Leaders
Abbas I
Abbas I the Great
Shahanshah of Iran
Lived: 1571 - 1629 AD
Background:
Shah Abbas the Great was Shah (king) of Iran, and the greatest ruler of the Safavid dynasty. He was the third son of Shah Mohammad. Abbas came to the throne during a troubled time for Iran. Under his weak-willed father, the country was riven with discord between the different factions of the Qizilbash army, who killed Abbas' mother and elder brother. Meanwhile, Iran's enemies, the Ottoman Empire and the Uzbeks, exploited this political chaos to seize territory for themselves. In 1587, one of the Qizilbash leaders, Murshid Qoli Khan, overthrew Shah Mohammed in a coup and placed the 16-year-old Abbas on the throne. But Abbas was no puppet and soon seized power for himself. He reduced the influence of the Qizilbash in the government and the military and reformed the army, enabling him to fight the Ottomans and Uzbeks and reconquer Iran's lost provinces. He also took back land from the Portuguese and the Mughals. Abbas was a great builder and moved his kingdom's capital from Qazvin to Esfahan. In his later years, the shah became suspicious of his own sons and had them killed or blinded.
Favourites
Fanaticism
Reqs Doctrine
+2 Experience Points in Cities with State 
+100% Extra Commerce for BuildingsNo Non-State Spread+1
per Non-State in a City Buildings Do Not Expire+1
from Priest
IslamHoly City (if State ): +3
All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover TheologyFounder Receives a Islamic Imam
Abd-ar-Rahman
Abd-ar-Rahman III
Caliph of Umayyad Dynasty
Lived: c.891 - 961 AD
Background:
Abd-ar-Rahman III was born at 891, and became Caliph of Cordoba when he was twenty-two. During his reign, he successfully warred both the Fatimid Arabs and the Christian kingdoms at the North, having significant land gains (much of Central Iberia and part of Maghreb). In order to invade to North Africa, he reinforced the Cordoban fleet, turning it into a considerably strong power.
Abd-ar-Rahman III was also noted for the tolerance shown to other religion faithfuls (Catholics and Jews). Moreover, he was a patron of science and arts. Specifically, his residence palace, the Medina Azahara, built at his reign, was modelled after the Ummayad Arab palace in Damascus, and he spent money to extend the library of Cordoba, turning the city in an important intellectual center. When, at 961, he died, he left the Caliphate of Cordoba at the colophon of its height.
Favourites
Monasticism
Reqs Ethics+50%
Birth Rate in Cities with State IslamHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover TheologyFounder Receives a Islamic Imam
Afonso Henriques
Afonso Henriques
King of Portugal
Lived: c.1109 - 1185 AD
Background:
Afonso I of Portugal, more commonly known as Afonso Henriques and also known as the Conqueror (o Conquistador), was the first King of Portugal, declaring his independence from Leon. He fought several successful campaigns against the Moors and, on July 26, 1139, he obtained an overwhelming victory in the Battle of Ourique, and straight after was unanimously proclaimed King of Portugal by his soldiers. This meant that Portugal was no longer a vassal county of Leon-Castile, but an independent kingdom in its own right. Next, he assembled the first assembly of the estates-general at Lamego, where he was given the crown from the archbishop of Braga, to confirm the independence.
Independence, however, was not a thing a land could choose on its own. Portugal still had to be acknowledged by the neighbouring lands and, most importantly, by the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope. Afonso wedded Mafalda of Savoy, daughter of Count Amadeo III of Savoy, and sent Ambassadors to Rome to negotiate with the Pope. In Portugal, he built several monasteries and convents and bestowed important privileges to religious orders. In 1143, he wrote to Pope Innocent II to declare himself and the kingdom servants of the Church, swearing to pursue driving the Moors out of the Iberian peninsula. Bypassing any king of Castile or Leon. Afonso declared himself the direct liegeman of the Papacy. Thus, Afonso continued to distinguish himself by his exploits against the Moors, from whom he wrested Santarém and Lisbon in 1147. He also conquered an important part of the land south of the Tagus River, although this was lost again to the Moors in the following years.
Meanwhile, King Alfonso VII of Castile (Afonso's cousin) regarded the independent ruler of Portugal as nothing but a rebel. Conflict between the two was constant and bitter in the following years. Afonso became involved in a war, taking the side of the Aragonese king, an enemy of Castile. To ensure the alliance, his son Sancho was engaged to Dulce Berenguer, sister of the Count of Barcelona, and princess of Aragon. Finally, in 1143, the Treaty of Zamora established peace between the cousins and the recognition by the Kingdom of Castile and Leon that Portugal was an independent kingdom.
In 1179 the privileges and favours given to the Roman Catholic Church were compensated. In the papal bull "Manifestis Probatum", Pope Alexander III acknowledged Afonso as King and Portugal as an independent land with the right to conquer lands from the Moors. With this papal blessing, Portugal was at last secured as a country and safe from any Castilian attempts of annexation.
In 1184, in spite of his great age, he had still sufficient energy to relieve his son Sancho, who was besieged in Santarém by the Moors. He died shortly after, in 1185.
The Portuguese revere him as a hero, both on account of his personal character and as the founder of their nation.
Favourites
Thalassocracy
Reqs Navigation+2
from Fishing Boats, Harvest Boats-1 from Plantation, Cottage, Hamlet, Village, TownDouble Production Speed for Harbor, Wharf, Drydock
CatholicismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover DoctrineFounder Receives a Catholic MissionaryFounded when Christian civilizations control less than half of all Christian citiesAlternately founded by the first civilization to build an Orthodox Cathedral without controlling the Orthodox holy city
Aho'eitu
'Aho'eitu
King of the Tu'i Tonga
Lived: 10th Century AD
Background:
In Tongan mythology, or oral history, 'Aho'eitu is a son of the god Tangaloa 'Eitumatupu'a and a mortal woman, 'Ilaheva Va'epopua. He became the first king of the Tu'i Tonga (Tonga king) dynasty in the early 10th century, dethroning the previous one with the same name but originating from the uanga (maggots) instead of divine.
When 'Aho'eitu was growing up he asked his mother about his father. His mother was a human woman from an area now known as Popua near the large lagoon of Tongatapu island. Aho eitu's mother told him that his father was a god living in the sky. When he had grown up he expressed the wish to find him. 'Ilaheva directed him to the great toa tree. The lad climbed up, went over the road as his mother had said and found his father catching doves. 'Eitumatupu'a was moved to see his son, and invited him to his house for kava and food. After that he sent him to his other sons, 'Aho'eitu's older halfbrothers, who were living in the sky, and at that moment playing sika-'ulu-toa (a dart throwing game with reeds having a head made from toa wood). When those young men found out that this good-looking boy was their brother, they got jealous, tore him in pieces, cooked him (or did not cook him, according to some sources) and ate him. Except his head, which was thrown in some hoi plants which have become poisonous ever since.
Some time after 'Eitumatupu'a sent a woman to fetch 'Aho'eitu, but she returned with the message that the lad was not to be found. The god demanded his other sons to come and forced them by tickling their throats to vomit in a large wooden bowl. Noticing the head missing, 'Eitumatupu'a sent a messenger to find the head and also the bones. Everything was put in the bowl. Water was poured on it and the leaves of the nonufiafia, which is a known medicinal plant, able to revive people who were near death. The bowl then was put behind the house. They visited it from time to time, and at last they found 'Aho'eitu sitting up.
They all were brought into 'Eitumatupu'a's house, and the god spoke angrily to his elder sons that they were murderers and that for punishment they had to stay in the sky, while 'Aho'eitu would descend to become king of Tonga. But now his older brothers repented and begged their father that they would be allowed to follow him. At last the god gave in, but stipulated that, even though they were older, they would become servants to 'Aho'eitu.
Favourites
Thalassocracy
Reqs Navigation+2 from Fishing Boats, Harvest Boats-1 from Plantation, Cottage, Hamlet, Village, TownDouble Production Speed for Harbor, Wharf, Drydock
Akbar
Abu'l-Fath Jalal ud-din Muhammad Akbar
Mughal Emperor
Lived: 1542 - 1605 AD
Background:
Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar was of Timurid descent; the son of Humayun, and the grandson of the Zaheeruudin Muhammad Babur, the legendary ruler who founded the Mughal dynasty in India. At the end of his reign in 1605 the Mughal empire covered most of the northern and central India and was one of the most powerful empires of the age.
Akbar, widely considered as one of the greatest and the most influential personalities of the world history, was thirteen years old when he ascended the Imperial Mughal throne in Delhi, following the death of his father Naseeruddin Muahmmad Humayun. During his reign, he eliminated military threats from the powerful Pashtun descendants of Sher Shah Suri, and at the Second Battle of Panipat he defeated the newly self-declared Hindu king Hemu. It took him nearly two more decades to consolidate his power and bring parts of northern and central India into his realm. The emperor solidified his rule by pursuing diplomacy with the powerful Rajput caste, and by admitting Rajput princesses in his harem.
Akbar's reign significantly influenced art and culture in the region. Akbar took a great interest in painting, and had the walls of his palaces adorned with murals. Besides encouraging the development of the Mughal school, he also patronised the European style of painting. He was fond of literature, and had several Sanskrit works translated into Persian, apart from getting many Persian works illustrated by painters from his court. Akbar began a series of religious debates where Muslim scholars would debate religious matters with Sikhs, Hindus, Carvaka atheists, Jews, and Portuguese Roman Catholic Jesuits. He had an intolerant attitude towards Hindus and the other religions during the early years of his reign, but he exercised great tolerance after he began marriage alliances with Rajput princesses. He founded a religious cult, the Din-i-Ilahi (Divine Faith), but it amounted only to a form of personality cult for Akbar, and quickly dissolved after his death.
Favourites
Syncretism
Reqs PhilosophyNo 
from Changing State ReligionAll Buildings provide Religion Effect if State present+2
from Paddy FieldCan Build Missionaries without MonasteryIslamHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover TheologyFounder Receives a Islamic Imam
Alexander
Alexander III the Great
Basileus of Macedon, Hegemon of the Hellenic League, Shahanshah of Persia, Pharaoh of Egypt, Lord of Asia
Lived: 356 - 323 BC
Background:
Alexander was the son of King Philip II, an extremely successful king and warlord who had rescued his kingdom from the verge of extinction and then led his people to triumph by conquering Athens, Illyria, and Thrace - the three powers who, a few short years before, had been on the verge of conquering Macedonia. As the son of the most powerful monarch in the "civilized" world, Alexander got the best of everything, including education - the scholar Aristotle, the great thinker of Western Civilization, was his tutor.
Taught by his mother that he was descended from Hercules and Achilles, Alexander did not lack for self-confidence, even at a very young age. At 16 he led an army to quell a Thracian rebellion while his father was away. Alexander stormed the rebel stronghold and broke the back of the rebellion.
Several years later, Alexander's father was assassinated while in the process of mounting an invasion of Persia. Alexander immediately took power, and within two years he carried out his father's interrupted invasion of Persia. Alexander's force consisted of 30,000 foot soldiers and 5,000 cavalrymen, a huge army for the day, and was accompanied by engineers, surveyors, scientists, and even historians.
Alexander had amazing success against the Persians. He repeatedly beat their best soldiers, routinely fighting against odds of 10-to-1. His success can be attributed to his military genius, his force's superb training and equipment, and their magnificent esprit de corps, largely engendered by their faith in Alexander's invincibility.
Having secured Persia's surrender, Alexander then moved south, conquering Syria, Palestine, much of modern Iraq, and eventually Egypt herself. He returned to Persia, destroyed the last of the Persian forces and took over the entire country. He continued east, eventually coming into contact with the great Indian King Porus, who fought him to a standstill. Alexander eventually won the conflict, but at such a heavy cost that his men begged him to end the campaign and let them return to their families. Alexander himself returned to rule his empire from the captured city of Babylon.
In eight short years of fighting, Alexander had conquered more territory than any other living being. He successfully led his forces into battle against all of the great nations of the day, but none could stand against him. He was the absolute ruler of the largest empire the world had ever seen.
Apparently he found this boring.
Once in Babylon, Alexander began an inexorable decline. He began drinking heavily and engaging in all kinds of available debauchery (and there was much debauchery to be found in Babylon). He became subject to fits of anger and bouts of paranoid delusion. One night, in a fit of blind rage and under the influence of alcohol, Alexander murdered Clitus, his closest associate. This barbaric act was to haunt Alexander for the rest of his life - which wasn't very long.
In June of 323 BC, his body weakened by his excesses, Alexander died of malaria. He was 32 years old.
Favourites
Hegemony
Reqs Generalship+25% 
on City Conquest-1 turns of in Conquered CitiesDouble Production Speed for Barracks, Stable, Jail, Castle, Star Fort
Alexander I
Aleksandr I Pavlovich
Emperor of Russia
Lived: 1777 - 1825 AD
Background:
Alexander I was the Emperor of Russia between 1801 and 1825. He was the eldest son of Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. Alexander was the first king of Congress Poland, reigning from 1815 to 1825, as well as the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland, reigning from 1809 to 1825.
Born in Saint Petersburg to Grand Duke Paul Petrovich, later Paul I, Alexander succeeded to the throne after his father was murdered. He ruled Russia during the chaotic period of the Napoleonic Wars. As prince and during the early years of his reign, Alexander often used liberal rhetoric, but continued Russia's absolutist policies in practice. In the first years of his reign, he initiated some minor social reforms and (in 1803-04) major, liberal educational reforms, such as building more universities. Alexander appointed Mikhail Speransky, the son of a village priest, as one of his closest advisors. The Collegia was abolished and replaced by the State Council, which was created to improve legislation. Plans were also made to set up a parliament and sign a constitution.
In foreign policy, he changed Russia's position relative to France four times between 1804 and 1812 among neutrality, opposition, and alliance. In 1805 he joined Britain in the War of the Third Coalition against Napoleon, but after suffering massive defeats at the battles of Austerlitz and Friedland, he switched sides and formed an alliance with Napoleon by the Treaty of Tilsit (1807) and joined Napoleon's Continental System. He fought a small-scale naval war against Britain between 1807 and 1812 as well as a short war against Sweden (1808-09) after Sweden's refusal to join the Continental System. Alexander and Napoleon hardly agreed, especially regarding Poland, and the alliance collapsed by 1810. Alexander's greatest triumph came in 1812 when Napoleon's invasion of Russia proved to be a catastrophic disaster for the French. As part of the winning coalition against Napoleon, he gained territory in Finland and Poland.
Favourites
Stratocracy
Reqs Journalism-25% experience needed for unit promotions+100% Great General Emergence+4 from Great Military Instructor
OrthodoxyHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover EthicsFounder Receives a Orthodox Missionary
Alfred
Alfred the Great
King of Wessex
Lived: 849 - 899 AD
Background:
Alfred the Great ("elf counsel"; 849 - 26 October 899) was King of Wessex from 871 to 899.
Alfred successfully defended his kingdom against the Viking attempt at conquest, and by his death had become the dominant ruler in England. He is the only English monarch to be accorded the epithet "the Great". Alfred was the first King of the West Saxons to style himself "King of the Anglo-Saxons". Details of his life are described in a work by the 10th century Welsh scholar and bishop Asser. Alfred was a learned and merciful man who encouraged education and improved his kingdom's legal system and military structure.
Favourites
Vassalage
Reqs FeudalismLower Unit Support Costs+1 from Farm, Orchard+1
from CastleCatholicismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover DoctrineFounder Receives a Catholic MissionaryFounded when Christian civilizations control less than half of all Christian citiesAlternately founded by the first civilization to build an Orthodox Cathedral without controlling the Orthodox holy city
Alp Arslan
Alp Arslan
Sultan of the Seljuq Empire
Lived: 1029 - 1072 AD
Background:
Alp Arslan was the third sultan of the Seljuk dynasty and great-grandson of Seljuk, the eponym of the dynasty. He assumed the name of Muhammad bin Da'ud Chaghri when he embraced Islam, and for his military prowess, personal valour, and fighting skills he obtained the surname Alp Arslan, which means "Warrior Lion" in Turkish.
He succeeded his father Chagri Begh as governor of Khorasan in 1059. When his uncle Togrul died he was succeeded by Suleiman, Alp Arslan's brother. Alp Arslan and his uncle Kutalmish both contested this succession. Alp Arslan defeated Kutalmish for the throne and succeeded on 27 April 1064 as sultan of Great Seljuk, and thus became sole monarch of Persia from the river Oxus to the Tigris.
In consolidating his empire and subduing contending factions he was ably assisted by Nizam ul-Mulk, his vizier, and one of the most eminent statesmen in early Muslim history. With peace and security established in his dominions, he convoked an assembly of the states and declared his son Malik Shah I his heir and successor. With the hope of capturing Caesarea Mazaca, the capital of Cappadocia, he placed himself at the head of the Turkish cavalry, crossed the Euphrates and entered and invaded the city. He then marched into Armenia and Georgia, which he conquered in 1064.
In 1068, en route to Syria, Alp Arslan invaded the Byzantine Empire. After three campaigns, the Turks were defeated and driven across the Euphrates. In 1071, while at Manzikert, north of Lake Van, Alp Arslan offered peace. The offer was rejected by Emperor Romanos IV and the two forces met in the Battle of Manzikert. The Cuman mercenaries among the Byzantine forces immediately defected to the Turkish side; and, seeing this, "the Western mercenaries rode off and took no part in the battle." The Byzantines were totally routed. Emperor Romanos IV was himself taken prisoner and conducted into the presence of Alp Arslan, who treated him with generosity, and, terms of peace having been agreed to, dismissed him, loaded with presents and respectfully attended by a military guard.
Alp Arslan's victories changed the balance in near Asia completely in favour of the Seljuk Turks and Sunni Muslims. While the Byzantine Empire was to continue for nearly another four centuries, and the Crusades would contest the issue for some time, the victory at Manzikert signalled the beginning of Turkish ascendancy in Anatolia. Alp Arslan's conquest of Anatolia from the Byzantines is also seen as one of the pivotal precursors to the launch of the crusades.
Favourites
Hegemony
Reqs Generalship+25% on City Conquest-1 turns of in Conquered CitiesDouble Production Speed for Barracks, Stable, Jail, Castle, Star FortIslamHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover TheologyFounder Receives a Islamic Imam
Amanirena
Amanirena
Kandake of Kush
Lived: c.40 - 10 BCE
Needs to be written.
Favourites
Merchant Trade
Reqs Currency+1 Trade Routes (
) per City+1 from MerchantDouble Production Speed for Lighthouse, Market
Anawrahta
TXT_KEY_LEADER_ANAWRAHTA_PEDIA
Favourites
Redistribution
Reqs Arithmetics+25% in Capital-50% from Trade Routes ()Double Production Speed for Granary
BuddhismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover PhilosophyFounder Receives Buddhist Bhikku (2)Founded when a Hindu Temple is built
Ashurbanipal
TXT_KEY_LEADER_ASHURBANIPAL_PEDIA
Favourites
Hegemony
Reqs Generalship+25% on City Conquest-1 turns of in Conquered CitiesDouble Production Speed for Barracks, Stable, Jail, Castle, Star Fort
Asoka
Ashoka the Great
Emperor of the Maurya Empire
Lived: c.299 - c.232 BC
Background:
Asoka was one of the greatest rulers of ancient India. He brought nearly all of India (plus Afghanistan and Baluchistan) under one rule for the first (and thus far, only) time in history. Despite his great military prowess, Asoka grew weary of war; and over time he became disgusted at its stupidity and pointlessness.
A popular young general and statesman, Asoka ascended to the Mauryan throne upon his father's death in 273 BC, at the approximate age of 26. He began his rule as a conqueror, seeking to expand his nation's power across the Indian subcontinent and beyond. He was quite successful, and his empire grew.
However, after his bloody conquest of the Kalinga state in which over 100,000 people died and another 150,000 were injured, Asoka underwent a great spiritual change. Deeply remorseful for all of the suffering he had caused, he abandoned wars of conquest and accepted Buddhism. He turned from expansion and instead concentrated upon improving the spiritual and physical well-being of his people. He modified many of his country's harsh laws, and he advocated tolerance of all faiths. He built many Buddhist monasteries throughout the land, and the arts flourished under his rule. He sent Buddhist missionaries across the known world, including to faraway places like Greece and Egypt. Despite his fervent belief in Buddhism, Asoka demanded religious tolerance in his kingdom, saying, "Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Asoka desires that all religions should reside everywhere, for all of them desire self-control and purity of heart."
Asoka died in 232 BC, and the empire he built lasted only fifty years after his death. His name would be virtually lost to history now, if it weren't for the discovery of a large number of columns and boulders inscribed with his words and teachings. These "Edicts of Asoka" contain not only a fount of information about King Asoka, showing him as a wise and thoughtful ruler, but they also provide invaluable knowledge of the early teachings and beliefs of Buddhism.
Favourites
Caste System
Reqs Literature+2
in All Cities+1 from Priest, Artist+1 from PlantationDouble Production Speed for Weaver, Jeweller, Pharmacy, GrocerBuddhismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover PhilosophyFounder Receives Buddhist Bhikku (2)Founded when a Hindu Temple is built
Atat\u00fcrk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
President of Turkey
Lived: 1881 - 1938 AD
Background:
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, until November 24, 1934 Gazi Mustafa Kemal Pasha, Turkish army officer and revolutionary statesman, was the founder and the first President of the Republic of Turkey. Mustafa Kemal established himself as a successful military commander while serving as a division commander in the Battle of Gallipoli. Following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire at the hands of the Allies, and the subsequent plans for its partition, Mustafa Kemal led the Turkish national movement in what would become the Turkish War of Independence. His successful military campaigns led to the liberation of the country and the establishment of the Republic of Turkey. As the Republic's first president, Mustafa Kemal introduced a range of far-reaching reforms which sought to create a modern, democratic and secular state. According to the Law on Family Names, the Turkish National Assembly presented Mustafa Kemal with the surname "Atatürk" (meaning "Father Turk" or "Ancestor Turk") on November 24, 1934.
The history of modern Turkey begins with the foundation of the republic on October 29, 1923 (the Republic was declared on January 20, 1921), with Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk) as its first president. The government was formed from the Ankara-based revolutionary group, led by Atatürk. The second constitution was ratified by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey on April 20, 1924. For about the next 10 years, the country saw a steady process of secular Westernization through Atatürk's Reforms, which included the unification of education; the discontinuation of religious and other titles; the closure of Islamic courts and the replacement of Islamic canon law with a secular civil code modeled after Switzerland's and a penal code modeled after the Italian Penal Code; recognition of the equality between the sexes and the granting of full political rights to women on 5 December 1934; the language reform initiated by the newly founded Turkish Language Association; replacement of the Ottoman Turkish alphabet with the new Turkish alphabet derived from the Latin alphabet; the dress law (the wearing of a fez, a traditional Muslim hat, is outlawed); the law on family names; and many others.
Atatürk sought to modernize and democratise a new Turkish Republic from the remnants of the Ottoman Empire. In his quest to do so, Atatürk had implemented far-reaching reforms, the consequence of which has led Turkey towards the European Union today. The emphasis placed on secularism and nationalism had also led to a degree of conflict within society. Some practicing Muslims found the idea of secularism as being against the teaching of Islam, and criticise the state for not allowing full freedom of religion. In Turkey to this day Islam is still curbed and women are not allowed to wear their headscarves in public buildings. Ethnic minorities such as Kurds have also sought to gain more cultural rights, which in the past, has been limited by the promotion of Turkish nationalism. Despite these conflicts, Atatürk continues to be revered throughout Turkey and his principles remain the backbone of modern Turkish politics.
His successor, Ismet Inonu, fostered a posthumous Atatürk personality cult which has survived to this day, even after Atatürk's own Republican People's Party lost power following democratic elections in 1950. Atatürk's face and name are seen and heard everywhere in Turkey: his portrait can be seen in all public buildings, in schools, in all kinds of school books, on all Turkish banknotes, and in the homes of many Turkish families. It is common even after so many years, in addition to commemorative ceremonies on November 10, at 09:05 a.m. (the exact time of his death), many vehicles and people will pause for one minute in remembrance all over the country at the same instant.
Favourites
Secularism
Reqs Scientific MethodNo State All Buildings provide Religion Effect+10%
in All CitiesDouble slots for ScientistIslamHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover TheologyFounder Receives a Islamic Imam
Augustus Caesar
Augustus Caesar
Emperor of the Roman Empire
Lived: 63 BC - 14 AD
Background:
Born Gaius Octavius, Augustus would become the first (and possibly greatest) Roman Emperor. He ended a century of civil wars and initiated two hundred years of the Pax Romana (Roman Peace) while overseeing a golden age of Roman literature and culture. Octavius was born in 63 BC. His father (also named Gaius Octavius) was a respectable but undistinguished member of the equestrian order. His mother, however, was a niece of Julius Caesar. Octavius' father died when he was only four years old, and he was brought up in the house of his stepfather Lucius Marcus Phillippus.
At the age of fifteen, Octavius put on the toga virilis ("manly robes"), the symbol that he had reached adulthood and was elected to the College of Pontiffs. In 46 BC he joined Julius Caesar during Caesar's last campaign in Spain. In Spain he made such a fine impression on the great general that Julius Caesar changed his will to make Octavius his heir. When Caesar was murdered on the Ides of March in 44 BC, all the wealth that Caesar had spent a lifetime accumulating passed into the hands of the 18-year old Octavius. He would use them well.
At the time of Caesar's assassination, Octavius was with some of his soldiers in modern-day Albania. Upon hearing the news he went to Italy and recruited an army from among Caesar's veterans, gaining their loyalty by stressing that he was Caesar's heir. Once in Rome, Octavius allied with Marc Antony and Marcus Lepidus to form what is known as the "Second Triumvirate," directed against Caesar's killers Marcus Brutus and Gaius Cassius. Octavius' and Antony's armies tracked down Brutus and Cassius in Greece, where they defeated the assassins' army at Philippi (42 BC). Brutus and Cassius both committed suicide after their defeat.
Antony married Octavius' sister Octavia to cement their alliance, and the two leaders divided Rome's territory between them. Octavius took the west, while Antony went to the east, where he entered into a torrid affair with Cleopatra, the ruler of Egypt. Octavius saw Antony's actions as an insult to his sister and to his family, and relations between the co-rulers soon soured. While Antony enjoyed the pleasures of Egypt, back in Rome Octavius strengthened his political position and his armies. The two eventually went to war, and in 31 BC Octavius defeated the forces of Antony and Cleopatra at the naval battle of Actium. The lovers were pursued to Egypt, where they both committed suicide.
Octavius was now the undisputed master of Rome. He surrendered his extraordinary powers to the Senate, which was filled with his allies; in return the Senate named , him "Augustus" (one who is marked by dignity and greatness) and showered him with honors. More importantly, they also gave him the powers of a Roman consul, tribune, and censor, which had never before been combined into one office. All permanent legal power within Rome officially remained within the Senate - but since Octavius controlled the senate, this was mostly a legal fiction. Although he had all of the power of an Emperor, Augustus preferred to style himself "Princeps," or "first citizen" (probably to avoid further antagonizing the remaining republicans in Rome).
During his reign Augustus presided over four decades of peace and prosperity, a welcome relief to Rome after almost a century of civil strife. He carried out a great building program in the ancient city, constructing a new Senate house as well as great temples to Apollo and "Divine Julius" (his deceased great-uncle). Later, Augustus would boast - with justification - that he had found Rome a city of brick and left it marble. Under his patronage many of the most famous Roman authors and poets created their great works: Virgil, Ovid, Horace, and Livy all flourished during his reign.
Augustus' generals also enjoyed great success and were quite relieved to be once again turning their military strength against external enemies instead of one another. Rome's borders were extended to the Danube; northern Spain was finally conquered; and Armenia was pacified in the east. By Augustus' death in 14 AD, a return to the old system of the Republic was unthinkable. He was peacefully succeeded by the Emperor Tiberius, and for more than two centuries the Roman Empire would dominate the Mediterranean without any major wars - due in large part to the wise statesmanship of Augustus.
Favourites
Despotism
Reqs PropertyCan Sacrifice Population to Finish Production in a CityCatholicismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover DoctrineFounder Receives a Catholic MissionaryFounded when Christian civilizations control less than half of all Christian citiesAlternately founded by the first civilization to build an Orthodox Cathedral without controlling the Orthodox holy city
Baibars
Baibars
Sultan of Egypt
Lived: c.1223 - 1277 AD
Background:
Baibars was a commander of the Mamluks in around 1250, when he defeated the Seventh Crusade of Louis IX of France. He was still a commander under Sultan Qutuz at the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260 when he decisively defeated the Mongols. After the battle Sultan Qutuz was assassinated while on a hunting expedition. It was said that Baibars was involved in the assassination because he expected to be rewarded with the governorship of Aleppo for his military success; but Qutuz, fearing his ambition, refused to give such a post and disappointed him. Baibars succeeded Qutuz as Sultan of Egypt.
His reign marked the start of an age of Mamluk dominance in the Eastern Mediterranean and solidified the durability of their military system. He managed to pave the way for the end of the Crusader presence in Syria and to unite Egypt and Syria into one powerful state that was able to fend off threats from both Crusaders and Mongols. As Sultan, Baibars also engaged in a combination of diplomacy and military action which allowed the Mamluks to greatly expand their empire.
Favourites
Slavery
Reqs MasonryCan Capture Workers+1 from Quarry+1 from Plantation, Slave Plantation, OrchardIslamHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover TheologyFounder Receives a Islamic Imam
Barbarossa
Frederick I Barbarossa
Holy Roman Emperor
Lived: 1122 - 1190 AD
Background:
Frederick I Barbarossa was elected King of Germany at Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March, crowned King of Italy in Pavia in 1154, and finally crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV on 18 June 1155. He was crowned King of Burgundy at Arles on 30 June 1178. The name Barbarossa came from the northern Italian cities he attempted to rule, and means "red beard". Before his royal election, he was by inheritance Duke of Swabia (1147-1152, as Frederick III). He was the son of Duke Frederick II of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. His mother was Judith, daughter of Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria, from the rival House of Welf, and Frederick therefore descended from Germany's two leading families, making him an acceptable choice for the Empire's prince-electors.
He was born in Waiblingen, the son of Frederick II of Hohenstaufen, duke of Swabia, and the nephew of Conrad III, king of Germany. Conrad III, favouring Frederick over his own son, on his deathbed recommended to the German princes that Frederick be chosen for the German kingship and the imperial throne. Accordingly, after the death of his uncle in 1152, Frederick Barbarossa was made German king and elected Holy Roman emperor. He conceived of his imperial title as a grant from God, through the German princes, and wished to restore the glory of the Roman Empire. He consequently decided to consolidate the imperial position in Germany and Italy and began by issuing a general order for peace among the princes of Germany, at the same time granting them extensive concessions. In 1154 he proceeded to Italy, where he received the Lombard crown at Pavia. The following year he was crowned Holy Roman emperor by Pope Adrian IV, whose authority Frederick had reinstated before his coronation.
In 1156 Pope Adrian aroused Frederick against the papacy by implying in a letter to him that the emperor held lands only as a fief from the pope. Two years later Frederick incurred the hostility of the Lombards by demanding recognition of all his royal rights, including his power to appoint the imperial podesta, or governor, in every town. Such cities as Milan, Piacenza, Brescia, and Cremona considered that demand a denial of their communal liberties and in 1158 began a struggle that lasted until 1183 and required Frederick to lead five expeditions to Italy. Between 1158 and 1162 Frederick warred with Milan and its allies, subduing that city and confirming claims to other Italian cities. Meanwhile Frederick had set up a series of antipopes in opposition to the reigning pope, Alexander III, who supported the cause of the Milanese and their allies and who, in 1165, excommunicated Frederick. By attacking the Leonine City in Rome in 1167-1168, Frederick was able to install one of the antipopes, Paschal III, on the papal throne. The Lombard League, consisting of the cities of Milan, Parma, Padua (Padova), Verona, Piacenza, Bologna, Cremona, Mantua (Mantova), Bergamo, and Brescia, was formed in 1167 and eventually acknowledged Pope Alexander as leader. During the next seven years the league acquired military strength, rebuilt Milan, constructed the fortress city of Alessandria, and organized a federal system of administration. The fifth expedition (1174-1176) of Frederick to Italy terminated in defeat by the Lombard League at Legnano. The defeat was significant in military history, because it was the first major triumph of infantry over a mounted army of feudal knights. Frederick was forced in 1177 to acknowledge Alexander III as pope and in 1183 to sign the Peace of Constance, agreeing to the demands of the Lombards for autonomy but retaining imperial authority over the towns.
Although imperial control in Italy was virtually ended by his defeat at Legnano, Frederick managed to enhance his prestige in central Europe. He made Poland tributary to the empire, raised Bohemia to the rank of a kingdom, and erected the margravate of Austria into an independent hereditary duchy. His own power as emperor in Germany was firmly established in 1180, when he ended his long struggle with the Welfs by putting down a revolt led by the Welf Henry the Lion and depriving him of most of his lands.
Frederick initiated the Third Crusade in 1189, and in the next year, having resigned the government of the empire to his son Henry, later Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI, set out for Asia Minor. After gaining two great victories over the Muslims at Philomelion (now Aksehir) and Iconium (now Konya), he has drowned in the Calycadnus (now Göksu) River in Cilicia (now in Turkey) on June 10, 1190.
Favourites
Elective
Reqs Politics+1 from No Improvement+2 from Pasture, Camp+1 from CottageDouble Production Speed for PalaceCatholicismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover DoctrineFounder Receives a Catholic MissionaryFounded when Christian civilizations control less than half of all Christian citiesAlternately founded by the first civilization to build an Orthodox Cathedral without controlling the Orthodox holy city
Basil II
Basil II
Emperor of the Byzantine Empire
Lived: 958 - 1025 AD
Background:
Basil II, known in his time as Basil the Porphyrogenitus and Basil the Young to distinguish him from his ancestor Basil I the Macedonian, was a Byzantine emperor from the Macedonian dynasty who reigned from 10 January 976 to 15 December 1025.
The first part of his long reign was dominated by civil war against powerful generals from the Anatolian aristocracy. Following their submission, Basil oversaw the stabilization and expansion of the Byzantine Empire's eastern frontier, and above all, the final and complete subjugation of Bulgaria, the Empire's foremost European foe, after a prolonged struggle. For this he was nicknamed by later authors as "the Bulgar-slayer", by which he is popularly known. At his death, the Empire stretched from Southern Italy to the Caucasus and from the Danube to the borders of Palestine, its greatest territorial extent since the Muslim conquests, four centuries earlier.
Despite near-constant warfare, Basil also showed himself a capable administrator, reducing the power of the great land-owning families who dominated the Empire's administration and military, and filling the Empire's treasury. Of far-reaching importance was Basil's decision to offer the hand of his daughter Anna to Vladimir I of Kiev in exchange for military support, which led to the Christianization of the Kievan Rus', and the incorporation of Russia within the Byzantine cultural sphere.
Favourites
Monasticism
Reqs Ethics+50% Birth Rate in Cities with State OrthodoxyHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover EthicsFounder Receives a Orthodox Missionary
Bayinnaung
TXT_KEY_LEADER_BAYINNAUNG_PEDIA
Favourites
Hegemony
Reqs Generalship+25% on City Conquest-1 turns of in Conquered CitiesDouble Production Speed for Barracks, Stable, Jail, Castle, Star FortBuddhismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover PhilosophyFounder Receives Buddhist Bhikku (2)Founded when a Hindu Temple is built
Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto
Prime Minister of Pakistan
Lived: 1953 - 2007 AD
Background:
Benazir Bhutto was the 11th Prime Minister of Pakistan, serving two non-consecutive terms in 1988-90 and then 1993-96. A scion of the politically powerful Bhutto family, she was the eldest daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, a former prime minister himself who founded the centre-left Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). She was the first woman to become democratically elected head of any Muslim nation.
In 1982, three years after her father's execution, 29-year-old Benazir Bhutto became the chairperson of the PPP-a political party, making her the first woman in Pakistan to head a major political party. In 1988, she became the first woman to be elected as the head of an Islamic state's government; she also remains Pakistan's only female prime minister. Noted for her charismatic authority and political astuteness, Bhutto drove initiatives for Pakistan's economy and national security, and she implemented capitalist policies for industrial development and growth. In addition, her political philosophy and economic policies emphasised deregulation (particularly of the financial sector), flexible labour markets, the denationalisation of state-owned corporations, and the withdrawal of subsidies to others. Bhutto's popularity waned amid recession, corruption, and high unemployment which later led to the dismissal of her government by conservative President Ghulam Ishaq Khan.
In 1993, Bhutto was elected for a second term after the 1993 parliamentary elections. She survived an attempted coup d'état in 1995, and her hard line against the trade unions and tough rhetorical opposition to her domestic political rivals and to neighbouring India earned her the nickname "Iron Lady"; she was also respectfully referred to as "BB". In 1996, charges of corruption levelled against her led to the final dismissal of her government by President Farooq Leghari. Bhutto conceded her defeat in the 1997 Parliamentary elections and went into exile in Dubai in 1999. Nine years later, in 2007, she returned to Pakistan, having reached an understanding with President Pervez Musharraf, who granted her amnesty and withdrew all corruption charges against her. Bhutto was assassinated in a bombing on 27 December 2007, after leaving PPP's last rally in Rawalpindi, two weeks before the scheduled 2008 general election in which she was the leading candidate. Her party subsequently won the elections on a wave of sympathy generated by her assassination.
Favourites
Free Enterprise
Reqs Economics+50% Corporation Commerce+50% from Trade Routes ()Double slots for MerchantIslamHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover TheologyFounder Receives a Islamic Imam
Bismarck
Otto von Bismarck
Chancellor of Germany
Lived: 1815 - 1898 AD
Background:
Otto von Bismarck, also known as the "Iron Chancellor," is perhaps the most significant figure in German history. During his long political career, Bismarck unified Germany and founded the German Empire. During his 30-year chancellorship, Germany was transformed from a weak and loose confederation of states into a powerful united country that would come to dominate continental Europe.
Descended of a noble Prussian family, Bismarck certainly inherited the arrogance of the Prussian Junker class. He was a poor student who excelled at dueling and was quite a historian and linguist. However, he spent much of his time drinking with the other aristocrats in their exclusive fraternity.
Unable to accept the discipline required for military service, Bismarck instead entered the Prussian diplomatic corps, where his skill quickly brought him to the attention of the Prussian Kaiser. Appointed to the German Federal Diet (congress), Bismarck worked to increase Prussian status and power within Germany. Eventually he would rise to the rank of Prussian Prime Minister, where after years of long struggle, he succeeded in unifying Germany under Prussian rule. Bismarck would accomplish this through crafty diplomacy, aided by a series of successful wars.
Once Germany was unified, Bismarck's main foreign policy aim was to keep the peace in Europe, mostly by isolating France, Germany's historic enemy. In this he was largely successful. He engineered a war with France in 1870 in order to draw several German states (Bavaria, Baden, and others) into the German empire. In the war, France was quickly defeated.
Having achieved his objective of acquiring the German states, Bismarck argued for fairly lenient terms, but the German people and military wanted more, and he was forced to annex the French provinces of Alsace and Loraine. Bismarck knew that this would be trouble in the long run - before the war he had told a colleague, "Supposing we did win Alsace, we would have to maintain our conquest and to keep Strasbourg perpetually garrisoned. This would be an impossible position, for in the end the French would find new allies - and we might have a bad time." This, of course, is exactly what happened in World War I, where Germany had a very bad time indeed.
