Empires Eternal

This map is a bit different. It was inspired by RvBOMally's Sol Invictus. I had it finished for a bit of a while, but just now tweaked for you all. Also, I'm trying a new font out.

Hope you all enjoy!

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They say that empires rise and that empires fall. All great empires meet their end... but in the here and now, that did not happen and the emperors will make sure that will not happen.

For several centuries, the Great Three Empires stood against one another. Sometimes in minor skirmishes, sometimes in frienemy competition and other times in full-ou war with one another. Blades gave away to guns. Cannons gave way to tanks. Technology has moved on, science has moved on, but ancient empires will never die.

Controlling the western half of the Eurasian continent is the Holy Roman Empire. Despite temporary seperating (known as the Byzantine Split), a sucession of luck and strong leaders led to the great reunification of the Roman Empire, all closer together under the name of God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost. Filled with a renewed sense of purpose, the Imperium Romanum Sanctus charged forward up north as they conquered the kingdoms ofurther up north and in the east. Even the region of Germania fell to them. They have also been doing very well in the northern regions of Africa and over time, they have been created colonies over there to spread their control. The Imperium has evolved with the assimilation of the German tribes and some of their more easterly neighbors, with influences in art, science and history. City states have evolved into districts to pay tribute to the Emperor, the Pope and the Senate. The Imperium has survived many events such as the Black Plague and two instances of religious in-fighting, creating the births of Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox and the Protestants. These have caused revolutions in thinking about God and have made matters more merciful. Preists had more power and the wanton pasts of the Empire became downplated. Colosseum blood-sports were replaced, slavery was abolished as science gave rise to great machines and the citizenry is kept in check through several classes and in their growing sense of purpose.

The Imperium's greatest ally has been the Ruthenia Republic. After the Great Schism and reunification of the Roman Empires, a majority of the new Orthodox believers headed north and easterly. This was promoted by the more secular-minded Senate memebrs as it would allow their influence to spread and minimize large religious outbreaks amongst the Empire. Settlements rose and united to defeat existing ones or to coerce into alliances and Ruthenia rose. Several tribes and peoples ended up assimilating into them and inspiring them. Unlike the Emperor, Ruthenia was more of a peaceful if defensive kingdom before becoming a republic. Stories of knights and chivalry are told here and the country's Paladins and Cossacks help maintain order across the land. They have been enjoying the invention of trains to help get across the large domain. The other great ally of the Empire is the Mali Empire, better known as the Manden Kurufaba. As the Imperium headed south, some have noticed the Kurufaba and found an opportunity. Many new Romans came in and settled down here and with backing from the Imperium, the Manden Kurufaba prospered, becoming a powerhouse in Africa. The great deal of mineral wealth like gold it had amazed the Romans while it was also home to an exotic amount of foods. Recently, it has aquired a type of tree from the west where the beans from the pods are treated to make a luscious dessert. The Mali people have also embraced the Church, albeit while adding their own twist onto it. They serve to protect the Imperium's African colonies, most notably the Dendi Kingdom, whom was once the mighty Songhai Empire. The Imperium also has an autonomous colony in the New World.

Then we have the long time rival of the Imperium, the Ottoman Empire. While they may not possess as much land in Eurasia, they substitute that by maintaining the largest amount of power in the African continent. The Dual Caliphate was the result of Ruthenia taking back the land that have connected the two regions while the rest of it was assimilated gradually by the Persians. As such, a gradual chasm formed between the two. Despite this, they are still close and serve as the joint controlling regions of their sphere. Following the teachings of Allah, they retain their ancient warrior ways and have been in varying levels of consistent conflict with the Ruthenia Republic and the Imperium. This has led to them gradually splitting apart due to the differences in culture. The Anatolian Caliphate continues its holy conflict with the Imperium, embittered over its loss of Egypt over to them. They have been adapting the tactics of the Imperium while taking cues from their history as part of Persia. The Turkestan Calpihate on the other hand, has been learning through observation during its skirmishes with the Ruthenia Republic. Despite this, both are still led by a caliph who both work together to ensure the quality of the people while also taking cues from their neighbors in abolishing slavery. Matters have become more difficult as electing the caliph has changed due to the changes in culture. Furthermore, there are differing opinions on approaches in modernization, growing technologies and intepretations of the Quran. All in all, they still remain a long time contender for the Imperium.

