Map Thread XXI

[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 Soul of Russia
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.

​

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.

 

[Osk]

The Republic of Louisiane is a large, heavily industrialized nation in North America. It is the second most populous nation on the continent, behind the United States, and the second-largest economy as well. Louisiane boasts the highest standard of living in the continent and one of the highest in the world, although a significant amount of inequality does exist in spite of this. Louisiane is federal presidential republic, divided into thirteen provinces and two federal districts. The two federal districts cover the Nouvelle-Orleans region and the capital region of La Reunion. Nouvelle-Orleans is historical capital of Louisiane and the heart and soul of the country, however La Reunion serves as the true capital of the country with the seat of government and many major industries headquartered there. Louisiane has been a leader in Pan-American politics since its birth. The Native Free State, the Federation of the Rio Bravo and the Republic of California were all formed directly as a result of Louisiane's support during the mid-19th century. Louisiane has taken an active role in regional politics and is a permanent member of the Pan-American Cooperative Union's security counsel.

​

OC: Louisiana from the Forgotten-no-More Universe.

 

[the_turkish_aru]

The world in 1845-Hadjis,Hetmans and Hachimans

First of all,i am new to posting here,so please be kind.

Hello everyone,This is a worldmap for a timeline ive been working on for quite a while. The premise of it is this:What if Turkic People Migrated to Northern Japan?

In short;Turkic People first land into Hokkaido in 600s-700s. Later on,they spread to Northern Japan. In Around 700,new group of People come to the Archipelago. These are people who got split from Oghuz,for some reason. One Other People who also migrates is the Komi People,i think they would have come along with the oghuz,for one reason or another.

Anyways,these people would settle down in OTL Niigata Prefecture(and its surroundings). From there,they will unite the North Japan,then attack at the Japanese in 910 to Unite the Archipelago. In 982(with the Hokkaido Expedition),the Archipelago would be under the Yahunese banner.

After on,they will become the United Khaganate. Japan and Hunia(Hokkaido) will gain Autonomy under Yahunia.(Kinda like the United Kingdom) Later on Komi and Ansho Peoples(group of Japanese families who converted to Tengrism,they originate at OTL Chiba Prefecture,however they migrate up north to Fukushima Prefecture and most parts of Miyagi Prefecture OTL,and they ruled those areas as a Theocracy mixed with feudalism). After surviving the Mongol Invasions,they would take over Korea.

From There,the Colonization Journey would began. First Sakhalin,later Taiwan and finally America. Here,they will beat the United States,and achieve full dominance over Pacific.

Meanwhile,on the other side of the World....
-Anatolian Beyliks Would be United Under a new Rûm Sultanate. They will have sort of "trade war" with Venice. Eventually,Rich Families would overthrow the Sultan for a Venice-Like Republic.

-Yuan and MughalDynasty would survive.

-Persia would be United under Shaybanid Dynasty. They would later on dominate East Africa.

-Tatars would Succesfully Subjugate Slavs. Yahuns and Tatars would fight for Far East.

-Napoleon Would never become the leader of France,and will lead the Republic to Glory. Western Europe would be the Bastion of Liberalism.

-Greeks Would have a revolution too,this time its by Neopagan Republicans.

-Habsburg Austria would become a Confederation.

Thats most of the things i can name,feel free to ask questions about things you are interested!

 

[Sarthak]

Nothing much other than Brits won Wo1812, and Tecumseh's Confederacy survives.​

 

[Bob Hope]

 

[Votre Idéolinguiste Local]

Now, I know what you might be thinking "oh they've already posted that" but nope, I changed a few things, such as adding a number of cities, changing the flag and correcting a few mistakes

 

[Imperial Advocate]

Eight Alternate Fates of Austria-Hungary​

A map series of eight alternate fates of Austria-Hungary, focusing on the period after the Congress of Vienna to the First World War. Some of these fates are nigh ASB (Look at H) but I don't give a damn. Lore below for each of the eight fates.

A: Empire of Austro-Hungary-Italy

The Habsburgs wins the Italian Wars of Independence against the Savoyards and their French allies, keeping the majority of their North Italian possessions. During the Augsliech of 1867, the Italians voiced the creation of an Italian crown within the Empire. In 1867, the Italian Kingdom was created as a third monarchy, ruled over by the Habsburg Emperor in Vienna. The Italian Kingdom would see considerable industrial growth and development in the coming decades, with the capital of Florence becoming one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the Empire. The Austrians would also win against the Prussians in 1866, though losing North Germany to the Prussian-led German Confederation. South Germany would be formed into a confederation under Austrian protection.

There are problems though, being faced with rivalries against the Germans, and the Savoyards still holding onto the claim of unifying Italy. The Italian peninsula is still unruly, with the Papal States and the Neapolitans having to call in the Habsburg army to quell rebellions by socialists and radical nationalists. Despite the issues faces against the Triple Monarchy, the Empire still remains a hegemon of Central Europe and it sets to remain that way.

B: South Germany in Austria

Despite the brilliance of Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck, only time could tell when a coalition was formed against the rising Prussians in the German Confederation. When the Brother’s War started in 1866, Bismarck was met with an unfortunate situation with the entry of Napoleon III’s France on the side of Austria. Despite the odds faced, the Prussians won in the North, keeping Northern Germany under their belt, though forced to renounce claims to South Germany and the recognition of the French annexation of Luxembourg.

The South Germans, fearing Prussian or French invasion, petitioned to join the Austrian Empire. During the midst of the 1867 Augsleich, the monarchs of South Germany were invited and the Habsburg accepted to annex the South German kingdoms into the Empire. To prevent too much Austrian power, the monarchies of Bavaria, Baden, and Wuttermburg remained autonomous kingdoms within the Empire. The Austrian Empire remains allied to the French and ironically the Italians against the Germans in the North and their Russian allies.

C: Austro-Hungairan Colonial Empire

Losing their sphere of influence in Italy and Germany, some Austrians saw it fit to turn their attention overseas to the establishment of colonies. The Hungarians protested the venture but later negotiation negated Hungarian protests by establishing said colonies as codominiums under joint Austrian and Hungarian rule. In the 1890s, Austria laid claims to Southern Somalia and Northern Borneo, becoming the first colonies of the Empire. In 1899, the Austro-Hungarians purchased Spanish Rio de Oro. In 1910, the French and Germans could not negotiate who gets Morocco, so it was given to Austria-Hungary to avoid war.