Although an ardent conservative and monarchist, Bismarck was the first European leader to promote a system of social security for workers. He rebuilt the German monetary system, introducing for the first time a single currency. He also helped fabricate the new country's code of civil and commercial law. His benevolence was not universal, however; while emancipating the Jews, Bismarck also enacted laws aimed at restraining Germany's Catholics.
As a diplomat, Bismarck's greatest weakness was his single-minded desire to weaken France. He was largely successful during his lifetime, but in doing so he made France into an implacable enemy, which would have dire consequences in the next century. Domestically, Bismarck's great flaw was his indifference to the lives of the German people. As Germany grew in power and stature, the people's lives improved but little. His social security system did some good, but he enacted that mainly to avoid having to make greater concessions to the German Socialists.
In total, Bismarck was a great leader, perhaps the greatest European leader of the 19th Century. His triumphs greatly outweighed his defeats, and he almost single-handedly turned a group of bickering kingdoms in to a mighty state. The disasters in Germany's future were not so much a result of his policies, but of his successors' inability to adjust to the changing geopolitical climate in Europe.
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Nationhood
Reqs NationalismCan Draft 3 Units per Turn+25% for Buildings Already in Capital+1 from Monument, Civic Square, News Press, Broadcast TowerCannot Use Slaves
ProtestantismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founding Protestantism triggers the Reformation
Bolivar
Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Blanco
President of Gran Colombia
Lived: 1783 - 1830 AD
Background:
Simon Bolivar was one of South America's greatest generals. His victories over the Spaniards won independence for Bolivia, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. He is called El Liberator (The Liberator) and the "George Washington of South America."
Bolivar was born in July 24, 1783, at Caracas, Venezuela. His parents died when he was a child and he inherited a fortune. As a young man, he traveled in Europe.
As he returned to Venezuela, Bolivar joined the group of patriots that seized Caracas in 1810 and proclaimed independence from Spain. He went to Great Britain in search of aid, but could get only a promise of British neutrality. When he returned to Venezuela, and took command of a patriot army, he recaptured Caracas in 1813 from the Spaniards.
The Spaniards forced Bolivar to retreat from Venezuela to New Granada (now Colombia), also at war with Spain. He took command of a Colombian force and captured Bogota in 1814. The patriots, however, lacked men and supplies, and new defeats led Bolivar to flee to Jamaica. In Haiti he gathered a force that landed in Venezuela in 1816, and took Angostra (now Ciudad Bolivar). He also became dictator there.
Bolivar marched into New Granada in 1819. He defeated the Spaniards in Boyar in 1819, liberating the territory of Colombia. He then returned to Angostura and led the congress that organized the original republic of Colombia (now Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, and Venezuela). Bolivar became its first president on December 17, 1819.
Bolivar crushed the Spanish army at Carabobo in Venezuela on June 24, 1821. Next, he marched into Educador and added that territory to the new Colombian republic. After a meeting in 1822 with another great liberator, Bolivar became dictator of Peru. His army won a victory over the Spaniards at Auacucho in 1824, which needed Spanish power in South America. Upper Peru became a separate state, named Bolivia in Bolivar's honor, in 1825. The constitution, which he drew up for Bolivia, is one of his most important political pronouncements.
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Stratocracy
Reqs Journalism-25% experience needed for unit promotions+100% Great General Emergence+4 from Great Military InstructorCatholicismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover DoctrineFounder Receives a Catholic MissionaryFounded when Christian civilizations control less than half of all Christian citiesAlternately founded by the first civilization to build an Orthodox Cathedral without controlling the Orthodox holy city
Boudica
Boudica
Queen of the Celts
Lived: ? - 61AD
Background:
Boudica was a queen of the Iceni, a Celtic people who lived on the eastern coast of Britain. The Roman Emperor Claudius had conquered much of Britain some twenty years ago; according to the treaty with the Iceni, Boudica's husband King Prasutagus would continue to rule his kingdom until his death, at which time it would come under Roman rule. Prasutagus died in approximately 60 AD, and the Romans were quick to seize control of the kingdom. According to the historical sources, the Romans treated their new subjects with unbridled cruelty, and greed. Boudica and her daughters were beaten and raped and sent like beggars from their kingdom.
This was a huge mistake. The Romans badly underestimated the Celtic Queen: they would have been far better off killing her outright or treating her with the respect her title deserved.
According to Cassius Dio, a Roman historian, Boudica was "very tall, in appearance most terrifying, in the glance of her eye most fierce, and her voice was harsh; a great mass of the tawniest hair fell to her hips; around her neck was a large golden necklace." She was also possessed of a great intelligence and was beloved by her people.
After her humiliation Boudica convinced a number of nearby kingdoms to revolt against the rapacious Romans; they quickly raised a large army and made Boudica the commander.
At the time, Paulus, the Roman in charge of the island's military forces, was away on business. In his absence Boudica's army wreaked havoc across the island, visiting on their Roman prisoners the same sort of depredations the Romans had recently tormented the Celts with. A number of Roman cities were burned, and the campaign ended with the capture and destruction of the important city of "Londinium" (London).
By then the Roman forces had rallied, and though badly outnumbered, had decided to make their stand some miles distant from Boudica. The queen immediately launched an attack against the hated foe. Although she had the great advantage of numbers, her army was no match for the disciplined and highly-trained Roman troops, who blunted the initial Celtic rush with a wave of thrown javelins and then proceeded to kill every Celtic warrior they could catch. Boudica is said to have killed herself rather than risk Roman capture.
Although she had led her people for only a year, Boudica's valiant but doomed rebellion would make her a legendary figure in history. Europe would not see another female warrior of her quality for some fourteen centuries, until a young woman named "Joan" would a see vision telling her to rise and fight for the Catholic King of France.
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Chiefdom
Brennus
Brennus
Celtic Chieftain
Lived: ? - 279 BC
Background:
Other than that he was a fearsome and successful warrior, little is known about the Celtic chieftain named Brennus. In 279 BC, he led an army of Celtic warriors on an invasion of Macedonia and northern Greece. They turned the Greek defense at the pass of Thermopylae and sacked the famous Oracle at Delphi - Brennus was wounded in the fighting. From there, the Celts penetrated into Epirus (roughly modern Albania) and looted the treasures stored at the temples of Zeus at Dodona and Olympia. After those triumphs the Greek resistance stiffened. Brennus retreated to Macedonia, where he died of his wounds. Without the leadership of their chieftain, the Celtic warriors split up and went in separate directions. Most of them returned to their homes in Gaul along with the treasure they had pillaged, while a few others headed east and settled in Asia Minor. This group came to be called the Galatians, and remained distinct from their surrounding neighbors for at least two centuries.
The name "Brennus" is more likely a title than a proper name - in fact the same title was later given to another Celtic chieftain who sacked Rome in 390 BC. It is very likely that the Welsh word "Brenin," meaning king, derived from that title.
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Manorialism
Reqs CalendarWorkers Build Improvements +50% Faster+1 from Pasture+1 from Farm, Paddy FieldCatholicismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover DoctrineFounder Receives a Catholic MissionaryFounded when Christian civilizations control less than half of all Christian citiesAlternately founded by the first civilization to build an Orthodox Cathedral without controlling the Orthodox holy city
Brian Boru
Brian Boru
High King of Ireland
Lived: 941 - 1014
Background:
Brian Boru was born Brian Mac Cennétig. He mother was sister to the mother of Conor, the King of Connaught. His brother, Mahon, had become King of Munster in 951, upon the death of their father, Cennétig. Together they fought against the invading Norsemen, who had imposed taxes in Munster. This struggle eventually led to the murder of Mahon in 975 Mahon by the Ostermen (Norse). Brian avenged his brother's death by killing the King of the Ostermen of Limerick, King Ímar. From this point onwards Brian held Munster as his own, including the pivotal trade-centre of Limerick. He marched into Connaught and Leinster and joined forces with Mael Sechnaill II in 997. Together they divided Ireland between them. The Norse settlers in Dublin especially ranged against Brian but were defeated at Glen Máma where the King of Leinster was captured. The King of Dublin, Sitric Silkenbeard, was soon defeated too.
In 1002 Brian demanded of his comrade Mael Sechnaill that he recognize him as King of Ireland. Mael agreed, partially because many of his own people viewed Brian as a hero who had restored Ireland to greatness after the Viking invasions. The rule of the UíNéill's was thus at an end as a non-O'Neill was proclaimed as King. The O'Neill's had been rulers for over 600 years. He earned his name as 'Brian of the Tributes' (Brian Boru) by collecting tributes from the minor rulers of Ireland and used the monies raised to restore monasteries and libraries that had been destroyed during the invasions. The Norsemen were not done yet however, and once more waged war on Brian Boru and his followers at Clontarf in Dublin in 1014. The King of Connaught, Tadhg O'Conor refused to ally with Brian against the Ostermen although Uí Fiachrach Aidne and Uí Maine did join with him. Despite the lack of backing from the men of Connaught, the Munstermen won the day but lost Brian Boru in the battle. This battle was a major turning point as it finally subjugated the Norse presence in Ireland who were henceforth considered subordinate to the Kingships of Ireland. Their military threat had been ended and they retreated to the urban centres of Dublin, Waterford, Limerick, Wexford, and Cork. They eventually became completely hibernicized and integrated into Gaelic culture.
After his death and the death of one of his sons, his remaining sons, Tadg and Donnchad, were unable to assume the kingship which was assumed by Mael Sechnaill. He died in 1022 after which the role of High King of Ireland became more of a position in name only, rather than that of a powerful ruler. Perhaps the best that should be said of Brian Boru therefore, is that he was the last great High King of Ireland.
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Monasticism
Reqs Ethics+50% Birth Rate in Cities with State CatholicismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover DoctrineFounder Receives a Catholic MissionaryFounded when Christian civilizations control less than half of all Christian citiesAlternately founded by the first civilization to build an Orthodox Cathedral without controlling the Orthodox holy city
Bumin
Bumin Qaghan
Chieftain of the Ashina Clan, Khagan of the Turkic Khaganate
Reigned: 551 - 552 A.D.
Background
Bumin Qaghan or Illig Qaghan, (died 552 AD) was the founder of the Turkic Khaganate. He was the eldest son of Ashina Tuwu and chieftain of the Türks under the sovereignty of Rouran Khaganate. He is also mentioned as "Tumen" (commander of ten thousand) of the Rouran Khaganate.
Not much is known about Bumin's life except what was documented by Chinese chronicles. Accordingly, Bumin's ascension began in 545, when his tribe was growing in strength and frequently invaded the western frontier of Wei. In response to that the chancellor of Western Wei, Yuwen Tai, sent a messenger to Tujue (Chinese name for the Türks seat in the Altai Mountains and/or its people) to greet Bumin and try to establish friendly relations. In 546, Bumin answered presenting tribute to Western Wei. In summer 551, the Tiele were launching an attack on Rouran, when Bumin’s army intercepted them and captured a large number of their people. After his victory, Bumin took advantage of this and requested a marriage with a daughter of Yujiulü Anagui, Khagan of the Rouran. Anagui felt insulted and refused this request, viewing the Türks as inferior, sending to Bumin a messenger with his message: â€
You are my blacksmith slave. How dare you utter these words?†(The Türks were indeed blacksmith servants for the Rouran elite and that may indicate a kind of vassalage system prevailed in Rouran society) In response, Bumin killed Anagui's messenger and cut off relations, leading a revolt against the Rouran.
In addition to being a warrior leader, Bumin also used diplomacy as a tool against his enemies and to strengthen his position. After been denied the marriage with the Rouran princess and insulted, Bumin requested a Western Wei princess in marriage. Yuwen Tai, the chancellor of the state, seeking an alliance against the Rouran permitted it and sent Princess Changle to marry Bumin. Other example is when Emperor Wen of Western Wei died, Bumin sent a messenger with two hundred horses in honor to his death, strengthening the relations with the Western Wei.
The beginning of formal diplomatic relations with China propped up Bumin's authority among the Turks. He eventually united the local Turkic tribes and threw off the yoke of the Rouran domination. Allied with the Western Wei, Bumin defeated Anagui and his forces north of Huaihuang (modern Zhangjiakou, Hebei) in 552.
Having excelled in both battle and diplomacy, Bumin declared himself Illig Khagan of the new khaganate at Otukan, but died within several months after his coronation. His younger brother and vassal Istemi in the western part and his son Issik Qaghan in the eastern part succeeded him. In less than one century, his khaganate expanded to comprise most of Central Asia.
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Merchant Trade
Reqs Currency+1 Trade Routes () per City+1 from MerchantDouble Production Speed for Lighthouse, Market
Canute
Cnut the Great
King of England, Denmark, and Norway
Lived: 990 - 1035
Background:
Cnut was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway from 1028 until his death in 1035. The three kingdoms united under Cnut's rule are referred to together as the North Sea Empire by historians.
As a Danish prince, Cnut won the throne of England in 1016 in the wake of centuries of Viking activity in northwestern Europe. His later accession to the Danish throne in 1018 brought the crowns of England and Denmark together. Cnut sought to keep this power base by uniting Danes and English under cultural bonds of wealth and custom. After a decade of conflict with opponents in Scandinavia, Cnut claimed the crown of Norway in Trondheim in 1028. In 1031, Malcolm II of Scotland also submitted to him, though Anglo-Norse influence over Scotland was weak and ultimately did not last by the time of Cnut's death.
Dominion of England lent the Danes an important link to the maritime zone between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, where Cnut, like his father before him, had a strong interest and wielded much influence among the Norse-Gaels. Cnut's possession of England's dioceses and the continental Diocese of Denmark - with a claim laid upon it by the Holy Roman Empire's Archdiocese of Hamburg-Bremen - was a source of great prestige and leverage among the magnates of Christendom.
After his 1026 victory against Norway and Sweden, and on his way back from Rome where he attended the coronation of the Holy Roman Emperor, Cnut deemed himself "King of all England and Denmark and the Norwegians and of some of the Swedes" in a letter written for the benefit of his subjects.
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Thalassocracy
Reqs Navigation+2 from Fishing Boats, Harvest Boats-1 from Plantation, Cottage, Hamlet, Village, TownDouble Production Speed for Harbor, Wharf, DrydockCatholicismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover DoctrineFounder Receives a Catholic MissionaryFounded when Christian civilizations control less than half of all Christian citiesAlternately founded by the first civilization to build an Orthodox Cathedral without controlling the Orthodox holy city
Cardenas
Lázaro Cárdenas del Río
President of Mexico
Lived: 1895 - 1970 AD
Background:
Lázaro Cárdenas was born in a lower-middle class family in the village of Jiquilpan, Michoacán. He supported his family (including his mother and 7 younger siblings) from age 16 on after the death of his father. He worked in a printing shop; although he had little formal education he used every opportunity to educate himself.
Cárdenas originally set his sights at becoming a teacher, but was drawn into politics and the military during the Mexican Revolution after Victoriano Huerta overthrew President Francisco Madero. He backed Plutarco Elías Calles, and after Calles became President, Cárdenas became governor of Michoacán in 1928. He became known for his progressive program of building roads and schools and the unusual strict honesty of his administration.
Calles continued to dominate Mexico after his presidency with administrations which were his puppets. He selected Cárdenas to be the PRI's presidential candidate on the assumption that he could control Cárdenas as he had controlled others. Cárdenas's first move once in office was to have his presidential salary cut in half. Even more surprising moves would follow. After establishing himself in the presidency, Cárdenas had Calles and dozens of his corrupt associates arrested or deported to the United States, which was greeted with great enthusiasm by the majority of the public.
In 1938 Cárdenas nationalized Mexico's petroleum reserves and expropriated the equipment of the foreign oil companies in Mexico. Even though compensation for the expropriated assests was included in this legislation, this move aroused considerable hostility in the international business community and foreign governments, and Mexican oil and other goods were boycotted. However, with the outbreak of World War II, oil became a highly sought-after commodity and the boycott ended.
After his presidential term he served as Mexico's secretary of defense through 1945.
It is often said that Cárdenas was the only president from the PRI who did not use the office to make himself wealthy. He retired to a modest home by Lake Pátzcuaro and worked the rest of his life supervising irrigation projects and promoting free medical clinics and education for the nation's poor.
Lázaro Cárdenas died of cancer in Mexico City. His son Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas is a prominent Mexican politician.
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Egalitarianism
Reqs Civil Rights+3 per SpecialistDouble slots for ArtistCannot Use SlavesCatholicismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover DoctrineFounder Receives a Catholic MissionaryFounded when Christian civilizations control less than half of all Christian citiesAlternately founded by the first civilization to build an Orthodox Cathedral without controlling the Orthodox holy city
Casimir III
Casimir III the Great
King of Poland
Lived: 1310 - 1370 AD
Background:
Casimir III was born in Kowal, at April 30, 1310. Last of the Piast Dynasty, king of Poland from 1333, the son of Wladyslaw I the Short (Wladyslaw I Lokietek).
Casimir is the only Polish king who did receive and maintain the title of the great in Polish history (Boleslaw I Chrobry was once also called the great, but not today), and the title is well deserved. When he received the crown, his hold on it was in danger, as even his neighbours did not recognise his title and instead called him "king of Krakow. The economy was ruined, and country was depopulated and tired with wars. At the time of his death, it had doubled in land area (mostly through joining lands in today's Ukraine, then Duchy of Halicz), grew prosperous, wealthy and had great prospects to the future. Although he is depicted as a peaceful king in children books, he in fact waged many victorious wars and was preparing other ones just before he died.
He built many new castles, reformed the Polish army, as well as Polish civil and criminal laws. At the Sejm in Wislica, March 11, 1347, he introduced salutary legal reforms in the jurisprudence of his country. He sanctioned a code of laws for Great and Little Poland, which gained for him the title of "the Polish Justinian". He founded the University of Krakow although his death stalled the development of the university (and that's why today it is called Jagiellonian instead of Casimirian). He organised a meeting of kings in Krakow in 1364 which showed the wealth of Polish kingdom.
Casimir was sonless. Apparently he deemed his own descendants either unsuitable to inherit or too young. Thus, and in order to provide a clear line of succession instead of problems of uncertainty, he arranged his sister Elisabeth, Dowager Queen of Hungary, and her son Louis, King of Hungary to be his successors in Poland. Louis was proclaimed polish king in Casimir's death in 1370, but Elisabeth held much of the practical power until her death in 1380.
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Manorialism
Reqs CalendarWorkers Build Improvements +50% Faster+1 from Pasture+1 from Farm, Paddy FieldCatholicismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover DoctrineFounder Receives a Catholic MissionaryFounded when Christian civilizations control less than half of all Christian citiesAlternately founded by the first civilization to build an Orthodox Cathedral without controlling the Orthodox holy city
Castilla
Ramón Castilla y Marquesado
President of Peru
Lived: 1797 - 1867 AD
Background:
Ramón Castilla y Marquesado was a Peruvian caudillo and President of Peru four times. His earliest prominent appearance in Peruvian history began with his participation in a commanding role of the army of the Libertadores that helped Peru become an independent nation. Later, he led the country when the economy boomed due to the exploitation of guano deposits. Castilla's governments are remembered for having abolished slavery and modernized the state.
He assumed the presidency for the first time after general Domingo Nieto's death for a short period in 1844, then in 1845 until 1851, again from 1855 to 1862 and, finally, during a brief period in 1863.
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Individualism
Reqs Civil Liberties+2 from Village, TownImprovements Upgrade without Being WorkedCatholicismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover DoctrineFounder Receives a Catholic MissionaryFounded when Christian civilizations control less than half of all Christian citiesAlternately founded by the first civilization to build an Orthodox Cathedral without controlling the Orthodox holy city
Catherine
Catherine II the Great
Empress and Autocrat of All the Russias
Lived: 1729 - 1796 AD
Background:
Catherine was born in Szczecin in 1729, a princess of Pomerania, a small kingdom in Prussia. At 16 she was married to Carl Peter Ulrich, the heir to the Russian throne. Catherine quickly learned Russian and joined the Russian Orthodox Church. Largely self-educated, Catherine immersed herself in the literature of the time. Endowed with both beauty and intelligence, she became strong friends (if not more) with the great thinkers of the day, including the brilliant French philosophers Rousseau and Diderot.
Catherine did not lack political ambition, however. At the age of 33, with the support of the Imperial guard, she overthrew her husband, the Emperor Peter III, who was soon killed "in a hunting accident," leaving Catherine the sole ruler of Russia. As Empress, Catherine pursued an expansionist policy, fighting two successful wars against the Ottoman Empire and acquiring vast territory in southern Ukraine and the Crimea. She undertook a wide range of political reforms, attempting to shape up the notoriously corrupt and incompetent Russian bureaucracy. She curried favor with the aristocracy, expanding their already-great power over the Russian peasants.
A patron of the arts, Catherine commissioned many statues and paintings. Under her rule St. Petersburg was transformed from a primitive and forbidding city into one of the most beautiful and impressive European capitals.
Despite her many public successes, Catherine is best known for her private excesses. Her affairs are legendary; it has been suggested that she slept with a fairly large fraction of the Russian officers corps, not to mention her many well-publicized dalliances with a horde of well-known European politicians and artists.
Catherine died at the age of 67, having lived longer than any other Romanov monarch.
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Bureaucracy
Reqs Statecraft+35%, +35% in CapitalOrthodoxyHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover EthicsFounder Receives a Orthodox Missionary
Cavour
Camillo Paolo Filippo Giulio Benso
Prime Minister of Italy
Lived: 1810 - 1861 AD
Background:
Camillo di Cavour was a leading figure in the movement toward Italian unification. He was the founder of the original Italian Liberal Party and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, a position he maintained (except for a six-month resignation) throughout the Second Italian War of Independence and Garibaldi's campaigns to unite Italy. Cavour died only three months after the declaration of a united Kingdom of Italy, and thus did not live to see Venetia or Rome included in the kingdom.
Cavour, as he is usually called, put forth several economic reforms in his home province of Piedmont in his earlier years, and founded the political newspaper Il Risorgimento. After being elected to the Chamber of Deputies, he quickly rose in rank through the Piedmontese government, coming to dominate the Chamber of Deputies through a union of left-center and right-center politicians. After a large rail system expansion program, Cavour became prime minister in 1852. As prime minister, Cavour successfully negotiated Piedmont's way through the Crimean War, Second Italian War of Independence, and Garibaldi's expeditions, managing to maneuver Piedmont diplomatically to become a new great power in Europe, controlling a nearly united Italy that was five times as large as Piedmont had been before he came to power.
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Nationhood
Reqs NationalismCan Draft 3 Units per Turn+25% for Buildings Already in Capital+1 from Monument, Civic Square, News Press, Broadcast TowerCannot Use SlavesCatholicismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover DoctrineFounder Receives a Catholic MissionaryFounded when Christian civilizations control less than half of all Christian citiesAlternately founded by the first civilization to build an Orthodox Cathedral without controlling the Orthodox holy city
Chandragupta
Chandragupta II
Emperor of the Gupta Empire
Reigned: 375 - 415 AD
Background:
Chandragupta was one of the most powerful emperors of the Gupta empire. His rule spanned during the Gupta Empire's zenith. The period of prominence of the Gupta dynasty is very often referred to as the Golden Age of India. Chandragupta II the Great was the son of the previous ruler, Samudragupta the Great. He attained success by pursuing both a favorable marital alliance and an aggressive expansionist policy. In this his father and grandfather set the precedent.
Not much is known about the personal details of the great king. His mother, Datta Devi, was the chief queen of Samudragupta the Great. After Samudragupta's death, Ramgupta his brother took over the throne and also married Chandragupta's fiance 'Dhruvaswamini by force. The most widely accepted details have been built upon the plot of the play 'Devi-Chandraguptam' of Vishakadatta. The play is now lost but fragments have been preserved in other works (Abhinava-bharati, Sringara-prakasha, Natya-darpana, Nataka-lakshana Ratna-kosha). There even exists an Arabic work Mujmalu-t-Tawarikh which tells a similar tale of a king whose name appears to be a corruption of 'Vikramaditya'. He holds a semi-mythical status in India. It is widely believed that the great poet in Sanskrit, Mahakavi Kalidasa was one of the jewels of his royal court.
The fragment from Natya-darpana mentions the king Ramagupta, the elder brother of Chandragupta, surrendering his queen Dhruvaswamini to the Saka king of the Western Kshatrapas Rudrasimha III, after a defeat at the Saka king's hands. To avoid the ignominy the Guptas decide to send Madhavasena, a courtesan and a beloved of Chandragupta, disguised as the queen. Chandragupta changes the plan and himself goes to the Saka King disguised as the queen. He then kills Rudrasimha and later his brother Ramagupta. Dhruvaswamini is then married to Chandragupta.
We do not know what liberties Vishakadatta took with the incidents, but Dhruvadevi was indeed the king's chief queen as seen in the Vaisali terracotta seal that calls her 'Mahadevi' Dhruvasvamini. The Bilsad pillar inscription of their son Kumara Gupta I also refers to her as Mahadevi Dhruvadevi. A Ramagupta too is mentioned in inscriptions on Jain figures in the District Archaeological Museum, Vidisha and some copper coins found at Vidisha. The fact that the king and Dhruvadevi are the protagonists of Vishakadatta's play indicates that marrying his widowed sister-in-law was not given any significance by the playwright. Later Hindus did not view such a marriage with favour and some censure of the act is found in the Sanjan copperplate inscription of Amoghavarsha I and in the Sangali and Cambay plates of the Rashtrakuta king Govinda IV.
The Allahabad pillar inscription mentions the marriage of Chandragupta II the Great with a Naga princess Kuberanaga. A pillar from Mathura referring to Chandragupta has recently been dated to 388 AD.
Chandragupta's daughter Prabhavati, by his other queen Kuberanaga, a Naga princess, was married to the powerful Vakataka king Rudrasena II.
His greatest victory was his victory over the Shaka-Kshatrapa dynasty and annexation of their kingdom in Gujarat, by defeating their last ruler Rudrasimha III.
His son-in-law, the Vakataka king Rudrasena II, died fortuitously after a very short reign in 390 AD, following which Prabhavatigupta ruled the Vakataka kingdom as a regent on behalf of his two sons. During this twenty-year period the Vakataka realm was practically a part of the Gupta empire. The geographical location of the Vakataka kingdom allowed Chandragupta to take the opportunity to defeat the Western Kshatrapas once for all. Many historians refer to this period as the Vakataka-Gupta age.
Chandragupta II the Great controlled a vast empire, from the mouth of the Ganges to the mouth of the Indus River and from what is now North Pakistan down to the mouth of the Narmada. Pataliputra continued to be the capital of his huge empire but Ujjain too became a sort of second capital. The large number of beautiful gold coins issued by the Gupta dynasty are a testament to the imperial grandeur of that age. Chandragupta II also started producing silver coins in the Shaka tradition.
Faxian (Wade-Giles Fa-hsien) was the first of three great Chinese pilgrims who visited India from the fifth to the seventh centuries AD, in search of knowledge, manuscripts and relics. He arrived during the reign of Chandragupta II and gave a general description of North India at that time. Among the other things, he reported about the absence of capital punishment, the lack of a poll-tax and land tax. Most citizens did not consume onions, garlic, meat, and wine.
Culturally, the reign of Chandragupta II marked a Golden Age. This is evidenced by later reports of the presence of a circle of poets known as the Nine Gems in his court. The greatest among them was Kalidasa, who authored numerous immortal pieces of literature including The Recognition of Shakuntala. The others were the Sanskrit grammarian Amara Sinha and the astronomer-mathematician Varahamihira.
The next day after the Hindu festival Diwali is called Padwa or Varshapratipada, which marks the coronation of King Vikramaditya. The Hindu Vikram-Samvat calendar was apparently started on this day and this day is celebrated as New Year's Day in Nepal where Vikram Sambat is the official calendar there, and some places in India. But, Vikram-Samvat calendar is from 57 BC. So, there was someother king by name Vikram, who started this calendar.
Shak-Samvat is synchronised with the Shak-Samvat calendar, which starts around April. This calendar was initiated by Gautamiputra Satakarni who defeated the Saka king Vikramaditya, thus starting the Shalivahana era or Shaka Calendar.
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Monasticism
Reqs Ethics+50% Birth Rate in Cities with State 
HinduismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover CalendarMissionaries cannot spread in civilizations that have a different state religion
Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire
Lived: c.747 - 814 AD
Background:
Charles the Great, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, fathered a kingdom that encompassed France, Germany, Italy and much of Eastern Europe. Legends of his conquests are pervasive throughout history, and he is considered one of the great figureheads of European Chivalric society.
During his lifetime Charlemagne successfully campaigned in many countries. Some wars he completed personally and others were left for his sons to finish. His first campaign was against Desiderius of Lombardy who, soon after the succession of Pope Hadrian I, marched on Rome. Charlemagne pressed into Lombardy, and after a lengthy siege (772-774), he accepted Desiderius' unconditional surrender. Desiderius would live out the remainder of his life confined to a monastery.
The longest lasting and most challenging conquest of Charlemagne's reign would be that of Saxonia. It would be a theater that he would continually revisit during his lifetime. After Charlemagne's initial push into Saxonia he was continuously forced to retake previously conquered land which had rebelled against his authority. Weary of war and losing more rights and freedoms with every capitulation, the Saxons eventually accepted Charlemagne's terms, including renouncement of their national religious customs and adoption of the Christian faith and its associated Frankish customs.
Charles was both a highly religious man and a philanthropist. He often built friendly relationships with other countries, such as Egypt and India, so that he could later send money in an effort to assist struggling Christians in those regions. Although much more of a conqueror than an economic or social reformer, Charles often contributed money to relieve the poor and sick in his kingdom.
Charlemagne, despite being unable to write well himself, had a vast love of literature and education. Due to his conquests, Charlemagne came into contact with many different cultures and learning institutions. Having contributed considerable funding to existing monastic schools and institutions of learning, Charlemagne's era became known as the Carolingian Renaissance, with a blossoming of the arts and sciences.
As a member of the Nine Worthies, a group of both fictional and real people that represented the pinnacle of chivalry during their eras, Charlemagne was the embodiment of honor in both person and position. A conqueror, a philanthropist, lover of the arts and a highly devout Christian, Charlemagne stands as one of the important figures of the first millennium, and the forefather of Central Europe as it stands today.
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Manorialism
Reqs CalendarWorkers Build Improvements +50% Faster+1 from Pasture+1 from Farm, Paddy FieldCatholicismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover DoctrineFounder Receives a Catholic MissionaryFounded when Christian civilizations control less than half of all Christian citiesAlternately founded by the first civilization to build an Orthodox Cathedral without controlling the Orthodox holy city
Charles V
Charles V
Holy Roman Emperor
Lived: 1500 - 1558 AD
Background:
Charles V (24 February 1500 - 21 September 1558) was ruler of the Burgundian territories (1506-1555), King of Spain (1516-1556), King of Naples and Sicily (1516-1554), Archduke of Austria (1519-1521), King of the Romans (or German King), (1519-1556 but did not formally abdicate until 1558) and Holy Roman Emperor (1530-1556 but did not formally abdicate until 1558). In Spain, though he is often referred to as Carlos V, he ruled officially as Carlos I, hence Charles I of Spain.
Charles V's reign introduced the first documented use of the styles of His Majesty or His Imperial Majesty. Because of his far-reaching territories he was described as ruling an Empire "in which the sun does not set". Born in 1500, Charles inherited a vast empire from his parents. When his father Philip I died in 1516 Charles inherited control over The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Artois and Franche-Comte (or Free County of Burgundy). In 1516 his maternal grandfather Ferdinand II died and he inherited Aragon, Navarre, Granada, Naples, Sicily, Sardinia, Spanish America, and joint kingship with his mother (who was insane) over Castile. Then in 1519 when his grandfather Maximilian I died, Charles inherited the Hapsburg lands in Austria and was elected Holy Roman emperor.
During Charles' reign, the territories in New Spain were considerably extended by conquistadores like Hernan Cortes and Francisco Pizarro, who brought the Aztec and Inca empires to fall in little more than a decade. Combined with the circumnavigation of the globe in 1522, this gave to Charles a strong impression of his divine mission to become the leader of a christian world. The conquests also provided the state treasury with enormous amounts of bullion. The conquistador Bernal Diaz had already observed: "We came to serve God and our Majesty, ... and also to get rich." In 1550, Charles convened a conference at Valladolid in order to consider the morality of the force used against the indigenous populations of Spanish America. Charles was also known for introducing slaves from Spain to this region.
In 1556 Charles abdicated his various titles, giving his personal empire to his son, Philip II of Spain, and the Holy Empire to his brother, Ferdinand. Charles retired to the monastery of Yuste in Extremadura, but continued to correspond widely and kept an interest in the situation of the empire. He suffered from severe gout and some scholars think Charles V decided to abdicate after a gout attack in 1552 forced him to postpone an attempt to recapture the French city of Metz, where he was later defeated. Charles died on September 21, 1558. Twenty-six years later his remains were transferred to the Royal Pantheon of The Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial.
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Clergy
Reqs PriesthoodCities with State Construct Buildings +25% FasterCatholicismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover DoctrineFounder Receives a Catholic MissionaryFounded when Christian civilizations control less than half of all Christian citiesAlternately founded by the first civilization to build an Orthodox Cathedral without controlling the Orthodox holy city
Christian IV
TXT_KEY_LEADER_CHRISTIAN_PEDIA
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Bureaucracy
Reqs Statecraft+35%, +35% in CapitalProtestantismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founding Protestantism triggers the Reformation
Churchill
Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Lived: 1874 - 1965 AD
Background:
Winston Churchill, whose full name was, "Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill," was undoubtedly one of the most important people of the twentieth century. At various times a soldier, journalist, author, and politician, during his long life Churchill was known for both his intellectual brilliance and his outspoken support for what were often unpopular opinions. At various times he was either the most beloved or the most hated man in Britain. In the years since his death Churchill's reputation has grown to semi-legendary proportions.
A descendant of the famous English general the Duke of Marlborough, Churchill was born in 1874 at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire. After a mediocre performance at the public school Harrow, Churchill joined the army, where he freely used his family connections to get assigned to several colonial wars, narrowly escaping death on a number of occasions - and by all accounts having a ripping good time while doing so. During this period Churchill became a very popular wartime journalist, writing numerous columns and several best-selling books about his experiences. Churchill's maneuvering and flagrant self-promotion alienated his fellow officers and essentially ended any chance of high promotion in the Army; however he was able to parlay his popularity to gain a seat in Parliament.
In 1900 Churchill was elected to a Conservative seat in Parliament. However in 1904 his strong opposition to the Conservative policy of tariff protectionism led him to change parties and join the Liberals, who held power at the time. In the Liberal government Churchill held a number of different minor posts. In 1911 he was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty, overseeing the Royal Navy's ambitious modernization program.
During the First World War, Churchill approved the disastrous Gallipoli invasion of Turkey. Churchill was soundly criticized for the failure, and in 1916 he resigned the Admiralty and left the government, rejoined the army and went off to the Western Front to fight in the trenches.
Despite his many eccentricities and flaws, however, Churchill was widely recognized as one of the ablest men in Great Britain, and in 1917 he was back in government again, holding a number of important Cabinet posts. After the Liberal Government fell in 1923 Churchill swapped parties once again and joined the Conservatives, famously saying, "Anyone can rat [change parties], but it takes a certain ingenuity to re-rat." He was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1924 and presided over Britain's disastrous return to the Gold Standard, for which he was again soundly criticized. After the Conservative Government fell in the 1929 General Election, Churchill lost his government post and became estranged from the political power brokers in both parties.
The rise of Nazi Germany also led to a resurgence of Churchill's political career. Although he had earlier praised Fascist Italy as a bulwark against communism, in the late 1930s Churchill became one of the few voices speaking out against the growing power of Hitler. When the British government adopted the policy of appeasement, Churchill was almost alone in voicing opposition, a position which gained him a number of admirers, but which also earned him a lot of public and political criticism.
When the Second World War broke out, the public lost a great deal confidence in the government of Neville Chamberlain (who had spearheaded the policy of appeasing Hitler). To shore up support for his government Chamberlain asked Churchill to resume his post as First Lord of the Admiralty. Showing genuine greatness of character Churchill accepted the position, working tirelessly to improve the Royal Navy and absolutely refusing to criticize his Prime Minister during wartime. However by early 1941 it was clear that Chamberlain no longer enjoyed the confidence of the people or of Parliament, and Churchill was appointed Prime Minister of Great Britain.
In the west the war began catastrophically for the Allies. The Germans launched their attack against the British and French forces in 1940. Supported by air power and infantry, the German tanks had outflanked the Allied positions, forcing the French and British into precipitous retreat, advancing so rapidly that the defenders didn't have enough time to reform a new line. The Germans came within inches of destroying the British army, forcing it to abandon all of its equipment and stage a chaotic evacuation at Dunkirk, leaving thousands of British soldiers behind to be captured. France was forced to surrender, and German soldiers occupied Paris.
As past events had foreshadowed, Churchill was at his very best during adversity. Britain stood alone against Hitler. Her army was badly crippled; only the Royal Navy and Air Force stood between the British and the Germans. Churchill worked tirelessly to shore up Britain's defenses and to find allies against Hitler, and his brilliant rhetoric rallied the battered spirits of the British people and earned him the admiration of people across the world. Throughout the dark days of the Battle of Britain and the Blitz that followed, Churchill seemed to hold the empire together by sheer indomitable force of will.
Diplomatically, Churchill was an opportunist. Despite his hatred of Communism and his extreme personal dislike of Stalin (who had earlier allied with Germany to gobble up Poland), when the Germans attacked the Soviet Union Churchill sought an alliance with the USSR, famously saying, "If Hitler invaded hell I would make at least a favorable reference to the devil in the House of Commons." His most important diplomatic task, however, was to cultivate the good will - and eventually the military intervention - of the United States.
It can be argued that Churchill's friendship with American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt saved Great Britain from destruction. Facing strong internal opposition to becoming involved in the war, at first the President had to move slowly, maintaining at least a nominal appearance of neutrality while gradually shifting American public opinion from Isolation to Intervention. However when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor at the end of 1941, Germany stupidly declared war against the United States, allowing Roosevelt to openly bring the growing might of the US military and industrial complex to Great Britain's (and the USSR's) aid.
Within a very short period the US Army Air Force was attacking German targets in Europe, and soon thereafter large numbers of American troops were staged in Great Britain, ending forever any chance of a successful German invasion. As the war progressed the growing English and American forces launched a major invasion of Europe while their air forces pounded German factories and cities around the clock, crippling the Nazis enough to allow the Soviet Union to annihilate the German army in the Eastern Front.
After the war ended in victory Churchill lost power almost immediately - perhaps because the people thought he was too old, or because they didn't believe he was the correct leader to rebuild the shattered empire. Though he remained in Parliament for a number of years (and briefly regained the post of Prime Minister during the Korean conflict), by and large Churchill's direct participation in world events was at an end.
After being voted out of office Churchill wrote a history of the Second World War, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953. In 1965 Churchill suffered a stroke and passed away at the age of 90. Churchill's death was mourned across the globe, and his funeral was attended by an enormous number of foreign dignitaries. His reputation has only grown in the years since his death, and today Churchill is possibly the most popular and revered figure in all of English history.
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Constitution
Reqs Social Contract+1 Free Specialist per CityDouble slots for StatesmanDouble Production Speed for CourthouseProtestantismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founding Protestantism triggers the Reformation
Curtin
TXT_KEY_LEADER_CURTIN_PEDIA
Favourites
Individualism
Reqs Civil Liberties+2 from Village, TownImprovements Upgrade without Being WorkedProtestantismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founding Protestantism triggers the Reformation
Cyrus
Cyrus II the Great
King of Kings of Persia
Lived: c.576 - 529 BC
Background:
Cyrus was the first Emperor of Persia (which occupied about the same land upon which Iran now stands). He is known as a great warlord and a great ruler. He created one of the largest empires the world had seen, and he ruled his subjects with fairness and compassion. Cyrus also founded Pasargade, the capital city of Persia.
