Redrawing of the Arabian Peninsula (also new tags)

[FleetingRain]

Some months ago, a forum member posted a suggestion in the main forum about redrawing the Arabian provinces. It never caught on and they never re-made the thread in the Suggestions subforum, so I guess I'm carrying the torch now.

So let's start by taking a loot at the current map:

The most glaring issue is that Najd has a connection to the Persian Gulf. This should not happen, as there's a desert string that connects the Nefud and the Rub 'Al-Qhali deserts, the Ad-Dahna. The Rub's also slightly more to the south, and the Nefud is not represented in-game; instead, we have the Badiyat Ash Sham, or Syrian Steppe. Considering the Nefud was a lot more inhospitable for being an erg than the Syrian Steppe, I believe it should be the northern wasteland of choice. Urdnot_scott explains in his thread in a lot more articulate way than I would, but basically: it shouldn't be possible for an army to cross that province in this time period, specially not the big-ass armies we can build in the game.

Still, I'm going to quote them on this:

As others have pointed out, the lack of connection between inner Arabia and Bahrain/Oman is very deliberate for two main reasons.

1. The first is geographic. Coastal Eastern Arabia is seperated from the rest of the subcontinent by Saudi Arabia's 3 great deserts, the Rub' Al Khali in the south, the An Nefud in the north, and the long strip of burning sand which joins the two called the Ad-Dhana. Deserts come in a lot of shapes and sizes, not all of them are just scorching expanses of nothingness - most of the subcontinent is desert, yeah, but its the kind of desert with dirt, rock, grass, some water, trees - things needed for any sort of ecosystem. The 3 great deserts have none of those things, they're 'ergs'. Ergs are literally just sand. Nothing else. Its incredibly difficult for even a caravan to pass through them let alone an army! Portugal and Britain controlled the eastern coast throughout the time period but never managed to extend their influence into the interior - those 3 ergs is pretty much why. Additionally, a large mountain range (the Twaik range) separates Ahsaa from the rest of the peninsula. The combination of these ergs and the mountains make it pretttyy much impossible to cross the peninsula with a large force for most of the games period.

2. The second is for gameplay. Oman, Bahrain, Portugal and the UK all had bases along the east coast, they were powerful states which dwarfed the tiny tribes of the interior but didn't project their power inside, they looked outward. India, Persia and Africa all became targets for these big maritime empires and ingame that's what we should be pushing them towards. The Arabian coast is a great stop-off for anyone looking to colonise the East and controlling the Aden node is pretty useful for anyone trying to get their trade back to Europe. Therefore a colonial power, native or otherwise, can dominate Eastern Arabia without being politically involved with the interior at all. It makes it way harder to control the interior, right now whoever controls Iraq ends up pushing into Arabia and vassalizing everyone, or Ahsaa goes crazy and annexes half the peninsula - this makes no sense! The 2 colonisable provinces in the modern day UAE mean a colonial power like the UK or Portugal doesn't need to do a no-CB war against Oman or Yemen just to control the Aden node but can colonise the areas they historically did and not end up owning the whole peninsula. I for one don't want to see a huge Portuguese Arabia - this version limits the Europeans to little bases on the east coast just like in reality!

Were the passage to the Persian Gulf closed, we could have a proper Bedouin Thunderdome in inner Arabia, instead of the eastern tags getting into Najd and vice-versa for no reason at all. Meanwhile, the Persian Gulf would focus their attention to the Indian Ocean, along with any colonizers and trading empires passing by, as it was historically.

Then there's the issue of Najd and Shammar dominating the landscape. They weren't that big, there were many more tribes in Arabia. In fact, Najd itself didn't even exist; just look at their flag, at their dynasty; it's the First Saudi State, somehow alive in 1444. That's badly out of place. The same happens with Shammar, in which they use the flag of the Emirate of Shammar from the 1900s in 1444. Meanwhile, Haasa kind of gets a pass because that's the dynasty flag, but even then, their name is anachronistic.

And finally, something which has been in my mind for quite a while is a lack of connection between Iraq and Mecca. It used to exist as one of the main Hajj routes, the Dar Zubaydah (Way of Zubayda). While the Nefud is quite inhospitable, some outposts were still built along the way for pilgrims, so I guess we could give it a shot.

https://www.academia.edu/2651596/The_Syrian_and_Iraqi_Hajj_Routes
http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/547/1/uk_bl_ethos_502323.pdf
http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/6025/
https://www.jstor.org/stable/41223199?seq=10#page_scan_tab_contents
http://en.wikishia.net/view/Al-Tha'labiyya

Those maps aren't all the same, but they point out to the same thing: There was a route in Iraq (no shit Sherlock), it passed through Kufa/Najaf (Samawah province) and got to Mecca/Medina ~somehow~. I chose Ath'Tha'labiyah and Waqisah due to where they are in the map (so the "city" is more or less in the middle of the provinces), but other points in the route could work too. Zibala, however, would be another alternative (but then it would be too far south).


REDRAWING THE MAP

This is my proposal for a revamped Arabia:

Spoiler: Changes done

Badiyat Ash Sham is replaced by the Nefud, a slightly oval-shaped desert in the north of the Arabian Peninsula. The Badiyat was too big and was even inhabited; it's the Nefud who only had people/armies by its outskirts (in this case, Al-Jouf). So, the Nefud for wasteland it is then. It's crossed by two new provinces, Waqisah and Ath'Tha'labiyah. They're here due to the Iraqi Hajj route.

Ad-Dahna is also added to separate the Najd and Bahrain regions, as there should not be any big military operations between those tribes in this time period. Rub Al'Khali is also slightly redrawn, creeping over Yemen.

Hejaz is renamed to Mecca, as it was the proper name of the Sharifate (Hejaz was the name of the region and also of the Kingdom from the 1900s). Its provinces also change to a new Hejazi culture, to differentiate those people from the Bedouins from inner Arabia. It also loses Turubah and Jazan to other tags and gains a new province, Jabal Mahd.

Yemen is split in four: Aden (current Yemen), Rassids (Shia Theocracy), Kathiri (Sunni Tribal Fed) and Mahrah (Ibadi Tribal Fed). The lower half of Jazan goes to Aden.

Shammar is renamed to Al-Shammar and is nerfed to hell, becoming an OPM. To kind-of make up for it, however, Jabal Shammar's now a Highlands province, so as to be a bit more defensive than their desert brethren.

Haasa is renamed to Khalid (Banu Khalid, the ruling tribe) and gets a cooler color (because I can). They also lose Awal to Hormuz, which loses its core in Qatar.

Sharjah finally comes to life as an OPM in the Pirate Coast. Qawasim is renamed to Musandam. Meanwhile, the Yas tribe comes to life in the lands connecting Khalid to Oman, with their capital in Liwa.

