Map Thread XXI

[Cattette]

Emirate of Galhat​

Situated on the easternmost promontory of Arabia, the independent Emirate of Galhat occupies a stretch of land about the size of a parish. The country is enclosed on all sides by the Sultanate of Muscat; apart only from an eastern-situated coastline upon which her namesake capital cradles the Indian Ocean. Mountains and highlands take up the majority of the small Emirates territory. Two major wadis, or valleys, cut through these highlands, from north to south these are Wadi Haida and Wadi Helgh. The latter of which is the largest, and culminates in a flat promontory upon which the city of Galhat is built.

About 15.000 people live in the Emirate, of mostly settled Arabian stock; about 12.000 reside in the city of Galhat, with sizable seasonal merchant minorities of African, Hindu and Iranian stock. The interior of the country supports a minor rural population within its wide valleys.

Galhat was established by the kings of Ormuz, an Iranian trading entrepôt turned mercantile empire established in the 11th century. It fell under Portuguese vassalage in 1507, who in the 1730s, capitulated it to Afsharid Iran. After the death of Nader Shah in 1747, the small Emirate came to be ruled by a former Turco-Arabic general and governor Latif Al-Hajim. The territory has been under a protectorate of the British Empire since the mid-1800s.

The city has for centuries been privileged by the commerce of the Indian Sea, and many merchants moored here on their way to Basra in Iraq. With the opening of the Suez canal in 1869, commerce now traverses the Red Sea, resulting in a decline in the importance of the city. It is nevertheless the most important port in eastern Arabia save for Muscat. Following discoveries of oil in the greater Persian Gulf region, the Anglo-Persian Oil Company is conducting geological surveys within the Emirate to ascertain the potential for petroleum extraction.

 

[Falkanner]

Crossposting from my worldbuilding thread:

 

[eretzyegern]

A little silly project I had been working lately:
2022, but every country (except microstates or island nations, for obvious reasons) has at least one border changed from OTL, but without any major geopolitical consequences, all of them based on borders that could've been reality (or in fact were, but were changed) but for one reason or anothe didn't.

Where I can find the original map? I wanted to work on something like this!

 

[Fehérvári]

I've been trying to come up with some misc. content for my surviving Austria-Hungary scenario and this simple map about city rivalries is one of the results of my mindgames:

I'm trying to produce as many little trivial things as possible. Even memes! Any kind of feedback or suggestion is appreciated!

 

[Hohensaufen]

I've been trying to come up with some misc. content for my surviving Austria-Hungary scenario and this simple map about city rivalries is one of the results of my mindgames:
View attachment 806275
I'm trying to produce as many little trivial things as possible. Even memes! Any kind of feedback or suggestion is appreciated!

Vienna really trying to win the player hater championship.

 

[PobreCesar]

Crossposting MOTF contribution:

"Она сказала: пойти пойду с тобою; только не тебе уже будет слава на сем пути, в который ты идешь; но в руки женщины предаст Господь Сисару." - Книга Судей, 4:9

History often seems capricious. Frederick II of Prussia is only remembered as "the Great" because Elizabeth of Russia died at an inopportune moment and her heir proceeded to be more enthused with Prussia than the Prussian king, throwing away the results of Russia's tens of thousands of casualties and switching sides in the war out of admiration for Frederick and Prussia. (Frederick maintained even after this rescue - only scarcely more plausible than a flock of alien spacebats intervening to save him - that there were no such things as miracles.) This "miracle" not only saved Frederick's legacy, but also ruined those of not one, but two empresses.

So what if Elizabeth had lived longer, long enough for victory to be delivered into the hands of three women, and the world had gone on without ever knowing the fear of Germany's ambitions? What if Maria Theresa had been able to go down in history as the woman who stitched her empire back together, rather than the unlucky monarch who saw the beginnings of its irreparable decline?