At the time of Cyrus's birth, Iran was divided between two major tribes: the Persians and the Medes. Ascending to the Persian throne, Cyrus conquered the Medes. He joined the two tribes together, creating the country of Persia. To ensure full cooperation of the newly-conquered Medes, he allowed their nobles to become government officials and gave them equal status with the Persian nobility.
Once he had secured Persia, Cyrus turned his attention to the east. He conquered Drangiana, Arachosia, Margiana, and Bactra. He built a series of fortified towns along the border to secure his flank and protect his empire from the nomads of Asia. He then turned west, conquering mighty Babylon.
As a civil leader, Cyrus was progressive far beyond his time. He left the institutions in conquered lands alone, allowing the people to largely govern themselves. He didn't meddle with local religions, and he tried to put an end to religious persecution - when he conquered Babylon, the Jews there welcomed him as liberator. In fact, he freed about 40,000 Jews from bondage in Babylon, allowing them to return to their homes in Palestine.
During the early part of his rule, Cyrus issued a decree on his objectives. This decree is now recognized as the first declaration of human rights. When he died, Cyrus was mourned by millions, including his conquered subjects. The Hellenes called him "Law Giver," and the Jews named him the "Anointed of the Lord."
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Hegemony
Reqs Generalship+25% on City Conquest-1 turns of in Conquered CitiesDouble Production Speed for Barracks, Stable, Jail, Castle, Star Fort
ZoroastrianismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover PriesthoodFounder Receives a Zoroastrian MagusMissionaries cannot spread in civilizations that have a different state religion
Darius I
Darius I the Great
King of Kings of Persia
Lived: c.550 - 486 BC
Background:
Darius the Great, as he became known, was recognized as a great organizer, builder, and financier. Ruling Persia during the first century, Darius both consolidated control of his kingdom and substantially expanded its borders, creating one of the largest empires in history.
During the early years of his reign, Darius focused on quelling the various rebellions that had sprung up in the wake of his predecessor's fall. After retaking Persia, Media, Babylonia and sections of Western Asia back from the rebels, Darius focused on creating an efficient and effective bureaucracy within his empire.
Darius devised a system in which each region would be the responsibility of a Satrap who would rule the region in his name. To prevent any individual Satrap from gaining too much power and challenging Darius' rule, the king implemented a series of checks and balances that effectively kept power from accumulating with any one man (besides Darius himself). Each region not only had a Satrap who was in charge of civil affairs, but a general who controlled the military, and the subtle presence of Darius' own secret police, who watched over them all. This system of government was so successful, it later became the inspiration for the governments of Alexander the Great and the Parthians.
Darius I conducted two historically important military campaigns against the Greek mainland. During the first, around 500 BC, he invaded Greece in retaliation for their support of the rebelling Ionian cities within Persian territory. Unfortunately, his ships were caught in a storm off the Athenian coast and were wrecked. In the second campaign Darius I managed to successfully land on the Athenian coast, but was defeated in the now famous battle of Marathon in 490 BC.
Despite his failures on the Greek mainland, Darius I conquered much land in Europe, North Africa and India. His military campaigning and sophisticated organizational designs ensured Darius' place as one of the greatest leaders of the ancient world.
Favourites
Citizenship
Reqs LawDouble Production Speed for Library, Aqueduct, Theatre, BathCan Spend Gold to Finish Military Unit Production in a CitySpies can bribe Barbarian unitsZoroastrianismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover PriesthoodFounder Receives a Zoroastrian MagusMissionaries cannot spread in civilizations that have a different state religion
De Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle
President of the French Republic
Lived: 1890 - 1970 AD
Background:
Charles de Gaulle was President of the French Fifth Republic, Prime Minister of France and leader of the French resistance during World War II. Born in Lille, France, de Gaulle would fight in both World Wars and guide his country through reconstruction before his death in 1970.
As a young man, Charles de Gaulle was drawn to the life of a soldier. In 1912, de Gaulle graduated from Saint-Cyr, the premier military academy in France. Two years later the precocious, young soldier found himself in the midst of the carnage of World War I. Captured by the Germans after the Battle of Verdun in 1916, de Gaulle was held for nearly two years before being released when the War to End All Wars finally came to a close.
After a brief stint fighting with the Polish during the Polish-Soviet War, de Gaulle returned to France and began publishing numerous papers on the state of modern warfare. His most prophetic, "The Army of the Future," published in 1934, argued that the static defenses of the Maginot Line, France's key protection against another German invasion, would not last in the face of a modern mobile assault.
His words would go unheeded.
With the German invasion of France and the capitulation of French leadership, de Gaulle escaped to Great Britain, firm in his belief that while the government had folded, France was not defeated. From England, de Gaulle broadcast a message of resistance back to his homeland, stating "France has lost a battle, but France has not lost the war." Leaving Great Britain, de Gaulle traveled towards the French colonies in Africa, now under the control of the Nazi-sympathizing Vichy government. Creating the new base for his "Free French" movement in the Congo, de Gaulle won a series of key victories against the Vichy and German forces, steadily increasing his strength and renown.
When France was finally liberated by the Allies, the Free French forces were there to take control of the country. De Gaulle became the interim Prime Minister as the Fourth Republic was created, but disagreements with the nascent government ended in de Gaulle's resignation.
In 1958, economic struggles and political infighting in the Fourth Republic drew de Gaulle back into power and would mark the beginning of the French Fifth Republic. With a strong hand, de Gaulle began a period of driven, some would say bullheaded, modernization and redirection of the French state. Ushering in France's nuclear age and breaking ties with the problematic French colony of Algeria, de Gaulle ensured that France would remain among the premier nations of the world.
Favourites
Nationhood
Reqs NationalismCan Draft 3 Units per Turn+25% for Buildings Already in Capital+1 from Monument, Civic Square, News Press, Broadcast TowerCannot Use SlavesCatholicismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover DoctrineFounder Receives a Catholic MissionaryFounded when Christian civilizations control less than half of all Christian citiesAlternately founded by the first civilization to build an Orthodox Cathedral without controlling the Orthodox holy city
Dinga
TXT_KEY_LEADER_DINGA_PEDIA
Favourites
Elective
Reqs Politics+1 from No Improvement+2 from Pasture, Camp+1 from CottageDouble Production Speed for Palace
Djoser
Djoser
3rd Dynasty Pharaoh of Old Kingdom Egypt
Lived: c.2635 - 2610 BCE
Needs to be written.
Favourites
Deification
Reqs Divination+25% when building Wonders+1 in Cities with State +1 slots for Priest+1 from Pagan Temple, Tomb, Sanctuary
Elizabeth
Elizabeth I
Queen of England and Ireland
Lived: 1533 - 1603 AD
Background:
Born to King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, who her father had executed for failing to give him a male heir, Elizabeth's early life was filled with danger. Growing up an unwanted daughter of a insane father who was destroying England's ties to the Catholic Church and engaging in civil war so that he could legally marry another woman (several other women, in fact), Elizabeth had to use all of her wits to survive.
Elizabeth received an excellent education at the hands of various tutors, including the great scholars of the day. She was an outstanding student, and could speak five languages fluently.
When King Henry VIII died, the throne passed to his young son, Edward. At fifteen Elizabeth was implicated in a plot to overthrow him. She came close to being executed, surviving only because she was able to convince her skeptical interrogators that she knew nothing of the plot.
When King Edward died in 1553, Elizabeth's older sister, Mary, assumed the throne. An ardent Catholic, Mary was quite unpopular with a number of Protestant noblemen, who attempted unsuccessfully to overthrow her in 1554. Once again Elizabeth was implicated, but once again she talked her way out of execution.
Queen Mary died in 1558, and Elizabeth became Queen. Elizabeth was an extraordinary ruler. She established the Protestant Church as the official Church of England. However, she attempted to stem the persecution of Catholics in the country - at least as much as was possible when the Catholic nobility were actively plotting her demise. She restored the debased currency of England, and she made England a center of culture, where great artists like William Shakespeare flourished.
Elizabeth used all of the tools available to her to achieve her goals. She received countless offers of marriage from nobility and indeed from kings across Europe. But she accepted none of them, instead using her unmarried state to control her friends and foes alike; if one faction got too strong, she could drive them back into line by suggesting that she was considering marrying someone from an opposing faction.
Militarily, Catholic Spain was England's greatest threat. Spain was the great continental power of the day, and its leader, King Philip, had upon more than one occasion expressed the intent of invading England. In 1588 he tried, building a huge armada to conquer the upstart nation. Elizabeth quickly organized the country's navy to fend off the fleet, and by a combination of superior tactics, ship design, and some foul weather at just the right moment, they defeated the Spanish foe. England was not to be seriously threatened with invasion for about 400 years.
Elizabeth died in 1603, having left her country in far better state. No better words can serve to describe her than her own: "I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king."
Favourites
Regulated Trade
Reqs Companies+50% in Capital+1 from Workshop, Plantation, Slave PlantationDouble Production Speed for Customs HouseProtestantismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founding Protestantism triggers the Reformation
Erlander
Tage Fritjof Erlander
Prime Minister of Sweden
Lived: 1901 - 1985
Background:
Tage Fritjof Erlander was a Swedish politician and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of Sweden and leader of the Social Democratic Party from 1946 to 1969. Previously, he served as minister of education from 1945 to 1946, and was a member of the Riksdag from 1932 to 1973. During his premiership, Sweden developed into one of the world's most advanced welfare states, with the "Swedish Model" at the peak of its acclaim and notoriety. His uninterrupted tenure of 23 years as head of the government is the longest ever in Sweden and in any modern Western democracy.
Born to a poor family in Ransäter, Erlander later studied at Lund University. He was elected to Lund's municipal council in 1930, and in 1932 he was elected as a member of the Riksdag. Becoming a member of the World War II coalition government in 1944, Erlander rose unexpectedly to the leadership upon the death of Prime Minister Per Albin Hansson in October 1946, maintaining the position of the Social Democrats as the dominant party in the country. Known for his moderation, pragmatism and self-irony, Erlander often sought approval from the liberal-conservative opposition for his policies, de facto dropping all pretences of wide-scale nationalizations whilst introducing reforms such as universal health insurance, pension additions and a growing public sector, although stopping short of raising tax levels above the average OECD levels at the time. Until the 1960s, income taxes were lower in Sweden than in the United States.
For most of his time in power, Erlander ran a minority government of the Social Democrats. From 1951 to 1957, he instead ran a coalition with the Farmers' League. The Social Democrats held a majority of seats in the upper house for most of this time and this allowed Erlander to remain in power after the 1956 general election, when the right-wing parties won a majority. A snap election in 1958 then reversed this result.
In foreign policy, he initially sought an alliance of Nordic countries, but without success, instead maintaining strict neutrality while spending heavily on the military (but ultimately rejecting nuclear capability and signing the nuclear non-proliferation treaty in 1968). Erlander's mandate coincided with the post-World War II economic expansion, in Sweden known as the record years, in which Sweden saw its economy grow to one of the ten strongest in the world, and subsequently joined the G10.
In the 1968 general election, he won his seventh and most successful victory, with the Social Democrats winning an absolute majority of the popular vote and seats in the lower chamber. Erlander resigned the following year during a process of major constitutional reform, and was succeeded by his long-time protégé and friend Olof Palme. He continued to serve as a member of the Riksdag until he resigned in 1973. Afterwards, Erlander continued to speak on political matters and published his memoirs. He died in 1985. He was considered one of the most popular leaders in the world by the end of the 1960s, and one of the most popular prime ministers in the history of Sweden.
Favourites
Public Welfare
Reqs Social Services-50% from Corporations+1 from Scientist, Engineer, StatesmanCan Spend Gold to Finish Building Production in a CityProtestantismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founding Protestantism triggers the Reformation
Ezana
Ezana
King of Axum
Lived: 320 - c. 360 AD
Background:
Ezana was the first monarch of the Kingdom of Aksum to embrace Christianity, and the first after Za Haqala (possibly Zoskales) to be mentioned by contemporary historians, a situation that lead S. C. Munro-Hay to comment that he was "the most famous of the Aksumite kings before Kaleb." His childhood tutor, the Syrian Christian Frumentius, became head of the Ethiopian Church. A surviving letter from the Arian Roman emperor Constantius II is addressed to Ezana and his brother Saizana and requests that Frumentius be sent to Alexandria to be examined for doctrinal errors and be replaced by Theophilos the Indian; Munro-Hay assumes that Ezana either refused or ignored this request.
Ezana also launched several military campaigns, which he recorded in his inscriptions. A pair of inscriptions on a stela in Ge'ez found at Meroë is thought of as evidence of a campaign in the fourth century, either during Ezana's reign, or by a predecessor like Ousanas. While some authorities interpret these inscriptions as proof that the Aksumites destroyed the kingdom of Meroë, others note that archeological evidence points to an economic and political decline in Meroë around 300. Moreover, some view the stela as military aid from Aksum to Meroë to quell the revolt and rebellion by the Nuba. However, conclusive evidence and proof to which view is correct is not currently available.
On some of the Aksumite coins minted during Ezana's reign appears the motto in Greek TOYTOAPECHTHXWPA - "May this please the people". Munro-Hay comments that this motto is "a rather attractive peculiarity of Aksumite coinage, giving a feeling of royal concern and responsibility towards the people's wishes and contentment". A number of coins minted bearing his name were found in the late 1990s at archeological sites in India, indicating trade contacts in that country. A remarkable feature of the coins is a shift from a pagan motif with disc and crescent to a design with a cross. Ezana is also credited for erecting several stelae and obelisks.
Favourites
Clergy
Reqs PriesthoodCities with State Construct Buildings +25% FasterOrthodoxyHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover EthicsFounder Receives a Orthodox Missionary
Francis I
Francis I
Holy Roman Emperor
Lived: 1768 - 1835 AD
Background:
Francis II (German: Franz II, Erwählter Römischer Kaiser) (12 February 1768 - 2 March 1835) was the last Holy Roman Emperor, ruling from 1792 until 6 August 1806, when he dissolved the Holy Roman Empire after the disastrous defeat of the Third Coalition by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz. In 1804, he had founded the Austrian Empire and became Francis I (Franz I.), the first Emperor of Austria (Kaiser von Österreich), ruling from 1804 to 1835, so later he was named the one and only Doppelkaiser (double emperor) in history. For the two years between 1804 and 1806, Francis used the title and style by the grace of God elected Roman Emperor, always August, hereditary Emperor of Austria and he was called the Emperor of both Germany and Austria. He was also Apostolic King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia as Francis I. He also served as the first president of the German Confederation following its establishment in 1815.
Francis I continued his leading role as an opponent of Napoleonic France in the Napoleonic Wars, and suffered several more defeats after Austerlitz. The proxy marriage of state of his daughter Marie Louise of Austria to Napoleon on 10 March 1810 was assuredly his most severe defeat. After the abdication of Napoleon following the War of the Sixth Coalition, Austria participated as a leading member of the Holy Alliance at the Congress of Vienna, which was largely dominated by Francis's chancellor Klemens Wenzel, Prince von Metternich culminating in a new European map and the restoration of Francis' ancient dominions (except the Holy Roman Empire which was dissolved). Due to the establishment of the Concert of Europe, which largely resisted popular nationalist and liberal tendencies, Francis became viewed as a reactionary later in his reign.
Favourites
Bureaucracy
Reqs Statecraft+35%, +35% in CapitalCatholicismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover DoctrineFounder Receives a Catholic MissionaryFounded when Christian civilizations control less than half of all Christian citiesAlternately founded by the first civilization to build an Orthodox Cathedral without controlling the Orthodox holy city
Franco
Francisco Franco Bahamonde
Head of the Spanish State
Lived: 1892 - 1975 AD
Background:
Franco led a successful military career and reached the rank of General. He fought in Morocco and suppressed a strike in 1934 to defend the Republican government's stability. In February 1936, the left-wing Popular Front won the general election and formed a government. A period of severe instability and disarray followed the election, with escalating violence between left and right wing supporters. Anti-clerical violence against the Church by leftist militants further raised tensions. After the assassination of a major opposition figure, José Calvo Sotelo, by a commando unit of the Assault Guards in July 1936, Franco participated in a coup d'etat against the elected Popular Front government. The coup failed and evolved into the Spanish Civil War during which he emerged as the leader of the Nationalists against the Popular Front. After winning the civil war, he dissolved the Spanish Parliament, establishing an authoritarian regime that lasted until 1978, when a new constitution was drafted. During the Second World War, Franco maintained a policy of neutrality, although he did assist Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy on a small scale against the Soviet Union, most famously by sending troops (known as the Blue Division) to aid Nazi Germany in fighting the USSR. Before the invasion of the Soviet Union by the German Army, Franco and Hitler met in Hendaye on October 23, 1940. During the Cold War, the United States established a diplomatic alliance with Franco, due to his strong anti-Communist policy. American President Richard Nixon toasted Franco, and, after Franco's death, stated: "General Franco was a loyal friend and ally of the United States." After his death Spain began a transition to democracy.
The Civil War had ravaged the Spanish economy. Infrastructure had been damaged, workers killed, and daily business severely hampered. For more than a decade after Franco's victory, the economy improved little. Franco initially pursued a policy of autarky, cutting off almost all international trade. The policy had devastating effects, and the economy stagnated. Economic growth picked up in 1959 after Franco took authority away from ideologues and gave more power to apolitical technocrats. The country implemented several development policies and growth took off creating the "Spanish Miracle". During the 1960s, the wealthy classes of Francoist Spain's population experienced further increases in wealth. It had the second-fastest growing economy in the world (the fastest being Japan). At the time of Franco's death, Spain still lagged behind most of Western Europe, but the gap between its GDP per capita and that of Western Europe had narrowed. After periods of rapid growth during the late 1980s and late 1990s, Spain now only lags slightly behind the economies of Britain, Ireland,France and Germany, and has now overtaken Italy on some measures.
Spain attempted to retain control of its colonial empire throughout Franco's rule. During the Algerian War (1954-62), Madrid became the base of the Organisation de l'armée secrète (OAS) right-wing French Army group which sought to preserve French Algeria. Despite this, Franco was forced to make some concessions. Henceforth, when French Morocco became independent in 1956, he surrendered Spanish Morocco to Mohammed V, retaining only a few enclaves (the Plazas de soberanía). The year after, Mohammed V invaded Spanish Sahara during the Ifni War (known as the "Forgotten War" in Spain). Only in 1975, with the Green March, did Morocco take control of all of the former Spanish territories in the Sahara.
In 1968, due to United Nations' pressure, Franco granted Spain's colony of Equatorial Guinea its independence, and the next year, ceded the exclave of Ifni to Morocco. Under Franco, Spain also pursued a campaign to gain sovereignty of the British overseas territory of Gibraltar, and closed its border with Gibraltar in 1969. The border would not be fully reopened until 1985.
In Spain and abroad, the legacy of Franco remains controversial. Symbols of the Franco regime (such as the national flag with the Imperial Eagle) are now banned by law, while the national anthem of Spain, the Marcha Real, is no longer accompanied by the lyrics introduced by Franco.
Favourites
State Party
Reqs Macroeconomics-75% Maintenance Costs from Number of Cities+2
per SpecialistCatholicismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover DoctrineFounder Receives a Catholic MissionaryFounded when Christian civilizations control less than half of all Christian citiesAlternately founded by the first civilization to build an Orthodox Cathedral without controlling the Orthodox holy city
Frederick
Frederick II the Great
King of Prussia
Lived: 1712 - 1786 AD
Background:
Frederick was born to Frederick William I, the tyrannical and cultured King of Prussia. The king held his son in great contempt, despising him for his lack of interest in leadership and war; the younger Frederick instead preferred to study literature and the arts. At the age of 18 Frederick attempted to flee to England, but he was captured and brought back to his extremely angry father, who forced him to watch the beheading of his close friend and accomplice, Lieutenant Katz. He apparently was able to get back into his father's good graces, and several years later he married a German noblewoman at his father's request.
For the next several years Frederick enjoyed the life of a wealthy man of letters. He maintained an active correspondence with various scholars from around Europe, including the brilliant French writer; Voltaire. He wrote "Anti-Machiavel," a lively refutation of Machiavelli's; "The Prince." Frederick assumed the throne of Prussia upon his father's death in 1740.
Once in power, Frederick showed himself to be both a ruthless pragmatist and a brilliant campaigner. Seeking to increase the size of his empire, over the next 23 years he fought a series of wars against his neighbors, notably Austria, who was often allied with Russia and France. With the support of England he won a series of significant battles against his foes, but he was eventually worn down and soundly defeated, and Berlin was occupied by an allied Austrian-Russian army.
Reportedly on the verge of suicide, Frederick was saved by the timely death of the Russian Tsarina, who was replaced by the pro-Prussian Peter III. Facing the combined power of Russia and Prussia, Austria was forced to accede to Frederick's demands and give up all claims to Upper and Lower Silesia. The two European monarchs then dismembered Poland, making Prussia the most powerful force in Europe for many years to come.
Domestically, Frederick was the model of an "enlightened despot." He instituted important legal and penal reforms, created new industries, improved education, and accomplished internal improvements such as drainage projects, roads, and canals. He improved the lot of his own serfs (but did nothing to curtail the nobility's power over them).
During his rule Frederick maintained his friendship with the enlightened men of Europe. His midnight soirees in Potsdam were famous for the great men they attracted. Frederick was quite famous for his sharp wit and caustic tongue; he more than held his own in their company.
Frederick died in 1786, leaving Prussia more powerful and prosperous than when he first gained power. Upon his death, Frederick's nephew Frederick William II inherited the throne of Prussia.
Favourites
Bureaucracy
Reqs Statecraft+35%, +35% in CapitalProtestantismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founding Protestantism triggers the Reformation
Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
Leader of the Indian Independence Movement
Lived: 1869 - 1948 AD
Background:
Mohandas Gandhi was born in an India under British rule. The son of the Prime Minister of the small state of Porbandar, in his youth Gandhi displayed none of the brilliance that would mark him as an adult; in fact the young man was a mediocre student and quite shy. He entered into an arranged marriage at the age of 13, the usual custom of the period. Apparently he did not enjoy the experience, later calling the practice "the cruel custom of child marriage."
Upon graduating from high school, Gandhi decided to follow his father into state service. To this end he decided he would go to England to study. His father having just died, Gandhi's mother did not want him to go, allowing him only after he had promised to abstain from wine, women, and meat. His caste looked upon traveling over the ocean as unclean; when he persisted they declared him an outcast. He learned much about England and the English during his time in that country, knowledge which was to prove invaluable later in his career. In 1891 Gandhi passed the bar and set sail for India. He attempted to set up practice in Bombay, but was unsuccessful and shortly relocated to South Africa.
Gandhi enjoyed more professional success in South Africa, but he was appalled by the racial bigotry and intolerance he found there. He would spend the next twenty years of his life in South Africa looking after the interests of all under-classes, not just the Indians. It was here that Gandhi began to refine and teach his philosophy of passive resistance. He was jailed several times for his resistance to the so-called "Black Acts," by which all non-whites were required to submit their fingerprints to the government. When the government ruled that only Christian marriages were legal in South Africa, Gandhi organized and led a massive non-violent protest, which eventually caused the government to back down. It was here that Gandhi acquired the title of "Mahatma," which means a person venerated for great knowledge and love of humanity.
In 1915, Gandhi returned to India. He shocked the world when he expressed his humiliation that he had to speak English in his native land, and he shocked the Indian nobility when he chided them for their ostentatiousness, telling them that they should hold their jewels and wealth in trust for their countrymen.
Thus Gandhi began his long campaign to free his country from English rule. He followed two paths - he shamed oppressors and he demanded sacrifice from his people. For the next thirty years Gandhi was to tirelessly exhort his people to passive resistance, leading strike after strike, march after march, fasting himself to the point of incapacity, enduring innumerable beatings, and months and even years in prison. At one point he made a historic trip to England, where he won over much of the English working and middle classes, to the great irritation of the government. Despite innumerable setbacks and years of endless toil, he persisted. In 1946, exhausted and virtually bankrupt by World War II, the English agreed to vacate India, but in doing so divided the country between Hindu and Muslims, which Gandhi abhorred.
The partition sparked an outbreak of religious violence, in which Muslims were massacred wholesale in India, and the same fate awaited Hindus in Pakistan. The countries were in chaos. In response, Gandhi went on a fast, refusing to eat again until the violence ceased. Astonishingly, his fast worked: the peoples of India and Pakistan were unwilling to see their great hero die, and they sent him letters and representatives promising to stop the killings and begging him to end the fast. He did so, to the relief of millions. Twelve days later, Gandhi was assassinated.
Favourites
Egalitarianism
Reqs Civil Rights+3 per SpecialistDouble slots for ArtistCannot Use SlavesHinduismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover CalendarMissionaries cannot spread in civilizations that have a different state religion
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan
Supreme Khan of the Mongols
Lived: c.1162 - 1227 AD
Background:
The Khan who founded the world's largest empire was given the name Temujin at birth. At his death, Temujin's empire encompassed over 13.8 million square miles and 100 million people, about half of the world's entire population.
Temujin was born into a family of the minor Mongol nobility. His father was murdered when he was nine, leaving his mother to teach Temujin how to ride a horse, shoot a bow, and tend the animals. She also taught her son that allies were crucial to one's survival, and Temujin took this lesson to heart. By the time Temujin had reached his late teens, he had gathered to him a group of very loyal vassals, with whom he shared the spoils of his wars. He also became blood brothers with men from the leading Mongol families. However, Temujin was first and foremost a pragmatist; he would remain friends with these leaders as long as it suited him and he would discard or betray them at need.
Temujin grew in power and prominence, and he was eventually accepted as leader of all of the Mongols. He reorganized the military, promoting men of competence rather than men of good breeding. This gave him the unwavering backing of the common soldiers and the officers. After defeating his last internal foe, Temujin was named "Genghis Kahn," meaning either "Oceanic Ruler" (or possibly "Fierce Ruler"). After fully securing his position at home, Kahn began his extraordinary series of conquests across Asia and Europe.
Genghis Khan was far more interested in victory than he was in glory in battle. Before attacking a city or country, Genghis Khan sent the local rulers "orders of submission," in which he demanded immediate surrender. If the rulers did so, they were allowed to continue governing as long as they provided him tribute in money and labor. If the rulers did not surrender, they could expect little mercy once defeated.
As a political leader, Genghis Kahn adopted a policy of religious tolerance, which eased tensions with the local priests. He recruited foreigners to serve as officers in his army and in his government, allowing them to rise to prominence according to their abilities, thus giving the ablest men reason to support him rather than to plot against him. He issued a set of laws for his conquered lands, which among other things punished horse theft with death and imposed severe punishment on disobedient soldiers. He also allowed full trade with Europe, and for the first time it was possible for European merchants to travel all the way to China in (relative) safety.
As a military leader, Genghis Khan was exceptional. He maintained tight discipline among his troops, punishing them severely for infractions. He developed a sophisticated intelligence network across Asia, and he used the intelligence to craft clever military campaigns that fully exploited his enemy's weaknesses. Genghis Khan's troops were extraordinary, as well. The Mongols were superb light cavalrymen, and their ability to shoot arrows from the saddle was unbelievable. At first his armies were ignorant of the arts of siege warfare, but as more and more armies refused to meet his forces in the open field; his men grew skilled with catapults and the other tools for fighting men behind walls.
Genghis Khan's first campaigns were against the Tanguts, who controlled the lucrative trade routes between the East and West. After subduing them, he conquered other foes in Central Asia and Northern China. No one could stand against him. During his last and most extraordinary campaign, he set out with 200,000 warriors and captured Bukhara, Samarkand, Balkh, Nishapur and Herat in succession. After remaining in Central Asia for four years, Genghis Khan headed back home, only to die en route.
Something more than a barbarian and something less than an enlightened ruler, Genghis Khan remains one of the most extraordinary warrior-kings of all time.
Favourites
Hegemony
Reqs Generalship+25% on City Conquest-1 turns of in Conquered CitiesDouble Production Speed for Barracks, Stable, Jail, Castle, Star Fort
George I
George I
King of the Hellenes
Lived: 1845 - 1913 AD
Background:
George I was King of Greece from 1863 until his death in 1913.
Originally a Danish prince, George was born in Copenhagen, and seemed destined for a career in the Royal Danish Navy. He was only 17 years old when he was elected king by the Greek National Assembly, which had deposed the unpopular former king Otto. His nomination was both suggested and supported by the Great Powers: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Second French Empire and the Russian Empire. He married the Russian grand duchess Olga Constantinovna of Russia, and became the first monarch of a new Greek dynasty. Two of his sisters, Alexandra and Dagmar, married into the British and Russian royal families. King Edward VII and Tsar Alexander III were his brothers-in-law and King George V and Tsar Nicholas II were his nephews.
George's reign of almost 50 years (the longest in modern Greek history) was characterized by territorial gains as Greece established its place in pre-World War I Europe. Britain ceded the Ionian Islands peacefully, while Thessaly was annexed from the Ottoman Empire after the Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878). Greece was not always successful in its expansionist ambitions; it was defeated in the Greco-Turkish War (1897). During the First Balkan War, after Greek troops had occupied much of Greek Macedonia, George was assassinated in Thessaloniki. Compared to his own long tenure, the reigns of his successors Constantine, Alexander, and George proved short and insecure.
Favourites
Monarchy
Reqs Ceremony+1 per Military Unit Stationed in a City-25% Maintenance Costs from Distance to Palace+50% converted to OrthodoxyHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover EthicsFounder Receives a Orthodox Missionary
Gerhardsen
Einar Henry Gerhardsen
Prime Minister of Norway
Lived: 1897 - 1987 AD
Background:
Einar Henry Gerhardsen was a Norwegian politician from the Labour Party of Norway. He was Prime Minister for three periods, 1945-1951, 1955-1963 and 1963-1965. With 17 years in office, he is the longest serving Prime Minister in Norway since the introduction of parliamentarism. Many Norwegians often refer to him as "Landsfaderen" (Father of the Nation); he is generally considered one of the main architects of the rebuilding of Norway after World War II.
Favourites
Public Welfare
Reqs Social Services-50% from Corporations+1 from Scientist, Engineer, StatesmanCan Spend Gold to Finish Building Production in a CityProtestantismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founding Protestantism triggers the Reformation
Gustav Adolph
Gustavus II Adolphus the Great
King of Sweden
Lived: 1594 - 1632
Background:
Gustavus Adolphus's death at the battle of Lützen at the moment of victory was a fitting end for a man who devoted himself to war. As the ruler of a Protestant country he became involved in the Thirty Years War in Germany, but he also fought against Denmark and Russia for control of the Baltic. He served his military apprenticeship in Poland, where he learnt valuable lessons about strategy and tactics, which he was later to employ in his German campaigns. Also, although not so often highlighted, as the ruler of a country with a seaborne tradition, Gustavus took a great interest in developing Sweden's navy to defend her shores and extend his authority over the Baltic Sea and its littoral.
Only 16 when he assumed the throne in 1611, Gustavus first had to defend his country against Danish invasion. He also became engaged in a war with Russia which lasted until 1617. In the 1620s he began a series of successful campaigns to win control of the southern Baltic shore. He captured Riga in 1621, after a siege of only eleven weeks. From 1626-9 he launched annual attacks upon Polish Prussia, winning his first victory in open field at Wallhof (1626). Despite a setback at Hammerstein the following year, when his German mercenaries surrendered (18 May), Gustavus again defeated the Poles at Dirschau (8 August) although he was severely wounded in the neck. Helped by imperial Habsburg forces, the Poles were able to achieve a six-year truce in 1629.
Gustavus learnt valuable lessons in his earlier wars which were to stand him in good stead for his invasion of Germany in 1630-2. First, he learnt not to rely entirely on mercenaries. Although the Swedish population was small, a system of conscription (Utskrivning), a tithe of the male population over 15 years old, organized by his chancellor, Oxenstierna (from 1617), yielded a field army theoretically up to 30,000 strong. In addition, mercenary troops largely recruited from Protestant Germans (but including a scattering of Scots and other exotic types) still played an important role, especially the 'Colored Regiments' (Yellow, Blue, Red, and Green in order of seniority). The infantry were also reorganized tactically upon the model of Maurice of Nassau. Company sizes were halved from 250 to about 140, with a 2 : 1 proportion of muskets to pikes (administratively eight companies to a regiment). In the field, they were deployed as small brigades of three or four squadrons (400-600 men) which anticipated later battalions. They were formed-up with one squadron thrown forward in a T-shape, which made the best use of their firepower, and allowed them to outmanoeuvre the larger tercios of the Spanish manner still used by the Imperialists. Gustavus's experience against the Poles had taught him the value of a mobile cavalry at a time when caracole tactics had reduced most western European horse to the role of mounted pistoleers. He taught them to charge with the sword, restoring their battlefield shock function. Finally, through the inspired developments of his master gunner Tortensson, the artillery became lighter and more numerous. In addition, each regiment was given a pair of rapid-firing and mobile 4-pounders to boost its firepower.
In July 1630, Gustavus led only 13,000 men into Germany to rescue the Protestant cause, captured Stettin, and spent the rest of the year consolidating his position in Pomerania. The following spring, reinforced to 30,000 men, he swept south in a devastating campaign which included the destruction of enemy cavalry forces by night attack at Burgstall (27 July). In September he outmanoeuvred the imperial general Tilly and forced a battle at Breitenfeld. By now commanding over 40, 000 men, including 10, 000 Saxon allies, he matched Tilly's forces and outnumbered the enemy artillery by two to one (54 to 26 guns). Although the Saxons on the left wing were scattered by the charge of the imperial cavalry, the flexibility of the Swedish formations and their determination won the day. Galled by artillery fire, the imperial cavalry under Pappenheim charged and was taken in the flank by Baner's quickly manoeuvred mixed squadrons of horse and musketeers. Responding rapidly to the situation Gustavus advanced his foot and seized the enemy guns. When these were turned on the close-packed imperial foot, a massacre ensued. Tilly lost a third of his army. The following spring, after a brilliant and unexpected crossing of the river Lech, Gustavus defeated him again and Tilly was killed.
When Gustavus attempted to drive the imperial army, now commanded by the able Wallenstein, from a fortified camp at Nuremberg, he suffered a bloody repulse (3 September). Wallenstein then outmanoeuvred the Swedes and forced Gustavus into a desperate encounter at Lützen, in which the Swedish king was killed leading a cavalry charge. Even without his leadership his army won another victory in 1633, but was defeated at Nordlingen (6 September 1634).
Gustavus's ambition and will to war had made Sweden, briefly, a major player on the European stage both on land and at sea, but at an unsustainable cost. The system of conscription, bringing over 10, 000 men to the colors every year, saw numbers of men aged 15-60 fall by almost half in an already underpopulated nation.
Gustavus Adolphus was killed at the Battle of Lützen, when, at a crucial point in the battle, he became separated from his troops while leading a cavalry charge into a dense smog of mist and gunpowder smoke. After his death, his wife initially kept his body, and later his heart, in her castle for over a year. His remains (including his heart) now rest in Riddarholmskyrkan in Stockholm.
Favourites
Hegemony
Reqs Generalship+25% on City Conquest-1 turns of in Conquered CitiesDouble Production Speed for Barracks, Stable, Jail, Castle, Star FortProtestantismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founding Protestantism triggers the Reformation
Haakon
Haakon IV Haakonson
King of Norway
Lived: 1204 - 1263
Background:
Haakon was born into the troubled civil war era in Norway, but his reign eventually managed to put an end to the internal conflicts. At the start of his reign, during his minority, Earl Skule Bårdsson served as regent. As a king of the Birkebeiner faction, Haakon defeated the uprising of the final Bagler royal pretender, Sigurd Ribbung, in 1227. He put a definitive end to the civil war era when he had Skule Bårdsson killed in 1240, a year after Skule had himself proclaimed king in opposition to Haakon. Haakon thereafter formally appointed his own eldest son, Haakon the Young, as his co-regent.
Under Haakon's rule, medieval Norway is considered to have reached its zenith or golden age. His reputation and formidable naval fleet allowed him to maintain friendships with both the pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, despite their conflict. He was at different points offered the imperial crown by the pope, the High Kingship of Ireland by a delegation of Irish kings, and the command of the French crusader fleet by the French king. He amplified the influence of European culture in Norway by importing and translating contemporary European literature into Old Norse, and by constructing monumental European-style stone buildings. In conjunction with this he employed an active and aggressive foreign policy, and at the end of his rule added Iceland and the Norse Greenland community to his kingdom, leaving the Norwegian realm at its territorial height.
Although he for the moment managed to secure Norwegian control of the islands off the northern and western shores of Scotland, plus the Isle of Man, he fell ill and died when wintering in Orkney following some military engagements with the expanding Kingdom of Scotland. He was succeeded by his second son, Magnus VI.
Favourites
Elective
Reqs Politics+1 from No Improvement+2 from Pasture, Camp+1 from CottageDouble Production Speed for PalaceCatholicismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover DoctrineFounder Receives a Catholic MissionaryFounded when Christian civilizations control less than half of all Christian citiesAlternately founded by the first civilization to build an Orthodox Cathedral without controlling the Orthodox holy city
Hammurabi
Hammurabi
King of Babylon
Lived: c.1728 - 1686 BC
Background:
Hammurabi ruled over Babylon, quite possibly the largest metropolis in the ancient world, during the height of the Babylonian empire. He is most famously known for his Code of Laws, set in stone and mounted in the middle of ancient Babylon for all to see. Although not the first Babylonian emperor to implement a structured system of laws, Hammurabi was the first to coherently organize and standardize them.
Punishments for breaking these laws were varied. Smaller crimes and business infractions were typically dealt with via fines. Crimes dealing with theft or crimes of a more physical nature (assault, battery, murder) typically had harsher penalties involving death, slavery, or banishment. If proven guilty of a crime, the defendant could expect to receive a punishment nearly equivalent to the crime itself. This is quite possibly where the ancient idea of an Eye for an Eye, and the modern variation of A Tit for a Tat, came from.
But decisions were not draconian, and took into account circumstance. If a man was to kill another while defending himself, he might only be fined a small fee depending on the social stature of the deceased, instead of facing a sentence of death himself.
With a recorded set of responsibilities and consequences for any given action, punishment was no longer left up to the whim of those in power, and people could conduct their business with the assurance that they would not inadvertently commit a serious crime to which the punishment was unknown. This gave the Babylonian empire the much needed stability it required to flourish.
Hammurabi further covered his land with strongholds, police garrisons and civilian administrators. His intent was to enforce his laws so that a citizen in his empire could travel from Babylon to the coast of the Mediterranean without fear of harassment or unfair persecution. Safety, stability, and prosperity were to be Hammurabi's gift to his people.
Favourites
Redistribution
Reqs Arithmetics+25% in Capital-50% from Trade Routes ()Double Production Speed for Granary
Hannibal
Hannibal Barca
Carthaginian Military Commander
Lived: 247 - 183 BC
Background:
Among the great captains of military history, few stand as high, and none higher, than Hannibal Barca. He was born the son of Hamilcar Barca in 247 BC, shortly before the Carthaginian defeat in the First Punic War. Hamilcar made it his mission to conquer new territory in Hispania (Spain) to make up for the loss of Sicily to the Romans; when Hannibal grew old enough, he joined his father and learned the art of military command. According to legend, at this time Hannibal swore an oath of eternal vengeance on Rome.
