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Description
Here is my submission for the fourth round of the cover project.. The write-up is a lot shorter than mine usually are but hopefully the detail in the map answers any questions you might have about the world. If not, questions and comments are always appreciated.

Prophet Swap

This is a world where the centers of the Christian and Muslim faiths are switched. Here, the Moors were able to get a stronger foothold in Spain in the late 8th century and managed to push into France, and from there into Italy, Germany, and Britain. With Islamic holy warriors expanding east from the Rhine, Christianity seemed in danger in the late first millennium. This all came to an end in the middle of the 10th century, when the Qipchak hordes came out from Central Asia. Converted to the Nestorian form of Christianity by two Indian monks a century and a half earlier, the Qipchaks were devout and willing to do anything necessary to spread their faith. The Qipchaks conquests went on for more than a century and when the dust had settled, they ruled a series of states stretching from the Baltic to Egypt and had displaced the Islamic realms east of the Sinai.

Though the Qipchak overlordships would slowly fade away and the Turks were integrated into native society, the Nestorian faith remained strong. While this was occurring in the east, the Muslims of Western Europe had discovered two new continents to the west. The sea-faring Muslim powers quickly established colonies there in hopes of enriching themselves. Using the money from its prosperous colonial holdings, a particularly philosophical Emir of Greater al-Andalus devised a new theory of government based on the early Rashidun Caliphate. He wrote that it was the role of a monarch to provide for all citizens physical needs and ensure a basic level of prosperity. This theory, later called National Zakat, became popular across the world.

The modern world is one in which Islam holds the strongest position but is not totally dominant. Arabic is the language of business and science, while Islam is growing slowly but surely across the world. Of course, the Islamic world is not unified, and is divided between the more economically progressive conglomeration of various former colonies that is the United Islamic Polities on one side and the old order European states on the other. And then there are the Shias, long discriminated against but now in possession of a hefty nuclear arsenal, and the Kawnists, Muslims in the southern hemisphere that believe a green alien descended from the heavens to bring proof of many worlds with a Muhammad having existed on each one.

The Christian world is very much in the shadow of the Islamic world, and under the Christian Union, it is clear that they hope to level the playing field whether through diplomacy or through war. On the fringes of the world there are dangers in the form of rogue, angry states. China was rocked by a revolt from the Renists, a collectivist, ultranationalist faction, and while it was down, the Manchus and Buddhist Union joined in and even nuked Beijing. Finally there is the Zunbil Empire, a totalitarian state run by a priesthood committed to expansion. The Empire has flexed its muscle recently by threatening the Persians.

This is a world with good and bad, rich and poor, peaceful and warlike nations. On balance, it is not much better than our own. It is not better or worse it is just different.

Description
Here is my submission for the fourth round of the cover project.. The write-up is a lot shorter than mine usually are but hopefully the detail in the map answers any questions you might have about the world. If not, questions and comments are always appreciated.

Prophet Swap

This is a world where the centers of the Christian and Muslim faiths are switched. Here, the Moors were able to get a stronger foothold in Spain in the late 8th century and managed to push into France, and from there into Italy, Germany, and Britain. With Islamic holy warriors expanding east from the Rhine, Christianity seemed in danger in the late first millennium. This all came to an end in the middle of the 10th century, when the Qipchak hordes came out from Central Asia. Converted to the Nestorian form of Christianity by two Indian monks a century and a half earlier, the Qipchaks were devout and willing to do anything necessary to spread their faith. The Qipchaks conquests went on for more than a century and when the dust had settled, they ruled a series of states stretching from the Baltic to Egypt and had displaced the Islamic realms east of the Sinai.

Though the Qipchak overlordships would slowly fade away and the Turks were integrated into native society, the Nestorian faith remained strong. While this was occurring in the east, the Muslims of Western Europe had discovered two new continents to the west. The sea-faring Muslim powers quickly established colonies there in hopes of enriching themselves. Using the money from its prosperous colonial holdings, a particularly philosophical Emir of Greater al-Andalus devised a new theory of government based on the early Rashidun Caliphate. He wrote that it was the role of a monarch to provide for all citizens physical needs and ensure a basic level of prosperity. This theory, later called National Zakat, became popular across the world.

The modern world is one in which Islam holds the strongest position but is not totally dominant. Arabic is the language of business and science, while Islam is growing slowly but surely across the world. Of course, the Islamic world is not unified, and is divided between the more economically progressive conglomeration of various former colonies that is the United Islamic Polities on one side and the old order European states on the other. And then there are the Shias, long discriminated against but now in possession of a hefty nuclear arsenal, and the Kawnists, Muslims in the southern hemisphere that believe a green alien descended from the heavens to bring proof of many worlds with a Muhammad having existed on each one.

The Christian world is very much in the shadow of the Islamic world, and under the Christian Union, it is clear that they hope to level the playing field whether through diplomacy or through war. On the fringes of the world there are dangers in the form of rogue, angry states. China was rocked by a revolt from the Renists, a collectivist, ultranationalist faction, and while it was down, the Manchus and Buddhist Union joined in and even nuked Beijing. Finally there is the Zunbil Empire, a totalitarian state run by a priesthood committed to expansion. The Empire has flexed its muscle recently by threatening the Persians.

This is a world with good and bad, rich and poor, peaceful and warlike nations. On balance, it is not much better than our own. It is not better or worse it is just different.