Oman gets a couple new provinces, while losing Qawasim and the south. Gurrah (Sunni Tribal Fed) is then born in the Dhofar area.

Najd is replaced by Hanifa, a new tag, in the heart of the Nejd. Unaizah is split in two (Unaizah and Buraydah), with the new Subay getting both. Turubah and Al'Khurma are given to the new Utaybah. The new Shahran get Asir and the upper half of Jazan (Kunfuda/Al'Qunfudhah). And finally, the new Al-Fadl are the northenmost Bedouins (Taima and Al-Jouf), neighbouring the Mamluks. However, as historically the tribe had been the main force in central/northeastern Syria, Mamluks are friendly to them (is there a modifier that works as Historical Friends but without incentivizing the AI to offer/accept alliances? it would be perfect here, you see).

Overall, the Bedouin provinces get a slight development boost so they have 5-11 development (yes, Al-Shammar is the 5 one).

What do these changes bring? First, a more historical approach, as aforementioned. The old setup was relatively poor with only two gigantic Nejdi tribes being able to attack the Persian Gulf ones. This suggested setup turns the multiple independent tags against each other, while the deathclock of Hejaz's annexation by the Mamluks draws ever closer. The Gulf nations are also left to mind their own businesses, focusing on piracy and trade and kicking each other in the rear and not dying to the colonizers. And second, should one unify the peninsula, the Ad-Dahna wasteland adds even more defensiveness to a (much needed imo) area, in that the whole peninsula cannot be easily conquered like before due to fort rules. It also makes the Ottomans' name look quite cool after they paint the Nefud wasteland (priorities).

With this map laid out, I shall go over the details.


The Nefud

Spoiler: Province details

Name: Nefud
Special Name: Al'Nefud
Capital: -
Development: -
Culture: -
Religion: -
Terrain: -
Climate: Wasteland
Modifiers: -
Trade good: -
Position: { 3448.000 1152.000 3458.000 1146.000 3448.000 1152.000 3453.000 1157.000 3448.000 1152.000 3438.000 1158.000 3448.000 1152.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Base Name: Al-Jouf
Special Name: Al'Jouf
Capital: Sakakah
Development: 1/1/1
Culture: Bedouin
Religion: Sunni
Terrain: Desert
Climate: Arid
Modifiers: Inhospitable Erg
Trade good: Grain
Position: { 3423.000 1144.000 3404.000 1152.000 3611.000 1030.000 3617.000 1039.500 3611.000 1030.000 3416.000 1153.000 3611.000 1030.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 3.403 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Taima
Special Name: -
Capital: Tayma
Development: 2/2/1
Culture: Bedouin
Religion: Sunni
Terrain: Desert
Climate: Arid
Modifiers: Inland Center of Trade
Trade good: Salt
Position: { 3411.000 1114.000 3415.000 1106.000 3407.000 1102.000 3412.000 1107.000 3407.000 1102.000 3406.000 1122.000 3407.000 1102.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Jabal Shammar
Special Name: -
Capital: Ha'il
Development: 2/1/2
Culture: Bedouin
Religion: Sunni
Terrain: Highlands
Climate: Arid
Modifiers: -
Trade good: Grain
Position: { 3458.000 1099.000 3464.000 1087.000 3477.000 1096.000 3482.000 1101.000 3477.000 1096.000 3466.000 1088.000 0.000 0.000 }
Rotation: { 0.785 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Ath-Thalabiyah
Special Name: Ath'Tha'labiyah
Capital: Ath'Tha'labiyah
Development: 1/1/1
Culture: Bedouin
Religion: Sunni
Terrain: Desert
Climate: Arid
Modifiers: Inhospitable Erg
Trade good: Unknown (10 Size, 9 Ferocity, 9 Hostileness)
Position: { 3478.000 1114.000 3476.000 1109.000 3516.000 1100.000 3521.000 1105.000 3516.000 1100.000 3478.000 1122.000 3516.000 1100.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Waqisah
Special Name: -
Capital: Waqisah
Development: 1/1/1
Culture: Bedouin
Religion: Sunni
Terrain: Desert
Climate: Arid
Modifiers: Inhospitable Erg
Trade good: Unknown (10 Size, 9 Ferocity, 9 Hostileness)
Position: { 3497.000 1152.000 3496.000 1148.000 3496.000 1145.000 3501.000 1150.000 3496.000 1145.000 3500.000 1142.000 3496.000 1145.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Unaizah
Special Name: -
Capital: Unayzah
Development: 2/1/2
Culture: Bedouin
Religion: Sunni
Terrain: Desert
Climate: Arid
Modifiers: -
Trade good: Wool
Position: { 3494.000 1077.000 3484.000 1082.000 3488.000 1049.000 3493.000 1054.000 3488.000 1049.000 3481.000 1076.000 3488.000 1049.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Burayda
Special Name: Buraydah
Capital: Buraydeh
Development: 1/1/1
Culture: Bedouin
Religion: Sunni
Terrain: Desert
Climate: Arid
Modifiers: -
Trade good: Wool
Position: { 3484.000 1061.000 3481.000 1051.000 3471.000 1057.000 3476.000 1062.000 3471.000 1057.000 3474.000 1057.000 3471.000 1057.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Spoiler: Comments

As said, the Nefud is an erg. Therefore, it's a harsh desert to even cross, even more so to live in. So it's an wasteland. HOWEVER, some outskirts were barely inhabitable, and historically there had been a pilgrimage route from Baghdad to Mecca, crossing it. This is why I added those three provinces in what would otherwise be Nefud territory: they aren't "neighbouring" a wasteland, they aren't a "safe passage" between two wastelands; they were carved out of an wasteland, and are still relatively harsh places to live in or even cross nowadays.

So this is why I propose a special modifier to them, which will act as a "semi-wasteland" modifier: the "Inhospitable Erg" modifier.

Yikes. Yeah. These provinces are utter shit: you cannot decently cross, you take attrition like a madman, not even a fort lasts long, hell you can't even try to develop it out of a cesspool. But still, the forts exist. The provinces can be walked into. Your armies can bait enemies into them. They are just not the best places to put your bets on. This makes those provinces have a prohibitive cost to cross, which is 100% intended. Maybe we could even make those modifiers harsher lol. And no, there's no way to make the modifiers disappear in this time period, unless you know something the Saudis do not in the present day.

Note that, while Inhospitable Erg is flavored for the Nefud-related provinces, this could be applied to other provinces "carved out" of wastelands; that Snake River area in the Rockies comes to mind. Maybe even Bhutan. Or Manaus. Dunno. Of course the names/tooltips would have to be changed so there would need to be multiple "clone" modifiers, but we already do that with the "X River Estuary" ones so there's precedent. The rule of thumb is: if the province is a safe haven crossing/between wastelands, then it doesn't deserve this modifier. If it's a shitplace only slightly better than the surrounding wastes, one that peoples and armies would only really cross as a last resort, then yeah maybe the modifier is a good idea.

