Moonlight in a Jar: An Al-Andalus Timeline
- Thread starter Planet of Hats
- Start date
-
- Tags
- al-andalus cordoba timeline
Planet of Hats
Donor
One's coming soon, yeah.
I actually don't. I just do a lot of reading. When a topic comes up, I try to read up on it enough to write about it in a way that respects reality and hopefully gets outside a few historiographical cliches.
The Sixth Sun, heh.
Really like it. Especially the part where Sahelian syncretics themselves are the main protagonists of the spread of Islam. Just like 8th century Berbers and 15th century Javanese.
Ok, I see the Pre-Inca seem to get "lucky" in getting the diseases BEFORE any Old World adventurers able to get them. Wouldn't they be able to rebuild in a generation or two?
9 carracks worth of people, huh. I forgot, but how many Andalusis live in the colonies already? Like in the *Azores, Canarias, African offshore islands? Great to see them acting more like Carthage with trading posts everywhere than Catholic powers' fortified-monasteries!
Really like it. Especially the part where Sahelian syncretics themselves are the main protagonists of the spread of Islam. Just like 8th century Berbers and 15th century Javanese.
Ok, I see the Pre-Inca seem to get "lucky" in getting the diseases BEFORE any Old World adventurers able to get them. Wouldn't they be able to rebuild in a generation or two?
9 carracks worth of people, huh. I forgot, but how many Andalusis live in the colonies already? Like in the *Azores, Canarias, African offshore islands? Great to see them acting more like Carthage with trading posts everywhere than Catholic powers' fortified-monasteries!
ACT VII Part XV: What the Torogoz Said
Planet of Hats
Donor
It had been entirely too long since he'd last breathed the familiar air of Zama. Years - though he'd been back on occasions since everything changed for him, each return visit felt like wrapping oneself in a familiar blanket, one woven of old memories and fond recollections, comfortable even for all that he had grown.
As the saqin slid towards the shoreline, Abd al-Jabar brushed back a fold of his indigo and red robe, leaning over the edge a little with a familiar smile that etched lines of comfort and warmth into his weathered face. The biggest difference from his childhood was the wooden dock sticking out into the water a ways, built to accommodate visits from Muslim traders - traders like Hasan al-Jalal, the man who had been vaulted into power in Zama between the man's last visit and now. He'd never known the man and he barely understood what circumstances had brought him into leadership of this place in particular, but among the men at court, Abd al-Jabar had a singular distinction: He not only understood both sides' languages, but their beliefs and their ways of life.
How could he not? Abd al-Jabar had lived them, back when his name was Ikal.
"So this is where you used to live," his wife mused as she stepped over the edge of the craft and onto the pier, taking care to keep her hair covered despite a warm breeze toying with her garments. Nuwayra's dark eyes took in the sight of the city on the cliff with quiet wonder. "It feels smaller than home."
"It is. But it was home," Abd al-Jabar conceded with a familiar smile, reaching out to take her by the hand.
Time had changed him - nearly thirty years' worth, more of his life lived in Al-Andalus by now than had been lived in the land they called Quwunah for some reason.[1] The years had shot Ikal's dark hair through with silver, though he'd never been able to grow a beard, no matter how much the other Muslims told him he probably should. Truthfully, his challenges with that didn't bother him all that much. He didn't like the feel of it.
His oldest son, Muhammad, was having more luck with it. It must've come from his mother's side. Nuwayra's father was of the Zenata and had a particularly rich, flowing beard, and it appeared to run in the family.
The names had taken some getting used to. When he'd converted, he'd named himself as the Andalusians did. It took him a long time to get used to thinking of himself as Abd al-Jabar ibn Chan az-Zami the teacher of Maya tongue, not as Ah Ikal Chan. Forgetting the name of his birth was simply impossible when his job was to teach aspiring merchants to speak the tongue of the people they would be trading with.
Shaking his head, he indulged in a low chuckle at the sight of a couple of porters from the ship carrying crates of incense along the dock. The sound drew a curious look from Nuwayra, her smile slightly bemused. "What is it?"
"Irony, I suppose." Abd al-Jabar scratched his cheek and looked from the porters back up towards the cliff and the shapes of the familiar structures above them. "I remember being a young man on a boat, taking incense to that temple up there. It almost feels like I have finished the trip, much too late."
Her smile softened a little, long fingers sliding neatly into the gaps between his. "Do you wish it had been different?"
"Not at all." He meant it. "If it had been different, I might never have known God. And I would never have known you, or known the children."
The rosy traces of a blush traced Nuwayra's cheeks as she glanced to one side, but she couldn't hide a hint of a pleased look in her eyes, little sparks dancing behind the pools of deep brown. "Such fond words for a man returning home with a young family," she murmured with a hint of affected shyness.
Soon enough, they were joined by the others. They'd had three children together - Muhammad the eldest, tall and broad-faced with a full beard, and their daughters Muzayna and Awriya, both in their teenage years, along with Muhammad's wife Hassana and the infant boy Jalhama dozing in her arms. The porters followed with the loaded pack horses as they ascended towards the destination Abd al-Jabar had been diverted from in another life, in another time.
A familiar song caught his ear, croaking and regular. It took his eyes a few seconds to spot the bird, perched on a branch off to one side. "Well, hello there," he murmured affectionately as he gazed up at the little avian, brown but with flashes of turquoise at wings and brow, its trailing tail and single dangling feather wagging periodically like the ticking hand of a clock.
"What is it, father?" Awriya asked, her voice hushed with wonder as the little family paused to stare up at it for a moment.
"The torogoz,"[2] Abd al-Jabar explained with a little smile. "Watch him a moment."
The bird cocked its head at them a moment, then boosted itself into the air with a flutter of wings, sailing past on a breath of air.
The torogoz darted overhead with a last croak of song before vanishing out of view behind a sprig of foliage, leaving Iqal to blink a couple of times in mild surprise. "Huh. Those don't come out to the cities much anymore."
