Dark Ages NES

[Tassadar500]

Arabia to Iberia:
(secret)
Well, where would you place the university then?

[foolish_icarus]

Carthage or some other city close to the border.

[appleciders]

Byzantium to Arabia: The Jews are free to leave, at their discretion, and that's the last we have to say on the matter.

[foolish_icarus]

Is there a problem?

[appleciders]

Not here; I've written updates for those who've put in orders. Just waiting on Bipolarbear and Lord Nuclear.

[foolish_icarus]

it won't hurt them to miss an update.

[appleciders]

No, and if they don't hurry up, they will. Deadline 9:00 A.M. US Pacific time Sunday morning (about 18 hours from now).

[Tassadar500]

My orders will be in before that time. It's been a busy few days.

[appleciders]

Ok. I understand.

[Tassadar500]

Orders--
We are to encourage Jews from all around the world to leave the land they are currently in, and come to Arabia. More specifically, the Jews in the Byzantine Empire. If they come, they will NOT be discriminated against, and will only have to pay a small tax, which brings me to another point. They are welcome to come to Babylon, which is currently the non-official capital of the Jews.

There is a new deal for the People of the Book. If you sign up to the military for five years, you and your immediate family will be EXEMPT from taxes. You are not able to, however, sign up to become part of a light infantry unit.

The King will be going around the empire, giving speeches about Allah and Islam, how we need to exploit our scientific advantage over the other nations, but how we also need to follow all the laws that Allah gave to Mohammed. He is to stress that he is a descendent of Mohammed, and that we are not to reform our society, or change our religion. Once in Cyrene, he is to announce the beginning of the construction of a new, glorious Mosque in the city. The style of the Mosque will be similar to the Dome of the Rock, which was recently built.

While the King goes around the empire, a large group of War Camels and Cavalry Archers will follow him, encouraging the population to become like them, and help defend Islam, Medina and Mecca, and the Empire.

Start creating interest for the soon-to-be built University in Carthage, shared with the Caliphate of Iberia. This will be a once-in-a-lifetime chance. The Caliphate of Arabia will begin to open it's borders to Iberia. Depending on the size and wealth of the family, they will be taxed when they enter the Empire.

The beginning of a new road-network throughout the empire should be planned. We are to search for the best engineers, scientists, and labourers in the Empire to plan it. They are not to begin construction, but are just to plan at this time.

[appleciders]

Thanks for the orders but... I believe Babylon had been destroyed by this point, and was never rebuilt. I remember deciding against putting it on the map for that reason. Wikipedia confirms this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylon

Are you intending to rebuild it?

EDIT: Nevermind, deadline past, update started.

[appleciders]

First Update: 745 A.D.


Bavaria:
Envoys to the tribes in the north produced large quantities of young, able bodied recruits, whom the villages sent in return for Bavarian built watch towers. These new recruits ("Northern Recruits"- North of Lyon) bring word of continued Iberian encroachment. Their chiefteins fear being hunted down individually by the Muslims, as the Franks were, and so several tribes north of Lyon have sworn fealty to Bavaria; keeping some of their power while gaining the protection of the Bavarian Army.

The building of military training centers in Lyon and Vienna raised national awareness of the need for the military, and recruitment quotas were met so quickly that the conscription of young men was dropped.

Trade with Rome brought in many new items, piqueing interest in foreign goods, which may also have helped with the recruitment drives.

Iberian settlers moved eastward from Tours, guarded by the Army of Tours, on to land claimed by both the Franks and a cheiftain who recently swore fealty to the Bavarians. Small Frankish skirmish groups hindered the advance, but the main army was too far away to oppose the Iberians. The cheiftain whose lands were taken cries out for help from the Bavarian army. The other cheiftains who swore allegiance to Bavaria may leave again if this cheiftain's claim is not upheld.


Iberia:
The Iberian settlers from Tours met with light resistance, but the Army of Tours easily put down such weak and disorganized resistance. A cheiftain identifying himself as Bavarian claimed that the Iberians would pay for these incursions, but he was quickly thrown out of camp. The settlers set up small camps in the area, precursors to permanent settlements.

The construction of aqueducts in the dryest portions of Spain boosted agricultural productivity, and won the favor of the local inhabitants.

The congregation of many ship building companies and merchants in Barcelona has raised that city out of obscurity. While no ships have yet been built, the excitement is building.

New universities have been opened across Iberian territory, most notably in Aquae, where a large and already prestigious university has caught the attention of the Western Mediterranean.

While the existing fleet does not have the size or resources to reach the low countries, sea trade has begun with the UMK, slightly improving the economy of the Mediterranean coast. A tax imposed on non-Muslims has also generated both a bonus to the treasury and a slight rise in conversion.