The Zubaydah area provinces would start out empty, for obvious reasons. To get them occupied, you need to either 1) get a colonist yourself, or 2) be Muslim, neighbour either province and then a) be a Levantine Empire with its capital in Tabuk, Najd, Basra, Bahrain, Iraq Arabi or Al Jazira areas, b) be Mecca or c) be Najd. In 1), you'll colonize as usual (but maybe the native events could have different flavor texts...). In 2), you'll get an event about reclaiming and restablishing the Darb Zubaydah caravan route.

Hejaz/Mecca and Nejd area

Spoiler: Province details

Name: Tabuk
Special Name: -
Capital: Tabuk
Development: 2/2/1
Culture: Hejazi
Religion: Sunni
Terrain: Mountains
Climate: Arid
Modifiers: -
Trade good: Wool
Position: { 3379.000 1110.000 3384.650 1093.398 3387.000 1098.000 3373.402 1079.337 3382.500 1072.500 3386.000 1085.000 0.000 0.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.960 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Yanbu
Special Name: Yanbu' al-Bahr
Capital: Yanbu
Development: 1/1/1
Culture: Hejazi
Religion: Sunni
Terrain: Coastal Desert
Climate: Arid
Modifiers: -
Trade good: Wool
Position: { 3400.000 1044.000 3417.000 1033.000 3412.000 1038.000 3407.500 1032.000 3412.000 1038.000 3421.000 1029.000 3412.000 1038.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 1.134 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Medina
Special Name: Madinah
Capital: Madinah
Development: 3/3/2
Culture: Hejazi
Religion: Sunni
Terrain: Desert
Climate: Arid
Modifiers: -
Trade good: Cloth
Position: { 3423.000 1050.000 3425.000 1059.000 3428.000 1046.000 3428.000 1058.000 3424.500 1019.500 3426.000 1063.000 0.000 0.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 1.047 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Jabal Mahd
Special Name: -
Capital: Mahd Adh Dhahab
Development: 1/1/1
Culture: Hejazi
Religion: Sunni
Terrain: Mountains
Climate: Arid
Modifiers: -
Trade good: Wool
Position: { 3441.000 1024.000 3446.000 1020.000 3436.000 1028.000 3604.000 985.000 3436.000 1028.000 3433.000 1030.000 3436.000 1028.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Turubah
Special Name: -
Capital: Turubah
Development: 2/2/1
Culture: Bedouin
Religion: Sunni
Terrain: Mountains
Climate: Arid
Modifiers: -
Trade good: Wool
Position: { 3462.000 1005.000 3451.000 1012.000 3466.000 993.000 3471.000 998.000 3466.000 993.000 3458.000 1002.000 3466.000 993.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Mecca
Special Name: Makkah
Capital: Makkah
Development: 4/4/4
Culture: Hejazi
Religion: Sunni
Terrain: Mountains
Climate: Arid
Modifiers: Inland Center of Trade, Religious Center
Trade good: Spices
Position: { 3439.000 996.000 3439.000 1002.000 3455.000 990.000 3445.000 1000.000 3435.000 1003.000 3440.000 1000.000 0.000 0.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.436 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Jeddah
Special Name: -
Capital: Jiddah
Development: 2/2/2
Culture: Hejazi
Religion: Sunni
Terrain: Coastal Desert
Climate: Arid
Modifiers: -
Trade good: Spices
Position: { 3419.000 999.000 3440.000 980.000 3438.000 979.000 3433.000 975.500 3438.000 979.000 3442.000 981.000 3438.000 979.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.785 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Khurma
Special Name: Al'Khurma
Capital: Ranyah
Development: 1/1/1
Culture: Bedouin
Religion: Sunni
Terrain: Desert
Climate: Arid
Modifiers: -
Trade good: Wool
Position: { 3469.000 1026.000 3460.000 1030.000 3451.000 1032.000 3456.000 1037.000 3451.000 1032.000 3467.000 1032.000 3451.000 1032.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Asir
Special Name: -
Capital: Bishah
Development: 1/1/1
Culture: Bedouin
Religion: Sunni
Terrain: Mountains
Climate: Arid
Modifiers: -
Trade good: Coffee
Position: { 3474.000 970.000 3487.000 958.000 3484.000 941.000 3488.000 952.000 3484.000 922.500 3484.000 960.000 0.000 0.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 1.571 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Kunfuda
Special Name: Al'Qunfudhah
Capital: Al'Qunfudhah
Development: 2/2/1
Culture: Bedouin
Religion: Sunni
Terrain: Coastal Desert
Climate: Arid
Modifiers: -
Trade good: Fish
Position: { 3456.000 948.000 3463.000 945.000 3460.000 949.000 3451.000 949.000 3460.000 949.000 3450.000 955.000 3460.000 949.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.785 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Al-Arid
Special Name: Al'Arid
Capital: Diriyah
Development: 1/1/1
Culture: Bedouin
Religion: Sunni
Terrain: Desert
Climate: Arid
Modifiers: -
Trade good: Wool
Position: { 3536.000 1051.000 3541.000 1063.000 3525.000 1002.000 3530.000 1007.000 3525.000 1002.000 3537.000 1066.000 0.000 0.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Al-Aflaj
Special Name: Al'Aflaj
Capital: Layla
Development: 1/1/1
Culture: Bedouin
Religion: Sunni
Terrain: Desert
Climate: Arid
Modifiers: -
Trade good: Wool
Position: { 3523.436 1011.774 3526.000 1025.000 3523.000 1025.000 3528.000 1030.000 3523.000 1025.000 3525.000 1026.000 3523.000 1025.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: As-Sulayyil
Special Name: As'Sulayyil
Capital: Wadi Al-Dawasir
Development: 1/1/1
Culture: Bedouin
Religion: Sunni
Terrain: Desert
Climate: Arid
Modifiers: -
Trade good: Wool
Position: { 3513.000 977.000 3501.000 988.000 3500.000 988.000 3505.000 993.000 3500.000 988.000 3500.000 989.000 3500.000 988.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Spoiler: Comments

Hejaz/Mecca is still a vassal, and now has new neighbours to pay mind to. Subay, Utaybah, Shahran and Hanifa will have to find a way to either eat each other or stand strong as allies, specially once Mamluks/Ottomans come from the north.

Najd then becomes a formable tag. To form it, one needs to be Tribal; Sunni; Bedouin culture; have ADM tech 10; have capital in Najd area; and be the last Sunni Bedouin still independent. Forming Najd gives Nejdi NIs; permanent claims on Najd, Sarat and Tabuk areas; permanent claims on Mecca and Medina; raises the country to Kingdom rank; and turns the nation into an Iqta. This means that, at game start, the most likely candidates to form it are Subay, Utaybah and Hanifa; Shahran, Al-Fadl and Al-Shammar would need to move their capital; and Yas, Sharjah and Khalid would need to move capitals and change religion.

