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All hail the Samrat Chakravartin! Surely his good karma will bring him substantial benefits in his next life.

I'm also glad to see that the departure of our merchant narrator won't mean the end of the story -- and Leon the Sunni Eunuch promises to bring an interesting change in perspective. Given the perennial clashes between Hindus and Muslims on the subcontinent, I'm sure he's a bit skeptical that even the better Guptas are quite as squeaky-clean as their supporters would have them be...
 
All hail the Samrat Chakravartin! Surely his good karma will bring him substantial benefits in his next life.

I'm also glad to see that the departure of our merchant narrator won't mean the end of the story -- and Leon the Sunni Eunuch promises to bring an interesting change in perspective. Given the perennial clashes between Hindus and Muslims on the subcontinent, I'm sure he's a bit skeptical that even the better Guptas are quite as squeaky-clean as their supporters would have them be...

I hope Leon delivers to the change of perspective and keeps the interest of the story alive!

To be honest I've played quite further, so I wont present each ruler but rather do a synopsis of the years that came. All comments welcome!
 
The Golden Age of Gupta Hindustani Islam I

From Iranshahr to the Gates of Anatolia

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Weeks Edwin The Return Of The Imperial Court From The Great Mosque At Delhi

The eunuch bowed to the ground before the lord of the castle, his new master

“I am at your service, grand lord. Command and I shall obey, so is my kismet in this life”

The lord motioned the young eunuch to rise

“Stand up. Tell me what is your name, your accent is similar to the Greeks to the south…”

“I am a Yavana that is true, master. I do not know my name that was given by my family, as I was taken as a child to serve under the Hindu rajas. With time they called me Leon, supposedly my appearance resembling a lion..”

An enslaved Greek by the Hindi no less… it was a known fact that reports and sources have been vague ever since the invaders of the west, the people known as the Aztecs, overran the Hispanian peninsula, the kingdom of Aquitaine and the outskirts of the petty kingdoms of Anglia.

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Ever since, the Pope of the exiled See of Rome called for Crusades to liberate the lands and unite Western Christianity. Thus all focus centered in the expulsion of the savage serpent worshipers from their house, effectively dividing the West and East and leaving the fate of Eastern Christianity on its own. It did not help that the Basileus waged expansionist wars in a bid to restore the Roman Empire and was diplomatically isolated by his neighbors.

“Tell me, the merchant, your former master…who was he? He spoke of the Guptas and Hindustan in such light, it would seem that the Emperor of Hindustan is mightier than Prester John himself in the Orient!”

Leon cleared his throat. Could he betray his former master’s secrets? But then again, he deemed fit to transfer him, as cattle, to a new owner. There was no bond anymore, other than the sentimental attachment he had grown with the Hindu merchant.

“Before you stood no other than Rajkumar Dhaulshaya Gupta of Hindustan, pretender to the throne of Hindustan and Iranshahr and the many imperial demesnes…”

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A Prince pretending to be a merchant?! What folly was this…

“…but he was forced to abdicate from his birthright and his caste, ever since living as a merchant and orating the tale of his family, in disguise of course.”

“But why hide his identity? It would have been an honor to have as guest royalty of such high standing!”

“Master, if I may say so, the vestiges of your realm have never bordered with the extend of the Gupta Empire. There is a reason why all communications have been cut with the Christian East and perhaps why , nominally, I do not share the same religion as your subjects..” he implied

A long long time ago, hundreds of years before our time, the son of Samrat Raghudev, the one who united all India under his banner, a man named Devanayaka Gupta was the spark for Hindustan to become what it is.

According to a legend, the Samrat Devanayaka contemplated due to his cynical nature of the divine order of things. During a tiger hunt in Purushapura, the border of Hindustan with the Sultanate of Khiva, he came upon a mosque and became enthralled with the people’s devotion, remembering his father’s sympathy of Islam. It was easier to follow one God than many and it was easier to anger many gods than one. Thus, he decreed he would follow Sunni Islam and Guptavarṣa was known as Hindustan henceforth.

But he knew that should he enforce his beliefs on his subjects, there would be mass upheaval and it would have been great folly. Thus he passed a second decree: he would not pressure anyone to follow the new faith but in exchange they would pay the unbeliever tax, as it was decreed in the Quran.

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The transition was not easy: before they would know, the Rajas and Maharajas of India became vassals to a man who was not of their faith and, in fact, of a faith they fought vigorously to expel from the Hindus River. Soon though the culture of tolerance spread in the subcontinent and under Devanayaka, the looting of Hindu, Buddhist and Jain temples was restricted to the minimum.

The conversion coincided with the spread of the dreaded Black Plague , which as recorded, killed thousands of people from Iranshahr to your Europe. The Brahmins said it was the curse of Shiva for the conversion of the Samrat of the Four Directions. Surprisingly though, the Black Plague never reached India and as answer the imams replied Allah blessed Hindustan for the Emperor’s decision.

