A World on Fire (OOC, 1700s AH, Accepting Apps)

by **The Grand Duchy Of Nova Capile** » Sat May 09, 2020 12:45 pm

When you realize the OP's own 48-hour reservation has expired and thus his land is claimable.

by **HypErcApitAl** » Sat May 09, 2020 12:46 pm

Dentali wrote:
Hypercapital wrote:I don't know if the Dutch player claims Friesland, I guess not.

Land-wise, I was homaging Prussia (and their weird borders)

Why would i not claim it? Its clearly on the map

Alright.

by **Ontorisa** » Sat May 09, 2020 12:46 pm

The Grand Duchy Of Nova Capile wrote:When you realize the OP's own 48-hour reservation has expired and thus his land is claimable.

brb new app for poland-lithuania incoming

by **HypErcApitAl** » Sat May 09, 2020 12:48 pm

Hypercapital wrote:
Dentali wrote:

Why would i not claim it? Its clearly on the map

Alright.

It's on the map, but Friesland wasn't claimed explicitly. If it's not explicitly claimed, there could be claim disputes. (just saying)

by **The Grand Duchy Of Nova Capile** » Sat May 09, 2020 12:52 pm

Ontorisa wrote:
The Grand Duchy Of Nova Capile wrote:When you realize the OP's own 48-hour reservation has expired and thus his land is claimable.

brb new app for poland-lithuania incoming

by **Dentali** » Sat May 09, 2020 12:54 pm

Hypercapital wrote:
Hypercapital wrote:
Alright.

It's on the map, but Friesland wasn't claimed explicitly. If it's not explicitly claimed, there could be claim disputes. (just saying)

Its clearly claimed on the map, its colored in. Additionally its part of the Netherlands which i do claim

by **HypErcApitAl** » Sat May 09, 2020 12:56 pm

Dentali wrote:
Hypercapital wrote:
It's on the map, but Friesland wasn't claimed explicitly. If it's not explicitly claimed, there could be claim disputes. (just saying)

Its clearly claimed on the map, its colored in. Additionally its part of the Netherlands which i do claim

Okay.

by **Nuraca** » Sat May 09, 2020 1:05 pm

WIP so the reservation's extended

by **Danceria** » Sat May 09, 2020 1:15 pm

Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States wrote:
Sarderia wrote:I could see tensions brewing between the Crusaders and the not-Spanish Caliphate in their south. Though actually it's most of a secular state than outright Caliphate, as we have so many Christians it's almost half of the population.

Oh, that's interesting! I was actually planning a similar route with the Latines. Formerly a Crusader state, but now actually quite respecting of other faiths. It's Catholics, Orthodox, Muslims and Jews living together in relative harmony, loosely based on a post-medieval understanding of the Roman empire.

Armenia-Anatolia is basically a hodgepodge of Jews who were kicked out of Europe and floated down towards Israel, Zoroastrians kicked out by the Muslim Caliphates, and Middle-Eastern Christians. It's...not as friendly towards Muslims but it's dislike of the "Norman/False Byzantium" has cooled over the centuries through realpolitik and the dank overland silk road trade.

The other flavor is a sufficiently syncretic but largely Sanskritized/Hindu Indonesia, Majapahit 2: Spice Trade Shuffle Boogaloo (now with more nations/let's try to be Japan OTL and study European shit!)

by **Nuraca** » Sat May 09, 2020 1:16 pm

Sao Nova Europa wrote:
Application
General
--Nation Name: Great Shun
--Map:
([url=https://i.postimg.cc/4dghrGpD/Shun-Dynasty.png]Image)[/url]

--Flag:
([url=https://i.postimg.cc/wBshCFZm/1200px-Plain-Yellow-Banner-svg.png]Image)[/url]

--Capital: Beijing
Government
--Government Type: Absolute Monarchy
--Government Overview:

The Emperor (Huáng Dì) is the Son of Heaven and the autocrat of All Under Heaven. He is the supreme ruler of the entire civilized world. The Shun Dynasty does not recognize any other governments as legitimate entities, viewing them instead as tributary states or unruly barbarians. All must submit before the heavenly-ordained ruler of the world. Tributary states are expected to annually submit tribute to the Emperor. The unruly barbarians are excused for their lack of decorum before the Emperor as they know no better. Tributary states are allowed to trade with the Empire but barbarians are kept out.

The Emperor rules with the aid of the Chancellor. The Chancellor is always an eunuch, a precautionary measure to prevent the domination of the office by powerful political dynasties. The Chancellor heads the Six Departments and Six Ministries. The Six Departments are:

The Secretariat, responsible for drafting policies.
The Chancellery, responsible for reviewing policies.
The Department of State Affairs, responsible for implementing policies.
The Department of Palace, responsible for the upkeep of the imperial household.
The Department of Books, responsible for maintaining the Imperial Library.
The Department of Service, responsible for staffing the palace with eunuchs.

The Six Ministries are:

Ministry of Personnel, in charge of appointments, promotions & demotions of officials and the granting of honorific titles.
Ministry of Rites, in charge of state ceremonies & rituals and the maintenance of palace protocol.
Ministry of Revenue, in charge of collecting taxes, handling state revenues and gathering census data.
Ministry of War, in charge of appointments, promotion & demotion of military officers, maintenance of military installations and equipment, supply of the military and leadership in times of war.
Ministry of Justice, in charge of the judicial and penal process.
Ministry of Works, in charge of government construction programs and maintenance of infrastructure.

The Office of Barbarian Affairs is an independent agency responsible for diplomacy. It is mostly concerned with nations that are not tributary states of the Shun Dynasty. Relations with the tributary states are handled by the Ministry of Rites.

