Map Contest/Archive 3

Map Contest 3 (Closed): An Unlikely Union
PoD: Two nations merge into one, forging a global empire.

Challenge: Create a map of the world in which two nations have united and taken on the world. This challenge is deliberately open-ended, so use your imagination. Make sure that you are plausible.

Time Frame: Two weeks, July 4 - August 17
 * Voting Starts August 17, 0:00 UTC

Old Yuanxian and Shoutoku Legend -Kogasa


In this timeline, the Tang Dynasty and the Japan unite after the marriage of  and. Soon, the Tang Dynasty had strengthened, and grew in power. Chinese and Japanese culture was spread freely between the two nations, and Taoism managed to gain a foothold in Japan, while Shinto gained a foothold in China later on. In 917, the Tang Dynasty would then end up in a civil war. With Japan's help, the Tang Dynasty managed to slowly defeat the other factions, and by 975, the last of the rebellions died out for now.

Later on, in the Thirteenth Century, the Tang Dynasty suffered invasions of the Mongol Empire. Though, by 1365, the remains of the Tang managed to avoid complete conquest of the Mongols, and begun to push them back. In 1294, the Tang managed to regain lands from the collapsing Mongol Empire. Soon, during the 1330s, the Ashikaga clan attempted to assassinate Emperor Huizong and establish the Ashikaga Shogunate. The plan, however, was unsuccessful and Ashikaga Takauji, who was the leader of the clan, was executed.

In Europe, Denmark managed to conquer Sweden and Norway by the 1350s and established the Scandinavian Kingdom.

In the 1410s, Zheng He and Rokkaku Jakusai managed to land upon new lands, which would be later known as Rokkaku (North America) and Zheng (South America), respectively. By the 1440s, the Tang Dynasty begun to colonise the new lands. Other Asian powers, such as Srivijaya and Siam, also colonised parts of the new lands later on in the 1600s.

In the 1650s during the expansion into Siberia, the Duchy of Moscow ran into the Tang Dynasty. Relations between them were rough, and soon the Great Siberian War occurred in the 1700s, which saw a crushing Chinese-Japanese victory.

Industrialisation soon started in Tang Dynasty around the 1690s, and soon spread throughout Asia by the 1740s. In 1800, the Tokugawa clan in the Amazon colony (OTL Colombia) was the first to declare independence, and thus the Tokugawa Shogunate was established. In 1842, the Asian nations soon began colonising Africa as well.

Meanwhile in Europe, France managed to take over parts of Western Europe around the 1800s. Napoleon was soon overthrown by a revolution in 1813, and the French Empire had since stopped expanding.

In 1930, the Soviets attempted to expand more into Siberia yet again, which started the Second Siberian War. The Tang Dynasty emerged victorious once again, and the Soviet Union was dissolved into three nations: The Republic of Tatarstan, the Kazakh Khanate, and the Republic of Muscovy.

In this world, the Tang Dynasty is the hyperpower of the world, while India and Srivijaya are the superpowers. Taoism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Shinto are the top four religions in the world.

The main characters of the Touhou Project are Seiga Kaku and Toyosatomimi no Miko.

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Votes:
 * 18:00, August 17, 2013 (UTC)

Forget the Drinking, O Prince! - Scraw


I took a little creative license with this one. Russia (Kievan Rus) chooses Islam over Orthodoxy in the early 10th century when the time came to pick a religion. This helps the Muslims present a greater front against Christians and others. The Umayyads unite with the Abassids to form a greater Abassid Caliphate (to satisfy the terms of the POD). The Qi'fan Rus goes on a rampage of Mongol proportions. Eventually the Muslims powers gang up on the Eastern and Western Roman Empires, forcing them to retreat into France, Western Germany, and Northern Italy. The United Kingdom never forms, nor do England or Scotland. Instead, various tribes form small nations. The Abbasids discover the New World in 1152, taking the Eastern coast of North America (Akaraia) and most of Mexico. They convert the Incans (Enqaans) to Islam and help them dominate northern South America (Rassaeniqa). The natives of Africa become self sufficient regional powers, and many are allied with the Hindu Mysore. Tibet and the Khmers become rogue Buddhist states and China is a pagan (yes, as in 12th century BC Chinese paganism) empire, stretching across the Pacific and south to Australia. ( Labelled version)