"Maybe it got bored." One of the other students waved a hand dismissively as the rest of the class made their way down the hot concrete of the launch, one of many hydroliner berths lined up along the coast in the shadow of the lights of Zamah. They were home in Cawania now, ready to link up with the maglev that would carry them from Zamah to Shillah and back to their domiciles. The learning expedition to Al-Andalus had taught him a lot - and yet, questions still remained.
His eyes followed the direction the torogoz had fled, lingering a moment longer. Then he shrugged and sighed, moving back into the single-file line.
A quick trip later, the maglev streaked across the landscape, long ago a lush jungle, today more managed, dotted with hydroponic farms and replanted trees complementing the natural forest they'd never fully managed to tame. Beyond the window, the billow of seeded clouds let the gentle rays of sunlight through, enough to cool the day a little more and take another step towards healing the world of the heat-wounds inflicted upon it. Curious shadow patterns danced across Iqal's side as the light streamed through various pieces of scenery past which the tramcar shot, but his attention was entirely on the small screen in his hand and the text tracking slowly across it - something he'd dug out of one of the research libraries.
The academic language was dense enough that getting through it had been a nightmare, but the thesis of it was simple enough: Tracing the footsteps of settlers to the Algarves, especially in the earliest days, was no easy task, and from all accounts there was a lot of crossover. Andalusians and Berbers crossing over to live among Algarvians. Natives crossing over to live in Al-Andalus, then crossing back over, having adopted the ways of the Muslims. And no one keeping track of it all.
Not for the first time, Iqal vaguely wished he could go back in time and figure it all out, because the alternative bugged him: That he might never know who his ancestor was, and why the name 'Iqal' seemed to recur in his paternal lineage so often.
For all he knew, maybe he should've asked the torogoz after all.
But then, maybe the history books aren't where I need to look, he mused as he cupped his cheek in his hand and gazed out the window as the countryside of Cawania flew by at nearly 450 kilometres per hour. He barely saw it - not at this speed, anyway.
His mind was elsewhere. On a time before all this - not magnetic levitation or ground effect, but wood and sail, steam and steel. The kind of time he would've loved to return to.
[1] It's your own fault, Ikal. Or I guess theirs.
[2] The turquoise-browed motmot.
As the saqin slid towards the shoreline, Abd al-Jabar brushed back a fold of his indigo and red robe, leaning over the edge a little with a familiar smile that etched lines of comfort and warmth into his weathered face. The biggest difference from his childhood was the wooden dock sticking out into the water a ways, built to accommodate visits from Muslim traders - traders like Hasan al-Jalal, the man who had been vaulted into power in Zama between the man's last visit and now. He'd never known the man and he barely understood what circumstances had brought him into leadership of this place in particular, but among the men at court, Abd al-Jabar had a singular distinction: He not only understood both sides' languages, but their beliefs and their ways of life.
How could he not? Abd al-Jabar had lived them, back when his name was Ikal.
"So this is where you used to live," his wife mused as she stepped over the edge of the craft and onto the pier, taking care to keep her hair covered despite a warm breeze toying with her garments. Nuwayra's dark eyes took in the sight of the city on the cliff with quiet wonder. "It feels smaller than home."
"It is. But it was home," Abd al-Jabar conceded with a familiar smile, reaching out to take her by the hand.
Time had changed him - nearly thirty years' worth, more of his life lived in Al-Andalus by now than had been lived in the land they called Quwunah for some reason.[1] The years had shot Ikal's dark hair through with silver, though he'd never been able to grow a beard, no matter how much the other Muslims told him he probably should. Truthfully, his challenges with that didn't bother him all that much. He didn't like the feel of it.
His oldest son, Muhammad, was having more luck with it. It must've come from his mother's side. Nuwayra's father was of the Zenata and had a particularly rich, flowing beard, and it appeared to run in the family.
The names had taken some getting used to. When he'd converted, he'd named himself as the Andalusians did. It took him a long time to get used to thinking of himself as Abd al-Jabar ibn Chan az-Zami the teacher of Maya tongue, not as Ah Ikal Chan. Forgetting the name of his birth was simply impossible when his job was to teach aspiring merchants to speak the tongue of the people they would be trading with.
Shaking his head, he indulged in a low chuckle at the sight of a couple of porters from the ship carrying crates of incense along the dock. The sound drew a curious look from Nuwayra, her smile slightly bemused. "What is it?"
"Irony, I suppose." Abd al-Jabar scratched his cheek and looked from the porters back up towards the cliff and the shapes of the familiar structures above them. "I remember being a young man on a boat, taking incense to that temple up there. It almost feels like I have finished the trip, much too late."
Her smile softened a little, long fingers sliding neatly into the gaps between his. "Do you wish it had been different?"
"Not at all." He meant it. "If it had been different, I might never have known God. And I would never have known you, or known the children."
The rosy traces of a blush traced Nuwayra's cheeks as she glanced to one side, but she couldn't hide a hint of a pleased look in her eyes, little sparks dancing behind the pools of deep brown. "Such fond words for a man returning home with a young family," she murmured with a hint of affected shyness.
Soon enough, they were joined by the others. They'd had three children together - Muhammad the eldest, tall and broad-faced with a full beard, and their daughters Muzayna and Awriya, both in their teenage years, along with Muhammad's wife Hassana and the infant boy Jalhama dozing in her arms. The porters followed with the loaded pack horses as they ascended towards the destination Abd al-Jabar had been diverted from in another life, in another time.
A familiar song caught his ear, croaking and regular. It took his eyes a few seconds to spot the bird, perched on a branch off to one side. "Well, hello there," he murmured affectionately as he gazed up at the little avian, brown but with flashes of turquoise at wings and brow, its trailing tail and single dangling feather wagging periodically like the ticking hand of a clock.
"What is it, father?" Awriya asked, her voice hushed with wonder as the little family paused to stare up at it for a moment.
"The torogoz,"[2] Abd al-Jabar explained with a little smile. "Watch him a moment."
The bird cocked its head at them a moment, then boosted itself into the air with a flutter of wings, sailing past on a breath of air.
~
~
The torogoz darted overhead with a last croak of song before vanishing out of view behind a sprig of foliage, leaving Iqal to blink a couple of times in mild surprise. "Huh. Those don't come out to the cities much anymore."