By 1914, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, though small compared to the vast British and French Empires, stands as a proud symbol of Austrian power. Organized into codominiums of Morocco, Somaliland, and Borneo, the colonial empire spans around the world. Although cherished by the Austrian public, the colonies are little profitable, though North Borneo makes a considerable profit for the monarchy. With the advent of war in Europe, the overseas Empire might be lost as well, or expanded…

D: Competent Austria-Hungary wins WW1

Despite the assumptions of foreign observers that Austria-Hungary was next in line to the Turks to be the ‘sick man of Europe’, hefty reforms to the K.u.K. in the 1900s under German oversight chastened the K.u.K. into a considerable fighting force. When war broke out between Serbia and Austria in 1914, the K.u.K. smashed through Serbian lines and conquered the Balkan nation by the end of 1914, being joined by Bulgaria. The Russians would be expelled from Lemburg while the K.u.K. marched into Warsaw and Bialoytysk. With the French fallen after the Germans were victorious at the Marne, the Russians were left alone, soon sued for peace by 1915.

The strong performance of the K.u.K. during the war under the Austro-Hungarians earned Austria respect by the Germans, allowing them to make large gains during the Berlin Peace Conference. The Austrians would annex Congress Poland into a personal union, and turn rump Serbia, Montenegro, and Albania under Prince Wied into protectorates. Romania would fall under Austrian influence as an ally against the Russians. Although a proud and victorious Empire, ethnic problems had not been resolved, and the Austrians seek to establish a third Slavic crown much to Hungarian chagrin. Fears are rising of a Second Hungarian Rebellion, though with the Germans assuring of support to the Habsburgs, the fight will end most the same as in 1848.

E: United Kingdoms of Great Austria

The death of Franz Joseph I in 1911 by pneumonia took the life of Europe’s oldest monarch, succeeded by the charismatic Franz Ferdinand. Franz Ferdinand reoriented Austro-Hungarian policy, re-approaching the Russians for a friendship and supporting the Bulgarians in the Balkan War as a new ally to the Germans and Austrians. In 1917, Franz Ferdinand’s policies against Hungarian power in the Empire turned into a war between the Hungarian half versus the Austrian half. With German support and Russian neutrality, the Austrians crushed the Hungarian rebellion within a year. After their victory, the United Kingdoms of Great Austria was founded.

The Hungarians were stripped of their empire, being handed out to long-oppressed minorities of the empire under their own kingdom. The rest of the Austrian half and Bosnia were reorganized into ethnic states. With the empire’s ethnic minorities gaining self-determination, the Austrians can no longer worry about the ethnic problem of the past. Despite the new system, nationalists still threaten the monarchy in Hungary, Transylvania, and Serbians lands.

F: Austria-Hungary-Croatia

The First Great War was hard on the Habsburg monarchy, suffering from near-famine conditions through most of the war and thousands dying in the frontlines in Galicia and Venetia. The struggle was vindicated in the victory of the Central Powers after the fall of Russia and France in 1918 and a status quo peace with the British. The Austrians would further lose their position as a great power, with Poland and Ukraine, though having Habsburg monarchs, remain predominantly in the German sphere of influence. The Austrians still made gains in the Balkans, annexing rump Serbia and Montenegro as occupation zones and reinstalling Prince Wied to an expanded Albania.

The Empire would be reorganized under Emperor Karl I. The predominantly Polish, Ukrainian, and Romanian province of Galicia would be partitioned among each respective nation-state in order to satiate Hungarian protests of the annexation of Serbia and Montenegro. In 1927, a third South Slavic crown under the Croats would be created. The Hungarians protested but German pressure forces the Hungarians to accept the creation of the Croat kingdom. It is now the 1930s and the empire is modestly stable and still loyal to the German Empire, though now faced with the threat of communist regimes in France, Italy, and Russia. Whenever war would break out, both the Germanic empires of Austria and Germany can count on each other.

C: Danube Federation

The Russian Brusilov offensive of 1916 combined with American entry into the war in 1915 spelled the end of any prospects of a Central Power victory. In order to save his throne and realm, Emperor Karl I sent peace requests to the Entente, whom were eventually accepted, resulting in Austria pulling out of the seemingly futile war. At the peace table, the Austrians had to accept the territorial demands of their neighbors, giving land to the Russians, Italians, Romanians, and Serbs. Although on the side of the Germans, the French and Russians wanted to preserve the monarchy and allowed Karl I to remain on the throne.

After the war, Karl I was able to drastically reform the empire due to the Hungarians weakened after the Treaty of Versailles. Hence, the Danubian Confederation was born as a commonwealth of nations led by the Habsburg monarchy. The Danubians would ally with the Russians and French, leading them to economic prosperity in the 1920s, until the depression of 1929 caused the economy of the empire to suffer. To make things worse, the rise of the communistic Strasserists in Germany, combined with the cooling of relations between Russia and the Anglo-French makes Danubia a vulnerable target to the Germans.

H: Restored Austria-Hungary

The formation of the Anglo-French Union allowed for the imperialism of days old to sustain itself in the postwar world. In Central Europe, the specter of communism loomed and a strong power was needed in the region to deter Soviet expansionism. The Franco-British would support the reformation of Austria-Hungary, inviting Otto I to take the throne of both Austria and Hungary. The South German monarchies would also be restored as autonomous kingdoms within Austria-Hungary. Eventually and unexpectedly, the Czechoslovaks joined the union as an autonomous member, fearing Soviet expansionism after the invasion of Poland in 1949 and communist coups carried out in Romania and Bulgaria.

The restored Austro-Hungarian Empire stands as the main bulwark against communism in Central Europe. The Austro-Hungarians are also close allies to the Franco-British imperialist bloc, which are competing against the communist Soviet bloc and the pro-independence American bloc. What was once a long-fallen Empire is now revived again and is set to remain that way for years to come.

 

[myygz]

Russian Colonization of Hokkaido
Additional Information
1. There wouldn't have been such name as "Hokkaido" (Japanese: 北海道 / ほっかいど) for "Northern Sea Region" and Japanese prefer the usage of the traditional word "Ezochi" (Japanese: 蝦夷地 / えぞち) for "land of Ezo people"(Ezo is an offensive term to call Hokkaido indigenous). But some radical Japanese nationalists proposed the concept "Northern Territories"(Japanese: 北方領土 / ほっぽうりょうど, Hoppōryōdo) comprising of Hokkaido and Southern Kuril Islands which are believed to belong to Japan since ancient time.
2. The result of the Russo-Japanese War in 1904-1905 was changed a little. For Japan had to split some troops to attack Hokkaido and Russia had a military harbor in Northern Hokkaido, Russia avoided a great military failure in Manchuria theater. Following the peace truce signed in 1905, Japan controlled 2/3 Hokkaido, but at the end of World War II, the USSR launched a full-scale invasion of Hokkaido and crushed the Japanese garrison troops in Hokkaido.
3. The Golovnin Line, spreading along the southwestern mountains of Hokkaido, was a fictional Russo-Japanese border line named after the Golovnin Incident that Russian explorer and naval captain, Vasily Golovnin in 1811 was captured by Japanese soldiers in accordance of Japan's policy of isolationism (Sakoku). He was considered as the national hero which broke the isolationism of Japan and brought Russian "civilization" to this far eastern land.
4. In the earliest lore, in 1947, Hokkaido, Sakhalin, and the Kuril Islands were included in the Ezo Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of Russian SFSR, but the Ezo ASSR was disbanded two years later and Hokkaido became an oblast of Russia again. By the year 1991, under protest of native Japanese, the Russian government agreed to return Southern Hokkaido to Japan, but the territorial dispute over other land has still existed.
5. Muravyovsk was named after Russian admiral and explorer Nikolay Nikolayevich Muravyov-Amursky who played a major role in the expansion of the Russian Empire into the AmurRiver basin and to the shores of the Sea of Japan.

