Rememberences of Map Contests Past

[B_Munro]

And me mappo:

[B_Munro]

Shaucker (more for the delightfully creepy nature of the writeup than the map itself. )

(The following is translated into English from a language that appears to be a distant relative of Russian with Turkic influences, and is
dated to approximately 3419 CE. Untranslatable words are explained within square brackets.)


APPENDIX C
On The Linear Cultures

The Linear Cultures are named for their linear continuity with known Earth civilization before the [untranslatable; K-M-K-O?] impact -
all of them lying within areas of comparatively low background radiation. They are termed A, B1, B2 and C; the A culture occupied a
fjorded region in the north, the B1 and B2 cultures the largely flat, inland regions in the interior, and the C culture the base of a
peninsula in the south. B1 and B2 were especially similar, but all four posessed certain common traits - the dead were buried with
some ceremony, rather than the [untranslatable; rendering? smelting?] process witnessed in the Postculture.

The A culture seems to have died out first, presumably because of poor environmental conditions - the general lowering of
temperatures following the [untranslatable but emphasized; perhaps event?] would have accelerated their decline.

The B1 and B2 cultures, best approached as one culture divided, seem to have been, initially, the most successful. It has
been argued by some, notably [untranslatable; A-B-A-D?], that B2 was a client or colony culture of B1. They indeed built
[unknown, but seems to be: houses-of-many-doors] like the early settlers on Mars, to much the same design. It seems that the
apex of their rise was about five hundred years after [K-M-K-O?], and the general era of their extinction was some decades after the [event?].

The C culture is the most interesting to students of these cultures. For one, they survived long enough to enter into the oral history
of the Postculture, particularly in the story of [untranslatable; T-N-K-R?], the "strange and terrible land" hidden within
the mountains. Archaelogical evidence demonstrates the greatest divergence from known Earth culture, even up to a rudimentry
[untranslatable; breeding? slave? cattle?] caste, much like the Postculture - though it seems to have been a system of punishment,
rather than of actual breeding to purpose. Whatever the rationale behind its adoption, it allowed the C culture to survive almost until the arrival of the first probe from Mars, though by this time they were almost certainly mere breeding castes of the Postculture.

[B_Munro]

Is it just me, or does this Thande map look strangely familiar?

[B_Munro]

Aaaand Orko:

Dating system is PH(post holocene)