The Imperial Household is staffed entirely by eunuchs and servant ladies. The number of concubines is in the hundreds while the number of eunuchs and servant ladies in the thousands. The Imperial Household is a large, complex bureaucracy of its own, a miniature government of sorts handling the women and offspring of the Emperor. Concubines are chosen both in merits of political expediency and of beauty. They are trained by eunuchs to adhere to a strict protocol.

Below the Ministries are the Bureaus, government departments staffed by bureaucrats chosen in accordance to their rank in the Imperial Examinations. The scholar-officials dominate thus the bureaucracy. The maximum tenure in office is twelve years but every three years officials are evaluated and can be promoted or demoted.

The administrative division of the country is:

Viceroyalty, comprising of several provinces.
Province
Prefecture
County
--Head of Government: Chancellor Yang Guo
--Head of State (if different): Jiajing Emperor
Demographics
--Population: 271,300,000
----Colonial Population (if applicable): -
--Demonym: Chinese
--Primary Culture: Han Chinese
--Other Cultures: Vietnamese, Mongol, Manchu, Uighur, Tibetan
--Religion Overview: A syncretism of Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism and Ancestor Worship. Other religions are tolerated, as long as religious beliefs do not undermine imperial rule.
Development Points (Total = 15, 11 for nations with no navy)
--Infrastructure/Economy (out of 10): 6
--Army (out of 10): 7
--Navy (out of 10): 2
--Military Overview:

The military is divided into two main groups: the Standard Army and the Guard Battalions. The 300,000 men strong Standard Army is the professional force of the Shun Dynasty. It is equipped with the best weaponry available and has the most training and discipline. It is meant to undertake offensive operations and conquer land for the Emperor. The Guard Battalions, numbering 600,000 men, are hereditary soldiers stationed in the provinces. They are granted military farms (tun tian) and are supposed to be self-sufficient. Their main objective is to defend provinces and act as a policing force too, undertaking operations against bandits and rebels. They are less well equipped and disciplined than the Standard Army soldiers and cannot be counted on in a serious military engagement. The Heavenly Fleet is the naval arm of the Shun military but despite its impressive name, it is small in size and mainly acts as a policing force to keep coasts clear from pirates. The Shun Empire focuses on land warfare and thus the navy is underfunded. The military is under the strict supervision of the civilian Ministry of War to avoid the danger of ambitious generals turning against the central government. The Ministry is responsible for the maintenance of military installations and the supply of the troops. It maintains bureaus in the various provinces in order to undertake this task. A large network of roads, bridges and canals enables a steady and relatively fast (for the standards of the time and the size of the empire) supplying of the military. The number of bureaucrats employed to undertake this logistical support is almost half the size of the military.

RP Elements
--National Objectives: Maintenance of the status quo as the dominant power in East Asia. The Shun Empire has already fulfilled its territorial ambitions and seeks no further territorial expansion.
--History:

By the late 1600s, the once mighty and rich Ming Dynasty was in terminal decline. Widespread natural disasters and famines, banditry and military defeats at the hands of the Manchus in the north meant that the prestige of the dynasty had plummeted. Everyone was certain that the dynasty had lost the Mandate of Heaven and that the Ming Emperor was no longer fit to rule. In the 1630s a number of peasant revolts broke out. Among those rebelling was Li Zicheng, a man of obscure origins who joined one of the peasant revolts in 1633. Thanks to his cunning and martial prowess, by 1637 he was leader of the revolt. His armies marched forward, crushing Ming resistance and in 8 February 1644 he proclaimed in Xi'an, the old Han Dynasty capital, the establishment of the Shun Dynasty.

In April 1644, Beijing was captured and the last Ming Emperor hanged himself in shame. Li Zicheng managed to impose discipline on his troops, preventing a plunder of the city. Instead, he recruited many of the former Ming officials and sought to come to an accommodation with the Ming political establishment. In early June, Li proclaimed himself Yongchang Emperor. Realizing that the Manchus in the north could take advantage of the situation to launch an invasion of the Middle Kingdom, Yongchang came into a secret agreement with Wu Sangui, the Ming military officer in command of the vital Sanhai Pass, the eastern terminus of the Great Wall. Yongchang arrested his family and publicly declared Wu Sangui a traitor. Wu contacted the Manchu regent Dorgon, offering him his submission and a clear path to China. Dorgon accepted and a sizeable Manchu force arrived to the Sanhai Pass. Instead of aiding them, though, Wu and his men ambushed the Manchus and eliminated them almost to the last man. This clever scheme is now remembered in China as one of the most brilliant stratagems in Chinese history.

Wu Sangui became Marshall of the North, essentially supreme commander of the Shun military forces. His first task was to launch an invasion of the Manchu heartland, taking advantage of the crushing defeat the Manchus had suffered. By 1647 much of Western Manchuria was under Shun rule. This region had a sizeable Chinese population and was more urbanized, and thus easier to control. On the other hand, the eastern part of Manchuria was left outside Shun control and remained under nomadic Manchu rule. While Wu was busy subduing the Manchus, in the south things for Shun did not look good. A Southern Ming regime had been established by a fleeing Ming prince, who rallied Ming loyalists to his cause against the 'bandit pretender'. The regime was based on Nanjing and ruled much of the Chinese South. The Shun suffered a series of defeats but managed to maintain Northern China under their rule.

In 1648, Wu Sangui led an invasion of the South. A force of over 350,000 men invaded and fought a series of pitched battles and drawn-out sieges against the ramp Ming regime. By 1652, the South had been pacified but at the cost of over 120,000 soldiers dead on both sides and 400,000 civilian casualties. Wu, responsible for the pacification of the South, chose to show clemency towards the defeated and recruited South Ming officials into the new Shun administration. He reestablished the old Ming system of Guard Battalion, giving hereditary land to men in exchange for military service. Those new troops would ensure the establishment of long-lasting peace in the South.