After the death of his father and brother-in-law, Hannibal was acclaimed the commander of the Carthaginian forces in Hispania in 221 BC. He spent the next two years finishing the subjugation of the region, and then in 219 BC he attacked the town of Sagentum. Hannibal had been looking for a bigger fight: the city was under the protection of Rome and his attack was sure to spark a diplomatic incident. In fact, the situation boiled out of control and Rome declared war on Carthage, thus beginning the Second Punic War.
As soon as he heard that war had broken out, Hannibal resolved to embark on a daring raid into Italy itself. He gathered together his most reliable soldiers from Africa and Iberia and set out to the east. After crossing the Pyrenees and evading a Roman army in southern Gaul, in 218 BC Hannibal led his troops on a heroic crossing of the Alps, an astonishing feat that no one at the time thought possible and which caught the Romans totally by surprise.
Once he emerged on the other side of the mountains, Hannibal found shelter among the Gauls of the Po River. With these new allies replacing the many soldiers who had died in the difficult crossing, Hannibal fought a Roman army at the Trebia River, cutting it to pieces by a surprise flank attack. The following year in 217 BC, he crossed the Apennine Mountains and headed into central Italy, where at the Battle of Lake Trasimene he fought and destroyed the main Roman army. Now there was no force in all of Italy which could stand in his way.
The road to Rome was now open, but Hannibal had no siege weapons and he knew that the had no chance to take the city. Instead, he headed into the south of Italy and ravaged the countryside of Campania and Apulia, hoping to pull the southern Italian cities from their alliance with Rome. Despite their many defeats, in 216 the Romans assembled yet another army to face Hannibal at Cannae. Although heavily outnumbered, Hannibal used an elaborate envelopment maneuver to annihilate yet another Roman army. An estimated 50,000 Roman soldiers were killed, and the whole of southern Italy went into revolt against the Romans.
After this disaster, the Romans adopted a Fabian strategy (named after their commander Quintus Fabius Maximus) of avoiding battle with Hannibal and striking at his supplies. Despite receiving no assistance from Carthage, Hannibal continued to campaign across Italy holding together his ragtag army together in enemy territory for a decade. After his brothers Hasdrubal (207 BC) and Mago (205 - 203 BC) failed to relieve his army, however, any hope of successfully conquering Rome was lost.
Meanwhile, the Roman general Publius Cornelius Scipio had completed the Roman conquest of Hispania and invaded northern Africa. The Carthaginian government recalled Hannibal to Africa, where he was charged with defending the Carthage with untrained new levies. This was an all but impossible task, and after Hannibal's elephants failed to break the Roman lines at the Battle of Zama (202 BC), his infantry was routed and he had no choice but to surrender.
The Roman victory put an end to the war. Hannibal returned to Carthage, and was elected to be a "soffet," or one of the chief magistrates of the city-state. He was so effective in reorganizing the government that Carthage was able to pay back the heavy tribute Rome demanded earlier than expected and without exceptional taxation. Alarmed at this development and fearing Carthage's resurgence, the Roman Senate forced Hannibal into exile; he found refuge at the court of Antiochus III of the Seleucid Empire until the Romans demanded that he be surrendered to them. Rather than be given over to his enemies, Hannibal committed suicide in 183 BC.
Although Hannibal's campaigns have been endlessly studied by military historians, we know very little about the man himself. All of the surviving accounts of the Second Punic War were written by the Romans, who detested Hannibal and had nothing complimentary to say about him (Hannibal's name was literally used as a bogeyman to scare misbehaving Roman children). Reading between the lines of their accounts, however, it is clear that Hannibal treated his foes with respect and was greatly admired by his soldiers.
Hannibal proved himself to be a fine political as well as military leader, a distinction that few men in history can claim. His success in defeating much larger Roman armies time and time again while operating in enemy country unquestionably ranks him as one of the greatest military commanders of all time.
Favourites
Republic
Reqs Writing+1 free specialists in 3 Most Cultured Cities+1 slots for Artist, Scientist, Merchant, Statesman+1 from Fishing Boats-1 from Farm, Paddy Field, Plantation, Slave Plantation+1 from School, Mint, Council
Harun al-Rashid
Harun al-Rashid
Caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate
Lived: 763 - 809 AD
Background:
Harun al-Rashid, "Harun the Orthodox", the fifth of the Abbasid caliphs of Bagdad, and the second son of the third caliph Mahdi. His full name was Harun ibn Muhammad ibn Abdallah ibn Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Abdallah ibn Abbas. He was born at Rai (Rhagae) on the 20th of March AD 763, according to some accounts, and according to others on the 15th of February AD 766. Harun al-Rashid was twenty-two years old when he ascended the throne. His father Mahdi just before his death conceived the idea of superseding his elder son Musa (afterwards known as Hadi, the fourth caliph) by Harun. But on Mahdi's death Harun gave way to his brother.
Rashid owed his succession to the throne to the prudence and sagacity of Yahya bin Khalid the Barmecide, his secretary, whom on his accession he appointed his lieutenant and grand vizier. Under his guidance the empire flourished on the whole, in spite of several revolts in the provinces by members of the old Alid family. Successful wars were waged with the rulers of Byzantium and the Khazars. In 803, however, Harun became suspicious of the Barmecides, whom with only a single exception he caused to be executed. Henceforward the chief power was exercised by Fadl bin Rabi, who had been chamberlain not only under Harun himself but under his predecessors, Mansur, Madhi and Hadi. In the later years of Harun's reign troubles arose in the eastern parts of the empire. These troubles assumed proportions so serious that Harun himself decided to go to Khorasan. He died, however, at Tus in March 809.
The reign of Harun was one of the most brilliant in the annals of the caliphate, in spite of losses in northwest Africa and Transoxiana. His fame spread to the West, and Charlemagne and he exchanged gifts and compliments as masters respectively of the West and the East. No caliph ever gathered around him so great a number of learned men, poets, jurists, grammarians, cadis and scribes, to say nothing of the wits and musicians who enjoyed his patronage. Harun himself was a scholar and poet, and was well versed in history, tradition and poetry. He possessed taste and discernment, and his dignified demeanor is extolled by the historians. In religion he was extremely strict; he prostrated himself a hundred times daily, and nine or ten times made the pilgrimage to Mecca. At the same time he cannot be regarded as a great administrator. He seems to have left everything to his viziers Yahya and Fadl, to the former of whom especially was due the prosperous condition of the empire. Harun is best known to Western readers as the hero of many of the stories in the Arabian Nights; and in Arabic literature he is the central figure of numberless anecdotes and humorous stories. Of his incognito walks through Bagdad, however, the authentic histories say nothing. His Arabic biographers are unanimous in describing him as noble and generous, but there is little doubt that he was in fact a man of little force of character, suspicious, untrustworthy and on occasions cruel.
Favourites
Theocracy
Reqs Theology+100% Religion Effects from State Buildings+1 from PriestIslamHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover TheologyFounder Receives a Islamic Imam
Hatshepsut
Hatshepsut
Pharaoh of Egypt
Lived: c. 1500 - c. 1450 BC
Background:
Hatshepsut was born the daughter of King Thutmose I and Queen Ahmose. She became Queen when her father died and her husband (and half-brother) Thutmose II became Pharaoh. She and Thutmose II had a daughter together, but no son, and Thutmose II declared a son he had with a palace concubine to be his heir and successor. Thutmose II died in his early thirties while his son was still a child, and in her early teens Hatshepsut became the young pharaoh's regent, and thus ruler of all Egypt.
Apparently, Hatshepsut liked the job and decided that she wanted to keep it. Declaring that the gods had appointed her as her husband's successor, she declared herself "King of Upper and Lower Egypt" and began wearing all of the trappings of a King, including a false beard. She didn't kill her husband's son, and some evidence suggests that they became co-rulers, Thutmose III in charge of the military, while Hatshepsut concentrated upon improving Egypt's commerce and infrastructure, and upon religious matters.
Hatshepsut is known to have greatly expanded Egypt's commerce with Asia, Nubia and Libya, and she sent expeditions to far-off places that Egypt had never traded with before. She repaired many of Egypt's temples and secular buildings that had been severely damaged by invasion in years past. She constructed many obelisks and statues, and a striking mortuary building for herself and her father.
Hatshepsut died sometime around 1450 BC, apparently of natural causes.
Favourites
Redistribution
Reqs Arithmetics+25% in Capital-50% from Trade Routes ()Double Production Speed for Granary
Hayam Wuruk
Hayam Wuruk
Monarch of Majapahit Empire
Lived: 1334 - 1389 AD
Background:
Born as the fourth monarch of Majapahit, he is credited as a bright, talendted, handsome and exceptional in the courtly martial arts. He was educeted with the purpose of being the next Majapahit king and his reign marked the peak of Majapahit glory.
When Rajapatni, Hayams grandmother, died in 1350, Tribhuwana, Hayams mum and queen of Majapahit, had to descend from the throne because she ruled Majapahit under Rajapatni's auspices, and she must relinquish her throne to her son. He inherited the throne at an age of 16, at the same time as his Prime Minister, Gajah Mada, was at the height of his career. With the help of Gajah Mada, Hayam extended his rule all trough the Indonesian archipelago.
In 1357, Hayam was to marry the princess of the Sunda kingdom. The reasons of this royal engagement was probably a political one, to foster alliance between Majapahit and the Sundanese Kingdom. However in the Bubat incident, the Sunda royal family and their guards was involved in skirmish with Majapahit troops. The planned royal wedding ended in disaster with the death of the princess and the whole of Sunda royal party. The court officials blamed Gajah Mada, because it was his intention to demand submission from Sunda Kingdom that ended in bloodshed.
Several years later, Hayam wed his cousin, Sori, and they had a daughter who later married to a relative, Wikramawardhana, who then became the Crown Prince. However Hayam also had a son, Wirabhumi, with the royal concubine, and after Hayams death in 1389, Wirabhumi tried to seize the throne from Wikramawardhana. Although Wikramawardhana crushed the rebellion in the end, is severly weakeden Majapahit and this can be seen as the start of its decline.
Favourites
Thalassocracy
Reqs Navigation+2 from Fishing Boats, Harvest Boats-1 from Plantation, Cottage, Hamlet, Village, TownDouble Production Speed for Harbor, Wharf, DrydockHinduismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover CalendarMissionaries cannot spread in civilizations that have a different state religion
Hiram
Hiram I
King of Tyre
Lived: c.994 - 936 BC
Background:
Hiram I was king of Tyre from 969 BC to 936 BC, succeeding his father, Abibaal. During his reign, Tyre grew from a satellite of Sidon into the most important of Phoenician cities, and the holder of a large trading empire. Hiram allied himself with king Solomon of Israel, the upcoming power of the region; together they would fill the power gap left by the retreat of Egypt when Assyria and Damascus were unable to do so. Through the alliance with Solomon, Hiram ensured himself access to the major trade routes to Egypt, Arabia and Mesopotamia. The two kings also joined forces in starting a trade route over the Red Sea, connecting the Israelite harbor of Ezion-Geber with a land called Ophir. Both kings grew rich through this trade. Hiram sent Solomon architects, workmen and cedar wood to build the First Temple in Jerusalem. He also extended the Tyrean harbor, enlarged the city by joining the two islands on which it was built, and built a royal palace and a temple for Melquart.
Favourites
Thalassocracy
Reqs Navigation+2 from Fishing Boats, Harvest Boats-1 from Plantation, Cottage, Hamlet, Village, TownDouble Production Speed for Harbor, Wharf, Drydock
Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Führer and Reich Chancellor of Germany
Lived: 1889 - 1945 AD
Background:
Adolf Hitler was Chancellor of Germany from 1933, and "Fuhrer" (Leader) of Germany from 1934 until his death. He was leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), better known as the Nazi Party.
Hitler gained power in a Germany facing crisis after World War I. Using propaganda and charismatic oratory, he was able to appeal to the economic need of the lower and middle classes, while sounding resonant chords of nationalism, anti-Semitism and anti-communism. With the establishment of a restructured economy, a rearmed military, and a totalitarian or fascist regime, Hitler pursued an aggressive foreign policy with the intention of expanding German Lebensraum ("living space"), which triggered World War II when Germany invaded Poland. At its greatest extent, Nazi Germany occupied most of Europe, but along with the other Axis Powers it was eventually defeated by the Allies. By then, Hitler's racial policies had culminated in the mass murder of approximately eleven million people, including the genocide of about six million Jews, in what is now known as the Holocaust.
In the final days of the war, Hitler, along with his new wife, Eva Braun, committed suicide in his underground bunker in Berlin, as the city was being overrun by the Red Army.
Favourites
Totalitarianism
Reqs Psychology+3 Experience For All Land UnitsNo War +2 from Citizen+1 from Town
Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi Minh
President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam
Lived: 1890 - 1969
Needs to be written.
Favourites
Nationhood
Reqs NationalismCan Draft 3 Units per Turn+25% for Buildings Already in Capital+1 from Monument, Civic Square, News Press, Broadcast TowerCannot Use Slaves
ConfucianismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover ContractFounder Receives a Confucian ScholarMissionaries cannot spread in civilizations that have a different state religion
Hongwu
Zhu Yuanzhang Hongwu
Emperor of China
Lived: 1328 - 1398 AD
Background:
Hongwu, known variably by his given name Zhu Yuanzhang and by his temple name Taizu of Ming (literally "Great Ancestor of Ming"), was the founder and first emperor of the Ming Dynasty of China. His era name, Hongwu, means "vastly martial".
In the middle of the 14th century, with famine, plagues and peasant revolts sweeping across China, Zhu became a leader of an army that conquered China, ending the Yuan Dynasty and forcing the Mongols to retreat to the Mongolian steppes. With his seizure of the Yuan capital (present-day Beijing), he claimed the Mandate of Heaven and established the Ming Dynasty in 1368.
Zhu was born in a poor peasant family in a village in Zhongli (present day Fengyang, Anhui). His father was Zhu Shizhen and his mother was Chen Erniang. He had seven older siblings, several of whom were "given away" by his parents, as they did not have enough food to support the family. When he was 16, the Yellow River broke its banks and flooded the lands where his family lived. Subsequently, a plague killed his family, except one brother.
Destitute, Zhu accepted a suggestion to take up a pledge made by his late father, and became a novice monk at the Huangjue Temple, a local Buddhist monastery. He did not remain there for long as the monastery ran short of funds and he was forced to leave.
For the next few years, Zhu led the life of a wandering beggar and personally experienced and saw the hardships of the common people. After about three years, he returned to the monastery and stayed there until he was around 24 years old. He learned to read and write during the time he spent with the Buddhist monks. Although he did not become a Buddhist in later years, he still remained sympathetic towards Buddhism.
Historians consider Hongwu to be one of the most significant emperors of China. As historian Ebrey puts it "Seldom has the course of Chinese history been influenced by a single personality as much as it was by the founder of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang." His rise to power was fast despite him having from a poor and humble origin. In 11 years he went from being a penniless monk to the most powerful warlord in China. Five years later, he became emperor of China. Simon Leys described him as: 'an adventurer from peasant stock, poorly educated, a man of action, a bold and shrewd tactician, a visionary mind, in many respects a creative genius; naturally coarse, cynical, and ruthless, he eventually showed symptoms of paranoia, bordering on psychopathy.
The folk song Fengyang Flower Drum was credited to him. His portraits were controversial.
Favourites
Isolationism
Reqs HeritageNo Foreign Trade Routes ()+25% in All Cities+1 per SpecialistConfucianismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover ContractFounder Receives a Confucian ScholarMissionaries cannot spread in civilizations that have a different state religion
Huayna Capac
Huayna Capac
Sapa Inca of the Incan Empire
Lived: 1493 - 1527 AD
Background:
Huayna Capac was the son of the Incan Emperor Iupanqui. Under his father, Capac led armies against his nation's neighbors to the north. When his father died in 1483 and he became emperor in his own right, Capac continued the campaigns, eventually extending the empire's borders into what is modern Colombia.
The Inca Empire reached the height of its size and power under his rule, stretching over much of Bolivia, Peru, Argentine, Chile, Ecuador, and Colombia. It included varying terrain, from the high, frozen Andes to the densest swamps, and over 200 distinct ethnic groups, each with their own customs and languages.
Despite the geographical and cultural challenges, Inca - or Tawantinsuys, the "Realm of the Four Quarters" - was sophisticated for its time and place. At its height it had "monumental cities, temples and fortresses of stone, marvelously engineered roads cut through granite mountain slopes, and massive agricultural terraces and hydraulic works." A dedicated ruler, Huayna did much to improve the lives of his people. In addition to building temples and other works, Huayna greatly expanded the road network, along which he built storehouses for food so that aid could be quickly rushed to any who were in danger of starvation.
Huayna contracted smallpox while campaigning in Colombia. Smallpox had been introduced to South America by the Spaniards, and the Native Americans had no defense against it; Huayna and about 200,000 other South and Central Americans died in that one epidemic. Before his death Huayna divided his country, leaving the newly-conquered north to his favorite son, Atahualpa, and the rest to his legitimate heir, Huascar. The two brothers fought a long and debilitating war to reunite their country. Atahualpa eventually won, but the victory left his country exhausted and prostrate, unable to withstand attack from the Spaniard; Francisco Pizarro.
Very little is known about Huayna the man. As was their established practice, the Spanish conquerors did their best to obliterate Incan history in order to detach their subject people from their places in history and make them easier to enslave (and to be converted to Christianity). We know that Huayna was bloodthirsty and vindictive in war, but in his private life he was affectionate, even tender. We can assume that Huayna was smart enough to hold his empire together, ambitious enough to seek to extend its borders, ruthless enough to crush those in his path, and foolish enough to divide his empire to try to satisfy both of his sons.
Favourites
Redistribution
Reqs Arithmetics+25% in Capital-50% from Trade Routes ()Double Production Speed for Granary
Ibn Saud
Abdul Aziz Al Saud
King of Saudi arabia
Lived: 1876 - November 9, 1953
Background:
Ibn Saud was the first monarch of Saudi Arabia. He was born in Riyadh into the House of Su'ud (commonly transliterated Saud), which had followed the Wahhabi movement of Islam since the 18th century and had historically maintained dominion over the interior highlands of Arabia known as the Nejd (see First Saudi State and Second Saudi State). Abdul Aziz ibn Saud was born in Riyadh in central Arabia in 1876. In 1890, at the age of fourteen, Ibn Saud followed his family into exile in Kuwait following the conquest of the family's lands by the rival dynasty of Al Rashid. He spent the remainder of his childhood in Kuwait. Abd al-Rahman had a stipend from the Turkish government of 60 Turkish pounds a month and Abdul Aziz went on several profitable raids in Nejd as he grew to adulthood. He attended the daily majlis of the emir of Kuwait, Mubarak al Sabah, from whom he learned much about the world. However, the family's home in Kuwait was one of the simplest and cramped by five sons and at least one daughter.
In the Spring of 1901, Ibn Saud and some relatives -- including a half-brother, Mohammed, and several cousins -- set out on a raiding expedition targeting for the most part tribes associated with the Rashidis. As booty was abundant, with many camels stolen, the raiding party grew to around 200 as tribesmen loyal to the Sauds joined the party. In the Fall, with Ramadan approaching, the group, reduced in number by defections, holed up in the Jabrin Oasis. It may have been only then that Ibn Saud decided to attack Riyadh and regain his family's heritage. On the night of January 15, 1902, together with a party of some sixty, including seven relatives and some slaves, he recaptured Riyadh with only twenty; the rest were guarding the camels in an isolated oasis. They had been told to escape if the venture failed. The Rashidi governor of the city, Ajlan, was killed as he fled the attack by Ibn Saud in front of the fort gate. Ibn Saud was considered a "magnetic" leader, and following the capture of Riyadh many former supporters of the House of Saud once again rallied to his support.
In the two years following his dramatic seizure of Riyadh, Ibn Saud recaptured almost half of Nejd from the Rashidis. In 1904, however, Ibn Rashid appealed to the Ottoman Empire for assistance in defeating the House of Saud. The Ottomans sent troops to Arabia, setting Ibn Saud on the defensive. The armies of the House of Saud suffered a major defeat on June 15, 1904, but his forces soon regrouped and returned to the offensive as the Turkish troops left the country due to supply problems.
Ibn Saud finally consolidated control over the Nejd and the eastern coast of Arabia in 1912 with the help of an organized and well-trained army. In that year he founded the Ikhwan, a militant religious organization which was to assist in his later conquests. More broadly, he revived his dynasty's traditional alliance with the Wahhabi ulema ("scholars"). In the same year, he instituted an agrarian policy to settle the nomadic pastoralist beduoins into colonies, and to dismantle their tribal organizations in favor of allegiance to the Ikhwan. During World War I the British government attempted to cultivate favor with Ibn Saud via its political agent, Captain William Shakespear, but this was abandoned after Shakespear's death at the Battle of Jarrab. Instead, the British transferred support to Ibn Saud's rival Sherif Hussein ibn Ali, leader of the Hejaz, with whom the Saudis were almost constantly at war. Despite this, the British entered into a treaty in December 1915 (the "Treaty of Darin") which made the lands of the House of Saud a British protectorate. In exchange, Ibn Saud pledged to again make war against Ibn Rashid, who was an ally of the Ottomans.
Ibn Saud did not, however, immediately make war against Ibn Rashid, despite a steady supply of weapons and cash (£5,000 Sterling per month) from the British. He argued that the payment he received was insufficient to adequately wage war against an enemy as powerful as Ibn Rashid. In 1920, however, Ibn Saud finally marched again against the Rashidis, extinguishing their dominion in 1922. The defeat of the Rashidis doubled the territory of the Ibn Saud, and he was able to negotiate a new treaty with the British at Uqair in 1922, in which Britain recognized many of his territorial gains in exchange while Ibn Saud agreed not to attempt to expand his state's borders into British protectorates on the Gulf coast and in Iraq. British subsidies continued until 1924.
In 1925 the Sauds captured the holy city of Mecca from Sherif Hussein ibn Ali, ending 700 years of Hashemite tutelage of the Islamic holy places. On 10 January 1926, Ibn Saud was proclaimed King of the Hejaz in the Great Mosque at Mecca. On May 20, 1927, following the defeat of Husayn, the British government signed the Treaty of Jeddah, which abolished the Darin protection agreement and recognized the independence of the Hejaz and Najd, covering much of what is today Saudi Arabia, with the Al-Saud family as its rulers. At this point, Ibn Saud changed his title from Sultan of Nejd to King of Nejd. Initially the two parts of his dominion (Nejd in the east and Hejaz in the west) were administered separately. From 1927 to 1932 Ibn Saud continued to consolidate power throughout the Arabian Peninsula. In March 1929 he defeated elements of the Ikhwan, which had disobeyed his orders to cease raiding and had invaded Iraq against his wishes, at the Battle of Sbilla. In 1932, having conquered most of the Peninsula, Saud renamed the area from the lands of Nejd and Hejaz to Saudi Arabia. He then proclaimed himself King of Saudi Arabia.
Saud forced many nomadic tribes to settle down and abandon "petty wars" and vendettas. He also began to fight crime in Saudi Arabia, particularly crime against pilgrims visiting the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. His later reign saw the discovery of petroleum in Saudi Arabia in 1938, and the beginning of large-scale exploitation of that resource after World War II. Ibn Saud through his adviser St. John Philby granted substantial authority over Saudi oil fields to American oil companies. Ibn Saud was the father of some 50 to 60 children, including all kings of Saudi Arabia that have ruled after him.
Favourites
Theocracy
Reqs Theology+100% Religion Effects from State Buildings+1 from PriestIslamHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover TheologyFounder Receives a Islamic Imam
Isabella
Isabella I
Queen of Castile and León
Lived: 1451 - 1504 AD
Background:
Isabella was the daughter of King John II of Castile. At the time of her birth, Spain was divided into a number of smaller kingdoms, with Castile, Portugal and Aragon being three of the largest. The southern part of the country was under Arab rule, the "Moors" having conquered much of Spain in the 8th Century. For Christian Spain, there were two major objectives: unite the country and drive out the Moors. Isabella accomplished both.
After her father's death, Castile was ruled by Isabella's older brother, King Henry IV. At eighteen, and against her brother's express wishes, Isabella married Prince Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Aragon. Henry was furious at her - he had wanted her to marry the King of Portugal - but eventually he forgave her and made Isabella his heir. Upon his death in 1474, Isabella became Queen of Castile, and, after a brief war, made an alliance with Portugal, thus uniting much of Spain.
Isabella and Ferdinand worked surprisingly well together. They co-ruled their two kingdoms equally (according to many historians, Isabella was the better ruler of the two).
Once they were enthroned, the couple set about weakening the Spanish nobility, which Isabella believed had become overly powerful. They created a special military force known as the "Holy Brotherhood" for the express purpose of protecting people and property from attacks by the nobility. They also redistributed some of the nobles' lands and destroyed several of their castles. In other internal matters, Isabella and Ferdinand reorganized the courts and the justice system, and they more closely regulated the country's coinage.
Some of Isabella and Ferdinand's other programs were less appealing. The two rulers were Catholic zealots and they had a rabid hatred for non-Catholics, and especially for Jews. In 1478 they petitioned the Pope to establish the Spanish Inquisition. Under Chief Inquisitor Torquemada, the Inquisition tortured and murdered thousands across Spain, driving the heretics out of the country or underground, or forcing them to convert to Catholicism.
Interestingly, when they conquered Granada, the last Muslim stronghold in Spain, Isabella and Ferdinand treated those Muslims quite well, allowing them to freely practice their religion in Spain. The Jews of Granada, however, were treated as barbarously as their cousins in other parts of Spain.
Perhaps Isabella's most famous act as monarch was her decision to fund Columbus's voyages of exploration. Christopher Columbus was an Italian navigator who was looking for a western route to India; after getting Isabella's backing, he set out to cross the Atlantic to find Asia. Instead, Columbus discovered America.
As a ruler, her record is mixed. She did unite her country along with the help of her husband, Ferdinand. She did drive out foreign powers who had occupied Spain for 700 years. She did bring peace and stability to Spain. She did fund exploration which would bring vast new territory and vast wealth to her kingdom. On the other hand, she did launch a terrible campaign of torture and murder against the most vulnerable population in her lands. To her Christian subjects, then, Isabella probably was the best thing that had ever come their way. However her Jewish subjects probably had a somewhat less positive opinion of Her Majesty. Isabella died in 1504, leaving the kingdom to her daughter.
Favourites
Theocracy
Reqs Theology+100% Religion Effects from State Buildings+1 from PriestCatholicismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover DoctrineFounder Receives a Catholic MissionaryFounded when Christian civilizations control less than half of all Christian citiesAlternately founded by the first civilization to build an Orthodox Cathedral without controlling the Orthodox holy city
Ivan IV
Ivan IV the Terrible
Grand Prince of Moscow, Tsar of All the Russias
Lived: 1530 - 1584 AD
Background:
Ivan IV Vasilyevich, commonly known as Ivan the Terrible, was the Grand Prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547 and 'Tsar of All the Russias' from 1547 until his death in 1584.
His long reign saw the conquest of the Khanate of Kazan, Khanate of Astrakhan and Khanate of Sibir, transforming Russia into a multiethnic and multicontinental state spanning almost one billion acres, approximately 4,050,000 km2 (1,560,000 sq mi). Ivan managed countless changes in the progression from a medieval state to an empire and emerging regional power, and became the first ruler to be crowned as Tsar of All the Russias.
Historic sources present disparate accounts of Ivan's complex personality: he was described as intelligent and devout, yet given to rages and prone to episodic outbreaks of mental illness, that increased with his age, affecting his reign. In one such outburst, he killed his groomed and chosen heir Ivan Ivanovich. This left the Tsardom to be passed to Ivan's younger son, the weak and intellectually disabled Feodor Ivanovich.
Ivan's legacy is complex: he was an able diplomat, a patron of arts and trade, founder of the Moscow Print Yard, Russia's first publishing house, a leader highly popular among the common people of Russia, but he is also remembered for his paranoia and arguably harsh treatment of the Russian nobility. The Massacre of Novgorod is regarded as one of the biggest demonstrations of his mental instability and brutality.
Favourites
Manorialism
Reqs CalendarWorkers Build Improvements +50% Faster+1 from Pasture+1 from Farm, Paddy FieldOrthodoxyHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover EthicsFounder Receives a Orthodox Missionary
Joao II
João II
King of Portugal and the Algarves
Lived: c.1455 - 1495 AD
Background:
King Joao II of Portugal was a statesman that supported the exploration and exploitation of the undiscovered world. Arguably the first nation to discover America, under Joao's reign Portugal made several other important discoveries while also advancing the field of nautical navigation.
"I am the lord of lords, not the server of servants." These words, originally a castigation of rebellious nobles by Joao, would come to define the Portuguese king's reign. Joao's dislike of court intrigue and the inability for political opinion to influence his decisions made him an unpopular king amongst his peers. The King's early rule was defined by his efforts to curtail, and eventually crush, all internal corruption and opposition to his rule. After having intercepted conspiratorial letters between the Duke of Braganza and Queen Isabella I of Castile in 1483, Joao had the Duke executed, his family banished from Portugal, and his lands and wealth confiscated.
Joao II's policies focused primarily on the exploration and exploitation of maritime trade routes, particularly with India. The full extent of Portugal's explorations and discoveries remain largely unknown due to the government's secrecy, born of a fierce competition with its neighbor Castile. It is, however, argued that Portugal had already reached North America and Brazil by 1470 and 1480, respectively. This places their discovery of North America in advance of Christopher Columbus's voyage.
Portugal, under the reign of Joao, was also credited with the 1484 discovery of the Congo River, the 1488 rounding of the Cape of Good Hope (Africa's southern tip), and the 1493 settlement of the São Tomé and Príncipe Islands.
Disputes over rights of exploration between Castile and Aragon and Portugal would eventually lead to the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) which split the world in half. Portugal would be responsible for exploring the Eastern hemisphere while Aragon and Castile would have the Western hemisphere.
Towards the end of his reign, Joao's only legitimate heir, Alfonso, died under mysterious circumstances. This prevented Portugal from inheriting ownership of Castile and Aragon through Alfonso's marriage to Isabella of Aragon - Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon's eldest daughter. Joao II died without male heir in 1495, possibly poisoned by the vengeful Portuguese nobility and was succeeded by his first cousin, Manuel I.
Favourites
Regulated Trade
Reqs Companies+50% in Capital+1 from Workshop, Plantation, Slave PlantationDouble Production Speed for Customs HouseCatholicismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover DoctrineFounder Receives a Catholic MissionaryFounded when Christian civilizations control less than half of all Christian citiesAlternately founded by the first civilization to build an Orthodox Cathedral without controlling the Orthodox holy city
Juarez
Benito Pablo Juárez García
President of Mexico
Lived: 1806 - 1872 AD
Background:
Benito Pablo Juárez García was a Zapotec Amerindian who served five terms as president of Mexico, he was the first Mexican leader who did not have a military background, and also the first full-blooded indigenous national ever to serve as President of Mexico and to lead a country in the Western Hemisphere.
Juárez was born of Indian parents, both of whom died when he was three years old. When he was 12 he left the uncle who was caring for him and joined his sister in the city of Oaxaca, where he began his formal education. He originally studied for the priesthood, but in 1829 he entered the Oaxaca Institute of Arts and Sciences to study law and science. In 1831 he received his law degree and also won his first public office, a seat on the municipal council. Impeccably honest, he never used public office for personal gain, and his modest way of life reflected his simple tastes even after his marriage in 1843 to Margarita Maza, an Oaxaca girl 17 years younger than he. Politics soon became his life's work: he was a member of both the state and national legislatures, he became a judge in 1841, and he served as governor of his state, a post that brought him into national prominence. During these years in politics Juárez began to formulate liberal solutions for his country's many problems. The road to economic health, he concluded, lay in substituting capitalism for the stifling economic monopoly held by the Roman Catholic Church and the landed aristocracy. He also believed that political stability could be achieved only through the adoption of a constitutional form of government based on a federal system.
But the return of the conservatives to power in the elections of 1853 doomed imminent reform in Mexico. Many prominent liberals were exiled, including Juárez. From December 1853 until June 1855 he lived in New Orleans in the United States in semi poverty, occupying himself by exchanging ideas with other Mexicans and laying plans to return home. The opportunity to put his ideas into action finally came in 1855 when the liberals took control of the national government, and Juárez left the United States to join the new administration of Juan Álvarez as minister of justice and public instruction.
The liberals carried out three major reforms, all supported by Juárez. As minister of justice he was responsible for the law bearing his name that abolished special courts for the clergy and military, for he felt that juridical equality would help promote social equality. In June 1856 the government published the Ley Lerdo ("Lerdo Law," named after the minister of finance). Although it forced the church to sell its property, it contained no threat of confiscation. By breaking up large landed estates, the government hoped that many Mexicans would be able to acquire property and thus create the middle class that it believed was essential for a strong and stable Mexico. The climax of the reform was the liberal constitution promulgated in February 1857. In the same year, Ignacio Comonfort was elected president, and the new Congress chose Juárez to preside over the Supreme Court and therefore, according to the constitution, also to serve as the effective vice president of Mexico. The court position was critical in determining his future career, for when the conservatives revolted and ousted Comonfort in January 1858, Juárez had a legal claim to the presidency. Lacking troops to control the area around Mexico City, however, he retired to the eastern port city of Veracruz. At Veracruz Juárez faced serious difficulties, for he had to create a government and hold it together through quarrels, betrayals, and defeat; to enforce and implement the constitution; to maintain armies in the field and defeat the conservative forces. But he was an extraordinarily tenacious and self-sufficient man, able to concentrate his energy and interest, and he proved himself the master of his government. Because the clergy was supporting the conservatives against the legal government, Juárez enacted several laws to curb ecclesiastical power. He nationalized all church property, exempting only those buildings actually used for worship and instruction. To weaken clerical influence still further, he also nationalized the cemeteries and put birth registrations and marriages under the civil authority. Finally, the government separated church and state and guaranteed religious liberty to all citizens.
By late 1860 the conservatives were faltering, and in January 1861 Juárez was able to return to Mexico City and was constitutionally elected president. He was, however, faced with many serious problems: the opposition's forces still remained intact, the new Congress distrusted its president, and the treasury was virtually empty. As a solution to this latter problem Juárez decided in July 1861 to suspend payment on all foreign debts for two years. To safeguard their investments, England, Spain, and France decided to intervene, and by January 1862 the three countries had landed troops at Veracruz. But when Britain and Spain realized that Napoleon III intended to conquer Mexico and control it through a puppet, Archduke Maximilian of Austria, they withdrew their forces. Despite a major defeat at Puebla on May 5, 1862, reinforcements enabled the French to occupy Mexico City in June 1863, and Maximilian soon followed to take control of the government. Forced to leave the capital again, Juárez kept himself and his government alive by a long series of retreats that ended only at El Paso del Norte (later named Ciudad Juárez) at the Mexican-U.S. border. Early in 1867, as a result of continued Mexican resistance, increased U.S. pressure, and criticism at home, Napoleon decided to withdraw his troops. Soon afterward, Mexican forces captured Maximilian and executed him.
Juárez then made the greatest mistake of his political career. In August 1867, shortly after his return to Mexico City, he issued a call for national elections and for a referendum on whether Congress should make five amendments to the constitution. Public opinion did not object to the president's running for re-election, but the constitutional changes aroused immediate and violent reaction in many quarters, including those sympathetic to Juárez. His proposed changes came under fire because amendments enacted by Congress alone were unconstitutional, and the changes would strengthen the executive power. Juárez was re-elected, but the controversy had created such a crisis of confidence that the administration did not even bother to count the votes on the amendments. Despite illness and personal loss—in October 1870 Juárez suffered a stroke and three months later his wife died—he decided to run again in 1871. After a bitter campaign he was re-elected, but many of his countrymen, refusing to accept the result as final, took up arms against him. Juárez spent the last few months of his life trying to restore peace. He died of a heart attack in 1872.
March 21 is a day set to commemorate Juarez. This date has become a national holiday in Mexico, which has continued to grow in acceptance within the Mexican Culture.
Favourites
Democracy
Reqs Representation+100% Birth Rate+3 in 4 Largest CitiesCatholicismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover DoctrineFounder Receives a Catholic MissionaryFounded when Christian civilizations control less than half of all Christian citiesAlternately founded by the first civilization to build an Orthodox Cathedral without controlling the Orthodox holy city
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar
Dictator of the Roman Republic
Lived: c.100 - 44 BC
Background:
Gaius Julius Caesar was born - according to legend by Caesarean section - to a noble family. His father was a praetor, a mid-level functionary in the Republic. His family was respected, but not especially rich or influential. His father died while Caesar was still a teenager. At 19, Caesar married Cornelia, daughter of a prominent member of the popular political faction. The dictator of Rome at the time was Sulla, who belonged to the rival Optimate (pro-aristocrat) faction. He ordered Caesar to divorce Cornelia, and when he refused, Sulla ordered him to be executed. Caesar went into hiding until his influential friends got him a pardon.
During his early manhood, Caesar had a varied career. He served on the staff of a military officer, where he was awarded oak leaves for saving a man's life in battle. He was sent on an embassy to Bithynia, where he persuaded the king to provide Rome with a fleet of ships. He worked as an orator/lawyer in the courts of Rome, where he honed his skills as a public speaker.
During a trip to Greece, Caesar was captured by pirates and held for ransom. When the pirates told him that they planned to ask for 20 talents for his release, he indignantly insisted that he was worth 50 talents at least. He maintained friendly relations with his captors, at one point jokingly informing them that upon his release he intended to hunt them down and crucify them. Imagine their surprise when, after they released him, he did just that. The pirates had treated Caesar well during his captivity, however, so he mercifully slit their throats before nailing them to the crosses.
Caesar began his climb to power. He was elected to the Senate, where he gave his support to Gnaeus Pompeius (Pompey the Great), who with Caesar's help was given command of the war against King Mithridates. He spoke at funerals, including the one of his wife, Cornelia, dazzling the crowds with his oratory skill and personal magnetism. He married the granddaughter of his old enemy, Sulla. He later divorced her because of rumors that she had had an affair, saying famously, "The wife of Caesar must be above suspicion." He spent lavishly on games to win popular support.
In 60 BC, at the age of 40, Caesar entered into an alliance with Pompey and Crassus, two very important and influential men of Rome. He agreed to support their aims if they, in turn, would help him get elected to the consulship of Rome (at the time, Rome was ruled by two consuls, each elected for one-year terms). Upon being elected, Caesar pushed through measures that helped the other two men achieve their goals. At the end of his term, he strong-armed the Assembly into giving him a five-year term as the powerful proconsul of Gaul, and thus leader of a large portion of Rome's best troops.
Caesar was to remain in the field of battle for the next nine years. During that time he conquered most of what is now Central Europe, adding "great general" to his already formidable reputation. During his absence, however, Crassus died in battle against the Parthians, and Pompey took sole control of Rome. Worse, Pompey was siding with Caesar's enemies, the Optimates. When Caesar was informed that the Optimates intended to prosecute him for his illegal actions in forcing the Assembly to give him the Gaul proconsul, he broke relations with Pompey.
Having earned his legions firm loyalty and support, in 49 BC Caesar led them "across the Rubicon" and to Rome. Most of Pompey's legions at the time were in Spain, so he and the Senate abandoned the city to Caesar's legions. In a lightning campaign, Caesar destroyed Pompey's Spanish troops before his enemy could consolidate his forces, and Pompey retreated to Greece, where there remained forces still loyal to him. Caesar pursued as quickly as possible.
