Dev Diary 2: Trip to Egypt
As I mentioned before, I don't have as much time as I used to and I still have an additional project on my mind, so I decided with the blessing of Svanley (the original author of the Bronze Age mod) to transfer the Early Iron Age modification to the Middle East map from the Bronze Age mod. Therefore, in today's DD we will travel, among others to Africa and we will visit the holy land for a short while.
We will start our trip from Cyrenaica before the arrival of Greek settlers. These lands during the Early Iron Age were inhabited by semi-nomadic Libyan tribes. During the fall of the Bronze Age, there was a mass migration of the Meshwesh and Libu (hence the name Libyans) tribes inhabiting this area. Their place was taken by new tribes known from the Greek chronicles: Abystae, Auschisae and Bacale. The Nessamonians lived further inland, and the short-lived Tire colony of Aziris was established on the coast.
As for Egypt, at that time there was a revolt of Libyan troops from the meshwesh tribes mentioned above. The Libyans decided to make one of their own king. The new ruler, however, was unable to ensure order and was not recognized throughout the country, which resulted in mass looting. Fortunately, the previous rulers of the 21st dynasty decided to hide the mummies of the previous pharaohs, which allowed them to survive to our times.
Due to the difficulties in the supply of iron and other metals, the Egyptian army could not afford to forge full armor sets, such as the Assyrians (which is why, unlike them, they are usually depicted with lighter armor), therefore I decided that the bronze age models are quite realistic (and they look awsome, I have to admit it).
As for ethnic minorities among Egyptians, I know only one scribe's text saying that his colleague has a delta accent crossed with an elefantine accent, but since these are border regions, it is possible that he simply insulted him
. As for the situation in Upper Egypt, there was a plunder there as in the north. Pharaoh's control over these areas was, however, little, and the real power was exercised by the priests of Amun in Thebes, who nevertheless maintained an appearance of loyal subjects.
In Nubia, however, the lack of control by Egypt brought local elites back. By the way, the story of the last viceroy, which I have already presented before, deserves a movie. Nevertheless, I will repeat it. During the reign of the last ruler of the 20th dynasty, Ramses XI, in Thebes, the high priest was removed from his post. He turned for help to the pharaoh who sent him a corps of Nubian soldiers, but later a disagreement between the viceroy of Nubia and the priest arose and on the order of the ruler, Penehesi (governor of Nubia) was forced to withdrew his soldiers. The viceroy, unable to accept the loss of influence and importance, denounced the obedience to the pharaoh and soon entered Thebes again with his army. After conquering the city, he marched north where there was an unresolved battle. Seeing no chance of winning, the Nubians withdrew, ravaging Thebes and the royal tombs. Years later, the new high priest negotiated with Penehesi, asking in a letter if he was still loyal to the king (who had meanwhile lost power and became a puppet) which is strange considering his actions and is a cause of debates to this day.
Finally, we will briefly visit Canaan, where I admit that the new map will certainly be better at reflecting the complex relationships between the ethnic groups of the region. As an example, I will mention that the election of the first Israelite king was caused, among other things, by a compromise between the most powerful tribes of Judah and Menasseh. Hence, the choice fell on Saul, from the small tribe of Benjamin. The compromise did not last long because David, who claimed the throne after Saul's death, came from the tribe of Judah, and the Menassah tribe could not agree to his ascension. Israel's new ruler will have more nationalities to control than just two, and his task will be to unite the tribes into one nation.
Sorry for the long absence but I hope it was worth it. If you have any suggestions, feel free to write. I am still considering separating the Israelites as there are more of them now with the Canaanites. Also the Philistines would be more to my liking as a separate group as there were still related peoples in Cyprus and Crete (And for other reasons like a separate graphic design). Hope to be back soon. As for this additional project, I was thinking about making the mod also in CK3, but due to the greater complexity (and my smaller knowledge of the code) it will take time. See you soon.
