I'll make a general update on religion once we're through the quarrels of Yazdegerd's four sons. We're almost in the fifth century, 200 years after the POD, and a lot has changed. I'll also make a (hopefully) half decent map of Eurasia after that.
The Darling of the World - A Persian TL
- Thread starter Vinization
- Start date
If you do not mind I want to point out currently Hinduism not consolidated. Laypeople mostly follow personal deities, higher philosophy limited to the upper class. If you are looking for Hindu Buddhist hybredization pure land Buddhism ideal for it. It actually born during this period in Kashmir. It mostly focuses it's devotion to amida Buddha so that soul that reincarnates in his plane to achieve nirvana. It later give birth to nichiren, jodo shu and jodi Shinshu which focus far more on amida as personal deity. You can do what Japanese did, by converting local Gods as dharma protector and deva who follow buddha's teachings. Hinduism got long tradition to assimilate local deities, look at shiva, chamunda and Jagannath. So why not do so in reverse? I mean even now buddha considered 9th avatar of Vishu and while unorthodox philosophy wise Buddhism considered a valid concept by Hindus same as ajivaka and nastika. With royal patronage, I think nobles will be more interested in converting to Buddhism.
Announcement
Announcement
Ladies and gentlemen, I am more than happy to say that this TL is alive, despite its hiatus! I intend to write a new update either this week or the next one, focusing on the second half of the reign of Yazdegerd I and the four princes (and their mothers) who will fight for the right to take his place as Shah after he dies.
However, before doing so, I would like to know what is your opinion of this TL.
Is it plausible, or are some details a bit outlandish? Did I build hype at the end of a part or two, only to create a disappointment later? I would like to know before writing the next update.
Ladies and gentlemen, I am more than happy to say that this TL is alive, despite its hiatus! I intend to write a new update either this week or the next one, focusing on the second half of the reign of Yazdegerd I and the four princes (and their mothers) who will fight for the right to take his place as Shah after he dies.
However, before doing so, I would like to know what is your opinion of this TL.
Is it plausible, or are some details a bit outlandish? Did I build hype at the end of a part or two, only to create a disappointment later? I would like to know before writing the next update.
Photography by the thirteenth century is a bit too far-fetched, but other than that I'm looking forward to this series' return.
Yeah, I'm trying to compensate by having papermaking spread out of Central Asia a few centuries earlier (three, to be exact) and by preventing the destruction of centers of learning such as Taxila. The Huna invasion of northern India really wrecked things in there, and also affected trade with Iran and other regions.
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When you say outlandish, are we talking Fate Franchise outlandish or Vinland Saga outlandish?
... I have no idea. The parts I have the most reservations about are the ones involving the fall and then resurrection of the Roman Empire, which has practically become the HRE centuries earlier (thanks to *Tetricus's division of it into multiple autonomous provinces). The other one is the fact I had the Huns settle Anatolia instead of Eastern Europe, which will have all sorts of butterflies on Rome and the Germanic kingdoms that border it.
*A fictional relative of the OTL Gallic emperor Tetricus I.
Look at the bright side, you now have the opportunity go nuts with your ideas without fretting over comparing to OTL. Something a lot of fanfic writers fail to realize when writing FWOAN fanfics, and end up following the stations of canon.
Like why not through create a realistic iteration of nation from game or anime you have played and show it's origins.
Well shit, now I have to make the country below a reality. /s
Although, to be fair, Amestris is nothing more than an anime equivalent of Nazi Germany. Not only the government commits a horrible genocide against a marginalized minority, it's even led by a Führer!
Still, you're right that I have a lot of room to play with, so I'll take advantage of that as best as I can.
What is the eastern border of Gupta India? Will we see expansion towards south during rule of later emperors?
NOW you getting it!^^
Though personally I always considered that nation would be invaded by it's much larger nations as it looks less like Nazi Germany and more like Uganda.
