Regional Descriptions: Help the EBII Team

Uh, why would we use a division that's irrelevant in 272BC? Not only that, out of a limit of 199 provinces, why should Italy alone merit 11 of them?

thx for the quick and pertinent answer, Quintus. i know that 11 provinces is A LOT.

my consideration was not about that, i know such regions are hardcoded, and so on.
I just considered that the Augustan division was -somehow- depicting also a cultural/ethnic (and military) evidence exixsting since the beginning of roman history (and before).

And I just wonder it is a shame that Samnium disapperars as a whole, considered its historical relevance , especially compared with -let's say- corsica, that can effectively be united with Sardinia.

About lake fucinus, it is a simple matter of fact that it was a very big lake, that does not exist in the game.

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Originally Posted by The Gypsy

All polished off, its decent but may be a bit general. It lacks specificity about the province itself, I ended up rambling about things that are not strictly on topic. Plus needs more druids, I'll come back to it probably but for now here it is.

Ikoranda Piktonis

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

<h>Traveller’s Log</h><p>The cold Atlantic splashes onto the deck as the Traveller shivers under his cloak, the harsh Gallic voices of the crew swallowed by the hiss and rush of the ocean. The captain, despite being a seasoned seaman, refuses to travel close to the coast, siting risks of shifting sandbars, strong and unpredictable currents and tides. All that can be made out is the mouth of the Liger, surrounded by marshes and, on drier land, deciduous forests and farmland. This land is inhabited by the Piktonis and the Santonis, and his final destination, Lemonum, by the Lemovices. All are Celts, warlike and proud, who live and die by the sword.</p><h>Geography</h><p>Ikoranda Piktonis roughly corresponds to two of the administrative regions of modern France, Pays de la Loire and Poitou-Charentes, and is split equally between them. It covered the area between the Loire River (in the period of EB, the Liger), which formed its northern border, and the Gironde Estuary (the Garumna), which forms its southern border. Technically, the Gironde is only the mouth of two rivers, the most northern of being the Dordogne which forms the southern border. Its limit to the west is the Bay of Biscay and the Atlantic, while its eastern border is somewhat unclear with the province petering out east of the capital, Lemonum. The Gironde and the Loire were (and are) marshy and unpredictable rivers with strong tidal flows and changeable sandbanks, requiring an experienced pilot to navigate safely. But with risk comes riches, the marshes are a haven for birds, fish and traders. The Atlantic was a major means of travel and exchange by the 3rd century BCE, influencing the archaeological signature of all coastal settlements in Celtic land, creating the so-called ‘Atlantic façade’.</p> <p>The climate of this period was much as it is today, a temperate oceanic climate, with significant rainfall in both summer and winter. The land is mostly flat and low lying, with no major mountain ranges or hills. As a result, the two dominant biomes are marsh and deciduous forest. The deciduous forest was made up of oak, beech, pine and birch with numerous mammals such as deer, boar, wolves, foxes, rabbits and–occasionally-bears. However, the large carnivores that once inhabited this forest such as bears and wolves were eradicated in the Middle Ages.</p> <h>History</h><p>The history of this region is long, stretching as back to its first settlement by the genus Homo by Homo neanderthalisensis, almost 200 000 years ago. But bthe arrival of Indo-European languages and farming marks the beginning of the history of Ikoranda Piktonis.</p><p>Indo-Europeans are the source of the majority of modern European and Asian languages, with the exception of Basque and Finnish in Western Europe. They are reputed to have migrated from an area around Iran and Northern India to travel as far west as Ireland, leaving behind both language and belief systems that would evolve into ‘Celtic’ by 1000 BCE. These languages were driven into extinction by the Roman conquest of Western Europe, delivering the killing blow to Gaulish, Galatian, Celto-Iberian among others. Only in the far western strongholds did these languages survive, leaving Welsh, Gaelic and Irish to survive into the present.</p><p>The first truly ‘Celtic’ culture in Europe is the Hallstatt, which marks the beginning of widespread iron usage in this area albeit tempered with a strong usage of bronze. It is worth noting however, the arrival of a specific archaeological culture cannot be equated with the arrival of the Celts or even a broad sense of ‘Celticness’. It was named for a huge cemetery is Austria where over 1000 burials were discovered. It was characterized by the appearance of fortified hilltop settlements (Oppida) and elaborate elite burials which would continue into the next archaeologically defined culture.</p><p>The La Tène begins around 5th century BCE and would continue until the Roman conquest in the 1st century. Contact with the Greeks, Phoenicians and Romans resulted in a vibrant trade, exchanging the exotics of the north for those of the south, by riverine routes on the Danube and Rhine and through the Atlantic. In Ikoranda Piktonis Greek and Phoencian traders arrived from the Mediterranean to trade for tin from Britain and other goods from the interior of Gaul. This helped fuel the wealth based culture of the La Tène, where gifts and largess played a key part in determining status, reflected in the impressive burials and artifacts of the period.</p> <p>Such is the state of play by the beginning of Europa Barbarorum in early 3rd century BCE, with elite culture and status being fueled by Mediterranean trade, which was funneled into the ports of the Atlantic coast and up the rivers of Central Europe.</p><p>The arrival of Julius Caesar in Gaul in 58 BCE gives us our first comprehensive written accounts of this region, which gives us the names of many of the tribes he encountered, including in Ikoranda Piktonis, the Pictones or Piktonis. These people were renowned for their shipbuilding and aided Caesar in his initial conquest of Gaul, supplying ships and men. They attempted to aid the rebellion of Vercingetorix but were repressed after his defeat at Alesia and after being absorbed by the Romans, ceased to exist as a separate entity.</p><h> People, Society and Government</h><p>The people of this region are Celts, drawn from ancient stock and with culture and language that can be traced back to the first Indo-European migrations into Europe.</p><p>There are two main varieties of Celtic that have been identified in Iron Age Europe, Insular and Continental Celtic, the former being spoken in Britain, Ireland and Brittany while the latter was spoken in the rest of Celtic Europe (including the similar but distinct Celto-Iberian). The language of the people of Ikoranda Piktonis was probably Gaulish, a language whose main source of evidence comes from inscriptions, due to the extinction of Continental Celtic during the Roman occupation to follow.</p><p>Celtic society and government is based around bondage, status and privilege. They were dominated by warrior elites, whose drive for status resulted in the beautiful and ornate art of the period. Bondage and fealty bound men and women to the King, in variety of statuses, from valued ‘shieldman’ to lowly serf. The sense of ‘nationhood’ was primarily formed from belonging to the tribe, resulting in frequent inter-tribal violence, which was often used to build a warrior’s prestige.</p><h>Strategy<h/><p>Rich trade and soils make this province a potential breadbasket for any empire, with wealth to expand and form a yet greater nation.</p>

