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Civilization Quest

Public Encyclopedia

Thorkin Cissa, Tales of the Easterner ( Carthage University, 1949)​

For many archaeologists and historians who specialize in the Roman North Africa and the early African middle ages, the transformative years of the early period of Ghana from 295-310 AD, and the city of modern day Walata provides one of the most tangible links to the transitional phase of the Sahel and West Africa.

One which researchers are now taking a deeper look at more than before.

The site that modern Walata has become is a city not totally divorced from its descent as a place made more out of legend and tale. For some, this has only recently been adequately confirmed. The city of Walata is now considered to be the most likeliest location for "The battle of Ghana" a name which it received after the fact.

Researchers recently found a massive grave sight nearby Walata that contained the remains of upwards of 40,000 or more male skeletons with several lethal injuries. The bodies seemed to have been preserved in their attire and with their weapons, giving researchers a deep look into the view of what defenders and attackers would have looked like in that era. The tens of thousands of horse corpses found near the bodies also provide an even deeper look into the armies the Sahel could support then as well, giving us a treasure trove of insights into the history of the region at the time.

The abrupt increase in urbanization, retained architectural features of the settlement, and the sharply increased use of the Tamizight script had at first stumped researchers before leading to the northern foreign invasion hypothesis. That was only later discarded when the local legends, which had been reasonably assumed to have been amplified with time, had instead been used to find a shared connection that pointed to a series of collections found within the scrolls of the elites in the area. The details of those scrolls seemed to have been over various arguments; a reluctance to teach the script to southern conquerors, references to a organizing of the first Ghanas (high warriors), their first king and his establishment of the kingdoms first laws, and the first documented cases of PTSD in West Africa, the death curse.

According to the details contained within these accounts, the battle was nearly a Pyrrhic victory for the defenders had it not been for the brilliant and swift efficiency of the elites to capitalize on the Berber defeat. These details fill in the gaps for the sudden increased presence found near the site, further giving us an insight as to how the first king, Dinga Cissa, had been able to save the near defeat and his no doubt lost prestige from the jaws of failure with a very shrewd mindset and the expert political skill he had developed negotiating with the tribal elders who helped his during his rule. The circumstances of how he had done so and a construction of his person will elaborated on further.
 
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Thank you notmi. And no, I don't know how to link individual posts.

Sorry I'm late everyone. Although I am sure you are all beautiful people, it is important to spend time with the people you love on Christmastime. I sincerely hope you did as well. After all, waiting for an update with nothing to do really sucks!

304 Results

The year has been rather successful. You start off with some brave young men going west. Although it is a dangerous mission, they return by the year's end, with some startling information. Your young men went to the west, following along the path of the Baoulé, learning of and bartering with the natives there. They eventually came to a large body of water. Just as your explorers were about to cross it, the natives there warned them against it. The natives called the area the "River of Deceit", so named for its mysteriousness and the native's belief that it is comprised of all of the evil in men's hearts. Those who have attempted to cross it have found that they can no longer see land if they go far enough, and people who are determined to reach the other side have never returned. Deciding to follow the friendly natives' advice, they turned back.

Observing Death's Curse has also been effective. Your advisors note that the people suffering from Death's Curse, despite their strange behavior whenever they are reminded of the battle with the Berbers', do not remember much of their role in the battle. They become withdrawn from their family members, and are easily irritated. Your advisors have also noted that there are some people, very few, who have not partaken in the battle, but seem to be suffering death's curse. Study of the details they have given you reveals that almost all of them have suffered a tragedy relatively recently. Hm.

In addition, your gifts to the other tribes have finally been accepted, and the tribes are friendlier with you than before. However, you are not sure if this is genuine friendship, or just a fair-weather friendship? Or worse, is it all a ruse to get your guard down? Your peoples' acceptance of the Berbers and your new-found manpower must anger the other tribes somewhat. Only time will tell. Only time…

Your attempts at learning horse riding was surprisingly difficult for your initial test riders, but with the assistance of the Berbers, you managed to have your people conquer the horse. They are much more even-tempered than the camels, and can go very fast. In addition to this, they are also more plentiful than the camels. You wonder if this means the horse can be used for more than just the upper echelons of your society. You ponder a bit, and resolve to make a decision next year.