While I do have some comments on a few things, I like this TL. It puts effort into making a story-path that not too many users want to tread, not to mention pulling out weird situations that can happened / has happened in antiquity yet keeping it all more-or-less grounded.
It puts effort into making a story-path that not too many users want to tread, not to mention pulling out weird situations that can happened / has happened in antiquity yet keeping it all more-or-less grounded.Please tell me what these comments are! Any input is much appreciated.While I do have some comments on a few things, I like this TL.
Well, I do have some doubts regarding TL photography as far back as the 13th century, as that means knowledge and discoveries of chemical processes are considerably fast-tracked compared to OTL (did someone invent the scientific method early?). Another is the size of the Restored Roman Empire; any power that large that doesn't control 'Central Europe' and/or the Pannonian Basin will soon be in for a shock when new semi-nomads/tribes began to settle in (to say nothing of the situation in Germania & Britannia; Rome IOTL had a hard time controlling the countryside there, even during their zenith). Given the decentralized-ish nature of Rome ITTL, there is greater imperial flexibility, but also more potential for entire dioceses to break off.
But these mistakes are handwaved because of a) the large timescales involved, b) the period of antiquity we're still in, and c) lots of potential for weird, weeeird things to happen. And you also show that even reforms aren't perfect, such as Florianus going off on his own. That's something you don't hear often in reformist TL's.
In any case, I'm still here.Well, I do have some doubts regarding TL photography as far back as the 13th century, as that means knowledge and discoveries of chemical processes are considerably fast-tracked compared to OTL (did someone invent the scientific method early?). Another is the size of the Restored Roman Empire; any power that large that doesn't control 'Central Europe' and/or the Pannonian Basin will soon be in for a shock when new semi-nomads/tribes began to settle in (to say nothing of the situation in Germania & Britannia; Rome IOTL had a hard time controlling the countryside there, even during their zenith). Given the decentralized-ish nature of Rome ITTL, there is greater imperial flexibility, but also more potential for entire dioceses to break off.
But these mistakes are handwaved because of a) the large timescales involved, b) the period of antiquity we're still in, and c) lots of potential for weird, weeeird things to happen. And you also show that even reforms aren't perfect, such as Florianus going off on his own. That's something you don't hear often in reformist TL's.
I'm control C control V- ing this, but there are also all sorts of things that can happen in the following thousand years, such as a horrible plague or another calamity happening and someone finding out that steam power can do the work of several men at once, someone can discover lighter than air flight (fabric plus fire equals balloon), create an explosive black powder by accident ("Syrian" Fire shows up centuries earlier, but if Wikipedia is correct people already knew how to make substances that could burn on water since Republican times) and such. Maybe a bunch of sturdy sailors could find themselves stuck on a completely new land and inform their country about all the stuff/people they saw, things like that.
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I really like this so far, the photography is very ahead of time, but with surviving empires in Iran and India I can see it somehow happening.
I just caught up and needless to say, this is a great timeline and will be watching with interest
Regarding Gupta expansion in future, it would be wise for them to expand south, especially at the Areas of Modern day states of Maharashtra, Andhra and Karnataka, as these states have always produced strong empires across India
Regarding Gupta expansion in future, it would be wise for them to expand south, especially at the Areas of Modern day states of Maharashtra, Andhra and Karnataka, as these states have always produced strong empires across India
Part 23: A Steady Hand
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Part 23: A Steady Hand
The decades that marked the later half of the reign of Yazdegerd I, following the trend established during Tiridates' tenure as Priest of Priests, were marked by peace abroad and growing prosperity at home. His pacifistic foreign policy kept thousands of lives and dirhams (the empire's currency) from being wasted in potentially unnecessary wars and also allowed international trade to flourish, which was extremely important since much of the Iranian economy depended on routes such as the Silk Road, which passed through the domains of the Hephthalites, who were by far the empire's greatest foreign adversary at the moment.
