|
Egypt Enters the Middle Ages |
| The Middle Ages, starting somewhere around the late 500s AD, were an
important time in Egypt's history. It was realized early on that
Egypt was greatly disadvantaged technologically, and efforts to trade
for this technology were met by exorbitant demands for the entire
Egyptian treasury. Instead, Immortal Hapshetsut (may she be
praised!) traded Egypt's excesses in spices and ivory. Caravans
traveled the newly completed South Road through Lisht to France, while
triremes left the docks daily in Pi-Ramesses and Rakoti, bound for
Iroquois and Roman ports. A byproduct of this trade was contact
with the English people, on their own large island to the south of
France, who were even more backwards than the Egyptians, and very poor.
Egypt wasted little time with them. Immortal Hapshetsut (may she be praised!) spent much of this time on massive building campaigns throughout Egypt. Libraries and marketplaces rose in all cities opposite government courthouses and great coliseums to provide spectacles for the people. Aqueducts were built to provide water to the larger cities, and workers continued to mine and irrigate the land, while the Great Southern Jungle continued to be cleared. The development of Engineering in the early 700s sparked an industrial revolution in Egypt with the introduction of great watermills[1] on Egypt's rivers. Egypt in 800 AD[2]:
By 900 AD, Egypt felt as if she was beginning to rise from
the depths. She lacked the secrets of Monarchy, Chivalry, and
Invention, but the renegotiation of the Roman/Egyptian spice for gems deal
netted Egypt the secret of Theology in return for spices, and an ivory
deal greatly enriched the Egyptian treasury. The massive building
campaign was beginning to pay off, as massive cathedrals to Isis and Horus
rose throughout Egypt, and in Thebes the great Sistine Chapel was being
constructed, although many other nations were also rushing to complete it.
The benefits of the Immortal Hapshetsut's (may she be praised!)
investing in learning became apparent in Men Nefer, where a man named Sun
Tzu (odd name for an Egyptian...) began writing down brilliant theories on
warfare, while throughout Egypt and the world, Egyptian culture was
recognized as being superior. It was also a time of military
enhancement, with advanced pikemen units replacing the outdated Stone Age
tribesmen that had been garrisoning the Republic[3]
since it's earliest days. In the south, Quatchai became the first
city to be entirely cleared of jungle, leaving nothing but rich grasslands
for miles around. Rome and the Iroquois Lands, 1080 AD:
By 1090 AD, the benefits of the war to the Egyptians had become apparent. Trade deals with Caesar infused cash and Roman gems into the Egyptian economy, and the people celebrated the wise leadership[7] of the Immortal Hapshetsut (may she be praised!). 10 years later, the Sistine Chapel was completed in Men Nefer, the first Wonder of the World built by the Egyptians. In 1120 AD, sensing an opportunity, Napoleon declared war on the Iroquois. Kawauka, the only Iroquois colony on the Franco-Egyptian continent, was quickly overrun. |
| [1] - Another one of my mod things. Mills
must be built on rivers, but give a 50% increase in production. They're
really handy. [2] - Notice England on the minimap, and the steady decline in the massive equatorial jungles that got foisted off on me. And Lubeck up there to the north. I'm gonna culture flip that thing if it kills me. [3] - Yes, Egypt is a republic now. Has been since the mid-300s or so. [4] - Normally I wouldn't do that, but hey, English goodwill could help later, and everyone already has Theology. [5] - There can, as we all know, be only one. [6] - Gutenberg's Bible is another of my mod wonders. Acts as a Great Library, available with Printing Press, obsoletes with Scientific Method. [7] - Rampant We Love the King Days! Woot! |