 

[Kaiser1871]

The future, not ours [2101]​

Preamble:
After much thought, I still have not concluded how I want to see the description for this map. Should it be a solid timeline, an overview of the current situation, or just a dry description? I stopped at the lore scraps of information from this world since this is the most interesting way for me; I was very pleased with the result in the Mongols vs Rome. I also took the liberty of experimenting with colors, I hope you enjoy it.

In short: the large-scale collapse of the Mesoamerican classic civilization did not happen. The ASB clearly had a hand in this, canceling either a large-scale drought or long grueling wars. The Maya civilizations continued to flourish and eventually developed strong trade and maritime traditions. Teotihuacan wasn’t abandoned and continued to dominate Mesoamerica, although eventually, it became only a nominal center of power in the empires of other Amerindian peoples. On the other side of America, the Vikings managed to stay in peace with the indigenous people and to establish successful settlements in Vinland without losing contact with Europe until the onset of the Little Ice Age. This allowed America to experience the mini-version of the Columbian exchange relatively smoothly; the tribes of America became familiar with European technology, horses, and deadly diseases that slowly seeped inland. The empires of Mesoamerica replaced each other until another wave of Chichimecs invaders from Aridoamerica destroyed one of them and established their long-lived dynasty. At the same time, in 1502, an English-sponsored expedition of Rupert Peay sailed from the Far East in search of the mythical continent described in Scandinavian legends...

End of Out of character.

Spoiler

Monopoly on the Continent, from Eddy Endberg's A Story of Two Vinlands (1997)
...the English could not keep their discovery a secret from the world for a long time. The flow of outlandish goods that flooded European markets, the drunken tales of English sailors about the ‘second India’ in European ports, and simple espionage did their job. In 1529, a French ship arrived at the shores of Anahuakl, in 1531 - an Iberian ship, in 1533 - a ship from Pisa. The European caravans rushed to the new continent, established trading outposts on the islands of the Taino Sea and the shores of the Anahuakl Bay. England tried in vain to sink foreign ships and to demand from the Pope to declare all Vinland the property of the English crown. In a series of maritime trade skirmishes and European wars of religion, England's trade dominance was undermined. England would return here only in the 18th century during the conquest of Central Vinland by a Western Trading Company.

The Diaspora, from 14-year-old Louise Sandstrom's address to the Assembly of the Council of Nations on the Issues of the Nordic Diaspora (2040)
My people first arrived on the Vinland shores in 1003, 500 years before the Englanders. They had strained relationships with the locals, but over time they learned to work together for the sake of survival and the common good. They created a culture that is still admired by some of the finest researchers at the leading Vinland universities. After the rediscovery of Vinland in 1502 and the arrival of Europeans, my people were able to reunite with their distant relatives from Europe. This was the golden era of Franco-Nordic cooperation. Unfortunately, under heavy pressure from the new post-war European order, France had to leave its colony in the 1970s and leave us with them. I have no right to use here the words that we call them because of the atrocities they used against us, dear residents. You call them the Reeds, ‘indigenous Vinlanders’. My grandparents were forced to leave their homes closer to the coast due to persecution and constant arsons. My parents were forced to flee to Iceland due to direct death threats from the Anicinape government. How much longer will you turn a blind eye to this? How much more will my people suffer? I ask, no I demand, you have to take action...

Scramble for Vinland, from the video of the popular sci-pop videoblogger Oleg Stroy (2030)
And so in 1886, European diplomats gathered in London to solve the Vinland problem. No one wanted a repetition of the Ooi River incident, which almost escalated into a pan-European war. After a series of negotiations and secret agreements, new borders were drawn, everyone shook hands and flew home. Yes, this is how the fate of an entire continent was decided. The Europeans used their existing colonies on the east coast to finally divide Vinland like a pie. So the English, who already owned most of Anahuakl, got the Misizibi's basin, and even Nihon got a piece of the cake. Local tribes and small states could not oppose anything to the European military machine at the peak of its power. The division of the continent on an unprecedented scale was an incredible success. In a couple of years, the same fate will befall Africa.

‘God is an Englishman’, from King Edward II's speech to his peoples in Minster Square, British Union (1931)
I greet you, my dear fellow citizens! <cheering> I am glad to see each of you here today! Every person who comes here today can rightfully consider himself a true Britt! <cheering> The same applies to our dear fellow citizens in other cities of Albion and our overseas colonies <cheering> And yet I gathered you here for a reason. <ten-second silence> 20 years ago, our fellow citizens fought in the Great War, waged an equal fight with all of Europe, and almost won! <shouts of approval> This war was the inevitable consequence of continentals' envy for our power, our influence, our wealth, our vast empire! <cheering> We were on the brink of victory!... But our generals thought differently. <hooting> They betrayed us and made a truce. My father... <the king pauses, the crowd silenced> my father was furious, but I still remember his words that day: ‘Fools, only delayed the inevitable. Britain will rule the world.' <cheering> You know well the names of those traitors. <crowd shouting names> they have been punished. <cheering> Traitors and cowards will never again command our armies. Our army is stronger than ever, we have taken advantage of these 20 years, unlike the lazy continentals. <cheering> I did not gather you here to brag. I have gathered you here so that, here and now, with all of you, dear fellow citizens, to declare war on those whom we were prevented from finishing off 20 years ago. <cheering> All our industrial power will fall on Europe. Britain will rule! YOU will rule! <loud shout from the crowd>
The ensuing second round of the Great War claimed the lives of 30 million in Europe and the colonies. With its end, European world domination began its slow path to decline.