You still haven't fully created a shadow group yet, but progress is good.

However, your people have not yet learned how to fully read the Berber text. While progress is slow, you can't help but wonder if these texts could have any more significance than basic record-keeping. Perhaps you could write down your tales and preserve them for future generations. Wouldn't that be an idea? You wonder if the elders would allow it.

Oh yes, and you almost forgot the most important part of the year, for you at least. Mourning the loss of your wife. You spend many nights sobbing and cursing your presence, before coming to the realization that even if your people might not necessarily be better off because of you, they would still be weak. Perhaps strength isn't all that matters, you might say. But does matter greatly for a king. You must stay strong…You must…You will! For your people's sake!

All in all, it has been a very good year. With your people secured and your territory looking more like the times of old, with their cities rather than a mere collection of tribal villages. You take a moment to wonder if people will tell stories about you. Of course they will, you think to yourself, you brought great change to the Soninke and Berbers alike. But, you ask, will the stories of me ultimately be filled with praise or hatred? You do not have an answer to that question.
 
Good update. We are going to want to expand toward the ocean if at all possible, it will open up a lot of new things for us. Getting horse riding down is also huge, they open up things like heavy cavalry and chariots.

As an aside, @Bobalo18 if you want to link to individual posts, look at the bottom of the post next to the Quote and Reply options. There should be a #number; on your latest story post, it is #278. Click the number, and a box will appear with a HTTP address. This is the link to the post.
Update 5
 
We still need to train camel archers and spearman in the future. They will make great defensive cavalry for explorers and traders. Agreed?
 
TheHappyVampire said:
We still need to train camel archers and spearman in the future. They will make great defensive cavalry for explorers and traders. Agreed?
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I agree about the archers, but would pikemen be better than spearmen? I know cavalry is a lot less common in Africa, or just this era in general, than Europe in the Middle Ages, but pikes tend to be better for defensive formation and can be devastating against less disciplined forces, like the ones we will most likely face.
 
notmi said:
I agree about the archers, but would pikemen be better than spearmen? I know cavalry is a lot less common in Africa, or just this era in general, than Europe in the Middle Ages, but pikes tend to be better for defensive formation and can be devastating against less disciplined forces, like the ones we will most likely face.
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You're right, pikemen it is!
 
Horses mainly have attrition problems in the semi-arid areas we're working with. They need quite a lot of food and water to upkeep, while also needing a breeding program before they're strong enough for an adult to ride.
notmi said:
I agree about the archers, but would pikemen be better than spearmen? I know cavalry is a lot less common in Africa, or just this era in general, than Europe in the Middle Ages, but pikes tend to be better for defensive formation and can be devastating against less disciplined forces, like the ones we will most likely face.
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We don't have the weapons technology for pikes yet. They're not that simple to make for our level of ironworking and woodworking.

Not for a long time. Even the Romans didn't have pikes, which was why they moved from spears and shields to swords and shields instead of pikes. Pikes are dedicated purely to formation fighting, and are nearly useless outside of formation.
 
veekie said:
Horses mainly have attrition problems in the semi-arid areas we're working with. They need quite a lot of food and water to upkeep, while also needing a breeding program before they're strong enough for an adult to ride.

We don't have the weapons technology for pikes yet. They're not that simple to make for our level of ironworking and woodworking.

Not for a long time. Even the Romans didn't have pikes, which was why they moved from spears and shields to swords and shields instead of pikes. Pikes are dedicated purely to formation fighting, and are nearly useless outside of formation.
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You can tell how ignorant I am, because I though pikes were just longer, heavier spears. What type of metal working is needed that would prevent us from making pikes that would allow us to make spears?
 
