400-499 (Abrittus)

Rough sketch: A century of relative peace, stability, innovations and increasing living standards in the Mediterranean space; a time of increased trade and co-operative relations with northern Africa begins.

Major events
No ideas so far; suggestions are welcome.

Centennial developments and trends
Economy:


 * Publicly funded inventions allow the mechanisation of cotton carding, dramatically increasing the availability of cotton textiles and reducing the required amount of labour.


 * Technological innovations improve the manufacturing of glass.

Military:
 * Destillation is invented and used for alcohol first.


 * A.M.-funded research leads to the development of petra oleum-based flamethrowers. Because they are still unwieldy in the 5th century, they are mostly used as defensive weapons.
 * Rome practices a "seesaw policy" of changing alliances: Frequent alliances with Saba against the Sassanids are interspersed with Roman-Sassanid alliances against Hunnic invasions both at the Caucasus and the Kopet Dag.

Philosophy:


 * Across universities in Gaul, the new "Celtic philosophy" spreads. It differs from Neoplatonism mainly in its epistemological foundation, which lays the ground for the later establishment of empirical sciences. Celtic philosophy also presents a major challenge for all revelatory religions.
 * Universities in the Sassanid and Gupta empires intensify their dialogue and also the contacts between post-Hellenistic and eastern philosophy as well as between Christianity, Zoroastrism, Hinduism and Buddhism.

Religion:


 * Roman and Celtic polytheistic cult decline further, but Christianity does not gain all the ground, with new philosophical trends swelling the ranks of the non-religious.


 * Simonist Christianity spreads across the Sahara with the Garamants, the first nation to implement the radically democratic, egalitarian Simonist principles, both in their oasis communities and while on the move.


 * Along the Eastern coast of Africa, a less revolutionary miaphysitic Christianity spreads aboard Aksumite and Saban merchant ships discovering new trading opportunities to the South.
 * In Arabia, the century is not so peaceful, not only due to Roman/Saban-Sassanid wars, but also due to conflicts between mainly Simonist Nabateans in the North-West, Jewish-led Jafrids allied with the Roman Empire in the North, superficially Zoroastric Lakhmdis allied with the Sassanids in the North-East, the Azd in the East, who are citizens of Saba and have adapted elements of miaphysitic Christianity with traditional cults, and the Quraish in the centre, who stick with their traditional gods.

Nations of Europe: Salvador79 (talk) 17:13, March 5, 2014 (UTC)
 * The Imperium Romanum Galliarum annexes Caledonia and Hibernia. Education and living standards among the Celts improve considerably.
 * Frankish conquests of Saxon lands and Southern city states alternate with the fracturing of kingdoms, preventing the Franks from dominating Germania.
 * Saxons, Burgunds and Danube city states are confronted with expanding Venedi.
 * Danube city states forge several short-lived alliances.
 * The Roman Empire enjoys a long era of relative peace (with minor skirmishes in the East), increasing levels of education, economic development and living standards. Trade with its Southern neighbours in Africa intensifies as glass and cotton gain importance.

Abrittus