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Can't speak for @Brennus, other than commenting that it's really well written and I hope you do more. ~:)

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Originally Posted by z3n

Can't speak for @Brennus, other than commenting that it's really well written and I hope you do more. ~:)

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I second that... Hope you do more.

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Originally Posted by kdrakak

I second that... Hope you do more.

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You should all be very afraid, I just might :P

I've made a decision as to what province to do, the trouble is I don't have EBII installed right now so I can't check the province name and they have all changed since EB1, so all the old maps are no good.

So can anyone tell me what this province is called? The south-western most province in Gaul.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Attachment 17120

Quote:

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Originally Posted by The Gypsy

You should all be very afraid, I just might :P

I've made a decision as to what province to do, the trouble is I don't have EBII installed right now so I can't check the province name and they have all changed since EB1, so all the old maps are no good.

So can anyone tell me what this province is called? The south-western most province in Gaul.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Attachment 17120

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it might be Aquitania (quoting Caesar)

Aye, Akuitanon @The Gypsy it should be the native name...

z3n is right, that is very well written The Gypsy. A few inclusions regarding the Archaeological data for the region, and it would be comparable with the extant Gallic province descriptions (I can provide sources or take care of it myself if you prefer?). However, in its current state I am happy to see it included in the game.

I would be happy for you to provide sources (that would be very nice of you, I'd normally expect to have to do it myself) and I can do it, I'll use some of what is there for the description I am writing for Akuitanon as well to bring it up to standard. I had another question as well, what is name of the capital in Akuitanon?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by The Gypsy

I would be happy for you to provide sources (that would be very nice of you, I'd normally expect to have to do it myself) and I can do it, I'll use some of what is there for the description I am writing for Akuitanon as well to bring it up to standard. I had another question as well, what is name of the capital in Akuitanon?

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AFAIR , is Burdigala (the now Bordeaux)

@The Gypsy the capital should be Iliberri, meaning something like "new-city", while Burdigala is the minor settlement...

Having been enjoying EB for quite a few years, particularly all the historical, cultural, and economic descriptions, I would like to volunteer my services in proofreading any and all descriptions as time permits.

