1350, Need your help!

[Vernah]

Hi all,

So basically we're in need of some help in finding reliable data of the world in 1350. We require maps, history of the different kingdoms and factions of this era, military info on the weaponry used in this period, architecture, list of characters (lords, dukes, sultans, important peoples) and well ya. Below is my awesome map of the area we will be doing for a mod for the game: Mount and Blade: Warbands. I'm a total war player at heart, and we just discovered this game last week and are completely addicted. When we discovered the modding capabilities of the engine (unlimited faction count, 2040 items, unlimited units, characters, etc), we decided to create a mod for the first time that will actually be pretty global (well in our minds anyways, its a start.) [NOTE THE MAP IS HUGE, I LIKE BIG]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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Since this will be a pretty big project, and we're Canadian, we are neutral to pretty much every aspect to History, since all we care about are moose and curling. Thus, we will probably only like neutral aspects of history, if there's a conflict on sources, we will use our duct tape neutrality skills to find a middle ground.

Also because this is indeed a historical mod for this game, and I'm a history lover, we will have realistic combat as well (well as much as the engine allows anyways). I'm pretty much good with European history, I'm more of a n00b at the Asian histories and dynasties in China, India and the middle east. So that really doesn't say much LOL.

Maps are very important at this moment because well we need to design our friggin map on realistic boundaries. If maps of the 1350 era or anywhere close to it can be provided, I will be greatly appreciated.

Anyways I cannot think of anything else right now, I will have e-mails later in which people can just send sources to an e-mail in which we can read, so please do not try and turn this into a longbow thread or a samurai vs viking thread, we just want some help on the historical facts part.

Thank you for your time and such, greatly appreciate it.

[Ishoss]

Norway and Sweden was in a union in 1350. Norway had Orkney, Shetland, the Hebrides, Isle of Man, Jemtland, Herjedalen and Båhuslen (those three are Swedish today, their transfer is unrelated to the union), Iceland, Faroes... I guess the islands won't be of interests since they're all kind of small. Anyways, in 1355 the union ended. It's also just a union, so maybe just let the nations have an alliance from the start?

Norway should also be very poor and illiterate. The plague killed almost everyone who could write (the priests) and read and it also killed a lot of skilled people. A common Norwegian surname is Ødegård, which means a farm which has been left behind or where the people died. The guys who occupied it afterwards sometimes called themselves Ødegård. I don't think a noble would be called Ødegård, though.

http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/...historyid=ac73
(It's not really a super-site, but it's ok-ish)

Håkon VI Magnusson, house Bjelbo was king of Norway.

[Tiberios]

In 1350 Denmark was a moderately powerfull nation although it was very poor as King Valdemar IV. Atterdag has used the last 20 or so years slowly retaking the country. The plawue has just hit denmark in 1349.


This gives a decent description of the reign of Valdemar Atterdag and denmark during his rule.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valdema...e_final_pieces

I found this map. I think is okay.

http://sitemaker.umich.edu/mladjov/f...ope1350ref.jpg

Just make Scania part of Sweden, as it was briefly at the time, then I think it's correct

[Maximinus Thrax]

Europe in 1346 , Europe in 1360. Plenty more maps here.
14th century European maps

For factions and units check the Osprey books (Google books).

[Herakleios]

In Asia, the Mongol Empire ended up divided into four parts after the civil war of 1260: Chagatai Khanate (Central Asia), Golden Horde (Russia), Ilkhanate (Iran), and Yuan Dynasty (China).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilkhanate
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chagatai_Khanate
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Horde
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuan_dynasty

During the course of the 14th century, the Yuan Dynasty was overthrown by the powerful native Ming Dynasty of China, and the others were defeated by the warlord Tamerlane whose own empire would crumble pretty much after his death.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ming_Dynasty
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timur
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timurid_empire

In India, in 1336, the Vijayanagar Empire would establish itself in the south, while the Delhi Sultanate would become the dominant power in the north.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delhi_sultanate
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vijayanagar

The Mamluk Sultanate was the dominant state in Egypt and the Levant at this time, as well.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamluk_Sultanate_(Cairo)

Ashikaga Shogunate in Japan:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashikaga_shogunate

The Kingdom of Goryeo recovered its independence from the Mongols during the reign and through the effort of King Gongmin:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goryeo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Gongmin

The Ayutthaya kingdom was formed around this time in Siam:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayutthaya_kingdom

I hope this helps you get an overview of the political situation in Asia around this time.

Also, this is a useful site for huge world maps, though there are no specific 1350 map, but there are for 1300 and 1400:

http://www.worldhistorymaps.info/maps.html
http://www.worldhistorymaps.info/ima...Hem_1300ad.jpg
http://www.worldhistorymaps.info/ima...Hem_1400ad.jpg

[Babur]

In India, in 1336, the Vijayanagar Empire would establish itself in the south, while the Delhi Sultanate would become the dominant power in the north.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delhi_sultanate
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vijayanagar

The Delhi Sultanate was beginning to weaken and fracture at this point due to the overstretch which had occured under Muhammed Bin Tughluq (it isn't a surprise that today in India his name is still synonymous with someone who is crazy)

[Lysimachus]

The Delhi Sultanate was beginning to weaken and fracture at this point due to the overstretch which had occured under Muhammed Bin Tughluq (it isn't a surprise that today in India his name is still synonymous with someone who is crazy)

But in comparison to the status of the other powers in the region, one could say it was the most powerful of them all.