-031 World temperatures rise dramatically, world infected by natural cataclysms
-029 Drought begins
-026 Drought worsens, conflicts over water and resources begin
-022 A series of natural disasters begin, devastating the planet
-019 Global warming reaches it’s peak, world sea level has risen by over 20 meters by now, world icecaps melt
-017 World oil runs out
-013 War threatens to break out as worldwide situation deteriorates
-012 Nations around the world are forced to strengthen the ties between them, creating rivaling superstates
-011 Drought at it’s peak, war over water and resources threatens to break out
-009 Fundamentalist movements strengthen in the face of the previous events
-007 Massive earthquake hits the world, sinking a large part of the coastlines, and further destroying humanity
-004 War begins
-002 Use of unconventional weapons is still limited, but nations reconsider the option
-001 in the face of the harshening war, nations make a grim decision…
000 Holocene begins
001 The majority of the world is forced to move into vaults and underground shelters
075 First adventurers to the surface
078 massive immigration to the surface takes place
080 Foundation of the first vault-centered states begin
085 In Central Africa, the place least hit by the Holocene, civilization thrives
100 Return to surface for majority of planet
103 Pre-Holocene nationalism is rediscovered by travelers, revival movements begin to thrive
109 First vault-state coalitions and alliances formed
112 Around the capital of Belotsarstvo, vault states begin to unite and create a new state
113 Ties between vault-states in Eurosia, Jidai, and South-East Osia strengthen, creating new coalitions
114 In Sina, the RWO is formed
115 BELOTZARSTVO DICTATORSHIP IS FORMED, TAKEOVER OF NEW LANDS
116 EMBRYONIC EUROSIAN STATE GATHERS. FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH HOSTILE ASALAMIC FORCES
117 FORCES OF THE DAR-Al-ASALAM BEGINS TO SOLIDIFY, CREATING A UNIFIED THEOCRACY, INVASION OF TRIBAL-SPLINTERED ARANIA BEGINS, THE TRIBES GATHER UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF A SINGLE WARLORD
118 CENTRAL AFRICAN STATE SENDS WORD TO EUROSIA, MWENGE OVERLORDSHIP ESTABLISHED, FIGHTING WITH ASALAMIC FORCES BEGIN
119 BELOTZARSTVO HITS RESISTANCE IN CENTRAL ASIA. SEVERELY DEFEATED BY JIDAI WARLORDS
120 JIDAI DECLARES ITSELF AN INDEPENDENT EMPIRE WITH TERRITORIES. BELOTZARSTVO AND RWO CHALLENGE
121 First zoner epidemic
122 DEATHTOLL 40%. MASS HYSTERIA. CIVIL UNREST. SEVERAL VAULTS AND STATIONS ABANDONED
123 DAR-Al-ASALAM RECEDES. VAULT STATES CRUMBLE. TOTAL ANARCHY
124 APPEARANCE OF PLAGUE DOCTORS AND CHAPTER HOUSES. PLAGUE ABAITS. ORDER RESTORED, REVIVAL MOVEMENTS IN SCANDINAVIA, NORDIA IS FORMED
125 EUROSIAN STATES STRENGTHEN COMMERCIAL ALLIANCE. ARANIAN WARLORD LEADS COUP DECLARES HIMSELF KING
127 CENTRAL AMERICAN VAULT-STATES BEGIN REFUGEE OPERATIONS AGAINST ZONERS, DISCOVER COMMUNIST BOOKS AND BECOME SOCIALIST
128 CU IS FORMED AS A DEFENSIVE ALLIANCE AGAINST ZONERS
129 FIRST CONTACT WITH SURVIVOR VAULTS IN AMERICA, FIRST CONTACT WITH ANDEAN CIVILIZATION BY CU
130 EMBRYONIC CSS FORMED THROUGH RADIO CONTACT, RESISTS COLONISATION BY THE CU
132 BELOTZARSTVO RESTORES RULERSHIP OVER FORMER TERRITORIES. BEGINS MECHANISATION
133 "DEATH MARCH" RWO RETREAT FROM NORTHERN PROVINCES. MANCHURIAN STALEMATE BEGINS
135 The first contact is formed between the communion nations, Iron Ships arrive at Greybitten isles, the Communion is formed
136 EUROSIAN FORCES REPELLED. COMMUNION ON OFFENSIVE. MASSIVE COLONIAL REINFORCEMENTS
137 SYAMA TRIBES RALLY FROM ISLANDS AND PUSH BACK RED WORLD ORDER FROM ITS SOUTHERN FRONT
140 DAR-AL-ASALAM ASSAULTS IBERIAN ESTATES AND COMMUNION TERRITORIES, FAILS
141 AFRICA DECLARES NONINTERVENTION TO ITS NEIGHBOURS
143 ARANIAN VICTORIES OVER CRESCENT. CU AND CSS IN DEADLOCK. ZONERS ENTRENCHED
144 CSS ENCOUNTERS COMMUNION FORCES IN CANADA, CONFLICTS BEGIN
145 First Zonewar. War on all fronts
145 CSS FLANKS CU TERRITORIES. RWO GAINS AGAINST SYAMA, ARANIA, BELOTZARSTVO AND JIDAI
145 Syama encourages West Ostaaran(Eureka Stockade) nomads to increase their raids on East Ostaasa, held by GBI
146 JIDAI AND COMMUNION COLONIES IN OSTAARA ALLY AGAINST SYAMA
146 EUROSIA REPEL GBI IN NORDIA
147 BELOTZARSTVO INVADES EUROSIAN IRONMARCHES. HEAVY CASUALTIES, TOTAL DEFEAT.
148 EISENREICH GUERILLAS DECLARE INDEPENDENCE FROM EUROSIA TO FIGHT BELOTZARSTVO
148 CU invades the Andes, a new Incan empire is formed
149 A NEW FURHER IS DECLARED AS AN AUTOCRAT IN A NEW ‘EISENREICH’. BELOTZARSTVO FORCES HIT CU AND CSS
150 GBI MANAGES TO HALT EUROSIAN ADVANCE, SUFFERING FROM LACK OF REINFORCEMENTS
151 RWO attacks Arania, Jidai starts taking over Pacific isles
151 NEW GOVERNMENT COUP IN CU, BELOTZARSTVO PUSHED BACK FROM COAST
152 NORDIA DECLARES WAR ON EISENREICH, FIGHTS ALONG SIDE EUROSIA
153 WITHOUT A FLEET, EUROSIA DECLARES CEASEFIRE WITH GBI
154 EISENREICH DEFEATS WHITE EMPIRE MECHANISED LINES. EISENREICH MILITARY SUPERIORITY RECOGNISED
154 ARANIA AND RWO FACE EACH OTHER IN JUNGLE ENGAGEMENTS, SYAMA REPELS INVADERS
155 RED SYAMA COUP. NEW GOVERNMENT CONCEDES PEACE WITH ARANIA. RWO BLOCKED ON SOUTHERN FRONT
155 Stalemate reached in Europa, America and Asia, all combatants forced into truce because of war exhaustion
155 Peace. Hostatge Colonies established.
162 RWO and CU start funding partisan groups secretly
174 Partisans of the Red Dawn explode in Belotsarstvo, in a matter of weeks against Eurosia, the Communion, CSS and most other nations as well
175 Resistance movements start showing up, RWO invades Belotsarstvo, Syama, Jidai and Arania, a Jihad is declared against all nations, CU invades CSS and Inca, Fighting between Eisenreich and Eurosia spark, Nordia and GBI invade each other simultaneously, Nordia and Eurosia allied against Belotsarstvo and Eisenreich, CSS and Communion troops fight in Canada, CSS and CU race to control no-man’s land in the Midwest and west pacific, Asalamic forces invade Mwenge Overlordship, Jidai encounters and fights Syama troops near Philipinia,
175 Second Zoner war officially starts