This isn't to say that it didn't irritate some of the more jingoistic factions of the nobility, who controlled most of the military and were always eager for more glory and lands to directly control in the name of their monarch. These people, perhaps best personified in the figure of Farrukhan Suren (1) (whose family, one of the Seven Great Houses, controlled Sakastan as their personal fiefdom before the arrival of the Hephthalites) were especially outraged by Yazdegerd's unwillingness to do so much as recapture Nishapur, arguing that the city, by remaining under outside control, served as a dagger pointed straight at the heart of the empire, an allegation that would later be proven right. Another decision that ruffled some feathers, but really just a few, was the recognition of Egypt as an independent kingdom through a treaty in 370 A.D. (2).
This isn't to say that the military was neglected, not at all. In the years following his return to power, the Shah ordered the construction of two fleets: a smaller one, based in the island of Hormoz, to protect the ports and trading vessels of the Persian Gulf from Arabian pirates who controlled the southern shores, and a much larger one, based in Haifa, to protect the Levantine ports from enemy blockades. The crews of this second fleet, however, were of questionable loyalty at first, considering that the cities they came from, while not outright rebelling against Iranian domination, chafed and grumbled, nostalgic of the glory days of the Palmyrene Empire.
Part 23: A Steady Hand
The decades that marked the later half of the reign of Yazdegerd I, following the trend established during Tiridates' tenure as Priest of Priests, were marked by peace abroad and growing prosperity at home. His pacifistic foreign policy kept thousands of lives and dirhams (the empire's currency) from being wasted in potentially unnecessary wars and also allowed international trade to flourish, which was extremely important since much of the Iranian economy depended on routes such as the Silk Road, which passed through the domains of the Hephthalites, who were by far the empire's greatest foreign adversary at the moment.
This isn't to say that it didn't irritate some of the more jingoistic factions of the nobility, who controlled most of the military and were always eager for more glory and lands to directly control in the name of their monarch. These people, perhaps best personified in the figure of Farrukhan Suren (1) (whose family, one of the Seven Great Houses, controlled Sakastan as their personal fiefdom before the arrival of the Hephthalites) were especially outraged by Yazdegerd's unwillingness to do so much as recapture Nishapur, arguing that the city, by remaining under outside control, served as a dagger pointed straight at the heart of the empire, an allegation that would later be proven right. Another decision that ruffled some feathers, but really just a few, was the recognition of Egypt as an independent kingdom through a treaty in 370 A.D. (2).
This isn't to say that the military was neglected, not at all. In the years following his return to power, the Shah ordered the construction of two fleets: a smaller one, based in the island of Hormoz, to protect the ports and trading vessels of the Persian Gulf from Arabian pirates who controlled the southern shores, and a much larger one, based in Haifa, to protect the Levantine ports from enemy blockades. The crews of this second fleet, however, were of questionable loyalty at first, considering that the cities they came from, while not outright rebelling against Iranian domination, chafed and grumbled, nostalgic of the glory days of the Palmyrene Empire.
Ruins of the ancient port of Haifa, which began to grow at an extremely fast rate in the last decades of the fourth century (3). Parts of the modern city are visible nearby.
Staying true to his reputation as a gray and boring ruler when compared to his more spectacular ancestors and descendants, Yazdegerd was content with doing little more than provinding a steady hand, rarely rocking the boat, if ever. His main priority was to leave a strong, stable and wealthy state for his successor to rule, and he ordered the construction of multiple infrastructure works such as irrigation canals (especially in Mesopotamia and Khuzestan, the most fertile regions of Iran), roads and bridges, leading to a steady increase in the degree of urbanization in the regions they were built, which would later help future Shahs in their attempts to centralize the state. While the Sasanian dynasty generally favored refurbishing and founding new cities, the Age of Division, and the economic slump that followed it, did much to slow or perhaps even halt that trend, which began to progess once more after stability was restored.