TheHappyVampire said:
We still need to train camel archers and spearman in the future. They will make great defensive cavalry for explorers and traders. Agreed?
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Let's not forget that camel cavalry will utterly wreck horse cavalry in straight-up melee. Horses get scared close up by camels due to their scent, it throws them into an utter panic to get away from the camel. They are also much more sturdy than horses, the only disadvantage is their really low fookin speeds in comparison. I would support idea of a couple units of camel archers or cataphracts to be employed against the Europeans when we get that way as anti-cav.
 
notmi said:
You can tell how ignorant I am, because I though pikes were just longer, heavier spears. What type of metal working is needed that would prevent us from making pikes that would allow us to make spears?
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Stronger steel for one. Because it's longer and heavier. Consistency is another, on a long shaft, slight defects manifest more dramatically.

The physics of leverage says a super long spear snaps and wobbles much more easily when struck with a sudden impact(e.g. stabbing someone) unless it has commensurate girth.

As a tree trunk is not an appropriate melee weapon, you see the problem there. It needs to have enough strength to handle impact, enough flexibility to handle lesser impacts, enough stiffness that you can actually aim instead of thrusting at a half meter radius, be slim enough to wield in your hands and light enough that it can be wielded rather than being a portable stake.
 
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Civilization Quest

Soninke 305 AD


The sun is shining brightly, heralding your mood. Things have been looking up for the Cisse tribe lately, and so your mood has improved as well. While you walk through the village (that is more and more starting to look like a city of old), you think. Theoretically, your people could stop here. That is, they could end their attempts at expansion and innovation, focus on keeping the status quo in the region, and just bask in the glory and security of being the most powerful in the region. But somewhere inside, you feel like this would be a bad idea. Perhaps it was the dream you had last night. In it, dead men came from the River of Deceit and conquered your people. Some dreams are said to be messages from the spirits or the Creator of All, so it is best that you and your people remain alert.

Decisions: Choose 1 from each category. Domestic and Research categories are now available.



Military: The military has recovered greatly since you allowed Berbers to join your military, but you still have a ways to go before you can exceed prewar strength. The military also has lots of problems. In addition to the natural tension that exists whenever two cultures are forced to work together and be like brothers, there is also the matter of death's curse…

Organize your forces: As you were enforcing discipline upon your troops a thought occurred to you: Shouldn't the people who are in charge do this. Then you realize that there are no people in charge, not really. Yes there are elders, but that's all there is, and they command forces as a whole. Wouldn't it be better to have a system where young men are assigned to veterans for their leadership needs?

Train Horsemen: You have learned how to ride horses, so why not make them an army unit? You note that they don't do well against camels, tire easily, and require a lot of resources for their survival however.

Train Camel Archers: Normally, the practice of Camel riding and archery is a luxury available only to the most upper echelons of society. However, you have suggested that perhaps the training should be made available to veterans of all classes.




Warfare: The Berbers who stole your land so many years ago are now under your control. Your people are tired however, and need to rest. If you really want to, you can choose to send your people to war, but…

Attack a tribe (specify which one): You are in a very dangerous position right now. In order to eliminate your potential rivals, it would be better if you struck first. Of course, some of your allies might not agree with your actions.


Explore (specify which direction): Your life was saved by exploration. The Cisse tribe might be saved by it as well. On the other hand, exploration is dangerous, and very few people seem in the mood to fight right now (You will not be completely undefended if you choose this action).


Stay put: Your losses were huge, and your people are tired. It would be morally wrong as well as foolish to fight right now. Which is not to say that if you were attacked you would not defend yourself. You just wouldn't attack anyone else right now.



Diplomacy: You are currently surrounded by friends, but if you are not careful, they could quickly turn into enemies. The Cisse tribe has long been the envy of the other tribes, and even though you are stronger now, if the other tribes ganged up on you…

Marry a woman from another tribe (Specify which one): Marrying a woman of high status in another tribe would certainly improve relations between your two tribes and the other allied tribes in general. It might not be a popular domestic move though.

Talk of integration: Soldiers from different tribes have fought together, and they are closer because of it. Now that you are the talk of the town with other tribes, perhaps it would not be a bad idea to try your luck at unification with some of them? With you as the leader of course.

Establish tribute system: Now that you are in control of the most powerful tribe in the region, you can now enrich your people's lives at the cost of your neighbors'. Obviously, this won't make you popular, so think hard before deciding to implement this system.





