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First question: Why?
Of course why not, but the most important aspect for me is the improvement of smaller tags and having more flavour in Anatolia.
In my opinion the Ottoman part of Anatolia is quite good, with the exception of the western coast. But other countries around are seeming to be lacking.
My ideas on how to change the province setup:
1. Trebizond
Trebizond was actually bigger than currently it is in the game, stretching farther west. If we correct this and take the eastern half of Canik, we get a very long province that can easily be broken up to three parts, and establish it's own 3-province Trebizond area. I also moved the original Pontic mountains Wasteland further north so it does not cover an inhabited valley but the high peaks, and added another, actually greater range to the east that restricts movement from the south to Trebizond and province Nr.1. Also Trebizond province currently produces Naval Supplies, that could be changed to Wine or Cloth.
Province Nr.1 stands for Rizunda. In this part Caucasian language speakers called Laz people formed a majority up until the 20th century. Since the game is strict on 1-province cultures they may be represented by Georgian, their cousins. Until the 17th century they were mostly Orthodox Christians, and Rizunda (what is the Greek name, Turkish: Rize; Laz: Rizini) was the seat of a diocese. Potential trade goods are Fish, Wine and Wool. Terrain could be Plains or Hills, having both.
Province Nr.2 stands for Cerasous (Turkish: Giresun), another province with Pontic culture and Orthodox faith, it was diocese aswell. I find it strange that currently there are 2 Pontic culture provinces around Crimea but only 1 in Anatolia, their main base. Trade goods may be Grain, Fish, Wine or Nanal Supplies, and the terrain looks like Highlands or Hills.
2. Western Anatolia
There I decided to redraw a few provinces to represent regions better. Hüdavendigar would get 1 more province, and I reorganized Aydin and Germiyan, adding a new 3-province state, Antalya (Hamid, Antalya and Teke). Another changes are, Saruhan lost it's coastline to Sugla, which in turn ceded it's southern part to Aydin which now has a port. Regarding the cultures, I find the complete abscence of Greeks incorrect, therefore I'd change at least Sugla and Mentesha to Greek, as these are coastal provinces anyways, but potentially also Biga and Aydin, these two are a matter of aspect, I'm fine with both version.
Province Nr.3 is Karasi, which was an independent, quite strong beylik before Ottoman conquest. Turkish culture and Sunni faith, with potential trade goods of Wine, Grain and Livestock and terrain of Plains.
Province Nr.4 is Teke (capital Megri), with the old, reduced Teke provine renamed to Antalya after it's capital. Another Sunni Turkish province, producing Fish, inheriting the Highlands terrain of old Teke, now Antalya which in turn should be changed to Plains. Teke and Antalya should have another releaseable beylik: Teke.
3. Adana
I broke Adana straigh up to 3 provinces, because it was an enormous province even though it was quite important and densely populated. Also added another Wasteland, the Taurus mountains, with peaks higher than 3000 meter, that restricts direct movement from Karaman province. While it still fits Cukorova state, these 3 provinces could also form a Cilicia/Adana area with Icel province going to Karaman and Cyprus to form 'Eastern Mediterranean Islands' with Rhodes and Crete. A releaseable tag for Cilicia would be great.
Province Nr.5 is Kozan/Sis (Armenian: Sissu), the former being the Turkish name, the latter the Turkish version of the Armenian name. While the state religion of Ramazan is Sunni, this province should definately be Coptic religion, and preferably Armenian culture, as they formed a majority there up until the genocides. Trade good may be Wine and the terrain Highlands.
Province Nr.6 is Mersin (Greek: Myrsine, Armenian: Myrsini), which contains two important historic settlements: Tarsus and Mersin. I choose Mersin because it's farther from the border and because it became bigger through the time, but Tarsus (Greek: Tarsos, Armenian: Tarson) was also very important. This province could either remain Sunni Turkish or change to Coptic Armenian. Since I'd change Adana province to Coptic Armenian, this one could remain Turkish to represent them in the region. Another option is to create a 3-province culture called Cilician, that could either be in the Levantine, but I think rather in the Caucasian group. Although I'd prefer to simply change provinces to Coptic Armenian, not worrying about cultural exclaves. Trade good is Cotton just like in Adana, and the terrain could be similarly Drylands, but I feel like both should change to Plains, since they are not dry by Anatolian standards.