Meanwhile, Mecca is ruled in the history files by the Hawashim dynasty, but this is incorrect. While all (from what I gather) of the sharifs were hashemites, they weren't all Hawashim; in fact, the Hawashim dynasty had been toppled by the Banu Qatada somewhere by 1200. So, the ruling dynasty of Hejaz should not be Hawashim, but Banu Qatada or even better, Qatadid.

Considering the Sharifate's powerbase and reason to exist are the Holy Cities, there could be consequences to losing them: 1) whenever Mecca/Medina is conquered but Hejaz still exists, it offers itself as a subject for the conqueror, in exchange of getting the province back. If need be, they may even get rid of all non-Hejazi-cultured provinces under their rule as sovereign nations or whatever; and 2) if Hejaz is fully conquered, it's offered to the Mecca/Medina owner to release Hejaz as a subject, which would then take both holy provinces back even if they don't have their Hejaz cores anymore (if they have different owners, then only Mecca is released). Denying the request in both cases would give a massive revolt risk in every Hejazi-cultured province, Mecca, and Medina; an opinion malus with muslim nations; and also give a diprep malus if the refuser is muslim.

I also wonder if Mecca shouldn't be an "un-annexable" vassal (is this even possible right now? Man, Hejaz being a Tributary would be perfect, can't we open an exception?), responsible to protect the pilgrimage of muslims to the holy lands, possibly even tied to their government (currently a Tribal Monarchy but could become a new Sharifate one). I think it doesn't have much place to be as of now (specially because of how the AI would handle it), but if we ever get Hajj added as a Muslim mechanic, then the idea's there. What could be done at the moment is an LD modifier for them; something like 50% or 75% LD so that Mamluks don't have any business integrating it. Unfortunately Hejaz would then ask for help from the Ottomans, which makes zero sense.

There's also a VERY weird thing with Mecca: their fifth NI, Cradle of Gold. First, it's an idea about a gold mine that gives... +10% tax modifier. Should be -0.1 Inflation Reduction but ok, cool. But why don't they have a Gold province in the game??? I even added it in the map (Jabal Mahd) when I realized Yanbu 'Al-Bahr was too big and wondered about putting Gold there, but then there's the second issue: do we have any historical proof the mine was being worked? I really wish to know this. Every source I found said it worked during the Ayyubid Caliphate (so until 1260) and then work resumed in 1937 or so. Nothing about 1444-1821. If it really did work then great, put Gold in Jabal Mahd, or make an event to change the province good after some time, but unless we have proof of this, then we need to remove this NI lol. Not sure what should replace it though, but I'll have an idea anytime soon and update the second post.

And finally, I'd change the Custodian of the Two Holy Cities triggered modifier to only work for free/trib tags, and if they or their subjects have Mecca and Medina. So it's Mamluks who would have the modifier in 1444 instead of Hejaz. There could also be a triggered modifier to Mecca if they lose either or both cities, which would be a reverse Custodian (so negative prestige etc).

Yemen

Spoiler: Province details

Name: Jazan
Special Name: -
Capital: Jazan
Development: 1/1/1
Culture: Yemeni
Religion: Sunni
Terrain: Mountains
Climate: Temperate
Modifiers: -
Trade good: Fish
Position: { 3473.000 921.000 3472.000 933.000 3470.000 932.000 3467.500 924.500 3470.000 932.000 3470.000 934.000 3470.000 932.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.873 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Mokha
Special Name: Mukha
Capital: Al'Mukha
Development: 3/3/2
Culture: Yemeni
Religion: Sunni
Terrain: Mountains
Climate: Temperate
Modifiers: -
Trade good: Coffee
Position: { 3484.000 864.000 3486.000 880.000 3487.000 884.000 3477.000 880.000 3487.000 884.000 3493.000 864.000 0.000 0.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 1.309 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Aden
Special Name: Adan
Capital: Adan
Development: 2/2/2
Culture: Yemeni
Religion: Sunni
Terrain: Mountains
Climate: Temperate
Modifiers: Coastal Center of Trade
Trade good: Spices
Position: { 3506.000 858.000 3523.000 872.000 3513.000 870.000 3521.000 863.500 3513.000 870.000 3523.000 872.000 0.000 0.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 -0.523 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Sana'a
Special Name: San'a'
Capital: San'a'
Development: 3/2/2
Culture: Yemeni
Religion: Shia
Terrain: Mountains
Climate: Arid
Modifiers: -
Trade good: Wool
Position: { 3496.000 895.000 3503.000 887.000 3515.000 901.000 3503.000 885.000 3515.000 901.000 3505.000 881.000 0.000 0.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Najran
Special Name: -
Capital: Najran
Development: 2/1/1
Culture: Yemeni
Religion: Shia
Terrain: Mountains
Climate: Arid
Modifiers: -
Trade good: Coffee
Position: { 3495.000 930.000 3497.000 925.000 3547.000 927.000 3552.000 932.000 3520.000 905.500 3499.000 925.000 0.000 0.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Tarim
Special Name: -
Capital: Say'un
Development: 3/1/2
Culture: Yemeni
Religion: Sunni
Terrain: Desert
Climate: Arid
Modifiers: -
Trade good: Wool
Position: { 3568.000 909.000 3569.000 914.000 3571.000 911.000 3580.000 911.000 3571.000 911.000 3568.000 913.000 3571.000 911.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Mukalla
Special Name: Al'Mukalla
Capital: Al'Mukalla
Development: 2/2/1
Culture: Yemeni
Religion: Sunni
Terrain: Coastal Desert
Climate: Temperate
Modifiers: -
Trade good: Sugar
Position: { 3571.000 886.000 3576.000 889.000 3572.000 897.000 3573.000 882.000 3549.000 876.500 3564.000 890.000 0.000 0.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 -0.785 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Ghayda
Special Name: Al'Ghayda
Capital: Qishn
Development: 2/1/2
Culture: South Arabian
Religion: Ibadi
Terrain: Coastal Desert
Climate: Temperate
Modifiers: -
Trade good: Fish
Position: { 3616.000 905.000 3610.000 918.000 3638.000 930.000 3614.000 898.000 3665.000 901.500 3605.000 907.000 0.000 0.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 -0.436 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Socotra
Special Name: Suqutra
Capital: Suqutra
Development: 2/2/1
Culture: South Arabian
Religion: Coptic
Terrain: Desert
Climate: Temperate
Modifiers: -
Trade good: Fish
Position: { 3643.000 849.000 3647.000 850.000 3646.000 843.000 3648.500 852.500 3643.000 849.000 3647.000 850.000 0.000 0.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 2.705 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Dhofar
Special Name: Zufar
Capital: Salalah
Development: 2/2/2
Culture: South Arabian
Religion: Sunni
Terrain: Coastal Desert
Climate: Temperate
Modifiers: -
Trade good: Spices
Position: { 3650.000 924.000 3646.000 932.000 3686.000 961.000 3657.000 923.000 3718.000 942.500 3644.000 934.000 0.000 0.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 -0.087 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Wusta
Special Name: -
Capital: Haima
Development: 1/1/1
Culture: South Arabian
Religion: Sunni
Terrain: Coastal Desert
Climate: Arid
Modifiers: -
Trade good: Spices
Position: { 3684.000 950.000 3678.000 958.000 3678.000 958.000 3690.500 950.000 3678.000 958.000 3675.000 959.000 3678.000 958.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 -0.785 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Rub' al Khali
Special Name: -
Capital: -
Development: -
Culture: -
Religion: -
Terrain:
Climate: Wasteland
Modifiers: -
Trade good: -
Position: { 3612.000 988.000 3619.000 984.000 3612.000 988.000 3606.000 1007.000 3612.000 988.000 3595.000 961.500 0.000 0.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Spoiler: Comments

