Recent content by trentonian7

Maybe experience or maturity would be a more plausible origin than age; and not necessarily social maturity, but maturity as a writer.

I've been researching dhows and sea travel in the Indian Ocean and Red Sea in antiquity and up until the 1500's or so and while I've found information on that, I've struggled to find information on naval combat. What kind of warships did ancient Indians, Iranians, and other peoples on the Indian...

So because they once had oppressive rulers, they're launching a war against all other nations with rulers of a similar nature to their oppressors? It seems like an unrealistic motivation Rome used to have kings- they realized pretty quickly that they hated kings and established a republic...

The problem is that "man" and "mankind" are an equivalent to "elf" and "elfkind."

Sweet! I love that the scales are so distinct, especially in the commercial pieces. If I were to create a fish sufficiently large enough, might that fish's skin be made into leather and then boiled for armor?

I'm developing a very aquatic inspired culture and I've decided I want to create scale based armor, or at least ceremonial clothing. That being said, I don't mean scales of bronze or iron or another metal, but scales from actual sea life. I don't know that it's historically ever been done, but...

I don't know if it's been done, but it's certainly believable if you do it right. I can see either one of two scenarios; this is a very warlike culture where warrior kings are prized above all others and the king is expected to be a skilled warrior, even if he's only the most skilled of the...

I've been confused on ancient navies and really just pre- gunpowder navies in general. Obviously ships can fight one another, scare off pirates, and disrupt trade routes, but were they any danger to coastal settlements? Could ancient navies launch assaults on land or were they confined...

The animated tv show The Legend of Korra, a follow up series to Avatar the Last Airbender spends the entire first season dealing with an insurrectionist revolutionary group that eventually overthrows the government. The shows protagonists are opposed to the group in every regard and the...

As the title suggests, this post regards ancient taxation, but also state owned resources. My curiosity arose with board games of all places, where repeatedly, while playing as a civilization, I collected resources and commodities from territories and then used these to build and expand my...

Okay so reading through this thread, there are a few key factors I need to consider. 1. Cost. How are the 1500 paid for? I understand that in a Northern European feudalistic society, armies were tiny and seldom raised for more than very brief times of war; soldiers needed to tend to their...

I wasn't thinking knights at all. 1,500 would be it-- and you're right to note "household troops" is really a misnomer, but I did explain I was going more for something like the janissaries than the palace guard per say. The Jannisaries, the sultan's "household troops" numbered 1,000 almost from...

To answer your third point, because it isn't an army. A regiment of an army is not the same as the actual army-- so while it may be a standing regiment, it isn't sizable enough to constitute an "army." I see what you're saying, but I'm not trying specifically to dodge the idea of a standing...

I assume you drew the 6,000 from the combined populations of the largest cities, which would be around 600,000. I'm not sure if you meant 1% could be conscripted or if you meant the king could levy 60,000 men because 10% of 600,000 isn't 6,000?

I understand for most of history, countries seldom kept standing armies and most often troops were only called upon in times of war. The reasons for this, as I understand it, are mostly cost-- it's expensive to mantain a military force. That being said, I don't want a standing army, I want...