Map Thread XIX
- Thread starter water123
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If I may ask, firstly this is a very cool map, very interesting and quite eye-pleasing, why were the Chickasaws, Creeks and Cherokees moved but not the Choctaws and Seminoles, since the US isn't that far south, did the British, Georgia and Carolina performed some sort of Manifest Destiny anyway ?
Based on my older M-BAM, i decided to create a VT-BAM version with a higher resolution and somewhat improved details.
Central Europe after 1945
The North
Denmark annexes South Schleswig, including the Kiel Canal. Kiel itself is an internationalized City under Danish Protection. Areas south of the Kiel Canal are under strict military occupation. North Frisia is a autonomous Republic under Danish protection. But Denmark had to cede Bornholm to the Soviet Union.
Hamburg is an internationalized City under British Protection
Bremen is an internationalized City under American Protection
The Netherlands annex territories according to the Bakker-Schut plan
Parts of the Ruhr Area not annexed by the Netherlands are internationalized, and under control of the Western Powers.
Both Belgium and Luxembourg annex some smaller border territories
The French Occupation Zone
France annexes a few border territories, including the City of Kehl directly next to Strasbourg. Areas under French Occupation are organized into the "Rhine Confederation", consisting of the Republics of Rhineland, Palatinate, Karlsruhe, Swabia and Alemannia, the Saar Republic and the Republic of Mainz. The "Rhine Confederation" has no capital, no army, and all foreign policy is done by France. But at least the 7 Republics managed to coordinate and open their economies to each other. To rebuild their economies, they had to agree to more and more economic integration into France. The Confederation uses the French Franc. There are plans to further integrate the Saar Republic directly into France.
Bavaria
Bavaria is an independent republic, with a strong monarchist movement. Still the monarchy isn't restored yet. There are demands for more autonomy in Franconia. Some Bavarians are still angry, that France still occupies Lindau, and therefore its access to Lake Constance. France plans to integrate Lindau into the Swabian Republic.
The East
Poland and the Soviet Union annex territories like OTL.
The Soviet Union annexes the islands of Rügen, Darß and Fehmarn as marine bases.
Poland annexes Görlitz
A Sorbian Republic, as a Soviet Puppet State is established
Berlin is divided between a Free City in the West, under Western protection, the Eastern Part, under the control of the German Democratic Republic, but with heavy Soviet Military presence, and the French Zone under French Occupation.
The German Democratic Republic controls East Germany. But areas in Saxony and Thuringia, with heavy uranium mining are de facto under a stronger Soviet Control, to support Soviet Nuclear Projects.
The Federal Republic
The states of Holstein, Hannover, Westphalia, Hesse-Kassel, Hesse-Darmstadt and Württemberg form the Federal Republic of Germany, with Frankfurt as its capital (with special status). The Federal Republic has a common currency, but no common military, and is more federalized than OTL West-Germany.
Frankfurt, Hannover and Stuttgart are the largest cities. Many economic centers and transportation routes are lost.
Austria:
Austria is divided into the federalized Republic of Austria, and the Austrian People's Republic under Soviet control. West Vienna belongs to the federalized Republic. The French Zone in Vienna is still under a separated French military government. Vorarlberg decided via a referendum to join Switzerland.
Other Changes:
Aosta-Valley decided to join Switzerland. Trieste is a free City. The Soviet Union occupied multiple islands in the Baltic Sea, including Bornholm from Denmark.
Central Europe after 1945
The North
Denmark annexes South Schleswig, including the Kiel Canal. Kiel itself is an internationalized City under Danish Protection. Areas south of the Kiel Canal are under strict military occupation. North Frisia is a autonomous Republic under Danish protection. But Denmark had to cede Bornholm to the Soviet Union.
Hamburg is an internationalized City under British Protection
Bremen is an internationalized City under American Protection
The Netherlands annex territories according to the Bakker-Schut plan
Parts of the Ruhr Area not annexed by the Netherlands are internationalized, and under control of the Western Powers.
Both Belgium and Luxembourg annex some smaller border territories
The French Occupation Zone
France annexes a few border territories, including the City of Kehl directly next to Strasbourg. Areas under French Occupation are organized into the "Rhine Confederation", consisting of the Republics of Rhineland, Palatinate, Karlsruhe, Swabia and Alemannia, the Saar Republic and the Republic of Mainz. The "Rhine Confederation" has no capital, no army, and all foreign policy is done by France. But at least the 7 Republics managed to coordinate and open their economies to each other. To rebuild their economies, they had to agree to more and more economic integration into France. The Confederation uses the French Franc. There are plans to further integrate the Saar Republic directly into France.
Bavaria
Bavaria is an independent republic, with a strong monarchist movement. Still the monarchy isn't restored yet. There are demands for more autonomy in Franconia. Some Bavarians are still angry, that France still occupies Lindau, and therefore its access to Lake Constance. France plans to integrate Lindau into the Swabian Republic.
The East
Poland and the Soviet Union annex territories like OTL.
The Soviet Union annexes the islands of Rügen, Darß and Fehmarn as marine bases.
Poland annexes Görlitz
A Sorbian Republic, as a Soviet Puppet State is established
Berlin is divided between a Free City in the West, under Western protection, the Eastern Part, under the control of the German Democratic Republic, but with heavy Soviet Military presence, and the French Zone under French Occupation.
The German Democratic Republic controls East Germany. But areas in Saxony and Thuringia, with heavy uranium mining are de facto under a stronger Soviet Control, to support Soviet Nuclear Projects.
The Federal Republic
The states of Holstein, Hannover, Westphalia, Hesse-Kassel, Hesse-Darmstadt and Württemberg form the Federal Republic of Germany, with Frankfurt as its capital (with special status). The Federal Republic has a common currency, but no common military, and is more federalized than OTL West-Germany.
Frankfurt, Hannover and Stuttgart are the largest cities. Many economic centers and transportation routes are lost.
Austria:
Austria is divided into the federalized Republic of Austria, and the Austrian People's Republic under Soviet control. West Vienna belongs to the federalized Republic. The French Zone in Vienna is still under a separated French military government. Vorarlberg decided via a referendum to join Switzerland.
Other Changes:
Aosta-Valley decided to join Switzerland. Trieste is a free City. The Soviet Union occupied multiple islands in the Baltic Sea, including Bornholm from Denmark.
Interesting, though I should point out that at least one of the flags is anachronistic being a modern OTL creation.
