Something Keepers might be interested in

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Graham
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Something Keepers might be interested in

Post by Graham » Sun Oct 02, 2016 3:25 pm

I am putting this here because I am not sure which part of the forum it should be in. I was playing Europa Universalis III and created something (Country) that could be used for a game set partly in an Alternate Universe.

Kingdom of Shan

The Kingdom of Shan is located roughly where Burma is in the main timeline, but does not have a sea-coast in 1562.

In 1399 it was a fairly typical quasi-tribal state. In the 1420s, however the Chinese decided to bring what they termed a rebellious vassal (Dai-Viet) to heel and in the resulting war Shan backed the Vietnamese and found itself overrun with Chinese armies and forced to accept the status of vassal to the Chinese.

This did however bring about a much needed improvement in administration as Chinese 'advisers' took over much of the running of the country.

In the 1460s the Kingdom was forced to accept absorption into China as a province and the then king (Binya-Nwe II) was set up as a provincial Grandee while the Chinese launched an intensive program of Sinification, eventually (Though with much internal upset) managing to pursuade the populace to accept the teachings of Confucius rather than Buddha.

This status changed when the Emperor Xuande decided that a vassal state in the West would be more cost effective than direct rule over the area and elected to reconstitue an expanded Kingdom of Shan, incorporating not only the original regions ruled by the Kingdom prior to its absorption into the Empire, but imperial regions to the west the Emperor considered would be useful in helping to establish a strong vassal to guard the south-western flank.

The new Kingdom of Shan under the son of the last King (Binya-Nwe III) came into being in June of 1516 and after some initial difficulties (In the form of a revolt of Burmese peasants put down with the aid of Chinese troops.) has settled down into it's new role as guard of the Empires south-west flank.

The kingdom has sent troops in support of Ming offensives in south-east Asia, but has become increasingly worried about it's western flank, where the explusion of Muslim rulers has resulted in internal chaos with several Hindu successor states battling for domination, chaos that the current King of Shan, Shengtsaubu I views with concern, especially with the reports of foreigners from the distant West becoming involved in these conflicts.

The attached pictures show the kingdom as it exists on the 13th of November 1562 and the countries rather interesting demographics resulting from the Kingdoms dissolution and reconstitution, with a three way split existing between the original Shan inhabitants, Han Colonists and Burmese (The Han and the Shan tend to stick together against the Burmese...). In terms of internal organisation, the country is run as a scaled down version of the Ming Empire, most trade goes either east to China or west to the markets of India.

Negotiations are afoot with the Ming to secure support for an offensive designed to secure access to the sea rather than relying on the stability of the nations to the west and south for trade. (I am thinking of restarting from an earlier save though.)

The kings of Shan up to the point I stopped playing (1562) are:

Binya-Nwe I 1385 - 1418
Binya Keng 1418-1421
Binya Dhamma 1421-1426
Binya Ran I 1426-1456
Binya-Nwe II 1456 - c.1460

Chinese Interregnum c. 1460 - 1516

Binya-Nwe III 1516 - 1547 (Son of Binya-Nwe II)
Binya Ran II 1547 - 1555
Shengtsaubu I 1555 -

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How to use it, have the players pass through a gate (or crash a plane in Burma...) and find themselves confronted by soldiers wearing uniforms similar to but not quite the same as those used by Chinese soldiers in the 1500s...
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Re: Something Keepers might be interested in

Post by Dr. Gerard » Mon Oct 03, 2016 1:05 pm

This is a timeline that proposes greater Chinese influence on the real Shan ethnic group in Burma?

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Re: Something Keepers might be interested in

Post by Graham » Mon Oct 03, 2016 2:48 pm

Dr. Gerard wrote:This is a timeline that proposes greater Chinese influence on the real Shan ethnic group in Burma?

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Yes it is. In the game I have actually been having a blast running the Ming Dynasty (China).

