0 A.D's Built-in Encyclopedia

[Vantha]

Iphicrates

https://github.com/TheShadowOfHassen/0-ad-history-encyclopedia-mod/pull/73

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Iphicrates was a notorious Athenian general in the 4th century BC. He had the reputation of being one of the most skilled commanders of his time, renown for his military successes, among others in the Corinthian War against Sparta. Most notably, though, Iphicrates is credited with reforming the Athenian military, primarily by developing a new type of light infantry unit.

Compared to traditional hoplites, these new Iphicratean soldiers carried a longer spear and sword, and in place of the large, round shield, a smaller and lighter one. They also wore linen instead of the heavier bronze armor. Iphicrates even, being the son of a shoemaker, designed a new type of footwear called “Iphicratids”, that was easier to tie and untie. Besides these, “he [Iphicrates] also introduced many other useful improvements into warfare, but it would be tedious to write about them.” (Diod. 15.44.4)

While it is still a debated topic, soldiers in Iphicratean gear are likely to have fought as hoplites, meaning mainly as meelee units. However, because these Iphicratean hoplites were equipped more lightly than traditional hoplites, they were faster, more agile, and often able to outmaneuver the latter. They also proved to be useful as marines in the fleet, as when fighting onboard, agility and range are more crucial than maximum body protection.

 

[Vantha]

Pericles

https://github.com/TheShadowOfHassen/0-ad-history-encyclopedia-mod/pull/74

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Pericles was an Athenian politician, one of the, if not the single, most influential politician of his time. He governed Athens for multiple centuries during its Golden Age, in the mid-5th century BC (between the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars), which is why this period is also often called the “Age of Pericles”.

Pericles promoted art, literature, and philosophy and followed a radical pro-democracy and liberal policy. He had many temples built on the Acropolis, including the famed Parthenon. Pericles essentially formed Athens into what it's famously known for: a center of thinking, learning, art, and democracy.

Under his rule, Athens' also gained more and more power over its Greek allies and other Greek city-states; the Delian League (an alliance of Greek city-states against Persia) turned into an Athenian empire. However, this was what would ultimately lead to the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War against Sparta. Pericles himself died shortly into the war of the Plague of Athens, which might be one of the reasons Athens was eventually defeated by Sparta.

 

[real_tabasco_sauce]

It might be good to talk a little about his "Defensive Strategy" which is the inspiration for one of his auras.

[wowgetoffyourcellphone]

2 hours ago, Vantha said:

He governed Athens for multiple centuries during its Golden Age

Oops

[Vantha]

20 hours ago, real_tabasco_sauce said:

It might be good to talk a little about his "Defensive Strategy" which is the inspiration for one of his auras.

Good point. I should definitely take a look at the auras of the hero before writing the texts. How about this?

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Pericles' strategy to defeat Sparta was simple: He evacuated the Athenian countryside to avoid engagement with Sparta's superior armies, and brought the population into the Long Walls, which he had let built, protecting Athens and the connection to its port, Piraeus. Athens' strong fleets were responsible to acquire necessary food supplies, as well as directly attack Sparta and its allies at sea. This strategy worked well, however, when a plague broke out it devastated a large part of Athens' population. Pericles himself fell victim to it too, which might be on of the reasons Athens ultimately lost the war.

 

[Vantha]

20 hours ago, wowgetoffyourcellphone said:

22 hours ago, Vantha said:

He governed Athens for multiple centuries during its Golden Age

Oops

Yeah... 'multiple centuries' sounds a bit too long.

Fixed

[real_tabasco_sauce]

1 hour ago, Vantha said:

Pericles' strategy to defeat Sparta was simple: He evacuated the Athenian countryside to avoid engagement with Sparta's superior armies, and brought the population into the Long Walls, which he had let built, protecting Athens and the connection to its port, Piraeus. Athens' strong fleets were responsible to acquire necessary food supplies, as well as directly attack Sparta and its allies at sea. This strategy worked well, however, when a plague broke out it devastated a large part of Athens' population. Pericles himself fell victim to it too, which might be on of the reasons Athens ultimately lost the war.

Pericles' strategy to defeat Sparta was simple: He evacuated the Athenian countryside to avoid engagement with Sparta's superior armies and brought the population into the Long Walls, protecting Athens and passage to its port, Piraeus. Athens' strong fleets were responsible to acquire necessary food supplies, as well as directly attack Sparta and its allies at sea. This strategy worked well, until a plague broke out and devastated a large part of Athens' population. Pericles himself fell victim too, which might be on of the reasons Athens ultimately lost the war.

I just did a couple suggestions here and there for grammar/flow. I think Themistocles was the one that ordered the construction of the long walls, no?

