Another DD will be tomorrow because I had a persistent bug and had to read more about a certain culture that was inspired by Phoenician colonists. You will also find that there is not only one levant.
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Dev Diary 5: This is not a Levat I expected. , i.e. a trip to Iberia
Dev Diary 5: This is not a Levant I expected. , i.e. a trip to Iberia
I thought maybe I could finish Iberia and the Middle East together and put it in one DD, but life wanted a different and instead of in the biblical Levant, we will go west to the destination of many Phoenician expeditions, the source of Crassus' wealth and tin for many countries of the Middle East, the Iberian Peninsula. And I must admit that I know even less now than when I started the research.
I know that many researchers question the presence of Phoenician colonies beyond the Strait of Gibraltar, despite sources saying otherwise. They argue this mainly through the lack of archaeological evidence of cities during this period, but from experience with colonies in more recent periods, we know that the establishment of a colony was often counted from the appearance of the first settlers, and I do not know if this would leave a significant mark.
But back to the topic, what got the Phoenicians this far? They decided to establish colonies in Iberia because there are large deposits of silver mined in the south and tin in the Galicia region (North-West corner the deposits were the size of Afgan ones and the trip was deffinetly worth it). An additional advantage was the existence of a merchant-friendly Tartessian culture ready to trade in peace with newcomers.
The Tartessians themselves were most likely a pre-Indo-European people related to the Iberians and Basques, although there are theories that it is the first traces of Celts on the peninsula (unlikely, but in a way possible, that's why I mention it). The Phoenicians greatly influenced their culture and religion. Temples to the Canaanite gods began to be built and Phoenician-inspired alphabetic-syllable script were used. The Greeks, when they reached southern Iberia, reported that there was a large, powerful state in the region and the warm welcome they received from the ruler by the name Arganthonios there. I will add from myself that his name is probably a little misunderstanding, because he would have to live 120 years (acording to legend) and that would be quite long for the period. Arganthonios was probably his title, not a name a bit like Celtic Brennus.
And here we come to the Lusytanians and the Vettones (then in one culture together with the Turdetanians) and interesting things start to happen because, according to researchers, their language is closer to Latin, but culturaly they resembled Celts. So ancient historians had quite a problem with it (and thats why they asign them differently each time). The most likely version for today is that they are part of an earlier migration of Indo-Europeans from the Baker culture, which is roughly the same as the Bronze Age mod.
Then we have the Celto-Iberians who separated from the Celts of Gaul by migrating Ligurians pushed out of the Po delta by the Italians during the Fall of the Bronze Age. to the east of them in the Iberian Levant are the Iberian Levantine and Argarian cultures with the latter on a higher level, although a bit decayed by then (the main boom in the Bronze Age when there could even existed a network of city-states). By 300, the Iberians would expel or assimilate the Ligurians, and the Ligurians in Gaul would be Celticized.
And here we come to the Basques who, according to some theories, split off from the Iberians at that time. Theories about their origins vary, but the most likely one seems to be the one telling about pre-Indo-European origin of the Basques and their relationship with the Iberians (interrupted by the Celtic invasion).
I am still wondering about the inclusion of the Tartessians into the Iberian culture group, as well as the slingers culture from the Balearic Islands, although here I am wondering between the Iberian and Nuragic one. Maybe you have any suggestions? Hope the next DD will be sooner. This time we will seriously go back to the Middle East since I have a more complete picture of the connections between the East and West of the Mediterranean and maybe by then I will complete historical figures from the region and finally touch on the subject of the Bible as a historical source. Take care.
I thought maybe I could finish Iberia and the Middle East together and put it in one DD, but life wanted a different and instead of in the biblical Levant, we will go west to the destination of many Phoenician expeditions, the source of Crassus' wealth and tin for many countries of the Middle East, the Iberian Peninsula. And I must admit that I know even less now than when I started the research
.
I know that many researchers question the presence of Phoenician colonies beyond the Strait of Gibraltar, despite sources saying otherwise. They argue this mainly through the lack of archaeological evidence of cities during this period, but from experience with colonies in more recent periods, we know that the establishment of a colony was often counted from the appearance of the first settlers, and I do not know if this would leave a significant mark.
But back to the topic, what got the Phoenicians this far? They decided to establish colonies in Iberia because there are large deposits of silver mined in the south and tin in the Galicia region (North-West corner the deposits were the size of Afgan ones and the trip was deffinetly worth it). An additional advantage was the existence of a merchant-friendly Tartessian culture ready to trade in peace with newcomers.
The Tartessians themselves were most likely a pre-Indo-European people related to the Iberians and Basques, although there are theories that it is the first traces of Celts on the peninsula (unlikely, but in a way possible, that's why I mention it). The Phoenicians greatly influenced their culture and religion. Temples to the Canaanite gods began to be built and Phoenician-inspired alphabetic-syllable script were used. The Greeks, when they reached southern Iberia, reported that there was a large, powerful state in the region and the warm welcome they received from the ruler by the name Arganthonios there. I will add from myself that his name is probably a little misunderstanding, because he would have to live 120 years (acording to legend) and that would be quite long for the period. Arganthonios was probably his title, not a name a bit like Celtic Brennus.
And here we come to the Lusytanians and the Vettones (then in one culture together with the Turdetanians) and interesting things start to happen because, according to researchers, their language is closer to Latin, but culturaly they resembled Celts. So ancient historians had quite a problem with it (and thats why they asign them differently each time). The most likely version for today is that they are part of an earlier migration of Indo-Europeans from the Baker culture, which is roughly the same as the Bronze Age mod.
