They are not communist, I just chose the red to make the map more unique.
Map Thread XXI
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[75+ LIKES] The Kingdom of Westeros in 657 AC, by FossilDS
After Purple Days: The Kingdom of Westeros in 657 AC
I’ve always wanted to make a map of modern Westeros. I also love a certain ASOIAF fanfiction- which has really morphed into a great piece of fiction in its own right- called Purple Days. Basically, the premise is that the cruel, stupid and cowardly crown prince of the Seven Kingdoms- Joffrey “Baratheon”, gets sucked into a time loop in which he is transported back to the beginning of ASOIAF every time he dies. Long story short, after many, many loops, he learns of his real heritage, governance, fighting, travels the world, and how to stop the impending threat of the White Walkers threatening to extinguish the world- oh, and maybe how to be a decent person along the way.
This map is essentially my headcanon of what happens after the events of Purple Days. In the fic, Joffrey and his Queen crash industrialize, unifies, and reorganizes Westeros to prepare for the White Walkers. Thus, Westeros modernizes and industrializes,but in a different way than our own world. The Westerosi industrial revolution is far more reliant on hydropower and magic then our own- massive power plants are built on ley lines, the skies above industrial cities are mostly smog-free but rivers are a mess of canals, reservoirs, dams, and turbines. Similarly, Westeros is a meritocratic state but not democratic- without anything resembling a parliament in Westeros, modern Westeros is instead more like Imperial China in governance- a massive, bureaucratic goliath which recruits administrators based on civil examination systems. There is a weak elected “Agora”, based on ancient Valyria, but this is seen mostly as a pushover compared to the extremely powerful bureaucratic and military wings of government. As this is Westeros with about 8x more people than canon and about 12x more urbanized, there are many, many non-canon cities and settlements.
Sufficient to say, it's not perfect. Westeros suffers many of the same problems as our worlds’ Soviet Union, Qing dynasty and British Empires: arrogance, rampant corruption, vast inefficient state-owned industries, expensive colonial wars, and a growing oligarchic class. But it's leagues better than the Westeros of canon.
Thank you to @baurus for writing such a fantastic fic and Atlas of Ice and Fire for the basemap!
This map is essentially my headcanon of what happens after the events of Purple Days. In the fic, Joffrey and his Queen crash industrialize, unifies, and reorganizes Westeros to prepare for the White Walkers. Thus, Westeros modernizes and industrializes,but in a different way than our own world. The Westerosi industrial revolution is far more reliant on hydropower and magic then our own- massive power plants are built on ley lines, the skies above industrial cities are mostly smog-free but rivers are a mess of canals, reservoirs, dams, and turbines. Similarly, Westeros is a meritocratic state but not democratic- without anything resembling a parliament in Westeros, modern Westeros is instead more like Imperial China in governance- a massive, bureaucratic goliath which recruits administrators based on civil examination systems. There is a weak elected “Agora”, based on ancient Valyria, but this is seen mostly as a pushover compared to the extremely powerful bureaucratic and military wings of government. As this is Westeros with about 8x more people than canon and about 12x more urbanized, there are many, many non-canon cities and settlements.
Sufficient to say, it's not perfect. Westeros suffers many of the same problems as our worlds’ Soviet Union, Qing dynasty and British Empires: arrogance, rampant corruption, vast inefficient state-owned industries, expensive colonial wars, and a growing oligarchic class. But it's leagues better than the Westeros of canon.
Thank you to @baurus for writing such a fantastic fic and Atlas of Ice and Fire for the basemap!
From vast forests to boiling deserts, to verdant fields and industrial cities, to icy peaks and busy ports, the Westeros is diverse as it is vast. Stretching over two thousand miles from the icy Northern territories to the southernmost tip of Dorne, Westeros is a continent unto itself: resplended in both natural and man-made wonders.
Nevertheless, perhaps the most surprising aspect of Westeros is it's unity: Westeros is but a single, gargantuan nation-state, governing three million square miles of land and three-hundred million citizens, just in Westeros proper. Despite their disparate origins and customs, Westerosi from Sunspear to Winterton pledge allegiance to the same flag, trade in the same currency and hail the same monarch.
