I agree.
At least for the topic at hand, the era to be portrayed in the game, India between 400 AD and 1650 AD; there’s no need to go into the most speculative period; the period of Antiquity before 500 BC, and there is speculation about when the events of the Mahabharata book took place (3500 BC - 500 BC or even earlier).
In fact, I’d say that among the periods of many Indian cultures that could be included in the game, there are enough written records and ruins to prove their existence, postdating the Indian Dark Ages.
1) Dark Age (India)
For the game’s time period, at least in the Dark Ages (I) 350 AD - 700 AD:
While Rome was being invaded by barbarians, in India… THEY WERE ALSO INVADED BY BARBARIANS.
In fact, they were known as the White Huns (or Hephthalites), and it was speculated that they came, like the Huns, from China (from the Xiongnu), although it is also possible that they crossed paths with the Turkic peoples before becoming a genocidal horde that devastated everything in their path, and they didn’t even stop to mention their real name.
They invaded India, defeated most of the Indian kingdoms, and in fact, “They also exterminated the ruling class.”
There was so much chaos that it was, in effect, a dark age in India. Most historical records were “lost” because only ruins remained.
Taking advantage of the confusion, it is now known that the victorious Hephthalites altered the civil and historical records to proclaim themselves the new “ruling social class by birth”… when in reality, the ruling class had completely perished and was being replaced.
This new caste, the Kshatriya, claimed to be both rulers and soldiers. Other groups that followed their example were the Rajputs, many of whom were mixed race Hephthalites and Hindus, or lower-class Hindus who wanted to change caste, inventing a military past.
The problem is that the common people had to believe it, because in theory, how could they refute it?
- According to Hindu belief, the ruling class was going to “continue to exist forever”, so their extermination was unbelievable. These guys said that many were “descendants of gods” who had gone abroad at some point, and now “returned” to rule.
2) Medieval India
Between 700 AD and 1200 AD, India theoretically had several Hindu kingdoms:
- The Rajput kingdoms, several city-states in northeast India
- The Cholas, in southern India.
- Sri Lanka, an island, which, being an island, had natural protection until the Chola invasion.
- Odessa and the eastern kingdoms, where most of the elephants came from.
- The Chalukya (later the Hoysala) in central India
And everything was peaceful… *well, not really, but they only invaded each other… until 711 AD, when the first Islamic invasions of India began.
These incursions became more open in the 10th century, with repeated attacks by the Ghurid Empire on the Rajputs. And well, these would be the predecessors of the Delhi Sultanate.
And well, the Delhi Sultanate is a civiilization of the Game.
3) Delhi Sultanate 1206-1517
Well, the Delhi Sultanates, the elephant civ. Beginning with the Ghurid anexion of Delhi, they were practically a series of Islamic governments that claimed to be the driving forces behind the expansion of Islam in India, attempting to conquer it completely.
There were five dynasties, including Tughlaq, the most successful.
It should be noted that these dynasties believed that to eradicate the idolatries of Hinduism, all its temples and idols had to be “destroyed.” Many historic Rajput, Chola, Hoysala, and other temples have been destroyed by this dynasty.
Many of these dynasties were also credited with bringing technological improvements to India (hence their free technology bonuses), both economically and militarily.
New kingdoms were also created during this period:
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The Rajputs were never completely controlled and rebelled from time to time. Between 1400 and 1600, they reached their peak, even fighting against the Mughal Empire.
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The Vijayanagara appeared in central India, having the Southern Tamils (Muvandar) as vassals.
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Odessa was sometimes conquered and other times liberated. They continued to export elephants all over the world.
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Sultanates: After Tamerlane’s invasion of Delhi, several independent sultanates were created.
And the period after this, the Mughals (1517-1750) and the British colonies, is already in the AoE3 period, so we’ll skip it.
4) Historical Records
The Rajput, Chola, Muvendar, Hoysala, Vijayanagara, and other kingdoms left historical records, writings, or oral traditions narrated by their descendants, as well as testimonies from foreigners (Tang and Song China, Portuguese, Timurids, Mongols), and well, almost everything.
Of course, it must be considered that, in the case of India, it is a “VERY RECENT” country, due to the fact that it was a British colony until 1953. Therefore, archaeology, or the translation of Hindu texts into other languages, is also a “VERY RECENT” science.
There are TOO MANY ruins that have yet to be rigorously investigated, sealed temples, and looted sites. In fact, even one of Delhi’s Landmarks from AoE4 (Sultan’s Palace) has not been fully investigated; many of its halls are still buried.
Thanks to the internet, and to Indian archaeologists who adore their profession, we now know much more about it than the English colonial vision gave us of the country’s history.
But precisely for this reason, we must be diligent if we want to analyze each of its cultures or aspects.
We’ll talk about elephants with ballistae tomorrow; I’m sleepy right now.