Then we have the Celto-Iberians who separated from the Celts of Gaul by migrating Ligurians pushed out of the Po delta by the Italians during the Fall of the Bronze Age. to the east of them in the Iberian Levant are the Iberian Levantine and Argarian cultures with the latter on a higher level, although a bit decayed by then (the main boom in the Bronze Age when there could even existed a network of city-states). By 300, the Iberians would expel or assimilate the Ligurians, and the Ligurians in Gaul would be Celticized.
And here we come to the Basques who, according to some theories, split off from the Iberians at that time. Theories about their origins vary, but the most likely one seems to be the one telling about pre-Indo-European origin of the Basques and their relationship with the Iberians (interrupted by the Celtic invasion).
I am still wondering about the inclusion of the Tartessians into the Iberian culture group, as well as the slingers culture from the Balearic Islands, although here I am wondering between the Iberian and Nuragic one. Maybe you have any suggestions? Hope the next DD will be sooner. This time we will seriously go back to the Middle East since I have a more complete picture of the connections between the East and West of the Mediterranean and maybe by then I will complete historical figures from the region and finally touch on the subject of the Bible as a historical source. Take care.
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Yes. You are really waiting for my DD . I'm really touched. Next one will be today.
. I'm really touched. Next one will be today.- 3
Dev Diary 6: Post-apocalyptic Middle East
Dev Diary 6: Post-apocalyptic Middle East
As I mentioned before, the mod is still under development, so a lot changed and will change. Today we have a very sensitive topic to discuss so it should be interesting. And by the way, I am not particularly religious, nor am I a fanatical atheist, so I will try to be objective (although we know that it is hardthese days). But before we get into the spicy details, let's go back to Egypt for a moment.
Some time ago I forgot to add that a distant cousin of Siamun was ruling in Thebes at that time. The office of first priest in 984 BCE was held by Pinedjem, who took over from his deceased brother Nesbenebjet, who orphaned two daughters and, according to Egyptian custom Pinedjem, took care of them and ......................... took one for his wife.
And here is a certain discord because in this period there was a slight chaos in Egypt and there are many inaccuracies, for example Pinedjem had a son with a previous wife named Psusennes, who succeded him in office and in Tanis the last pharoh of 21-st dynasty had the same name Psusennes. Has there been a small attempt by the Egyptians to retain power with the help of the Thebes lineage? We know that after the revolt of Osorcon, Siamun bribed some of the rebels with high government offices. Perhaps he had given them too much, and that would be enough for the Libyan chiefs of ma to gain control of Egypt.
But that's about Egypt (for now, because I have a strange feeling that we'll be back there again). We come to the main topic, the situation in the Levant.
And here it would be worth saying something about the new and old inhabitants of this region. First, the Canaanites in the later Bronze Age split into the Northern (from which the Phoenicians evolved) under Hurrian influence, and later Hittite and Southern under Egyptian rule. The Egyptians themselves never exercised too much control over Canaan, because they didn't really like to leave the country because of their religion (probably it was about the necessity to mummify the corpse). But I know that they kept a network of garrisons at strategic points like at Beth-Shan (North-South road). After fending off the Sea Peoples from the delta, Pharaoh realized that he would not be able to resist such invasions indefinitely and decided to hand over Canaan to the invaders, possibly in exchange for a vassal contract. When the invasions from the west ended, the second wave began.
Then the weakened states were attacked by the Aramaic (Ahlamu), who are sometimes combined with the Bronze Age Amurru because of the similarity of names and region of origin. Many of the Aramaic tribes had lived beyond Jordan for centuries, and the Israelites were probably just such a tribe. The disappearance of great empires must have been like a miracle for them, and in addition, climate change meant that the lands that were not suitable for cultivation could be just right for them (their economy was based on herding, so they did not need complicated irrigation systems for now). From Merneptah's stele, dated 1224–1208 B.C.E. we know that he carried out a successful campaign against a people (not a state, but a group of nomads, he marked it) called the Israelites. This is the first mention because the term Hebrew in the language of the Canaanites meant hmmm how to put it ............ a nomadic group of well-armed people who were sometimes hired for military campaigns. We have references to the Hebrews throughout the Levant, and they may or may not be Israelites. Moving on to David himself, he is most likely a historical figure and that's all we know. This is evidenced by references from the Moabites and Arameans of Damascus calling the Judah dynasty the House of David. In addition, I postponed his conflict with Ishbaal (that is most likely his name, because Ishbosheth is an insult as far as I know) because at the same time Egypt was slightly busy otherwise he would have reacted faster, which happened when Shosqenq started supporting separatists from northern tribes . As for the division into northern and southern tribes, we know, for example, that the inhabitants of the north ate pork because bones were found there, and not in the south, which suggests a greater orthodoxy of the local population.
As for the religion of the inhabitants of the region, I know that the main god of the Moabites was Shamash, so at least at the beginning the Aramaeans had greater sympathy for the Mesopotamian pantheon, later taking over the Canaanite gods also. The problem arises with the Jewish religion which, according to some, was monolathric at first (i.e. other gods exist but mine is better and i worship him exclusively) which may explain two sacrificial altars with an altar for the main deity on one side. Another explanation is that Judaism was initially polytheistic and became monotheism due to contact with the Zoroastrians at the end of Judah's existence, and the second altar (possibly Ashera's diety from one of inscriptions) was then removed. Either way, the Edomites partially and a few tribes south of Judah also worshiped a god named YHWH (as one of dieties). I have something to think about, and maybe you also have some ideas.