I went and re-ran the campaign from a save that dated from game year 1525 (eg nine years after the Kingdom was created and this is the revised version that resulted.) The revised game has been stopped at the 14th of January 1560.

Kingdom of Shan (V 2.0)

The Kingdom of Shan is located roughly where Burma is in the main timeline.

In 1399 it was a fairly typical quasi-tribal state. In the 1420s, however the Chinese decided to bring what they termed a rebellious vassal (Dai-Viet) to heel and in the resulting war Shan backed the Vietnamese and found itself overrun with Chinese armies and forced to accept the status of vassal to the Chinese.

This did however bring about a much needed improvement in administration as Chinese 'advisers' took over much of the running of the country.

In the 1460s the Kingdom was forced to accept absorption into China as a province and the then king (Binya-Nwe II) was set up as a provincial Grandee while the Chinese launched an intensive program of Sinification, eventually (Though with much internal upset) managing to pursuade the populace to accept the teachings of Confucius rather than Buddha.

This status changed when the Emperor Xuande decided that a vassal state in the West would be more cost effective than direct rule over the area and elected to reconstitue an expanded Kingdom of Shan, incorporating not only the original regions ruled by the Kingdom prior to its absorption into the Empire, but imperial regions to the west the Emperor considered would be useful in helping to establish a strong vassal to guard the south-western flank.

The new Kingdom of Shan under the son (or Grandson) of the last King (Binya-Nwe III) came into being in June of 1516 and after some initial difficulties (In the form of a revolt of Burmese peasants put down with the aid of Chinese troops.) has settled down into it's new role as guard of the Empires south-west flank.

The kingdom has sent troops in support of Ming offensives in south-east Asia, but has become increasingly worried about it's western flank, where the explusion of Muslim rulers has resulted in internal chaos with several Hindu successor states battling for domination, chaos that the current King of Shan, Shengtsaubu I views with concern, especially with the reports of foreigners from the distant West becoming involved in these conflicts.

The attached pictures show the kingdom as it exists on the 14th of January 1560 and the countries rather interesting demographics resulting from the Kingdoms dissolution and reconstitution, with a five way split existing between the original Shan inhabitants, Han Colonists, Burmese, Mon & Bengali (The Han and the Shan tend to stick together...). Basically the administrative caste is dominated by the Sino/Shan members of the Kingdom, the aristocracy is also dominated by this group, though with the absorbsion of the Kingdom of Taungu there are now a few Burmese aristocrats as well (Those smart enough to turn coat at the right moment).

In terms of internal organisation, the country is run as a scaled down version of the Ming Empire (There are three provinces (I have not yet worked out proper names for them). 1: East (The original Kingdom. Name under the Chinese TBD)) 2: West (Added by the Ming Empire when the Kingdom was re-created and originally taken by the Chinese from the Kingdom of Taungu in 1499-1502. Name under the Chinese TBD)) 3: South (The remnants of the Kingdom of Taungu (Conquered with the aid of the Ming in 1548-49), most trade goes either east to China or west to the markets of India.

The kings of Shan are:

Binya-Nwe I 1385 - 1418
Binya Keng 1418-1421
Binya Dhamma 1421-1426
Binya Ran I 1426-1456
Binya-Nwe II 1456 - c.1460

Chinese Interregnum c. 1460 - 1516

Binya-Nwe III 1516 - 1530
Shengtsaubu I 1530 -

Image

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"If you do good, you'll live forever, if you do bad, you'll die hearing a single note for I am the one true sound...", Fragment found in a cult hideout.

Graham
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Re: Something Keepers might be interested in

Post by Graham » Tue Oct 04, 2016 4:13 pm

I have created a map showing the three provinces of the Kingdom of Shan V2.0 (For the V1.0 version ommit province 3.).

I am simply referring to these at the moment as: 1. 'East' (The old Kingdom). 2. 'West' (Chinese conquests of 1499-1502). 3. 'South' (Sino/Shanese conquests of 1548-49).