Yemen becomes a formable tag (YEM I guess). To form it, one needs to own and core Sana'a, Aden and Mukalla; have ADM tech 10; and be independent. Forming Yemen gives Yemeni NIs; permanent claims on Sarat, Yemen and Hadramut areas; raises the country to Kingdom rank; and turns Tribes into Iqtas. Maybe it could be made a bit harder, such as needing zero nationalism in the provinces (considering how heated this region was, I wholeheartedly support this lol), or not to be a tribe. Not too hot on suggesting either right now though, I don't think there's any precedent for the former and the latter is just a kick in the balls to Mahrah/Kathiri.

The ADE tag becomes Aden, holding three coastal provinces. Rassids are encroached in a mountainous region, also holding one of the three forts in Arabia, with the others being in Masqat and Tabuk.

Mahrah is an interesting case. First, they have Suqutra, which could let them become Coptic should the player want to. I wonder if adding a province modifier to give national +1 Tolerance of Heathens wouldn't be far-fetched. I know they got converted in the end, but this was only after Portugal was expelled from the island... Anyway, there's also them being Ibadi. This looks unorthodox, but I found *one* secondary source about it:

Ibn Khaldun (Mukhtasar, 132, 11. 12 ff.), however, rightly remarks that, so far as religious confession is concerned, the Mahra are Kharidjis, in fact Ibadis (q.vv.).

Yeah, that's literally it. Google offers nothing new, I can't read Arabic to check the primary source and god knows I looked for any other book having anything about this. But hey, this Ibn Khaldun guy seems he was way smarter than me, so I gotta trust him, right? So yeah. Oman got a new Ibadi friend. I'm satisfied.

The Rassids are a Theocracy, but I modified the Theocracy Heir events so that the Rassids AI will always choose a local theologian, and such heir will be of the Rassidi dynasty. I wish we could determine fixed dynasties by tags, not by governments, but as long as it's not possible, this will have to work.

One idea I have, however, is to add a new government, the Imamate. Whenever I read about Oman and Rassids, I got that they were more of a theocratic government than anything; same with Ajuuraan in most sources (I say "most" because some called them a sultanate/monarchy), and the Fulo jihadi states in West Africa. The Imamate would then be the government Muslims change to by the Adopt Theocratic Administration decision. The biggest difference would be that they'd have fixed dynasties (and therefore the heir events would have to be changed to accomodate the Imamate); they could also possibly give different bonuses, such as tax modifier or unrest. All in all, it's not meant to be anything out of the ordinary, but still minimally relevant outside of flavor to have them around.

I don't have much to talk about the other two. Kathiri has three routes of expansion and Gurrah has to plot Oman's fall before they get too uppity.

Also, Aden's name placement is terrible lol. I'm not going to reduce San'a''s size though, so tough luck.