If you would like to help out, you can consult the map in the spoiler below for provinces that need to be proofread (I believe it is correct). To get the descriptions themselves you can find them in the files of EBII (located in the export buildings.txt under the province name). The layout can be found on the front page of the thread.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Attachment 17149

[QUOTE=The Gypsy;2053676473]If you would like to help out, you can consult the map in the spoiler below for provinces that need to be proofread (I believe it is correct). To get the descriptions themselves you can find them in the files of EBII (located in the export buildings.txt under the province name). The layout can be found on the front page of the thread.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Attachment 17149

[/QUO

I think Thessalia is not missing any sections. IIRC I took over the description with History and Strategy missing and completed those two sections.

If you want archaeological data for the area I would suggest searching the French national archaeological authority (INRAP) as they often have free publication. In particular the Bilans Regional provide grey literature pertaining to ongoing excavations. There is also the AFEAF, the French association dedicated to the study of the Iron Age. Finally Academia.edu is used by a lot of specialists of that period, and they often upload papers which may be of use.

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...-thread/page11

Dusan Silni can help you with balkan province descriptions. Pls contact him.

Here is the revised version for Ikoranda Piktonis, I've added an additional paragraph (The first spoiler) pertaining to some of the archaeology of the region, albeit somewhat vaguely.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Ikoranda Piktonis reflects wider trends towards fortification, industry, status and trade. Many sites in this area show signs of fortification, with ditches and timber walls built on hills in commanding locations, often to protect either villages or the important waterways which these villages grew up around. These villages show evidence of ironworking, glass manufacture and ceramic production, often on large scales. These industries, along with raw materials, provided the bulk of the trade goods that the people of the Mediterranean desired. Trash pits are often one of the richest sources of evidence for archaeologists, proving again the adage, ‘One man’s trash is another man’s treasure’. Such is case here with garbage piles containing local Gallic pottery mixed with foreign amphora jars, which are often used to store wine. Whether these jars held wine for consumption or the pottery itself was desired is unknown, but it reflects a wider Mediterranean influence on the Celtic world.

And here is the fully edited version, ready to be copy/pasted.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

