Genava55

How does he manage to pull three arrows from his quiver in a single motion, and how does he manage to nock three arrows onto the string at once in a single motion? I'm genuinely curious because it seems to me that it's not that easy for other archers:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periplus_of_the_Erythraean_Sea https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbaria_(region) https://topostext.org/work/491

Proto-Cushitic probably not, the languages became distinct during the Neolithic. Cushitic languages include more than the area. Maybe other proposals could be: City-States of Punt City-States of Barbaria

Lopess is right here. "Macrobia" is more of a mythical Greek term, and using "Somalia" or "Somalis" for the era of the Periplus would be an anachronism, as that specific identity developed later. The ports you listed (Opone, Malao, Mundus, etc.) weren't a unified empire, but rather wealthy, independent trading hubs. In my opinion, City-States of the Horn of Africa (or Northern Horn Kingdoms) is the most accurate and objective choice. They operated much like ancient Phoenician or Greek city-states: politically independent but sharing the same culture and trade routes. If you prefer something with more cultural depth, Land of Punt is also an option, as it refers to the ancient roots of that specific region. The other terms don't fit as well: Cushitic is too broad (it's a massive language group), while Habashat and Automoli refer more to ancient Ethiopia and Upper Egypt/Nubia rather than the Somali coast. I would recommend going with City-States of the Horn of Africa or Land of Punt if you want a more distinct name for the faction.

It mostly comes from Herodotus: [4.170] Next to the Giligamai on the West are the Asbystai: these dwell above Kyrene, and the Asbystai do not reach down the sea, for the region along the sea is occupied by Kyrenians. These most of all the Libyans are drivers of four-horse chariots, and in the greater number of their customs they endeavour to imitate the Kyrenians. [4.171] Next after the Asbystai on the West come the Auchisai: these dwell above Barca and reach down to the sea by Euesperides: and in the middle of the country of the Auchisai dwell the Bacales, a small tribe, who reach down to the sea by the city of Taucheira in the territory of Barca: these practise the same customs as those above Kyrene. https://topostext.org/people/19741 - If we compare the accounts of Herodotus and Callimachus, it would seem that the city of Cyrene was founded on their territory and that King Adicran was their ruler. [4.159] Now during the lifetime of the first settler Battos, who reigned forty years, and of his son Arkesilaos, who reigned sixteen years, the Kyrenians continued to dwell there with the same number as when they first set forth to the colony; but in the time of the third king, called Battos the Prosperous, the Pythia gave an oracle wherein she urged the Hellenes in general to sail and join with the Kyrenians in colonising Libya. For the Kyrenians invited them, giving promise of a division of land; and the oracle which she uttered was as follows: “Who to the land much desired, to Libya, afterwards cometh, After the land be divided, I say he shall some day repent it.” Then great numbers were gathered at Kyrene, and the Libyans who dwelt round had much land cut off from their possessions; therefore they with their king whose name was Adicran, as they were not only deprived of their country but also were dealt with very insolently by the Kyrenians, sent to Egypt and delivered themselves over to Apries king of Egypt. He then having gathered a great army of Egyptians, sent it against Kyrene; and the men of Kyrene marched out to the region of Irasa and to the spring Theste, and there both joined battle with the Egyptians and defeated them in the battle: for since the Egyptians had not before made trial of the Hellenes in fight and therefore despised them, they were so slaughtered that but few of them returned back to Egypt. In consequence of this and because they laid the blame of it upon Apries, the Egyptians revolted from him.

I agree with your choices. There are other interesting characters like Shahrbaraz and Bahram V but I think the 5 you chose are the best options. Ardashir I should have a bonus related to civic centers and temples. Shapur I should have a military bonus, maybe something for the cavalry. Shapur II "the Great" should have a bonus related to fortresses and towers. Khosrow I "the Just" should have a bonus in training speed from barracks and stables. Khosrow II should have a capture bonus or a territory bonus.