Persian Gulf

Spoiler: Province details

Name: Ad-Dahna
Special Name: -
Capital: -
Development: -
Culture: -
Religion: -
Terrain: -
Climate: Wasteland
Modifiers: -
Trade good: -
Position: { 3563.000 1062.000 3563.000 1063.000 3568.000 1033.000 3573.000 1038.000 3568.000 1033.000 3566.000 1059.000 3568.000 1033.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Qatif
Special Name: Al'Qatif
Capital: Al'Qatif
Development: 1/1/1
Culture: Bedouin
Religion: Shia
Terrain: Coastal Desert
Climate: Arid
Modifiers: -
Trade good: Fish
Position: { 3585.000 1084.000 3564.000 1094.000 3549.000 1081.000 3572.000 1100.500 3549.000 1081.000 3565.000 1091.000 0.000 0.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 3.403 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Ahsa
Special Name: Al'Ahsa
Capital: Al'Hufuf
Development: 1/1/1
Culture: Bedouin
Religion: Shia
Terrain: Coastal Desert
Climate: Arid
Modifiers: -
Trade good: Wool
Position: { 3581.000 1062.000 3575.000 1065.000 3575.000 1064.000 3589.000 1068.000 3575.000 1064.000 3576.000 1065.000 3575.000 1064.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 -2.007 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Qatar
Special Name: -
Capital: Qatar
Development: 2/2/1
Culture: Bedouin
Religion: Shia
Terrain: Coastal Desert
Climate: Temperate
Modifiers: -
Trade good: Wool
Position: { 3608.000 1060.000 3603.000 1060.000 3598.000 1058.000 3611.500 1058.000 3598.000 1058.000 3601.000 1048.000 0.000 0.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 4.712 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Bahrein
Special Name: Al'Awal
Capital: Manama
Development: 1/1/2
Culture: Bedouin
Religion: Shia
Terrain: Coastal Desert
Climate: Temperate
Modifiers: Coastal Center of Trade
Trade good: Fish
Position: { 3596.000 1072.000 3594.500 1076.500 3606.500 1077.000 3596.500 1078.500 3594.000 1074.000 3595.000 1075.000 0.000 0.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.087 4.363 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Ghayathi
Special Name: -
Capital: Ghayathi
Development: 1/1/1
Culture: Bedouin
Religion: Shia
Terrain: Coastal Desert
Climate: Arid
Modifiers: -
Trade good: Wool
Position: { 3623.000 1033.000 3615.000 1036.000 3623.000 1036.000 3628.000 1041.000 3623.000 1036.000 3627.000 1036.000 3623.000 1036.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Al-Ain
Special Name: Al'Ain
Capital: Al'Ain
Development: 1/1/1
Culture: Bedouin
Religion: Shia
Terrain: Coastal Desert
Climate: Arid
Modifiers: -
Trade good: Wool
Position: { 3667.000 1037.000 3659.000 1036.000 3636.000 1038.000 3650.000 1042.000 3636.000 1038.000 3652.000 1037.000 0.000 0.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 1.919 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Liwa
Special Name: -
Capital: Liwa
Development: 2/1/1
Culture: Bedouin
Religion: Shia
Terrain: Desert
Climate: Arid
Modifiers: -
Trade good: Wool
Position: { 3646.000 1023.000 3636.000 1021.000 3636.000 1027.000 3642.000 1029.000 3636.000 1027.000 3655.500 1024.000 0.000 0.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Musandam
Special Name: -
Capital: Musandam
Development: 2/2/1
Culture: Bedouin
Religion: Shia
Terrain: Coastal Desert
Climate: Temperate
Modifiers: -
Trade good: Wool
Position: { 3670.000 1059.000 3678.000 1057.000 3676.000 1058.000 3670.000 1062.500 3676.000 1058.000 3675.500 1059.000 0.000 0.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 2.356 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Hormuz
Special Name: -
Capital: Hormuz
Development: 3/3/1
Culture: Bedouin
Religion: Sunni
Terrain: Drylands
Climate: Temperate
Modifiers: Coastal Center of Trade
Trade good: Fish
Position: { 3684.000 1086.000 3682.000 1086.000 3677.000 1086.000 3685.000 1084.000 3677.000 1086.000 3680.000 1084.000 3677.000 1086.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Suhar
Special Name: -
Capital: Suhar
Development: 3/3/1
Culture: Omani
Religion: Ibadi
Terrain: Coastal Desert
Climate: Temperate
Modifiers: -
Trade good: Wool
Position: { 3690.000 1043.000 3687.000 1037.000 3689.000 1035.000 3694.000 1042.000 3689.000 1035.000 3688.000 1042.000 0.000 0.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 3.927 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Muscat
Special Name: Masqat
Capital: Masqat
Development: 3/3/1
Culture: Omani
Religion: Ibadi
Terrain: Coastal Desert
Climate: Temperate
Modifiers: Coastal Center of Trade
Trade good: Spices
Position: { 3719.000 1030.000 3719.000 1026.000 3717.000 1008.000 3724.500 1029.500 3717.000 1008.000 3716.000 1027.000 0.000 0.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 -2.356 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Sur
Special Name: -
Capital: Sur
Development: 2/2/1
Culture: Omani
Religion: Ibadi
Terrain: Coastal Desert
Climate: Temperate
Modifiers: Coastal Center of Trade
Trade good: Spices
Position: { 3734.000 1009.000 3742.000 1008.000 3732.000 1014.000 3733.000 1017.000 3732.000 1014.000 3722.000 1020.000 3732.000 1014.000 }
Rotation: { 0.785 0.000 0.000 -2.356 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Al-Dhahirah
Special Name: Al'Zahirah
Capital: Ibri
Development: 1/1/3
Culture: Omani
Religion: Ibadi
Terrain: Desert
Climate: Arid
Modifiers: -
Trade good: Copper
Position: { 3679.000 1029.000 3684.000 1020.000 3707.000 992.000 3722.500 988.000 3707.000 992.000 3674.000 1030.000 3707.000 992.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 -0.960 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Nizwa
Special Name: Al'Dahiliyah
Capital: Nizwa
Development: 1/1/3
Culture: Omani
Religion: Ibadi
Terrain: Desert
Climate: Arid
Modifiers: -
Trade good: Wool
Position: { 3702.000 1025.000 3702.000 1020.000 3681.000 1005.000 3686.000 1010.000 3681.000 1005.000 3706.000 1012.000 0.000 0.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Ash-Sharqiyah
Special Name: Ash'Sharqiyah
Capital: Ibra
Development: 2/2/1
Culture: Omani
Religion: Ibadi
Terrain: Coastal Desert
Climate: Arid
Modifiers: -
Trade good: Wool
Position: { 3721.000 1015.000 3721.000 1009.000 3528.000 932.000 3718.000 979.000 3528.000 932.000 3723.000 999.000 3528.000 932.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 -0.785 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Name: Khaluf
Special Name: Al'Khaluf
Capital: Al'Khaluf
Development: 1/1/1
Culture: Omani
Religion: Ibadi
Terrain: Coastal Desert
Climate: Arid
Modifiers: -
Trade good: Fish
Position: { 3707.000 985.000 3707.000 977.000 3697.000 983.000 3712.000 982.000 3697.000 983.000 3698.000 984.000 3697.000 983.000 }
Rotation: { 0.000 0.000 0.000 -0.785 0.000 0.000 0.000 }

Spoiler: Comments

Oman got a few provinces in the coast so that there's a proper hinterland for them. Al'Zahirah and Al'Dahiliyah start with the Ulema, so as to represent imam control over the hinterlands; this puts them at 60% influence (20% base + 40% from provinces which seems to be the max, boring). Oman has four DHEs, which could see an update.

Conflict with Portugal (flavor_oma.2) should fire starting by 1500, and option A ("we will fight them") should give a stronger Agressive Trade modifier for Oman (from 15 to 25, and maybe for 25 years instead of 10) so as to make the trade-off better. Also, in my opinion the event should fire if Portugal has at least 10-20% trade power or something in Gulf of Aden (or Hormuz), instead of having to be the leader there.

Protecting the Indian Trade (flavor_oma.3) should give Portugal claims not only in Suhar, but also in Muscat and Sur. Alternatively, it could be an event chain that starts giving claims on Suhar, then you get the province and another event (or the same one but repeated) gives claims on Muscat, then you get the province and a third one gives on Sur.

The Shipbuilders of Sur (flavor_oma.4) should give... like, anything else? I'd go with a -15% Shipbuilding Time in Sur, but if that's too much (nah) then give Sur +1 production. Or just give Oman itself a -15% Shipbuilding Time to combo with their NIs for a great -25% modifier.

And finally, Struggle of Power (flavor_oma.1) could be revamped. Currently, it has a MTTH of 240 months and is repeatable, with Oman being able to choose between +30 piety and -20 Legitimacy, or -30 Piety and +20 Legitimacy. This is obviously an ancient event which didn't even account for Estates lol. My suggestion is that the event should also fire every time a new monarch/republican rises to power in Ibadi Oman, and only if the Ulema has at least 50 influence (without Cossacks, just ignore this restriction).

Option A gives +30 piety, +20% Ulema influence, -20 Legitimacy and -10 RT; option B gives -30 piety, -20% Ulema influence, +20 Legitimacy and +10 RT, and fires a size 1-2 revolt (Zealots) in every Ulema province. If Oman lost Muscat (to anyone) or Ulema has at least 70% influence, neither option appears. Instead, option C lets the Ulema take over, changing the government to Theocracy/Imamate and firing a 2 size revolt in the capital (Noble Rebels); and option D has the ruler deny the Ulema, getting -50 Piety and -40% Ulema influence, and firing a size 2 revolt in every Ulema province (without Cossacks, taking D means not having the event happen anymore). This change would make it a bit more historical, letting the country become an imamate after the loss of the coast to Portugal.

