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Aish is my votish
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Jul 25, 2023 21:50
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A-ish looks like the most fun option
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Jul 25, 2023 23:33
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Switching from A to Aish if I need to do that
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Jul 25, 2023 23:39
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swapping to A-ish from A
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Jul 26, 2023 00:09
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C. I want that Jewish run!
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Jul 26, 2023 02:57
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C is the option i think will lead to most mayhem (this is a vote for it)
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Jul 26, 2023 03:04
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A-ish
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Jul 26, 2023 04:57
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Let's go with A
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Jul 26, 2023 07:37
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First past the post is the worst. My heart wants Jerusalem but I have to be realistic and vote A.
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Jul 26, 2023 10:35
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We've already tried Jerusalem, let's play as the warmonger and explode- A-ish
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Jul 26, 2023 17:54
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4tlQxaHetI C
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Jul 26, 2023 22:42
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A-ish
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Jul 26, 2023 23:11
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Looks like A-ish nicked it, so we’ll go for Olorix and then reassess
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Jul 27, 2023 12:01
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 Part 15 — Elissid Empire — 1066 to 1099 The year was 1066, and for the first time in half a millennium, Islam was on the retreat.  The architect of this Christian revival was none other than Olorix, but the over-king of the Elissid Crowns was not about to rest on his laurels. He was young, ambitious, and determined to exceed the very greatest of his predecessors and ancestors — it was not just his right as a king, but it was his divine providence, his fate-strung fortune, his God-given destiny… or so Olorix believed.   And so, without delay, he immediately leapt into invasions of Aramavir and Armenia —  The crusade had left Pontus with a small but strong army of 25,000, and together with his gift for steering the tos and fros of the battlefield, Olorix managed to score a decisive victory over the combined enemy armies outside Hayk.   This was soon followed by a driving campaign into the mountainous Armenian interior, and another crushing victory outside their capital of Kakheti.    The resulting peace was very one-sided, with Aramavir annexed in its entirety whilst Armenia was relegated to a rump state around Bakuh.  Short and fairly decisive, these early conflicts ossified Olorix’s understanding of war, allowing him to further develop and refine his tactics and strategy into something entirely his own, unique and untested against the world around him.   And to meet the demands raised by these advancements, he recruited men-at-arms and founded orders of knighthood, constructed barracks and expanded his levies —     Thus, by the year 1073 his army numbered almost 50,000 men, many of them comprising levies that were trained-and-drilled, often commanded by contingents of firearm knights and heavy cataphract cavalry. As the campaigning season of 1074 approached, king Olorix began massing these troops in Armenia, and many within and without his court expected a campaign into the Caliphate to follow. Olorix himself didn’t profess such plans, but he didn’t refute them either…  At least, not until he was actually on the march, striking along an eastway road that wound into the narrow passes and treacherous paths of the Zagros mountains, a risky route that was nevertheless justified when Olorix led his army out and onto the fertile plains of Lorestan. At that point, there was no hiding his intentions any longer. They were invading Persia.  Parthia had only recently emerged as a great power, absorbing the shattered kingdom of Persia, which itself had only just absorbed the fragmenting Mamluk realm. The entire region was therefore a hotbed of infighting and instability, the perfect storm for Olorix to seize upon.   The Parthians, who followed the Antiochene creed but were otherwise fairly friendly with Pontus, were taken utterly by surprise. Even so, they reacted quickly, with the Shah leading an impressive force of 30,000 against the invading armies.  Olorix was forced to retreat whilst fending off the Parthian vanguard, falling back as far as the Pontine-Parthian border before finally turning and standing his ground...  …and after several days of bitter but balanced fighting, the enemy sprung their trap — a trap of almost 70,000 soldiers, Parthians and Armenians and Persians and Lurites and all manner of peoples, flooding onto the battlefield and overwhelming the exhausted Elissid troops…  …and when those reinforcements came charging onto the field, Olorix could only turn heel and flee, abandoning thousands to imprisonment, slavery, death.  The Parthian coalition swarmed after the shattered host, burning and plundering and besieging Elissid territory.  The king was stunned. The shock and stress of the defeat was enough to break him, almost, but the terrible setback was soon offset by joyous news that his wife had birthed him a son — named Olorix, of course.   Spurred back into action, Olorix rallied his retreating troops and threw them back into Persia, where he was pinned into an unfavourable battle at Gher —    Even so, Olorix utilised his terrain and troops to great advantage, and together with expertly-timed reinforcements, he emerged the victor.  Determined to not let slip this narrow edge, Olorix pursued the enemy deep into Persia and Parthia, pinning down a dozen armies in a dozen battles and scoring a dozen decisive victories —     To try and save his empire, the Shah launched one final, desperate counter-attack into the Elissid Crowns in late 1081…  And despite being grievously outnumbered at the outset of the battle, Olorix masterminded another crushing Elissid victory, one that was quickly confirmed by the seizure of strategic towns and fortresses throughout Persia.  Bereft of supplies and soldiers, the Shah was finally forced to concede defeat. The entirety of Parthian-ruled Persia was ceded, annual tribute payments were agreed, and the pact was sealed with a marriage. And with that, after almost a decade, the war was ended.  But the king was not so interested in peace, nor the things that came with it — holding court, planning hunts and feasts, policy-making and city-founding, plowing and farming, and on and on. Olorix left such business to his wife; instead, he retired his oldest and most beleaguered troops, recruited fresh men-at-arms, re-raised his levies, and set his sights on another target. That target happened to be the traitorous Armenians, who had sided with the Parthians during the Persian war. As punishment, Olorix marched into Bakuh and overthrew the ruling dynasty — a dynasty that has persisted for a thousand years — taking their ancient Orontid Crown and the kingdom of Armenia for his own.   And a half-year later, once Armenian country was pacified, Olorix moved southward and forced the submission of Assyria, which for several years had existed as a buffer state between the Elissid Crowns and the Caliphate.   At the same time, however, the king was planning a much more audacious campaign…  Embarking on a newly-built fleet of ships at Issus, an expeditionary force of 30,000 sailed along the coasts of Syria and Phoenicia, all Saracen-country, and then around the bend that took them to the Nile, to Egypt.   Olorix touched ground in the summer of 1085, once again off-footing his enemies by appearing where he was least expected. Eager to capitalise on this, Olorix stormed and captured a succession of riverine towns and coastal cities. The ruler of Egypt — a Hebrew Muslim lord by the name of Jeremiah — harried and harassed Olorix’s forces, but the over-king managed to skilfully draw him into an ambush between the Canopic and the Bolbitine branches of the Nile delta, and there annihilated his foe’s forces.  After another year of campaigning, dotted with several skirmishes but few serious contests, Olorix had large parts of the Nile delta subjugated — thoroughly ransacking the country in the process, with Olorix seizing several prized hostages and relics, including a sword that was rumoured to have belonged to the Mohammedan Prophet himself.    On the eve of Christmas of 1087, however, he received a messenger from his wife in Trebizond, who warned that plots had erupted into rebellion as a faction of discontent vassals (demanding greater liberties and laxer contracts) had risen up against Olorix.  The king installed a remote Elissid cousin to rule the province (as he had in Persia, Armenia etc.), and then departed. He was back in Pontus by the new year of 1088, but that was already too late — the rebels had besieged and captured Trebizond through treachery, and subjected the city to a brutal sacking.  Olorix regrouped in Cilicia, before launching into a lightning spring campaign that quickly overwhelmed the rebels, who were defeated at Talish, and then Dhinakhirjan, and finally Trebizond.   Despite a few hold-outs, the discontents were made to see reason by 1090, submitting themselves to the judgement of their over-king… who stripped the ringleaders of titles and lands, and exacted harsh ransoms from the rest. The rebellion was thus ended, but Trebizond was still smouldering from its unfortunate sacking, so Olorix moved his court to the site of a new city —  The populace numbered perhaps a few hundred, at first; then a thousand or so; then ten thousand, twenty, thirty… within a decade, Olorixana was already a thriving metropolis, and by century’s end it would surely eclipse every other city in Anatolia, Persia, Egypt, and beyond. The city was expanded and beautified, with thronging markets, dozens of churches and eventually mosques and synagogues as well, lush gardens and public spaces, even a budding University. The new capital was also well-situated on the river Euphrates so that both Syria and Mesopotamia were only a day’s march away… dangerous, perhaps, but also very strategic.  