Empire; bounded by the Seyhan River to the southeast and the Yesil River to the northeast. They are bordered to their northeast by the Kaskians, the peoples that brought down the New Hittite Kingdom around 1180 BC.
"New place of the Nesas (Hittites)"
People and Society: Religious worship focuses on a pantheon of gods, the most prominent and powerful of whom is the storm-and-weather god Tahanna. The Hittite king rules through essentially divine mandate, in the name of the Hittite gods -- and Tahanna in particular. Ultimate authority lies with the Hittite king. The collapse of the larger New Kingdom around 1180 BC -- which relied largely on administration by local lords and vassals who ruled in the name of and swore allegiance to the king -- allows a more effective and centralized control of the realm, at least for now. Hattusa is the only large city -- all other settlements clock in at just larger towns or villages. A small but dedicated priest class administers to rites and religious ceremonies -- the king is the highest priest. Below him fall other nobles and vassals, followed by merchants, warriors, and, finally, peasants and slaves.
Cultural Family: Hittite (Anatolian)
Language Family: "Neo-Hittite" (developed from old Hittite. Anatolian; Indo-European)
Government: An absolute monarchy wherein the king -- the highest noble, priest, warrior, and interpreter of the will of the gods -- reigns supreme. Law is centered primarily around two concepts: punishing those that commit crimes, and compensating those who are harmed by criminals. To do this at a local level, one of the old Hittite kings established the pankus, which were local deliberative assemblies of judges who upheld the laws and punished criminals. The pankus also advise the king when he requests their advice. Perhaps most interestingly, pankus never hand out death penalties, and very rarely involve physical punishment involving the loss of limbs or other body parts. In all instances, restitution to the victim of the crime is paramount and followed whenever possible. The city of Hattusa was re-inhabited around 1000 BC, having been destroyed almost 200 years previous during the fall of the Hittite Empire. The Hittite king rules until death; the eldest son serves as crown prince. The present king is Mursil [Mursili] IV; Crown Prince Tudhalilah [Tudhaliya] will become Tudhalilah V upon his succession.
Economy: Slavery is legal and exists but is sparsely practiced. People farm and produce pottery, which is traded with nearby tribes and peoples. Non-Hittite vassals pay tribute to the king, who uses these resources to construct new temples and worshiping sites in the name of the gods, pay his soldiers, and other projects (which are becoming increasingly grand as Hittite society rebounds back after its previous collapse and near-total destruction). Tribute is also extracted from nearby smaller and less-civilized tribes and peoples who have yet to form any sort of modern (heh) and developed system of central governance. Other sources of tribute are some of the old vassals and break-away governments of the old Hittite Empire -- or, at least, those that choose to align themselves to the neo-Hittite kingdom.
Military: The king is the highest-ranking military commander by birthright and by having been ordained so by the gods. Infantry are the mainstay of the army and are armed with spears and, sometimes, swords. Wooden shields reinforced by strong hides are used by most soldiers. Melee and archer chariots are the shock units of the army and are used both to harass and to attack and dismember enemy armies. Still, the Hittite army has declined in strength and size significantly since its peak at Kadesh in 1274.
Corinthian League
Location: Eastern Peloponnese (up to GM discretion as to how much land this covers)
People and Society: The Corinthian League is made up of a loose alliance of city states (called polis) and large towns, led by the largest city state of Corinth, which has a population of roughly 25,000. The people of the league worship a diverse pantheon of gods and goddesses, with each polis having a patron deity. Corinth's patron deity, for example, is Poseidon, god of the sea. The people of the league also share a common language (Koine); nevertheless, the polis of the league and the surrounding region are fiercely independent, and proud of it. Slavery is relatively widespread, with around a fifth of the population of the league being slaves. Rich families have personal household slaves while the government itself has a large amount of public slaves. Since slaves are made of no single culture or ethnicity and are typically freed after a period of work, slave revolts are extremely rare.
Cultural and Linguistic Family: Greek (Hellenic [Indo-European])
Government: The numerous city states of the league have various forms of government, ranging from despotic monarchies to early direct democracies. Corinth itself is ruled by an oligarchic clan known as the Bacchiadae, which overthrew the previous monarchy in the middle of the 9th century. Every year, the Bacchiadae elect from among themselves an executive called the prytanis to lead the city state.
Economy: Trade flourishes among the city states of the league, with vessels from as far as the Levant bringing in exotic goods and agricultural products (which are needed due to the poor soil of the region). A budding craftsmanship sector produces wooden, clay, metal, and cloth goods to export across the region.
Military: The armies of the league are composed primarily of urban levies equipped with the best bronze arms and armor that the soldiers can afford. Those who can afford horses (usually nobles) form the cavalry core of Corinthian armies. Armies are led by a polemarchos, which, like the prytanis, is chosen from among the ruling elite. Corinth also possesses a strong navy of galleys to protect its trade and project its influence across the region.
Location: Eastern Peloponnese (up to GM discretion as to how much land this covers)
People and Society: The Corinthian League is made up of a loose alliance of city states (called polis) and large towns, led by the largest city state of Corinth, which has a population of roughly 25,000. The people of the league worship a diverse pantheon of gods and goddesses, with each polis having a patron deity. Corinth's patron deity, for example, is Poseidon, god of the sea. The people of the league also share a common language (Koine); nevertheless, the polis of the league and the surrounding region are fiercely independent, and proud of it. Slavery is relatively widespread, with around a fifth of the population of the league being slaves. Rich families have personal household slaves while the government itself has a large amount of public slaves. Since slaves are made of no single culture or ethnicity and are typically freed after a period of work, slave revolts are extremely rare.
Cultural and Linguistic Family: Greek (Hellenic [Indo-European])
Government: The numerous city states of the league have various forms of government, ranging from despotic monarchies to early direct democracies. Corinth itself is ruled by an oligarchic clan known as the Bacchiadae, which overthrew the previous monarchy in the middle of the 9th century. Every year, the Bacchiadae elect from among themselves an executive called the prytanis to lead the city state.
Economy: Trade flourishes among the city states of the league, with vessels from as far as the Levant bringing in exotic goods and agricultural products (which are needed due to the poor soil of the region). A budding craftsmanship sector produces wooden, clay, metal, and cloth goods to export across the region.
Military: The armies of the league are composed primarily of urban levies equipped with the best bronze arms and armor that the soldiers can afford. Those who can afford horses (usually nobles) form the cavalry core of Corinthian armies. Armies are led by a polemarchos, which, like the prytanis, is chosen from among the ruling elite. Corinth also possesses a strong navy of galleys to protect its trade and project its influence across the region.
GM Note: Forgot to mention, this turn will span 150 years.
Cheef and Arrowfiend's civilization changes are recognized and approved.
Baboush - I will accept your civilization if it is made less developed. From my readings on the Tchefuncte who occupied the area around this time, they mainly lived in hamlets and only on a seasonal basis. Their lives revolved around exploiting sea and river foods like fish, as opposed to agriculture.
Cheef and Arrowfiend's civilization changes are recognized and approved.
Baboush - I will accept your civilization if it is made less developed. From my readings on the Tchefuncte who occupied the area around this time, they mainly lived in hamlets and only on a seasonal basis. Their lives revolved around exploiting sea and river foods like fish, as opposed to agriculture.