<h>Traveller’s Log</h<p>The cold Atlantic splashes onto the deck as the Traveller shivers under his cloak, the harsh Gallic voices of the crew swallowed by the hiss and rush of the ocean. The captain, despite being a seasoned seaman, refuses to travel close to the coast, siting risks of shifting sandbanks, strong and unpredictable currents and tides. All that can be made out is the mouth of the Liger, surrounded by marshes and, on drier land, deciduous forests and farmland. This land is inhabited by the Piktonis and the Santonis, and his final destination, Lemonum, by the Lemovices. All are Celts, warlike and proud, who live and die by the sword.</p><h>Geography</h><p>Ikoranda Piktonis roughly corresponds to two of the administrative regions of modern France, Pays de la Loire and Poitou-Charentes, and is split equally between them. It covered the area between the Loire River (in the period of EB, the Liger), which formed its northern border, and the Gironde Estuary (the Garumna), which forms its southern border. Technically, the Gironde is only the mouth of two rivers, the most northern of being the Dordogne which forms the southern border. Its limit to the west is the Bay of Biscay and the Atlantic, while its eastern border is somewhat unclear with the province petering out east of the capital, Lemonum. The Gironde and the Loire were (and are) marshy and unpredictable rivers with strong tidal flows and changeable sandbanks, requiring an experienced pilot to navigate safely. But with risk comes riches, the marshes are a haven for birds, fish and traders. The Atlantic was a major means of travel and exchange by the 3rd century BCE, influencing the archaeological signature of all coastal settlements in Celtic land, creating the so-called ‘Atlantic façade’.</p> <p>The climate of this period was much as it is today, a temperate oceanic climate, with significant rainfall in both summer and winter. The land is mostly flat and low lying, with no major mountain ranges or hills. As a result, the two dominant biomes are marsh and deciduous forest. The deciduous forest was made up of oak, beech, pine and birch with numerous mammals such as deer, boar, wolves, foxes, rabbits and–occasionally-bears. However, the large carnivores that once inhabited this forest such as bears and wolves were eradicated in the Middle Ages.</p><h>History</h><p>The history of this region is long, stretching as back to its first settlement by the genus Homo by Homo neanderthalisensis, almost 200 000 years ago. But the arrival of Indo-European languages and farming marks the beginning of the history of Ikoranda Piktonis.</p><p>Indo-Europeans are the source of the majority of modern European and Asian languages, with the exception of Basque and Finnish in Western Europe. They are reputed to have migrated from an area around Iran and Northern India to travel as far west as Ireland, leaving behind both language and belief systems that would evolve into ‘Celtic’ by 1000 BCE. These languages were driven into extinction by the Roman conquest of Western Europe, delivering the killing blow to Gaulish, Galatian, Celto-Iberian among others. Only in the far western strongholds did these languages survive, leaving Welsh, Gaelic and Irish to survive into the present.</p><p>The first truly ‘Celtic’ culture in Europe is the Hallstatt, which marks the beginning of widespread iron usage in this area, albeit tempered with a strong usage of bronze. It is worth noting however, the arrival of a specific archaeological culture cannot be equated with the arrival of the Celts or even a broad sense of ‘Celticness’. It was named for a huge cemetery is Austria where over 1000 burials were discovered. It was characterized by the appearance of fortified hilltop settlements (Oppida) and elaborate elite burials which would continue into the next archaeologically defined culture, the La Tène.</p><p>The La Tène begins around 5th century BCE and would continue until the Roman conquest in the 1st century BCE. Contact with the Greeks, Phoenicians and Romans resulted in a vibrant trade, exchanging the exotics of the north for those of the south, by riverine routes on the Danube and Rhine and through the Atlantic. In Ikoranda Piktonis Greek and Phoenician traders arrived from the Mediterranean to trade for tin from Britain and other goods from the interior of Gaul. This helped fuel the wealth based culture of the La Tène, where gifts and largess played a key part in determining status, reflected in the impressive burials and artifacts of the period. The development of hillforts in the Hallstatt is continued into the La Tène, growing in both number and size, presumably to protect the wealth this trade generated.</p> <p>Ikoranda Piktonis reflects wider trends towards fortification, industry, status and trade. Many sites in this area show signs of fortification, with ditches and timber walls built on hills in commanding locations, often to protect either villages or the important waterways which these villages grew up around. These villages show evidence of ironworking, glass manufacture and ceramic production, often on large scales. These industries, along with raw materials, provided the bulk of the trade goods that the people of the Mediterranean desired. Trash pits are often one of the richest sources of evidence for archaeologists, proving again the adage, ‘One man’s trash is another man’s treasure’. Such is case here with garbage piles containing local Gallic pottery mixed with foreign amphora jars, which are often used to store wine. Whether these jars held wine for consumption or the pottery itself was desired is unknown, but it reflects a wider Mediterranean influence on the Celtic world.</p><p>Such is the state of play by the beginning of the timeframe of Europa Barbarorum in early 3rd century BCE, with elite culture and status being fueled by Mediterranean trade, which was funneled into the ports of the Atlantic coast and up the rivers of Central Europe with many and more fortifications to protect that wealth.</p><p>The arrival of Julius Caesar in Gaul in 58 BCE gives us our first comprehensive written accounts of this region, which gives us the names of many of the tribes he encountered, including in Ikoranda Piktonis, the Pictones or Piktonis. These people were renowned for their shipbuilding and aided Caesar in his initial conquest of Gaul, supplying ships and men. They attempted to aid the rebellion of Vercingetorix but were repressed after his defeat at Alesia and after being absorbed by the Romans, ceased to exist as a separate entity.</p><h> People, Society and Government</h><p>The people of this region are Celts, drawn from ancient stock and with culture and language that can be traced back to the first Indo-European migrations into Europe.</p><p>There are two main varieties of Celtic that have been identified in Iron Age Europe, Insular and Continental Celtic, the former being spoken in Britain, Ireland and Brittany while the latter was spoken in the rest of Celtic Europe (including the similar but distinct Celto-Iberian). The language of the people of Ikoranda Piktonis was probably Gaulish, a language whose main source of evidence comes from inscriptions, due to the extinction of Continental Celtic during the Roman occupation to follow.</p><p>Celtic society and government is based around bondage, status and privilege. They were dominated by warrior elites, whose drive for status resulted in the beautiful and ornate art of the period. Bondage and fealty bound men and women to the King, in variety of statuses, from valued ‘shieldman’ to lowly serf. The sense of ‘nationhood’ was primarily formed from belonging to the tribe, resulting in frequent inter-tribal violence, which was often used to build a warrior’s prestige.</p><h>Strategy<h/><p>Rich trade and soils make this province a potential breadbasket for any empire, with wealth to expand and form a yet greater nation.</p>

Also, @kdrakak, I am not fully aware of who is doing what in regard to the descriptions, I just made a guess as to what is done. Cheers for picking up on that though. Here's the fixed version.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Attachment 17152