I don't think it's physically possible to fire five projectiles at the same time with the same bow or crossbow. The energy is spread across five projectiles, and it’s difficult to properly align the trajectory with the movement of the string. The Chinese developed crossbows that fired two bolts at the same time, but they weren’t very popular, so they shifted their focus to repeating crossbows. So, for the Persians, I imagine it might have been a repeating crossbow with a magazine holding five bolts. But otherwise, the most likely explanation is an archery technique that allowed a warrior to hold five arrows and fire them quickly; that’s what best fits the nomadic traditions of mounted archery.

By the way, I had an idea for a unique bonus for you: Silphium Monopoly. Cyrene was the only region in the world to produce silphium, a medicinal plant that sold for a price equal to gold until it became extinct. This could generate a permanent income.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bituitus https://www.attalus.org/names/l/luerius.html https://www.attalus.org/names/b/bituitus.html#1 Losing to the Romans isn't really a bad thing; we're talking about a superpower that crushed the entire Mediterranean world. His father probably couldn't have done it any better.

Ambiorix. Lucterios. Bituitos. Divico.

I don't understand why hoplites are classified as light units. The Geomori aristocrats shouldn't be archers but heavy cavalry. The swordsmen (Xiphophoroi) aren't credible. They should instead be merged with the Thureophoroi, and the Thureophoroi should be given swords. The Adyrmachidae were not known for fighting from chariots. Those were the Asbystae, who used four-horse chariots.

@feneur@Stan` A lot of bots currently logged

So we have the philologists Winfred P. Lehmann and Stefan Brink, who argue that this word and its later derivatives did not originally mean "village." I shared the excerpt from the dictionary by Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller, which clearly explains that the meaning of “village” came later and that originally it referred to an agricultural estate. But there is also Eilert Ekwall who said the following in his concise Oxford dictionary of English place-names : OE þorp, þrop is a rare word, and its meaning is doubtful. It was certainly used in the sense ‘farm’, possibly in the sense ‘hamlet’. There is no reason to suppose that it meant ‘village’. The places with names containing þrop are as a rule insignificant. The probability is that a þrop was a dependent farm, an outlying dairy-farm belonging to a village or manor. See Introd. pp. xvi f. Native names in þrop very often have a first el. meaning ‘east, west, south’ &c. (ASTROP, EASTRIP, WESTRIP, SOUTHROP &c.). Native names generally have the form þrop, whence THROOP(E), THRUP(P), THROPHILL &c., the second el. of HATHEROP, NEITHROP, SOULDROP, WILLIAMSTRIP &c. But þorp also occurs, as in GESTINGTHORPE Ess, SWANTHORPE Ha. The element is not common in purely English districts, but a fair number of instances occur in Gl, O. In some counties it is unknown, as D, K, Mx. OScand þorp is a common pl. n. element in Scandinavia, especially in Denmark and Sweden. It is comparatively rare in Norway and absent in Iceland. It is very common in the Danelaw, but very rare in the north-western counties, where Norwegians settled. Thorpes are a sign of Danish settlement. ODan thorp means ‘a smaller village, due to colonization from a larger one’. The latter was adelby ‘the mother village’. OSw þorp means ‘a farm, a new settlement’, more rarely ‘a village’, and in later Swedish torp has come to mean ‘croft’. A þorp was a settlement of far less importance than a -by. The original meaning of þorp was ‘newly reclaimed land, new settlement’. It should not be rendered by ‘village’, but rather by ‘farm’. In origin the Danelaw thorps were evidently as a rule outlying, dependent farms belonging to a village. This is indicated partly by the fact that THORPE alone is a very common place-name. A thorp belonged to a mother village and was often simply called ‘the thorp’. It is also indicated by the fact that a great many places with names containing thorp were named from a neighbouring village. Examples are BURNHAM and B~ THORPE, SAXLINGHAM and S~ THORPE Nf, BARKBY and BARKBY THORPE Le. BURNHAM THORPE was clearly a farm or hamlet dependent on Burnham. The first el. is frequently a pers. name, often of Scand origin.

Ok so in this case, it is only this image: You would need to redraw the pattern from the original artifact, the Desborough Mirror

I don't think there is any copyright on those drawings. The source is never mentioned and it has been copied over and over for decades. I know the British Museum authorizes non-commercial use under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. So I think we are good.