Partisans of the red dawn represented in Marron-ish colour, the spray means occupation/dissent/rebellion

[B_Munro]

Winners:

Me in first, Jman second, Tormsen third.

Only 10 more to go till stickying.

Bruce

[Kaiphranos]

Originally Posted by B_Munro

MOF 15!!!

Long After The End...

Make a map showing a post-apocalyptic Earth or part of a post-apocalyptic Earth where society has redeveloped along different cultural and technological lines.

Ah, MOF 15. This one has the dubious distinction of being the first Map of the Fortnight contest I almost entered. I don't quite recall what the premise was going to be, though the file I have saved as MOF15 suggests it was something with elevated sea levels, as does the blurb which I apparently wrote for my never-finished map:

“In those days, men forgot the ways of their fathers and raised idols in the high places and the low, caring not for the Lord their God, who had brought them from over the sea and who had raised them up above all the nations...

There was strife among the cities of the land, and yet the high lords and presidents paid it no heed; rather they went with their armies to the far countries across the sea...

And so the Lord spoke to the scientists and the prophets, saying: Long have the people of this land have turned their faces from me, yet I was merciful. But now the hour of my mercy has ended, and the hour of my wrath has come, for I will rain the very stars of the heavens down upon you and smite you with their fire, and raise the seas up against you so that waves may break above the roof tops of your cities. Repent, Nuyork! Repent, Lazanglez! For even now my hands are filled with the storms of my anger, furious winds that shall scatter your peoples and confuse your tongues.