The End of Humiliation, a text generated by a personal neural network for Lou Young (2098)
The Tiwanaku Empire was the longest-lived civilization in southern Vinland. It dates back to the 2nd century AD, although according to the legends of the Aymars, their statehood begins long before Anno Domini. When the Europeans arrived, their empire stretched from the Taino Sea to the southern tip of the Andes and had close trade contacts with the Anahuakl region. The Emperor was very interested in trade with European aliens and even received European ambassadors with honors at his palace in Tiwanaku. Unfortunately, the remoteness of the Andes from the north of Vinland made them the most unprepared people for European diseases. European plague killed up to 70% of the Empire’s population, the country plunged into chaos. After a short-term military rule, the country broke up into dozens of small dynasties and remained in this state until the 17th century; until the Mapuches’ conquest and the founding of the Wutanmapu Empire.
Read more?
By the late 19th century, the once great and vast empire of Wutanmapu was a pitiful sight. The juvenile emperors were replaced every 10 years and were puppets in the elites' hands. The more technologically advanced Europeans fought off trade preferences and spheres of influence with impunity. Poverty reigned in the country; bloody popular uprisings arose every thirty years. Only after the Second Round of the Great War one of these uprisings led by Mayhuasa succeed in overthrowing the puppet emperor and declaring the Citizens’ Republic of the Andes. A slow painful modernization of the country began and then continued by Mayhuasa’s followers.
Read more?
By the beginning of the 21st century, the CRA burst into the tops, turning from an impoverished country into an industrial economic giant. In all indicators, only Sarmatia was ahead of the Andes. The country possessed a huge sphere of influence, the economy continued to grow, as did human resources. All analysts of that time prophesied them world hegemony by the 2060s, but the subsequent Taino War forever changed both the Vinland and the world picture.
Read more?

Egypt and France, Long Divorce, from a lecture by street historian Antonio Porier (2089)
Come on, come on friends! If you did not come on notification, then I inform you, today I will tell you the long history of relations between France and Egypt... <shout out from the crowd> What-what? Well, yes, that's right. It is Gallia from now on. For a couple of hours, bore! Yes, everyone, Happy Independence Day of Gallia, guys! Independence from the former colony. So, our story begins in a teen’s favorite period of history - in the Golden Age of Europe - the end of the 19th century. Inspired by a sense of their exclusivity and, of course, an advantage in technological development, Europeans bring the benefits of their civilization to far-flung corners of the earth. Under secret European treaties, by chance, Egypt found itself in the sphere of French interests. We will not go into details of exactly how this happened, otherwise, you will wander home. So the world is divided. What to do next? That's right, quarrel and try to re-divide it. The Great War has begun! Now we will not go into the details of this war, I will have a lecture about it in Saint Laurent Square this Saturday, I am waiting for you there. In short and on the subject, during the second round, the British Union occupies entire continental France in a swoop, the government and army flees to the Maghreb, and later to where? <shouts> Right! To Alexandria. This is where it all begins. King Henri III was so imbued with the Egyptian culture that after the defeat of the British and the beginning of the reconstruction of France, he often visited here on summer holidays. Thirty years later, his son Emanuel declared Egypt a part of France. After 20 years, the capital of France was officially moved to Alexandria. Here's a story. France has become a backyard in the state of France with its capital in Egypt! Naturally, the French people rebelled more than once, during the Blue October of 2001 and during the infamous Paris stand in 2022, but they did not achieve anything. Only ten years ago Saint-Simon and the movement Décolonisation inversée, barely uttered it pheh, began a slow and hard political work to split France, now Gallia, and Egypt, now Misr. And, as you can see from today's news, the guys did it. Let's wish them the best of luck! Bonne chance! Good luck to you too, my friends! Do not forget to support me with money if you are interested in my work.

You slept through the end of the world! From a telephone conversation between two friends, Anicinape Republic (2053)
-...hello?
-hey dude wake up! You slept through the end of the world!
-man, it’s 9 am. Have you been awake all night?
-yes, I monitored the situation in the Taino Sea, my sleepy friend. You’ll never guess what happened.
-what?
-Anahuakl and Misizibi exchanged nuclear strikes.
-mmm... Wait what?
-yes-yes.
-what does Misizibi have to do with it? In the evening, there was a conflict between Anahukl and the CRA.
-well, technically it wasn't a war. They were preparing for war. Then, apparently, Misizibi, under pressure from the Andes, attacked Anahuakl.
-and those launch nukes?
-yelp.
-you are kidding me. And what about CRA?
-It is not yet clear what will happen next. It is not even clear how many people died. My father has already gone down to the basement, heh. I said I would join later.
-some kind of bullshi...
The nuclear exchange of 2053 took the lives of 15 million people. Anahuakl lost a couple of cities while Misizibi was totally destroyed. The ensuing migration and environmental crisis, as well as the intervention of the Council of Nations, changed the situation in the region and the world. CoN has regained its prestige and threw off the status of a talking club. Andes and Anahuakl went to the negotiating table and resolved many territorial disputes in the Taino Ocean. The subsequent quiet coup in the CRA changed their policy; aggressive foreign actions were replaced by a peaceful existence with neighbors and an orientation towards continued trade dominance.

13.1. A look back into the 21st century, from the controversial book Things to Pass (2099)
[DATA REDACTED]

‘Peace is our goal’
I now give a word to Anne Lorraine, Speaker for the English Republic.
Thank you. I hardly prepared the speech today and I do not want to waste your time with prefaces. Our world is now in great danger. As you know, a huge hurricane is now raging off the coast of Majapahit Confederation and their government believes that this is an Andean climate weapon. The fleets of both powers patrol the Endless Ocean and miraculously have not collided with each other three times in a combat clash. As far as I know, there are already languid firefights in their disputed territory on White Continent. We all know that in the event of a war, both powers will release their entire arsenal of climate weapons at each other, and we all know that this will lead to a global environmental disaster. In this regard, I, represented by the English Republic and eight other countries, express my protest and insist on holding urgent negotiations between Majapahit and the CRA. Right now, we are inviting other countries to join us and not silently wait for the end of the world. If our conditions are not met, we will be forced to impose heavy sanctions on them; the more countries join us, the more severe the consequences will be. Peace is our goal, and we will achieve it at any cost.

deviantArt link: click

Credits:
North American borders are heavily inspired by this map.
Basemap by Zauberfloete21

 

[Pantegral]

Courtesy of The New York Times, a map of New Mannahatta: a private proposal to further expand Manhattan Island into New York Harbor through land reclamation, enlarging the island by 2.75 square miles (1,760 acres).

Assuming similar density to the Upper West Side, the reclaimed lands will become a new home to 250,000 people. The proposal argues that New Mannahatta would greatly alleviate New York City's housing shortage by flooding the market with 180,000 extra housing units - nearly a decade's worth of new housing, built and released all at once. The new peninsula would also be designed with flood protection from the ground up, its higher elevation providing extra protection to vulnerable Lower Manhattan (now further inland). Economically, the project would pay for itself through building sales and real estate taxes.

However, u/the_Q_spice from Reddit counters that the plan is geologically infeasible, and would end up worsening both coastal erosion and storm surges.

Like others have said, the Hudson and East Rivers are very deep. A massive issue would be where to find the infill, and how to stabilize it.

But the bigger issue would be the water. In constricting the channel, you would be increasing velocity, and thus increasing erosive potential.

The biggest issue of all is that the two features where most erosion occurs are the thalweg and banks of the river, and this proposal has the new bank at the thalweg of both rivers.

In other words, this design couldn't be made less stable if you tried. And storm resilience... lol, it would do the exact opposite and increase flooding issues (the cross-sectional modification would mean that higher flood stages would be reached with smaller amounts of inundation. Flooding in severe conditions would be catastrophic.

