That’s one sexy NepalThe Asian GiantsThe year is 1600 AD. For around a century now, five Empires have dominated the politics of Asia. In the land of the Shahanshahs, Zikanid Iran stands proud and tall, deriving its origins to the Achaemenid Empire under the Great House of Zik/Zikan. In India, the Newars of Nepal firmly established the Empire of Nepala under the Malla Dynasty, ushering a new era of Buddhist renaissance to the subcontinent. In the East Indies, Majapahit rules supreme, ruling the waves and the straits trade. In the lands of Taizong and Bai Hu, the Great Ming stands proud as the Celestial Leader of All Under Heaven, ruling from Central Asia to even the New World under their Fusangese Colonies. To the frozen north, the Yakutian Horde stands prideful of its victories against the Slavs of Eastern Europe. But as European powers start to slowly encroach upon Asia, these Empires will face difficulties from Europe, but can they survive the test of time? Only the Heavens knows.........
Thoughts and Comments?
Map Thread XXI
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A map of Europe in 1908 from my timeline, The American System.
Italy is slowly being unified by the revolutionary Roman Republic. Wilhelm I abdicated in 1861 and Bismarck never came to power, so Germany remains a patchwork of states. Prussia also failed to seize all of Schleswig-Holstein, instead partitioning it with Denmark. The efforts of Friedrich III mean that the German Confederation is bound closely together by a strengthened Zollverein and reformed currency system. Napoleon III died in prison, so the French Republic survived. Without a Crimean War, Russia's army became more and more obsolete until the humiliation of the Balkan War in the 1870s forced the issue of reform. The Ottoman Empire is slowly drifting towards constitutionalism, and a combination of brutal repression and emigration to the US has partially calmed Bulgarian and Serbian nationalism. Spain's era of democracy was snuffed out after losing Cuba to the United States, while the United Kingdom is on the cusp of adopting Imperial Preference as the specter of Home Rule lurks behind the scenes. In Milan, Dublin, and Sofia, nationalist tensions are growing, while relations between the French-Italian-Russian and German alliances sour by the day...
Inspired by OTL Iraqi Mamluks and a random Cossack banner. No lore, actually. You can probably imagine Mesopotamian Cossacks to be like OTL Mamluks - freed slaves who converted to Islam, but somehow maintainted their Cossack origins. Or something else.
The Asian GiantsThe year is 1600 AD. For around a century now, five Empires have dominated the politics of Asia. In the land of the Shahanshahs, Zikanid Iran stands proud and tall, deriving its origins to the Achaemenid Empire under the Great House of Zik/Zikan. In India, the Newars of Nepal firmly established the Empire of Nepala under the Malla Dynasty, ushering a new era of Buddhist renaissance to the subcontinent. In the East Indies, Majapahit rules supreme, ruling the waves and the straits trade. In the lands of Taizong and Bai Hu, the Great Ming stands proud as the Celestial Leader of All Under Heaven, ruling from Central Asia to even the New World under their Fusangese Colonies. To the frozen north, the Yakutian Horde stands prideful of its victories against the Slavs of Eastern Europe. But as European powers start to slowly encroach upon Asia, these Empires will face difficulties from Europe, but can they survive the test of time? Only the Heavens knows.........
Thoughts and Comments?
I instantly approve because of the large Iran...I feel like it's so rare to see that in these days in maps. Maybe I'm just unlucky. But besides that the map is amazingly produced. I especially love the Yakutian Horde! What program did you use?
To be fair it depends on when the POD is. Nuestria just means “new western land” and the name wasn’t just used by the Franks but also by the Lombards for their subdivisions (well the Lombards had Australia and Neustrasia IIRC but same root) so whatever is the new western land for the Franks is Neustria, though ofc given their earliest known homeland is on the Rhine and TTL seems to have had a pretty normal Rome, yeah it’s probably a mistake
Got to say I love the Nepal.The Asian GiantsThe year is 1600 AD. For around a century now, five Empires have dominated the politics of Asia. In the land of the Shahanshahs, Zikanid Iran stands proud and tall, deriving its origins to the Achaemenid Empire under the Great House of Zik/Zikan. In India, the Newars of Nepal firmly established the Empire of Nepala under the Malla Dynasty, ushering a new era of Buddhist renaissance to the subcontinent. In the East Indies, Majapahit rules supreme, ruling the waves and the straits trade. In the lands of Taizong and Bai Hu, the Great Ming stands proud as the Celestial Leader of All Under Heaven, ruling from Central Asia to even the New World under their Fusangese Colonies. To the frozen north, the Yakutian Horde stands prideful of its victories against the Slavs of Eastern Europe. But as European powers start to slowly encroach upon Asia, these Empires will face difficulties from Europe, but can they survive the test of time? Only the Heavens knows.........
Thoughts and Comments?