I also added the family of David from the Mother side, Nahash, and half-brother Hannun, as well as two sisters. Nahash and his son supported David's brother during his escape and provided his army with the support of trusted officers.
I have also added other biblical characters like the Hadadezer of Sovah.
I'm not sure, but Hiram was reportedly helping Solomon with the construction of the temple. In any case, at that time Tire was being ruled by Abibaal his father and the whole dynasty was from Sidon so maybe Tire was under the sovereignty of that city or the dynasty had moved.
In the letters from the kings of Pattina and Hamat there is a ruler with a Philistine sounding name Toi. Historians believe that there was a Philistine state in the north, including Pattina, Lakhuti and Hamath, but the former revolted, which may explain the desire for good relations with Israel.
Karkemish was an important center for the Hittites, therefore power over it was given to members of the ruling family. About 984 BC its last living representative ruled there.
During the reign of Ashur-Rabbi, Assyria lost territory to the west, and the Aramaeans managed to break through their defenses north and south of Karkemish. The rulers of Assyria did not report defeats, but from the information we have (they carried out numerous campaigns beyond the Euphrates, which gave nothing) we can conclude that the enemy's tactic was guerrilla warfare. The Assyrians themselves, after this cataclysm, began to perceive the lands outside their domain as hotbeds of chaos, and annual war campaigns as a religious duty. To end the crisis, they began to use the so-called practical violence, i.e. in short, at the beginning, a warning, then when they had to send the army, they conducted a "show" of torture skills under the walls, and when they had to attack, they destroyed entire cities and the population was deported to distant corners of the empire. The ruler of the defeated people was publicly tortured and killed. So biblical descriptions are not so wrong.
Meanwhile, the situation was the same in Babylon. State was ruled by the Kassite clan from the city of Bazz (it is not known where exactly), where the capital of the country was moved for safety. Bad situation was taken advantage of by a migrant of Elamite origin, about whom little is known but must have been well remembered because he was buried with honors in Sargon's palace (it does not necessarily mean that Sargon's palace, but that he was buried as the rightful ruler). Since Babylon was very cosmopolitan (to put it mildly) it didn't have to come from Elam (but he could).
As for the situation in Elam, we know that Susa was still an important and great city but Anshan lost many of its inhabitants. But Elam still controlled the city. However, this could mark the first attacks of the Persians. As for the rulers there, we do not have certain dates, only a few names.
I also added Heraclids in several Greek countries but it still needs to be refined. Surely you noticed that I added bloodlines to the more important characters (about 17 boodlines so far). I don't know if you like the combination of mythical characters with real ones. For example, we know that Assyria negotiated with a Phrygian king named Mita. So we know that at least the name is correct. To sum up whether the Bible can be considered a historical source, yes. Although, as we know, someone had to copy, publish and approve it. Historians often consider the event to be historic as they have at least two mentions, e.g. copies of the Egyptian and Hittite peace treaty after the Battle of Kadesh. So when a biblical event is mentioned in another source, it probably really happened (but as you know, the devil is in the details). Until next time.
As I mentioned before, the mod is still under development, so a lot changed and will change. Today we have a very sensitive topic to discuss so it should be interesting. And by the way, I am not particularly religious, nor am I a fanatical atheist, so I will try to be objective (although we know that it is hardthese days
). But before we get into the spicy details, let's go back to Egypt for a moment.
Some time ago I forgot to add that a distant cousin of Siamun was ruling in Thebes at that time. The office of first priest in 984 BCE was held by Pinedjem, who took over from his deceased brother Nesbenebjet, who orphaned two daughters and, according to Egyptian custom Pinedjem, took care of them and ......................... took one for his wife.
And here is a certain discord because in this period there was a slight chaos in Egypt and there are many inaccuracies, for example Pinedjem had a son with a previous wife named Psusennes, who succeded him in office and in Tanis the last pharoh of 21-st dynasty had the same name Psusennes. Has there been a small attempt by the Egyptians to retain power with the help of the Thebes lineage? We know that after the revolt of Osorcon, Siamun bribed some of the rebels with high government offices. Perhaps he had given them too much, and that would be enough for the Libyan chiefs of ma to gain control of Egypt.
But that's about Egypt (for now, because I have a strange feeling that we'll be back there again). We come to the main topic, the situation in the Levant.
And here it would be worth saying something about the new and old inhabitants of this region. First, the Canaanites in the later Bronze Age split into the Northern (from which the Phoenicians evolved) under Hurrian influence, and later Hittite and Southern under Egyptian rule. The Egyptians themselves never exercised too much control over Canaan, because they didn't really like to leave the country because of their religion (probably it was about the necessity to mummify the corpse). But I know that they kept a network of garrisons at strategic points like at Beth-Shan (North-South road). After fending off the Sea Peoples from the delta, Pharaoh realized that he would not be able to resist such invasions indefinitely and decided to hand over Canaan to the invaders, possibly in exchange for a vassal contract. When the invasions from the west ended, the second wave began.