In 1660, a Shun army of 150,000 men invaded Yunnan and pacified the region, establishing Shun control. In 1662, the Shun army managed to take over Taiwan, the last remaining Ming loyalist stronghold. The Ming loyalist Koxinga was executed publicly. With the reunification of the whole of the Middle Kingdom under Shun rule, the dynasty was able to stabilize its hold over China as it was now evident to all that the Yongchang Emperor enjoyed the Mandate of Heaven. Wanting to showcase the prestige of the dynasty and expunge China from devious foreign influence, the Yongchang Emperor proclaimed a policy of 'closed doors'. Only tributary states would be allowed to trade with China while trade with the barbarian tribes was forbidden. With the exception of a trade settlement in Macau by the Kingdom of Brittany, no other European power has been allowed to trade with the Shun Empire.

Yongchang died in 1663 and was succeeded by his eldest son, who took the title of Taizong Emperor. Primogeniture had been established by Yongchang as the succession principle of the dynasty. Taizong, sharing the same name as the great Tang Emperor Li Shimin, wanted to compete with his namesake in terms of military conquest and sagacity. In contrast to his father, Taizong was dreaming of expanding the borders of Chinese civilization, a Chinese version of the European 'civilizing mission'. Taizong was only twenty-three years old when he came to the throne and, unlike his peasant father, had been educated by the best scholars of the Empire. He was a poet, calligrapher and painter. Energetic, he showed an unwillingness to let the court control him. In 1664, he managed to assassinate Wu Sangui, getting himself rid of a possible opponent. He appointed fellow-minded young officials in high positions of governance. His Chancellor, Zhang Yudi, was only thirty-four years old while his Marshall Guo Jing was forty-four years old. A new era had dawned.

Just like the Taizong Emperor of the Tang Dynasty had imposed his will on the nomadic tribes of the north, the Shun Taizong Emperor wanted to impose his own will on the Mongol tribes. Taizong found his chance when in 1668 the Khorching Mongols requested his assistance against the advances of the Khalkha and Chahar Mongols. A Shun army was dispatched and managed to inflict a series of defeats on the hostile Mongols. This was in large part thanks to the Mongol cavalry provided by the Khorching Mongols. Guo Jing made clever use of that cavalry to compensate for the weakness of the largely infantry-based Shun military. By 1672, Mongolia had been pacified, as had the part of southern Xinjiang controlled by the Khalkha Mongols.

Taizong headed in person to the north and in a public ceremony in 11 March 1672, he was proclaimed Khagan of the Mongols. Guo Jing was left responsible for the continued pacification of the region. With cunning diplomacy, he managed to gain the friendship of many in the Mongol nobility. Instead of ruling the vast plains of Mongolia in a Chinese manner, Guo Jing chose instead to retain the traditional Mongol administration. He merged disloyal defeated tribes with the tribes of his Mongol allies and left the actual administration in the hands of the Mongol tribal leaders. Aside from paying a yearly tribute, providing a levy of cavalry and not engaging in tribal warfare, the Mongols were left to their devises.

At the same time, Chancellor Zhang Yudi implemented an ambitious reformist agenda. He enacted a broad land redistributing program to give farm to tenants and landless peasants, much to the dismay of many large landowners. Regional revolts in the 1660s were crushed by the Shun military, allowing the reform to go ahead. Zhang undertook the first population census since the collapse of the Ming. The 1671 census gave an accurate picture of the population of the Empire and allowed a revision of the tax assessment to make taxation fairer. Monopoly on salt was established, roads, canals and bridges were either updated or constructed and series of granaries were built in the provinces to allow steady supply in times of natural disasters.

The conquest of Mongolia brought the Shun Dynasty in conflict with the Dzungar Khanate. An Inner Asian Khanate of Mongol origins, it controlled parts of Outer Mongolia and much of northern Xinjiang. In 1683, a Shun invasion was launched, led by the brilliant Guo Jing. A mixed army of Chinese infantry and Mongol cavalry pushed deep into Dzungar territory. The Chinese infantry was garrisoning conquered land while the Mongol cavalry was undertaking the offensive. In a decisive battle in 12 August 1685, the Dzungar army was crushed and the Khan himself was killed. A civil war broke out between his two sons, allowing the Shun to overwhelm the remaining Dzungars. Although the Dzungar Khanate was fully conquered by 1686, it was not fully pacified. Two widespread revolts broke out in 1688 and 1691, which led to widespread massacres of Dzungar civilians. In order to completely pacify the region, the Taizong Emperor ordered the mass emigration of landless Chinese to the region. By 1700, the region had a Chinese ethnic majority.

In 1695, the Shun Dynasty intervened in Tibet on behalf of the Dalai Lama, after a riot in Lhasa had driven out the Tibetan religious leader. A 50,000 men strong Shun army conquered Tibet by 1698 and established Dalai Lama as its ruler. Shun garrisons were established in vital strongholds of the country and the Dalai Lama was nothing more than a figurehead meant to keep the Tibetans in line. While the Empire was expanding, Taizong had constructed the Grand Library in Beijing, a gargantuan pagoda that housed thousands of books, almost the entirety of Chinese literature. Taizong was a patron of arts and he financed many artistic projects.

In 1699, the Taizong Emperor died and was succeeded by his second son, as his eldest son had died from disease two years earlier (although there is speculation that he had been poisoned by the second son). The Kangxi Emperor, in his thirties when coming to the throne, was far less austere than his father and more willing to indulge in carnal pleasures. He was a competent ruler however, entrusting key offices of the state in the hands of capable officials. He established in 1701 the Secret Memorandums, allowing direct communication between him and local officials without the court or ministries getting in the way. This allowed far greater imperial oversight of the public administration.