Country Profiles - The Nations of the Dacian Subregion
The Principality of Transylvania - At the end of World War III, Transylvania's territory was under Romanian control and contained a substantial minority of ethnic Hungarians. With the signing of the Warsaw treaty that ended the war, a dispute arose between Romanian and Hungarian representatives on the question of ownership of Transylvania. Hungarian delegates, with the support of Poland and the Freyist bloc countries, claimed for Hungarian ownership of the northern half of the region, according to the boundaries outlined in the 1940 second Vienna award, while Romanian delegates supported the preservation of status quo in the region, as prevailed since the end of World War II. American representatives proposed to give independence to the entirety of Transylvania as a binational state as a compromise, a proposal that was reluctantly accepted by the Central European countries and by residents of the region.
Transylvania was created as a Habsburg-reigned principality under Otto von Habsburg, the former crown prince of Austria with heavy guidance from Freyist Germany. The first years in the country’s independent existence were troublesome as both Romanians and Hungarians felt disconnected to the nation-building process imposed on them by the world, which resulted in ethnic parties calling for dissolution causing parliamentary gridlock and low-level civic unrest between the two ethnicities of the country. The unrest between Romanians and Hungarians exploded in the 1995 ethnic clashes of Târgu Mureș that resulted in a month-long period of nationwide violent clashes between both groups, sometimes supported by government officials. As the violent clashes threatened the neighboring nations and the royal family, a multinational force from the nations the Freyist block entered the nation to impose order in the torn country. For the next years, the country was managed directly by the royal family through neutral bureaucrats and moderate leaders from both sides. The Timișoara accords which brought to the switch from overt violence to hidden unrest was signed in 1998 and included the foundation of the Autonomous County of Szekelyland for the Hungarian minority within the northern region of the nation. The state's bi-national status is enhanced by the strengthening of bilingualism that is evident in the education system, signage, and city names. Most Transylvania cities have Romanian, Hungarian, and German names, due to the wide German influence of the Transylvanian Saxons which was reinforced by the royal family. Another significant pillar of the accords was maintaining open borders and cultural with both Romania and Hungary to maintain cultural unity between Hungarians and Romanians in the country and their brethren from neighboring countries.
Despite the positive effects of the accords on the nation and the end of overt violence, the effects of the ethnic divide in Transylvania can still be seen. The political system is still held stable and governed by the combination of a shaky alliance of moderates on both sides and single-issue parties and active monarchical rule, which often uses its authority to appoint ten percent of the Diet delegates in order to keep the government intact. The opposition to the existence of the nation creates strange bedfellows, as Hungarian and Romanian separatists collaborate within the opposition. The devolved administration of Szekelyland is being led by Hungarian separatists who support the dismantlement of the nation based on current autonomy lines. Romania and Hungary both expressed interest in the politics of Transylvania, and nationalist parties from both nations are maintaining close ties to their ethnic separatist counterparts within Transylvania.
Transylvania is a constitutional monarchy with a grand prince as head of state and a prime minister as head of government. The prime minister is the leader of the coalition in the Diet, the unicameral Transylvanian parliament. Szekelyland holds its own devolved assembly as well, with the first secretary being the leader of the coalition. The nation is a member of the Central European Customs Union.
The country’s economy is based on heavy industry and oil production and exports mainly to CECU nations. During the first years of the country’s existence, a large number of industries fled the country to more stable nations due to the cultural clashes that shut down the economy of the country, but the phenomenon faded away as the country had stabilized. Transylvania suffers from high levels of skilled and young emigration directed towards the ethnic home nations, as they see the situation at home unsuitable for finding high-paying job opportunities.
The Kingdom of Moldova - in the aftermath of the third world war, the historical region of Bessarabia, then encompassed within the Moldovan and Ukrainian SSRs, achieved independence as an independent kingdom, per the Warsaw treaty. Officially, Moldova is a kingdom per the conditions of the Warsaw treaty, yet practically, the country has no king as the young nation has no history of royal reign other than the Romanian monarchy. The German government, who wished to impose a locally-based government rather than a foreign monarch in order to prevent the unification of the country with the culturally similar Romania, had to come up with a different idea: Instead of appointing a royal dynasty from the distant family of Michael I, king of Romania, the German authorities decided to appoint Yaroslav Guzun, a former Soviet-era war hero, as the temporary regent to the Moldovan throne until a royal family would be selected out of the local population.
Over the years, Guzun has emerged as a reasonable and effective ruler in the fields of rebuilding the country, establishing its global position, and creating a stable government structure. For this reason, the Germans and the CECU pleaded him not to end his term as regent and to stop the active search of a royal family.
Moldova holds a significant minority of Gagauz, a Turkish people. In the last stages of the third world war, several Gagauzian officials declared a Gagauzian republic within the nowadays Gagauzian Autonomous Raion, but their attempt failed as the allied armies stampeded through the region. However, Gagauzian separatism was a major political issue in the early years of the country's existence until 1996, when an agreement was signed between the central government in Chisinau and the separatists that allowed the Gagauz to establish devolved government and assembly.
De jure, Moldova is a constitutional monarchy, with a regent as the temporary head of state and a prime minister as the head of government but due to its special government structure and the prominence of the regent in the works of the government, it is considered by most political scientists as a flawed semi-presidential republic. Practically, the regent is treated like a king of the constitutional monarchy but acts as a president in a semi-presidential republic, with the notable exception of having a life-long term. The Moldovan parliament is unicameral and appoints the prime minister. For most of its existence, Moldovan politics are mostly run by Freyist or center-right parties which support the tight relationship with CECU and continued independence, while parties favoring union with Romania or left-wing parties that were created from rebellious elements of the CPSU remained in the opposition. Moldova is an observer member of the Central European Customs Union and maintains close relationships with both Romania and Ukraine, along with its main trade partners in CECU. The country’s economy is based on the exportation of agricultural products such as grains and potatoes and industrial commodities to various Central European nations.
The Kingdom of Romania - The Warsaw treaties were not generous to Romania. The hopes of general Vasile Milea and his clique for receiving generous treatment from the allies, including a restoration of the interwar borders, replaced with a bitter disappointment as Romania was forced to allow the independence of Transylvania while Moldova became independent, despite Romanian calls for setting the Romanian eastern border on the Dniester river. While Romania still kept access to the Black sea and regained Bukovina west of the Dniester, the sense of bitterness was still present. As per the conditions of the Warsaw treaty, the Romanian monarchy was reinstalled and Michael I of house Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen assumed the throne, and the title of Dominator, once again, with heavy German guidance.