And the scientists carried the word of the Lord to the high lords and the presidents, saying: Repent, and the anger of the Lord may yet be turned aside, but they were not heeded, for the presidents cared more for fame and wealth than for the word of the Lord.

And the prophets carried the word of the Lord to the people of the land, saying: cast aside your fine garments and don sackcloth and put ash in your hair, and the wrath of the Lord may yet be turned aside, but the people only laughed and returned to their idols, for they had forgotten the ways of the Lord.

So it came to pass as the Lord had said, and the land was smote with fire from the heavens. The seas rose up to swallow the cities, and the people of the land were scattered like leaves in the storm of the Lord’s anger...”

(Like Jman, I was undoubtedly influenced by A Canticle for Leibowitz.)

[B_Munro]

MoF 16, folks!

[B]The Caliphate of Rûm

The collapse of Rome left Europe in ruins. A dark age set in across the continent as the empire's former subjects and enemies alike spoke of the great city that spawned an era of prosperity and civilisation unlikely to be seen again. Ever since men and empires have sought to emulate dead Rome.

Who would have thought it would be the followers of Islam that laid final claim to their legacy?

Your challenge is to create a map of an Islamic nation that either has reforged or is on its way to reforging Rome's once great empire. The nation need not necessarily be the caliphate, but it must contain the city of Rome and be a dominant power in the Mediterranean.
EDIT: No ASB or future history maps.[/B]




first,
Tormsen's sadly disqualified ASB map...

[B_Munro]

GodRaimundo:

At the Battle of Manzikert, Emperor Romanos escaped during the rout of his forces and rode back to Costantinople, where he raised another army, and faced the Seljuqs again at Cesarea, being defeated once again, though by a lesser margin. After this, the Sultan Muhammad bin Da'ud Chaghri, realising that the Byzantines would be nothing but a threat to him as long as they lived, called a Jihad against the rump Byzantine Empire. By autumn of 1072, he was at the gates of Constantinople, where the Byzantine army had marched out to meet him.

The Byzantine army was reinforced by Western armies, notably of the Holy Roman Empire and Frankish Empire, which saw Byzantium as their bastion against the Seljuk Turks and had no interest in seeing it fall. However, after a long battle, the Seljuqs defeated the Christian armies and sacked Constantinople, killing the Emperor in the process. This marked the fall of the Byzantine Empire.

The Sultan spent the winter in Konstantinople, before marching for Egypt, where he was proclaimed Caliph and proceeded to annex the Fatimid domains. He then died by an assassin's hand in the October of that year.

His son, Jalāl al-Dawlah Malik-shāh, completed the conquest of the Fatimids, and turned back to the Holy Roman Empire, which was raiding his northern borders. Taking an army, he defeated them at Vien, before signing a treaty with them in which they surrendered all of their land south of the Alps and vowed not to make war on the Caliph or his successors. After this, the Holy Roman Empire descended into anarchy, with several states breaking away completely, and the position of Emperor is a mere formality today, wielding no power whatsoever.

The Seljuq territory in Italy was immediately invaded by the Franks, so the Caliph sent an army to retake the land. Facing the Franks at Milan, the Seljuqs utterly routed them, then moving on to conquer all of Italy.

The Franks attacked again the next year, and after tis defeat, the Seljuqs pursued them back into France. At this time, the Englis were also campaigning in France, and the Seljuqs and English reached a compromise, dividing the Frankish territories between them.

In Iberia, the Reconquista, as it was then known, had stopped, as the Christian lands became aware that they had followers of Muhammad both north and south. When the inevitable counterattack came, the Christians fell within months, and Seljuq rule over the land was finally assured. A new empire had risen from the ashes of the Latin Empire, but it followed Muhammad.