When it ccomes to building things, however, Yazdegerd is best remembered for two things: the Royal Road and the founding of the city of Peroz-Ardashir. The first project, as its name indicates, was a superbly maintained highway built in the mold of the homonymous one that was created by the Achamenid Shahanshah Darius the Great, who the Sasanians always sought to emulate. Starting from the city of Meshan, an important port in the Persian Gulf, the road followed the banks of the Tigris until it reached Ctesiphon, then following the Euphrates until Dura Europos. From there, it went westward into Syria, reaching Damascus and finally the port of Haifa.
Since its completion, the Royal Road quickly became the economic and logistical backbone of the Iranian empire, providing a path that could be traveled with great speed by both traders and armies alike, strengthening Ctesiphon's authority over the Levant. Not only that, it led to an immense amount of trade between Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean by creating an alternate path that, stretching from the Persian Gulf to Palestine, bypassed the Aksumite stranglehold over the Red Sea and allowing European markets to buy Indian and Chinese goods (such as spices and silk) at lower prices. Thus, it also caused a slight decline in Aksum and Egypt's revenues (the latter not by much) since they no longer controlled the only maritime route from the Far East to the West.
Sitting right on the middle of the path of this great highway, close to where the proud capital of the Palmyrene Empire once stood, the city of Peroz-Ardashir was founded. As stated in its very name ("Ardashir the Victorious"), it was, first and foremost, a monument dedicated to the glorious victories of Ardashir II, with a giant, six meter tall statue of said Shah standing right on the middle of its main plaza (4). In time, the city would grow into a prosperous center of commerce and eventually manufacturing, especially of textiles, but its main purpose was to serve as a statement that the days of the children of Odainat were long gone and would never return. It was, in the words of the famous Chinese Manichean traveler and missionary Xuanzang, who visited Iran and later Europe in the sixth century, "the proof of the extent of human pettiness. Though prosperous, this place's true reason to exist is to be nothing more than an insult to people who died long ago".
When it ccomes to building things, however, Yazdegerd is best remembered for two things: the Royal Road and the founding of the city of Peroz-Ardashir. The first project, as its name indicates, was a superbly maintained highway built in the mold of the homonymous one that was created by the Achamenid Shahanshah Darius the Great, who the Sasanians always sought to emulate. Starting from the city of Meshan, an important port in the Persian Gulf, the road followed the banks of the Tigris until it reached Ctesiphon, then following the Euphrates until Dura Europos. From there, it went westward into Syria, reaching Damascus and finally the port of Haifa.
Since its completion, the Royal Road quickly became the economic and logistical backbone of the Iranian empire, providing a path that could be traveled with great speed by both traders and armies alike, strengthening Ctesiphon's authority over the Levant. Not only that, it led to an immense amount of trade between Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean by creating an alternate path that, stretching from the Persian Gulf to Palestine, bypassed the Aksumite stranglehold over the Red Sea and allowing European markets to buy Indian and Chinese goods (such as spices and silk) at lower prices. Thus, it also caused a slight decline in Aksum and Egypt's revenues (the latter not by much) since they no longer controlled the only maritime route from the Far East to the West.
Sitting right on the middle of the path of this great highway, close to where the proud capital of the Palmyrene Empire once stood, the city of Peroz-Ardashir was founded. As stated in its very name ("Ardashir the Victorious"), it was, first and foremost, a monument dedicated to the glorious victories of Ardashir II, with a giant, six meter tall statue of said Shah standing right on the middle of its main plaza (4). In time, the city would grow into a prosperous center of commerce and eventually manufacturing, especially of textiles, but its main purpose was to serve as a statement that the days of the children of Odainat were long gone and would never return. It was, in the words of the famous Chinese Manichean traveler and missionary Xuanzang, who visited Iran and later Europe in the sixth century, "the proof of the extent of human pettiness. Though prosperous, this place's true reason to exist is to be nothing more than an insult to people who died long ago".