Here is the description for Akuitanon, ready for insertion.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

<h>Traveller’s Log</h><p>As the weary Traveller makes his way towards the setting sun, snowy peaks glow as the last of the light strikes their blanket of snow. Down in the valleys, the air is still warm but chill winds slide off the tall peaks to find their way into the valley bottom, chilling an otherwise mild day. The Traveller sees no one but he feels invisible eyes watch him and grass shifts where none should, he cannot see them but the inhabitants of the province, the Aquitani, can see him. The Aquitani are related to the Celts that surround them, both inside Gaul and to the south, in Iberia, but speak a different language entirely. They live much as their neighbours do, despite their differences in language and culture. They are farmers and herders for the most part, which supports the warrior elite and priesthood. Traders from faraway Greece and Carthage trade in their Atlantic and estuarine ports, supplying wealth and luxury goods for a culture obsessed with status, bringing back furs, wood, metals and amber to trade to the equally elitist societies of the Mediterranean.</p><h>Geography</h><p>Akuitanon forms the bulk of the most south-western administrative region of modern France, <i>Aquitaine</i>. Its borders are formed by the Pyrenees in the south, a formidable range of mountains reaching to more than 3500 m. It’s boundary to the west is formed by the Atlantic, which contributes to its wet climate. The border to the north and the east is the Garonne river system, which as it nears the coast, becomes the estuary of the Gironde. The Garonne begins its journey in the foothills of the Pyrenees, travelling north before splitting, and turning to the west to flow into the Atlantic Ocean. The capital of Akuitanon is Iliberri, located in the east of the province.</p><p>The climate is wet and temperate, with colder temperatures in the foothills and higher up onto the snowy peaks. Typical deciduous forest dominates, with oak, ash and beech forests in the lowlands shifting to hardier birch and pine as the elevation increases. The estuary of the Gironde provides a haven for aquatic and avian life, the reeds and willows providing protection from potential predators. The Pyrenees create a rain shadow, creating very wet conditions in the west of the province but steadily drier conditions as you travel to the east. The forests support deer, rabbits and birds, and their hunters, foxes, wolves and bears. The mountains are favoured by the genus Capra, the goat family, with ibex and mountain goats prevalent on these peaks, while eagles and hawks patrol the skies.</p><h>History</h><p>Humans have continuously inhabited Akuitanon for almost 30 000 years, ever since humans arrived to replace or drive away the native Neanderthals.</p><p>Between 1300 and 700 BCE, the people of this region were primarily farmers and herders, who were descended from the pre-Indo-European inhabitants of the area, unlike their Celtic neighbours, and spoke an early version of the modern Basque language. These people had limited knowledge of iron but worked primarily in bronze and were part of the Atlantic Bronze Age system. This system of exchange operated between the Atlantic coast of Iberia all the way to Ireland and Britain, trading in tin, gold, copper and finished bronzeware. This trade had existed for thousands of years prior but this period marked a huge increase in activity as both Mediterranean and mainland Celtic communities became interested in the metal available in this region, in Akuitanon case, gold. This exchange may not have involved single long distance journeys, but rather a series of short voyages passing through numerous hands before reaching its final destination.</p><p>As time passed, both Mediterranean and Celtic influences came to make their presence felt on the province of Akuitanon influencing material preferences strongly into the next four centuries.</p><p>The Mediterranean influences of Greek and Phoenician traders can be most clearly seen archaeologically through the presence of wine amphorae, who traded wine, pottery and other exotics for the metals of the Atlantic region. Akuitanon was an important hub for trade being located on the Atlantic and being on the Gironde river system, allowing easy access to the Celtic heartland and greater Mediterranean world through the Greek and later Roman settlements around Massalia.</p><p>The culture of this period (6th to 3rd centuries) that can be most closely equated to ‘Celtic’ is the La Tenè culture, which is a continuation of the earlier Hallstatt culture. It’s most distinctive features are the presence of hillforts (Oppida, elaborate jewelry, burials and weapon offerings in bogs and rivers. Brooches have been discovered in Akuitanon that have some of the characteristics of the La Tenè style but are still stylistically different. Akuitanon was always on the periphery of Celtic culture, closely adhering to neither their language nor stylistic preferences but quite happy to use and adapt when it suited them.</p><p>While the language of the people of Akuitanon was probably not Celtic, they appear to hold many of their habits including an insatiable desire for foreign goods, fueled by a native industrial economy which produced finished glass, bronze, iron and works in other precious metals. These foreign goods were used as burial offerings and as status items, in the never ending competition for prestige. This desire for status items drew them into the greater trade networks of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean world, creating a complex and vibrant system of trade and contact, which only intensified after Roman conquest in Caesar’s campaigns in 53 BCE.</p><p>After Caesar’s conquest of Gaul, Akuitanon was renamed Aquitania and became a province of the Empire, but retained its distinctive Basque language until modern times.</p> <h>The People, Society and Government</h><p>Akuitanon is somewhat unusual in the Celtic dominated Northern European landscape of the 3rd century BCE, in that its inhabitants are not of a Celtic and thus Indo-European origin. Indo-Europeans arrived in Europe from Iran and Northern India around 3000 BCE displacing almost all other languages groups in Europe except for Finnish and Basque. These people are proto-Basques, who live a very similar life to their Celtic neighbours but spoke a radically different language. Caesar’s commentaries call the people of Akuitanon ‘the Aquitani’ who he says are related to the Vascones who live on the other side of the Pyrenees. Caesar says in his commentaries that Gaul could be divided into three parts, the Aquitani, the Celtae and the Belgae, the first being the primary (but not exclusive) inhabitants of Akuitanon.</p><p>The core of Celtic society at this time was the concept of fealty, understood by Caesar in his commentaries as ‘clients’, who owe service to their leader in exchange for favour and protection. The more powerful a war leader was the more subjects he would have, and to gain those subjects he would use conspicuous uses of wealth and power to attract others to himself, creating the demand for foreign goods, resulting in the far flung trade networks of the period. Acts of prowess and bravery would also enhance a warrior’s prestige and build their influence. Of course for many people, the famers, the herders, the craftsmen, they merely served their leader with no real influence on their decisions. Below these people were the slaves, who did the worst tasks and were offered no protection from the law, who were often captured in intertribal raids and skirmishes.</p><p>‘Nations’ such as they were, were formed form a sense of tribal rather than national identity, resulting in numerous subtribes and tribes, all bound by blood and language but constantly divided. This resulted in endemic violence that was used to blood young warriors, build prestige and contributed to the fractured nature of the Celtic world.</p> <h>Strategy</h><p>Centered on an important trade hub of the Gironde and the Atlantic Ocean, Akuitanon is a potential breadbasket province for an aspiring warlord and worthy addition to any empire.</p>