Domestic: Now that you have conquered the formerly Berber territory, you suddenly have more time and resources available to you. Perhaps some of this time and these resources could be used to better the lives of your people?

Declare Kingdom of Ghana: Now that you have conquered the Berbers and restored the land of the Soninke's ancestors, it would not be seen as inappropriate to declare the kingdom of Ghana. It will certainly increase your prestige in the eyes of the other clans.

Write down your clan laws: The Berbers have occasionally claimed that they were unaware of certain clan customs and laws. In order to remedy this, you want to write down your clan's rules and give them to the few Berbers that can both read and are to be implicitly trusted with such things.

Teach the Hooru how to read: It would be beneficial for all of the movers and shakers of society to know how to read important texts. In order to make this dream come true, you must have your trusted advisors go to the houses of known Hooru and teach them. It will be a long and arduous process but you hope it will lay the foundation of knowledge for your people in the centuries to come.



Research: Now that you have conquered the formerly Berber territory, you suddenly have more time and resources available to you. Perhaps some of this time and these resources could be used to better the lives of your people?

Introduce monetary system: A young Hooru child came up with the idea to his parents, and it quickly spread to you through your advisors. The idea is this: What if, instead of trading cattle and other resources, people gave metal objects for cattle and so on. Some of your advisors laughed at the idea, but for you the idea is intriguing for some reason…

Create an early library: Some of your advisors have noted the disorganization of your texts. Perhaps you could have your scribes copy the texts you do have and place the copies in a sort of storehouse for books? Of course, the storehouse would be guarded like all of your other storehouses.

Invent new military tactics: The pain of the battle with the Berbers your people have suffered might have been lessened with some top-class tactics. Your new tactics could prevent more such tragedies from happening in the future.




Intrigue: All warfare is based on deception. This thought came to you with the word east and some strange arrangement of syllables such as Son and tsu. Strange. But it holds some weight. How can you look at things from the shadier side of life?

(Continue) Establish a Shadow group: Some of the people who did so well in hiding your preparations these past two years have suggested that you make a cabal of "shadows" that would assist in your rule. It would take some time to train its members though.

Info gathering: You've got allies now, but how much do you really know of their plans? You could send some of your more… Mischievous clan members to gain some information from your allies under the guise of being another wayward exile like yourself.

Passing the blame: Although it's a bit mean, you could have some of your clansmen travel around and spread rumors about the non-allied clans. That would stir up support for some future conquest down the road, right?



Other:

Marriage : In order to reinforce your leadership, it would be advisable to marry another one of your councilman's daughters. That way, you would be looked at as a powerful and influential individual. Which you are, but an official proclamation of it wouldn't hurt. Please specify whether your new wife shall be Soninke or Berber.


Establish Polygamy: While polygamy has been a thing of rich men since time immorial, you feel as though if you want to get your population back up, you must make polygamy more accessible to the lower classes. You can do this by eliminating marriage dowries, although this might make some of the more traditional members of your tribe angry.
 
[X] Organize your forces

[X] Stay put

[X] Talk of integration

[X] Write down your clan laws

[X] Invent new military tactics

[X] (Continue) Establish a Shadow group

[X] Establish Polygamy
 
[X] Organize your forces
[X] Explore(Southwest)
[X] Talk of integration
[X] Declare Kingdom of Ghana
[X] Invent new military tactic
[X] (Continue) Establish a Shadow group
[X] Establish Polygamy

I'm a lot more unsure about my vote this time. I'm not sure what to do for warfare, domestic, and research here, so If someone makes a good argument for something else, I'll change.
 
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[X]Organize your forces
[X]Stay put
[X] Talk of integration
[X]Teach the Hooru how to read
[X] Invent new military tactic
[X]Establish a Shadow group
[X]Establish Polygamy
 
Military:
[x] Organize your forces:

In addition to being more effective in battle, a more disciplined force is easier to train and easier to ensure its loyalty.

Warfare:
[x]Stay put

Right now we're still recovering from the war with the Berber and still assimilating them into our tribe. Let's not overstretch ourselves.