"Maybe it got bored." One of the other students waved a hand dismissively as the rest of the class made their way down the hot concrete of the launch, one of many hydroliner berths lined up along the coast in the shadow of the lights of Zamah. They were home in Cawania now, ready to link up with the maglev that would carry them from Zamah to Shillah and back to their domiciles. The learning expedition to Al-Andalus had taught him a lot - and yet, questions still remained.
His eyes followed the direction the torogoz had fled, lingering a moment longer. Then he shrugged and sighed, moving back into the single-file line.
A quick trip later, the maglev streaked across the landscape, long ago a lush jungle, today more managed, dotted with hydroponic farms and replanted trees complementing the natural forest they'd never fully managed to tame. Beyond the window, the billow of seeded clouds let the gentle rays of sunlight through, enough to cool the day a little more and take another step towards healing the world of the heat-wounds inflicted upon it. Curious shadow patterns danced across Iqal's side as the light streamed through various pieces of scenery past which the tramcar shot, but his attention was entirely on the small screen in his hand and the text tracking slowly across it - something he'd dug out of one of the research libraries.
The academic language was dense enough that getting through it had been a nightmare, but the thesis of it was simple enough: Tracing the footsteps of settlers to the Algarves, especially in the earliest days, was no easy task, and from all accounts there was a lot of crossover. Andalusians and Berbers crossing over to live among Algarvians. Natives crossing over to live in Al-Andalus, then crossing back over, having adopted the ways of the Muslims. And no one keeping track of it all.
Not for the first time, Iqal vaguely wished he could go back in time and figure it all out, because the alternative bugged him: That he might never know who his ancestor was, and why the name 'Iqal' seemed to recur in his paternal lineage so often.
For all he knew, maybe he should've asked the torogoz after all.
But then, maybe the history books aren't where I need to look, he mused as he cupped his cheek in his hand and gazed out the window as the countryside of Cawania flew by at nearly 450 kilometres per hour. He barely saw it - not at this speed, anyway.
His mind was elsewhere. On a time before all this - not magnetic levitation or ground effect, but wood and sail, steam and steel. The kind of time he would've loved to return to.
END OF ACT VII "SAILING INTO A NEW WORLD"
SOON TO COME
THE EIGHTH ERA
OF MOONLIGHT IN A JAR
"DAYS OF SAIL AND STEAM"
AN AGE THAT WILL DEFINE A WORLD'S FUTURE
SOON TO COME
THE EIGHTH ERA
OF MOONLIGHT IN A JAR
"DAYS OF SAIL AND STEAM"
AN AGE THAT WILL DEFINE A WORLD'S FUTURE
~
[1] It's your own fault, Ikal. Or I guess theirs.
[2] The turquoise-browed motmot.
Planet of Hats
Donor
You can expect steam to roll out much differently than it would've in, say, England 400 years later.
China doesn't have as much of a need to replace man-power. You may see steam rolled out rather more gradually, rather than indicating a quantum leap to an age of immediate smokestacks and industrialism. That said, the pace of technology is shaping up to be faster here owing to the longer existence of the Song and the continuation of the Islamic Golden Age, and I've hinted a little bit about the effects on the future world in terms of rising sea levels and increased global warming.
Andalusians right now are the masters of ships. Wu China are the only ones to understand steam. Basically we might get kind of a neat sailpunk age.
last admiral
Banned
*Assassin Creed Syndicate intensified*
"Dont send for the detective, let make this elementary".
Malay/Johore/Malacca*: Hei, why everyone forgot about us?! REEEEE....
(*)If they still didnt fall in otl 1511.
Sailpunk.... nice. What an interesting concept.
The interplay between the Wu and Andalus is going to be exciting.
Also, Iqal , Ikal. Just wow. The parallels between ancestor and descendant are masterful. I can only imagine when Iqal finds out who is ancestor is that it’s going to be quite the reveal.
Finally, Hasan al Jalal sounds like an enigmatic figure. He’s definitely national hero, founding father material. Epics are going to be written about him.
Yet, on the other hand you can argue men like Al Zami should be heralded as a real national figure and a founding father for Cawania. In my opinion, he’s probably one of the most important people in timeline considering his role as a translator and cultural facilitator. His life experiences and his knowledge alone make him able to bridge the Algarves with Al-Andalus.
wow modern world sounds advanced. Also i have no idea what happened, did a native return home with his andalusian family?
Cue insane and irrational personal hope for a pan-nationalist Nusantara to form.
Well...even with superchina...seems the muslim Javanese and other will clash with confucio-budisth in the region them.
Well, China and Andalus can't fight over control of your ports if you sink all their ships. So there'd at least be a wish for this among the elite of the Indonesian islands, and maybe some local state could grow powerful enough to cater to it.
Java expects every man to do his duty...
There was a line by a leader of Majapahit OTL on an idea to unite the isles, if memory serves.
I imagine that if a local ruler decides to tax all trade within his ports and uses that wealth to expand across all of the archipelago or as much as possible, then you are looking at a power that may not have the strongest military, but might be the wealthiest nation in the world at one point. Maybe they’ll let their ports open to all... who pay a price. With trade comes new ideas and they’ll be ahead of the learning curve when it comes to new technologies. People from all over the world might want to set up shop here further enriching the islands. In fact, wealth can buy mercenaries and who needs a large standing army when you’re filthy rich. I see a New Carthage in the makings almost.
Don't forget the cash if someone can catch all of the spice islands, monopolize them and maintain control over it.
INTERMISSION VII: Dat Mapdate, 1387 Edition
Planet of Hats
Donor
The time is once again upon us for a new chapter, which can only mean one thing: Time for dat mapdate.
Europe and the Mediterranean World
Santiago and Navarre: Grumbling and paying tribute to a resurgent Al-Andalus following the recapture of Braga. The Santiagonians - who are now ruled by an indigenous dynasty from Corunna - are looking to fight back, but for the first time in awhile they're at a disadvantage: Al-Andalus has early guns and a ton of cash with which to buy in mercenaries. The balance of power in Iberia, in other words, may for the first time in centuries be shifting towards the Moors, or at least shifting away from a tense status quo punctuated by occasional hallmarks of Andalusian territorial decline.