Since then, Romania was a notable country within CECU and the cultural hub of the Dacian sub-region. The nation maintains an impressive growth rate due to the steady influx of German investment and political stability maintained by king Michael I and his successor and distant cousin, Paul I, who ascended to the throne after the former’s abdication due to health reasons in 2016. Most of the country’s political spectrum adheres to a certain extent to Freyist principles such as constitutional monarchism, cultural conservatism, and national redemptionism, with various variants Freyist composing the main parties. The non-Freyist political field is mostly limited to the Western-European mold of Liberals and “unredeemed” left-wingers. Expansionism is a key issue in Romanian politics, as both neighboring nations of Transylvania and Moldova exist per the conditions of the Warsaw treaty, and are consisted of Romanian majorities who harbor nationalist and irredentist sentiments.
The country’s economy is diverse and based on industrial growth, oil production, and agriculture. Notable Romanian firms are Automobile Dacia, based in the Ploiesti region and Enron Petrom, a subsidiary oil and natural gas company of Enron with oil rigs and decks across Romania and Transylvania.
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Maps of NDCR:
coffeebreakcigarette
Banned
I do have a TL that features a balkanized Germany after WW2. @Zurirach Adankar
- FDR lives longer
- He implents his Roosevelt Plan, so these successor states become de-industrialized -> farmers countries. It is not pretty.
- France takes a decent chunk of what is beyond Alsace-Lorraine, but has to face a costant state of riots by the local German occupied population
- Consecutively, the Marshall Plan that doesn't go to these "German-ies" but goes to Portugal and more to Italy
- The Werwolf resistance group is actually more successful and active until the 1950s
- As a result of the what mentioned above, the German states are in a DDR-like economic situation
- No German-controlled European Union , no accords and so on.
- Italy, France, Portugal are the biggest economies of Fortress Europe
- Maybe a Mediterranean Union?
- End of the Cold War, most German states have the same economic situation of Moldova except for the Rhineland and Bavaria.
Ty!
Anyhow, the Sputh used to be under a unified dictatorship ruled by Andrew Jackson for 30 or so years, and was able to expel the 3 of the 5 civilised tribes. Jackson was very antagonistic towards the British, and the feeling was mutual. The Seminole and Choctaws were inside British East and West Florida respectively, and we're therefore under British protection, and Jackson wanted to avoid a diplomatic incident.
interesting, but why didn't tribes allied to the British like the Creeks or Cherokees just fled in Britain, while Seminoles and Chickasaw fought Britain.
Nonono, the British took in the Seminoles and Chickasaw, they didn't fight. The other tribes suffered from American forced relocations.
Here's something of a surprise I've been working on the past week: a new cover for the classic Command and Conquer Tiberium universe (further info on which can be found on Gamepedia and Wikia). The DeviantArt version is here.
While this started out as a remake of Command and Conquer: Tiberian Legacy Enhanced (and to a degree still is), this has evolved into being a much more comprehensive take on the RTS setting, though with a particular focus on the Global Defense Initiative. Known for their focus on conventional tech yet brute force and combat superiority, they're the constant "protagonists" of the timeline (for want of a better term). At the same time, despite the chaos and turmoil of the circumstances (ranging from multiple global conflicts to Tiberium itself and even an alien invasion), it's impressive how an organization that started out as a multinatinal task force not only became a peculiar take on world government almost wholly by accident (and out of necessity). But that against the madness, they didn't become monsters themselves.
As much as possible, I tried to stay consistent with the lore set down by both Westwood and EALA. That being said, there are some creative licenses, particularly when it comes to details not seen or all that clear in the source material. In addition, some elements (and images) are based on the cancelled Tiberium game, the recently-released Command and Conquer Remastered, some nods to the Red Alert titles and whatever could be could be salvaged from Tiberian Twilight (what is this C&C4 that you speak of?), even though the latter in this rendition doesn't happen. While the text used is a polished, extended version of an abandoned crossover story from a while back. At any rate, on top of trying to see how far I could take a map concept without information overload, the aim's to make the setting, even if biased towards GDI, approachable to newcomers to the franchise and long-time fans alike.
Also, once again a special thanks to
whose own take of the Tiberium games has been useful in helping work out many of the Red Zone and Blue Zone borders.
And just to be on a safe side, this is a fan work and a work of fiction. This is not meant to be propaganda or a political or ideological spiel. All rights belong to their respective owners.
All that said and done, I hope you enjoy this nice piece of armored superiority.
EDIT: Last-minute edits made to the map.
In the aftermath of the Second World War, a protracted conflict wherein the Allied Nations and the nominally neutral United States defeated the Soviet Union as well as a militant Empire of Japan, a multinational joint task force (eventually called "Special Operations Group Echo, Black Ops 9") was established as a covert peacekeeping unit that answered to the United Nations. Although much of its activities (including its founding) remain classified, it's known that it was active in the 1980s and may have played a part in the relatively peaceful downfall of Communism. By the early 1990s, it was discreetly collaborating with Interpol, the CIA and various agencies in pursuing terrorist organizations and militias, some of which would be tied to an unknown benefactor.
What transpired in 1995 changed everything. A meteor crashed along the historic Tiber River in Central Italy. Striking an olive plantation with no reported casualties, this would have been otherwise uneventful if not for a green crystalline substance that it brought along and quickly spread into the surrounding countryside. This alien element, called Tiberium by Dr. Ignatio Mobius, soon came to be seen as an incredibly valuable resource due to how the crystals not only leach nutrients from the ground but can also be harvested, and subsequently processed into useful material with far more efficiency than was previously possible. Whether it was named after the Roman Emperor Tiberius or the river itself proved to be irrelevant. As before long it was found that it could spread almost anywhere, the speed of which being influenced by soil density and (generally warmer) ambient temperature. Although poorer countries straddling the equatorial regions tended to be hit hardest by the green crystal, few at the time really knew the repercussions of those early findings, or the increasing number of preliminary reports of the lethal and even mutagenic effects on any lifeforms exposed by it to any prolonged degree.
It was also during this pivotal period that a mysterious organization calling itself the Brotherhood of Nod revealed itself to the public. Led by its even more enigmatic yet charismatic leader, a man known only as Kane, it quickly seized upon the discovery of Tiberium to gain a substantial grip over the global market, in the process pioneering mining and harvesting methods that continue to be refined even generations on. Before long, Nod became an economic superpower in all but name, at one point seizing as much as 49% of the world's supply through various proxies and dummy corporations. At the same time, this stateless movement aggressively began expanding its influence into developing and war-stricken countries - from Africa to even parts of post-Cold War Europe - through a mix of propaganda, subterfuge, terrorist attacks and outright military coups. Realizing the severity of the threat, the United Nations Security Council made a fateful decision. On October 12, 1995, in accordance with the UN Global Defense Act, what had been Black Ops 9 was expanded, transformed and officially established as GDI. An international peacekeeping force unprecedented for its time (with its own naval, air and ground contingents) it was tasked with preserving world order by combating global terrorism. This mandate would remain a constant.