Westeros was not always like this: for thousands of years Westeros was a hundred kingdoms, eventually coalescing into seven, which still make up the backbone of Westeros' modern administrative regions. Politically unified by the Targaryens and their dragons, Westeros was still fundamentally a decentralized, feudal and unstable state throughout the three hundred years of Targaryen rule. Only after the cataclysmic Second Dawn War, and the far-reaching reforms of King Joffrey and Queen Sansa did Westeros transform into the modern Kingdom of Westeros.Uniting the seven kingdoms (as well as the Crownlands and Riverlands) into one,
the two monarchs laid the groundworks for universal education, a standing army, hydropowered industry, state bureaucracy, and a single national identity: a transformation so profound Westerosi maesters differentiate the two eras as "Old Westeros" and "New Westeros".
The birthplace of both the revival of magic and the industrial revolution, Westeros today is a far cry from the feuding backwards Sunset Kingdoms of Essosi histories. The Sun-and-Stag flag flies on all seven continents, the Westerosi navy is two times the size of it's nearest rival, and Westeros accounts for forty percent of the world's economic activity.Kingslanding has been transformed over the centuries from a filthy imitation of Essosi cities to the crown jewel of Westeros' vast holdings, with more than ten academies of higher learning, the world's largest mag-train depot and by some metrics the world's largest city.
Nevertheless, although Westeros has dominated international affairs for three centuries, significant challenges lay ahead for the aging superpower.The unitary nature of the Westerosi state, although useful for modernizing, has made it inflexible and ineffective at dealing with local affairs. Westerosi meritocracy, although succeeded in having abolished the old distinctions
between the “smallfolk” and “nobility”, is under threat from corruption. To the east, Yi-Ti and Essos, having abolished slavery, challenge both Westerosi economic and political dominance. Westeros’ colonial holdings desire independence and a few have exploded into a full blown revolt.
Nevertheless, the true question lies in Westeros’ soul. For six centuries Westeros has been a single nation. Today, Westerosi across the contient question the need for the monarchy or even the nation itself. Dorne, the North, and the Iron Islands agitate for autonomy or even independence. Perhaps Westeros will survive and evolve, or perhaps unified Westeros is dying. Regardless, Westeros has truly made its mark on world history.
Nevertheless, perhaps the most surprising aspect of Westeros is it's unity: Westeros is but a single, gargantuan nation-state, governing three million square miles of land and three-hundred million citizens, just in Westeros proper. Despite their disparate origins and customs, Westerosi from Sunspear to Winterton pledge allegiance to the same flag, trade in the same currency and hail the same monarch.
Westeros was not always like this: for thousands of years Westeros was a hundred kingdoms, eventually coalescing into seven, which still make up the backbone of Westeros' modern administrative regions. Politically unified by the Targaryens and their dragons, Westeros was still fundamentally a decentralized, feudal and unstable state throughout the three hundred years of Targaryen rule. Only after the cataclysmic Second Dawn War, and the far-reaching reforms of King Joffrey and Queen Sansa did Westeros transform into the modern Kingdom of Westeros.Uniting the seven kingdoms (as well as the Crownlands and Riverlands) into one,
the two monarchs laid the groundworks for universal education, a standing army, hydropowered industry, state bureaucracy, and a single national identity: a transformation so profound Westerosi maesters differentiate the two eras as "Old Westeros" and "New Westeros".
The birthplace of both the revival of magic and the industrial revolution, Westeros today is a far cry from the feuding backwards Sunset Kingdoms of Essosi histories. The Sun-and-Stag flag flies on all seven continents, the Westerosi navy is two times the size of it's nearest rival, and Westeros accounts for forty percent of the world's economic activity.Kingslanding has been transformed over the centuries from a filthy imitation of Essosi cities to the crown jewel of Westeros' vast holdings, with more than ten academies of higher learning, the world's largest mag-train depot and by some metrics the world's largest city.
Nevertheless, although Westeros has dominated international affairs for three centuries, significant challenges lay ahead for the aging superpower.The unitary nature of the Westerosi state, although useful for modernizing, has made it inflexible and ineffective at dealing with local affairs. Westerosi meritocracy, although succeeded in having abolished the old distinctions
between the “smallfolk” and “nobility”, is under threat from corruption. To the east, Yi-Ti and Essos, having abolished slavery, challenge both Westerosi economic and political dominance. Westeros’ colonial holdings desire independence and a few have exploded into a full blown revolt.
Nevertheless, the true question lies in Westeros’ soul. For six centuries Westeros has been a single nation. Today, Westerosi across the contient question the need for the monarchy or even the nation itself. Dorne, the North, and the Iron Islands agitate for autonomy or even independence. Perhaps Westeros will survive and evolve, or perhaps unified Westeros is dying. Regardless, Westeros has truly made its mark on world history.