 

[Radioactive_Bee]

A Land of Milk and Honey
The Continent of India, 350 AD

In the centuries since the Second Exodus, at the hands of the tyrant Severus, as punishment for the revolt of the False Messiah, Simon ben Kosbah, the Jewish communities of the East have flourished. In both Parthia and India the Jews hold considerable sway in all matters of affairs, and although no Jewish-led polities had emerged outside of Limyrike until the fragmentation of the Andras Empire in the late Third century, Judaism and its derivatives had been disseminated widely through missionary efforts, particularly in the regions of Bactria, Thina, and Aksum.

Prior to the edict of Severus, the various Dramilic states of ancient India had already established significant connections with those to the west. For centuries, these states served as key trade centers for Romans, Arabs, Ethiopians, and Persians, with the city of Muziris, seat of the Ceras dynasty, being renowned for its wealth and diverse population in many writings of Hellenic geographers. It seems almost natural, then, that a large number number of diaspora Jews, many of them merchants and traders themselves, would take it upon themselves to reach this land, far from the vices of the empire but still well within the domain of the known world. Although it is presumed that the initial migration to these states was orders of magnitude lesser than that of the Near East, especially the Great Parthian city of Babylon, the primacy of the Hebraics in those regions led to a steady drift of Hellenic Jews eastward, leading to the establishment and growth of Jewish communities throughout the eastern Parthian Empire, the Satrapes, and the Andras Empire.

Without the writing of the Mishnah, Judaism, at least in some essences, reverted to the practices held during the Second Temple period, albeit with many heavy caveats. The rapid construction of the Third Temple at Babylon, seen by most as a gift to the Jews in exchange for the large number of soldiers supplied to the Parthian army, largely supplanted the budding Rabbinic beliefs emerging from surviving Pharisees, leading to their too, among other groups, large-scale migration westward. It was this migration, of those who disagreed with the highest authority at Babylon, that led to the distinct forms of Indic Judaism throughout the continent, and the heterogeneity of belief present is widely seen as a major factor behind the formation of the great deal of Syncretic Jewish beliefs throughout the region. This gulf between the Judaism of the Near East and India grew deeper as time passed, culminating in the writing of the Babylonian Talmud and the construction of the Third Temple at Chomar, directly in contention with that of Babylon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is, of course, all subject to change. I cannot claim to be anywhere near an expert on either classical Indian history or post-Second Temple Judaism, and if anyone here more knowledgeable than I wishes to advise me on any errors with this timeline, please feel welcome to here, or message me (bee#9765) on Discord.

This map serves as a direct successor to this map of Kosbah's revolt, which may provide more context to anyone interested. This timeline, A Land of Milk and Honey, is deeply WIP, but I would love to here any feedback or ideas any of you have on what little if have put out so far.

 

[DaniCBP]

Where I can find the original map? I wanted to work on something like this!

The basemap is the 2019 Q-BAM, you can find it in the Q-BAM Historical Map Thread

 

[DaniCBP]

Crossposting MOTF contribution:

"Она сказала: пойти пойду с тобою; только не тебе уже будет слава на сем пути, в который ты идешь; но в руки женщины предаст Господь Сисару." - Книга Судей, 4:9

History often seems capricious. Frederick II of Prussia is only remembered as "the Great" because Elizabeth of Russia died at an inopportune moment and her heir proceeded to be more enthused with Prussia than the Prussian king, throwing away the results of Russia's tens of thousands of casualties and switching sides in the war out of admiration for Frederick and Prussia. (Frederick maintained even after this rescue - only scarcely more plausible than a flock of alien spacebats intervening to save him - that there were no such things as miracles.) This "miracle" not only saved Frederick's legacy, but also ruined those of not one, but two empresses.

So what if Elizabeth had lived longer, long enough for victory to be delivered into the hands of three women, and the world had gone on without ever knowing the fear of Germany's ambitions? What if Maria Theresa had been able to go down in history as the woman who stitched her empire back together, rather than the unlucky monarch who saw the beginnings of its irreparable decline?

View attachment 806277

Nice map, and nice to see my 1756 map being used for some interesting scenarios!

 

[Fehérvári]

Vienna really trying to win the player hater championship.

