Alexandria Bhārat or The Final Chakravartin ( Interest )

[Tedpilled Montana]

" No society can prosper if it aims at making things easier- instead it should aim at making people stronger. "
- Ashoka the Great

" I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion. "
- Alexander the Great

" Give me blood, and I will give you freedom. "
- Chandra Bose

The last free kingdom of Greeks fell ten years after the birth of Christ; not the boot of Roman martial supremacy, or the machination of fellow Hellenistic rivals, rather, it died a quiet death in the heart of India - a thousand miles away from the fatherland. The last bastion of Alexander's Empire, the Indo-Greek kingdom of Yavanarajya, fell into obscurity and eventual domination by it's neighbors, in the year 10 Anno Domini - the final chapter on a history that stretched back over three centuries. The effect the Hellenistic world had on the Indian sub-continent is often understated and over looked historical event. It was the Greco-Bactrian aristocracy which first began spreading Buddhism into central Asia, it was the Greek language which would be spoken by kings and emperors for centuries to come, some of the most inspiring pieces of art and architecture to come India were inspired by Greek influences or even made by Greeks themselves. Even the name, India, came to us from the Greek Indica. People don't often associate Ancient India and Greece together, but they had a stunning historical interaction with one another.

This is my way of leading up to the point. What if that fusion of culture had been allowed to go on longer? What if this synthesis of east and west had gone on for only a few centuries more? That's the idea I have - a history where Indian culture diverged in some radical ways from what it did historically. Instead of the world coming to India, India came to the world - instead of the west shining the light of civilization, it was Bhārat? An RP that places you as a citizen in an Indian Empire which has lead the world for centuries in innovation and development, but is now struck by a time of crisis and desperation.

I have a vivid idea in mind, but I am for grasping concepts on execution. Please, if you have any thoughts on this, I would love to hear what you have to say.

[Tedpilled Montana]

For context, I intend for this to be a character RP - with a minor optional focus on faction play. The Empire ( name pending ) is in state of decline reminiscent of the Roman, Crisis of the third century. Coming down from a century long golden age, the nation is now racked by plagues, corruption, and war fatigue. The setting is grim and dirty - think how Charles Dickens portrayed European cities during the Industrial revolution. A kind of dread hanging over the subcontinent and the hundreds of millions of people who populate it. The people know that they are living in an era of decline, and that only extenuates the misery of it all.

The year would be around 1800 A.D, though I see the technology being more akin to that of 1900.

And of course, cultures would have changed dramatically as well. The point of divergence being that Herodetus's coup against the Bactrians never occurred - pushing back the Grecco-Bactrian decline by centuries. From there, it's all pretty open for interpretation.