It would not be until the late 1990s, however, that open confrontation finally broke out in what's since been called the First Tiberium War. Through the deployment of myriad innovative technologies and experimental weapons (made possible or accelerated in one way or another by Tiberium), and in spite of the Brotherhood’s ever more underhanded and insidious methods, even a smear campaign that temporarily cut funding, GDI prevailed against all odds. Eventually, Nod was pushed back to Sarajevo, Bosnia, where its main Temple and headquarters stood. The ensuing battle, culminating in the Temple's destruction (and Kane's seeming demise), resulted in a triumphant victory for the Free World.
That triumph was short-lived. As the early 21st Century progressed, Tiberium not only continued to spread unabated across the globe and in increasingly varied ways, but to the shock of scientists, the substance was both changing the environment and evolving with it at an exponential rate. GDI's mandate grew to include the research and containment of the green crystal. As conditions worsened, it was being delegated more duties by the UN Security Council beyond that of a peacekeeping force. Various measures and contingency plans were either attempted or considered, such as evacuating people closer to the Arctic, even as several countries across the globe began crumbling amidst widespread civil unrest and societal collapse.
Neither was the Brotherhood fully defeated as many hoped, instead managing to morph into a quasi-state and religious order, albeit a fractured one rife with infighting. In an attempt to weaken it further into irrelevance, an increasingly consolidated GDI resorted to propping up puppet collaborators, which backfired with the rise of Anton Slavik, a Serbian freedom fighter-turned "Black Hand" fanatic and leader. Then in 2030, Kane revealed himself to be alive (and none the worse for wear) for all the world to see, which combined with his followers' resurgence under Slavik led to the Second Tiberium War. Fought with even more advanced and destructive weapons on both sides, nonetheless with the help of mutant tribes known as the Forgotten, GDI triumphed once again. With the so-called "Messiah" thought to have been killed in Cairo, it seemed like the conflict was decidedly over. Within only months, however, a reactivated CABAL (an evolved Nod AI designed towards the end of the First Tib. War) went rogue and attempted to enact its own plans with an army of cyborgs, themselves the result of Nod's research into mechanical augmentation. In the so-called Firestorm Crisis that ensued, both sides forced themselves to work together in defeating the AI, with GDI forces dealing the killing blow in 2032 to its central core in the Libyan wasteland. Yet even after saving humanity from extinction and managing to avert total planetary catastrophe through those victories, peace still remained tenuous at best.
Eventually, as the 2030s went on, the changing realities on the ground meant that the political map had to radically redrawn into three designated "Zones." GDI ultimately found itself answering to no one, as political power and sovereignty from the remaining nation-states (particularly those in what came to be designated as "Blue Zones") were ceded to the organization. It even outlasted the UN itself, much of its surviving elements being subsumed in the intervening years. In response to such circumstances, new and reconstituted civil institutions were brought into the fold, working alongside yet separate from the military chain of command. Meanwhile, partly due to the severe socio-political upheavals, the old national identities - barring certain exceptions like the British Isles and Japan - had largely faded in favor of more multicultural, regional and global ones, albeit unified under a common, Western-derived culture. Thus, despite going well beyond what its founders or their immediate successors intended, what had been a peacekeeping force had become a world government and superstate in its own right. A new world order formed by accident, yet wholly out of necessity.
Then came the Third Tiberium War. On March 2047, after biding its time, a surprise Nod raid succeeded in disabling GDI's A-SAT defenses, opening a window long enough to launch a nuclear ICBM on the orbital HQ GDSS Philadelphia, wiping out much of the top political and military leadership. This was followed by Kane (once more defying death) revealing himself by hijacking news broadcasts, which turned out to be the signal for a massive assault on GDI-held territories. At that time, however, the defenders of the Free World (or what remained of it) had undergone downsizing, with almost 60% of its military installations either reduced or closed down in favor of focusing on containment, which made the attacks all the more shocking. Despite initial setbacks and the Brotherhood's upgrades (both in planning and technology), however, it wasn't long before GDI forces and Central Command managed to turn the tide, eventually going from defensive operations to all-out offensives. Eventually, Nod was pushed back to Temple Prime in Sarajevo, built atop the original Temple destroyed decades earlier. But even as casualties mounted on both sides, Acting Director-General Redmond Boyle - former head of the GDI Treasury and the highest-ranking government official left alive - had not only began directly meddling to bolster his reputation despite evident incompetence. But even with InOps reports of substantial amounts of Liquid Tiberium being stored beneath the besieged complex, and growing protests from military commanders, the vainglorious politician went so far as abuse his position to order to attack the bastion just like how the First Tib. War ended. Instead, the worst case scenario happened, just as the Brotherhood’s so-called “Prophet” had intended.
The destruction of Temple Prime detonated the Liquid Tiberium beneath it, killing not only everyone around Sarajevo but also millions of civilians. Although it rendered much of Eastern Europe and North Africa nigh uninhabitable, as tragic as the whole affair was (if not an outright, if unintended war crime) it seemed that the conflict would soon be over. Those hopes were dashed, however, when that same detonation was found to have drawn in hostile visitors from across the stars. Known as the Scrin, little remains known even now of these aliens, though it's theorized that they may be insectoid in nature and utterly dependent on the green crystal for survival. Their highly advanced biomechanical constructs, undoubtedly, were devastating enough as the invaders attacked cities and launched strikes on every continent; it's speculated by InOps that they may very well be responsible for bringing Tiberium in the first place. Such was the threat that GDI and Nod, if only briefly, were one in stopping this existential danger. Even so, it was nowhere near enough to unify humanity as hostilities between both sides continued (the Brotherhood resuming attacks at Kane’s orders) while simultaneously fighting the alien menace. It was soon discovered amidst the fighting that the "invasion" was in reality, massive diversionary move meant to mask what had apparently been mining operations, the centerpiece of which being the construction of massive superstructures called "Thresholds."
Through a series of risky counteroffensives, GDI succeeded in not only destroying nearly all of said "Thresholds." But in 2049, a massive attack against the control node the extraterrestrials set up in Ground Zero itself, what was once Italy, had literally stopped the Scrin in their tracks, their forces either dissolving or shutting down permanently. With the Brotherhood seemingly put in their place during the operation, Boyle was forced by Acting Supreme Commander Jack Granger, on behalf of GDI, to resign amidst the celebrations; the man himself was eventually put on trial in 2050 for war crimes and gross negligence of duty. The conflict was at last over.
