This thread is to discuss what names we use for countries, cultures, leaders etc in-game.
For countries, I'd suggest the following:
1. In general, we ask, "What would English-speaking historians call the country nowadays?"
Eg BYZ = Byzantium or Byzantine Empire. These terms were not used anywhere in 1419, and certainly not within the Empire, but they are today. I believe that 'Byzantine Empire' is more common for referring to the whole empire, so that might be a better name.
But SUD = Nubia. Although the modern-day state is called Sudan, this is not what historians call the state which existed prior to the Arab conquest.
2. We use the short form of a country's name where one exists.
Eg GEN = Genoa. We could write 'Republic of Genoa', but that's unnecessarily long. Note that this is different to the case of say 'Ottoman Empire', as there is no short form of this.
3. The plural of the name of a tribal group, family, caste, political group etc usually implies a disorganised collection of states, or a cobbled-together faction (usually in a civil war). Eg 'Royalists', or 'Khazaks'. Where this is not the case, we should try to use a country or region name.
Eg the state around the Lower Nile will be called Egypt. But if it disintegrates, the various factions might be called 'Mameluks', 'Fatimids' or whatever.
4. Generally, country names don't need the definite article, even if you'd use one in a sentence.
Eg KAL = Union of Kalmar, even though in a sentence you'd say "the Union of Kalmar was...'
5. We should avoid ambiguous country names which don't specify the country uniquely.
Eg 'Caliphate' is a bad name for a country if in fact two countries claim to be the Caliphate. But we can be more specific by saying 'Abbasid Caliphate'.
For countries, I'd suggest the following:
1. In general, we ask, "What would English-speaking historians call the country nowadays?"
Eg BYZ = Byzantium or Byzantine Empire. These terms were not used anywhere in 1419, and certainly not within the Empire, but they are today. I believe that 'Byzantine Empire' is more common for referring to the whole empire, so that might be a better name.
But SUD = Nubia. Although the modern-day state is called Sudan, this is not what historians call the state which existed prior to the Arab conquest.
2. We use the short form of a country's name where one exists.
Eg GEN = Genoa. We could write 'Republic of Genoa', but that's unnecessarily long. Note that this is different to the case of say 'Ottoman Empire', as there is no short form of this.
3. The plural of the name of a tribal group, family, caste, political group etc usually implies a disorganised collection of states, or a cobbled-together faction (usually in a civil war). Eg 'Royalists', or 'Khazaks'. Where this is not the case, we should try to use a country or region name.
Eg the state around the Lower Nile will be called Egypt. But if it disintegrates, the various factions might be called 'Mameluks', 'Fatimids' or whatever.
4. Generally, country names don't need the definite article, even if you'd use one in a sentence.
Eg KAL = Union of Kalmar, even though in a sentence you'd say "the Union of Kalmar was...'
5. We should avoid ambiguous country names which don't specify the country uniquely.
Eg 'Caliphate' is a bad name for a country if in fact two countries claim to be the Caliphate. But we can be more specific by saying 'Abbasid Caliphate'.
