Introduction:
It all begins at the independence of the parthian satrap from the Seleucid Empire; soon to perish in the invasion and capture of his lands by Arsakes, establishing the birth of an empire.
Soon to be followed by the assassination of Berenice and her son in Antioch, and the death of King Antiochos Theos; while in Ephesos, Laodice will crown her son Seleukos Kallinikos, starting a war with Ptolemaios Euergetes.
And thanks to the manipulation of his own mother, Seleukos will give half his kingdom to his brother, Antiochos Hierax; who will not wait one second and start a civil war with his brother on the advice of his mother.
The Seleucid Empire in war by all sides; in the east; with Bactria and Parthia; in the west with the Pergameans and Bythinians; not to mention the Third Syrian War. They will enter the largest crisis they ever experienced, and one that could wipe them out from existence.
The Bosphoran Kingdom constantly suffering from nomadic raids, will have to keep the sarmatian horde from advancing into their lands.
The Armenian and Iberians, at both side of the mountain range, continue expanding with little resistance and with constant speed.
The kingdom of Pontos must not only deal with the usual pirates in their seas, but also with quickly boiling relations with the seleucids, and a war that will come in no time.
With the Mauryan Empire at it’s peak and uncontested, ruling the lands of the Kalinga, the lands who were conquered at the expense of a bloody war; to which, even the great king Ashoka was shocked, and bowed to never take a life ever again.
To the south, a completely opposite story, jarring conflicts in the lands of the Tamil kingdoms; always at war with each other for the little land south of those in control of Ashoka.
The small Wusun paying tributes to the mighty Yuezhi, who, in turn, also receive gifts and exchange prisoners with the powerless Xiongnu.
The world will soon meet the rise of two of the most memorable and large empires of this age, not without shedding blood every place they can.
A truly exciting and very stirred start. It will include extensive historical research, and brand new everything. One of the most ambitious mods for this aeon.
Proposed Faction List:
The asterisk marks a faction which is without a doubt included. A question mark marks a faction that might not even be considered (due to the circumstances).
-Seleucid Empire*
-Ptolemaic Dynasty*
-Kingdom of Pontos*
-Baktria*
-Armenia*
-Mauryan Empire*
-Pandyan Dynasty*
-Satavahanan Dynasty
-Pergamon*
-Kingdom of the Kimmerian Bosphoros*
-Sabaean Kingdom
-Nabatean Kingdom
-Hasmonean Kingdom?
-Sarmatians*
-Saka
-Yuezhi*
-Parthian Empire*
-Wusun
-Xiongnu
-Roman Republic, emergent 190*
-Bythinia*
-Atropatene?
-Kush?
-Chera
-Chola
-Kartli
-Han?
-Cappadocia?
-Dian?
-Gangaridai?
-Pyu City States?
-Au Lac?
-Tarim Basin Kingdoms? (Multiple factions)
Timeframe:
247 BCE – 100 BCE
The start is already set, and is unmovable. 247 BCE is the start date (though it will only last one turn (for convenience and so neat stuff works well), and then 246 BCE will kick in).
Why? Well, 247 BC makes up for a great start date. First of all, since we were an EB submod, we wanted something that started later than EB itself (272 BCE).
We also wanted to present the parthians as the Arsacid Dynasty (something they weren’t until 247 BCE/246 BCE). They only were a nomadic tribe before the rise of Arsaces (i.e. the Parni).
So we chose their rise to power, which also meant something else. We could now portray the Kingdom of Pergamon at it’s full extent.
Then the Seleucid/Ptolemaic disaster. The death of the rulers of both kingdoms. The civil war of Antiochos Hierax. The independence of the Satrap of Parthia. And so forth.
So it is the best formula for a very interesting start for the most factions possible.
But 100 BCE?
Well, we checked some books (Wikipedia), and it’s the year Caesar was born (not that it matters anyways, Gallia is not in the map).
Also, it’s the year Tigran Metz (Tigranes the Great) exchanged some lands in Atropatene for his release from his parthian captors, claiming the throne of Armenia.
And since we’re planning multiple turns per year it would be (at least) around 600, which is good enough.
Though it is not a fixed date, it’s the one currently planned out, and the one in the minds of everyone right now.
So the great Armenian expansion will not have Tigran as their king. For now.
And speaking about the lack of Gallia in the map…
Map:
Asia begins at Anatolia. So the map will begin at Anatolia.
And no; no Greece. It will start from the westernmost tip of land in Anatolia (which will include the eastern Cycladic islands, and the island of Lesbos), including some of Crete as well (just so you get one of those nifty archers).
So why no Greece? Well, because if we put some Greece, there will also be Dacians, then the Cyrenaians, then the Macedonians, then the Epirotes, etc. Besides, none of those reigns ever expanded considerably into Asia. Pity to cut the Ptolemies though.
Then there’s also the height. Simple. It will contain a few miles south of Sri-Lanka, which, for reference, is lower than the African Horn, and has barely the tip of Aceh/Sumatra.
While it’s top part will only go as far as the middle siberian steppes. There is no reason to go too high, we won’t include the Veneti (why would we anyways?).
So, the only question is. How far east? But the actual question is: "How far east is information available for?". Yes, the Han do have lots of information. But there’s a massive hole in Indochina, also North of Bactria. Also, the matter of culture. To put all the easternmost factions in a single "eastern culture" would be wrong, it would be like putting the Kelts and Dacians and Iberians in a single "barbarian" culture, and we barely have enough cultures for our current planned factions. So it won’t go as far as Korea or Japan, but it will go farther than India, you can be sure of that, which might be saying too much *wink* *wink*. Don’t lose hope though; official modifications are there for your far-fetched pleasure.