Seperating the two sections is the Persian Empire. Despite being long-time foes of the Imperium, they have mellowed out considerably. Before its alliance with the Turkic Caliphate, they ended up taking the portions of land that connected the two in the south and despite the alliance and better connections, they still will not surrender the land, pointing out they can still communicate by sea. They view themselves as an equal and there is some discomfort in that they remain the only nation with a prominent Shia population and rule, though they have been looking for colonies to try and remedy that situation. While they provide auxillary troops and support to the Turks for their fight against the Imperium, they are mainly fighting against their own arch-enemy, the people of the Maratha Empire. They are happy to get the help from the Turks for this as well. Meanwhile, the Arabian Sultanate is doing very well for itself. They are mainly in charge of overseeing the colonies in Africa and serve as the main transfer point for troops to maintain order there. Arguably the most neutral of them all, they still do their part for Allah in helping their allies and they have been discovering desposits of crude oil which has been making them quite wealthy. The Ummat Al-Islamiyah also includes the various colonies in Africa. Islam has proven to be very popular over there and helps the unity secure resources and soldiers. Most of the former African kingdoms and empires have cast their hand with that of Islam and seek to spread it across the continent. Despite this, they also maintain a fair bit of autonomy and it was they who sent the expedition into the New World for potential colonies. As such, the Islam colony of Guyana has the most autonomy out of any colony and the closest to becoming its own nation, having mixed in with the natives.

The last of the Great Three is the Middle Kingdom itself, Huaxia. Having expanded in all directions, they eventually met the two other Empires and has been in conflict with them ever since. The Imperium recognizes them as a threat as strong as them and thus may occasionally combine forces with the Muslims to fight the Huaxians. They maintain their belief in the Mandate of Heaven and believe it is duty to spread across the globe. Their victories in the past have included conquering the Koreans and later the Japanese, while spreading on the east side. A beautiful land with powerful people, they are strictly adherent to the old ways, but new generations come and the spirit of youth lights the fires of ambition for them. They have expanded south, east and even in Africa. They lack a true defining religion, or at least, their view of religion is different than the westerns. Ruisim is arguably the dominant force throughout this time period and the Huaxians have been devoted in maintaining that. They also have vested interests in Taoism and in Buddhisim. While a strong people, they have been spreading themselves a bit too thin as of late. Their recently aqcuires northern territories are difficult to navigate because of the mountains and while people have been heading here, maintaining comunication is difficult and they have been growing their own sense of identity up north. Meanwhile, some of their more autocratic provinces have found themselves no longer wishing to be with the Huaxians. Xinjiang, formerly known as Dzungaria, has been seeking to re-establish their old Muslim identity and some of the officials have been secretly meeting with the Turkestan Caliphate. The Tibet region on the other hand has been wanting to strike out on their own. Despite these potential insurgent elements, they are a very powerful force. They have adapted to the new technologies quite well, considering the a blessing from heaven. Funnily enough, newer deities tend to appear to represent newer roles, such as a patron of firefighters.

Their southern ally, the Maratha Empire has been good in helping them maintain order in the more middle part of the world, as it is locked in its eternal conflict with the Persians. The Maratha Empire is still a large believer of the Hindu ways, but Buddhism maintains a healthy following and they have been reforming their culture as the Huaxians insist on the removal of the caste system, causing some problems. They have also been approached by the Tibetians in assistance for liberation. It was through them that Huaxians were able to get into Africa. They have two colonies while maintaining occupation in a formerally independent kingdom. Lastly, the Malay Archipelago has been a great ally to them. Part of this is due to former Huaxians leaders and diplomats helping to establish greater power there and unifying with the others to form their own nation. While the Malays are close to the Huaxians, they have also been exploring their own sense of identity while being a great place of tourism. Some of the natives are difficult and it's not uncommon for males or females from the tribes to be given to dignitaries in some parts of Huaxia. However, Huaxia's New World colony was found east of their recently gotten territory and it is rich with resources. A few even view it as way to expand their empire... unless their neighbors have anything to say about it.