Province Nr.7 is Iskanderun (Greek, Armenian and Western: Alexandretta), while technically not Anatolia, I included it because during the scope of the game it was one of the most important Ottoman trading ports, with important links to Western Europe (particularly Genoa and Venice, but even as far as England). Sunni Syrian province with potential trade goods of Fish, Naval Supplies and Cloth, and the terrain either Drylands or Hills.
4. Aq Qoyunlu
Originally I didn't want to touch this part, but then I realized its also in need of some polishing. Since Trebizond now can form it's own state, Erzurum area would be left with only two provinces, tough enormous ones. So I took the chance and improved Erzurum, by adding 1 more province and splitting the southern part of Erzincan. Now the three province makes up a correct Erzurum area, while the cut part formed into another province and joins the bordering southern area. But oh-oh there are already 5 provinces in the bordering Kurdistan, so I decided to split it up as it sounds ahistorical anyways. Mush and Bitlis with Van, province which is not on the pic now forms the 3province 'Van Lake' area, and the new Nr.8 with Diyarbekir, Mardin and Hisn Kayfa forms Diyarbekir area, which was an Ottoman Vilayet.
Province Nr.8 is Kharput or Harput (Armenian: Kharpert) is there to correct the Erzurum-Diyarbekir border. The province itself may be Sunni and either Kurduish or Armenian. While can't be seen in Eu4, there flows the Euphrates and this region was very agricultural, making it ideal for Grain trade good. Terrain is clearly Highlands.
Province Nr.9 is Bayburt (Armenian: Baydbert, Greek: Paipert), once an important town on the Silk Road in the Valley of the Chorokhi river. It should be Coptic Armenian with a Trebizondine core on it. Terrain could be Highlands or Drylands, producing Wool.
5. Miscellaneous
Areas
I've drawn a map of how I imagine the reworked areas of Anatolia. Light Green is Antalya, Turquise is Trebizond, Blue is Erzurum, White is Van Lake and Yellow is Diyarbekir:
Culture & Religion
A few years ago Turkish culture was moved to the Levantine group, which made the life of the Ottoman players easier, as Arab Levantine cultures are automatically accepted if they upgrade to Empire rank. Now that's not just a bit inaccurate but also a needless boost in my opinion, in case there is another opportunity. Since no other surrounding culture group fits them really well, they shouldn't join those, and making Turkish a lonely 1-culture group is also not desirable. But what if we find another culture that could join Turkish in an Anatolian group?
I think the Turkomans are just perfect for the role. Speaking Oghuz-Turkic language like the Ottomans and their namesakes, the Turkmens, but arrived later to the region than the Ottomans and kept more distinctive turkic culture traits than them. They inhabit the area controlled by Dulkadir in 1444: Divrigi, Malash, Malatya and Ayntab. So these 4 provinces should have this culture with Dulkadir itself as main tag. Contemporary map shows their presence around historical Dulkadir in dark green:
So I propose to create an Anatolian culture group with Turkish, Turkoman (and maybe Cilician?) in it.
About Laz people, I find Georgian culture a working compromise, and I would really love to see 2 Pontic provinces in Trebizond, but Western Anatolia has long been a hot topic.
I'd pick Biga, Sugla, Aydin and Mentesha to change to Greek, since these were close to Greek majority even after 500 years, before the genocides and population changes. The rest should stay Sunni Turkish, with one exception:
It is worth mentioning are the Karamanlides. While their origin is not sure, they were Orthodox Christian people using Turkic langauge around Karaman province:
So it would be good to change the religion in Karaman province to Orthodox, while leaving the culture Turkic, creating the only such province.
Additional maps:
For reference to the wastelands and terrains there's an elevation map:
Ottoman Vilayets in the 1609 (Diyarbekir highlighted):
The Anatolian Beyliks of the 14th century:
Trebizond around 1400:
Adana Vilayet:
Thanks for reading, feel free to add anything valueable
Edit: Wastelands of the Pontic Mountains redrawn to reflect the pass better.