Then the weakened states were attacked by the Aramaic (Ahlamu), who are sometimes combined with the Bronze Age Amurru because of the similarity of names and region of origin. Many of the Aramaic tribes had lived beyond Jordan for centuries, and the Israelites were probably just such a tribe. The disappearance of great empires must have been like a miracle for them, and in addition, climate change meant that the lands that were not suitable for cultivation could be just right for them (their economy was based on herding, so they did not need complicated irrigation systems for now). From Merneptah's stele, dated 1224–1208 B.C.E. we know that he carried out a successful campaign against a people (not a state, but a group of nomads, he marked it) called the Israelites. This is the first mention because the term Hebrew in the language of the Canaanites meant hmmm how to put it ............ a nomadic group of well-armed people who were sometimes hired for military campaigns. We have references to the Hebrews throughout the Levant, and they may or may not be Israelites. Moving on to David himself, he is most likely a historical figure and that's all we know. This is evidenced by references from the Moabites and Arameans of Damascus calling the Judah dynasty the House of David. In addition, I postponed his conflict with Ishbaal (that is most likely his name, because Ishbosheth is an insult as far as I know) because at the same time Egypt was slightly busy
otherwise he would have reacted faster, which happened when Shosqenq started supporting separatists from northern tribes . As for the division into northern and southern tribes, we know, for example, that the inhabitants of the north ate pork because bones were found there, and not in the south, which suggests a greater orthodoxy of the local population.
As for the religion of the inhabitants of the region, I know that the main god of the Moabites was Shamash, so at least at the beginning the Aramaeans had greater sympathy for the Mesopotamian pantheon, later taking over the Canaanite gods also. The problem arises with the Jewish religion which, according to some, was monolathric at first (i.e. other gods exist but mine is better and i worship him exclusively) which may explain two sacrificial altars with an altar for the main deity on one side. Another explanation is that Judaism was initially polytheistic and became monotheism due to contact with the Zoroastrians at the end of Judah's existence, and the second altar (possibly Ashera's diety from one of inscriptions) was then removed. Either way, the Edomites partially and a few tribes south of Judah also worshiped a god named YHWH (as one of dieties). I have something to think about, and maybe you also have some ideas.
I also added the family of David from the Mother side, Nahash, and half-brother Hannun, as well as two sisters. Nahash and his son supported David's brother during his escape and provided his army with the support of trusted officers.
I have also added other biblical characters like the Hadadezer of Sovah.
I'm not sure, but Hiram was reportedly helping Solomon with the construction of the temple. In any case, at that time Tire was being ruled by Abibaal his father and the whole dynasty was from Sidon so maybe Tire was under the sovereignty of that city or the dynasty had moved.
In the letters from the kings of Pattina and Hamat there is a ruler with a Philistine sounding name Toi. Historians believe that there was a Philistine state in the north, including Pattina, Lakhuti and Hamath, but the former revolted, which may explain the desire for good relations with Israel.
Karkemish was an important center for the Hittites, therefore power over it was given to members of the ruling family. About 984 BC its last living representative ruled there.
During the reign of Ashur-Rabbi, Assyria lost territory to the west, and the Aramaeans managed to break through their defenses north and south of Karkemish. The rulers of Assyria did not report defeats, but from the information we have (they carried out numerous campaigns beyond the Euphrates, which gave nothing) we can conclude that the enemy's tactic was guerrilla warfare. The Assyrians themselves, after this cataclysm, began to perceive the lands outside their domain as hotbeds of chaos, and annual war campaigns as a religious duty. To end the crisis, they began to use the so-called practical violence, i.e. in short, at the beginning, a warning, then when they had to send the army, they conducted a "show" of torture skills under the walls, and when they had to attack, they destroyed entire cities and the population was deported to distant corners of the empire. The ruler of the defeated people was publicly tortured and killed. So biblical descriptions are not so wrong.
Meanwhile, the situation was the same in Babylon. State was ruled by the Kassite clan from the city of Bazz (it is not known where exactly), where the capital of the country was moved for safety. Bad situation was taken advantage of by a migrant of Elamite origin, about whom little is known but must have been well remembered because he was buried with honors in Sargon's palace (it does not necessarily mean that Sargon's palace, but that he was buried as the rightful ruler). Since Babylon was very cosmopolitan (to put it mildly) it didn't have to come from Elam (but he could).
As for the situation in Elam, we know that Susa was still an important and great city but Anshan lost many of its inhabitants. But Elam still controlled the city. However, this could mark the first attacks of the Persians. As for the rulers there, we do not have certain dates, only a few names.
I also added Heraclids in several Greek countries but it still needs to be refined. Surely you noticed that I added bloodlines to the more important characters (about 17 boodlines so far). I don't know if you like the combination of mythical characters with real ones. For example, we know that Assyria negotiated with a Phrygian king named Mita. So we know that at least the name is correct. To sum up whether the Bible can be considered a historical source, yes. Although, as we know, someone had to copy, publish and approve it. Historians often consider the event to be historic as they have at least two mentions, e.g. copies of the Egyptian and Hittite peace treaty after the Battle of Kadesh. So when a biblical event is mentioned in another source, it probably really happened (but as you know, the devil is in the details). Until next time.
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Thanks a lot, the next DD will take us North beyond the Alps. Maybe if we have enough time we will visit the Balkans and the Middle East for a short while.
I hope the punic colonies will be a type of subject to Tyre, Tyre should be a big player even though being a tiny citystate, and I'm not sure how this can be fixed, maybe with some modifiers or something.
Good luck with the mod!
Good luck with the mod!
I know that not only Tyre had colonies, but that city was at the forefront of establishing them. Another important center was, for example, Byblos. Hmmm, I think there is already such a mechanism with Alexander's heirs. I will have to work on the colonization mechanics in the future when I will have core systems working.
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Dev Diary 7: Through the Alps and beyond !
Dev Diary 7: Through the Alps and beyond !
As promised, today we will visit the tribes in and north of the alps and talk about the changes that occurred in these areas after the fall of the Bronze Age (or not depending on where you were). We will also talk about pre-Indo-Europeans from Illyria and visit the Middle East for a short time.
