Map Contest 6 (Closed): Ancient Empires[]
PoD: One or more ancient Empires survive until present day, forging regional and global powers.
Challenge: Create a map of the World, dominated by one or more ancient empires. This map can be from any time period, just be sure to say which time period. Be sure to include labels, map keys, subdivisions of countries, etc. (Note: By dominate, I mean this country has the most influence in the World. Other countries can and should still have some land.)
Time Frame: Two weeks, September 27 - October 14
Voting Starts October 13, 0:00 UTC
Nostalgic Empires of the East ~ Old World - Kogasa[]
In this timeline, Goguryeo decided to conquer the rest of the Korean Kingdoms in 477, and soon grew in power. Goguryeo would continue to expand and thrive. In the Indian subcontinent, the Maurya Empire had also managed to hold itself together and survive. With that, the Maurya Empire expanded its influence greatly to as far east as Papua and as far west as Persia. Hinduism would also spread to as far as China, while Taoism would spread as far as Malaysia. Even more, the Norse colony in North America became successful, and the Viking Age in Scandinavia would continue to thrive.
Later, in 1000, the Liao Dynasty attempted to invade Goguryeo, which failed. Soon the Koreans over time would expand into Siberia, including taking the island of Karafuto and even going as far as taking Hokkaido (홋카이도). Meanwhile the Maurya Empire had conquered the Himalayas along with parts of Tibet. The Vikings in Europe resisted the spread of Christianity, and also had conquered Scotland.
By the 1200s, the Mongol Empire emerged in Asia. However, they were not able to conquer either Korea nor China, but managed to conquer large parts of Central Asia, and expanded as far as Eastern Europe before their collapse in 1290.
During the time Columbus came around, most of the Americas were already divided between the Norse, the Koreans (who discovered it the 1350s), and Chinese. The Spanish managed to colonise the Caribbean and most of Central and parts of North America, while the Portuguese would barely manage to colonise a piece of South America. North America and South America are called North and South Vinland respectively. Then around the mid 1550s, the Russians ran into Korean Siberia, and launched a war against them. The attack was unsuccessful, and the Koreans took some Russian land.
In 1592, Toyotomi Hideyoshi launched an invasion of Korea, which was not only unsuccessful, but the Koreans invaded and annexed most of Japan, leaving behind a Greater Kyoto as a rump state. Meanwhile the Maurya Empire resisted European attempts at colonisation quite well. The Norse continued to build their empire well, and had managed to conquer the rest of the British Isles.
Later in the 1670s, the Industrial Revolution occurred in Korea, China and the Maurya Empire soon spreading to other parts of the world. When the Napoleonic Wars came around, the Norse sided with the Coalition and managed to defeat France. Following this, the French Region of Brittany was annexed by the Norse.
In modern day, the Maurya Empire (now the Republic of India), Song Dynasty, the Korean Empire, and the Norse Empire are the superpowers. Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism are the major religions of the world, with some Paganism surviving and thriving like the Norse and Finnish Paganism in the Nordic Region.
The main characters of the Touhou Project are Byakuren Hijiri (who is a Hindu, instead of Buddhist) and Seiga Kaku.
Everything that Kills Me Makes Me Feel Alive ~ Imp[]
Unlabelled map: 
Ashoka the Great. The ruler who decided the way of peace is better than violence and became a Buddhist could have accomplished a great more if what didn't kill him from the inside, actually made him feel alive. Remaining a staunchly aggressive emperor, policies of spreading Hinduism to the surrounding areas would be enacted. A clear line of succession would be established, future rulers would have to learn all matters relating to kingship and an advisory would be established to get the peoples' views straight to the leader - headed by Brahmin priests to make sure no power grab was enacted under the ruler who felt death was just a consequence of ruling. The Arthashastra would become the main book for royalty with Ashoka seeking answers to his questions in the guide.
His successors would competent due to his actions, and if not - they would be removed by the advisory. Rebellions would be effectively crushed and the empire would remain strong and united. Stability would give the chance for sciences and the collective knowledge of the people to flourish. The Empire would expand, crushing the remaining Greek states to the west and the barbaric tribes to the north. Eventually, the empire's energies would be focused southward. Such a large empire would prompt democratic actions and the empire would slowly see democratisation of certain aspects.