[Vantha]

Okay thanks, I'll add the paragraph to the article.

59 minutes ago, real_tabasco_sauce said:

I think Themistocles was the one that ordered the construction of the long walls, no?

That was formulated misleadingly, the walls were built under the rule of Pericles, but the idea was proposed first by Themistocles, I think.

[Vantha]

Themistocles

This time I made sure to talk about both of the bonuses he has in the game, that's why the text got so long.

https://github.com/TheShadowOfHassen/0-ad-history-encyclopedia-mod/pull/75

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Themistocles was an Athenian politician and general in the 5th century BC. He was known for his populist and democratic political beliefs, which were supported by the lower classes and generally opposed by Athens' higher society.

Themistocles was of the opinion that “He who commands the sea has command of everything” (quote by Themistocles): He convinced the Athenians to expand the navy by building 200 triremes, at the time, making it the most powerful fleet of Greece without any competition.

This would prove vital for the outcome of the second Persian invasion in 480 BC, without a doubt Themistocles' biggest achievement. Although he was not the chief commander of the Greek-allied fleet, he is credited with being the main strategist. After the Greeks were forced to retreat from their first battle with the Persians, Themistocles decided to evacuate Athens and led the fleet to the island of Salamis, waiting for the Persians to attack. The two fleets finally clashed at Salamis' strait. There, the Persian ships, larger in size and (more than double as large in) numbers, had a hard time maneuvering in the narrow space, and the smaller, more agile Greek ships emerged victorious. The Persian land army was defeated a year later.

Even though the Greeks had successfully defended their homeland, many cities, including Athens, had been completely destroyed and burned down. To avoid that happening again, Themistocles had a wall built around Athens and proposed the idea of building long walls to protect Athens and the passage to its port, Piraeus. These walls would not be built until 20 years later; however, they eventually turned out to be a core point of Athens' strategy in the wars to come.

Although Themistocles was celebrated as a hero and the savior of Greece, as time went on, several accusations against him arose, and he lost his credence and the trust of the Athenian people. Eventually, he was ostracized and exiled from Athens around 471 BC, not even ten years after his huge victory. Ironically, Themistocles fled to Persia, where he spent the rest of his life. He even got taken in by King Artaxerxes I, the son of the man (Xerxes I) he had fought against just a decade prior.

What about Xenophon? There are game files for him as a hero, but he is not implemented in the game. Should I write a text about him?

Edited November 22, 2023 by Vantha

[Vantha]

Ive revised the articles of the Spartan heroes. They were the very first texts I've written, and I've corrected some minor factual inaccuracies that I found and text parts that I was not happy with. Ive been wanting to do this for a long time, these texts are the last ones the I had and have planned to revise, now I can fully focus on writing new texts.

https://github.com/TheShadowOfHassen/0-ad-history-encyclopedia-mod/pull/76

[Vantha]

Athenian walls

https://github.com/TheShadowOfHassen/0-ad-history-encyclopedia-mod/pull/77/

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The idea to uniformly build walls was probably first proposed by the politician Themistocles after Athens was completely demolited during the second Persian invasion. While the walls around the city were constructed right away, the famous Long Walls would not be until 20 years later, around 460 BC.

The two Long Walls each measuring 6 kilometers in length, stood parallel, 200 meters apart, protecting the passage to Athens' port, Piraeus. Another wall further to the east was also constructed towards another smaller port called Phaleron, forming a triangle enclosed by the walls and the shore that could be used for agriculture. The entire Athenian wall system was over 25 kilometers long, around 3 meters wide, and 9 meters high, and became a majestic symbol for Athens' power and dominance.

The walls formed a key point in their war strategy; Athens could avoid fighting enemies on land and instead rely on their powerful navy to engage in combat with them. And, in case of a siege, the city had coastal access within its walls, which meant all necessary food could be imported from the sea.

This strategy worked well, however, only as long as Athenian ships were able to provide a constant inflow of food. For example, when the Athenian fleet was annihilated at Aigospotamoi (405 BC) in the Peloponnesian War, the besieged city of Athens' was cut off from food supplies and had no choice but to surrender. 

 With this thext weve completely finished Athens! As @ShadowOfHassen has announced, we decided to take the Han next.

[wowgetoffyourcellphone]

Aegospotami -- We are defaulting to the classic English translation names. For instance, Themistocles, not Themistokles. Aegospotami, not Aigospotamoi. etc etc etc

[ShadowOfHassen]

On 22/11/2023 at 6:15 AM, Vantha said:

What about Xenophon? There are game files for him as a hero, but he is not implemented in the game. Should I write a text about him?