And here is version that you can read if you are interested and don't want your eyes to bleed.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Traveller’s Log

As the weary Traveller makes his way towards the setting sun, snowy peaks glow as the last of the light strikes their blanket of snow. Down in the valleys, the air is still warm but chill winds slide off the tall peaks to find their way into the valley bottom, chilling an otherwise mild day. The Traveller sees no one but he feels invisible eyes watch him and grass shifts where none should, he cannot see them but the inhabitants of the province, the Aquitani, can see him. The Aquitani are related to the Celts that surround them, both inside Gaul and to the south, in Iberia, but speak a different language entirely. They live much as their neighbours do, despite their differences in language and culture. They are farmers and herders for the most part, which supports the warrior elite and priesthood. Traders from faraway Greece and Carthage trade in their Atlantic and estuarine ports, supplying wealth and luxury goods for a culture obsessed with status, bringing back furs, wood, metals and amber to trade to the equally elitist societies of the Mediterranean.

Geography

Akuitanon forms the bulk of the most south-western administrative region of modern France, Aquitaine. Its borders are formed by the Pyrenees in the south, a formidable range of mountains reaching to more than 3500 m. It’s boundary to the west is formed by the Atlantic, which contributes to its wet climate. The border to the north and the east is the Garonne river system, which as it nears the coast, becomes the estuary of the Gironde. The Garonne begins its journey in the foothills of the Pyrenees, travelling north before splitting, and turning to the west to flow into the Atlantic Ocean. The capital of Akuitanon is Iliberri, located in the east of the province.

The climate is wet and temperate, with colder temperatures in the foothills and higher up onto the snowy peaks. Typical deciduous forest dominates, with oak, ash and beech forests in the lowlands shifting to hardier birch and pine as the elevation increases. The estuary of the Gironde provides a haven for aquatic and avian life, the reeds and willows providing protection from potential predators. The Pyrenees create a rain shadow, creating very wet conditions in the west of the province but steadily drier conditions as you travel to the east. The forests support deer, rabbits and birds, and their hunters, foxes, wolves and bears. The mountains are favoured by the genus Capra, the goat family, with ibex and mountain goats prevalent on these peaks, while eagles and hawks patrol the skies.