Celts
The first thing that catches your eye is the sea of green to the north of the Ligurian area. According to the adopted version of events (which the articles and graphics found by me seem to confirm), the Celtic expansion caused a domino effect around 1200 BC. First, as a group called Tumulus, they invaded the coasts of northwestern France, then a group of tribes stormed the Pannonian valley, pushing the Italians out of there, they in turn pushed the Ligurians from the mouth of the Po River to the west (ancient name of the river is rumored to be of ligurian descent), and under their pressure some of the Celtic tribes from the vicinity of Marseille moved to Iberia. Cultures from the coasts of England and France were connected with trade ties which were quite advanced at that time (with visits from guests from the Middle East) and were at a higher civilization level . There is also no evidence of a sudden migration like in the south, so hence the supposition that when the warlords from the Tumusus culture group (middle bronze age north alps) entered their area, they were assimilated like Germanic tribes 1000 years later, giving some elements from themselves and adapting the existing ones (the pre-celtic inhabitants of British islands, for example, had the habit of throwing swords into the lakes, does that remind you of something?).
The cultures before the Bronze Age Collapse thanks to Wiki
Raetians
In the Alps, however, there is a people culturally related to the Etruscan people called the Raetians. Ancient historians assumed that they once lived in the Pad River valley, but today it is believed that the reasons for their cultural connection must have been other than migration. Interestingly, to the same ethnic group are also assigned pelasgians and lelegs from the Aegean area, as well as the inhabitants of the island of lemnos previously known as Raminija (linguistical similarites).
Castelieri and Bosuti
The cultures of Northern Illyria are likely of pre-Indo-European origin. The Castelieri culture built defensive fortresses reminiscent of Mycenaean structures (hence the name) and took advantage of the turmoil of recent centuries. This culture has existed for quite a long time, since at least the 15th century BC. On the other hand, in the Bosut culture (whose ethnicity is up for discussion), mass graves of human ritual victims were found.
Lusatians
Lusatian culture was probably the subject of the hottest disputes of all those mentioned earlier. It kept in touch with the Greek colonies and built defensive settlements resembling those later built by the Slavs (hence the disputes). The most famous settlements of this culture are Buch near Berlin and Biskupin in Poland. The construction of the fortifications was probably related to the emergence of the Cimmerian tribes in the area, which fled from the Scythians at that time (later Cimmerians melted with the north Thracians creating Dacians and Gets). And below thanks to Wikipedia you have a reconstruction of the mentioned Biskupin.
Research on this culture was carried out from the interwar period. During the war, the Germans wanted to use the excavations in Biskupin to prove their rights to these lands, but they achieved nothing except damaging the site. Biskupin was built in the 8th century BC (we know because water from the lake on which settlement stands preserved the wood in decent shape), which is more or less at the same time as the Cimmerian invasions of the Middle East. To this day, neither the Germanic nor the Slavic origin of the Lusatians has been established and we will probably never find out (mainly due to too many migrations at that time).
I am still wondering how to deal with it, so if you have any opinion, say it. Would you like to present them as proto-Slavs? Meanwhile, we will visit the Middle East.
In the 10th century BC, Jerusalem was not such a large city (and was called Jebus). It was more like a little bigger fortress. The Israelites were probably attracted by the site's defensive qualities. Ornan or Araunah is often given as its ruler, which is a slightly similar dilemma to what he was with the Tartessians because his name means Lord in Hurrian. No wonder, actually the Caananites might have preferred the Hurrian customs to the Egyptian because Egypt basically occupied their lands, and the grass always seems greener where we are not.
I did not have time to give it before but the Philistines are often called Caphtorites, and this name is mentioned by the Egyptians as the name of Crete, hence the assumption that they were of Minoan-Greek origin, which explains their appearance. The Minoans were created by combining Anatolian influences (feather caps on their heads) with Mycenaean influences (weapons). The remnants of the Minoans were still present in Crete and Cyprus in the time of Herodotus (Eteocretans in the eastern part of the island).
That's it for today. As you can see not much left (but as you know it can always change), maybe next time I will finish the map and implement dieties. See you in a week or earlier.
As promised, today we will visit the tribes in and north of the alps and talk about the changes that occurred in these areas after the fall of the Bronze Age (or not depending on where you were). We will also talk about pre-Indo-Europeans from Illyria and visit the Middle East for a short time.
Celts
The first thing that catches your eye is the sea of green to the north of the Ligurian area. According to the adopted version of events (which the articles and graphics found by me seem to confirm), the Celtic expansion caused a domino effect around 1200 BC. First, as a group called Tumulus, they invaded the coasts of northwestern France, then a group of tribes stormed the Pannonian valley, pushing the Italians out of there, they in turn pushed the Ligurians from the mouth of the Po River to the west (ancient name of the river is rumored to be of ligurian descent), and under their pressure some of the Celtic tribes from the vicinity of Marseille moved to Iberia. Cultures from the coasts of England and France were connected with trade ties which were quite advanced at that time (with visits from guests from the Middle East) and were at a higher civilization level . There is also no evidence of a sudden migration like in the south, so hence the supposition that when the warlords from the Tumusus culture group (middle bronze age north alps) entered their area, they were assimilated like Germanic tribes 1000 years later, giving some elements from themselves and adapting the existing ones (the pre-celtic inhabitants of British islands, for example, had the habit of throwing swords into the lakes, does that remind you of something?
).
The cultures before the Bronze Age Collapse thanks to Wiki
Raetians
In the Alps, however, there is a people culturally related to the Etruscan people called the Raetians. Ancient historians assumed that they once lived in the Pad River valley, but today it is believed that the reasons for their cultural connection must have been other than migration. Interestingly, to the same ethnic group are also assigned pelasgians and lelegs from the Aegean area, as well as the inhabitants of the island of lemnos previously known as Raminija (linguistical similarites).