Yazdegerd's other priority was ensuring the survival of his dynasty by having as many heirs as possible, should something very bad happen to one or two of them. So worried he was that it is believed that he had two official wives instead of just one, like previous Sasanian kings did. While it is known that the Shah usually had a harem (an institution that existed since the days before the Achaemenids) composed of multiple wives and more concubines, there was usually a single chief consort who sired the heir to the throne. Whether the women in question, Boran and Shirin (the latter of whom is believed to have been a Christian), actually shared the position is unknown, but the fact they were political adversaries who desired for one of their children to become King of Kings following the incumbent's death was a certainty.
Boran, who most sources indicate to have been the chief consort, had the upper hand in the succession dispute right from the get go by giving Yazdegerd two healthy sons, Ardashir and Shapur, who were born in 349 and 356 respectively. Both were given a superb education, and Ardashir in particular began to show great promise and intelligence from a young age, and began to be introduced to state ceremonies and council meetings after reaching the age of fourteen. However, this blatant favouritism also gave him an arrogant, impetuous and abrasive personality, which only worsened after being appointed to the governorship of Osroene (to the east of Syria) after his twenty first birthday. Sure that he would eventually take the throne, the elder prince built a large retinue around himself, and the military experience earned by fighting Hunnic raiders from Anatolia created fears that he would overthrow his aging father at the first opportunity.
Shapur, meanwhile, was a completely different character. Trapped under his brother's shadow, he grew into an envious and cunning individual, eager for glory, fame and most importantly, power. As governor of the province of Palestine, he proved himself to be an able politician, earning the respect of the local Christian and Jewish communites through the construction and restoration of many churches and synagogues. He also forged connections with nobles who were put off by Ardashir's arrogance, and cultivated good relations with Yazdegerd by behaving like an obedient son, while the actual heir seemed hellbent on eclispsing him.
Boran, who most sources indicate to have been the chief consort, had the upper hand in the succession dispute right from the get go by giving Yazdegerd two healthy sons, Ardashir and Shapur, who were born in 349 and 356 respectively. Both were given a superb education, and Ardashir in particular began to show great promise and intelligence from a young age, and began to be introduced to state ceremonies and council meetings after reaching the age of fourteen. However, this blatant favouritism also gave him an arrogant, impetuous and abrasive personality, which only worsened after being appointed to the governorship of Osroene (to the east of Syria) after his twenty first birthday. Sure that he would eventually take the throne, the elder prince built a large retinue around himself, and the military experience earned by fighting Hunnic raiders from Anatolia created fears that he would overthrow his aging father at the first opportunity.
Shapur, meanwhile, was a completely different character. Trapped under his brother's shadow, he grew into an envious and cunning individual, eager for glory, fame and most importantly, power. As governor of the province of Palestine, he proved himself to be an able politician, earning the respect of the local Christian and Jewish communites through the construction and restoration of many churches and synagogues. He also forged connections with nobles who were put off by Ardashir's arrogance, and cultivated good relations with Yazdegerd by behaving like an obedient son, while the actual heir seemed hellbent on eclispsing him.
An eleventh century artist's impression of prince Ardashir (on the right, riding an armored horse) in battle against the Huns.
Shirin, in comparison, was far more unlucky than her competitor. Her first surviving son with the Shah, Narseh (born in 353), was born with a withered right arm, which was supposedly twenty centimeters shorter than his healthy one, a birth defect that almost completely disqualified him from the line of succession, despite his sharp mind (5). Because of this, he was completely disinterested in politics, choosing instead to become a scholar who eventually amassed a great collection of books and manuscripts that focused on multiple subjects, from poetry to astronomy and mathematics. The ruins of his private library can still be seen today in Shushtar, and he was one of the first prominent Iranians to realize that the material known today as paper could be very useful to the imperial bureaucracy.