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Votes:


 * CourageousLife (talk) 17:55, August 17, 2013 (UTC)

Unite, Unite, O Francia! -- Chris


, the young king of, dies childless (like in OTL). However, instead of simply electing a new king, the squabbling dukes decide to welcome, the king of , to unite the two realms. With that, the Holy Roman Empire does not form, and the reunited Francia becomes one of (if not the) most powerful empires in Europe.

Europe has a reduced amount of conflict for the most part. The biggest concern for the Christian powers is the growth of Islam; however, the Crusades ATL are successful enough to keep the Byzantine Empire "alive," as well as a Jewish state. The Byzantines prevent the spread of Islam. However, it also ceases a reason for exploration into the New World (i.e., the sack of Constantinople). Colonialism is delayed for almost a century later than OTL, and when the major powers like Francia, England (less united than OTL), Asturia (OTL Spain and Portugal) and even Italy explore the new land, they do so at a less violent level, beginning as small trading posts that influence the growth of many Native powers like the Iroquois, Aztec, Maya, Inca, and Apache, resulting in their own independent nations.

Meanwhile, Japan opens relations with Francia much earlier, and goes through a rapid expansion throughout the Pacific, even claiming Hawaii and land in the Americas. Rus' also expands into Siberia as OTL. Africa and India have much less colonial influence, just as in North America, and many ancient kingdoms remain to this day. ChrisL123 (talk) 01:53, August 8, 2013 (UTC)

Comments:
 * Great concept as usual. CourageousLife (talk) 17:55, August 17, 2013 (UTC)

Votes:


 * -Kogasa [[Image:Miko THPW2.png|50px]] [[Image:Flag of Europe.svg|23px|border]] 2013 August 17, 19:57 (CET)
 * [[Image:1.png|23px]] Imp (Say Hi?!) 18:51, August 17, 2013 (UTC)
 * Yank 00:00, August 30, 2013 (UTC)

Are Alien Space Bats a Nation? -Guns


In this avant garde world picture, there are multiple PODs.

POD the first: The Ottoman invasion of Vienna succeeds, and most of Europe is conquered. Christianity collapses after the Sack of Rome, where the Pope is killed, along with many other holy figures. Only Western Europe stands free.

POD the second: The Kievan Rus choose Islam instead of Orthodoxy. When Constantinople falls to the Turks, the Russians support the action with their own troops. In addition, the Muslim Russians convert the Mongols when they invade. The Mongols, in turn, convert everyone everywhere they conquer, ruthlessly. They also succeed in conquering Japan and Southeast Asia.

POD the third: The remaining Western nations colonize the New World, giving them support against the Ottoman invaders. Meanwhile, the Mongols collapse, leaving the Russians most of their vast nation spreading throughout Asia.

POD the fourth: The Delhi Sultanate survives and conquers all India.

POD the fifth: After Spain falls to Muslim invasion the French and Spanish territories split off from their mother countries to form Gran Columbia.

POD the sixth: Australia is discovered by the Gran Columbians, and annexed.

POD the seventh: In 1850, the remaining Western countries unite into the Anglo-German-French Coalition.

POD the eighth; WWI; The Anglo-French and the Gran Columbians against the World's Muslim nations; as a result, most of Muslim Africa is annexed to the AGFC, while the Gran Columbians gain control over South East Asia. After this war, the Muslim countries enter the Pact of Medina, untied into  a single superstate, the Confederation of the Crescent.

POD the ninth: WWII; The AGFC is smashed in this war as the Gran Columbians refuse to help them. They lose Germany and Scandinavia to the COTC. Now only the AFC. In retaliation for the Gran Columbian unhelpfulness, part of their territories, near OTL NY, are conquer by the AFC.

POD the tenth: WWIII; The Scramble over Africa. The AFC and Gran Columbians attack the COTC in Africa. The AFC gain most of the North, while the Gran Columbians take the South.