Diplomacy:
[x] Talk of integration

Wait until we have polygamy approved before we marry again, so that if things don't work out we can marry someone else as a counterbalance. Demanding tribute will just get the other tribes unhappy with us, and why bother with it when we can combine them with us into a single tribe? Plus the improved prestige from declaring the Kingdom of Ghana should improve the odds of integration being accepted.

Domestic:
[x] Declare Kingdom of Ghana

Boosting our prestige at home and among the other tribes will make it easier to pass a lot of the reforms we want to go through.

Research:
[x] Introduce monetary system

Moving beyond the barter system increases our overall wealth, encourages trade and basically opens up a lot of economic options.

[x] Invent new military tactics

We have defeated the Berber but there are still a number of tribes who are not our allies - that makes them potential enemies. If we lose as many of our people fighting that tribes as we did fighting the Berber then the name of the Cisse, the name of Soninke - the name of Ghana! - will be reduced to a whisper on the winds, rather than a name spoken with pride. This must not be!

Intrigue:
[x] (Continue) Establish a Shadow group

If we're going to engage in intrigue then let's have a group of well-trained agents to improve our chances of success.

Other:
[x]Establish Polygamy

This should lay the foundation for increasing our population recovery and eventually our overall populations, and also opens the door for taking wives from more than one of our allied tribes to cement our alliances further. Also the increased prestige from declaring the Kingdom of Ghana should be enough to offset the opposition of the hidebound traditionalists to this proposal.
 
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Chaeronea said:
Research:
[x] Introduce monetary system

Moving beyond the barter system increases our overall wealth, encourages trade and basically opens up a lot of economic options.
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I agree with your other choices, but the monetary system is something we are going to want to wait on. I'm going to repost the same argument I used before, because it's still relevant.

notmi said:
Introducing a monetary system is a huge change. Like, I don't think you understand how huge. It's not something that could happen in a single year. The GM doesn't give a success rate or expected time of completion because we don't have any one in-game to do so, but that doesn't mean that each option is a single year option. This choice would make us spend several years on it, like the talk of integration option.

In addition, we would be the only clan to do so. At this point, adopting a monetary system would do more harm to trade than good. We should wait until we have integrated the other clans at least, so we don't hinder trade in the present, and eliminate the need to do it again once we absorb the other clans.
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[X]Organize your forces: As you were enforcing discipline upon your troops a thought occurred to you: Shouldn't the people who are in charge do this. Then you realize that there are no people in charge, not really. Yes there are elders, but that's all there is, and they command forces as a whole. Wouldn't it be better to have a system where young men are assigned to veterans for their leadership needs?

[X]Explore: South

[X]Talk of integration: Soldiers from different tribes have fought together, and they are closer because of it. Now that you are the talk of the town with other tribes, perhaps it would not be a bad idea to try your luck at unification with some of them? With you as the leader of course.

[X]Write down your clan laws: The Berbers have occasionally claimed that they were unaware of certain clan customs and laws. In order to remedy this, you want to write down your clan's rules and give them to the few Berbers that can both read and are to be implicitly trusted with such things.

[X]Create an early library: Some of your advisors have noted the disorganization of your texts. Perhaps you could have your scribes copy the texts you do have and place the copies in a sort of storehouse for books? Of course, the storehouse would be guarded like all of your other storehouses.

[X] (Continue) Establish a Shadow group

[X] Establish Polygamy
 
[X]Organize your forces
[X]Stay put
[X]Marry a woman from another tribe (Kagoro Tribe)
[X]Teach the Hooru how to read
[X] Invent new military tactic
[X]Establish a Shadow group
[X]Establish Polygamy

I am offering to go and try to marry a woman from the largest not allied tribe. They are quite large with their 22 000 population and I prefer to make them friendly and have one more ally before talks of integration
 
Ukrainian Ranger said:
I am offering to go and try to marry a woman from the largest not allied tribe. They are quite large with their 22 000 population and I prefer to make them friendly and have one more ally before talks of integration
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I was actually hoping to marry someone from another tribe as well as one from our tribe in one turn after we get polygamy accepted.
 
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