In 1711, the Kangxi Emperor launched an invasion of the Lê Dynasty of Vietnam. An ambitious Vietnamese general, Nguyen Xi, had launched a coup in 1710 that overthrew the rightful Dụ Tông Emperor. Dụ Tông managed to escape to China and asked the Kangxi Emperor to intervene. An army under the Mongol general Tögs-Ochiryn invaded Vietnam and by 1712 it had managed to conquer much of the north of the country. The tropical conditions though and the irregular attacks by Vietnamese peasants forced the Shun army to retreat. Almost 20,000 men had perished. A second invasion was launched in 1714 that also ended in disaster.

Finally, in 1717, a third invasion was launched under general Huang Dao. This time, it was a combined land and naval invasion. The number of land troops mobilized reached 160,000, the largest Shun invasion force since the war against the Dzungar Khanate. By 1720, Vietnam had been pacified. Instead of restoring Dụ Tông, Kangxi chose to annex Vietnam into the Shun Dynasty. After hundreds of years of independence, Vietnam was finally once again a Chinese dominion. Dụ Tông was strangled and three revolts in 1721, 1725 and 1729 were brutally put down. Widespread massacres were followed by Chinese colonization of the region, as Kangxi found a chance to solve social problems caused by an ever increasing population.

In 1730, the Champa Kingdom was invaded and most of it was annexed by 1732, with the exception of the far south. Champa was to be the final Chinese conquest. The Empire had already gotten too vast and neither the Emperor nor the bureaucracy had any interest in further expansion. Instead, the Shun Dynasty chose to enforce a strict system of tribute by the neighboring states. In 1735, the Kangxi Emperor died and was succeeded by the Tongzhi Emperor.

The Tongzhi Emperor largely left matters of state to his Chancellors, spending most of his time in pursuing various literary efforts. His Chancellors followed a policy of lowering taxes and keeping the peace. A White Lotus revolt in 1745 was the only instance of war. A quasi-religious movement, it managed to gain many followers in central China. Rising up in revolt, it managed to defeat local garrisons but by 1746 it had been crushed by the Standard Army.

In 1756, Tongzhi was succeeded by the twenty-four years old Jiajing Emperor. A more energetic ruler, the Jiajing Emperor has taken a more active role in everyday governance. His reign so far has focused on large-scale infrastructure projects to update the road network and expand the canals and bridges of China. He remains committed to the traditional Chinese dogma of seeing the Middle Kingdom as the only civilized entity in the world and hopes to maintain that status quo.

RP Sample: https://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?p=36926722#p36926722

Looks good, although I do think your size will bring about a lot of administrative and extension issues. Accepted!

by **Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States** » Sat May 09, 2020 1:32 pm

A work in progress, I still have to design a few flags (for every part of the government, basically)

The bureaucracy is figuratively Byzantine. It is based on actual Roman law, ground through the Middle Ages and reinterpreted by Renaissance and Enlightenment Thinkers. The government is constantly being disputed between conservatives, progressives, monarchists and republicans.

If anyone is interested, I actually studied both the history of European civil law and legislative history of Europe, so if anyone has any particular questions, be free to ask! Did you know that the King of France, even under Louis XVI 'the Sun king' did not have legislative powers? Or, at least, had only very slighy legislative powers? Actual law was usually customary, common law, interpreted through the framework of rediscovered Roman law. The Pope was the sole ruler with legislative power until around 1400, when the kings of Europe decided that they were 'emperor in their own kingdom'.

Application
General
--Nation Name: Official: The Seat of the Emperor in Constantinople. Unofficially: the Kingdom of Greeks and Latines, the Kingdom of Constantinople
--Map: See reservation
--Flag:

--Capital: Constantinople
Government
--Government Type: Constitutional Republican Appointed Hereditary Monarchy
--Government Overview: The Kingdom of Constantinople is run by an absolute monarch, in the form of the Emperor of Rome. This emperor has the absolute authority over the state and everyone who resides within it, both in matters Secular and Spiritual. However, the ‘emperor’ is not one person. The ‘emperor’ is actually a combination of different people and institutions, together fulfilling all the powers and responsibilities of the emperor of old. The Imperial Powers are divided as follows:

1. The command of the armies and the power to issue edicts is held by the King of Greece and Sicily, who also leads the kingdom’s civil administration. The King explicitly has no veto power over any acts of other bodies within the Empire. This position resembles most the position of the Consuls of old, which is why the King is sometimes referred to as the Consuls. The King also fulfils the role of the Pontifex Maximus, but this power is actually held by the Patriarch, to whom the position is always delegated.
2. The Senate holds all powers Legislative and Judicial, and represents the Fiscus, the imperial treasury. Unlike the days of old, however, the Senate is not an elected body. Rather, the positions within it are held by the highest officials within the Empire, by the highest priests, and some seats are hereditary and tradable. The Pope and other Patriarchs hold honorary senate seats. In order to achieve the various tasks appointed to it, the Senate appoints a Supreme Court, presided over by the King, and a Chief Quaestor.
3. The Patriarch in Constantinople acts as the Tribune of the Plebs, capable of vetoing any action by either the King or the Senate, or any lower administrator.
--Head of Government: His Majesty, Phillipo V Momferratikos, Rex of Greece and Sicily, Doux of Sardinia, Consuls of Rome, Pontifex Maximus
--Head of State: Imperator Caesar Augustus, Emperor of Rome, Pontifex Maximus, Tribune of the Plebs conferred the powers of Consul
Demographics
--Population: 9 million
--Demonym: No single demonym, depends on local culture. Common are Greeks, Latins, Italians, Romans, Arabs, Jews
--Primary Culture: Catholic Greco-Latines
--Other Cultures: Orthodox Greco-Latines, Arabs, Jews, Latines
--Religion Overview: It’s hard to delineate the exact difference between the faiths. The official state religion is Orthodox, but the Patriarch in Constantinople gives special deference to the Patriarch in Rome, whom he follows in most matters of faith. So, practically, the state religion is Catholic, although the rites are performed in Greek as much as they are in Latin. Small problems within Church doctrine are managed by the Pontifex Maximus in the person of the King, making the structure more Caesaropapist in practice, while the contents are Catholic. Islam is also tolerated, as is Judaism, but heretical views of all of these religions are viciously stamped out.
Development Points
--Infrastructure/Economy: 8
--Army: 3
--Navy: 4
--Military Overview: The military, both the navy and the army, follow the commands of the King of Greece and Sicily, but are paid for by the Senate. Therefore, their loyalty usually lies with the Senate rather than the King. The King can appoint generals from among the major administrators of the empire, whom are appointed by the Senate, so the control of the army is shared. Whether these generals are commoners risen from the ranks or nobles who bought their position hangs entirely on the administration of any time, and who is King at any time. The only force that is loyal to the King alone is the Temple Guard: an elite guard of Jewish soldiers who are charged with defending the Hagia Sophia, the Cathedral of Saint Paul and Peter and the Cross, and the Blue Mosque in Constantinople, as well as the Acropolis in Athens. They service as a royal guard, and prevent the Senate from trying any coups of their own.
RP Elements
--National Objectives: Continued existence and status quo through an era of increased popular agitation
--History: According to Greco-Latine historians, the line of the Kingdom of Greeks and Latines can be traced back all the way to the Roman Republic. According to the official histories, the Seat of the Emperor is a direct continuation of the line of Augustus and Caesar. However, in truth, the current Kingdom can be said to have its earliest foundations in 1204, when a band of roving Crusaders in league with the Venetians and usurper Alexios VI Angelos bested the Theodosian walls and captured the City of the World's Desires. Not long after this conquest, with former emperor Alexios III still in the countryside fomenting opposition and internal enemies under noble Alexious Doukas threatening the city internally, it was discovered that Alexios VI didn't actually have the money to pay his cursading mercenaries. This created a tense situation of instability, with the Crusaders poised to put the city to the torch and take whatever valuables they could.

What followed was the Great Discussion: on the 3rd of July 1204, there was a clandastine meeting between representatives of the Senate, the leader of the Crusaders in the person of Boniface of Monferrat, the Orthodox Church, Alexios III and Alexios Doukas. The court of Alexios VI was unaware of this meeting, which happened on the Asian side of the Bospheros Strait. There, a deal was hashed out between these various representatives. Alexios III would pay the crusaders 50% of what Alexios VI had promised (which was still way more than Alexios VI could actually pay). Alexios Doukas and Alexios III would reign as co-emperors, Alexios Doukas taking the name Alexios V. The crusader princes would gain vast tracts of land within the European side of the Empire, while the Emperors would retain Constantinople and the Asian side of the empire. Alexios VI, in this arrangement, would get the sharp end of a dagger.

So it came to pass that a week later, perfectly timed, Alexios III entered the Golden Horn from the harbour, while Alexios Doukas entered the city on a white stallion from land. The night before, the Crusaders had already entered the imperial palace and dragged emperor Alexios VI from the purple bedchamber, planting a blade in his kidneys before throwing him to an assembled mob outside. The scene was perfect: in the Hippodrome, in the emperor's suite, before the eyes of thousands of onlookers, the two co-emperors shook each other's hands, protected by a new imperial guard of Catholic knights, while the bloodied body of the murdered emperor was dragged behind a chariot. After this display, a large contingent of the crusading knights left for the Holy Land on an ultimately failed expedition. Only the leaders of the crusade and their personal retinues stayed behind, now landed gentry in Greece and the lower Balkans.

This arrangement almost immediately let to internal strife within the empire. The new king of Greece, Boniface, failed to recognise the supremacy of the Byzantine co-emperors in matters of the faith. In his eyes, the Pope was still superior to any worldly leader, and that meant affirming papal supremacy in the spiritual plane. According to Orthodoxy, the emperor was above the patriarch in matters of faith, following ancient traditions set by Constantine himself. The Catholics had affirmed their own doctrine during the Wars of Investiture 100 years prior, and they were not going to give up that tradition easily. This led to a firm split between the Catholic nobility and the Orthodox imperial bureaucracy, the former being dubbed the 'Donatii', after the Donation of Constantine that had legally conferred power to the Pope, and the latter being called the 'Concilii', after the Council during which Constantine had affirmed his superiority in matters of the faith. These two classes would feud for the rest of the Middle Ages, even after their old feud had long been burried.

The political battle lines were easily drawn between these two vastly different cultures. The Latines, the knights and their descendants who had stayed behind, favoured a decentralised state and a clergy who followed the Pope in all matters religious. They were in favour of a strengthened nobility, and together formed the Court of Nobles, which sought to influence politics in a personal way, surrounding the co-emperors in their Court. They generally spoke a version of Church Latin. The Concilii, or the Greeks, favoured a strong centralised empire, with a strong position for the Orthodox patriarch but an even more important position for the emperors. They favoured the Senate of old, and under the Concilii the Senate regained some of its ancient prestige, being the mouth piece for the Byzantine bureaucracy. However, their powers were more formal, and the Senate had more trouble approaching the emperor than the Latines.