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As now Hindustan was one of the Ummah, the barred gates of the Muslim world opened to the Hindu scholars and travelers, although warily. Samrat Devanayaka married one of the daughters of the Persian Shah of Khiva and peace temporarily ruled. However, when he died due to old age, many saw the prospect to claim the throne of Khiva and indeed the second born son of the Shah approached the Samrat, commencing the Hindustani war of Khiva.

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This is the story of the Gupta Empire and of Hindustan: through vast wealth and promises, ambitious men and women pledged their servitude to the Gupta Dynasty and in return ascended thrones which in other circumstances they would not attain.

Countless of Samrats through decades waged war in this manner and under the Sunni flag (and sometimes Zikri) made their way and subdued the Persians. Thus then the Guptas were also Samrats of Iranshahr, the Persian Empire.

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Persian scholars flocked to the court of Delhi (as it was deemed the new capital since the traditional capital in Bengal was too remote to effectively govern the vast imperial administration) and in time, through Hindustani tolerance, fertilized the thought of thinkers, leading to an infused Persian- Hindu nomenclature. It was not uncommon for the Samrats to speak both Hindu and Persian, adopting their customs and morals. Even in our days, many Persians have adopted the Hindu faith , worshiping the Fire God Agni, while the Hindus pray to Allah per custom.

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Such was their renown that the Mongols, despite the vast wealth of the Empire, omitted to loot and invade the realm of Hindustan, by the presentation of glamorous gifts and prestigious Gupta princesses to the Mongol horselords.

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The stage was set for the hordes of Hindustan to be unleashed upon the borders of the Byzantine Empire. The Basileus called to his aid the Christians of the West but few rallied to his cause. At first, the hordes were repelled but later it became evident that it was futile.

From that age on, Anatolia was overseered by the Hindus, with the Greeks becoming slaves, members of the lowest caste of the Hindu system. Generations ago, one of my forefathers surely fought for the defense of his homeland and lost.

The Gates of Anatolia were breached forevermore

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Perilous days for Christendom in general, and for the Greeks in particular. I have to wonder if the current crop of Gupta emperors aims on matching the achievements of Alexander the Great -- from the opposite direction.
 
Perilous days for Christendom in general, and for the Greeks in particular. I have to wonder if the current crop of Gupta emperors aims on matching the achievements of Alexander the Great -- from the opposite direction.

Indeed, they would aim to reach as far as possible... but how much could the Gupta Empire expand? Would tolerance and multiculturalism be enough to glue together this diverse patch of clashing personalities and vassal lords?

Perhaps I am letting on too much... ;)

Note to all still following: Sadly I couldn't resist and played till the end... so the next chapters will be more brief and following the general lines of what has happened. Maybe it is also for the best as such a long time has passed I am unsure if the story has the same flow. Anyhow, I will do my best to deliver until the end of the game time what transpired!
 
The Golden Age of Gupta Hindustani Islam II

The Conquest of Greece / The Time of Kalki and the Fall of Rome/ An Age of Declared Peace and Immortality


When Anatolia was lost to the Hindupersian horde, the West was finally shaken from its lethargy and pledged its armed assistance to the Greek Emperor. It was soon needed: for Samrat Brahmapala II the Magnificent, as his court pronounced him, became dazzled by the prospect of being the man who would enter Constantinople, the Jewel of the Mediterranean.

In an episodic council meeting, the Maharajas pleaded their case for the Samrat to change his mind. They cried caution: even the Aztec Empire ruled by the serpent worshipers would send men to relieve the Basileus.
But could the Emperor of the Four Directions stand back and not use his armies to sweep away any resistance? The Invasion of Greece was called and again, elephants, chariots , droves of men and to some extend warrior women marched to cross the Bosporus straits.

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Only this time, the other side of the continent mustered their forces to prevent the Muslims to cross. Christians and pagans, all against the awesome army, brought with them their valor and skill in a mettle with the always renewed armies of the East.

To the Samrat, it was like annoying flies, their fate ready to be met when they would be discarded away with one stroke.
Yet his arrogance and foolishness were punished: in a battle upon the Caucasus, his favored son lost his life in a duel with a Westerner. Hindustan lamented his death, although some invoked divine will , as he had long been showered in sin and vanity, causing shame to the House of Gupta.

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Thus a white peace was hastily concluded and the Samrat spiraled into depression. In an epiphany of clear mind, he would command a second invasion of Greece, when the West was yet again engaged against the Aztecs and their aggressive expansion to Aquitane. But the glory of the conquest was not granted to him but his son, Gangeya Gupta, the Maharaja of Anatolia.

It was Samrat Gangeya who would enter Constantinople and from then on, the city put under the yoke of the Quran.