The years since the formal end of the Third Tiberium War saw the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the Blue Zones proceeding in earnest, despite myriad challenges. Although progress had been made to reclaim more of the planet back (including a more concerted effort to stablize and restore order in Yellow Zones), there remained worries that, just as Tiberium had evolved to become more difficult to stop in the early 21st Century, it could potentially evolve yet again to be utterly immune to current containment methods, haunting scientists and pundits alike. Meanwhile, InOp[s confirmed rumors of a new generation of cyborgs attacking outposts and convoys known as the "Marked of Kane;" said to have been in hibernation since around 2030, unlike CABAL's hordes, these are believed to be deceased Nod "volunteers" that, while still possessing sentience, remained absolutely loyal to their “Messiah.” Knowing the even more existential threat posed by the alien Scrin, GDI Central Command didn’t remain idle, either, giving greater priority to reverse-engineering whatever weapons were left intact. More funding had also been allocated to updating walker technology, and other equipment mothballed prior to 2047 so as to help even the odds, most signified by the development of the Mastodon heavy walker and Kodiak-II orbital cruisers.
Nonetheless, in spite of constant threats, the looming dangers of Tiberium contamination and the suspension of many civilian rights due to being on a constant war footing, GDI has managed to maintain a semblance of normalcy, prosperity and democratic liberties. Succumbing to neither Tiberium addiction nor the madness of the Brotherhood, it has, for whatever its flaws, maintained its dignity and integrity 60 years on. Indeed, standards of living for the average Blue Zone citizen would be seen as near-utopian from the vantage point of the late 20th Century. This is to say nothing of the myriad projects and private sector collaborations that have both helped in stemming Tiberium, and making various advancements possible. Nor to ignore the service and dedication of the organization’s military core. With an unbroken line going back to the professional armed forces and military traditions of the G8 nations, the men and women of GDI remain committed to preserving world order, their mandate still holding true from their forefathers. Even in spite of the downsizing prior to the Third Tib. War, they’re renowned for their superior training, discipline and potent firepower. These are augmented by an arsenal combining conventional weapons (much of which could be traced back at least partially to those of the United States Armed Forces) with tried-and-tested methods and the latest in technological developments, such as hover-tech, sonic weaponry (originally intended for containment) and magnetic railguns that could be miniaturized to fit on vehicles or even as anti-material infantry arms. Combined with rugged maintenance and an ability to deploy troops anywhere on the planet at a moment's notice, it’s not for nothing that GDI's claims of being mankind's last best hope are as grounded as they are genuine.
Oh, and it's good to have you back, Commander.
<End Message>
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In addition to the images (taken from the source material via Westwood and EALA), some of the tech effects are courtesy of
's TECH BRUSHES v.2. As well as
's Photoshop brushes for the other tech interface effects.
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While this started out as a remake of Command and Conquer: Tiberian Legacy Enhanced (and to a degree still is), this has evolved into being a much more comprehensive take on the RTS setting, though with a particular focus on the Global Defense Initiative. Known for their focus on conventional tech yet brute force and combat superiority, they're the constant "protagonists" of the timeline (for want of a better term). At the same time, despite the chaos and turmoil of the circumstances (ranging from multiple global conflicts to Tiberium itself and even an alien invasion), it's impressive how an organization that started out as a multinatinal task force not only became a peculiar take on world government almost wholly by accident (and out of necessity). But that against the madness, they didn't become monsters themselves.
As much as possible, I tried to stay consistent with the lore set down by both Westwood and EALA. That being said, there are some creative licenses, particularly when it comes to details not seen or all that clear in the source material. In addition, some elements (and images) are based on the cancelled Tiberium game, the recently-released Command and Conquer Remastered, some nods to the Red Alert titles and whatever could be could be salvaged from Tiberian Twilight (what is this C&C4 that you speak of?), even though the latter in this rendition doesn't happen. While the text used is a polished, extended version of an abandoned crossover story from a while back. At any rate, on top of trying to see how far I could take a map concept without information overload, the aim's to make the setting, even if biased towards GDI, approachable to newcomers to the franchise and long-time fans alike.
Also, once again a special thanks to
whose own take of the Tiberium games has been useful in helping work out many of the Red Zone and Blue Zone borders.And just to be on a safe side, this is a fan work and a work of fiction. This is not meant to be propaganda or a political or ideological spiel. All rights belong to their respective owners.
All that said and done, I hope you enjoy this nice piece of armored superiority.
EDIT: Last-minute edits made to the map.
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<Access Date - 12/10/2055>
<Intelligence Data Updated>
The Tiberian World Order
A Brief History of the Global Defense Initiative
The Global Defense Initiative, or GDI, has come a long way from its origins. But to truly understand its present state, one has to turn back the clock.<Access Date - 12/10/2055>
<Intelligence Data Updated>
The Tiberian World Order
A Brief History of the Global Defense Initiative
In the aftermath of the Second World War, a protracted conflict wherein the Allied Nations and the nominally neutral United States defeated the Soviet Union as well as a militant Empire of Japan, a multinational joint task force (eventually called "Special Operations Group Echo, Black Ops 9") was established as a covert peacekeeping unit that answered to the United Nations. Although much of its activities (including its founding) remain classified, it's known that it was active in the 1980s and may have played a part in the relatively peaceful downfall of Communism. By the early 1990s, it was discreetly collaborating with Interpol, the CIA and various agencies in pursuing terrorist organizations and militias, some of which would be tied to an unknown benefactor.
What transpired in 1995 changed everything. A meteor crashed along the historic Tiber River in Central Italy. Striking an olive plantation with no reported casualties, this would have been otherwise uneventful if not for a green crystalline substance that it brought along and quickly spread into the surrounding countryside. This alien element, called Tiberium by Dr. Ignatio Mobius, soon came to be seen as an incredibly valuable resource due to how the crystals not only leach nutrients from the ground but can also be harvested, and subsequently processed into useful material with far more efficiency than was previously possible. Whether it was named after the Roman Emperor Tiberius or the river itself proved to be irrelevant. As before long it was found that it could spread almost anywhere, the speed of which being influenced by soil density and (generally warmer) ambient temperature. Although poorer countries straddling the equatorial regions tended to be hit hardest by the green crystal, few at the time really knew the repercussions of those early findings, or the increasing number of preliminary reports of the lethal and even mutagenic effects on any lifeforms exposed by it to any prolonged degree.