Castelieri and Bosuti
The cultures of Northern Illyria are likely of pre-Indo-European origin. The Castelieri culture built defensive fortresses reminiscent of Mycenaean structures (hence the name) and took advantage of the turmoil of recent centuries. This culture has existed for quite a long time, since at least the 15th century BC. On the other hand, in the Bosut culture (whose ethnicity is up for discussion), mass graves of human ritual victims were found.
Lusatians
Lusatian culture was probably the subject of the hottest disputes of all those mentioned earlier. It kept in touch with the Greek colonies and built defensive settlements resembling those later built by the Slavs (hence the disputes). The most famous settlements of this culture are Buch near Berlin and Biskupin in Poland. The construction of the fortifications was probably related to the emergence of the Cimmerian tribes in the area, which fled from the Scythians at that time (later Cimmerians melted with the north Thracians creating Dacians and Gets). And below thanks to Wikipedia you have a reconstruction of the mentioned Biskupin.
Research on this culture was carried out from the interwar period. During the war, the Germans wanted to use the excavations in Biskupin to prove their rights to these lands, but they achieved nothing except damaging the site. Biskupin was built in the 8th century BC (we know because water from the lake on which settlement stands preserved the wood in decent shape), which is more or less at the same time as the Cimmerian invasions of the Middle East. To this day, neither the Germanic nor the Slavic origin of the Lusatians has been established and we will probably never find out (mainly due to too many migrations at that time).
I am still wondering how to deal with it, so if you have any opinion, say it. Would you like to present them as proto-Slavs? Meanwhile, we will visit the Middle East.
In the 10th century BC, Jerusalem was not such a large city (and was called Jebus). It was more like a little bigger fortress. The Israelites were probably attracted by the site's defensive qualities. Ornan or Araunah is often given as its ruler, which is a slightly similar dilemma to what he was with the Tartessians because his name means Lord in Hurrian. No wonder, actually the Caananites might have preferred the Hurrian customs to the Egyptian because Egypt basically occupied their lands, and the grass always seems greener where we are not.
I did not have time to give it before but the Philistines are often called Caphtorites, and this name is mentioned by the Egyptians as the name of Crete, hence the assumption that they were of Minoan-Greek origin, which explains their appearance. The Minoans were created by combining Anatolian influences (feather caps on their heads) with Mycenaean influences (weapons). The remnants of the Minoans were still present in Crete and Cyprus in the time of Herodotus (Eteocretans in the eastern part of the island).
That's it for today. As you can see not much left (but as you know it can always change), maybe next time I will finish the map and implement dieties. See you in a week or earlier.
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The old testament seems to hint alot and have allegories about the Jews having internal strife about how to worship and more specifically between Monolatry and Monotheism, it would be cool to divide the Hebrew pops into Yahwist and Jew
A good read - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahwism
A good read - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahwism
The early phases of change from politheism to monotheism sound a bit like imitating the Assyrians with their god Ashur. I know that after David, the first fully historical king of Israel is Ahab, who together with the ruler of Damascus assemble a rather exotic coalition and fight the battle of Qarqar with Assyria. The battle probably ended with huge losses on both sides, but Assyria could afford such losses and Israel could not, and then there was a change of power and Jehu's rebellion, who paid tribute to Kalhu (we even have his image on the obelisk). Maybe that's when this change began? It would be a bit like the Urartians and the Khaldi. Anyway, the word Amen seems to be present in the oath of Assyrian soldiers to Ashur and the Assyrian ruler (in later times, after the service they received citizenship). I don't know what to do with it yet.
As for the battle itself, we have quite realistic data, quite consistent with the Bible (about 10,000 infantry and 2,000 chariots, taking into account the division of Israel, 2x the increase in population was roughly half of the Israels army) and the first mention of Arabs, whose ruler Gindibu ( probably of the Qedarite tribe) sent 1,000 camel riders. After Israel's betrayal, the new ruler of Damascus had to feel trapped, which explains the brutal campaign against Israel (he had to quickly eliminate the threat before Assyria could react). Well, it was supposed to be short, but I possibly talk too much
.Thanks, I'll think about it.
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can you add Kanesh city - state ? This city was inhabited continuously until roman period.
It looks like after bronze age collapse city was resettled after period of abandonement. Some suspect it was under suzerainity of Tabal or came under it after 10th century bc. I will read about it.
Later the same day ....... I added the city. I do not exacly know how the situation looked like but after northern teritories were evacuated the refugees might have choose to repopulate the city. I also do not have king lists from the Tabal area until Assyrians "reach" there. Then things look better. I will be reading about it of course.
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I'm postponing DD to Saturday because I had some private problems and I think I will have to do the existing pantheons from scratch (I wanted to be smart but it came out as usual). Meanwhile, since nationalities and religions are fixed, maybe you have some opinion when it comes to colors. If you have suggestions, you can give the colors you want in rgb or hsv format.
Nationalities are: Akkadians, Arabs, Arameans, Ethiopians, Lusitans, Proto-Balts, Germans, Basques, Bosutans (northern Illyria and Serbia), Caucasians, Celts, Dravidians, Avestans (Eastern Iranians), Elamites, Greeks, Hittites (East Anatolian group) , Armenians (Hayasa-Azzi), Hurrians, Iberians, Illyrians, Iranians, Italians, Kassites, Egyptians, Canaanites, Libyans, Ligurians, Luvians, Minoans, Picts (as remnants of the pre-Celtic population, I still think about it), Nubians, Nuragians, Tibetans , Scythians, Sinai group (Jews and related nations), Tartessians, Thracians, Etruscans, Tocharians, Lusatians, Indo-Arians, and Veddans (indigenous people of Sri Lanka).