My guess is they will end up paying a few million for the preliminary surveys and fluvial geomorphic assessment only to find out it isn't feasible. Then NYC is going to be out a few million with nothing to show for it.

FWIW; currently finishing an MA in fluvial geomorphology, specifically focusing on human modification of river channels.

 

[Sarthak]

The Sultanate of Al-Andalus

Infographic

Language Map

Map Only​

 

[Telamon Tabulicus]

The Nine Mandalas at their Height c. 1600 - The Political Leagues of Sumatrea and Tamirea Prior to Company Rule.

See the higher resolution version here on Deviantart.
For the lore, check out the main thread on this forum.

Gustafmaps and I made this map for Atlas Altera: www.atlasaltera.com. Join us on r/atlasaltera.
For reference, check out the project website, or take a look at the Q&A in the comments my first post. This map will also be explained in a future video.

 

[black_sn0w_]

Flaming Fields of Saffron​

Spoiler: 1989

Spoiler: 1991

Spoiler: 1992

Spoiler: Full Text

Prelude
During the Second World War, the British and Soviets jointly invaded and occupied Iran to secure their supply lines and oil fields so they would not fall into Axis hands, despite protests from the neighboring Ottoman Empire. Following the war, the British had their hands full with the independence process of India, sending in troops to southern China, and supporting the Dutch in their losing attempt to reassert control over the East Indies. With a favorable position in Eastern Europe after the War, the Soviets decided the time was right to aggressively export their revolution to all corners of the world and supported the nascent Tudeh Military Network in an officer coup that overthrew the constitutional monarchy and forced the Qajar Shah and his family to flee the country.

The Democratic Republic of Iran (DRI) was declared in September 1946, led by the United Front of Progressive Parties. Tudeh Party First Secretary Iraj Eskandari (ironically a Qajar prince himself) was hastily elected as the nation's first premier in an election only allowing leftist parties to run, thus ending nearly 2,500 years of monarchy in Iran. A national high developed, and Tudeh Party membership swelled to over a million in 1947, mainly composed of urbanite intellectuals and union workers. The previously established Soviet-backed breakaway states in Azerbaijan and Kurdistan were forcefully merged into the DRI. The whole ordeal was dubbed the Saffron Revolution, named after the valuable red spice, the color also associated with socialism and communism.

Subsequently, the Soviets gained access to Indian Ocean warm water ports, and Iran’s oil fields were swiftly nationalized, greatly alarming the Western powers. Subsequent counter-coup and assassination attempts having failed, the British tried to salvage what they could and occupied the Persian Gulf islands of Greater and Lesser Tunb, Farur, and Siri to ensure the sea lanes remained out of communist control. Heavy support from the United States and members of the newly created Western European Treaty Organization (WETO) began pouring into neighboring countries to counter communist Iran.

Into The Cold War
Owing to its relatively large size, the DRI was not under the Soviet’s thumb like other Eastern European and Central Asian countries. For example, repeated calls to make oil concessions were turned down until favorable terms were offered, since the Tudeh knew any concession would wipe out all popular support they had. Iran also protested against the Soviet invasion during the 1954 Bavarian Revolution and sought to improve relations with non-communist countries, especially India and China. The former effort would succeed while the latter would fail, as the ruling Kuomintang despised anything to do with communism following the establishment of Soviet puppet states in East Turkestan and Manchuria. The Chinese would instead become key supporters of Iran's neighboring hostile states.

Initially, the DRI government attempted to appeal to the religious population, claiming how they were removing government corruption and decadence, but those efforts quickly fell apart. The Tudeh Party instead made use of intense nationalism to gain more popular appeal. Many places were officially renamed to remove perceived Arabic, Turkish, and monarchist influences. Heavy government support was given to those researching ancient Iran. The ancient Zoroastrian Mazdakist sect was featured in later propaganda, which they claimed was proof that socialism was in Iran's blood. New land, education, and social reforms were carried out in the 1950s and 1960s. They were not liberalizing enough to warrant Soviet intervention, but also not effective enough to appease dissidents. In fact, many of the conservative rural and merchant bazaari population were furious over the perceived submission to godless communist ideals, the appropriation of private property, and the unveiling of women. Peasants experienced culture shock when they were forced to migrate to the cities to look for work because of inefficient land reallocation. Despite much government effort, most of the population would never truly trust the government that was seen as another puppet of the Russians that had humiliated them for centuries.

In 1962, army officers in the neighboring Baghdad and Basra vilayets overthrew the Ottoman prince emir, covertly supported by France and the United Kingdom and approved by the Soviets. The new government had widespread international backing to curtail the newfound oil power of the Ottomans and their Arabian allies. Despite the new Iraqi Republic’s initial tolerance of communists, Iran and Iraq quickly became hostile towards each other due to the Iraqi government’s jingoistic rhetoric and open desire to annex Khuzestan (also known as Arabistan). Iraq supported anti-government Arab and Kurdish insurgents in Iran and Iran supported communist insurgents in return.

Also of note is the purging, killings, and expulsion of Iran's clergy by the increasingly radical communist government with the help of the feared VAMKA security agency. Millions of Iranians fled abroad due to increasing oppression. With the other major Shia nation Iraq also controlled by an authoritarian regime that oppressed the clergy, they had little choice but to turn to their Sunni brothers for help. Thus began a tour of Pan-Islamic reconciliation. Many Islamic Universities like the famed Al-Azhar began recognizing the Ja'fari school of Twelver Shia Islam as orthodox and righteous. Shia clerics declared controversial actions like the cursing of the first three Caliphs and self-flagellation during Muharram forbidden. At the 1968 Makkah Conference, the Pan-Islamist leaders of Turkey (Islamist coalition supported by the constitutional Ottoman monarchy), Pakistan (ruled by Jamaat-e-Islami), Egypt-Sudan (ruled by the Muslim Brotherhood), and the Islamic State of Arabia (successor to the Rashidi monarchy which was overthrown in the 1964 Ramadan Revolution) agreed to assist their Shia brothers in the Iranian insurgency with the goal of establishing an Islamic state friendly to other Muslim countries, although they would not recognize the authority of the Caliph. Elsewhere, more secular Iranian refugees were received by Western Europe and the United States with open arms. Many were well-educated, causing brain drain in the DRI.

Decline
Throughout its existence, but especially in the 1970s and into the 1980s, the DRI funded large scale infrastructure and irrigation projects which severely damaged the environment. For example, Lake Urmia, formerly the largest lake in the Middle East, began drastically shrinking due to damming upstream, appearing highly reminiscent of the plight of the Aral Sea. Similarly, Lake Hamun in Sistan dried up completely during severe droughts and food shortages that struck central and eastern Iran in the mid-1980s, causing great dissatisfaction and unrest in the population. Even among Kurds, perhaps the minority most supportive of communism, opposition grew as autonomy was taken away and the central government stepped up detribalization efforts.