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Re: Something Keepers might be interested in

Post by Dr. Gerard » Wed Oct 05, 2016 4:44 am

This is totally amazing.

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Re: Something Keepers might be interested in

Post by Graham » Thu Nov 24, 2016 1:01 pm

This is the result of a different game of Europa Universalis which resulted in an interesting situation in China. The basic background is that the Ming Dynasty collapsed into a welter of revolts, the Japanese took advantage of this to overrun much of southern China, but their empire has also fallen prey to internal dissent. At this stage in the game July 1647 the last Japanese controlled province has just passed under the the control of a (quasi) Chinese dynasty.

The Later Qin Dynasty

This is the northern of the two Ming successor states, it is a comparatively recent creation coming into being in 1617 following a successful revolt against the last emperor of the Xia Dynasty following that regimes defeat at the hands of the Wu Dynasty to the south. While the Empire has to date avoided conflict with the southern Dynasty they have fought and defeated the Manchu state when it attempted to advance south. The state is organized and run on classic Chinese Confucian lines, even in the expansive regions taken from the Mongol and Oirat peoples.

The Emperors of Qin China are:

Qin Congwei 1617 - 1636
Qin Yongwang 1636 - 1646
Qin Anwang 1646 -

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Wu Dynasty China

The Southern Ming successor state was born from an unsuccessful revolt that took place in Fujian approximately 18 years after the fall of southern China to the Japanese. Fleeing the vengeful Japanese armies the leaders and their followers fled north escaping into territories still claimed by what remained of the Ming Dynasty and managed to take control of the region around Kaifeng, distracted by other revolts the Japanese left them unharmed. The leader styling himself the Emperor Wangwei proclaimed the new dynasty and began the steady process, continued by his successors of bringing China south of the Huang (Yellow) River under the control of what is, somewhat ironically a Shinto dynasty with a fairly strong admixture of Japanese blood.

Administratively the state is somewhat of a hybrid, in the northern regions the remnants of the Ming dynasty bureaucracy have been revived (Albeit with some changes.) but further south things are still run along the lines imposed by the Japanese following their conquest in the 1560s.

The Wu Dynasty was responsible for the fall of the northern Xia state when they successfully wrested the region around Nanking from it in the 1610s. They were however unable to prevent the Qin state that succeeded the Xia from consolidating their power north of the Huang (Yellow) River. As of 1647 all of China south of the Yellow River is under the control of Wu. It is likely that a period of consolidation will take place before any northern campaign is attempted, but with the Europeans appearing off the Chinese coast in increasing numbers the Empire may find itself with a completely different struggle on it's hands.

The Emperors of Wu China are:

Wu Wangwei 1586 - 1601
Wu Singwong I 1601 - 1607 (*)
Wu Congzhi 1607 - 1616 (*)
Wu Singwong II 1616 - 1641
Wu Kaiwang 1641 -

*. Killed in battle

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Graham
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Re: Something Keepers might be interested in

Post by Graham » Mon Nov 28, 2016 12:37 pm

This is a follow on to the previous two maps updating the situation to 1716. The expected war between the Later Qin and Wu dynasties started in 1670, but it proved to simply be the first in a series of conflicts (Including one attempted intervention by Japan.) that lasted some 30 years before they finally ended and Heavens Mandate resided in the hands of the true Emperor of China.