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After Purple Days: The Kingdom of Westeros in 657 AC
I’ve always wanted to make a map of modern Westeros. I also love a certain ASOIAF fanfiction- which has really morphed into a great piece of fiction in its own right- called Purple Days. Basically, the premise is that the cruel, stupid and cowardly crown prince of the Seven Kingdoms- Joffrey “Baratheon”, gets sucked into a time loop in which he is transported back to the beginning of ASOIAF every time he dies. Long story short, after many, many loops, he learns of his real heritage, governance, fighting, travels the world, and how to stop the impending threat of the White Walkers threatening to extinguish the world- oh, and maybe how to be a decent person along the way.
This map is essentially my headcanon of what happens after the events of Purple Days. In the fic, Joffrey and his Queen crash industrialize, unifies, and reorganizes Westeros to prepare for the White Walkers. Thus, Westeros modernizes and industrializes,but in a different way than our own world. The Westerosi industrial revolution is far more reliant on hydropower and magic then our own- massive power plants are built on ley lines, the skies above industrial cities are mostly smog-free but rivers are a mess of canals, reservoirs, dams, and turbines. Similarly, Westeros is a meritocratic state but not democratic- without anything resembling a parliament in Westeros, modern Westeros is instead more like Imperial China in governance- a massive, bureaucratic goliath which recruits administrators based on civil examination systems. There is a weak elected “Agora”, based on ancient Valyria, but this is seen mostly as a pushover compared to the extremely powerful bureaucratic and military wings of government. As this is Westeros with about 8x more people than canon and about 12x more urbanized, there are many, many non-canon cities and settlements.
Sufficient to say, it's not perfect. Westeros suffers many of the same problems as our worlds’ Soviet Union, Qing dynasty and British Empires: arrogance, rampant corruption, vast inefficient state-owned industries, expensive colonial wars, and a growing oligarchic class. But it's leagues better than the Westeros of canon.
Thank you to @baurus for writing such a fantastic fic and Atlas of Ice and Fire for the basemap!From vast forests to boiling deserts, to verdant fields and industrial cities, to icy peaks and busy ports, the Westeros is diverse as it is vast. Stretching over two thousand miles from the icy Northern territories to the southernmost tip of Dorne, Westeros is a continent unto itself: resplended in both natural and man-made wonders.
Nevertheless, perhaps the most surprising aspect of Westeros is it's unity: Westeros is but a single, gargantuan nation-state, governing three million square miles of land and three-hundred million citizens, just in Westeros proper. Despite their disparate origins and customs, Westerosi from Sunspear to Winterton pledge allegiance to the same flag, trade in the same currency and hail the same monarch.
Westeros was not always like this: for thousands of years Westeros was a hundred kingdoms, eventually coalescing into seven, which still make up the backbone of Westeros' modern administrative regions. Politically unified by the Targaryens and their dragons, Westeros was still fundamentally a decentralized, feudal and unstable state throughout the three hundred years of Targaryen rule. Only after the cataclysmic Second Dawn War, and the far-reaching reforms of King Joffrey and Queen Sansa did Westeros transform into the modern Kingdom of Westeros.Uniting the seven kingdoms (as well as the Crownlands and Riverlands) into one,
the two monarchs laid the groundworks for universal education, a standing army, hydropowered industry, state bureaucracy, and a single national identity: a transformation so profound Westerosi maesters differentiate the two eras as "Old Westeros" and "New Westeros".
The birthplace of both the revival of magic and the industrial revolution, Westeros today is a far cry from the feuding backwards Sunset Kingdoms of Essosi histories. The Sun-and-Stag flag flies on all seven continents, the Westerosi navy is two times the size of it's nearest rival, and Westeros accounts for forty percent of the world's economic activity.Kingslanding has been transformed over the centuries from a filthy imitation of Essosi cities to the crown jewel of Westeros' vast holdings, with more than ten academies of higher learning, the world's largest mag-train depot and by some metrics the world's largest city.
Nevertheless, although Westeros has dominated international affairs for three centuries, significant challenges lay ahead for the aging superpower.The unitary nature of the Westerosi state, although useful for modernizing, has made it inflexible and ineffective at dealing with local affairs. Westerosi meritocracy, although succeeded in having abolished the old distinctions
between the “smallfolk” and “nobility”, is under threat from corruption. To the east, Yi-Ti and Essos, having abolished slavery, challenge both Westerosi economic and political dominance. Westeros’ colonial holdings desire independence and a few have exploded into a full blown revolt.
