Ozzy's Classical Eurodip: storythread

[Dylan Baker]

On the Carthaginian Proposal

Reply to the Carthaginian Envoy of 600 BC, declassified 575 BC

To be delivered in the most privledged manner to the Carthaginian and Roman heads of state, then placed on record at Pisae:

Gentlemen, I want it clear that it is the position of the Babylonian governement never to tolerate espionage. The Spanish are nothing but backwards, beer-swilling cowards, and, frankly, they deserve whatever they get.

I am of the opinion that Zylka must pay restitution, in the form of gold or technology. But if we are to curtail his movements, let us do it properly. Unless reparations are paid, I propose a zero tolerance policy on any Spanish naval movements at all, and a full trade enbargo. I will not have the Babylonian people worrying that their water supply will be poisoned or that their churches and schoolhouses will be destroyed! Many of the brave settlers of our coastal lands have already returned inland!

Of course, your mighty civilizations must do what is right for you, and I defer to whatever judgements you may make.

Very truly yours,

DB Grottencrotch

[Dylan Baker]

The Song of Roland

Letter to the 6 Heads of State upon completion of the Song of Roland

Gentlemen, you are no doubt aware that the Babylonian empire has acquired a great and terrible asset. This great wonder provides our military leaders with revolutionary training and hands-on battlefield experience before they leave the city of Babylon!

Late last year, I was approached by my military cousul expressing alarm at Roman troop movements outside the city of Kish. It seems a single band of stragglers was able to march south 500 miles (clear through our territory) to the mouth of the river Nile! Needless to say, I view these events with a certain degree of incredulity, as no right of passage doctrine was in effect.

I have already been approached by the great leader of the Carthaginians regarding my intentions in building such a structure. I say to you all what I said to him, that the world is filled with riff-raff, and that riff-raff will now think twice before prancing about in the West Bank.

Hopefully, the nations of the world will now respect the territory of the Babylonian empire. Rest assured, friends, that this weapon will never be used in a preemptive strike. It is simply a deterent, designed to ward off potential invaders and encroachers.

Truly yours,

DB Grottencrotch

[Dylan Baker]

A cultural note...

A letter from explorer Geznikor Whompbukket to his wife upon arrival at the Egyptian city of Memphis

My dearest Malorie,

The poverty in this abused country is intense. Many Egyptians live off the residue of the Carthaginians and have become dispossessed in their own land.

Here, small figures crowd the rim of a garbage pit. A Roman cigarette hangs from a sullen adolescent mouth, old women stare idly into the distance, chariots stand burnished under the sun. There is little sound or movement while our party is present, just the kicking of trash into the large pit. Our horses leave, and, far away through billowing clouds of dust, one can discern small figures clambering into the pit.

Though Memphis is a small town it has practically all the facilities of one of our larger cities, like Ur, and many additional advantages available only in this part of the world. There are baths (though cold), fresh milk (though warm), a gentlemen's club with gambling, plenty of wine, and a very good selection of books in the town hall. Carthaginian and Eqyptian women will do laundry for a small fee and handle all the cooking. European travelers are also here but they are often separated from the natives by barbed wire because their wives travel with them. Around this perhaps 1/8 of a square mile town are rows of barbed wire, starving horses and men with spears.

Hopefully I will be moving on to a better place soon.

Your loving husband,

Gez Whompbukket

[atawa]

Re: On the Carthaginian Proposal

Originally posted by Dylan Baker
Reply to the Carthaginian Envoy of 600 BC, declassified 575 BC

To be delivered in the most privledged manner to the Carthaginian and Roman heads of state, then placed on record at Pisae:

Gentlemen, I want it clear that it is the position of the Babylonian governement never to tolerate espionage. The Spanish are nothing but backwards, beer-swilling cowards, and, frankly, they deserve whatever they get.

I am of the opinion that Zylka must pay restitution, in the form of gold or technology. But if we are to curtail his movements, let us do it properly. Unless reparations are paid, I propose a zero tolerance policy on any Spanish naval movements at all, and a full trade enbargo. I will not have the Babylonian people worrying that their water supply will be poisoned or that their churches and schoolhouses will be destroyed! Many of the brave settlers of our coastal lands have already returned inland!

Of course, your mighty civilizations must do what is right for you, and I defer to whatever judgements you may make.

Very truly yours,

DB Grottencrotch

We warmly welcome the support of our Babylonian and Chartagian friends in this troublesome times.