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Or would it? The chants from the Hindu mandirs in Delhi rang in the ears of Samrat Gangeya and a vision shrouded his mind.

“The saffron flag waves over the conquered Yavani! The Trimurti are pleased and their will is done. Ever so long ago, Lord Mahadev, Ganesha and Khali fought with or against the Guptas and their ambitions. They lay dormant until this day when Garuda defeated the double headed Yavana eagle! Now again they rise and discard in the Gupta Hegemon’s mind the Arab God, Allah”

How perplexed were the subjects of Hindustan when Samrat Gangeya denounced Allah and proclaimed Vishnu his deity. He announced the Time of Kalki to have arrived and sooner or later, under Hindustan, the world would have no need of wars, only world peace. Only the final frontier need to be captured: Rome, the capital of the head Brahmin of Europe.

And so it was done. Rome did fall and became for hundreds of years a center of a syncretic faith centered around Jesus and Krishna

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Was world peace established? For a time yes, under the rule of the three consecutive Samrajanis, each blessed with military prowess, diplomatic acumen and stewardship management which excelled all. One was rumored to have even found the Tree of Life and had almost grasped immortality…almost…

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Immortality? Almost grasping it? And how he would know? You find yourself questioning the words of the Greek eunuch...

The court was eventually moved to Jerusalem, as the holy city of all religions, sending a message that under Jainism there was no need to taint the soul with religious conflict and war. The teachers of faith applauded the Hindustani way, an empire aiming to unite the various people under the umbrella of protection of the Guptas.

Yet it was a fragile peace. A peace which shattered with the rise of Samrat Krishnray Gupta, which would mark the decline of the Gupta dynasty and the fading of the legend of the illustrious family..

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I've just caught up with your AAR and all i can say is Wow
 
The Gupta reach there apex -- but the higher one rises, the worse a fall may hurt, and I don't like the ominous tone of the end there...

Sadly...yes... :)

I've just caught up with your AAR and all i can say is Wow

Hopefully not an ambiguous wow, hehe :D But thank you! :)

Well then, after much much delay, I will give you the final chapter to this tale. I did not want to risk breaking the save with Monks and Mystics though I am willing to try one day the Vedic Societies and their more sinister sects :)
 
Epilogue: Shattered Hindustan- The True Ātman Revealed


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Can you reshape a broken glass, even if it was made from the finest of quality? Such was the fate of the mightiest of empires ever to appear before the world, from the time of Alexander the Great.

It was a relief for the West when the Hindu invader fell from within, wracked with the conspiracies of the grand courts of Delhi and Jerusalem. The last great Samrat Krishnray perished to them, his body never actually found.

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“And how would you know?” replied the nobleman

Leon let a smug smile and answered

“I know…because I was with them. And Rajkumar Dhaulshaya was with them… thus he wandered the roads, exiled from the palace of Delhi”

You let a gasp of surprise. Such a cynic confession.

“So you were brothers in crime… yet now you are alone. What gives you the strength to admit such heinous crime?”

“My lord…I will reveal to you my motive once I am finished with the tale. For alas, not much is left to orate…”

When Samrat Khrishnray was murdered, the Hindustani Empire reeled from shock. In hasty procession, his successor was named his daughter, Samrajni Karmavati, a most skilled warrior woman, yet too trusting for the court intrigue ever present, which was more poisonous than a basket of jungle vipers.

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The glass though was shattered. United the lords of Iranshahr and petty maharajas, deemed it was enough and the centralized rule of Hindustan was chocking their necks. The banners of rebellion rose and this time, nothing could contain their anger and fire. In their rage, Karmavati fell lifeless, leading the center against the plentitude of rebels. What we knew as Hindustan was no more, isolated to the far reaches of the subcontinent forever.

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“Behold! The Great Empress was struck down, the Goddess of Men bleeding profusely as a common mortal! Weep Hindustan, for today a great woman perished!”

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After a cruel time of regency, her underage son rose to the throne of the Empire, the shadow of what it was. Territories were breaking free as the years passed and in time, he became a mere claimant of lands which were rightfully of the Gupta lineage.

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Another calamity would befall the Gupta, shaking the very foundations of their Empire. Indeed, in the streets of the hallowed capital, there were those who lost their faith to the Samrat and found another to lead them to glory and salvation. A child rumored to be the descendant of Muhammad, The Best of Mankind, himself was proclaimed as the Caliph of Delhi and in force contested the worn armies of Hindustan.


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Fearing the loss of Delhi would spell the doom of his dynasty, Samrat Anangpala led his armies personally to do battle against the Shi’a apostates. Like his mother before him, he crashed into the fray, losing his life and spelling the death knell for his poorly demoralized armies. The Gupta Imperial Family fled in exile to save themselves and the boy Caliph sat at the plum throne of the Hindustani Samrats.