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The Emperors of Wu Dynasty China to 1716 are:

Wu Wangwei 1586 - 1601
Wu Singwong I 1601 - 1607 (*)
Wu Congzhi 1607 - 1616 (*)
Wu Singwong II 1616 - 1641
Wu Kaiwang 1641 - 1673
Wu Calwang 1673 - 1701
Wu Dakwong 1701 -

*. Killed in battle

The Emperors of the (false) Later Qin Dynasty were:

Qin Congwei 1617 - 1636
Qin Yongwang 1636 - 1646
Qin Anwang 1646 - 1656
Qin Wangwei 1656 - 1662
Qin Dewang 1662 - 1671 (Died of sorrow following the loss of the western provinces following the 1st Wu-Qin War (1670 -1671))
Qin Deyu 1671 - 1690
Qin Yelu 1690 - 1701 (The last Later Qin 'Emperor', died at sea when his ships were intercepted by the Wu Navy during an attempt to flee to the Kingdom of Korea, when news of his death was announced, the last Qin Armies surrendered.)
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Re: Something Keepers might be interested in

Post by Graham » Sun Mar 12, 2017 1:57 pm

I have been experimenting again with an old save from Europa Universalis III and come up with a new version of the Kingdom of Shan, this run has been ended on the 2nd of January, 1592, I will be posting the details of the Kingdom of Deva Bengal which now lies to the west of Shan at a later date.

Kingdom of Shan (V 3.0)

The Kingdom of Shan is located roughly where Burma is in the main timeline.

In 1399 it was a fairly typical quasi-tribal state. In the 1420s, however the Chinese decided to bring what they termed a rebellious vassal (Dai-Viet) to heel and in the resulting war Shan backed the Vietnamese and found itself overrun with Chinese armies and forced to accept the status of vassal to the Chinese.

This did however bring about a much needed improvement in administration as Chinese 'advisers' took over much of the running of the country.

In the 1460s the Kingdom was forced to accept absorption into China as a province and the then king (Binya-Nwe II) was set up as a provincial Grandee while the Chinese launched an intensive program of Sinification, eventually (Though with much internal upset) managing to persuade the populace to accept the teachings of Confucius rather than Buddha.

This status changed when the Emperor Xuande decided that a vassal state in the West would be more cost effective than direct rule over the area and elected to reconstitute an expanded Kingdom of Shan, incorporating not only the original regions ruled by the Kingdom prior to its absorption into the Empire, but imperial regions to the west the Emperor considered would be useful in helping to establish a strong vassal to guard the south-western flank.

The new Kingdom of Shan under the son (or Grandson) of the last King (Binya-Nwe III) came into being in June of 1516 and after some initial difficulties (In the form of a revolt of Burmese peasants put down with the aid of Chinese troops.) has settled down into it's new role as guard of the Empires south-west flank.

The kingdom sent troops in support of Ming offensives in south-east Asia, but became increasingly worried about it's western flank, where the expulsion of Muslim rulers had resulted in internal chaos with several Hindu successor states battling for domination, initially, the Kingdom of Ceylon conquered the region to the west of Shan compressing the Hindu kingdom of Assam northward towards it's capital. However by the 1560's Ceylonese hegemony in the region broke into chaos as their Bengali subjects rose in a massive uprising that resulted in the formation of two Bengali Kingdoms and in Assam attempting to expand into Shan. The resulting war ended with total defeat for Assam and the annexation of the western portions of that kingdom by China. To secure the passes the Ming launched another massive Sinification program and then once the regions were considered secure handed them over to Shan.

In the 1570's the eastern Bengali kingdom (Deva Bengal) launched an attack on Shan following a border dispute, as with the conflict with Assam, the Shan Armies succeeded in holding the invaders back until the Chinese armies in a multi pronged invasion overran Deva Bengal and reduced it to vassalage, bringing peace to the Shan's western frontier.

On the 2nd of January 1592, the current King of Shan, Shengtsaubu II, rules over a multi-ethnic kingdom unified by a common religion and bureaucracy and which has had it's fair share of uprisings over the years since it's reconstitution including, most recently, a revolt by Han peasants angered by tax rises triggered by the war with Assam. To the west Deva Bengal provides insulation from the still turbulent politics of India proper and perhaps at last the Kingdom will have the peace it needs to fully consolidate.