While the Great Three play the Great Game in Eurasia and in Africa, the Nordic Circle stands in maintaining peace and ignoring the affairs of its neighbors. Formed by the natives along with runaway Romans, the Hyperborean Federation consists of the landscape containing multiple Kingdoms, which have become nations along with the two island nations. While the empires fought on, they discovered the New World much sooner than was revealed to the rest of the Old World and spent time sending explorers and immigrants there to colonize. They were surprised to discover the massive continent, which they named after the first major explorer Leif Erikson, Eriksonia. While they had success with some island nations, the major step was the creation of the Republic of Vinland. Starting as a small settlement, it grew larger as more people arrived and they mixed with the various tribes and natives before they declared themselves to be their own country. While still reminicient of their Hyperborean origins, they have adapted to the land and the people and thus sought their own path to become one of the major powers of the Eriksonian continent. Below Vinland, lies a newer country, the Commonwealth of Eriksonia. Founded when Vinland settlers headed south, it was a nation founded by them, the natives of the area, settlers from New Japan and settlers from Atzlan to create a new nation free of the prejudices that have bound them. Generally accepting of everyone, they are a growing poltiical power due to the great mix of ideas and cultures, typically welcoming anyone who enters in. They even accept those who migrated from the Floridis Grandis colony and there have been talks in the colony joining the Commonwealth should they become free of the Imperium. A combination of democracy and a republic, the Eriksonian Commonwealth is an optimistic nation running on innovation.

The second people to arrive came from the west and to the east... the Japanese. The Japanese all but lost their homeland to the Huaxians. When the invasion was inevitable, they fled east, taking as many men, women and children as possible. Huaxian ships were actually taken over and used to escort people. Eventually, a new land was founded. New Japan was born and the Japanese did their best to start anew, but found themselves changing over the generations as they were no longer an island nation. The Republic of Vinland was surprised to see these new people, but felt some sympathy for having lost their homeland and so helped them establish New Japan. New Japan is a technological marvel. While the people have doen their ebst to uphold tradition, they also adapted to the new land and their new neighbors. They put their greatest effort into studying the sciences and due to the kindness from their neighbors and the tribes, have become accepting of outsiders and aren't as homogenous at they used to be. Becoming an odd combination of a republic along with shogunate elements, they maintain their honor, dignity and grace they are so well known for while adapting to their new home.To the south lies the hot-blooded and passionate people of Aztlan. Initially once a region of warring tribes and nations such as the Aztecs, Mayans, and Mixtecs, they were surprised to large galleons containing people who were shipped out of the Imperium. The first major arrivals were mainly Egyptians who refused to change their religion. They along with the later arrivals of former Romans, created an imperical theocracy around the worship of a deity which was a mix of the feathered serpent motifs(Quetzacoatl, Kulkukan, etc) and a monothesic sun god (Aten, Sol Invictus). The 'sundragon' worship continued as the people would conquer neighboring tribes south while expanding upwards. WIth the introduction of more pacifistic tribes along with cultural reforms, the empire became a republic, modeled after Rome. The Republic of Aztlan is a powerful nation in its own right with a very warm and passionate people, making them appear eccentric amongst their northern neighbors. They have long ceased ritualistic sacrifice, but maintain their belief in the sundragon and been dealing with the Floridis' attempts at invading their islands. Further below them lies their competitior, the Incan Empire. The Incans have grown without much interference from the Old World, but would still use the techniques and ideas that their northern neighbors had, especially when those who escaped being conquered in the old days joined up with them. Powerful and still firmly rooted in tradition (if not removing some of the more tasteless elements), they are proud to be untoched by the Old Worlders, but happy to reap the ideas and successes. Matters have started to change as Islam is becoming interesting up in the northern regions thanks to the colony nearby.

Technology is a bit more advanced than in OTL in regards to the turn of the century. With massive empires, it has become necessary for transportation technology to advance. Trains are quite common throughout the area and the search is on in regards to fuel in the event that an empire loses access to coal. Furthermore, there has been the idea of combining the old-fashioned horse buggies with the fuel-drive power of trains. Besides transportation, the consistent warfare has eld to the development of different weapons and tactics. New guns, cannons and bombs are being made along with innovations in radio technology such as phones and morse code. Tanks have become appearing when the Imperium looked through the great Da Vinci's papers and discovered the plans for a prototype. They even are trying to work out the designs for a flyer. Designs are copied and modifed to the styles of the different empires. Quality of life and education has increased as science leads the world became the mentality. Bathing helped maintain the health of people and advancements in medicine were one of the few things openly shared even amongst empires, due to the power of past plagues. Plagues and illness targets everyone and leaving some to be infected puts everyone else at risk. For now, it is a relatively quiet time, with the last major war a century ago. However, some fear that the tension will lead to the rise of a great war unlike it has been seen before.