The religions are: Kemeticism, Canaanite gods, Yahwism, Arabic pantheon, Libyan pantheon, Mesopotamian, Etruscan, Greek, Hurrian, Kassite, Elamite, Caucasian, Iranian, Nuragic, Nubian, Scythian, Armenian, Luvian, Thracian, Illyrian, Dravian pantheon , Tocharian, Hindu, totemism, Nok, Italic, Iberian, Celtic, Ligurian, Lusatian, Lusitanian, Basque, Germanic, Bosutan, Romuvan.
Phew, I hope I haven't missed anything. Remember, the client is our master, all your wishes will be taken into account.
Nationalities are: Akkadians, Arabs, Arameans, Ethiopians, Lusitans, Proto-Balts, Germans, Basques, Bosutans (northern Illyria and Serbia), Caucasians, Celts, Dravidians, Avestans (Eastern Iranians), Elamites, Greeks, Hittites (East Anatolian group) , Armenians (Hayasa-Azzi), Hurrians, Iberians, Illyrians, Iranians, Italians, Kassites, Egyptians, Canaanites, Libyans, Ligurians, Luvians, Minoans, Picts (as remnants of the pre-Celtic population, I still think about it), Nubians, Nuragians, Tibetans , Scythians, Sinai group (Jews and related nations), Tartessians, Thracians, Etruscans, Tocharians, Lusatians, Indo-Arians, and Veddans (indigenous people of Sri Lanka).
The religions are: Kemeticism, Canaanite gods, Yahwism, Arabic pantheon, Libyan pantheon, Mesopotamian, Etruscan, Greek, Hurrian, Kassite, Elamite, Caucasian, Iranian, Nuragic, Nubian, Scythian, Armenian, Luvian, Thracian, Illyrian, Dravian pantheon , Tocharian, Hindu, totemism, Nok, Italic, Iberian, Celtic, Ligurian, Lusatian, Lusitanian, Basque, Germanic, Bosutan, Romuvan.
Phew, I hope I haven't missed anything. Remember, the client is our master, all your wishes will be taken into account.
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Unfortunately no, religion will be followed by military units and traditions (one per cultural group) so I stick to what I said before that I will end up in the 10th or 12th DD at the latest.
You know what I was actually wondering about it as well. I know that during this period Argos was a force in the region that had to be reckoned with, and indeed, as in myth, it exercised supreme power over at least part of the region (from the coast to Sicyon). Mycenae at that time were small (but still inhabited because they had intact defensive walls) and rather under the more direct sovereignty of Argos so I did not implemented them. Part of the region escapes Argos influence in the 7th century BC. In the 5th century before Christ, the Mycenae took part in a war with Persia, so they had to get out of the argos sphere. Maybe thanks to the famous conflict with Sparta. I will try to read more. Unless you know something more as it was in the 10th century BC. I can always miss something.
Dev Diary 8: From the frozen north to hot Nubia
Dev Diary 8: From the frozen north to hot Nubia
Forgive me for the slight delay, but sometimes things can go wrong. Today we will visit the far north, the steppes and finally return to the Nile valley.
At first, I don't know if I mentioned how I'm puting the cultures in place at all. Well, at the beginning I look at the language. If we do not know what dialect was in a given place, then I look at the markings of archaeologists. Usually they mark cultures from the Iron Age and earlier periods using pottery or the most famous excavation site (e.g. Corded Ware culture or the famous Harappans). I mentioned it in case the names seem strange to you. Sometimes it happened that when I considered a culture important, despite the fact that it inhabited a small area (e.g. Rutulians) I added it and vice versa, if the culture was more numerous, I did not see the need to artificially divide it. I think facing a stronger enemy is part of the fun. I will add modifiers to tribes anyway to reflect the unstable nature of this form of government as the rest of the systems will work.
Meanwhile, Celtic culture came to the British Isles. The tribes adjacent to the Calais Strait had a strong cultural influence from the Belgae tribes on the other side of the channel. This is probably why Caesar had to go to the islands to "talk them out" of supporting relatives from the continent. They can also worship the deities from the islands and the lands of the Belgae tribes (I admit that I have around 65% of gods and pantheons. I had to add new conditions in some cases so that, for example, the rulers of Babylon would not get Ashur, unless we conquer the capital of Assyria to reflect tense relations between the two after assyrians "visited" Babylon last time. Therefore, I had to redo the existing pantheons and finishing it will take me 2 or 3 days.).
The battle in the Tollense River can tell us a lot about what happened in the region. In short, two groups of professional warriors met by the river, one wanted to cross it what ended up with violence. Normally nothing out of the ordinary, but couple of details drew the researchers' attention. First of all, as I mentioned, they were veterans with visible, healed wounds. Secondly, there was more or less 4,000 fighters, which is a lot for this area. Third, some of the warriors came from Bohemia. All this points to large population movements which will result in the migration of the Germanic tribes to the south and east, and the Celtic tribes to the east. Some of the Celts will even land in southern Poland.
I found a fairly good excerpt from a book about the cultures of this period from the area east of the Caspian Sea. The region was experiencing the economic growth at the time. The Amirabad and Chustian cultures were sedentary with the latter at a higher stage of development (at least two cities). The Dahae tribes were mentioned in Rigveda so they have been around for a long time. Another detail worth mentioning is the gradual migration of the Scythians towards the Black Sea. They will drive the Cymmerians to the south and east (one of the Assyrian rulers will die in the fight against them and their invasion will cause permanent traces in the culture of middle east, e.g. the name gomorrah may come from the Gimiri tribe). To the north of them was the settled Charnoles culture which was connected with the Cimmers and Scythians by cultural ties.