History

Humans have continuously inhabited Akuitanon for almost 30 000 years, ever since humans arrived to replace or drive away the native Neanderthals.
Between 1300 and 700 BCE, the people of this region were primarily farmers and herders, who were descended from the pre-Indo-European inhabitants of the area, unlike their Celtic neighbours, and spoke an early version of the modern Basque language. These people had limited knowledge of iron but worked primarily in bronze and were part of the Atlantic Bronze Age system. This system of exchange operated between the Atlantic coast of Iberia all the way to Ireland and Britain, trading in tin, gold, copper and finished bronzeware. This trade had existed for thousands of years prior but this period marked a huge increase in activity as both Mediterranean and mainland Celtic communities became interested in the metal available in this region, in Akuitanon case, gold. This exchange may not have involved single long distance journeys, but rather a series of short voyages passing through numerous hands before reaching its final destination.

As time passed, both Mediterranean and Celtic influences came to make their presence felt on the province of Akuitanon influencing material preferences strongly into the next four centuries.

The Mediterranean influences of Greek and Phoenician traders can be most clearly seen archaeologically through the presence of wine amphorae, who traded wine, pottery and other exotics for the metals of the Atlantic region. Akuitanon was an important hub for trade being located on the Atlantic and being on the Gironde river system, allowing easy access to the Celtic heartland and greater Mediterranean world through the Greek and later Roman settlements around Massalia.

The culture of this period (6th to 3rd centuries) that can be most closely equated to ‘Celtic’ is the La Tenè culture, which is a continuation of the earlier Hallstatt culture. It’s most distinctive features are the presence of hillforts (Oppida, elaborate jewelry, burials and weapon offerings in bogs and rivers. Brooches have been discovered in Akuitanon that have some of the characteristics of the La Tenè style but are still stylistically different. Akuitanon was always on the periphery of Celtic culture, closely adhering to neither their language nor stylistic preferences but quite happy to use and adapt when it suited them.
While the language of the people of Akuitanon was probably not Celtic, they appear to hold many of their habits including an insatiable desire for foreign goods, fueled by a native industrial economy which produced finished glass, bronze, iron and works in other precious metals. These foreign goods were used as burial offerings and as status items, in the never ending competition for prestige. This desire for status items drew them into the greater trade networks of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean world, creating a complex and vibrant system of trade and contact, which only intensified after Roman conquest in Caesar’s campaigns in 53 BCE.

After Caesar’s conquest of Gaul, Akuitanon was renamed Aquitania and became a province of the Empire, but retained its distinctive Basque language until modern times.

The People, Society and Government

Akuitanon is somewhat unusual in the Celtic dominated Northern European landscape of the 3rd century BCE, in that its inhabitants are not of a Celtic and thus Indo-European origin. Indo-Europeans arrived in Europe from Iran and Northern India around 3000 BCE displacing almost all other languages groups in Europe except for Finnish and Basque. These people are proto-Basques, who live a very similar life to their Celtic neighbours but spoke a radically different language. Caesar’s commentaries call the people of Akuitanon ‘the Aquitani’ who he says are related to the Vascones who live on the other side of the Pyrenees. Caesar says in his commentaries that Gaul could be divided into three parts, the Aquitani, the Celtae and the Belgae, the first being the primary (but not exclusive) inhabitants of Akuitanon.

The core of Celtic society at this time was the concept of fealty, understood by Caesar in his commentaries as ‘clients’, who owe service to their leader in exchange for favour and protection. The more powerful a war leader was the more subjects he would have, and to gain those subjects he would use conspicuous uses of wealth and power to attract others to himself, creating the demand for foreign goods, resulting in the far flung trade networks of the period. Acts of prowess and bravery would also enhance a warrior’s prestige and build their influence. Of course for many people, the famers, the herders, the craftsmen, they merely served their leader with no real influence on their decisions. Below these people were the slaves, who did the worst tasks and were offered no protection from the law, who were often captured in intertribal raids and skirmishes.

‘Nations’ such as they were, were formed form a sense of tribal rather than national identity, resulting in numerous subtribes and tribes, all bound by blood and language but constantly divided. This resulted in endemic violence that was used to blood young warriors, build prestige and contributed to the fractured nature of the Celtic world.

Strategy

Centered on an important trade hub of the Gironde and the Atlantic Ocean, Akuitanon is a potential breadbasket province for an aspiring warlord and worthy addition to any empire.

The Gypsy - really appreciate you doing these, glad they haven't been forgotten.