Having Portugal more likely to appear in Omani lands may mean a more lively relationship with Persia, Hormuz, Khalid etc. If this happens, great, but if doesn't then maybe Hormuz/Sharjah could have more events related to it. I don't think it's really necessary as of now, though. Meanwhile, Yas (I wish I had a better name for them), from what I've read, didn't really focus much on piracy until later on, unlike other tribes "settled" closer to the coast. This didn't stop them from pearling, however, which was also important for Sharjah and Khalid economies. So this is else to bear in mind for flavor (and I probably will in the NIs). Changing all those coastal provinces from Wool to Fish could work, but I'll refrain from suggesting it for now.

Also, Sharjah is an OPM in 1444 but that province could also be given to Oman, turning Sharjah into a dead tag. But I'm all for having a sort-of balance in Arabia, so removing Sharjah would make things rather ugly.

Finally, the Ad-Dahna... As Urdnot_scott said in the quote posted above, having such wasteland is both a historical necessity and a gameplay choice. In my research I did find mentions to armies crossing "the Ad-Dahna", but only one of them specified both the size of the army (300 people lol) and that it crossed specifically the path covered by the province. Everything else, from caravans to hinterland control to armies to whatever, either went by other places which were also called Ad-Dahna, had diminute/unnumbered groups of people crossing it or were just passing mentions. I even wondered if I should add a province with the Inhospitable Erg modifier, but gave up on it because the province would then become a chokepoint, and I really don't want to have a fort in the middle of an erg restricting movement in Al'Arid/Qatif/Hufuf, it sounds totally nonsensical. So yeah. If you wanna attack Bahrain, you gotta invade Iraq first.

Trade Nodes

Spoiler: Mapmode

Spoiler: Comments

The Alexandria node looked abnormally big and overextended to me in this revamp, so I added a new node: Mecca, with Mecca and Tayma as CoTs; it's a starting node, flowing to Alexandria, Gulf of Aden and Aleppo.

Realizing Mecca would be the third starting node in the vicinity, I decided to change Ethiopia a bit: while they're still a starting node, they also now connect to the Gulf of Aden too. This makes the Gulf even richer, but this is honestly historical (also to hell with Mamluks hoarding all the Ethiopian goodies).

Considering Basra lost provinces in this suggestion, I made Awal a CoT to make up for it. This also has historical relevance, considering the strategical positioning of the island.

Finally, Sur is a second CoT in Omani lands. Yes, they're filthy rich.

Also, maybe Mokha could be another Coastal Center of Trade. Maybe. Is there a limit for CoTs in a node?

Development

Spoiler: Mapmode

Spoiler: Comments

Top-tier Paint skills.

Sharjah and Al-Shammar are the only OPMs; however, Musandam's a Temperate province and Jabal Shammar's a Highlands one, so they have a slight advantage. The other Bedouins have 10-11 development on the east and 8-9 in the west. Yemeni tags have 8-17 development, Gurrah has 9, and Oman and Mecca stand at 37 dev.

The richest tag is Oman, with +1.51 du/mo, followed by Hormuz and then Aden. Almost everyone else is juuuust slightly breaking even or in debt (mostly because of useless boats), and then we have Rassids at -0.37 du/mo and Mecca at -0.57 du/mo due to their forts (and Mecca has to pay Mamluks). Except for Mecca (guys, build some tradeboats pls), everyone else's economy is WAD. They oughtta risk themselves by attacking each other or should just stay at mediocrity forever, not bankrupting but not attaining greatness either. Maybe, just maybe Mecca could get a bit more development to get out of debt, or maybe lose their fort in Tabuk. This is why I want to know if Mahd adh Dhahab was working at game start, because it would boost Mecca's economy up to ~0.3 du/mo.

Minor comments

Spoiler

Unfortunately, I could not find all the flags necessary for the tags. In the end I had to use the Arab Revolt Emirates flags for Asir, Hanifa (First Saudi State, the one Najd uses in vanilla), Al-Shammar (Emirate), Najd (Sultanate), Yemen (Sultanate of Lahej) and Rassids (North Yemen), which is something I do not like. The Utaybah got a single-color flag I found somewhere on the internet months ago that was allegedly related to them, which is something I also hate doing. Thankfully, I got to know about Oman's national emblem which looks cool as hell superimposed on the in-game flag's red background. Using national emblems and coats of arms *might* work for the others, but first we'd need to find them; I could only find the Saudis' and Oman's.

About that weird supply limit in Al-Jouf and Inhospitable Erg giving -1.5 Supply Limit: I wanted to give it a -10 modifier, wondering if it would set it to the minimum value for supply (6, as the tooltips usually show) or go all the way to 0-1. Unfortunately, the supply_limit modifier (not supply_limit_modifier modifier, that one works by percentages) acts weird outside of terrain.txt, so doing supply_limit = -10 got read by the game as "supply limit base will now be the current base minus the base times ten because fuck you". So 6-6*10=-54. It then adds 4 from terrain (-50) and multiplies by supply limit efficiency (Al-Fadl had 111% so it became -55). This is obviously nowhere close to what I wanted so I changed it to -1.5, so that the game would go 6-6*1.5=-3 -> -3+4=1 -> 1*1.11 = 1.11 so that at least one full regiment of theirs can be in that province. Non-owners will be stuck at 86% supply limit efficiency, however, so they can't even put a single regiment there without eating attrition. Also, just so you have an idea how devilish this is: base supply limit efficiency is 100% and MIL tech 32 gives +300%, so at best you'll have something in the 400% range. 1*4 is 4, so even by 1821 you'll only be able to send 4 full regiments into these provinces rofl. Allah clearly has abandoned those lands, 100% WAD :^)

I did my best to get the right dynasties at game start. The only exception is Hormuz because I *think* their dynasty wasn't called Turani. The rulers for Yas, Sharjah, Mahrah, Kathiri and Gurrah also aren't 100% correct, in fact I just gave them generic names lol. If anyone finds the right names, please let me know.

I don't know anything of Arabic so I'm not sure if my usage of "al" is correct. I went with "al-" in default and "al'" in Levantine province names, with some "ad'", "ash'" etc here and there. Again, if it's wrong, please correct me.

Finally, I didn't like Ibadi/Shia's colors so I changed them to make them stand out more. Shia's { 76 204 76 } and Ibadi's { 7 145 80 }. We need more color variation in the religion mapmode.

...speaking of Ibadi, I really hate their Morale of Navies modifier. It's not like Pate, Mzab and Oman (and lol Mahrah) had anything related to naval battles as part of their religion, or an historical consequence of following its doctrines. I'd rather the +10% Morale of Navies modifier got changed into +1 Tolerance of Heathens, which is something observable in Oman and Mzab (and possibly Pate too).