[B_Munro]

Jman:

One theory I've heard (I forget where) about why Europe did so well as compared to the Middle East is that the Middle East got pillaged by the Mongols in the 1200s and never really recovered, whereas Europe got off relatively easy, pillaging-wise, and even had some semi-friendly relations with the Mongols. So my POD is that, in 1218, instead of executing Genghis Khan's ambassadors, the governor of Otrar welcomes them with open arms, beginning an amicable relationship of trade, cultural dialogue, and relatively few severed heads between the Mongol Empire and the Islamic world. Instead, the Mongols turn to Europe, penetrating as far as the North European Plain will take them, shattering Novgorod, Poland and the Holy Roman Empire. The conquests weren't permanent; the Golden Horde was overstretched and surrounded by enemies in Central Europe, and eventually pulled back to more easily defensible borders in Western Russia, contenting itself with setting up tributary states in Central and Eastern Europe.

The Crusaders, wavering in the face of Islamic opposition anyway, are swiftly recalled to the home front. Eventually the Teutonic Knights retake Northern Germany from the Mongolian vassals, and the Holy Roman Empire is replaced by Teutonic-allied kingdoms (except for a rump HRE on the Rhine), as the Mongolian Peril to the east necessitates a higher degree of political unity. England, being an island immune from Mongol cavalry invasion, does fairly well, and carves out new domains in western France. Genoa takes control of many important Mediterranean trade routes and also does well.

However, in general, Europe is a horrible mess. With morale low and treasuries emptied to hold off the Mongols and fight the futile Crusades, Europe is easy prey for the Islamic sultanates, which are undergoing a renaissance in culture and a boom in economic and military power. The Christians are driven out of Sicily and Spain, and the Byzantines crumble before the might of the Seljuks. Eventually the Emir of Tunis, an ambitious young would-be conqueror whose grandfather had taken Sicily, and whose father had taken southern Italy up to Naploli, announces a new crusade, one aimed at Rome. The stated reasons are three. Firstly, to convert the Italians to Islam. Secondly, to wrest control of the Western Mediterranean trade routes from Genoa. Thirdly, to save from Christian neglect and barbarism the treasures of Rome itself. The entire Islamic world is, at the time, rediscovering the works of antiquity, and have a great interest in possessing Rome. In 1312, the Emirate of Tunisia captures Rome, with the Pope fleeing to Milan in haste before the heathen army. The Emir installs himself in the city and crowns himself Emperor. People begin to suspect the man is eccentric.

In 1347, the year of this map, the situation is as follows. The Roman Sultanate (as its Islamic allies insist on calling it despite its claims of being an "Imperium") is a major trade power and also a patron of the classics and history. It is even said, only half-jokingly, that its protectorates in Greece are largely there to dig up old amphorae for the Emir/Emperor. The Seljuks are a real superpower (they stretch to Persia), and the Egyptians and Moors are also strong. All four are nominally part of one Caliphate, although the Caliph, like the old Pope, is really only a spiritual leader with some land in the Hejaz.

Europe is a chaotic place to say the least. There are three popes (yes, deja-vu), each calling the other two antipopes. Christian fanaticism is widespread, and in the Teutonic Order-State, institutionalized as a foaming-at-the-mouth witch-burning theocracy. Despite this, heresy and even open paganism are widespread. The Cathars have carved a state out of the mess of Greater France, and are even sending out secret missionaries to spread their Gnostic ideas and oppose the designs of the Rex Mundi, the Cathar Satanic figure and creator of the (evil) world, whom they identify with the Christian God and Muslim Allah. The Lithuanians are also still pagan, and still going strong as a Mongol ally. There are even rumors that the Scandinavians are sliding back into Wodenism in hidden ceremonies in remote fjords, a rumor supported by a string of recent church-burnings in Norway.

Many Europeans are beginning to question whether life has to be this way, and disconcerting tales are reaching the crowned heads of Europe, speaking of their Christian subjects leaving their farms in the night and striking out for the borders of Dar al-Islam, or of entire merchant ships being taken by mutiny and sailed into Muslim ports. The flood of new literature from the Muslims' printing presses surely isn't helping matters.