Of course why not, but the most important aspect for me is the improvement of smaller tags and having more flavour in Anatolia.
In my opinion the Ottoman part of Anatolia is quite good, with the exception of the western coast. But other countries around are seeming to be lacking.
My ideas on how to change the province setup:
1. Trebizond
Trebizond was actually bigger than currently it is in the game, stretching farther west. If we correct this and take the eastern half of Canik, we get a very long province that can easily be broken up to three parts, and establish it's own 3-province Trebizond area. I also moved the original Pontic mountains Wasteland further north so it does not cover an inhabited valley but the high peaks, and added another, actually greater range to the east that restricts movement from the south to Trebizond and province Nr.1. Also Trebizond province currently produces Naval Supplies, that could be changed to Wine or Cloth.
Province Nr.1 stands for Rizunda. In this part Caucasian language speakers called Laz people formed a majority up until the 20th century. Since the game is strict on 1-province cultures they may be represented by Georgian, their cousins. Until the 17th century they were mostly Orthodox Christians, and Rizunda (what is the Greek name, Turkish: Rize; Laz: Rizini) was the seat of a diocese. Potential trade goods are Fish, Wine and Wool. Terrain could be Plains or Hills, having both.
Province Nr.2 stands for Cerasous (Turkish: Giresun), another province with Pontic culture and Orthodox faith, it was diocese aswell. I find it strange that currently there are 2 Pontic culture provinces around Crimea but only 1 in Anatolia, their main base. Trade goods may be Grain, Fish, Wine or Nanal Supplies, and the terrain looks like Highlands or Hills.
2. Western Anatolia
There I decided to redraw a few provinces to represent regions better. Hüdavendigar would get 1 more province, and I reorganized Aydin and Germiyan, adding a new 3-province state, Antalya (Hamid, Antalya and Teke). Another changes are, Saruhan lost it's coastline to Sugla, which in turn ceded it's southern part to Aydin which now has a port. Regarding the cultures, I find the complete abscence of Greeks incorrect, therefore I'd change at least Sugla and Mentesha to Greek, as these are coastal provinces anyways, but potentially also Biga and Aydin, these two are a matter of aspect, I'm fine with both version.
Province Nr.3 is Karasi, which was an independent, quite strong beylik before Ottoman conquest. Turkish culture and Sunni faith, with potential trade goods of Wine, Grain and Livestock and terrain of Plains.
Province Nr.4 is Teke (capital Megri), with the old, reduced Teke provine renamed to Antalya after it's capital. Another Sunni Turkish province, producing Fish, inheriting the Highlands terrain of old Teke, now Antalya which in turn should be changed to Plains. Teke and Antalya should have another releaseable beylik: Teke.
3. Adana
I broke Adana straigh up to 3 provinces, because it was an enormous province even though it was quite important and densely populated. Also added another Wasteland, the Taurus mountains, with peaks higher than 3000 meter, that restricts direct movement from Karaman province. While it still fits Cukorova state, these 3 provinces could also form a Cilicia/Adana area with Icel province going to Karaman and Cyprus to form 'Eastern Mediterranean Islands' with Rhodes and Crete. A releaseable tag for Cilicia would be great.
Province Nr.5 is Kozan/Sis (Armenian: Sissu), the former being the Turkish name, the latter the Turkish version of the Armenian name. While the state religion of Ramazan is Sunni, this province should definately be Coptic religion, and preferably Armenian culture, as they formed a majority there up until the genocides. Trade good may be Wine and the terrain Highlands.
Province Nr.6 is Mersin (Greek: Myrsine, Armenian: Myrsini), which contains two important historic settlements: Tarsus and Mersin. I choose Mersin because it's farther from the border and because it became bigger through the time, but Tarsus (Greek: Tarsos, Armenian: Tarson) was also very important. This province could either remain Sunni Turkish or change to Coptic Armenian. Since I'd change Adana province to Coptic Armenian, this one could remain Turkish to represent them in the region. Another option is to create a 3-province culture called Cilician, that could either be in the Levantine, but I think rather in the Caucasian group. Although I'd prefer to simply change provinces to Coptic Armenian, not worrying about cultural exclaves. Trade good is Cotton just like in Adana, and the terrain could be similarly Drylands, but I feel like both should change to Plains, since they are not dry by Anatolian standards.