I wouldn't, we can fill in the later texts later, for the moment let's focus on the texts that will be seen in game.

[wowgetoffyourcellphone]

2 hours ago, ShadowOfHassen said:

I wouldn't, we can fill in the later texts later, for the moment let's focus on the texts that will be seen in game.

A good plan. 

[Vantha]

11 hours ago, wowgetoffyourcellphone said:

Aegospotami -- We are defaulting to the classic English translation names. For instance, Themistocles, not Themistokles. Aegospotami, not Aigospotamoi. etc etc etc

Okay, I corrected it. I know about that rule, we've adopted it from 0ad's official style guide into our encyclopedia style guide. My question is: Is this rule uniformly followed all throughout the game?
For example, shouldn't the Skiritai be actually called Sciritae?

[wowgetoffyourcellphone]

7 hours ago, Vantha said:

Okay, I corrected it. I know about that rule, we've adopted it from 0ad's official style guide into our encyclopedia style guide. My question is: Is this rule uniformly followed all throughout the game?
For example, shouldn't the Skiritai be actually called Sciritae?

You are right to point out inconsistencies. We can definitely correct them. 

[ShadowOfHassen]

4 hours ago, wowgetoffyourcellphone said:

You are right to point out inconsistencies. We can definitely correct them. 

That was my one hope with this encyclopedia; with heavy work on the history research, we should be able to weed out any historical inaccuracies.

[Vantha]

First text for the Han. The Civic Center!

 

https://github.com/TheShadowOfHassen/0-ad-history-encyclopedia-mod/pull/78

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The Han empire was absolutely governed by an emperor who would pass on the throne to his eldest son. He was the supreme lawgiver, chief commander of the military, and designator of senior government officials. However, the emperor was assisted by a complex government system. It consisted of numerous layers and institutions and was meant to simplify political procedures without letting anyone (except the emperor) amass power. The system was structured as follows (simplified):

At the top were three officials (called The Three Excellencies), each responsible for a different domain: The Chancellor (or Minister of Masses) stood above the population and the lands and was responsible for the state's finances. The Grand Commandant (or Minister of War) held command over the empire's military. The Imperial Secretary (or Minister or Works) had the duty of overseeing and monitoring the government and its officials.

Below these were nine ministries, operating on different matters such as finance, justice, and ceremonies. Government service encompassed twelve total levels; the officials were classified and could rank up based on their capabilities and merit, not their ancestry, which also helped prevent corruption and greed for power.

To facilitate administration across the vast Han Empire, the land was divided into provinces, commanderies, counties, and districts. At each of these levels were taken care of different tasks, by lower or local governments.

Quite honestly, I had a lot of struggle with this text, it took me way too long to write it, maybe because it is the first article of a new civilisation, I don't know.

I think I will write the ministers next, since I have already done a lot of research about them.

Also, is the civ in the game more oriented towards the Western/First or the Eastern/Second Han Empire?

[alre]

2 hours ago, Vantha said:

First text for the Han. The Civic Center!

 

https://github.com/TheShadowOfHassen/0-ad-history-encyclopedia-mod/pull/78

Quite honestly, I had a lot of struggle with this text, it took me way too long to write it, maybe because it is the first article of a new civilisation, I don't know.

I think I will write the ministers next, since I have already done a lot of research about them.

Also, is the civ in the game more oriented towards the Western/First or the Eastern/Second Han Empire?

look at the heroes, they all are from the same period.

[wowgetoffyourcellphone]

Western/First period. 

[ShadowOfHassen]

https://github.com/TheShadowOfHassen/0-ad-history-encyclopedia-mod/pull/79

 

The first PR for the Rice paddy. I think it has enough information, but I might discover more as I do more research.

[Vantha]

Han ministers

https://github.com/TheShadowOfHassen/0-ad-history-encyclopedia-mod/pull/80

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The Nine Ministers formed the third governmental level in the Han dynasty, below the Three Excellencies and, of course, the emperor himself. They each led an office with subordinate functionaries and were responsible for a specific task:

The Grand Master of Ceremonies handled matters related to religion, organized official ceremonies, and functioned as the head of the Imperial Academy.

The Superintendent of the Imperial Household supervised a special group called the gentleman-attendants who worked for the imperial family. Gentleman-attendants either came from influential families or were especially meritious people, who, for example, got recommended by high officials.

The Commandant of Guards took care of security at imperial palaces by commanding the guards.

The Grand Coachman was in charge of the Han army's horses, which were of high importance in the wars against the Xiognu, as well as the Emperor's personal horses, chariots, and carriages.

The Commandant of Justice made up the highest grade of jurisprudence (apart from the emperor), deciding high-level court cases.