So yeah that's it I guess. I'll use the next post to post any relevant flavor and NI sets (once I get the NIs I wrote from my dead notebook).

 

[FleetingRain]

Well, RIP Gurrah. Now that we're getting a proper Middle East update, this thread has run its course. I'm still going to post here what I had in mind for Najd.


As I said, Najd would be a formable tag, in which one would need to be tribal, Bedouin, Sunni and the last independent Bedouin alive. This means that the tag would be a Bedouin upgrade, specially because the Gulf Coast tags would become Bahraini, a new culture, instead of keep being Bedouin (and Hormuz tag would be Persian but the provinces would be Bahraini/Omani).

The issue is that, if you get a read on Najd's NIs, they mostly mention the Bedouin lifestyle lol. It already feels like a Bedouin tag itself, but it gets weird when you have other Bedouin tags in the game without access to it, even more so now that we have a couple new tags.

So my idea is to merge both Najd and Arabian NIs:

Spoiler: Bedouin Ideas

Bedouin Traditions: +15% National Manpower Modifier; +15% Movement Speed
Bedouin Ambition: +1 Land Leader Shock

Arabian Horsemanship - +50% Cavalry Flanking Ability
The man who rides for pleasure or military occupation has no idea what true horsemanship is. The Bedouin rides to trade, to eat, to live. It should surprise no one that, in addition to the finest horses, Arabia produces the finest cavalrymen.

Bedouin Poets - +0.5 Yearly Army Tradition
The constant journey over dunes and hills under the beating, unrelenting sun can put a man in a poetic mood, where he reflects on battles fought, loves lost, and journeys taken long before and how the steps he takes have been taken by his ancestors centuries back. Their poems, redolent of past victories and lost glories, will encourage our men to fight ten times harder.

Ships of the Desert - -15% Land Attrition; +15% Caravan Power
A pious man knows the ninety-nine names of Allah, but only the camel knows the one hundredth, which is why they always look so smug. The camel, the mighty ship of the desert, has made our nomadic lifestyle possible for centuries by hauling goods across the trackless desert. If you can take the camel's stink and its smug grin, watch as it proves its worth many times over.

Bedouin Raiders - +1 Attrition for Enemies
Since before the days of the Prophet, Bedouins have been experts at the art of the raid. An army may march on its stomach, but it won't march far when our raiders take the food right out of the army's mouth through rapid hit and run seizures of their supply lines. Pull back and let the raiders do their work and watch as the invader dies of thirst.

Bedouin Traders - +10% Global Trade Power
There aren't many sharply-delineated man-made borders in Arabia, and even if there were, we the Bedouin would ignore them. Though the nomadic journeys through our and others' lands has risks, it also facilitates easy access to trade through the entire region, as Bedouin nomads know no import tariffs or trade embargoes.

Land of the Prophet - -1 National Unrest; +20% Institution Spread in True Faith
The people of our lands were the first to hear the words of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. Every day we can see clans and tribes descended from people who lived in his day and heard his words. Though Islam may spread far and wide to the ends of the Earth, never forget that it started in this holy oasis of faith.

Arabia - +1 Yearly Prestige
Although Arabia has many different clans, tribes and countries, all share in the use of the Arabic language, which forms the unifying feature of all Arabs. Under a strong leadership we can unite all Arabian lands under a single flag and one ruler, insha'Allah.

Everyone with Bedouin culture would have access to it, and Najd wouldn't have any NIs. This means that, if you really want to, you could start as Kongo, conquer all Bedouins, culture-shift and then become Najd with Kongo Ideas lol.

Then Najd itself would have access to two exclusive decisions.

Spoiler: Najd Decisions

Promote the Hanbali School
-Is at peace
-Has at least 75 Piety
-Has at least 1 Stability
-Has at least 1 year of income
-Has at least 200 ADM Power
-Has at least 200 DIP Power
-Has at least 3 cities

-Gives 25 Piety
-Takes 1 Stability
-Takes 1 year of income
-Takes 200 ADM Power
-Takes 200 DIP Power
-Gives "Hanbali School" country modifier (+1 Missionaries, +3% Missionary Strength, -1 Tolerance of Heretics, -1 Tolerance of Heathens)

Our ancestors have long held to the strictest school of Islamic jurisprudence, or fiqh, founded by Ahmad ibn Hanbal in the 9th century, and its strict prohibitions against anything that remotely resembles idolatry and commitment to a rigorous code of Islamic conduct brings harmony to our society. We must officially adopt this fiqh and enforce it throughout our lands.


Enforce Tawhid
-Is at peace
-Has at least 85 Piety
-Has at least 2 Stability
-Has at least 200 ADM Power
-Has at least 200 DIP Power
-Has at least 200 MIL Power
-Has at least 3 cities

-Gives 15 Piety
-Takes 2 Stability
-Gives 0.5 year of income
-Takes 200 ADM Power
-Takes 200 DIP Power
-Takes 200 MIL Power
-Gives "Enforced Tawhid" country modifier (+2 Tolerance of True Faith, -25% Warscore Cost vs Other Religions)

'If any of you worship Muhammad, you should know that Muhammad is dead. But those of you who worship Allah, let it be known that Allah is alive and cannot die.'\n \nThe shrines to the Prophet and his Companions lay a mockery to the wise words of Abu Bakr. Those who worship at these shrines are guilty of shirk, of exalting Man to the level of praise only Allah is due. If we destroy these shrines, we will enforce true tawhid, or monotheism, throughout our land and purify this holy oasis of faith of the pollution of idolatry.

With this, Najd goes from "just another Bedouin" to "warmongering Bedouin", with all other Bedouins getting a nice buff to their NI sets. This would also mean the Gulf Coast tags and other minors (Iraq, Lebanon etc) would need new NI sets, but that's something for another time I guess, as Trin Tragula haven't said a thing about either.

I don't know what will be done regarding the Bedouins, but I'd like if this is followed even if Najd is still a 1444 tag.

 

[Grand Historian]

Well, RIP Gurrah. Now that we're getting a proper Middle East update, this thread has run its course. I'm still going to post here what I had in mind for Najd.

Congrats on all your hard work coming to fruition!

 

[mattd_]

What do you think of the new Arabia?

 

[FleetingRain]

Congrats on all your hard work coming to fruition!

Thank you!

What do you think of the new Arabia?

I didn't expect Najran and Tahirids to become tags, I disagree with Hormuz having all those provinces (I mean, even Masqat??? that was at least a century before the game start), Najd should have any other name and I really dislike that Jabal Tubaiq became a wasteland instead of Ad-Dahna

But everything else looks great, so I really don't have much to complain.

 

[creativitypersonified]

The influence Hormuz had is exaggerated due to large provinces in the area unfortunately