Nevertheless, the true question lies in Westeros’ soul. For six centuries Westeros has been a single nation. Today, Westerosi across the contient question the need for the monarchy or even the nation itself. Dorne, the North, and the Iron Islands agitate for autonomy or even independence. Perhaps Westeros will survive and evolve, or perhaps unified Westeros is dying. Regardless, Westeros has truly made its mark on world history.
This is so fantastic. Well done! I read Purple Days a little myself. Same for an wonderful modern day map of Westeros.
This setting would make for an great Steam/Diesel/Cynerpunk depending n the exact tech level like Dishonored, or Deathloop.
Updated
Fixed the tuscany colors, tidied up the key, extended the border pattern over russia/turkey.
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Yi-Ti is a place [1], but isn't Essos the name of the continent rather than any particular state on it?
[1] And looking it up online, it seems Martin had some real fun with sprinking around Lovecraftian bits in the east of Essos...
Essos as in the myriad of states which ASIOAF calls the "free cities", but by 657 AC are fully fledged nation states, not mere city-states anymore. It's basically like saying "America is being outpaced by Europe and Russia".
The Cold War: Europe 1962
Europe for much of its modern history was divided between a number of rivalrous powers. The World Wars of 1914 and 1939 were fought in large part in an attempt to secure hegemony over the continent. The Second World War proved to be the bloodiest war so far in human history. For five years, the ruinous powers of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union wrested for control of Europe, bringing cities to rubble and killing millions. The democratic powers of the world remained mostly on the sidelines. France was knocked out of the war early, Britain was kept out of the war by Germany's continental system, while the United States remained stubbornly committed to isolation. Germany, it proved, would break first, and the Soviet curtain swept west. Only small pieces of Europe were quickly claimed by Britain and the late-coming United States, allying themselves with local right-wingers predisposed against Soviet Communism. After the war, the wonder-weapon of the nuclear bomb was invented, freezing the borders between East and West, between the Soviet-run Warsaw Pact and the Anglo-American North Atlantic Alliance. A strained peace remains, but several boiling points threaten to erupt into worldwide nuclear annihilation:
The French Border: The borders between the French Democratic Republic and the outposts of the French Fourth Republic. The former is a totalitarian state, run by Jacques Duclos and the PCF., and armed with a nuclear arsenal ready for use. The latter, helmed by President Charles DeGaulle, is a state in collapse; only a few outposts--Brittany, Hauts-de-France, and Corsica--remain of the core French hexagon. The French colonies are nearly all independent, while colonial soldiers barely keep a hold on the cities of Algiers and Tunis. Millions of French have escaped Europe, heading for Britain or Quebec.
Andorra: The small country of Andorra, a smuggling route for Frenchmen seeking escape from the Duclos dictatorship, is stuck between the two titanic alliances. To the south, Francoist Spain has been welcomed into the North Atlantic Alliance despite its support for the Axis. Francisco Franco, while not much better than the rest of the European dictators, rarely misses an opportunity to improve his image in the West by accepting refugees fleeing communism. He is an eager advocate for the Pope and Catholics across the Mediterranean.
The Leonine Walls: The Vatican City was nearly occupied by Soviet forces before American paratroopers, on a mission to secure President Frank Murphy the Catholic vote, stopped them in their tracks. Now Rome itself is split in half between Communist and 'Democratic.' A city of intrigue, spraypainted walls, smugglers, and tanks, Rome is the frontline of the Cold War. The Pope has sought to both isolate himself--shoring up his city's defenses, spending alms on guardsmen--and reach out to oppressed Europe to keep their Catholic faith despite repression. Ruling from Naples is the Kingdom of Italy, technically a constitutional monarchy under the leadership of Umberto II and the Christian Party, though in truth they eagerly smuggle weapons to neo-Fascists in the North and use 'ex'-Fascist policemen to fling political enemies from windows.
The Olympian Front: To the north of Mount Olympus, Greece is run from Thessalonika by a cadre of communists with ambitions to join Yugoslavia. To the south, the Greek resistance movement has fallen quickly into the habits of its predecessor quisling governments, using clerico-fascist imagery and politics in an attempt to wade off communist rebellion. This has, of course, created fiction between Greece and its neighbor to the east.