POD the eleventh; WWIV; AFC unites with COTC against the Gran Columbia after the Gran Columbians attempt an invasion of OTL Canada. The COTC take South East Asia and the AFC take much of South Africa. War ends after the AFC nuke Nueva Madrid, the Gran Columbian capital city.

The World today; Of the three nations, only Gran Columbia doesn't have nuclear weapons. A state of Cold War exists between the AFC and the COTC. The AFC have the advantage in terms of technology while the COTC have much more resources and manpower. There are no direct democracies; The AFC is a republic in the ancient Roman sense, the COTC is a Caliphial-type nation, and the Gran Columbians are just a straight up Monarchy.

This is the Official Monster Raving Loony Party of Map Contests =D

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Comments:

Imperium Constantinum - Sine
The timeline is based on the idea of what if the Parthian empire faced a civil war during the invasion of the Mesopotamia by Trajan, that after long enough (about ten to thirteen years) in 129 AD would have consolidated a Christian (Nestorian) leaning monarchy, but at the same time losing the greatest part of Mesopotamia and Western Persia. For the next two centuries a few things that didn't happen in OTL occur such as 
 * 1) Persia weakened by the Roman capture of Mesopotamia becomes less expansive toward the West and focuses in the Kushan empire, by 320 gaining most of its non-Hindustani territories and a great part of the Caspian coastline.
 * 2) The Romans themselves organized more expeditions to Germania and Caledonia, Caledonia being conquered by 195 AD and a slow series of campaigns that yield the capture of Germania by 231 AD (From the Elbe to the Oder) forming three main provinces, Batavia (OTL Netherlands and Frisia), Germania Cherusca (Northern Germany) and Germania Danuvia (Southern Germania) often the last two referred as Cheruscia and Marcomannia.
 * 3) The first big invasion attempt to Hibernia in 235 AD to stop Celtic attempts to enter Britannia from Hibernia, During the same time the capture of Scythia Proxima or Scythia Pontica (OTL Crimea and southern Ukraine), there's as well the first attempts of the Romans to establish trans-Saharan trading through the Atlantic African coast, reaching the Canary Islands in 305 AD and establishing a trading outpost.

{{hidden
 * header = Point of Divergence
 * headerstyle = background:red


 * content =After 315 Constantine reaches power due to a coup d'etat by a member of the royal family who seeks to gain the control of Rome, and the Emperor Gaius Aurelius is killed in the Battle of Miletus when the forces of his familiar strike the fortress made by the loyal army, after that Constantine the general leads a punitive army to Attaleia the Usurpers military headquarters after two weeks of siege Attaleia falls and the usurper is captured and executed, Constantine becomes the emperor Constantine politics is new, like in OTL he gives freedom of religions but he becomes Christian earlier than in OTL. It is in this moment where the event occurs, Rome and Persia unify under the Christian banner as in 321 Constantine marries the daughter of the Persian emperor, who soon dies in a coup d'etat by Kushan peoples from the east annexing Persia into the Roman empire. His three successors then assure the last real conquests of Rome in Europe, In the period of 50 years assuring the Conquest or Vassalage of Germania Slavica, Dacia Sarmatica and Scythia Proxima, then the Barbar invasions occur when the Huns enter Europe forcing Slavic and Sarmatian tribes to enter into their empire offering to die or to be with them.

With the contact of the Romans and the Huns the beginning of Crisis Starts as the now over expanded Roman empire, although more populated and Developed than in OTL, the Roman Province of Scythia Tanaiensis between the Don and Dniester where soon looted by the savage Hunnic hordes the Roman armies confronted them near Augusta Scythiensis OTL Kiev, where the Romans Finally defeated the Huns first horde and expelled them from Scythia, Five years later in 378 another Hunnic Incursion occurs into the Roman empire, In this Case into Germania Slavica where the Huns manage to make an Important Foothold on the Roman Empire territories of Germania Slavica Using the Viadua or Auderium in the Local dialects (Romanization of Oder) as their border with what the Romans could hold of Germania and the Vistula with the Roman Legions holding in Germania Suevica (OTL Kaliningrad Oblast) the Roman Loss of territory accelerated the Roman crisis as this territories

Had become producer for the Empire The Emperor Flavius Valerius Constantinus (of the Constantinian Dynasty) soon sent several legions from the west (Hispanian, Gaul and Mauretanians to deal with the threat in the east of the Empire a ten-year war assured the Romans the control of their lost lands and the fragmentation of the Hunnic empire in Smaller Kingdoms within the Territories once held, Mainly in four great Confederations, ...



