HISTORY CRAFTER - THE REAL AND SIMULATED HISTORY

  'MEETING' (Copyright 2020 Salvatore Puleio) ARABS AND CHRISTIANITY IN THE LATE ANTIQUITY   During the IV and V centuries of the Vulgar Era, the Arabs came to a close contact with the Empire of the Romans; this way, the immense territory of Syria and Mesopotamia met a religious tradition which was strictly linked to the political issues of power and control. In fact, the ‘throne and the altar’ have always been connected; after Constantine, however, Christianity shaped and influenced in a significant way the history of the Empire of the Caesars. The religious sphere pervaded thus every issue of the public life, in Constantinople as well as in the periphery; as a matter of fact, Christianity was used as a tool to subject people to the imperial ideology. Although framed as a religious discourse, it came to be a process of cultural assimilation; however powerful, this mechanism was not always so easy to perform. In fact, we have to bear in mind the particularities of the religions

'Dancing Polygons' (copyright 2020 Puleio Salvatore) L’ARABIA PRIMA DELL’ISLAM   Questo articolo è già stato pubblicato dal sottoscritto in lingua inglese; tuttavia, considerando che la divulgazione di questo tema è pressoché nullo, specialmente in italiano, ho deciso di renderlo fruibile anche in italiano.   Effettivamente, quando si pensa alla Penisola Araba, e non solamente all’Arabia Saudita, la prima associazione che viene fatta è all’Islam; a quasi 14 secoli di distanza dalla comparsa ed ascesa del Puro Monoteismo, non stupisce che l’Islam sia diventato anche una cultura, e non semplicemente una religione.   La percezione generale, dunque, è che la situazione sia sempre stata la stessa; invece, la storia di questi luoghi e civiltà è molto lunga, e precede di millenni l’avvento dell’Islam. Tale aspetto, tuttavia, viene quasi taciuto, e quasi nulla viene divulgato; attualmente, in effetti, sembra che la storia dell’Arabia pre-islamica sia confinata ad un gruppetto di espert

ARABIA BEFORE ISLAM   When we think at the Arabian peninsula, we immediately associate it with Islam; Arabia is the cradle of Islam, and this is not only a Religion but a culture as well. Arabic culture and Islam are strictly associated, and it’s difficult to think at one without the other. Nonetheless, there was an Arabia before the advent of Islam, very different from what we know nowadays; it is so far in time that it is practically lost. However, historians can help us to rebuild that world, and, as a matter of fact, there were many religious traditions; among them, one can mention, above all, Christianity and Paganism. Judaism, Zoroastrism, and Manicheism were there as well, but played a secondary role; thus, while we acknowledge their existence, from an historic point of view, we have to focus on the two main groups that played a major role.   Christianity   The importance of Christianity, as a social and religious phenomenon, mainly relies upon its relevance in shaping the late

THE BATTLES FOUGHT BY ABU BAKR   Volume XI of the History of Al-Tabari reports in great detail the events unfolding during the Caliphate of Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq and his successor. In fact, the period taken into consideration goes from 633 to 635 CE; following the Muslim calendar, the years are from 12 to 13 AH.   The events taking place in this period are thus covered in great detail, more than in other books of Al-Tabari and the reason is simple. In fact, it is in this brief period that the Caliphate truly becomes an Empire, going well beyond the borders of the Arabic Peninsula.   Of particular importance, then, are two battles, the one fought in Al-Madhar and the one which took place in Al-Walajah.   THE CHARACTER OF ABU BAKR AND MUSLIMS DURING WARS   In the previous post, we saw the intent of the Caliph to come to terms with the traitors who rebelled against his rule. Now, we want to see another aspect, not very known, of his character; in fact, he dictated the rules to be followed du

PERSIAN EMPIRE IN 790'S CE: ZOROASTRIANISM EXPANDS FURTHER IN THE ARABIC PENISULA!!! Welcome back to our adventure with the Persian Empire in Crusader Kings II; Zoroastrians expanded their reach, as you can see in the map below, around 790 CE.   Compared to 756 CE, the changing is significant, as you can see from the picture below. It seems that our politics of conversion is beginning to work, although slowly, as it is reasonable to expect, both in reality and in the simulation as well.   Interestingly, the two Holy Cities of Islam surrendered to Zoroastrianism, and abandoned their former beliefs; let’s see if this event will enrage and encourage the Muslims to get back their lands and restore the Islamic faith.   As you can see, Makkah is no longer Muslim and this is a very powerful blow to the Islamic forces and rulers; there are some provinces that were formerly Zoroastrian and now embraced some heresies in the same religious group. The Sunni tradition, on the other hand, is a m

RELIGION IN CRUSADER KINGS II   One of the most intriguing aspects of Crusader Kings II is surely the incorporation of real religious traditions in the simulation; alternatively, one can opt for new ones or reform the pagan religions and make a new one. This can prove controversial, since religion is a very sensitive topic; for this reason, it should be clear that religion is no matter to play with. It makes sense to include it in the simulation, though, as it get more realistic and enjoyable; on this matter, the same general considerations of this projects can be applied. In particular, we should remember that we are here to play a game and make historical hypothesis, and this does not mean in any way to disrespect any religion or culture. Looking at the picture above, we see that the Arian religion is widespread in Italy in 756 CE, in our scenario; but, who was Arius and who were the Arians? That’s what we’re gonna try to find out in this post.   ARIUS AND COSTANTINE: UNITY AND DIVIS