Caesar's sea transportation was limited, and he could only support about 20,000 troops in Greece. He left behind his trusted lieutenant Marc Antony, ordering Antony to rectify the supply situation and get him more troops as soon as possible. Knowing, however, that Pompey was using every moment's delay to gather allies and increase his forces, Caesar couldn't wait; at the head of his now 21,000-strong army he marched to battle.
The two armies met on the plains of Pharasulus, with Pompey's army outnumbering Caesar's by more than two-to-one. Despite the odds, Caesar was victorious, his brilliant generalship making up for his disadvantage in numbers. Pompey fled the field, and shortly thereafter was betrayed and murdered by the Egyptians. Now undisputed ruler of Rome, Caesar went to Egypt, where he set his lover Cleopatra upon the throne after a short but bitter fight.
Back in Rome, Caesar began an extensive program of reforms. He began to resolve the Roman debt problem; he settled his veterans abroad, giving them the land they craved but not dispossessing others (other Romans, that is). He reformed the Roman calendar, regulated public assistance and strengthened the middle class. His actions greatly improved life for the average citizen, but angered the aristocracy, the remnants of the Optimate party.
In February of 44 BC, the puppet Senate voted Caesar "dictator perpetuus," or dictator for life. For the first time he began wearing purple garb, a color associated at that time with kings and emperors. Further, he allowed his statues to be adorned like the statues of the gods. On March 15, Caesar was murdered, stabbed at least 23 times by a coalition of aristocrats and senators.
Favourites
Hegemony
Reqs Generalship+25% on City Conquest-1 turns of in Conquered CitiesDouble Production Speed for Barracks, Stable, Jail, Castle, Star Fort
Justinian I
Justinian I the Great
Emperor of the Byzantine Empire
Lived: 483 - 565 AD
Background:
Justinian the First, known as Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Iustinianus in Latin, was emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 527 until his death in 565. His four decades of rule marked the greatest expansion of the Byzantine Empire since its split with the Roman Empire and a sweeping revival in the Christian religion.
Born in a small village in modern Macedonia, Justinian had little connection to power in Constantinople as a youth. It was the rise of his uncle, Justin, a Byzantine general who succeeded the Emperor Anastasius, which drew young Justinian from the Macedonian pastures into cosmopolitan Constantinople. Justinian served his uncle as a close advisor for a decade before the passing of Emperor Justin transferred the diadem to Justinian.
With Justinian's rise to power, two other important faces rose to prominence. Belisarius, a close friend of Justinian, became the leader of Justinian's armies and proved himself as a brilliant tactician. The second face belonged to his beautiful and savvy wife, Theodora, who took on the role that Justinian himself once filled, that of the emperor's closest advisor.
One of Justinian's first actions as Emperor was to order a collection of all Roman law, the Corpus Juris Civilis. But not long after the first issuing of the Corpus, an uprising among two rival chariot racing factions, the Blues and the Greens, engulfed Constantinople in a wave of violence and conflagration. Enterprising powers within the city allied against Justinian, using the chaos to declare a new Emperor, Hypatius, a nephew of Anastasius. Justinian, unsure of the strength of usurpers, decided to flee the city, but his brave wife refused. Instead, Belisarius was ordered to take two divisions and quell the uprising, which he did with ruthless ability, trapping rioters in the Hippodrome and killing nearly 30,000 before the riot was finally put down.
The damage done to the city after the riots was substantial. Among the smoldering ruins lay the Hagia Sophia, Constantinople's greatest cathedral, burnt to the ground. Justinian thus began a monumental campaign to expand and restore the building. With its completion five years later, the reconstructed Hagia Sophia was christened as the world's largest cathedral, a title it would hold for a millennium. Under Justinian's order, twenty-five cathedrals were built in Constantinople alone, with many more built outside the capital city.
The Empire thrived under Justinian. Thanks in no small part to the able command of Belisarius, Emperor Justinian's reach spread from Constantinople to Southern Spain, with North Africa and Italy all falling under the Byzantine grasp. Justinian's reign marked a high point for the Byzantine Empire, as shortly after his death, much of the land conquered in his name was lost. War with powerful Germanic tribes and neighboring Persia would cost the empire much of its hard-fought gains.
Favourites
Citizenship
Reqs LawDouble Production Speed for Library, Aqueduct, Theatre, BathCan Spend Gold to Finish Military Unit Production in a CitySpies can bribe Barbarian unitsOrthodoxyHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover EthicsFounder Receives a Orthodox Missionary
Kammu
Kanmu
Emperor of Japan
Lived: 737 - 806 AD
Background:
Kammu's personal name (imina) was Yamabe. He was the eldest son of Prince Shirakabe (later known as Emperor Konin), and was born prior to Shirakabe's ascension to the throne. According to the Shoku Nihongi, Yamabe's mother, Yamato no Niigasa (later called Takano no Niigasa), was a descendant of King Muryeong of Baekje.
After his father, Konin, became emperor, Kammu's half-brother Prince Osabe was appointed to the rank of crown prince. His mother Princess Inoe was a daughter of Emperor Shomu; but instead of Prince Osabe, it was Kammu who was later named to succeed their father. After Princess Inoe and Prince Osabe were confined and then died in 775, Prince Osabe's sister - Kammu's half-sister Princess Sakahito - became Kammu's wife. Later, when he ascended to the throne in 781, Kammu appointed his young brother, Prince Sawara, whose mother was Takano no Niigasa, as crown prince. Hikami no Kawatsugu, a son of Emperor Temmu's grandson Prince Shioyaki and Shomu's daughter Princess Fuwa, attempted to carry out a coup d'état in 782, but it failed and Kawatsugu and his mother were sent into exile. In 785, Prince Sawara was expelled and died in exile.
Kammu had 16 empresses and consorts, and 32 imperial sons and daughters. Among them, three sons would eventually ascend to the imperial throne: Emperor Heizei, Emperor Saga and Emperor Junna. Some of his descendants (known as the Kammu Taira or Kammu Heishi) took the Taira hereditary clan title, and in later generations became prominent warriors. Examples include Taira no Masakado, Taira no Kiyomori, and (with a further surname expansion) the Hojo clan. The waka poet Ariwara no Narihira was one of his grandsons.
Emperor Kammu is traditionally venerated at his tomb; the Imperial Household Agency designates Kashiwabara no Misasagi, Kashiwabara Imperial Mausoleum), in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, as the location of Kammu's mausoleum.
Earlier Imperial sponsorship of Buddhism, beginning with Prince Shotoku (574-622), had led to a general politicization of the clergy, along with an increase in intrigue and corruption. In 784 Kammu shifted his capital from Nara to Nagaoka in a move that was said to be designed to edge the powerful Nara Buddhist establishments out of state politics-while the capital moved, the major Buddhist temples, and their officials, stayed put. Indeed there was a steady stream of edicts issued from 771 right through the period of Kukai's studies which, for instance, sought to limit the number of Buddhist priests, and the building of clan temples. However the move was to prove disastrous and was followed by a series of natural disasters including the flooding of half the city. In 785 the principal architect of the new capital, and royal favourite, Fujiwara no Tanetsugu, was assassinated.
Meanwhile, Kammu's armies were pushing back the boundaries of his empire. This led to an uprising, and in 789 a substantial defeat for Kammu's troops. Also in 789 there was a severe drought and famine-the streets of the capital were clogged with the sick, and people avoiding being drafted into the military, or into forced labour. Many disguised themselves as Buddhist priests for the same reason. Then in 794 Kammu suddenly shifted the capital again, this time to Heian-kyo, which is modern day Kyoto. The new capital was started early the previous year, but the change was abrupt and led to even more confusion amongst the populace.
Politically Kammu shored up his rule by changing the syllabus of the university. Confucian ideology still provided the raison d'etre for the Imperial government. In 784 Kammu authorised the teaching of a new course based on the Annals of Spring and Autumn based on two newly imported commentaries: Kung-yang, and Ku-liang. These commentaries used political rhetoric to promote a state in which the Emperor, as "Son of Heaven," should extend his sphere of influence to barbarous lands, thereby gladdening the people. In 798 the two commentaries became required reading at the government university.
Kammu also sponsored the travels of the monks Saicho and Kukai to China, from where they returned to found the Japanese branches of, respectively, Tendai and Shingon Buddhism.
Favourites
Deification
Reqs Divination+25% when building Wonders+1 in Cities with State +1 slots for Priest+1 from Pagan Temple, Tomb, SanctuaryBuddhismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover PhilosophyFounder Receives Buddhist Bhikku (2)Founded when a Hindu Temple is built
Kangxi
TXT_KEY_LEADER_KANGXI_PEDIA
Favourites
Isolationism
Reqs HeritageNo Foreign Trade Routes ()+25% in All Cities+1 per SpecialistConfucianismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover ContractFounder Receives a Confucian ScholarMissionaries cannot spread in civilizations that have a different state religion
Kanishka
TXT_KEY_LEADER_KANISHKA_PEDIA
Favourites
Syncretism
Reqs PhilosophyNo from Changing State ReligionAll Buildings provide Religion Effect if State present+2 from Paddy FieldCan Build Missionaries without MonasteryBuddhismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover PhilosophyFounder Receives Buddhist Bhikku (2)Founded when a Hindu Temple is built
Khmelnytsky
Zynoviy Bohdan Mykhailovych Khmelnytsky
Hetman of the Zaporozhian Host
Lived: 1595 - 1657
Background:
Bohdan Khmelnytsky was a Ruthenian nobleman and military commander of Zaporozhian Cossacks as Hetman of the Zaporozhian Host, which was then under the suzerainty of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. He led an uprising against the Commonwealth and its magnates (1648–1654) that resulted in the creation of an independent Cossack state in Ukraine. In 1654, he concluded the Treaty of Pereiaslav with the Russian Tsar and allied the Cossack Hetmanate with Tsardom of Russia, thus placing central Ukraine under Russian protection. Khmelnytsky was compared to his contemporary, Oliver Cromwell.
Favourites
Elective
Reqs Politics+1 from No Improvement+2 from Pasture, Camp+1 from CottageDouble Production Speed for PalaceOrthodoxyHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover EthicsFounder Receives a Orthodox Missionary
Khomeini
Ruhollah Mostafavi Moosavi Khomeini
Supreme Leader of Iran
Lived: 1902 - 1989 AD
Background:
Sayyed Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (22 September 1902 - 3 June 1989) was an Iranian religious leader and politician, and leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution which saw the overthrow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran. Following the revolution, Khomeini became the country's Supreme Leader, a position created in the constitution as the highest ranking political and religious authority of the nation, which he held until his death.
Khomeini was a marja ("source of emulation") in Twelver Shi'a Islam, author of more than forty books, but is primarily known for his political activities. He spent more than 15 years in exile for his opposition to the last Shah. In his writings and preachings he expanded the Shi'a Usuli theory of velayat-e faqih, the "guardianship of the jurisconsult (clerical authority)" to include theocratic political rule by the Islamic jurists. This principle (though not known to the wider public before the revolution) was installed in the new Iranian constitution after being put to a referendum.
He was named Man of the Year in 1979 by American newsmagazine TIME for his international influence and has been described as the "virtual face of Islam in Western popular culture." He was known for his support of the hostage takers during the Iran hostage crisis and his fatwa calling for the death of British Indian novelist Salman Rushdie.
Khomeini has been criticized for these acts and for human rights violations of Iranians (including his ordering of execution of thousands of political prisoners), but also lauded as a "charismatic leader of immense popularity", and a "champion of Islamic revival" by Shia scholars.
Khomeini held the title of Grand Ayatollah and is officially known as Imam Khomeini inside Iran and by his supporters internationally, and generally referred to as Ayatollah Khomeini by others.
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Theocracy
Reqs Theology+100% Religion Effects from State Buildings+1 from PriestIslamHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover TheologyFounder Receives a Islamic Imam
Krishna Deva Raya
Krishnadevaraya
Emperor of Vijayanagara Empire
Lived: 1471 - 1529 AD
Background:
Krishnadevaraya was an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire who reigned from 1509-1529. He is the third ruler of the Tuluva Dynasty. Presiding over the empire at its zenith, he is regarded as an icon by many Indians. Krishna Deva Raya earned the titles Kannada Rajya Rama Ramana (lit, "Lord of the Kannada empire"), Andhra Bhoja and Mooru Rayara Ganda (lit, "King of three Kings"). He became the dominant ruler of the peninsula of India by defeating the Sultans of Bijapur, Golconda, the Bahmani Sultanate and the Raja of Odisha. The great south Indian mathematician Nilakantha Somayaji also lived in the Empire of Krishnadevaraya. He was the most powerful of all the Hindu rulers of India. Indeed, when the Mughal Babur was taking stock of the potentates of north India, Krishnadevaraya was rated the most powerful and had the most extensive empire in the subcontinent.
Portuguese travellers Domingo Paes and Fernao Nuniz also visited the Vijayanagara Empire during his reign. Krishna Deva Raya benefited from the able prime minister Timmarusu, who was regarded by the emperor as a father figure and was responsible for his coronation. Krishna Deva Raya was the son of Tuluva Narasa Nayaka, an army commander under Saluva Narasimha Deva Raya, who later took control of the empire to prevent its disintegration and became the founder of the Tuluva Dynasty, the third Hindu Dynasty to rule Vijayanagara. The emperor's coronation took place on the birthday of Hindu God Krishna. He built a beautiful suburb near Vijayanagara called Nagalapura. The king was of medium height, had a cheerful disposition, and was reputed to be respectful to foreign visitors, ruthless in maintaining the law, and prone to fits of anger. He maintained himself to a high level of physical fitness through daily exercises. Travelogues indicate that the king was not only an able administrator, but also an excellent general, leading from the front in battle and even attending to the wounded. The south Indian poet Muku Timmana praised him as the destroyer of the Turks.
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Vassalage
Reqs FeudalismLower Unit Support Costs+1 from Farm, Orchard+1 from CastleHinduismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover CalendarMissionaries cannot spread in civilizations that have a different state religion
Kublai Khan
Kublai Khan
Khagan of the Mongol Empire, Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty
Lived: 1215 - 1294 AD
Background:
The grandson of the great Mongol leader Genghis Khan, Kublai oversaw the transformation of the Mongol people from nomadic warriors to sedentary farmers and townsfolk. He also captured the southern half of China, reunifying the country under one rule and taking for himself the title of "Emperor."
Ascending to the throne in 1260 at around the age of 45, Kublai was revealed to be a shrewd and skilled political leader. As Emperor of China, he followed his father's precepts of being gentle with the subject peoples in order to keep them happy; he restored many of the Chinese traditions and institutions that his predecessors had banned. Further, Kublai returned much political control back to the native people, and he reinstated numerous Confucian rituals and ceremonies at court. He also commissioned many public works, including the repair of the Grand Canal and extending China's highway system. Through these actions he secured his throne, allowing him to turn his attention to conquering the southern half of China, which was under the control of the Sung dynasty.
Southern China was a tough shell to crack. Her terrain was unsuitable for the Mongol light cavalry; the heart of its army, the climate was cold and wet; and its huge cities were quite difficult to take by the Mongol's usual siege tactics and weapons. Kublai considered the problem and eventually came up with an innovative solution, particularly for the leader of nomadic horse warriors; he decided that he would attack the Sung Empire from the sea. As quickly as possible he trained his forces in the ways of naval warfare. He grouped his troops with native Chinese sailors, and he actively recruited deserters from the Sung naval forces. When the time was right he opened a series of campaigns against the coastal cities, and then moved inland to the Sung capital, Lin-an, which fell in 1276. The contest was decided in a sea battle, in which the final Sung emperor drowned as his forces were destroyed.
Kublai Khan's later campaigns were rather less successful. Seeking to conquer Japan, in 1281 Kahn assembled two invasion fleets carrying about 140,000 troops to take on the islanders. The ships rendezvoused off of the Japanese coast as planned, but before they could offload the troops they were hit by a major typhoon, causing the loss of about half the men and ships. The expedition ended in failure as the dazed survivors limped home. A similar venture in 1292 to subjugate Java suffered a similar fate; this time the invaders landed safely and managed to capture and hold the island, but the occupiers were prostrated by the heat and ravaged by tropical disease. Many died, and within a year most of the survivors fled for the cooler climes of home.
Kublai died in 1294, shortly after the Java campaign came to its dismal end. His record is mixed; he is usually judged to be a fair and able administrator who conquered China and improved the lives of many of his subjects. Militarily, he succeeded in his most important campaign, the conquest of southern China, but failed miserably in others.
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Merchant Trade
Reqs Currency+1 Trade Routes () per City+1 from MerchantDouble Production Speed for Lighthouse, MarketBuddhismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover PhilosophyFounder Receives Buddhist Bhikku (2)Founded when a Hindu Temple is built
Le Loi
TXT_KEY_LEADER_LE_LOI_PEDIA
Favourites
Thalassocracy
Reqs Navigation+2 from Fishing Boats, Harvest Boats-1 from Plantation, Cottage, Hamlet, Village, TownDouble Production Speed for Harbor, Wharf, DrydockConfucianismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover ContractFounder Receives a Confucian ScholarMissionaries cannot spread in civilizations that have a different state religion
Leopold
TXT_KEY_LEADER_LEOPOLD_PEDIA
Favourites
Colonialism
Reqs Exploration-50% Colony Maintenance+4 Experience For All Water Units+1 from Slave Mine, Slave Plantation+1 from Slave Mine, Slave PlantationCan Capture SlavesCatholicismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover DoctrineFounder Receives a Catholic MissionaryFounded when Christian civilizations control less than half of all Christian citiesAlternately founded by the first civilization to build an Orthodox Cathedral without controlling the Orthodox holy city
Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
President of the United States of America
Lived: 1809 - 1865 AD
Background:
"A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half-slave and half-free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved - I do not expect the house to fall - but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other." (House Divided Speech, June 16, 1858)
President Abraham Lincoln was born in 1809 on the American frontier in Hadrin County, Kentucky. While not poor, Lincoln certainly had more in common with the average American than his more affluent political counterparts. An almost entirely self-made man, Lincoln's formal education included only 18 months of unofficial schooling which he supplemented with his own studies. Teaching himself law, he was admitted to the bar in 1837 upon which he became a well known and successful lawyer.
Lincoln is best known for his Emancipation Proclamation, which declared the end to slavery in the United States, and his refusal to permit the secession of the South. His reasons for fighting the Civil War are often misconstrued, however, as being motivated by his desire to end slavery. Lincoln's motivations behind fighting the civil war were the preservation of the Union and, to an extent, the protection of the larger democratic ideals represented by an unshattered Union. "[A]nd that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." (Gettysburg Address)
Few public speakers in American history have spoken in a manner that at once appealed to the desires of their constituents while at the same time addressed the larger issues outside the purview of an average citizen. This was Lincoln's gift. A brilliant orator and public speaker, he was able to convey the larger political picture to his constituents in a way that was at once easy to understand and implored action for the greater good of the country.
Largely criticized and ridiculed for his policies before and during the war, Lincoln's greatness was only fully acknowledged by the public after his assassination by John Wilkes Booth on April 15th, 1865.
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Nationhood
Reqs NationalismCan Draft 3 Units per Turn+25% for Buildings Already in Capital+1 from Monument, Civic Square, News Press, Broadcast TowerCannot Use SlavesProtestantismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founding Protestantism triggers the Reformation
Lobsang Gyatso
Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso
Dalai Lama
Lived: 1617 - 1682 AD
Background:
Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso, the Great Fifth Dalai Lama (1617-1682), was a political and religious leader in seventeenth-century Tibet. Ngawang Lozang Gyatso was the ordination name he had received from Panchen Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen who was responsible for his ordination. He was the first Dalai Lama to wield effective political power over central Tibet, and is frequently referred to as the "Great Fifth Dalai Lama".
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Monasticism
Reqs Ethics+50% Birth Rate in Cities with State BuddhismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover PhilosophyFounder Receives Buddhist Bhikku (2)Founded when a Hindu Temple is built
Lorenzo de' Medici
Lorenzo de' Medici
Ruler of Florence
Lived: 1449 - 1492 AD
Background:
Lorenzo di Medici was destined to a brief but intense life that would go down in the history of Florence and Italy. He was one of the great leaders of the Italy of his time, which precisely in Florence witnessed on extraordinary flowering of intellectual activities. He was a politician, a man of power and culture.
Lorenzo began his public life very early and he succeeded his father when he was not yet twenty-one. Immediately he had to face difficult situations such as financial problems, conspiracies, relations with the Papacy, with Kings princes and milers of the countries. Nevertheless slowly the "balance of power" that Lorenzo maintained with Milan, Venice and Naples reinforced the Florentine position, and wise economic measures improved the family finances. But Lorenzo's genius went further than this: he continued his family's traditional patronage of artists, opening his house and gardens to the younger ones. First Leonardo then Michelangelo and many others such as Botticelli, Filippino Lippi etc. turned to him for aid and protection.
In 1485, Girolamo Savonarola, a Dominican from the convent of San Marco began to seduce the Florentines with his prophetic language. He spoke of the Apocalypse and of the dreadful God, first from the pulpit of San Marco and then from that of the cathedral. Although it had been Lorenzo who had brought the Dominican back from exile in Bologna, Savonarola's preaching soon took on a tone of implacable accusation against his benefactor.
The friar accused Lorenzo publicly and unequivocally of ruining the state and squandering the wealth of the people deposited in the public coffers. Those who attempted to appease the spirit of the friar received the answer, "I do not care. But let (the Magnificent) know that I am a foreigner and he is a citizen and the first of the city: I am to stay and he is to go: I shall stay and not he." Many saw in these words a prophesy of Lorenzo's death, like the lightning-bolt that had struck Brunelleschi's dome a few months before his death. Accounts of this last meeting between Lorenzo the Magnificent and Savonarola, differ, but one may suppose, or hope, that in the end the friar remembered above all his duties as a priest. Lorenzo died peacefully in the night between April 8 and 9, 1492 in the Villa of Careggi. Florence was deeply shaken by his death which left an immense void in the world.
Two years after Lorenzo's death his eldest son Piero, called the "unfortunate", was exiled from Florence for his political "incapacity" and only after 18 years the Medici family could return to its home-town.
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Republic
Reqs Writing+1 free specialists in 3 Most Cultured Cities+1 slots for Artist, Scientist, Merchant, Statesman+1 from Fishing Boats-1 from Farm, Paddy Field, Plantation, Slave Plantation+1 from School, Mint, CouncilCatholicismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover DoctrineFounder Receives a Catholic MissionaryFounded when Christian civilizations control less than half of all Christian citiesAlternately founded by the first civilization to build an Orthodox Cathedral without controlling the Orthodox holy city
Louis XIV
Louis XIV the Sun King
King of France and Navarre
Lived: 1643 - 1715 AD
Background:
Born to King Louis XIII of France, Louis XIV was raised in the most opulent court in Europe. His every need was catered to, and he was given an excellent education, even if he was too lazy and spoiled to appreciate it. Louis XIII died when his son was five, and the regency passed to the queen mother, Anne of Austria. For the next 18 years she ruled France with the able assistance of Cardinal Mazarin, who may or may not have also been her lover, while Louis lived in pampered splendor.
It was upon Mazarin's death in 1661 that the 22-year-old Louis XIV began to take an active interest in ruling his country. Much to everyone's surprise, he was good at it. First he gathered all of the power into his own hands, bypassing the old bureaucratic patronage system that Mazarin and his predecessors had used. He enticed the great nobles to his court, where he heaped upon them titles, honorary positions, and financial rewards, while at the same time undermining their actual power. In Louis' court, great noblemen - whose parents had fought for the crown of France itself - fought each other for the privilege of watching Louis shave.
In person Louis was said to possess a great natural dignity and bearing. He was unfailingly courteous and usually honest, but he could dissimulate with the best of them when need-be.
During his early reign Louis's court was known for its debauchery, and Louis himself had several mistresses. As his reign progressed, however, Louis became more devout, and he even married his last mistress (although in secret). Louis also became a patron of the arts, and literature and painting flourished under his rule. He built many great buildings and palaces, including the grand palace at Versailles.
Despite France's wealth, the country remained virtually bankrupt, not only because it had to pay for all the gifts that Louis gave his favorites, but, more importantly, it had to pay for all the wars of conquest that Louis embarked upon. Although a sound and thoughtful ruler at home, Louis had a great thirst for international "glory" - which in his terms meant victory on the battlefield. He constantly fought his neighbors, often for the most trivial reasons, gaining little but glory from the wars. Though he left the army and navy in splendid condition, he left his country's treasury bare.
Louis XIV died after ruling France for 72 years.
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Bureaucracy
Reqs Statecraft+35%, +35% in CapitalCatholicismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover DoctrineFounder Receives a Catholic MissionaryFounded when Christian civilizations control less than half of all Christian citiesAlternately founded by the first civilization to build an Orthodox Cathedral without controlling the Orthodox holy city
MacDonald
Sir John Alexander Macdonald
Prime Minister of Canada
Lived: 1815 - 1891 AD
Background:
Sir John Alexander Macdonald was a Canadian politician and Father of Confederation who was the first Prime Minister of Canada (1867-1873, 1878-1891). The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, he had a political career which spanned almost half a century. He drank heavily, and in 1873 was voted out during the Pacific Scandal, in which his party took bribes from businessmen seeking the contract to build the Pacific Railway. Macdonald's greatest achievements were building and guiding a successful national government for the new Dominion, using patronage to forge a strong Conservative Party, promoting the protective tariff of the National Policy, and building the transcontinental Canadian Pacific Railway. Economic growth was slow during his years in office, as Canada verged on stagnation; many residents migrated to the fast-growing United States. He fought to block provincial efforts to take power back from Ottawa. His most controversial move was to approve the execution of Métis leader Louis Riel for treason in 1885; it permanently alienated the Francophones who saw themselves humiliated.
Macdonald was born in Scotland; when he was a boy his family immigrated to Kingston in the colony of Upper Canada (today in eastern Ontario). As a lawyer he was involved in several high-profile cases and quickly became prominent in Kingston, which elected him in 1844 to the legislature of the colonial United Province of Canada. By 1857 had become premier under the colony's unstable political system.
When in 1864 no party proved capable of governing for long, Macdonald agreed to a proposal from his political rival, George Brown, that the parties unite in a Great Coalition to seek federation and political reform. Macdonald was the leading figure in the subsequent discussions and conferences, which resulted in the British North America Act and the birth of Canada as a nation on 1 July 1867.
Macdonald was the first Prime Minister of the new nation, and served 19 years; only William Lyon Mackenzie King served longer.
Favourites
Individualism
Reqs Civil Liberties+2 from Village, TownImprovements Upgrade without Being Worked
Mansa Musa
Musa I
Mansa of Mali
Lived: c.1280 - 1337 AD
Background:
Musa was the grandson of Sundiata Keita, the Muslim founder of the Mali Empire, which existed on the Mandinka plateau in West Africa from the 14th to the 17th centuries. At the time Mali was the source of over half of the world's gold, and Musa was fabulously wealthy. During his famous hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) in 1324, Musa gave away so much gold in Cairo that the price of gold there was depressed for the next twenty years. He gave away so much treasure, in fact, that he had to borrow money to pay for his return trip. Legend has it that Musa was accompanied on his journey by a huge retinue and honor guard, not to mention 60,000 porters to carry the supplies.
Called "Musa the Magnificent," Mansa was celebrated for his enlightenment and piety. He added the important towns of Timbuktu and Gao to his kingdom. Upon reaching the throne, Musa became a feverish Muslim, and he built countless mosques across the country and made Islam the state religion, though he did not persecute other religions in his country.
Musa encouraged trade between Mali and the world beyond, using his country's vast resources of kola nuts, ivory, salt, and gold to attain goods from three continents. A believer in knowledge, Musa made the city of Timbuktu into a center of learning and craftsmanship, and Sankore University was one of the great schools in the Muslim world. Students came from all over to receive a free education there.
Musa died in 1337, after ruling Mali for twenty-five years. A contemporary historian said of Masa Musa, that, of all of the leaders in West Africa, he was, "the most powerful, the richest, the most fortunate, and the most feared by his enemies and the most able to do good for those around him."
Favourites
Merchant Trade
Reqs Currency+1 Trade Routes () per City+1 from MerchantDouble Production Speed for Lighthouse, MarketIslamHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover TheologyFounder Receives a Islamic Imam
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China
Lived: 1893 - 1976 AD
Background:
Born of fairly well-to-do peasant stock in Hunan, Mao was trained in Chinese classics and received a modern education. Observing the oppressive social conditions besetting China, Mao became one of the original members of the Chinese Communist Party, where he worked to recruit peasants to the new party. The party was then engaged in a running guerilla war with Chaing Kai-shek, ruler of "Nationalist" China.
Now a commander of one of the People's armies, Mao found himself in danger of encirclement and destruction. He famously led his ragtag force of 90,000 men, women and children on the grueling "Long March," a 6,000 mile trek through some of the most unpleasant terrain China has to offer. He arrived at the city of Yan'an having lost more than half of his force, but emerging as the undisputed leader of the Chinese Communist party.
During the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-45), Mao fought both the Chinese Nationalist forces and the Japanese until the United States forced Japan's surrender in 1945. With the Japanese now out of the way, the communists concentrated their efforts against the Nationalists, and by 1949 they drove Chaing's forces off the mainland to the island province of Taiwan.
In total control of (mainland) China, Mao sought to keep his people imbued with revolutionary vigor, and in 1958 he instituted his "Great Leap Forward." This piece of political thinking resulted in the deaths of approximately twenty million Chinese, and easily set back China's development by 30 years. Not yet satisfied, in 1966 Mao and his wife initiated the "Cultural Revolution," a ten-year period in which China's artists, intellectuals, moderate politicians and other unenlightened or unlucky folk were imprisoned and killed or sent out to work the fields until they died or were judged "reeducated" by the workers. This adventure in social engineering killed perhaps one million people and further delayed China's emergence as a great world power.
Mao died in 1976, beloved by his people. To summarize him as a man, it could be said that Mao was a great war leader, an exceptional political infighter, and an unbelievably brutal dictator.
Favourites
State Party
Reqs Macroeconomics-75% Maintenance Costs from Number of Cities+2 per Specialist
Maria II
Dona Maria II
Queen Regent of Portugal and the Algarves
Lived: 1819 - 1853 AD
Background:
Dona Maria II was Queen regnant of Portugal from 1826 to 1828 and later from 1834 to 1853. She was the second Queen regnant of Portugal and the Algarves, and the 29th or 30th Portuguese monarch. She was a member of the House of Braganza.
Born as Maria da Glória Joana Carlota Leopoldina da Cruz Francisca Xavier de Paula Isidora Micaela Gabriela Rafaela Gonzaga, Maria da Glória was the daughter of the future King of Portugal and first Emperor of Brazil, Peter IV and his first wife Maria Leopoldina, Archduchess of Austria, herself a daughter of Emperor Francis II. Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Maria is the only European monarch to not have been born in Europe.
When Maria's grandfather King John VI died in March 1826, there was a succession crisis in Portugal. The king had a male heir, Peter, but Peter had proclaimed the independence of Brazil in 1822 and he was then Emperor Peter I of that country. The late king also had a younger son, Miguel, but he was exiled in Austria after leading a number of revolutions against his father and his liberal regime.
Before his death, the king had nominated his favourite granddaughter, Isabel Maria, to serve as regent until "the legitimate heir returned to the Kingdom" but he had failed to specify which of his sons was the legitimate heir. Peter, the liberal Emperor of Brazil, or Miguel, the absolutist exiled prince?
Most people considered Peter to be the legitimate heir, but nobody wanted him to unite Portugal and Brazil's thrones again. The European country had been under Brazilian rule when both were part of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves, established by the King John VI during his stay in Rio de Janeiro from 1808 until 1820. Aware that his brother's supporters were ready to bring Miguel back and put him in the throne, Peter decided for a more consensual option; he abdicated the throne to his eldest daughter, Maria da Glria (who was only seven years old), and she should marry her uncle Miguel, who should accept the liberal constitution and act as a regent until his niece was an adult.
Miguel pretended to accept, but when he arrived in Portugal he deposed Maria and proclaimed himself King, abrogating the liberal constitution in the process. During his reign of terror, Maria traveled to many European courts, including her grandfather's in Vienna, as well as London and Paris.
Peter abdicated the Brazilian throne in 1831 in favor of his son (and Maria's younger brother, Peter II), and from his base in the Azores he attacked Miguel, forcing him to abdicate in 1834. Maria was thereupon restored to the throne, and obtained an annulment of her betrothal.
On January 26, 1835 she married (at the age of fifteen) to Auguste, Duke of Leuchtenberg, son of Eugne de Beauharnais, and grandson of Empress Josephine. However, he died only two months later on March 28, 1835.
On January 1, 1836 Maria married again, to the cultured and able Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, who ruled with her as a co-monarch. He received the title of King in 1837, in accordance with Portuguese custom, upon the birth of their first child Peter, an heir to the throne.
Maria's reign saw a revolutionary insurrection on May 16, 1846, but this was crushed by royalist troops on February 22, 1847, and Portugal otherwise avoided the European upheavals of 1848. Maria's reign was also notable for a public health act aimed at curbing the spread of cholera throughout the country. She also pursued policies aimed at raising the levels of education throughout the country.
After constant pregnancies and births, doctors warned Maria of the dangers of giving birth nearly every year. However, she ignored the risks that had killed her mother, who had died of complications following a miscarriage after many births; "If I die, I die at my post", Maria said. In 1853 she died while giving birth to her eleventh child, Prince Eugene, who also died.
Maria II is remembered as a good mother and a kind person, who always acted according to her convictions in the attempt to help her country. She was later given the surname "The Good Mother." Also, in 1842, Pope Gregory XVI presented Maria with a Golden Rose.
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Free Enterprise
Reqs Economics+50% Corporation Commerce+50% from Trade Routes ()Double slots for MerchantCatholicismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover DoctrineFounder Receives a Catholic MissionaryFounded when Christian civilizations control less than half of all Christian citiesAlternately founded by the first civilization to build an Orthodox Cathedral without controlling the Orthodox holy city
Mbemba
Nzinga Mbemba
Mwene Kongo
Lived: c.1456 - c.1542 AD
Background:
Mvemba a Nzinga or Nzinga Mbemba (c. 1456 - 1542 or 1543), also known as King Afonso I, was a ruler of the Kingdom of Kongo in the first half of the 16th century. He reigned over the Kongo Empire from 1509 to late 1542 or 1543.
Born Mvemba a Nzinga, son of Manikongo (Mwene Kongo) (king) Nzinga a Nkuwu, the fifth king of the Kongo dynasty. At the time of the first arrival of the Portuguese to the Kingdom of the Kongo's capital of Mbanza Kongo in 1491, Mvemba a Nzinga was in his thirties, and was the ruler of the Nsundi province (on the northeast), and likely heir to the throne. He added the name Afonso when he was baptized after his father decided to convert to Christianity. and studied with Portuguese priests and advisers for ten years in the kingdom's capital. Letters written by priests to the king of Portugal paint Afonso as an enthusiastic and scholarly convert to Christianity. In around 1495, the Manikongo denounced Christianity, and Afonso welcomed the priests into the capital of his Nsundi province. To the displeasure of many in the realm, he had traditional art objects that might offend Portuguese sensibilities destroyed. Afonso's alliance with the Portuguese was rewarded when he fought conservatives for succession to the throne. The victory over his brother in the Battle of Mbanza-Kongo "was won because of aid from Portuguese weapons."
Virtually all that is known about Kongo in the time of Afonso's reign is known from his long series of letters, written in Portuguese primarily to the kings Manuel I and João III of Portugal. The letters are often very long and give many details about the administration of the country. Many of the letters complain about the behavior of several Portuguese officials, and these letters have given rise to an interpretation of Afonso's reign as one in which Portuguese interests submerged Afonso's ambitions.
In Adam Hochschild's 1998 book King Leopold's Ghost, Hochschild characterizes Afonso as a "selective modernizer" because he welcomed European scientific innovation and the church but refused to adopt Portugal's legal code and sell land to prospectors. In fact, Afonso ridiculed the Ordenacoes Manuelinas (new Portuguese law code) when he read them in 1516, asking the Portuguese emissary de Castro, "What is the punishment, Castro, for putting one's feet on the ground?" No contemporary record mentions anything about land sales, indeed land in Kongo was never sold to anyone.
Favourites
Clergy
Reqs PriesthoodCities with State Construct Buildings +25% FasterCatholicismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover DoctrineFounder Receives a Catholic MissionaryFounded when Christian civilizations control less than half of all Christian citiesAlternately founded by the first civilization to build an Orthodox Cathedral without controlling the Orthodox holy city
Mehmed II
Mehmed II the Conqueror
Sultan of the Ottoman Empire
Lived: 1432 - 1481 AD
Background:
Mehmed II, also known as el-Fatih ("the Conqueror") was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1451 - 1481 AD. He is best known for capturing the city of Constantinople, turning it into the new Ottoman capital and destroying the Byzantine Empire in the process. Mehmed was born in Edirne, which was then the capital of the Ottoman state, in 1432. He was fascinated by military matters from an early age; by the time that he reached maturity and ascended to the position of sultan (in 1451), Mehmed was prepared to begin the attack upon the city of Constantinople.
During the thousand-year history of the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople had withstood sieges many times. It had only been captured once, by the Fourth Crusaders in 1204. But by the fifteenth century the Byzantine Empire was a battered shell of its former self: while it still held Constantinople, it retained only a few small territories outside the cities walls (mainly in Greece).
Mehmed began the siege by constructing a pair of fortresses on both sides of the straights surrounding the city, thus preventing reinforcement by sea. When Mehmed attacked in 1453, the Byzantines were horribly outnumbered: there were only 7000 defenders to meet an army of roughly 100,000 Turks. Help was not forthcoming from the West, which remained hostile to the Byzantines because of the split between the Catholic and Orthodox churches.
Using enormous primitive cannon, the Ottomans battered the walls of Constantinople for weeks (although the rate of fire was so slow that the defenders were able to repair much of the damage as it took place). On May 29 Mehmed finally ordered an assault at a damaged section of the walls. The assault was successful, and the attackers succeeded in breaking into the city streets. The cities fate was sealed. The last Emperor, Constantine XI, died in battle, and the ancient empire was extinguished forever.
Mehmed gave his soldiers a day to loot the city (which was a customary practice at the time), during which a large portion of the populace was slaughtered, raped, or enslaved. After his soldiers' greed and lust were sated, Mehmed made every effort to rebuild the city and repopulate it with Turks. (Despite this odious "ethnic cleansing" at the beginning of his reign, Mehmed generally treated his non-Islamic subjects well, granting them permission to practice their religion freely, as well as a great deal of local autonomy.) The Byzantine administration was largely preserved intact and was given the task of running the Ottoman Empire.
Upon consolidating his control over Constantinople, Mehmed finished off the last remnants of the Byzantine Empire by conquering some small states in Greece and in 1461 he conquered the tiny Empire of Trebizond on the Black Sea. He then tried to extend his empire into Europe, but in 1462 he was defeated by Prince Vlad III (the real Count Dracula) of Wallachia, and at the Battle of Vaslui in 1475 he suffered a major loss to the Moldavian Prince Stefan. These defeats put an end to that campaign. However, Mehmed still had ambition - and plenty of it.
Believing that his conquest of Rome made him the legitimate ruler of the late Roman Empire, at the end of his life Mehmed embarked on an ambitious but foolhardy campaign to reunite his divided empire. The campaign began well; the Ottomans invaded Italy, and in 1840 the city of Otranto was easily captured. However, a rebellion in Albania the same year threatened the Ottoman supply lines, forcing the Ottomans to divide their forces. The following year a large Christian army led by the pope pushed the Ottomans from Italy. Mehmed died in 1481, putting an end forever to his dream of recapturing the ancient glory of Rome.