It was also during this pivotal period that a mysterious organization calling itself the Brotherhood of Nod revealed itself to the public. Led by its even more enigmatic yet charismatic leader, a man known only as Kane, it quickly seized upon the discovery of Tiberium to gain a substantial grip over the global market, in the process pioneering mining and harvesting methods that continue to be refined even generations on. Before long, Nod became an economic superpower in all but name, at one point seizing as much as 49% of the world's supply through various proxies and dummy corporations. At the same time, this stateless movement aggressively began expanding its influence into developing and war-stricken countries - from Africa to even parts of post-Cold War Europe - through a mix of propaganda, subterfuge, terrorist attacks and outright military coups. Realizing the severity of the threat, the United Nations Security Council made a fateful decision. On October 12, 1995, in accordance with the UN Global Defense Act, what had been Black Ops 9 was expanded, transformed and officially established as GDI. An international peacekeeping force unprecedented for its time (with its own naval, air and ground contingents) it was tasked with preserving world order by combating global terrorism. This mandate would remain a constant.
It would not be until the late 1990s, however, that open confrontation finally broke out in what's since been called the First Tiberium War. Through the deployment of myriad innovative technologies and experimental weapons (made possible or accelerated in one way or another by Tiberium), and in spite of the Brotherhood’s ever more underhanded and insidious methods, even a smear campaign that temporarily cut funding, GDI prevailed against all odds. Eventually, Nod was pushed back to Sarajevo, Bosnia, where its main Temple and headquarters stood. The ensuing battle, culminating in the Temple's destruction (and Kane's seeming demise), resulted in a triumphant victory for the Free World.
That triumph was short-lived. As the early 21st Century progressed, Tiberium not only continued to spread unabated across the globe and in increasingly varied ways, but to the shock of scientists, the substance was both changing the environment and evolving with it at an exponential rate. GDI's mandate grew to include the research and containment of the green crystal. As conditions worsened, it was being delegated more duties by the UN Security Council beyond that of a peacekeeping force. Various measures and contingency plans were either attempted or considered, such as evacuating people closer to the Arctic, even as several countries across the globe began crumbling amidst widespread civil unrest and societal collapse.
Neither was the Brotherhood fully defeated as many hoped, instead managing to morph into a quasi-state and religious order, albeit a fractured one rife with infighting. In an attempt to weaken it further into irrelevance, an increasingly consolidated GDI resorted to propping up puppet collaborators, which backfired with the rise of Anton Slavik, a Serbian freedom fighter-turned "Black Hand" fanatic and leader. Then in 2030, Kane revealed himself to be alive (and none the worse for wear) for all the world to see, which combined with his followers' resurgence under Slavik led to the Second Tiberium War. Fought with even more advanced and destructive weapons on both sides, nonetheless with the help of mutant tribes known as the Forgotten, GDI triumphed once again. With the so-called "Messiah" thought to have been killed in Cairo, it seemed like the conflict was decidedly over. Within only months, however, a reactivated CABAL (an evolved Nod AI designed towards the end of the First Tib. War) went rogue and attempted to enact its own plans with an army of cyborgs, themselves the result of Nod's research into mechanical augmentation. In the so-called Firestorm Crisis that ensued, both sides forced themselves to work together in defeating the AI, with GDI forces dealing the killing blow in 2032 to its central core in the Libyan wasteland. Yet even after saving humanity from extinction and managing to avert total planetary catastrophe through those victories, peace still remained tenuous at best.
Eventually, as the 2030s went on, the changing realities on the ground meant that the political map had to radically redrawn into three designated "Zones." GDI ultimately found itself answering to no one, as political power and sovereignty from the remaining nation-states (particularly those in what came to be designated as "Blue Zones") were ceded to the organization. It even outlasted the UN itself, much of its surviving elements being subsumed in the intervening years. In response to such circumstances, new and reconstituted civil institutions were brought into the fold, working alongside yet separate from the military chain of command. Meanwhile, partly due to the severe socio-political upheavals, the old national identities - barring certain exceptions like the British Isles and Japan - had largely faded in favor of more multicultural, regional and global ones, albeit unified under a common, Western-derived culture. Thus, despite going well beyond what its founders or their immediate successors intended, what had been a peacekeeping force had become a world government and superstate in its own right. A new world order formed by accident, yet wholly out of necessity.
Then came the Third Tiberium War. On March 2047, after biding its time, a surprise Nod raid succeeded in disabling GDI's A-SAT defenses, opening a window long enough to launch a nuclear ICBM on the orbital HQ GDSS Philadelphia, wiping out much of the top political and military leadership. This was followed by Kane (once more defying death) revealing himself by hijacking news broadcasts, which turned out to be the signal for a massive assault on GDI-held territories. At that time, however, the defenders of the Free World (or what remained of it) had undergone downsizing, with almost 60% of its military installations either reduced or closed down in favor of focusing on containment, which made the attacks all the more shocking. Despite initial setbacks and the Brotherhood's upgrades (both in planning and technology), however, it wasn't long before GDI forces and Central Command managed to turn the tide, eventually going from defensive operations to all-out offensives. Eventually, Nod was pushed back to Temple Prime in Sarajevo, built atop the original Temple destroyed decades earlier. But even as casualties mounted on both sides, Acting Director-General Redmond Boyle - former head of the GDI Treasury and the highest-ranking government official left alive - had not only began directly meddling to bolster his reputation despite evident incompetence. But even with InOps reports of substantial amounts of Liquid Tiberium being stored beneath the besieged complex, and growing protests from military commanders, the vainglorious politician went so far as abuse his position to order to attack the bastion just like how the First Tib. War ended. Instead, the worst case scenario happened, just as the Brotherhood’s so-called “Prophet” had intended.
The destruction of Temple Prime detonated the Liquid Tiberium beneath it, killing not only everyone around Sarajevo but also millions of civilians. Although it rendered much of Eastern Europe and North Africa nigh uninhabitable, as tragic as the whole affair was (if not an outright, if unintended war crime) it seemed that the conflict would soon be over. Those hopes were dashed, however, when that same detonation was found to have drawn in hostile visitors from across the stars. Known as the Scrin, little remains known even now of these aliens, though it's theorized that they may be insectoid in nature and utterly dependent on the green crystal for survival. Their highly advanced biomechanical constructs, undoubtedly, were devastating enough as the invaders attacked cities and launched strikes on every continent; it's speculated by InOps that they may very well be responsible for bringing Tiberium in the first place. Such was the threat that GDI and Nod, if only briefly, were one in stopping this existential danger. Even so, it was nowhere near enough to unify humanity as hostilities between both sides continued (the Brotherhood resuming attacks at Kane’s orders) while simultaneously fighting the alien menace. It was soon discovered amidst the fighting that the "invasion" was in reality, massive diversionary move meant to mask what had apparently been mining operations, the centerpiece of which being the construction of massive superstructures called "Thresholds."