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One loss followed the other. With no standing army to keep in check the vassals, those few who still pledged loyalty to the Hindustan Emperor, the title became a plaything for the successors of Anangpala, with eventually one of the heirs running away with the secrets of the Hindustani Treasury Alcoves. Pauper and deserted, the last Hindustan Emperor fell at the mountains of Bori, the Hindustan Empire dismantled and the subcontinent broken into pieces.

The new dynast to claim being the head of the family was an offshoot Maharaja of Andhra. It is true that he claimed much promise, having consolidated the South under his armies.

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Himself and his successors pledged to remove the sacrilege committed and the banner of the Gupta would once again fly in the Delhi Palace. In a series of aggressive wars, they pushed to the North until finally; the Caliph was ousted and came to rise the Delhi Maharaja of Gupta.

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Old habits though never die. The cosmopolitan lifestyle of Delhi seeped yet again into the Guptas , announcing religious tolerance and belief in many gods. Underestimating the danger, a band of religious zealots united their arms to once again remove the Guptas and their decadent lifestyle.

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“And then? What came of the Gupta Delhi Emperor?”

Again Leon took his sinister look…

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“…I know…for I was there…”

“And the priest there knows…for he was there too, though he was not a priest then, but a runaway syncretic follower of Buddhist Rome”

The lord looked puzzled at Leon the eunuch and the priest. Soon later, came Rajkumar Dhaulshaya, emerging from the shadows.

“How can you know all these details…these span for hundreds of years…it is not humanly possible.. and not humanly feasible to have been there in person!”

The priest replied

“ My lord…for a long time, your castle has been the sight of the heathen lone tree…the one tree that blossomed the apple of immortality which was grasped from the hands of the Gupta Samrajni. We shared a piece of it after her demise…but it is not enough for the gift of complete immortality. Already its effects will fade, perhaps this being the last life of our beings. And I believe you have a treasured prize which completes the circle…”

Rajkumar Dhaulshaya coughed, the “fat merchant” looking more round than ever

“I fear dear priest…and dear Leon…that this is no longer the case. Once you were orating the feats of my family, I found my way and now it seems I am digesting it…ah… how people would feel when the reborn Gupta will return to India and claim his rightful place!”

The priest and Leon the eunuch locked their eyes on Dhaulshaya. The traitorous glutton! Not only he devoured the promised prize but also taunted his former partners.

“In the end, it would have been the race of the best men, don’t you agree? For how long would your servant bond restrain your desires? Or you priest when you discovered that we too were looking after the gift of immortality?”

“Only a Gupta such as myself deserved it after all!”

Leon’s eyes flashed

“Only a fat pig such as yourself deserve to be slaughtered! I shall cut your nose like your kinsman!”

In the chaos of confusion, Leon grabbed a dagger and plunged it at the heart of the “fat merchant” and then attempted to cut off the nose of his former master, a way of revenge over the years of slavery. A bitter fight endured, with the merchant struggling to break free from the grasp of his previous follower.

Suddenly though, the sky blackened and clouds gathered. A gust of wind blew and before you could realize, excruciating pain began to tear your inner self, collapsing to the floor

“Return! Return!”

You find yourself exhausted and dazzled. What happened?

“I…where am I…?”

“Relax” said a soothing voice

Your nostrils are filled with the perfume of incense and above you is a man clad in robes. You recognize him as Raj, your friend who accepted to attempt your return to a past life through hypnotism.

“The session is finished. Had I not intervened, you now would have died and the pursuit of your past life would have ended in naught. Quite a story though you have shared, even though involuntary!”

You then began to recall. The fat merchant’s tale. The fate of the Gupta by Leo the Eunuch. The sudden turn of events and the demise of Rajkumar Dhaulshaya, perhaps the only known direct descendant from the great Samrats of old!

Yet you feel...as if something is still stirring in your soul. A remnant from that fight and a reason of the infatuation with the occult history of the Hindu Rajas. You can still remember your mother saying how identical you were to your grandfather, a Damapati who traced his lineage to the great Gupta lords.


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“If you have found your true Ātman then, beware, for you have still unclosed businesses. But for now, I am certain you are…”

“Gupta Twice Born!” you complete his sentence.



He who knows at the same time both knowledge and not-knowledge , overcomes death through not-knowledge, and obtains immortality through knowledge - Isha Upanishad

 
And so the cycle continues. A shame that the Gupta empire fell, and fell hard -- yet perhaps empires, like men, experience the wheel of samsara in their way...

There was a beam of light with the Andhra branch to restore what was lost but decadence skyrocketed without control. Nevertheless , it was a fun campaign!

Thank you for sticking by! I wished if there was more time, to have fully expanded upon the plot of the AAR, but in the end I summarized the main points that I had in mind. Who knows in another campaign, Hindustan could reach the British Isles!

Take care!