The Asmarids of the Maghreb: With the Northern Blue Army well and truly whomped, the Asmarids basically operate as an arm of the Caliph-Hajib combo in Al-Andalus. The Asmarid Emir rules his lands as he sees fit but also tends to support the government in Isbili, and trading efforts tend to be carried out somewhat cooperatively. This friendliness - and the increasing dominance over Maghrebi politics exercised by Berber-Andalusian traders in the coastal cities - has steadily transformed society in the Maghreb, leading to an expansion of agriculture and an increase in cosmopolitan attitudes. It also means Berbers are crossing over more readily into Andalusian society and finding themselves able to function.
The League of Ravenna: The current Pope, Laurentius II, is in the sixth year of his pontificate, and he's taking a personal interest in mustering Christendom against the Bataids - despite the fact that Christendom does not really want to muster and more than a few kings are sick of years of "Strong Pope" popes running roughshod with the help of the Church Knights. Assembled in 1376, the League of Ravenna consists of the Papal State and the Church Knights, Hungary, Meridiana and Venice, along with the Duke of Bavaria. The Holy Roman Empire and Italy nominally support the League but are too busy fighting each other to meet the Bataid menace. Already the League managed to prevent the Bataids from capturing Trieste. However, the members of the League don't necessarily trust each other, and tensions exist in the Christian alliance, particularly in terms of whether the Pope is in charge or the kings are.
Provencia: The Grand Duke in Marselha is toying with signing his correspondences as "the King of Romania." There was a nasty scrap with the Holy Roman Empire in the 1360s over control of a chunk of the Rhone Valley. The Germans won, and the Provencals had to strip the gold off the fixings in the ducal palace to pay the reparations demanded of them. Not their brightest hour, but they tend to make up for it by snarling at the Andalusians a lot and making mean faces towards the Balearics.
France: In a period of challenge but promise, the reign of Queen Clarimonde and King Consort Jocelyn has finally brought to France what the failure to launch of the Capets did not bring: A stabilizing ruler with sufficient land to his name to maintain his power. Jocelyn, of the House of Rouen, is also the powerful Duke of Normandy, and his son Jocelyn II stands ready to inherit both Normandy and France. Clarimonde herself is 65 and still hale, quietly managing things behind the scenes and grooming young Jocelyn II into an able heir who can bring France the strength it deserves. At the moment the kingdom is at peace for the first time in a few years, and trade with Angland has picked up, bringing prosperity to the Norman coast and putting a lot of Norman French traders in cities like London.
Angland and Scotland: Still smarting over losing control of Norway to the Danish, the Anglish managed to consolidate control of Ireland. A war with Scotland in the 1360s saw them gain control of lands up to Galloway, only to be beaten back from the limits of their conquests by armies personally led by brave Donald V, King of Scots. The war saw King Colmond struck down on the field by a mere Scottish soldier and hastily buried, but with Colmond having no children, his slow-witted brother Arvid IV was thrust onto the throne. A civil war then followed as Arvid was abruptly killed and the throne was usurped from his son Oliver by forces loyal to Erick, Earl of Lincoln. Erick has taken the throne and put the House of Lincoln firmly in charge, claiming right to the throne through descent from Colmond's aunt, who was Erick's mother. More broadly, the authority of the Roman church has somewhat waned in Angland lately: While they're still Catholic, papal decrees tend to be ignored quietly here, and most ecclesiastical matters tend to be seen to by the Archbishop of York, who is a supporter of Erick. In general, the Archbishops of York tend to be close advisors to the crown. The relationship between the crown and the archbishop has not gone unnoticed in the northern European world.
The Holy Roman Empire: Burst into flames as part of the last succession crisis in 1367, when the imperial title was asserted by Meinhard II, Duke of Bohemia. Meinhard is the head of the House of Geroldseck and controls not only Bohemia, but Baden, the Franche-Comte, Forez and - through regency to his mother - Lower Lorraine. By far, Meinhard is the most powerful noble in the Holy Roman Empire. While he did manage to win some support, especially among the Germans, his candidacy sparked a war with the Duke of Saxony, who wants the title for himself. Meinhard won the war and was crowned in 1373, but he's presently engaged in a war with Guido of Canossa, Margrave of Tuscany, who was crowned King of Italy by the northern peninsular lords and Party of the Church backers in opposition to Meinhard. He's also engaged in an effort to beat down Bataid raiders coming up from Croatia to plunder around Bavaria.
Hungary: The Hungarian ruling house died out in 1354, and the throne was succeeded to by Albert of Havelland, a German and the great-grandson of a prior king. It took him a few years to consolidate himself and bludgeon the nobility into shape, but the House of Havelland currently rules in Hungary. They've sought cozier relations with the Holy Roman Empire and joined in the League of Ravenna.
Denmark: Riding high off their consolidation of Norway earlier in the century, the Danish are in the midst of an era of prosperity, trading briskly with the English, Scots, Germans and others. They fence sometimes with rebels, but the biggest news here is that they're getting better at shipbuilding.
Livonia: Still has a German ruling class, but most of its aristocracy consists of Christianized Prussians and Baltic Germans, though pagan beliefs continue to survive in the country. A little frosty with Novgorod over rights to the region of Ugandi. (Not Uganda.)
Great Novgorod: Novgorod managed to swallow the Tavastian Kingdom in the 1350s or so, with the Finnish ruling class largely converting to Greek Christianity - or is it Slavic Christianity now? Under a series of vigorous Grand Princes, Novgorod has expanded its sphere of influence into the Baltic and up into the lands of the Nenets people, and it's begun to prosper as a fur trading kingdom. Novgorod itself is booming, as is the area around Kholmogory on the Northern Dvina, but the interesting place is a newish city at the mouth of the Neva, known as Nevsk. While the Old Novgorod Dialect is the language of state, a lot of this state's subjects are actually Finnic, and there's a heavy influence of Finns, Nenets and especially Votes. The Votes in particular are well-integrated. Novgorod is mostly getting snarly at Sweden right now over Swedish claims to Finland.