In 1286, the closeness of the Noble Court to the Emperors personally meant that prince Alexios, the heir presumptive of the Angelos line of co-emperors, converted to Catholicism. He became an immediate proponent of the Catholic faction within the empire, which earned him the ire of the Patriarch in Constantinople as well as the two co-emperors and the Senate. The Noble Court, however, was thrilled by the prospect of a Catholic co-emperor. Indeed, they proposed that the emperorship should always be split between a Catholic monarch and an Orthodox monarch, to represent the split between the two faiths within the empire. Five years later, on his death bed, the Angeloi emperor decreed in his will that not Prince Alexios, but his cousin Constantinos would take the throne. Constantinos, however, was impopular with the Senate, which had always favoured the Doukas line. So, in a counter-move, the Senate abolished the Angeloi co-emperorship and gave sole imperial authority to the Doukas line, centralising power in a single Orthodox authority. Meanwhile, prince Alexios had already sailed to Rome, where the sole emperorship was conferred upon him.

Now, this set the stage for an interesting political battle that would come to shape the empire. Three sides formed in opposition to one another. The Angeloi faction claimed that, since the emperor had conferred the emperorship on Constantinos, he was now legal co-emperor instead of Alexios. The Senate disputed the legality of the will of the late emperor, since in their mind, the co-emperorship was not property to be handed over by the emperor himself, but could only be conferred by the Senate. While this was going on, the Catholics cared little for the details of Roman law. In their eyes, the will of the emperor and the decree of the Senate could not deny a legislative act made by the Pope. Constantinos, meanwhile, had made off with the majority of the imperial treasury and set himself up in Nicea. This situation would have resulted in a three-way civil war, were it not for a sudden move on the part of the Catholics, who landed in Greece with an army of catholic mercenaries at their backs. Knowing what terror crusaders could cause, the Senate temprarily accepted Constaninos back, along with his treasury, while their dispute would be decided by a court of law. By special agreement signed by both the Doukas emperor and the Angeloi co-emperor, the case was decided upon in the Hagia Sophia, with the Senate fulfilling the task of supreme court.

The decision, now known as the First Decision in Roman law, solidified the basics of what would later become the Constitution of Constantinople. The Senate confirmed its own power to confere the emperorship, because the emperor as a person, and the Emperor as an entity, were two different things. The Emperor with a capital E was the entity, and could do whatever he liked with his own state. However, the emperor with a little e was the person, and he did not necessarily have all imperial powers. For example, the power to act as a legal representative of the Emperor had always existed within the Senate, something that had been conferred upon them again when the two co-emperors were elected after the fourth crusade. However, since the Senate conferred the emperorship and gave implicit trust to the emperor by that action, they were bound to at least consider the final wishes of the emperor. Therefore, the Senate was bound to at least consider the appointment of Constantinos.

While they considered that possibility, the Doukas emperor and the Angeloi co-emperor marched out together to face the Catholic nobles and their army, which consisted both of knights and Greek local levies. When faced with a slightly inferior imperial army, the King of Greece expected to win the day, and gave his men the order to attack the following morning. During the night, however, many of the Greek-Orthodox levies abandoned their position, since they would not take up arms against their religious head, and rumours spread that any traitor would face the sword after this was all over. Almost no Greek actually wanted to wait to see what that was like, and would rather not see Catholic domination, so the next day almost turned into a slaughter. However, instead, the two sides met again, and before any arrows were exchanged, the Catholic nobles surrendered.

The agreement between the emperors and the nobles stipulated that the power of the Emperor was greater than any feudal contract, and that therefore, the citizens of the empire were subject to the emperor first, and to nobles second. The nobles also had to accept the superiority of the Emperor in matters of the divine. In Europe, the power of the Church had decreased somewhat, so it stood to reason that in Greece, the same would happen. In return, however, the noble court was not disbanded, and the nobles were allowed to retain their titles. Meanwhile, the Senate agreed that, in the spirit of cooperation, the co-emperorships would be maintained, and Constantinos was confirmed as emperor in the month following. Hereafter, however, the Senate would take a far more active role, as princes now realised that the will of the Senate was more important than the primogeniture.

What followed was the period of the Prince's Empire. From 1300 onwards, the extended imperial families would gain a much more important position in the imperial bureaucracy, since the princes were all trying to prove to the Senate that they were worthy of the emperorship. It also meant that there was a period of many marriages between the extended imperial family and the Catholic nobles, who sought to influence imperial politics through more traditional means. The period between 1300 and 1350 is known as a Golden Era, focused on good governance and imperial peace. Between 1320 and 1335, two princesses were co-emperor, and their patronages for the arts would mean a lot in the worlds of architecture, engineering and science.

Then, the Black Death arrived. Now, in the short term, the result was horrific. Constantinople lost between half and two-thirds of its population. Commerce stagnated. Some modicum of gender equality was abandoned, and women were burnt as witched. The last empress, Theodora Angelos, was murdered by an angry mob for causing the plague. The amount of death is hard to comprehend. After the disease had passed, though, the labourers, who had already been freed from much of their feudal bondage after the 13th century, found themselves increasingly in positions where they could own large tracts of land themselves, since so many had died. Their labour was now a marketable skill, and for the first time a true labour market came into existence. This coincided with a growth in connections between Bagdhad and the West, with Greece right in the middle. This, in turn, led to an influx of Italian, Catholic merchants in Byzantine cities.

This would lead to a shift in power in the Byzantine empire. After the Black Death had passed, there already was more cooperation between Catholics and Orthodox. In fact, the Orthodox church began to follow the Pope in matters of religion, because the Papacy had come through the disease quite unharmed, which was seen as a sign of God. Greeks and foreign merchants began to mingle, which was only strengthened by the existence of a Greek-Catholic upper class, which had come about from the intermarriage between the imperial family and local nobles. The Catholic merchants were extremely interested by the ancient buildings of Greece and Constantinople, as well as the ancient institutions there, and brought with them new knowledge from the Middle East. In Constantinople, these texts were easily translated, because of the existence of a large Arab-speaking minority within the Empire, also the result of immigration after the Black Death.

