SP Dark Ages Oriental ~Age of Idolatry~ *A Middle Eastern Modification*

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Mimir

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Hi!  :mrgreen:
This mod takes place in the "Jahiliyyah" period, pre-Islamic Arabia, around 400-600 A.D. This mod will focus on different tribes each battling for supremacy in the Arab Peninsula. But there'll also be other cultures existing in this mod through characters the player meets on his adventure. From Nubian mercenaries to Greek and Roman heroes from far away. Despite aiming to be 100% historically accurate, there'll be some flaws and changes so I can fit everything together. I hope to make this an enjoyable mod, so there's much work to be done! Here's a little description on the setting - 

"Before the people of the Arab Peninsula were united under a single caliphate, a single religion, and a single leader, the dunes of Arabia were strife with lawlessness, war, and conquest. This was the era of worshiped idols, multiple gods, and nomads that roamed the shining deserts."

"Jahiliyyah is an Islamic concept of "ignorance of divine guidance" or "the state of ignorance of the guidance from God" or "Days of Ignorance" referring to the condition in which Arabs found themselves in pre-Islamic Arabia, prior to the revelation of the Quran to Muhammad. Before the Islamic conversion the Arab tribes were nomadic, with a strong community spirit and some specific society rules. Their culture was patriarchal, with rudimentary religious beliefs. Although there were some traces of monotheism in the "hanifs" figures, their religious beliefs were based mostly on idol adorations and social congregations once a year around the Kaaba for trading and exchanges. Jahiliyya was an age of Arab nomads, of pagan worship and of archaic traditions. This was the age of idolatry."


Progress:
Items                                                                                                0%
Troops                                                                                            0%
Companions                                                                                    0%
Kings / Vassals                                                                                0%
Map                                                                                                  95%
Menus / Character Creation                                                            45%
Scenes                                                                                              0%
Quests                                                                                              0%
Extra Features (Possibly music, secret locations, special items)            0%

Factions:
Ghassanids (Arab & Roman culture)
Lakhmids (Arab & Persian culture)
Hanifa (West Arabian highland culture)
Ghatafan (Central Arabian nomadic culture)
Ghifar (Eastern Arabian nomadic culture)
Quraysh(Eastern-central Arabic nomads)
Hawazin (Central Arab nomads)

Credits:
- Already I can thank matmohair1 for giving me the idea / setting, as well as faction names with their descriptions. Thank you!

Extra Help:
If you want to help me out then I'd be grateful for any sort of assistance. Whether it be by providing me with some cool graphics or even some useful knowledge for modding or for the history on the time period / setting. If you want to be an even greater help then I could use some assistance in modeling / scene making.

Signatures:

Code:
[url=http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/topic,318494.0.html][IMG]http://i.imgur.com/O50B59i.png[/IMG][/url]

Code:
[url=http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/topic,318494.0.html][IMG]http://i.imgur.com/qrEGRbp.png[/IMG][/url]

Code:
[url=http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/topic,318494.0.html][IMG]http://i.imgur.com/acWmYrO.png[/IMG][/url]

Progress:

12/10/14
Atm, I'm fleshing out the map. Here's a picture of the work in progress. The water looks really ugly, and the land seems a bit blocky around the edges. I'm trying to figure out how I can fix that.
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12/11/14
-Map's finished. Castles / towns must be placed, will do once I organize factions.
-Starting to edit menus and character background options. Give me some ideas on what they should be!

12/12/14
-Menus almost done.
-Character background options done, need to edit skills values.
-The map has also been edited as well. Felt like I should mention that now since I spent some time improving it
 
@Matmohair:
Mimir said:
The mod, for creative license, won't be 100% historically accurate.

Although I agree with you, 500 BC isn't a great time period to cover in the arabian peninsula. There's practically nothing to work off of. 500-600 AD sounds far more interesting (you could do something surrounding the Rashidun Caliphate, after the death of Muhammad of course to avoid controversy) and would probably attract a lot more interest and help from other modders. I might even be inclined to contribute a bit. :wink:

Anyway I wish you the best of luck with this.
 