Through a series of risky counteroffensives, GDI succeeded in not only destroying nearly all of said "Thresholds." But in 2049, a massive attack against the control node the extraterrestrials set up in Ground Zero itself, what was once Italy, had literally stopped the Scrin in their tracks, their forces either dissolving or shutting down permanently. With the Brotherhood seemingly put in their place during the operation, Boyle was forced by Acting Supreme Commander Jack Granger, on behalf of GDI, to resign amidst the celebrations; the man himself was eventually put on trial in 2050 for war crimes and gross negligence of duty. The conflict was at last over.
The years since the formal end of the Third Tiberium War saw the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the Blue Zones proceeding in earnest, despite myriad challenges. Although progress had been made to reclaim more of the planet back (including a more concerted effort to stablize and restore order in Yellow Zones), there remained worries that, just as Tiberium had evolved to become more difficult to stop in the early 21st Century, it could potentially evolve yet again to be utterly immune to current containment methods, haunting scientists and pundits alike. Meanwhile, InOp[s confirmed rumors of a new generation of cyborgs attacking outposts and convoys known as the "Marked of Kane;" said to have been in hibernation since around 2030, unlike CABAL's hordes, these are believed to be deceased Nod "volunteers" that, while still possessing sentience, remained absolutely loyal to their “Messiah.” Knowing the even more existential threat posed by the alien Scrin, GDI Central Command didn’t remain idle, either, giving greater priority to reverse-engineering whatever weapons were left intact. More funding had also been allocated to updating walker technology, and other equipment mothballed prior to 2047 so as to help even the odds, most signified by the development of the Mastodon heavy walker and Kodiak-II orbital cruisers.
Nonetheless, in spite of constant threats, the looming dangers of Tiberium contamination and the suspension of many civilian rights due to being on a constant war footing, GDI has managed to maintain a semblance of normalcy, prosperity and democratic liberties. Succumbing to neither Tiberium addiction nor the madness of the Brotherhood, it has, for whatever its flaws, maintained its dignity and integrity 60 years on. Indeed, standards of living for the average Blue Zone citizen would be seen as near-utopian from the vantage point of the late 20th Century. This is to say nothing of the myriad projects and private sector collaborations that have both helped in stemming Tiberium, and making various advancements possible. Nor to ignore the service and dedication of the organization’s military core. With an unbroken line going back to the professional armed forces and military traditions of the G8 nations, the men and women of GDI remain committed to preserving world order, their mandate still holding true from their forefathers. Even in spite of the downsizing prior to the Third Tib. War, they’re renowned for their superior training, discipline and potent firepower. These are augmented by an arsenal combining conventional weapons (much of which could be traced back at least partially to those of the United States Armed Forces) with tried-and-tested methods and the latest in technological developments, such as hover-tech, sonic weaponry (originally intended for containment) and magnetic railguns that could be miniaturized to fit on vehicles or even as anti-material infantry arms. Combined with rugged maintenance and an ability to deploy troops anywhere on the planet at a moment's notice, it’s not for nothing that GDI's claims of being mankind's last best hope are as grounded as they are genuine.
<Incoming Message>
<Sender - Unknown>
Yes, that much is true. But as was said then, the world only believes what the media tells them to believe, and I tell the media what to believe, it's really quite simple. It's wise to heed that, or not, it doesn't matter. After all, you can't kill the Messiah.<Sender - Unknown>
Oh, and it's good to have you back, Commander.
<End Message>
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This is the rough map I was working off of when making this thought experiment (of which we aren't talking about here, just the map the world exists in, not the IRL politicians I used for it in the Infoboxes.)
The North American continent has changed much since 1776. When Britain lost the 17 Colonies in the American Revolution, the United States was born. The Treaty of Paris left almost all of the northern part of the continent to the British, while the Americans got the rest. This wasn't entirely true, since the United States would briefly go to war with New Spain and take the Spanish colonies of Florida (now West Florida and East Florida) and Cuba. Another point of contention was the Oregon Territory. It was claimed by the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Russian Empire. Eventually, a deal was struct that gave the Americans the southern regions, Russian the northern, and the United Kingdom could keep Vancouver Island (which later held a referendum to join the United States). During a period of decolonialization in the 1830s, Tsar Konstantin I of Russia would appoint his younger brother Nicholas as Grand Duke of Alaskya (Later the Tsardom of Alaskya (Царство Аляски)). This was a ploy to allow Russian to gain more land in the future, since there was a royal on the continent, which worked in their favour when the Oregon Crisis began. In 1826, New Spain would revolt from their colonial masters and win their independence. Creating the Empire of Mexico (Imperio Mexicano), they put the Duke of Montezuma, Alonso Mancilla de Teruel Moctezuma y Calatayud, on the throne as King Alonso I as the head of the House of Montezuma. The more republican elements of the nation disliked the crowning of a king, which resulted in the expelling of many of them into the Provinces of Alta California, Baja California, and Tejas. Later, some religious American settlers (who I'm going to call Mormons) would settle near the Great Salt Lake and some American settlers would settle in Tejas. All of this came to a head in 1852 when the settlers of northern Mexico revolted, gaining the support of the United States and Russia, would become a new independent nation. The Duel Republics of California and Tejas (Duelo Repúblicas de California y Tejas). Which would also create and autonomous region for their Mormon population around Salt Lake. In 1868, the British Territories in Northern America were granted a form of autonomy, creating the Dominion of Hudson (Later the Free State of Hudson). While technically independent, the Dominion was mostly run by the Hudson Bay Company. While the HBC would at first fade slightly and become a simple general store, they would gain more power as time goes on, thanks to the discovery of oil in the nation. The Tsardom of Alaskya would become independent in 1901 in the aftermath of the Klondike Gold Rush and would become an economic powerhouse thanks to the oil fields in the reigion in the 1970s. Tsarina Maria I, daughter of Tsar Ivan VII, is one of the richest monarchs of the world, alongside King Zein II of Arabia and President İskender Bogoris Kamal of the Turkish Republic.
Noble Houses of North America said:
@Zurirach Adankar I believe the Danes would not go along with this arrangement. Partially because they theoretically cannot give up Bornholm(though only if people regard the islanders giving the island back to Denmark so long as they were never ceded away binding, versus the treaty the Swedes with the Danes afterwards.), especially for land they didn’t much want that was filled with Germans. But yah, unrealistic map as you said. A colorful one with borders we don’t see on these maps though, and thus a fun one. I zoomed in and so some blue and red on islands off Germany in the Atlantic. Those directly under the British and Americans or are they officially part of Hamburg and Bremen?