It was Shirin's second son, Kavad, that truly buried her hopes of having one of her children take the throne. Born in 361, right after Tiridates' death, Kavad proved himself to be a difficult child to say the least, rarely paying attention to his tutors and often sleeping during lessons. That was when he showed up at all, since the prince often fled from the palace, only to be found days later mingling with commoners, which was basically the ancient version of skipping school. Thus, after reaching adulthood, Kavad was seen as a lazy, uneducated individual who was nothing more than a country bumpkin who had way too much time and money on his hands, wasting both of them on extravagant parties that had way too much alcohol. In short, he was a source of embarrassment to his parents. However, there were always ambitious nobles who hoped to use such a person as a puppet while they did the real ruling, and Farrukhan Suren, eager to recover his family's ancestral lands, was one such noble.
Yazdegerd I, King of Kings since 334, was struck down by a severe fever at the age of sixty-one in 385. Though he refused to die at first, everyone knew that his time was running out, and he was now powerless to stop his sons from starting a chain of events that would lead Iran to the brink of destruction.
Far, far to the east, a man watched these events unfold with a satisfied smile in his face. With a countless number of spies all over Iranian territory, many of whom were nobles who had grown tired of the bickering Sasanians, he was keenly aware of everything that was going on in the country, and was just waiting for the perfect opportunity to seize it all for himself. The man had already humbled the armies of the Celestial Empire, long believed to be invincible, but his appetite for glory and wealth wouldn't cease until he became the undisputed master of the entire world.
It was said that the mere mention of his name made the earth itself shake in fear. And the people of Iran, noble and humble alike, would do so for many years.
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Notes:
(1) Remember this guy's name, he is important.
(2) A recognition that Egypt just isn't worth conquering right now, not until a counter to Syrian Fire is discovered.
(3) That's actually Caesarea Maritima.
(4) Think of this statue, but for a different Shah.
(5) He suffers from Erb's palsy. It's the same condition that gave German emperor Wilhelm II his crippled left arm.
It was Shirin's second son, Kavad, that truly buried her hopes of having one of her children take the throne. Born in 361, right after Tiridates' death, Kavad proved himself to be a difficult child to say the least, rarely paying attention to his tutors and often sleeping during lessons. That was when he showed up at all, since the prince often fled from the palace, only to be found days later mingling with commoners, which was basically the ancient version of skipping school. Thus, after reaching adulthood, Kavad was seen as a lazy, uneducated individual who was nothing more than a country bumpkin who had way too much time and money on his hands, wasting both of them on extravagant parties that had way too much alcohol. In short, he was a source of embarrassment to his parents. However, there were always ambitious nobles who hoped to use such a person as a puppet while they did the real ruling, and Farrukhan Suren, eager to recover his family's ancestral lands, was one such noble.
Yazdegerd I, King of Kings since 334, was struck down by a severe fever at the age of sixty-one in 385. Though he refused to die at first, everyone knew that his time was running out, and he was now powerless to stop his sons from starting a chain of events that would lead Iran to the brink of destruction.
Far, far to the east, a man watched these events unfold with a satisfied smile in his face. With a countless number of spies all over Iranian territory, many of whom were nobles who had grown tired of the bickering Sasanians, he was keenly aware of everything that was going on in the country, and was just waiting for the perfect opportunity to seize it all for himself. The man had already humbled the armies of the Celestial Empire, long believed to be invincible, but his appetite for glory and wealth wouldn't cease until he became the undisputed master of the entire world.
It was said that the mere mention of his name made the earth itself shake in fear. And the people of Iran, noble and humble alike, would do so for many years.
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Notes:
(1) Remember this guy's name, he is important.
(2) A recognition that Egypt just isn't worth conquering right now, not until a counter to Syrian Fire is discovered.
(3) That's actually Caesarea Maritima.
(4) Think of this statue, but for a different Shah.
(5) He suffers from Erb's palsy. It's the same condition that gave German emperor Wilhelm II his crippled left arm.
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Excellent update, I personally hope that Shapur wins, he seems to have the prudent personality that Iran needs, though he'd likely lose in a pitched battle with his brother. Hopefully Narseh and Kavad will stay out of the civil war and live long happy lives too....