In Tyranny the world, characters and lore are strongly influenced by Ancient Mediterranean cultures of the late Bronze Age (c. 3300–600 BC for different regions) and early Iron Age (1200 BC – 1 BC for different regions). The developers actually have spoken about this many times and even the Wikipedia article about Tyranny notes that in the game «technology is transitioning from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age». Still there are some threads on the forums where people accuse this game of being «not true to its medieval setting». So maybe it’s not that obvious. Anyway, I decided to make a quick list of Bronze Age things I noticed during my first playthrough. If you have something to add — you are very welcome.
— Bronze. Well, it’s everywhere, so it’s hardly difficult to notice. Tons of bronze arms and armour, while iron is much more rare and precious.
— Weapons. We have falx (Latin word for «sickle»), a sword with curved blade that is sharp on the inside edge, famous weapon of Dacian warriors. We have javelins — of course, the existed in medieval warfare as well, but skirmishers with javelins were essential in almost every ancient army (Persian, Greek, Macedonian, Roman, etc.). We have bows, thrown daggers and no crossbows (which is historically accurate). Two-handed weapons are probably the most fantasy-like weapons for this setting.
— Helmets and armours. Influenced by ancient Greek and Balkan ones. There are obvious variants of classic hoplite cuirasses, Corinthian helmets, Chalcidian helmets and especially Phrygian or Thracian helmets (all Vendrien heavy soldiers wear them). Scarlet Fury Helmets and Sirin’s headdress also remind about Spartiate helmets. One of the artifacts, the shield from Azure, has a moon-shaped form of a classic peltast (a type of light infantry in Thrace and Paeonia who often served as skirmishers) shield. We also have some Persian-style equipment for archers/light infantry.
— Factions. The Overlord’s Empire is pretty much a mix of the Achaemenid Empire (ruled by Cyrus the Great — rings a bell?) and the empire of Alexander the Great. Scarlet Horus, despite all those Mad Max vibes, basically corresponds to stereotypical army of any eastern empire: lots of poorly trained and equipped forced conscripts serving as a meat shield for few elite regiments (Scarlet Furies, Blood Enchanters). Vendrien Guard faction clearly reminds ancient Dacia/Thracia with their helmets and falxes. Disfavored with their racism, sense of supremacy and military lifestyle share traits of both Spartans and early Romans.
— Women, their rights and role in society. The primary right to own land given to women is rather accurate, if your check social and economic structure of Egypt and Middle East. While the matriarchy theory still raises many questions, women anyway had a different role in ancient societies than in the Middle Ages. We know lots of ancient rulers who were women (Zenobia, Boadicca, etc). Some of them even used male attributes of power — like the almighty Hatshepsut with her ritual false beard. Which brings us to the question of the Overlord’s gender… oh well. I can also add that the Bestman tribes are organized like hyenas who actually have some kind of matriarchy.
— The name of the Vellum Citadel uses word Vellum that is derived from Latin «vitulinum» meaning «made from calf» and often refers to a parchment.
— The Tiers have some resemblance to the Peloponnese, a peninsula and geographic region in southern Greece. The very idea of various small states fighting each other and failing to face the conqueror together reminds of the Roman conquest of the Peloponnese.
— Archon is a Greek word that means "ruler". Exarch is a Greek title for military governors within the Byzantine Empire.
— Bronze. Well, it’s everywhere, so it’s hardly difficult to notice. Tons of bronze arms and armour, while iron is much more rare and precious.
— Weapons. We have falx (Latin word for «sickle»), a sword with curved blade that is sharp on the inside edge, famous weapon of Dacian warriors. We have javelins — of course, the existed in medieval warfare as well, but skirmishers with javelins were essential in almost every ancient army (Persian, Greek, Macedonian, Roman, etc.). We have bows, thrown daggers and no crossbows (which is historically accurate). Two-handed weapons are probably the most fantasy-like weapons for this setting.
— Helmets and armours. Influenced by ancient Greek and Balkan ones. There are obvious variants of classic hoplite cuirasses, Corinthian helmets, Chalcidian helmets and especially Phrygian or Thracian helmets (all Vendrien heavy soldiers wear them). Scarlet Fury Helmets and Sirin’s headdress also remind about Spartiate helmets. One of the artifacts, the shield from Azure, has a moon-shaped form of a classic peltast (a type of light infantry in Thrace and Paeonia who often served as skirmishers) shield. We also have some Persian-style equipment for archers/light infantry.
— Factions. The Overlord’s Empire is pretty much a mix of the Achaemenid Empire (ruled by Cyrus the Great — rings a bell?) and the empire of Alexander the Great. Scarlet Horus, despite all those Mad Max vibes, basically corresponds to stereotypical army of any eastern empire: lots of poorly trained and equipped forced conscripts serving as a meat shield for few elite regiments (Scarlet Furies, Blood Enchanters). Vendrien Guard faction clearly reminds ancient Dacia/Thracia with their helmets and falxes. Disfavored with their racism, sense of supremacy and military lifestyle share traits of both Spartans and early Romans.
— Women, their rights and role in society. The primary right to own land given to women is rather accurate, if your check social and economic structure of Egypt and Middle East. While the matriarchy theory still raises many questions, women anyway had a different role in ancient societies than in the Middle Ages. We know lots of ancient rulers who were women (Zenobia, Boadicca, etc). Some of them even used male attributes of power — like the almighty Hatshepsut with her ritual false beard. Which brings us to the question of the Overlord’s gender… oh well. I can also add that the Bestman tribes are organized like hyenas who actually have some kind of matriarchy.
— The name of the Vellum Citadel uses word Vellum that is derived from Latin «vitulinum» meaning «made from calf» and often refers to a parchment.
— The Tiers have some resemblance to the Peloponnese, a peninsula and geographic region in southern Greece. The very idea of various small states fighting each other and failing to face the conqueror together reminds of the Roman conquest of the Peloponnese.
— Archon is a Greek word that means "ruler". Exarch is a Greek title for military governors within the Byzantine Empire.
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