The Mongols would capture much territories against the Mauya Empire, but its forces would destroy much of the invading armies. The Caliphate would also never managed to expand eastward and more trouble would be stirred in Europe. However, less of the Mongols would mean the moors would never be able to hold any land in Europe and would be forced back to the Maghreb and Arabia.
The world would be colonised earlier, with East-West conflict over spices becoming more heated and bloody. Ironically, a Mongol state would exist due to the weakness of their armies. Russia would never have nearly as many nationalities as OTL, while certain countries not existing at all. On our hands, we have a world hungry for resources going into space to satisfy these desires. The world is completely different because what should have killed Ashoka from the inside, only made him feel alive.
But something crucial is about to take place. It is 1983, and one man faces a monumental decision, a decision which could change the course of history ...
Votes
- -Kogasa
- GUNS - WHO IS AMAZING AND GLORIOUS AND MIGHTY AND GETS TWO VOTES xD
Discussion
- Give me a chance guys and I'll get my map ready soon :L
Imp (Say Hi?!) 23:34, October 15, 2013 (UTC) - Nearly there guys, wait up before the votes!!! :o Imp (Say Hi?!) 19:41, October 16, 2013 (UTC)
- Swedo-Kieva. Swedo-Ki- What were you thinking?
- Something interesting. Certainly got your attention eh? Imp (Say Hi?!) 21:41, October 17, 2013 (UTC)
- Yeah. Unfortunately, I will have to go to Scraw, because imaginative though your piece is, his map is better. And this is a MAP contest. =) Flectere si nequeos superos- Acheronta Movebo!
- Don't worry, my map STILL isn't finished yet. :P Imp (Say Hi?!) 21:52, October 17, 2013 (UTC)
- GUNERIGA! WELL, THIS CHANGES THINGS xD Flectere si nequeos superos- Acheronta Movebo!
- And there is another "hidden" name, too :P Imp (Say Hi?!) 23:32, October 17, 2013 (UTC)
- Hidden my eye. But I'll not ruin it for the others. Damn it, Guns! Use your real sig! (talk) 23:33, October 17, 2013 (UTC)
- Yes, so hidden. Scraw 22:45, October 18, 2013 (UTC)
The Sound of War ~ Scraw[]
Map, Unlabelled
Map, Labelled with Title
The POD in this timeline is the Mongol defeat of Japan, which allows them to make greater gains in Asia and later in Europe. The Mongols survive what would have been their fracturing. Meanwhile in Europe, the Balkans are conquered by forces from the Golden Horde and the Ilkhanate, so the Golden Horn falls under Mongol rule. After the death of Ogedei, Kublai Khan is elected Great Khan and he centralized the Mongol Empire while also creating smaller Khanates within it.
The Mongols then go on to discover the New World in 1311, finding coast-to-coast Mayans on the Pacific coast in OTL Mexico. They begin to colonize the Americas and sooner or later conquer and vanquish the Mayans, replacing them with a noble named Aztec, who becomes the Khan of the Aztakhanate. The news of this discovery spreads to Europe by the early 1400s, and the Frankish Kingdom (the Carolingians) and the English also set out to colonize the Atlantic coast of the Americas. Europe also consolidates under four major powers: the Franks, Aragon, England, and Venice. The Papal States, Austria, and Hungary stay as outliers in Europe, and soon Nordica is formed by people of Viking descent. Colonization of the Americas become a major aim for Europe, hoping to beat Mongol presence on the continents. North America becomes known as Aztakh and South America as Nova Aragon. The Aragonese and Frankish take control of Nova Aragon (Aragonese land > Frankish land) and the Franks and English take control of eastern Aztakh. Around the 1500s, some Mongols begin to slowly convert to Islam and later become Muslim in the western parts (Russian lands, Anatolia, Balkans, Persia, northern India). In the late 1700s, a poor man named Napoleon Bonaparte from the southern areas of the Frankish Empire leads a peasant revolt against the corrupt Carolingians and soon becomes the emperor himself. He leads a massive expansion campaign into surrounding states and conquers Germany and Denmark. He then takes a risky move by invading England (which by now encompasses all of Britain), his northern neighbor in Europe and Aztakh both. He conquers Britain on a global scale and confirms the power of the Bonaparte Dynasty.