In large, history has judged Mehmed kindly. He is recognized for his military success and his strong rule, and later Ottoman sultans would seek to follow his example. Mehmed's conquest of Constantinople was one of the most important events in Western history, signifying the end of the medieval period. His attack upon Italy may have been foolish, but it ultimately did little to harm the young Ottoman Empire that was his legacy.
Favourites
Hegemony
Reqs Generalship+25% on City Conquest-1 turns of in Conquered CitiesDouble Production Speed for Barracks, Stable, Jail, Castle, Star FortIslamHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover TheologyFounder Receives a Islamic Imam
Meiji
Meiji the Great
Emperor of Japan
Lived: 1852 - 1912 AD
Background:
Born just eight months before Commodore Matthew Perry and the United States squadron of "Black Ships" came to demand the opening of Japan to foreign trade, Prince Mutsuhito, the 122nd emperor in the traditional count, marked the beginning of a national revolution known as the Meiji Restoration when he ascended to the throne.
Once he had taken on the title of Emperor on 3 February 1867, Mutsuhito took the name Meiji (meaning "enlightened government"), and a group of radical nationalists united under his power to take on the Tokugawa shogunate and bring rise to a new era. Only shortly after his ascent to the throne Meiji married Lady Haruko who then became known as Empress Shoken, she was the first woman from the Imperial consort to be given the title kogo or emperor's wife. Shoken, however, bore him no children. Meiji did have children though, fifteen to be exact and to five different ladies in waiting.
Though many think of the Meiji Restoration as "bloodless", there was in fact a great civil war fought within Japan shortly after his ascension to the throne. Imperial forces gathered under Meiji's rule and defeated the Tokugawa in the Boshin War of 1868-1869. It was at this time that Meiji moved the capital from Kyoto to Edo, which was then renamed Tokyo, and the Meiji period began in earnest. Though Meiji remained Emperor, the government had now become an oligarchy composed of the greatest military, political, and economic men of Japan.
With the Meiji Restoration in progress, the Japanese had sent delegations and students around the world in order to learn and assimilate western arts and sciences; this was done not only to prevent Japan from falling under foreign domination but to enable Japan to compete equally with the Western powers. Sweeping changes were occuring ... although many powerful men from the Satsuma domain in northern Japan had risen to influential positions in the new Meiji government, there was growing dissatisfaction with the direction the country was taking. The modernization (westernization) of the country meant the abolition of the privileged social status of the samurai class and had undermined their financial position. The very rapid and massive changes to Japanese culture, dress, and society appeared to many samurai to be a betrayal of the joi ("expel the barbarian") portion of the Sonno joi justification used to overthrow the former Tokugawa shogunate in the Boshin War. This led to the Satsuma Rebellion, which was a revolt of samurai against the Meiji government from January 29, 1877 to September 24,1877, eleven years into the Meiji Era. It was the last, and the most serious, of a series of armed uprisings against the new government. In a tough series of battles, the samurai were finally defeated. Financially, crushing the Satsuma Rebellion cost the government greatly, forcing Japan off of the gold standard and causing the government to print paper currency. The rebellion was also effectively the end of the samurai class, as the new Imperial Japanese Army built of conscripts without regard to social class had proven itself in battle. Saigo Takamori was labeled as a tragic hero by the people and on February 22, 1889 Emperor Meiji pardoned Saigo posthumously.
After securing internal peace, Japan began to reach outward towards imperial ambitions as a great power equal to western nations. The First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895) was a war fought between Qing Dynasty China and Meiji Japan over the control of Korea which Japan won. The war demonstrated the superiority of Japanese tactics and training as a result of the adoption of a western style military, though it raised tensions between Japan and Russia, which in turn led to the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) and grew out of the rival imperialist ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea. In the end, Japan sunk two of Russia's three fleets and defeated Russia in Manchuria, securing victory for Japan.
Meiji himself was mainly a figure of leadership that helped the imperialists defeat the Tokugawa shogunate and restore peace to the people. His rule wasn't long, but he played enough part to help establish the Meiji era. It was the restoration that established Japan as a top power in the Pacific and helped it to maintain an important international presence. Little is known about Meiji himself including whether or not he wanted war or peace, or how much power he actually had during the revolution. It is said that the Emperor was more a symbol of unity to the people while it was his ministers that did the actual ruling. Though he may not of done much physically or verbally, his very presence did a lot. Emperor Meiji died in 1912 and was buried in the Graveyard (Fushimi Momoyama Ryo) in Kyoto. After his death, the end of the Meiji era left the people of Japan nervous and unsure of what the future might bring.
Meiji symbolized the unity of the people under one government rising up to strike down the Tokugawa shogunate in order to establish a safer and more peaceful future. During his reign, Japan became an industrial power able to compete with the nations of the West. The Meiji shrine in the center of Tokyo was built in his honor.
Favourites
Secularism
Reqs Scientific MethodNo State All Buildings provide Religion Effect+10% in All CitiesDouble slots for ScientistBuddhismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover PhilosophyFounder Receives Buddhist Bhikku (2)Founded when a Hindu Temple is built
Menelik
Menelik II
Emperor of Ethiopia
Lived: 17 August 1844 - 12 December 1913
Background:
Emperor Menelik II, baptized as Sahle Maryam, was Negus of Shewa (1866-89), then Emperor of Ethiopia from 1889 to his death. At the height of his internal power and external prestige, the process of territorial expansion and creation of the modern empire-state had been completed by 1898. Ethiopia was transformed under Emperor Menelik: the major signposts of modernization were put in place. Externally, his victory over the Italians had earned him great fame: following Adwa, recognition of Ethiopia's independence by external powers was expressed in terms of diplomatic representation at the court of Menelik and delineation of Ethiopia's boundaries with the adjacent colonies.
Favourites
Nationhood
Reqs NationalismCan Draft 3 Units per Turn+25% for Buildings Already in Capital+1 from Monument, Civic Square, News Press, Broadcast TowerCannot Use SlavesOrthodoxyHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover EthicsFounder Receives a Orthodox Missionary
Mongkut
Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramenthra Maha Mongkut Phra Chom Klao Chao Yu Hua
King of Siam
Lived: 1804 - 1868 AD
Background:
Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramenthramaha Mongkut Phra Chom Klao Chao Yu Hua, or Rama IV, known in foreign countries as King Mongkut (18 October 1804 - 1 October 1868), was the fourth monarch of Siam (Thailand) under the House of Chakri, ruling from 1851-1868. He was one of the most revered monarchs of the country.
Outside of Thailand, he is best known as the King in the 1951 play and 1956 film The King and I, based on the 1946 film Anna and the King of Siam - in turn based on the 1944 novel about Anna Leonowens' years at his court, from 1862 to 1867.
During his reign, the pressure of Western expansionism was felt for the first time in Siam. Mongkut embraced Western innovations and initiated the modernization of Siam, both in technology and culture-earning him the nickname "The Father of Science and Technology" in Siam.
Mongkut was also known for his appointment of his brother, Prince Chutamani, as vice-king. Prince Chutamani was crowned in 1851 as King Pinklao. Mongkut himself assured the country that Pinklao should be respected with equal honor to himself. Mongkut's reign was also the time when the power of the House of Bunnag reached its zenith and became the most powerful noble family of Siam.
Favourites
Monarchy
Reqs Ceremony+1 per Military Unit Stationed in a City-25% Maintenance Costs from Distance to Palace+50% converted to BuddhismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover PhilosophyFounder Receives Buddhist Bhikku (2)Founded when a Hindu Temple is built
Montezuma
Motecuhzoma II Xocoyotzin
Ruler of the Aztec Triple Alliance
Lived: c.1480 - 1520 AD
Background:
Montezuma was Emperor of the Aztec nation from approximately 1502 until its dissolution in 1520. At the start of his reign he was considered a god and was absolute monarch of the entire known world; at the end of his reign he watched a small group of foreigners destroy his empire with ease.
Montezuma ruled the Aztecs at the height of their power. His empire controlled a large portion of what is now modern Mexico. They had conquered virtually all other people around them, except for a few other nations, which they deliberately left free (so that they would have somebody left to make war against and to use as sacrifices).
Though extremely rich and powerful, Montezuma's nation shamelessly squandered a great portion of its wealth and might. Much like the Egyptians, the Aztecs built huge monuments to their gods and held ever-increasing numbers of expensive religious festivals in which they slaughtered tens of thousands of prisoners and their own people. Montezuma himself lived in great splendor, his clothing made of silver, gold, and brightly-colored feathers. His court was brilliant, though much riddled with corruption and intrigue.
In 1519, Hernando Cortes led 600 Spanish adventurers with 20 horses and 10 cannon to the shores of Mexico on a mission of exploration. Hearing of the great wealth of the Aztecs, he took his tiny force west, determined to conquer this massive nation of five million. At the start of the march Cortes burned his ships to ensure that his men would not desert him.
The natives that first faced Cortes were primitive and divided. They were terrified of the Spanish "demonic" horses and cannon and broke before their accurate musket-fire. Cleverly exploiting their political divisions, Cortes then enlisted the defeated peoples' aid by promising them revenge against the hated Aztecs.
Montezuma watched Cortes' approach with fear and bewilderment. His religion told him that one day the god Quetzalcoatl would return in the guise of a light-skinned bearded man, and when that day occurred, the Aztecs were to welcome him with open arms. Surely Cortes was Quetzalcoatl, else how could he command an army of demons? On the other hand, Cortes was clearly bent on the conquest of the empire - should Montezuma not oppose him? Perhaps the sinful Aztecs needed to be punished!
Eventually, at the desperate urging of his advisors, Montezuma sent an army into the field against the invaders. But they were unable to offer effective resistance and Cortes' forces quickly overwhelmed them. The invaders then marched into the capital city Tenochtitlan virtually unopposed and took Montezuma prisoner. He was eventually killed during an uprising that pushed the invaders out of the city for more than a year.
One has to wonder what would have happened if Montezuma had shown Cortes' courage and resolve and mobilized his people when the invaders first arrived. Could the Spanish have conquered Mexico against determined and organized resistance? Perhaps, but perhaps the natives would have held on long enough to learn to master the horse and gun - or at least their fear of them. If so, they would have become a formidable foe indeed.
Favourites
Slavery
Reqs MasonryCan Capture Workers+1 from Quarry+1 from Plantation, Slave Plantation, Orchard
Muhammad Ali
TXT_KEY_LEADER_MUHAMMAD_ALI_PEDIA
Favourites
Nationhood
Reqs NationalismCan Draft 3 Units per Turn+25% for Buildings Already in Capital+1 from Monument, Civic Square, News Press, Broadcast TowerCannot Use SlavesIslamHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover TheologyFounder Receives a Islamic Imam
Muhammad ibn Tughluq
Muhammd Salman Khan Tughluq
Turkish Sultan of Delhi
Reigned: 1324 - 1351 AD
Background:
Muhammad bin Tughluq (also Prince Fakhr Malik, Jauna Khan and 20, 1351) was the Turkic Sultan of Delhi from 1325 to 1351. He was the eldest son of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq. He was born in Kotla Tolay Khan in Multan. His wife was the daughter of the raja of Dipalpur. Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq sent the young Muhammad to the Deccan to campaign against king Prataparudra of the Kakatiya dynasty whose capital was at Warangal. Muhammad succeeded to the Delhi throne upon his father's death in 1325. He in turn was succeeded by his cousin Firuz Shah Tughluq.
Muhammad Tughlug was a scholar versed in logic, philosophy, mathematics, astronomy and physical sciences. He had knowledge of medicine and was skillful in dialectics. He was also a calligrapher. He was well versed with several languages like Persian, Arabic, Turkish and even Sanskrit. Ibn Battuta, the famous Moroccan traveler, visited him during his reign. He introduced some remarkable administrative measures which although failed but very distinct and exemplary in nature.
Favourites
Fanaticism
Reqs Doctrine+2 Experience Points in Cities with State +100% Extra Commerce for BuildingsNo Non-State Spread+1 per Non-State in a City Buildings Do Not Expire+1 from PriestIslamHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover TheologyFounder Receives a Islamic Imam
Mursili
TXT_KEY_LEADER_MURSILI_PEDIA
Favourites
Redistribution
Reqs Arithmetics+25% in Capital-50% from Trade Routes ()Double Production Speed for Granary
Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini
Prime Minister of Italy
Lived: 1883- 1945 AD
Background:
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician, journalist, and leader of the National Fascist Party, ruling the country as Prime Minister from 1922 until he was ousted in 1943. He ruled constitutionally until 1925, when he dropped all pretense of democracy and set up a legal dictatorship. Known as Il Duce ("the leader"), Mussolini was the founder of fascism.
In 1912 Mussolini was the leading member of the National Directorate of the Italian Socialist Party (PSI). Prior to 1914 he was a keen supporter of the Socialist International, starting the series of meetings in Switzerland that organised the communist revolutions and insurrections that swept through Europe from 1917. Mussolini was expelled from the PSI due to his opposition to the party's stance on neutrality in World War I. Mussolini denounced the PSI, and later founded the fascist movement. Following the March on Rome in October 1922 he became the youngest Prime Minister in Italian history until the appointment of Matteo Renzi in February 2014. After destroying all political opposition through his secret police and outlawing labor strikes, Mussolini and his fascist followers consolidated their power through a series of laws that transformed the nation into a one-party dictatorship. Within five years he had established dictatorial authority by both legal and extraordinary means, aspiring to create a totalitarian state. Mussolini remained in power until he was deposed by King Victor Emmanuel III in 1943. A few months later, he became the leader of the Italian Social Republic, a German client regime in northern Italy; he held this post until his death in 1945.
Mussolini sought to delay a major war in Europe until at least 1942. Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939, starting World War II. On 10 June 1940, with the Fall of France imminent, Mussolini officially entered the war on the side of Germany, though he was aware that Italy did not have the military capacity to carry out a long war with the United Kingdom Mussolini believed that after the imminent French armistice, Italy could gain territorial concessions from France and then he could concentrate his forces on a major offensive in Egypt, where British and Commonwealth forces were outnumbered by Italian forces. However the UK refused to accept German proposals for a peace that would involve accepting Germany's victories in Eastern and Western Europe, plans for an invasion of the UK did not proceed, and the war continued. In the summer of 1941 Mussolini sent Italian forces to participate in the invasion of the Soviet Union, and war with the United States followed in December.
On 24 July 1943, soon after the start of the Allied invasion of Italy, the Grand Council of Fascism voted against him, and the King had him arrested the following day. On 12 September 1943, Mussolini was rescued from prison in the Gran Sasso raid by German special forces. In late April 1945, with total defeat looming, Mussolini attempted to escape north, only to be quickly captured and summarily executed near Lake Como by Italian Communists. His body was then taken to Milan where it was hung upside down at a service station for public viewing and to provide confirmation of his demise.
Favourites
Totalitarianism
Reqs Psychology+3 Experience For All Land UnitsNo War +2 from Citizen+1 from TownCatholicismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover DoctrineFounder Receives a Catholic MissionaryFounded when Christian civilizations control less than half of all Christian citiesAlternately founded by the first civilization to build an Orthodox Cathedral without controlling the Orthodox holy city
Napoleon
Napoléon Bonaparte
Emperor of the French, King of Italy
Lived: 1769 - 1821 AD
Background:
Napoleon Bonaparte was born in Corsica where he entered military school at ten, displaying a great aptitude for mathematics, history, and geography, as well as total indifference to literature and the humanities. At fourteen he was commissioned as a sub-lieutenant in an artillery regiment. When the French revolution broke out, Napoleon sided with the Revolutionaries and was appointed lieutenant-colonel of artillery, where he quickly made a name for himself as a successful commander. By 1794 he was a brigadier-general, and by 1795 he was appointed command of the French Army of the Interior. He was 25 years of age.
Over the next few years Napoleon led French armies, in defense of the new Republic, to major victories over various continental foes, including the extremely powerful Austrians. In 1798 Napoleon sailed against Egypt where he won great land victories; however, the British navy destroyed the French fleet in Egypt, crippling his force. In 1800 Napoleon abandoned his weakened army and returned to France.
Napoleon found Paris in a state of political turmoil, which he quickly took advantage of by overthrowing the government and making himself First Consul, with dictator-like power over all of France. An exceptional administrator, he rapidly reorganized the government, repealed the more radical and violent laws of the Revolution, and reopened the churches, gaining the love and respect of the French people, exhausted by years of revolution and chaos.
However, France was still at war with most of Europe, and Napoleon once again took to the battlefields, where he won stunning victories against Austria, causing that country and England to make peace. In celebration Napoleon quickly declared himself Emperor and consol for Life.
England remained nervous of France's imperial intentions, and war resumed in 1803, with England destroying French shipping on the sea and France putting together a great invasion fleet in the unsuccessful hope of occupying the British Isles. Other countries were equally alarmed by France's actions and they joined the English. France soon found itself facing a daunting alliance that included England, Austria, Russia and Sweden. Acting with amazing speed and cunning, Napoleon used his "interior lines" to concentrate his forces against the dispersed enemy. He rapidly marched across Europe, capturing the capital of Austria and then crushing the Russian forces at the battle of Austerlitz. Austria sued for peace once again, this time giving up all territory in Italy and along the Adriatic.
For several more years Napoleon would defeat every foe that came against him. He moved his forces with unbelievable alacrity, and he was always able to bring them against the enemy's weakest spot. He crushed the Prussians, the Spanish, and the Austrians yet again. He tried to improve his political position by marrying his various relatives into the great families of Europe, with minor success.
Eventually Napoleon decided that he would never be safe in Europe as long as Russia, aided by the perfidious English, was on his flank, so he led half a million men to Moscow. The Russian forces retreated before his advance, taking or burning anything that might be of use to the invaders, while in the rear Cossack raiders destroyed his supply lines. He did reach and capture Moscow, but once again the Russians had removed or burnt anything there that might feed his men. By September he was forced to retreat, his army reduced to 120,000 weary and starving men. By the end of November his forces had been further reduced to 20,000. Napoleon had lost 96% of his army.
Upon returning to Paris, Napoleon immediately recruited another army of 350,000, but his image of invulnerability was gone and all Europe rose against him. Prussia, Russia and Austria allied against him. England threw more troops into contested Spain. Though Napoleon was to again win famous victories, his enemies sensed victory and continued their relentless attacks. Eventually the allies drove their way into Paris, and Napoleon abdicated. For his trouble he was given ruler ship of the island of Elba, along with an income of six million francs, to be paid by France.
But this wasn't enough for Napoleon. Ten months later he re-entered France. The populace immediately went over to his side and he quickly regained his power and titles. He raised an army of 125,000 and headed to Belgium, where an English and Prussian force awaited him. At Waterloo, Napoleon was finally and irrevocably defeated by the English/Prussian forces under the leadership of English general Wellington. This time he was confined for life at the island of Sainte-Hélène, a thousand miles from the coast of Africa. He died there in 1821.
Napoleon was one of the most brilliant generals of all time. He moved his troops with astounding rapidity, and he always knew exactly where to strike in order to cause the most damage. He turned out to be a decent ruler and France flourished under his control (until his endless wars sapped her strength and will to fight). His only major flaw was his unending drive for conquest and domination, driving other powers to oppose him for their own preservation. In the end, he just couldn't beat everybody.
Favourites
Nationhood
Reqs NationalismCan Draft 3 Units per Turn+25% for Buildings Already in Capital+1 from Monument, Civic Square, News Press, Broadcast TowerCannot Use SlavesCatholicismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover DoctrineFounder Receives a Catholic MissionaryFounded when Christian civilizations control less than half of all Christian citiesAlternately founded by the first civilization to build an Orthodox Cathedral without controlling the Orthodox holy city
Naresuan
Somdet Phra Naresuan Maharat
King of Siam
Lived: 1555 - 1605 AD
Background:
Somdet Phra Naresuan Maharat or Somdet Phra Sanphet II (1555, 25 April - 1605) was the King of the Ayutthaya kingdom from 1590 until his death in 1605. Naresuan was one of Siam's most revered monarchs as he was known for his campaigns to free Siam from Burmese rule. During his reign numerous wars were fought against Burma, and Siam reached its greatest territorial extent and influence.
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Vassalage
Reqs FeudalismLower Unit Support Costs+1 from Farm, Orchard+1 from CastleBuddhismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover PhilosophyFounder Receives Buddhist Bhikku (2)Founded when a Hindu Temple is built
Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser
President of Egypt
Lived: 1918 - 1970 AD
Background:
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein (15 January 1918 - 28 September 1970) was the second President of Egypt from 1956 until his death. A colonel in the Egyptian army, Nasser led the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 along with Muhammad Naguib, the first president, which overthrew the monarchy of Egypt and Sudan, and heralded a new period of modernization, and socialist reform in Egypt together with a profound advancement of pan-Arab nationalism, including a short-lived union with Syria.
Nasser is seen as one of the most important political figures in both modern Arab history and politics in the 20th century. Under his leadership, Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal Company and came to play a central role in anti-imperialist efforts in the Arab World and Africa. The imposed ending to the Suez Crisis made him a hero throughout the Arab world. He was also instrumental in the establishment of the international Non-Aligned Movement. He is well known for his nationalist policies and version of pan-Arabism, also referred to as Nasserism, which won a great following in the Arab World during the 1950s and 1960s. Although his status as "leader of the Arabs" was badly damaged by the Israeli victory over the Arab armies in the Six-Day War, as well as Egypt's failure to win the subsequent War of Attrition against Israel, many in the general Arab population still view Nasser as a symbol of Arab dignity and freedom.
Favourites
Public Welfare
Reqs Social Services-50% from Corporations+1 from Scientist, Engineer, StatesmanCan Spend Gold to Finish Building Production in a CityIslamHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover TheologyFounder Receives a Islamic Imam
Neang Neak
Neang Neak
Queen of Funan
Lived: 1st century AD
Background:
Neang Neak, was the ruler of the Kingdom of Funan and widely claimed as the first monarch of Cambodia (reigned c. 1st century). She was also the first female leader of Cambodia. Her consort was Kaundinya I (also known as "Huntien" and "Preah Thong"). She is known as Soma (Sanskrit), Liuye (Chinese), Lieu Diep (Vietnamese) and Neang Neak (Khmer, lit. 'Dragon Woman').
Queen Soma and her husband, Kaundinya I, are known in Khmer legend as "Preah Thong (Kaundinya) and Neang Neak (Soma)". According to reports by two Chinese envoys, Kang Tai and Zhu Ying, the state of Funan was established by an Indian merchant from ancient Kalinga named Kaundinya. According to the Chinese history book Book of Liang, the people of Funan made a woman, named Liuye, their monarch, and then she surrendered to a foreign man named Huntian and was married to him.
As per the legends, an Indian merchant ship was attacked by the pirates led by Neang Neak, daughter of the chieftain of the local Naga clan. The merchants led by Kaundinya fought back and fended off the attackers but the ship had been damaged and was beached for repairs. The Indians were wary of a second attack but Princess Neang Neak was impressed by Kaundinya's bravery and proposed marriage which was accepted. The union led to the foundation of the House that became the royal dynasty of Funan which would rule the region for many generations and the royal legitimacy was also acquired through the female line in the kingdom. This also explains the reason why the serpent (Naga) became an important part of Khmer iconography as is seen a thousand years later when this historic mystical union remained an important part of the court ceremonies at Angkor during the era of the Khmer Empire.
Favourites
Thalassocracy
Reqs Navigation+2 from Fishing Boats, Harvest Boats-1 from Plantation, Cottage, Hamlet, Village, TownDouble Production Speed for Harbor, Wharf, DrydockHinduismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover CalendarMissionaries cannot spread in civilizations that have a different state religion
Oda Nobunaga
Oda Nobunaga
Daimyo of Japan
Lived: 1534 - 1582 AD
Background:
Oda Nobunaga (June 23, 1534 - June 21, 1582) was the initiator of the unification of Japan under the shogunate in the late 16th century, which ruled Japan until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was also a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. His work was continued, completed and finalized by his successors Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu. He was the second son of Oda Nobuhide, a deputy shugo (military governor) with land holdings in Owari Province. Nobunaga lived a life of continuous military conquest, eventually conquering a third of Japan before his death in 1582. His successor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a loyal Oda supporter, would become the first man to unify all of Japan, and was thus the first ruler of all Japan since the Onin War.
Favourites
Isolationism
Reqs HeritageNo Foreign Trade Routes ()+25% in All Cities+1 per SpecialistBuddhismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover PhilosophyFounder Receives Buddhist Bhikku (2)Founded when a Hindu Temple is built
Pacal II
K'inich Janaab' Pakal I the Great
Ajaw of Palenque
Lived: 603 - 683 AD
Background:
Pacal I, also known as Pacal II, Pacal the Great or "The Shield," was successor to the lineage and Mayan city today known as Palenque. Born in 603, Pacal I became King of Palenque in 615 and ruled it until his eightieth birthday, dying in 683. During Pacal's youth, the city of Palenque came under continual raids from the neighboring states of Pomona and Calakmul to the south. Palenque's male population was decimated, as men were taken prisoner or sacrificed by the various raiders, leaving Pacal's mother, Lady Sak K'uk, at the reins of the city until Pacal came of age. Taking the throne at the age of twelve, Pacal's reign suffered another decade of raids and even the kidnapping of a noble family member.
Several victorious campaigns to subjugate minor city-states would mark the turning point for the young ruler and Pacal gradually found himself in command of a powerful and respected city. Taking revenge on those that once preyed upon his own, Pacal led raids against Pomona, securing his cities hegemony among the Mayans.
Once an established power, Pacal began construction of numerous great structures, like the Palace of Palenque, one of the most exceptional examples of Mayan architecture visible today.
Despite his success in saving his people from the raids of Pomona, Pacal was always looked down upon for inheriting the throne from his mother, rather than from a male predecessor. To combat this, the Mayan ruler engaged in a grand retelling of his Palenque family lineage, proclaiming the divinity of his mother, himself and his son, Kan Balam. This grand history of the Palenque lineage can be seen today lining the walls of the Temple of the Inscription, Pacal's massive burial pyramid.
Favourites
Redistribution
Reqs Arithmetics+25% in Capital-50% from Trade Routes ()Double Production Speed for Granary
Pedro II
Dom Pedro II the Magnanimous
Emperor of Brazil
Lived: 1825 - 1891 AD
Background:
Dom Pedro II was the second and last ruler of the Empire of Brazil, reigning for over 58 years. Born in Rio de Janeiro, he was the seventh child of Emperor Dom Pedro I of Brazil and Empress Dona Maria Leopoldina and thus a member of the Brazilian branch of the House of Braganza. His father's abrupt abdication and flight to Europe in 1831 left a five-year-old Pedro II as Emperor and led to a grim and lonely childhood and adolescence. Obliged to spend his time studying in preparation for rule, he knew only brief moments of happiness and encountered few friends of his age. His experiences with court intrigues and political disputes during this period greatly affected his later character. Pedro II grew into a man with a strong sense of duty and devotion toward his country and his people. On the other hand, he increasingly resented his role as monarch.
Inheriting an Empire on the verge of disintegration, Pedro II turned Portuguese-speaking Brazil into an emerging power in the international arena. The nation grew to be distinguished from its Hispanic neighbors on account of its political stability, zealously guarded freedom of speech, respect for civil rights, vibrant economic growth and especially for its form of government: a functional, representative parliamentary monarchy. Brazil was also victorious in three international conflicts (the Platine War, the Uruguayan War and the Paraguayan War) under his rule, as well as prevailing in several other international disputes and domestic tensions. Pedro II steadfastly pushed through the abolition of slavery despite opposition from powerful political and economic interests. A savant in his own right, the Emperor established a reputation as a vigorous sponsor of learning, culture and the sciences. He won the respect and admiration of scholars such as Charles Darwin, Victor Hugo and Friedrich Nietzsche, and was a friend to Richard Wagner, Louis Pasteur and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, among others.
Although there was no desire for a change in the form of government among most Brazilians, the Emperor was overthrown in a sudden coup d'état that had almost no support outside a clique of military leaders who desired a form of republic headed by a dictator. Pedro II had become weary of emperorship and despaired over the monarchy's future prospects, despite its overwhelming popular support. He allowed no prevention of his ouster and did not support any attempt to restore the monarchy. He spent the last two years of his life in exile in Europe, living alone on very little money.
The reign of Pedro II thus came to an unusual end-he was overthrown while highly regarded by the people and at the pinnacle of his popularity, and some of his accomplishments were soon brought to naught as Brazil slipped into a long period of weak governments, dictatorships, and constitutional and economic crises. The men who had exiled him soon began to see in him a model for the Brazilian republic. A few decades after his death, his reputation was restored and his remains were returned to Brazil as those of a national hero. This reputation has lasted to the present day. Historians have regarded the Emperor in an extremely positive light, and he is usually ranked as the greatest Brazilian.
Favourites
Slavery
Reqs MasonryCan Capture Workers+1 from Quarry+1 from Plantation, Slave Plantation, OrchardCatholicismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover DoctrineFounder Receives a Catholic MissionaryFounded when Christian civilizations control less than half of all Christian citiesAlternately founded by the first civilization to build an Orthodox Cathedral without controlling the Orthodox holy city
Pericles
Perikles
General and Statesman of Athens
Lived: c.495 - 430 BC
Background:
Pericles was a model statesman, a beloved citizen, and a determined general, leading Athens during its golden era of prosperity. Pericles was born in 495 BC in the Greek city state of Athens to the wealthy Alcmaeonid family. Though he later went on to lead Athens through the Peloponnesian war, he spent the majority of his early life in quiet study. It is believed that his studies in philosophy greatly influenced his later political career, and Pericles would use his influence with the Athenian people to further promote the arts and literature.
Pericles debuted on the political stage in 472 BC when he sponsored the Persae of Aeschylus, a popular tragedy, during the spring festival of Dionysus. This cemented his position as a wealthy and influential man in the minds of the citizens, and gave him the influence necessary to assist in breaking up the Areopagus, a traditional council of wealthy landowners that ruled over Athens, and later to banish Cimon - one of his key political rivals.
Some scholars have attributed several of the democratic institutions created by Pericles to the eventual downfall of Athens. The Athenian democratic structure was fundamentally flawed - in order to sustain their high quality of life the Athenians would need to subjugate other city states for the tribute they could provide. In the short term, however, this system helped create a powerhouse economy that threatened Sparta and eventually sparked the Peloponnesian war.
Following a heavily defensive strategy, Pericles convinced the people to avoid direct confrontation with Sparta and its allies in favor of quick raids and overseas attacks which would make use of Athens's superior navy. The end result of the campaign would never be seen, as in 430 BC, just two years after the start of the war, a plague broke out in Athens, decimating the population and claiming the lives of Pericles' legitimate children and, eventually, his own.
Favourites
Republic
Reqs Writing+1 free specialists in 3 Most Cultured Cities+1 slots for Artist, Scientist, Merchant, Statesman+1 from Fishing Boats-1 from Farm, Paddy Field, Plantation, Slave Plantation+1 from School, Mint, Council
Per\u00f3n
Juan Domingo Perón
President of Argentina
Lived: 1895 - 1974 AD
Background:
He was elected President of Argentina in three occasions. The first time he was elected president was on February 24th of 1946, for the period 1946-1952. He was reelected on November 11th of 1951, for the period 1952-1958, which failed to complete due to a military coup that overthrew him on September 16th of 1955. Finally, after 18 years in exile, he returned to Argentina and was elected president for the third time on September 23th of 1973 for the period 1973-1979, which he could not complete because of his death.
Favourites
Stratocracy
Reqs Journalism-25% experience needed for unit promotions+100% Great General Emergence+4 from Great Military Instructor
Peter
Peter I the Great
Emperor of All Russia
Lived: 1672 - 1725 AD
Background:
Peter was born the fourth son of the Tsar Alexey I. After the death of his father and older brother, at the age of 10 he became co-tsar with his sickly half-brother, Ivan, under the regency of their sister Sophia Alexeevna. Apparently Peter was quite the terror in his teens. He had utter contempt for religious and political ceremony, combined with almost limitless energy and a capacity for alcohol. At 17 he had the regent (his elder sister) arrested on charges of conspiring against him and had her locked in a convent, where she would stay for the rest of her life. He took total control of the empire, his brother Ivan no more than a figurehead.
In addition to drinking, carousing, and political intrigue, young Peter was also fascinated by military affairs. In 1695, he ordered the army to move against the Turks. Astonishingly, he didn't command his forces in the field, instead choosing to act as an lowly artilleryman. The Russian forces emerged victorious and within a year had captured the vital port of Azov.
Several years later, Peter set off on a tour of Europe. He spent 16 months traveling incognito through Germany, Holland, England and Austria, at one time working as a shipwright in England and Holland. Peter learned a lot during his trip, and he later hired many western craftsmen, engineers, soldiers, sailors, architects and artists to help modernize Russia. Once home, Peter adopted many European customs, including a mandate that beards were to be shaved off at court, which was a great controversy that nearly caused a revolt with the Boyars.
Despite his love of European culture, Peter remained a drunken, overbearing bully, whose practical jokes stopped just short of outright torture. (Or perhaps went a little over the line.) Foreign observers noted with horror that at a state dinner Peter had one of his cronies hold another tight, pinning his arms and forcing his mouth open. The victim was known to hate salads and especially vinegar; Peter jammed salad into his mouth and down his throat and then poured vinegar up his nose until it bled.
Peter liked to force his guests - including foreign diplomats - to drink until they passed out, then wake them up an hour later and force them to drink more. He once woke a group of extremely inebriated men up in the middle of the night, gave them axes and demanded that they help him cut down trees to make a path to the seashore.
In 1700 Russia went to war against Sweden. But, Gustavus Aldolphus, the Swedish King, proved more cunning to him, striking Peter's army before it was prepared, capturing much of the Russian artillery in the process. In response Peter demanded that all of the bells in Moscow (including church bells) be melted down to make cannons. He also confiscated church treasure to fuel the war effort. The war dragged on, but in 1709 the Swedish forces were decisively defeated, and Russia gained parts of Finland, Estonia, and Latvia.
Peter's home life did not go particularly well. In 1698 his wife was implicated in a plot to overthrow him; he divorced her and sent her off to yet another convent. In 1712 he married his mistress, Martha Skavronsky, a former Lithuanian servant and previously the mistress of a bevey of other Russian nobles. She gave him four children. In 1718 the tsar's oldest son Alexey was imprisoned for suspected treason and died under torture.
Upon his death Peter was buried in Saint Petersburg, the vital port and Russian capital, which he established in 1703, in the Peter and Paul Cathedral. Presumably under the heaviest rock they could find.
Favourites
Despotism
Reqs PropertyCan Sacrifice Population to Finish Production in a CityOrthodoxyHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover EthicsFounder Receives a Orthodox Missionary
Philip II
Felipe II
King of Spain, Portugal and the Algarves and Naples
Lived: 1527 - 1598 AD
Background:
Philip II was King of Spain from 1556 until 1598; King of Naples from 1554 until 1598; king consort of England, as husband of Mary I, from 1554 to 1558; lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories, such as duke or count; and King of Portugal and the Algarves as Philip I from 1580. He also ruled a vast empire in the Americas, including New Spain and Peru.
Philip's policies were determined by a combination of Catholic fervour and dynastic self-interest. He found himself by default the chief defender of Catholic Europe, both against the Ottoman Turks and against the forces of the Protestant Reformation. He never relented from his war against heresy, preferring to fight on every front at whatever cost rather than countenance heterodoxy within his territories. These territories included his patrimony in the Netherlands, where the Protestant heresy had taken deep root. Following the Revolt of the Netherlands in 1568, Philip waged a long war for control of the Netherlands, which dragged in the English and the French and lasted for the rest of his life. In 1588, the Spanish armada was destroyed by a tempest off the southern cost of Ireland, thus thwarting his planned invasion of England. Concerned with the Muslim threat in the Mediterranean, Philip achieved a decisive victory against the Turks at the Lepanto in 1571, where the fleet of the Holy League was commanded by his illegitimate brother John of Austria. He also successfully secured his succession to the throne of Portugal in 1580.
After basing himself in the Netherlands in the early years of his reign, Philip returned to the peninsula in 1559 and never left it again. Unlike his father, Charles V, Philip was thoroughly Spanish, a native speaker who chose to rule from Spain rather than to travel constantly around his states. Although sometimes described as an absolute monarch, Philip faced many constitutional constraints on his authority. Spain was not a single monarchy with one legal system but a federation of separate realms, each jealously guarding its own rights against those of the Crown of Castile. In practice, Philip often found his authority overruled by local assemblies, and his word was less authoritarian than British or French historians have always tried to characterize. The Kingdom of Aragon, where Philip was obliged to put down a rebellion in 1591–1592, was particularly unruly. He also grappled with the intractable problem of the large Morisco population in Spain, persuaded to convert to Christianity by his predecessors. In 1568, a Morisco Revolt broke out in the southern province of Granada in defiance of attempts to suppress Moorish customs, and Philip wisely decided the expulsion of the Moriscos from Granada and their dispersal to other provinces.
Despite its immense dominions, Spain itself was an arid country with a sparse population that yielded a limited income to the crown. Philip faced major difficulties in raising taxes, the collection of which was largely farmed out to local lords. He was able to finance his military campaigns not only by taxing the local resources of his empire, but also the flow of income from the New World proved vital to his militant foreign policy. His exchequer several times was able to avoid bankruptcy. Philip's reign saw an extraordinary flourishing of cultural excellence in Spain, part of what is called the Golden Age, creating a lasting legacy in literature, music, and the visual arts.
Favourites
Colonialism
Reqs Exploration-50% Colony Maintenance+4 Experience For All Water Units+1 from Slave Mine, Slave Plantation+1 from Slave Mine, Slave PlantationCan Capture SlavesCatholicismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover DoctrineFounder Receives a Catholic MissionaryFounded when Christian civilizations control less than half of all Christian citiesAlternately founded by the first civilization to build an Orthodox Cathedral without controlling the Orthodox holy city
Pilsudski
Józef Klemens Pilsudski
Prime Minister of Poland
Lived: 1867 - 1935 AD
Background:
Józef Klemens Pilsudski was a Polish statesman; Chief of State (1918-22), "First Marshal of Poland" (from 1920), and de facto leader (1926-35) of the Second Polish Republic, Minister of Military Affairs. From mid-World War I he had a major influence in Poland's politics, and was an important figure on the European political scene. He was the person most responsible for the creation of the Second Republic of Poland in 1918, 123 years after it had been taken over by Russia, Austria and Prussia. Under Pilsudski, Poland recovered Vilnius from newly born independent state of Lithuania following Zeligowski's Mutiny but was unable to incorporate most of Lithuania into the newly resurrected Polish State.
Describing himself as a descendant of the culture and traditions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Pilsudski believed in a multicultural Poland - a home of nations, recognizing numerous ethnic and religious nationalities and finally existing in strong historical alliance with independent states of Lithuania and Ukraine. His main opponent Roman Dmowski by contrast called for an independent state of Poland narrowed to the lands of historical Crown and founded mainly on ethnically Polish demos and Roman Catholic identity.
Early in his political career, Pilsudski became a leader of the Polish Socialist Party. Concluding that Poland's independence would have to be won by force of arms, he created the Polish Legions. In 1914 he anticipated the outbreak of a European war, the Russian Empire's defeat by the Central Powers, and the Central Powers' defeat by the western powers. When World War I broke out, he and his Legions fought under Austrian army control against Russia. In 1917, with Russia faring badly in the war, he withdrew his support from the Central Powers and was arrested by the Germans.