The Dardanelles: The lynchpin of the Mediterranean, Turkey has invited in all the Western soldiers and guns it can. Its borders with Bulgaria are the most heavily guarded in Europe, while to the east Kurdish nationalists, funded by Moscow, have overwhelmed Turkish outposts and bomb anything with treads. The West has secretly stockpiled nuclear weapons here and is prepared to use them if a Soviet soldier steps into Turkish land.
The Holy Land: Following Nazi Germany's Holocaust and the communist tsunami, Europe's Jews migrates en masse to the Holy Land. By 1949 war erupted between Jews and Arabs, and the better-equipped Jews won out. For a time, the West was reluctant to support Israel, though the anti-colonial tide across the region brought the West together with this ally of convenience. In 1958, Egyptian President Nasser's plot to nationalize the Suez incited the greatest war in the region yet. With Franco-British aid and American approval, Israel launched an invasion of the Sinai, trouncing the outmatched Egyptian Army. To the north, Israel has since occupied half of Lebanon. The Arab states of Egypt, Syria, and Iraq, shocked by Israel's rapid expansion, have turned to Nasser as their savior. Under his control, a vast Arab Union has been created, with local politicians subsumed to his promise of liberation. However, not all the Middle East is purely hostile to the new Jewish state. The monarchies of Transjordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Libya, while publicly condemning Israel, have found common ground with Israel in their opposition to the anti-monarchical social nationalists. Palestine, even, is a fragile joint venture between Israel and Jordan, not that the Palestinians have much of a say.
Europe, while a better place than it was perhaps two decades ago, is not in a golden age. The ravages of war remain across the continent: cities in ruin, poverty rampant, and war ceaselessly looming.
Hope to make more maps in 2022, so here's the first. It's a bit of a downer I suppose.
Europe for much of its modern history was divided between a number of rivalrous powers. The World Wars of 1914 and 1939 were fought in large part in an attempt to secure hegemony over the continent. The Second World War proved to be the bloodiest war so far in human history. For five years, the ruinous powers of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union wrested for control of Europe, bringing cities to rubble and killing millions. The democratic powers of the world remained mostly on the sidelines. France was knocked out of the war early, Britain was kept out of the war by Germany's continental system, while the United States remained stubbornly committed to isolation. Germany, it proved, would break first, and the Soviet curtain swept west. Only small pieces of Europe were quickly claimed by Britain and the late-coming United States, allying themselves with local right-wingers predisposed against Soviet Communism. After the war, the wonder-weapon of the nuclear bomb was invented, freezing the borders between East and West, between the Soviet-run Warsaw Pact and the Anglo-American North Atlantic Alliance. A strained peace remains, but several boiling points threaten to erupt into worldwide nuclear annihilation:
The French Border: The borders between the French Democratic Republic and the outposts of the French Fourth Republic. The former is a totalitarian state, run by Jacques Duclos and the PCF., and armed with a nuclear arsenal ready for use. The latter, helmed by President Charles DeGaulle, is a state in collapse; only a few outposts--Brittany, Hauts-de-France, and Corsica--remain of the core French hexagon. The French colonies are nearly all independent, while colonial soldiers barely keep a hold on the cities of Algiers and Tunis. Millions of French have escaped Europe, heading for Britain or Quebec.
Andorra: The small country of Andorra, a smuggling route for Frenchmen seeking escape from the Duclos dictatorship, is stuck between the two titanic alliances. To the south, Francoist Spain has been welcomed into the North Atlantic Alliance despite its support for the Axis. Francisco Franco, while not much better than the rest of the European dictators, rarely misses an opportunity to improve his image in the West by accepting refugees fleeing communism. He is an eager advocate for the Pope and Catholics across the Mediterranean.
The Leonine Walls: The Vatican City was nearly occupied by Soviet forces before American paratroopers, on a mission to secure President Frank Murphy the Catholic vote, stopped them in their tracks. Now Rome itself is split in half between Communist and 'Democratic.' A city of intrigue, spraypainted walls, smugglers, and tanks, Rome is the frontline of the Cold War. The Pope has sought to both isolate himself--shoring up his city's defenses, spending alms on guardsmen--and reach out to oppressed Europe to keep their Catholic faith despite repression. Ruling from Naples is the Kingdom of Italy, technically a constitutional monarchy under the leadership of Umberto II and the Christian Party, though in truth they eagerly smuggle weapons to neo-Fascists in the North and use 'ex'-Fascist policemen to fling political enemies from windows.