A large variety of opposition groups clandestinely operated within Iran and outside its borders to bring down the communist regime. Banned political material with topics ranging from classical liberalism to Islamic modernism was often smuggled in and distributed around the country, and insurgencies in rural areas were always a problem for the government throughout its existence. Attacks on the government ramped up as the famine struck, mainly targeting government buildings and infrastructure, military depots and barracks, and even assassinations of high ranking politicians and generals. Notable attacks included the 1981 Iran National Airlines Triple Hijackings, the 1984 Radio Tehran Bombing, and the 1985 assassination of Premier Ehsan Tabari. The bloodiest attack was the 1987 Battle of Birjand Barracks in which dozens of well armed insurgents stormed a military academy and slaughtered over 200 officer cadets before all being killed by reinforcements from the DRI Armed Forces.

Civil War
As 1988 arrived and Iran was controlled by a hardline Marxist faction led by the ailing Noureddin Kianouri, embroiled in famine, and the armed forces demoralized from a decade of war in neighboring Afghanistan, mass demonstrations erupted during the holy month of Ramadan in every major Iranian city calling for the overthrow of the regime. The revolution many had been predicting finally ignited when government troops fired on and killed hundreds of marchers in Ferdowsi (previously known as Mashhad) when they began throwing stones at police. Fury over the Mashhad Massacre led many students and supportive faculty to revolt and take over their universities, barricading themselves inside and establishing their own revolutionary councils within the walls. Government troops began violently cracking down on them, causing thousands more deaths. A Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph captured a trio of Iranian students surrounding and throwing petrol bombs at a manned DRI T-62 tank inside the University of Tehran campus. Insurgents rose up in rural areas, quickly consolidating them, and marched towards the cities. Sections of the armed forces defected en masse, although the Navy remained loyal. The Iranian Revolution and subsequent civil war would mark the beginning of the 90s Anti-Red Revolutions, while being among the most violent (the upper end of estimated casualties in the Indonesian War is higher; estimates for the combined total casualties in the Central Asian Revolutions would overlap with the lower end estimates for the Iranian War). With the Soviets only able to provide a trickle of support due to their own ongoing withdrawals from Afghanistan and Indochina, as well as political instability at home, the revolutionaries quickly took over many interior areas away from the communist centers in the urban north. These revolutionaries were diverse, including liberal democrats, nationalists, anti-Tudeh socialists, monarchists, and Islamists. They united to form the National Liberation Front of Iran (NLFI).

With the capture of border regions by the rebels in early 1989, supplies began pouring in from the Makkah Treaty, WETO, the United States, and China along with thousands of volunteers from foreign countries. Neighboring Makkah Treaty members made incursions into Iranian territory in support of the Islamists. Neighboring Iraq, emboldened by increased oil revenue and given the greenlight by WETO, deployed one hundred thousand troops into Khuzestan (also known as Arabistan) claiming it was protecting the Arab population from ethnic cleansing. By 1990, only the core communist supporting areas in the north remained firmly in communist hands. The remaining lands were split up between different rebel factions and warlords. As it became clear that the communists would not recover from their losses and would soon be no more, the NLFI splintered and factions began fighting each other to take over the country, marking the start of the civil war's second phase. Two main alliances formed: the NLFI’s weakened successor, the National Front for Democracy (NFD), composed of liberals, secular nationalists, socialists, and monarchists; and the United Islamic Coalition (UIC), which included both Shia and Sunni Islamists, conservatives and religious nationalists. Rebel pilots that had defected from the DRI Air Force could choose to land at either the NFD provisional capital of Dezkord or the UIC provisional capital of Kerman depending on their allegiance.

The NFD strongly publicized themselves as defenders of freedom and liberty and attacked the UIC as backwards barbarians that wanted to subjugate themselves to the Turks and bring Iran back to the Stone Age. The UIC claimed to be the true freedom fighters akin to the Afghan Mujahideen, combating both communists and the "nefdi neo-imperialist hypocrites whose brains remain colonized by the Western evils of liberalism and secularism". Perhaps the biggest turning point in the war happened when, in support of the UIC, the Makkah Treaty threatened to impose oil embargoes on any country that supported the NFD, triggering the 1990 Oil Crisis. Combined with crippled production in Iran, oil and natural gas prices spiked by up to 500% for a few weeks. No long-term embargoes ultimately took place as all official foreign support for the NFD evaporated, although supplies continued to be sent covertly by WETO countries, the United States, and India.

The UIC now controlled much of the center, east, and had made inroads into the major cities in the north, including the holy Shia cities of Qom and Mashhad. The NFD controlled the western frontier and south, including much of Iranian Kurdistan, and was making inroads into northern Kurdish and central cities, which would ease its critical supply situation by capturing communist depots. Mujahideen veterans from Afghanistan arrived in large numbers as their own war was won and the Islamic State of Afghanistan was declared by the Peshawar Eight. A landing operation was performed by Makkah Treaty forces on Qeshm Island to dislodge the sole DRI division there. Other Persian Gulf Islands fell shortly thereafter. The combined might of the recently built-up Arabian, Egyptian, Pakistani, and Turkish navies ensured the operation's success. The Central Asian Revolutions also erupted around this time, creating additional spillover in the northeast. In the civil war’s bloodiest battle from mid-1991 to mid-1992, three-way house to house fighting for control of the capital of Tehran between the NFD, UIC, and DRI remnants resulted in tens of thousands of casualties.

By the end of 1992, some of the last DRI pockets of resistance in and around Tabriz and Rasht were destroyed, with the routing loyalists fleeing into the Soviet Union via Azerbaijan or the Caspian Sea. A campaign of "de-communization" commenced in both NFD and UIC controlled territory. Summary executions were performed on thousands of Tudeh Party members, government officials, and soldiers. Traditional social rules which had been greatly relaxed under the Tudeh were re-implemented. With a serious supply disadvantage, the NFD were left in their strongholds in Kurdistan and the Alborz and Zagros Mountains after repeated defeats by the UIC in the industrialized areas of central Iran. The Bakhtiari tribe, the same one that captured Tehran to ensure the success of the Persian Constitutional Revolution at the beginning of the century, was the center of NFD resistance. Repeated UIC assaults into the mountains were beaten back.

With both sides in a stalemate and unwilling to fight on, the UIC and NFD negotiated a peace treaty for an end to the war. Ultimately, moderation and pragmatism prevailed at the 1993 Esfahan Accords (declared the national capital to distance the new government from the communist center of Tehran which was largely in ruins). The Republic of Iran was declared and quickly recognized by most of the international community. An agreement was reached between the NFD and UIC that allowed free and fair democratic elections, supervised by observers from a joint Makkah Treaty-WETO-US-China mission. UIC candidates, widely popular for their defiant stance against both the communists and the West, and with much prestige from civil war victories, won in a landslide. However, the small but vocal faction of clerics that demanded power in government was largely unsuccessful. Instead, a government composed mainly of technocrats and commoners took power. The Shah’s family and descendents were allowed to return (the Shah himself was assassinated in 1956 by a suspected DRI agent), although they were forbidden from entering politics.