The four main confederation where the Venedae Foedus, the Foedus Magiariensis and the Serican Kingdom of the Rha and the Caucasian Kingdom, the last too becoming Roman Vassals in the late 4{{sup|th}} century, while the venedae and the Magyars remained independent, in between this a Hunnic Kingdom bigger than the rest, and although not as strong as previously, indeed remaining with enough strength to the defend itself from the Roman Legions of Scythia and Germania Slavica, With this the only remaining threat to the Roman Empire in Europe fades as the Huns become a outside kingdom fighting against the Venedae and the Magyars who remain the only few territories that are not under Roman Structure or Roman Vassalage as others (Such as The Caucasus Tribes and other Ethnic groups such as the Franks, Burgundians, Goths in the Baltic region and the Prussians), With The death of Flavius Valerius Constantinus, a member of the Senate become his successor and the very first Roman to turn its eyes towards the east, and further more into the Arabian desert, Iulius Cassius Aurelius “Arabicus” soon he begins the Planing of a new Expansionist campaign, one of them reaching Meccae and sacking the city, by 410 the Roman emperor Cassius chooses to divide the Empire among Praetors forming praetoriates, regions within which this would be the second highest level of Governing power after the emperor

This Praetoriate represented the Roman power on their respective region such as Gaul or Persia.
 * Roman Division in Praetoriates, the Nations with a red dot inside them being praetoriates of the Roman empire.
 * 1) Gaul praetoriate
 * 2) Carthaginian Praetoriate
 * 3) Egyptian Praetoriate
 * 4) Mesopotamian Praetoriate
 * 5) Persian Praetoriate
 * 6) Arabian Praetoriate
 * 7) Greek Praetoriate
 * 8) <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Dacian Praetoriate
 * 9) <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">German Praetoriate
 * 10) <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Scythia Praetoriate
 * 11) <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Britannian Praetoriate
 * 12) <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Italian Praetoriate.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">By 425 the Roman advance on Arabia had been little.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">The Arabs managed to fend of the Romans, although the Romans did achieved to gain some lands, Such as part of OTL Oman and Parts of Arabia in OTL Jordania. By 430 the Roman empire had extended beyond Europe, Asia. The only remaining border (and an uncrossable one) was the African desert, acting as the main border in Roman Africa.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Cassius chooses to begin focusing on Africa, beginning said campaign he started to focus on trading with the Gaetulians, and Phazanians, by the time of the dead of Cassius in 435, the Roman expansion into the African desert had been halted, as Rome had lost interest in its continuous over expansionism, Rome began the creation of a Infrastructure to keep it. Then a second Pax Romana arrives, as Goths, Franks, Dacians, Scythians and other new peoples live peacefully within the empire until the late 600 when the Arab Islam begins arising, it is yet in this period, the most glorious era for Rome, a path from east to west is made, from Scythia to Lusitania, crossing the vast immensity dividing the cities united, the forests of the once wild Germania were no match to the Roman power and might, the greed that lurked within the Romans would once again be the main force to rule the empire, to last beyond the nature's must and hope for peace, the Roman soon swarmed the land of the Germans, and the Germans soon adopted the Roman culture, For the year 550 the Roman culture had already been heavily implanted through most of Germania.

From the desert …
In the late 600 a new threat arose, the Arabs and Islam, the threat yet wouldn't be seen as a threat by the Romans since the beginning.