These merchants slowly began to climb up the social ladder. The nobility was closed, of course, but the Byzantine bureaucracy allowed for these low-borns to rise to high status. Some of these merchants were elected to the Senatorial class, which came with buckets of prestige back home. The emperors were all too glad to allow for these monied types to take positions within the imperial bureauracy, since they had they money, the experience and the connection to properly govern various parts of the empire. However, this came over time to achieve what civil war could not have achieved, namely a Catholic-dominated Senate, which was none to the liking of the Orthodox emperors and the Patriarch in Constantinople, even if he often bowed out to the powers of Rome.

Over the course of about 200 years, this change came about gradually. Not only did the merchants achieve a powerful position in the Senate, they also began to take an interest in the ideals of the Roman Republic. During this time, much was discovered about the ancient writings of Cicero, and soon the Senate was pointing out how much power they had lost over the centuries. In their view, the Senate had to be restored to the way the Romans intended it, with some additions from Christian theology. After all, the Roman Republic had not known about Christ, but if they had, they would surely have been Christian. The nobles were, of course, against this. God had ordained them to lead the world, and the Pope above them all, so there was no need for some restructuring based on the ideals of some long-dead heathen civilisation. The emperors, too, were none too keen, because that meant they would have to hand over some of their imperial power, and since the First Decision none of them wanted that.

This came to a head in 1587. The old Doukas emperor had left his position to the reigning Angelos emperor upon the death of the former, focusing all imperial power in one position. The Senate objected on the basis that only they could elect an emperor, but the Angelos emperor ignored their protests. His power was given by God, after all, and the word of God transcended all laws of men. So, emperor Alexios IX disbanded the Senate, which fled to Athens. There, the Senate declared the abolition of the position of emperor, regaining all Imperial powers for themselves. In their first act, they reinstituted many of the positions of the old emperor, and for a brief time, even started wearing togas. The emperor, meanwhile, was gathering his armies to march against Athens, so in their second act, the Senate elected the King of Greece as dual consul, giving him command of his own army, which he had to raise with his own funds. Now, the Greco-Latine nobility was none too interested in restoring the Roman Republic, but they viewed the power of the Catholic Senate as being preferable to the Orthodox emperor, who would certainly centralise the state.

What followed was a 100 years of war. First for Republican ideals, but as the war dragged on the priorities shifted. The war was interrupted by two major periods of peace, but factionalism would soon after make the empire descend into civil war again. Early on, the empire lost the Anatolian lands to warlords and could not regain them afterwards. Athens and Constantinople, as well as many other cities, were besieged multiple times, and so were the islands. Five emperors found their end either on the battlefield or in their beds, until it was unclear what the war was actually about. It was about religion, yes, but also about power, rights, politics, commerce, diplomacy... Much of what the kingdom is today was formed during this time. In 1643, the King of Greece married the Queen of Sicily in order to gain her vast estates and funds. However, the Senate stated that this aquisition of land had to be legalised by a Senatorial act. Which it was, under pressure, giving the Senate the right to manage the funds from taxes from these lands. In 1664, the forces of the Orthodox church switched sides after the Patriarch was promised a greater position of power in relation to the Emperor. in 1670, the war was over, with the Senatorial side taking Constantinople.

Ever since, the realm has been at peace, although its politics remain dangerous. The constitution, come about during a time of incredible strife, is seen as sacred, since it was written in the blood of so many. Within the constitutional system, however, there is much debate still. Especially since the success of the French calvinist system, many of the more wealthy merchants are calling for the etablishment of some form of suffrage for the common man, instead of a system where the members of the bureaucracy become the senatorial class. Yet others call for the reinstitution of a supreme emperor to create a strong, centralised state. The nobility wants to recreate the old division between plebs and patricians. And within these factions, various other goals, such as foreign imperial conquest, war and taxes, are fought for as well. A trying time, especially as such different ideologies clash.

Tracking Number:

by **Sao Nova Europa** » Sat May 09, 2020 1:34 pm

Nuraca wrote:Looks good, although I do think your size will bring about a lot of administrative and extension issues. Accepted!

Thanks.

Administrative and extension issues sounds OK to me. After all, I prefer to deal with domestic problems. Hopefully my China will do better than the RL one.

by **Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States** » Sat May 09, 2020 1:38 pm

Also, can I just say that I am very happy with the territorial claims so far? Normally in this kind of RP, people fall over themselves to create enormous empires in order to be important players, but right now it looks like people are choosing to go into detail of smaller nations, which is really cool to see.

by **Ontorisa** » Sat May 09, 2020 1:55 pm

Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States wrote:Also, can I just say that I am very happy with the territorial claims so far? Normally in this kind of RP, people fall over themselves to create enormous empires in order to be important players, but right now it looks like people are choosing to go into detail of smaller nations, which is really cool to see.

Right? I find if we focus as being smaller nations, we leave more interaction & collaboration with others on the board

It's always good to have three-four large superpowers in the world, but having members sign up as smaller countries is always a welcome.

by **Reverend Norv** » Sat May 09, 2020 1:58 pm

This looks very exciting. Let me see about the existing reservations and what's still available.

by **Khasinkonia** » Sat May 09, 2020 2:09 pm

Ontorisa wrote:
Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States wrote:Also, can I just say that I am very happy with the territorial claims so far? Normally in this kind of RP, people fall over themselves to create enormous empires in order to be important players, but right now it looks like people are choosing to go into detail of smaller nations, which is really cool to see.

