Changes in this mod include (but are not limited to):
3 brand new factions
- the Abbasid Caliphate (moslem)
- the Kingdom of Georgia (orthodox)
- the Bulgarian Empire (orthodox)
8 brand new regions (city)
- Karelia (Ladoga)
- Desna Basin (Chernigov)
- Dykra (Ochakiv)
- Dobruja (Constanta)
- Lesser Bulgaria (Tarnovo)
- North Caucasus (Derbent)
- East Azerbaijan (Ardebil)
- Lesser Kurdistan (Kirkuk)
Several "shifted" regions to better represent their area at the time
- Wallachia (Targoviste instead of Bucharest)
- Khazaria (Atil instead of Astrakhan)
- Ukraine (Poltava instead of Pereyaslav)
- Armenia (Dvin instead of Yerevan)
- Oman (Muscat instead of Shiraz)
- others
New desert system that:
- separates regions
- slows movement (no roads)
- can often be traveled
- can never be conquered
Factions considerably altered:
- Knights Templar and Kingdom of Jerusalem have been merged into one faction: the Crusader States
- Ireland has been removed, its 3 regions consolidated into one: Ireland (Dublin)
- Genoa has been removed, but its two regions remain intact
- Scotland loses Aberdeen
- England loses Winchester
- Cumans renamed to Kipchak Khanate
- Kipchaks gain huge territory, spanning southern Kiev lands to the Ural mountains
- Kipchak capital moved to Atil, the capital of the steppe peoples who ruled before them, the Khazars
- Seljuk Sultanate renamed to Seljuk Sultanate of Rūm
- Seljuks no longer control Tbilisi, Dvin(was Yerevan), or Tabriz
- Kievan Rus no longer control Poltava(was Pereyaslav)
- Kievan Rus now control Zhytomyr and Chernigov
- Novgorod now controls Ladoga
- HRE no longer controls Bologna
- HRE now controls Bern
- HRE capital moved to Nuremburg
- Byzantine Empire now controls Trebizond, Arta, Durazzo, Scopia, Sofia, Tarnovo, Canakkale, and Constanta
- The Crusader States now control Adana as a launching point for the First Crusade.
- The Crusader states receive huge armies(a fake crusade) near the beginning of the Early Era to establish their kingdom.
Some quick looks at the new factions and map changes:
The Abbasid Caliphate
Centered around the Caliph of Baghdad, the Abbasids once ruled a large, propserous territory across Mesopotamia and parts of Syria, Persia, Arabia, and the Levant. That was long ago. After years of Seljuk domination, the lands are weak and the armies small, but with the Seljuks busy getting devoured by the Kwarezm, the yolk has finally been lifted, and a new Caliphate shall rise.
How long can they last? Catholics to the West, Orthodox to the North, and unfriendly Kwarezm coming from the East. Don't forget the Mongols, who brought forth their largest army ever(over 120,000 souls) to siege Baghdad before burning and pillaging the once proud city.
The Kingdom of Georgia
The Caucasus have been inhabited, conquered, gained new inhabitants, burned to the ground, devastated by huge earthquakes, and eventually the Mongols. To say this region has deep history is a serious understatement.
In medieval times, Georgia experienced its golden age under queen Tamar, taking all of the Caucasus and some of Anatolia under its protection. Always bearing the flag of St. George(red cross on white), their successful defense against repeated attacks from Mongols showed how blessed they truly were, and soon thereafter they adapted 4 more crosses to the corners of their flag, inspired by their Catholic brothers from the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
The Bulgarian Empire (second)
The First Bulgarian Empire may be over, driven from their lands by the much more powerful Byzantines, but turmoil in Constantinople and the Byzantines' Eastward push to regain territories lost to the Turks gives these hiding nationalists an opportunity to push back. Will the second empire ever come to fruition?
Note this is the Early Era version of the Bulgarian Empire -- in Late Era, starting 1220, the faction will begin with Sofia, Tarnovo, Targoviste, Constanta, and Iasi. The Byzantines will be significantly weaker then, certainly a much better time to rule Bulgaria, unless you fancy a challenge!
Major map changes
Briefly, reasons for each change:
- Ladoga was extremely important in the medieval age. It's schools were so famous that kings from all over Europe sent their sons to learn there. The waterway at Ladoga led through its lake to the port at the Baltic Sea, making it the gateway for all of Novgorod, and in turn the Rus people.
- Chernigov was the 2nd largest and wealthiest city in all of Kiev, and often rivaled Kiev for control as the Principality of Chernigov.
- Ochakiv never was very important. The Crimean Khan /gave/ his western regions to Lithuania because they were so useless. In fact, Lithuania called their new territory Dykra, which means Wasteland. But there really is nothing in the map between the city of Kiev and the Black Sea, so this was purely a judgement call on my part, a 'there needs to be something here' moment. Odessa would have been perfect, but it did not populate for another several hundred years, so I went with a small fortress which protected the mouth of a little river.
- Constanta was a tiny fishing village in early medieval times, but it grew to become one of the largest ports in the world, so it became the choice over an easier option of Varna.
- Targoviste is a no-brainer. Bucharest did not exist in 1080, so I went with an established settlement in Wallachia, famous to boot.
- Tarnovo is another no-brainer. It was the capital of both Bulgarian empires.
- Derbent was a hugely important settlement, situated on the thin strip of land between huge Caucasus mountains and the Caspian Sea. If you wanted to travel, trade, or go to war, you had to go through Derbent.
- Ardebil was the largest city in the entire area, much bigger than Tabriz.
- Kirkuk was a stronghold not used very often in medieval times, but it was there, and I felt the map needed something to break up Baghdad's huge region and serve as a buffer between the Abbasids and Kermanshah.
- Oman was known and involved during the game's timeframe, but usualy as subjects of other powers, like the Seljuks.
Deserts
These are part of a permanent rebel region, parts of which you can walk through, parts you cannot. But walking will be slow without any roads, and trade across deserts isn't possible. Don't expect to find much food out there either!
In conclusion,
Work is nowhere near done, I'm somewhat satisfied with icons and colors, but the to-do list is large. For the 3 new factions and also the Crusader States:
- campaign map units (princesses/generals/captains/merchants/diplomats, etc) need reskinning
- proper units need to be determined
- battle map units will need (re)skinning
- unit icons and info cards
- faction chooser map graphics
- faction descriptions
- faction 'unique unit' pictures
- faction weaknesses and strengths
If anyone could help with these I would greatly appreciate it!
The Eastern Revival - new factions & map - updated July 1st
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Originally Posted by DenniZ