The Islamic era starts in 615, 20 years prior to the Islamic Caliphate arose led by an Arab-Roman citizens of Ctesiphon who backed by the locals. Years prior to the Islamic Caliphate arose led by an Arab-Roman citizens of Ctesiphon who backed by the locals managed to assert control on the Regions of Roman Arabia and by 618 controls most of Mesopotamia and Syria. However, the accelerated expansion of the Arab Roman armies in Mesopotamia and Syria only grew to Some extent the attempt of Varo the Arab to invade Palestine and then Egypt failed when his fleet was crushed in the siege of Alexandria completely finishing his navy and allowing the Romans to enter Syria - reaching Damascus and soon Ctesiphon in 621 his last reduct was in Roman Arabia and he was finally defeated in September 30th of that year - yet he managed to flee to Mecca where the Arabs posed themselves as hostiles to the Roman empire. He died after a revolt took down the leadership of the city in 627 - yet his ideals of a free Eastern empire didn't. In 628 a man known in Mecca that survived the riots begin preaching a new religion - Islam. Soon the Arabs began uniting. By 633 he already had control over most of Arabia. The tired military presence in Persia from Rome was felt but it wasn't until 634 when the Arab Islamic Caliphate Invaded Mesopotamia. Mohammed died in 636 with The Levant being under his control but it was the Caliphs to follow him that successfully conquered Roman Egypt and Southern Roman Persia to Islam. However, their expansionism wouldn't last long as the Emperor Augustus Aurelius in 658 would reconquer Southern Persia after the Arabs tried to conquer India. The Romans sided with the Indians and in 661 they had recovered a great amount of their losses and the Levant. It was in the battle of Sinai when the Arabs realized that holding Egypt would be more costly than keeping it - releasing the territories into full chaos as there were many Muslims that had settled in the region soon causing complete civil war dividing the region in three: Cyrenaica, Alexandria and Nile. Only the Sultanate of Nile hosted a Muslim majority. The Romans soon took advantage gaining the north back. The south, however, asks aid of the Caliphate in Arabia as their parent nation. The Arabs were, however, unable to aid. By 663 The Sultanate of Nile collapsed with the Romans regaining their border and leaving a Rump Nile government in the south. The Romans were strong but it wasn't until 725 After the end of the Arab-Roman Wars another conflict presented to Rome this time from Europe. From the North the Nortmanni, mainly from the Danes, as the Roman Empire had for its last century traded and done punitive campaigns into the regions with local tribes that assaulted the regions of Germania Slavica (or Germania Venedae). The collapse of the German Limes of Rome show a big failure in the Roman military which Emperor Arcadius seeks to fix as soon as he can. By 800 the Romans had defeated the Danes but it ended as a Pyrrhic victory with little to no gains and only with the small securing of the Suevic Sea for the time being. In between 800 and 1150 the Secunda Pax Romana occurred which literally meant the pacification and Romanization of all territories within Roman domination mainly focusing in Germania, Scythia, Persia, Phazania and Gaetulia. The events in Europe that implied expansion mostly occurred in Scandinavia and Eastern Russia. The end of the Secunda Pax Romana is officially in 1279 when the emperor and the praetor of Graecia in the battle of Taurica as the Merkit empire reaches the Roman empire after the defeat in the battles of Caspium and Balucia in Eastern Roman Persia. However, the success of the advance made by the Merkit against the empires in the east and the west, however, the access to the Mediterranean that the Merkits wished to reach wasn't reached as the Roman army managed to stop them in the battle of Ctesiphon and the battle of Sebastopolis. The success the Romans had was big enough to stop the advance but put pressure that the Romans couldn't handle as the vikings continued raiding the cities of Northern Germania and Gaul. The successful and continuing expansion of the Scandinavians into the northern regions. Germania is however finished in the battle of Verolinum (OTL Berlin) where Gaius Fabius "Germanicus" Sabinus stops the advance of Harald of Geatland into the Alba River and reverses the successful advance of the Geats southwards. In Northern Europe, the Scandinavian peninsula is divided in four as the Saami in Finland have managed to consolidate their power in most of their regions while the Geats and the Swedes have continued their fights. <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm"> }}