The rest of Russia: The pressure being put on the Cumans by the collapse of the Tabans and the migration of the Argyns and Tuvans has basically scattered Cumans everywhere. The re-centralization process being enjoyed in Vladimir and Galicia has crumbled as various local princes ally with rogue Cuman and Argyn khans, and it's now a free-for-all to determine which prince will emerge on top. (It won't be Novgorod; they're too busy with the fur trade.)
The Bataids: Expanding and making surly noises towards their foes. After a few decades of trying, the Bataids managed to devour the Roman remnant on Cyprus. More notably, though, is that the Bataids rounded from their conquests in the Haemus and spent a few years fighting the remnants of the Abbasid Caliphate. This stemmed from Bataid efforts to centralize themselves as "the centre of Islam," and the Abbasid refusal to move to Constantinople. That stopped when the Bataids invaded and supported a particular Abbasid contender as Caliph. There's a lot of debate within the faith now as to whether the current line of the Abbasid family is genuinely supported or chosen by the ummah, or if the position is up for grabs.
The Rest of Asia
Persia: The Mezinid Shahdom is in its ascendancy after smashing the weakened Gurkhanate. While the Mezinids are Kurdish and probably of Turkmen origin, they've nevertheless consolidated themselves in Rayy and gotten the region back on track, ruling as an ethnically Persian dynasty - the first in generations. They're fuelled by an immense wave of cultural pride here.
The Indus and the North of India: The Tarazids collapsed in on themselves not long before Ibn Qasi arrived, quickly being overthrown by the ambitious Karluk general Qaymaqar, who rules the mouth of the river. However, while he has a strong army, much of it was exhausted in an inconclusive war with the Mezinids. The inability of Qaymaqar to exert control over all the Tarazid holdings has led to fragmentation. While the Hindu Seunas have filled some of the void, the rest has fallen into feuding principalities, mostly Hindu. Only the Badayun Sultanate is still ruled by Muslims, though they're heavily influenced by a Hindu bureaucratic class.
The Jirghadaiids: Interesting in that they're a Persianized dynasty, but of Naiman origin. They're the last Naiman dynasty still out there, though they are Muslim.
The Taban Successor States: The collapse of the Tabans created four successor-states. The Khanate of Qocho has a Taban ruling class but is mostly controlled by Uyghurs. The Khanate of Almaliq, under a dynasty descended from Altan Khan's son Menggei, is a mix of Turkic, Taban, Naiman and Persianate people, with Nestorians and Buddhists most prominent among them. The Khanate of Khwarezm, under the dynasty of Altan Khan's youngest brother Khutughu, is largely pagan but with a mix of other religions. Of the three, Almaliq is the most powerful.
The Argyns and Tuvans, and Qimir: Many of the Tuvans in particular have adopted Nestorianism. These hordes are beginning to follow the great steppe superhighway east and are filtering into Russia and the Haemus in dribs and drabs, but many are also filtering into the former Black Olesh, particularly those who profess a Nestorian faith.
Qimir: The arrival of the Tuvans - and more than a few fleeing Naimans - has had huge ramifications for this area and the melting-pot people living there. The land now called Qimir is now ruled by an urbanized dynasty of Tuvan stock, who came in and basically took over before adopting the culture and shifting to the Kipchak-based language used in the area. Nestorianism is gaining ground against Greek-Slavic Christianity among the upper classes. A particular church in the main city at Hersones is now a Nestorian cathedral and has gained a bell tower that looks suspiciously like a square Persianesque minaret, and if you go in, you might hear a few people throat-singing hymns to Jesus.
The Radha Kingdom: A Buddhist kingdom controlling much of Bengal and the lands of Rakhine. There's a substantial Muslim presence here, and the Andalusians have begun to realize this is a really great place to trade, too. This is one of the most prosperous kingdoms in Asia right now.
Tibet: o/` back toge~ther~ o/`
Continental Southeast Asia: The Khmer are in a state of terminal decline, leading to new power centres forming. The biggest kingdom in the area is Lavo, which had it out with the Burmese kingdom of Dala and basically took the Irrawaddy delta for its own purposes. As a result, Lavo enjoys enormous prosperity and control over certain trade routes, bringing in a great deal of wealth. Meanwhile, in the mountains, smaller lordships persist.
Broader Nusantara: The Aceh Sultanate remains a loose client of Wu China, but the big story in the islands has been the meteoric rise of the Janggala Kingdom, centred on the area around Surabaya. They're a powerful Hindu-Buddhist thalassocracy and don't have a tributary relationship with the Wu yet. Some Muslims do live here, but they're a minority.
The Eastern Islands: The ones making a lot of money here are actually the kinglets in Ryukyu. Don't sleep on this one.
Wu China: Just coming into power and beginning to stretch their wings, the Wu are in a position where they have lost a lot of the Yellow River area to the Hei of the north. However, by this point, Ru Wenjun - Emperor Qingzu - has consolidated the nobility behind him and asserted his claim to the Mandate of Heaven. He has everything he needs, and then some, to push the Neo-Khitans back into the north and begin what he feels will be a great age.
Sudan (Sub-Saharan Africa):
The Ghanimids: The big power in the Hilalian Sudan, they are Arabs and Arabized Nubians ruling from what used to be Alodia, and they are Shia. At the moment they're making a lot of money with the trade to Egypt, as they're a source of two important things: Coffee and slaves.
The Ganda Emirate: Nilotic-speaking Shia Muslims are beginning to flood into the Great Lakes region, and at this point it looks likely that they will soon be in a position to overthrow Ganda's ruling class and form their own emirate. In general, Shia Islam - spread by the post-Hilalian Arabized Sudani nomads migrating down from the Nile - stands to be enormously influential in the east-central Sudan.