Kaiphranos
Donor
Cross-posting my Map of the Fortnight entry:
Ruled By The Dead - The Mysterious Thanatocracy of Nelos
“There is an island in the west known as Nelos, whose inhabitants have a most peculiar method of choosing their rulers. It is said that in ancient times, the Nelogians received an oracle which told them their land would remain rich and prosperous as long as none among the living were to rule it. After much thought, their priests gathered all the people of the island together and chose six men by lot. It was declared that these men were now dead - their property was given to their heirs, and their wives were free to remarry. The men were then swathed in gray robes, given masks to hide their faces, and shoes with very thick soles, the purpose of this being to completely disguise their identity. Then they were led away. Three of the six were chosen to be rulers of the island for the next three years, serving as judges and generals, and deciding all laws between them, while the other three were hidden away, only to be brought forth if one of the ruling three were to truly die and need replacement. For if any of the dead men were to reveal his face in public, he would be put to death at once. At the end of the three years, the six men were released, and could not be held to account for anything they had done while dead. Then a new lot of six were chosen to rule for the next three years. This is why Nelos is known as the thanatocracy, for it is ruled by the dead.”
This is what Herodotus wrote, but it is not the only reference to Nelos among the Greeks. Many have drawn a connection between the strange customs of the Nelogians and Odysseus’s visit to the Land of the Dead, also said to lie in the west. There is also a play by Aristophanes, The Nelogians, of which unfortunately only a few fragments survive - it seems to involve a Greek visiting the island who is chosen as one of the thanatocrats, and the absurd schemes he concocts in his efforts to escape Nelos. The Roman writer Cicero of the late Republican period seems to have been familiar with the story told by Herodotus - in one of his speeches, he mentions the “Nelossians” who “being averse to the accumulation of power by any one man, and thus choosing their rulers for a term of service accord them no honors while they reign, nor recognition for their deeds afterwards.” Nor were the ancients the only ones to take the Nelogians as an example - in one of his letters, expressing frustration about the inaction of the Continental Congress, John Adams wrote “I cannot help but be reminded of the Inhabitants of ancient Nelos, who went to such Great Lengths to avoid being placed in Positions of Responsibility that they were ruled by a Jury of Dead Men.”
But despite the many references to its peculiar government, there has been much scholarly debate over where Nelos was located, or if it even existed. Some have proposed Sardinia or Corsica, one or more of the Balearic Isles, the Canaries, or even Britain, West Africa, or the Americas. However, in recent years, attention has been focused on Malta. Between the fourth and the first millennium BC, the island was home to a unique megalith-building culture, and at some of the later megalith sites, archeologists have discovered depictions of robed and veiled figures that call to mind Herodotus’s descriptions. The culture seems to have been on the decline when the Phoenicians arrived around 700 BC, possibly due to an extended period of drought. Any survivors may have been assimilated by the newcomers. Phoenician records are sparse, but a recent discovery at an excavation in Tyre appears to describe a ship having reached “MLTH in NLJ.” This suggests a possible link between Nelos and the island that would one day be called Malta, whose name comes from the Phoenician word meleth, meaning “safe haven.”
Did a few traces of the lost megalithic culture survive to inspire Herodotus and Aristophanes? Or were they drawing on tales passed down from Homeric-era contacts with the island that remain unsubstantiated by the archeological record? Or was Nelos as fictional as Plato’s Atlantis? No one can say for sure, but perhaps future discoveries will shed more light on this enigmatic civilization.
Ruled By The Dead - The Mysterious Thanatocracy of Nelos
“There is an island in the west known as Nelos, whose inhabitants have a most peculiar method of choosing their rulers. It is said that in ancient times, the Nelogians received an oracle which told them their land would remain rich and prosperous as long as none among the living were to rule it. After much thought, their priests gathered all the people of the island together and chose six men by lot. It was declared that these men were now dead - their property was given to their heirs, and their wives were free to remarry. The men were then swathed in gray robes, given masks to hide their faces, and shoes with very thick soles, the purpose of this being to completely disguise their identity. Then they were led away. Three of the six were chosen to be rulers of the island for the next three years, serving as judges and generals, and deciding all laws between them, while the other three were hidden away, only to be brought forth if one of the ruling three were to truly die and need replacement. For if any of the dead men were to reveal his face in public, he would be put to death at once. At the end of the three years, the six men were released, and could not be held to account for anything they had done while dead. Then a new lot of six were chosen to rule for the next three years. This is why Nelos is known as the thanatocracy, for it is ruled by the dead.”
This is what Herodotus wrote, but it is not the only reference to Nelos among the Greeks. Many have drawn a connection between the strange customs of the Nelogians and Odysseus’s visit to the Land of the Dead, also said to lie in the west. There is also a play by Aristophanes, The Nelogians, of which unfortunately only a few fragments survive - it seems to involve a Greek visiting the island who is chosen as one of the thanatocrats, and the absurd schemes he concocts in his efforts to escape Nelos. The Roman writer Cicero of the late Republican period seems to have been familiar with the story told by Herodotus - in one of his speeches, he mentions the “Nelossians” who “being averse to the accumulation of power by any one man, and thus choosing their rulers for a term of service accord them no honors while they reign, nor recognition for their deeds afterwards.” Nor were the ancients the only ones to take the Nelogians as an example - in one of his letters, expressing frustration about the inaction of the Continental Congress, John Adams wrote “I cannot help but be reminded of the Inhabitants of ancient Nelos, who went to such Great Lengths to avoid being placed in Positions of Responsibility that they were ruled by a Jury of Dead Men.”
But despite the many references to its peculiar government, there has been much scholarly debate over where Nelos was located, or if it even existed. Some have proposed Sardinia or Corsica, one or more of the Balearic Isles, the Canaries, or even Britain, West Africa, or the Americas. However, in recent years, attention has been focused on Malta. Between the fourth and the first millennium BC, the island was home to a unique megalith-building culture, and at some of the later megalith sites, archeologists have discovered depictions of robed and veiled figures that call to mind Herodotus’s descriptions. The culture seems to have been on the decline when the Phoenicians arrived around 700 BC, possibly due to an extended period of drought. Any survivors may have been assimilated by the newcomers. Phoenician records are sparse, but a recent discovery at an excavation in Tyre appears to describe a ship having reached “MLTH in NLJ.” This suggests a possible link between Nelos and the island that would one day be called Malta, whose name comes from the Phoenician word meleth, meaning “safe haven.”
Did a few traces of the lost megalithic culture survive to inspire Herodotus and Aristophanes? Or were they drawing on tales passed down from Homeric-era contacts with the island that remain unsubstantiated by the archeological record? Or was Nelos as fictional as Plato’s Atlantis? No one can say for sure, but perhaps future discoveries will shed more light on this enigmatic civilization.
That is epic! I love the mystery of it, and the recounting of the historiography from Herodotus to modern times. Sounds like something out of a real scholarly journal! Great work.
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