Map to follow.

EDIT: (Note: the Mongol's vassals are all Christian, "some nominally Christian" is intended to be some in-world European bias creeping in, as the dogmatic Catholic powers do not see Eastern Orthodox Novogord, diverse and tolerant Kiev, and Papal Schism-neutral Hungary as "true Christians")

[B_Munro]

Jman's map:

[B_Munro]

Pischinovski:

Europe after an alternate Migration Period, the western Empire still exists but converted to Islam:

green=muslim states
violet/blue=christian states
brown/red=pagan states

[B_Munro]

Zuvarq/Xwarq:

When the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm collapsed in 1307, no one realized that Karamanoğlu would become the most powerful force the world had ever seen, within only a few centuries. Karaman quickly expanded and by 1387, controlled the majority of Anatolia; the entire Karaman province of the current Roman Caliphate. In the north, Candaroğullan had become a power as well, and so had Saruhanoğullan. Allying with the Byzantines themselves, Karaman over the course of two wars entirely conquered the Saruhan nation.

Karaman, by 1420, controlled all of Anatolia except for the coast of the Sea of Marmara. The Beylik of Karaman soon became the Karamani Empire. The weakened Roman Empire lost the coast of Asia Minor and the city of Constantinople itself to the Karamani Empire in 1429 when the Karamanids won the first of three wars with the Romans. Two wars and two-and-a-half decades later, the Karamani Empire controlled all of the Byzantine Roman lands. In 1452, after the 'Great Conquest' as it was called, the Roman Caliphate was declared.

From then on, the Roman Caliphate dominated Europe. Conquered nations simply became more provinces of the Empire. These provinces gradually became Turkish.

1666 was the year when the Roman Caliphate conquered the city of Rome itself. Then it could truly call itself Roman.

1670 marked the very last attempt to Crusade on the Roman Caliphate. It failed. Europe grudgingly accepted the fact that the successor of the Roman Empire was Islamic. (however the Caliphate still fought wars occasionally with European nations of course)

By 1682, the Roman Caliphate reached its zenith. The Roman-Turkish Enlightenment is said to have begun a decade later than that.

By 1831, Islam and Turkish were widespread across the Caliphate, even in Italy.

The Sezar-Halife of the Roman Caliphate, Abdul Mohammed Karamanid VI, established the 'great reform' in the 1850s. Latin was revived, and Turkish took on a new form--Arabic and Persian loanwords were trashed, and Turkish was now written in the Latin Alphabet.

By the early 1890s, the Roman Caliphate was arguably the most enlightened and the second most advanced and industrialized nation in the world.

[B_Munro]

Trondheim (hey, we'd like to see a world map for this!):

The Almohad victory at Alarcos brought Castille to its knees and paved the way for the Muslim reconquest of the Iberian peninsula. By 1300, the Christian kingdoms were pushed back to the Duero and Ebro rivers.

In the meantime, the Mongols managed to conquer Egypt and Tripoli, establishing a khanate in the region. Many fled westward, ending up elsewhere in North Africa or Al-Andalus. This population influx would ultimately be one of the driving factors behind the reconquest of Sicily. The Emirate of Sicily was reestablished, and would last until its takeover by the Mengüceks, which eventually went on to conquer Naples but fell short of taking over Rome itself.

Flash forward 750 years after the POD. Over in Hozelaga [North America], a rogue general managed to overthrow the government of the Hozelagan Rus after a highly disputed election. His government would go on to direct a war of conquest against the numerous nations of Mexico and Lower Hozelaga. Tenochtitlan, one of the world's major financial capitals in this TL, was captured in 1946. This event would go on to trigger the Long Depression and bring about the Decade of Chaos. In much of Islamic Europe and North Africa, this would bring about the rise of the Islamic Brotherhood, a movement that sought to unite the region under the guidance of the Qur'an. They managed to gain power in several countries, and in 1955, form a political union.