Our inteligence reports confirm that Spain does not poses any technology that would be of any use for the Roman people. It was therefore decided reparations in the form of a caravan would be demanded.

There is only one problem with the naval blockade as proposed by our Chartagian friends: In the north directly east of the red line lies a Gaul settlement in between Spanish and Roman teritory.

I would like to ask our Gaulic friends to either join our blockade or else let our ships pass through their coastal waters so they can form a blockade west of Gaulic teritory.

The band of special forces that kidnapped Maximus Pompeius crossed Gaul lands before entering Roman teritory. Now I understand our Gaul friends, like ourselves, did not suspect what was going on at the time, however, we now urge our friends not to let any Spanish troops cross over into Roman teritory from Gaulic lands.

[VetLegion]

Good story so far

[deity]

Re: On the Carthaginian Proposal

Originally posted by Dylan Baker
Reply to the Carthaginian Envoy of 600 BC, declassified 575 BC

To be delivered in the most privledged manner to the Carthaginian and Roman heads of state, then placed on record at Pisae:

Gentlemen, I want it clear that it is the position of the Babylonian governement never to tolerate espionage. The Spanish are nothing but backwards, beer-swilling cowards, and, frankly, they deserve whatever they get.

I am of the opinion that Zylka must pay restitution, in the form of gold or technology. But if we are to curtail his movements, let us do it properly. Unless reparations are paid, I propose a zero tolerance policy on any Spanish naval movements at all, and a full trade enbargo. I will not have the Babylonian people worrying that their water supply will be poisoned or that their churches and schoolhouses will be destroyed! Many of the brave settlers of our coastal lands have already returned inland!

Of course, your mighty civilizations must do what is right for you, and I defer to whatever judgements you may make.

Very truly yours,

DB Grottencrotch

This is good news indeed.

The Carthaginians respectfuly assume that any actions taken by us against the Spanish, to reclaim our homelands, is supported by the Babylonians? May you play a part in helping us resolve this matter dipomatically?

[Frank Johnson]

The Gaulic tribe even to this day, is a collection of small villages and towns. Steeped in tradition, the small communities continued outward into the fertile vallies of Europe. Bards sung of tales from long ago, and scribes took to pen the wise words of others. Right and wrong, justice and law, were debated by all good men, during the peer system, as well as now when the council rules over the land. However, the world passed the Guals behind.

Across the world, villages were no more, and huge cities replaced them. The quiet, friendly, villages of Gaul were backward once more. The stage was set, but the time was not yet right.

Has Gaul seen its glory come and go? No more frontiers open their doors, no cities rise up to claim glory. A single village sits on the mediterranian sea, trade route of the great powers.

Learning had fallen into hard times in Gual, the best scholars having moved to Rome, Gual was no longer a center of learning. Dominionative religions grew in popularity over the land.....one such legend follows as such.....

When darkness falls over the land,
The wind no longer sturs gently in the fields,
The seas grow cold and violent,
The flame of truth grows dim,
And the earth no longer yeilds its bounty,

Fear not, for a hero shall appear.

He shall come forth wearing alien vestment,
And weilding the sword of Light, Durandal.
The spirts of our anicestors will unite the Tribes of Gaul,
And all who oppose this will, shall meet with the wrath of all that is true.

[deity]

Originally posted by Frank Johnson
The Gaulic tribe even to this day, is a collection of small villages and towns. Steeped in tradition, the small communities continued outward into the fertile vallies of Europe. Bards sung of tales from long ago, and scribes took to pen the wise words of others. Right and wrong, justice and law, were debated by all good men, during the peer system, as well as now when the council rules over the land. However, the world passed the Guals behind.

Across the world, villages were no more, and huge cities replaced them. The quiet, friendly, villages of Gaul were backward once more. The stage was set, but the time was not yet right.

Has Gaul seen its glory come and go? No more frontiers open their doors, no cities rise up to claim glory. A single village sits on the mediterranian sea, trade route of the great powers.

Learning had fallen into hard times in Gual, the best scholars having moved to Rome, Gual was no longer a center of learning. Dominionative religions grew in popularity over the land.....one such legend follows as such.....

When darkness falls over the land,
The wind no longer sturs gently in the fields,
The seas grow cold and violent,
The flame of truth grows dim,
And the earth no longer yeilds its bounty,

Fear not, for a hero shall appear.

He shall come forth wearing alien vestment,
And weilding the sword of Light, Durandal.
The spirts of our anicestors will unite the Tribes of Gaul,
And all who oppose this will, shall meet with the wrath of all that is true.