Absolutely! Although some of these rivalries may or may not be a bit one-sided. Everyone considers themselves rivals with Vienna. The Vienna-Bistritz rivalry shown on the map is a mockery of all that, only it became way too popular and evolved to be an inside joke in the entire federation.

 

[Analytical Engine]

I've been trying to come up with some misc. content for my surviving Austria-Hungary scenario and this simple map about city rivalries is one of the results of my mindgames:
View attachment 806275
I'm trying to produce as many little trivial things as possible. Even memes! Any kind of feedback or suggestion is appreciated!

Surely there should be lots of strange one-way rivalries, especially involving Vienna.

 

[Fehérvári]

Surely there should be lots of strange one-way rivalries, especially involving Vienna.

Yeah, you're right. How about Salzburgers declaring themselves the centre of "German" culture in Austria, claiming primacy over the multicultural Vienna?

 

[Analytical Engine]

Yeah, you're right. How about Salzburgers declaring themselves the centre of "German" culture in Austria, claiming primacy over the multicultural Vienna?

Along with like six other Austrian towns, including ones smaller than Salzburg.

 

[B_Munro]

In real life, the Normans swept down to Southern Italy and Sicily, where they established a kingdom of their own. It lasted for about a century and a half before the HRE invaded, captured the Norman king, cut off his balls, and killed him.

But let's say that the Normans get lucky instead. With better leaders, the Normans could've carved a strong empire for themselves in the Mediterranean. I made a video to cover how this could've happened:

Norman Sicily-wank? Delightful!

Fascinating logo

A bit busy for my tastes. (I am fond of the baroque in art and architecture, but I like my flags cleaner and simpler. See my state's flag: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:New_Mexico_state_flag.png )

Emirate of Galhat

Always fun to see a well realized alternative microstate.

Crossposting MOTF contribution:

"Она сказала: пойти пойду с тобою; только не тебе уже будет слава на сем пути, в который ты идешь; но в руки женщины предаст Господь Сисару." - Книга Судей, 4:9

Nice! And I like the butterflies here, including the interestingly different USA (unlike flags, I like my political arrangements baroque). My one objection is that the borders of the French empire are a bit too close to OTL for a POD in the 1750s. (You also seem to have left out some of the note numbers on the map: ran out of time?)

A "closeup" on the Austrian sphere in Germany would make a nifty addition.

A Land of Milk and Honey

Just a beautiful example of a map done in a convincing "historical atlas" format. Bravo!

This map thread is doing great!

 

[Fehérvári]

Along with like six other Austrian towns, including ones smaller than Salzburg.

I guess that would make sense. I guess it could be said the map only shows the most well-known rivalries.

Spoiler: Added Salzburg-Vienna

While I'm here, I might as well try to describe the nature of some of these rivalries:

Innsbruck–Trent: As the no.1 and no.2 largest cities in Tyrol, the rivalry presents itself naturally, however Innsbruck being in the Northern(German) and Trent the Southernmost(Italian) part of the region also gives the rivalry a cultural flavour.

Salzburg–Vienna: As I described further above, Salzburgers view themselves more "German" than Vienna and since Salzburg is also the birthplace of Mozart, they overall view themselves as a rival of Vienna in culture.

Salzburg–Linz: The close proximity and similar size of these two cities make them rather comparable in many aspects. This ignited a rivalry between the two, mostly in sports but also on other fields of life.

Wels–Steyr: Essentially the same thing as one above, but on a smaller scale.

Linz–Budweis: Many people commute between these two cities on a daily basis, and each city's residents view the others' as reckless, hazardous drivers. It already became a national sport to guess which city's resident caused the accident, once on happens. Ofcourse, the two cities' residents always blame the other side. Most incidents are caused by non-local, btw.

Budweis–Pilsen: Beer rivalry. Plain and simple.

Aussig–Reichenberg: Both cities claim to be the capital of Sudetenland.

Prague–Brünn: It's a standard rivalry between a nation's no.1 and no. 2 cities. No, maybe the case of Madrid and Barcelona could be a better comparison. Moravians have their own identity beside being simply Czechs, and the cultural distinction drives the the rivalry further.