The Olympian Front: To the north of Mount Olympus, Greece is run from Thessalonika by a cadre of communists with ambitions to join Yugoslavia. To the south, the Greek resistance movement has fallen quickly into the habits of its predecessor quisling governments, using clerico-fascist imagery and politics in an attempt to wade off communist rebellion. This has, of course, created fiction between Greece and its neighbor to the east.
The Dardanelles: The lynchpin of the Mediterranean, Turkey has invited in all the Western soldiers and guns it can. Its borders with Bulgaria are the most heavily guarded in Europe, while to the east Kurdish nationalists, funded by Moscow, have overwhelmed Turkish outposts and bomb anything with treads. The West has secretly stockpiled nuclear weapons here and is prepared to use them if a Soviet soldier steps into Turkish land.
The Holy Land: Following Nazi Germany's Holocaust and the communist tsunami, Europe's Jews migrates en masse to the Holy Land. By 1949 war erupted between Jews and Arabs, and the better-equipped Jews won out. For a time, the West was reluctant to support Israel, though the anti-colonial tide across the region brought the West together with this ally of convenience. In 1958, Egyptian President Nasser's plot to nationalize the Suez incited the greatest war in the region yet. With Franco-British aid and American approval, Israel launched an invasion of the Sinai, trouncing the outmatched Egyptian Army. To the north, Israel has since occupied half of Lebanon. The Arab states of Egypt, Syria, and Iraq, shocked by Israel's rapid expansion, have turned to Nasser as their savior. Under his control, a vast Arab Union has been created, with local politicians subsumed to his promise of liberation. However, not all the Middle East is purely hostile to the new Jewish state. The monarchies of Transjordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Libya, while publicly condemning Israel, have found common ground with Israel in their opposition to the anti-monarchical social nationalists. Palestine, even, is a fragile joint venture between Israel and Jordan, not that the Palestinians have much of a say.
Europe, while a better place than it was perhaps two decades ago, is not in a golden age. The ravages of war remain across the continent: cities in ruin, poverty rampant, and war ceaselessly looming.
Hope to make more maps in 2022, so here's the first. It's a bit of a downer I suppose.
Fair enough, although that still does leave the majority of the continent unaccounted for, and geographically the free cities and Yi-Ti are more analogous to Europe and India than Europe and Russia. (Yes, I'm nitpicking a great map, and I apologize. It's who I am.
)(If we're nitpicking, Yi Ti is actually very clearly based on China)Fair enough, although that still does leave the majority of the continent unaccounted for, and geographically the free cities and Yi-Ti are more analogous to Europe and India than Europe and Russia. (Yes, I'm nitpicking a great map, and I apologize. It's who I am.
I was talking physical geography, not cultural. Yi Ti lies south and a long ways east of the free cities, but not on the far eastern extremity of the continent.
You could argue either way. The island to the southern coast of Yi Ti reminds me very strongly of Taiwan, though it could also be analogous to Sri Lanka
In that case...yeah, probably, though I think that the geographic analogies break down as you go further east.
Bad color choice. It's supposed to be a west African union based on a more successful Liberia
I think in all honesty that this map is of enough quality that it's worth posting in the story thread itself, necro concerns aside.
After Purple Days: The Kingdom of Westeros in 657 AC
I’ve always wanted to make a map of modern Westeros. I also love a certain ASOIAF fanfiction- which has really morphed into a great piece of fiction in its own right- called Purple Days. Basically, the premise is that the cruel, stupid and cowardly crown prince of the Seven Kingdoms- Joffrey “Baratheon”, gets sucked into a time loop in which he is transported back to the beginning of ASOIAF every time he dies. Long story short, after many, many loops, he learns of his real heritage, governance, fighting, travels the world, and how to stop the impending threat of the White Walkers threatening to extinguish the world- oh, and maybe how to be a decent person along the way.
This map is essentially my headcanon of what happens after the events of Purple Days. In the fic, Joffrey and his Queen crash industrialize, unifies, and reorganizes Westeros to prepare for the White Walkers. Thus, Westeros modernizes and industrializes,but in a different way than our own world. The Westerosi industrial revolution is far more reliant on hydropower and magic then our own- massive power plants are built on ley lines, the skies above industrial cities are mostly smog-free but rivers are a mess of canals, reservoirs, dams, and turbines. Similarly, Westeros is a meritocratic state but not democratic- without anything resembling a parliament in Westeros, modern Westeros is instead more like Imperial China in governance- a massive, bureaucratic goliath which recruits administrators based on civil examination systems. There is a weak elected “Agora”, based on ancient Valyria, but this is seen mostly as a pushover compared to the extremely powerful bureaucratic and military wings of government. As this is Westeros with about 8x more people than canon and about 12x more urbanized, there are many, many non-canon cities and settlements.