And that was precisely Olorix’s intention, likely a part of his plans all along. Throughout the winter of 1093, Olorix hosted the Pope in his newly-built palace, locking himself in secret meetings that lasted long into the night, and spending his days with commanders and generals in drawing up warplans. It was a wonder the king found time to eat or sleep, much less father two daughters.  The subject of these closeted conversations was not difficult to guess, and when winter broke in favour of spring, the Pope confirmed everyone’s suspicions —  Another crusade against the Caliphate, this time directed up the rivers of Tigris and Euphrates. Olorix’s hand in this was very evident, since he had need to secure his borders and new capital. Indeed, the over-king was well and ready for the Crusade, leading an immensely-swollen force of 70,000 over the border and into Caliphate territory just weeks after the Crusade was proclaimed, surprising and destroying the hastily-raised local levies.   The Caliph had been planning a campaign of his own, however. He already had almost 100,000 warriors raised, likely for an assault on Olorix’s new capital, or perhaps a reconquest of the Holy Land. He quickly abandoned these plans with the onset of the second Crusade, however, and under the cover of a divinely-inspired sandstorm, he rushed to defend Mesopotamia against the Christian aggressors.  For the next few months, Christian and Muslim advanced and retreated, assaulted and defended, raided and skirmished, all part of a grand dance where the dress was sword-and-armour, the steps were trod by tens of thousands, and the stakes were glory and ruin, heaven and damnation. Eventually, however, Islam and Christendom finally came to a head near the much-diminished city of Seleukia-on-the-Tigris…  The battle that followed would go down as one of the boldest and bloodiest in the histories of those civilisations, with no less than 200,000 men — perhaps the largest battle since the Roman Wars of antiquity — 200,000 Christians and Muslims slugging at each other, stabbing and slashing, drowning in the bloodied waters, riding one another into the mud and dust.  And after a month, with the Tigris dammed from bank to bank with rotting flesh, it was Christendom still standing.  The scale of this battle and the casualties suffered were so staggering that there was no question of further resistance. The battle was won, and so the Crusade was won.   Olorix marched into Seleukia a few days later, and there he was formally acclaimed as successor to Christ, Megas Basileus and Shahanshah, king and Over-king, elevating his realm into an empire… the Elissid Empire.   The Pope himself blessed and crowned him thus, and in return, Olorix confirmed the Patristic Church as the official creed of his empire, pursuing a policy of proselytisation and conversion in all his kingdoms and subject territories.    Egypt to Persia, Taurica to Sinai — the realms of the Elissid Crowns were vast and diverse, and there was no question that Olorix was now peerless in his power and prestige, in all of the known world. There was still the technical independence of Jerusalem and Mesopotamia, large and mighty realms in their own right, but practically they both paid tribute and vassal dues to the over-king of the Elissid Crowns, and within a few years Olorix managed to strong-arm them into making these dues a legal formality.  Thus, as the end of the century loomed in 1099, Olorix has surely eclipsed all other Elissids and Magonids that had come before him, and matched all others, be they Alexander, Hiram, Attila, or anyone else… But he was more than that, he knew it. Olorix was… he was an elderly Alexander; he was a kingly Hiram; he was a benevolent Attila. He conquered Jerusalem and Seleukia, bloodied Islamdom and crippled the Caliphate, subjugated Egypt and Persia. He razed ancient cities and raised new ones, toppled heretic churches and revived his own, smote the infidel and heathen and united large parts of Christendom. And there was still so much to do… east, west, north, south, Olorix had 100,000 men at his disposal, and there was still so much to explore and conquer — the magnificent Indias in the east, the wealthy Carthages in the west, the barbaric Europas and the mysterious Asias, and the worlds beyond. Olorix wanted to see it all, master over every place and person.    But he would not live to realise these dreams. Olorix’s mind was stronger than ever, but his body had grown feeble and weak, and when the Red Plague struck the palace-complex at Olorixana in the year 1000…   …he fought, of course, a long and bitter struggle, but after several weeks of the shivers and blood-boils and nights sweats, the great king-and-conqueror finally relented.  The only question that remains is — will the Elissid empire outlive his death? 
