Conquest of the Dharma
Welcome to a world where Alexander lived and Ashoka’s missions to west took root!
TL:DR Lore:
In 323 a chalice with poisoned wine was spilled in the halls of Babylon sparing the great conqueror from an untimely fate. Now going through his 30s he found himself frustrated by the empire he had created. Any further conquests gained or wars he waged were rendered moot by rebellions and administration issues. Eventually he settled for putting down rebels and raising monuments to his greatness. When he passed away he left his son a stable and outward going empire but it would be his grandson that would make it the center of culture he envisioned.
During the reign of Alexander V of the Macedonian Empire the missions of Ashoka made their way to Babylon. The empire had extensive contact and experience with the subcontinent by this point and so the missionaries were welcome. The philosophies brought with them intrigued the court and the King enough that he allowed them to establish a school in the capital from where they would teach their knowledge to others. Ashoka upon learning of this was ecstatic and sent more scholars to the new school in Babylon and in response gifts were sent to india in gratitude.
As Buddhism does not seek to destroy religions entirely but rather replace or co opt their cosmogony and ethics it began to spread easily to various parts of the empire helped with the power of the monarchy. This golden age of Buddhism would come to a close however as the Macedonians declined and the Parthians rose and the mediterranian came under siege the school in Babylon lost contact with India and started to diverge.
Through the centuries it continued to spread and mutate eventually becoming the dominant religion in the mediterranian.
Meanwhile the Iranian empires kept the faiths of their empire apart (Buddhists and Zoroastrianism) while also having a great deal of trade with the indian states. This trade in turn meant a great deal of contact with hindu mystics who became popular in the satrapy of Maka eventually creating a movement that spread its teachings across the peninsula. Once the Iranian empire of the time went into decline and the pretenders popped up everywhere the Hindu-Arabs took their chance and launched a coup. Under the arbas the empire exploded into the Levant once more and then further into northern africa taking the faith with them.
This is my first mod and was inspired by and
assisted by the fine folks behind the Broken Cross and the Fall of Islam.
It is a bit crude at the moment and has a long way to go but hopefully you will all enjoy it.
—
Broken Cross: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1435827296
—
Fall of Islam: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=830446836
—
JOIN OUR DISCORD!
—
https://discord.gg/BUT8ncB
—