The Hussenids: Another group of Afro-Hilalians, these descended from Arabs and members of the Daju ethnicity. They are Shia, they are nomads, and some of them have settled along the Bahr Aouk River in what is, OTL, the northern Central African Republic. Most of these nomads - part of the broader "Lala" group - wander that broad area or live in small villages. Slave raiding tends to be a profit source for them, largely because they're coming in with an edge in technology and advancement and have connections with the wealthier kingdoms in the north.
Senegambia and the Niger: The Mali Empire got crashed into at high speed by an angry Blue Army, and while Mande authority still exists, the Blue Army remains a menace here well after being tamed in the north. The fragmenting of the Malian empire has led to the more Arabized Serer Simala Kingdom taking over the mantle of the main trading kingdom, with the smaller Niani Kingdom something of a Simala client at this point. The Simala love to use Fulani wanderers as soldiers and mercenaries. I'm sure this will never backfire, ever.
The Kongo Emirate: The impacts of Asian rice and Muslim trade gold are beginning to be felt here. The kingdoms along the Kongo are beginning to consolidate following the conquests of a particularly ambitious local group from Mpemba Kasi, originating as a group of Muslims with deep connections in the royal circle. While Islam is still not the religion of the masses, the new Emir considers himself a Muslim and observes the sunnah as best he can, though much like Mali, Islam is catching on here in a somewhat syncretic way.
Al-Qamar: The sea route to Mecca has its first beneficiary! Muslim traders are already present on the OTL islands of Comoros. Here, they've been more than happy to give some rest and relaxation to the rich folks coming by to perform the Hajj.
The Gharb al-Aqsa and the Sunset Ocean:
The Tepanecs: Currently falling apart amidst a wave of plagues and political unrest.
The Purepecha: Also currently falling apart amidst a wave of plagues, but they've held together somewhat better. Really, no one in Central America is not getting absolutely devastated by the epidemic diseases brought by the Andalusians and Berbers and spread by everyone who can possibly carry it. That said, it's likely the Purepecha will survive, in some form.
The Guachichil: Epidemic diseases are taking their toll, but the Guachichil are a bit more spread out than the dense urban folks in the valley. Those who survive have access to a few horses and are trading for more. They're by far the best positioned of the Chichimeca to survive the onslaught of germs coming over the ocean.
The Tapajos: Epidemic diseases are taking their toll, but the Tapajos are somehow managing to hold on to their little corner of the Amazon, preventing Andalusian explorers from getting much farther down the river. Despite the more advanced tech of the Tepanecs and Nahuas and the big cities of the Maya, the Tapajos are actually the most formidable resistance that Andalusians have encountered so far, proving able to defeat Andalusians in sophisticated ships and with advanced weapons.
The Haida: Their tributary network collapsed following the death of Raven Eyes, who will undoubtedly pass into legend as part of the Haida mythos.
The Tu'i Tonga Empire: Is it Tonga time? I think it's Tonga time. Don't look now, but Tonga's quietly getting big and spreading their language and culture around the Polynesian islands.
Europe and the Mediterranean World
Santiago and Navarre: Grumbling and paying tribute to a resurgent Al-Andalus following the recapture of Braga. The Santiagonians - who are now ruled by an indigenous dynasty from Corunna - are looking to fight back, but for the first time in awhile they're at a disadvantage: Al-Andalus has early guns and a ton of cash with which to buy in mercenaries. The balance of power in Iberia, in other words, may for the first time in centuries be shifting towards the Moors, or at least shifting away from a tense status quo punctuated by occasional hallmarks of Andalusian territorial decline.
The Asmarids of the Maghreb: With the Northern Blue Army well and truly whomped, the Asmarids basically operate as an arm of the Caliph-Hajib combo in Al-Andalus. The Asmarid Emir rules his lands as he sees fit but also tends to support the government in Isbili, and trading efforts tend to be carried out somewhat cooperatively. This friendliness - and the increasing dominance over Maghrebi politics exercised by Berber-Andalusian traders in the coastal cities - has steadily transformed society in the Maghreb, leading to an expansion of agriculture and an increase in cosmopolitan attitudes. It also means Berbers are crossing over more readily into Andalusian society and finding themselves able to function.
The League of Ravenna: The current Pope, Laurentius II, is in the sixth year of his pontificate, and he's taking a personal interest in mustering Christendom against the Bataids - despite the fact that Christendom does not really want to muster and more than a few kings are sick of years of "Strong Pope" popes running roughshod with the help of the Church Knights. Assembled in 1376, the League of Ravenna consists of the Papal State and the Church Knights, Hungary, Meridiana and Venice, along with the Duke of Bavaria. The Holy Roman Empire and Italy nominally support the League but are too busy fighting each other to meet the Bataid menace. Already the League managed to prevent the Bataids from capturing Trieste. However, the members of the League don't necessarily trust each other, and tensions exist in the Christian alliance, particularly in terms of whether the Pope is in charge or the kings are.
Provencia: The Grand Duke in Marselha is toying with signing his correspondences as "the King of Romania." There was a nasty scrap with the Holy Roman Empire in the 1360s over control of a chunk of the Rhone Valley. The Germans won, and the Provencals had to strip the gold off the fixings in the ducal palace to pay the reparations demanded of them. Not their brightest hour, but they tend to make up for it by snarling at the Andalusians a lot and making mean faces towards the Balearics.
France: In a period of challenge but promise, the reign of Queen Clarimonde and King Consort Jocelyn has finally brought to France what the failure to launch of the Capets did not bring: A stabilizing ruler with sufficient land to his name to maintain his power. Jocelyn, of the House of Rouen, is also the powerful Duke of Normandy, and his son Jocelyn II stands ready to inherit both Normandy and France. Clarimonde herself is 65 and still hale, quietly managing things behind the scenes and grooming young Jocelyn II into an able heir who can bring France the strength it deserves. At the moment the kingdom is at peace for the first time in a few years, and trade with Angland has picked up, bringing prosperity to the Norman coast and putting a lot of Norman French traders in cities like London.