Sufficient to say, it's not perfect. Westeros suffers many of the same problems as our worlds’ Soviet Union, Qing dynasty and British Empires: arrogance, rampant corruption, vast inefficient state-owned industries, expensive colonial wars, and a growing oligarchic class. But it's leagues better than the Westeros of canon.
Thank you to @baurus for writing such a fantastic fic and Atlas of Ice and Fire for the basemap!From vast forests to boiling deserts, to verdant fields and industrial cities, to icy peaks and busy ports, the Westeros is diverse as it is vast. Stretching over two thousand miles from the icy Northern territories to the southernmost tip of Dorne, Westeros is a continent unto itself: resplended in both natural and man-made wonders.
Nevertheless, perhaps the most surprising aspect of Westeros is it's unity: Westeros is but a single, gargantuan nation-state, governing three million square miles of land and three-hundred million citizens, just in Westeros proper. Despite their disparate origins and customs, Westerosi from Sunspear to Winterton pledge allegiance to the same flag, trade in the same currency and hail the same monarch.
Westeros was not always like this: for thousands of years Westeros was a hundred kingdoms, eventually coalescing into seven, which still make up the backbone of Westeros' modern administrative regions. Politically unified by the Targaryens and their dragons, Westeros was still fundamentally a decentralized, feudal and unstable state throughout the three hundred years of Targaryen rule. Only after the cataclysmic Second Dawn War, and the far-reaching reforms of King Joffrey and Queen Sansa did Westeros transform into the modern Kingdom of Westeros.Uniting the seven kingdoms (as well as the Crownlands and Riverlands) into one,
the two monarchs laid the groundworks for universal education, a standing army, hydropowered industry, state bureaucracy, and a single national identity: a transformation so profound Westerosi maesters differentiate the two eras as "Old Westeros" and "New Westeros".
The birthplace of both the revival of magic and the industrial revolution, Westeros today is a far cry from the feuding backwards Sunset Kingdoms of Essosi histories. The Sun-and-Stag flag flies on all seven continents, the Westerosi navy is two times the size of it's nearest rival, and Westeros accounts for forty percent of the world's economic activity.Kingslanding has been transformed over the centuries from a filthy imitation of Essosi cities to the crown jewel of Westeros' vast holdings, with more than ten academies of higher learning, the world's largest mag-train depot and by some metrics the world's largest city.
Nevertheless, although Westeros has dominated international affairs for three centuries, significant challenges lay ahead for the aging superpower.The unitary nature of the Westerosi state, although useful for modernizing, has made it inflexible and ineffective at dealing with local affairs. Westerosi meritocracy, although succeeded in having abolished the old distinctions
between the “smallfolk” and “nobility”, is under threat from corruption. To the east, Yi-Ti and Essos, having abolished slavery, challenge both Westerosi economic and political dominance. Westeros’ colonial holdings desire independence and a few have exploded into a full blown revolt.
Nevertheless, the true question lies in Westeros’ soul. For six centuries Westeros has been a single nation. Today, Westerosi across the contient question the need for the monarchy or even the nation itself. Dorne, the North, and the Iron Islands agitate for autonomy or even independence. Perhaps Westeros will survive and evolve, or perhaps unified Westeros is dying. Regardless, Westeros has truly made its mark on world history.
I also like how some of Purple!Joff's reforms end up having negative reprecussions down the line as you note. The breakneck pace of centralizing having made the state brittle in times of peace and probably ossified compared to the Essosi.
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[50+ Likes] The Soul of Russia, by Prince di Corsica
Crossposting from the MotM contest as usual. Comments, questions, all are welcomed. And it's my first map of the year + my first map of the thread, may there be many more to come!
The chronicles tell us about how in the year 987 AD Vladimir, Prince of Kiev sent emissaries to various foreign nations, inquiring about the religion practiced in their lands, seeking to choose which of them would be better for his people: Judaism, Islam or Christianity, and from Christianity, to choose between the Eastern and Western rites. Hearing back from those emissaries, and comparing their experiences, especially in regards to the joyfulness of the people and of its religious celebrations, Vladimir made the decision to embrace the Eastern rite of Christianity, leading to the Orthodox Russia we all know and love.