OOC LoTR got to you eh

[deity]

Looking forward to hearing more from the poetic Gauls; along with their opinions on International Affairs....

[Dylan Baker]

Re: Re: On the Carthaginian Proposal

Originally posted by deity


This is good news indeed.

The Carthaginians respectfuly assume that any actions taken by us against the Spanish, to reclaim our homelands, is supported by the Babylonians? May you play a part in helping us resolve this matter dipomatically?

Hardly. While we sympathize with your plight, there is a healthy difference between an embargo/blockade and fighting it out to recapture the Motherland.

Furthermore, before we become involved in diplomatic measures regarding territory in northwest Africa, I would like a little background information. Has Spain violated any treaty, written or otherwise, in settling there? What else might the world need to know before rushing to judgment?

Grott

[deity]

Re: Re: Re: On the Carthaginian Proposal

Originally posted by Dylan Baker
Hardly. While we sympathize with your plight, there is a healthy difference between an embargo/blockade and fighting it out to recapture the Motherland.

Furthermore, before we become involved in diplomatic measures regarding territory in northwest Africa, I would like a little background information. Has Spain violated any treaty, written or otherwise, in settling there? What else might the world need to know before rushing to judgment?

Grott

My dear Grott,

Thankyou for making your position a little clearer.

Since no treaties were made, none could be broken. The incoherance of the Spanish leader made such things difficult... However it is clear from our map that Spain has colonised Africa before developing her homeland. It is common law that the natives of a land are the owners of the land; and clearly the Carthaginians are limited by a thin strip of arable land on the Northern shores of Africa. Any fair-minded and civilised leader would clearly see this upon earlier map exchanges and prior to the building of Spanish cities in Africa.

The Carthaginians already set a fine example by re-assuring Rome that the Mediterranean Islands off the shores of Rome, whilst near Carthage, were Roman. This was agreed with the honourable Romans despite the early discovery of Map Making by the Carthaginians. Likewise, the islands East of Spain were left for Spanish colonisation.

But, the Spanish actually made a deliberate bee-line for Africa, before settling their islands or indeed Western Spain and Portugal, in the full knowledge that the Carthaginians had limited land.

I implore you, my dear Grott, as a great leader of a fine and powerful civilisation to assist the Carthaginians in their plight. After all, you are a reasonable and trustworthy ally of our great Egyptian ally.

[deity]

And the uninhabited Spanish islands...

[atawa]

The Carthaginians already set a fine example by re-assuring Rome that the Mediterranean Islands off the shores of Rome, whilst near Carthage, were Roman. This was agreed with the honourable Romans despite the early discovery of Map Making by the Carthaginians. Likewise, the islands East of Spain were left for Spanish colonisation.

The Romans have always apreciated this generous offer by our Chartagian friends

We welcome our Roman friends to send more trade caravans to the city of Sardiniae, this isolated trading port has grown quite a bit in size since your last visit and plans are made to build the first Roman market.

As the island of Sardiniae is considered a free trade zone the revenue from trading goods is high.
At this moment dye and hides are in heavy demand while the stockpiles of beads and coal have almost completely filled up the basements of Sardinian traders.

We like to extend this offer to all friendly nations in the world for as long as their schollars flock to the Great Library of Pisae.
(Country's under Roman boycott excluded.)

[OzzyKP]

Good posts guys. Can't wait to hear what is going on with the greeks.

[Makeo]

To our dear friend DB Grottencrotch

We welcome our good friends the Babylonians to the Red Sea which separates our great nations. The Egyptian government would like to propose and request that the Babylonians withhold themselves to the eastern banks and in return the Egyptian government will pledge not to establish any settlements on the east bank.

Makeozacoatl.


The Egyptian government is in full support of the Carthaginians struggle to reclaim land rightfully theirs. The aggressive resettlement program adopted by the Spanish must be halted immediately and North African land now in Spanish hands returned to the Carthaginians.


A Missive from King Makeozacoatl to Consul Hadrianus on behalf of the Egyptian trade consortium.

Consul Hadrianus, I feel it would be mutually beneficial to our respective countries and citizens if a trade agreement can be reached. My merchant class is clamouring for trade rights to Sardinae and the market places of Cyprus are crying out for goods. Perhaps we can leave it to our respecitve economic advisors to hammer out the details as the intricate details that seem to fascinate them, frankly, bore me.

Makeozacoatl.