Attention then focused on Iraq, which had formally announced the annexation of Khuzestan, although no nation officially recognized it. In 1994, Iran and the Makkah Treaty allied to liberate Khuzestan, much to the displeasure of the British and French that were propping the government up. Iraq was quickly overwhelmed by the coalition's combined firepower and multifront attacks, losing thousands of soldiers, tanks, and aircraft. Before the allies could reach Baghdad, intervention by WETO and the United States led to a peace agreement with a new democratic government in place.

In the years following the Civil War, Iran became a Makkah Treaty partner and ally but not a full member because they did not recognize the authority of the Elective Caliphate established by the Ottomans. Islamist political parties hold a monopoly on power and they have also made gains in Iraqi elections in recent years. As of today, an estimated 1 million Iranians and their descendents that had fled abroad to escape communist persecution have returned to Iran, although others remain abroad, citing the influence of religion being too great on the government.

Various sources have given numbers ranging from 200,000 to 700,000 total casualties over both phases of the Iranian Civil War from 1988-1993. The majority were civilians. Another estimated 20,000 to 40,000 were killed in the Gulf War to liberate territories Iraq had occupied.

Second post of my heavily WIP timeline with the tentative title “Blessed Are The Strangers,” where there is a moderately successful pan-Islamist movement and bloc in the 20th century that can hold its own in proxy wars with both the communists and the West. Possible PODs I have considered are either the Young Turk Revolution fails or the 1909 Ottoman countercoup succeeds. Abdulhamid II keeps the Ottomans out of WW1 and some successor down the line takes a strong interest in Islamism (no idea who it would be) and makes major reforms to the government and helps the ideology spread abroad with newfound oil money. If that last part sounds familiar to you, the early POD means it probably won't develop as it did in OTL. With no cut up Middle East, more attention can be focused outwards to other parts of the Muslim World. Other fun things include no Stalinism, slightly less globalist USA (because WW1 ended before they joined, so probably no League of Nations and therefore no exact UN-equivalent), different countries becoming communist (like in this post), and KMT China (mostly) winning the civil war. I also have an interest in military vehicles, hence the random placement in the otherwise unused space in the corner

*All named groups and individuals may not be like those that share their names in real life

Sources/Credit:
Base Maps: Dr. Michael Izady (https://gulf2000.columbia.edu/maps.shtml)
Communist Iran Flag: SirPaperweight (https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/communist-flags.417901/page-2)
Iraq Flag (Modified): TheseusDeuteros (https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/flag-thread-iii.213503/page-280)
UIC Flag: Adainia (https://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=366886)
NLFI and NFD Flags: Me (hence why they look worse)
T-62 Profile (Modified): SrP55 and Marvin Schneck (https://juniorgeneral.org/index.php/figure/view/IranianT62Tank)
JF-17 and MiG-21 Top View (Modified): Dirk Schoenberger (https://juniorgeneral.org/index.php/figure/view/Jets2)
And lots of Wikipedia (so some parts may be painfully unrealistic/inaccurate to those more knowledgeable; I would appreciate any critique if that’s the case)
Fonts Used: Frutiger and Frutiger Condensed

https://www.reddit.com/r/imaginarymaps/comments/s6236h

 

[CastilloVerde]

United Kingdom of the Spains:

The idea is that the Hispanic kingdoms gradually form into a united kingdom of Spain similar in some ways to OTL Great Britain, just with more steps.

The POD is that Enrique I of Castile manages to avoid his random early death in 1217 preventing Leon and Castile from being united in 1230 under Fernando III. The two kingdoms avoid a early union preserving their separate institutions and customs for much longer.

As the centuries pass, Leon and Castile and the other hispanic kingdoms continue onward with the Reconquista, engage in conflicts and royal marriages among each other, and embark on voyages of exploration until a lucky monarch finds himself inheriting the kingdoms of Portugal, Leon, Castile and Aragon like Charles V of OTL with his inheritance.

Eventually, Granada, which survived as an independent islamic kingdom for much longer due to division among the christian states, is brought into the Spanish crown after a grand invasion which completed the Reconquista - the event that marks the founding of the united kingdom.

Granada remains a separate 'Crown' from Castile to prevent Castile from becoming too powerful at the expense of the other crowns. However, Castile is the dominant kingdom and the castilian language functions as the language of government. The national capital is also the castilian capital of Toledo. Each of the other constituent realms, however, keep many of their old laws, institutions and languages separate from that of Castile and have their own devolved parliaments.

Questions and comments are always appreciated!

 

[hadesTTW]

I recently finished this map for my own project- there's no complete timeline as of yet, but I have a thread for the project here. The premise is that Japan wins the Second World War despite the failure of Nazi Germany, and cold war results in detente.

Spoiler: Written Lore

Alternate Version

"First we will kill all the subversives; then we will kill all their collaborators; then their sympathisers; then those who remained indifferent; and finally, we'll kill the undecided."

—General Iberico St. Jean, governor of Buenos Aires

Ever since Los Angeles was subject to the horror of thermonuclear fire in 1947, the United States was locked into a tripolar struggle with the fascist-corporatist abomination of the Empire of Japan and her Co-Prosperity Sphere of puppet regimes, with the totalitarian menace of the Soviet Union, lead by the Bolshevist terrorists of Trotsky and Zinoviev threatening all that is true, just, and holy with Western democracy and the American way of life.

Alternatively, you could take a trip to Osaka and you would hear about the united Pan-Asian coalition who struggled against the imperialist and social imperialist menaces of Washington, London, Paris, and Moscow, which desired to see the whole world subjugated in cosmopolitan tyranny. For the two superpowers of five decades, the Cold War meant the endless gears of war making their military industrial complexes more powerful and their technological arms and space races more intense and labored by the masses.

Yet as the proxy wars continued to rage with increasingly fierce intensity, even the individuals fortunate enough to profit off the state of the world began to worry of imminent mass-assured-destruction. In 1976, the Masonic lodge of the Propaganda Due, consisting of clandestine representatives from all of the world's major powers began to organize and discuss two topics- preventing the premature end of human civilization, and stopping a global Communist revolution from usurping the rule of the powerful over the weak.

To test their theories and proposed plans to reshape the world, members of the P2 seized power in Argentina and constructed an authoritarian democratic system where the lodge controlled every function of a nation's well-being. Despite exhibited brutality towards those who resisted and those who came close to uncovering the conspiracy, the experiments were unprecedented successes, and to the modern day Argentina has become the third most developed country in the world- behind only Brussels and Syonan.