Rome:
Many new changes, taxes, and conscription raised unrest amongst the peoples of the newly reunified Rome this half-decade. Several small civil uprisings were put down, but the uprising in Bari was too large and the military too far away. The illiterate poor were told by the better-educated rich that this "New Deal" meant the government would steal and redistribute to Rome everything they owned. Bari has declared itself independant of the Emperor, and raised a small army to uphold this claim.

In other cities, protest was less severe, partly because the newly rechristened Roman Defense Force quietly and quickly "pacified" the more violent protesters. Venice and Rome had few protests, due to the massive new constructions started this turn.

The new military training camps at Rome, Milan, and Naples were barely enough to handle the massive influx of new recruits, hoping for the glory days of old, conquering and holding an empire, led by the best generals in the world. This new "Roman Defense Force" is not exactly what they were expecting, but it is fervently hoped by the populace that something like the conquests of old will be in store.

The new naval base at Venice is only partially finished, but already merchants from all over the Mediterranean have flocked to Venice to trade, especially for the beer coming from Bavaria. The small taxes and tariffs generated only a little income, but the money the merchants spent in Venetian shops has made the city of Venice significantly richer.

Rome itself is looking better as well, with new aqueducts providing a fresher supply of water than Rome has seen in centuries. The Roman populace seems excited by this, especially the growing middle class, mostly literate small merchants. The upper class was quite unhappy with being required to actually work, but have been putting up with it for now.


Byzantium:
Not wanting to be surpassed by his nieghbors, the Emperor of Byzantium began a series of military recruitment campaigns. He announced his desire to reclaim many important regions of the historic Eastern Roman Empire, starting with the interior of Greece.

Small gains in the interior of Greece went unchallenged by the Edessans, who seemed to think such small losses not worth a war. However, the Edessans did state that no further Byzantine incursions would be tolerated.

The Byzantine armies in Italy also made use of the rebllion of Bari to make inroads towards Bari while the Roman Army was out of the way.

Accusations from abroad about the treatment of the Jewish population brought the Emperor's attention to this maltreated portion of the population. A series of new decrees guarantees all citizens the right to free travel both within and out of the empire.

The Emperor has also decreed that all sea trade in the Western Mediterranean must either be carried by a Byzantine-registered ship, or face taxation. All merchants wishing to register may do so at any Byzantine port. The Emperor hopes to reduce piracy through these measures.


France:
The remaining Frankish citizenry have unified under Charles Martel's heir, Pippin. Pippin has vowed to avange his father's death and is planning to start by taking back the most recent Iberian incursion. He urges the Bavarians to support the resistance movement.


Arabia:
The recent Arabian push to attract Jews has met with limited success. While much confusion gathered over why the King would say he wanted the Jews to move to Babylon- the city had been deserted for more than seven hundred years, and represented to the Jews the city where their ancestors were taken as slaves- a smattering of Jews moved back to the historic Israel area. More wait overseas, waiting to see if the new arrivals in Arabia will be persecuted beyond this tax.

The announcment of a new, enormous mosque in Cyrene was met with great interest by the population, who hope that the new mosque will attract many laborers and merchants to their city, as well as pilgrims.

The King has taken up the lecture circuit, creating great interest amongst his people. They are impressed that such a high personage would stoop to offer his wisdom about Allah to them, and are grateful for the chance to actually see him in person.

Many scholars and teachers have already begun preparations to relocate to Carthage to become teachers or students at the great University planned there. A few have already booked passage on ships to Syracuse, which has lately been styling itself as the "Gateway to Carthage," in order to attract such teachers.

Military recruitment has seen a slight rise. While many families clamor to get one of their sons into the army, families who already have one son serving the King see no reason to risk another, negating part of the gain. Still, a few new recruits were trained in the capital Ctesiphon.

The planning of a road network through the empire is partially complete; in some places complete enough to begin construction. This is seen as a great opportunity to increase internal trade and communication, and of great importance to the national defense.


Union of Mediterranean Kingdoms:
With little central government, a lack of orders from that government encouraged innovation on the parts of the UMK. Sicily has begun trying to attract scholars from Arabia, calling itself the "Gateway to Carthage." Sardinia and Corsica began trading, especially at the lucrative new markets and construction areas at Venice, Rome, Aquae, and Carthage. And the Balearic Islands turned to that ever-popular method of making a living in the Mediterranean- piracy.

[Tassadar500]

Hmm... About Babylon. I was almost 100% sure that there was still a large Jewish population still living there. I'll check it out.

[appleciders]

They wrote a book called "Lamentations" about Babylon. They're unlikely to go back there.

[foolish_icarus]

More map corrections, if you feel like it:

Turin should be a little bit north, on the Po River.

Milan should be a tiny bit north and a little bit east, almost on the border with Bavaria.

Lyon is currently in Switzerland. It should be just about in the middle between the Loire and the flag of my Bavarian border guard.