The attached pictures show the kingdom as it exists on the 2nd of January 1592 and the countries rather interesting demographics resulting from the Kingdoms dissolution and reconstitution, with a five way split existing between the original Shan inhabitants, Han Colonists, Burmese, Mon & Bengali (The Han and the Shan tend to stick together...). Basically the administrative caste is dominated by the Sino/Shan members of the Kingdom, the aristocracy is also dominated by this group, though with the absorption of the Kingdom of Taungu there are now a few Burmese aristocrats as well (Those smart enough to turn coat at the right moment).

The kings of Shan are:

Binya-Nwe I 1385 - 1418
Binya Keng 1418-1421
Binya Dhamma 1421-1426
Binya Ran I 1426-1456
Binya-Nwe II 1456 - c.1460

Chinese Interregnum c. 1460 - 1516

Binya-Nwe III 1516 - 1530
Shengtsaubu I 1530 - 1561
Shengtsaubu II 1561 -

Image

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"If you do good, you'll live forever, if you do bad, you'll die hearing a single note for I am the one true sound...", Fragment found in a cult hideout.

Graham
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Re: Something Keepers might be interested in

Post by Graham » Sat Mar 25, 2017 6:44 am

This is the state that lies to the west of the Kingdom of Shan (3.0), like Shan it is a vassal of the Chinese Empire.

Kingdom of Deva Bengal

The present (1592) Kingdom of Deva Bengal is the fourth state of the name to exist in the region. The current king, Kalidas II claims to be descended from the ruler of the first Deva Bengali kingdom (Ballal Sen II (Who himself claimed to be the descendant of the last Hindu King of Bengal.) which arose following an uprising against the Muslim rulers of the Sultanate of Bengal and lasted between 1415 and c.1450 before being suppressed by the Sultanate. The second kingdom arose following the defeat of the Bengali Sultanate by the Orissans in 1479 and but fell to Orissa shortly after in the same year. The third kingdom arose following a revolt against the Orissans in 1507 and fell to the Ceylonese around 1515. The present Kingdom arose as the result of the massive Bengali revolt against the Celeyonese that began in 1564, this resulted in the foundation of two Bengali states, the eastern state took the title of Deva Bengal as the leader of that revolt, styling himself Debdas II, claimed descent from Jaideep II the ruler of the short lived third kingdom.

It was under Debdas II that Deva Bengal, seeking to take advantage of the Han Dao revolt (An uprising by Han Chinese peasants angered by tax rises following a recent war with Assam.) in the neighboring kingdom, invaded Shan. Unfortunately for the invaders. the Shan were able to contain the revolt and hold off the Deva Bengali armies long enough for Chinese armies to intervene. Deva Bengal was crushed in a campaign that saw Chinese armies invade on three fronts, from Shan, from the rump of Assam (at this point a Chinese vassal state) and from the sea. Debdas II was forced to accept vassalage to China in exchange for keeping his throne. The Chinese on their part did not want to be drawn into the morass of Indian politics and contented themselves with an arrangement similar to that imposed on Shan following that kingdoms defeat in the 1420s (An 'ambassador' in the Deva Bengali Court and re-organizing the bureaucracy along Chinese lines.).

Shortly after, the rump Kingdom of Assam rose against the Chinese in a foolhardy revolt, Debdas II sent troops to assist the Chinese (Who still had strong forces in the region following the overrunning of Deva Bengal.) and was rewarded by being given control of Assam by China. Bharot II succeded the throne upon the death of Debdas II, but was killed in battle when a combined Bihari/Bengali army invaded in 1586, the war ended in victory for Deva Bengal thanks to the intervention of China and Shan. As a result Khalidas II rules a kingdom that brings under it's rule the entirety of the Bengali people and one whose eastern and western borders are more or less secure.

The attached pictures show the kingdom as it exists on the 2nd of January 1592 and the countries demographics.