Angland and Scotland: Still smarting over losing control of Norway to the Danish, the Anglish managed to consolidate control of Ireland. A war with Scotland in the 1360s saw them gain control of lands up to Galloway, only to be beaten back from the limits of their conquests by armies personally led by brave Donald V, King of Scots. The war saw King Colmond struck down on the field by a mere Scottish soldier and hastily buried, but with Colmond having no children, his slow-witted brother Arvid IV was thrust onto the throne. A civil war then followed as Arvid was abruptly killed and the throne was usurped from his son Oliver by forces loyal to Erick, Earl of Lincoln. Erick has taken the throne and put the House of Lincoln firmly in charge, claiming right to the throne through descent from Colmond's aunt, who was Erick's mother. More broadly, the authority of the Roman church has somewhat waned in Angland lately: While they're still Catholic, papal decrees tend to be ignored quietly here, and most ecclesiastical matters tend to be seen to by the Archbishop of York, who is a supporter of Erick. In general, the Archbishops of York tend to be close advisors to the crown. The relationship between the crown and the archbishop has not gone unnoticed in the northern European world.
The Holy Roman Empire: Burst into flames as part of the last succession crisis in 1367, when the imperial title was asserted by Meinhard II, Duke of Bohemia. Meinhard is the head of the House of Geroldseck and controls not only Bohemia, but Baden, the Franche-Comte, Forez and - through regency to his mother - Lower Lorraine. By far, Meinhard is the most powerful noble in the Holy Roman Empire. While he did manage to win some support, especially among the Germans, his candidacy sparked a war with the Duke of Saxony, who wants the title for himself. Meinhard won the war and was crowned in 1373, but he's presently engaged in a war with Guido of Canossa, Margrave of Tuscany, who was crowned King of Italy by the northern peninsular lords and Party of the Church backers in opposition to Meinhard. He's also engaged in an effort to beat down Bataid raiders coming up from Croatia to plunder around Bavaria.
Hungary: The Hungarian ruling house died out in 1354, and the throne was succeeded to by Albert of Havelland, a German and the great-grandson of a prior king. It took him a few years to consolidate himself and bludgeon the nobility into shape, but the House of Havelland currently rules in Hungary. They've sought cozier relations with the Holy Roman Empire and joined in the League of Ravenna.
Denmark: Riding high off their consolidation of Norway earlier in the century, the Danish are in the midst of an era of prosperity, trading briskly with the English, Scots, Germans and others. They fence sometimes with rebels, but the biggest news here is that they're getting better at shipbuilding.
Livonia: Still has a German ruling class, but most of its aristocracy consists of Christianized Prussians and Baltic Germans, though pagan beliefs continue to survive in the country. A little frosty with Novgorod over rights to the region of Ugandi. (Not Uganda.)
Great Novgorod: Novgorod managed to swallow the Tavastian Kingdom in the 1350s or so, with the Finnish ruling class largely converting to Greek Christianity - or is it Slavic Christianity now? Under a series of vigorous Grand Princes, Novgorod has expanded its sphere of influence into the Baltic and up into the lands of the Nenets people, and it's begun to prosper as a fur trading kingdom. Novgorod itself is booming, as is the area around Kholmogory on the Northern Dvina, but the interesting place is a newish city at the mouth of the Neva, known as Nevsk. While the Old Novgorod Dialect is the language of state, a lot of this state's subjects are actually Finnic, and there's a heavy influence of Finns, Nenets and especially Votes. The Votes in particular are well-integrated. Novgorod is mostly getting snarly at Sweden right now over Swedish claims to Finland.
The rest of Russia: The pressure being put on the Cumans by the collapse of the Tabans and the migration of the Argyns and Tuvans has basically scattered Cumans everywhere. The re-centralization process being enjoyed in Vladimir and Galicia has crumbled as various local princes ally with rogue Cuman and Argyn khans, and it's now a free-for-all to determine which prince will emerge on top. (It won't be Novgorod; they're too busy with the fur trade.)
The Bataids: Expanding and making surly noises towards their foes. After a few decades of trying, the Bataids managed to devour the Roman remnant on Cyprus. More notably, though, is that the Bataids rounded from their conquests in the Haemus and spent a few years fighting the remnants of the Abbasid Caliphate. This stemmed from Bataid efforts to centralize themselves as "the centre of Islam," and the Abbasid refusal to move to Constantinople. That stopped when the Bataids invaded and supported a particular Abbasid contender as Caliph. There's a lot of debate within the faith now as to whether the current line of the Abbasid family is genuinely supported or chosen by the ummah, or if the position is up for grabs.
The Rest of Asia
Persia: The Mezinid Shahdom is in its ascendancy after smashing the weakened Gurkhanate. While the Mezinids are Kurdish and probably of Turkmen origin, they've nevertheless consolidated themselves in Rayy and gotten the region back on track, ruling as an ethnically Persian dynasty - the first in generations. They're fuelled by an immense wave of cultural pride here.
The Indus and the North of India: The Tarazids collapsed in on themselves not long before Ibn Qasi arrived, quickly being overthrown by the ambitious Karluk general Qaymaqar, who rules the mouth of the river. However, while he has a strong army, much of it was exhausted in an inconclusive war with the Mezinids. The inability of Qaymaqar to exert control over all the Tarazid holdings has led to fragmentation. While the Hindu Seunas have filled some of the void, the rest has fallen into feuding principalities, mostly Hindu. Only the Badayun Sultanate is still ruled by Muslims, though they're heavily influenced by a Hindu bureaucratic class.
The Jirghadaiids: Interesting in that they're a Persianized dynasty, but of Naiman origin. They're the last Naiman dynasty still out there, though they are Muslim.
The Taban Successor States: The collapse of the Tabans created four successor-states. The Khanate of Qocho has a Taban ruling class but is mostly controlled by Uyghurs. The Khanate of Almaliq, under a dynasty descended from Altan Khan's son Menggei, is a mix of Turkic, Taban, Naiman and Persianate people, with Nestorians and Buddhists most prominent among them. The Khanate of Khwarezm, under the dynasty of Altan Khan's youngest brother Khutughu, is largely pagan but with a mix of other religions. Of the three, Almaliq is the most powerful.