[Babur]

But in comparison to the status of the other powers in the region, one could say it was the most powerful of them all.

Not really, the Delhi Sultanate had numerous revolts by 1350 and had lost lands in Bengal and the Deccan for example which both had independent sultanates that lasted into the Mughal period.

[Junius]

There is a lot of information on the architecture of this time. In France and England this is the height of the Gothic, and after the boom of the early 14th Century there are lots of grand cathedrals around the place. We have information about how towns and cities looked like too, thanks to the early Renaissance artists. The Lorenzetti brothers should be your first port of call into looking for inspiration for Italian town models. Their Allegories, which were painted for the town hall of Siena.

There is not much northern art of contemporary scenes from this time, I'm struggling to think of one, as the International Gothic was in full swing, and it was primarily concerned with religious scenes. The Tres Riches Heurus comes from the early 15th Century, and has several scenes of city and town life, but this is the closest I can get.

If you want more information on the architecture of Western Europe at the time, dealing with castles and cathedrals mainly, since that is mostly what survives and what we can study, please ask.

[Ishoss]

By the way, it's a very interesting concept you have there. The entire Eurasian continent. If you and your team can pull it off, then it will be grand.

[Vernah]

God damn that's excellent work guys. Sorry for the belated reply had to go to Toronto for my GF's brother.

Anyways ya, for a very long time on the TW series I've wanted something truly global, and after playing the game Mount & blade warbands, I think its possible on that game engine, you may want to give it a try its VERY cool. It's not so much as a strategic game as like the Total war series but it makes you feel like a real lord.

We've thought Euroasian because this was pretty much the world at this time where nations can rise and fall and well pretty much our goal will be "This is 1350, go play." We'll try and having historical locations and settlements but as we do not live in Europe or Asia, we wont know the exact locations of anything, so the beginning versions will be quite humorous I think (especially the geography when you do a battle, LOL).

I'm really hoping that moderate computers will be able to handle such a large map on the engine, we have really high end laptops that will be programming and making the map, however we realize others wont have the luxury, so we have a PC that is suped up from 3 years ago that is kinda average in PC terms and we'll be using that for play testing hopefully.

Once we figure out a mod name and a finalization or direction of the mod we'll be posting it on the M&B Warbands forum and you guys can follow if you'd like. I'll get reading those sources straight away tomorrow and try and find further sources on those topics as well. I love wikipedia since it gives you a general summary of events and then you can dive into those sources further for yourself, so I actually welcome wikipedia articles as general information on things.

I'm unsure if you can have emergent factions in the game set at a certain timer, would certainly be cool if I could create the emerging of the Timurids at some point and well other factions, but the game runs by a day by day basis so that'll be interesting if someone manages to play for 20 years LOL.

Anyways I'm making this to long, keep it coming and thank you for your help, we really appreciate it.

[Vernah]

I have a question on the Ilkhanate, it says it pretty much disintegrated into 4 different rival khanates that were rather small, but the borders they had didn't even extend through all of the Ilkhanate, who took the lands around them or are those just Turkik nomads that just went "Lol n00bs, go and have ur plais and we'll go raid."

I know that after them, Timur comes along and subjects those regions into the Timur empire, so should I just assume at 1350, that the 4 khanates are just rivaling away and the regions outside that are just Turkic nomad regions or should I just divide the original borders of the ilkhanate and split it into 4 pieces between the 4 rivals to save a head ache?

EDIT: Also, is there nothing in Central or Eastern of modern day russia? To the east and north of the Chagatai and north of the Yuan is there no political groups there at all or just full of nomadic peoples like the tatars and the such?

DOUBLE EDIT: I'll have a faction list for tomorrow or the day after, so you guys can see if anything should be altered, changed or added, and then I can start a general idea of the map

[0N3]

Can you explain the map further so dumb people like me can understand fully?
Why haveyou crossed out North-America with England and Greenland with Denmark?
The stuff in the red circle is the nations at the start of the map? Why not have native Americans? There is no reason not to have all of Asia, i'm sure there are many who can help you with units etc.

Only complaint is that i wish you wouldn't add Atlantis, though. Unless i misdunderstood this is supposed to be historical?

[Ace_General]

Well, maybe you should have big unifed cultural groups like Catholic Latins with regional differences and states, then have the othrodox, muslems, Steppe peoples, Indian, then Chinese

[Vernah]

LOL the stuff crossed out like Greenland and canada, USA are just for lolz. Why haven't I chosen north america? Because they didn't really have an impact on Asia, Africa or Europe. As much as I'd love to, well there just isn't enough time, and that could be a mod seperate on it's own. I would rather make a 1515 mod or something like that if we're going to bring NA in.

Don't worry there's no atlantis or Kurdistan in remote parts of the ocean haha. I've decided to include all of India as well, since there's adequate information on the topic

[Ishoss]

I think you can have emergent factions in M&B. Native Expanded (I think it's Native Expanded) has Dark Knights who invade after 100 game-days (the player can set the time himself, but its 100 days bi default). I do not know if you can choose where they'll emerge though.

You should ask someone who knows this, Taleworlds got the answer I guess.