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The best setting would be during the life of the  :cool:
great poet Antarah ibn Shaddad (525-608 AD)  عنترة بن شداد العبسي

:arrow: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarah_ibn_Shaddad

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selected verses from his poetry  :wink:

O Abla stay safe and be happy in the Sand Valley
Away from enemies; fear not even if frightened.
Know that your dwelling is protected
By lions with mighty swords
That smash iron helmets, slice thick armors.

How great are my folks Bani Abs!
They have reached the pinnacle of honor;
Attained the height of prestige
When they saw my horse
Charge unrestrained, beneath thick clouds of dust
They thought it was bringing me nigh to doom.
Then they quickly trod on my heels,
Knowing that death is an unavoidable arrow, deflecting never.
I plunged headlong into the dust-covered battleground,
Atop my pitch black charger;
Upon return, his body was blood covered,
With human remains to its skin attached

I endeavored to be fair to my opponent,
However, he wronged me,
Resorting to mean, devious means.
Finally, my sword dealt him a fair blow.
Should others taunt me
On account of the blackness of my skin,
Let them keep in mind
That precious pearls are in shells contained...

 
Thanks for the suggestions, and sweet pics! I'll flip the setting to around AD then. Like I said, it won't be 100% historical accurate, so there'll be flaws. But I think I'll aim for the time period just before Muhammad gained a large following of muslims. Perhaps Islam conquest in the region will be a part of a greater storyline...
 
To be honest, the period of the Arab conquest of the Mid-East under the Rashidun Caliphs seems a more compelling setting. You'd be facing off against two massive, glittering empires deadlocked in an endless apocalyptic struggle, carrying the banner of a new and compelling religion that has unified dozens of formerly squabbling tribes, with the promise of conquest and wealth to be taken beyond imaginings. The diversity of the enemy, even within the ranks of a single Empire like the Byzantines or the Sassanian Persians, would be multiplied and you'd get to play with a far wider geographic setting.

But that's my thoughts: it is, after all, your mod.
 

Realizing what you said, you make a very good point! I'll go ahead with that setting seeing that a lot of people prefer that.

I'm going to give the original post a facelift, with corrections on description and setting by tomorrow.
 
Mimir said:
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Mimir said:
Israelie,
:grin: you can include the legendary "Sayf ibn Dhi-Yazan"
the Jewish king of Himyar in Yemen  :arrow: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sayf_ibn_Dhi-Yazan

:arrow: http://oldkomikero.blogspot.ae/2005/06/abel-laxamana-edbon-sevilleno.html

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The Jahiliah period just before Islam, is interesting because there were
many famous characters who's exploits are still celebrated today.
you can include them all here together, regardless of accuracy....
:arrow: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:razz:re-Islamic_Arabian_poets

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Azzir Salim (Abu Layla al-Muhalhel)
who was said to have been able to tame and ride a wild lion! &
fought a 40 years war just to avenge the death of his brother!

:arrow: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Layla_al-Muhalhel

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an interesting bunch were the saaleik,
or wild vagabonds like Taabata sharan, تأبط شرا (he who walks hand in hand with evil!)
because he always held an unsheathed sword underneath his armpit! He was feared by virtually everyone,
& was so bad-ass he could turn a tavern brawl into a massacre with the blink on an eye!

and then there was every damsels heart-throb, Imru' al-Qais, the last prince of Kindah.