From November 1918, when Poland regained independence, until 1922 Pilsudski was Poland's Chief of State. In 1919-21 he commanded Poland's forces in six border wars that shaped the nation of Poland. His forces seemed almost defeated in the Polish-Soviet War when they fought the battle for Warsaw in August 1920. In the "miracle on the Vistula," they routed five Russian armies and saved Poland. In 1923, with the government dominated by his opponents, particularly the National Democrats, he withdrew from active politics. Three years later, he returned to power with the May 1926 coup d'état, and became the strong man (in practice a military dictator) of Poland. From then until his death in 1935, he concerned himself primarily with military and foreign affairs.
Pilsudski pursued, with varying degrees of intensity, two complementary strategies, intended to enhance Poland's security: "Prometheism", which aimed at breaking up, successively, the Imperial Russia and later the Soviet Union into their constituent nations; and the creation of an "Intermarium" federation, comprising Poland and other independent states located in the geographical space between the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea and geopolitically placed between Germany and Russia. The Intermarium main purpose was to guarantee a lasting balance of power in Central Europe and to secure the existence of its nations against both western and eastern imperialisms.
Between 1945 and 1989, Pilsudski's person and his record were one of the multiple topics forbidden by the Polish communist regime. Wandycz characterizes him as "an ardent Polish patriot who on occasion would castigate the Poles for their stupidity, cowardice, or servility. He called himself a Polish Lithuanian, and was stubborn and reserved, loath to show his emotions." Today, although some aspects of his rule remain controversial, Pilsudski's memory is held in high esteem in Poland. Together with his opponent Roman Dmowski he is regarded as a father of the modern Polish nation.
Favourites
Nationhood
Reqs NationalismCan Draft 3 Units per Turn+25% for Buildings Already in Capital+1 from Monument, Civic Square, News Press, Broadcast TowerCannot Use SlavesCatholicismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover DoctrineFounder Receives a Catholic MissionaryFounded when Christian civilizations control less than half of all Christian citiesAlternately founded by the first civilization to build an Orthodox Cathedral without controlling the Orthodox holy city
Ptolemy
Ptolemy I Soter
Basileus and Pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt
Lived: 367 - 282 BC
Background:
Ptolemy I Soter was a Macedonian Greek general, historian, and successor of Alexander the Great who went on to found the Ptolemaic Kingdom centered on Egypt. Ptolemy was basileus and pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt from 305/304 BC to his death in 282 BC, and his descendants continued to rule Egypt until 30 BC. During their rule, Egypt became a thriving bastion of Hellenistic civilization and Alexandria a great seat of Greek culture.
Ptolemy I was the son of Arsinoe of Macedon by either her husband Lagus or Philip II of Macedon, the father of Alexander. However, the latter is unlikely and may be a myth fabricated to glorify the Ptolemaic Dynasty. Ptolemy was one of Alexander's most trusted companions and military officers. After the death of Alexander in 323 BC, Ptolemy retrieved his body as it was en route to be buried in Macedon, placing it in Memphis instead, where it was later moved to Alexandria in a new tomb.
Afterwards he joined a coalition against Perdiccas, the royal regent over Philip III of Macedon. The latter invaded Egypt but was assassinated by his own officers in 320 BC, allowing Ptolemy I to consolidate his control over the country. After a series of wars between Alexander's successors, Ptolemy gained a claim to Judea in southern Syria, which was disputed with the Seleucid king Seleucus I. He also took control of Cyprus and Cyrenaica, the latter of which was placed under the control of Ptolemy's stepson Magas. Ptolemy also commanded the construction of the Library of Alexandria and of the Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Favourites
Redistribution
Reqs Arithmetics+25% in Capital-50% from Trade Routes ()Double Production Speed for Granary
Rajendra Chola
Rajendra Chola I the Great
Emperor of the Chola Empire
Lived: c.1000 - 1044 AD
Background:
Rajendra Chola I was the son of Rajaraja Chola I, the great Chola king of South India. Rajendra formally ascended the Chola throne in 1014 AD, two years after his installation as the Co Regent. He placed a son on the throne at Madurai, completed the conquest of Ceylon, overran the Deccan (c. 1021), and sent (1023) an expedition to the north that penetrated to the Ganges River and brought Ganges water to the new capital, Gangaikondacolapuram.
Before the fourteenth year of Rajendra's reign c. 1025, the Chola Navy crossed the ocean and attacked the Srivijaya kingdom of Sangrama Vijayatungavarman. Kadaram, the capital of the powerful maritime kingdom, was sacked and the king taken captive. Along with Kadaram, Pannai in present day Sumatra and Malaiyur in the Malayan peninsula were attacked. Kedah (now in modern Malaysia) too was occupied. There are no records to explain the nature of and the reason for this naval expedition. The Sailendra dynasty had been in good relations with the Chola Empire during the period of Rajaraja Chola I. Rajaraja encouraged Mara Vijayatungavarman to build the Chudamani Vihara at Nagapattinam. Rajendra confirmed this grant in the Anaimangalam grants showing that the relationship with Srivijaya was still continued be friendly. The exact cause of the quarrel that caused the naval war between Cholas and Srivijaya remains unknown.
Rajendra's long reign saw almost continuous campaigns and conflicts trying to hold his huge empire together. Rajendra's sons carried out most of the campaigns during the late period of his reign. The emperor refrained from taking the field personally allowing his sons to win glory and distinction. The closing years of Rajendra forms the most splendid period of Cholas. The extent of the empire was the widest and the military and naval prestige was at its highest. The emperor was ably assisted by his sons and other members of his family. The Chola imperialism was a benevolent one attested by the presence of the traditional rulers in the Pandya and Kerala countries and the act of reinstating the Srivijaya king after his defeat.
Favourites
Thalassocracy
Reqs Navigation+2 from Fishing Boats, Harvest Boats-1 from Plantation, Cottage, Hamlet, Village, TownDouble Production Speed for Harbor, Wharf, DrydockHinduismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover CalendarMissionaries cannot spread in civilizations that have a different state religion
Ramesses II
Ramesses II the Great
Pharaoh of Egyptian Empire
Lived: 1302 - 1213 BC
Background:
Also known as "Ramesses the Great," Ramesses was an Egyptian pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty. He was the third king in his dynasty, the son of King Seti I and Queen Tuya. Ramesses was born around 1302 BC and ruled from approximately 1279 to 1213 BC. Among Ramesses' many wives, the most famous was Nefertari, who was his principal wife for over twenty years and was later deified and worshipped as a goddess. Ramesses seems to have enjoyed all of the benefits of his position as pharaoh, and he fathered about 100 children during his long rule. One of them, the Pharaoh Merneptah, became his successor.
Ramesses was most famous for leading several military campaigns along the eastern Mediterranean coast. On one of these expeditions into modern-day Israel and Lebanon, Ramesses ran into the Hittite army of King Muwatallis. At the Battle of Kadesh in 1274, the two sides fought for control of the territory comprising modern Syria. It was probably the largest chariot battle ever fought, with some 5000 chariots engaged on both sides. The battle was largely inconclusive, and both sides claimed victory. However Ramesses lost more men than Muwatallis, so the Hittites probably got the best of the Egyptians. Two sides continued to struggle against one another for decades to come until they signed a peace treaty in 1258 BC - this is the first peace treaty ever recorded in history. At the other end of his domains, Ramesses also campaigned extensively south of the First Cataract of the Nile in Nubia, winning additional land for Egypt.
Today Ramesses is one of the best-known Egyptian pharaohs, primarily because he had so many monuments and statues of himself erected. The renowned archaeological complex of Abu Simbel - one of the best-preserved sites from ancient Egypt - was built on his orders. Ramesses' mummy was discovered in 1881; it was moved to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, where it is still proudly displayed to the public today. (His 3000-year old body is in surprisingly good shape.)
Ramesses is often popularly identified as the pharaoh who confronted Moses in the Bible. However, Ramesses lived to the age of 90 after a long reign of 66 years; he did not drown in the Red Sea; and there is no mention in the records of a slave revolt during his reign - so this seems quite unlikely.
Favourites
Deification
Reqs Divination+25% when building Wonders+1 in Cities with State +1 slots for Priest+1 from Pagan Temple, Tomb, Sanctuary
Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
President of the United States of America
Lived: 1882 - 1945 AD
Background:
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States, is best known for leading the US out of the Great Depression and to victory in WWII. Crippled by polio at 39, Roosevelt displayed indomitable courage and resolve to overcome his disability and achieve his goals.
Roosevelt was a man of contradictions. Though wealthy and powerful, Roosevelt was beloved by the poor and downtrodden and despised as a socialist by the wealthy and powerful. Roosevelt ran for office on a platform of isolationism, but he hated fascism and oppression, and unceasingly worked behind the scenes to aid the UK and get America into World War II.
When Roosevelt first became President in 1932, the United States was in a crippling depression. Banks had closed and businesses had failed. Millions were unemployed and falling into poverty. To counter this malaise, Roosevelt enacted a series of policies that he called the "New Deal:" a sweeping program to bring recovery to business and agriculture, relief to the unemployed and to those in danger of losing businesses, farms and homes.
Meanwhile, the Depression raged across the entire planet, and much of the rest of the world was degenerating into chaos. Japan was attacking China, while the two great dictators - Hitler and Stalin - were threatening to engulf Europe. The United States had largely withdrawn from world politics after World War I and the failure of the League of Nations, and few American politicians had the stomach to call for intervention. Roosevelt didn't, either, and in fact he ran for reelection on a platform of isolationism.
However, Roosevelt sincerely believed that the United States would have to become involved in the conflict one way or another - he abhorred fascism and totalitarianism - and he feared that, left unchecked, Germany, Russia and Japan would become powerful enough to overwhelm everything in their path - including, eventually, the US. Thus he did everything in his power to ready the US for the upcoming conflict by dramatically increasing the size of the US armed forces, pitifully weakened after the end of World War I. Further, he gave as much aid as was politically feasible to England, whom he rightly saw as the unprepared US's chief protection from the German war machine. Meanwhile, he did his best to turn public opinion around in favor of more direct action.
It is not clear that Roosevelt would have succeeded in that, if it weren't for Japan's attack against Pearl Harbor. Though casualties were extremely heavy, Pearl Harbor did "awake a sleeping giant," and at long last the citizens of the country realized their peril. And when Germany made the huge strategic blunder of declaring war on the United States shortly thereafter, Roosevelt was able to put all of the United States' massive industrial and military might into the conflict.
During the war, Roosevelt showed himself to be a masterful international politician; the UK-Soviet-American alliance was shaky at best, and his adroit handling of Stalin and Churchill did much to keep things running (relatively) smoothly. Meanwhile his "fireside chats" kept the country firmly behind him, and world opinion in the allies' favor. It has been said that Hitler hated Roosevelt even more than Stalin or Churchill - high praise indeed.
As a military leader Roosevelt was less sure-footed and the US made some early strategic blunders that could have been avoided. He learned quickly, however, and by the end of his life the US military machine was the most powerful that the world had ever seen.
Roosevelt died in 1945, shortly before the war ended. His legacies of social welfare and international cooperation would dominate United States policies for the next half a century.
Favourites
Individualism
Reqs Civil Liberties+2 from Village, TownImprovements Upgrade without Being WorkedProtestantismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founding Protestantism triggers the Reformation
Saladin
Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub
Sultan of Egypt and Syria
Lived: c.1137 - 1193 AD
Background:
Saladin was a Kurdish Muslim warrior and self-proclaimed Sultan of Egypt. During his life he was the Defender of Islam and great opponent to the Crusaders.
Of Kurdish descent, born in Mesopotamia, Saladin grew to become a religious warrior. During his youth he studied Sunni theology for ten years and then accompanied his uncle during his battles to conquer Egypt (ca. 1167). After his uncle died, Saladin succeeded him as vizier (minister of state) of Egypt, and he eventually proclaimed himself sultan (sovereign).
During his reign Saladin conquered portions of North Africa, Yemen, Syria and Palestine. He mustered a large force of Muslims to defeat the Christian occupiers and retake the city of Jerusalem. He fought off a spirited attempt to retake the city (the Third Crusade) in 1189; in 1192 Saladin signed a treaty with the Crusaders, leaving them just a small strip of land in Syria on the coast of the Mediterranean.
Saladin had a richly-deserved reputation for generosity and chivalry in battle. He treated his prisoners honorably, and was a man of his word. He was greatly admired by his European opponents, who barely acknowledged other Muslims as human.
Favourites
Slavery
Reqs MasonryCan Capture Workers+1 from Quarry+1 from Plantation, Slave Plantation, OrchardIslamHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover TheologyFounder Receives a Islamic Imam
San Martin
Jose Francisco de San Martin
President of Peru
Lived: 1778 - 1850 AD
Background:
Groomed from a young age for the life of a soldier, Jose de San Martin would grow to lead the Peruvian and Chilean people to independence from Spain.
Born in Argentina, but raised in Spain, by the age of 11, Jose de San Martin was already a member of the Spanish armed forces. In the Peninsular War between Spain and France in 1808, San Martin began as an aide to the Spanish leadership; by war's end he had attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
In the midst of the war, the Spanish king abdicated from power to be replaced by an appointment of the opposing French. The citizens of Argentina, upon hearing of the Spanish government's state of disarray, decided that there would be no better time to declare independence. When news of the Argentine revolution reached him, San Martin elected to support the rebels' cause, leaving Spain for the New World. Upon his arrival, he was immediately recruited by the rebel forces to begin mustering and training an elite regiment. His regiment, known as the Mounted Grenadiers, became some of the finest troops South America had to offer.
Once his troops were ready, the normally reserved drillmaster suggested a daring move - marching an army from Argentina to Chile through the peaks of the Andes. His plan was regarded as madness by many, but San Martin managed to muster more than enough brave souls to join him in the endeavor. Dividing his forces into six columns for easier travel through the difficult terrain, San Martin planned for each column to arrive within two days of one another, a highly unlikely prospect given the extreme terrain and great danger that lay ahead.
But on February 12, nearly all four thousand troops stepped out from the shadows of the Andes onto the plains of Chacabuco, prepared to face the numerically superior Spanish forces. Despite having just traversed some of the most inhospitable terrain on earth, San Martin's "Army of the Andes," soundly defeated the Royalists. They then marched on the Chilean capital of Santiago, taking the city with little fuss. Despite what many thought to be a crushing loss on the field of Tacla roughly a month later, Chile was to remain in the hands of San Martin and his revolutionary followers.
The citizens of Chile attempted to appoint San Martin governor of their colony, but he refused. He had his sights set on the bastion of Spanish power in South America - Lima, Peru. San Martin took his forces north, offering the Spanish forces in Lima the opportunity to surrender and set up a new constitutional government. Their refusal sealed their fate - in 1821, San Martin marched into Lima, taking the city for the rebels. He was soon proclaimed the first President of Peru.
Small pockets of Spanish forces remained scattered throughout the Peruvian countryside and in order to ensure their removal, San Martin requested a conference with Simon Bolivar, the Liberator of the north whose military zone of influence overlapped that of San Martin.
The two met in the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador in 1822. What they discussed is unknown, but the result is - on that day San Martin stepped down from his position, leaving the fate of South America in the hands of Bolivar. San Martin had previously displayed a wavering of passion for his cause, but it took the words of Bolivar to force a decision. Upon stepping down, San Martin settled with his wife and children on a farm in Argentina for two years before migrating to Europe, where he spent the remainder of his days moving from country to country in order to escape the numerous revolutions sweeping the continent at the time. He died in France in 1850.
Favourites
Nationhood
Reqs NationalismCan Draft 3 Units per Turn+25% for Buildings Already in Capital+1 from Monument, Civic Square, News Press, Broadcast TowerCannot Use SlavesCatholicismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover DoctrineFounder Receives a Catholic MissionaryFounded when Christian civilizations control less than half of all Christian citiesAlternately founded by the first civilization to build an Orthodox Cathedral without controlling the Orthodox holy city
Santa Anna
Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón
President of Mexico
Lived: 1794 - 1876 AD
Background:
Santa Anna's normal loyalty would be to ally with the wealthy and privileged, but his immediate concern was to be on the winning side in any battle. Switching allegiance never troubled him. Santa Anna declared himself retired, "unless my country needs me". He decided he was needed when Anastasio Bustamante led a coup, overthrowing and killing President Vicente Guerrero. Santa Anna was elected president in 1833.
Gómez Farías did many reforms, introducing antimilitary and anticlergical reforms. He reduced the size of the army and worked hard to root out corruption in the military. He also changed some rules reflecting the power of the Church. Clergymen would be allowed to preach only for religious matters. He altered the education as a fully secular system.
The mandatory tax for the support of the Church was abolished. These drastic reforms angered many of the powerful among the military, wealthy landowners, and the Catholic Church. When there was rebellion and violence against the reform that Farias had made, Santa Anna changed his side, again. Santa Anna reversed his support for the liberals and joined the conservatives, dismissed Farías, declared the Constitution suspended, disbanded the Congress, and worked to concentrate power in the central government. This was applauded by some conservatives, but met with considerable disapproval from other sectors. He established a Catholic, centralist dictatorship and replaced the Constitution of 1824(the one that Farias established), with a new document, called The Seven Laws. the Constitution of 1836. The regime was a centralized dictatorship led by the military.
Several states went into open rebellion: Coahuila y Tejas, San Luis Potosí, Querétaro, Durango, Guanajuato, Michoacán, Yucatán, Jalisco, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas and Zacatecas. Several of these states formed their own governments, the Republic of the Rio Grande, the Republic of Yucatan, and the Republic of Texas. Only the Texans defeated Santa Anna and retained their independence. They and their allies from the United States declared independence from Mexico. Their fierce resistance was possibly fueled by reprisals Santa Anna committed against his defeated enemies.
The Zacatecan militia, the largest and best supplied of the Mexican states, led by Francisco Garcia, was well armed with .753 caliber British 'Brown Bess' muskets and Baker .61 rifles. After two hours of combat, on 12 May 1835, the Santa Anna's "Army of Operations" defeated the Zacatecan militia and took almost 3,000 prisoners. Santa Anna allowed his army to ransack Zacatecas for forty-eight hours. After defeating Zacatecas, he planned to move on to Coahuila y Tejas.
Favourites
Bureaucracy
Reqs Statecraft+35%, +35% in CapitalCatholicismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover DoctrineFounder Receives a Catholic MissionaryFounded when Christian civilizations control less than half of all Christian citiesAlternately founded by the first civilization to build an Orthodox Cathedral without controlling the Orthodox holy city
Sargon
Sargon the Great
King of Akkad, Kish, Lagash, Umma and Uruk
Reigned: c.2334 - 2279 BC
Background:
Sargon of Akkad, also known as Sargon the Great was an Akkadian emperor famous for his conquest of the Sumerian city-states in the 23rd and 22nd centuries BC. The founder of the Dynasty of Akkad, Sargon reigned during the last quarter of the third millennium BC. Cuneiform sources agree that he was cup-bearer (official in charge of wine) of king Ur-Zababa of Kish, and some later historians have speculated that he killed the king and usurped his throne before embarking on the quest to conquer Mesopotamia. He was originally referred to as Sargon I until records concerning an Assyrian king also named Sargon (now usually referred to as Sargon I) were unearthed.
Sargon's vast empire is thought to have included large parts of Mesopotamia, and included parts of modern-day Iran, Asia Minor and Syria. He ruled from a new, but as yet archaeologically unidentified capital, Akkad, which the Sumerian king list claims he built (or possibly renovated). He is sometimes regarded as the first person in recorded history to create a multiethnic, centrally ruled empire, although the Sumerians Lugal-anne-mundu and Lugal-zage-si also have a claim. His dynasty controlled Mesopotamia for around a century and a half (150 years).
Favourites
Deification
Reqs Divination+25% when building Wonders+1 in Cities with State +1 slots for Priest+1 from Pagan Temple, Tomb, Sanctuary
Scipio
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus
Consul and General of the Roman Republic
Lived: 235 - 183 BCE
Publius Cornelius Scipio was a general in the Second Punic War and a statesman of the ROman Republic. He was best known for defeating Hannibal at the final battle of the Second Punic War at Zama, a feat that earned him the agnomen "Africanus," the nickname "the Roman Hannibal," as well as recognition as one of the finest commanders in military history. An earlier great display of his tactial abilities had come already at the Battle of Ilipa. Scipio began his career early in life, at age 17 he lead a charge to his father's rescue at the Battle of Ticinus, at 24 he volunteered to take over the army in Hispania when nobody else would following the defeat of the two consuls (who were his father and uncle), then at 27 he commanded the Roman armies to victory at the battle of New Carthage in Hispania. He was born into a patrician family with a history of public servicve in the highest offices of the Roman Republic, his family the Cornelii (a branch of the Scipii) were counted among the six major patrician families in Rome (Cornelii, Manlii, Fabii, Aemilii, Claudii, and Valerii) and at the time of his birth the Scipiones (and more specifically the Cornelii) were the most prominent. He was unquestionably one of the leading characters of Roman history. At the young age of 17 he embarked on military campaign in Hispania (modern Spain) and after taking command of the Roman armies there following the deaths of his father and uncle, he drove Carthage out of the peninsula and established Roman hegemony in the area. He then paid a visit to the Numidian princes Syphax and Massinissa, who quickly turned against Carthage to join the Roman effort against them. Upon his return to Rome Scipio was unanimously elected to the consulship at the age of 31, and announced plans to invade Africa. His enemies in the Senate, howver, blocked his plans and only allowed him to go as far as Sicily and did not grant him an army. So he went to Sicily and raised a volunteer force. Scipio intended on invading Africa and many of his volunteers were drawn from the survivors of the fiasco at the Battle of Cannae, these men were intent on redeeming themselves as soldiers and getting victory over Hannibal. His army was victorious at the Battle of Zama against a seemingly invincible Hannibal. Many in Rome expected Scipio to deliver harsh terms to Carthage, but his terms were quite moderate (forcing Hannibal to take up a civic, rather than military role, and forcing Carthage to abandon their fleet). In contrast to his moderation towards Carthage he was brutal towards Roman and Latin deserters; the Latins were beheaded and the Romans crucified for the direlection of duty. Upon returning to Rome he was given a triumph and the agnomen of Africanus and refused the titles Consul for Life and Dictator. Scipio was elected Censor in 199, but upon his retirement took up no official political office. He later served as an ambassador to Carthage and Numidia.
Favourites
Republic
Reqs Writing+1 free specialists in 3 Most Cultured Cities+1 slots for Artist, Scientist, Merchant, Statesman+1 from Fishing Boats-1 from Farm, Paddy Field, Plantation, Slave Plantation+1 from School, Mint, Council
Sejong
Sejong the Great
King of Joseon
Lived: 1397 - 1450 AD
Background:
Sejong the Great was the fourth king of Joseon-dynasty Korea. Born with family name Yi. He was the third son of King Taejong and Queen consort Min. He was designated as heir-apparent, Crown Prince, after his older brother Jae was stripped of his title. He ascended to the throne in 1418. During the first four years of his reign, Taejong governed as regent, after which his father-in-law, Sim On, and his close associates were executed.
Sejong reinforced Confucian policies and executed major legal amendments. He also created the Korean alphabet Hangul, encouraged advancements of scientific technology, and instituted many other efforts to stabilize and improve prosperity. He dispatched military campaigns to the north and instituted the Samin Policy to attract new settlers to the region. To the south, he subjugated Japanese raiders and captured Tsushima Island.
During his reign from 1418 to 1450, he governed from 1422 to 1442 and governed as regent with his son Crown Prince MoonJong until his death in either 1442 or 1450.
Although the appellation "the Great" was given posthumously to almost every ruler of Goryeo and Joseon, this title is usually associated to Gwanggaeto, and Sejong.
Favourites
Bureaucracy
Reqs Statecraft+35%, +35% in CapitalConfucianismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover ContractFounder Receives a Confucian ScholarMissionaries cannot spread in civilizations that have a different state religion
Shapur
Shapur II
King of Kings of Persia
Lived: 309 - 379 AD
Background:
Shapur II, also known as Shapur the Great, was the tenth King of Kings (Shahanshah) of Sasanian Iran. He took the title at birth and held it until his death at age 70, making him the longest-reigning monarch in Iranian history. He was the son of Hormizd II (302-309).
His reign saw the military resurgence of the country and the expansion of its territory, which marked the start of the first Sasanian golden era. Thus, along with Shapur I, Kavad I and Khosrow I, he is regarded as one of the most illustrious Sasanian kings. His three direct successors, on the other hand, were less successful. At the age of 16, he launched enormously successful military campaigns against Arab insurrections and tribes.
Shapur II pursued a harsh religious policy. Under his reign, the collection of the Avesta, the sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, was completed, heresy and apostasy were punished, and Christians were persecuted. The latter was a reaction against the Christianization of the Roman Empire by Constantine the Great. Shapur II, like Shapur I, was amicable towards Jews, who lived in relative freedom and gained many advantages in his period. At the time of Shapur's death, the Sasanian Empire was stronger than ever, with its enemies to the east pacified and Armenia under Sasanian control.
Favourites
Clergy
Reqs PriesthoodCities with State Construct Buildings +25% FasterZoroastrianismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover PriesthoodFounder Receives a Zoroastrian MagusMissionaries cannot spread in civilizations that have a different state religion
Shivaji
Shivaji Bhonsle
King of the Marathas
Lived: 1630 - 1680 AD
Background:
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (19 February 1630 - 3 April 1680), was a Maratha sovereign who founded the Maratha Empire, which, at its peak, covered much of the Indian subcontinent, encompassing a territory of over 2.8 million square km. Shivaji as an aristocrat of the royal Bhosle clan led a resistance to free the Maratha people from the Sultanate of Bijapur and the Mughal Empire and established a Hindavi Swarajya ("self-rule of Hindu people"). He created an independent Maratha kingdom with Raigad as its capital. He was crowned as Chhatrapati ("sovereign") of the Maratha empire in 1674.
He established a competent and progressive civil rule with the help of a well-regulated and disciplined military and well-structured administrative organizations. He also innovated rules of military engagement, pioneering the "Shiva sutra" or ganimi kava (guerrilla tactics), which leveraged strategic factors like geography, speed, surprise and focused pinpoint attacks to defeat his larger and more powerful enemies. From a small contingent of 2,000 soldiers inherited from his father, he created a formidable force of 100,000 soldiers. He built and restored forts located strategically inland and on seashores for secure lands and coastline. He revived ancient Hindu political tradition and court conventions, and promoted Marathi and Sanskrit in court and administration usage.
Favourites
Monarchy
Reqs Ceremony+1 per Military Unit Stationed in a City-25% Maintenance Costs from Distance to Palace+50% converted to HinduismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover CalendarMissionaries cannot spread in civilizations that have a different state religion
Sobieski
Jan III Sobieski
King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania
Lived: 1629 - 1696 AD
Background:
Jan (John) Sobieski was born 1629 at Olesko, Poland, to Jakub (James) Sobieski (1580-1646), Voivod of the Ruthenian Voivodship and Castellan of Krakow and Zofia Teofillia (Danilowicz), granddaughter of Hetman Stanislaw Zebewski. He had won fame as an outstanding military commander in wars against the Ottomans, Tatars, Muscovites, Cossacks and Swedes.
In 1665 he became Great Marshal of the Crown, and in 1666 Field Crown Hetman. In 1668 he was appointed by King Jan II Kazimierz the Great Crown Hetman and Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Army. After a distinguished military career, and following the death of Jan II Kazimierz's successor, Michal Korybut Wisniowiecki, Sobieski was on May 21, 1674, elected by the szlachta (nobility) to be King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and was crowned February 2, 1676.
Jan Sobieski's military prowess, demonstrated in war against the Ottoman Empire, contributed to his election as King of Poland. One of his ambitions was to unify Christian Europe in a crusade to drive the Turks out of Europe. He made alliance with the Holy Roman Emperor and joined the Holy League initiated by Pope Innocent XI to preserve Christendom.
Sobieski planned to occupy Prussia with Swedish cooperation and French support. This undertaking was doomed because of war with Turkey and the opposition of the Commonwealth's magnates.
Sobieski's greatest success came September 12, 1683, with his victory at the Battle of Vienna, in command of Polish, Austrian and German troops, against the Turks under Kara Mustafa. The Pope and other foreign dignitaries hailed Sobieski as the "Savior of Vienna and Western European civilization." In a letter to his wife he wrote, "All the common people kissed my hands, my feet, my clothes; others only touched me, saying: 'Ah, let us kiss so valiant a hand!'"
Upon reaching Vienna, he joined up with the Austrians and Germans. Sobieski planned to attack on the 13th of September, but he had noticed that the Turkish resistance was weak and ordered full attack on September 12, 1683. At 4:00 a.m. Sobieski's army of about 81,000 men attacked a Turkish army that numbered about 130,000. Sobieski charged with husaria forward and soon after the Turkish battle line was broken as the Turks scattered in confusion. At 5:30 p.m., Sobieski entered the deserted tent of Kara Mustafa and the battle of Vienna was over.
King Jan III Sobieski, nicknamed by the Turks the "Lion of Lechistan", and the last great king of Poland, died in Wilan, Poland on June 17, 1696. His wife, Maria Kasimira, died in 1716 in Blois, France and her body was returned to Poland. They are interred together in Wawel Castle, Krakow, Poland.
Favourites
Elective
Reqs Politics+1 from No Improvement+2 from Pasture, Camp+1 from CottageDouble Production Speed for PalaceCatholicismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover DoctrineFounder Receives a Catholic MissionaryFounded when Christian civilizations control less than half of all Christian citiesAlternately founded by the first civilization to build an Orthodox Cathedral without controlling the Orthodox holy city
Songtsen Gampo
Songzan Ganbu
Emperor of Tibet
Lived: 617 - 649 AD
Background:
Songtsen Gampo was the first Dharmaraja of Tibet. He married a Nepalese and a Chinese princess and was famous for building the Jokhang Temple of Lhasa which still stands today.
Songtsen Gampo was the forefather of Buddhism in Tibet. Two generations before King Trisong Detsen invited Shantarakshita and Padmasambhava to Tibet, King Songtsen Gampo cultivated the nation for its transformation, clearing pathways for the dharma to enter and ultimately permeate Tibetan culture. Without Songsten Gampo there would be no Tibetan alphabet, Lhasa would have no Jokang, and the supreme demoness of Central Tibet might still be roaming the earth unfettered.
Songtsen Gampo reigned from 617 to 650. His Yarlung dynasty was based in Central Tibet during an imperialist period in Tibetan history. Bon was the dominant religion, and Buddhism was only seminally present. No Tibetan translations of the Buddhist scriptures existed, partially because there was no written form of Tibetan, so Songsten Gampo instructed his minister Thonmi Sambota to travel to India, study Sanskrit, and develop a Tibetan script. He then commissioned the translation of several thousand texts.
His celebrated successes in battle expanded the Tibetan empire deep into Nepal and China, and it was during these battles that he gained an appreciation of the neighbouring cultures. As a reminder of the great empire that Songtsen Gampo ruled, a large pillar still stands before the Potala palace in Lhasa, erected during his reign, on which is inscribed the agreement between the Tibetan and Chinese rulers to respect each other's borders. He studied Chinese, became skilled in the art of leadership, and most importantly, he adopted sacred codes of conduct from Buddhist scripture. Under his rule, sacred practices began to replace the shamanistic practices of the Bonpos.
Songtsen Gampo's two queens can be credited for a great part of his cultural awareness. Bhirkuti, from Kathmandu, brought the traditions of Himalayan Buddhism. Princess Wengchen, daughter of the Tang emperor, brought a treasure trove of ancient Chinese wisdom. She travelled across the steppes to her husband with a collection of Chinese classic literature and texts on sacred astrology, geomancy, and medicine.
Many obstacles lay in Princess Wengchen's path as she headed to Yarlung. She had a vision of a gargantuan demoness who lay sprawled across the Himalayas, so large that one limb lay in Paro, Bhutan and another lay in Western Tibet. When she arrived in Yarlung, she shared her vision with her new husband. Recognizing the value of the treasures that his bride brought to him, as well as the importance of her vision, King Songsten Gampo commissioned thirteen demoness-subjugating temples across the land, built over the demoness's vital organs, ankles, wrists, and torso, forever binding her from wreaking havoc. The Lhasa Jokang was built over her heart center, and Wengchin's Buddha statue was placed inside, where it still resides. Other such temples are Trenduk Lhakhang in Tsetang and Paro Kyichu in Bhutan.
King Songtsen Gampo is considered a human emanation of Avalokiteshvara, and he was the grandfather of King Trisong Detsen. Songtsen Gampo meditated for several years in a cave that is now at the core of Potala palace, and is revered for his great patronage of Buddhism.
Through his enlightened leadership, the path was cleared for the dharma to be propagated throughout the provinces, and for Buddhism to flourish.
Favourites
Theocracy
Reqs Theology+100% Religion Effects from State Buildings+1 from PriestBuddhismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover PhilosophyFounder Receives Buddhist Bhikku (2)Founded when a Hindu Temple is built
Sri Jayanasa
TXT_KEY_LEADER_SRI_JAYANASA_PEDIA
Favourites
Thalassocracy
Reqs Navigation+2 from Fishing Boats, Harvest Boats-1 from Plantation, Cottage, Hamlet, Village, TownDouble Production Speed for Harbor, Wharf, DrydockBuddhismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover PhilosophyFounder Receives Buddhist Bhikku (2)Founded when a Hindu Temple is built
Stalin
Joseph Stalin
General secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Lived: 1878 - 1953 AD
Background:
His birth name was Joseph Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili, but to the world he will always be known simply as Stalin ("man of steel" in Russian). Stalin was born in 1878 to a poor Georgian family. His father was a cobbler who often beat his wife and young son. At the age of eight, Stalin began his education in the Gori Church School, where instruction was conducted in Russian and he was mocked for his Georgian accent. Stalin graduated first in his class at the age of fourteen and began attending school next at the Tiflis Theological Seminary. Stalin had no interest in becoming a priest, but the seminary was one of the few institutions of higher learning permitted in Georgia by the repressive tsarist government.
It was here that Stalin became involved in the revolutionary socialist movement of Russia; in 1899 he was kicked out of the school for his participation in the radical cause. For the next decade Stalin worked in the political underground of the Caucasus region, for which he was arrested and sent to temporary exile in Siberia several times. Over the years Stalin rose through the ranks of the socialist organizations, and in 1912 he gained a position on the central committee of the Bolshevik Party. He later was appointed as an editor of "Pravda," (meaning, "Truth") the main communist newspaper, which was a position with a great deal of influence.
Stalin played little role in the events of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. He and the other editors of Pravda initially supported Keresnsky's Provisional Government, and even refused to publish Lenin's articles calling for it to be overthrown. (Later, Stalin would falsely claim that he had been part of a "Party Center" which directed the October Revolution.) During the Russian Civil War, Stalin served as a military commissar on various different fronts, but he seems to have been an indifferent military man at best. It was when that conflict ended that his star began to rise.
In 1922 Stalin secured the position of General Secretary of the Communist Party, a post that no one else particularly wanted. Stalin recognized the potential power of this job, however, as it gave him control over appointments within the Party. Over time, Stalin built up a group of fiercely loyal followers, eventually becoming one of the most powerful men in the Party.
After the death of Lenin in 1924, Stalin formed a centrist ruling coalition along with Kamenev and Zinoviev. In doing so Stalin successfully outmaneuvered his enemy Trotsky, another strong contender for leadership of the USSR. In 1928 Trotsky went into exile and he was assassinated some time thereafter (it is assumed at Stalin's orders). Then Stalin turned on his former allies Kamenev and Zinoviev, driving them from power as well. By the beginning of the 1930s, Stalin had secured undisputed power over both the Communist Party and all of the Soviet Union.
With his enemies out of the way, Stalin could begin a thorough transformation of Russia. Up until the First World War Russia had been primarily an agrarian society, but Stalin was determined to change it into an industrial powerhouse. In 1928 he implemented the Five Year Plans, designed to force rapid industrialization upon the country at any cost. To curb the power of the prosperous independent farmers (known as "kulaks") Stalin also nationalized individual farms, replacing them with larger collective farms. Stalin's collectivization of agriculture proved to be a disaster: output actually fell, and there was a great deal of peasant resistance (which was ruthlessly crushed by the Red Army). Despite the crop shortfalls Stalin sold off the agricultural produce of the USSR to get foreign currency to pay for further industrialization, deliberately engineering a mass famine which may have killed as many as 10 million people.
Fearing an army plot against him, in 1936 Stalin embarked on the Great Purge, which quickly degenerated into a terrible witch hunt. Many of the old communist leaders were executed after bizarre show trials during which they confessed to outlandish crimes. At the same time the Red Army was gutted of its officer corps. Millions of innocent people died or were exiled to Siberia for no offense whatsoever. Stalin's paranoia claimed an untold number of lives before it had run its course.
Stalin's Soviet Union was ruthlessly authoritarian, but it had achieved its goal of industrialization. Advances were made in science, and the free provision of certain state services - including education and housing - did provide new opportunities for many millions of former peasants (although the standard of living remained extremely low compared to Western countries). Freedom of expression was nonexistent, however, and the practice of any kind of religion was made illegal.
During the 1930s, Stalin was convinced that Hitler's Nazi Germany was a terrible threat to the Soviet Union. He sought defensive pacts and alliances with England and France, but was soundly rebuffed by both countries. Hoping to stave off what he saw as the USSR's inevitable conflict with Germany until his country had a chance to arm itself, Stalin signed a Faustian bargain with Hitler to divide Eastern Europe between the two powers. In September of 1939 Nazi Germany invaded Poland and three weeks later the Soviet Union jumped into the conflict to claim the eastern half of the country.
By doing so Stalin believed that he had earned Hitler's gratitude (if not friendship), and that a German attack on the USSR did not lay in the imminent future. However, like so many other leaders Stalin totally misread Hitler, and despite increasingly frantic warnings of German soldiers massing on the borders, he was totally caught off guard when in June of 1941 Hitler launched a massive invasion. In fact, for the first days of the invasion Stalin remained convinced that it was some kind of mistake and refused to let his troops counterattack for fear of provoking Hitler! Because of Stalin's blunders the Soviets suffered enormous losses in the first few weeks.
With Stalin stunned into bewildered inaction by his miscalculations, it was only the sheer size of Russia that prevented the Germans from winning a quick victory. In December of 1941 winter - Russia's oldest and best ally - saved Moscow from capture. Regaining his composure, Stalin then led the Soviet Union in a bitter and gruesome struggle to the death against Nazi Germany, with countless atrocities on both sides. Stalin's transfer of heavy industry east into the Urals, combined with the unbelievable size and manpower of the Soviet Union - supported by heavy British and American fighting in the West - ultimately led to victory in 1945, when Soviet troops marched triumphantly into Berlin. The cost, however, was staggering: an estimated 10 million Russian soldiers and 20 million civilians died in the conflict.
By the end of the war the Red Army had overrun Eastern Europe, and once there Stalin had no intention of leaving. Despite promising to allow free elections during wartime conferences with the Americans and British, Stalin had no intention of doing anything of the sort and he set up puppet communist regimes across the region. While Tito's government in Yugoslavia successfully broke away from Stalin's bloc, the rest of the countries in Eastern Europe would spend the next three decades under the oppressive rule of the Soviet Union.
Despite their uneasy alliance during the recent war, the USSR remained on hostile terms with its erstwhile Western Allies. Stalin's support of the Communist Chinese and his blockade of West Berlin in 1948 helped led to the outbreak of the Cold War, a bitter period of proxy warfare and ever-growing nuclear arsenals that would drag on for fifty bleak years.