Right? I find if we focus as being smaller nations, we leave more interaction & collaboration with others on the board

It's always good to have three-four large superpowers in the world, but having members sign up as smaller countries is always a welcome.

The Netherlands and Brittany should hopefully have a pleasant time gallivanting around the world together and getting that sweet, sweet spice for Europe. Big colonial empires are boring, and the numbers are a nightmare. Easy tidbits, one chunky colony, and then some other trade outposts. That's where the fun's at. Depending on what happens with France and the remainder of southern Europe, we might be looking at a world of little guys! I wonder if we could get a Burgundy and Aragon in here...

by **Reverend Norv** » Sat May 09, 2020 2:11 pm

I think I'll be bringing back my Huguenot French republic from past Alt-Divs.

48hr Reservation Form
New Nation Name: The French Commonwealth.
Map: France within something close to its real-life modern borders. Everything north of the Pyrenees (including Roussillon), west of the HRE (which looks from the map to give me Lorraine but not Alsace, though I could be wrong), and southwest of the Dutch frontier. Obviously, this excludes Brittany. The Italian border will follow more or less its modern RL line.
999 - Do not delete this.

by **Danceria** » Sat May 09, 2020 2:13 pm

Khasinkonia wrote:Right? I find if we focus as being smaller nations, we leave more interaction & collaboration with others on the board

It's always good to have three-four large superpowers in the world, but having members sign up as smaller countries is always a welcome.

The Netherlands and Brittany should hopefully have a pleasant time gallivanting around the world together and getting that sweet, sweet spice for Europe. Big colonial empires are boring, and the numbers are a nightmare. Easy tidbits, one chunky colony, and then some other trade outposts. That's where the fun's at. Depending on what happens with France and the remainder of southern Europe, we might be looking at a world of little guys! I wonder if we could get a Burgundy and Aragon in here...[/quote]
Hng, and even then I think building tall would be nice. I'm still tempted whether or not to capitalize on this as Indonesia or stick with my Anatolian Kingdom...

by **Sao Nova Europa** » Sat May 09, 2020 2:13 pm

Meanwhile China goes for size...

BTW, Brittany, in my app I've stated that you are the only European nation allowed to trade with China. So lucky you.

EDIT: For other European powers that want to trade with China, you have to pay annual tribute as only tributary states are allowed to trade. Also, access to the country even then will be restricted to certain ports. Just stating for anyone interested in trade.

by **The Grand Duchy Of Nova Capile** » Sat May 09, 2020 2:18 pm

Reverend Norv wrote:I think I'll be bringing back my Huguenot French republic from past Alt-Divs.

48hr Reservation Form
New Nation Name: The French Commonwealth.
Map: France within something close to its real-life modern borders. Everything north of the Pyrenees (including Roussillon), west of the HRE (which looks from the map to give me Lorraine but not Alsace, though I could be wrong), and southwest of the Dutch frontier. Obviously, this excludes Brittany. The Italian border will follow more or less its modern RL line.
999 - Do not delete this.

Protestant good. Republic bad. Conflicted.

by **HypErcApitAl** » Sat May 09, 2020 2:25 pm

Ontorisa wrote:
Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States wrote:Also, can I just say that I am very happy with the territorial claims so far? Normally in this kind of RP, people fall over themselves to create enormous empires in order to be important players, but right now it looks like people are choosing to go into detail of smaller nations, which is really cool to see.

Right? I find if we focus as being smaller nations, we leave more interaction & collaboration with others on the board

It's always good to have three-four large superpowers in the world, but having members sign up as smaller countries is always a welcome.

Agreed.

by **Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States** » Sat May 09, 2020 2:31 pm

Hmmm, it seems the Enlightenment was a bit more succesful in this timeline. A lot of more Republican governments, which makes sense. One succesful Republic will probably inspire others, although I already see some major differences, from the more Roman-inspired Constantinople to the noble republic in Novgorod to the Protestant republic in France.

by **Khasinkonia** » Sat May 09, 2020 2:33 pm

Reverend Norv wrote:I think I'll be bringing back my Huguenot French republic from past Alt-Divs.

48hr Reservation Form
New Nation Name: The French Commonwealth.
Map: France within something close to its real-life modern borders. Everything north of the Pyrenees (including Roussillon), west of the HRE (which looks from the map to give me Lorraine but not Alsace, though I could be wrong), and southwest of the Dutch frontier. Obviously, this excludes Brittany. The Italian border will follow more or less its modern RL line.
999 - Do not delete this.

Well hello there friend. I was just hoping for a French player, as my history is going to be very dependent on it. If you could, could I have a little rundown of the origins of the nation? Just a sentence or two regarding timeline would be very helpful. My timeline is relatively flexible, but if there's a violent origin then one would assume it would be rather important. Thanks!

by **Nuraca** » Sat May 09, 2020 2:41 pm

Here's my finished app, which is shockingly accepted

Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States wrote:Also, can I just say that I am very happy with the territorial claims so far? Normally in this kind of RP, people fall over themselves to create enormous empires in order to be important players, but right now it looks like people are choosing to go into detail of smaller nations, which is really cool to see.

I agree, there's a good mix between very large states and regional powers. I think having the blobs, when realistic and played realistically, could be beneficial in moderation as there aren't usually enough active players to cover the world. The existence of independent states in the Americas is very interesting and will perhaps lead to earlier revolutions.

Also, here's the Discord server!

Again, not mandatory to be in here, just may be easier to talk and would crowd up the OOC a bit less.

by **Danceria** » Sat May 09, 2020 2:49 pm

Nuraca wrote:Also, here's the Discord server!

Again, not mandatory to be in here, just may be easier to talk and would crowd up the OOC a bit less.

...care to update the discord?

A World on Fire (OOC, 1700s AH, Accepting Apps)

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