Much of Europe looked on with fear, but the Islamic Union found allies in the dicatorial French Democratic Republic and nationalistic Malorussia. Eventually, the Franco-German dispute over Lorraine escalated into a great war; in the end, France was defeated and occupied, Malorussia took a good chunk of Poland and gained a few new puppets, and the Islamic Union managed to do what the Mengüceks didn't and conquer Rome (along with take over numerous other territories and end Croatian dominance of the Mediterranean). The Roman Republic was reborn; many think it's only a matter of time before the President-Regent declares himself Emperor of Rome.

The world is trying to put its problems behind and look towards a brighter future, but the fear of things taking a turn for the worse is rather widespread. Rumours of the Romans possessing doomsday weapons certainly isn't helping calm people down.

[B_Munro]

Jman was the winner, with Xwarq in second and Tormsen third. (hey, I guess he wasn't disqualified... )

Bruce

[rvbomally]

Originally Posted by B_Munro

Jman's map:

I always loved this map. I wonder if we could see a cover of it. **hint hint**

[B_Munro]

Originally Posted by rvbomally

I always loved this map. I wonder if we could see a cover of it. **hint hint**

Perhaps...I'll stick it on my to-do list, which alas is already long.

In any event, MoF 17!

May God Have Mercy On My Enemies

Because I sure as hell won't.

Your challenge this fortnight is to make a map of the world or a part of it in a world where a military genius, who was not born in our world, was born and brought a nation to victory over another.

The map may show basically anything as long as the life of the legendary general had some effect on it (one of the general's battles, the territorial gains during his campaign(s), the victorious nation after the war(s), a colony of the victorious nation that would not have existed had the legendary general not led the country to victory, and so forth and so forth). The birth of the legendary general himself need not be the PoD.

Maps may be from 600BC to 2000AD and may not be ASB.

[B_Munro]

Jman:

Most of the explanation's in the map, all you need to know is that this is supposed to look like it's from a textbook, which, by the way, is not a completely reliable source; it's written by a left-leaning author who paints a fairly rosy picture of Ekindi while glossing over any criticism of the PAS regime. What can I say, I read too much LTTW and the idea of biased historical sources is really cool

[B_Munro]

The Kiat:

The Napoleon of Italy

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The PoD here is Victor Emmanuel II dying young and not being the one to unify Italy. In 1852, he was succeded by his brother King Fernando Alberto, who lived. In our history, it was Fernando who died (before he could take command of Sardinian soldiers in the Crimean War). What if he had lived, and turned out to be a military genius?

1852: King Fernando Alberto I crowned King of Sardinia-Piedmont.
1858: Mainland Italian allies agree to a Union under Sardinia.
1860: Crown of Lombardy added to Sardinia.
1862: Start of the Neapolitian War, Austria declares war. Fernando leads campaign against Austria, conquering Venitia.
1864: Plebiscite held in Naples; 54% of the people vote for union. Fernando declares himself King of Italy. Emperors of France and Austria see a united Italy as a threat to the balance of power and move in to stop him.
1865: Fernando victorious in North Italian War, crowned King in Caligari.
1867: The Papal State is brought into the new Italian Kingdom. Capital is moved to Rome. The Church retains control over parts of the city, including St. Peter's Basillica.
1873: In order to pave a way for a colonial empire, Italy goes to war against the Ottoman Empire in the War of 1873.
1874: Italy annexes Libya. Fernando defeats the Ottoman Navy at the battle of Rhodes.
1882: French annexation of Tunis threaten's Italy's new empire. Italy declares war.
1883: Nice annexed.
1884: In his last campaign, King Fernando leads his army to victory over the French in North Africa.

[B_Munro]

Mine: (Uuuugly, alas)

"Although most Westerners are better acquainted with his illustrious predecessor, it is Gantulga which is generally held by his countrymen to be the true father of modern Mongolia and the Greater Uralic Federation..."