Cities in the region of Iran lay mainly on trade routes to Afghanistan from where tin was imported to the Middle East. However, the sea route to India was faster and safer (and less tariffs on the way, some things do not change). When Persia opened up overland routes to India, Dilmun and Magan declined economically.
African religions were closely related, and many deities appeared in both the Egyptian, Libyan and Nubian pantheons. Such an example of a deity is Amon worshiped from Nubia to Libya. Another example is an interesting deity Set who has had many ups and downs. He was considered the protector of foreigners and the people of the desert. He had even been the head of the pantheon of Upper Egypt. The main centers of the Set cult were in the oasis of Kharga at that time. Some deities like Dedun (one of the oldest nubian gods) were more local.
In some pantheons we know very little, eg we know the Elamite deities mainly from the Akkadians and Sumerians because their writing has not been fully translated. In the case of the Tocharians, their pre-Buddhist beliefs could have had Iranian and Tengristic influences (certainly one of the goddesses came from this pantheon).
I think that's it for today. I should have religion ready for the next time. Perhaps it will be possible to move on to units and traditions. I know from Scandinavian rock drawings that the Germanic people of this period used mainly axemen, spearmen and archers. And I did not forgot about three types of elephants i promissed. In a week's time we will see how much we can get out of this game.
Forgive me for the slight delay, but sometimes things can go wrong. Today we will visit the far north, the steppes and finally return to the Nile valley.
At first, I don't know if I mentioned how I'm puting the cultures in place at all. Well, at the beginning I look at the language. If we do not know what dialect was in a given place, then I look at the markings of archaeologists. Usually they mark cultures from the Iron Age and earlier periods using pottery or the most famous excavation site (e.g. Corded Ware culture or the famous Harappans). I mentioned it in case the names seem strange to you. Sometimes it happened that when I considered a culture important, despite the fact that it inhabited a small area (e.g. Rutulians) I added it and vice versa, if the culture was more numerous, I did not see the need to artificially divide it. I think facing a stronger enemy is part of the fun. I will add modifiers to tribes anyway to reflect the unstable nature of this form of government as the rest of the systems will work.
Meanwhile, Celtic culture came to the British Isles. The tribes adjacent to the Calais Strait had a strong cultural influence from the Belgae tribes on the other side of the channel. This is probably why Caesar had to go to the islands to "talk them out" of supporting relatives from the continent. They can also worship the deities from the islands and the lands of the Belgae tribes (I admit that I have around 65% of gods and pantheons. I had to add new conditions in some cases so that, for example, the rulers of Babylon would not get Ashur, unless we conquer the capital of Assyria to reflect tense relations between the two after assyrians "visited" Babylon last time. Therefore, I had to redo the existing pantheons and finishing it will take me 2 or 3 days.).
The battle in the Tollense River can tell us a lot about what happened in the region. In short, two groups of professional warriors met by the river, one wanted to cross it what ended up with violence. Normally nothing out of the ordinary, but couple of details drew the researchers' attention. First of all, as I mentioned, they were veterans with visible, healed wounds. Secondly, there was more or less 4,000 fighters, which is a lot for this area. Third, some of the warriors came from Bohemia. All this points to large population movements which will result in the migration of the Germanic tribes to the south and east, and the Celtic tribes to the east. Some of the Celts will even land in southern Poland.
I found a fairly good excerpt from a book about the cultures of this period from the area east of the Caspian Sea. The region was experiencing the economic growth at the time. The Amirabad and Chustian cultures were sedentary with the latter at a higher stage of development (at least two cities). The Dahae tribes were mentioned in Rigveda so they have been around for a long time. Another detail worth mentioning is the gradual migration of the Scythians towards the Black Sea. They will drive the Cymmerians to the south and east (one of the Assyrian rulers will die in the fight against them and their invasion will cause permanent traces in the culture of middle east, e.g. the name gomorrah may come from the Gimiri tribe). To the north of them was the settled Charnoles culture which was connected with the Cimmers and Scythians by cultural ties.
Cities in the region of Iran lay mainly on trade routes to Afghanistan from where tin was imported to the Middle East. However, the sea route to India was faster and safer (and less tariffs on the way, some things do not change). When Persia opened up overland routes to India, Dilmun and Magan declined economically.
African religions were closely related, and many deities appeared in both the Egyptian, Libyan and Nubian pantheons. Such an example of a deity is Amon worshiped from Nubia to Libya. Another example is an interesting deity Set who has had many ups and downs. He was considered the protector of foreigners and the people of the desert. He had even been the head of the pantheon of Upper Egypt. The main centers of the Set cult were in the oasis of Kharga at that time. Some deities like Dedun (one of the oldest nubian gods) were more local.
In some pantheons we know very little, eg we know the Elamite deities mainly from the Akkadians and Sumerians because their writing has not been fully translated. In the case of the Tocharians, their pre-Buddhist beliefs could have had Iranian and Tengristic influences (certainly one of the goddesses came from this pantheon).
I think that's it for today. I should have religion ready for the next time. Perhaps it will be possible to move on to units and traditions. I know from Scandinavian rock drawings that the Germanic people of this period used mainly axemen, spearmen and archers. And I did not forgot about three types of elephants i promissed. In a week's time we will see how much we can get out of this game.
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