hashashash fucked around with this message at 17:29 on Nov 10, 2023 |
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Aug 4, 2023 18:48
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INTERLUDE The great king has died, and so the time has come to move on from the Elissid Crowns. With his vast and far-reaching conquests, however, several new avenues for the next Punic adventures have opened up: Option A — Taurica — LEAVE the Elissid Empire — already autonomous and nigh-independent, the crimean peninsula is a melting pot of faiths and cultures, and we will try to embrace a Judeo-Christian hybridisation, and expand into the Steppes…  Option B — Egypt — REBEL against the Elissid Empire — as the lords of Egypt, we will try to break free from the Elissid Crowns, revive the ancient-and-suppressed Pharaonic church, expand along the length of the Nile, and possibly look to the west, to Carthage…  Option C — Persia — LOYAL to the Elissid Empire — the country of Persia is divided and embittered, but wealthy and full of potential; as the Elissid governors in Persia, we will seek to further expand and incorporate new realms and countries into the Elissid Crowns, perhaps one day reaching the Indus and matching Alexander’s empire…   Vote!I’ll put a full state of the world post together in 1200 AD, so for now have a 1099 world map:  Some interesting tidbits: - looks like normandy is winning the battle for Britain - mamluks have completely collapsed - france is still Puno-Gaulish, balkans is ruled by Germans and germany is ruled by Slavs, Italy is a clusterfuck of cultures divided between jutia and punica - that one Mali empire has disappeared as quickly as it appeared, rip Also, I’m sure this has been noticed, but a bunch of my graphics mods broke and so theres been a proliferation of albinos and nudists. i’ll try and fix the worst of it, and edit around the rest Anyways, that’s it! Go forth and Vote!
hashashash fucked around with this message at 00:14 on Aug 5, 2023 |
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Aug 4, 2023 18:50
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Great update! B-Egypt sounds fun to me
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Aug 4, 2023 19:11
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B! The glory of the Nile, and the legacy of the most ancient society we know of.
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Aug 4, 2023 19:17
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B.
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Aug 4, 2023 19:24
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C Then we can move east, convert to Christo-Buddhism, and then bring it back west.
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Aug 4, 2023 19:31
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A
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Aug 4, 2023 19:54
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B
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Aug 4, 2023 20:08
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A
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Aug 4, 2023 20:20
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Ikasuhito posted:C Convinced me
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Aug 4, 2023 20:45
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B
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Aug 4, 2023 20:59
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A.
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Aug 4, 2023 21:06
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Voted A. before, voting A again.
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Aug 4, 2023 21:20
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The world map isn't working. In any event, let's not stop destroying blobs just yet. B.
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Aug 4, 2023 21:24
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B
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Aug 4, 2023 21:39
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C.
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Aug 4, 2023 22:16
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What's the culture in Egypt? Some medley of Punic, Pontic, Coptic and Hebrew? B
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Aug 4, 2023 22:23
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hashashash posted:
This world map is rubbish. C- at best (this is a vote for C, let's meet some Buddhists).
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Aug 4, 2023 22:34
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Ikasuhito posted:C C
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Aug 4, 2023 23:42
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A.
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Aug 4, 2023 23:48
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Chatrapati posted:This world map is rubbish. C- at best (this is a vote for C, let's meet some Buddhists). ah crap, well here you go - fixed in the post as well
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Aug 5, 2023 00:13
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B
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Aug 5, 2023 00:14
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Yuiiut posted:What's the culture in Egypt? Some medley of Punic, Pontic, Coptic and Hebrew? the local population is mostly egyptian (coptic), but older conquerors have left their imprint in their capital provinces -- Greek in Alexandria, German in Cyrenaica -- while the more recent conquerors are still just a ruling class, with Pontic and Hebrew rulers in lower egypt, Arab and local rulers further up the Nile. Punic influence is further west, from tripolitania onwards 
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Aug 5, 2023 00:28
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C
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Aug 5, 2023 00:43
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B
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Aug 5, 2023 00:43
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Looking at the map, C is the most interesting.
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Aug 5, 2023 02:42
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| # ? May 24, 2024 02:29 |
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A! I want that Jewish run!
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Aug 5, 2023 02:58
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