And is that kashmir? Stuffed between three great powers
I think I saw a thread (on or off this site) about if a more federalized system for Ming and Qing China could have allowed the two to organize more effectively against Western encroachment? If the more formalized tributary system this TTL Ming adopted could be more easily formulated into a series of colonies and protectorates between China and the Himalayas, would there have been movements during the 19th century attempting to convert this brand of Sinocentricism into a Japan-style power? Would it even survived the transition to Qing, given their status as barbarians giving the Han and tributaries a chance to revolt? Even in the best case scenario, it seems China (never midn the dynasty) would undergo humiliation at the hands of the British, only this time in a "small game" over influence in Tibet.
Not sure if you are aware, but Aurantiacis' map is historical
My mistake! I am not as familiar with Ming era administration as I am with the other dynasties, with y knowledge mainly pertaining to the administration of the imperial court. I simply happened to see this on OP's Deviantart status and assumed this was an extrapolation of the tributary systems al ready held by the Ming at this point. Barring that, it's a gem among the online mapping community, and I wonder personally how long it took to find the names and detailed descriptions of the more miniscule chiefdoms as well as their precise historical borders.
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Mind if I drop a little something I made here?
The United States of America as of the present day, in an alternate world where it has become absolutely massive
The United States of America as of the present day, in an alternate world where it has become absolutely massive
Firmly in ASB territory, especially with that hilarously nonsensical mix of modern and historical borders.
Yeah, rock-hard realism wasn't the top priority for this TL. It was always a wacky thought experiment to begin with.
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An earth with no humans, but Jutland is the same and Nederland contains modern day dams and that? (I might be missing the point , maybe they went yesterday.)
Yet Another Axis Victory Scenario
Yes, yet another Axis victory. I just realized at one point that I hadn't made my own version of this popular(est?) scenario yet. How can I even call myself an alternate history fan after that?
So what's going on ITTL. Although there were proposals to implement Generalplan Ost on a full scale, it was decided to suspend its implementation due to the impracticality of the plan (which doesn't mean that "untermenschen" are allright - they aren't. While not a direct murder, an industrial slavery for many Slavs is definitely not a very pleasing thing). Most of the ethnic cleansing has taken place in the territory of former Poland and, oddly enough, the former French territories. Although the nature of the purges is different - the French are simply being massively deported to France, while the Poles, in addition to deportation to the General-Governate, face much grimer prospects.
The need to manage such a vast territory as the former European part of the Soviet Union forces the Germans to make certain concessions. More often than not the policy towards the local population depends on the personality of the administrator of the region, practical needs and other things. It is quite common to suddenly "discover Aryan roots" among those locals who have enough funds to ehm.. acquire their Germanized status (Nazi racial theory adapted to this practice, stating that many Slavs are probably secretly of Aryan origin). This practice is especially common in the General-Governate, where people just want to survive so they agree to be "Germans".
Despite the shared name, which implies a certain uniformity of the administrative structure, each Reichskommissariat is governed in its own way. The ethnically diverse commissariats are governed by a "divide and conquer" policy, giving privileges to some groups over others while maintaining German dominance. This approach is used the most in the Ostland and the Caucasus, where a complex ethnic hierarchy has been estabilished as a result. Usually it looks like this: "Aryans" > local minorities (Chechens, Ossetians, Estonians, Tatars) > Slavs > Jews and other "undesirables". However, there are exceptions - in the Caucasus, for example, Cossacks have high privileges, whose status is much higher than local Russians or Ukrainians. In addition, the Cossacks posses a certain kind of autonomy - they have two autonomous regions in the Caucasus and one in Ukraine. Also in Belarus (Ostland) the local administration treats collaborators much more favorably, widely using their services.
If you look closely, you will notice that many of the administrative borders of the Reichskommissariat regions have been inherited from the Soviet Union. This is not the only thing that has been inherited. An institution of collective farms was preserved to establish a system of colonial exploitation, although the introduction of private property is not unheard of. Also, despite the anti-communist propaganda, many former low-key functionaries of the Communist Party retained their positions due to the lack of qualified German administrators.
A full-scale colonization of the east never happened, with the exception of the former Poland (success in which was achieved largely due to mass deportations, murders and such). The main form of colonization in, for example, Ukraine is the generous allocation of huge plots of land to retired German soldiers and officers, who as a result create something like modern Antebellum South-style plantations, forcing the local population to serve as basically slaves. The only "islands" of ethnically German territories are Crimea (now Gothland) and Volgaland (populated by Volga Germans, whose repatriation was one of the German conditions for a truce with the USSR).
Neverthless, as a result of the creation of autonomous entities like Georgia or Tatarstan, the remaining territory of the Reichskommissariat Muscowy is predominantly mono-ethnic Russian. As a result, the practice of collaborationism is widespread in Muscovy (expect several local autonomies like OTL Lokot). At the same time, as part of the project to destroy Russia as an idea so it will never pose any kind of threat to German interests, the development of local identities as opposed to the all-Russian one is encouraged (so not Russians in Arkhangelsk but Pomors, not Russians in Moscow but Muscovites, etc), the process of which in its form resembles Soviet "korenizatsia", although with less success.