During his reign Stalin encouraged the development of a sycophantic cult of personality where he was worshipped as little less than a god. When he finally died in 1953 there was an enormous outpouring of genuine grief across the Soviet Union. Later, after Khrushchev revealed the extent of Stalin's crimes in his secret speech of 1956, public opinion would become less favorable. Overall, it must be said that Stalin was successful in changing the backwards agricultural state of the tsars into a modern global superpower. No country deserves more credit for defeating Nazi Germany than the Soviet Union. However the truly appalling and barbaric methods used to achieve these successes must always be kept in mind, and Stalin will always remain a controversial character in history.
Favourites
Central Planning
Reqs Collectivism+50% Converted to Commerce+1 from Scientist, Engineer+1 from Workshop+1 from Mine, WatermillDouble Production Speed for Factory, Coal Plant, Gas Plant, Electrical Grid, Hydro Plant
Suharto
el-Haj Mohammed Soeharto
President of Indonesia
Lived: 1921 - 2008 AD
Background:
Haji Mohammad Soeharto, more commonly referred to as simply Soeharto (General Suharto in the English-speaking world), is a former Indonesian military and political leader. He served as a military officer in the Indonesian National Revolution, but is better known as the long-reigning second President of Indonesia, holding the office from 1967 to 1998.
Suharto seized power from his predecessor, the first president of Indonesia Sukarno, through a mixture of force and political maneuvering against the backdrop of foreign and domestic unrest. Over the three decades of his "New Order" regime, Suharto constructed a strong central government along militarist lines. An ability to maintain stability and an avowedly anti-Communist stance won him the economic and diplomatic patronage of several Western governments in the era of the Cold War. For almost all of his three-decade rule, Indonesia experienced rapid industrialization and economic growth.
The Suharto regime had won the favour of Western governments and institutions, however, in 1990's, its increasingly authoritarian and corrupt practices became a source of much discontent. After the 1990s brought end of the Cold War, Western concern over communism waned, and Suharto's human rights record came under greater international scrutiny. In 1991, the murder of East Timorese civilians in a Dili cemetery, also known as the "Santa Cruz Massacre", caused American attention to focus on its military relations with the Suharto regime and the question of Indonesia's occupation of East Timor. In 1992,this attention resulted in the Congress of the United States passing limitations on IMET assistance to the Indonesian military, over the objections of President George H.W. Bush. In 1993, under President Bill Clinton, the U.S. delegation to the UN Human Rights Commission helped pass a resolution expressing deep concern over Indonesian human rights violations in East Timor. The Indonesian invasion and occupation of East Timor has been called the worst instance of genocide (relative to population) since the Holocaust.
His almost unquestioned authority over Indonesian affairs slipped dramatically when the Asian financial crisis lowered Indonesians' standard of living and fractured his support among the nation's military, political and civil society institutions. After internal unrest and diplomatic isolation sapped his support in the mid-to-late 1990s, Suharto was forced to resign from the presidency in May 1998.
After serving as the public face of Indonesia for over 30 years, Suharto then lived his post-presidential years in virtual seclusion. His legacy remains hotly debated and contested both in Indonesia and in foreign-policy debates in the West. Since his resignation, Suharto retired to a family compound in Central Jakarta, making few public appearances. Efforts to prosecute Suharto have mostly centered around alleged mismanagement of funds, and their force has been blunted due to health concerns. In january 2008, Suharto was taken to the Pertamina hospital, Jakarta, with complications arising from a weak heart, swelling of limbs and stomach, and partial renal failure. He died there at 27th of January at 1:10 pm.
Favourites
Totalitarianism
Reqs Psychology+3 Experience For All Land UnitsNo War +2 from Citizen+1 from TownIslamHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover TheologyFounder Receives a Islamic Imam
Suleiman
Suleiman I the Magnificent
Sultan of the Ottoman Empire
Lived: 1494 - 1566 AD
Background:
Suleiman I, known as "The Magnificent," "The Legislator" and "The Grand Turk," was the caliph of Islam and the sultan of the Ottoman Empire, taking the reigns of the Turkish kingdom in 1520 and ruling until his death in 1566.
The only heir still breathing when his father Selim I passed on, Suleiman continued his father's tradition of expansion throughout the Middle East, creating a new level of prosperity within the empire. Suleiman's conquests reached from Baghdad to Egypt, making the Ottoman Empire the main channel through which the riches of the east could reach Europe. Ottoman naval supremacy in the Mediterranean further aided Suleiman's economic empire, the corsair Barbarossa sending innumerable European ships to the sea floor.
It was this penchant for expansionism that struck fear into the heart of Europe. The Sultan's push northward took him as far as Hungary, where he found his progress stalled by the Hapsburg ruler Archduke Ferdinand I.
While his territorial accomplishments were impressive, the Sultan did not ignore the culture of his homeland, Suleiman himself a skilled poet and fervent Muslim. Towards the end of his reign, Suleiman commissioned numerous new mosques of a previously unseen grandeur, designed by master architect, Sinan.
Suleiman became well known in both the Christian west and the Muslim east, but for strikingly different reasons. Most Europeans envied the Sultan for the sheer opulence in which he lived. Celebrations of a previously unheard of grandeur were held at the Hippodrome in Istanbul. Rooms covered in gold, gems and the finest tapestries could be seen throughout the Sultan's palace at Topkapi.
Muslims, on the other hand, respected the Sultan for his belief in the rule of law. The Sultan adopted Islamic sacred law to compliment the traditional law already in place from his predecessors. Both Christian and Muslim recognized the renewed strength and sense of honor that Suleiman brought to the Ottoman Empire, deeming him worthy of the title "The Magnificent."
Favourites
Syncretism
Reqs PhilosophyNo from Changing State ReligionAll Buildings provide Religion Effect if State present+2 from Paddy FieldCan Build Missionaries without MonasteryIslamHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover TheologyFounder Receives a Islamic Imam
Suleiman ibn Dawud
TXT_KEY_LEADER_DAWUD_PEDIA
Favourites
Merchant Trade
Reqs Currency+1 Trade Routes () per City+1 from MerchantDouble Production Speed for Lighthouse, MarketIslamHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover TheologyFounder Receives a Islamic Imam
Suryavarman II
Suryavarman II
King of the Khmer Empire
Lived: c.1095 - 1150 AD
Background:
Suryavarman II was king of the Khmer Empire from 1113 to 1150 AD. Encompassing much of what is today modern Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, the Khmer Empire had been wracked with internal feuding and chaos for fifty years before Suryavarman's reign. Born in the last quarter of the eleventh century, Suryavarman would grow to become a skilled general, statesman and patron of the arts.
After overcoming his rivals for the throne, Suryavarman began a series of successful invasions into neighboring states and occupied what is now Thailand and Myanmar, extending the borders of the previously stagnant Khmer kingdom. Through his efforts, the empire re-established contact with China to the north and formed a powerful alliance with Champa to the east. Together with his Champa allies, Suryavarman launched an attack against the neighboring state of Dai Viet. Yet when their continued campaigns against Dai Viet ended in loss, the Champa King broke with the Khmer empire. Not one to lightly accept treachery, Suryavarman invaded neighboring Champa, but the brutal campaign ultimately cost the Khmer leader his life.
Yet Suryavarman's impressive legacy would reach far beyond his territorial gains. The massive temple to Vishnu which was constructed under his reign - Angkor Wat - remains the largest religious structure in the world. Considered the epitome of Khmer architecture, Angkor Wat acted as the heart of Suryavarman's expanded kingdom. And while stunning as a work of art, Angkor Wat also served as a masterful propaganda piece for the lord of the Khmer. Numerous bas-reliefs of the ruler cover the temple. Many of the sculptures depict Suryavarman among his court or in combat, but above all, they portray him as a calm and talented ruler. Suryavarman's wondrous temple complex remains one of the a central symbols of Khmer heritage and today appears on the modern Cambodian flag.
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Syncretism
Reqs PhilosophyNo from Changing State ReligionAll Buildings provide Religion Effect if State present+2 from Paddy FieldCan Build Missionaries without MonasteryHinduismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover CalendarMissionaries cannot spread in civilizations that have a different state religion
Taharqa
TXT_KEY_LEADER_TAHARQA_PEDIA
Favourites
Deification
Reqs Divination+25% when building Wonders+1 in Cities with State +1 slots for Priest+1 from Pagan Temple, Tomb, Sanctuary
Taizong
Li Shimin Taizong
Emperor of the Tang Dynasty
Lived: 599 - 649 AD
Background:
Emperor Taizong of Tang, was the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty of China, ruling from 626 to 649. As he encouraged his father, Li Yuan (later Emperor Gaozu) to rise against Sui Dynasty rule at Taiyuan in 617 and subsequently defeated several of his most important rivals, he was ceremonially regarded as a co-founder of the dynasty along with Emperor Gaozu.
He is typically considered one of the greatest, if not the greatest, emperors in Chinese history. Throughout the rest of Chinese history, Emperor Taizong's reign was regarded as the exemplary model against which all other emperors were measured, and his "Reign of Zhenguan" was considered a golden age of Chinese history and required study for future crown princes. During his reign, Tang China flourished economically and militarily. For more than a century after his death, Tang China enjoyed peace and prosperity. During Taizong's reign, Tang was the largest and the strongest nation in the world. It covered most of the territory of present-day China, Vietnam, Mongolia and much of Central Asia until eastern Kazakhstan. It laid the foundation for Xuanzong's reign, which is considered Tang China's greatest era.
In 630, Emperor Taizong sent his general Li Jing against Eastern Tujue (proto Turks)- to which Tang had once submitted-defeating and capturing its Jiali Khan Ashina Duobi and destroying Eastern Tujue power. This made Tang the dominant power in East and Central Asia, and Emperor Taizong subsequently took the title of Tian Kehan ("Heavenly Khan").
Unlike many of the nobility of the time, Emperor Taizong was a frank rationalist, openly scorning superstitions and claims of signs from the heavens. He also modified important rites in order to ease the burden of agricultural labour. The modern Chinese historian Bo Yang opined that Emperor Taizong achieved greatness by enduring criticism which others would find difficult to accept whilst trying hard not to abuse his absolute power (using Emperor Yang of Sui as a negative example), as well as through his employment of capable chancellors such as Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui and Wei Zheng. Emperor Taizong's wife Empress Zhangsun also proved to be a capable assistant.
Favourites
Clergy
Reqs PriesthoodCities with State Construct Buildings +25% FasterConfucianismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover ContractFounder Receives a Confucian ScholarMissionaries cannot spread in civilizations that have a different state religion
Tamerlane
Timur
Amir of the Timurid Empire
Lived: 8 Abril 1336 - 18 February 1405
Background:
Timur, normally know as Tamerlane (from Timur-e Lang) in English, was a fourteen-century conqueror of Western, South and Central Asia, founder of the Timurid Empire and Timurid dynasty (1370-1405) in Central Asia and great great grandfather of Babur, the founder of the Mughal dynasty, which survived until 1857 as the Mughal Empire in India.
Born into the Turco-Mongol Barlas tribe who ruled in Central Asia, Timur was in his lifetime a controversial figure, and remains so today. He sought to restore the Mongol Empire, yet his heaviest blow was against the Muslim Tartar Golden Horde. He was more at home in an urban environment than on the steppe. He styled himself a ghazi (An honorary title given to Muslim rulers who have shown remarkable success in extending the realms of Islam) yet some Muslim states, for example the Ottoman Empire, were severely affected by his wars. A great patron of the arts, his campaigns also caused vast destruction. Timur told the qadis of Aleppo, during the sack of that newly conquered city: "I am not a man of blood, and God is my witness that in all my wars I have never been the aggressor, and that my enemies have always been the authors of their own calamity."
Timur's talents were unique. He planned all his campaigns years in advance, even planting barley for horse feed two-years ahead of his campaigns. He used propaganda, in what is now called information warfare, as part of his tactics. His campaigns were preceded by the deployment of spies whose tasks included collecting information and spreading horrifying reports about the cruelty, size and might of Timur's armies. Such psychological warfare eventually weakened the morale of threatened populations and caused panic in the regions he intended to invade.
Whilst Timur uncharacteristic (for the time) concerned for his troops inspired fierce loyalty, he did not pay them. Their only incentive were from looting captured territory: a bounty that included horses, woman, precious metals and stones; in other words, whatever they, or their newly captured slaves, could carry away from the conquered lands.
Timur's short-lived empire also melded the Turko-Persian tradition in Transoxiana, and in most of their territories that he incorporated into his fiefdom, Persian become the primary language of administration and literary culture (diwan), regardless of ethnicity. In addition, during his reign, some contributions to Turkic literature were penned, with Turkic cultural influence expanding and flourishing as result. A literary form of Chagatai Turkic came into use alongside Persian as both a cultural and official language.
Favourites
Hegemony
Reqs Generalship+25% on City Conquest-1 turns of in Conquered CitiesDouble Production Speed for Barracks, Stable, Jail, Castle, Star FortIslamHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover TheologyFounder Receives a Islamic Imam
Topiltzin
TXT_KEY_LEADER_TOPILTZIN_PEDIA
Favourites
Deification
Reqs Divination+25% when building Wonders+1 in Cities with State +1 slots for Priest+1 from Pagan Temple, Tomb, Sanctuary
Trudeau
Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau
Prime Minister of Canada
Lived: 1919 - 2000 AD
Background:
Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau, PC CH CC QC FSRC usually known as Pierre Trudeau or Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was the 15th Prime Minister of Canada from April 20, 1968 to June 4, 1979, and again from March 3, 1980 to June 30, 1984. Trudeau began his political career as a lawyer, intellectual, and activist in Quebec politics. In the 1960s, he entered federal politics by joining the Liberal Party of Canada. He was appointed as Lester Pearson's Parliamentary Secretary, and later became his Minister of Justice. From his base in Montreal, Trudeau took control of the Liberal Party and became a charismatic leader, inspiring "Trudeaumania". From the late 1960s until the mid-1980s, he dominated the Canadian political scene and aroused passionate reactions. "Reason before passion" was his personal motto. He retired from politics in 1984, and John Turner succeeded him as Prime Minister. Admirers praise the force of Trudeau's intellect and salute his political acumen in preserving national unity against the Quebec sovereignty movement, suppressing a violent revolt, and establishing the Charter of Rights and Freedoms within Canada's constitution. Critics accuse him of arrogance, economic mismanagement, and unduly favouring the federal government relative to the provinces, especially in trying to distribute the oil wealth of the Prairies.
Favourites
Multilateralism
Reqs Geopolitics+4 Experience For All Air Units+100% War +100% Income from with Defensive Pact partners+20% from Trade Routes ()Cannot Use Slaves
Tun Perak
TXT_KEY_LEADER_TUN_PERAK_PEDIA
Favourites
Merchant Trade
Reqs Currency+1 Trade Routes () per City+1 from MerchantDouble Production Speed for Lighthouse, MarketIslamHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover TheologyFounder Receives a Islamic Imam
Uzbeg Khan
TXT_KEY_LEADER_UZBEG_PEDIA
Favourites
Slavery
Reqs MasonryCan Capture Workers+1 from Quarry+1 from Plantation, Slave Plantation, OrchardIslamHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover TheologyFounder Receives a Islamic Imam
Vargas
Getúlio Dornelles Vargas
President of Brazil
Lived: 1882 - 1954 AD
Background:
Getúlio Dornelles Vargas was President of Brazil, first as dictator, from 1930 to 1945, and in a democratically elected term from 1951 until his suicide in 1954. Vargas led Brazil for 18 years, the longest of any President, and second in Brazilian history only to Emperor Pedro II among heads of state. He favored nationalism, industrialization, centralization, social welfare and populism - for the latter, Vargas won the nickname "The Father of the Poor". He was a proponent of workers' rights as well as a staunch anti-communist.
Vargas was brought to power by political outsiders and the rank and file of the Armed Forces in the Revolution of 1930, a reaction to his loss in elections earlier that year. His ascent marked the end of the Brazilian oligarchic Old Republic and states-dominated coffee with milk politics. He successfully influenced the outcome of the Brazilian presidential election of 1934, and instituted an authoritarian corporatist regime in 1937 known as the New State, prolonging his hold on power. Vargas went on to appease and eventually dominate his supporters, and pushed his political agenda as he built a propaganda machine around his figure.
Vargas sought to transform Brazil from a plantation-based economy into an industrialized powerhouse under the guidance of the government intervention. His embrace of developmentalism was expressed not only in strong rhetoric, but also by lending protection to domestic industries and in a heavy investment budget aimed at kick-starting "strategic" sectors and setting up the necessary infrastructure. Vargas created state monopolies for oil (Petrobras), mining (Vale), steelmaking (National Siderurgy Company), alkalis (National Alkalis Company) and automobiles (National Motors Factory). His policies shaped the Brazilian economic debate for decades, from the governments of Juscelino Kubitschek and leftist João Goulart to the right-wing military dictatorship of 1964 to 1985. The protectionist trend was reversed by the 1990s with the liberal reforms of Fernando Collor de Mello and Fernando Henrique Cardoso.
With the global rise of democracy in the aftermath of World War II, Vargas agreed to cede power in free elections, thus ending the Vargas Era. His popularity earned him a late presidential term, but mounting pressure and political strife over his methods led him to suicide. He was the first president in the country to draw widespread support from the masses and is regarded as the most influential Brazilian politician of the twentieth century. He had also been a lawyer and landowner who occupied the 37th chair of the Brazilian Academy of Letters from 1943 until his death in 1954.
Favourites
Public Welfare
Reqs Social Services-50% from Corporations+1 from Scientist, Engineer, StatesmanCan Spend Gold to Finish Building Production in a CityCatholicismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover DoctrineFounder Receives a Catholic MissionaryFounded when Christian civilizations control less than half of all Christian citiesAlternately founded by the first civilization to build an Orthodox Cathedral without controlling the Orthodox holy city
Victoria
Alexandrina Victoria
Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India
Lived: 1819 - 1901 AD
Background:
Victoria served as English monarch for 64 years - the longest reign in English history. She took the throne at 18, after the death of her uncle, King William IV. At 20 she married Prince Albert, to whom she bore nine children. The couple was very much in love and co-ruled for twenty years. She and Albert were quite interested in science, and in 1851 they inspired the hugely successful Great Exhibition in the Crystal Palace, the proceeds going to establish a number of public museums, including the Albert and Victoria museum; which remains one of the world's finest museums even today.
During the early years of her reign Victoria was a quite active monarch, and she won the hearts of her people with her modesty and practicality. It was during this period that she performed her greatest service to the British people: she oversaw the transition of the British throne to a constitutional monarchy.
When Albert died in 1861, Victoria was devastated. She went into permanent mourning, retiring from the day-to-day rule of her country and secluding herself on the Isle of Wight, where she was increasingly involved in somewhat dubious spiritual exploration. Her self-pity was legendary - a remarkable change from her youthful modesty and enthusiasm.
Victoria's isolation and indifference to the management of her country left room for extremely talented prime ministers, such as Gladstone and Disraeli, to guide Great Britain into a golden age of prosperity and expansion. During this period the Empire came to dominate half of the world's area and population - including India and much of the Orient, as well as large chunks of Africa, Asia, North America and a goodly portion of the Pacific islands.
Victoria believed that Great Britain had a mandate from heaven to bring the ignorant peoples of the world beneath the protection of the British flag. She felt that she personally had a duty to these untutored people, to educate and clothe them, and most importantly, to bring them to the church.
During her reign, Great Britain grew from a moderate European power into the second greatest empire the world has ever known (exceeded only by the Mongol empire of Genghis Khan), an Empire on which "the sun never set," far overshadowing Imperial Rome in size and might. The Diamond Jubilee, celebrating Victoria's 60th year as monarch, dwarfed in pomp and majesty anything that a puny Caesar could have ever mustered.
Favourites
Colonialism
Reqs Exploration-50% Colony Maintenance+4 Experience For All Water Units+1 from Slave Mine, Slave Plantation+1 from Slave Mine, Slave PlantationCan Capture SlavesProtestantismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founding Protestantism triggers the Reformation
Walesa
Lech Walesa
President of Poland
Born: 1943 AD
Background:
Lech Walesa is a retired Polish politician and labor activist. A charismatic leader, he co-founded and headed Solidarity (Solidarnosc), the Soviet bloc's first independent trade union, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, and served as President of Poland from 1990 to 1995.
Walesa was an electrician by trade. Soon after beginning work at Lenin Shipyard (now Gdansk Shipyard), he became a trade union activist, for which he was persecuted by the Communist authorities, placed under surveillance, fired in 1976, and arrested several times. In August 1980 he was instrumental in political negotiations that led to the ground-breaking Gdansk Agreement between striking workers and the government. He became a co-founder of the Solidarity trade union movement. After martial law was imposed in Poland and Solidarity was outlawed, Walesa was arrested again. Upon his release from custody he continued his activism and was prominent in the establishment of the 1989 Round Table Agreement that led to semi-free parliamentary elections in June 1989, and to a Solidarity-led government.
In the Polish general election of 1990, Walesa successfully ran for the newly re-established office of President of Poland. He presided over Poland's transition from communism to a post-communist state, but his popularity waned and his role in Polish politics diminished after he narrowly lost the 1995 presidential election. As of 2016, Walesa continues to speak and lecture on history and politics in Poland and abroad.
Favourites
Egalitarianism
Reqs Civil Rights+3 per SpecialistDouble slots for ArtistCannot Use SlavesCatholicismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover DoctrineFounder Receives a Catholic MissionaryFounded when Christian civilizations control less than half of all Christian citiesAlternately founded by the first civilization to build an Orthodox Cathedral without controlling the Orthodox holy city
Wang Kon
Taejo Wang Kon
King of Goryeo
Lived: 877 - 943 AD
Background:
Also known as "King Taejo," Wang Kon was the founder of the Goryeo dynasty, which would rule Korea for over four centuries. In 877 AD Wang Kon was born into a powerful merchant family in the city of Songdo, and his father Wang Yung was the wealthy leader of his clan. At this time Korea was divided between several different states struggling for dominance, and it was generally a period of disruption and chaos, as armies marched and countermarched across the war-ravaged peninsula. In 895 Songdo was occupied by a faction in rebellion against the main Korean state of Silla. The occupation forces were commanded by a man named Gung Ye. Young Wang Kon followed his father into Gung Ye's service, where he quickly demonstrated great military ability.
Within a few years, Gung Ye had promoted Wang Kon to the rank of general. In 900, Wang Kon led a successful attack against the state of Hubaekje, and in 903 he launched a famous naval campaign against the southwestern coast of the same country. Wang Kon's mercy to the people he conquered won him a great deal of popularity and admiration even from his enemies. By 913, he was appointed the prime minister of the new state of Taebong, still under the service of (now king) Gung Ye.
Unfortunately, Gung Ye proved to be a horrible ruler. Once in power he quickly turned into a religious despot, naming himself Buddha and executing those who challenged his religious claims. In a fit of rage, he executed his wife and two sons. Believing that their new king was quite mad, four of Taebong's major generals plotted to overthrow Gung Ye. Seeking a charismatic leader who would rally the people to their cause, they asked Wang Kon to become the movement's leader; Wang Kon agreed, and after Gung Ye was overthrown and killed in 918, he became the ruler of the kingdom. Once in power Wang Kon renamed his state "Goryeo."
During his reign Wang Kon promoted Buddhism as the state religion, and oversaw the conquest of northern Korea and parts of Manchuria. When dealing with local clans, Wang Kon generally sought alliance and cooperation over conquest. When the rebel leader Gyeon Hwon attacked and captured the state of Silla, Wang Kon offered refuge to the deposed Sillan king. In return, the king surrendered his kingdom to Goryeo. In 936 Wang Kon's armies captured Silla and eliminated Gyeon Hwon's son and successor. Korea was united for the first time in recorded history. (It would remain united until at the end of World War II it was once again partitioned.)
Wang Kon finally died of disease in 943. History sees him as both an excellent military commander and a skillful statesman who created a nation through a series of clever alliances and decisive military campaigns. Wang Kon's descendants would rule Korea until 1392.
Favourites
Caste System
Reqs Literature+2 in All Cities+1 from Priest, Artist+1 from PlantationDouble Production Speed for Weaver, Jeweller, Pharmacy, GrocerConfucianismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover ContractFounder Receives a Confucian ScholarMissionaries cannot spread in civilizations that have a different state religion
Washington
George Washington
President of the United States of America
Lived: 1732 - 1799 AD
Background:
George Washington was born into wealth and gentility (or what passed for it in early American history). His family owned a lot of land in Virginia, and Washington grew up as a gentleman farmer. Early on he displayed a taste for adventure, and when the French and Indian war broke out, Washington was commissioned a Lieutenant Colonel at the age of 22. His British superiors praised him for his gallantry and courage under fire.
As he matured, Washington grew to dislike the protectionist policies of the British government, and he was elected one of the Virginia delegates to the Continental Congress. Being one of the few men with actual military service, when war was imminent, he was appointed Commander in Chief of the (largely theoretical) Continental Army.
As a war leader, Washington faced enormous challenges. Lacking money, equipment and trained troops and hampered by the new country's inherent political problems, he had to organize, equip and recruit an army that could stand up to the finest military in the world. In his first engagement, shortly after the "battle" of Bunker Hill, his forces drove the unprepared British out of Boston. But when he next met the foe on Long Island, New York, he was totally outnumbered, outgunned, and out-generaled by the British, and he was lucky to escape the total destruction of his army.
After this humiliating defeat, Washington began to employ the tactics that would eventually win the war. He realized that time was his best ally - the longer the war continued, the greater the British war weariness would grow. He couldn't hope to defeat the British war machine - but he could hope that the British would eventually give up the fight as not worth the cost. Further, the longer the war went on, the greater the chance that a foreign government would intervene on the American side.
For the next six weary years Washington fought to keep his army intact. He avoided major engagements. He harried the British troops when they were vulnerable, and retreated into the mountains when they were powerful. His forces dwindled to virtually nothing in the winter, and swelled with temporary volunteers during the summer. Men went shoeless and hungry, and morale plummeted. Only Washington's iron will and strong personal magnetism kept the army alive.
Finally, in 1781, the long-awaited foreign intervention occurred, and France went to war with Britain. With their invaluable naval assistance, Washington was able to capture the main British army in Yorktown, forcing Great Britain to admit defeat.
Washington became the first President of the United States. Prone to pomposity, he was an "Imperial" president, giving the new office much of the stature and dignity it has maintained ever since, while strongly reinforcing its democratic underpinnings. He believed in neutrality in foreign affairs - at least until the new country was stronger - and he sought to keep the twin evils of regionalism and factionalism from infecting the federal government. In this he was largely unsuccessful, as the next several centuries would attest.
Washington retired at the end of his second term. He returned to his family home and once again took up the life of a gentleman farmer. He died three months later, beloved by his countrymen and rightly recognized as the "father of his country."
Favourites
Constitution
Reqs Social Contract+1 Free Specialist per CityDouble slots for StatesmanDouble Production Speed for CourthouseProtestantismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founding Protestantism triggers the Reformation
Went-Antu
Went-Antu
Possible Leader in Harappa
Lived: Unknown
Background:
The script of the Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) has not yet been decrypted, not even do we know what kind of language they have spoken. Indian nationalists claim that the Aryans where a local tribe that was present even before the IVC flourished, while Dravidians claim that aryan invaders, coming either from modern-days Persia or central Asia, destroyed the dravidian IVC and pushing their people to the south.
The presence of Brahui, a dravidian language in Afghanistan and Pakistan, far away from other dravidian language, is regarded as a proof for the latter hypothesis. Another evidence is Elam language, an extinct language in western Iran, which shows dravidian characteristics and is sometimes regarded as a dravidian language; this would proof that the dravidian languages where spoken in a much more broader area than today, covering India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and even a fair part of Iran.
However, finnish indologist and sindhologist Asko Parpola claims to have decriphed the Indus Script based on the assumptions that it is in fact an early dravidian language. If it can be verified, the script reveales names of stars which can also be used to name people, like Meymin, Pakumin and Vatavelli.
Although some houses were larger than others, Indus Civilization cities were remarkable for their apparent, if relative, egalitarianism. All the houses had access to water and drainage facilities; this gives the impression of a society with relatively low wealth concentration, though clear social leveling is seen in personal adornments. Some scientist even say that the IVC is the first known Democracy, 2000 years before the Athenians.
Favourites
Redistribution
Reqs Arithmetics+25% in Capital-50% from Trade Routes ()Double Production Speed for Granary
Willem van Oranje
Willem I van Oranje
Prince of Orange, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht and Friesland
Lived: 1533 - 1584 AD
Background:
Willem van Oranje, also known as "William the Silent," was born in 1533 into the House of Nassau, a prominent noble family in what is today modern Germany. In 1544, the young Count of Nassau, but 11 years old, became the Prince of Orange through an inheritance, with new holdings in the Netherlands waiting for young Willem to come of age.
Oranje was raised in the lap of luxury, his family a favorite of the Spanish monarch in control of the Netherlands, Charles V. Oranje received his education in France at the behest of the Spanish King and proved to be both a precocious student and a charismatic leader. With the completion of his education, Oranje took control of his estates in the Netherlands. Thanks in part to his calm demeanor, which was a welcome change during an age of rising tensions, Oranje was appointed to a number of important posts within the Dutch government, eventually reaching the position of stadtholder, the highest rank open to a Dutchman. His selection to this auspicious rank came thanks to Phillip II, Charles' son and the new King.
By 1559, enforcement of the law of Placaten, which made Protestantism not only a religious crime, but a civil one as well, increased bloodshed between Protestants and Catholics throughout the Netherlands. Oranje, taking a stance against the persecution of Protestants in the Netherlands, gradually found himself on the wrong side of the Catholic Spanish monarchs. Catching word of an imminent assassination attempt, Oranje was forced to retreat to his castle in Nassau, hoping to keep himself alive and free of the growing Dutch rebellion.
When Phillip II sent Fernando de Toledo, the Duke of Alva, to deal with the uprising and arrest its leaders, Oranje was included in the list of outlaws. After failing to defeat Alva with his meager army, Oranje again fled, fortifying himself in the states of Holland. The Prince of Oranje, universally recognized for his ability and cunning, now found himself embroiled in the heart of the sweeping Dutch rebellion, which would continue to grow in size and scope into what became known as the Eighty Years' War.
Due to sudden changes in Spanish leadership within the region, a number of provinces, taking advantage of the ensuing havoc, allied themselves with Oranje and the rebellion. With the signing of the Union of Utrecht in 1579, the five northern provinces of the Netherlands, along with much of Flanders and Brabant, previously separate, united in their opposition to Spain.
To support the insufficient Dutch forces, Oranje had sought foreign aid and in 1581 received word from Francis, Duke of Anjou, brother of the French king, that if the struggling provinces declared independence from Spain and appointed Francis their sovereign, he would aid them in defeating their Spanish foe. So, on July 26, 1581, the United Provinces declared their independence from Spain.
Oranje, unfortunately, was unable to enjoy his country's new independence for long. Unhappy with the restrictions the Dutch nobles had placed on his powers, the Duke of Anjou turned against Oranje and his peers. And while Anjou was defeated not long after, an assassin hired by King Phillip gunned down Willem van Oranje in 1584, bringing to an end the leader's grand struggle for Dutch freedom.
While Oranje had passed on, the want for an independent Netherlands did not. Struggles would continue with the Spanish, but in 1648, the Treaty of Westphalia would end the Eighty Years' War and finally grant the country the self-determination that Willem van Oranje had died trying to institute.
Favourites
Republic
Reqs Writing+1 free specialists in 3 Most Cultured Cities+1 slots for Artist, Scientist, Merchant, Statesman+1 from Fishing Boats-1 from Farm, Paddy Field, Plantation, Slave Plantation+1 from School, Mint, CouncilProtestantismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founding Protestantism triggers the Reformation
William III
William III
Prince of Orange, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Gelderland and Overijssel, King of England, Ireland, and Scotland
Lived: 1650 - 1702 AD
Background:
William III was sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Gelderland, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from 1672, and King of England, Ireland, and Scotland from 1689 until his death. It is a coincidence that his regnal number (III) was the same for both Orange and England. As King of Scotland, he is known as William II. He is informally and affectionately known by sections of the population in Northern Ireland and Scotland as "King Billy".
William inherited the principality of Orange from his father, William II, who died a week before William's birth. His mother Mary, Princess Royal, was the daughter of King Charles I of England. In 1677, he married his mother's fifteen year old niece and his first cousin, Mary, the daughter of his maternal uncle James, Duke of York.
A Protestant, William participated in several wars against the powerful Catholic king of France, Louis XIV, in coalition with Protestant and Catholic powers in Europe. Many Protestants heralded him as a champion of their faith. In 1685, his Catholic father-in-law, James, became king of England, Ireland and Scotland. James's reign was unpopular with the Protestant majority in Britain. William, supported by a group of influential British political and religious leaders, invaded England in what became known as the "Glorious Revolution". On 5 November 1688, he landed at the southern English port of Brixham. James was deposed and William and Mary became joint sovereigns in his place. They reigned together until her death on 28 December 1694, after which William ruled as sole monarch.
William's reputation as a strong Protestant enabled him to take the British crowns when many were fearful of a revival of Catholicism under James. William's final victory at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 is still commemorated by the Orange Order. His reign in Britain marked the beginning of the transition from the personal rule of the Stuarts to the more Parliament-centred rule of the House of Hanover.
Favourites
Individualism
Reqs Civil Liberties+2 from Village, TownImprovements Upgrade without Being WorkedProtestantismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founding Protestantism triggers the Reformation
Wu
Liu Che Wu
Emperor of the Han dynasty
Lived: 156 - 87 BC
Background:
Emperor Wu of Han was the seventh emperor of the Han dynasty from 141 to 87 BC. His reign lasted 54 years - a record not broken until the reign of the Kangxi Emperor more than 1,800 years later - and remains the record for ethnic Han emperors. His reign resulted in a vast expansion of geopolitical influence for the Chinese civilization, and the development of a strong centralized state via governmental policies, economical reorganization and promotion of a hybrid Legalist-Confucian doctrine. In the field of historical social and cultural studies, Emperor Wu is known for his religious innovations and patronage of the poetic and musical arts, including the development of the Imperial Music Bureau into a prestigious entity. It was also during his reign that cultural contact with western Eurasia was greatly increased, directly and indirectly.
During his reign as Emperor, he led the Han dynasty through its greatest territorial expansion. At its height, the Empire's borders spanned from the Fergana Valley in the west, to northern Korea in the east, and to northern Vietnam in the south. Emperor Wu successfully repelled the nomadic Xiongnu from systematically raiding northern China, and dispatched his envoy Zhang Qian into the Western Regions in 139 BC to seek an alliance with the Greater Yuezhi and Kangju, which resulted in further diplomatic missions to Central Asia. Although historical records do not describe him as being aware of Buddhism, emphasizing rather his interest in shamanism, the cultural exchanges that occurred as a consequence of these embassies suggest that he received Buddhist statues from Central Asia, as depicted in the murals found in the Mogao Caves.
Emperor Wu is considered one of the greatest emperors in Chinese history due to his strong leadership and effective governance, which made the Han dynasty one of the most powerful nations in the world. Despite establishing an autocratic, centralised state, Emperor Wu adopted the principles of Confucianism as the state philosophy and code of ethics for his empire and started a school to teach future administrators the Confucian classics. These reforms had an enduring effect throughout the existence of imperial China and an enormous influence on neighbouring civilizations.
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Despotism
Reqs PropertyCan Sacrifice Population to Finish Production in a CityConfucianismHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover ContractFounder Receives a Confucian ScholarMissionaries cannot spread in civilizations that have a different state religion
Yaqub al-Mansur
Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur
Caliph of Morocco
Lived: c.1160 - 1199 AD
Background:
Abu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Mansur, in full Abu Yusuf Ya'qub Ibn 'abd Al-mu'min Al-mansur (born c. 1160 - died Jan. 23, 1199, Marrakech, Mor.), third ruler of the Mu'minid dynasty of Spain and North Africa, who during his reign (1184-99) brought the power of his dynasty to its zenith.
When his father, Abu Ya'qub Yusuf, died on July 29, 1184, Abu Yusuf Ya'qub succeeded to the throne with minor difficulties. In November factious tribes in Algeria captured Algiers and other towns, but by 1188 he had pacified his African territories and returned to his Spanish possessions to check the encroachments of the Portuguese and Castilians. His efforts took seven years until the Battle of Alarcos (July 18, 1195), when he decisively defeated the Castilian army of Alfonso VIII and took the title of al-Mansur (the Victor”). The following year he advanced as far as Madrid but was unable to take it.
Having defeated all of his enemies, al-Mansur returned to Marrakech, where he went into partial retirement and appointed his son Muhammad as his heir. Al-Mansur was a great builder of public works, many of which still stand.
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Fanaticism
Reqs Doctrine+2 Experience Points in Cities with State +100% Extra Commerce for BuildingsNo Non-State Spread+1 per Non-State in a City Buildings Do Not Expire+1 from PriestIslamHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover TheologyFounder Receives a Islamic Imam
Yaroslav
TXT_KEY_LEADER_YAROSLAV_PEDIA
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Merchant Trade
Reqs Currency+1 Trade Routes () per City+1 from MerchantDouble Production Speed for Lighthouse, MarketOrthodoxyHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover EthicsFounder Receives a Orthodox Missionary
Zara Yaqob
Zara Yaqob
Emperor of Ethiopia
Lived: c.1399 - 1468 AD
Background:
Zara Yaqob was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1434 until 1468. A member of the Solomonic Dynasty, which traced its heritage back to the Biblical King Solomon, Zara Yaqob was an extremely devout, if occasionally draconian, ruler. Confined to the Amba Geshen prison for the early years of his life due to being a potential threat to his brother Tewodros's grip on the throne, Zara Yaqob only gained monarchal power in 1434 after his brother's death.
As a highly religious leader, Zara Yaqob introduced many reformations and innovations in daily living based off his beliefs. Christmas was celebrated monthly in addition to many other feasts and celebrations. All thirty three festivals to the Virgin Mary were celebrated as if they were on the Sabbath, regardless of the actual day of the week on which they fell.
Zara Yaqob was strict in his religious beliefs. Citizens who did not rigidly follow the prescripts of the Christian Church and adorn themselves with religious markings were put to death. If a person admitted to, or was accused of, worshipping the devil (or another non-Christian god), they were put to death. Even Zara Yaqob's own family was not sheltered from these punishments. Several were beaten and put to death, including his own wife, in an effort to give credibility to his harsh punishments, which were widely criticized.
After a conspiracy organized by one of his subordinates came to light early in his reign, Zara Yaqob started exhibiting signs of paranoia. He began replacing all of his higher officials with female family members whom he felt he could trust. The emperor eventually attempted to appoint his own sisters, daughters and nieces to various governorships. Due to this paranoia, Zara Yaqob's reign is distinguished as being uniquely female dominated in a time when men traditionally held the majority of social power.
Zara Yaqob also sent several diplomatic missions into Europe and India in both an attempt to create alliances against the rising Middle Eastern Islamic powers and to bring skilled workers and artisans into his country.
Known mostly for his draconian religious laws, Zara Yaqob none the less was a practical leader and managed to protect Ethiopian interests from outside influence for the duration of his reign. Several of his progressive writings on religion, including the Mashafa Berha and the Mashafa Milad, are still available today.
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Theocracy
Reqs Theology+100% Religion Effects from State Buildings+1 from PriestOrthodoxyHoly City (if State ): +3All Cities (if State ): +1Founded by First to Discover EthicsFounder Receives a Orthodox Missionary