Historians generally point to 1993 being the end of the Cold War, where following the bloody Arab-Israeli Wars and the Korean Revolutionary War did supporters of detente defied odds to come into power in the US, Japan, and the USSR. For the past four decades, the world has experienced a long period of mostly peaceful co-existence, putting aside differences to address global issues such as climate change and the seemingly endless threat of radical Salafi Jihadist terrorism.

The world is close to becoming one. Or at least it is, above the surface. Deep within the shadow empire of the Propaganda Due, there exists only fear and Faustian bargaining. The world as they have built it is nearing its end. The heavens and the earth reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

The year is 2030 the history of the fate of humanity has begun.

 

[Sarthak]

12 WAYS TO DIVIDE THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE

 

[Cattette]

Muslim pirates raid and eventually conquer the island of Crete, opening a new front in the Abbasid-Byzantine conflict which has reached a stalemate in Anatolia. The Byzantine army, tied down by revolts in Asia Minor and a large scale influx of Slavic migrants descending from the Balkans, are unable to cope as the Saracens seize island after island.

Style inspired by the one in 'History of the World Map by Map' published by Dorling Kindersley

 

[Nizam]

THE MIDDLE SOLAR SYSTEM - A MORE PERFECT NEIGHBORHOOD

The Kemtoid (Asteroid) belt lies between the orbits of Juno and Jupiter, home to millions of small rocks and kemtoids. These were discovered by Egyptian astronomers and historians, and they are named after Egyptian gods. The largest of these in order are Orsis, Horus, Anubis, Thoth, Isis, Nepthis, Sorbek and Nuot. The Kemtoid belt is home to vast collections of resources and precious metals, making it a big target for resource extraction.

Jupiter is the largest of the inner planets, and is a massive gas giant at 142,984 km in diameter. It is made up of white and orange bands streaking across its sky, with many storms and vortexes dominating the planet. The planet possesses a gargantuan moon system, the most well known of which are the six Gallileans, them being Io (a sulfuric volcano world, 3,643 km), Europa (a moon with a massive underground ocean teaming with life, 3,121 km), Ganymede (a large icy moon, 5,262 km), Themis (a massive moon with atmosphere, methane oceans and a small biosphere, 6,270 km), Callisto (an icy cratered moon, 4,820 km) and Moneta (a rocky mineral rich moon, 5,092 km), alongside countless moonlets. Jupiter has Lagrangian companions as well, although they are not as big as Juno’s, known as the Trojan and Greek fields. All of these are 5.221 AU from the sun.

Saturn is the next planet, and it is the second largest in the inner solar system. The planet is well known for its rings made of ice and dust, as well as its pretty big moon system. Saturn is 116,464 km in diameter and is cream colored. Its largest moons are Hyperion (a rocky and icy moon at 3,191 km), Enceladus (a moon with an icy subsurface ocean at 2,724 km), Rhea (basically OTL’s Titan), Phoebe (another rocky and icy moon, 2,384 km) and Tethys (a little more rocky, at 1,862 km). Saturn and its moons are 10.654 AU from the sun.

The next objects beyond Saturn’s orbit are a bit of an oddity. The twin planets of Prometheus and Epimethius are bounded to one another in a binary system. Prometheus is a fiery looking gas giant at around 40,000 km in diameter, while Epimethius is a large rocky and icy body a little less than 20,000 km in diameter, although both bodies have similar masses. They are bound together in a binary system, with Prometheus and Epimethius orbiting an arbitrary point tidally locked about 162,280 km from each of them. The two bodies have a moon system, with the little moons of Menotes and Ankhile orbiting close to the two planets, while the much bigger moon of Atlas orbits further away in an eccentric orbit. Atlas is an interesting place, having a thin atmosphere with an orange-red desert at its surface (Sidenote: Atlas is actually OTL Mars thrown far away from its origin). This group of planets is known as the Japtoid cluster, after the mythical father of the titans the planets are named after, and it is 16.941 AU from the sun.

Uranus comes after the Japtoids, and it is a pretty weird planet. It is tipped over onto its side, with a little ring system. Uranus is about 50,724 km wide, and is a sky blue from space. The planet is an ice giant, a variant of the gas giant that forms far from a star. It has 3 medium sized moons and one large one, the big one being Mimas, which is unusually rocky for its location far out from the sun. The planet is 26.3 AU from the sun.

Neptune is the last of the inner planets from the sun, and it is another ice giant similar to Uranus. Neptune is smaller than Uranus in diameter, at 49,244 km, but it is a little more massive. The planet is a deep blue from space, and is home to a significant moon system, with Polyphemus, Triton and Thalassa dominating it. These moons have irregular orbits, which could mean that they were captured from the Alcythian belt. Indeed, many Alcythian belt objects are similar to the Neptunian moons.

 

[Prince di Corsica]

Crossposting from the MotF challenge as usual. Comments, questions, anything is welcomed!

Empire of the South
the United Kingdom of "Portugal", Brazil and "the Algarves"

I don't have much to say here, I just happen to like the fact that during the Napoleonic Wars there was a United Kingdom between Portugal and Brazil that didn't actually control Portugal and had its capital in Rio de Janeiro. Let Napoleon win and voilá, you get a Portugal that doesn't hold any of Portugal, but continues to claim its titles, holds its monarchy and inherits its empire, building a large transcontinental empire with posessions from the Amazon to New Guinea, passing by the Old Guinea.

And for some reason I just really enjoy making South Pole-centric maps. It's a pretty simple map besides that, I'll admit, but I do kind of like the simplicity. I tried including foreign countries and other stuff, but ended up hiding those layers since I found them too crowding. The South Pole perspective already makes the map seem quite alien, so keeping it simple turns out to be essential to avoid it being a eyesore.

As for the four winds, I simply wanted something to fill that space and I enjoyed these ones. They don't have anything to do with Portugal, but I do like them.

Not my best work, I'd say, but I had fun doing it and I enjoy the end result.

 

[Kruglyasheo]

If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face – for, like, another fifteen years or so.
– O'Brien, probably​

Spoiler: Some references

From Nineteen Eighty-Four:

Victory Cigarettes; Blue shorts, grey shirt, and red neckerchief of the Spies; The enormous fluted column with Big Brother’s statue at the top and a statue of a man on horseback which was supposed to represent Oliver Cromwell; The first real mention of Big Brother at some time in the sixties; The atomic bomb that fell on Colchester.​

From OTL:

FYROM/North Macedonia naming dispute; Temporal Transnistrian ruble (1993-1994); Flags of AR of Ajara/AR of Abkhazia; Peacekeeping mission in Nagorno-Karabakh; Chernobyl Exclusion Zone; GOST 7.67=ISO 3166; Akademset=Internet; Macedonian/Belarusian half-socialist national emblems; Post-Soviet renaming of cities but not oblasts.

There are a few other minor references here, but let's consider them easter eggs. Also posters.​