One request, though; could you use a plain text editor to write them? I ask because the xml files won't read smart-quotes (Word auto-corrects ' ' and " " with slanted ones), long hyphens, slanted apostrophes and a host of other special characters, which means we have to sift through the text to find and replace them all.

Hi Quintus,

Would you like me to clean up the ones I've already written? I didn't realise that Word messes with the formatting (I'm not very computer savvy), what editors would you suggest? Something like Notepad++? Also could I just copy/paste into Notepad++ and fix any errors that crop up with the formatting like that? I might be able to do some more descriptions but I'm likely to be a bit busy for the next month or two, I'll have to see whether I get the time. Also Happy New Year!

Great work :bow:

guys did anyone contacted Dusan Silni? yuo dont need help for Balkan provinces anymore?

Here are the current province descriptions in EB 2.2 5/6/16

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

https://i.imgur.com/DaPeWQ2.png

I can see the Akuitanon description still has to be sorted out? There might be a few others like that. The east is almost complete!

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Originally Posted by Chap

Here are the current province descriptions in EB 2.2 5/6/16

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

https://i.imgur.com/DaPeWQ2.png

I can see the Akuitanon description still has to be sorted out? There might be a few others like that. The east is almost complete!

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Do note for the above that for the "Saka Steppe" area beyond the Syr Darya that strategy sections are all done.

Strat sections are also done for Naissos, Beripara, Tylis and all of Illyria.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Chap

I can see the Akuitanon description still has to be sorted out? There might be a few others like that. The east is almost complete!

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Akuitanon was just added to the internal build, and will be part of the next release. Apologies to @The Gypsy for the delay - we do appreciate your efforts, and those of everyone else working in this area. I will note that while Quintus is correct, and it's best to write these in Notepad++, I have no problem editing and fixing incorrect characters.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Chap

Here it is.
I'm not a historian or a writer, so i would appreciate it if you could edit this if anything does not feel right.
I had trouble finding specific tribes of Saurashtra and I have separated the Sudarshana Lake description so you may choose to add it as a unique building/wonder just like the Sabean dam.

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@Chap - Thanks! I've added an edited version of your Saurashtra description; everything except the history section, as there was controversy there. Have asked one of our historians to look at that.

Hello all!

New here so forgive me for questions if they're silly! I'd like to help out you wonderful group of people, and not being a modder or designer I thought I could string some words together (or edit those of others), if that'd be helpful?

Are there any provinces that still need doing? Any particularly urgent ones, or completed ones that need editing?

I hope I can help with something.

Keep up the good work!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Curious_Caesar

Hello all!

New here so forgive me for questions if they're silly! I'd like to help out you wonderful group of people, and not being a modder or designer I thought I could string some words together (or edit those of others), if that'd be helpful?

Are there any provinces that still need doing? Any particularly urgent ones, or completed ones that need editing?

I hope I can help with something.

Keep up the good work!

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Thanks and YES! Three in particular are sorely lacking:

- Trinakrie (Syrakousai)
- Sicilia (Messana)
- Elimya (Lilubim)

All provinces are important, but these locations have great history and occupy a central position in the game, so it's rather sad that we have nothing for any of them. Of the three, Syracuse is probably the most important. Interested?

Hi Kull,

Thank you for replying so quickly - I'm afraid I've been away recently. I am happy to attempt Syracuse, particularly as there is quite a bit of documentation and original sources. I shall scan the exemplar piece, but what particular constraints are there regarding the length of the piece, the time period covered, and the romanticism of the traveller's log?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Curious_Caesar

Hi Kull,

Thank you for replying so quickly - I'm afraid I've been away recently. I am happy to attempt Syracuse, particularly as there is quite a bit of documentation and original sources. I shall scan the exemplar piece, but what particular constraints are there regarding the length of the piece, the time period covered, and the romanticism of the traveller's log?

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Was away myself for the past week (and will soon be gone again until early January), so apologies for the late reply. My personal rule is that even a short piece is better than nothing, but with Syracuse, there's a ton of history as it was a major player during the EB time frame, most of which is readily available (as you noted). Usually the historical accounts begin with the first appearance of the city in the historical record, and can continue well into and even beyond the EB2 period (although anything later than Imperial Rome is too much). The traveller log is just a way to add some period "feel" to what it might be like for some traveller visiting the province at this time. There's no single "right way" to do it, so see what you can come up with. The strategy section should not be very long - just make note of any particular in-game economic benefits (such as the highly developed nature of the city itself, loaded with improvements). Should add a comment that many of the AI factions consider it a ripe target for naval invasion. As for the overall length of the piece, there's really no limit.