The Grand Herald was responsible for diplomacy and the empire's foreign affairs.

The Director of Imperial Clan coordinated the imperial Liu family and its many relatives; for example, he took care of the registration of new members.

The Grand Minister of Agriculture/Finance managed the empire's treasury and finances in general (for example, setting and collecting taxes) and was also responsible for the empire's agriculture.

And finally, the Privy Treasurer was responsible for the imperial family's treasury.

I will write the temple and healer next and then probably start with the soldiers.

[Vantha]

Han Healer

https://github.com/TheShadowOfHassen/0-ad-history-encyclopedia-mod/pull/81

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Traditional Chinese Medicine is a widely practiced method today, and it already was over two millennia ago, in the times of the Han Dynasty.

The most important concept of Traditional Chinese Medicine is Qi, the vital energy embracing everything, material and energy, including the human body. The human body is in a constant state of flux of Qi; should this flux get disturbed, the body will sicken.

Another essential concept is Yinyang. Yinyang describes two complementary natural forces, Yin and Yang, forming the material and energy of the universe. Yin symbolizes darkness, passiveness, and retraction; Yang on the other hand, represents the opposite: light, activity, and expansion. Yinyang applies to everything we know and also appears in two-sided systems in nature, such as day and night, the two human sexes, and even colors and numbers (odd and even).

  A third substantial concept is Wuxing. Wuxing names five elements that make up all matter in the universe: metal, earth, water, fire, and air. They complement, interact with, and influence each other. And they are, similar to Yinyang, linked to natural systems consisting of five components, such as the Five Virtues, organs, planets, colors, and tones.

Traditional Chinese Medicine is a complex and vast field, and, as you might have noticed, many of its methods and schemes are tied to religions like Taoism and Confucianism. The goal is to detect imbalances in these systems, be they Qi, Yinyang, Wuxing, or others, and to restore equilibrium, as it is believed that health derives from the harmony of nature's systems.

I am just now noticing that this text might not be related to the Han enough, if you think I should change something, let me know.

Edited December 4, 2023 by Vantha

[Vantha]

Han temple

https://github.com/TheShadowOfHassen/0-ad-history-encyclopedia-mod/pull/82/files

 

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The Han Empire's vast lands were places of cultural diversity and home to many beliefs and religions. The most widespread ones were Taoism and Buddhism. However, the central imperial government followed a legalistic and confucianistic ideology. Legalism claims the necessity of law, justice, and control, while Confucianism is all about morale, about reigning gently and obeying resistancelessly:
        The Han political system was very complex but clearly structured. There was a very strict hierarchy, and great respect was demanded for higher-ranking people. Han emperors were, unlike many other emperors in history, not worshipped as gods but seen as Mandates of Heaven representing the gods.
        But not only the official administration held a strong hierarchy; following the Confucian model, the man would lead a family, women and kids had little freedom, were clearly subordinate to the man, and had to obey him.
        The highest goal of this system, based on Confucian teachings, was to establish order, harmony was believed to be the foundation for an ideal society.
        And it worked. At least for a certain time. Especially the early days of the Han Empire were times of peace (at least within the Empire's borders) and flourishing of Chinese culture. This time was certainly not without reason called “The Golden Age of China”.

 

[Vantha]

I completely rewrote the Han Healer text, since it was not focused on what the encyclopedia should be and didn't fit. I commited directly into the old Han Healer branch and pull request.

https://github.com/TheShadowOfHassen/0-ad-history-encyclopedia-mod/pull/81/
 

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Probably one of the most important Chinese physicians of all time was Zhan Zhongjin. He lived in the second and third centuries BC, the very last years of the Han Dynasty. Although we only know very little about his life, Zhan Zhongjin recorded his research and findings in a book with the title translating to “Treatise of Febrile and Other Diseases”. This book forms a crucial cornerstone of traditional Chinese medicine; he is considered the sage of Chinese medicine.

Similar to other revolutionary physicians in history, Zhang Zhongjin regarded the practice of medicine as a divine gift and something requiring high responsibility and conscientiousness. He documented the symptoms of his patients, the treatment, and the results very precisely. Because he witnessed the devastating epidemics that, among other things, caused the collapse of the Han Empire, his work mostly focuses on different kinds of infectious diseases, like fevers, and suggests medication, various herbs and other remedies.

As you can see, I wrote about Zhang Zhongjin, because for the Greek healer I wrote about Hippocrates, and Zhang Zhongjin seemed the most logical parallel to me, even though didn't live in the time frame of the Han Empire that the civilisation in 0ad represents.

 

And I will write the soldiers, siege engines, and maybe the market next.

Edited December 6, 2023 by Vantha