Of course, we know quite well that this story is just that, a story meant to illustrate what in reality was in truth political, with the influence of Constantinople pushing the prince firmly into Orthodoxy, regardless of how festive church celebrations were in the East or the West. This story of emissaries is but a metaphor for a much more complicated and much ore political process. But, in any case, let's take the metaphor, and think of what would happen to Russia, had the political situation favored anything other than Constantinople, with two particular examples of paths not taken, that to Rome and that to Mecca.
Catholic Rus (the Polish-Lithuanian-Ruthenian Commonwealth)
The idea here being that, without the religious differences, the PLC would eventually absorb the Rus principalities into its domain, creating a large and inflated realm, that doesn't expand that far east to begin with.
Islamic Rus (the Horde continues)
The point is that an Islamic Russia would ultimately become more culturally integrated with the Tatar peoples to its south, since already OTL Tatar became a fashionable language of Russian nobility, a trend which could be expected to increase with no religious barrier, creating a Turkified upper class, which then would improve the odds of those polities formed from the ruins of the Mongol Empire. I chose the Giray dynasty symbol because I like them in particular.
Finding cities for the Islamic Rus map was more difficult than expected. I tried to make a more northwest-southeast imbalance from one map to the other, but I don't know how noticeable that is. The idea of a flourishing Islamic civilization flourishing in the Volga River ruled by the Mongols is interesting, but it proved hard to accomplish. I'm also unsure how anachronistic a lot of the map is, but I wanted to give a feel of the depth of the Volga Basin, and of the more urban-tribal structure of the Horde, which again I'm not sure if I've been able to implement that well. I am more satisfied with how the Catholic map turned out.
That being said, I do like the aesthetic of the maps. The colouring turned out pretty well, and the rivers look very good (I thought of adding more, but I'm satisfied with the final look now that I see it). Maybe I could have added some more depth to them (roads? churches? idk) but time is already running out anyway, it was a frantic holiday season.
Anyway, hope everyone likes them.
The Soul of Russia
the paths NOT taken by Vladimir the Great
the paths NOT taken by Vladimir the Great
The chronicles tell us about how in the year 987 AD Vladimir, Prince of Kiev sent emissaries to various foreign nations, inquiring about the religion practiced in their lands, seeking to choose which of them would be better for his people: Judaism, Islam or Christianity, and from Christianity, to choose between the Eastern and Western rites. Hearing back from those emissaries, and comparing their experiences, especially in regards to the joyfulness of the people and of its religious celebrations, Vladimir made the decision to embrace the Eastern rite of Christianity, leading to the Orthodox Russia we all know and love.
Of course, we know quite well that this story is just that, a story meant to illustrate what in reality was in truth political, with the influence of Constantinople pushing the prince firmly into Orthodoxy, regardless of how festive church celebrations were in the East or the West. This story of emissaries is but a metaphor for a much more complicated and much ore political process. But, in any case, let's take the metaphor, and think of what would happen to Russia, had the political situation favored anything other than Constantinople, with two particular examples of paths not taken, that to Rome and that to Mecca.
Catholic Rus (the Polish-Lithuanian-Ruthenian Commonwealth)
The idea here being that, without the religious differences, the PLC would eventually absorb the Rus principalities into its domain, creating a large and inflated realm, that doesn't expand that far east to begin with.
The point is that an Islamic Russia would ultimately become more culturally integrated with the Tatar peoples to its south, since already OTL Tatar became a fashionable language of Russian nobility, a trend which could be expected to increase with no religious barrier, creating a Turkified upper class, which then would improve the odds of those polities formed from the ruins of the Mongol Empire. I chose the Giray dynasty symbol because I like them in particular.
Finding cities for the Islamic Rus map was more difficult than expected. I tried to make a more northwest-southeast imbalance from one map to the other, but I don't know how noticeable that is. The idea of a flourishing Islamic civilization flourishing in the Volga River ruled by the Mongols is interesting, but it proved hard to accomplish. I'm also unsure how anachronistic a lot of the map is, but I wanted to give a feel of the depth of the Volga Basin, and of the more urban-tribal structure of the Horde, which again I'm not sure if I've been able to implement that well. I am more satisfied with how the Catholic map turned out.
That being said, I do like the aesthetic of the maps. The colouring turned out pretty well, and the rivers look very good (I thought of adding more, but I'm satisfied with the final look now that I see it). Maybe I could have added some more depth to them (roads? churches? idk) but time is already running out anyway, it was a frantic holiday season.
Anyway, hope everyone likes them.
- Status