However, this new found era of peace and tranquility does not last long and Napoleon II becomes known in history as the man who started the First Global War. He set out to invade and conquer Aragon and Venice, hoping to conquer and unite Europe against the Mongols. However, this war is turned on its head when the Mongols launch a second invasion of Europe, causing all the European powers to fall in on the same side. Eventually, the Mongols put the Europeans on the peace table and get lands in Eastern Europe.
VOTES:
- Imp (Say Hi?!) 00:22, October 14, 2013 (UTC)
- The Mighty Guns is too Glorious (or lazy) to go to source mod and type out his real sig (talk) 21:50, October 15, 2013 (UTC)
The Empire of Evil -- Reximus55[]
I understand that the prompt was Ancient Empires, but from my young adult perspective, the Empire of Evil was ancient enough. That's right, this is all about the Soviet Empire.
It seems to me that the Map Contest was dying a bit, so when the vote to bring it back to life came up, I voted for it. Originally, I was intending to make maps for each contest, but that is a tall order, and I never got around to completing a single map.
Well, here you have it folks, simple, clean, logical:
The exact Point of Divergence really doesn't matter. This particular scenario is more or less the result of an entirely different system of economics, where socialism and Communism really do work, and capitalism leads to inevitable collapse of a nation's economic wealth.
The first major difference came sometime after 1963, and sometime before 1983. This was the peak of the Cold War, and also the peak of the Evil Empire. The Soviets had just managed to infiltrate Sweden and Finland, and then used their bases to launch an attack on Germany. World War III had begun.
With the invasion of West Berlin and West Germany by superior Soviet forces, the American leadership wavered. They knew that world war was upon them, but they decided against the use of the entirety of the American military arsenal in Germany.
This decision turned out to be beneficial to the Americans, but by the time the bulk of the American troops got to Europe, Germany had already been reunited under a Communist banner. Switzerland and Austria both quickly submitted to the Soviets.
Soviet Troops helped the Irish take Northern Ireland from the British, and also installed a Communist regime in France, while establishing friendly dictatorships in Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain.
A reluctant Italy was forced to enter the Soviet sphere, and Yugoslavia, Greece and Albania all fell to pro-Soviet leaders and military strategists.
By the time the Soviets got around to taking out Portugal, the Americans had already conceded.
The Americans realized that the Soviets had great odds of winning in Europe, so the military leadership launched a huge mission to Israel, to ensure that "the bastion of liberty can still shine over the holy land." When Israel became a member of NATO, many Middle Eastern nations immediately turned against the US. Communist Yemen conquered a large part of US-backed Arabia.
Morocco, which remained loyal to the US and the democratic factions, managed to hold its own, largely due to deals made with Portugal, and managed to hold out until the final peace treaty was made.
The Soviet leaders had reconciled privately with the Chinese and the Chinese re-entered the Soviet sphere at the start of World War III. India also favored Russia, giving the Communists a large advantage.
The four major campaigns in Asia were the Korean campaign, the Taiwan campaign, the Japan campaign, and the Turkish campaign. Korea put up a strong fight, but were under-prepared to face the entire Chinese Red Army, and Seoul quickly fell. No US re-inforcements arrived on time.
In Taiwan, the main city of Taipei was under assault from a naval barrage for three weeks before a US force landed on the island. At this point, Korea had already fallen, and China was dedicating everything they had into the battles in Taiwan. Needless to say, the Chinese won.
In Japan, the Japanese armed forces surrendered without a fight, a vast contrast to their once great bushido culture. In Turkey, NATO preparations couldn't be prepared for an invasion not only from Russia but also from Iraq and Syria, so the fall of Istanbul and Ankara were simplified greatly.
On the Pacific front, New Zealand fell to internal Communist pressure, Indonesia's dictator began a Communist expansion into neighboring states, and Australia fell victim to economic collapse and eventually surrendered to the Soviet Union in exchange for meager food for subsistence.