Legend has it that Imru' al-Qais was the youngest of his father's sons, and began composing poetry while he was still a child. His father strongly disapproved of this habit in his son, believing poetry to be an unseemly pastime for the son of a king. His father also disapproved of Imru' al-Qais' scandalous lifestyle of drinking and chasing women, and eventually banished him from his kingdom, or so the legend goes. Later, when the tribe of Asad rebelled and assassinated his father, Imru' al-Qais was the only one of his brothers to take responsibility for avenging his death. Renouncing wine and women, he fought the tribe of Asad until he had exacted revenge in blood... After exacting his revenge upon the tribe of Asad, Imru' al-Qais travelled all over the Arabian peninsula and the Levant, taking refuge with different tribes, running from his enemies and seeking support to regain his father's kingship. (he even fought alongside Azzir Salim!) His last journey was to Constantinople, to seek support from Emperor Justinian I. The Ghassanid prince Al-Harith ibn Jabalah, Justinian's north Arabian vassal, sponsored Imru' al-Qais in his appeal, and most accounts indicate that he won some promise of support from the Byzantine emperor, and perhaps even a contingent of troops. Some reports indicate that Justinian pressed the Negus of Axum to support Imru' al-Qais' bid, but that he refused due to the ongoing feud between the Axumite Empire and the tribe of Kindah... After leaving Constantinople, Imru' al-Qais travelled until he fell ill near the city of Ankara in modern-day Turkey. He remained there until he died.There is a story which says that Emperor Justinian became angry with Imru' al-Qais after he left, and sent a messenger with a poisoned jacket, and that Imru' al-Qais wore the jacket and the poison killed him. This story says that Justinian was angry because he discovered that Imru' al-Qais had an affair with a woman in his court.  :arrow: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imru%27_al-Qais

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:grin: You can keep things simple if you focus on just 10 or 8 basic factions,
which can be treated as geographic alliance networks, for different clans:-

Non-Arabian Factions

Persia (if possible to include Sassanids)
Roman Egypt (period of Justinian or Heraclius)
Nubia
Axum

Arabian Factions

Ghassanids - Levant
Lakhmids - Mesopotamia and gulf coast
Hijaz - Western Arabia
Najd - Central Arabia
Oman
Yemen

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The cultural aspect of the Arabian peninsula varied along its borders
Levantian clans like the Ghassanids where allies of Rome and used lots of Roman equipment

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On the other side, the Lakhmids along the gulf coast were heavily influenced by Persia

http://****-k.narod.ru/Historical_Arts/Romes_Desert_Frontier_Enemies/Romes_Desert_Frontier_Enemies_08.jpg

Yemen had been influenced by Rome and Abyssinia for ages,
both Yemen and Oman had access to the Indian Ocean trade routs,
but like Oman, eventually Yemen fell under Persian hegemony 

http://****-k.narod.ru/Historical_Arts/Romes_Desert_Frontier_Enemies/Romes_Desert_Frontier_Enemies_07.jpg
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:idea: Important Arabian Clan Locations & Flags

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AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST...
:wink:  "Azzir Salim" (2000) Syrian Drama...
(My Grandma's favorite show  :mrgreen: god bless her soul!)

 
Also, by the way, in the image in the OP one dude is totally haulin' around a musket. It's a nice image, to be fair, but you might want to change it to fit the period a bit more.  :razz:
 
I can see several people with muskets  :smile:  good luck with the mod anyway though.

also I don't know much about this part in history but the period Tiberius Decimus Maximus suggested sounded interesting so I'd go with that.
 
@Matmohair

Wow, such an amazing wealth of knowledge! You people really prove how fickle I am when making decisions, because now I'm torn between the two settings... I'll have to give this some thought and organize everything before I make a final choice.
 
I guess 7 factions all within Arabia would seem adequate
  • Ghassanids (Arab & Roman culture)
    Lakhmids (Arab & Persian culture)
    Hijaz (West Arabian highland culture)
    Najd (Central Arabian nomadic culture)
    Oman (Arab, Persian & Indian influences)
    Yemen (Arab, Roman, Persian & African influences)
    Aksum (East African & Roman culture)

& 7 individual or regional faith choices...
:idea:

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Updated first post. I'd appreciate any help if anyone knows some mapping tricks to fix the sharp edges around the rivers / seas. Thanks!
 
I like the Age of Idolatry because it puts an emphasis on pre Islamic Arabia. Plus I think, like said, it has some controversy intermixed. No such thing as bad publicity! :grin:
 
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