The kings of Deva Bengal are:

First Kingdom

Ballal Sen II 1415 - 1437
Subhas Chandra II 1437 - c. 1450

Second Kingdom

Subhas Chandra III 1479

Third Kingdom

Jaideep II 1507 - c. 1515

Fourth Kingdom

Debdas II 1566 - 1582
Bharot II 1582 - 1586
Khalidas II 1586 -

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"If you do good, you'll live forever, if you do bad, you'll die hearing a single note for I am the one true sound...", Fragment found in a cult hideout.

Graham
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Re: Something Keepers might be interested in

Post by Graham » Tue Jun 13, 2017 1:13 pm

From my most recent game of Europa Universalis, which ended on the 1st of January 1821. This is an NPC nation. The nations (I changed country part way through the run.) I was playing will be covered in a later post.

Sheikdom of Funj

The present (1821) Sheikdom of Funj is the third state of the name to exist in the region (Roughly equivalent to this worlds Sudan). The state comprises a Nubian aristocracy ruling over a largely Arabic pesantry in a more or less feudal structure. The first sheikdom arose in 1441 out of a slave revolt in the region around Suakin against the Mamluks and lasted until 1491, when the Mamluks finally managed to supress it. The Mamluks restored control over the region lasted only three years until a further uprising took place while the Mamluks warred with the Sultan of Oman, this revived Shekdom lasted until around 1514. The present Sheikdom was the product of a further uprising that took place in 1622 while the Mamalukes were distracted by external wars. For various reasons including internal revolt and an invasion by Ottoman Turks expelled from Asia Minor by a resurgent (French backed) Byzantine Empire, the Mamalukes were unable to muster the forces needed to supress the Sheikdom, as their own realm dissolved into a chaotic struggle for power that went on for decades. During this period the boders of Funj remained static until 1763 when the Sheik Agban took advantage of a Byzantine invasion to seize the southern regions of the Mamaluk domain. The surviving Mamaluk leadership was massacred and the Arabic peasantry put to work constructing defences along the new northern borders lest the Byzantines move south. As it turned out the Byzantines, saw the expanded Funj as a useful buffer between their new, restive conquest and the territories conqured by Persia along the southern coast of the Red Sea.

An island of Sunni Islam sandwiched between Eastern Orthodox Byzantium and Shia Islamic Persia, Funj faces an uncertain future as the 19th century moves on. It's economy dependent on the sale of agricultural products and slaves, Funj lacks the resources for wholesale modernization, and it's continued survival will depend on the ability of it's leaders to play the major powers that surround it off against one another.

The Sheiks of Funj are:

First Sheikdom (1411 - 1491)

Tayib 1441 - 1444
Koudlaniel 1444 - 1461
'Amâra 1461 - 1484
Regency 1484 - 1489
Unsa 1489 - 1491

Second Sheikdom (1494 - c.1522)

Nûl 1494 - 1506
Jaqmaq 1506 - 1512
Unsa II 1512 - 1522

Third Sheikdom (1622 - )

Koudlaniel II 1622 - 1626
Regency 1626 - 1632
'Amâra II 1632 - 1664
Bâdî 1664 - 1666
Dankîn al-'Adil 1666 - 1692
Eltecit 1692 - 1723
'Amâra III 1692 - 1738
Unsa III 1738 - 1763
Agban 1763 - 1795
Regency 1795 - 1802
'Amâra IV 1802 -

This numbered map shows the location of the Sheikdom and indicates the countries that surround it.

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1. Sheikdom of Funj
2. Byzantine Empire (Exarchate of Egypt)
3. Persian Empire
4. Jalyarid Sultanate
5. Sultanate of the Hedjaz
6. French Empire (Provence du Syria et Levant) (Note: I am not a French speaker, please feel free to correct me.)

The demographics of the Sheikdom are shown below.

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"If you do good, you'll live forever, if you do bad, you'll die hearing a single note for I am the one true sound...", Fragment found in a cult hideout.

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