After subduing most of Europe, the operational focus of the USSR was to seize as much of the Americas as possible, and take the fighting to the New World. Russian Spetsnaz took Alaska and began to re-integrate the state into the Russian SFSR as soon as fighting broke out. Troops dispatched to Alaska were quickly recalled and sent to Brazil, where pro-Communist forces had seized Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.
As Argentina and Chile pulled out of relations with the US, Gran Colombia was formed under a Communist ruler, and Peru expanded into the US stronghold of Ecuador. Combat raged in Mexico, right outside of the US, when a socialist government came to power and attempted to stifle all democracy.
In Paraguay and Bolivia, the two nations combined in order to prevent further incursions. They managed to hold out until the US negotiated peace with the USSR.
Following World War III, a new era dawned. Globalization, and with it the ever-increasing Soviet promise of unification and One World Government became a reality. This period, called Pax Sovietica, is still ongoing to this very day.
People in the Communist nations enjoy many great socialist benefits, and they live luxurious lifestyles. Meanwhile, Americans and others who refused to accept Communism ended up at the servitude of the Communist Bloc nations.
The World-Government, the Union of Soviet Socialist Nations (USSN) is very effective at executing the desires of the leaders of the Russian Soviet Executive, and administers issues between SFSRs with extreme skill.
Technology is doing extremely well, and hybrid/hydrogen/bio-cell vehicles and modes of energy are the three most common types of power on Earth. A recent manned mission to Mars was considered "humanity's greatest capstone" but others plan to eventually send a colony to Mars in the next three centuries.
Pax Sovietica is here to stay! The Evil Empire (American Capitalism) is no more!
-*- The views expressed in this alternate history do not reflect the views of Reximus55 in any way, shape or form. -*-
Comments
- Doubt that this qualifies.
- Same. Really Rex? REALLY. REALLY. And Communism works. Just not, you know, with humans.
- I think this one gets disqualified. NOT AN ANCIENT EMPIRE, REX. NOT AN ANCIENT EMPIRE.
Votes[]
Fist Full of Whiskey --Guns[]
The Modern World
You quote my favorite song lines, Imp, and I'll quote yours =) In this ATL, Ivan III dies in 1466 due to alcoholism. His succession is challenged and the Golden Horde is never overthrown and lasts to the modern day. The big blue thing in North America is called Scrawland.
POD: Yeah, I already said this.
History: In 1492, the Golden Horde, last remnant of the Mongol Hordes, came under the control of a new general, who led them in campaigns against Germany and Austria - the Holy Roman Empire. After over 30 years, the armies of Germany had been defeated and the hordes of the Horde were moving in. Among the many who fled West was one Johannes von Scraw, who went North, to the Kalmar Union. There, hearing tales of an ancient trip one of their own had taken to a land far away, von Scraw felt that this would be a place for all refugees to go to. In 1523, he set out with seven ships, each crammed to the rafters with refugees to desperate for anything else. Though most expected them to die, they in fact landed in the OTL Hudson bay. Von Scraw returned to tell of the land, and thousands more fled the Old World for the safer, newer one. Von Scraw lived to see his dream of a refuge come true, dying in peace in 1534. Shortly after, a name was agreed upon for the Continent; Scrawland.
As the Golden Hordes spread over Europe, Iberia and France unite, as does the Islamic world. China, too, is an Imperial power here, as is Japan, with Europe somewhat less so. However, Golden Horde has been collapsing, losing land in wars with the Caliphate, Japan and in an independence war with Siberia. Colonial powers still exist. And all this horror might never have occurred - if Ivan had put down his fist full of whiskey.
Labeled Map
Comments:
- My vote. XDXD ~Scraw 19:17, September 29, 2013 (UTC)
- Yeah, that was intended. I'll put up a labeled one soon. Flectere si nequeos superos- Acheronta Movebo!
- LOL. I still need to get my map and stuff ready. Haven't even decided yet. :P Imp (Say Hi?!) 19:26, September 29, 2013 (UTC)
- MY FIRST VOTE! Yay! Yours, though, Scraw, should win. Your map was better. Flectere si nequeos superos- Acheronta Movebo!
Votes:
- "I can feel your anger. It gives you focus ... makes you stronger." 00:07, October 16, 2013 (UTC)
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