Brünn–Olmütz: Brünn is the Slavic, while Olmütz is the German centre of Moravia. The rivalry between the two is another front of the German-Slavic bickering in the region.

Mährisch Ostrau–Polnisch Ostrau: They are pretty much the same city. The rivalry is mostly about which city is better.

Krakau–Lemberg: Rivalry between the two largest cities of Galicia. Krakau is predominantly Polish, while Lemberg is more mixed, so the two cities have different characters.

Tarnów–Przemyśl, Stanislau–Kolomea: Idk, it just seemed appropiate.

Czernowitz–Suczawa: Czernowitz is the multicultural capital of the autonomous region of Bukovina, while Suczawa is the largest centre of Romanians of the region. It's mostly a one-sided rivalry towards the Czernowitzers from the Suczawans.

Vienna–Graz: The rivalry between the two cities mostly boils down to ice hockey, albeit Graz's historical significance as capital "Inner Austria" also adds to the rivalry.

Graz–Laibach: The simple fact that one of the cities is a predominantly German city with a large Slovene minority, while the other is a predominantly Slovene city with a large German minority led to the development of a friendly competitiveness between the two cities.

Vienna–Triest: The rivalry between the no.1 and no.2 city of Austria. Vienna is an inland city with a large river port, while Triest is a coastal port city. Both cities are multicultural, but while Vienna has a German, Triest has an Italian flavour to it. The two cities are alike, and yet quite different.

Triest–Fiume: The two largest and most important domestic coastal ports of the Danubian Confederation. Ever since the times of Austria-Hungary (and even before), these two cities were always competing against each other. The rivalry is a rather one-sided in favour of Triest, but this doesn't deter the Fiumese one bit.

This is it for the time being, I might write down the rest later or when asked.

 

[Gokbay]

This is it for the time being, I might write down the rest later or when asked.

What is up with Szegedin?

 

[Fehérvári]

What is up with Szegedin?

The area there is kinda like Tuscany in Italy. Each city "hates" the other, and they are all rivals of each other. To outsiders however, they are all the same. Btw, the area in question is also the second largest agglomeration of Hungary. (Budapest's agglomeration is the first.)

 

[Wafflenalia]

Still currently a WIP but there is now some more stuff on the map:
1. The Union has edited internal borders to have a lot of states and told China to stop funding rebels in British Colombia(Now Cascadia)
2. Mexico joined The Union not long after China annexed Mongolia and North Korea
3. Morocco joined after being invited liking the idea of The Union
4. Libya joined after being helped in its civil war
5. With Turkey becoming restless and the ongoing war, The Union decided to invade and annex Syria
6. The invasion of Somalia went well and the government of Yemen joined the Union pushing the Union into the Yemen civil war
7. The Union decided to retreat from Afghanistan to make a plan to over Afghanistan and establish a stable democracy
8. The invasion of Ukraine was going well but losses were high and morale was low so the Russian Eurasian Union(REU)
split Ukraine with The Union, confused they accepted. The REU also invaded Georgia, and Azerbaijan, annexed Armenia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.
9. China having invaded Mongolia and "united" with North Korea is now starting to become heavily militarized which makes the REU uneasy
10. Having shown interest when The Union formed they now signed all the documents to officially become apart of The Union
11. India and Bangladesh are having to fight off the New Raj alone whatever that name means

 

[PobreCesar]

Nice map, and nice to see my 1756 map being used for some interesting scenarios!

Thank you for making it

Nice! And I like the butterflies here, including the interestingly different USA (unlike flags, I like my political arrangements baroque). My one objection is that the borders of the French empire are a bit too close to OTL for a POD in the 1750s. (You also seem to have left out some of the note numbers on the map: ran out of time?)

Thank you!

I just forgot to finish the footnotes. I'll edit it.

A "closeup" on the Austrian sphere in Germany would make a nifty addition.

It would but it would require many more hours of research into the petty German states than I can currently bring myself to invest.

 

[Impossible_Quail_250]

11. India and Bangladesh are having to fight off the New Raj alone whatever that name means
View attachment 806299

What exactly is the new Raj?