Ukraine is in a similar situation when speaking of collaboration, but a bit different one - the annexation of ethnically Russian territories allows nazis to encourage tensions between the two groups while maintaining German direct control. Similar to what is happening in Muscowy, there is also an encouragement of local identities (Volhynians, Sieverians, Zaporozhians, etc).
Still Ukraine remains the most exploited Reichskommisariat. Although attempts at colonization failed, the "preparations" for it were quite bloody for Ukrainians (a series of artificial famines that in terms of victims surpassed the Holodomor of the 30s).
I'm not sure if there is anything else worth taking note of. Well, there is Italy which is not undergoing any sort of split with Germany, remaining an ally to it (not an equal one). Turkey managed to grab some Soviet territories (Batumi and Nakhichevan) but never joined the Axis and is currently trying to maintain neutrality.
So what's going on ITTL. Although there were proposals to implement Generalplan Ost on a full scale, it was decided to suspend its implementation due to the impracticality of the plan (which doesn't mean that "untermenschen" are allright - they aren't. While not a direct murder, an industrial slavery for many Slavs is definitely not a very pleasing thing). Most of the ethnic cleansing has taken place in the territory of former Poland and, oddly enough, the former French territories. Although the nature of the purges is different - the French are simply being massively deported to France, while the Poles, in addition to deportation to the General-Governate, face much grimer prospects.
The need to manage such a vast territory as the former European part of the Soviet Union forces the Germans to make certain concessions. More often than not the policy towards the local population depends on the personality of the administrator of the region, practical needs and other things. It is quite common to suddenly "discover Aryan roots" among those locals who have enough funds to ehm.. acquire their Germanized status (Nazi racial theory adapted to this practice, stating that many Slavs are probably secretly of Aryan origin). This practice is especially common in the General-Governate, where people just want to survive so they agree to be "Germans".
Despite the shared name, which implies a certain uniformity of the administrative structure, each Reichskommissariat is governed in its own way. The ethnically diverse commissariats are governed by a "divide and conquer" policy, giving privileges to some groups over others while maintaining German dominance. This approach is used the most in the Ostland and the Caucasus, where a complex ethnic hierarchy has been estabilished as a result. Usually it looks like this: "Aryans" > local minorities (Chechens, Ossetians, Estonians, Tatars) > Slavs > Jews and other "undesirables". However, there are exceptions - in the Caucasus, for example, Cossacks have high privileges, whose status is much higher than local Russians or Ukrainians. In addition, the Cossacks posses a certain kind of autonomy - they have two autonomous regions in the Caucasus and one in Ukraine. Also in Belarus (Ostland) the local administration treats collaborators much more favorably, widely using their services.
If you look closely, you will notice that many of the administrative borders of the Reichskommissariat regions have been inherited from the Soviet Union. This is not the only thing that has been inherited. An institution of collective farms was preserved to establish a system of colonial exploitation, although the introduction of private property is not unheard of. Also, despite the anti-communist propaganda, many former low-key functionaries of the Communist Party retained their positions due to the lack of qualified German administrators.
A full-scale colonization of the east never happened, with the exception of the former Poland (success in which was achieved largely due to mass deportations, murders and such). The main form of colonization in, for example, Ukraine is the generous allocation of huge plots of land to retired German soldiers and officers, who as a result create something like modern Antebellum South-style plantations, forcing the local population to serve as basically slaves. The only "islands" of ethnically German territories are Crimea (now Gothland) and Volgaland (populated by Volga Germans, whose repatriation was one of the German conditions for a truce with the USSR).
Neverthless, as a result of the creation of autonomous entities like Georgia or Tatarstan, the remaining territory of the Reichskommissariat Muscowy is predominantly mono-ethnic Russian. As a result, the practice of collaborationism is widespread in Muscovy (expect several local autonomies like OTL Lokot). At the same time, as part of the project to destroy Russia as an idea so it will never pose any kind of threat to German interests, the development of local identities as opposed to the all-Russian one is encouraged (so not Russians in Arkhangelsk but Pomors, not Russians in Moscow but Muscovites, etc), the process of which in its form resembles Soviet "korenizatsia", although with less success.
Ukraine is in a similar situation when speaking of collaboration, but a bit different one - the annexation of ethnically Russian territories allows nazis to encourage tensions between the two groups while maintaining German direct control. Similar to what is happening in Muscowy, there is also an encouragement of local identities (Volhynians, Sieverians, Zaporozhians, etc).
Still Ukraine remains the most exploited Reichskommisariat. Although attempts at colonization failed, the "preparations" for it were quite bloody for Ukrainians (a series of artificial famines that in terms of victims surpassed the Holodomor of the 30s).
I'm not sure if there is anything else worth taking note of. Well, there is Italy which is not undergoing any sort of split with Germany, remaining an ally to it (not an equal one). Turkey managed to grab some Soviet territories (Batumi and Nakhichevan) but never joined the Axis and is currently trying to maintain neutrality.
I removed Flevoland, but apparently this is not enough.
And what's up with Jutland?
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