"Some have criticized Gantulga for his dream of accomplishing the reconquest of China, which in the event led to nearly two decades of intermittent and ultimately fruitless warfare against an as yet undecayed Ming China. However, in the process Gantulga created a successful synthesis of gunpowder infantry and steppe cavalry which would play a vital role in the struggle with Russia a century later..."

"Although it would be another century and a half before Korea became firmly integrated into the imperial system, in the long run the absorbtion of this tightly organized, Confucian, agrarian state would have a catalytic role in the transformation of the late Empire..."

- Quoted from From Empire to Federation: the Evolution of the Second Mongol Empire, 1499-1921, by Percival Yamada, University of Shimatter-on-the-Ewey, Dominion of Naypon

[B_Munro]

Tormsen (big talk first):

EDIT: I thought I wouldn't have time to polish it off, so I uploaded it before I was completely satisfied. But I got some extra time unexpectedly and decided to go with my original idea. The map is meant to be using the names for the states used within the timeline (a Yue language based loosely on Vietnamese), but I have included the standard OTL Chinese names as well as a reference.

A brilliant general called Ou Fujian of the state known then as Yue rises to the challenge of of the Wu in the early 4th century and leads an astounding counteroffensive. After conquering the Wu, he turns east and subdues the Chu. The most powerful of the Han states, namely Ten [Qin] and Nha [Zhou], are humbled and their territories redistributed. Allied Han states recieve benefits, such as the small state of Lo [Lu] which grows to become one of the most powerful of the Han states.

In his old age, he retires from the field and focuses his aggressive energies upon his own empire. Like the Qin Shihuang of OTL, he is a centralizing figure, but instead of forming the basis of a Han Chinese state, he creates a powerful empire defined by it's cultural and political opposition to the Han Chinese. Elements of Han culture are adopted, but almost always altered to fit with a national Yue identity. By uniting the Hundred Yue tribes, with the sword and pen, he forms a cultural bulwark against Sinicization. A national script was instituted, based on the intricate bird seal script, and a national language, Yue, is propagated to mixed success (becoming the most widely used language, and the language of government and learning, but regional dialects of Yue would remain.)

Han immigration into the empire of the Yue is tightly controlled and positions of power are limited to Yue or those Han who can forge a Yue lineage. Eventually a large wall was built across the middle of the north China plain, from the mountainous Shandong peninsula to the Qingling mountains, using brute human force to subdue geographical destiny. With advanced weaponry, a complex network of canals and a naval focus, the empire will survive for a thousand years, and it see the establishment of the standard of East Asian history: a powerful, unified south lording over squabbling northern kingdoms.

Today, the situation is retained. The Yue now refer to themselves in their language as the Vuet Empire, which is represented in the map. The Han states are kept separated by their own squabbling and Vuet intervention against upstarts. Lacking an imperial patron, Confucianism never succeeded in overwhelming it's opponents, and their remain a dozens of fermenting philosophical schools. Mohism, with it's emphasis on austerity and defensiveness, has the edge and is the most widely practiced philosophical school. The Vuet have settled on a form of Buddhism (introduced directly from Tibet and India), informed by ancestor worship and traditional religion as their religious ethos, and Legalism has made the most impact on their political face.

The northern states, the furthest removed from the Vuet behemoth and with the most autonomy, are constantly threatened by Hong No [Xiong Nu] and other barbarian tribes who harry them from the north. In the west, the state of Yen [Yan], pushed slowly eastward and northward by the expanding Lo [Lu], have entered an existential struggle with the Korean state of Traosan [Joseon, or more accurately Gojoseon], while the Tan [Dong Jin (Eastern Jin)] confederation has been heavily influenced by Mohist Te [Qi]. The most interesting thing about the Tan is how their form of Mohism combined with the confederal government has seen the rise of a form of classical republicanism (or oligarchy). Meanwhile, the Nuy [Wa] tribes of Japan, influenced by the Tan and Vuet, are beginning to move from barbarism to civilization.