Province Nr.7 is Iskanderun (Greek, Armenian and Western: Alexandretta), while technically not Anatolia, I included it because during the scope of the game it was one of the most important Ottoman trading ports, with important links to Western Europe (particularly Genoa and Venice, but even as far as England). Sunni Syrian province with potential trade goods of Fish, Naval Supplies and Cloth, and the terrain either Drylands or Hills.
4. Aq Qoyunlu
Originally I didn't want to touch this part, but then I realized its also in need of some polishing. Since Trebizond now can form it's own state, Erzurum area would be left with only two provinces, tough enormous ones. So I took the chance and improved Erzurum, by adding 1 more province and splitting the southern part of Erzincan. Now the three province makes up a correct Erzurum area, while the cut part formed into another province and joins the bordering southern area. But oh-oh there are already 5 provinces in the bordering Kurdistan, so I decided to split it up as it sounds ahistorical anyways. Mush and Bitlis with Van, province which is not on the pic now forms the 3province 'Van Lake' area, and the new Nr.8 with Diyarbekir, Mardin and Hisn Kayfa forms Diyarbekir area, which was an Ottoman Vilayet.
Province Nr.8 is Kharput or Harput (Armenian: Kharpert) is there to correct the Erzurum-Diyarbekir border. The province itself may be Sunni and either Kurduish or Armenian. While can't be seen in Eu4, there flows the Euphrates and this region was very agricultural, making it ideal for Grain trade good. Terrain is clearly Highlands.
Province Nr.9 is Bayburt (Armenian: Baydbert, Greek: Paipert), once an important town on the Silk Road in the Valley of the Chorokhi river. It should be Coptic Armenian with a Trebizondine core on it. Terrain could be Highlands or Drylands, producing Wool.
5. Miscellaneous
Areas
I've drawn a map of how I imagine the reworked areas of Anatolia. Light Green is Antalya, Turquise is Trebizond, Blue is Erzurum, White is Van Lake and Yellow is Diyarbekir:
Culture & Religion
A few years ago Turkish culture was moved to the Levantine group, which made the life of the Ottoman players easier, as Arab Levantine cultures are automatically accepted if they upgrade to Empire rank. Now that's not just a bit inaccurate but also a needless boost in my opinion, in case there is another opportunity. Since no other surrounding culture group fits them really well, they shouldn't join those, and making Turkish a lonely 1-culture group is also not desirable. But what if we find another culture that could join Turkish in an Anatolian group?
I think the Turkomans are just perfect for the role. Speaking Oghuz-Turkic language like the Ottomans and their namesakes, the Turkmens, but arrived later to the region than the Ottomans and kept more distinctive turkic culture traits than them. They inhabit the area controlled by Dulkadir in 1444: Divrigi, Malash, Malatya and Ayntab. So these 4 provinces should have this culture with Dulkadir itself as main tag. Contemporary map shows their presence around historical Dulkadir in dark green:
So I propose to create an Anatolian culture group with Turkish, Turkoman (and maybe Cilician?) in it.
About Laz people, I find Georgian culture a working compromise, and I would really love to see 2 Pontic provinces in Trebizond, but Western Anatolia has long been a hot topic.
I'd pick Biga, Sugla, Aydin and Mentesha to change to Greek, since these were close to Greek majority even after 500 years, before the genocides and population changes. The rest should stay Sunni Turkish, with one exception:
It is worth mentioning are the Karamanlides. While their origin is not sure, they were Orthodox Christian people using Turkic langauge around Karaman province:
So it would be good to change the religion in Karaman province to Orthodox, while leaving the culture Turkic, creating the only such province.
Additional maps:
For reference to the wastelands and terrains there's an elevation map:
Ottoman Vilayets in the 1609 (Diyarbekir highlighted):
The Anatolian Beyliks of the 14th century:
Trebizond around 1400:
Adana Vilayet:
Thanks for reading, feel free to add anything valueable
Edit: Wastelands of the Pontic Mountains redrawn to reflect the pass better.
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