The Argyns and Tuvans, and Qimir: Many of the Tuvans in particular have adopted Nestorianism. These hordes are beginning to follow the great steppe superhighway east and are filtering into Russia and the Haemus in dribs and drabs, but many are also filtering into the former Black Olesh, particularly those who profess a Nestorian faith.
Qimir: The arrival of the Tuvans - and more than a few fleeing Naimans - has had huge ramifications for this area and the melting-pot people living there. The land now called Qimir is now ruled by an urbanized dynasty of Tuvan stock, who came in and basically took over before adopting the culture and shifting to the Kipchak-based language used in the area. Nestorianism is gaining ground against Greek-Slavic Christianity among the upper classes. A particular church in the main city at Hersones is now a Nestorian cathedral and has gained a bell tower that looks suspiciously like a square Persianesque minaret, and if you go in, you might hear a few people throat-singing hymns to Jesus.
The Radha Kingdom: A Buddhist kingdom controlling much of Bengal and the lands of Rakhine. There's a substantial Muslim presence here, and the Andalusians have begun to realize this is a really great place to trade, too. This is one of the most prosperous kingdoms in Asia right now.
Tibet: o/` back toge~ther~ o/`
Continental Southeast Asia: The Khmer are in a state of terminal decline, leading to new power centres forming. The biggest kingdom in the area is Lavo, which had it out with the Burmese kingdom of Dala and basically took the Irrawaddy delta for its own purposes. As a result, Lavo enjoys enormous prosperity and control over certain trade routes, bringing in a great deal of wealth. Meanwhile, in the mountains, smaller lordships persist.
Broader Nusantara: The Aceh Sultanate remains a loose client of Wu China, but the big story in the islands has been the meteoric rise of the Janggala Kingdom, centred on the area around Surabaya. They're a powerful Hindu-Buddhist thalassocracy and don't have a tributary relationship with the Wu yet. Some Muslims do live here, but they're a minority.
The Eastern Islands: The ones making a lot of money here are actually the kinglets in Ryukyu. Don't sleep on this one.
Wu China: Just coming into power and beginning to stretch their wings, the Wu are in a position where they have lost a lot of the Yellow River area to the Hei of the north. However, by this point, Ru Wenjun - Emperor Qingzu - has consolidated the nobility behind him and asserted his claim to the Mandate of Heaven. He has everything he needs, and then some, to push the Neo-Khitans back into the north and begin what he feels will be a great age.
Sudan (Sub-Saharan Africa):
The Ghanimids: The big power in the Hilalian Sudan, they are Arabs and Arabized Nubians ruling from what used to be Alodia, and they are Shia. At the moment they're making a lot of money with the trade to Egypt, as they're a source of two important things: Coffee and slaves.
The Ganda Emirate: Nilotic-speaking Shia Muslims are beginning to flood into the Great Lakes region, and at this point it looks likely that they will soon be in a position to overthrow Ganda's ruling class and form their own emirate. In general, Shia Islam - spread by the post-Hilalian Arabized Sudani nomads migrating down from the Nile - stands to be enormously influential in the east-central Sudan.
The Hussenids: Another group of Afro-Hilalians, these descended from Arabs and members of the Daju ethnicity. They are Shia, they are nomads, and some of them have settled along the Bahr Aouk River in what is, OTL, the northern Central African Republic. Most of these nomads - part of the broader "Lala" group - wander that broad area or live in small villages. Slave raiding tends to be a profit source for them, largely because they're coming in with an edge in technology and advancement and have connections with the wealthier kingdoms in the north.
Senegambia and the Niger: The Mali Empire got crashed into at high speed by an angry Blue Army, and while Mande authority still exists, the Blue Army remains a menace here well after being tamed in the north. The fragmenting of the Malian empire has led to the more Arabized Serer Simala Kingdom taking over the mantle of the main trading kingdom, with the smaller Niani Kingdom something of a Simala client at this point. The Simala love to use Fulani wanderers as soldiers and mercenaries. I'm sure this will never backfire, ever.
The Kongo Emirate: The impacts of Asian rice and Muslim trade gold are beginning to be felt here. The kingdoms along the Kongo are beginning to consolidate following the conquests of a particularly ambitious local group from Mpemba Kasi, originating as a group of Muslims with deep connections in the royal circle. While Islam is still not the religion of the masses, the new Emir considers himself a Muslim and observes the sunnah as best he can, though much like Mali, Islam is catching on here in a somewhat syncretic way.
Al-Qamar: The sea route to Mecca has its first beneficiary! Muslim traders are already present on the OTL islands of Comoros. Here, they've been more than happy to give some rest and relaxation to the rich folks coming by to perform the Hajj.
The Gharb al-Aqsa and the Sunset Ocean:
The Tepanecs: Currently falling apart amidst a wave of plagues and political unrest.
The Purepecha: Also currently falling apart amidst a wave of plagues, but they've held together somewhat better. Really, no one in Central America is not getting absolutely devastated by the epidemic diseases brought by the Andalusians and Berbers and spread by everyone who can possibly carry it. That said, it's likely the Purepecha will survive, in some form.
The Guachichil: Epidemic diseases are taking their toll, but the Guachichil are a bit more spread out than the dense urban folks in the valley. Those who survive have access to a few horses and are trading for more. They're by far the best positioned of the Chichimeca to survive the onslaught of germs coming over the ocean.
The Tapajos: Epidemic diseases are taking their toll, but the Tapajos are somehow managing to hold on to their little corner of the Amazon, preventing Andalusian explorers from getting much farther down the river. Despite the more advanced tech of the Tepanecs and Nahuas and the big cities of the Maya, the Tapajos are actually the most formidable resistance that Andalusians have encountered so far, proving able to defeat Andalusians in sophisticated ships and with advanced weapons.
The Haida: Their tributary network collapsed following the death of Raven Eyes, who will undoubtedly pass into legend as part of the Haida mythos.
The Tu'i Tonga Empire: Is it Tonga time? I think it's Tonga time. Don't look now, but Tonga's quietly getting big and spreading their language and culture around the Polynesian islands.
Last edited: